We are conflating two ENTIRELY different issues here. One, the less interesting one, is do MPs have the time to do two jobs, like Cox is doing. The other is corruption on a French president, failed African state, Russian oligarch kinda level. Randox got paid £347m for the extension of an existing contract, 500m in total. I would bet that 7 figure backhanders were involved.
And as for that 37bn for test n trace...
Did Randox provide value for money for that £347m ?
If so what's the problem.
Though one thing I would look into is whether individuals / businesses were operating as needless middle men and creaming off 10% (or more) for so doing.
If the middle men is providing a necessary service then is 10% not appropriate for their service?
If nobody (or not enough) was coming forwards direct at 10% cheaper then is it not appropriate to pay a middle man to do the work to ensure the necessary goods arrived?
Yes, but if the middle man is a proxy for an inside man inside the purchasing organisation that's corruption.
Completely agreed on that!
But a lot of businesses work as import/export "middle men" perfectly legitimately.
Every business I've ever been involved with has to work with "agents". That is the sort of work that MPs should avoid with a hundred foot barge pole.
Offtopic: is there any evidence of a government wobble on the care homes vaccine mandate - due to be enforced on Thursday? The infamous Smarkets market on Covid restrictions has moved a bit to no again (partly by me, possibly, as someone took my lay of no for 5, but there have been other trades at even shorter odds since). I'm not trading any more at present (I'm in profit both ways, but ~9:1 in favour of yes) but if you believe the government on the care home mandate then there's an 11% return available on up to £117 stake in two days' time (DYOR - as noted, I'm not taking it as this market has been barmy wrt to 'clarifications' and I'm happy with my small profit both ways position).
I see the government is apparently going to announce a vaccine mandate for te NHS later today (effective in the spring) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59215282 which, if true, would be truly bizarre if they were going to backtrack on the care home mandate within a couple of days. Still, give recent u-turns, I guess anything is possible!
I don't think there's the slightest chance in hell that the vaccine mandate for care homes will be reversed within 48 hours. Its effectively too late already, care homes surely have already started having to give notice of termination for those refusing to vaccinate?
Anytime after October 10th was probably too later given the notice periods that would have been mainly required.
I noticed that BBC2 started a 2 part documentary on the Crisis in the Care Industry - fronted by Ed Balls last night.
Just be done with it and pay MPs a lot more. To most people 80K is a large salary. However if you want the best people to aspire to be MPs then it needs to be more. If I were to become a MP then I would be looking around for what else I could do to earn extra income. The challenge with MPs is that there are so many more opportunities for conflicts of interest.
I don't much like Lord Foulkes (Labour). Baron Foulkes of Cumnock, as he now calls himself. He always seemed the embodiment of self-serving SLAB.
But he had a moment of glory for me, when at the height of the First Expenses Scandal, he turned the tables on Carrie Gracie. We learnt a pretty average BBC presenter earned considerably more than an MP
I would be pretty confident that (i) most people on pb.com earn more than an MP, especially those currently rabbiting on about second jobs, and (ii) most people in the media earn more than an MP.
The problem can only be fixed by paying MPs more .... which no-one wants to do,
It looks as though we are in for a prolonged bout of British hypocrisy.
I'll be clear - I probably do earn more than an MP (when I put my mind to it).
And I have zero problems with MPs earning money from second jobs, the issue comes when that money is coming because
i) they are an MP ii) they are abusing the contacts they have because they are an MP..
I think what you say is uncontroversial.
The problem is writing a piece of legislation that actually defines (ii).
Is the consultancy that Ed Davey is doing because he is an MP?
Probably, yes. But, it is hard to show it. Ditto most consultancy.
Ed Davey's is mainly highish level environmental consultancy for a solar power company.
Obvs related to experience when he was a Minister here, and relevant experience / perceived authority therefrom.
Ed Davey has no scientific expertise. So, I don't understand what his perceived authority is.
His main experience seems to have been as a Government Minister in the 'Lies R Us' party of Nick Clegg
I understand "highish level environmental consultancy " sounds better than "consultancy for a hedge fund" or "consultancy for a betting company".
But, it is still consultancy. The underlying issue is still the same.
Just because something is "Green" does not by itself mean that it offers value for public money.
There is not "good consultancy" and "bad consultancy". There is just "consultancy".
We are conflating two ENTIRELY different issues here. One, the less interesting one, is do MPs have the time to do two jobs, like Cox is doing. The other is corruption on a French president, failed African state, Russian oligarch kinda level. Randox got paid £347m for the extension of an existing contract, 500m in total. I would bet that 7 figure backhanders were involved.
And as for that 37bn for test n trace...
On the two jobs thing, well we actively encourage many MPs to have two jobs with cabinet (and other ministerial) positions. If someone can be a cabinet minister and be a good constituency MP then there's no reason why someone can't be a backbencher and hold down another part time job.
(Personally, I don't think both can be done well, but I don't see an easy solution for separating e.g. cabinet ministers from constituency MPs, given they - ministers - can be hired and fired at will)
A lot of the constituency work can be handled by a good office, so that's a red herring.
What ministers are doing is executive work, but this is instead of the scrutinizing work that is done by backbench and opposition MPs. Generally speaking ministers are not doing the work of holding other ministers accountable to Parliament, they are asked questions by select committees, rather than asking the questions. Being a minister is having a different job rather than an additional one.
True. Does underline the point though that in safe seats, the MP can essentially get away with doing bugger all (or being very busy but on a different job).
It's very simple. At the moment, MPs are perfectly entitled to do outside work (as long as they declare it). That has been the case since time immemorial, under every flavour of government.
Therefore, it is disgraceful gutter journalism to try to make an issue about the fact that many MPs, such as Ed Davey, do outside work.
If we don't want MPs to do outside work, then fine, argue for that. But if you are arguing for that, the figures earned by people like Geoffrey Cox are totally irrelevant to the argument. QCs are paid a hell of a lot. How much they 'trouser' (a word which invariably is a sure sign of partisan muck-raking) has zero to do with the argument about MPs' outside interests.
Having said that, there is a certain lurid fascination in watching just how disastrous a PM Boris is. You have to hand it to him, he really has excelled himself with this entirely self-imposed clusterfuck.
Agree but as mentioned earlier there are second jobs and then there are 35-hr week second jobs which many might think is taking the p****.
The impossibility of drawing the line between what is taking the piss and what isn't is why it would be better to simply ban other paid employment and pay MPs more to compensate.
We are conflating two ENTIRELY different issues here. One, the less interesting one, is do MPs have the time to do two jobs, like Cox is doing. The other is corruption on a French president, failed African state, Russian oligarch kinda level. Randox got paid £347m for the extension of an existing contract, 500m in total. I would bet that 7 figure backhanders were involved.
And as for that 37bn for test n trace...
Did Randox provide value for money for that £347m ?
If so what's the problem.
Though one thing I would look into is whether individuals / businesses were operating as needless middle men and creaming off 10% (or more) for so doing.
If the middle men is providing a necessary service then is 10% not appropriate for their service?
If nobody (or not enough) was coming forwards direct at 10% cheaper then is it not appropriate to pay a middle man to do the work to ensure the necessary goods arrived?
Yes, but if the middle man is a proxy for an inside man inside the purchasing organisation that's corruption.
Completely agreed on that!
But a lot of businesses work as import/export "middle men" perfectly legitimately.
Every business I've ever been involved with has to work with "agents". That is the sort of work that MPs should avoid with a hundred foot barge pole.
Indeed, the only middle men that you should use are accountants and lawyers.
Senators in the USA are very well paid indeed. I presume they receive no cash from lobbying groups ?
