The launch of the 2025 Spending Review feels like Groundhog day.
"Departments told to find 5% cuts" is a headline we could have read at lots of different points in the last seven years. A Treasury go-to. I did three of these exercises - '19, '20 and '21.
Talking of Groundhog day, I just watched a George Carin routine from the 90s, you could change the names of the politicians and it would all work today.
Departments probably could find 5% cuts.... if they wanted to. MoD has more civils than soldiers now I think ?!?
But do the civil servants in said departments want to fire themselves & their friends ?
Probably not and there'll be huge internal resistance to clearing out deadwood.
Which is the point in the thread I linked,
"The structural question the Treasury should be asking is... why? The same tools, constantly used, don't seem to be delivering real efficiency. It's not just a question of what the target is, it's how you go about it! Tldr departments don't really have much incentive to deliver genuine efficiency, nor the data to do it."
The absolute inherent sexism in the WASPI claims is quite staggering.
When a generation of women worked towards a pension at 60 their anger is fully justified.
Equality of pensionable age at 65 or 66 is not the issue and I'd agree as being fair.
The issue with Waspis though is those in their late 40s and especially early 50s thrown off a cliff by the Cameron Govt.
A more gentle transition was needed.
Can you imagine if on the day they announced the Waspi decision that had told every male his new retirement age is 70 or 71.
If they did that then the so-called WASPI women would also be facing that retirement age.
IPSO found the so-called "maladministration", which these women are hanging their hopes on for getting some money, was under the previous Labour govt not the Cameron govt.
All the Cameron govt did was pull forward the date of implementation a few years. The change was already happening. So if these women were not already making extra provision that is their problem.
This change had cross party support.
As the change was brought forward it would have affected people who were not expecting to be affected, or have affected them more.
I think the cliff edge effect on entitlement in this case was ridiculous. There was one person whose classmates was just a little older than them and had five years more pension entitlement. Things like that simply look unjust.
Obviously the change had to happen, but the implementation was very poor.
There was no cliff-edge. The gradient of the slope was increased but the change was still phased in.
That seems to show that the transition had already started when the timetable was compressed in 2011. That does mean that people will only have had a relatively small number of years notice that their pension age was being changed again.
For the avoidance of doubt, I do not support the claim for compensation for five years of pension. But I do think there's an implicit political contract between the state and the people to act reasonably when making these sorts of changes and I think the way the timetable for this change was accelerates breached that and was to a degree unreasonable in the amount of notice given and the speed of the adjustment.
My UK pension age is currently 68. I do not think that is likely to be affordable. The transition to 67 is happening before the next election, but I'd expect the transition to 68 will have to be brought forward if they will make my pension age 70.
It would be best to announce that as soon as possible rather than leaving it until the 2030s and only providing a few years notice.
It would be best for citizens but bad for politicians because any politicians who announce it early get voted out, by the citizens.....
The absolute inherent sexism in the WASPI claims is quite staggering.
When a generation of women worked towards a pension at 60 their anger is fully justified.
Equality of pensionable age at 65 or 66 is not the issue and I'd agree as being fair.
The issue with Waspis though is those in their late 40s and especially early 50s thrown off a cliff by the Cameron Govt.
A more gentle transition was needed.
Can you imagine if on the day they announced the Waspi decision that had told every male his new retirement age is 70 or 71.
The change was signalled well enough. And the women who did pay attention, and saved into their pensions accordingly, will also get the pay-out. Kerching!
I'm glad you acknowledge the inherent sexism than had men working for years longer than women, often in much more physical jobs. Where's your anger about that?
Raising the pension age to 70-71 is already being discussed.
Politically, it is probably easier than ending the triple lock.
So by 2200, you will get a pension of £1m, once you reach the retirement age of 126.
{Bismarck has entered the chat, giggling}
Endlessly raising the retirement age runs into the problem that workers get too old to shin up ladders putting fires out, or throw bins into refuse trucks, or play Premier League football.
Maybe they could replace the young people in the call centres?
The absolute inherent sexism in the WASPI claims is quite staggering.
When a generation of women worked towards a pension at 60 their anger is fully justified.
Equality of pensionable age at 65 or 66 is not the issue and I'd agree as being fair.
The issue with Waspis though is those in their late 40s and especially early 50s thrown off a cliff by the Cameron Govt.
A more gentle transition was needed.
Can you imagine if on the day they announced the Waspi decision that had told every male his new retirement age is 70 or 71.
The change was signalled well enough. And the women who did pay attention, and saved into their pensions accordingly, will also get the pay-out. Kerching!
I'm glad you acknowledge the inherent sexism than had men working for years longer than women, often in much more physical jobs. Where's your anger about that?
The staggering hypocrisy of the feminist movement laid bare with the ludicrous Waspi claim. If they had been told on their day of retirement that they had to work 5 or 6 more years they would have had a point. They weren't. There was plenty of time. Fundamental to equality of the sexes should be the point, not just rebalancing in favour of women.
Seems odd to damn the entire feminist movement because of the WASPIs. I've just looked through the last 42 articles at https://thenewfeminist.co.uk/ and not one mentions the WASPIs.
Another example. I have been involved with Athena Swan at University. Our recruitment for pharmacy skews heavily female. I asked the Universities Equality and Diversity Officer (a black woman, natch) if this wasn't a problem that we should be addressing. Very frosty response - clearly asking for the wrong kind of equality.
I am 100% behind equality of the sexes but sometime the boundaries get pushed a bit too far. If a parent takes a career break and misses out on several year and thus finds it harder to get promotion, then that is just a consequence, whether that person is male or female.
Ho hum. When my Mother qualified as a pharmacist in the late 1920's the Register was about 15% female; when I was a student around 1960 it was up to about 30% and when I was involved with Continuing Education in the 90's it was around 60%. Now it seem the majority of the profession is female.
More reverse ferreting from the government after Starmer basically saying I think we can and should do a bit better, anybody would think he had gone full Big Dom and called them all f##king idiots.
The absolute inherent sexism in the WASPI claims is quite staggering.
It's claims like this that bankrupt a country.
The Govt just needs to tell them to do one.
Trouble is, it’s a very well organised campaign, and tons of candidates, councillors and MPs have been asked to pose for photos with their local WASPI groups, and for any individual politician the rational decision is for them to do so, since why upset a bunch of voters when the decision won’t fall individually to you, and many both colleagues and rivals have already signed up.
Both our local MPs, one Labour, one Tory, appeared in the island press not long after the election in such photos.
So now they’ve captured a whole bunch of politicians who are effectively compromised, and no-one wants to be Nick Clegg.
Back in grey, grey, grey Devon after a trip up to London, where I drove Rose Tremain around to show her the Christmas lights, had THE most fabulously light sticky-toffee pudding cooked by a Labour MP and then during a lovely chat, agreed to show Dame Judie Dench a White-tailed Eagle before she finally loses her sight.
Oh, and got an invite for lunch at Sir Tim Rice's place.
Which was nice.
Ooh, are the eagles now common enough in Devon for that? I saw the first reintroduction when the eagles brought over from Norway etc were being kept in individual cages on Rum for an acclimatisation period before being let out. So it's quite something to see the success.
Best place that is guaranteed is the Isle of Mull. Which she is definetely up for. However, the nearest to her that are regular are probably the reintroduced birds on the Isle of Wight.
It came about because I said I loved watching her rection to seeing a Golden Eagle with Hamza Yassin:
Back in grey, grey, grey Devon after a trip up to London, where I drove Rose Tremain around to show her the Christmas lights, had THE most fabulously light sticky-toffee pudding cooked by a Labour MP and then during a lovely chat, agreed to show Dame Judie Dench a White-tailed Eagle before she finally loses her sight.
Oh, and got an invite for lunch at Sir Tim Rice's place.
