Exiled Canadian

This was a bad deal before the lock down - it looks even worse now. I'd pull out. It's going to be a buyers market when all this unwinds. There will be plenty of other houses without all these issues.

Economics would tell you that there would be no increase in rents. Almost inelastic supply curve (in the short to medium term at least) - no change in the demand curve, hence no discernible change in price. It's more EA's and VI's with vested interests not thinking things through........

I was a cash buyer but the EA never asked for evidence to prove it when we made our offer. I thought that they were pretty negligent tbf. As long as you make the transfer to your lawyers from a UK clearing bank they are unlikely to have a problem with it.

who knows - if their product was overpriced you'd have expected others to enter the market and compete away the profits, fraud would clearly be immoral, monopoly - if through the creation of a new product which is patented would seem to be a reward for innovation.

You can. There are two separate issues: 1. Is it right to make money out of online gambling? My view is no. 2. Is it OK for entrepreneurs to earn lots of cash if their business is successful? My view is yes provided that their business is ethical and they pay the legally required amount of tax. Applying these tests to the lady in question leads me to conclude that the amount she has received is immoral because of the business it was earned from. However, had she earned the same amount from (say) developing a better mousetrap then I'd have no problem with it.

I think that the point is that 55% of people voted for parties wanting either to remain or a 2nd referendum.

My point was that I have concerns about the sector - fwiw I think that the rise of online gambling is very worrying. My point was that if I ignored my concerns over the sector then a founder making money from a business they had successfully founded seems fine to me.

Concerns about the sector aside the CEO founded and built a successful business. As long as she is paying all the tax the law requires then good luck to her.

There's a handy website where you can check if you are protected: https://www.fscs.org.uk/check-your-money-is-protected/

So your test for an effective NHS is one that is not a "Threat to Life"? While what happened does not prove the the NHS is underfunded it does provide strong evidence in support of the proposition.

So we're agreed that a 4 year old with pneumonia having to sleep on the floor of a hospital where he has gone for treatment is not satisfactory. Surely that this happened is, in itself, evidence that the NHS is underfunded?

Do you think it more likely that: (a) A doctor directed the 4 year old to lie on the floor and cover himself with coats despite there being a perfectly adequate bed available;. or (b) A doctor directed the 4 year old to lie on the floor and cover himself with coats because no bed was available. I know where I'd put my money. Your post suggests that (a) is sufficiently likely to merit serious consideration - which in my view it isn't.

I am a none of the above. I voted Remain but accept that the referendum means something - hence I'd be happy with a soft Brexit deal along the lines on Norway (I could have lived with the TM deal). I still consider leaving the EU to be a very bad decision which will adversely impact the UK.

That is a reasonable analysis, but I am mystified as to why BJ didn't just press on and put the deal through Parliament - he was offered the time and got enough votes at 2nd reading to indicate that it would pass at 3rd reading.

That depends on what you think BJ will do when it comes to negotiating an FTA. The Current WBA only allows a year for this before the transition period ends. The ERG believe that BJ will play hardball with the EU even if this means ending transition with no FTA - effectively a deferred no deal Brexit. I suspect that even NF would find it difficult to move to a more hardline Brexit position than that. It is however worth noting (and I doubt it's lost on either the ERG or NF) that BJ doesn't see himself as in anyway bound by any previous assurances he has given (just ask the DUP). I don't think anyone really knows what BJ will do in the FTA negotiations - including the man himself.