Member Info for BlueGlow

Trade deal: Trump 3pm.

Support local production where possible imo.

It has a multiplier effect, and usually quality is much better.

Its direct taxes that are bashing the high street, not the closing of tax loopholes on made in China.

Hi kenny,

Very sad, what a brave guy.

Lols, ok.

Im cool with this one - its become a novelty now, lol.

The biggest thread on LSE :)

"One Thread to rule them all,

one Thread to find them,

One Thread to bring them all,

and in the darkness bind them"

J.R.R Tolkien, lol.

Tro,

Have been tempted to start a new one a few times lol, but i didnt know if massive threads was like your thing now, so i didnt want to spoil it, lol.

Tro,

Havent looked at CB's stocks for a while.

Is CB still the boss?

This thread is so long, lol.

Hi Flatwhite,

Thanks for the info re NI.

No national insurance for 3 years?

Could create a jobs market in which Indian workers were cheaper to hire than British nationals?

Have to wait for some detail.

Want to read LUCIDs earnings report at the moment.

Hey evi, kenny,

Didn't know EOG were exploring in Trinidad.

Tro, agree.

Hi Flatwhite,

Yeah, was only using FOM to highlight overall numbers, and how the Overton window has moved in that respect.

The overall net figures obv include returns, so should balance with regard to students etc., but i do understand your point.

EU migrants were generally speaking very good migrants, with a high propensity to work and crucially brining far fewer dependants than typically now come from the ROW.

Obviously there are a few exceptions from Eastern Europe.

Publicly available immigration stats are usually messy to the point of being misleading and frequently incomplete in my experience.

Hi Flatwhite,

Indians are generally speaking the right sort of immigrants - for want of a better phrase.

They work hard and frequently outperform much of the native population statistically, in education and earnings. They also integrate fairly well and aren't prone to the kind of extremism associated with their neighbours.

That said, around 250,000 came to the UK in 2024. That's a lot.

Considerably more people than were usually arriving from the EU net under FOM, and higher than the combined total for the EU and ROW for most years, even whilst we were inside the EU.

Remember David Cameron and "tens of thousands". Shows how far the Overton window has shifted.

Gov hasn't planned for this dramatic population increase, hence services and infrastructure are under such pressure despite record levels of taxation.

Haven't looked at the deal yet.

Haven't seen the guy this animated before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KCk5KyOsg8

Tro,

There are more than echos of the far-right in the U.S and Europe, but comparatively very little of it here imo, other than a few fringe movements.

I dont think a political party in the UK could garner a significant amount of votes on a far-right platform, irrespective of the ongoing issues over illegal migration.

Obvs you dont agree, which is cool with me.

Hey kenny,

She works super hard, we help her with stuff and try to offer guidnace. Shes doing great, despite everything she has had to contend with.

Tbh, shes more "grown-up" than me, lol. Very sensible.

Hey kenny,

A girl i know.

She's had to work hard, unsociable hours as a waitress in between education to afford driving lessons.

She's from a broken home, never had anything, parents are a disgrace, seriously abusive and utterly selfish. The state does nothing.

When you read this sort of story, its makes it seem even worse.

Tro,

Im not going to be sent to another BB!

Imo, voting Reform or Conservative or any other right leaning party, or their sister parties in other countries, does not infer support for the far-right. Republicans in the U.S may acknowledge Trumps shortcomings, but consider him the lesser of two evils for instance. They might also change their minds. Im just saying there is more to it than suggesting that people are supporting far-right policy or leadership.

If you dont agree, thats fine, and i appreciate you sharing your own point of view with me.

Tro, i know plenty of people inclined to vote Reform.

None of them are Pro-Putin nor anti-Ukraine.

Neither are they remotely far-right, at least not in the conventional meaning of the word.

Just think it's a lazy generalisation, and smear tactic the left use to lump an international war criminal like Putin in with ordinary people disaffected with politicians here. Or to suggest that Conservatives all over the world are supporters of Trump's tariffs because they sympathize with his tough stance on border controls.

There's no nuance.

Im not suggesting you are doing this, or are someone i even think of as on the left. You always seem fairly balanced to me.

Was just a general point about the tone of the discussion, our own, and foreign election results, not you specifically.