Can This Get Any Worse?

Summary

In this video, the speaker expresses frustration with political dishonesty and inconsistency, citing the UK Prime Minister's handling of the winter fuel allowance as an example. They also discuss the lack of accountability for politicians' campaign promises, using the example of a £22 billion 'black hole' in the economy. The speaker criticizes the bending of truth and trust issues in politics, while also sharing a personal experience with data privacy violation. They conclude by emphasizing the importance of direct answers and integrity in governance.

Takeaways

• 😡 The speaker is frustrated with politicians for bending and twisting the truth, evading questions, and being inconsistent with their answers.
• 🚫 Politicians are not legally accountable for their campaign promises, which contributes to the lack of trust.
• 👴 The government's decision to remove the winter fuel allowance from pensioners is criticized as it affects the vulnerable.
• 💸 The government blames a 'black hole' in the economy for necessary cuts, but the speaker questions the validity of this claim.
• 🤔 The speaker emphasizes the importance of accountability and direct answers to questions from politicians.
• 📰 The speaker points out a contradiction in the Prime Minister's statements about a new AI data center investment that was actually announced earlier.
• 📱 The speaker shares a personal experience of having his personal phone number sold by data brokers, highlighting the issue of data privacy.
• 🔒 The speaker promotes a service called Incognito that helps individuals remove their personal data from data brokers' servers.
• 🆚 The speaker discusses contradictions in political stances over time, such as on private healthcare and university tuition fees.
• 🏳️‍🌈 The speaker notes a shift in political promises regarding conversion therapy and transgender rights, suggesting a need to align with public opinion.

Q & A

What are the two main issues the speaker has with politics?

The speaker has two main issues with politics: the bending and twisting of the truth, and the lack of accountability for politicians' statements during campaigns.

Why does the speaker dislike the bending and twisting of the truth in politics?

The speaker dislikes the bending and twisting of the truth because it frustrates their desire for straightforward answers as a barrister and undermines trust in politicians' statements.

What does the speaker find particularly frustrating about politicians' lack of accountability?

The speaker finds it frustrating that politicians are not legally held accountable for their campaign promises, which can lead to a disconnect between what they promise and what they actually do in office.

What is the context of the video the speaker mentions by Alan Robertshaw?

The video by Alan Robertshaw likely discusses the legal inability to hold MPs accountable for their statements during campaigns, which is a point of frustration for the speaker.

Why does the speaker criticize the handling of the winter fuel allowance?

The speaker criticizes the handling of the winter fuel allowance because of the inconsistency between past statements and current actions, as well as the potential impact on vulnerable pensioners.

What is the '22 billion pound black hole' mentioned by the Prime Minister in the script?

The '22 billion pound black hole' refers to an alleged budget deficit or financial discrepancy that the current government claims to have inherited from the previous government, which they are using to justify austerity measures.

How does the speaker feel about the Prime Minister's response to the winter fuel allowance issue?

The speaker feels that the Prime Minister's response is evasive and not a direct answer to the question, instead blaming the previous government and the so-called 'black hole' in the economy.

What does the speaker find contradictory about the statements regarding AI and data centers?

The speaker finds it contradictory that the current government is claiming new investments for an AI data center when the deal was actually announced and confirmed months prior under the previous government.

Why is the speaker concerned about his personal phone number being used by a company?

The speaker is concerned because his personal phone number was obtained and used by a company without his consent, which he sees as a breach of privacy and potentially GDPR regulations.

What is the role of the company 'incog' in the speaker's story about data privacy?

Incog is a company that helps individuals remove their personal data from data brokers' servers, preventing further sale and misuse of their information.

What is the speaker's view on politicians receiving gifts and donations during campaigns?

The speaker views politicians receiving gifts and donations during campaigns as potentially compromising their independence and integrity, and it can create the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Outlines

00:00

🗣️ Politics and Truth Distortion

The speaker expresses frustration with politics, particularly the manipulation of truth and evasion of questions. As a barrister, they value direct answers and consistency, which are often lacking in political discourse. They mention the inability to hold MPs accountable for campaign promises and refer to a video by Alan Robert Schwi. The speaker also discusses the lack of accountability in government, regardless of public opinion or voting outcomes. They encourage viewers to subscribe for unbiased analysis of current events from a legal perspective.

