Mailwatch(ed) Forum

The Lib Dems have responded to water bill rises by... calling for the abolition of Ofwat. The bills are rising (mostly) to pay for extra investment to build sewers and reservoirs. You can bet the Lib Dems will be in full "localist" mode complaining if sewage isn't reduced.

Still, this sort of stuff worked for Nick Clegg.

Some fantastic Lib Dem performances in by-elections yesterday, including in Preston. I think Labour might get a fair few of these voters in 2029 where it needs them (lots of the current abstainers/don't know will be Labour in places like that. But it's not great for Kemi Jenrick. Claire Coutihno in East Surrey may be one of several to have a problem if Davey thinks he's got the capacity to take her on.

Lib Dems to force vote on creating new customs union with EU
Ed Davey’s party believes the move is the best way to ‘turbocharge’ economy, rather than tax rises

Look at this rubbish. By all means, make the case for trying to negotiate a Customs Union. But, in the unlikely event of the EU being sufficiently interested, it would take a long time. He's seen how long the Starmer deal has taken (summit in main, negotiating mandate only just agreed). So the idea this removes the need for tax rises is absolute nonsense.

If you want to "turbocharge", surely you'd need the Single Market. Davey obviously thinks freedom of movement would be too unpopular,, which is the same position as Starmer. So what exactly is the difference between them, except Davey is playing dynamic Bozo to Starmer's Theresa May? We know how that ended.

I note this.

The Lib Dem plans propose a bespoke customs union with the EU by 2030, suggesting it could be similar to the one it has had with Turkey since 1995.

Nobody seems to think much of the EU-Turkey arrangement. What exactly is the benefit of it without the Single Market as well?

The benefits are negotiating leverage which is geopolitical as much as economic. The big economic calls have been made in international trade, the main agenda for Europe is preserving the gains and seeing to it that Trump doesn't totally destroy the international order.
Any perks the UK gains over the EU with the US is either Trump eccentricity or a malevolent attempt to yank Britain away from Europe's orbit. America no longer has allies, its a transactional power.

Where's George?

What vote is he trying to win with that?

mattomac wrote: ↑Thu Nov 27, 2025 11:02 pm What vote is he trying to win with that?

Greens?

So, Rachel Reeves is really spiderman, but so are Kwasi Kwarteng, Rishi Sunak, Nadim Zahawi, and others.

Me no understandee.

Abernathy wrote: ↑Fri Nov 28, 2025 12:08 pm So, Rachel Reeves is really spiderman, but so are Kwasi Kwarteng, Rishi Sunak, Nadim Zahawi, and others.

Me no understandee.

Its a popular meme from a Spiderman comic in which the real Spiderman points at Spiderman impersonator.

Davey should stick to his one job of keeping fiscally prudent right of centre former Tory voters onside.

Silly Rachel, she didn't get an agreement with the 27 member states to bring in a customs union and at the same time rejoin the EU.

Anyhow no longer my MP, so fuck him.

Can someone explain this? The stealth tax on high streets is what? Not cutting VAT or using some powers it had?

Was reported in the Mail I saw this morning which tells you a fair bit.

Apparently the high streets are a bustling hive of activity currently….

There might be something in the budget. I'm genuinely all ears. But they're a pretty deceitful party, and I want to hear chapter and verse. This is an outright lie. The UK's digital tax only goes when an international version of it comes in.

This "pay for everything with the customs union" is not unlike when UKIP paid for everything by leaving the EU. I suppose it's better in that it's possible, but not now, certainly not with Davey's own red lines which seem to be the same as Starmer's, and the EU would want a hefty payment for it.

Isn't this basically bollocks?

Because they all arrived in or under lorries, hence the massive fines introduced to encourage truckers to check their vehicles?

We were receiving more than we were "sending back" under the Dublin Agreement.

Seems much more likely that the facilitators changed their business model for the reason you say.

Going high while they go low or playing by Queensbury Rules doesn't work on the Farages and Johnsons of this world. Daisy Cooper probably wouldn't try this stuff on with Labour or pre Johnson Tories as they did research and had the facts at their fingertips.

It is against Labour too. Part of the “just rejoin ffs” bollocks.

There were 13 Labour MPs, Ed. The vast majority told you your 10 Minute Rule Bill vote for something that isn't on offer was a waste of time. To my considerable surprise, Clive Lewis wasn't one of the 13. Several Corbynites (including Richard Burgon) vote for it though- never thought of these as a particularly pro-EU bunch.