Which was nice.
Ooh, are the eagles now common enough in Devon for that? I saw the first reintroduction when the eagles brought over from Norway etc were being kept in individual cages on Rum for an acclimatisation period before being let out. So it's quite something to see the success.
Best place that is guaranteed is the Isle of Mull. Which she is definetely up for. However, the nearest to her that are regular are probably the reintroduced birds on the Isle of Wight.
It came about because I said I loved watching her rection to seeing a Golden Eagle with Hamza Yassin:
Then I told her how massive the White-tailed Eagle is. And she got very excited and said could she see one? Damn right you can...leave it to me.
They nest in the west of the island, but we see them, now and again, above the town. They rove quite widely - one of them flew off on a short break to Germany not that long ago.
Why do I get the impression Shecorns88 is always writing the opposite of what they really think? 🙂
I'm 100% who I am. I'm not blinkered by dogma, if the right have a good idea I'll say so.
I've met and listened to live speeches by Enoch Powell, Tony Benn, Neil Kinnock, David Davis
Edwina Currie, Michael Fabricant and Jess Phillips are personal friends.
My political hero's include David Nellist, John Smith. and Ken Clarke
My political hate list includes Linda Bellos, Diane Abbott, Jeremy Cirbyn, Christopher Pincher, Boris Johnson, Margaret Thatcher.
Go figure
I'm 110% authentically me. I reject labels and dogma—if the far left has a good idea (rare, I know), I’m all ears.
I’ve attended panels with Cicero, debated at a distance with Machiavelli, nodded knowingly at Churchill quotes, and once overheard a spirited pub rant by Nigel Farage.
Close personal acquaintances include Jacob Rees-Mogg, my local barber Steve, and that guy from the Go Compare adverts.
My political icons are a mix of heavyweights like Abraham Lincoln, Paddington Bear, and the guy who invented self-checkout machines.
My political nemeses? You’ll find the likes of Alan Sugar, Piers Morgan, Rasputin, and that pigeon who stole my sandwich.
Back in grey, grey, grey Devon after a trip up to London, where I drove Rose Tremain around to show her the Christmas lights, had THE most fabulously light sticky-toffee pudding cooked by a Labour MP and then during a lovely chat, agreed to show Dame Judie Dench a White-tailed Eagle before she finally loses her sight.
Oh, and got an invite for lunch at Sir Tim Rice's place.
Which was nice.
Ooh, are the eagles now common enough in Devon for that? I saw the first reintroduction when the eagles brought over from Norway etc were being kept in individual cages on Rum for an acclimatisation period before being let out. So it's quite something to see the success.
Best place that is guaranteed is the Isle of Mull. Which she is definetely up for. However, the nearest to her that are regular are probably the reintroduced birds on the Isle of Wight.
It came about because I said I loved watching her rection to seeing a Golden Eagle with Hamza Yassin:
Not sure what people thought they would eat. " Fish, birds, small mammals, rabbits, gulls, and carrion" should have included the most plentifu source of food - lanmbs. Some would fall under "carrion" - still born and early life casualties. But they would have no problem carrying off a lamb in the first weeks of its life. Ideally there should be a compensation scheme for such losses, given the amount they bring in from extra tourism.
I found ab White-tailed Eagle nest on Mull, many years ago. As I was watching them through my 'scope, the warden came up to me, wanting to know how I had heard about the nest. I said I had just bumped into it - two adults sitting close to each other. He told me that the White-tailed's were ferocious. He had personally witnessed a fight to the death with a Golden Eagle - the Golden did't stand a chance against that bill.
Back in grey, grey, grey Devon after a trip up to London, where I drove Rose Tremain around to show her the Christmas lights, had THE most fabulously light sticky-toffee pudding cooked by a Labour MP and then during a lovely chat, agreed to show Dame Judie Dench a White-tailed Eagle before she finally loses her sight.
Oh, and got an invite for lunch at Sir Tim Rice's place.
Which was nice.
Ooh, are the eagles now common enough in Devon for that? I saw the first reintroduction when the eagles brought over from Norway etc were being kept in individual cages on Rum for an acclimatisation period before being let out. So it's quite something to see the success.
Best place that is guaranteed is the Isle of Mull. Which she is definetely up for. However, the nearest to her that are regular are probably the reintroduced birds on the Isle of Wight.
It came about because I said I loved watching her rection to seeing a Golden Eagle with Hamza Yassin:
Not sure what people thought they would eat. " Fish, birds, small mammals, rabbits, gulls, and carrion" should have included the most plentifu source of food - lanmbs. Some would fall under "carrion" - still born and early life casualties. But they would have no problem carrying off a lamb in the first weeks of its life. Ideally there should be a compensation scheme for such losses, given the amount they bring in from extra tourism.
I found ab White-tailed Eagle nest on Mull, many years ago. As I was watching them through my 'scope, the warden came up to me, wanting to know how I had heard about the nest. I said I had just bumped into it - two adults sitting close to each other. He told me that the White-tailed's were ferocious. He had personally witnessed a fight to the death with a Golden Eagle - the Golden did't stand a chance against that bill.
I assumed that they would be vegan and exist entirely on deer.
Why do I get the impression Shecorns88 is always writing the opposite of what they really think? 🙂
I'm 100% who I am. I'm not blinkered by dogma, if the right have a good idea I'll say so.
I've met and listened to live speeches by Enoch Powell, Tony Benn, Neil Kinnock, David Davis
Edwina Currie, Michael Fabricant and Jess Phillips are personal friends.
My political hero's include David Nellist, John Smith. and Ken Clarke
My political hate list includes Linda Bellos, Diane Abbott, Jeremy Cirbyn, Christopher Pincher, Boris Johnson, Margaret Thatcher.
Go figure
I'm 110% authentically me. I reject labels and dogma—if the far left has a good idea (rare, I know), I’m all ears.
I’ve attended panels with Cicero, debated at a distance with Machiavelli, nodded knowingly at Churchill quotes, and once overheard a spirited pub rant by Nigel Farage.
Close personal acquaintances include Jacob Rees-Mogg, my local barber Steve, and that guy from the Go Compare adverts.
My political icons are a mix of heavyweights like Abraham Lincoln, Paddington Bear, and the guy who invented self-checkout machines.
My political nemeses? You’ll find the likes of Alan Sugar, Piers Morgan, Rasputin, and that pigeon who stole my sandwich.
Chew on that.
I am one of Leon's creations and assume the rest of you are too.
Back in grey, grey, grey Devon after a trip up to London, where I drove Rose Tremain around to show her the Christmas lights, had THE most fabulously light sticky-toffee pudding cooked by a Labour MP and then during a lovely chat, agreed to show Dame Judie Dench a White-tailed Eagle before she finally loses her sight.
Oh, and got an invite for lunch at Sir Tim Rice's place.
Which was nice.
Ooh, are the eagles now common enough in Devon for that? I saw the first reintroduction when the eagles brought over from Norway etc were being kept in individual cages on Rum for an acclimatisation period before being let out. So it's quite something to see the success.
Best place that is guaranteed is the Isle of Mull. Which she is definetely up for. However, the nearest to her that are regular are probably the reintroduced birds on the Isle of Wight.
It came about because I said I loved watching her rection to seeing a Golden Eagle with Hamza Yassin:
Not sure what people thought they would eat. " Fish, birds, small mammals, rabbits, gulls, and carrion" should have included the most plentifu source of food - lanmbs. Some would fall under "carrion" - still born and early life casualties. But they would have no problem carrying off a lamb in the first weeks of its life. Ideally there should be a compensation scheme for such losses, given the amount they bring in from extra tourism.
