What is that "mate" of mine Sadiq Khan trying to achieve ?

 

You lost you demented little cretin, get over it and concentrate on your job you terrorist sympathiser.

7 hours ago, gonzo said:

Done a poll. Set it so you can't see who's voted what.

I think.

I went other because i currently have no faith or trust in any of them . It the vote was today i would probably spoil my vote.

Spent the day in Wigan, went for a small run. Highlights were two blokes keeping each other up pissed as farts at 4pm, one lady shouting at a broken down house, a fella clutching a can of cider whilst i was a crossing..

"You not got a coat"

"Nah, just going for a run"

"Why?"

Made me laugh. But got off the train at 12.30, about 4 blokes outside the cornershop all with cans of stella, all stinking of weed, must have be much younger than me.

I dunno, @gonzo is right, Im anured to this sort of stuff probably, if this is daily life - or living with it - its very different from when I left home.

Doesnt mean the North isnt still the best of this country but every time all I see is these towns being let down again and again by every government - and then the grifters of reform move in, and to be honest its easier to feel these lies when it's not effecting your life.

But tomorrow, Ill be at Wigan's only awarding winning theatre company who have sold out their full run and are now transferring to London - on the basis of creating stuff from here. On thursday im making my small part in tranferring a small show from the North East into the west end - to prove our stories needs to be heard and its not just public school kids that have a voice.

But yes, it proper made me think about the differences in our island and how much the North has been fundementally let down over generations.

2 hours ago, gonzo said:

So far It's Labour.

 

...and you're surprised with the make up of the membership? Not me. A nest of leftie virtue signalling types who wouldn't be out of place working for BBC News.

On 27/10/2025 at 21:55, kent_white said:

I completely agree. Which is why it's such a stupid idea. 

PS - shouldn't you be listening to the shipping forecast? 

Astounding how the truly thick ones like to throw the label at everyone else. He is the thickest fucker on here and that is some title when you consider the competition.

Australia turned boats back and escorted them back to where they came from. Just ignore criticism from the bleeding hearts and do the right thing for your country.

7 minutes ago, burnden said:

I went other because i currently have no faith or trust in any of them . It the vote was today i would probably spoil my vote.

I'd have done the same, effectively, by changing my name by deed poll to Cuntface The Dolphin, and standing for the "Dolphin (Cuntface)" party. The brackets are important as they cut out any ambiguity. The electoral commission people come down on that sort of thing like a ton of bricks. I've got a deposit to save, when all is said and done.

Main policies on the issues of the day:

• Green: mitigate the visual blight of vast solar energy farms by building them underground.
• Law and order: Prison sentence for anyone found in possession of a skateboard or electric scooter/bike. 
• Scandals and public trust: Prince Andrew to be given official residence at the old Pontins site at Ainsdale. Now, the lad has to make a living, so he gets the deckchair concession. Fair is fair; but he has to be chaperoned. 
• Health: Henry Westons cider to be available on the NHS.

Once in power, me and my cabinet (or should I say pod) will make Britain great again. Oven ready but not tuna friendly. I'm anyone's for a bit of hake.

We'll be reeling in the floating voters before you can say "Fishy Sunak".

"I have a bream"....that'll be me slogan, oh yes.

Vote Dolphin (Cuntface)! The only party fit for porpoise.

 

7 hours ago, frank_spencer said:

Team Zack and his hypnotherapy boobies here.

 Why am I not surprised? 

Monster Raving Loony Party - may as well.

9 hours ago, Not in Crawley said:

Spent the day in Wigan, went for a small run. Highlights were two blokes keeping each other up pissed as farts at 4pm, one lady shouting at a broken down house, a fella clutching a can of cider whilst i was a crossing..

"You not got a coat"

"Nah, just going for a run"

"Why?"

Made me laugh. But got off the train at 12.30, about 4 blokes outside the cornershop all with cans of stella, all stinking of weed, must have be much younger than me.

I dunno, @gonzo is right, Im anured to this sort of stuff probably, if this is daily life - or living with it - its very different from when I left home.

Doesnt mean the North isnt still the best of this country but every time all I see is these towns being let down again and again by every government - and then the grifters of reform move in, and to be honest its easier to feel these lies when it's not effecting your life.

But tomorrow, Ill be at Wigan's only awarding winning theatre company who have sold out their full run and are now transferring to London - on the basis of creating stuff from here. On thursday im making my small part in tranferring a small show from the North East into the west end - to prove our stories needs to be heard and its not just public school kids that have a voice.

But yes, it proper made me think about the differences in our island and how much the North has been fundementally let down over generations.

Going off @Spider recent visit to the capital it’s probably not just a north / south divide anymore. Massive parts of the country are the same. 

10 hours ago, bolty58 said:

Australia turned boats back and escorted them back to where they came from. Just ignore criticism from the bleeding hearts and do the right thing for your country.

