Wednesday 25th November 2015

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:02 pm

Just catching up with the - rather surreal - hoo ha after my earlier post saying that the RebeccaRiots account posting on the G blog today isn't me.

Just to be absolutely clear - I was not pointing a finger at anyone in particular - or even suggesting that it was anyone impersonating me. For all I know it's somebody who has just joined and set up an account with that username for perfectly straightforward reasons.

I just wanted to be clear that it wasn't me because of the similarity of name.

Blimey.

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:03 pm

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:06 pm

The chancellor also slashed 40% - £700m - from a scheme backing green heating systems, lowering the chances the UK can hit its climate change targets.

The most startling hit for energy and environment in the spending review is £132m pulled from energy efficiency schemes, announced on the day that a huge leap in winter deaths was revealed, says our environment editor Damian Carrington.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:09 pm

— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam)
November 25, 2015

Apprenticeships Levy raises £3 billion a year - epic tax rise on business

What's the logic of this and cutting corporation tax at the same time?

Rebecca · Post by **Rebecca** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:11 pm

pk1 wrote:
Rebecca wrote:
pk1 wrote: No problem !

Here's exactly what I said & I stand by every word ! btw, don't think it's your place to order others what to do, is it ??
You all know Hugo's posting style & he seldom ever uses/used bad language so perhaps acknowledge that this place probably has generated more than a few malcontents since it's birth & before any of you think it must be me, you'd be utterly wrong to think so !

So long.
Blimey PK,whatever is wrong with you?Seriously.
Obviously,you are very unhappy with the ftn community,well,fair enough.
But what do you possibly gain from lurking here?Then dashing in for a nasty little swipe,then off again.
Wouldn't a cup of tea and a biscuit be more fun?
It would be like me reading the Sun(Would rather chew my own arms off)in order to bitch about it later.What's the point?
Nobody suggested that you were spoofing rebecca riots,what's with the ego?

Whats up Rebecca ? Didn't you see Refitmans instruction for me to post my comment here & not to 'snipe' on twitter ?

AFAIK this remains an open forum where everybody used to be welcomed however, it clearly has evolved into a bit of an echo chamber where dissenting views are unwelcome.

As for your nasty little swipe about my ego - again, you have chosen to misrepresent me. Because I pointed out how wrong often the assumption is when every new graun a/c must be Hugo, the natural progression for those short of critical thinking skills, would have been to accuse me so I was acting preemptively.

I know this is an open forum,of course.I simply can't understand why anybody would spend time here if they find it so abhorrent.
Do you enjoy getting angry and generally pissed off with people?
Genuinely fail to understand why you are doing this,is all.

seeingclearly · Post by **seeingclearly** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:11 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:
HindleA wrote:
ohsocynical wrote: And it wasn't classed as a particularly severe winter or so I understand.
It has to be because of fuel costs. Nothing's changed on that front has it?

They are saying a major factor was the flu virus and a less effective vaccine.
I was told at the time by someone from PHE that there was an error with the creation of one version of the vaccine, and that in some circumstances this could actually give people flu - but I was absolutely not to tell anyone this as it was still overall safer for people to have the vaccine than not. I don't know if this is true - it certainly seems to be the case that there were strains missed. This is a bit of an occupational hazard - the drug companies, WHO etc have to guess which strains will be prevalent in any given winter and include those particular cells into the vaccines for that season, and by the law of averages sometimes they will guess wrong or a strain will have mutated. But it's something to keep an eye on to see if it happens again.

Interesting. My previous understanding was that it was impossible to produce a genuinely effective flu vaccine for any forward use because of the unpredictability of mutation, therefore nearly all strains are backward looking, ie they are mainly effective for the previous seasons variant and direct residual presence in any given population. A reasearch doctor I've known quite a while said this made it only effective in a very small amount of people, and what often got mistaken for flu was in fact secondary infection subsequent to the common cold, producing pneumonias and bronchial infections of varying degrees of severity. As both of these were less responsive to antibiotics, he suggested, the important thing is that these are properly treated.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:12 pm

PRE-JOB JOB TAX.