I found ab White-tailed Eagle nest on Mull, many years ago. As I was watching them through my 'scope, the warden came up to me, wanting to know how I had heard about the nest. I said I had just bumped into it - two adults sitting close to each other. He told me that the White-tailed's were ferocious. He had personally witnessed a fight to the death with a Golden Eagle - the Golden did't stand a chance against that bill.
Why do I get the impression Shecorns88 is always writing the opposite of what they really think? 🙂
I'm 100% who I am. I'm not blinkered by dogma, if the right have a good idea I'll say so.
I've met and listened to live speeches by Enoch Powell, Tony Benn, Neil Kinnock, David Davis
Edwina Currie, Michael Fabricant and Jess Phillips are personal friends.
My political hero's include David Nellist, John Smith. and Ken Clarke
My political hate list includes Linda Bellos, Diane Abbott, Jeremy Cirbyn, Christopher Pincher, Boris Johnson, Margaret Thatcher.
Go figure
I'm 110% authentically me. I reject labels and dogma—if the far left has a good idea (rare, I know), I’m all ears.
I’ve attended panels with Cicero, debated at a distance with Machiavelli, nodded knowingly at Churchill quotes, and once overheard a spirited pub rant by Nigel Farage.
Close personal acquaintances include Jacob Rees-Mogg, my local barber Steve, and that guy from the Go Compare adverts.
My political icons are a mix of heavyweights like Abraham Lincoln, Paddington Bear, and the guy who invented self-checkout machines.
My political nemeses? You’ll find the likes of Alan Sugar, Piers Morgan, Rasputin, and that pigeon who stole my sandwich.
Chew on that.
I am one of Leon's creations and assume the rest of you are too.
You may not think that you are, but thats because of your programming.
I expect the state pension age will be 69 or 70 by the time I collect, and it will be for a lower more basic amount linked to inflation only.
Or the triple lock will remain, but it will be for the lowest amount
The idea behind the triple lock was to raise UK pensions to the European average by accelerating them above inflation. Obviously this can't go on forever or the entire national income would be spent on pensions. Therefore it's reasonable to abandon the triple lock (a) when European parity has been achieved or (b) when we decide we can't afford parity any more. In the case of (b) it would be reasonable to ask 'who's fault is that?'.
No doubt if the Islamists were closing in on Lammy's Presidential Palace we'd see him man the barricades after tearfully waving off the women and children.
What the **** are you on? I know your radar is permanently set towards Moscow, but supporting Assad - who was everything Lammy said he was - is quite something, even for you.
I was criticising empty, risible rhetoric from the worst Foreign Secretary ever, not 'supporting Assad'. All things being equal, every human being including Lammy would get on a plane in that situation rather than wait for a poker up the bum from the Islamists, so it's just a cretinous thing to say. I agree within the pantheon of cretinous utterances from Lammy, it probably doesn't warrant a top 10 placing.
Are you telling a load of people who were in, check notes AQ and ISIS, might not be the goodies.....
sounds plausible, but there is just a reference (not even a link) to a dodgy twitter source with a history of posting fake pro-Israeli propaganda, so could be bollocks
I expect the state pension age will be 69 or 70 by the time I collect, and it will be for a lower more basic amount linked to inflation only.
Or the triple lock will remain, but it will be for the lowest amount
The idea behind the triple lock was to raise UK pensions to the European average by accelerating them above inflation. Obviously this can't go on forever or the entire national income would be spent on pensions. Therefore it's reasonable to abandon the triple lock (a) when European parity has been achieved or (b) when we decide we can't afford parity any more. In the case of (b) it would be reasonable to ask 'who's fault is that?'.
I cannot see any party have the courage to do it, I think they would be more inclined to tinker it for future pensioners instead as there is less of a political hit with that.
Something clearly needs to be done but where is the will to do it. Labour had their chance. They could have simply said "no plans" to change it during the campaign and then done it, took the hit and moved on expecting people to forget about it by 2029.
Chaos Incoming: Alina Habba-Dabba-Doo to be appointed to Counselor to the President. I think she's lost every case for him, at a cost of many - perhaps hundreds - of millions, but I may have forgotten something.
I expect the state pension age will be 69 or 70 by the time I collect, and it will be for a lower more basic amount linked to inflation only.
Or the triple lock will remain, but it will be for the lowest amount
The idea behind the triple lock was to raise UK pensions to the European average by accelerating them above inflation. Obviously this can't go on forever or the entire national income would be spent on pensions. Therefore it's reasonable to abandon the triple lock (a) when European parity has been achieved or (b) when we decide we can't afford parity any more. In the case of (b) it would be reasonable to ask 'who's fault is that?'.
Are court delays so bad that Punchy McPunchface can avoid a recall in the next twelve months?
Whatever the probabilities, no-to-few by-elections would have implications. Fewer banana skins for SKS, and no chance for the Conservatives to get some quality retreads back into the Commons.
I admit I'm struggling for identity.
I thought Punchy McPunchface had been referred to St Peter?
Trump has decided to start referring to Trudeau as the governor.
Forget the PM, it's the fact he's talking about Canada as a state.
I'm working on the assumption that the choices for his cabinet are mainly shit because he is desperate to have in place sufficient people who will never 25th amendment him.
Claimed to be the SNA killing border guards they're accusing of being Kurdish members of the PKK. These guys are the Turkish-backed faction that hold a buffer zone along much of the Turkey/Syria border, and they've been attacking the (mainly Kurdish) SDF in recent days.
After IS it's the SNA who I expect to be the most trouble in Syria, because they're Turkish proxy forces with the main purpose of preventing a Kurdistan from existing.
Back in grey, grey, grey Devon after a trip up to London, where I drove Rose Tremain around to show her the Christmas lights, had THE most fabulously light sticky-toffee pudding cooked by a Labour MP and then during a lovely chat, agreed to show Dame Judie Dench a White-tailed Eagle before she finally loses her sight.
Oh, and got an invite for lunch at Sir Tim Rice's place.
Which was nice.
Ooh, are the eagles now common enough in Devon for that? I saw the first reintroduction when the eagles brought over from Norway etc were being kept in individual cages on Rum for an acclimatisation period before being let out. So it's quite something to see the success.
Best place that is guaranteed is the Isle of Mull. Which she is definetely up for. However, the nearest to her that are regular are probably the reintroduced birds on the Isle of Wight.
It came about because I said I loved watching her rection to seeing a Golden Eagle with Hamza Yassin:
Not sure what people thought they would eat. " Fish, birds, small mammals, rabbits, gulls, and carrion" should have included the most plentifu source of food - lanmbs. Some would fall under "carrion" - still born and early life casualties. But they would have no problem carrying off a lamb in the first weeks of its life. Ideally there should be a compensation scheme for such losses, given the amount they bring in from extra tourism.
I found ab White-tailed Eagle nest on Mull, many years ago. As I was watching them through my 'scope, the warden came up to me, wanting to know how I had heard about the nest. I said I had just bumped into it - two adults sitting close to each other. He told me that the White-tailed's were ferocious. He had personally witnessed a fight to the death with a Golden Eagle - the Golden did't stand a chance against that bill.
I saw a kestrel carrying off a small rat from the seafront yesterday morning. Lots of squeaking and one less for pest control to worry about
I expect the state pension age will be 69 or 70 by the time I collect, and it will be for a lower more basic amount linked to inflation only.
Or the triple lock will remain, but it will be for the lowest amount
The idea behind the triple lock was to raise UK pensions to the European average by accelerating them above inflation. Obviously this can't go on forever or the entire national income would be spent on pensions. Therefore it's reasonable to abandon the triple lock (a) when European parity has been achieved or (b) when we decide we can't afford parity any more. In the case of (b) it would be reasonable to ask 'who's fault is that?'.
I cannot see any party have the courage to do it, I think they would be more inclined to tinker it for future pensioners instead as there is less of a political hit with that.
