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UK politics general discussion

I consciously re-read what I wrote before submitting, and added "more simply" before control.

It is to stop any or all EU migration following Brexit. What has happened is that the shackles have been taken off the cheaper labour markets such as India and as such EU labour has been replaced by people from further afield.

You are right as far to say it could be controlled/reduced while still a member the EU, but it is less simple.

Point is, as ever, the Conservative Party does not seriously want to reduce reduce immigration due to the pressures of their corporate backers. The 'achievement' (deserves inverted commas, I accept) is that it is absolutely P-easy now to stop any and all immigration if you really want to.
 
The irony being we could've done far more border control but far prefer to push jingoism and make people fear some unknown about more Polish shops popping up in arse end of Devon.
 
A brief reprieve for our weak prime minister as he has managed to temporarily see off the feverish desires of the hard right factions that are slowly taking control of his rotting party. This is against the back drop of his government having a working majority of 56 seats, and that the bill in question basically gives parliament the authority to declare that the Judiciary is wrong, and seeks to spend £169k per person to send potentially less than 200 illegals per year to Africa just to spite them.

Thank goodness all is well in the country and that there's no better things that our elected government could be focusing their time, energy and our tax money on at the moment. I bet the topic of sending a tiny handful of dastardly immigrants off to Rwanda to show them who's boss is at the top of every British subjects wish list right now.
 
I thought we were over half a million pounds for each Rwandan export.
Shame we can't spend that on exporting politicians to Rwanda.
 
I thought we were over half a million pounds for each Rwandan export.
Shame we can't spend that on exporting politicians to Rwanda.
£300m so far given to the Rwandan government for..... errr......well nothing at all really. Plus more promised. So technically the first one will cost around half a mill.
 
£300m so far given to the Rwandan government for..... errr......well nothing at all really. Plus more promised. So technically the first one will cost around half a mill.

That's if Rwanda don't decide to back out when they realise there's severe breaking of international law going on.

Sounds like one of those "Nigerian Prince" scams that has caught the biggest possible fish.
 
Not necessarily politics related directly, but I got my car insurance renewal quote yesterday.

More Than are stopping their stuff, but they were £425 odd last year. Their replacement company, Swinton want:

£1095!

Over DOUBLE. Nothing has changed in my living situation, same car, same job, zero claims made and that is an appropriate price?

Even elsewhere I'm looking at approx. £300 increase on it. Between these and the energy companies is it any wonder people are struggling as much or choosing not to bother to get insurance.
 
I'm eagerly awaiting the financial results for the insurance companies when they come out. If they're broadly in line with their average profits then it's a bit less of a piss-take. They claim it's because repair costs have gone through the roof. We shall see. My car insurance went up from £270 to £425 on a 15 year old Volvo.
 
A lot of it is caused by people driving around without insurance and personal injury claims.
Certain electrical cars bursting into flames don’t help either…🤣 (just kidding of course that doesn’t really happen or the owner of x gets upset)
 
Mine went up a fair whack last year, but managed to get it back down to around the same price as it was previously. Not looking forward to receiving my renewal quote in a few months time, the price increases at the moment sound horrendous.
 
I think it's partially due to how expensive 2nd hand cars have got now - if a car is written off the insurance company is looking at a much higher cost. I recently traded in an 11 year old small car for £2800. A few years ago I'd have got half that at best
 
Got all worried so had a quick check myself. Pretty much the same as last year, most quotes coming back around the £375-425 mark with protected no claims. Although that is still around £100 more than I was being quoted around 3 years ago. I used to aim for below £300.
 
Everyone’s went up a lot this year. Same with house insurance. Why has car insurance gone up so much?

The main factor seems to be around the cost of car repairs. More advanced cars = more expensive parts, used car prices and parts up 30%, delays on getting parts, and I have also read that a high proportion of EVs get written off for minor bumps due to the risk of the battery packs being damaged and too expensive to replace.

