General Strike - possible?

[The Hypno-Toad]

Discussing this a few nights ago with my friends and came up with this nightmare scenario & I thought I'd run it by you guys. Although you can't do flying pickets and sympathy strikes anymore, shirley it wouldn't take a few union chiefs to work out this course of action over a few beers and chips and co-ordinate all these strikes?

Sometime around September petrol hits £1.60 a litre and diesel £1.68.

The hauliers say its no longer economic to supply supermarkets with food and withdraw their services/strike until the government decide to lower duty.

The supermarkets begin to run out of food.

Panic buying

The tanker drivers then see that they could take advantage of the situation/have had enough and strike too.

Panic buying of fuel and fights break out at petrol stations. Army called in to deliver fuel to hospitals.

Then the train unions and the fire brigades (whose leaders aren't exactly known for being moderate.) decide this sounds like a plan and walk as well, followed by all the public service workers who have had enough too. The strikes could be caused by claiming massive pay increases over rising fuel & heating costs.

Army now has to look after the fire brigades jobs + the ambulances + the fuel deliveries and who knows maybe even the poice?

Rioting starts at fuel and food depots. Rubbish is piling up in the streets. People are dying in casaulty wards as they didn't get to hospital in time, power cuts start, maybe a three day week?

What happens then????....

And with that pleasant thought, now here's Jim with the weather.

[remedy]

The Hypno-Toad said:

Discussing this a few nights ago with my friends and came up with this nightmare scenario & I thought I'd run it by you guys. Although you can't do flying pickets and sympathy strikes anymore, shirley it wouldn't take a few union chiefs to work out this course of action over a few beers and chips and co-ordinate all these strikes?

Sometime around September petrol hits £1.60 a litre and diesel £1.68.

The hauliers say its no longer economic to supply supermarkets with food and increase their prices. Supermarkets increase the price of goods and inflation continues to rise.

EFA

[FourWheelDrift]

Only if the Union leaders want to be arrested by their own Labour cronie introduced 2005 Prevention of Terrorism Act.

General striking could come under Non-Political terrorism – Terrorism that is not aimed at political purposes but which exhibits "conscious design to create and maintain a high degree of fear for coercive purposes, but the end is individual or collective gain rather than the achievement of a political objective.” This could in turn lead to Civil Order Terrorism as violence interferes with the peace, security, and normal functioning of the community.

Lock them all up now especially Bob Crow before it's too late

[The Hypno-Toad]

FourWheelDrift said:

Only if the Union leaders want to be arrested by their own Labour cronie introduced 2005 Prevention of Terrorism Act.

The mood some of the public might be in by then, they might even be seen as heroes.

I'm getting really worried by the mood that seems to be changing in this country at the moment. The politicans really don't get how fed up everyone is now. No one I know (apart from some the mini-millionaires on here. ) are finding it easy at the moment and a lot of people are right on the edge. It doesn't matter if its right or wrong (and there are other threads on here which are discussing in far greater detail.) the public see all politicans and other members of the 'elite' as self serving scum who are more bothered about their own backs and their duck ponds that setting the country straight. Left or Right, the perception now is that they are very well off on our taxes and they just don't get how short of cash and how downright unhappy a lot of people are right now.

My thoughts are we need some 'Good News' that will help cheer up the general public and quick. My ideas would be;

i.) Cut fuel duty not just postpone the latest rise.
ii.) Limit bankers bonuses. (yes, yes, I know but please lets not go into this here. What I'm trying to say is that rightly or wrongly the majority of people in the country think that they are unfair.)
iii.) Bring back the troops from Afghanistan early. (Wouldn't help the economy that much but would make people feel better.)
iv.) Axe all foreign aid straight away. Turn off the tap.
v.) Win the World Cup bid.........ah.

I think the mood in this country is changing fast and its not for the good. Of course its going to be tough after the mess that Brown, Blair and the rest of those scum left but we need a little sweetener, something and quick. Or it could be time to invest in canned goods, bottled water, candles, batteries and shotguns......

Edited by The Hypno-Toad on Friday 21st January 13:33

[FourWheelDrift]

The Hypno-Toad said:

My thoughts are we need some 'Good News' that will help cheer up the general public and quick. My ideas would be;

i.) Cut fuel duty not just postpone the latest rise.
ii.) Limit bankers bonuses. (yes, yes, I know but please lets not go into this here. What I'm trying to say is that rightly or wrongly the majority of people in the country think that they are unfair.)
iii.) Bring back the troops from Afghanistan early. (Wouldn't help the economy that much but would make people feel better.)
iv.) Axe all foreign aid straight away. Turn off the tap.
v.) Win the World Cup bid.........ah.

