No matter what party gets in charge the rich will always get richer and the poor poorer, that was proved when Blair and Labour came to power, not that it was ever in doubt.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stairway 2 7
Printable View
No matter what party gets in charge the rich will always get richer and the poor poorer, that was proved when Blair and Labour came to power, not that it was ever in doubt.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stairway 2 7
New Labour made child poverty and pensioner poverty one of their priorities. That's why more than a million children and more than a million pensioners came out of poverty.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crunchie
Other policies like the National Minimum Wage, Sure Start and big, increased funding for education, including higher education were solid policies that would reduce poverty in the long-term too.
I think a lot of people don't remember or were too young when the NMW was brought in. The Tories and a lot of voices in business predicted catastrophe. It didn't happen.
Sure Start yielded huge benefits, especially in socially deprived areas. Since 2010 it has been 'death by a thousand cuts' thanks to the Tories.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mibbes Aye
plus the Child Trust Fund.
Seems bizarre we never had a minimum wage, Rees Mogg and his Victorian values would have loved thatQuote:
Originally Posted by Mibbes Aye
Tories government are constantly playing to a small minority. The nation is turning less interested in immigration, there's been a number of polls similar.
https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/...s-survey-finds
UK now among most accepting countries for foreign workers, survey finds
Exclusive: Study’s authors note ‘extraordinary shift’ since 2009 on question of British jobs for British workers
97% of small boat asylum applications - equivalent to 34,793 - in 2022 are awaiting a decision
83% of asylum cases since 2018 - equivalent to 56,883 cases - are awaiting a decision
https://twitter.com/AdamBienkov/stat...783030273?s=20
Quote:
Asked if those organising protests outside hotels against asylum seekers should be described as "far right", Suella Braverman tells GB News that asylum seekers are putting "really serious pressures on communities and saying so does not make you racist or bigoted."
May aswell change the Tory Party name to the BNP these daysQuote:
Originally Posted by grunt
"Putting pressure on communties" that they care nothing about.Quote:
Originally Posted by LunasBoots
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
He's a great asset for Russia.Quote:
Originally Posted by grunt
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
This PPE corruption scandal should have seen the end of this Government years ago. This company acted as middlemen between Innova and Cummings.
https://t.co/lS8ssg36tT
Quote:
Company with just £85 in the bank made £20m profit after Dominic Cummings referred Innova Medical into the VIP lane.
Tory supporters handing over their vote and waiting for 40 hospitals, sunlit uplands, prosperity, competence with the economy...anything good really.
https://twitter.com/TheFigen_/status...xnstWuYCQ&s=19
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/24/sir-bernard-ingham-obituary
I never knew Bernard Ingham was so left-leaning before he was appointed by Thatcher.
Well finger's crossed its proven as he has been incompetent in every role he's had
Sam Coates Sky
@SamCoatesSky
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab commits to @SophyRidgeSky
“If an allegation of bullying is upheld I will resign”
I would say 'Fill your boots' but given the amount of loss suffered by people in every part o the country then it feels crass
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/#source=refresh
These whatsapp leaks are quite something
Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...496b3bb6f7.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...e2ff5892b9.jpg
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
https://twitter.com/fr4ser/status/16...dxJXScFNwz8V4A
What are the benefits of Brexit?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Can forgive them the covid spike at the end, but not the restQuote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
Almost feel sorry for her. Almost.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
Tory paranoia at Westminster
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FqNc01aX...pg&name=medium
Just goes to show that money can ultimately turn a person with good intentions into an utterly incomprehensible person. I wonder if he ever cared to apologise for his Hillsborough comments that only contributed further to the suffering of the family and friends of the victims? I suspect he didn't.Quote:
Originally Posted by He's here!
Anyone else see the irony of sneaky Matt Hancock whinging about betrayals?
Sent from my SM-A750FN using Tapatalk
Still lying. Every day.
https://twitter.com/implausibleblog/...ohU6BVp8Q&s=09
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
I think Hankcock comes off as daft but one of the ones most pushing for restrictions in the conversations. Williamson comes off as vile which is no surprise. Sunaks coming this weekend apparently. He was fiercely in favour of no restrictions throughout, including bringing in anti lockdown nutters to speak to the cabinet
i agree with this scouser 110%+ :agree:
Mike F Shaw (@mikefshaw61) | TikTok
warning, some absolutely necessary sweary words :)
Seriously?Quote:
Originally Posted by cabbageandribs1875
I have never, and will never, say I don't dislike the Tory party. Horrible words to say.
