Government want to look at disability bank accounts to see what we are spending on: this is not good for us autistic.

Yeah but those who live at the edge of the IQ  bellcurve tend to lack EQ so it all evens out...

Unless you believe that having a higher intelligence automatically elevates one, over other people.

That Idea of course is pure racism amongst it's other failures, based on even the most cursory viewing of the IQ statistics by country...  

There’s headlines about record profits in energy companies just now but that comes after many years of truly appalling shareholder returns.

One of the worst buys I ever made was right at the start of my investing career about 15 years ago. I bought shares in Shell and BP because on paper they looked like money printing machines.

But BP shares crashed after the oil spill in the Caribbean so I dumped them. My Shell shares gradually lost value which wasn’t mitigated by the dividends. It’s only in the last year that the Shell shares have yielded a return for me but I’d have done at least as well just putting the money in a bank account for the last 15 years.

But these things are all learning experiences, and you’re right it is at least a useful interest.

Anyway, I’m venturing into the office tomorrow for the first time in a while so I’d better get to bed so I can lie worrying about it all night.

Good debating with you all tonight

Good night.

I'll take Rayner, although I had high hopes for Starmer too when he came in, sadly disappointed.

Right, I'd best go to bed, got to take the boy to school in the morning since my husband is just out of hospital from cardiac surgery!

I like Zarah but it'll be difficult for her to make any leadership ballot.  I think either Rayner or Burnham will become Labour leader after Starmer.  I'm an optimist though.

They're not left enough for me at the moment, nor as commited to the environment as I would like. But again, better than the alternative.

Who would you have instead? I'm based in Coventry and we have Zarah Sultana, she seems to be pretty decent, and could be one to watch in a few years.

I agree, the stance of most of the political system in this country has disgusted me recently. The hypocrisy from all sides after everything with Ukraine. I had made me think less of them.

Keir has the morals of an alleycat. He also lied to Labour Party members about what he was going to do as leader.  I pray for the day he no longer leads my party.

Hey, I won't knock it, mine is birds and philosophy. Yours can at least be useful.

There's too many headlines about record profits then, even the energy companies, although perhaps that's multinationals.

A human rights lawyer that won’t criticise the bombardment of 2 million civilians in direct contradiction of international law, although I do agree with you.

I prefer the centre to the Right but I also prefer the Left to the centre.

I'll take a noted human rights lawyer over a billionaire hedge fund banker. Starmer has his faults but there are far worse people to be in charge. Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak for example. Oh, wait...

Most UK companies really aren’t passing on much in the way of value to shareholders and profits are generally not high. Shareholders won’t invest in companies if there are better rewards elsewhere. These are just financial realities.

(I speak as someone who has the very dull special interest of finance and investing in stocks and funds).

Increasing minimum wage to a living wage could easily be covered by the vast majority of companies without it impacting the cost of the product/service if the higher ups and shareholders didn't expect quite so much in terms of bonuses, dividends and profits. As an example, a friend worked in a local shop that served food and drink, she worked out how much it cost them to make a cup of tea, it was 5p. Take a guess at how much they charged the customers for that cup of tea.

Prices have been inflated by years of companies wringing as much profit as they can out of even the simplest things. That's capitalism that's caused that, not socialism.

That's the key isn't it? Personally I can't stand Starmer but he is certainly less worse than the Conservative Party in my eyes.

You're only looking at what you see as Labour's lies. You're not mentioning the Tory ones at all. And they're just as destructive and targeted, if not more so.

So more education all round will lead to a more informed voter who can make an informed choice. Personally, I'd hope that more people would then vote for policies that support the whole of society rather than just their specific subset but I tend hope for the best in people.

Also, trickle down economics has been categorically proven to be a failure in terms of spreading the wealth through society. Instead it leaves a small number of individuals with a massively disproportionate amount of money. Money which they don't pay tax on because they have ways to completely avoid it. So that's rubbish.

And yes, austerity, and other economic policies are obviously universal, it's the implementation of them that is questionable. As theories they have their uses, but it's how and when that is often the problem.

In my 21 years living in Labour dominated Manchester councils, I would not put anything past Labour, as they have always wanted to push through these 1984 style dystopian policies for years while also pushing through “one size fits all” for disabled people, refusing to understand anything while insisting and demanding that disabled people comply and “just stop your nonsense and just be like everyone else” 

id rather keep more of my money at the moment, especially if they want to combat the cost of living crisis then they need to allow us to keep more of our money. 

increasing minimum wage all the time doesnt fix it as by increasing minimum wage the companies and productions have to add all the extra wage costs onto the products, and this is what causes inflation.... keep increasing minimum wage and you will keep increasing inflation. this again is another thing people should be educated on to understand. like a basic food chain but economics.

the gov then needs to prove it can spend efficiently with the less tax it gets... and when it proves it and has learned to make more use out of less tax then and only then can a tax increase actually be effective so long as they dont fail to use it efficiently when it raises. 

yeah education on politics is perhaps needed if everyones gonna stick their hand into it anyway.

it swings both ways though... do people think the tories created austerity? if they learned politics they realise its just a thing thats always existed in every single country, eu nations enact austerity right now... its a balancing of the books, it isnt a tory creation... it dates back as far as rome and its a needed thing at times.

this education can destroy the fanaticism and hate and wrong cult hatred ideas.

people can see things for what it is... take tax, if you cut tax on businesses your not just giving mates a back hander as labour voters say.... the goal of tax easing on the wealth is a goal to steal high end tax payers from other countries so they pay tax here instead... so there shouldnt be anger in these things but understanding of why these things are a thing... its not cheating or giving themselves a hand job, its another purpose to try raise funds and attract more higher end people over to increase the amount of tax revenue in the end.

education on politics as you see might end up destroying alot of the labour spread hatred as i just pointed out here. not that im supporting the tories, but the labour party have done this alot where they want to be elected so badly that they have spread all this fake stuff and outrage over social media that with education youd see it for what it is and youd see the policy for its real intent..... although i dont get the cut on inheritance tax... that one is a bit sketchy, but perhaps i need a explanation on that one, is it to keep our dying rich people from just leaving to spain or andorra before they die to avoid inheritance tax here?