We've spoken about this before on here I think. There are loads of very practical reasons why the same approach wouldn't work. 

The main one being that there are no international waters in the Dover Straight. Where as Australia had huge areas of international waters where they could intercept the boats and turn them around. It's also the busiest shipping lane in the world which complicates things. And there would be nothing to stop France re-intercepting the boats once they reach French territorial waters and sending them straight back like a game of human ping pong. Plus we're bound under international maritime law to help a boat which is in danger, which they almost always are. 

And much as its virtues have been exalted as if it's some kind of panacea to our problem over here. The reality is that Australia has only turned back 65 boats in the past two decades, containing a total of about 2000 people max from what I've read. So the scales are completely different too. Where as we've had nearly 200,000 cross the channel since 2018. 

So although I'm now firmly in the 'we need to reduce illegal immigration' camp, I don't think this is the solution sadly. 

It's not 'bleeding hearts' from me. Its realism and pragmatism. Putting all the vitriol and banter to one side - I don't think any of us on here are THAT far apart in terms of what we'd like to achieve.

1 minute ago, kent_white said:

We've spoken about this before on here I think. There are loads of very practical reasons why the same approach wouldn't work. 

The main one being that there are no international waters in the Dover Straight. Where as Australia had huge areas of international waters where they could intercept the boats and turn them around. It's also the busiest shipping lane in the world which complicates things. And there would be nothing to stop France re-intercepting the boats once they reach French territorial waters and sending them straight back like a game of human ping pong. Plus we're bound under international maritime law to help a boat which is in danger, which they almost always are. 

And much as its virtues have been exalted as if it's some kind of panacea to our problem over here. The reality is that Australia has only turned back 65 boats in the past two decades, containing a total of about 2000 people max from what I've read. So the scales are completely different too. Where as we've had nearly 200,000 cross the channel since 2018. 

So although I'm now firmly in the 'we need to reduce illegal immigration' camp, I don't think this is the solution sadly. 

It's not 'bleeding hearts' from me. Its realism and pragmatism. Putting all the vitriol and banter to one side - I don't think any of us on here are THAT far apart in terms of what we'd like to achieve.

The easiest way to reduce numbers, which many have already said, is to make it shit when they arrive. At the moment it’s the only deterrent that’s likely to work. Now I know there’s going to be many vulnerable people wanting to get here but there’s already many vulnerable people here. There’s simply not enough housing, schools, Drs, hospitals, prisons etc. In say 10 years time we can review the situation and maybe make it appealing again but for now it’s probably the best and only option. 

I'm missing something.

Huge expanses of open water make it easier to intercept migrant boats?

 

1 hour ago, Tonge moor green jacket said:

I'm missing something.

Huge expanses of open water make it easier to intercept migrant boats?

 

Yes - because the journey across the channel only takes a few hours which leaves us with less time to detect and intercept the vessels. As opposed to the couple of days that the Aussies had.  

So by the time we know one is in the water and it's been detected - there's a good chance it's already arrived. 

And apparently although the travel distance was huge - there was only a narrow safe corridor so the Aussies knew where to monitor, and were also getting tip offs from people they were paying in Indonesia (which is an approach we might be able to pinch).

2 hours ago, kent_white said:

We've spoken about this before on here I think. There are loads of very practical reasons why the same approach wouldn't work. 

The main one being that there are no international waters in the Dover Straight. Where as Australia had huge areas of international waters where they could intercept the boats and turn them around. It's also the busiest shipping lane in the world which complicates things. And there would be nothing to stop France re-intercepting the boats once they reach French territorial waters and sending them straight back like a game of human ping pong. Plus we're bound under international maritime law to help a boat which is in danger, which they almost always are. 

And much as its virtues have been exalted as if it's some kind of panacea to our problem over here. The reality is that Australia has only turned back 65 boats in the past two decades, containing a total of about 2000 people max from what I've read. So the scales are completely different too. Where as we've had nearly 200,000 cross the channel since 2018. 

So although I'm now firmly in the 'we need to reduce illegal immigration' camp, I don't think this is the solution sadly. 

It's not 'bleeding hearts' from me. Its realism and pragmatism. Putting all the vitriol and banter to one side - I don't think any of us on here are THAT far apart in terms of what we'd like to achieve.

You are probably correct.

Then again, the claim was that Carlsberg was "probably' the best lager in the world and we all know that this is bollocks 😉

2 minutes ago, kent_white said:

Yes - because the journey across the channel only takes a few hours which leaves us with less time to detect and intercept the vessels. As opposed to the couple of days that the Aussies had.  

Yes but the Aussies didn't have the advantage of them being within range of coastal gun installations 

(awaiting the outrage of the humourless halfwits)

2 hours ago, Tonge moor green jacket said:

I'm missing something.