Are they? It is less than £130K in UK terms for less than 1/6 of the equivalent jobs in the UK HofC for a country with a population nearly 5 times greater. Seems pretty modest/comparable to me compared to MPs
I don't think there is any wage pressure re MPs. There are plenty of people willing to apply for the job and a lot of them are of quality and most aren't motivated by the salary. The current level seems fine to me.
Expenses and outside work needs sorting out, but it is difficult to know how. Re accommodation I feel that for MPs outside of London purpose built apartments nearby should be provided foc offering all the facilities they need.
Offtopic: is there any evidence of a government wobble on the care homes vaccine mandate - due to be enforced on Thursday? The infamous Smarkets market on Covid restrictions has moved a bit to no again (partly by me, possibly, as someone took my lay of no for 5, but there have been other trades at even shorter odds since). I'm not trading any more at present (I'm in profit both ways, but ~9:1 in favour of yes) but if you believe the government on the care home mandate then there's an 11% return available on up to £117 stake in two days' time (DYOR - as noted, I'm not taking it as this market has been barmy wrt to 'clarifications' and I'm happy with my small profit both ways position).
I see the government is apparently going to announce a vaccine mandate for te NHS later today (effective in the spring) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59215282 which, if true, would be truly bizarre if they were going to backtrack on the care home mandate within a couple of days. Still, give recent u-turns, I guess anything is possible!
I don't think there's the slightest chance in hell that the vaccine mandate for care homes will be reversed within 48 hours. Its effectively too late already, care homes surely have already started having to give notice of termination for those refusing to vaccinate?
Good point. So presumably those backing no haven't read the various clarifications and think they're betting (at apparently great value) on there not being any more lockdowns. That market has always followed case numbers, maybe just the same again.
Offtopic: is there any evidence of a government wobble on the care homes vaccine mandate - due to be enforced on Thursday? The infamous Smarkets market on Covid restrictions has moved a bit to no again (partly by me, possibly, as someone took my lay of no for 5, but there have been other trades at even shorter odds since). I'm not trading any more at present (I'm in profit both ways, but ~9:1 in favour of yes) but if you believe the government on the care home mandate then there's an 11% return available on up to £117 stake in two days' time (DYOR - as noted, I'm not taking it as this market has been barmy wrt to 'clarifications' and I'm happy with my small profit both ways position).
I see the government is apparently going to announce a vaccine mandate for te NHS later today (effective in the spring) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59215282 which, if true, would be truly bizarre if they were going to backtrack on the care home mandate within a couple of days. Still, give recent u-turns, I guess anything is possible!
On Care Homes, did anyone else watch the Ed Balls programme on BB2 last night? Zero-ed on the complete lack of career progression for carers. Not even a guaranteed annual rise.
Senators in the USA are very well paid indeed. I presume they receive no cash from lobbying groups ?
Are they? It is less than £130K in UK terms for less than 1/6 of the equivalent jobs in the UK HofC for a country with a population nearly 5 times greater. Seems pretty modest/comparable to me compared to MPs
I don't think there is any wage pressure re MPs. There are plenty of people willing to apply for the job and a lot of them are of quality and most aren't motivated by the salary. The current level seems fine to me.
Expenses and outside work needs sorting out, but it is difficult to know how. Re accommodation I feel that for MPs outside of London purpose built apartments nearby should be provided foc offering all the facilities they need.
I was arguing for that in 2010; however there is a terrorism, demonstration etc vulnerability if all in one or a few places - so on balance I prefer the current "choose your own dwelling up to X rent, or topup" option.
Senators in the USA are very well paid indeed. I presume they receive no cash from lobbying groups ?
Are they? It is less than £130K in UK terms for less than 1/6 of the equivalent jobs in the UK HofC for a country with a population nearly 5 times greater. Seems pretty modest/comparable to me compared to MPs
I don't think there is any wage pressure re MPs. There are plenty of people willing to apply for the job and a lot of them are of quality and most aren't motivated by the salary. The current level seems fine to me.
Expenses and outside work needs sorting out, but it is difficult to know how. Re accommodation I feel that for MPs outside of London purpose built apartments nearby should be provided foc offering all the facilities they need.
What evidence do you have that expenses need to be sorted out - that was done 10 years ago and if anything the new rules are already too strict.
Johnson's miscalculation about the sleaze is breathtaking. They are STILL thinking it's just a storm in a teacup. They don't seem to realise just how bloody angry this has made people. Their people.
We've spent best part of 2 years under the cosh and his tory MPs don't seem to give a flying fig about the sweat and toil, the hardships, the sacrifices.
On a personal level there are lots of things about this which have incensed me and it's hard to single out one, but the idea that Johnson should fly by private jet from the Glasgow climate change summit in order to have dinner at the Garrick Club with his chum and Telegraph mentor Charles Moore really sticks in the throat. But there are bigger issues than that, over which Boris Johnson is trampling with his usual ebullient, arrogant, blustering, cavalier buffoonery.
This time the turning of the tide is for real.
Oh jeez Heathener, Boris has lost you?
It really is all over, you've been so effusive in your praise for the Tories before.
If Boris loses kinabalu, roger, Rochdale and malcolmg next then that we may as well do the last rites on his Premiership.
Senators in the USA are very well paid indeed. I presume they receive no cash from lobbying groups ?
Are they? It is less than £130K in UK terms for less than 1/6 of the equivalent jobs in the UK HofC for a country with a population nearly 5 times greater. Seems pretty modest/comparable to me compared to MPs
I don't think there is any wage pressure re MPs. There are plenty of people willing to apply for the job and a lot of them are of quality and most aren't motivated by the salary. The current level seems fine to me.
Expenses and outside work needs sorting out, but it is difficult to know how. Re accommodation I feel that for MPs outside of London purpose built apartments nearby should be provided foc offering all the facilities they need.
Offtopic: is there any evidence of a government wobble on the care homes vaccine mandate - due to be enforced on Thursday? The infamous Smarkets market on Covid restrictions has moved a bit to no again (partly by me, possibly, as someone took my lay of no for 5, but there have been other trades at even shorter odds since). I'm not trading any more at present (I'm in profit both ways, but ~9:1 in favour of yes) but if you believe the government on the care home mandate then there's an 11% return available on up to £117 stake in two days' time (DYOR - as noted, I'm not taking it as this market has been barmy wrt to 'clarifications' and I'm happy with my small profit both ways position).
I see the government is apparently going to announce a vaccine mandate for te NHS later today (effective in the spring) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59215282 which, if true, would be truly bizarre if they were going to backtrack on the care home mandate within a couple of days. Still, give recent u-turns, I guess anything is possible!
On Care Homes, did anyone else watch the Ed Balls programme on BB2 last night? Zero-ed on the complete lack of career progression for carers. Not even a guaranteed annual rise.
I disagree with that. There are potential moves to eg Team Leader, Care Manager, and so on.
Why should a sector of the economy have a nationally imposed career structure, anyway?
I'll watch the Ed Balls programme, though.
Update: this is what the National Careers Service says:
Career path and progression Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities. While employed as a care worker you can develop your skills by training in specific areas, like autism awareness, communication skills or supporting people with dementia.
With experience, you can become a lead care worker. You can also move into more senior jobs, like managing people or services, if you study for further qualifications. For example, a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Care, or a degree in social work or nursing.
We are conflating two ENTIRELY different issues here. One, the less interesting one, is do MPs have the time to do two jobs, like Cox is doing. The other is corruption on a French president, failed African state, Russian oligarch kinda level. Randox got paid £347m for the extension of an existing contract, 500m in total. I would bet that 7 figure backhanders were involved.
And as for that 37bn for test n trace...