Hate and despise might be stronger, but I'm not going to tolerate them on any level.
I'm guessing he has a soft spot for Baroness Mone though? Doesn't get a mention, but she's got to be the flag bearer for what these heartless, thieving liars are about. [emoji6].Quote:
Originally Posted by Hibbyradge
Sent from my SM-A750FN using Tapatalk
That makes sense. Thanks for clearing it up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bostonhibby
https://twitter.com/jessicaelgot/sta...dxJXScFNwz8V4A
Sunak covering up outbreaks of covid to avoid eat out to help out getting the blame. Very big if true.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...ec422f0c8c.jpg
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
In any normal functioning democracy it would be very big news. In the UK, it has been completely normalised over the years. People in general won't bat an eye lid unfortunately.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
Seems like they can rely on the press to dampen stories down going by the screenshots. They will try with this one as well.
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
get Bunter in jail as well :agree: including that nest on top of his bonce
Evidence Boris Johnson misled MPs exists, interim Partygate report says | Boris Johnson | The Guardian
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...6c806a75df.jpg
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Chuck them all in jail.
But we need to do something about government business being done on unofficial channels - UK and Scotland both.
It’s a pretty impressive scoop by Oakshot even though she does come across as a horrible human being. And of course this is the second time she has burned her sources which isn’t the reputation a good journalist necessarily wants. However the stupidity of Hancock in handing all this to her probably deserves this.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
silly moggy Q. is a socialist cabal less dirty than a corrupt cabal
Farrukh on Twitter: "Left: Mogg says Sue Gray is not impartial Middle: Mogg says Sue Gray is independent, has the highest integrity and greatest reputation Right: Heappey says Sue Gray is independent End: John Bishop says Sue Gray doesn't need to investigate, she just needs the CCTV footage https://t.co/QrfxNbUTQS" / Twitter
Latest WhatsApp story is a surprise, it was kept out the news thar eat out to help out was causing spread
https://mobile.twitter.com/devisridh...97624251592704
devisridhar
Wow- UK govt & PM Sunak knew that Eat out to Help Out was causing a rise in cases but tried to keep its impact on a new wave quiet bc of the optics
No surprise at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stairway 2 7
Eat out to help out was a massive success. It was designed to get people out again and it did exactly that.
The fact it would inevitably lead to a spike in cases was obvious, and the fact the government tried to overlook that for optics is absolutely no surprise.
Why did anybody ever think that Boris Johnson was a good idea?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOLFftQUqsU
Sunday morning Laura Kuenssberg interviewing a Tory. Tory bloke says "I believe Boris is an honest man" - no further questions, no push back.Quote:
Originally Posted by HarpOnHibee
Interviewing a Labour bloke, "So what more could Labour have done during the pandemic?"
****** up really.
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
They were just looking for another "Corbyn wears the wrong socks" headline.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kato
https://twitter.com/lara_spirit/stat...dxJXScFNwz8V4A
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Wonder how much dirt his old man must have on him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
If that's the criteria he's going to have to make a last minute bid to get jennifer arcuri on the throne before the coronation.Quote:
Originally Posted by HarpOnHibee
Sent from my SM-A750FN using Tapatalk
Caligula and his horse vibesQuote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
Chris Heaton-Harris MP is the Tory bloke to whom you refer. He's Secretary of state for N.Ireland and a sleekit individual if ever there was one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kato
He was on Sky before the BBC interview and more or less repeated his performance. I thought Laura did OK. It was obvious the guy was talking tosh about Boris' integrity.
Sometimes you have to let the action speak for itself.
I would suspect that he has a fair amount of dirt on her as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bostonhibby
There are more than a few examples of the ex-Pm's lies she could have given him, I didn't notice any push back at all. Compared to the previous week when Stephen Flynn called him out as a liar and Kuenssberg interjected with "That's quite a charge." He's probably the best known liar in the UK just now but the BBC seem to have difficulty seeing this.Quote:
Originally Posted by heretoday
They also spoke as though it were the lies he told about his parties at No10 which brought him down. It wasn't, it was a whole other set of lies.
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
Of course for tales of Caligula’s debauchery and licentiousness, we rely on the writings of Suetonius.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stairway 2 7
In Johnson’s case we rely on Sue Gray.
