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Thought this was going to go all Superstar Components for a minute!
"This is starting to resemble the fag end of John Majors government more and more by the day."
I was going to make that exact point. It's the "Back to Basics" era all over again. Just waiting for Sunak to announce some kind of British Moral Values initiative and then we can start preparing for a September election.
"To be clear, using campaign funds for “personal usage” is illegal or just against party rules?"
That is a (cough) interesting question currently being asked in Scotland...
binners
Full Member
Meanwhile, while everyone’s talking about some Tory dickhead being held hostage by rent boys, don’t forget that there’s apparently no money for anything.Apart from taxpayers bailing out corporate shareholders yet again…
I'm struggling to get my head around the fact we live with a version of capitalism where you can load up a company with huge debt, still pay massive dividends.. then pile that debt into tax payers and it's totally legal?
Totally f**** up.
Privatise profit, nationalise debt.
I’m struggling to get my head around the fact we live with a version of capitalism where you can load up a company with huge debt, still pay massive dividends.. then pile that debt into tax payers and it’s totally legal?
Totally f**** up.
It's because the Gov choose to enable it. They *could* tell their wbanker mates that it's tough and they've lost their not hard earned dosh. But of course won't as they want a job onnthe board of those wbanks in 6 months time.
Well, the inevitable drip, drip, drip begins.
The Tory activist (initial reports said she was an ex campaign manager of his but that's not important) that lent him the £6.5k has spoken to the BBC...
For the record, she did let the Tory Party know what happened.
Edit: The plot thickens, she said it's another party member that actually lent him the money. How many hours/days till s/he is in the news.
The party has let me down. I have said; my faith in the party is like my faith in God... they've let me down.
"I watch people go for a walk in this quiet area. Do I want them to go out and vote for a man who gets himself locked up and needs money to get him out? No."
Ok, compares the Tory party to God but I suppose I can get on board with the walkers bit....
A few squeaky bums in the Tory party tonight.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68851004
tjagain
Full Member
Why do Tories behave like this?Emotional cripples from going to private schools. Even worse if you are a scholarshio pupil.
They can end up with no idea how a real relationship works. Plenty of examples. Johnson for one.
I made a guess up the page but I'm no expert. I think a psychological type would have a good idea why a particularly organisation attracts a certain demographic (I'm not talking their sexuality to be clear!) but who knows?
Sunak is now going after folk signed off work sick. Whats that i hear? The bottom of the barrel being scrsped
Edit: beaten to it
tjagain
Full Member
Sunak is now going after folk signed off work sick. Whats that i hear? The bottom of the barrel being scrspedEdit: beaten to it
Of course, the long term sick on ESA and/ or PIP etc are not signed off by GP's**... but of course he knows that. Anyway, he was lucky to get the smoking ban through, to shake up welfare reform (again) will take years, even decades. He'll be long gone.
** It's outsourced by the DWP to private companies (shocker) that carry out regular assessments. My friend has MS and knows the process only too well.
It’s outsourced by the DWP to private companies (shocker) that carry out regular assessments. My friend has MS and knows the process only too well.
Not in Scotland. Taken back in hpuse so no one is incentivised to pass folk as fit for work. A pal of mine with MS and related dementia was passed as fit for work under the previous setup. But of course won an appeal
Not in Scotland. Taken back in hpuse so no one is incentivised to pass folk as fit for work. A pal of mine with MS and related dementia was passed as fit for work under the previous setup. But of course won an appeal
It occurred to me I should have mentioned that, it's a far more humane process north of the border. 👍
My last post of the night and another bit of low level Tory sleaze arrived just in time! 😂 Not totally new news but drip, drip...
From the Beeb.
Steve Barclay asked if incinerator plans could be blocked
Environment Secretary Steve Barclay personally intervened to ask for advice on whether ministers could stop incinerators being licensed across England, including a controversial project in his constituency, the BBC understands.
Mr Barclay made an urgent request to government lawyers the day after planning permission was granted to build the waste plant at Wisbech in Cambridgeshire.
It is understood that MVV Environment, the company behind the plant at Wisbech, has now threatened the government with legal action after a temporary ban on permits was put in place.
Sunak is now going after folk signed off work sick. Whats that i hear? The bottom of the barrel being scraped
Same old Tories. Punching down, as always. Just the latest group to be selected for malicious and vindictive scapegoating.
Never in a million years would it cross his mind to ask the question why so many people are suffering with mental health issues?
You are not going to start or win many culture wars if you go out try to fix all the problems like an actual government should be doing. Their job is to continue to get elected, not make things better for the masses.
As useless as Starmers government is going to be I don't think he is a culture war type so be great to get a rest from that at least.
Never in a million years would it cross his mind to ask the question why so many people are suffering with mental health issues?