Those daily case numbers and lateral flow test/PCR results. Thats in the money for test and trace. You can certainly argue that we are doing too much testing now, and that the trace part has been shit. Thats fair, it has, although the nature of covid makes the tracing much harder than a disease which only transmits when symptomatic. But the WHO said 'Test, test, test' and we have, and it has been useful.
Offtopic: is there any evidence of a government wobble on the care homes vaccine mandate - due to be enforced on Thursday? The infamous Smarkets market on Covid restrictions has moved a bit to no again (partly by me, possibly, as someone took my lay of no for 5, but there have been other trades at even shorter odds since). I'm not trading any more at present (I'm in profit both ways, but ~9:1 in favour of yes) but if you believe the government on the care home mandate then there's an 11% return available on up to £117 stake in two days' time (DYOR - as noted, I'm not taking it as this market has been barmy wrt to 'clarifications' and I'm happy with my small profit both ways position).
I see the government is apparently going to announce a vaccine mandate for te NHS later today (effective in the spring) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59215282 which, if true, would be truly bizarre if they were going to backtrack on the care home mandate within a couple of days. Still, give recent u-turns, I guess anything is possible!
On Care Homes, did anyone else watch the Ed Balls programme on BB2 last night? Zero-ed on the complete lack of career progression for carers. Not even a guaranteed annual rise.
I disagree with that. There are potential moves to eg Team Leader, Care Manager, and so on.
Why should a sector of the economy have a nationally imposed career structure, anyway?
I'll watch the Ed Balls programme, though.
I caught a bit of him on the One Show last night and he said that carers have ambitions to become paramedics etc.
I'm afraid that's true of many jobs. I don't see why care home staff should be different.
Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds writes to Boris Johnson demanding he decides if MP Geoffrey Cox is a "Caribbean-based barrister or a Conservative MP"
One rule change might work could be for all MP's work to be publicly published (Within the bounds of GDPR). That'd certainly allow all the legit jobs to carry on.
Offtopic: is there any evidence of a government wobble on the care homes vaccine mandate - due to be enforced on Thursday? The infamous Smarkets market on Covid restrictions has moved a bit to no again (partly by me, possibly, as someone took my lay of no for 5, but there have been other trades at even shorter odds since). I'm not trading any more at present (I'm in profit both ways, but ~9:1 in favour of yes) but if you believe the government on the care home mandate then there's an 11% return available on up to £117 stake in two days' time (DYOR - as noted, I'm not taking it as this market has been barmy wrt to 'clarifications' and I'm happy with my small profit both ways position).
I see the government is apparently going to announce a vaccine mandate for te NHS later today (effective in the spring) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59215282 which, if true, would be truly bizarre if they were going to backtrack on the care home mandate within a couple of days. Still, give recent u-turns, I guess anything is possible!
On Care Homes, did anyone else watch the Ed Balls programme on BB2 last night? Zero-ed on the complete lack of career progression for carers. Not even a guaranteed annual rise.
I disagree with that. There are potential moves to eg Team Leader, Care Manager, and so on.
Why should a sector of the economy have a nationally imposed career structure, anyway?
I'll watch the Ed Balls programme, though.
Update: this is what the National Careers Service says:
Career path and progression Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities. While employed as a care worker you can develop your skills by training in specific areas, like autism awareness, communication skills or supporting people with dementia.
With experience, you can become a lead care worker. You can also move into more senior jobs, like managing people or services, if you study for further qualifications. For example, a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Care, or a degree in social work or nursing.
Point taken, but the opportunities are, in practice, few and far between.And the salary differentials are often very small. Of course it's an industry with a few big employers and a lot of little ones.
HY's call that this was all over, when that day-after poll held the Tory lead, is looking a tad optimistic...
Its hope over reality. Just as Raaaab can say "the PM followed the rules" as he watches the man break the rules, HY can say "its all over" just as its really getting going.
It doesn't matter who presents Good Morning Britain, they can be trusted to put politicians under the spotlight. Q: Why didn't the PM wear a mask in hospital yesterday? Raab: "he didn't wear a mask when he was required to"
Indeed. Why not? Why did he decide to take his mask off for the cameras to stand there illegally breathing over those nurses? What is the rationale for such stupidity?
"Please wash your hands at the hospital entrance and wear a face covering when you enter the hospital until you leave. If you have not got a face covering a surgical mask will be supplied. There are also hand-sanitising points around the hospital – please feel free to use them.
You must ensure that you wear your covering or mask throughout your visit and you must not remove your face covering/mask or kiss your loved one."
"visitors and outpatients to hospital settings should wear a form of face covering"
Once again, the rules that apply to absolutely everyone do not apply to the PM. And when Raab says the PM followed the rules, he knows that he did not.
When you are under the cosh for not applying rules equally, what is he thinking in behaving like this? We have to go back to his former Eton masters who said that even as a boy he was sure the rules did not apply to him. The press are all at it over this mask issue so it is hardly helping him.
If he thinks the rules are stupid and pointless, he is almost uniquely well placed to change them.
One of the many things I dislike about masks is the class divide. The little people have to wear them - the big people can choose. If I go to a restaurant, I'd really rather the waiting staff didn't wear masks. I already feel enough middle class discomfort about somebody serving me without having this visible reminder of the status difference between us.
Senators in the USA are very well paid indeed. I presume they receive no cash from lobbying groups ?
Are they? It is less than £130K in UK terms for less than 1/6 of the equivalent jobs in the UK HofC for a country with a population nearly 5 times greater. Seems pretty modest/comparable to me compared to MPs
I don't think there is any wage pressure re MPs. There are plenty of people willing to apply for the job and a lot of them are of quality and most aren't motivated by the salary. The current level seems fine to me.
Expenses and outside work needs sorting out, but it is difficult to know how. Re accommodation I feel that for MPs outside of London purpose built apartments nearby should be provided foc offering all the facilities they need.
What evidence do you have that expenses need to be sorted out - that was done 10 years ago and if anything the new rules are already too strict.
OK I did sort of just throw that into the sentence and it may be unfounded so I withdraw. Although I was under the impression there were still issues. For instance the disparity between an MP who represents a constituency from far away who rents compared to one who owns in London as to what they can claim causing MPs to rent out their property to MPs and rent elsewhere. The issue of the Maidstone MP whose 'London' home was in Redhill or Reigate (I can't remember) which was just taking the p***. Obviously my properly provided apartments suggestion close to the Commons eliminates those issues and simplifies matters. But if you are right maybe it is not needed.
Difficult to know what to think. One moment you see some poor Yazidi woman sleeping with her child on freezing mud and your heart cracks, the next you see a violent refugee attacking the border with an axe and you think “ok, fire some warning shots”
The truly murky shit is how they are getting there. It seems the Russians and Turks are flying them free from Damascus to Minsk then bussing them to the border.
Many want to go to Germany but others aspire to Britain. If they speak a foreign language it is English, of course
Supposedly 15 have died so far. Could be many more if this drags on
On MPs and their pay. Having hit 45 I'm either past the point of being able to make a run for parliament or prime age with experience to have it as a late career change.
Happily for the electorate I will continue to decline the proposal. OK so I earn more than an MP, but they come with a bucket of expenses to make it more palatable. Frankly it isn't the cash thats the issue - its the job.
Being an MP appears to be all-consuming. You are always an MP, never off-duty. With an impossible job where everything you do is wrong and an army of at best armchair experts and at worse psychopaths have it in for you.
They would need to pay an ocean of money to make me want to do it.
Difficult to know what to think. One moment you see some poor Yazidi woman sleeping with her child on freezing mud and your heart cracks, the next you see a violent refugee attacking the border with an axe and you think “ok, fire some warning shots”
The truly murky shit is how they are getting there. It seems the Russians and Turks are flying them free from Damascus to Minsk then bussing them to the border.
