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"The new Reform led Council in Durham has received a glowing report from the independent Local Govt Association which identified “strong strategic direction and stability” within the new administration. Will you be voting Reform in the May elections, where you are still allowed to vote ?" Are you asking the people of Durham ? Or asking people wider afield ? I doubt people wider afield would base their decision on a sample size of 1 council however. | |||
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"The new Reform led Council in Durham has received a glowing report from the independent Local Govt Association which identified “strong strategic direction and stability” within the new administration. Will you be voting Reform in the May elections, where you are still allowed to vote ? Are you asking the people of Durham ? Or asking people wider afield ? I doubt people wider afield would base their decision on a sample size of 1 council however." I have you down as an 'undecided' then. | |||
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"The new Reform led Council in Durham has received a glowing report from the independent Local Govt Association which identified “strong strategic direction and stability” within the new administration. Will you be voting Reform in the May elections, where you are still allowed to vote ?" If you have made an informed decision then can I ask who you think should be in a reform cabinet, why and what are their qualifications to run a country Thanks | |||
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"The new Reform led Council in Durham has received a glowing report from the independent Local Govt Association which identified “strong strategic direction and stability” within the new administration. Will you be voting Reform in the May elections, where you are still allowed to vote ? If you have made an informed decision then can I ask who you think should be in a reform cabinet, why and what are their qualifications to run a country Thanks " I believe Reform are announcing their Shadow Cabinet next week so you will have to judge their qualifications or lack of. Hopefully you live in a part of the UK where democracy has not yet been cancelled. | |||
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"The new Reform led Council in Durham has received a glowing report from the independent Local Govt Association which identified “strong strategic direction and stability” within the new administration. Will you be voting Reform in the May elections, where you are still allowed to vote ?" Erm.. from someone who lives next door.. all the reform have managed to do is “not fuck it up” They made such a massive thing of removing the DEI department.. do you know how many people were actually recruited for the DEI department…. It was 1!! 1 person Then they made a song and dance about getting rid of “illegals” from the housing waiting list…. Do you know how many there were in multicultural County Durham… zero Just as well they didn’t keep the pledge of not increasing council tax then…. What did you say? 5%! They have just about managed to keep the bin service going…. Closed a couple of libraries, and just as well most of the schools up here are independent academies | |||
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"The new Reform led Council in Durham has received a glowing report from the independent Local Govt Association which identified “strong strategic direction and stability” within the new administration. Will you be voting Reform in the May elections, where you are still allowed to vote ? If you have made an informed decision then can I ask who you think should be in a reform cabinet, why and what are their qualifications to run a country Thanks I believe Reform are announcing their Shadow Cabinet next week so you will have to judge their qualifications or lack of. Hopefully you live in a part of the UK where democracy has not yet been cancelled." Ice emailed them several times asking for a probable list and also for a detailed copy of their manifesto. Still waiting 🤷♂️ | |||
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"The new Reform led Council in Durham has received a glowing report from the independent Local Govt Association which identified “strong strategic direction and stability” within the new administration. Will you be voting Reform in the May elections, where you are still allowed to vote ? If you have made an informed decision then can I ask who you think should be in a reform cabinet, why and what are their qualifications to run a country Thanks I believe Reform are announcing their Shadow Cabinet next week so you will have to judge their qualifications or lack of. Hopefully you live in a part of the UK where democracy has not yet been cancelled. Ice emailed them several times asking for a probable list and also for a detailed copy of their manifesto. Still waiting 🤷♂️" You are probably on their blocked list.😉 | |||
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"The new Reform led Council in Durham has received a glowing report from the independent Local Govt Association which identified “strong strategic direction and stability” within the new administration. Will you be voting Reform in the May elections, where you are still allowed to vote ? If you have made an informed decision then can I ask who you think should be in a reform cabinet, why and what are their qualifications to run a country Thanks I believe Reform are announcing their Shadow Cabinet next week so you will have to judge their qualifications or lack of. Hopefully you live in a part of the UK where democracy has not yet been cancelled. Ice emailed them several times asking for a probable list and also for a detailed copy of their manifesto. Still waiting 🤷♂️ You are probably on their blocked list.😉" If say I definitely am Imagine asking them hard questions like what's your policies 😂🤣😂 | |||