05:03

💸 Questioning Economic Priorities

The speaker addresses the issue of the winter fuel allowance for pensioners, criticizing the government's decision to remove it despite previous assurances. They highlight the Prime Minister's past statements and current actions, which they view as contradictory. The speaker also discusses the government's claim of a £22 billion 'black hole' in the economy, suggesting that not all of it was unexpected and questioning the sincerity of the government's economic arguments. They emphasize the impact on vulnerable populations and the importance of direct answers to questions about policy changes.

10:06

📞 Privacy and Data Misuse

The speaker recounts a personal experience of receiving an unsolicited call from a company that had obtained their personal phone number. They express irritation at the unauthorized use and sale of personal data, which they view as a violation of privacy. The speaker has taken action against the company and discusses the broader issue of data brokers selling personal information. They recommend a service called Incog, which helps individuals remove their data from such brokers, to protect against further misuse and potential fraud.

15:10

🔄 Contradictions in Political Stances

The speaker highlights inconsistencies in political promises and actions, using examples from the speaker's own party as well as others. They discuss past statements on healthcare, tuition fees, and transgender rights, showing how initial commitments were later reversed or modified. The speaker also touches on the issue of politicians receiving gifts and donations during campaigns, which they view as potentially compromising. They emphasize the importance of direct and honest communication from political figures and the need for consistency in their actions and words.

Keywords

💡Politics

Politics refers to activities related to the governance of a country or area, especially the debate between parties having power. In the video, the speaker expresses frustration with politics, particularly the bending and twisting of truth and the lack of accountability of Members of Parliament (MPs). The video's theme revolves around the speaker's critique of political honesty and consistency.

💡Accountability

Accountability is the obligation to account for one's actions or decisions, especially to the public. The video discusses the lack of legal accountability for MPs in the UK, noting that they cannot be held responsible for their campaign promises, which is a point of frustration for the speaker.

💡Truth

Truth, in the context of the video, refers to the accurate representation of facts or reality. The speaker is frustrated by the bending and twisting of the truth in politics, which they view as a barrier to trust and clear communication.

💡Winter Fuel Allowance

The Winter Fuel Allowance is a UK government benefit provided to help pensioners with heating costs during winter. The video discusses the government's decision to remove this allowance, which the speaker sees as a broken promise and a sign of political inconsistency.

💡Economy

The economy encompasses all economic activities of a country, including production, consumption, and trade. The video mentions a 'black hole' in the economy as a reason for cutting the Winter Fuel Allowance, illustrating how economic conditions can influence political decisions and impact citizens.

💡Inconsistency

Inconsistency refers to a lack of uniformity or coherence. The video highlights political inconsistency, where politicians give different answers to the same question or change their stance over time, which the speaker finds frustrating.

💡Trust

Trust is the reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, or surety of a person or thing. The video emphasizes the importance of trust in politics, arguing that the bending of truth and inconsistency undermines the public's trust in politicians.

💡Campaign Promises

Campaign promises are commitments made by politicians during their election campaigns. The video discusses how these promises are not always fulfilled once in office, leading to a sense of betrayal and a lack of trust in the political system.

💡Data Privacy

Data privacy concerns the right of individuals to have control over their personally identifiable information. The video touches on the speaker's personal experience with a company obtaining their personal phone number, which raises issues of data privacy and the sale of personal information.

💡Contradictory

Contradictory means expressing or involving two or more conflicting statements or ideas. The video presents several instances where the speaker believes politicians have made contradictory statements, which further erodes trust and confidence in their words.

💡Transparency

Transparency refers to the quality of being open, communicative, and accountable. The video implies a lack of transparency in politics, as the speaker seeks clear and direct answers to questions, which they feel are often obscured by politicians.