Or a Royal Marriage. William & Kate in April followed by a Celebrity baby, Stick & Beckham's 4th sprog due in the Summer. Then in the meantime until the wedding get the PM to be publicly sympathetic to the recent break up of the cage fighting tranny and her husband Alex Reid. That should keep the proles in check in the good news department. Till about September by which time the Football season will be starting again, talk of the Olympics the following year and perhaps the announcement of a Royal Baby.

That or get the editor of Hello Magazine to take over Andy Coulson's vacant job.

[Zaxxon]

'I think the mood in this country is changing fast and its not for the good'

Not where I live and work, people round here are just going to weather the storm and get on with it.
Most seem to praise the Tories for attempting to clean up the Labour mess.
It amazes me how short people memories are. And how stupid people are.

Country is fked financialy??? Oh yeah strikes will sort that. People who think like that deserve to starve.

[speedyman]

I think the OP point is that "ordinary" people on low/modest incomes are finding it very difficult to pay their bills. Petrol costs have risen dramatically and if you only earn three hundred quid a week a tank of petrol to get to work is now taking nearly a third your income.

The government should reduce the duty on petrol its to high and hurting working people now.

[tinman0]

The Hypno-Toad said:

I think the mood in this country is changing fast and its not for the good.

I dunno. It's long overdue for some new legislation for the unions. 100 years ago, unions were a good thing, and we are a better country for it for the most part. Workers deserve rights, and deserve to be kept safe, etc. All those rights are now enshrined in law.

But it's all gone a bit far. When a tube driver is earning £40kpa, whilst a fully qualified account is earning a similar amount, something somewhere has gone badly wrong. And when air stewardesses are going on strike because of the hardships of earning £50kpa, you definitely know something has gone wrong with the trade union movement.

Someone asked the guy who runs the fire service how much he earned - when he replied "less that the trade union boss", you know something has gone wrong.

[V88Dicky]

The Hypno-Toad said:

Rubbish is piling up in the streets. People are dying in casaulty wards as they didn't get to hospital in time, power cuts start, maybe a three day week?

What happens then????....

I think Margaret Thatcher won the election that year.

[Jackleman]

I wish people would get a grip on reality and stop moaning. The country has huge financial problems caused largely but the last lot in power. The new lot are trying their best to do a good job in a very difficult situation.

The number of supposedly "poor" people I see filling up their shopping trolleys each week with needles crap is shocking. I don't think people have lived, try seeing what real poverty is and how people get on with their lives with out moaning. In the last 10 years I have been lucky to visit 2 of the world poorest countries, in these places people get on with their lives and seem a lot more positive - perhaps our lives are too complicated???

If everyone can just get their heads down for another 12-18 months I am sure things will look brighter.

As for people striking, they should count themselves lucky they have a job at all and shut the fk up!

</FRIDAY AVO MINI RANT ENDS>

[GTO Scott]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

For those on tax credits, I agree. However, there are also a large number of people whose earnings are sub-£20k and aren't eligible for benefits. Take me as an example:

Main Earnings: £7.60p/h @ 55hrs p/w = £418 pre-tax. Looking at my accounts that means I get roughly £320 p/w after the government takes its share. That's £16215 (48x55hr week, + 4x 37.5hr week as holiday) p/a net. I am fortunate enough that between SWMBO and myself we cound afford to buy our house. She earns around £21k p/a net. We have no children, we both work a 55hr week on average.

We are not eligible for a single benefit - and that's the way it should be. I am not arguing that I should get anything from the state. The question is, why are my monthly outgoings soaring when both my wife and I work hard, pay our taxes and ask for not a penny of help from the government in return? Neither of us have had pay rises for the last 2 years, which increases the effect of inflation and tax increases. Luckily I'm in the position that I have other reserves to tap and other incomes - otherwise i'd be worried about whether the house was still affordable - the GTO would have been long gone by now too.

I am aware that Labour fked the country over, and most of us are going to have to suffer as a result. I have no intention of becoming a trade unionist, and I vote Conservative - hell, i'm a Conservative Club member. But it's a bitter pill to swallow when I see all my hard-earned flying out of the door and then see people every day who have decided the easy way to being a little better off is to reproduce and then apply for WTC etc.

[eccles]

Jackleman said:

As for people striking, they should count themselves lucky they have a job at all and shut the fk up!

Why should they count themselves lucky?

[Digga]

Jackleman said:

I wish people would get a grip on reality and stop moaning. The country has huge financial problems caused largely but the last lot in power. The new lot are trying their best to do a good job in a very difficult situation.