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"The new Reform led Council in Durham has received a glowing report from the independent Local Govt Association which identified “strong strategic direction and stability” within the new administration. Will you be voting Reform in the May elections, where you are still allowed to vote ? If you have made an informed decision then can I ask who you think should be in a reform cabinet, why and what are their qualifications to run a country Thanks I believe Reform are announcing their Shadow Cabinet next week so you will have to judge their qualifications or lack of. Hopefully you live in a part of the UK where democracy has not yet been cancelled. Ice emailed them several times asking for a probable list and also for a detailed copy of their manifesto. Still waiting 🤷♂️ You are probably on their blocked list.😉 If say I definitely am Imagine asking them hard questions like what's your policies 😂🤣😂" Confusing them by asking them to think. | |||
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"So it comes out this morning that reform uk have driven 2 councils they run to the brink of bankruptcy … and the leader of reform led Worcestershire county council quit the party live on the BBC today due to cuts and a potential 10% council tax rise So.. all rosy then…. "Unfortunately some of the hard of thinking guy's I work with are adamant that Reform are going to be the next party to lead this country and they think Farrage is the best thing since Trump who's basically their God. When I asked one of said morons (sorry colleagues) what are the policies that attract them to reform and please tell me all about how they are going to run the country better? My answer was: "Coz they iz gonna get rid of all the fucking immigrants innit" True story, so this kinda tells you about the mentality of the voters and what they stand for so it's hardly a surprise to hear that the party is failing where elected. What scares me is if they actually do get in and the disaster that will follow. A party full of defectors and proven to have no loyalty or integrity. | |||
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"The new Reform led Council in Durham has received a glowing report from the independent Local Govt Association which identified “strong strategic direction and stability” within the new administration. Will you be voting Reform in the May elections, where you are still allowed to vote ?" So what does 'strong strategic direction and stability' mean? Is it that they have a plan for the next 3 years? Its a vague statement. Its evidence which is needed | |||
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"… and the leader of reform led Worcestershire county council quit the party live on the BBC today due to cuts and a potential 10% council tax rise" David Taylor is just a councillor, not the leader of the council. | |||
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"The new Reform led Council in Durham has received a glowing report from the independent Local Govt Association which identified “strong strategic direction and stability” within the new administration. Will you be voting Reform in the May elections, where you are still allowed to vote ? So what does 'strong strategic direction and stability' mean? Is it that they have a plan for the next 3 years? Its a vague statement. Its evidence which is needed" It's a statement from the independent LGA. | |||
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"There are some benefits to voting reform. I can finally kick the union out from my factory, then tell the workforce what is going to happen With a bit of luck protests will become unlawful, as they won't be protected by the ECHR, so anyone who goes on strike gets sacked." EHCR is part of the Good Friday Agreement so its going nowhere | |||
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"EHCR is part of the Good Friday Agreement so its going nowhere" The Good Friday Agreement only binds the UK to incorporate ECHR oversight into North Ireland law. The UK could easily leave the ECHR, and create a new NI law that states that ECHR rulings apply to Northern Ireland. | |||
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"EHCR is part of the Good Friday Agreement so its going nowhere The Good Friday Agreement only binds the UK to incorporate ECHR oversight into North Ireland law. The UK could easily leave the ECHR, and create a new NI law that states that ECHR rulings apply to Northern Ireland." Not as simple as that. International treaty between Ireland and UK. Both co guarantors of GFA. Equivalence has to be there between both jurisdictions. | |||
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"EHCR is part of the Good Friday Agreement so its going nowhere" "The Good Friday Agreement only binds the UK to incorporate ECHR oversight into North Ireland law. The UK could easily leave the ECHR, and create a new NI law that states that ECHR rulings apply to Northern Ireland." "Not as simple as that. International treaty between Ireland and UK. Both co guarantors of GFA. Equivalence has to be there between both jurisdictions." Nothing is ever simple in international agreements. But if Reform got in and then did what I said above, do you honestly think that Eire would abandon the Good Friday Agreement just because they didn't get to agree the new law in advance? | |||
