(31 May 2020, 4:49 pm)Michael wrote Yet they've confirmed the Sunderland plant will stay open....... job losses may still occur as Nissan are still reducing production, as its in the red for the first time in years.

Don't think they'll leave the UK now, with them shutting the Barcelona plant and the Sunderland plant becoming the main EU producer for cars.

We haven't left yet though Michael. Business in general is still hanging on to see what awaits. Not just Nissan...

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(31 May 2020, 4:53 pm)Adrian wrote We haven't left yet though Michael. Business in general is still hanging on to see what awaits. Not just Nissan...

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We have left though, we are no longer a member of the European Union. We're just in the transition period of still following the rules while a deal is agreed

(31 May 2020, 5:02 pm)streetdeckfan wrote We have left though, we are no longer a member of the European Union. We're just in the transition period of still following the rules while a deal is agreed

I thought we leave the EU on January 1st 2021?

Nissan will always be here in the UK while there still get millions of pounds from the UK government each year

The EU still wants rights to still do fishing in UK waters, I wonder what it will take for the UK to sell the UK off.


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(31 May 2020, 5:18 pm)cbma06 wrote I thought we leave the EU on January 1st 2021?

Nissan will always be here in the UK while there still get millions of pounds from the UK government each year

The EU still wants rights to still do fishing in UK waters, I wonder what it will take for the UK to sell the UK off.


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Nope, we left on the 31st January 2020, it's the transition period that ends on 1st January 2021.

At the minute, we're in a sort of halfway house between being in and out.
We're not a member, but we still have to follow EU law and are in the customs union/single market until 1st January 2021, after which point we will have 'actually' left.

Regarding the Liberal Democrat leadership contest, Ed Davey has confirmed that he is indeed standing again. He is joined by declared candidates Layla Moran and Wera Hobhouse, but Daisy Cooper has ruled herself out.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/52919408

I read elsewhere that the result is due on August 26th rather than after that date.

(26 Jun 2020, 9:02 am)Storx wrote Typical reply of this forum totally ignoring the whole point of the reply and spouting something totally irrelevant and it doesn't surprise me in the slightest. I won't be posting anything more on this though as this is a bus forum and not a discussion about the origins of the rainbow flag and companies suddenly diverting the meaning of it during the month it's for so it has a wider meaning and audience. There's been a few though and you don't just design a bus overnight, this would've been done months before the virus even hit.

Sorry to those who don't politics stuff but it's been on my chest for awhile and it's annoying. It's annoying enough companies becoming sudden pride advocates for marketing reasons it's even more annoying when they suddenly divert it because it can get a bigger audience.

100% agree with you there. 

What really annoyed me was the 'Thank You NHS' rainbow, and don't even get me started on the 'Clap for Carers' bullshit. Everyone and their dog took part in that purely for the marketing, GNE are no exception. Look how much they shared on their social media about it! 

You think they did it out of the goodness of their heart? Don't make me laugh! (no doubt some people did, but a company doesn't have a heart)


Going a bit off tangent here, if you love the NHS, perhaps don't read on

Obviously the NHS has been used politically recently, but to me it's absolutely absurd to think of NHS workers as 'heroes', they're just doing their job. They chose to work in an environment where they could potentially come in contact infectious diseases. They knew the risks.

Shops giving them all special treatment, opening early, giving them discounts, letting them jump the queues. Why? If anything they shouldn't be letting them in! 
I have family that work in supermarkets (Sainsbury's Arnison in particular) and NHS staff from the hospital walk up to the front of the queue in their dirty uniform, walk around the store like they own the place touching everything.  If they're working in such a dangerous environment like we're led to believe, why are we letting them mix with the rest of the population?

Then there's the care workers, what I want to know is how were there so many outbreaks in care homes when the only people allowed in and out were care workers? I get that in the early days patients were sent back to the homes without tests being conducted, but even after that there were still outbreaks.


To me, the real 'heroes' are the ones that didn't choose to put themselves at risk, the other keyworkers that seem to have been forgotten, other than the 'and keyworkers' that was tacked on to the bottom of the rainbows 


I have no issues being open politically, but I'm a white Conservative voting Brexit supporter so obviously I'm a racist and my opinions don't count!

This whole 'local lockdown' is really getting on my nerves 

It's all about politics, and absolutely nothing to do the number of cases, if it was, it'd just be the towns that have high numbers locked down like it has been with the rest of the local lockdowns!

This isn't about reducing the spread, it's about the mostly Labour councils trying to one up the government.

