With typically little fanfare, the Electoral Commission has just published the political parties' statement of accounts for 2012 - and there's much worthy of note.
First, to the grim state of the Lib Dems. The party raised £6.02m last year but spent £6.4m leaving it with a deficit of £410,951. Over the same period, its membership fell from 48,934 to 42,501, a fall of 35% since 2010 (when it stood at 65,038) and the lowest annual figure in the party's 23-year history. Based on the current rate of decline, UKIP, which now boasts more than 30,000 members, will soon replace them as the third largest party by membership.
The picture is rosier for Labour, which had a total income of £33m, up from £31.2m in 2011, and expenditure of £30.2m (aided by £6.7m of state funding - the "short money" received by opposition parties), giving it a surplus of £2.8m.
Less happily, party membership fell from 193,300 to 187,537 and it's also worth noting the hefty £7.96m Labour received in affiliation fees from trade union members, around 90 per cent of which it is likely to lose when the new opt-in system promised by Ed Miliband is introduced.
Finally, to the Conservatives. They raised £24.2m, up from £23.7m last year, and spent £23.3m, leaving the kind of healthy surplus that has so eluded George Osborne.
If the Church of England is going to venture into financial services, it could give a whole new meaning to the Alpha course.
It would keep the pension industry busy.
Calculating pension contributions on an actuarial assessment of everlasting life would be challenging.
The thing is in all seriousness that once you have adopted "the long cohort" for final salary calculations which take you to the late 80's as a death date to be assumed and therefore nigh in 25 years retirement it's not much of a further stretch to make it a big enough fund to last forever ( ie you could live off its income providing some was invested in inflation adjusting assets such as shares and property). This is the reality of final salary calculations under the regulations as they are. Which is of course why such schemes are on their death bed in the private sector.
Oddly I note today that deaths rates have been going up ( or not going down as fast so to speak ) recently leading to some speculation that the gains that have galloped along at 18 - 24 months per decade for 100 years are slowing. That and the fact that the generation brought up on rationing were possibly ironically uniquely healthy. Too little before then too much since one suspects.
You don't need cautionary tales from pollsters on the validity of sub-sample polling data, tim.
You just need to get out and talk to the youth of today.
They are healthier, harder-working, and more religious; less likely to commit crime or do drugs or get blasted on alcohol; more inclined to play sports and eat fruit and help old ladies negotiate a pedestrian crossing.
"Real families across Britain shouldn’t have to put up with a country where WORRYING DATA POINT chokes off growth/threatens our communities/undermines our shared experiences.
I saw the reality of this myself when I visited INSERT PERSONAL ANECDOTE.
Today I can announce that the next One Nation Labour government help people like ANECDOTE by confronting the vested interests that have stopped this out-of-touch Coalition from acting on WORRYING DATA POINT."
Although I'm not an Anglican, I think the Welby idea looks good. Rather than just shouting about the "vulnerable" being exploited, they will do something about it.
Compare and contrast ... The left-wing agitators "expose" inequality and demand that other people they don't like do something about it. Job done for them. We even have charities whose main function is to demand that somebody else does something.
I may be doing Owen Jones, Polly Toynbee and Ed Miliband et al an injustice, of course. They may be secretly toiling in London soup kitchens or working with down-and-outs at a hostel. Ralph Miliband may have spent his spare time helping "Help the Aged". If so, well done to them.
But what I do know is that the Sally Army and many other Christian organisations will be doing these things - organisations many of these shouty people dislike and insult.
I've always had a huge respect for the Sally Army. They are not afraid to articulate their beliefs and confidently walk down the street in their uniforms. They are willing to get their hands dirty, unlike so many "charidees". We should all put something in our wills for them.
Haven't seen the research yet, but it'd suggest that Jeremy Chum is scapegoating foreigners for political reasons while private health customers are a bigger problem
If the NHS is routinely failing to check that people who want to go private can pay, then that is indeed a huge scandal.
The tax payer would in effect be subsidising people who want to cheat the system.
TBF to the church on the lending thing apparently some microcredit programs have quite low default rates. If they design it right they may actually be able to use the combination of community and fear of invisible superheroes to lend far more cheaply than regular lenders.
On topic. Jane Austen fans from all over the world , every literate woman , will want to have a genuine British note as a souvenir which they will keep rather than spend . I'm guessing that this will have a positive impact on the UK economy.
Technically, a large number of UK notes being taken out of circulation for collection purposes has the effect of decreasing the number of notes in active circulation. In consequence, there are fewer notes chasing the same amount of goods, and we would expect therefore to see a small decrease in the inflation rate.
Or, to put it another way: if I take a £10 note and burn it, I am sharing its purchasing power amongst all the other holders of British currency,
WHEN the chips are down, you have to pick yourself up and keep going.
