Comments by "Mark Welch" (@markwelch3564) on "The New Statesman" channel.

It's almost like selling everything to the highest bidder has consequences...
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I think the point around 15:00 is the heart of it. When there's a revoloving door between the party machines and the press, and they all turn up to each other's weddings, it really undermines the press as an institution holding government to account!
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Being even more deregulatory than Elon Musk is insane and terrifying!
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Which in true financial crash style, will just delay it at the cost of making it more disastrous when it does happen
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 @joaniesimpson2016 probably both
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@kanedNunable but we're already in the "propping up" phase. Next comes the "running out of schemes for propping it up" phase
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 @andybrice2711 while the government does have to step in to fix the infrastructure, I see no reason why the government has to inherit private debt
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@andrewwalsh2755 free movement wasn't that big a deal in overall migration. Immigration has actually gone up since we left FoM
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@Tim Murphy They wouldn't all join the same party though - if the current Conservative Party collapses, people like David Gauke are going to go in a different direction to people like Suella Braverman I see this as a very good thing!
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@sciencefliestothemoon2305 Directly? Never But he lobbies hard for minimal regulation. If he thinks something needs big government, he must be terrified of it!
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@andybrice2711 if it became a free for all, that would indeed be a bad thing However I see no chaos if it's limited to critical infrastructure mismanaged to the point of failure. Why should the taxpayer pay twice for the incompetence of Thames Water's management?
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@andybrice2711 but it's not government debt, that's my whole point You don't get to be a private company when times are good, then nationalise when you screw up. They own that debt, not us I am happy to give them market value for the assets though, as long as that value reflects the condition they're in
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@StuartQuinn vote green and encourage others to do so Voting green won't get a Green candidate - until the point when it tips over, and we will Even if you don't win, it tells Labour where they need to change policy if they want to pick up swing voters. That is powerful, even if you don't get a Green MP
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@Gary H I will always dispute the 50 year estimate. Postwar Germany didn't need 50 years. Can't see why we'll need more time, when we are recovering from a less grim mistake
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@sciencefliestothemoon2305 he did have to get used to it, which isn't the same thing as liking it!
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@steveosborne2297 higher capital gains
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You volunteering?
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You'd assume taking on the Conservatives makes more sense. One of the strongest criticisms of the LibDems is the coalition period, and taking on the Conservatives would clearly show they aren't going there again
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Depends on the field - for example, sheep grazing can share a field with raised solar panels without any issues
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@Matthijs Lenaerts there's also the elephant in the room, that the UK and Canada are rather different countries. Trading bulk grain shipments from the Albertan and Saskatchewan prairies is very different to selling small, specialised manufactured goods!
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@Jonathan Gammond becoming a completely different country sounds like a win to me!
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@Richard B some of one, some of the other. There are definitely people out there who voted Leave,but now no longer believe the promises made in 2016
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More than that, we need to move away from the two party system. Politics as football match is a big part of the problem
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@michaelcoward1902 he does have the same vibe as an arsonist talking about fire safety
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@MFK we weren't insignificant, but a lot of our influence was soft power. We had friends, and were trusted to be bridge builders in a conflicted room. The last 7 years have been undermining the very thing that gave us influence
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@jasonkingshott2971 democracy happened?
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Agreed. I want other parties who I can respectfully disagree with, and that is no longer true of the Conservatives, as I know there will be no respect given back
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@kaywhy245 We made laws in the EU. We weren't the passive dependent you paint us out to be
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That 19% gets nurses back to pay levels they had under Labour. Aren't the Tories supposed to be good with the economy? Why can't the Tories afford what Labour could?
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@robertbarrett2494 lacking both common sense and empathy
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Sad thing is, it's both true, and yet still will be a welcome relief from the current lot
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 @oneukum wasn't Rutte a bit Thatcherish too?
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If you don't like the top level management, vote for a better one!
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@royboy565 indeed 🙂
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Um, no? Trade deals are rewritten all the time. Usually modest, incremental changes to reflect the changes in the underlying economies over time, but bigger changes are possible and entirely normal if the circumstances justify it
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@Simon Frost Financially things will probably be slower, fair point Don't see why we have to be culturally isolated for decades though, and cultural connections will create financial links, although not as quickly as something like the Marshall plan!
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Then let's have an election and put your assertion to the test!
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@jasonkingshott2971 there's only one place in Europe with toxic rivers of poo!
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@opencommentsbbcnewsnight1704 not copied, except for Mercosur, which is very much inspired by the EU...
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@Tim Murphy a lot of that was residual support - if you don't follow politics, you wouldn't know anything had changed on the back benches and in the committee rooms The difference isn't so quiet anymore, and would be impossible to ignore if the party actually split. People who stayed Tory out of habit will have to get off the fence
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 @charlesbruggmann7909 she fit right in though - I guess prep schools aren't the only source of entitled idiots, but regardless of source,we should stop electing them!
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I think the case has been made for deeper electoral changes. Two big parties digging in against each other doesn't end well, as we are seeing now
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@rexiioper6920 there isn't much to see. The Tories have already dipped their hand in!
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Starmer is a windsock. Whatever the focus groups and polls tell him, he does. The idea of creating his own narrative is utterly alien to him
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@ROY BOY you mean your life hasn't been fundamentally changed for the better, now you don't need lawnmower insurance?
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@Rexii Oper sadly we did it backwards, we left the EU and gave the Tories a massive parliamentary majority. Should have stayed in the EU and booted out the Tories!
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