Highlights

The frustration with politics stems from the bending and twisting of the truth and evading questions.

Inconsistencies in political answers and lack of legal accountability for MPs' campaign promises.

A call for a brutally honest appraisal of current news and politics.

The winter fuel allowance issue and its impact on pensioners.

The Prime Minister's past statements on winter fuel allowance contradict current actions.

The government's justification for taking away the winter fuel allowance due to an 'inherited' economic crisis.

Critique of the government's claim of a £22 billion 'black hole' in the economy.

The announcement of a new AI data center that was not actually new.

The importance of trust in government and the consequences of bending the truth.

A personal experience with a company obtaining and selling personal data.

The recommendation of a service to protect personal data from being sold.

Contradicting statements on private healthcare funding.

The commitment to scrapping university tuition fees and subsequent backtracking.

The promise to ban conversion therapy and the subsequent change in stance.

The necessity to carry the public with policy changes, exemplified by the gender recognition act.

The importance of direct answers to questions in politics and maintaining integrity.

The expectation for politicians to maintain a high level of independence from gifts and donations.

Transcripts

there are two things I really hate about

politics the first is the bending and

the twisting of the truth evading the

question which as a barrister is really

frustrating because I like a straight

answer to a very straightforward

question and the inconsistencies between

answers or giving an answer to a

different question that wasn't asked

added to the fact that you cannot

legally hold MPS accountable for what

they said when they were campaigning to

get into government and there's a great

video on that by my learned friend Alan

Robert shw I'll find it and I'll link it

in the description below but it's this

General bending and twisting of the

truth is the first thing that really

frustrates me and it's that element of

trust trusting what somebody says and

trusting them to answer the question the

second is that we are all accountable to

government and the rules that they make

regardless whether we agree with them or

not regardless of whether you think that

you voted for what they are doing

because you may have thought one thing

when they are campaigning and they do

something else else and again they're

not held accountable to it and those are

the two things that have kept me out of

politics but lots of you have asked me

to talk about this so if you want a

brutally honest Frank appraisal of what

I see going on in the news please do

consider subscribing to my Channel about

60% of the millions of you that watch

every month don't do so I'd like to

think that I offer some insight as a

barister and as a citizen myself living

under the same rules and how I work

within those rules uh so please do

subscribe and I'll offer you my insight

for those that just want my legal videos

I will still do those and they are

obviously in the library there's a

couple of thousand videos in there so

there's something for everybody so thank

you for doing that so what sparked this

video today and why am I talking

specifically about the honesty and the

consistency of all of this let's take a

first look at this bit here which is

this is to do with the winter fuel

allowance there's two or three bits in

this video which and at the end of the

video there's going to be a collection

of different things which all seem

contradictory and I'll leave you to make

your own mind up about that and for the

avoidance of doubt I am not in any

saying that anyone is being fraudulent

in this video these are just

observations for legal reasons you

understand take a listen to this bit

first this is about the winter fuel

allowance of what saki starma said in

May

2024 about um what was said last year

listen to this last year the Prime

Minister was apparently drawing up plans

to remove the winter fuel allowance from

pensioners his pay Master General went a

step further he said these are the sorts

of things that we need to look at so

will he now rule out taking pensioners

winter fuel payments off them and I

don't think I need to play anymore

because that's obviously crystal clear

because that's precisely what they're

doing now so I don't want to come across

and I don't want anyone to judge me as

being against one government and for

another I'm just calling out what I see

this is a fundamentally different

position to what's happening now and I'm

sure if I ask the question because he's

answered the question this way he will

blame previous government and some black

hole that they claimed to have found

which I come back to in a moment but

it's this inconsistency is the first

thing that I don't like and the second

thing that follows is if they decide to

take it away it's gone and so the

pensioners that did depend on that or

would have depended on that obviously

cannot now do so but then again with my

first reason is this sort of bending and

twisting of the truth and dodging and

evading the question whilst he does

answer the question but not so directly

when asked about the winter fuel

