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Reply | Sir Lenny Henry
at 22:09 8 Oct 2025
I think we can all accept that some pretty abhorrent things happened during the slave trade era , but this suggestion of suing for £17tn in reparations is in my opinion crackers. We aren’t responsible for what happened over the last 500 years ago in the same way the citizens of today’s Germany aren’t responsible for WWI or what happened afterwards. Over and above that, where on earth would we get £17tn even if we were minded to pay it!
What I do disagree with was when slavery was abolished “we” compensated the slave owners - totally and utterly wrong imho. I travelled to a number of Caribbean islands last year and some of them are very poor and run down - far from the idyllic places we see on tv. I’ve no issue with helping the countries in the Caribbean etc with debt relief, economic development and education and we can express remorse for what happened, but I think that’s as far as we can go.
Just imagine some Papa Doc type coming in to a trillion or two, I reckon we all know where a good chunk of that cash would end up !!!! [Post edited 8 Oct 23:22]
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Reply | Russell Martin - Rangers ...
at 21:44 6 Oct 2025
One of my sons has a mate who’s a sports journo down on the South Coast, he’s had dealings with Russel Martin and reckons he’s a really tidy guy. |
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Reply | Broken Records
at 22:23 5 Oct 2025
Have the original Rawhide on a 45 somewhere in the house, it was a favourite of my fathers back in the day. |
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Reply | People on promenades on high winds
at 16:52 5 Oct 2025
It’s very reckless and selfish, if anyone gets swept to the sea they’re going to expect the RNLI to put themselves at risk to come in and rescue them - absolute morons.
I was working down in Pendine a few years ago when they has massive spring tides and storms, the number of people who went far too close to the ferocious waves and put themselves in danger was staggering, I’m a public spirited citizen and would do my bit to help someone, but I wouldn’t go in a stormy sea to try and pull someone out.
I was out in Normandy doing a tour of the D Day beaches few years ago with the family when we saw a commotion in a rough sea, we weren’t sure if the gendarmes who were were in a dinghy were on an exercise or whether they were looking for someone. Subsequently found out it was the latter when we saw them pulling out a 60/70 year old guy out of the sea. They started doing CPR on the beach, but it was to no avail. My eldest and I were first aiders and he was a a qualified life guard we offered to help, but they declined our assistance. May not have been a bad thing tbh. Will never forget that incident. |
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Reply | Major incident Manchester
at 23:12 3 Oct 2025
Yesterday’s incident featured quite heavily on today’s Jeremy Vine show, listening to the speakers was very moving.
One of the guests/speakers was a Rabbi who explained that Israel is a very divided country and that was something I wasn’t aware of it because it doesn’t get a lot of coverage here, Netanyahu’s government only attracts round 50% of the population’s support and there are regular protests taking place about whats happening in Gaza. He ( the Rabbi) also made the point that what’s happening in Gaza has very little to do with most British Jews, it’s an Israeli issue taking part under a different government the other side of the Mediterranean. The Rabbi also said that he had a good relationship with many in his local Islamic community. After the Rabbi spoke, an official from a Muslim group in Brighton who have been protesting about the events in Gaza spoke, he stated that before last night's protest the protesting group had held a minutes silence as a mark of respect, he also said that the protests they organise are peaceful protests and that they actually have Jewish people protesting alongside them as they don’t agree with what’s taking place in Gaza present.
What was clear is that Jewish people living in the U.K. feel threatened and unsafe and that is completely unacceptable. Britain is a tolerant democratic secular society and people should be free to live their lives without fear of violence regardless of race or religion. If people can’t live by these values then they need to go (that’s the polite expression) somewhere else to live. [Post edited 4 Oct 10:01]
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Reply | Tory Peer Michelle Mone
at 10:39 2 Oct 2025
Should be made to pay it back from their own pocket, they’re loaded. |
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Reply | New guidelines for NHS Doctors
at 18:48 1 Oct 2025
The system for booking appointments varies from surgery to surgery, some have the online portal and others don’t. A lot of the GP practices are private companies or partnerships that are contracted to provide the service and outside the direct control of the Health Boards. |
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Reply | The Reform Party Conference
at 22:42 30 Sep 2025
Why am I not surprised there’s not much traction of connections between Reform and some of the Russians in the main stream media. If this was Starmer with a Russian spymasters wife there’d be ructions.