Something clearly needs to be done but where is the will to do it. Labour had their chance. They could have simply said "no plans" to change it during the campaign and then done it, took the hit and moved on expecting people to forget about it by 2029.
Slap NI on all income including pensions (I.e effectively merge tax and NI), and compensate pensioners in part at least by channelling a decent wedge of the extra income into a higher state pension. End the TL at the same time. Sorted. And very redistributive, as pensioners on the basic pension only would just see the increase,
The absolute inherent sexism in the WASPI claims is quite staggering.
When a generation of women worked towards a pension at 60 their anger is fully justified.
Equality of pensionable age at 65 or 66 is not the issue and I'd agree as being fair.
The issue with Waspis though is those in their late 40s and especially early 50s thrown off a cliff by the Cameron Govt.
A more gentle transition was needed.
Can you imagine if on the day they announced the Waspi decision that had told every male his new retirement age is 70 or 71.
The change was signalled well enough. And the women who did pay attention, and saved into their pensions accordingly, will also get the pay-out. Kerching!
I'm glad you acknowledge the inherent sexism than had men working for years longer than women, often in much more physical jobs. Where's your anger about that?
The staggering hypocrisy of the feminist movement laid bare with the ludicrous Waspi claim. If they had been told on their day of retirement that they had to work 5 or 6 more years they would have had a point. They weren't. There was plenty of time. Fundamental to equality of the sexes should be the point, not just rebalancing in favour of women.
Seems odd to damn the entire feminist movement because of the WASPIs. I've just looked through the last 42 articles at https://thenewfeminist.co.uk/ and not one mentions the WASPIs.
Another example. I have been involved with Athena Swan at University. Our recruitment for pharmacy skews heavily female. I asked the Universities Equality and Diversity Officer (a black woman, natch) if this wasn't a problem that we should be addressing. Very frosty response - clearly asking for the wrong kind of equality.
I am 100% behind equality of the sexes but sometime the boundaries get pushed a bit too far. If a parent takes a career break and misses out on several year and thus finds it harder to get promotion, then that is just a consequence, whether that person is male or female.
I've been involved in Athena Swan. We've had very female-dominated departments suggest that they want to look at getting more men involved, and that's been welcomed. We've had initiatives around parental leave very much open to men and women.
The Guardian (BBC is similar) describes Reeves's latest plan thus:
As part of the review, Reeves will insist that every government department find efficiency savings of 5% of their budget for the coming year over the following three years
Now, while it is impossible to know what that means, 5% of total government/state managed spending is heading for £40-£50 billion. An example the BBC gives is a programme costing about £5 million per year. 10,000 such cuts, for ever, would total £50 billion.
At the same time there is no sector - not a single one - where someone is not agitating for substantially increased expenditure.
This is one to watch.
Halve the overseas aid budget and remove any Country that's either a G20 Member or a growing economy over the past 5 years.
Take the remaining 50% and keep it as purely a "Disaster / Emergency" GENUINE NEED Fund
That's ball park £13bn quid...
But the overseas aid budget it also there to go towards our share of the Climate Reparations ($350 Billion annually) as agreed at the recent COP.
Also any cutting of the Overseas budget will see a huge amount of pushback from Charities and NGO's who are the beneficiaries of it when given money from it to manage issues and the like to take their cut.
Also there is the money to be found for the WASPI women, we had leaders of 8 parties demanding these people get their compensation. That will be more than £10 Billion.
We'll then, I might give Rachel a call.
Halve the Overseas Aid Budget for the next 4 years.
Saving ball park 24 billion
Fund £5bn in 2025 to 50% fund ALL Waspi claimants.
Set aside 1.5bn next 3 years to complete that... Waspis paid by 2029
Still got 14bn in surplus...
Impact on WASPI
5bn boost to spending power of millions of pensioners
Morally and ethically hammers the Tories over past decade of denial
Significantly mitigates a lot if the WFA noise
A significant Poll boost amongst most anti Labour sector.
Spikes Reform little englanders sails too
She should go further too with her anti corruption investigation in to Tory contracts for the boys
Can save £5bn don’t give the WASPI claimants anything
I'm surprised that the WASPI claims are still a thing.
I thought we already had high level Court Rulings that they were without merit.
Back in grey, grey, grey Devon after a trip up to London, where I drove Rose Tremain around to show her the Christmas lights, had THE most fabulously light sticky-toffee pudding cooked by a Labour MP and then during a lovely chat, agreed to show Dame Judie Dench a White-tailed Eagle before she finally loses her sight.
Oh, and got an invite for lunch at Sir Tim Rice's place.
Which was nice.
Ooh, are the eagles now common enough in Devon for that? I saw the first reintroduction when the eagles brought over from Norway etc were being kept in individual cages on Rum for an acclimatisation period before being let out. So it's quite something to see the success.
Best place that is guaranteed is the Isle of Mull. Which she is definetely up for. However, the nearest to her that are regular are probably the reintroduced birds on the Isle of Wight.
It came about because I said I loved watching her rection to seeing a Golden Eagle with Hamza Yassin:
Not sure what people thought they would eat. " Fish, birds, small mammals, rabbits, gulls, and carrion" should have included the most plentifu source of food - lanmbs. Some would fall under "carrion" - still born and early life casualties. But they would have no problem carrying off a lamb in the first weeks of its life. Ideally there should be a compensation scheme for such losses, given the amount they bring in from extra tourism.
I found ab White-tailed Eagle nest on Mull, many years ago. As I was watching them through my 'scope, the warden came up to me, wanting to know how I had heard about the nest. I said I had just bumped into it - two adults sitting close to each other. He told me that the White-tailed's were ferocious. He had personally witnessed a fight to the death with a Golden Eagle - the Golden did't stand a chance against that bill.
There are lots of fun stories all along the west coast of cats, labradors, seal pups being taken. The latest one is a farmer claiming they have taken 220 of his lambs in a single year. "I can't seem to get a photograph" he says in the Guardian article, and there's never been any hard evidence of any eagle attacking a live lamb.
I'd guess they predate a small number each year. But I've come across enough lambs in distress over my time walking in Scotland to suggest that the hills, particularly during a cold snap in May, aren't a particularly safe environment for them in the first place.
The launch of the 2025 Spending Review feels like Groundhog day.
"Departments told to find 5% cuts" is a headline we could have read at lots of different points in the last seven years. A Treasury go-to. I did three of these exercises - '19, '20 and '21.
Talking of Groundhog day, I just watched a George Carin routine from the 90s, you could change the names of the politicians and it would all work today.
Departments probably could find 5% cuts.... if they wanted to. MoD has more civils than soldiers now I think ?!?
But do the civil servants in said departments want to fire themselves & their friends ?
Probably not and there'll be huge internal resistance to clearing out deadwood.
MOD civilian personnel strength (FTE) at 1 October 2024 = 60,549 British Army = 75,325 (excluding Gurkhas and volunteers)
The absolute inherent sexism in the WASPI claims is quite staggering.
Not just that but the refusal to accept responsibility for their actions. They were all given ample notice and if they failed to take action, that was down to them. They also went to the highest court in the land and lost. Theirs is an entirely selfish demand.
Targeted to start production by end of 2026 at Stellantis’ Zaragoza, Spain site, the facility could reach up to 50 GWh capacity, subject to the evolution of the electrical market in Europe and continued support from authorities in Spain and the European Union. The 50-50 joint venture between CATL and Stellantis will boost Stellantis’ best-in-class LFP offer in Europe enabling the automaker to offer more high-quality, durable and affordable battery-electric passenger cars, crossovers and SUVs in the B and C segments with intermediate ranges...
I expect the state pension age will be 69 or 70 by the time I collect, and it will be for a lower more basic amount linked to inflation only.
