Thought he was Dutch? And they're in the EU, oh noes. He'll be able to stay

Taking advantage of being in the single market while they can.

Be assured, Brexiters, that once the false promise of the Christmas end of year spending spree has faded and we face the long hard slog through winter, the increasing burdens and uncertainties of Brexit and its consequences will start to bite. No amount of artificial jollity will conceal the harsh facts that Brexit is dragging the country towards disaster. Get your excuses ready, because you will find that when hardship arrives at the workplace and in the home, support for Brexit will drain away leaving a mess of lies and broken promises. With only their own prejudices and bigotry to fuel their response Brexiters will turn on each other and anybody else to vent their anger and disappointment. When and if A50 is invoked more waves of leaks, speculation and lies will be spread from the right-wing press and their government buddies. So Happy Christmas one and all! Make the best of it. Future Christmases will be very bleak affairs indeed!

We know we can rely on you to brighten them up.

And it turns out that it's not the frosty wind that made moan, who'da thunk it?

Mr Strut, Please keep repeating this, may make you feel a little better (but I doubt)

'We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year'

Soon be March

But I want some figgy pudding now, not in twenty years time!

Nip down to Asda and get one, and while yer there get me one

Oh goody, they made a list. What about actual business?

Things will be even more brutal when the Business Rates increase next year with increases of 100% + are put through on valuations , based on info the VOA are handed by local councils with their opinion on what a business property would be worth to rent . Many businesses are saying they cannot afford it (they have to pay even if they appeal and appeals are deliberately slow taking several years often to complete ) , will that be blamed on Brexit as well .

If Business Rates increase it is because councils are greedy barstewards, nothing to do with Brexit. Local Government is filled with time-serving jobsworths who don't do anything of any value. And don't get me started on their pensions. The amount of tax we pay in this country is crazy considering the poor level of service we receive.

It is an addiction, what a sad state of affairs.

The problem is that councils are required by law to provide certain services and as such much paperwork must go through many hands as you need to be able to respond promptly to a FOIA request etc.

The pension thing was always a way to save spending money by passing the actual cost down the line as you didn't get a great wage compared to someone in the private sector but you thought that with perhaps a more secure job and a better pension things balanced out.

These days from what i've seen from my old friends at the council is that its brutal, lots of jobs are now for fixed terms and the pension terms are now the same as everyone else, constant reorganization meaning that there is no job security and literally as soon as one reorg has finished they're on the next.

Labour certainly got it wrong when it was Osborne announced councils would be able to keep more of the Business Rates , Labour said in response it would be "a race to the bottom" with councils competing to charge the lowest , far from it it is like when they were allowed to take control of parking and fines it became a cash cow, a cash cow that creates hundreds of millions in reserve ( our council has at the end of each year anyway ) whilst they claim poverty.

Look at the council that lost millions in the Iceland financial crash a few years ago. They've been allowed to expand and empire-build far beyond what is reasonable. Cut them back to necessary services, cut salaries in line with the private sector, and abolish public sector pensions entirely. Change laws if necessary.

I'm sure that the vast majority of people who voted leave the EU knew how difficult it would be and that prices would rise. Those facts were practically rammed down everyone's throat.

Fortunately though, the majority of people decided that it's worth it. The EU is bad news and in the long run, we're far better off out.

You two should share a room.

Councils are killing town centres with exorbitant business rates and parking charges. There are loads of empty shops in our local town centre, including the former flagship department store of the town, and the former Crown Post Office (since moved inside WH Smiths). What do they think is going to happen if shops keep closing and not opening? Are they just going to increase council tax on homes to cover the loss? Meanwhile the council chief is trousering a cool £250,000 a year. It's absolutely scandalous IMO.

Might as well have you going out with a shotgun forcing the binmen to actually empty the bins and at the end of the week you shoot the old lot so as not to pay any workers wages and hope you can find another lot of suicidal idiots every week.

The iceland bank thing I remember was due to the fact that councils by law had to get the best return on any banked money and that was where the best rates was and so by law they had to slap the money in such places.

I didn't get what l wanted because of Brexit

Did the law prevent the councils from using the banked money to reduce business rates and council tax?

I don't begrudge binmen their wages. They are a rarity in local government in that they actually do something tangible that benefits everyone.

But me Kylie and a few female dancers and a lot of 'fun time' would never have appeared no matter which way we'd of voted so brexit/bremain really is a failure either way

NNDR(Brates) was pretty much just a send straight to the government so no real choice for any council on that matter (see your MP)

While I was in IT I got to see a lot of the councils expenses and it's amazing what your council tax goes towards as its street cleaners/teachers/dinner ladies at the school/ and the actual keeping the lights on in your street which is probably all you care about other than your bin being emptied.

If that was all council tax went towards it would be a fraction of what it currently is.

But some parts go to the police and fire brigade as well and even down to paying for the local parish council(and you have to vote to pay extra for it)....Paying for road maintenance and things like sorting out small streams from blockage etc or preventing kids from being diddled with via social services.

If you want to know then you are perfectly able to use the FIOA to get the spending data etc (but do remember the fact someone has to look up the data will change the longer costs)