Many want to go to Germany but others aspire to Britain. If they speak a foreign language it is English, of course
Supposedly 15 have died so far. Could be many more if this drags on
People are dying. They must be allowed safe passage. If they want to come here we should have them. We need workers.
Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds writes to Boris Johnson demanding he decides if MP Geoffrey Cox is a "Caribbean-based barrister or a Conservative MP"
Isn't that a matter for the constituents of Torridge and West Devon to decide, not the PM?
They knew he was a QC when they elected him.
Yes it is, it’s just cheap politics to keep it in the news cycle. But I can’t say I blame them. Scott n paste must have thought Xmas has come early over this. Twitter is his life at the moment.
Offtopic: is there any evidence of a government wobble on the care homes vaccine mandate - due to be enforced on Thursday? The infamous Smarkets market on Covid restrictions has moved a bit to no again (partly by me, possibly, as someone took my lay of no for 5, but there have been other trades at even shorter odds since). I'm not trading any more at present (I'm in profit both ways, but ~9:1 in favour of yes) but if you believe the government on the care home mandate then there's an 11% return available on up to £117 stake in two days' time (DYOR - as noted, I'm not taking it as this market has been barmy wrt to 'clarifications' and I'm happy with my small profit both ways position).
I see the government is apparently going to announce a vaccine mandate for te NHS later today (effective in the spring) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59215282 which, if true, would be truly bizarre if they were going to backtrack on the care home mandate within a couple of days. Still, give recent u-turns, I guess anything is possible!
On Care Homes, did anyone else watch the Ed Balls programme on BB2 last night? Zero-ed on the complete lack of career progression for carers. Not even a guaranteed annual rise.
I disagree with that. There are potential moves to eg Team Leader, Care Manager, and so on.
Why should a sector of the economy have a nationally imposed career structure, anyway?
I'll watch the Ed Balls programme, though.
Update: this is what the National Careers Service says:
Career path and progression Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities. While employed as a care worker you can develop your skills by training in specific areas, like autism awareness, communication skills or supporting people with dementia.
With experience, you can become a lead care worker. You can also move into more senior jobs, like managing people or services, if you study for further qualifications. For example, a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Care, or a degree in social work or nursing.
Point taken, but the opportunities are, in practice, few and far between.And the salary differentials are often very small. Of course it's an industry with a few big employers and a lot of little ones.
I'm not really convinced of that either, thinking of experience of people known to me personally.
I think there are also a lot of people working in care who are after a job rather than a career, again based on personal experience. Example would be parents wanting locally based flexible work.
Picking up the other point made on eg going into being a Paramedic, what is stopping them?
Difficult to know what to think. One moment you see some poor Yazidi woman sleeping with her child on freezing mud and your heart cracks, the next you see a violent refugee attacking the border with an axe and you think “ok, fire some warning shots”
The truly murky shit is how they are getting there. It seems the Russians and Turks are flying them free from Damascus to Minsk then bussing them to the border.
Many want to go to Germany but others aspire to Britain. If they speak a foreign language it is English, of course
Supposedly 15 have died so far. Could be many more if this drags on
People are dying. They must be allowed safe passage. If they want to come here we should have them. We need workers.
That’s nice of you. Maybe you could house them in your garden
One rule change might work could be for all MP's work to be publicly published (Within the bounds of GDPR). That'd certainly allow all the legit jobs to carry on.
I've just cleared out the Smarkets Covid restrictions market that was available at 1.11
Its an extremely dodgy market as IMHO this should NOT count (it was already announced before the market was introduced) but since the rules say it should then 11% return in 48 hours is much better than you can get in the bank.
There's still quite a bit of cash available at 1.07 and 1.05 if anyone wants to clear that out.
Difficult to know what to think. One moment you see some poor Yazidi woman sleeping with her child on freezing mud and your heart cracks, the next you see a violent refugee attacking the border with an axe and you think “ok, fire some warning shots”
The truly murky shit is how they are getting there. It seems the Russians and Turks are flying them free from Damascus to Minsk then bussing them to the border.
Many want to go to Germany but others aspire to Britain. If they speak a foreign language it is English, of course
Supposedly 15 have died so far. Could be many more if this drags on
People are dying. They must be allowed safe passage. If they want to come here we should have them. We need workers.
That’s nice of you. Maybe you could house them in your garden
There are plenty of empty properties in the UK. God bless these vulnerable men, women and young children, seeking freedom from Persecution.
HY's call that this was all over, when that day-after poll held the Tory lead, is looking a tad optimistic...
Its hope over reality. Just as Raaaab can say "the PM followed the rules" as he watches the man break the rules, HY can say "its all over" just as its really getting going.
This story has not gone away and I don’t think it will anytime soon either. This, far more than anything else, has the power to really damage this govt and Johnson. If this keeps running those letters of no confidence will start streaming in. As you say red wall voters aren’t fools even if both parties and their activists take them as such. Red wall Tory MPs will know the current trajectory for them is devastating electorally.
Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds writes to Boris Johnson demanding he decides if MP Geoffrey Cox is a "Caribbean-based barrister or a Conservative MP"
Difficult to know what to think. One moment you see some poor Yazidi woman sleeping with her child on freezing mud and your heart cracks, the next you see a violent refugee attacking the border with an axe and you think “ok, fire some warning shots”
The truly murky shit is how they are getting there. It seems the Russians and Turks are flying them free from Damascus to Minsk then bussing them to the border.
Many want to go to Germany but others aspire to Britain. If they speak a foreign language it is English, of course
Supposedly 15 have died so far. Could be many more if this drags on
People are dying. They must be allowed safe passage. If they want to come here we should have them. We need workers.
That’s nice of you. Maybe you could house them in your garden
There are plenty of empty properties in the UK. God bless these vulnerable men, women and young children, seeking freedom from Persecution.
It is a terrible situation. A tragedy in the making
I’ve no idea what the solution is, but I do know that “let them all in” is not it. Because behind them there are billions more who would like to come to Europe/UK who will then make the journey as they see others succeed. We literally cannot “let them all in”
I've just cleared out the Smarkets Covid restrictions market that was available at 1.11
Its an extremely dodgy market as IMHO this should NOT count (it was already announced before the market was introduced) but since the rules say it should then 11% return in 48 hours is much better than you can get in the bank.
There's still quite a bit of cash available at 1.07 and 1.05 if anyone wants to clear that out.
FYI, I work on 15% commission. Wins only, no liability for tipped losses
So, I guess that means if we ever meet oop North you owe me half a pint. Or a glass of tap water in London.
Edit: And yes, had the 'clarifications' been in original rules, then the chart would look completely different.
Worse. It's grist to the mill of every drunken or entitled arsehole who wants to show up at A+E or visiting hours and not take a blind bit of notice of this or any other thing they don't fancy.
Just tried to do a speculative bet hoping others would back the other side at 1.2 but I misclicked Lay instead of Back and the bot instantly matched it.
I'm now down £200 on this market hoping to make £40 by misclicking. 😭😭😭
“#Syria Long queue at the passport & immigration office in the Rukn al-Din (kurdish) neighborhood of #Damascus to get a flight to #Belarus/#Minsk -> #EU/#Poland border dirty game of #Putin & #Assad”
Just tried to do a speculative bet hoping others would back the other side at 1.2 but I misclicked Lay instead of Back and the bot instantly matched it.
I'm now down £200 on this market hoping to make £40 by misclicking. 😭😭😭
Senators in the USA are very well paid indeed. I presume they receive no cash from lobbying groups ?