The number of supposedly "poor" people I see filling up their shopping trolleys each week with needles crap is shocking. I don't think people have lived, try seeing what real poverty is and how people get on with their lives with out moaning. In the last 10 years I have been lucky to visit 2 of the world poorest countries, in these places people get on with their lives and seem a lot more positive - perhaps our lives are too complicated???

If everyone can just get their heads down for another 12-18 months I am sure things will look brighter.

As for people striking, they should count themselves lucky they have a job at all and shut the fk up!

</FRIDAY AVO MINI RANT ENDS>

^This, except it might take a bit more than 12 months graft to sort this st out.

But where's our backbone?

[The Hypno-Toad]

speedyman said:

I think the OP point is that "ordinary" people on low/modest incomes are finding it very difficult to pay their bills. Petrol costs have risen dramatically and if you only earn three hundred quid a week a tank of petrol to get to work is now taking nearly a third your income.

The government should reduce the duty on petrol its to high and hurting working people now.

Nail. Head. Thanks.

But even if they can't do that think of something and quick. At the moment, the working Joe doesn't care about where the money comes from to pay for stuff and I even think they realise that cuts have to be made but all they see is that they are being dumped on while other people (as I mentioned for right or wrong the 'elite') still seem to be getting away with murder with regard to bonuses & expenses that seem to be coming from our taxes. (and as I mentioned yes I personally know that this isn't always the case.)

I don't know if anyone here can think of some good news other than lowering the duty on petrol but its the only thing I can see that would help in the immeadiate short term. If you have got an ideas I'd love to hear them. (So I would imagine would call CMD.)

And you know what? I think people are begining to see through all that Po$h & Beck$/Jordan/Cole bread & circus. Certainly all the Royal Wedding flags up in my circles radar is "Oh good an extra day off, how can I get away from the TV so I don't have to watch that crap?". They've pulled that st too many times. Everyone knows it will end in divorce, everyone knows that its basically two rich toffs getting hitched, no one is bothered.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah fairytale romance. She'll shag an army officer after he sleeps with a horse faced old battle axe and probably end up dead in a mysterious cable car accident. How much is a sliced loaf this week?"

I just wish I could tell CMD..
"All the average Joe's care about now is how much money they have in their bank and if they can make it to the end of the month/week. That's it. Forget Afghanistan, terrorism, internet for africans, Olympics, speed cameras, green wky bks, who a plastic woman is shagging, who a rich sloane is going to marry, NO ONE CARES.
All the average Joe cares about at the moment is
1.) Can I afford petrol to drive to work?
2.) Can I keep my job to afford food, electricity, clothes for the kids, a bit of booze for us and to pay the mortgage so we can keep the house.
THATS IT.
The only thing that makes them think is when people seemingly abuse the system and look like they fiddling while Rome burns. (and of course that also includes the benefit dole theiving scum as well.)"

I think we are closer to the edge than a lot of people on here might think.

Edited by The Hypno-Toad on Friday 21st January 15:17

[Jackleman]

eccles said:

Jackleman said:

As for people striking, they should count themselves lucky they have a job at all and shut the fk up!

Why should they count themselves lucky?

Because there are a lot of people out there at the moment that would quite happily do their jobs!

[Digga]

Can they really 'do' anything that wouldn't stoke inflation?

[BruceV8]

General strikes were made illegal after the 1926 general strike.

[crankedup]

Getting back to the OP, way before a nightmare scenario that you describe I would think that a General Election would have been called.

[grumbledoak]

Inflation is already 10% for many. Has been for two years or so. They just lie about it.

[crankedup]

Jackleman said:

I wish people would get a grip on reality and stop moaning. The country has huge financial problems caused largely but the last lot in power. The new lot are trying their best to do a good job in a very difficult situation.

The number of supposedly "poor" people I see filling up their shopping trolleys each week with needles crap is shocking. I don't think people have lived, try seeing what real poverty is and how people get on with their lives with out moaning. In the last 10 years I have been lucky to visit 2 of the world poorest countries, in these places people get on with their lives and seem a lot more positive - perhaps our lives are too complicated???

If everyone can just get their heads down for another 12-18 months I am sure things will look brighter.

As for people striking, they should count themselves lucky they have a job at all and shut the fk up!

</FRIDAY AVO MINI RANT ENDS>

Depends on what you mean by reality, if you have just lost your job, your O/H is unemployed, you have a mortgage to service along with all the other bills, add to that the reduction in benefits! No wonder some people are feeling fed up. Any normal hard working person seeing their personal standard of living eroding is hardly expected to jump for joy.