ciggiesnbeer

2 more points dropped and yes we should have handily won against 10 men. Frank "I have have no idea what I am doing" Lampard is doing better than Gerrard with worse players.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63105945 "Indonesia: More than 120 dead in football stampede" Awful. My heart goes out to fellow football fans and their families.

I hope AVTV ups its game and starts putting the full 90 of all Villa womens games as well as the mens. Exiting times!

Pretty unenthused about the game tbh. I do not expect us to start playing good football all of a sudden. Hope for a win obviously but the future of the Gerrard/Critchley project and what style of play we want is still unclear to me. I do think Jesse Marsch is even more out of his depth than Gerrard and we have far better players so we have that going for us.

fking ell. massive empathy for these folks. Buying and selling a house is stressful enough without this.

I know its unrealistic but lets just all bask in that vision for a moment.

Insightful. This is the first time many voters have seen Liz truss "in action" as it were instead of talking about governing how she actually governs. I think its fair to use the words "incompetent and willfully ignorant". To think she could have come back from the USA with a trade deal if she had done what will inevitably have to be done anyway. Implement the agreement the Tories signed with the EU over N.Ireland.

Fwiw I think Corbyn would have had the UK in a far better economic position, not as good as remaining in the EU of course but better than this. I still worry what would have happened if Corbyn was in power when Russia invaded Ukraine but to be fair to him thats unproven. He may have listened to the FO advice and done the same good job as Johnson with Ukraine (the only thing Johnson did well imho).

Yes, she always changes the subject to talk about the support for energy bills (the only bit that is mildy supported by everyone) . She steadfastly has ignored questions about the financial crisis caused by the other measures in the budget and refuses to answer questions about tax cuts and the mortgage changes and the IMF sounding the alarm bells and the Bank of England freaking out. Very head in the sand and out of her depth vibes sadly. I have watched one interview with the Chancellor he was towing the same line of "it would be much worse if we hadnt created this crisis last week" which doesnt make any sense to me but there you go. Everyone makes mistakes, its frustrating politicians simply refuse to acknowledge them. They could remove this crisis tomorrow. They could have a trade deal with the USA tomorrow. But stubbornness and the doubling down on mistakes is a hall mark of Tories for the past 10 years or more.

The Russian government is truly evil. I wonder how long before one of Russia's many victims around the world decides it has had enough of these scumbags and takes care of Putin one way or another (suicide bomber assassination etc). Remember much of the world has a food crisis caused by Russia as well as Inflation and an Energy crisis, two of those are clearly problems created by Putin. Ironically the "west' IE: The USA, EU + South Korea, Japan are the countries who are most able to handle these crisis. The developing world isnt, they are getting hit hard. China is worst of all with its self created housing crisis in addition to the global economy they heavily rely on tanking because of Putin, they must be utterly sick of his antics.

I have to say I am revising my opinion downward of the budget. I still think it can be a net good but the market has spoken with its wallets and very loudly. The government would be foolish not to listen to it. When I said a low pound is good for exports I didnt mean THAT low

They havent. Conservatives created the Brexit disaster and Labour have now decided to collaborate with them. The budget goes a minuscule way to addressing the damage Brexit has and will continue to do until we rejoin. The fact that in a small way it financially helps me in my rare situation is no substitute for the far greater damage Brexit has done to myself and every other UK citizen. Being stripped of my EU citizenship and explicitly prohibited from voting against it by the Tories during the referendum is not something I will ever forget or forgive. Oh and part of the reason I left the UK broke, with no qualifications was because of the opportunities taken away from me by Thatcher. Conservatives get no credit for me making a life for myself in the USA. But of course I am going to make sure I legally and ethically use any UK law and regulation to grow my business and invest in the UK. I want us to Rejoin the EU as soon as possible. I have no desire to hurt the UK economy more than Brexit already has done, I want it to be as healthy as possible so it makes our EU reentry as easy as it can be.