Are they? It is less than £130K in UK terms for less than 1/6 of the equivalent jobs in the UK HofC for a country with a population nearly 5 times greater. Seems pretty modest/comparable to me compared to MPs
I don't think there is any wage pressure re MPs. There are plenty of people willing to apply for the job and a lot of them are of quality and most aren't motivated by the salary. The current level seems fine to me.
Expenses and outside work needs sorting out, but it is difficult to know how. Re accommodation I feel that for MPs outside of London purpose built apartments nearby should be provided foc offering all the facilities they need.
What evidence do you have that expenses need to be sorted out - that was done 10 years ago and if anything the new rules are already too strict.
For instance the disparity between an MP who represents a constituency from far away who rents compared to one who owns in London as to what they can claim causing MPs to rent out their property to MPs and rent elsewhere. The issue of the Maidstone MP whose 'London' home was in Redhill or Reigate (I can't remember) which was just taking the p***. Obviously my properly provided apartments suggestion close to the Commons eliminates those issues and simplifies matters. But if you are right maybe it is not needed.
Is there perhaps a rule / expectation against MPs renting to other MPs (heaven knows how that would be enforced)?
That Maidstone one is an interesting edge case. Train from Maidstone to London is 1:15 hr. Train from Redhill to London is 30 minutes. But debating edge cases perhaps indicates a better basic system.
Incidentally, an interesting table of "London MPs" I just came across. Interesting in number of MPs, and also how many peeps they represent.
Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds writes to Boris Johnson demanding he decides if MP Geoffrey Cox is a "Caribbean-based barrister or a Conservative MP"
Isn't that a matter for the constituents of Torridge and West Devon to decide, not the PM?
They knew he was a QC when they elected him.
QC MP charges a load of money for legal work is not much of a story.
Cox may well provide excellent value for his constituents too. If you get a letter back from him, it - though 'he is not your lawyer' it should be legally impeccable.
Been prescribed medication from the doctor and seeing a counsellor so in a better position than a few days back, thanks for the kind words from you all
Just tried to do a speculative bet hoping others would back the other side at 1.2 but I misclicked Lay instead of Back and the bot instantly matched it.
I'm now down £200 on this market hoping to make £40 by misclicking. 😭😭😭
Senators in the USA are very well paid indeed. I presume they receive no cash from lobbying groups ?
Are they? It is less than £130K in UK terms for less than 1/6 of the equivalent jobs in the UK HofC for a country with a population nearly 5 times greater. Seems pretty modest/comparable to me compared to MPs
I don't think there is any wage pressure re MPs. There are plenty of people willing to apply for the job and a lot of them are of quality and most aren't motivated by the salary. The current level seems fine to me.
Expenses and outside work needs sorting out, but it is difficult to know how. Re accommodation I feel that for MPs outside of London purpose built apartments nearby should be provided foc offering all the facilities they need.
“#Syria Long queue at the passport & immigration office in the Rukn al-Din (kurdish) neighborhood of #Damascus to get a flight to #Belarus/#Minsk -> #EU/#Poland border dirty game of #Putin & #Assad”
The Syrian migrant crisis has long be driven by Putin. Dropping bombs on residential areas to generate refugees, then pumping out anti-refugee propaganda in the west to divide us against ourselves. Putin is a calculating scumbag of the highest order. He is evil.
Senators in the USA are very well paid indeed. I presume they receive no cash from lobbying groups ?
Are they? It is less than £130K in UK terms for less than 1/6 of the equivalent jobs in the UK HofC for a country with a population nearly 5 times greater. Seems pretty modest/comparable to me compared to MPs
I don't think there is any wage pressure re MPs. There are plenty of people willing to apply for the job and a lot of them are of quality and most aren't motivated by the salary. The current level seems fine to me.
Expenses and outside work needs sorting out, but it is difficult to know how. Re accommodation I feel that for MPs outside of London purpose built apartments nearby should be provided foc offering all the facilities they need.
Just tried to do a speculative bet hoping others would back the other side at 1.2 but I misclicked Lay instead of Back and the bot instantly matched it.
I'm now down £200 on this market hoping to make £40 by misclicking. 😭😭😭
Bugger. Same market?
Yes. Trying to buy yes, I accidentally sold yes at a 15% rating (6.6667).
I've "traded out" by buying some of the 1.07 yes that was available but now I'm down £183 no matter how the market settles. 😭😭😭
Of the posters who have gone AWOL lately I'm most concerned about FrancisUrquhart, he of 65k posts who has been on the forum since 2013. No posts for a month and a half and no activity at all for a month. This is out of character.
Senators in the USA are very well paid indeed. I presume they receive no cash from lobbying groups ?
Are they? It is less than £130K in UK terms for less than 1/6 of the equivalent jobs in the UK HofC for a country with a population nearly 5 times greater. Seems pretty modest/comparable to me compared to MPs
I don't think there is any wage pressure re MPs. There are plenty of people willing to apply for the job and a lot of them are of quality and most aren't motivated by the salary. The current level seems fine to me.
Expenses and outside work needs sorting out, but it is difficult to know how. Re accommodation I feel that for MPs outside of London purpose built apartments nearby should be provided foc offering all the facilities they need.
What evidence do you have that expenses need to be sorted out - that was done 10 years ago and if anything the new rules are already too strict.
For instance the disparity between an MP who represents a constituency from far away who rents compared to one who owns in London as to what they can claim causing MPs to rent out their property to MPs and rent elsewhere. The issue of the Maidstone MP whose 'London' home was in Redhill or Reigate (I can't remember) which was just taking the p***. Obviously my properly provided apartments suggestion close to the Commons eliminates those issues and simplifies matters. But if you are right maybe it is not needed.
Is there perhaps a rule / expectation against MPs renting to other MPs (heaven knows how that would be enforced)?
That Maidstone one is an interesting edge case. Train from Maidstone to London is 1:15 hr. Train from Redhill to London is 30 minutes. But debating edge cases perhaps indicates a better basic system.
Incidentally, an interesting table of "London MPs" I just came across. Interesting in number of MPs, and also how many peeps they represent.
Just tried to do a speculative bet hoping others would back the other side at 1.2 but I misclicked Lay instead of Back and the bot instantly matched it.
I'm now down £200 on this market hoping to make £40 by misclicking. 😭😭😭
Bugger. Same market?
Yes. Trying to buy yes, I accidentally sold yes at a 15% rating (6.6667).
I've "traded out" by buying some of the 1.07 yes that was available but now I'm down £183 no matter how the market settles. 😭😭😭
That suggested 'dislike' button is needed.
I'll let you off that half pint too, in the circumstances.
“#Syria Long queue at the passport & immigration office in the Rukn al-Din (kurdish) neighborhood of #Damascus to get a flight to #Belarus/#Minsk -> #EU/#Poland border dirty game of #Putin & #Assad”
The Syrian migrant crisis has long be driven by Putin. Dropping bombs on residential areas to generate refugees, then pumping out anti-refugee propaganda in the west to divide us against ourselves. Putin is a calculating scumbag of the highest order. He is evil.
The Belarus situation could get bloody. There are 4000 refugees in the forest and ~15,000 on the way (it is said). That’s enough to storm a frontier if they really try
“#Syria Long queue at the passport & immigration office in the Rukn al-Din (kurdish) neighborhood of #Damascus to get a flight to #Belarus/#Minsk -> #EU/#Poland border dirty game of #Putin & #Assad”
Well, it works. Look at what Nick P said when the migrants died because the Poles would not let them cross the border - it was the Poles who got blamed.
Putin knows exactly how to get the bien pensant class causing problems for their Governments.
It’s impossible to avoid the suspicion that Boris deliberately didn’t wear a mask for that hospital trip to either distract from the lobbying scandal, or simply just to attract attention full stop.