Hancock was basically backed into a corner and had no choice but to put the North East into lockdown, if he hadn't the Labour MPs would have had a field day with the headlines of 'Hancock refused to lockdown North East'

I have to admit, what they did was clever. They've managed to anger their own voters (the students) and put the blame on the Conservatives at the same time!

Nothing they've announced today is going to reduce the spread of COVID in the north east.

If pubs are the problem, then close them completely.
If people being close together is the problem, close the leisure industry again.

There's absolutely no need for blanket restrictions over the whole of the North East. 

Most of Northumberland has very few cases yet is included. Same with South West Durham. Everyone's favourite Barnard Castle has had 0-2 cases, yet is in lockdown.

(17 Sep 2020, 11:59 am)streetdeckfan wrote This whole 'local lockdown' is really getting on my nerves 

It's all about politics, and absolutely nothing to do the number of cases, if it was, it'd just be the towns that have high numbers locked down like it has been with the rest of the local lockdowns!

This isn't about reducing the spread, it's about the mostly Labour councils trying to one up the government.

Hancock was basically backed into a corner and had no choice but to put the North East into lockdown, if he hadn't the Labour MPs would have had a field day with the headlines of 'Hancock refused to lockdown North East'

I have to admit, what they did was clever. They've managed to anger their own voters (the students) and put the blame on the Conservatives at the same time!

Nothing they've announced today is going to reduce the spread of COVID in the north east.

If pubs are the problem, then close them completely.
If people being close together is the problem, close the leisure industry again.

There's absolutely no need for blanket restrictions over the whole of the North East. 

Most of Northumberland has very few cases yet is included. Same with South West Durham. Everyone's favourite Barnard Castle has had 0-2 cases, yet is in lockdown.

First of all, there's no blanket restrictions across the North East.

Secondly, the economy would tank even more if pubs and the leisure industry were shut down.

(17 Sep 2020, 11:59 am)streetdeckfan wrote This whole 'local lockdown' is really getting on my nerves 

It's all about politics, and absolutely nothing to do the number of cases, if it was, it'd just be the towns that have high numbers locked down like it has been with the rest of the local lockdowns!

This isn't about reducing the spread, it's about the mostly Labour councils trying to one up the government.

Hancock was basically backed into a corner and had no choice but to put the North East into lockdown, if he hadn't the Labour MPs would have had a field day with the headlines of 'Hancock refused to lockdown North East'

I have to admit, what they did was clever. They've managed to anger their own voters (the students) and put the blame on the Conservatives at the same time!

Nothing they've announced today is going to reduce the spread of COVID in the north east.

If pubs are the problem, then close them completely.
If people being close together is the problem, close the leisure industry again.

There's absolutely no need for blanket restrictions over the whole of the North East. 

Most of Northumberland has very few cases yet is included. Same with South West Durham. Everyone's favourite Barnard Castle has had 0-2 cases, yet is in lockdown.

This is nonsense. On several levels. 

1. We have (significantly) the 3rd highest rate per 100,000, so it is absurd to suggest it is not about cases.
2. Nobody gets into politics because they don't care about people; but there are different ideologies. Again, its absurd to suggest that Councils are trying to 'get one up' on the Government, and quite frankly without any evidence to support the claim.
3. Hancock was not backed into a corner. He is the Health Secretary and it is ultimately his call. 
4. I would suggest that students are more angered about being forced to sit 30+ in a classroom, without any respect for social distancing. 

I would love to hear your explanation about why extra measures will do nothing to prevent the spread and why you think there is "absolutely no need for blanket restrictions" Bold statement to make, but nothing to support it!

(17 Sep 2020, 12:46 pm)Adrian wrote This is nonsense. On several levels. 

1. We have (significantly) the 3rd highest rate per 100,000, so it is absurd to suggest it is not about cases.
2. Nobody gets into politics because they don't care about people; but there are different ideologies. Again, its absurd to suggest that Councils are trying to 'get one up' on the Government, and quite frankly without any evidence to support the claim.
3. Hancock was not backed into a corner. He is the Health Secretary and it is ultimately his call. 
4. I would suggest that students are more angered about being forced to sit 30+ in a classroom, without any respect for social distancing. 

I would love to hear your explanation about why extra measures will do nothing to prevent the spread and why you think there is "absolutely no need for blanket restrictions" Bold statement to make, but nothing to support it!