Cos they've not tried hard enough. If only they could just feel a bit happier with their lot in life, pull themselves up by their bootstraps and do an honest day's work instead of sitting around on benefits watching their big flat screen TV, they'd feel much better.
Workshy gits. Probably woke.
☹️
It plays well to their rapidly narrowing core vote.
Who also don't work - having retired at 55 on gold-plated defined benefit pensions and own their own homes 100% having paid three bob and a pickled egg for them. And spend their time pootling around golf clubs and garden centres in their SUVs pointing out all the wokes, immigrants and scroungers from the comfort of their heated leather seats.
This is starting to resemble the fag end of John Majors government more and more by the day. In fact it’s far worse!
Way worse binners. Way, way worse. Moral vacuums the lot of them. Sunak's latest initiative to punish the vulnerable sits very well with the recent story where carers who may have made a mistake on a form or shock horror, earned a couple of quid over the threshold are now being pursued for tens of thousands! My complete and utter contempt for tories extends on a daily basis.
Sunak is now going after folk signed off work sick. Whats that i hear? The bottom of the barrel being scrsped
Edit: beaten to it
It's just a distraction technique. Mind you would you want a non GP assessing your fitness to work? I love their quote a qualified health professional? Err you mean a GP? Oh no I get you? Someone who is more interested in you working, rather than you well being. Company appointed by the Tory party? Funded by the tax payer. Follow the money trail me thinks. It's not going to end well is it?
BR
JeZ
Nothing shouts tin-eared vote winner than a cynical clamp-down on sick-notes.
They *could* tell their wbanker mates that it’s tough and they’ve lost their not hard earned dosh
Not quite. the company that extracted the dividends (Macquarie) got out in time before the pooh hit the water supply, leaving two large pension funds (Canada and USS) as the main shareholders holding the ticking time bomb. It was a failure of regulation, whet OFWAT allowed the debt to accumulate. At last my taps are working this morning.
You might have guessed it was that old ghoul Ian Duncan Smith that’s behind this
leaving two large pension funds (Canada and USS) as the main shareholders holding the ticking time bomb.
Those funds knew about the debt and then kept adding to it. I would assume they a)thought the low interest rates would probably continue and b)thought even if it didnt the taxpayer would bail them out.
If they get bailed out then there is no incentive for similar companies to be competent in future and therefore no pressure on Macquarie and co to be concerned about their chance of selling the corpses on.
It was a failure of regulation, whet OFWAT allowed the debt to accumulate
It was a failure of the businesses to be run for anything other than short term profit. Since regulating that sort of behaviour is tricky unless you are basically running the firm its why its a bad idea to sell off vital assets.
I can’t bloody stand the horrible patronising tone he adopts when he’s doing anything like this. As if he’s talking to a group of toddlers, the condescending little cockwomble
And there we have it….
apparently, just like homelessness, mental health problems are now ‘a lifestyle choice’ 🙄
At what point in the last 10 years has the government actually governed? It has just felt like a procession of spin, diversion , devision, name calling, corruption etc, all the while the country literally falls apart. This sh!t show needs to go, then we can all breath, and get ready for Tory Lite,..... and Trump.
They enacted probably the most significant policy of recent times - Brexit.
"Way worse binners. Way, way worse. Moral vacuums the lot of them. Sunak’s latest initiative to punish the vulnerable..."
Exactly the same as the end of the Major years. Just waiting for some Draconian sentencing proposals for muggers, a suggestion that farmers can shoot trespassers, and maybe suggesting giving bobbies on the beat the right to administer corporal punishment to yobs and football hooligans. Then we'll have the full grim set...
https://www.thesocialreview.co.uk/2023/09/03/resisting-attacks-on-benefit-claimants/
On Thames Water (though probably for another thread):
It is a failure of regulation as well as business management. But also of the regulated monopoly model - it's a whole system failure rather than one entity. Worth noting that Ofwat regulation penetrates all areas of the business, with targets, audits and performance commitments and penalties on an annual basis across the entirety of their operations. It also encompasses a level of complexity that cannot be captured in quippy headlines. Every 5 years, Ofwat go over every water company's detailed business plans, and set the limits on investment and spending, and particularly on what can be recovered via customer bills. But because they require private investment, they also have to make them attractive enough for investment (i.e. a level of profit). Ofwat let various investors across numerous companies take those dividends. What has also developed is a fairly antagonistic relationship between regulator and some water companies, which has made business plans not achievable without further investment or debt. Obviously Ofwat would prefer investors cough up, but recent history shows that doesn't happen.
Anyway, I could rant on, but the whole sector model isn't really fit for purpose, if it ever was. BUT - nationalisation isn't a fix in itself. It's sustainable investment, good management and regulation - none of which are really happening in the right way at the moment.
