To think incompetent hypocrite Starmer has lost the respect of the people and his own party in record time?

[TealTraybake]

An excoriating letter from Rosie Duffield who resigned today..

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rosie-duffield-resignation-letter-starmer-labour-b2620603.html#comments-area

Been bad enough for her to resign, I wonder what will happen next. Does she know something we don’t?

Well what do you mean continues as it is? Continues as it was under last last government or the new one?

Also I don’t buy into the rhetoric that social security will bankrupt the country, not least because under a new administration, I’d expect claim rates to decrease.

The system really is messed up when addiction qualifies for additional money via PIP which will just be spent on booze or drugs.

I really don’t know what you’re talking about but if you’d like to continue the discussion you’ll need to stop being rude. I cannot debate with people who are insulting for no reason.

A few years ago an alcoholic neighbour of my mother's got a disability car and a booze allowance

What is a disability car? Who paid the booze allowance and why @justasking111 ?

I'm very disappointed. I voted for Labour as the least awful option, but subsequently (foolishly) allowed myself to be a bit hopeful.

See my subsequent point.

Because it's normal for governments to run deficits. The truth is, a country like the UK can't run out of money and can always create more, not that that would always be advisable of course.

The fear of bankruptcy, especially for countries like the UK, is overblown because sovereign debt works differently from normal debt. We aren't borrowing from some strict creditor; we're essentially borrowing from ourselves and from the global market, which is largely driven by trust in long-term economic stability. The whole thing sounds like a giant house of cards when you think on it and it's quite scary to think just how little actually underpins our economy.

There's also the Modern Monetary Theory that states that taxes don't actually fund spending, rather government spending creates the need for taxes to control inflation and demand, particularly in countries with their own sovereign currency. Which would make a bit more sense, in my mind anyway, since government budgets never seem to be based on tax revenue.

We're heading that way. I worked for the council full time, but worked at a berni inn weekends. Just to augment my salary. Husband was already working 60-70 hour week. I cycled two miles to pub and two miles home. Also cycled to and from work. Gawd I was fit back then

I do recall male council employees could get a mortgage at 4%. Which never increased when ours spiralled to 16%.

Women weren't eligible.

but given the large number of complaints from business leaders at the Labour conference about no access to ministers, despite them paying £3k a ticket

If you criticise donations, you should be very pleased about this. Reeves’ team has been talking to business leaders for nothing for months now, long before the election. Her door is open to them. I’d venture to suggest that any business “leader” relying on a £3k donation for a meeting at the conference probably isn’t offering anything of value to the government other than money.

Milking the cow. £3k just ain't enough these days.

Did you bother reading my post? Business leaders whose opinions are valued have had free access for months.

Maybe Johnson didn't hide who he was, but what he was was an incompetent moron, not someone you want leading a country. Trump also doesn't hide who he is, and who he is is an egotistical narcissist who has no understanding of reality and has been called a 'fucking moron' by the people he worked closely with. Again, not what you want in a leader I'm sure.

He needs someone else to pay for his clothes and glasses?

He needs to kill pensioners this year and next?

And you back this?

FWIW I vaguely remember the WFA coming into being, and a huge fuss over it then. The reasoning was it's too expensive to means test it, not worth the time and money for the sake of such a small amount in the bigger picture. So it went to all pensioners regardless of income. So I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the same thing stands. Itll cost more than necessary to limit the WFA to those on pension credit.

So if it's a really hard winter, people will die.
Good for you trusting this man.

Our debt is high enough, look at commentary on France and Italy

https://www.politico.eu/article/france-cut-e100b-end-up-italy-public-deficit-council-economic-analysis/

Well that’s clear from your posts.

Except they weren't 'sound' - they were bankrolled with North Sea oil, squandered in destroying uk manufacturing.

Right to buy was the beginning of the mess we are in today, not the 'right' but the implementation that forbade councils from using the money to build replacement stock.

The same attitude pervaded the whole privatisation ethos - implementations aimed at making it hard for labour to reverse - especially the rail privatisation.

Working politics not working for the country.

It is called double standards.

I think there’s a signifiant difference between a party selling tickets to an event at which ministers are present, and specific gifts, which are concealed, reported late and then ‘corrected’. But I also think that if you are going to sell tickets to an event on the premise of access to ministers then the ministers ought to attend. I mean, it’s just as about integrity and doing the right thing ;)

And I disagree with your last point - this government has absolutely no experience of anything outside politics / government. It’s a worry. So it needs insight, input, experience from business leaders. How are they going to deliver their growth agenda without them?

this government has absolutely no experience of anything outside politics / government. It’s a worry. So it needs insight, input, experience from business leaders. How are they going to deliver their growth agenda without them?

They’re not and they know it. Which is why Reeves’ team has been meeting with big business for nothing for months. It’s why the likes of James Timpson and Richard Walker are on board.

Were the tickets sold on the basis of access to ministers or did the people who bought them assume that?

Oh well do not be shocked when Lammy and AR have their go once they kick KS out.

A business leader who got himself a nice ministerial position. Another one who has warned Labour they could be going too fast. Who also chairs a company who is know for treating employees poorly and 0 hour contracts etc. Not exactly square mile, keeping the country afloat business leaders here.

Praise nonetheless.

My former member of parliament was Nadine Dorries. Go figure.

Yes, the tickets were sold promising access to ministers - hence the discontent.

Timpson is a thought leader, more from an offender rehabilitation perspective than driving a growth agenda in the economy though. Iceland is a retailer with a large proportion of UHPFs in store, Tesco, Aldi or Sainsbury would give a better view, but they don’t want to meet them. How many CEOs / MDs of SMEs, which do after all employ over 69% of people in the Uk, has her team met? And of that, small companies make up nearly 50%, so engaging with local business leaders would also seem a sensible thing to do. And yet, very little activity there either by all accounts.

This.
I too expected a lot more from him.
I'm not in the UK or a British citizen so don't have a vote but I thought he had integrity pre being elected.

“So what you’re saying is that the Equality Act 2010 which covers the rights of everyone in the UK with a long term health condition shouldn’t apply to anyone seeking public office?” Where in my comment did I say this? But, yes, since you have brought it up I think it should at least be amended when it comes to anyone seeking public office.
My adult dc is severely disabled, can’t walk or talk, is tube fed, has learning difficulties and cannot do anything for himself. Do you think his disabilities should not be taken into account if he were to campaign to become the next Prime Minister? Do you honestly think his cognitive abilities for example, should not be taken into account when considering his suitability for the position? Or are you just virtue signalling? Because, much as I love my dc, I don’t think he would be a good candidate for the job. We need to move away from being obsessed with political correctness, mindlessly quoting rules, regulations and official “Acts”, and instead apply some common sense and critical thinking skills, especially when it comes to choosing the people who are going to be governing us. If we did, regardless of left or right, the country would be in a much better situation than it is now.