“#Syria Long queue at the passport & immigration office in the Rukn al-Din (kurdish) neighborhood of #Damascus to get a flight to #Belarus/#Minsk -> #EU/#Poland border dirty game of #Putin & #Assad”
Well, it works. Look at what Nick P said when the migrants died because the Poles would not let them cross the border - it was the Poles who got blamed.
Putin knows exactly how to get the bien pensant class causing problems for their Governments.
You are, of course, playing into Putin's hands when you say things like "bien pensant class causing problems". What Putin wants is for you to hate the people who want to let them in, and the people who want to let them in to hate you. Better to hate Putin for creating this situation over and over again.
Senators in the USA are very well paid indeed. I presume they receive no cash from lobbying groups ?
Are they? It is less than £130K in UK terms for less than 1/6 of the equivalent jobs in the UK HofC for a country with a population nearly 5 times greater. Seems pretty modest/comparable to me compared to MPs
I don't think there is any wage pressure re MPs. There are plenty of people willing to apply for the job and a lot of them are of quality and most aren't motivated by the salary. The current level seems fine to me.
Expenses and outside work needs sorting out, but it is difficult to know how. Re accommodation I feel that for MPs outside of London purpose built apartments nearby should be provided foc offering all the facilities they need.
What evidence do you have that expenses need to be sorted out - that was done 10 years ago and if anything the new rules are already too strict.
For instance the disparity between an MP who represents a constituency from far away who rents compared to one who owns in London as to what they can claim causing MPs to rent out their property to MPs and rent elsewhere. The issue of the Maidstone MP whose 'London' home was in Redhill or Reigate (I can't remember) which was just taking the p***. Obviously my properly provided apartments suggestion close to the Commons eliminates those issues and simplifies matters. But if you are right maybe it is not needed.
Is there perhaps a rule / expectation against MPs renting to other MPs (heaven knows how that would be enforced)?
That Maidstone one is an interesting edge case. Train from Maidstone to London is 1:15 hr. Train from Redhill to London is 30 minutes. But debating edge cases perhaps indicates a better basic system.
Incidentally, an interesting table of "London MPs" I just came across. Interesting in number of MPs, and also how many peeps they represent.
It’s impossible to avoid the suspicion that Boris deliberately didn’t wear a mask for that hospital trip to either distract from the lobbying scandal, or simply just to attract attention full stop.
Offtopic: is there any evidence of a government wobble on the care homes vaccine mandate - due to be enforced on Thursday? The infamous Smarkets market on Covid restrictions has moved a bit to no again (partly by me, possibly, as someone took my lay of no for 5, but there have been other trades at even shorter odds since). I'm not trading any more at present (I'm in profit both ways, but ~9:1 in favour of yes) but if you believe the government on the care home mandate then there's an 11% return available on up to £117 stake in two days' time (DYOR - as noted, I'm not taking it as this market has been barmy wrt to 'clarifications' and I'm happy with my small profit both ways position).
I see the government is apparently going to announce a vaccine mandate for te NHS later today (effective in the spring) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59215282 which, if true, would be truly bizarre if they were going to backtrack on the care home mandate within a couple of days. Still, give recent u-turns, I guess anything is possible!
On Care Homes, did anyone else watch the Ed Balls programme on BB2 last night? Zero-ed on the complete lack of career progression for carers. Not even a guaranteed annual rise.
I disagree with that. There are potential moves to eg Team Leader, Care Manager, and so on.
Why should a sector of the economy have a nationally imposed career structure, anyway?
I'll watch the Ed Balls programme, though.
Update: this is what the National Careers Service says:
Career path and progression Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities. While employed as a care worker you can develop your skills by training in specific areas, like autism awareness, communication skills or supporting people with dementia.
With experience, you can become a lead care worker. You can also move into more senior jobs, like managing people or services, if you study for further qualifications. For example, a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Care, or a degree in social work or nursing.
Point taken, but the opportunities are, in practice, few and far between.And the salary differentials are often very small. Of course it's an industry with a few big employers and a lot of little ones.
I'm not really convinced of that either, thinking of experience of people known to me personally.
I think there are also a lot of people working in care who are after a job rather than a career, again based on personal experience. Example would be parents wanting locally based flexible work.
Picking up the other point made on eg going into being a Paramedic, what is stopping them?
Again, (some) points taken. There are always people who are happy doing what they are doing and don't want 'promotion'. In the course of my working life (admittedly a while ago now (!)) I visited many care homes and there was often a sense of satisfaction with care well given. Job well done, in other words. That doesn't mean they should be exploited. But you're not saying that.
“#Syria Long queue at the passport & immigration office in the Rukn al-Din (kurdish) neighborhood of #Damascus to get a flight to #Belarus/#Minsk -> #EU/#Poland border dirty game of #Putin & #Assad”
Well, it works. Look at what Nick P said when the migrants died because the Poles would not let them cross the border - it was the Poles who got blamed.
Putin knows exactly how to get the bien pensant class causing problems for their Governments.
You are, of course, playing into Putin's hands when you say things like "bien pensant class causing problems". What Putin wants is for you to hate the people who want to let them in, and the people who want to let them in to hate you. Better to hate Putin for creating this situation over and over again.
Let’s not forget the important role played by Frau Merkel. Who unilaterally decided to let 1 million into Germany (and the EU) thus encouraging many millions more to try their luck
The Mail's certainly got the bit between the teeth:
'Cowardly' Boris COULD have made it back to London to face Commons' sleaze showdown: Furious Red Wall Tories demand he apologises after ghosting Parliament as pictures emerge of PM boarding train that arrived in time for debate
Of the posters who have gone AWOL lately I'm most concerned about FrancisUrquhart, he of 65k posts who has been on the forum since 2013. No posts for a month and a half and no activity at all for a month. This is out of character.
Just be done with it and pay MPs a lot more. To most people 80K is a large salary. However if you want the best people to aspire to be MPs then it needs to be more. If I were to become a MP then I would be looking around for what else I could do to earn extra income. The challenge with MPs is that there are so many more opportunities for conflicts of interest.
I want MPs who are driven to public service, who are looking to improve the country. Paying them more money doesn't get us that.
Regardless of what MPs do get paid, we should be banning these consulting second jobs. That's an attraction for the corrupt who realize they can use their position as MP to make lots of extra cash on the side. That works against all our interests.
I think there is clearly a line between lobbying for a company (i.e. work that you only got because you are an MP and which isn't in public interest) and someone working in a hospital (i.e. work that you got because you're a qualified doctor/nurse etc.).
Yep, must admit that I’m a bit nonplussed by ‘the best people are greedy for money’ chat, apart from anything else it suggests a metric so crude as to be worthless. I imagine it indicates a difference in world view that will never be bridged.
Just be done with it and pay MPs a lot more. To most people 80K is a large salary. However if you want the best people to aspire to be MPs then it needs to be more. If I were to become a MP then I would be looking around for what else I could do to earn extra income. The challenge with MPs is that there are so many more opportunities for conflicts of interest.
I want MPs who are driven to public service, who are looking to improve the country. Paying them more money doesn't get us that.
Regardless of what MPs do get paid, we should be banning these consulting second jobs. That's an attraction for the corrupt who realize they can use their position as MP to make lots of extra cash on the side. That works against all our interests.
I think there is clearly a line between lobbying for a company (i.e. work that you only got because you are an MP and which isn't in public interest) and someone working in a hospital (i.e. work that you got because you're a qualified doctor/nurse etc.).
Yep, must admit that I’m a bit nonplussed by ‘the best people are greedy for money’ chat, apart from anything else it suggests a metric so crude as to be worthless. I imagine it indicates a difference in world view that will never be bridged.
