PT 2 of Who the F**K still thinks voting Tory is a good idea?

[Zonder]

Would be such a shame not to continue the discussion.

Another morning another example of how the government’s failure to manage something is resulting in misery https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/oct/27/councils-in-england-paying-17bn-a-year-to-house-people-in-temporary-homes

I've spent most of my 51 years of working life in the public sector, and now work in the 3rd sector, delivering services that are NHS funded, so I'm perfectly familiar with the level of waste, and with the level of unmet need.

I'd take a bit of waste over horrifying levels of unmet need every time.

And I I'm a welfare rights adviser, so also know that there is no additional support for a 3rd or subsequent child born since 2017, save for when multiple birth is involved or in a few other circumstance that are pretty rare. The only increase in benefit income is for money towards rent, when the 3rd child means the household is now entitled to one more bedroom. That doesn't benefit the family financially, but goes to the landlord.

The welfare changes brought in since 2010 have caused horrendous levels of hardship for some of the most vulnerable in society.

More context (and oh look - unlike pp I am providing links - because I can back up what I’m saying….)

UC is paid largely to working people, but the housing element doesn’t meet real housing costs, underfunded local authorities cannot secure and pay for housing for people in need, and the housing situation is out of control.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/oct/23/high-rents-and-benefit-cuts-push-poorer-renters-out-of-uks-cities-report-finds

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67076914.amp

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/oct/23/ministers-accused-of-betraying-renters-in-england-with-delay-to-no-fault-evictions-ban

Giving trans men the ability and the dignity to access sanitary products in the bathroom they choose to use, tory supporters using culture war divisive shit because after 13 years in power they have nothing left to offer

I see the productivity problem mainly down to lack of training and a huge failure to invest in the workforce.

When you have to wait for 4 weeks for a plumber to fix your boiler and that same scenario extends to every part of your life, you can see where there will be a problem.

The plumber is very productive himself, there just aren‘t enough round. And he‘s moving to Spain in the New Year.

I wonder how many of the 660,000 work visas were for electricians and plumbers.

I have met a few nurses on work visas. They think they have won the lottery when they get a visa and a starting salary of some £25k. And then realise that‘s not enough for a family to live on.

I read that yesterday. I worked in homelessness prevention and resettlement in East Sussex until 5 years ago, and it was always the case that it was much easier to get rentals in the east of the county because rents were so much lower. We used to gripe that the job was a doddle in Hastings than in Eastbourne or Bexhill, or any of the smaller towns.

If Hastings is struggling for temp accommodation, I dread to think what it's like in Brighton now. Brighton council used to lease private sector rentals to use as TA, but that option will no longer be feasible as the gap between the LHA and average market rent is now £700 a month (3-bed property). They also used to tell their TA tenants in leased properties that they would probably never get a social housing tenancy, even 5 years ago.

The project I worked for had 80 staff when I left. The level of burnout is so bad that everyone who was on that project 5 years ago has moved on.

Regarding the economy performing satisfactorily.

Our GDP for the second quarter of 2023 has finally squeaked above the fourth quarter of 2019 making us no longer the worst performer in the G7 by this metric.

Hang the flags out.

I don't know about homlessness in Brighton but their food banks are running out

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/23877840.brighton-food-banks-face-closure-amid-surge-demand/

When you have to wait for 4 weeks for a plumber to fix your boiler and that same scenario extends to every part of your life, you can see where there will be a problem.

It's always been like that where I live. My plumber only started his business 5 years ago, and his voicemail message now says that he can't take on any new customers.

My BIL has a small building company, and he's turning down new work on a daily basis.

It's great to see their economic success yield such abundant funds to provide such vital services.
The Tories should take note.

This happened under 13 years of a Tory government

https://www.statista.com/statistics/382695/uk-foodbank-users/

In 2022/23 approximately 2.99 million people used a foodbank in the United Kingdom, an increase when compared with the previous year. Between 2008/09 and 2020/21, the number of foodbank users increased in every year, from just under 26,000 to more than 2.56 million.

And on those 'lefty' lawyers, report published today

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/127/public-accounts-committee/news/198150/asylum-system-doubts-and-concerns-raised-around-governments-approach-to-backlogs/

Parliamentary committee: "The Home Office’s failure to process asylum claims efficiently has led to unacceptable costs to the taxpayer.

"No credible plan exists to end the use of hotels to accommodate people waiting for a decision"

Time and time again we see how the Tories waste money, be it on asylum, public sector building mtce or NHS waiting lists/staff retention.