1. The region as a whole, yes, does have the third highest rate. But it's also centred around hotspots in Sunderland and the east parts of County Durham, with a smaller number of cases in Newcastle and Gateshead. Darlington has had a higher number of cases than the north of Northumberland, yet is not included. If it was purely about the number of cases, the it would be included
2. Fair point, but I'm glad there doesn't seem to be any additional powers given to the local authorities, I wouldn't trust them in the slightest.
3. The fact that he basically said the councils came to him and asked for assistance suggests it was not what he wanted to do. Had he deemed it necessary, he would have taken the credit. 
4. Students of voting age aren't 'forced' to sit in a classroom of 30+, it's their choice of whether they want to go to University or not. And being of that age, and knowing plenty of people of that age, I can almost guarantee they're more annoyed about not being able to socialise than their education.

My explanation:
In my experience there's sod all difference in drunks between 10pm and 12pm. Making them close earlier isn't going to stop them going out. In fact, go to a Spoons at 11am and there's people just as bad as the drunks you see at 11pm. The issue isn't the closing time, it's the fact they're open in the first place. Drunk people don't start becoming 'friendly' once it hits 10pm, they're going to ignore social distancing regardless of the time.

I think the fact that there are parts of the North East with very few cases yet still have restrictions very much supports my point about the blanket restrictions not being needed

How do you explain the Conservative MPS in the regions requesting this too?? Are they really Labour MPs in disguise?

(17 Sep 2020, 1:41 pm)Rob44 wrote How do you explain the Conservative MPS in the regions requesting this too??  Are they really Labour MPs in disguise?

Which conservative MPs have requested it? All I've seen from them is requesting clarification of what the lockdown would be if it went ahead.

(17 Sep 2020, 1:47 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Which conservative MPs have requested it? All I've seen from them is requesting clarification of what the lockdown would be if it went ahead.

i know its the chronicle but the Tory MP asks Mathew to give the powers to the North east councils......... unless im reading it wrongly????

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/nor...g-18938216

(17 Sep 2020, 1:59 pm)Rob44 wrote i know its the chronicle but the Tory MP asks Mathew to give the powers to the North east councils......... unless im reading it wrongly????

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/nor...g-18938216

No, you're right. I must admit I didn't see that article.

Although I do think it's rather strange for a Conservative MP asking for the government to give more power to a Labour led council.

He must be one of the few Tories who cares about his continuance rather than points scoring!

(17 Sep 2020, 2:15 pm)Rob44 wrote He must be one of the few Tories who cares about his continuance rather than points scoring!

To be fair, Labour MPs do more than their fair share 'point scoring'! Having said that, I'm sure the Conservatives did exactly the same when Labour were in power, that's just politics!

I'm not against local lockdowns as some appear to think, just that this feels more politically motivated than anything else.
The fact that there are quite a number of cases in Darlington and Teesside and they haven't been included does look rather suspicious. 

I personally think that it should have been both a lot more targeted and more stringent if they were going to to down the lockdown route.

To me, this feels like a half arsed attempt to look like they're doing something.

The only things that they've legally banned are meeting in other household's private property, leisure and entertainment venues closing at 10pm, and making food and drink venues table service only. Everything else is guidance. So you can still legally meet up with a friend in a park, you can still legally carshare, legally you can still meet up with friends in the pub (they say you can't but it's not legally banned), but if a friend steps foot in my garden thats a £100 fine.

They're advising that public transport is for essential travel only, but that's not enforceable.

So my friends and I will be getting the bus down to Middlesbrough, each sitting in a different row because we're not in the same household, and going to a restaurant down there without breaking any of the rules

Guy Opperman and Dehenna Davison have both backed the restrictions. None of the others have spoken out against them.

Boundaries have to be drawn somewhere. Because we have two large unitary authority areas in Northumberland and Durham, it makes it incredibly difficult to shrink the area. Maybe it would have been more possible if we still had the old District and City Councils model, but I also bet that if Teesside and Darlington were included, you'd have people asking why Northallerton or Whitby wasn't.

Guy Opperman is an idiot and a moron and should’ve been voted out during the last election (I voted against him) as Tynedale barely has any cases yet we are being punished because of idiots in other areas and I’ve had enough of hearing about it, doesn’t help I’m on the autistic spectrum and going on and on about things like this cause my anxiety to rise. They don’t think about how it affects peoples mental health as they just wanna get their political agenda shoved down people’s throats.

(Sorry for the rant, this has been building up for months).


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Local mps certainly didn't ask for a ban on using relatives for child care so that people can work. You're allowed to employ a nanny, though.

(17 Sep 2020, 1:47 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Which conservative MPs have requested it? All I've seen from them is requesting clarification of what the lockdown would be if it went ahead.

Northumberland is a Conservative council. Just saying.