Huge expanses of open water make it easier to intercept migrant boats?

 

Yep, some Naval bod on the radio the other week said it's far easier - as you can "see" them coming, because firstly the boats are generally far larger and show up on radar, there is pretty much cock all else in those waters.

In the English channel the boats are small enough to evade radar, and can "hide" in the wake of other boats - also, as it's such a short crossing, by the time you do detect them, they're already in our waters, as they're generally pretty quick

It sounds odd, but he was very convincing in his explanation, and it did seem to make sense

Edited October 29, 2025Oct 29 by Sweep

5 minutes ago, Sweep said:

Yep, some Naval bod on the radio the other week said it's far easier - as you can "see" them coming, because firstly the boats are generally far larger and show up on radar, there is pretty much cock all else in those waters.

In the English channel the boats are small enough to evade radar, and can "hide" in the wake of other boats - also, as it's such a short crossing, by the time you do detect them, they're already in our waters, as they're generally pretty quick

It sounds odd, but he was very convincing in his explanation, and it did seem to make sense

We can’t stop them. It’s as simple as that, we can’t turn them around, we are stuck with them. France will happily take 100s of millions off us whilst promising to help out when in reality they do fuck all. Looks like being an island is working against us! Go figure. 

16 minutes ago, royal white said:

We can’t stop them. It’s as simple as that, we can’t turn them around, we are stuck with them. France will happily take 100s of millions off us whilst promising to help out when in reality they do fuck all. Looks like being an island is working against us! Go figure. 

I've said this for ages, we will never, ever stop them trying to get here, no matter what we do

1 hour ago, royal white said:

We can’t stop them. It’s as simple as that, we can’t turn them around, we are stuck with them. 

Make your mind up! I thought telling em they couldn't stay in a Norwich travel tavern would put them off. 

3 minutes ago, Duck Egg said:

Make your mind up! I thought telling em they couldn't stay in a Norwich travel tavern would put them off. 

We might get down to the figures of when they were staying in “mice infested shit holes in Liverpool and Manchester” those figures are sustainable 

16 hours ago, Not in Crawley said:

Spent the day in Wigan, went for a small run. Highlights were two blokes keeping each other up pissed as farts at 4pm, one lady shouting at a broken down house, a fella clutching a can of cider whilst i was a crossing..

"You not got a coat"

"Nah, just going for a run"

"Why?"

Made me laugh. But got off the train at 12.30, about 4 blokes outside the cornershop all with cans of stella, all stinking of weed, must have be much younger than me.

I dunno, @gonzo is right, Im anured to this sort of stuff probably, if this is daily life - or living with it - its very different from when I left home.

Doesnt mean the North isnt still the best of this country but every time all I see is these towns being let down again and again by every government - and then the grifters of reform move in, and to be honest its easier to feel these lies when it's not effecting your life.

But tomorrow, Ill be at Wigan's only awarding winning theatre company who have sold out their full run and are now transferring to London - on the basis of creating stuff from here. On thursday im making my small part in tranferring a small show from the North East into the west end - to prove our stories needs to be heard and its not just public school kids that have a voice.

But yes, it proper made me think about the differences in our island and how much the North has been fundementally let down over generations.

Said it before mate, I could write a book on the failings of Blackpool and why it's in its current state. 

Long before any foreign folk or migrants arrived.

Amounts to gross negligence in some parts.

 

21 minutes ago, Duck Egg said:

Make your mind up! I thought telling em they couldn't stay in a Norwich travel tavern would put them off. 

Or even one equidistant between London & Norwich 

5 minutes ago, gonzo said:

Said it before mate, I could write a book on the failings of Blackpool and why it's in its current state. 

Long before any foreign folk or migrants arrived.

Amounts to gross negligence in some parts.

 

I went to Uni in Bradford over 40 years ago and it was a brilliant city. Lived there for a few years once I started working.

Moved away when I got married but still over here. Pop back maybe 2 or 3 times a year and  until this season used to drive through every other week going to the match. 
 

It is a shadow of the city it was once. A lack of investment has seen it drop so far behind Leeds it is shocking. As you say bordering on negligence. There are still some great little places just outside Bradford that are technically still part of the city , Ilkey is one of the best places in the country to live but it the total opposite of what people would call the actual city centre. 

Traditional Tory, Heseltine on that other traditional Tory Farage. 
 

 

22 hours ago, gonzo said:

So far It's Labour.

 

I said Labour but thinking about it I would vote for whoever is most likely to be beat Reform. 

I’m out of voting, not a decent party amongst the lot. 

17 minutes ago, Mounts Kipper said:

I’m out of voting, not a decent party amongst the lot. 

Bloody hell Mounts - I've not seen you on here in ages! Or have I just been blind? Nice to see you back anyway. Even if you've never been away!