allowance and what would he say to

people that are having this removed this

is what he said what about the people

who have worked all of their lives paid

into the state pensioners how can you

justify taking away up to

£300 from those formerly working

people so just to clarify the question I

know she said it very clearly but I want

to emphasize the perfect clarity of that

question how can you justify taking that

away bearing in mind everything else

that's going on how can you justify

taking that away and this is the answer

well it's tough and I think the first

thing to say is and to explain is why we

had to do it we inherited a really

damaged economy we did an audit and we

discovered an undisclosed 22 billion

pound black hole this year

which we have to fix we have to fix that

black hole includes public sector pay

Rises well the last government set up

the pay review bodies for and so this

goes on to essentially for one blame the

previous government which I'm not saying

is wrong necessarily um and also the 22

billion pound black hole that they found

which again is not entirely uh

straightforward but I'll come back to

that in a second but it doesn't directly

answer the question is what would you

say to those people now the answer to

that according to K here is to explain

that it's the previous government's

fault they had a bad economy Etc but

that then begs the question if this

economy is so bad then surely there's

lots of other areas to cut back on

spending and those that are most

vulnerable according to Kama himself and

previous reports that have said lots of

people are at risk of dying of of cold

if they don't get this fuel allowance

and they can't Heat their houses

properly

then lots of those are at risk and yet

it's being taken away anyway and even

when we look at the claim about this 22

billion pound black hole um fact check

and the BBC and other sources have all

said well it's not entirely true it says

that some bits of it such as the BBC

reported that there was an unfunded uh

six something billion p6.4 billion pound

cost of support the Asylum system was

unfunded for example uh much of the

other stuff they would have already been

aware of so both fact check the BBC and

other sources all say that not all of

this was entirely unexpected so that's

not entirely clear either so blame the

previous government blame the black hole

I'm not saying the previous government

was perfect and I'm not saying the

economy isn't in a terrible state I'm

not an economist but I don't need to be

an economist to know that the economy is

in a bit of a state But to answer it

that way not directly answer the

question by giving this roundabout

explanation is a little bit

frustrating um secondly the second thing

to uh bring up for this video uh that

spark this video today is this bit here

which again is bending and twisting of

the truth this is K st's own X account

Twitter if you absolutely insist um he

says here in two tweets uh in reverse

order we can build a future where AI dri

drives growth creates wealth Etc um

speaking of create wealth if you want to

create wealth with me join my Daniel

shens Smith Channel Linked In the

description below it's growing nicely

and I'll help you to make money on that

channel head over there and I'll see you

there as well but he says here uh new

now emphasis I'm being being the lawyer

about this I do pick up on every word he

says new so this is apparently new

information emphasis on the new there

you see I'm being sarcastic here to be

funny because um he being sarcastic in

government I don't really like that

across the bench but that's by The Bu he

says here new we've secured investment

to create one of the largest AI data

centers in Europe based on the northeast

of England delivering jobs and wealth

creation my number one mission is to

grow the economy with my government

Britain is back as great you grow the

economy great secure these deals great

secure Investments great but it it comes

to something when you can see this here

is because I'm a community notes author

for X um which are all anonymized by the

way no one knows who anybody is but um

it does give you access to the to write

proposed Community notes and one of

those takes you to this article here

that says actually no this isn't new

this was announced a while ago um and

this says quite tongue-in-cheek stama

announces deal signed under rishy sunak

and it says here st's meeting with

businesses this morning in New York to

uh convince them to invest in the UK to

prove he's already making successful

investment in the government has

announced um that he secured a 10

billion uh pound deal for the US

Investment Company Blackstone to build

the biggest AI data center but this deal

was signed off and publicized months

before the election on the 15th of April

and was fully confirmed a few weeks

later and that's these two articles here

this one's dated the 15th of April this

is when it was all sort of signed off

and it's the same deal as I understand

it and it was finalized

a few weeks later in May and so this

isn't new at all now to say new we have

secured this

investment from what I've read for legal

reasons from what I've read That's not

entirely true so it's this sort of

bending and the twisting of the truth