Its an absolutely beautiful and wonderful city. I go every year or so for work (I work for a Swedish company) my advice is spend a day (or two!) in Gamla Stan (kind of a royal island in stockhom). It has AMAZING food and if you like science fiction or boardgames then this 2 story place is wonderful (its huge on the inside!), better than any Sf bookstore I have visited in the USA. Really great. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g189852-d14161890-Reviews-Science_Fiction_Bokhandeln-Stockholm.html

"Keir Starmer speech: Labour plans publicly owned renewable energy giant" https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-63046067 Sensible. The UK needs to invest in energy independence. As recent events have shown its an investment in security as well as the economy. Then again I also liked Corbyns publicly owned internet plan and that didnt get far.

Thanks! No worries. Yeah the UK has a highly educated skilled labour force (which is a good thing) I should have written something like "create high paying opportunities for UK tech workers" btw the people of the UK can rest easy I will never vote Conservative. I am a council house kid I have never forgotten where I came from.

Thanks I have not yet hired my UK accountant I hope to use the same firm I use in the USA we shall see. I will be doing so next year as thats when my initial Europe/UK home scouting trip will happen.

Thanks all for the responses! I appreciate it!

Always have done, always will. You seem very offended I am looking to take advantage of the completely legal and ethical opportunities the governments budget is designed to create. I am looking to bring my tax pounds to the UK and the budget is helping encourage that. Isnt it in everyone's interest ex pats who create jobs and tax revenue move back to the UK?

Thanks! Hopefully my UK tax guy can figure out how to best approach it. It makes Scotland or Ireland a bit more attractive for sure. Although my assumption is the budget will spur new homes being built in the UK and I prefer to buy a new house. Older ones particularly with some acreage can be such a money pit.

As a footballer I would have old Jack back in a heartbeat. But he has been involved in way too many off pitch incidents, he has not got any better. He is 27 now thats too old to be excused as youthful indulgence. Its just unprofessional at best.

Seeing Reece-Mogg lose his seat would make me very happy. Oh and to reiterate I am not a Tory but I still think the Chancellors budget is a good one and will benefit the UK economy overcome some (but not all obviously) of Brexit. Borrowing to help solve the current energy crisis while giving tax cuts to promote growth is a perfectly reasonable approach. A weak pound helps exports and helps me buy a new house in the UK with my dollars I am the exact target beneficiary of his budget and I am not going to pretend its not good for me, it is. I am looking to move back to the UK next year after 30 years away and looking to set up a branch of my company in the UK I will be a "first time home owner" (I lol because I own my current home in the USA so I get to cash out over here as a one time tax benefit and then get a tax break in the UK for my "starter home" Anyways obviously I like the budget and assuming my move goes ahead the UK will benefit form my tax pounds and employment opportunities I will be creating for many years to come. So win/win as far as i am concerned.

Every family has a nutter in it, usually a deluded old man. I dont blame Carla. My father in law is out of his mind on Trumpism and wants to live in a Christian Caliphate where unbelievers and women have no rights. Oh and he thinks his gay son is going to hell. We havent spoken to him in 6 years Its best just to ostracise em. Back on topic, i am really impressed with our winning start. Good job Carla Ward!

Looking for advice! I am looking to return to the UK in a year or so (I can move anywhere but looking at Oxford), I am a single issue voter. Rejoining the EU. I will be donating and voting (although I am too old and lazy to be canvassing) I am an ex Labour voter now Labour and the Conservatives have doubled down on the "lets make Brexit work and forget about the peace and prosperity we enjoyed in the EU" routine. LIb/Dems are the only national party that is guaranteeing a new referendum on rejoining the EU right? I am curious just how badly organized and what is the trajectory of the Lib Dems in the UK? Irrelevant / growing? shrinking? I am looking at options so for example as rejoining the EU is the only issue I will vote on should I for example instead move to Edinburgh and donate & vote SNP?

I remember Liverpool fans chanting "Hodgson for England!" hoping to offload him. I wonder if we will see similar?