These connections should concern us. |
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Reply | Ex Reform Wales and UKIP MEP pleads guilty to Russian bribery Charge.
at 09:57 30 Sep 2025
There were also sorts of claims about Russia channeling cash in to the pro Brexit movement to sow discord and I think a few influencers were identified as being involved, but it’s clear what the Russians have been doing goes a lot further.
Wasn’t aware Farage had trousered fees from appearing on Russia Today.
I think the business of the Russians paying off people is much wider than Gill and it we need to be alert to it. I hope Gill gets a serious stretch of porridge. |
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Reply | The most dangerous roads in Wales
at 22:46 27 Sep 2025
I’m not sure that it has fewer 20mph speed limits tbh, I travel extensively throughout Carmarthenshire and from what I can see they have really gone to town with the 20mph speed limit, they’ve been over zealous with their application of the guidance, even after we’ve had the revised criteria for 20mph limits they’ve only increased the limit in 4 places.
The A48 is a very busy road and it’s the main artery for vehicles traveling into and from West Wales. Go Safe have a number of speed enforcement sites along the A48 and they seem to be there with their vans all the time, one of the main issues with the A48 and is that a lot of the entrance and exit points are minor roads and lanes and people don’t judge the speed of approaching traffic very well, entering a 70mph road from a standstill can be tricky. It doesn’t help that the road wasn’t designed to carry the level of traffic that it does, the roundabout at Pont Abraham is very busy and wasn’t designed to deal with the number of cars that it does hence the traffic lights. The roundabout at Cross Hands is an absolute nightmare, there are 6 different entrance points and the lane lay out is awful, there are always collisions here.
The A40 between Carmarthen and St Clears has a couple of nasty cross overs and the Meidrim turn off is an accident black spot.
The WG need to close off some of the cross overs and entrances (like they did at Cwmgwili) because they are just too dangerous.
It’s doesn’t help that there’s not a lot of public transport in the rural areas. I know that some of the older drivers living in the rural areas wouldn’t be driving if they lived in towns - I spoke to be woman last year who was as blind as a bat and she shouldn’t have been anywhere near a car, a farmer mate of mine had to speak to the police on the qt to get them to deal with a relative who wouldn’t stop driving because they were so concerned. In the country quite a few people feel they don’t have a choice other than to drive because if they don’t drive they are cut off.
Drink and drug drive is also an issue. [Post edited 27 Sep 22:54]
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Reply | Balance between net contributors and net recipients
at 22:15 27 Sep 2025
That’s a fair point.
The governments commitment to build more houses is much needed, but I think the 1.5m target is very optimistic and there are significant hurdles which need to be overcome for that goal.
I’m not sure that the houses the big developers are building are affordable, one of the major developers has a new development down our way and the starting price for the smallest houses is £230,000 - that’s about 7 times the gross median wage in Wales.
Some of the big companies have massive “land banks” - sites with planning permission which are just being sat on and not developed. Maybe government should look at changing the law to prevent this and to ensure sites are developed within x amount of time or the planning permission lapses.