Or the triple lock will remain, but it will be for the lowest amount
The idea behind the triple lock was to raise UK pensions to the European average by accelerating them above inflation. Obviously this can't go on forever or the entire national income would be spent on pensions. Therefore it's reasonable to abandon the triple lock (a) when European parity has been achieved or (b) when we decide we can't afford parity any more. In the case of (b) it would be reasonable to ask 'who's fault is that?'.
An idea I like is the quadruple lock - ceiling for the pension locked to the tax free allowance for income tax.
The launch of the 2025 Spending Review feels like Groundhog day.
"Departments told to find 5% cuts" is a headline we could have read at lots of different points in the last seven years. A Treasury go-to. I did three of these exercises - '19, '20 and '21.
Talking of Groundhog day, I just watched a George Carin routine from the 90s, you could change the names of the politicians and it would all work today.
Departments probably could find 5% cuts.... if they wanted to. MoD has more civils than soldiers now I think ?!?
But do the civil servants in said departments want to fire themselves & their friends ?
Probably not and there'll be huge internal resistance to clearing out deadwood.
MOD civilian personnel strength (FTE) at 1 October 2024 = 60,549 British Army = 75,325 (excluding Gurkhas and volunteers)
Of course,
(a) the MoD covers RAF and RN, so those need to be counted in for true comparability (b) a lot of services' and civil servants' work has been outsourced to commercial companies in recent years
"Asked why she has a photographer “following you around”, Ms Rayner told the programme: “There’s a kind of balance to be had, because sometimes you get ‘well, you never see her’, or ‘she’s only doing that for a photo opportunity’."
More reverse ferreting from the government after Starmer basically saying I think we can and should do a bit better, anybody would think he had gone full Big Dom and called them all f##king idiots.
Has anyone told the Royal Family, the majority of the Aristocracy, large sways of gentryfied historic Landowners, a lot of old family historic Farmers, the inhabitants of Emmerdale and WV postcodes??
Nick Candy said he would give a “seven-figure” sum to Reform UK after it was announced he would become party treasurer in the new year.
He knows Trump too, and probably Musk? In fact, though Nick Candy has more than enough money to give a mill to Reform, maybe this is actually a channelling of Musk's donation?
I expect the state pension age will be 69 or 70 by the time I collect, and it will be for a lower more basic amount linked to inflation only.
Or the triple lock will remain, but it will be for the lowest amount
The idea behind the triple lock was to raise UK pensions to the European average by accelerating them above inflation. Obviously this can't go on forever or the entire national income would be spent on pensions. Therefore it's reasonable to abandon the triple lock (a) when European parity has been achieved or (b) when we decide we can't afford parity any more. In the case of (b) it would be reasonable to ask 'who's fault is that?'.
An idea I like is the quadruple lock - ceiling for the pension locked to the tax free allowance for income tax.
More reverse ferreting from the government after Starmer basically saying I think we can and should do a bit better, anybody would think he had gone full Big Dom and called them all f##king idiots.
Awful.
Fucking hell, this is dire
“from all I have seen during my first five months as Prime Minister, my appreciation of your service to this country has only grown… It is not just because I know how hard you work. It is because I understand something of what drives your dedication and professionalism. You have this strong sense of public service in everything you do. For you, it’s not just a job. You want to change the country and make Britain a better place. Put simply, I believe we all share the same goal – we have all followed a path towards public service to serve our country.”
"Asked why she has a photographer “following you around”, Ms Rayner told the programme: “There’s a kind of balance to be had, because sometimes you get ‘well, you never see her’, or ‘she’s only doing that for a photo opportunity’."
Why do I get the impression Shecorns88 is always writing the opposite of what they really think? 🙂
I'm 100% who I am. I'm not blinkered by dogma, if the right have a good idea I'll say so.
I've met and listened to live speeches by Enoch Powell, Tony Benn, Neil Kinnock, David Davis
Edwina Currie, Michael Fabricant and Jess Phillips are personal friends.
My political hero's include David Nellist, John Smith. and Ken Clarke
My political hate list includes Linda Bellos, Diane Abbott, Jeremy Cirbyn, Christopher Pincher, Boris Johnson, Margaret Thatcher.
Go figure
I'm 110% authentically me. I reject labels and dogma—if the far left has a good idea (rare, I know), I’m all ears.
I’ve attended panels with Cicero, debated at a distance with Machiavelli, nodded knowingly at Churchill quotes, and once overheard a spirited pub rant by Nigel Farage.
Close personal acquaintances include Jacob Rees-Mogg, my local barber Steve, and that guy from the Go Compare adverts.
My political icons are a mix of heavyweights like Abraham Lincoln, Paddington Bear, and the guy who invented self-checkout machines.
My political nemeses? You’ll find the likes of Alan Sugar, Piers Morgan, Rasputin, and that pigeon who stole my sandwich.
Has anyone told the Royal Family, the majority of the Aristocracy, large sways of gentryfied historic Landowners, a lot of old family historic Farmers, the inhabitants of Emmerdale and WV postcodes??
Sound as that reason might be, it won't be enough of a reason for Labour to vote for it - and so offend the south Asian vote... Notwithstanding the cost to the NHS.
Has anyone told the Royal Family, the majority of the Aristocracy, large sways of gentryfied historic Landowners, a lot of old family historic Farmers, the inhabitants of Emmerdale and WV postcodes??
Iqbal Mohamed did a great job standing up for country boys with big ears and 12 fingers.
Published a few days ago, "Who lacks voter identification? The electoral implications of the Elections Act 2022", by Edward Fieldhouse et al.
The Elections Act 2022 requires voters to present photo identification at general elections in Great Britain and local elections in England. In this article, we use data from the British Election Study Internet Panel to identify who does and does not own the necessary photo documents and how this affected turnout in the 2023 and 2024 local elections, as well as the 2024 General Election. We find that around 5% of the voting-age population lack valid voter identification and that this is related to age, education, socio-economic status, and social grade. The data also give us a reliable indication of the party-political impact of the photo ID requirement. We find that conservative voters are more likely to hold valid photo identification than supporters of other parties. We also find that a small but significant proportion of registered voters (between 1.2% and 2.4%) reported either being turned away or dissuaded from voting at these elections because of the requirement.
On government officials resisting cuts: In the US, a common tactic for city officials is to use the "firemen first" principle. The officials announce that, sadly, there is a deficit, and they will have to lay off some firemen. I shouldn't have, but I was amused to see a local city use exactly that tactic recently.
(For the record: There are places in the US where, thanks to modern, fire-resistant buildings, the number of firemen could be reduced without any great harm. Often, the fire departments look for other jobs they can do in such places, for example ambulance services.)
More reverse ferreting from the government after Starmer basically saying I think we can and should do a bit better, anybody would think he had gone full Big Dom and called them all f##king idiots.
Awful.
Fucking hell, this is dire
“from all I have seen during my first five months as Prime Minister, my appreciation of your service to this country has only grown… It is not just because I know how hard you work. It is because I understand something of what drives your dedication and professionalism. You have this strong sense of public service in everything you do. For you, it’s not just a job. You want to change the country and make Britain a better place. Put simply, I believe we all share the same goal – we have all followed a path towards public service to serve our country.”
BUT he is so bad he doesn't even know he is bad. He can't even appreciate that he is bad.
You can only assume that when he was a lawyer, as a client you had to hope for a fair minded judge and jury that looked at the facts because you absolutely wouldn't get any help at all from your legal representative.
I expect the state pension age will be 69 or 70 by the time I collect, and it will be for a lower more basic amount linked to inflation only.
Or the triple lock will remain, but it will be for the lowest amount
The idea behind the triple lock was to raise UK pensions to the European average by accelerating them above inflation. Obviously this can't go on forever or the entire national income would be spent on pensions. Therefore it's reasonable to abandon the triple lock (a) when European parity has been achieved or (b) when we decide we can't afford parity any more. In the case of (b) it would be reasonable to ask 'who's fault is that?'.
