winter1

John Major was not boring his favourite take away was a Curry.

BBC web just reported Barclays share down 35% since the markets opened and House builders down by a similar amount talk about providing more houses the builders will sit on any land till a recovery but that will take years now so more overcrowding it's not the immigrants it's government policy that's the issue. pound down at least 10% if you are in the UK fill your tank today as fuel will go up in the next few days.

I doubt it as the Banks have already asked that the UK Government delay the invoking of article 50 so they have more time to make an orderly exit from the UK to Mainland Europe. Financial service industry down the tube.

I agree talk about turkeys voting for Christmas. Petrol prices will go up very soon and all other imported goods and as for the EU giving the UK a good deal they will want to show that it does not pay or other EU countries might contemplate an exit pound now down to 1.34 US dollars from 1.50 last night.

I did and I looked at the BBC article linked again it showed no detailed plan just a wish list from the leave campaign. items like getting rid of the 5% Vat on Fuel when the UK still has the ability to reduce VAT on all other goods that is currently 20% to 15% they could selectively pick items within this to have the same effect. The trouble is the treasury needs this income. Most of it was setting up talking shops but still no detailed plans at all

I hope that if there is a Brexit that no tariffs are added to UK goods Leave constantly keep saying they sell more to the UK than we do to them that may be true in manufactured goods. However if you add financial services to the mix I think the balance changes and Bonn would love to expand at London's expense. As most of the UK's car industry is actually owned by overseas companies Minis are made by BMW Land rover is owned by India's Tata who like the bridge to the EU. My suspicion is that they may well move production to mainland Europe as I believe that World trade tariffs will be imposed on UK goods this is not a case of being vindictive it is just what the rules say. After all if you leave a lottery syndicate or a gym membership or a coffee or tea boat at work you wouldn't expect to receive prize winnings or be able to use the gym equipment or get tea or coffee for free would you. Many people in Australia have financial links to the UK including me I rely on my UK pensions I am below the aged pension age and will probably not get one when you add the new rules on income and assets that include your Australian Super income for new retirees since Jan 2015. Therefore the stronger the pound is the better Leave keep saying that it will be a blip however as the divorce may take many years to finalize and Michael Gove said 2020 it may well be a very long blip and will take even longer to re establish manufacturing in the UK as investment will flee.

If the UK were leaving the EU to become loosely entwined in the USA it would be called Australia. I hate the Americanisation of Aus including the way politics is going here I just hope that Medicare is safe, and I am not spruiking for either the LNP or ALP.

Actually as the leave camp is a mish mash with representatives from all parties they do not actually form the government so will probably be unable to deliver. There are more MPs who support remain across all the parties so there have been reports that they may vote it down, however I assume this is unlikely as David Cameron has promised he will act on the result. Although DC may no longer be the PM after Friday if Brexit win. I wonder if there would be an anti Boris coalition of MPs these are unusual times and I would rule nothing out. @Wooba "How sad that you think democracy is an experiment... " Remember that Leave say take back your Democratic rights and take back control. I have an issue with this as most governments in the UK win power with fewer than 50% of the electorate voting for them. The last election in 2015 was won by the Conservatives with only 66.4% of the electorate in total voting. The conservatives got 36.9% of the vote yet they formed government. At least Australia has compulsory voting and preference voting which is not perfect but it is better than the UK system. The house of lords is totally unelected.

What I find strange is that Rupert other paper "The Times" supports remain as reported below. http://nicosiamoneynews.com/2016/06/17/the-times-declares-for-remain-camp/ The Mail on Sunday declared for Remain but the Daily Mail declared for Brexit Am I the only cynical one here thinking that they keep a foot in both camps so they win whoever wins this horrendous experiment.

And we have had a lot of it back!

The Dublin agreement only applies to members of the EU if we are not in the EU how does it apply?

May have something to do with the fact the French would move the border to Folkstone if the UK exits the EU and will not stop them crossing the border into the UK any more.