and it it does throw into question your

trust in the people that are making the

decisions that are making these

statements running the government and

not not least of which the

contradictions previously many of which

I'll come back to at the end of the

video um but it does throw into play

this whole trust thing now bring you a

little closer for a minute because I've

got a story of trust myself here so I

received a phone call yesterday and this

is an entirely separate matter but I

received a phone call yesterday and to

my personal phone number very few people

have my personal phone number even when

I ring clients with all respect to

clients that I've spoken to I withhold

my number so they don't get my personal

phone number I use my personal phone

number for personal things but if I ring

people with my personal number they

don't have my number except very very

very few and likewise companies most

companies don't have my phone number so

most people don't have my phone number I

think that's clear by now but I received

a phone call from a company I had no

idea who they were I had no idea nor

interest in what they were trying to

sell me and I straight away very

politely said where did you get my phone

number and they said we subscribe to a

service which gives us access to

decision makers names and numbers and

all personal details to get a hold of

you he was quite Frank and open about

that of course the way I asked him the

question very

directly inspired a direct answer from

him which I'm grateful for he gave me a

direct answer but that then tells me

that there's a company selling my data

now this really irritates me because

this is an ongoing thing with me there

are new companies popping up all the

time marketing and quite literally

selling access to my data

so I've since written to that company

and I've threatened to sue them I've

said first of all where did you get it

how did you get it how long have you got

it what did you plan to do with it why

have you collected it and essentially

they're in breach of gdpr because this

is a personal phone number there's no

legitimate interest there's no contract

interest there's no other reason they

should have it so they should remove it

they replied very quickly to say they've

removed it or going to remove it but

nothing else but they are in breach and

so whilst it I could just drop it they

are in breach and it does give rise to

damages but the point here is all of

your data is being sold on quite

literally sold on and that really

infuriates me which is why I work with a

company called incog which goes to these

data Brokers and marketers who collect

all this information about you they

collect your name your date of birth

your address your phone number your

emails your interests what you serve for

online all of this sort of stuff they

put you together like a jigsaw puzzle

and they sell you as they sold me the

day before yesterday and incognit will

demand on your behalf that your data is

removed from their servers there are

hundreds of these Brokers and they will

do all of that for you now I've got a

long list on the dashboard that I get

with incognet that tells me the

companies they've approached that have

confirmed that they've removed my data

new ones as they pop up because this is

an ongoing thing there are always more

going on you'll get a huge 60% discount

if you use my code in the description

below and the links there as well and

they will go to these data Brokers and

they will tell them under both the UK

and US la to remove your data from their

servers that prevents it from being sold

on any further and it stops this kind of

spam and more importantly it will stop

it ending up or hopefully stop it ending

up on the dark web where more nefarious

actors take your data as we've had

clients come to the firm and had loans

and other things taken out in their name

and it will hopefully prevent that from

happening because that is a far worse

situation than an annoying phone call so

check out incog in the description below

with my link and code and now let's take

a look at this hugely contradictory and

somewhat entertaining or it would be

entertaining if it wasn't so infuriating

video of of different contradictions

that K stama has made take a listen to

this really it was so important to her

however ill she was as a matter of

absolute principle she felt that you

shouldn't make money for mental health

and that's it is a matter of principle

it's an absolute matter of

principle So that obviously talking

about Healthcare and private healthcare

and things like that and that original

video was in 2020 so that was about

paying privately for healthcare and

things like that now listen listen to um

the next bit which is obviously later um

our research shows that that's been

underused and we could do more of it

that would clear you know 230,000 people

off the waiting more use private sector

in the NHS under labor

yes a direct a contradiction uh so you

can see the contradictions here let's

play another one sector in the NHS under

labor yeah

Manifesto what about univers tuation

fees then will you remain committed to

scrapping them first term all pledges

Andrew so the answer to these questions

is yes but but it won't be the it won't

be the abandoning of tuition fees will