Always worth re-stating whenever the water industry comes up - England and Wales are the only developed nations with a fully privatised water industry; even the American's have realised that's not a good idea
WTAF. Just got a letter and survey from Rish in the post today. The letter is about how well the Government is doing...must be some kind of parallel universe...and the survey is full of Mom and Apple pie questions.
Its desperate stuff. Not using Conservative branding so amazingly they must feel that Rish with the lowest approval rating since records began has more credibility then the Party.
WTAF. Just got a letter and survey from Rish in the post today. The letter is about how well the Government is doing…must be some kind of parallel universe…and the survey is full of Mom and Apple pie questions.
Its desperate stuff. Not using Conservative branding so amazingly they must feel that Rish with the lowest approval rating since records began has more credibility then the Party.
I never get anything like that through my door. I live in a traditionally labour ward in a nailed on Labour constituency. I was so surprised that i got a pamphlet from an independent candidate for my ward that i actually read it yesterday
Me too, through the door and straight to the recycling.
Place a "**** the tories" sticker on your door and you won't be bothered by them
EU Youth mobility scheme rejected, FFS...
Oh I had a campaign newspaper type thing too - big red banner saying "HIGH PEAK FUTURE!" and all about the forthcoming Police & Crime Commissioner election. You have to look very closely to see it's a Conservative thing. There's some very very small text saying it's on behalf of Robert Largan MP and it's only on the back page that there's a comparison thing that basically says that if a Labour PCC is elected we'll be murdered in our beds the next day but if a Conservative PCC is in place, the streets will be paved with gold and "bobbies on the beat".
Very misleading.
However it's good for shoving into wet cycling shoes so I'll keep hold of it for now.
EU Youth mobility scheme rejected, FFS…
Jesus ****ing christ.....why?, what ****ing reason can they give?.
Right, I'm making a promise, if a tory turns up at my door during their electioneering and I can get there before they run away then they'll be getting whacked with my walking stick.
****'em....****'em...****'em.....**** every single last one of them standing
Jesus * christ…..why?, what * reason can they give?.
The jist is that they don't want freedom of movement for ALL European youths, just the ones they select.
It's almost like they have an issue with those pesky eastern Europeans, Turks, slavics...
All tories are ****s.
And spend their time pootling around golf clubs and garden centres in their SUVs pointing out all the wokes, immigrants and scroungers from the comfort of their heated leather seats.
Oi! I waited until i was 60 to retire and neither play golf or have an SUV.
Get back to work oik🙄😜🤣😇.
Nationalist Grandad? 😘
EU youth mobility scheme - in the interests of balance and accuracy, Labour are also against this.
As for tj - you have not refuted that part of the charge which referred to you pootling around garden centres; no doubt inspecting and commenting on the begonias.
Guilty as charged.
scratch
Free Member
EU Youth mobility scheme rejected, FFS…
They'd only come over here, get a priority GP appointment within an hour, get a sick note and take part in our sick, Sick Note Culture the PM has been promoting... all whilst selling drugs from their 6 bed council house they got an hour after seeing the GP.
Is that what you want, 'COS THAT'S WHAT'LL 'APPEN!!?? 😡
The fact that Labour are against it is even worse. The tories brought in Brexit so obviously they are going to be against free movement and proudly so - no suprise there.
But labour are so ****ing scared of being labelled weak on immigration that they are pandering to tomorrow’s potential headlines. Absolutely pathetic.
How bad is it going for the Scott's?
Not a good look.. She'll be selling her dirty keks on 'only fans' before we know it.
If we get a Tory at the door they'll be invited in and we'll keep them talking for as long as possible.
That way it stops them from bothering quite so many other people.
If we get a Tory at the door they’ll be invited in and we’ll keep them talking for as long as possible.
That way it stops them from bothering quite so many other people.
Do not try this with Jehovah's Witnesses....
Do not try this with Jehovah’s Witnesses….
Oh I've a few choice words that could abusing cult.
my Jehovahs Witness story:
Mum decided to engage the witness in conversation about their beliefs and values meanwhile I was washing up, the family dog, two year old whole male springer spaniel made very friendly with the witness's leg, my Mum maintains eye contact and acts as if nothing is happening. Dog finishes, not so much sowing his seed on stony ground but on grey trousers and wanders off. Mum says "I think we're done here and closes the door. 🙂
I'm still waiting for some wag to replace the lectern at No10 with an full sized one. Just the mental image of having Rishi Sunak dwarfed by it cracks me up.
my Jehovahs Witness story:
I had to inspect a property in a previous job. Arrived just as the attractive female tenant was practically pushing a couple of Jehovahs Witnesses back out the door.
She had seen two smartly dressed people with a briefcase at the door, assumed they were me for the inspection, and invited them into the front room.
