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Ms Bernfeld'Try being black for a minute. Seeing your local youth club closed down, your library, the local swimming pool, your school playing fields sold off, etc., etc., and no hope of a decent education to give you a good, well-paying job.  It takes huge impetus to haul yourself out of these inner-city ghettoes - could you all do it?  I doubt it'.Could you state where these ghettoes are especially in London ?Do 'blacks' suffer from the closures etc that you describe more so than their 'white' neighbours ?In which part of London are 'blacks' given 'no hope of a decent education to give you a good, well-paying job' ?And if that were so would it not also apply to their 'white' neighbours ?'I am not Jewish, but you can see from my Austrian name that I could be. I currently live in Germany and have suffered anti-semitic discrimination because of my name (a long time ago admittedly)'.Perhaps you should spend some time back in your house in Putney and keep up to date with what is happening in the UK with regard to ethnic identity politics.Many British Jews are fearful of and some have suffered from anti-semitism.But not in the main from 'white' British citizens but from 'brown' Islamists supporting the Palestinian cause.And as for the issue of transgenderism and children, I think many are sympathetic to those who genuinely feel their identity does not conform unambiguously to conventional ideas of male or female gender and its correspondence to their sex.What they are concerned about is how children who experience this conflict are cared for as possibly it represents nothing more than yet another problem to be faced in the process of 'growing up'.In the last UK census, it was reported that around 262,000 people in England and Wales, which is about 0.5% of the adult population, had a gender identity different from their sex registered at birth.Though perhaps disturbing for them, hardly a major national issue.'I'm sure you don't want to hear what Europeans think and say about Brexit!'I would actually because from what I read many French, Italian and even German citizens are not at all satisfied with how their lives are influenced by an unelected EU Commission that can override what they elected their national governments to enact on their behalf.I am sure to these people Brexit might well seem attractive !

John Hawkes ● 372d

This is my general observations on the debate so far. Firstly, Donald Trump and his cheerleader and hanger-on Nigel Farage. They would like you to think that the world was 'safer' when Donald was President - try telling that to my young Ukrainian friend whose parents hid her in the cellar for 4 months to hide her from the Russian soldiers outside. She couldn't stand up the ceiling was so low and she was frightened all the time. When she cries because her parents refused to leave their village (E of Kharkiv) because they didn't want to abandon their small farm and its animals, and are now again in mortal danger, tell her that Donald will give "not a penny more to Ukraine" to defend itself from the murdering invaders sent by his friend Putin. Tell it to the pretty young mother, with her toddler daughter, and her grandmother, who were in my house when a Ukraine-wide air-raid alert was sounded and the mobiles of their husbands (father & grandfather) didn't respond. When I said don't worry they'll be in the Metro, they said that's worse because Putin bombs those and they will be entombed.  I could go on.... I know many more Ukrainians who want to go home, have lost everything, and fear for their loved ones.  Good old Nigel and Donald - nothing to see here!! Try telling it to European citizens who fear they will be next if Donald is able to help 'friend' Putin....  NATO is a defensive alliance, and always has been, so nice to think Donald will have his finger on the nuclear button if Putin invades another country - not.Illegal immigration: Donald wants to "drill, baby, drill" so you can expect the "tsunami" of migrants fleeing war, famine & drought in the southern hemisphere, which Suella Bravermann ironically rightly referenced, to increase dramatically as the climate catastrophe unfolds. Oh, but Reform UK & Donald don't believe in science do they? (Donald thinks windmills cause cancer, and that injecting bleach and shining lights up his bottom protects against Covid infection.  A very "stable genius" indeed). Reform UK parrots the same climate balderdash. Donald we know is stupid, but Nigel we think is not. So why?  Power is why, and the voters are their stooges for believing this suicidal misinformation.  Transgender children: this is another Republican culture-war scam.  Children are born transgender, or not. It is an imbalance which cannot be taught!!! If you ask a transgender child if they wished they were like all the other kids, I can guess what they'd answer. And children (who are only little people after all) are designed by nature to be sexual beings - nature wants to propogate the species - hence female puberty is early. Unfortunate but true - we've all been though it.The term Globalist: used alot by Trump and Reform UK. I read it is an anti-semitic trope referencing a 'secret cabal of rich Jews controlling the world' (George Soros for instance, who is merely a philanthropist millionaire). I am not Jewish, but you can see from my Austrian name that I could be. I currently live in Germany and have suffered anti-semitic discrimination because of my name (a long time ago admittedly), but I wonder if you Reform UK supporters ever have, or know what it feels like. Try being black for a minute. Seeing your local youth club closed down, your library, the local swimming pool, your school playing fields sold off, etc., etc., and no hope of a decent education to give you a good, well-paying job.  It takes huge impetus to haul yourself out of these inner-city ghettoes - could you all do it?  I doubt it.Brexit:  Words fail me. Are there people still who thought that was a good idea?I am a homeowner in Putney and lived there for many years. I'm sure you don't want to hear what Europeans think and say about Brexit!