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:12 pm

pk1 wrote:
Rebecca wrote:
pk1 wrote: No problem !

Here's exactly what I said & I stand by every word ! btw, don't think it's your place to order others what to do, is it ??
You all know Hugo's posting style & he seldom ever uses/used bad language so perhaps acknowledge that this place probably has generated more than a few malcontents since it's birth & before any of you think it must be me, you'd be utterly wrong to think so !

So long.
Blimey PK,whatever is wrong with you?Seriously.
Obviously,you are very unhappy with the ftn community,well,fair enough.
But what do you possibly gain from lurking here?Then dashing in for a nasty little swipe,then off again.
Wouldn't a cup of tea and a biscuit be more fun?
It would be like me reading the Sun(Would rather chew my own arms off)in order to bitch about it later.What's the point?
Nobody suggested that you were spoofing rebecca riots,what's with the ego?
Whats up Rebecca ? Didn't you see Refitmans instruction for me to post my comment here & not to 'snipe' on twitter ?

AFAIK this remains an open forum where everybody used to be welcomed however, it clearly has evolved into a bit of an echo chamber where dissenting views are unwelcome.

As for your nasty little swipe about my ego - again, you have chosen to misrepresent me. Because I pointed out how wrong often the assumption is when every new graun a/c must be Hugo, the natural progression for those short of critical thinking skills, would have been to accuse me so I was acting preemptively.

Acting preemptively? You mean making it up?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:14 pm

The detail is starting to come out now.

Owen Smith ‏@OwenSmith_MP 4m4 minutes ago
Osborne's gone back on Tory election pledge to protect pensioner benefits- Autumn Statement freezes Savings Credit

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:14 pm

Yes,saw that,link above.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:21 pm

Most of the savings will come from London. Transport for London’s operational budget of almost £700m a year will be entirely wiped out by the end of the decade, leaving TfL to fund its services through commercial investment, cuts or potentially higher fares.

Funny this should happen just as his Bullingdon pal stands down, isn't it?

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:26 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Sarah Wollaston MP ‏@sarahwollaston 21m21 minutes ago
Pleased to hear from Prime Minister that Govt have agreed to ACAS conciliation. I hope @TheBMA will now suspend strike action
So ... looks like they've realised they can't allow Hunt to carry on as he is and completely **** things up.

Yet another climb down.

Hope so, I hope good negociations will happen, I hope JHunt is out on his ear.
However, I don't trust Wollaston or the 'Prime Minister' she's heard from. Shouldn't the Health Minister get the message Wollaston's tweeting about or get replaced by another Health Minister in a transparent manner? Tory government has disgraced itself over junior doctors' employment conditions and contracts, repeatedly causing harm without apology. It's not over because Wollaston heard from the PM. 'suspend strike'? '@TheBMA' ? That's not for Wollaston to suggest. It's inappropriate.

Post by **refitman** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:26 pm

pk1 wrote:
Rebecca wrote:
pk1 wrote: No problem !

Here's exactly what I said & I stand by every word ! btw, don't think it's your place to order others what to do, is it ??
You all know Hugo's posting style & he seldom ever uses/used bad language so perhaps acknowledge that this place probably has generated more than a few malcontents since it's birth & before any of you think it must be me, you'd be utterly wrong to think so !

So long.
Blimey PK,whatever is wrong with you?Seriously.
Obviously,you are very unhappy with the ftn community,well,fair enough.
But what do you possibly gain from lurking here?Then dashing in for a nasty little swipe,then off again.
Wouldn't a cup of tea and a biscuit be more fun?
It would be like me reading the Sun(Would rather chew my own arms off)in order to bitch about it later.What's the point?
Nobody suggested that you were spoofing rebecca riots,what's with the ego?
Whats up Rebecca ? Didn't you see Refitmans instruction for me to post my comment here & not to 'snipe' on twitter ?

AFAIK this remains an open forum where everybody used to be welcomed however, it clearly has evolved into a bit of an echo chamber where dissenting views are unwelcome.