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"EHCR is part of the Good Friday Agreement so its going nowhere The Good Friday Agreement only binds the UK to incorporate ECHR oversight into North Ireland law. The UK could easily leave the ECHR, and create a new NI law that states that ECHR rulings apply to Northern Ireland. Not as simple as that. International treaty between Ireland and UK. Both co guarantors of GFA. Equivalence has to be there between both jurisdictions. Nothing is ever simple in international agreements. But if Reform got in and then did what I said above, do you honestly think that Eire would abandon the Good Friday Agreement just because they didn't get to agree the new law in advance?" Its not a case of Ireland abandoning anything. A large section of the population of NI would not agree with it. And besides the agreement was put to the electorate of Ireland and NI to vote on. | |||
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"EHCR is part of the Good Friday Agreement so its going nowhere" "The Good Friday Agreement only binds the UK to incorporate ECHR oversight into North Ireland law. The UK could easily leave the ECHR, and create a new NI law that states that ECHR rulings apply to Northern Ireland." "Not as simple as that. International treaty between Ireland and UK. Both co guarantors of GFA. Equivalence has to be there between both jurisdictions." "Nothing is ever simple in international agreements. But if Reform got in and then did what I said above, do you honestly think that Eire would abandon the Good Friday Agreement just because they didn't get to agree the new law in advance?" "Its not a case of Ireland abandoning anything. A large section of the population of NI would not agree with it." Why would the population of Northern Ireland object to the Good Friday Agreement staying in place while the rest of the UK goes off in a different direction? "And besides the agreement was put to the electorate of Ireland and NI to vote on." And I'm not proposing to change the Agreement. Just change the route through which ECHR compliance is made. | |||
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"The ECHR is hard-baked in to the GFA. This means the ECHR is incorporated in to NI Law. . An alternative UK-only Bill of Rights would not be equivalent or acceptable. Consent from nationalists would be unlikely." I've cut most of your post because it's about how important oversight is, and I'm not proposing to change the oversight. You do realise that there's no such thing as International Law? The way these international agreements are implemented is that each member state writes their own domestic law that says they are subject to the outside authority. The UK is subject to the ECHR because we have have explicitly incorporated it into the Human Rights Act 1998. If we amend the Human Rights Act such that it only applies to Northern Ireland, nothing will have changed in the legislation that underpins the Good Friday Agreement. The citizens of NI will still have exactly the same protection by, and recourse to, the ECHR that they currently enjoy. | |||
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"The ECHR is hard-baked in to the GFA. This means the ECHR is incorporated in to NI Law. . An alternative UK-only Bill of Rights would not be equivalent or acceptable. Consent from nationalists would be unlikely. I've cut most of your post because it's about how important oversight is, and I'm not proposing to change the oversight. You do realise that there's no such thing as International Law? The way these international agreements are implemented is that each member state writes their own domestic law that says they are subject to the outside authority. The UK is subject to the ECHR because we have have explicitly incorporated it into the Human Rights Act 1998. If we amend the Human Rights Act such that it only applies to Northern Ireland, nothing will have changed in the legislation that underpins the Good Friday Agreement. The citizens of NI will still have exactly the same protection by, and recourse to, the ECHR that they currently enjoy." There certainly is such a thing as international law. . To claim otherwise is simply incorrect. . International law exists because countries sign treaties, which create binding obligations, which when breached trigger country-to-country proceedings. Treaties are registered with the UN. Courts like the ECHR issue binding judgements. If that isn't "International Law" then I don't know what is. . The ECHR is not dependent on the Human Rights Act 1998. The UK are bound by the European Convention on Human Rights because we ratified it in 1951. . If the HRA 1998 was somehow repealed tomorrow... - UK courts could no longer directly apply Convention rights - But you, me, and anyone else can still go to Strasbourg - The UK is still internationally bound and legally required to comply with Strasbourg judgements. . Basically, the treaty obligation survives repeal of the HRA. . The HRA *could* be amended to apply only in NI. Technically yes it could. Parliament is sovereign and can legislate as it wishes. However, if the HRA is repealed in England, Scotland and Wales, but retained in NI, then the following occurs. - Rights protection becomes territorially awkward - UK courts now apply different human rights frameworks - Devolution agreements face destabilisation - Scotland would demand parity In essence creating a constitutional fracture. . NI Unionists would argue NI is being treated differently. Nationalists would argue that protections are now politically fragile. Westminster signals to everyone that "rights commitments are conditional". . The bottom line is that if the UK left the ECHR it would breach the GFA. Ireland could initiate country-to-country proceedings. The UK would face diplomatic and legal consequences. . If the UK stayed in the ECHR, but limited the HRA to just NI, then the UK still remains treaty bound, NI retains protection, but constitutional symmetry across the UK breaks, and political instability would increase. . Thus "Nothing changes" is incorrect. Something changes in every scenario. . If Parliament repealed the HRA, that's not erasing law, it's increasing legal exposure. | |||