:not worthQuote:
Originally Posted by Mibbes Aye
Storage costs for unused PPE & equipment since the start of the pandemic have hit £1.4bn.
World Beating Britain.Quote:
Originally Posted by grunt
No one else buys up, stores then incinerates useless PPE like us.
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
I'm not one for defending the Tories, but what would you have done. They secured PPE that fortunately wasn't needed. Isn't that better than situations where we needed it and couldn't get it?Quote:
Originally Posted by Kato
They bought multiple times what could possibly be needed because they got all excited about how much of the country's money they found they could funnel to their friends. If you want to discuss scandals, the corrupt and venal Tories' Covid PPE scandal is up there with the worst. *Edit to add: much of the PPE purchased from Tory friends and family was substandard and could not be used / would not have protected our healthcare workers.Quote:
Originally Posted by archie
If that's the case it is indefensible.Quote:
Originally Posted by grunt
Errm, ok.Quote:
Originally Posted by archie
Prioritised companies with a history of procuring PPE and used some due diligence rather than prioritised a VIP Fast Track lane which had zero due diligence and was subsequently found to be illegal.Quote:
but what would you have done.?
Seems like you are a tad wanting in the information stakes on this one, archie.Quote:
They secured PPE that fortunately wasn't needed.
They secured PPE that was unusable. Which is why it is being burned.
It was no good, duff, dodgy, snide, counterfeit.
It would've been great if we got a bargain. Instead we are lumbered with having to pay for the cost, pay for the storage while it's waiting to get burned and paying for it getting burned. Meanwhile Michelle Mone has a new yacht paid for by us with nothing in return.Quote:
Isn't that better than situations where we needed it and couldn't get it?
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
I'm not defending any of that. I think it is at least reasonable to examine a range of motivations, rather than immediately assume the venal.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kato
To be fair, we've had a couple of years now to consider the range of motivations.Quote:
Originally Posted by archie
An automatic assumption of the venal might have been unfair at the time.
But by now? I think there's enough out there to suggest it was all a bit ropey.
I think the panic and need for speed may well have given opportunity.Quote:
Originally Posted by Smartie
I used to do that regarding Tories. Then, once I hit ten years old, the penny dropped.Quote:
Originally Posted by archie
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
Political connections ie cronyism gave the opportunity.Quote:
Originally Posted by archie
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
Be interesting to know which companies are profiting from said storage, and if it's an open ended arrangement.Quote:
Originally Posted by grunt
Sent from my SM-A750FN using Tapatalk
So there was no panic and need for speed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kato
Quote:
Originally Posted by archie
No need for panic. A govt that invokes panic or panics itself is useless.
Of course we needed items quickly, I'm struggling to see where I said differently.
Things could have been sped up if they hadn't ignored valid companies with experience, in favour of their chums with no experience at all.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.m...d-24175698.amp
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
This article dates from before the existence of a VIP Fast Lane was known.
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/...te-to-make-ppe
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
An interesting assertion.Quote:
Originally Posted by archie
Do you have a source which explains this, archie?
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
Article on the subject, behind paywall
When waste is worth it
The British government made mistakes when sourcing protective gear
Not all of them were bad
Storing tens of billions of surgical masks, gowns and gloves is expensive, it turns out. By the end of 2021 the government had spent about £737m ($967m) for the privilege of owning unused personal protective equipment (ppe) bought in a panic during the pandemic. Although £301m of this was normal storage fees, such as renting warehouses, the majority was fines. It racked up £436m in the logistics equivalent of parking tickets—charges for leaving goods in shipping containers because it had nowhere to put them.
A report published on March 30th by the National Audit Office, an official spending watchdog, into the government’s purchase of ppe during the crisis is littered with such horrors. A buying frenzy in spring 2020, as the pandemic let rip, saw it spend about £13bn on 38bn pieces of ppe. By July, the health department realised it had purchased far more than it could possibly use. About 14bn items remain unopened in shipping containers and warehouses. Around 1.5bn of them are likely to pass their expiry date soon and to end up in the bin. Nearly 4bn were never fit for front-line use in the first place, at a cost of roughly £3bn. That is an awful lot of waste, both physical and fiscal.
So mistakes were undeniably made, but some were worth making. At the start of the pandemic, the government had to take risks. Countries were fighting over ppe supplies. “We had Trump sending the cia round trying to gazump everybody on ppe,” recalled Dominic Cummings, a former aide to the prime minister, before a parliamentary committee in 2021. Meanwhile, nhs staff were reduced to wearing bin-bags. The price of a surgical gown shot up from £0.33 before the pandemic to £4.50 in the middle of it. In short, all was chaos.
