Armand1
@Armand1@lemmy.world
- Comment on Mahmood to close loophole blocking deportation of Rochdale grooming gang ringleader 1 day ago:
It’s always a challenge when no state wants a person.
I personally don’t think deportation ever really makes sense. If someone commits a crime in the UK, send them to prison there, and when they have served their sentence they can stay. Sending them away does not solve anything.
If a country requests extradition to charge a person with a crime, that’s a slightly different story. I think there can be arguments for and against.
Either way, I don’t trust Shabana Mahmood to thread the needle, if that was even her intention to begin with. Her policies have already caused enough suffering.
- Comment on Poverty premium: Why it costs £736 a year more to be poor 1 day ago:
Another one I discovered lately: if your credit rating is too low, you can’t get internet with some companies because they do a credit check, despite having internet access being a fundamental need of living in society.
- Comment on Pet prescriptions could be capped at £21 under proposed vet sector reforms 1 day ago:
True… unless you’re trans. Then you don’t get healthcare.
- Comment on PIP assessment process is 'dehumanising' and 'degrading', government's Timms Review finds 1 day ago:
A lot of government processes are dehumanizing. They’re targetted at “reducing fraud” and cost savings, which in practice means doubting you at every turn and cutting away your lifeline whenever they can.
- Comment on Virgin Media fined after hanging up on customers trying to cancel contracts 2 days ago:
If you ever encounter this, please remember that you can go to another provider, ask them to switch you over and you can do so without ever talking to Virgin Media. That’s what I did last time.
- Comment on Gigabit Broadband Coverage Reaches 91 Percent of the UK in H1 2026 2 days ago:
Most of it is not symmetrical though.
Upload speeds across the board are 10x slower than download speeds, meaning many people need to get a more expensive plan than necessary just to not hit upload speed limits.
- Comment on ‘I felt my spine and body split’: the woman who was hit by a child on a Lime bike – and denied compensation 3 days ago:
Looks like you’re right, though I’m not sure if they are peddle-assist or not. Never used one myself.
Neither need a license as far as I know (correct me if I’m wrong).
- Comment on ‘I felt my spine and body split’: the woman who was hit by a child on a Lime bike – and denied compensation 3 days ago:
These are pedal bikes no? We have no license needed for those or restrictrions on who can use them that I’m aware of.
- Comment on Half of affordable new homes in rural England could be at risk if planning rules relaxed, analysis shows 3 days ago:
The government has proposed ending affordable housing quotas – known as section 106 agreements – for new developments of between 10 and 49 houses in an effort to jumpstart sluggish housebuilding rates. Ministers are due to make a final decision within weeks on whether developers should be allowed to make cash payments to local authorities instead.
Under the proposals being considered for medium-sized developments, housebuilders would be allowed to make payments to councils in lieu of including affordable homes in their proposals. That money would be earmarked to build affordable housing elsewhere.
Analysis of government figures by the National Housing Federation (NHF), however, suggests that in the most rural areas of England, more than half of all affordable homes are built on developments of this size.
Sounds like a nuanced issue.
That money could be more efficiently spent on council housing than affordable housing, but it all depends on whether councils would actually pull their fingers out and do it, and whether the cash payments would be sufficient to offset the affordable housing.
Right now, the affordable housing via the existing system can help people put of homelessness, but there aren’t enough.
- Comment on ‘I felt my spine and body split’: the woman who was hit by a child on a Lime bike – and denied compensation 3 days ago:
I don’t really see how it’s Lime’s fault that someone rode their bike into someone else. It didn’t malfunction from the sound of it.
Some compensation from the mother + child would be good, but I don’t know how much money they could even reasonably give.
More bikes in cities is usually better, but it does come with some risks of you’re acting like a moron. Less than cars but still.
- Comment on Ofsted drops ‘clumsy’ and ‘offensive’ guidance linking autism and extremism 4 days ago:
If you consider progressive movements extremist, then maybe this holds some water, otherwise no.
Most autistic people I’ve ever met were either progressive, left-wing activists or too focused on their special interest to engage in politics (a small minority).
That said there is a section bias in that I don’t associate with bigots, but whatever.
- Comment on Israel lobby funded a quarter of British MPs 1 week ago:
Sadly they are not the only ones. There are many members of Labour under Israels thumb. Possibly including Andy Burnham, set to be the next Prime Minister.
- Comment on Stalker who used fake Tinder profile to lure men to ex’s home jailed for eight years 1 week ago:
Truly horrible behaviour. I’m glad he’s in jail.
- Asylum seekers to be billed £10k to cover own support once they start earning moneywww.independent.co.uk ↗Submitted 1 week ago to unitedkingdom@feddit.uk | 16 comments
- Comment on High-street slot machines and casinos could face £460m tax rise under Burnham 1 week ago:
Tax them into oblivion.