An idea I like is the quadruple lock - ceiling for the pension locked to the tax free allowance for income tax.
The allowance that will be frozen for 10 years?
It produces a drag chain of affordability and sharing the proceeds of growth.
If you want to give the pensioners a boost, you have to give the workers something, under this.
More reverse ferreting from the government after Starmer basically saying I think we can and should do a bit better, anybody would think he had gone full Big Dom and called them all f##king idiots.
Awful.
Fucking hell, this is dire
“from all I have seen during my first five months as Prime Minister, my appreciation of your service to this country has only grown… It is not just because I know how hard you work. It is because I understand something of what drives your dedication and professionalism. You have this strong sense of public service in everything you do. For you, it’s not just a job. You want to change the country and make Britain a better place. Put simply, I believe we all share the same goal – we have all followed a path towards public service to serve our country.”
BUT he is so bad he doesn't even know he is bad. He can't even appreciate that he is bad.
You can only assume that when he was a lawyer, as a client you had to hope for a fair minded judge and jury that looked at the facts because you absolutely wouldn't get any help at all from your legal representative.
More reverse ferreting from the government after Starmer basically saying I think we can and should do a bit better, anybody would think he had gone full Big Dom and called them all f##king idiots.
On government officials resisting cuts: In the US, a common tactic for city officials is to use the "firemen first" principle. The officials announce that, sadly, there is a deficit, and they will have to lay off some firemen. I shouldn't have, but I was amused to see a local city use exactly that tactic recently.
(For the record: There are places in the US where, thanks to modern, fire-resistant buildings, the number of firemen could be reduced without any great harm. Often, the fire departments look for other jobs they can do in such places, for example ambulance services.)
On government officials resisting cuts: In the US, a common tactic for city officials is to use the "firemen first" principle. The officials announce that, sadly, there is a deficit, and they will have to lay off some firemen. I shouldn't have, but I was amused to see a local city use exactly that tactic recently.
(For the record: There are places in the US where, thanks to modern, fire-resistant buildings, the number of firemen could be reduced without any great harm. Often, the fire departments look for other jobs they can do in such places, for example ambulance services.)
I’ve heard it said that a big contributor was the collapse in smoking, combined with fire proofing standards for sofas. @TwistedFireStopper ?
Has anyone told the Royal Family, the majority of the Aristocracy, large sways of gentryfied historic Landowners, a lot of old family historic Farmers, the inhabitants of Emmerdale and WV postcodes??
Iqbal Mohamed did a great job standing up for country boys with big ears and 12 fingers.
There is little evidence of in-breeding in any but the upper echelons of royalty. What the Royal Families of the world do show is that beauty is not an inherited trait. By their power generally they had the chance to marry the fairest in the land and tended to choose the fairest in the land. So you would think according to Mendelism the Royal families should be better looking that us plebs.
When you marry with the aim of having children with the brains of Einstein and the looks of Princess Diana you run the risk of having children with the looks of Einstein and the brains of Princess Diana - As Prince Harry demonstrates
Chaos Incoming: Alina Habba-Dabba-Doo to be appointed to Counselor to the President. I think she's lost every case for him, at a cost of many - perhaps hundreds - of millions, but I may have forgotten something.
She might not last long. Wasn't WH Counsel the job that changed every series of the West Wing (presumably because they did not want to pay actors enough)? There was the one with the gavel, and the one with the cricket bat, and probably others.
Published a few days ago, "Who lacks voter identification? The electoral implications of the Elections Act 2022", by Edward Fieldhouse et al.
The Elections Act 2022 requires voters to present photo identification at general elections in Great Britain and local elections in England. In this article, we use data from the British Election Study Internet Panel to identify who does and does not own the necessary photo documents and how this affected turnout in the 2023 and 2024 local elections, as well as the 2024 General Election. We find that around 5% of the voting-age population lack valid voter identification and that this is related to age, education, socio-economic status, and social grade. The data also give us a reliable indication of the party-political impact of the photo ID requirement. We find that conservative voters are more likely to hold valid photo identification than supporters of other parties. We also find that a small but significant proportion of registered voters (between 1.2% and 2.4%) reported either being turned away or dissuaded from voting at these elections because of the requirement.
And how did he interview that section of society who weren't allowed to vote because they didn't exist, and those who were already dead ? Without a consideration of those who the act was intended to disenfranchise it follows that his analysis and his conclusions must be worthless.
Thousands of women are set to have their equal pay claims settled with a council after several years.
The agreement between Birmingham City Council, Unison and the GMB union will see 6,000 staff with the authority receive settlement payouts. The equal pay issue was one of the key factors in the authority declaring effective bankruptcy last year when it said it was facing a bill of £760m to settle the claims.
Chaos Incoming: Alina Habba-Dabba-Doo to be appointed to Counselor to the President. I think she's lost every case for him, at a cost of many - perhaps hundreds - of millions, but I may have forgotten something.
She might not last long. Wasn't WH Counsel the job that changed every series of the West Wing (presumably because they did not want to pay actors enough)? There was the one with the gavel, and the one with the cricket bat, and probably others.
Published a few days ago, "Who lacks voter identification? The electoral implications of the Elections Act 2022", by Edward Fieldhouse et al.
The Elections Act 2022 requires voters to present photo identification at general elections in Great Britain and local elections in England. In this article, we use data from the British Election Study Internet Panel to identify who does and does not own the necessary photo documents and how this affected turnout in the 2023 and 2024 local elections, as well as the 2024 General Election. We find that around 5% of the voting-age population lack valid voter identification and that this is related to age, education, socio-economic status, and social grade. The data also give us a reliable indication of the party-political impact of the photo ID requirement. We find that conservative voters are more likely to hold valid photo identification than supporters of other parties. We also find that a small but significant proportion of registered voters (between 1.2% and 2.4%) reported either being turned away or dissuaded from voting at these elections because of the requirement.
And how did he interview that section of society who weren't allowed to vote because they didn't exist, and those who were already dead ? Without a consideration of those who the act was intended to disenfranchise it follows that his analysis and his conclusions must be worthless.
Are you telling a load of people who were previously in, check notes, AQ and ISIS, might not be the goodies.....
Lovely chaps. We should 'extend the hand of friendship' and bung them £11 million pounds with no strings attached. Hopefully that will teach them to be nice.
Targeted to start production by end of 2026 at Stellantis’ Zaragoza, Spain site, the facility could reach up to 50 GWh capacity, subject to the evolution of the electrical market in Europe and continued support from authorities in Spain and the European Union. The 50-50 joint venture between CATL and Stellantis will boost Stellantis’ best-in-class LFP offer in Europe enabling the automaker to offer more high-quality, durable and affordable battery-electric passenger cars, crossovers and SUVs in the B and C segments with intermediate ranges...
50GWh is about 500,000 large car batteries. Going to need a lot more of these factories.
Published a few days ago, "Who lacks voter identification? The electoral implications of the Elections Act 2022", by Edward Fieldhouse et al.
The Elections Act 2022 requires voters to present photo identification at general elections in Great Britain and local elections in England. In this article, we use data from the British Election Study Internet Panel to identify who does and does not own the necessary photo documents and how this affected turnout in the 2023 and 2024 local elections, as well as the 2024 General Election. We find that around 5% of the voting-age population lack valid voter identification and that this is related to age, education, socio-economic status, and social grade. The data also give us a reliable indication of the party-political impact of the photo ID requirement. We find that conservative voters are more likely to hold valid photo identification than supporters of other parties. We also find that a small but significant proportion of registered voters (between 1.2% and 2.4%) reported either being turned away or dissuaded from voting at these elections because of the requirement.