The government abandoned caution in response. Usual spending rules were set aside. Officials buying ppe were exempted from usual procurement rules, with the aim of speeding up the process and avoiding them being outbid by foreign spooks. Due diligence was sometimes replaced by a quick Google, and some suppliers were paid up-front. Predictably, on occasion nothing was received in return. Some ppe was substandard. About 20% of all orders were expected to be unusable. In the end, the figure was only 11%.
In normal times, the government’s problem with risk is aversion rather than addiction. Civil servants can be overcautious, moving slowly to avoid wasting money or having a decision reversed by a judge. Usually, this instinct is healthy. A business can move fast and break things; a government should not. Reversing this principle in the pandemic made sense, despite the sometimes poor results, which were entirely predictable. Business as usual would have meant less money wasted. But it would also have meant less ppe available, argue the government’s defenders, and potentially more nhs staff dying.
Some mistakes cannot be forgiven so readily, however. The government set up a “ vip lane” along which suppliers known to ministers or officials were fast-tracked. Chancers claiming to have access to ppe were splashed across newspapers and then put before ministers, who were desperate both for supply and to avoid negative headlines. “Most of them were full of ****,” says one person involved. It looked like crony capitalism and a court later said the scheme was unlawful. Perhaps worse, it was ineffective. Equipment bought through the usual channels turned out less likely to be defective and more likely to arrive on time. By contrast, the nao estimates that a third of spending through the vip lane, or roughly £1.4bn, is “at risk”.
Memories of the chaos of 2020 are already fading. Labour has attacked the Conservatives over wasteful spending in this period. At the time, however, the government was waging a war against a new and terrifying illness, with the state balance-sheet as a weapon. Gloves and gowns were a fraction of the £400bn bill for surviving the pandemic. Inevitably not all of it was spent well. John Maynard Keynes summed up a similar situation when describing the British government’s decision to trash its finances to fight the second world war: “We threw good housekeeping to the wind, but we saved ourselves.”
This tory government really are the dregs. Heartless pathetic policy for an almost non existent problem. Yvette Cooper and Diana Johnson have both spoke well but it's a totally depressing watch
@PolitlcsUK
·
A summary of the Illegal Migration Bill:
- asylum seekers will be deported within 28 days
- claims will be heard remotely
- illegal immigrants banned from claiming modern slavery
- legal duty on Home Sec to deport illegal immigrants
Did Suella say that 100 million people are on their way here in parliament today?Quote:
Originally Posted by Stairway 2 7
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
From the BBCQuote:
Originally Posted by Ozyhibby
More than 45,000 people entered the UK via Channel crossings last year, up from about 300 in 2018
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...873ce7b356.jpg
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This details the pressing needs and errors made https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/investigation-into-the-management-of-ppe-contracts/Quote:
Originally Posted by Kato
Tory MP Tom Hunt (mr nominative determinism) calls out Keir Starmer for once saying there was a ‘racist undercurrent’ to asylum law in the U.K. I would love it if Keir STILL says this and stands by this self evident truth, but really pathetic if that’s the limit of their attacks. And the question itself is clear evidence that
in the minds of these rancid racist corrupt ****s on the Tory back benches, it IS really about race.
Good for John McDonnell for calling out the inflammatory language the ****ing **** Home Secretary **** is using.
A bit opaque that one.Quote:
Originally Posted by archie
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
What publication is that from SW?Quote:
Originally Posted by Stairway 2 7
Invoking Keynes at the end is a nice trick.
I'm not finding it that well rounded as there is no explanation as to why established suppliers were shunned.
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
It's a National Audit report. Maybe glance at the summary?Quote:
Originally Posted by Kato
https://twitter.com/hewitson10/statu...dxJXScFNwz8V4A
With 100 million people on the way, house prices should go up a bit I would think.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The Economist.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kato
A report from the audits office here
https://www.firstpracticemanagement.co.uk/blog/2022-blog-posts/criticism-over-government-ppe-payments-following-nao-report/
I think there was a panic and a race to get ppe at the start. There wasn't enough to go around. The tories saw an opportunity and lined there pockets undoubtedly, how much I don't know
Cheers, on the Keynes reference - at that time after the war a way was found to park the debt then embark a public spending programme which saw disparity fall probably to its lowest levels ever in the UK.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stairway 2 7
Invoking his name given what is happening now is just laughable.
Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk
Michael Gove says parents of children who are truant from school should have benefits cut, because poverty improves attendance maybe? Absolute c of a man
https://leftfootforward.org/2023/03/...64410400390625
https://twitter.com/peston/status/16...dxJXScFNwz8V4A
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...2cb867753b.jpg
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The DHSC wrote off £8.7billion on PPE:
- £0.67 billion - "PPE which cannot be used, for instance because it is defective."
- £2.6 billion - "PPE which is not suitable for use within the health and social care sector but which the Department considers might be suitable for other uses (although these potential other uses are as yet uncertain)."
- £0.75 billion - "PPE which is in excess of the amount that will ultimately be needed."
- £4.7 billion - "Adjustment to the year-end valuation of PPE due to the market price of equivalent PPE at the year-end being lower than the original purchase price."
https://assets.publishing.service.go...ts-2020-21.pdf
Positively vile Sir Graham Brady will stand down at the next election
Stephen flynn not mincing his words today when replying to mirror journalist
Pippa Crerar
@PippaCrerar
·
Suella Braverman says there are 100 million people across the world who could qualify for refugee status under UK's current laws. "Let's be clear, they're coming here
Stephen Flynn MP
@StephenFlynnSNP
·
The Home Secretary is a liar.
Wonder what changed from 2018 to 2022?Quote:
Originally Posted by Moulin Yarns
All roads lead to the Tory ship storm of BREXIT.
J
The UN's Refugee Agency say they are "profoundly concerned" by the Government's 'Illegal Migration Bill' which they say is essentially a refugee ban.
"This would be a clear breach of the Refugee Convention and would undermine a longstanding, humanitarian tradition."
Asylum seekers make up 6% of all immigrants into the UK and just 60% are successful in their applications.
Remember small boats before Brexit? There were none because there were safe routes into the UK.
This crisis like the hate is being generated by the government.
Every day seems to bring a political announcement designed not to improve British society but primarily to divide the electorate, create unnecessary barriers between us, and get us shouting at each other. It's so exhausting and over time hugely damaging.
There was a significant shift, from shipping containers to small boats, for a number of reasons, both before and after Brexit. Brexit was one factor but far from the only one. And small boats were coming from at least twenty years ago after the French shut Sangatte.Quote:
Originally Posted by grunt
You are correct, both in your timeline about Brexit and the political blame imperatives that led to it. Home Office processing centres, which used to exist in central and Eastern Europe post Syria, could resolve this situation overnight.Quote:
Originally Posted by grunt
The “stop the boats” campaign and legislation today really pushes my buttons. Not because it isn’t a problem, it’s the blatant deliberate attempt to announce for the 456th time a new strategy that they know and hope fails and then blame everyone else over the next few months.
It’s the worst kind of politics but even more so as it goes against any basic humanity. I am genuinely embarrassed to be associated with this country when I listen to this toxic crap.
Surely to god even with the Mail and Express cheerleading this doesn’t land as a big deal to your average voter? Or certainly not any more than 2-3% halfwits.
You'd like to think so, but with state that they are in fact they are pushing this so hard they must it's a vote winner.Quote:
Originally Posted by Col2
Come the next election 75% of Tory platform is gonna be this plus some anti-Trans rhetoric cause it's all they will have
You never know, they might decide to throw in something about our entrenched wealthy Russian community in Kensington, Belgravia and Mayfair who are only here by virtue of their wealth and connections to a certain political party. They didnt get in on small boats and weren't asylum seekers or former EU citizens either so are arguably easier targets for Suella and Rishi to do a bit of populist deporting?Quote:
Originally Posted by ElginHibbie
Sent from my SM-A750FN using Tapatalk
It’s incredible. They might as well call themselves UKIP. They have zero idea how to grow the economy other than burn EU regulations to let corporate cut down on employer rights and bring in cheaper goods that don’t make minimum standards. Braverman makes my top 3 of most despised people ever to live in this planet. I wish the absolute worst for her.Quote:
Originally Posted by ElginHibbie
It used to be said that whenever the US goes, the UK follows. Now apparently we are copying Australia.
The sad thing is that stop the boats stuff worked over there. I fear that we may see a similar impact in the UK in the months ahead.