What is the point of labour ?

[Michael W]

Just now, Granny Danger said:

Yup, except the Tory Lites have boxed themselves into a corner by saying they won’t touch NI contributions.  It strange given their lead times in the polls and all the other commitments that Starmer ditched he wouldn’t ditch one that might have helped.

BTW I read the changes to Winter Fuel Allowance could save £2bn so not nothing (unless that’s the total cost).

There's little doubt Labour took the bait to head off a Tory attack line on tax. The same party, incidentally, that was standing on a pledge of abolishing NI. What was going to be canned in order to fund that? 

Just over £2bn is the total cost of that benefit. Paul Johnson thinks the changes will save £1.5bn. 

[eez-eh]

3 hours ago, Granny Danger said:

From the BBC website:

Rachel Reeves’ plans are expected to include the cancellation of some road and rail projects, a reduction in spending on external consultants and a drive to cut public sector waste.

The bit I’ve highlighted is the insidious bit.  After 14 years of austerity where exactly is there ‘public sector waste’?  Had Labour highlighted any of the areas where such waste exists in their electioneering material?

I recall the Thatcher era when I was involved in local government when the exact same words were used to slash Local Authority spending in real terms year after year.

I think most people can see some huge inefficiencies with the way some public services are run. The problem is trusting any government to improve things, as opposed to using it as an excuse to cut budgets and then claim that they’ve made things more efficient.

It’s like the benefit cheat thing. There’s absolutely people who rip the piss with it. But any action to “fix” it inevitably impacts the millions of people who genuinely need the help.

[Granny Danger]

1 minute ago, Michael W said:

There's little doubt Labour took the bait to head off a Tory attack line on tax. The same party, incidentally, that was standing on a pledge of abolishing NI. What was going to be canned in order to fund that? 

Just over £2bn is the total cost of that benefit. Paul Johnson thinks the changes will save £1.5bn. 

£1.5bn a year is not chickenfeed.

[Granny Danger]

2 minutes ago, eez-eh said:

I think most people can see some huge inefficiencies with the way some public services are run. The problem is trusting any government to improve things, as opposed to using it as an excuse to cut budgets and then claim that they’ve made things more efficient.

It’s like the benefit cheat thing. There’s absolutely people who rip the piss with it. But any action to “fix” it inevitably impacts the millions of people who genuinely need the help.

The biggest inefficiency in the NHS is paying massively over the odds for agency staff rather than employing staff to do the job.  The additional cost doesn’t go to the person doing the work of course it goes to the private sector agency sucking money out of the system.

Lots of vested interests would be opposed to making changes to that.

 

[scottsdad]

23 minutes ago, Granny Danger said:

I’m not opposed to that, but it could create a precedent regarding means testing.

People with private pensions not getting full state pension?

No pension credit, no winter allowance. 

[doulikefish]

"Read my lips there will be no cuts" wonder who said that pre election? 

[No_Problemo]

6 minutes ago, eez-eh said:

I think most people can see some huge inefficiencies with the way some public services are run. The problem is trusting any government to improve things, as opposed to using it as an excuse to cut budgets and then claim that they’ve made things more efficient.

It’s like the benefit cheat thing. There’s absolutely people who rip the piss with it. But any action to “fix” it inevitably impacts the millions of people who genuinely need the help.

The issue being the inefficiencies largely come from senior managers who would be identified to make the savings, the short sightedness of those in these positions generally being a huge issue. 

[Michael W]

5 minutes ago, Granny Danger said:

£1.5bn a year is not chickenfeed.

It is when the overall tax take of the country is just under £830bn and the country's spending is however many billions on top of that. It is also not even 10% of the gap Reeves is trying to close. 

[doulikefish]

20 minutes ago, scottsdad said:

No pension credit, no winter allowance. 

If pensioners have a carer they don't get pension credits ...no winter heating payment is brutal for them 

[GTG_03]

20billion black hole eh.

