Five events that could change the shape of British politics in 2016.

Riverwalk. So you don't speak French or German, .... Always speak in English ?

Likewise! Being half German (oops, Hidge will have me deported) I know tons of Germans who all speak excellent English. DH spent his first 4 years in Switzerland and subsequently 12 years in France and Belgium, so we know a lot of French people as well. They all speak good English , so what, Hidge is your patronising question to Riverwalk intended to prove?

Hidge are you including Australians, New Zealanders and White South Africans in you cleansing progrom or is it only darker skinned non -English speaking people you object to filling our country, taking our jobs etc etc? In certain areas of Sth London it feels like I could be in the southern hemisphere!

Penstemmon. I am talking about ALL people who come into our country who find it a soft option looking for payouts.

As I said earlier Hidge is taking the piss - he is best ignored.

Do they count or not count as jabbering in different languages??

Prejudice is rarely logical or reasoned and you are providing a point.

I agree with Riverwalk. Wind-up merchant.

Everyone. Now I have got you all going, I think I will stop now and go to do some more work. Have a nice evening all of you !!!

As a foot note. "?". "He is a she" !!!

Agog with indifference. <yawn>

AHH! I understand. You are a wind up merchant! But making assumptions that people who are multi-lingual and choose not to speak English in public places are on benefits!

I thought Hidge was probably a wind-up merchant from the start, but like many other posters I had the courtesy to assume that her views were genuinely felt, although I did need to probe their exact nature and also her reasoning and proof for them. Throughout this thread posters have treated her views as serious but questioned them. On any other forum but Gransnet she would have been flamed, abused or threatened.

But despite our courtesy it turns out she is one of those people who like posting controversial views, but hasn't got the guts to fight the battle when others do not agree with her.

Not a wind-up merchant, just cowardly.

And like others of that ilk, nearly derailed the whole thread. There is a name for that and I hope GNHQ take note.

Lets get back to the game changers. The Independent list was a bit like a BBC trailer for a dramatic event on the Archers, a bit of a damp squib when the events are actually revealed.

Three events they mention are events that have happened before and been three day wonders and then fizzled out, plus two (EU and US elections) that are so bl**dingly obvious potential game changers that they hardly need to be highlighted.

So why are you bothered about the thread, then, MOnica? No other more important threads?

When was the last vote on Trident?
When was the last decision on Heathrow?
Next May's elections are seen to be important as they could decide whether Corbyn stays as leader.
Are you so bored already by these important events?

Read some interesting statistics.
Ipsos Mori did a cross-country report on perceptions of social concerns.
People generally overestimate the percentage of immigrants, which is 13% in reality, but 25% in imagination.
There are lots of other misperceptions, particularly about social security, but the problem with all of them is that they get taken as being reality, which is why many people are too concerned about immigration.

durhamjen I am not bothered by the thread. Alea in the post above mine said ' (Hidge) And like others of that ilk, nearly derailed the whole thread.'

I merely gave a friendly response and made a post that returned to the original topic, which everyone is free to ignore or respond to as they think fit.

Just because I do not think 3 events will be political game changers does not mean that I am bored with them, nor that I do not think they will cause immense political turbulance and resignations, but the political landscape will be little changed by them.

My definition of changing the shape of British politics would involve the resignation of a partyleader/pm and his/her replacement by someone way to the right or left of them. Jeremy Corbyn replaced by a Blairite or someone so left wing they make him look reactionary. Somebody like Hidge becoming leader of the Tory party, or over 50% of Tory MPs joining Labour to support a vote of no confidence in the present government.

Any decision on the EU will be a shape changer. Donald Trump being elected President would see a sudden and dramatic cutting of the links between Britain and the US and a real rethink of how we act on foreign affairs or events as in the paragraph above if links were not broken.

An atrocity by IS, somewhere in the world, so heinous, that even Jeremy Corbyn agrees that a military response is essential. I do not think anyone, nowadays can think of any type of vile atrocity that IS would be unwilling to commit. I leave you to envisage what such an atrocity could be, but I can think of several too terrible to think of, let alone write in this post.

The EU referendum is a major game-changer. If we leave, I fear a lot of the consumer and employment rights it provides will be thrown out, together with many health and safety and environmental protections (or "red tape" as some people describe them). As to the economic implications, that is very confusing because the corporate world is not unified in its stance on the EU. My concern is that if we stay, and large parts of Europe continue moving rightwards, we may be dragged along with them, but maybe we are heading in that direction anyway. I find both scenarios worrying and still have no idea how I will vote.

Personally, I think we would be better off leaving the airports as they are. I don't understand why all these countries keep expressing their commitment to the environment and yet continue building more and more airports. Business people say we have to keep up with the rest of the world and cite China as an example. China's airports will increase to 240 by 2020, from around 200 today. Do we really want to follow their example - a country where people have to walk around with masks on in an effort to protect themselves against dangerous levels of pollution?

The thought of Trump becoming president is terrifying - incredibly, he has a lot of support. On the other hand, Bernie Sanders is also receiving a great deal of support, although many people in the UK haven't even heard of him. Apart from our so-called special relationship with the US, the presidency is of particular concern given the US's ultimate control over the use of Trident.

I agree with the poster who said that the growing crisis in recruiting and retaining teachers could also present major political challenges.

Just BTW I am glad to see that three (I think) posts which struck me and doubtless others as outrageously xenophobic not to say racist and quite deliberately inflammatory have now been deleted.
Dare I say not before time?

i2.wp.com/voxpoliticalonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/160115Trident10Reasons.png?resize=529%2C273

About the vote on Trident, and why we should vote no.

Reasons 7 and 8 are very important. Osborne even plans to outsource the management of Trident to an American company. All we will be is a storage facility for American missiles.

I am always amazed by the assertion that we have no room in this country for refugees. Even living in the depths of the countryside we are not immune from the presence of 'foreigners' and I have to say that they are almost without exception hard-working, kindly and only interested in being good citizens of the U.K. I am not in favour of economic migrants per se but if people are fleeing war, torture or religious persecution then we need to be welcoming and helpful.
Rant over!!

Carry on ranting, Bennan. I'll rant with you.
Pleased that Cameron is considering allowing children in, but it will take hima few weeks to sort out what the government can get out of it, according to Osborne.

www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/23/britain-poised-open-door-migrant-children

Another thing I read today is that 51% are in favour of replacing Trident, and 49% against it. Corbyn could even win on that.

"Chancellor George Osborne, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, said that the urgency of Europe’s refugee crisis was an incentive for Britain’s 27 EU partners to conclude a swift renegotiation agreement that would allow the government to propose a Yes vote in the up-coming referendum."

Nothing like a little bit of blackmail.