And how did he interview that section of society who weren't allowed to vote because they didn't exist, and those who were already dead ? Without a consideration of those who the act was intended to disenfranchise it follows that his analysis and his conclusions must be worthless.
There is no evidence these ghost voters existed outside Northern Ireland, and nor is there any great evidence of personation (impersonating real voters) either. First, it would be easy to detect; second, it would need to be done at large scale to change the result.
And in any case, it has already been let slip that photo ID was required in order to stop Labour voters.
Has anyone told the Royal Family, the majority of the Aristocracy, large sways of gentryfied historic Landowners, a lot of old family historic Farmers, the inhabitants of Emmerdale and WV postcodes??
Iqbal Mohamed did a great job standing up for country boys with big ears and 12 fingers.
There is little evidence of in-breeding in any but the upper echelons of royalty. What the Royal Families of the world do show is that beauty is not an inherited trait. By their power generally they had the chance to marry the fairest in the land and tended to choose the fairest in the land. So you would think according to Mendelism the Royal families should be better looking that us plebs.
When you marry with the aim of having children with the brains of Einstein and the looks of Princess Diana you run the risk of having children with the looks of Einstein and the brains of Princess Diana - As Prince Harry demonstrates
The upper echelons of royalty were hugely inbred well into the 20th century, the great bulk of whom married within their social caste and religion (although Orthodox could marry Protestants providing they converted, and vice versa). Far from marrying for looks, they invariably married for alliances, money, land and power. That said, I don't think there are many examples of first-cousin marriage within the British royals.
Thousands of women are set to have their equal pay claims settled with a council after several years.
The agreement between Birmingham City Council, Unison and the GMB union will see 6,000 staff with the authority receive settlement payouts. The equal pay issue was one of the key factors in the authority declaring effective bankruptcy last year when it said it was facing a bill of £760m to settle the claims.
This is in general a good thing. Female roles have long been underpaid This is also why gender gap declarations are valuable. But the refuse collection thing was silly and makes you wonder if judges need to get out more. And since @OldKingCole and @turbotubbs earlier on this thread raised the feminisation of pharmacists, it would be interesting to see if this has been accompanied by a relative fall in their remuneration.
Published a few days ago, "Who lacks voter identification? The electoral implications of the Elections Act 2022", by Edward Fieldhouse et al.
The Elections Act 2022 requires voters to present photo identification at general elections in Great Britain and local elections in England. In this article, we use data from the British Election Study Internet Panel to identify who does and does not own the necessary photo documents and how this affected turnout in the 2023 and 2024 local elections, as well as the 2024 General Election. We find that around 5% of the voting-age population lack valid voter identification and that this is related to age, education, socio-economic status, and social grade. The data also give us a reliable indication of the party-political impact of the photo ID requirement. We find that conservative voters are more likely to hold valid photo identification than supporters of other parties. We also find that a small but significant proportion of registered voters (between 1.2% and 2.4%) reported either being turned away or dissuaded from voting at these elections because of the requirement.
And how did he interview that section of society who weren't allowed to vote because they didn't exist, and those who were already dead ? Without a consideration of those who the act was intended to disenfranchise it follows that his analysis and his conclusions must be worthless.
There is no evidence these ghost voters existed outside Northern Ireland, and nor is there any great evidence of personation (impersonating real voters) either. First, it would be easy to detect; second, it would need to be done at large scale to change the result.
And in any case, it has already been let slip that photo ID was required in order to stop Labour voters.
Let slip by whom?
If that's the case, then yes its highly cynical. About as cynical as trying to get 16 sand 17 year olds the vote as they skew to Labour.
Most countries in the world require ID to vote. As long as there are simple, easy ways to procure such an ID (as it the case, I believe) then I don't see the issue. If you are (a) too stupid or (b) too lazy or (c) both to get useable ID then I don't really want you deciding on the next government, be that parish council all the way up to MP level.
Thousands of women are set to have their equal pay claims settled with a council after several years.
The agreement between Birmingham City Council, Unison and the GMB union will see 6,000 staff with the authority receive settlement payouts. The equal pay issue was one of the key factors in the authority declaring effective bankruptcy last year when it said it was facing a bill of £760m to settle the claims.
This is in general a good thing. Female roles have long been underpaid This is also why gender gap declarations are valuable. But the refuse collection thing was silly and makes you wonder if judges need to get out more. And since @OldKingCole and @turbotubbs earlier on this thread raised the feminisation of pharmacists, it would be interesting to see if this has been accompanied by a relative fall in their remuneration.
Not that I am aware off. That has been down to increased numbers of pharmacists in general (lots more schools of Pharmacy opened in the last 20 years or so, so the supply increased). Medics beware...
Published a few days ago, "Who lacks voter identification? The electoral implications of the Elections Act 2022", by Edward Fieldhouse et al.
The Elections Act 2022 requires voters to present photo identification at general elections in Great Britain and local elections in England. In this article, we use data from the British Election Study Internet Panel to identify who does and does not own the necessary photo documents and how this affected turnout in the 2023 and 2024 local elections, as well as the 2024 General Election. We find that around 5% of the voting-age population lack valid voter identification and that this is related to age, education, socio-economic status, and social grade. The data also give us a reliable indication of the party-political impact of the photo ID requirement. We find that conservative voters are more likely to hold valid photo identification than supporters of other parties. We also find that a small but significant proportion of registered voters (between 1.2% and 2.4%) reported either being turned away or dissuaded from voting at these elections because of the requirement.
And how did he interview that section of society who weren't allowed to vote because they didn't exist, and those who were already dead ? Without a consideration of those who the act was intended to disenfranchise it follows that his analysis and his conclusions must be worthless.
There is no evidence these ghost voters existed outside Northern Ireland, and nor is there any great evidence of personation (impersonating real voters) either. First, it would be easy to detect; second, it would need to be done at large scale to change the result.
And in any case, it has already been let slip that photo ID was required in order to stop Labour voters.
Let slip by whom?
If that's the case, then yes its highly cynical. About as cynical as trying to get 16 sand 17 year olds the vote as they skew to Labour.
Most countries in the world require ID to vote. As long as there are simple, easy ways to procure such an ID (as it the case, I believe) then I don't see the issue. If you are (a) too stupid or (b) too lazy or (c) both to get useable ID then I don't really want you deciding on the next government, be that parish council all the way up to MP level.
Thousands of women are set to have their equal pay claims settled with a council after several years.
The agreement between Birmingham City Council, Unison and the GMB union will see 6,000 staff with the authority receive settlement payouts. The equal pay issue was one of the key factors in the authority declaring effective bankruptcy last year when it said it was facing a bill of £760m to settle the claims.
This is in general a good thing. Female roles have long been underpaid This is also why gender gap declarations are valuable. But the refuse collection thing was silly and makes you wonder if judges need to get out more. And since @OldKingCole and @turbotubbs earlier on this thread raised the feminisation of pharmacists, it would be interesting to see if this has been accompanied by a relative fall in their remuneration.
Are you telling a load of people who were previously in, check notes, AQ and ISIS, might not be the goodies.....
Lovely chaps. We should 'extend the hand of friendship' and bung them £11 million pounds with no strings attached. Hopefully that will teach them to be nice.
Worth bearing in mind that this is claimed to be the Turkey-backed SNA and not HTS who are in charge in Damascus now.
I'm sure HTS have their own problems - broadcast news last night suggested they had a, er, robust attitude to dissent - but we might as well be accurate about our criticism.