Weren't Swinney and Sarwar arguing about this at the farcical Scottish election debate ?  Sarwar said it was nonsense and that Swinney was lying.

I've no doubt that the BBC will be chasing him up to comment imminently...

 

[Michael W]

Looks Reeves might have been telling the truth after all. OBR reviewing its forecasts due to the high level of overspend. 

It this is substantiated, then sackings surely must follow. 

 

[DrewDon]

"You're doing a great job, son" meme with George Osborne and Rachel Reeves, please. 

[Freedom Farter]

(Who Pollard is, vile: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Pollard)

 

Boohoo, genocide-supporting scum.

Complaining about UK resuming its funding of UNRWA, the only body with the capacity to provide (minimal) food, water and medicine for Gazan children.

 

LFI also raging at Starmer for his temerity to follow international law.

 

Starmer's decision to resume UNRWA funding and to drop Sunak's objection to the ICC prosecution is the bare minimum yet nonetheless very welcome. It has moved UK away from USA and instead in line with Europe (Germany excepted) on these issues.

The responses of those Israel lobby groups and individuals above shows how extreme they are. While in opposition, Starmer used them to provide the mood music for his purge of some socialist candidates. They provided antisemitism accusations which he weaponised, most notably against Corbyn and Faiza Shaheen. Yet now that he's in government, he has no need for them anymore. They thought he was actually one of them and now they feel burned, which is funny.

[Granny Danger]

It would be interesting to know how many of the newly elected Labour MPs are members of Labour Friends of Israel Genocide.

[lichtgilphead]

6 minutes ago, Granny Danger said:

In other words he’s a lying c**t.

Or should that be Doctor lying c**t?

I think that most folk will have made up their minds.

Me, I couldn't possibly comment  

[Freedom Farter]

Lampert is a writer for Jewish Chronicle, an outlet presided over by Stephen Pollard, who I mentioned above. Therefore, her social media groups will be particularly right wing. It's a very good sign that they feel betrayed by Starmer.

On the "trying to push the toothpaste back into the tube" point, I half agree. Its true that Starmer emboldened the Israel lobby during his campaign. He did indeed squirt that particular toothpaste out of its tube. However, I don't think he's going to care. He's not going to try and push them back in their tube now because they can whine all they want, its not going to matter. Unlike when Corbyn was being attacked, Starmer is Prime Minister having just won a landslide election. Public opinion is also firmly in favour of things like funding UNWRA and allowing the ICC to do its job.

Edited July 29 by Freedom Farter

[I Clavdivs]

1 hour ago, doulikefish said:

If pensioners have a carer they don't get pension credits ...no winter heating payment is brutal for them 

Indeed ,already been attacked by charity Age UK claiming those whose weekly income at  50 quid below poverty line will be affected and that 1 in 3 pensioners entitled to pension credit don't recieve it  ...hardly "wealthy" pensioners as some Labour apologists try to make out .

[I Clavdivs]

Scotland with it's lower winter temperatures will see it's pensioners again worse off under more Westminster cuts. All made worse by the fact that Scotland is a net exporter of cheap,clean renewable energy but has no control of it's energy policy and how it's resources are used for the benefit of all its citizens. 

Just another reason why Scotland needs out of this one sided,broken and corrupt London centric union .

[Cheese]

'I can't believe the arbitrary fiscal rules we've self imposed on ourselves are going to prevent us from doing stuff that we didn't want to do anyway"

[sophia]

1 hour ago, lichtgilphead said:

Here's my warning from the mods:

"Note for member
You and Jedi's continual bickering has went for enough.

You can both take a few days off and I suggest that of you continue your interactions with him do it via PM. "

No mention of any ban on commenting on the SNP or Labour. I would be surprised if we had recieved different punishments though.

Having previously told @Jedi2 to stop sending me PM's, I haven't taken up their kind offer.

I regard that as pathetic and not just due to the use of the words "has went for enough". Four words and two of them flat out wrong. 

For what it's worth I found the back and forth rather entertaining and that is my subjective view. Others are obviously entitled their own.