As for your nasty little swipe about my ego - again, you have chosen to misrepresent me. Because I pointed out how wrong often the assumption is when every new graun a/c must be Hugo, the natural progression for those short of critical thinking skills, would have been to accuse me so I was acting preemptively.

I just think it's rude to go on behind people's backs.

There is plenty of disagreement here, you only have to look at yesterday for evidence. We have people who think that Corbyn shouldn't be leader and should go as soon as possible, those that didn't want him as leader but will acquiesce to the decision of the members and those that do want him as leader. We have differing views on the railways, We aren't an echo chamber and we recognise that is a bad thing to become. We welcome dissenting views, but we would prefer the dissent to be critical, not just posting the same negative things over and over again.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:27 pm

Laura Kuenssberg ‏@bbclaurak 13m13 minutes ago
Hunt backs down, govt agrees to go to ACAS to try to avoid junior docs strike - quite a moment to announce it

That bears saying over and over again .... Hunt backs down, Hunt backs down, Hunt backs down ...

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:32 pm

Marriage Tax!

In all seriousness, attempting to address the 2nd and 3rd homes is a good thing. See how this looks once the smoke has cleared and the mirrors have been dismantled.

Post by **refitman** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:35 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:
yahyah wrote:Harry ColeVerified account ‏@MrHarryCole 4m4 minutes ago
John McDonnell has now thrown his copy of Mao's red book across the table at Osborne. Extraordinarily bad prop and "joke" fell very flat.

He didn't seem to be watching what the BBC were showing.
Even the Speaker seemed amused.
This Harry Cole we're talking about. He gave Cameron a 4-2 win at PMQs when almost literally every other commentator declared a Corbyn walkover

He also has (or at least had) silly hair.

Oh, and he's also the right hand man to one Paul Staines.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:39 pm

StephenDolan wrote:Marriage Tax!

In all seriousness, attempting to address the 2nd and 3rd homes is a good thing. See how this looks once the smoke has cleared and the mirrors have been dismantled.

Cameron, 18 August 2014.

I said previously that I wanted to introduce a family test into government. Now that test is being formalised as part of the impact assessment for all domestic policies. Put simply that means every single domestic policy that government comes up with will be examined for its impact on the family.

That’s my commitment to you – the people who do so much to help families stay together in our country.

TechnicalEphemera · Post by **TechnicalEphemera** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:43 pm

There is indeed plenty of disagreement here, and with maybe the odd exception it is far more civilised than the Guardian.

To answer questions about who when it comes to a competent leadership team, most of the SC are doing ok, Cooper should be Shadow Chancellor, although I would give McDonnell a senior treasury post with his team of economists and tell Cooper to work with him to construct a true alternative to neo-liberalism. Not really bothered about Chris Leslie, second rate and far too right wing in my view.

As for leader, whoever is acceptable to 85% of the PLP. They just need to knock their heads together and find somebody.

If it was me then Dan Jarvis or Keir Starmer are both leaps into the unknown, but: Jarvis is an actual soldier and as a candidate probably the Tories nightmare, Starmer has held a hugely senior legal job which would serve as suitable experience.

From the rest, Benn possibly, Stella Creasy anybody?

I actually think Maria Eagle is exactly the right person at defence. Corbyn knew she was pro nukes (which is to a degree why he appointed her). The fact Corbyn has spent every spare second of his time either undermining her or saying daft things on defence isn't really her fault. Frankly it is a testament to her patience she hasn't punched him. His latest wheeze to inflict the massive electoral millstone of CND on the party is a cracker.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:43 pm

There are plenty of nasty little slashes in Osborne's review that are starting to come out ...

Emily Ashton ‏@elashton 38m38 minutes ago
Money for Labour and other opposition parties is being slashed by 19% (HT @PolhomeEditor)

Martin LewisVerified account
‏@MartinSLewis
HIDDEN IN SMALL PRINT Disgracefully govt is retrospectively hiking student loan costs for 2012+ starters by freezing repay threshold #AS2015

Owen Smith ‏@OwenSmith_MP 3m3 minutes ago
P37 of the Blue Book says govt. will 'Expand the Fit for Work service' for the long term sick - AKA cuts to ESA for sick & disabled?