Do you mean the one that has 457 visas that many on this site find does not lead to permanent residency due to the sponsoring organisation making them redundant just before they can?

Strict laws, stretching back to Assize of Bread and Ale of 1266, have meant that no baker in England has been allowed to bake a loaf unless it conforms to a certain weight. Until the 24th September 2008, all bread that went on sale in the UK– from a sliced white loaf, to a baguette, ciabatta or bloomer – had to weigh 400g or multiples thereof, unless it was a small bun or "morning pastry", as the legislation phrases it. The weight of bread has been enshrined in many Acts of Parliament since 1266. Since The Bread Act of 1822 loaves, logically, always had to be a pound, or multiple thereof, but during the Second World War bakers were ordered to save precious flour by cutting their bread tins down to 14oz, a regulation that become law in 1963. When Britain went metric, bakers argued that 14oz – 397 grams – should be converted to 400g because this would involve relatively little disruption to their factories. The conversion was made over the May Bank Holiday weekend of 1977 and since then it has been illegal not just to sell, but also to bake an imperial-weighted loaf. This is why sliced bread always comes in the standard 800g or the half-sized 400g loaves and it is a regulation that is strictly upheld by Trading Standards officers, who frequently visit bakeries to make spot checks. This was UK not EU law. However, a European directive issued in 2008 has, in effect, abolished more than 800 years of British history and allowed bakers to bake loaves of any size, bringing in some of the laissez-faire of the boulangerie – where bakers can create bread of any shape or size – across the Channel. is this one of the new EU rules along with the one that says no loaf should contain Rat or Mouse droppings and hygiene standards should be more than adequate? Yes lets go back to 1665 when the black death encompassed London. and are there really 134 rules. Must try harder

Britain's annual contribution is £18.2 billion but much of it come back and to add to that Tory MP Sarah Wollaston has quit the leave campaign as she can no longer justify the lies that the leave campaign are saying that £350 million a week that "will be available to the NHS" it is just not there. Also When Michael Gove spouted we could reduce VAT on fuel to zero outside the EU he forgot to mention that the Conservative government already has the power to reduce all other VAT from 20% to 15% but they haven't.

Australian passports are stamped on the first entry into a European country then you can travel within the EU without any further ones. I was questioned at Brussels Airport when I caught a flight back to Australia from there as my Australian passport wasn't stamped. I had given my Australian passport as I was travelling back to Australia however I was OK once I presented the UK one. If they didn't why does the UK sell 32 page and charge extra for a 72 page passports for frequent travellers?

I agree they have contributed. Although they may be forced back to the UK when Spain and France refuse them the current healthcare or they have to pay very expensive health insurance which will not cover some conditions. They also have to live somewhere some will buy their own places but others will want council or housing association accommodation but that's what they are entitled to. Many of the migrants are working and relatively fit and don't cost much and put far more back into the system. There are also many from migrants from outside the EU who have nothing to do with European agreements. The government should deport them they already have the powers. As they are elderly then their conditions could be complex. The NHS will have to treat them if they return

I didn't say I vote Labour I have always been floating voter. Now as for democracy the Conservative party received 36% of the vote from a turnout of 66.4% of the electorate that means that 63.9% of the electorate didn't vote for them and Labour and the Lib Dems together polled 52%. yes good old British democracy oh and UKIP got 12% and only got 1 seat.

Really do you have a crystal ball? There is going to be a lot of uncertainty and a lot of unexpected consequences could occur. Of the £350 million the leave camp say will be brought back each week much of it is already received in subsidies for our farmers and areas such as Wales and other disadvantaged places. If you really think the likelihood of old Etonians giving this back to where it is going now or giving it to the NHS, "We want to spend our money where we think fit" say them. Guess what it will go to tax cuts for the rich if there is any. The NHS will struggle. There could also be an exodus back to Britain of old people who have retired abroad in Spain France etc. Will these be a burden on the NHS? Travel insurance for health cover will rocket without the EHIC card and people will have to get their passport stamped again at the border. I know of one person who spends a lot of the year in France and works there he told me it won't make any difference however if the passports are being stamped on exit and entry as Australian friends we have without EU citizenship who spend 90 days a year in France do, then when he overstays the 90 days are you telling me they won't kick him out. Our Australian friends tell us they get rigorously checked. I could go on but what is Sovereignty that we lose we will only give it up to a bunch of old Etonians the real people won't get any say. The pound will drop because of the uncertainty and I remember the early 1960s our industry was a basket case due to lack of investment. Investment came from Japan and overseas because we had access to the EU. It's not perfect but it's the best we have.