- Submitted 1 week ago to unitedkingdom@feddit.uk | 0 comments
- Comment on 1 week ago:
In some parts of Europe, we have many ways of mitigating heat that don’t cost as much and work well enough to a point.
Shutters will reflect heat before it gets into the home, which can keep the temperature as low as 10 degrees cooler than outside, cieling standing and desk fans can help cool you down in 20-30 degree weather. Dehumidifiers can help in humid heat.
Beyond a certain point, you do have to use air conditioning to lower the temperature, but that’s when you get to 35deg and above, and that typically been pretty rare until now, and most of the above still help.
I think if I did have the money I would probably install a heat pump + air conditioner combo and I believe there should be grants available for those.
If you’re a renter it sucks though because you have very few options. “Portable” air conditioning is ok but not very effective and very expensive to run.
- Comment on Royal Family to get a 94% surge in taxpayer-funded income whilst 'it's subjects' must expect less 1 week ago:
There’s a similar thing in homelessness. Landlords are taking £900/m from the councils per person in 4+ people homes with barely working utilities and health and safety violations.
- Comment on Royal Family to get a 94% surge in taxpayer-funded income whilst 'it's subjects' must expect less 1 week ago:
Take asylum seekers. Politicians love complaining about the cost of putting people in hotels, but they created that cost. If you stop people from working while their claims are processed, of course they’re going to need somewhere to live and support to survive.
- Comment on Using conservative logic 1 week ago:
They like to ignore that there is no evidence that it works, and in fact significant evidence that it does not.
- Comment on Ignore the miserabilists: Andy Burnham as PM is a moment when things really can get better 2 weeks ago:
If he’s not willing to backtrack on Labour’s immigration, Israel, disability and trans policies then as far as I’m concerned it’s not enough.
- Comment on Burnham's pathetic 'both sides' attitude to Gaza matches his equivocation on everything else 2 weeks ago:
Of the former Labour voters who switched to centrist or left-wing parties, 53% cited the PLP’s stance on Palestine as a factor. Likewise, a massive 74% said that their:
opinion of Labour would improve if the next leader were to adopt a strong position on Palestine, such as imposing sanctions on Israel.
However, Burnham has also been a member of the Labour Friends of Israel since 2015
In July 2025, he issued a plea for Mancunians to donate to UKMed, a charity supporting medical access in Gaza. In a video address, he described the suffering of Palestinians as “beyond words”
In a 4 June Guardian interview, Burnham specifically declined to describe Israel’s actions as genocidal:
I can’t judge things of that enormity from where I am as mayor of Greater Manchester. But I do have concerns about the disproportionate nature of what has happened in terms of the destruction, and there has to be a full process of investigation and accountability.
Likewise, when the Palestine Solidarity Campaign asked the Makerfield candidates what they would do to “uphold the rights of Palestinian people”, Burnham stayed silent. Meanwhile, his Green Party counterpart, Sarah Wakefield, was quick to respond
- Comment on Shabana Mahmood’s immigration and asylum bill to go before MPs next week 2 weeks ago:
If it’s anything like all the previous stuff she’s pushed, this should be categorically refused.
I would say I hope Andy Burham fires her, but he’s indicated he wants more restrictive immigration measures.
- Comment on How has nobody stopped him yet? 2 weeks ago:
- Comment on A cruel new law is scapegoating refugees for UK’s harmful border policies 2 weeks ago:
If you don’t want “small boats”, illegal entry, and deaths crossing the border then make it easier to enter. This xenophobia serves no one.
- Comment on Inside the surreal UK parliament debate on pro-Israel influence dominated by lobby group members 2 weeks ago:
Absolutely insane behaviour.
Foxes running the hen house and being overseen by yet more foxes.
- Comment on 3 weeks ago:
Let’s call it what it is. It’s transphobic dogshit.
The fact it will pass by default if not taken to a vote is stupid, but it’s probably what will happen under the current transphobic administration.
- Comment on Bran flakes could be classed as junk food under new healthy eating guidelines 3 weeks ago:
Ok, I didn’t know that there was this effect. I’ll admit I don’t know much about health and nutrition.
That said, shouldn’t we consider all sugar content when evaluating how healthy an item is?
After all, you can take orange juice and ultra process out all the healthier stuff, leaving only the sugars. Those won’t be “added” but they won’t be any good for you, providing a marketing loophole of “no added sugars” for companies.
- Comment on Bran flakes could be classed as junk food under new healthy eating guidelines 3 weeks ago:
Added sugar vs natural sugar is a distinction without a difference, and the fact that it has been made so far seems silly to me.
- Comment on New bill targets domestic abusers and overhauls right to buy in England 3 weeks ago:
increase the length of tenancy required before residents qualify for the right-to-buy scheme from three to 10 years in England.
This is probably a good thing, but only when combined with an increase in building of social housing. I am not too hopeful about that given who’s leading the Labour Party. The current administration is allergic to public spending.