Ellen Bernfeld ● 373d

I am puzzled by your post. The key question is whether  the West should give in to nuclear blackmail by Russia. Your response , ‘A strong defence is often the best deterrent to war’ seems to indicate a view that NATO should resolutely oppose Putin’s belligerent stance towards his neighbours in Eastern Europe. But this resolute approach is contradicted by your apparent view that defence policy in the West is  conducted by warmongers who would allow a million people to die.  Which is it?  Are you in favour of standing up to Russia or giving in to Putin’s demands?Peter Hitchens apparently shares Putin’s view that the West is responsible for  the conflict in Ukraine by using the Ukrainians to weaken Russia. I don’t agree. In the first place  this interpretation ignores the fact that millions of Ukrainians  want to live in a sovereign democracy rather than as vassals of a  gangster state run by an elected dictator who  wants to reconstitute the Russian Empire. And who can blame the Ukrainians? In the second place, it was not Ukraine who attacked Russia but Russia who invaded Ukraine. In recommending Peter Hitchens’ views you seem to imply that the West should withdraw its support for Ukraine.  Is that what you believe? The  ‘militarisation of Taiwan ‘ is a biased way of describing Taiwan’s efforts to defend itself from  Chinese aggression. Are you suggesting that America should simply allow China to invade? Perhaps you don’t care one way or another as ‘British interests’ are not involved. In my opinion this is a very short-sighted view. I don’t think the world  becomes a safer place by allowing China or Russia to threaten democracies.

Steven Rose ● 374d

The "West" estimates half a million Russian casualties and other sources estimate half a million Ukrainian casualties.Even allowing for exaggeration on both sides these are very high numbers."Nato is not an offensive alliance."Point of fact: It has carried out offensive operations.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NATO_operationshttps://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/sede/dv/sede200312natooperationsmissions_/sede200312natooperationsmissions_en.pdf"Is it your view that the West should always give in to nuclear blackmail?"A strong defence is the often the best deterrent to war.Unfortunately defence budgets have been cut under both Conservative & Labour Party while at the same time they have been preparing for war.A completely stupid policy of cutting defence at the same time of poking the bear!What idiot would do such a thing?Both Labour & Conservative under invested in energy making us vulnerable to tit for tat sanctions.Again what idiot would do such a thing?AS for the whole Ukraine conflict history please see Peter Hitchens articles on the subject."Do you think America should withdraw its forces from the Pacific and allow China to invade Taiwan?"I think the militarisation of Taiwan may lead to an invasion by China.But where is the British interest in these questions?Of course if we admit that we are just another satellite state of the US then at least we can negotiate good trade terms.Until then one wonders why we lock up and torture political prisoners on the behalf of the US. Where do you stand on the illegal rendition flights that transported people through the UK under the Blair administration?Should we be an independent nation - "take back control" or should we hide our history (Turin/Flowers) to appease the US?

Ed Robinson ● 374d

From: MONEY WEEKWhat Reform UK policies could be in its manifesto?As with the other political parties, we do not know when Reform UK will be launching its manifesto. But we have had some clues about what it could contain thanks to what it calls its ‘contract’ with voters.The party’s main policy looks likely to be a pledge to get net migration down to zero. If this happened, the number of people arriving in the UK would not exceed the number of people leaving the country.Given the various Conservative governments we’ve had over the past 14 years have offered to bring net migration down in different ways - and with the numbers having gone up in recent years - this target appears to be implausible.Reform UK personal finance pledgesIn terms of its main financial priorities, Reform says it wants to “cut taxes to make work pay”. Should it make it into government, it says its first priority would be to lift the income tax personal allowance threshold from £12,570 to £20,000. Doing so would free up to seven million people from paying the tax and would save the average worker £1,500, it claims. It also wants to see the higher rate kick in from a threshold of £70,000, instead of the current £50,270.The party also wants to scrap VAT on energy bills and lower fuel duty by 20p per litre. Reform also wants the 0% stamp duty threshold to be raised to £750,000, with a rate of 2% for properties priced between this figure and £1.5m, and 4% for anything above £1.5m.It also wants to abolish inheritance tax for all estates valued below £2m, and apply a 20% rate to anything above this figure - unless the money is given to charity. It claims two million tourists have been put off coming to the UK by the country’s VAT tourist tax, denying the economy £10bn. So, it wants this tax abolished too.Reform says these policies would cost £70bn per year. This figure would be paid for by the £91bn a year it believes it can free up by slashing what it calls “government waste”.It claims £30bn to £40bn of this total would come from putting a halt to the Bank of England paying out interest to commercial banks on its quantitative easing reserves. It also reckons £50bn could be saved if every public sector manager was forced to find £5 in savings for every £100 of spending, and through the scrapping of “dozens” of arms-length public bodies. It believes these savings can be achieved without affecting frontline services.Reform UK pension and tax aimsReform UK has also outlined its likely prospectus for reforming pensions and taxes. For the former, it suggests it wants to adopt a pensions system akin to that of Australia. It says the UK’s current system is “riddled with complexity, huge cost and poor returns”. This part of its manifesto is, as present, uncosted.Tax reforms the party is targeting include slashing corporation tax to 20% and then cutting it to 15% before the end of the next government’s five-year term. Reform also suggested it wants to slash the UK tax code from 21,000 pages to somewhere closer to Hong Kong’s 500-page tax code. The party hasn’t outlined the specifics of how it would do so.Other pledges the party has made include reforming the planning system so that home building can be accelerated - particularly in the north and in poorer coastal areas. It also wants to bring in 20% tax relief on private school fees to incentivise those who can afford to send their kids to private school to do so, thus reducing pressure on state schools.In its own version of the Conservatives’ war on ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees, Reform says it wants to scrap interest on student loans and extend loan capital repayment periods to a period of 45 years. It said it would be able to achieve this by restricting undergraduate numbers “well below current levels” and and enforcing minimum entry standards.

Sue Hammond ● 383d