The interesting thing is that as politics has "professionalised" and the amount you get paid for being an MP has gone up, the quality seems to have dropped right off.
“#Syria Long queue at the passport & immigration office in the Rukn al-Din (kurdish) neighborhood of #Damascus to get a flight to #Belarus/#Minsk -> #EU/#Poland border dirty game of #Putin & #Assad”
Well, it works. Look at what Nick P said when the migrants died because the Poles would not let them cross the border - it was the Poles who got blamed.
Putin knows exactly how to get the bien pensant class causing problems for their Governments.
You are, of course, playing into Putin's hands when you say things like "bien pensant class causing problems". What Putin wants is for you to hate the people who want to let them in, and the people who want to let them in to hate you. Better to hate Putin for creating this situation over and over again.
Let’s not forget the important role played by Frau Merkel. Who unilaterally decided to let 1 million into Germany (and the EU) thus encouraging many millions more to try their luck
It’s not all on Putin, not remotely
Well yes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
“#Syria Long queue at the passport & immigration office in the Rukn al-Din (kurdish) neighborhood of #Damascus to get a flight to #Belarus/#Minsk -> #EU/#Poland border dirty game of #Putin & #Assad”
Well, it works. Look at what Nick P said when the migrants died because the Poles would not let them cross the border - it was the Poles who got blamed.
Putin knows exactly how to get the bien pensant class causing problems for their Governments.
You are, of course, playing into Putin's hands when you say things like "bien pensant class causing problems". What Putin wants is for you to hate the people who want to let them in, and the people who want to let them in to hate you. Better to hate Putin for creating this situation over and over again.
Let’s not forget the important role played by Frau Merkel. Who unilaterally decided to let 1 million into Germany (and the EU) thus encouraging many millions more to try their luck
It’s not all on Putin, not remotely
And if she didn't then "Frau Merkel" would have been the one "responsible" for millions languishing and dying in refugee camps.
When your enemy uses human lives as expendable weapons of propaganda like this, you can't win. The case against Putin is known, and the way he uses people as objects to create chaos is unforgivable and I would take the most hawkish actions imaginable against him, personally, if I were in government. I won't type it out here, but you can guess at it. This is not a course of action I would advocate lightly. But it's the only way.
Difficult to know what to think. One moment you see some poor Yazidi woman sleeping with her child on freezing mud and your heart cracks, the next you see a violent refugee attacking the border with an axe and you think “ok, fire some warning shots”
The truly murky shit is how they are getting there. It seems the Russians and Turks are flying them free from Damascus to Minsk then bussing them to the border.
Many want to go to Germany but others aspire to Britain. If they speak a foreign language it is English, of course
Supposedly 15 have died so far. Could be many more if this drags on
People are dying. They must be allowed safe passage. If they want to come here we should have them. We need workers.
That’s nice of you. Maybe you could house them in your garden
There are plenty of empty properties in the UK. God bless these vulnerable men, women and young children, seeking freedom from Persecution.
I don't think that is the case - though at present there are extras because of Covid restrictions, and the 12 month or more delay it takes to remove an unwilling tenant forced to stay because the Council have told them that leaving before the full legal process and the bailiff coming means they will be deemed "intentionally homeless", and not be eligible for housing. That prevents short term leases.
For the last few years long term "empties" (6 months or more) has been around 0.7%, recently increased to about 0.8-.9% during Covid. Can it realistically be less than that?
It’s impossible to avoid the suspicion that Boris deliberately didn’t wear a mask for that hospital trip to either distract from the lobbying scandal, or simply just to attract attention full stop.
Or he just has poor advice, if any at all
There you go again, blaming “advisors”.
Incidentally, I’ve just come out of a hospital (routine mole removal thing). You can’t move for masking up signs.
Paul Goodmans article in today's Conservative Home is a very good read and essentially he says Boris's approach in crises is ' change the subject' and on this one he hopes the forest fire in the media about mps outside interests will burn itself out
Goodman goes on to say the gamble may work out, but also explains a plausible scenario under which it doesn't
It’s impossible to avoid the suspicion that Boris deliberately didn’t wear a mask for that hospital trip to either distract from the lobbying scandal, or simply just to attract attention full stop.
Or he just has poor advice, if any at all
There you go again, blaming “advisors”.
Incidentally, I’ve just come out of a hospital (routine mole removal thing). You can’t move for masking up signs.
It’s impossible to avoid the suspicion that Boris deliberately didn’t wear a mask for that hospital trip to either distract from the lobbying scandal, or simply just to attract attention full stop.
Or he just has poor advice, if any at all
There you go again, blaming “advisors”.
Incidentally, I’ve just come out of a hospital (routine mole removal thing). You can’t move for masking up signs.
Not really and good you have had your procedure
I have! God bless the NHS (or at least those who work for her).
Offtopic: is there any evidence of a government wobble on the care homes vaccine mandate - due to be enforced on Thursday? The infamous Smarkets market on Covid restrictions has moved a bit to no again (partly by me, possibly, as someone took my lay of no for 5, but there have been other trades at even shorter odds since). I'm not trading any more at present (I'm in profit both ways, but ~9:1 in favour of yes) but if you believe the government on the care home mandate then there's an 11% return available on up to £117 stake in two days' time (DYOR - as noted, I'm not taking it as this market has been barmy wrt to 'clarifications' and I'm happy with my small profit both ways position).
I see the government is apparently going to announce a vaccine mandate for te NHS later today (effective in the spring) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59215282 which, if true, would be truly bizarre if they were going to backtrack on the care home mandate within a couple of days. Still, give recent u-turns, I guess anything is possible!
On Care Homes, did anyone else watch the Ed Balls programme on BB2 last night? Zero-ed on the complete lack of career progression for carers. Not even a guaranteed annual rise.
I disagree with that. There are potential moves to eg Team Leader, Care Manager, and so on.
Why should a sector of the economy have a nationally imposed career structure, anyway?
I'll watch the Ed Balls programme, though.
Update: this is what the National Careers Service says:
Career path and progression Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities. While employed as a care worker you can develop your skills by training in specific areas, like autism awareness, communication skills or supporting people with dementia.
With experience, you can become a lead care worker. You can also move into more senior jobs, like managing people or services, if you study for further qualifications. For example, a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Care, or a degree in social work or nursing.
Point taken, but the opportunities are, in practice, few and far between.And the salary differentials are often very small. Of course it's an industry with a few big employers and a lot of little ones.
I'm not really convinced of that either, thinking of experience of people known to me personally.
I think there are also a lot of people working in care who are after a job rather than a career, again based on personal experience. Example would be parents wanting locally based flexible work.
Picking up the other point made on eg going into being a Paramedic, what is stopping them?
Again, (some) points taken. There are always people who are happy doing what they are doing and don't want 'promotion'. In the course of my working life (admittedly a while ago now (!)) I visited many care homes and there was often a sense of satisfaction with care well given. Job well done, in other words. That doesn't mean they should be exploited. But you're not saying that.
In my area, we have a couple of decent sized regional care companies based here (several hundred staff), and for mum I chose one that was more run as a vocation with a dozen staff by someone who was absurdly dedicated.
The carers she had for her 2 or 4x a day were all ladies, some school age mums in the day, and some older working through post-children. All were locals - many within walking distance. Mixture of White Working Class and Eastern European who had moved here.
All the care team were paid somewhat more than minimum wage, but not much more, with an approx 20% margin on top for the provider margin and on-costs.
Just tried to do a speculative bet hoping others would back the other side at 1.2 but I misclicked Lay instead of Back and the bot instantly matched it.
I'm now down £200 on this market hoping to make £40 by misclicking. 😭😭😭
I must confess that I have done that before.