There are also a lot of empty properties some of which have fallen in to disrepair, why not try to support young people through the buying and renovation process through grants which are low interest, but have to be repaid. Another option would be to give members of the public a 1 off tax break to buy, renovate and sell a property by enhancing the CGT allowance. I appreciate this may potentially put more wealth in the hands of the rich but if people were given an incentive to renovate and then sell a property, it could kick start building and the supply chain, if expenditure has to be evidenced then it could reduce cash in hand work as receipts would be required etc etc. A one off opportunity for people so serial developers can’t benefit could do a lot of good. Also increasing the council tax due on empty properties could encourage people to move property on. |
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Reply | Balance between net contributors and net recipients
at 17:50 27 Sep 2025
I remember Blair doing that. The government has its own experts, but they may have a limited perspective based on their role, so having a wider perspective may make things better and fairer. It’s just a thought because politicians and their advisors haven’t exactly done a sterling job over the last 40 years. |
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Reply | Balance between net contributors and net recipients
at 22:03 26 Sep 2025
Get some really top accountants and experts together to form some kind of national working party several working parties and give them the brief of simplifying the tax code, close loop holes, even the burden out, encourage and reward enterprise and see what they come up with.
Got to be worth a shout. |
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Reply | Energy debt
at 19:55 26 Sep 2025
I got the below from AI. It doesn’t help that the idiots in Westminster (previous governments not this one) allowed our gas storage site at Rough Field to close meaning that we have next to no ability to build up large reserves of gas and are therefore reliant on LNG at market rates, which in winter time can be very expensive, whereas a number of our European neighbours are building up their reserves on the cheap in the summer ready for winter. We’ve been led by people with no strategic long term vision and it’s left us vulnerable.
AI answers
There is no single country with the consistently highest energy costs, as it depends on whether you're looking at industrial or residential prices and the timeframe. However, the United Kingdom often ranks highest for industrial electricity prices and has very high residential electricity costs, partly due to its island infrastructure, energy policies, and reliance on more expensive imported LNG after the Russia-Ukraine crisis. In some developing nations, such as the Solomon Islands, while prices may be high in absolute terms, the cost of energy can become a crippling proportion of a household's income [Post edited 26 Sep 19:56]
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Reply | Energy debt
at 19:22 26 Sep 2025
The 12% is for the utilities only.
I reckon the £500m is right on the bottom of the scale, over the entire uk I wouldn’t be surprised if it was billions. |
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Reply | Balance between net contributors and net recipients
at 19:15 26 Sep 2025
I think Gordon Brown’s intention was to support the most vulnerable and worst off, but like a lot of well intentioned things it’s gone awry.
People are playing the system for their own ends, I know people who work 16 hours because it doesn’t impact on their benefits when they are perfectly capable of doing a full 37.5 hours like a lot of us do.
One of the problems we have is that politicians and their advisors who form policy just haven’t got a clue about what’s going on in the real world. |
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Reply | Are Plaid going to win the Senedd vote next year ?
at 23:41 25 Sep 2025
Labour have cooked their own goose, the 20mph speed limit, increase in the number of AM’s, Vaughan Gething’s donation and for many people the failure to sort out the Brynglas tunnels just grates people.
I genuinely believe that some of the ills we’re experiencing were / are beyond the control of the Senedd and are more attributable to Westminster (primarily funding when age and social deprivation factors are taken account of) BUT at the end of the day the AM’s and Labour have to face the music because they’ve come up short!
I am sure there are people who will disagree with me, while I am keen on conservation, preserving the environment etc but I recognise we also need to have economic development so we can improve standards of living, reduce poverty etc etc. I genuinely believe Boris offer to build a relief road around Newport was BS and a ploy, but Drakers should have bitten his hand off when Boris made the offer and called his bluff. Failure to do that and build a new road around Newport is my biggest beef. |
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Reply | Digital ID cards Starmer’s latest harebrained scheme
at 23:27 25 Sep 2025
They don’t need ID cards to do that because it’s far too slow and ponderous. For some time South Wales Police have been at the forefront facial recognition development in the U.K. They have their own cameras and they can also route 3rd party cctv systems through their facial recognition systems to identify offenders and suspects. They can ID and detain suspects before they get anywhere near a turnstile. |
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