Other factors I have read are due to the adverse weather we have experienced with lots of vehicles damaged due to storms and flooding.

Another factor is the increase in car thefts. Over 130,000 of them in 22/23. Some blame keyless entry systems for these thefts as it seems to make cars easier to nab.

There is also the FCA ruling in 2022 which meant insurers had to offer existing customers the same deals as new customers. So we don’t see those deals anymore for switching company every year.

Dare I say it, but probably insurance companies are also cashing in on “the cost of living crisis” and putting their prices up along with everything else.

Ways you can cut down your costs:

- Use a comparison website
- Increase your excess
- Check what extras are on your policy (do you really need wrong fuel cover for example)
- Buy the policy through a Cashback website such as Quidco or Top Cashback.
- Check your mileage per annum is correct and not too high
- Ring the company and ask what they can do. I always do this and they always seem to be able to reduce it a little bit more.
 
Everyone’s went up a lot this year. Same with house insurance. Why has car insurance gone up so much?

The main factor seems to be around the cost of car repairs. More advanced cars = more expensive parts, used car prices and parts up 30%, delays on getting parts, and I have also read that a high proportion of EVs get written off for minor bumps due to the risk of the battery packs being damaged and too expensive to replace.

Other factors I have read are due to the adverse weather we have experienced with lots of vehicles damaged due to storms and flooding.

Another factor is the increase in car thefts. Over 130,000 of them in 22/23. Some blame keyless entry systems for these thefts as it seems to make cars easier to nab.

There is also the FCA ruling in 2022 which meant insurers had to offer existing customers the same deals as new customers. So we don’t see those deals anymore for switching company every year.

Dare I say it, but probably insurance companies are also cashing in on “the cost of living crisis” and putting their prices up along with everything else.

Ways you can cut down your costs:

- Use a comparison website
- Increase your excess
- Check what extras are on your policy (do you really need wrong fuel cover for example)
- Buy the policy through a Cashback website such as Quidco or Top Cashback.
- Check your mileage per annum is correct and not too high
- Ring the company and ask what they can do. I always do this and they always seem to be able to reduce it a little bit more.
The thing with insurance is, so many people complain that their premiums go up when they haven't made a claim, and they don't realise that insurers pool some of the money they get from premiums(the rest goes to other expenses such as staff wages and other business costs), and the costs of claims comes from that banked capital.
So when other people claim, your premium is affected.

One thing about insurance that is getting up my nose at the moment is that now I am lucky enough to own my own home (mortgaged)(I'm only in this position because both my parents have passed away. I would never have been able to afford it otherwise) this seems to put prices up. I know this is because I work and I am statistically more likely to be in an accident on the commute, or be targeted by burglars when I am out.
But when I was younger, 17, and just learnt to drive, and insurance was over £2.5k in 2007, and my mum's car insurance was pittance, like £300 a year, I was told that was because of experience and NCB.
Well now I'm 34, and seeing none of this!
The one thing I was looking forward to when I got older was cheap car insurance, and it's a white elephant.

Millenials and Gen Z really are getting the ****** end of the stick in so many ways.
 
It always used to go down as you got older and had no claims I agree. It’s only the past few years things have started going the other way…. And not just for car insurance.

Although our medical insurance dropped £2 a month this year. Woopie!
 
My car insurer sent me an email today saying they’re “no longer able to insure me from the renewal date” due to the price increase being so high. I’ve never had that before in my life - like they might offer me some obscene renewal quote I’d never consider, but just saying the price increase is so high they can’t insure me anymore is something else.

Thankfully other insurers were far more reasonable and I’ve sorted it for £370 for the year, but it’s still absolutely mad.
 
Insurance goes through the roof as you get older, often starting at 60.
30% increase year on year for me after shopping around, my previous insurer wanted an extra 700 for nine months on a change of car to something cheaper with a smaller engine.
They also declined me an offer on a 12 month new issue.
Many main insurers won't touch anything unusual or over 25 years old.
 
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