They tax more and more... deliver less and less, then lie about it.

I'm hopeful Labour will change this culture, will take time, maybe a parliament or more but the rot has to be stopped, we ve NHS hospitals with urine leaking between floors, schools shut, pupils forced to learn from home, Prisons with no staff and people, who will be released, locked up 23 out of 24 hours....

Also, Tory skinfintary ends up costing us all so, so much more in the long term. Example, don't build council housing, end up spending a fortune on HB for private LL and hotel accommodation for homeless people (to the point that some councils are on the edge of bankruptcy) . This is leaving aside the human misery it causes.

Oh ffs
What do you have to say about the Conservatives PPE contracts and Michelle mone? The Bibby Stockholm? The land the government paid £15m for, that cost the owner £6m the year before? Why did the costs for HS2 spiral so much and where did the money go?

How many tampons can you buy with £2.7 billion pounds (the estimated cost of the PPE fraud)?

I'd rather the Government spend money on free sanitary products than enriching people who are already wealthy.

Oh, I forgot the investment of £169,000 per migrant in sending them to Rwanda. That's not a bad use of tax payers money at all #sarcasm
https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-plan-to-deport-migrants-to-rwanda-will-cost-169000-per-person-migration-asylum/#:~:text=A%20Home%20Office%20economic%20assessment,estimated%20%C2%A3169%2C000%20per%20migrant.

Also, Tory skinfintary ends up costing us all so, so much more in the long term. Example, don't build council housing, end up spending a fortune on HB for private LL and hotel accommodation for homeless people (to the point that some councils are on the edge of bankruptcy) . This is leaving aside the human misery it causes.

We could save a fortune if we stopped street lighting. Someone else will pay for the RTAs and the loss of earnings, delays etc etc.

Many years ago - when I had to observe rather than manage - the geniuses where I worked decided that leaving computers on overnight had to stop to save a couple of grand a year in electricity.

3 months in, and the company wondered 2 things:

1. why had productivity dropped
2. why the bills for PC repairs and replacements had skyrocketed

both assessed as costing tens of thousands of pounds.

They did want "an investigation", but my boss (who I learned a lot from) merely replied with a paragraph from the memo he had sent that they had made a point of ignoring (via email, so it was logged).

Basically because windows updates itself on boot up all of a sudden there were over 1,000 PCs needing to update at 9am. Which jammed the network and meant most people could actually start work till about 9:30.

Also because things tend to break most when you power them on, more PCs were going "bang" every morning.

IT got a rocket and accounts got a bonus. Plus ca change, eh

But @DuncinToffee

How would all that public money get into private hands if the Tories didn't keep massive numbers of asylum seekers waiting for years?

Modern Tory’s - the gift that keeps on giving. For goodness sake, general election now!!!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/27/england-to-diverge-from-eu-water-monitoring-standards

Modern Tory’s - the gift that keeps on giving. For goodness sake, general election now!!!

The security services have suggested an Autumn 2024 election could be a security risk as it's too close to the US elections.

So we know we will have to wait till then, when foreign interference is hardest to track.

Put £50 on it if you can. Better return than the tax cuts they'll dish out.

The security services have suggested an Autumn 2024 election could be a security risk as it's too close to the US elections.

Excellent. May it is then.

I think you miss the point. Remember the UK government since 2019 has made it an industrial process to ignore security warnings. Especially if they involve malicious actors.

During the late 40s and 50s, the US government was warned that the poverty, segregation and racism in the US was an open door to communist infiltration. Hence the civil rights reforms.

Here in the UK in the 2020s the government is similarly sitting on reports that the increasing disparity in wealth, and slow burn of CoL crisis is also attractive to agencies that would subvert our way of life and exploit divisions. The difference being the UK government doesn't think it's happening fast enough. And they may have a point. If Liz Truss couldn't do it - even after the way they handled Covid, then they will really need to up their game.

The pandemic has created pent-up demand in the economy, which cannot be halted without repercussions. However, due to a lack of material supplies and skilled labour, it is impossible to catch up.

It doesn't matter which party is in government none of them have the answer to these fundamental problems.

I'm not going to argue about the definition of Pareto, but empirically it's an excellent observation of human activity both economically and socially.
https://betterexplained.com/articles/understanding-the-pareto-principle-the-8020-rule/

Sorry @SerendipityJane, that’s way too close to conspiracy theory for me. All I care about is getting this zombie government out as soon as possible. Ideally to see it out of power for at least a generation. If I started believing that stuff I might as well swallow the reds.