# UK General Election {2024-07-04} **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 22, 2024, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932 "2024-05-22T23:15:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 27
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/521 "2024-07-06T11:27:02Z")
Or the gods dumping on him again. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/522 "2024-07-06T11:51:26Z")
The room for manoeuvre in choosing a date for a PM is usually circumscribed by various landmarks in the political calendar, to the point that in many electoral cycles political journalists can forecast the likely date many months in advance. " _There are times, perhaps once every thirty years, when there is a sea-change in politics. It then does not matter what you say or what you do._ " - James Callaghan ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/523 "2024-07-06T13:04:57Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > A follow-up question: why did Rishi choose July 4th of all days? Lack of choice? I hate to break it to American posters, but outside of the US, July 4 is just a date in the calendar. It has no significance for non-Americans. « Of all days » ? Well, it’s the first Thursday in July this year, so if you want an election in July on a Thursday, it’s one of the dates that was available. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/524 "2024-07-06T13:15:57Z")
We’ve always known JRM was Potts. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/525 "2024-07-06T13:21:21Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I hate to break it to American posters, but outside of the US, July 4 is just a date in the calendar. It has no significance for non-Americans. Do you really expect me to believe that Englishmen now abed do not think themselves accursed and hold their manhoods cheap whiles any American speaks upon their Independence Day? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/526 "2024-07-06T13:29:11Z")
Yeah, what you said! USA! USA! (100% teasing, of course.) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/527 "2024-07-06T14:03:54Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > The room for manoeuvre in choosing a date for a PM is usually circumscribed by various landmarks in the political calendar And if the PM had to avoid calling an election on a date that commemorates a former British colony gaining independence, that would scatter red X’s throughout the calendar, given how many there were. 😀 🇦🇬 🇦🇮 🇦🇺 🇧🇧 🇧🇩 🇧🇭 🇧🇲 🇧🇳 🇧🇸 🇧🇼 🇨🇦 🇨🇲 🇨🇾 🇫🇯 🇬🇩 🇬🇭 🇬🇲 🇬🇾 🇭🇰 🇮🇪 🇮🇳 🇯🇲 🇰🇪 🇰🇮 🇰🇳 🇰🇾 🇱🇨 🇱🇰 🇱🇸 🇲🇲 🇲🇸 🇲🇹 🇲🇻 🇲🇼 🇲🇾 🇳🇨 🇳🇷 🇳🇺 🇳🇿 🇳🇺 🇵🇬 🇵🇰 🇵🇳 🇶🇦 🇸🇩 🇸🇬 🇸🇱 🇸🇸 🇸🇿 🇹🇨 🇹🇴 🇹🇹 🇹🇻 🇹🇿 🇺🇬 🇺🇸 🇻🇺 🇾🇪 🇿🇦 🇿🇲 🇿🇼 ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/528 "2024-07-06T14:19:14Z")
“Do you really expect me to believe that Englishmen now abed do not think themselves accursed and hold their manhoods cheap whiles any American speaks upon their Independence Day?” Well, I could tell you that’s when we celebrate Thanksgiving. But then I’d have to kill you. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/529 "2024-07-06T15:25:43Z")
Leave it much later and schools would have ended for summer, and everyone would have departed on their vacations, including the activists in the constituencies who have to run the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/530 "2024-07-06T15:29:19Z")
The only significance of July 4th here is that it’s usually a quiet day in the markets, as Wall Street is closed, and nobody does much trading when that happens. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/531 "2024-07-06T20:04:43Z")
> [@sb1953](#): > > As far as immigration being a top issue in the UK, it is also huge here in the former colony. The one thing I keep coming back to though is that were it not for immigration our population would be falling. Americans are having fewer and fewer children. > Also the workforce would be VERY small. The US needs immigration in order to meet employment demands, it is as simple as that. Right Wing Populist have to blame _someone_- and they are often smart enough not the blame current votes. Racism and xenophobia are powerful forces- and not just in America. > **Off-Topic as about the US** > > But there is another great thing about migrants- they pump $$ into social security and if they are not citizens- they never get to collect. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/532 "2024-07-06T20:47:07Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > Leave it much later and schools would have ended for summer, and everyone would have departed on their vacations, including the activists in the constituencies who have to run the whole thing. Wait, they haven’t yet? How late do British schools go? In the States, schools end at the latest in June, and many end in late May. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/533 "2024-07-06T21:08:52Z")
Most schools go until mid-July, because there are multiple breaks throughout the year. There’s a 1-2 week break in October, two weeks at Christmas, a week in mid-February, two weeks for Easter, and a week at the end of May. The summer break is about six weeks long. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/534 "2024-07-06T21:09:08Z")
Middle of July. The summer break in the UK is around six weeks Universities finish earlier Edit: what he said. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/535 "2024-07-06T22:04:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But there is another great thing about migrants- they pump $$ into social security and if they are not citizens- they never get to collect. I keep hearing that there is a cottage industry in “renting” SSNs to undocumented workers. So SOMEONE is getting earnings credits for SS & Medicare and presumably that same someone is generating a big income tax bill for earnings they don’t actually get but are reported by the employer against their SSN to the IRS. This would happen regardless of whether or not the employer is aware that the Laotian speaking person performing the work isn’t actually Susan Johansson. I keep hearing that they are not allowed to inquire, never mind investigate. (And as a person of South Indian descent with an English first name and a Portuguese last name, I’d be one they’re suspicious of, BTW). I assume fake IDs are involved that are recorded on an I-9 but just remain with the employer. Is part of the rental “agreement” that the renter of the SSN allows enough withholding to cover the tax liability? ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/536 "2024-07-06T22:14:41Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But there is another great thing about migrants- they pump $$ into social security and if they are not citizens- they never get to collect. Yes, it’s the exploitation that all white people, regardless of political stripes, can enjoy and embrace ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/537 "2024-07-06T23:32:45Z")
> **Off-Topic as about the US** > > > [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > > > I keep hearing that there is a cottage industry in “renting” SSNs to undocumented workers. So SOMEONE is getting earnings credits for SS & Medicare and presumably that same someone is generating a big income tax bill for earnings they don’t actually get but are reported by the employer against their SSN to the IRS. > > That does happen. In many cases the IRS can figure out that the 90 yo grandmother is not picking strawberries. > > > [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > > > Is part of the rental “agreement” that the renter of the SSN allows enough withholding to cover the tax liability? > > They usually file their own taxes with an ITIN. Since they usually get a refund. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2024, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/538 "2024-07-07T13:26:17Z")
> **Off-Topic as about the US** > > I would expect the small-time employer who knows they’re dealing with a “rented” SSN when filling out an I9 are smart enough to withhold all those taxes from that employee, but then pocket them, not send them to IRS. And alter their 941 filings to leave that person off the roster. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2024, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/539 "2024-07-07T14:02:57Z")
**Moderating** : Please, no US posts in the UK General Election thread. No more replies to this Social Security & Medicare hijack. Stay on Topic and please avoid hijack subjects. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2024, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-2024-07-04/1001932/540 "2024-07-07T14:10:24Z")
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