The front room was empty apart from a pole dancing pole in the middle and some chairs.
Anyway, we digress
The government's response to the youth mobility rejection is “We are not introducing an EU-wide youth mobility scheme – free movement within the EU was ended and there are no plans to introduce it”. So their only defence of the decision is just an absolute lie, this wasn't free movement, it was time limited and visa constrained and the government had the right to require health insurance and proof of sufficient funds to live on. *s.
Labour's response isn't massively better, it just seems to muddle the whole thing up with normal working immigration and bangs on about how they'll have a scheme that'll deliver for "British businesses and consumers" and talks about vererinary deals, and qualification acceptance, just completely unrelated issues. I mean, a scheme like this could benefit businesses and consumers but that's not what it's for, they just seem afraid to say "let's do something great for young people that costs us nothing and makes things a bit better for once", everything has to be about business and money. *s.
A CNN piece about Sunak's never ending woes.
One little titbit from the article for instance:
A former government official told CNN: “The Conservatives just feel dead overall, there is nothing to be done to save it. There is no way back and it’s coming across in every little thing. Rishi comes across as unlikeable and a bit weird and tetchy.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/20/uk/rishi-sunak-conservatives-gbr-intl/index.html
everything has to be about business and money
And cutting ourselves off. Which isn’t about either of those things at all, quite the opposite, but about a sentiment that has diminished these nations and made the world smaller for young people not born into means. Because at some level these politicians believe the British people, or at least enough of them in key seats, demand that we cut ourselves off, and restrict people. Give the young people (of the UK and EEA countries) back some of the freedoms that NI young people have kept, and the voters will burn you as traitors. That’s the fear driving our politics. Let’s hope it’s not like that once a generation of new voters have come, and enough older ones gone.
"Let’s hope it’s not like that once a generation of new voters have come, and enough older ones gone."
More than that, it needs those new voters to become politicians.
Politics (not just in the UK) has become about winning and losing (votes, the argument, face, whatever) rather than about making things better.
That needs to change before anything else will.
Quite a good deconstruction of the sick note culture issue reported by the woke traitorous lefties at the Beeb. It may have something to do with 15 years of government austerity.
BBC News - Why are we so ill? The working-age health crisis
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-68849843
In other news, bears shit in woods.
Ah the man whose missus gets another £10.5 million lobbed in her direction(by virtue of being daddy’s little girl) goes after the workshy sick note culture.
Not sure that anyone living in that world will ever have a clue what it’s like to need a support net on the day you wake up unable to work.
Looks like plenty of Tory MPs have taken the Nadine Dorres route and have essentially given up any pretence to be representing their constituents and have begun their lucrative consultancy jobs already, while still picking up their parliamentary salaries of course. We don't reaally have a government in any real sense of the word, do we?
Outgoing Tory MPs take lucrative second jobs and ‘swan off on jollies’
At the top of the list was former justice secretary Brandon Lewis, who has taken on five new part-time roles worth £410,000 a year alongside his commitments as an MP.
I presume Brandon and all the rest will be fully supportive of Rishi's cutting of sickness benefits?
Let's not forget Brandon's second hand car sales gig, the shiny suited spiv
Mark Menzies has resigned from the tory party.
Still an MP, we’re still paying him, and will continue to pay him for a while after the election. Should resign.
I went to see Jonathan Pie live, last night in central London.... brilliant! let's say he's a bit anti conservative 🙂 Highly recommend seeing him.
@coconut - We saw him a few weeks ago in Salford. Absolutely bloody brilliant! He doesn’t like Rishi much, does he? 😂
"EU Youth mobility scheme rejected, FFS…"
To be fair...this is more an example of the EU fighting with certain member states over who can negotiate with non-EU members over immigration. The UK was (doubtlessly cack-handedly) trying to negotiate bilaterally with targeted states and the EU found out about it. Its offer contained obviously unacceptable and expensive terms: twice as long as the youth mobility schemes with Australia etc, no NHS surcharge, family reunification rights, rights to local uni fees etc...
The EU "offer" was never meant to be accepted - it was only intended to blow up the bilateral negotiations (which probably wouldn't have gone anywhere anyway - nothing else has).
Mark Menzies has resigned from the tory party
Yet apparently he wasn’t guilty of misusing party funds as the Tory flunky paid the ‘bad people’ out of her own account and was then reimbursed from Tory funds.
That's some absolutely top notch shithousery by Tory central office, right there.
Nothing to do with us guv
^^ Tory politics always trumps propriety.
Sunak doesn't want yet another by election so anything goes as the empire falls.
https://twitter.com/johnestevens/status/1782289299485921443?t=7Ddt6qtuSkTfMW4b-70mJA&s=19
Pay attention everyone.
The school prefect will be talking to us all this morning.