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"You do realise that there's no such thing as International Law? The way these international agreements are implemented is that each member state writes their own domestic law that says they are subject to the outside authority. The UK is subject to the ECHR because we have have explicitly incorporated it into the Human Rights Act 1998." "There certainly is such a thing as international law. . To claim otherwise is simply incorrect. . International law exists because countries sign treaties, which create binding obligations, which when breached trigger country-to-country proceedings. Treaties are registered with the UN. Courts like the ECHR issue binding judgements. If that isn't "International Law" then I don't know what is." I've cut your long list of contradictory and baseless assertions. As you've said above, 'international law' is just a bunch of agreements between countries. There's no International Legislature, no International Police, and no International Prison. Those agreements simply can't be enforced if a country decides to ignore them. All that other countries can do is tut disapprovingly. An example is the UK's refusal to allow prisoners to vote. A prisoner took this to the European Court of Human Rights (usually abbreviated as ECtHR), and won. But the UK refused to change the law. What happened next? Nothing at all, other than 13 years of discussions before the ECtHR closed the case. Yes, there are agreements between countries. Yes, we call that International Law because that's easy to understand. No, that doesn't make it actual law because there isn't an internationally applied legal framework to implement and enforce it. | |||
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" There certainly is such a thing as international law. . To claim otherwise is simply incorrect. . International law exists because countries sign treaties, which create binding obligations, which when breached trigger country-to-country proceedings. Treaties are registered with the UN. Courts like the ECHR issue binding judgements. If that isn't "International Law" then I don't know what is. " That's like saying that a contract between two people is a law. It isn't. There might be legal enforcement or rules agreed around contacts (depending on jurisdiction, etc.), but they are not laws in and of themselves, per se. Sovereign entities aren't really subject to any laws, except by convention, otherwise they wouldn't be sovereign -therefore they are voluntary and not laws. | |||
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"Worcestershire County Council (Reform) campaigned on a ticket of "discipline, efficiency and lower taxes", then asked for a £71 million bailout from the government and granted special permission to increase Council Tax by 9%. Slow hand-clap." I had a look at the facts behind this and it would appear Reform became the leaders of the council approx 8 months before the request was made for more money and a hike in council tax to 9%. The previous council had asked for 33 million and no increase in %. The reason Reform asked for the money was to allow it to continue to fulfil its social care obligations, which in Worcester's case, has risen dramatically with SEND being a key part of that extra funding need. You could read this as Reform campaigned on lower taxes and then increased them as soon as they came to power, or you could read it as Reform assessed the needs of the community and their obligations as a council and requested the correct amount funding support to maintain the services they are obliged to provide. | |||
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"Worcestershire County Council (Reform) campaigned on a ticket of "discipline, efficiency and lower taxes", then asked for a £71 million bailout from the government and granted special permission to increase Council Tax by 9%. Slow hand-clap. I had a look at the facts behind this and it would appear Reform became the leaders of the council approx 8 months before the request was made for more money and a hike in council tax to 9%. The previous council had asked for 33 million and no increase in %. The reason Reform asked for the money was to allow it to continue to fulfil its social care obligations, which in Worcester's case, has risen dramatically with SEND being a key part of that extra funding need. You could read this as Reform campaigned on lower taxes and then increased them as soon as they came to power, or you could read it as Reform assessed the needs of the community and their obligations as a council and requested the correct amount funding support to maintain the services they are obliged to provide. " It seems this is not restricted to one party or council according to the BBC report. Interestingly it mentions that to raise above 5% there should be a local referendum but the authorities have waived that requirement. The bit in the report reads: Most local councils are allowed to increase their share of tax bills by up to 5% - and must ask for residents' permission in a referendum before hiking it further. But the seven councils have been given permission to bust the cap without a referendum when bills land on residents' doormats in April. Three of them - Reform-controlled Worcestershire County Council, Liberal Democrat-controlled Shropshire and North Somerset, which is run by Lib Dem-led coalition - are likely to increase bills by 9%. Authorities in Trafford and Warrington - both Labour controlled - and Lib Dem-led Windsor and Maidenhead have been allowed to raise their share of council tax by up to 7.5%. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, which is run by a Lib Dem-led coalition, can raise its share by up to 6.75% | |||
