Thread 20 Starmer - Spring Statement

[DuncinToffee]

Previous thread https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5286167-thread-19-starmer-a-coalition-of-the-willing?page=40&reply=142981585

I find it interesting that Reform subscribers are quite happy to be the Putin Party, but get all upset when they can't mass deport immigrants (which is what this "spat" is really about. The BBC is being slightly economical with the actualite here)

Surely the great thing about the new Politicas As A Service (PaaS) model is that you can simply switch to another grifting outfit with it's tongue up Putins arse ? Or are the Reform crowd a bit too dim to realised that.

There really is something satisfying about Farage being kyboshed by a foreign unelected bureaucrat

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8x4np7zkx9o

Remigration, straight out of the far right handbook.

Good to see LK once again bringing up free concert tickets, just like she used to do with the Tory government

A bit of good news

UK’s net zero economy grew 10% in 2024

Analysis from CBI Economics found the UK's net zero economy is now worth £83.1 billion (GVA) and has grown much faster than the rest of the economy.
https://eciu.net/analysis/reports/2025/net-zero-economy-across-the-uk

It's gone a bit quiet with reporting on the Covid Inquiry

https://bylinetimes.com/2025/03/21/covid-inquiry-vip-fast-lane/

Civil Servants Felt Pressured Into Giving ‘Special Treatment’ to Conservative-Connected COVID PPE Suppliers

Private correspondence reveals officials felt threatened by firms benefiting from “back-scratching” by Conservative ministers

"These contracts were inflated by at least £925 million, with VIP lane suppliers paid 80% more per unit than other suppliers."
😯

Matt Hancock was giving evidence again

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd65ev8z7z6o

Matt Hancock has defended government deals to buy personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic, saying the country was in a "desperate situation" at the time.

In a bad-tempered session at the Covid inquiry, the former health secretary repeatedly criticised the line of questioning describing it as "naive", "hostile" and "inappropriate".

Boo hoo, Matt.

4

I feel that for a supposed unbiased political journo Kuenessberg is just not very good.
She's had quite a few slips ups.
She asks strange questions and as a journo working for the BBC she is supposed to be impartial and yet she seems competely unable to stop her intense dislike of any party other than Tory from showing.

Well I've just started a new role with a very small outfit that is doing very well from the simple fact that net zero inevitably involves trying to minimise energy usage and that in order to do that you need lots (I mean lots) of data from your buildings. WFH (naturally) in a green industry. You can see why I may be antipathetic to the pitch from the right wing.

I'm not a massive fan of prurience. However ...

Tens of thousands of Britons are set to lose almost two-thirds of their income as a result of welfare cuts announced by Sir Keir Starmer’s government, according to Financial Times calculations.

Tougher eligibility for personal independence payments (Pips) and incapacity benefits will mean some people now in line to receive £15,000 a year, excluding housing support, will instead receive just £5,400 — a drop of 64 per cent.

The figures highlight the dramatic impact that the government’s cuts will have on people who are out of work and rely on benefits to cover the costs of basic essentials.

Common sense you called it on your thread.

Now, about that saddos comment, care to explain?

Totally. I can hardly bear to watch her.

I think we'd rather hear about the wealthy and super rich, surely ?

Are you posting this in order to start a discussion? Do you agree with the cuts? Disagree?

As a start, I think Labour have got this about right.

Employer payroll taxes being raised, in effect, to cover a rise in young people not working due to spurious mental health claims is not a sustainable or kind situation for either side.

Meanwhile, "AI" has corrected it's mistake over the Heathrow outage.

Given the time it was posted, I assumed worse for wear.

An early pilot for Stormester. They decided, in hindsight, not to bother with the team tasks.

Now I had to google, that, and so added to my sum of knowledge by that amount.

#justsayin'

We're big taskmaster fans. In any language. The cultural differences are quite striking in some versions. The Danes are quite, er, enthusiastic.

Me too

I would like him to face hostile questioning. In a court of law. I maintain that him and Boris Johnson should face charges of corporate manslaughter. At least for the deaths in the NHS, and in Boris Johnson's case for any government employee who was not wfh throughout.