I famously did exactly that on the Brexit referendum night, when pissed and emotional on scotch. I managed to lay most - but by no means all - of my mistake off. Take care out there.
Comments
I noticed that BBC2 started a 2 part documentary on the Crisis in the Care Industry - fronted by Ed Balls last night.
His main experience seems to have been as a Government Minister in the 'Lies R Us' party of Nick Clegg
I understand "highish level environmental consultancy " sounds better than "consultancy for a hedge fund" or "consultancy for a betting company".
But, it is still consultancy. The underlying issue is still the same.
Just because something is "Green" does not by itself mean that it offers value for public money.
There is not "good consultancy" and "bad consultancy". There is just "consultancy".
I don't think there is any wage pressure re MPs. There are plenty of people willing to apply for the job and a lot of them are of quality and most aren't motivated by the salary. The current level seems fine to me.
Expenses and outside work needs sorting out, but it is difficult to know how. Re accommodation I feel that for MPs outside of London purpose built apartments nearby should be provided foc offering all the facilities they need.
Why should a sector of the economy have a nationally imposed career structure, anyway?
I'll watch the Ed Balls programme, though.
Update: this is what the National Careers Service says:
Career path and progression
Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.
While employed as a care worker you can develop your skills by training in specific areas, like autism awareness, communication skills or supporting people with dementia.
With experience, you can become a lead care worker. You can also move into more senior jobs, like managing people or services, if you study for further qualifications. For example, a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Care, or a degree in social work or nursing.
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/care-worker
I'm afraid that's true of many jobs. I don't see why care home staff should be different.
They knew he was a QC when they elected him.
That'd certainly allow all the legit jobs to carry on.
Of course it's an industry with a few big employers and a lot of little ones.
One of the many things I dislike about masks is the class divide. The little people have to wear them - the big people can choose. If I go to a restaurant, I'd really rather the waiting staff didn't wear masks. I already feel enough middle class discomfort about somebody serving me without having this visible reminder of the status difference between us.
Difficult to know what to think. One moment you see some poor Yazidi woman sleeping with her child on freezing mud and your heart cracks, the next you see a violent refugee attacking the border with an axe and you think “ok, fire some warning shots”
The truly murky shit is how they are getting there. It seems the Russians and Turks are flying them free from Damascus to Minsk then bussing them to the border.
Many want to go to Germany but others aspire to Britain. If they speak a foreign language it is English, of course
Supposedly 15 have died so far. Could be many more if this drags on
Happily for the electorate I will continue to decline the proposal. OK so I earn more than an MP, but they come with a bucket of expenses to make it more palatable. Frankly it isn't the cash thats the issue - its the job.
Being an MP appears to be all-consuming. You are always an MP, never off-duty. With an impossible job where everything you do is wrong and an army of at best armchair experts and at worse psychopaths have it in for you.
They would need to pay an ocean of money to make me want to do it.
Like there's no power differential between a nurse and the PM and they could have told him off.
https://twitter.com/sturdyAlex/status/1458026867840126980
https://twitter.com/BBCBreakfast/status/1457981360132562949
I think there are also a lot of people working in care who are after a job rather than a career, again based on personal experience. Example would be parents wanting locally based flexible work.
Picking up the other point made on eg going into being a Paramedic, what is stopping them?
Or https://www.thomasmore.co.uk/Profile/sir-geoffrey-cox-qc
As a minimum.
The firm Davey works for should certainly have a breakdown of his six hours on their webpage. What does he do for them ?
if not, he probably should be.
Its an extremely dodgy market as IMHO this should NOT count (it was already announced before the market was introduced) but since the rules say it should then 11% return in 48 hours is much better than you can get in the bank.
There's still quite a bit of cash available at 1.07 and 1.05 if anyone wants to clear that out.
What were they thinking? Does the PM have any advisors? At all?
I’ve no idea what the solution is, but I do know that “let them all in” is not it. Because behind them there are billions more who would like to come to Europe/UK who will then make the journey as they see others succeed. We literally cannot “let them all in”
So, I guess that means if we ever meet oop North you owe me half a pint. Or a glass of tap water in London.
Edit: And yes, had the 'clarifications' been in original rules, then the chart would look completely different.
Just tried to do a speculative bet hoping others would back the other side at 1.2 but I misclicked Lay instead of Back and the bot instantly matched it.
I'm now down £200 on this market hoping to make £40 by misclicking. 😭😭😭
“#Syria Long queue at the passport & immigration office in the Rukn al-Din (kurdish) neighborhood of #Damascus to get a flight to #Belarus/#Minsk -> #EU/#Poland border
dirty game of #Putin & #Assad”
https://twitter.com/markito0171/status/1458027790402523136?s=21
Reasonable rates too.
That Maidstone one is an interesting edge case. Train from Maidstone to London is 1:15 hr. Train from Redhill to London is 30 minutes. But debating edge cases perhaps indicates a better basic system.
Incidentally, an interesting table of "London MPs" I just came across. Interesting in number of MPs, and also how many peeps they represent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Parliamentary_constituencies_in_London
Putin is a calculating scumbag of the highest order. He is evil.
I've "traded out" by buying some of the 1.07 yes that was available but now I'm down £183 no matter how the market settles. 😭😭😭
Is anyone in contact with Frances?
I'll let you off that half pint too, in the circumstances.
Putin knows exactly how to get the bien pensant class causing problems for their Governments.
His actions suggest that he too believes this is all a storm in a Westminster teacup. It is not | ✍️The Times
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-times-view-on-sleaze-in-boris-johnsons-government-bad-chaps-q8z7c8t8h?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1636446468
In the course of my working life (admittedly a while ago now (!)) I visited many care homes and there was often a sense of satisfaction with care well given. Job well done, in other words.
That doesn't mean they should be exploited.
But you're not saying that.
It’s not all on Putin, not remotely
'Cowardly' Boris COULD have made it back to London to face Commons' sleaze showdown: Furious Red Wall Tories demand he apologises after ghosting Parliament as pictures emerge of PM boarding train that arrived in time for debate
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10180901/Red-Wall-Tories-turn-Boris-Commons-sleaze-debacle.html
NEW THREAD
When your enemy uses human lives as expendable weapons of propaganda like this, you can't win. The case against Putin is known, and the way he uses people as objects to create chaos is unforgivable and I would take the most hawkish actions imaginable against him, personally, if I were in government. I won't type it out here, but you can guess at it.
This is not a course of action I would advocate lightly. But it's the only way.
For the last few years long term "empties" (6 months or more) has been around 0.7%, recently increased to about 0.8-.9% during Covid. Can it realistically be less than that?
https://www.statista.com/statistics/755383/all-vacant-dwellings-england-by-type/
Here's the position from 2014, with the G including empties for more than 3 months. Though being the G we don't get the definition.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/23/europe-11m-empty-properties-enough-house-homeless-continent-twice
There's a reason Germany could take 1m refugees in 2015. There's also stuff about the UK not building very many.
Incidentally, I’ve just come out of a hospital (routine mole removal thing). You can’t move for masking up signs.
Goodman goes on to say the gamble may work out, but also explains a plausible scenario under which it doesn't
https://twitter.com/reevellp/status/1458034107028434945?s=21
https://twitter.com/markito0171/status/1458033959951126528?s=21
https://twitter.com/euronews/status/1458030475012870149?s=21
The carers she had for her 2 or 4x a day were all ladies, some school age mums in the day, and some older working through post-children. All were locals - many within walking distance. Mixture of White Working Class and Eastern European who had moved here.
All the care team were paid somewhat more than minimum wage, but not much more, with an approx 20% margin on top for the provider margin and on-costs.