But when the chip is massive, you have to pick it up and stare in astonishment. And then ask 'Is this the biggest chip in Gloucestershire?'
That's the question one woman is asking after being served a gigantic chip at The Mill Inn in Withington today. Laura Enfield was so stunned by the size of the potato treat she took a photo and sent it in.
"I couldn't believe how big it was when I saw it," she said.
"It's definitely the biggest chip I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot of chips."
She added: "I now plan to research the history of huge chips in the county. I just hope there are records."
Have you seen, or eaten, a bigger chip than this in Gloucestershire? Tell us below in the comment section, or send in your photos to echo.news@glosmedia.co.uk
That wouldn't surprise me if the work is done and preexisting conditions are discovered that weren't declared or known about.
I don't know much about private medicine, but I imagine that in this sector the private hospital checks with the insurer before going ahead with any treatment....??? I guess the nature of the beast is such that this can't always be done
"In 2008, before the financial crisis had even reached its nadir, Rahm Emanuel famously said: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” Emanuel’s quote became the conventional wisdom for crisis management, even if the idea is age-old: John F. Kennedy Jr. famously pointed out that the Chinese word for “crisis” is composed of two characters, one for “danger” and one for “opportunity.
Nearly five years after the global economic meltdown, we can now look at the world’s major powers and assess how well they’ve responded to their various crises. Three categories emerge. Who took advantage of crisis? Who never really had a true crisis? And who is letting crisis go to waste? ...
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony, but first I must inform you that the Church of England is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Information in this service does not constitute an offer or solicitation to conduct investment or banking business in any jurisdiction other than the UK. Prayers may be recorded for your protection."
July Issues index, Tories citing immigration falls from 51% to 41%. UKIP voters citing immigration up 12%.
This suggests that the sad Tory paranoid switchers have calmed down a bit over immigration, hence the recovery from UKIP of some of their voters who'd moved, leaving the UKIP vote more dominated by the tragic fools who blame foreigners for everything
Moral of the story for Cameron, getting your own supporters fired up about immigrants helps Farage, who'd have guessed?
Or that the Tories that were fired up about immigration have gone to ukip
MPs criticise Lansley reforms over A&E problems 24 JULY, 2013 | BY BEN CLOVER
Can we have Seth back to exlain how on earth this can have happened, the Lansley bill was so well thought through, first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth times.
I can but ask when I next speak to Seth, tim, but he claims to be still fully engaged in the turnaround of his family business.
I have my suspicions though and believe that the British Bookmakers Association may be paying him a fee to stay away.
That said, I do get the impression that not every PBer would welcome his return.
It depends on the health insurance policy you have. Some will cover for pre-existing consitions but in all cases - certainly at private hospitals - you need to get pre-authorisation from the insurance company or the hospital will take your credit card number.
Anyone cheating the NHS - whether a private patient or someone not entitled to treatment - should be pursued; it's a fraud on the rest of us.
On topic. Jane Austen fans from all over the world , every literate woman , will want to have a genuine British note as a souvenir which they will keep rather than spend . I'm guessing that this will have a positive impact on the UK economy.
Technically, a large number of UK notes being taken out of circulation for collection purposes has the effect of decreasing the number of notes in active circulation. In consequence, there are fewer notes chasing the same amount of goods, and we would expect therefore to see a small decrease in the inflation rate.
Or, to put it another way: if I take a £10 note and burn it, I am sharing its purchasing power amongst all the other holders of British currency,
Coins and notes make up 2.1% of the (M4) money supply. Allowing for some fraction to be £10 notes, then the fraction of them taken out of supply would have to be large to have a non-trivial impact. (I imagine you thought the same; but I was interested to find the 2.1% figure.)
Police: not enough evidence to launch Falkirk vote rigging inquiry
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said if additional information came to light, this would be examined.
She said: "Following a comprehensive review of all material submitted, Police Scotland has concluded there are insufficient grounds to support a criminal investigation at this time.
"However, should further information come to light, this will be looked into."
... The Scottish National Party's MSP for Falkirk West, Michael Matheson, said: "It is clear that this complaint to the police was little more than a stunt to divert attention from the Labour Party's own failure to deal with the crisis in Falkirk, and a waste of valuable police time.
"Ed Miliband was happy to share this report with the police, but Labour's Scottish Executive has been kept completely in the dark - clearly London remains firmly in control.
"Johann Lamont claimed she was the leader of all parts of the Labour Party in Scotland, but it is clear that her leadership is in name only, and Westminster is still calling the shots."
Comments
First, to the grim state of the Lib Dems. The party raised £6.02m last year but spent £6.4m leaving it with a deficit of £410,951. Over the same period, its membership fell from 48,934 to 42,501, a fall of 35% since 2010 (when it stood at 65,038) and the lowest annual figure in the party's 23-year history. Based on the current rate of decline, UKIP, which now boasts more than 30,000 members, will soon replace them as the third largest party by membership.
