Steve Dawson

UK politics, news & current affairs, straight off the cuff. Honest reactions, banter and major world affairs when they affect us. No punches pulled.

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

Chinese Electric Cars Could Get More Expensive!

Downing Street is reportedly considering tariffs on Chinese electric cars, potentially pushing up prices for UK buyers.

I've looked at some of these Chinese cars myself, and the value for money is seriously impressive.

The argument for tariffs is protecting European car manufacturers from cheaper Chinese competition. But where does that leave British consumers?

And could closer trade ties with the EU put additional pressure on the UK to follow its approach?

I can understand the argument for protecting manufacturers, but I can also understand why consumers want access to cheaper cars.

Should we protect car manufacturers or keep prices competitive for buyers?

Let me know what you think in the comments.

#ElectricCars #China #UKPolitics

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

Freeze the Minimum Wage for FIVE Years?

A report endorsed by Conservative shadow business minister Andrew Sharp has proposed freezing the minimum wage for five years, claiming it could create 270,000 jobs.

But what about workers? With inflation, a five-year freeze could leave their wages worth considerably less in real terms.

And where does that figure of 270,000 new jobs come from?

I've also questioned whether government-set minimum wages interfere with what employers are prepared to pay and whether they sometimes become the going rate rather than the minimum.

Should wages be determined more by the market, or is a statutory minimum essential to protect workers?

Let me know what you think in the comments.

#MinimumWage #UKJobs #UKPolitics

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

1 in 4 Small Business Owners Thinking of Quitting!

According to figures cited by the Centre for Policy Studies, 60% of small business owners feel the Government isn't doing enough to support them, while around one in four are considering giving up altogether.

Rising energy bills, business rates and employment costs are putting businesses under increasing pressure.

And this doesn't just affect business owners. Small businesses employ millions of people across the UK, so their struggles can affect jobs and livelihoods too.

Are we making it too difficult to run a small business in Britain?

Let me know what you think in the comments, and please like, follow and share.

#SmallBusiness #UKEconomy #UKPolitics

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

@edlonguk 208.000 is a LOT of "charities" though.

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

208,000 Charities in the UK. Do We Really Need That Many?

With roughly 54 million adults and 208,000 registered charities, that's one charity for every 260 adults in the UK.

Charities benefit from tax relief, eligible charity premises get 80% off business rates, and Gift Aid allows them to claim an extra 25p for every £1 donated by a qualifying UK taxpayer.

I'm not questioning the good work many charities do, but I do wonder whether every organisation deserves charitable status and the financial benefits that come with it.

Are there simply too many charities in the UK?

Let me know what you think in the comments and please share.

#UKCharities #GiftAid #UKPolitics

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

IMF Says Scrap the Triple Lock. But Look at German Pensions!

Helge Berger, deputy director of the IMF's European Department, has reportedly suggested that the UK should scrap the state pension triple lock.

Meanwhile, the German pension figure I've been looking at is around £1,615 a month, compared with approximately £1,045 for the full new UK State Pension.

That's a difference of £570 a month, although the two pension systems aren't directly comparable.

I find it extraordinary that we're being advised to reconsider the triple lock when so many British pensioners are already struggling.

Should the UK listen to the IMF, or should we be protecting the triple lock?

Let me know in the comments, and please like, share and follow.

#StatePension #TripleLock #UKPolitics

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

21 Sexual Offences. Worked in 25 Schools. How Was He Not Caught Sooner?

Supply teacher Abu Salim Rahman, 37, has been sentenced to six years in prison after admitting 21 offences involving sexualised images of pupils and secretly filming upskirting offences.

He worked in 25 schools, with offences involving pupils at seven of them.

The case reportedly came to light after a mother spotted an AI-generated sexualised image of her daughter on X.

With all the safeguarding checks required to work in schools, how did this go undetected?

And how can we make sure something like this doesn't happen again?

Let me know what you think in the comments, and please share and follow.

#SchoolSafeguarding #ChildProtection #UKNews

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

2,600 Eritrean Asylum Claims Refused. Only 100 Returned?

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has threatened to suspend visa access for Eritrean nationals unless Eritrea cooperates with deportations.

Around 6,000 Eritreans reportedly arrived on small boats in the year to June 2026, with 2,600 asylum claims refused, yet only around 100 returns.

And when Reform suggested using visa restrictions, wasn't that heavily criticised?

My view is simple. Countries should take responsibility for accepting the return of their own citizens when they have no legal right to remain in the UK.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments, and please like, follow and share.

#Immigration #Deportations #UKPolitics

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

Accessory to Murder And Just 18 Months in Prison!

Kiran Kaur, the mother of Vikrum Digwa, who murdered 18-year-old Henry Nowak, is reportedly due for early release after serving around 18 months of a three-year sentence.

My biggest question isn't just why she's being released early. It's why she received only three years in the first place for her role in covering up what her son had done.

Some say she was simply protecting her son. I completely disagree. If it had been me, my mother would have marched me straight down to the police station.

In my opinion, three years was nowhere near enough.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments, and please share, like and follow.

#UKJustice #CrimeAndPunishment #EarlyRelease

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

£50 Million in One Day Just to Balance Our Electricity!