Also you haven't been out much if your comparing a pub from 11am and 2am there's definitely a difference. Some of the stuff from Newcastle and Sunderland has been shocking in the pubs which are usually nightclubs not to mention the absolute shambles in Fenceshouses which caused all this in the first place.

(17 Sep 2020, 8:57 pm)Storx wrote Northumberland is a Conservative council. Just saying.

Also you haven't been out much if your comparing a pub from 11am and 2am there's definitely a difference. Some of the stuff from Newcastle and Sunderland has been shocking in the pubs which are usually nightclubs not to mention the absolute shambles in Fenceshouses which caused all this in the first place.

While technically most of the counsellors are Conservative, they don't have enough of a majority to have overall control of the council.


So I've heard conflicting information from the councils.
Publically they're saying that they wanted an exclusion for childcare with the restrictions, but someone I know who is working on the COVID response within one of the councils told me today they specifically asked for all social gatherings to be included as it was with families providing childcare that they were seeing some of the biggest rises in cases.
They also said that they've been asked by higher ups in the council not to let the public know, which to me seems strange as you'd think if the public knew the statistics they'd be less angry about the restrictions!

Obviously it's second hand information so I can't guarantee that it's true, but like I said it's from someone that's working on the COVID response within one of the councils.

(18 Sep 2020, 9:48 pm)streetdeckfan wrote While technically most of the counsellors are Conservative, they don't have enough of a majority to have overall control of the council.

So I've heard conflicting information from the councils.
Publically they're saying that they wanted an exclusion for childcare with the restrictions, but someone I know who is working on the COVID response within one of the councils told me today they specifically asked for all social gatherings to be included as it was with families providing childcare that they were seeing some of the biggest rises in cases.
They also said that they've been asked by higher ups in the council not to let the public know, which to me seems strange as you'd think if the public knew the statistics they'd be less angry about the restrictions!

Obviously it's second hand information so I can't guarantee that it's true, but like I said it's from someone that's working on the COVID response within one of the councils.

This is just not true. At all. Why would they ask for something then lobby to have it removed?? 

(18 Sep 2020, 9:48 pm)streetdeckfan wrote While technically most of the counsellors are Conservative, they don't have enough of a majority to have overall control of the council.


So I've heard conflicting information from the councils.
Publically they're saying that they wanted an exclusion for childcare with the restrictions, but someone I know who is working on the COVID response within one of the councils told me today they specifically asked for all social gatherings to be included as it was with families providing childcare that they were seeing some of the biggest rises in cases.
They also said that they've been asked by higher ups in the council not to let the public know, which to me seems strange as you'd think if the public knew the statistics they'd be less angry about the restrictions!

Obviously it's second hand information so I can't guarantee that it's true, but like I said it's from someone that's working on the COVID response within one of the councils.

https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/News/2...ge-on.aspx

(19 Sep 2020, 10:39 am)Adrian wrote This is just not true. At all. Why would they ask for something then lobby to have it removed?? 

Politics. Makes the government look bad!

Like I said, I don't know if it's true, but if the statistics do actually show that's where the transmission is occurring, then it could be

(19 Sep 2020, 12:55 pm)Storx wrote https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/News/2...ge-on.aspx

It was actually someone from Northumberland Council that I heard it from

(19 Sep 2020, 3:23 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Politics. Makes the government look bad!

Like I said, I don't know if it's true, but if the statistics do actually show that's where the transmission is occurring, then it could be


It was actually someone from Northumberland Council that I heard it from

Show me the statistics please.

(19 Sep 2020, 4:29 pm)Adrian wrote Show me the statistics please.

I don't have the exact statistics, they weren't allowed to share them with me. I'll ask again though.
Hence why I said 'if the statistics' show that is the case. I mean, they haven't lied to me in the past, but it is second hand information!

https://twitter.com/adavies4/status/1319...06592?s=21

This is getting ridiculous now


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(24 Oct 2020, 1:18 am)TEN 6083 wrote https://twitter.com/adavies4/status/1319...06592?s=21

This is getting ridiculous now


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To be honest, I find the free school meals debate and the way the tories have gone on, one of the more ridiculous of the covid19 related stories.

(24 Oct 2020, 12:21 pm)Andreos1 wrote To be honest, I find the free school meals debate and the way the tories have gone on, one of the more ridiculous of the covid19 related stories.

Absolutely, that was a awful own goal, especially for our new Tory MPs up here.

(24 Oct 2020, 1:18 am)TEN 6083 wrote https://twitter.com/adavies4/status/1319...06592?s=21

This is getting ridiculous now


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Mark Drakeford behaves and talks like a miserable control freak.