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"It is the excessive SEND provision causing problems across the country. Why is there such an increase in diagnosis and cost? It is either over diagnosis (quite likely as parents push for a diagnosis as it gets extra help and absolves them from responsibility) or there must be an environmental factor - I suspect diet, gaming or social media (or a combination of all) coupled with poor parenting." Or because people in the past suffered through undiagnosed and poorly or misunderstood conditions; we now understand better but haven't yet figured out a solution that balances outcomes and affordability. There is definitely abuse of process and wasteful overspending in individual cases, but there is also a genuine need that is not being fulfilled in thousands of cases. Some of it is definitely people making things the problems of others. And blaming things like technology or social changes is about as fruitful as blaming nature for weather phenomenon. | |||
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"It is the excessive SEND provision causing problems across the country. Why is there such an increase in diagnosis and cost? It is either over diagnosis (quite likely as parents push for a diagnosis as it gets extra help and absolves them from responsibility) or there must be an environmental factor - I suspect diet, gaming or social media (or a combination of all) coupled with poor parenting. Or because people in the past suffered through undiagnosed and poorly or misunderstood conditions; we now understand better but haven't yet figured out a solution that balances outcomes and affordability. There is definitely abuse of process and wasteful overspending in individual cases, but there is also a genuine need that is not being fulfilled in thousands of cases. Some of it is definitely people making things the problems of others. And blaming things like technology or social changes is about as fruitful as blaming nature for weather phenomenon." Or perhaps the definition of “normal” should be widened so that people are not stigmatised for not being within the tightly bound central area? | |||
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" Or perhaps the definition of “normal” should be widened so that people are not stigmatised for not being within the tightly bound central area?" Apparently, we can't say "normal" anymore 
It's not about stigma. In terms of council responsibility, it's about the support that people need to live in dignity and become productive members of society. | |||
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"Not allowed to vote (councils merging) but Reform will definately get mine at the next one." Same here 👍 | |||
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"EHCR is part of the Good Friday Agreement so its going nowhere The Good Friday Agreement only binds the UK to incorporate ECHR oversight into North Ireland law. The UK could easily leave the ECHR, and create a new NI law that states that ECHR rulings apply to Northern Ireland. Not as simple as that. International treaty between Ireland and UK. Both co guarantors of GFA. Equivalence has to be there between both jurisdictions. Nothing is ever simple in international agreements. But if Reform got in and then did what I said above, do you honestly think that Eire would abandon the Good Friday Agreement just because they didn't get to agree the new law in advance? Its not a case of Ireland abandoning anything. A large section of the population of NI would not agree with it. Why would the population of Northern Ireland object to the Good Friday Agreement staying in place while the rest of the UK goes off in a different direction? And besides the agreement was put to the electorate of Ireland and NI to vote on. And I'm not proposing to change the Agreement. Just change the route through which ECHR compliance is made." Farage has said on many occassions, if he gets into power, we will leave the ECHR and deal with the immigrant issue immediately. Nowhere did he article 11 will be stiil in place, this protects unions and your right to protest. Nor did he say anything about the GFA. Be interesting to see what would happen if they do get in power. | |||
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"Farage has said on many occassions, if he gets into power, we will leave the ECHR and deal with the immigrant issue immediately. Nowhere did he article 11 will be stiil in place, this protects unions and your right to protest." You keep posting this. What has Farage or Reform said that leads to to believe that they will outlaw trade unions? | |||
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"Farage has said on many occassions, if he gets into power, we will leave the ECHR and deal with the immigrant issue immediately. Nowhere did he article 11 will be stiil in place, this protects unions and your right to protest. You keep posting this. What has Farage or Reform said that leads to to believe that they will outlaw trade unions?" Trade unions are protected by the Employment Rights Act 2025, Trade Union Act 2016 and TULRCA 1992, not just the ECHR | |||
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