Comments
"The structural question the Treasury should be asking is... why? The same tools, constantly used, don't seem to be delivering real efficiency. It's not just a question of what the target is, it's how you go about it! Tldr departments don't really have much incentive to deliver genuine efficiency, nor the data to do it."
https://order-order.com/2024/12/10/starmer-writes-conciliatory-letter-to-all-civil-servants-in-tepid-bath-fallout/
More reverse ferreting from the government after Starmer basically saying I think we can and should do a bit better, anybody would think he had gone full Big Dom and called them all f##king idiots.
Both our local MPs, one Labour, one Tory, appeared in the island press not long after the election in such photos.
So now they’ve captured a whole bunch of politicians who are effectively compromised, and no-one wants to be Nick Clegg.
@visegrad24
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/02/im-used-to-people-thinking-im-lying-are-scotlands-sea-eagles-killing-hundreds-of-lambs
I’ve attended panels with Cicero, debated at a distance with Machiavelli, nodded knowingly at Churchill quotes, and once overheard a spirited pub rant by Nigel Farage.
Close personal acquaintances include Jacob Rees-Mogg, my local barber Steve, and that guy from the Go Compare adverts.
My political icons are a mix of heavyweights like Abraham Lincoln, Paddington Bear, and the guy who invented self-checkout machines.
My political nemeses? You’ll find the likes of Alan Sugar, Piers Morgan, Rasputin, and that pigeon who stole my sandwich.
Chew on that.
I found ab White-tailed Eagle nest on Mull, many years ago. As I was watching them through my 'scope, the warden came up to me, wanting to know how I had heard about the nest. I said I had just bumped into it - two adults sitting close to each other. He told me that the White-tailed's were ferocious. He had personally witnessed a fight to the death with a Golden Eagle - the Golden did't stand a chance against that bill.
Something clearly needs to be done but where is the will to do it. Labour had their chance. They could have simply said "no plans" to change it during the campaign and then done it, took the hit and moved on expecting people to forget about it by 2029.
Chaos Incoming: Alina Habba-Dabba-Doo to be appointed to Counselor to the President. I think she's lost every case for him, at a cost of many - perhaps hundreds - of millions, but I may have forgotten something.
https://apnews.com/article/alina-habba-trump-attorney-white-house-942238382acd7cb36088fe870a47ee59
I thought Punchy McPunchface had been referred to St Peter?
Perhaps Trump is such a seminal player in US history he deserves to replace Roosevelt on Mount Rushmore after all.
After IS it's the SNA who I expect to be the most trouble in Syria, because they're Turkish proxy forces with the main purpose of preventing a Kurdistan from existing.
Let's see how that goes for him when he's in office again.
I thought we already had high level Court Rulings that they were without merit.
I'd guess they predate a small number each year. But I've come across enough lambs in distress over my time walking in Scotland to suggest that the hills, particularly during a cold snap in May, aren't a particularly safe environment for them in the first place.
British Army = 75,325 (excluding Gurkhas and volunteers)
https://www.media.stellantis.com/em-en/corporate-communications/press/stellantis-and-catl-to-invest-up-to-4-1-billion-in-joint-venture-for-large-scale-lfp-battery-plant-in-spain
..AMSTERDAM, December 10, 2024 – Stellantis and CATL today announced they have reached an agreement to invest up to €4.1 billion to form a joint venture that will build a large-scale European lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant in Zaragoza, Spain. Designed to be completely carbon neutral, the battery plant will be implemented in several phases and investment plans.
Targeted to start production by end of 2026 at Stellantis’ Zaragoza, Spain site, the facility could reach up to 50 GWh capacity, subject to the evolution of the electrical market in Europe and continued support from authorities in Spain and the European Union. The 50-50 joint venture between CATL and Stellantis will boost Stellantis’ best-in-class LFP offer in Europe enabling the automaker to offer more high-quality, durable and affordable battery-electric passenger cars, crossovers and SUVs in the B and C segments with intermediate ranges...
(a) the MoD covers RAF and RN, so those need to be counted in for true comparability
(b) a lot of services' and civil servants' work has been outsourced to commercial companies in recent years
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/live/bbcparliament
Our Ange's personal photographer.
"Asked why she has a photographer “following you around”, Ms Rayner told the programme: “There’s a kind of balance to be had, because sometimes you get ‘well, you never see her’, or ‘she’s only doing that for a photo opportunity’."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/photographer-trying-to-strike-balance-of-job-says-rayner/ar-AA1vAOmX?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=c4a9e13d4f1a4cc2b1c9fcf6c76eacec&ei=22
“from all I have seen during my first five months as Prime Minister, my appreciation of your service to this country has only grown… It is not just because I know how hard you work. It is because I understand something of what drives your dedication and professionalism. You have this strong sense of public service in everything you do. For you, it’s not just a job. You want to change the country and make Britain a better place. Put simply, I believe we all share the same goal – we have all followed a path towards public service to serve our country.”
Course, if Canada did become the 51st State that would set up a conflict between POTUS and the British monarchy...
Maybe Trump is trying to get RF back as the sovereign for the US, haha!
I’ve gotten burned over Cheryl Tiegs, blown up for Raquel Welch
But when I end up in the hay it’s only hay. Hey Hey
I might jump an open drawbridge, or Tarzan from a vine
’Cause I’m the unknown stuntman that makes Eastwood look so fine
Staggering not one done every 5 years
Utterly damning the Tories didn't have a single one from 2010 to 2024
A complete dereliction of duty and care.
Great that it's literally root and branch, line by line.
Excellent that independent Auditors are being bought in.
Well done Rachel, a Manifesto commitment kept.
Would have been 10 out of 10.
A shame you disclosed the 5% waste target
An announcement after the review of 5% efficiency savings would have been better.
Bowing out after 25 years.
The Elections Act 2022 requires voters to present photo identification at general elections in Great Britain and local elections in England. In this article, we use data from the British Election Study Internet Panel to identify who does and does not own the necessary photo documents and how this affected turnout in the 2023 and 2024 local elections, as well as the 2024 General Election. We find that around 5% of the voting-age population lack valid voter identification and that this is related to age, education, socio-economic status, and social grade. The data also give us a reliable indication of the party-political impact of the photo ID requirement. We find that conservative voters are more likely to hold valid photo identification than supporters of other parties. We also find that a small but significant proportion of registered voters (between 1.2% and 2.4%) reported either being turned away or dissuaded from voting at these elections because of the requirement.
(For the record: There are places in the US where, thanks to modern, fire-resistant buildings, the number of firemen could be reduced without any great harm. Often, the fire departments look for other jobs they can do in such places, for example ambulance services.)
You can only assume that when he was a lawyer, as a client you had to hope for a fair minded judge and jury that looked at the facts because you absolutely wouldn't get any help at all from your legal representative.
If you want to give the pensioners a boost, you have to give the workers something, under this.
Also by Vine on R2
When you marry with the aim of having children with the brains of Einstein and the looks of Princess Diana you run the risk of having children with the looks of Einstein and the brains of Princess Diana - As Prince Harry demonstrates
The agreement between Birmingham City Council, Unison and the GMB union will see 6,000 staff with the authority receive settlement payouts. The equal pay issue was one of the key factors in the authority declaring effective bankruptcy last year when it said it was facing a bill of £760m to settle the claims.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdd6y6dpnjro
And in any case, it has already been let slip that photo ID was required in order to stop Labour voters.
I wish
No the utterly obnoxious Jeremy
If that's the case, then yes its highly cynical. About as cynical as trying to get 16 sand 17 year olds the vote as they skew to Labour.
Most countries in the world require ID to vote. As long as there are simple, easy ways to procure such an ID (as it the case, I believe) then I don't see the issue. If you are (a) too stupid or (b) too lazy or (c) both to get useable ID then I don't really want you deciding on the next government, be that parish council all the way up to MP level.
I'm sure HTS have their own problems - broadcast news last night suggested they had a, er, robust attitude to dissent - but we might as well be accurate about our criticism.