If you have the original policy it is not always difficult to find who has taken the fund over a google search found mine. Just be careful not all small pensions are useless despite the pension company sending statements each year saying investment performance is not as good as they expected. I took out a small private pension paying £20 a month in 1982 I increased the premium to £40 in 1985 and paid until I started a local government job in 1987 and was told I was no longer entitled to contribute to it. Total premiums paid less than £2000 + tax relief at the then rate I think it was around 25% ish. It turned out this was a rule 226a pension which meant I paid for the annuity at the time I paid the premiums. The insurance company at the time of maturity at 60 in 2013 told me that the annual pension I could buy was around £650 to £750 pa as the fund was now worth £18,000. However as it was a rule 226 it guaranteed £1,800 each year and the investment statements they had sent me were for illustration only but it gave me the option to take the lower amounts. ( I was only informed of this after I asked the question about guarantees). Just check your pension to make sure it may provide a GMP Guaranteed minimum pension.

Must use more electricity!

You could always contact St John's ambulance to find out if they have subscriptions, or others here may already know.

II am not sure about the rest of Australia but annual ambulance cover in Victoria is $87.60 per year for family cover. This covers you Australia wide and covers all ambulance transports etc. Health insurance ambulance cover does not cater for everything and there are gaps. See http://www.ambulance.vic.gov.au look for memberships tab

Whilst I agree we should all take responsibility for our own health care and by that I mean we should walk when we can or use the stairs instead of the lift try to eat healthily not smoke etc. However this does not always work and some conditions and illnesses come out of the blue despite your best endeavours. Why would you think that the Government provides it for free. Nearly everybody pays taxes in one form or another; Income tax,GST(lower income families pay disproportionately more) , VAT Stamp duty, local taxes such as rates. The Governments and councils levy these to pay for services. Schools are provided to educate so we have a viable workforce that pays further taxes to support others. Health care is provided or else we would have lots of people going to an early grave or being disabled and a burden on society or their families and restricting their families ability to go to work. Many don't need healthcare till they get older but others require it sooner and there are maternity services etc. Roads are provided so we can travel. The only thing that changes is what a government wishes to pay for from their taxation revenue. If you think that people should not expect something for free then maybe you should give up the 40% rebate which the rest of us are paying for from taxation. My experience has been that I have been better treated by the public system than the private one both in the NHS and Medicare. Also there is an "argument" that private health also encourages over treatment with unnecessary investigations being carried out. I am glad for one that we live in a society that cares for the sick and would hate to go down the American route. How bizarre is it that those that are best at minimising their taxes spend more than their tax would have been on living in gated communities and paying for private security to keep the great unwashed out, whilst outside litter and grime abound.

They had top Gold cover with their fund and still got shafted. Insurance companies are just that they are out for profit. Much better healthcare could be provided for all if a little more tax was paid. John Howard's reform to encourage health insurance have helped some but for others it is not the answer. Also the assumption that you don't have to use it is not strictly true as every time you get admitted or go to hospital you are asked about whether you have insurance and intrusively questioned when you say no. My experience had the hospital claiming I had it as it was on their records even though I let it lapse when I finished work due to ever increasing premiums. The hook is you lose 2% of rebate for every year you are not in a fund if you later decide to sign up again. This causes many who are not best served by being in a fund to keep their cover due to fear and others reduce the cover to the minimum.