it well we are likely to move on from

that um

commitment so again whilst he says it's

a pledge we're going to do this promise

to do a certain thing to hopefully Ghana

votes to get into government and then

later on just Backtrack on it just

actually we're going to move on from

that not doing that anymore and for

reasons um I'll leave to the video for

uh from Alan Robert show I'll link in

the description below they can't be held

accountable to these things only at the

next vote but again let's listen on

we're campaigning to ensure conversion

therapy is banned once and for all and

we're committed to updating the gr to

introduce self- declaration for Trans

people

the so updating the gender recognition

act for self-identification for Trans

people and then this one uh second part

of your question was I'm sorry I've

just oh uh yeah look I mean I think that

um if we reflect on what's happened in

Scotland um the lesson I take from that

is that um if you're going to make

reforms you have to carry the public

with you and I think that's a very

important U message and I think that's

why it's clear that in Scotland there

should be a reset of the

situation so they're saying look at

what's happened in Scotland actually we

need to rethink that which is not

necessarily a bad thing because if you

see what's happening and you react to

that that's fine but then the statement

of using that statement to say we have

to be in line with the public if you

take that and apply it to the current

situation I think the vast my my

certainly my impression correct me if

I'm wrong in the comments but My overall

impression is that the general public

are against lots of these things that

are going on at the moment my general

impression is that lots of the public

are against the removal of the winter

fuel allowance which is um somewhat

illustrated by the labor conference

voting um to backtrack on that removal

um my general impression again is that

the general public are against everyone

that was campaigning receiving gifts and

donations which albe it declared look

look like they are a wrong influence I'm

not saying they are for legal reasons

but it looks bad I think a lot of people

think it looks bad um that's the reason

they have to be declared in the first

place now regardless I mean barrs don't

have a register of Declarations of

Interest with our representative body of

the Bar Council we don't say I have

someone that's you know donating this

much to me therefore I'm not compromised

on this case doesn't work like that what

we do do is if we work with a company or

you know in-house coun with the company

we we inform the records department and

we tell them that we work in that

company but if we receive a gift or a

donation or whatever uh we have to

absolutely be sure that it's not it is

not or is not seen to be affecting our

independence which I've mentioned in

previous videos now there is one case

I'm not going to name any names uh for

to avoid embarrassment but there is one

case where a barrister was found to have

been um giving cash to a former client

uh who he felt sorry for because she was

going to be in a very difficult

situation and so after the case had

finished gave her some money because he

felt like he wanted to help her out and

as I recall he was suspended from

practice for six months for doing that

because it would it looks like it would

um both bring the profession into

disrepute and it would compromise his

Integrity uh and Independence so that is

the level of Independence that we need

to maintain which is why any of us

barters would be extremely careful to

accept any gift or donation most of us

would just outright refuse it now many

barters might receive the odd gift here

or there bottle of wine or bottle of

something um and that's not really here

or there but if it was a large gift or

certainly a monetary gift over and above

the fees um that might look questionable

and so barers wouldn't do it and so

therefore I I think it looks bad uh for

politicians to do it when they're

campaigning to get into government

especially when it's uh written up in

sort of a vague or broad way that could

be interpreted another way so office

support which is really clothing now had

they just said it was clothing that

might be a different matter and so these

really are the things that I take issue

with either not answering the question

directly answering the question with

something that was completely different

or going back on promises or just

pretending that that wasn't important or

exaggerating things all of these kind of

things I know that it's an art of

persuasion and all of this sort of stuff

but it's just something I don't like I

like direct straight answers to

questions and if there is a reason um so

for example the gender recognition act

um there was a good reason to say well

we've seen what happened in Scotland we

need to backtrack on that that's fine I

mean that was a direct answer so that at

least was clear uh so I don't want

anyone to think that I'm bashing any one

government or another but I am going to

call out precis ly what I see and what I

think of it and humbly lots of you have

said that you like to hear my views on

that so for that I would ask you please

do subscribe to come back for more and

I'll will see you all next time