Almost £50 million was reportedly spent on electricity balancing yesterday, with costs reaching £505 million in September alone.

We're building wind farms and generating electricity, but our infrastructure can't always get that power to where it's needed.

So we end up paying generators to switch off and others to produce replacement electricity.

With annual balancing costs forecast at £3.2 billion, why aren't we doing more to sort out the infrastructure?

Ultimately, these costs feed through to electricity bills paid by people like you and me.

#EnergyBills #Electricity #UKPolitics

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

@LeeAndersonMP_ @reformparty_uk Agreed 👍

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

What Has Any Government Ever Done for YOU?

Serious question. Forget party politics for a moment and think about your own life.

What has any government, Labour or Conservative, actually done that has made your life better?

You might point to Margaret Thatcher's Right to Buy scheme, which helped people purchase their council homes.

But beyond examples like that, how much have successive governments really improved your life?

I'm struggling to think of much myself.

So tell me, what has any government done that's genuinely benefited you personally?

I'd be interested to read your answers in the comments.

#UKPolitics #Government #BritishPolitics

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

20% VAT on all Online Sales? Another Tax Coming?

There's speculation that the Chancellor could make online marketplaces responsible for collecting VAT from more sellers.

On the face of it, collecting unpaid VAT makes sense. But what happens to ordinary people selling unwanted items on platforms like Vinted?

I'm concerned that marketplaces could respond by increasing charges, leaving buyers and small sellers worse off.

Imagine mums buying and selling second-hand baby clothes suddenly facing higher costs.

It's only speculation at this stage, but what do you think?

Let me know in the comments.

#VAT #Vinted #UKPolitics

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

6 in 10 Young Brits Support National Service!

A survey reported in The Times found that 60% of 18 to 24-year-olds like the idea of a one-year national service scheme.

And this wasn't a small survey. Some 2,176 young people were questioned.

We're not just talking about military service. Young people could choose to spend a year in the armed forces, charities, community organisations or emergency services.

Personally, I think it's a pretty good idea, and I'm encouraged that so many young people agree.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

#NationalService #YoungPeople #UKPolitics

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

325,000 Fewer Student Visa Applications. Is It All About the Money?

Student visa applications to the UK are reportedly down 19%, around 325,000 fewer than the usual 1.7 million.

Universities are concerned about the financial impact, but is that all we should be thinking about?

What about the wider impact of overseas students who later apply to remain in the UK, including the potential effect on jobs for British graduates?

I think we should be looking beyond university income and asking some bigger questions.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments and please share.

#StudentVisas #UKUniversities #Immigration

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

Suspend All Asylum Applications for 5 Years?

Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuf have announced plans to suspend the UK's asylum system for five years if Reform gets into government.

The idea is to give the country time to sort out the existing problems.

Personally, I think a five-year suspension of new applications makes sense.

But there's more to the proposals, including cancelling around 90,000 outstanding asylum cases, and I'll admit that part makes me a little uncomfortable.

What do you think about suspending new asylum applications for five years?

Let me know in the comments and give me a follow for more.

#Asylum #ReformUK #UKPolitics

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

Neil Kinnock, the EU and Jobs for the Boys?

Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock says Andy Burnham is a committed pro-European.

But let's remember Kinnock's own history. He opposed Britain's membership of the European Community in 1975, yet later became Vice-President of the European Commission.

During his ten years in Brussels, he reportedly earned an average of £160,000 a year, followed by a £277,000 leaving payment and a £64,000 annual pension.

That's an awful lot of money, and it raises questions for me about politicians, their EU connections and the rewards available from senior European jobs.

Is this another example of jobs for the boys?

Let me know what you think in the comments and please share.

#NeilKinnock #EuropeanUnion #UKPolitics

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

The C Word We're Apparently Not Allowed to Talk About!

It's 13th October, 5.30pm in the UK, and I'm still walking around in a T-shirt. Absolutely beautiful weather!

I was going to talk about the C word, but apparently that's a subject we're not supposed to discuss on social media.

So I'll leave you to work out what I'm talking about.

What do you make of this lovely October weather, and what do you think about the C word?

Let me know in the comments and please share.

#UKWeather #ClimateChange #FreeSpeech

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

RAF Fairford: Iran Behind It, So Why Are the Suspects on Bail?

The RAF Fairford saga continues.

Five men were arrested over suspected terrorism and explosives offences, then released on police bail.

Now Andy Burnham says it is highly likely the incident was coordinated in Iran and directed by its Revolutionary Guard.

If the government believes Iran was behind this, why were the suspects released on bail?

Police say the investigation continues and strict bail conditions are in place, but there are still serious questions about what actually happened.

Something about this doesn't sit right with me.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

#RAFFairford #Iran #UKPolitics

[Steve Dawson @SteveOutspoken]

**Andy Burnham and the EU: Closer Ties or a Route Back In?**

Nigel Farage has called Andy Burnham a liar over his position on the EU.

Burnham previously said he wouldn't pursue rejoining, but now he's talking about closer ties.

Does that mean closer cooperation, or is it the first step towards reversing Brexit?

Personally, I think we've made our decision to leave the EU and should stand by it. And if politicians want to negotiate closer ties, surely we should be doing so from a position of strength.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments and please share.

#AndyBurnham #Brexit #UKPolitics