The picture is rosier for Labour, which had a total income of £33m, up from £31.2m in 2011, and expenditure of £30.2m (aided by £6.7m of state funding - the "short money" received by opposition parties), giving it a surplus of £2.8m.
Less happily, party membership fell from 193,300 to 187,537 and it's also worth noting the hefty £7.96m Labour received in affiliation fees from trade union members, around 90 per cent of which it is likely to lose when the new opt-in system promised by Ed Miliband is introduced.
Finally, to the Conservatives. They raised £24.2m, up from £23.7m last year, and spent £23.3m, leaving the kind of healthy surplus that has so eluded George Osborne.
The Tories don't release a central membership figure (the best available estimate puts it at around 130,000) but their income from this source has fallen from £863,000 to £747,000, a drop of 13% that suggests no small number of "swivel eyed loons" have decided to try their luck with Farage. http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/07/lib-dem-money-woes-grow-party-membership-hits-new-low
Oddly I note today that deaths rates have been going up ( or not going down as fast so to speak ) recently leading to some speculation that the gains that have galloped along at 18 - 24 months per decade for 100 years are slowing. That and the fact that the generation brought up on rationing were possibly ironically uniquely healthy. Too little before then too much since one suspects.
You just need to get out and talk to the youth of today.
They are healthier, harder-working, and more religious; less likely to commit crime or do drugs or get blasted on alcohol; more inclined to play sports and eat fruit and help old ladies negotiate a pedestrian crossing.
It is obvious they are turning Tory.
http://hopisen.com/?p=5735
Most amusing.
"Real families across Britain shouldn’t have to put up with a country where WORRYING DATA POINT chokes off growth/threatens our communities/undermines our shared experiences.
I saw the reality of this myself when I visited INSERT PERSONAL ANECDOTE.
Today I can announce that the next One Nation Labour government help people like ANECDOTE by confronting the vested interests that have stopped this out-of-touch Coalition from acting on WORRYING DATA POINT."
"The document, seen by the Times newspaper and the Health Service Journal, reported 600 more people died each week last year than the average."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23447683
Are you saying the NHS routinely gives private treatment to people who don;t have medical insurance and can't pay up front, or as they go?
If so, its the NHS that looks pretty silly....
If the NHS is routinely failing to check that people who want to go private can pay, then that is indeed a huge scandal.
The tax payer would in effect be subsidising people who want to cheat the system.
Or, to put it another way: if I take a £10 note and burn it, I am sharing its purchasing power amongst all the other holders of British currency,
WHEN the chips are down, you have to pick yourself up and keep going.
But when the chip is massive, you have to pick it up and stare in astonishment. And then ask 'Is this the biggest chip in Gloucestershire?'
That's the question one woman is asking after being served a gigantic chip at The Mill Inn in Withington today. Laura Enfield was so stunned by the size of the potato treat she took a photo and sent it in.
"I couldn't believe how big it was when I saw it," she said.
"It's definitely the biggest chip I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot of chips."
She added: "I now plan to research the history of huge chips in the county. I just hope there are records."
Have you seen, or eaten, a bigger chip than this in Gloucestershire? Tell us below in the comment section, or send in your photos to echo.news@glosmedia.co.uk
I don't know much about private medicine, but I imagine that in this sector the private hospital checks with the insurer before going ahead with any treatment....??? I guess the nature of the beast is such that this can't always be done
MORI July Issues Index
"In 2008, before the financial crisis had even reached its nadir, Rahm Emanuel famously said: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” Emanuel’s quote became the conventional wisdom for crisis management, even if the idea is age-old: John F. Kennedy Jr. famously pointed out that the Chinese word for “crisis” is composed of two characters, one for “danger” and one for “opportunity.
Nearly five years after the global economic meltdown, we can now look at the world’s major powers and assess how well they’ve responded to their various crises. Three categories emerge. Who took advantage of crisis? Who never really had a true crisis? And who is letting crisis go to waste? ...
Or that the Tories that were fired up about immigration have gone to ukip
I have my suspicions though and believe that the British Bookmakers Association may be paying him a fee to stay away.
That said, I do get the impression that not every PBer would welcome his return.
It depends on the health insurance policy you have. Some will cover for pre-existing consitions but in all cases - certainly at private hospitals - you need to get pre-authorisation from the insurance company or the hospital will take your credit card number.
Anyone cheating the NHS - whether a private patient or someone not entitled to treatment - should be pursued; it's a fraud on the rest of us.
http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1408682.1374767753!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/spain26n-2-web.jpg
t'Economist blushes...!
http://www.economist.com/news/economic-and-financial-indicators/21582263-output-prices-and-jobs
Oh dear, has Ed Balls been doing the quaterly calculations...?