Laura Kuenssberg ‏@bbclaurak 55m55 minutes ago
Frank Field, key opponent of tax credit change says strivers with kids who claim Univl Credit will be worse off next year by up to £2,629

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:46 pm

Tim Shipman ‏@ShippersUnbound 3m3 minutes ago
Dear PRs, as a Sunday hack I am not currently "writing about" the autumn statement. Get back to me when you've found the £4bn howler...

seeingclearly · Post by **seeingclearly** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:47 pm

HindleA wrote:Dear Osborne and associated patronising barely human beings.You have a skewed view of your own imaginations.As much as the "vulnerable"(ie those you deliberately made so ,to prove you right)are grateful for a two second non mention of "support" in lieu of adequate,cost saving income to attend to assessed sickness/disability needs.;conditional support,predicated on penalisation,first,ask questions later(100 a week visitations I believe was the McVey figure to ascertain whether the penalisation should stand),it would be more honest(I understand your difficulty with such a concept)to outline that you are to lop off a third off the income of the sick/disabled.Inveterate deceitful coward that you are you avoided that.Nor indeed the parents of pre school children,regardless of situation,similarly conditionally supported with,as yet,non agreed or indeed adequately evident in any way,childcare.1.3 million is your figure,are there any others,that we should know about?

The problem everyone has with Gideon and gang is that they are very accomplished liars. Not only do they do this so well that truthtellers cannot out number their numbers easily, they also cannot out shout them.

I think perhaps the most challengeable and obvious of the lies told today relate to child poverty, which even his own benches looked rather taken aback by. It is a good start point for unravelling anyones misguided belief in the veracity of his statements because it is so patently untrue that child poverty has been eradicated. There are millions of people who are very concerned about this single issue as highlighted by very respectable and credible reports, and then there are the many people who daily work with children and see what the cuts have done to families. You can fool...... and all that stuff applies not just this issue but it is the big glaring porkie which I didn't watch the dabate long enough to see countered effectively, if at all.

I'd have liked to see a bit of factual stuff waved around and quoted, many people will have seen these reports mentioned in the media and would immediately see the disconnect. It is this kind of thing that Labour needs to use.

I can't confirm this, no figures, and I'm not on TC's myself, but did GO change the earnings disregard? If not ignore, but it was my feeling that had changed.

Post by **refitman** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:47 pm

TechnicalEphemera wrote:There is indeed plenty of disagreement here, and with maybe the odd exception it is far more civilised than the Guardian.

To answer questions about who when it comes to a competent leadership team, most of the SC are doing ok, Cooper should be Shadow Chancellor, although I would give McDonnell a senior treasury post with his team of economists and tell Cooper to work with him to construct a true alternative to neo-liberalism. Not really bothered about Chris Leslie, second rate and far too right wing in my view.

As for leader, whoever is acceptable to 85% of the PLP. They just need to knock their heads together and find somebody.

If it was me then Dan Jarvis or Keir Starmer are both leaps into the unknown, but: Jarvis is an actual soldier and as a candidate probably the Tories nightmare, Starmer has held a hugely senior legal job which would serve as suitable experience.

From the rest, Benn possibly, Stella Creasy anybody?

I actually think Maria Eagle is exactly the right person at defence. Corbyn knew she was pro nukes (which is to a degree why he appointed her). The fact Corbyn has spent every spare second of his time either undermining her or saying daft things on defence isn't really her fault. Frankly it is a testament to her patience she hasn't punched him. His latest wheeze to inflict the massive electoral millstone of CND on the party is a cracker.

I wanted Eagle or Creasy as deputy. Was disappointed by the lack of support they got.,

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:48 pm

pilitaclark ‏@pilitaclark 10m10 minutes ago
BREAKING: The UK has axed its £1bn carbon capture and storage funding plans, just days before #COP21 http://on.ft.com/1kTv9Ej" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; via @fastFT

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 3:55 pm

citizenJA wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
Sarah Wollaston MP ‏@sarahwollaston 21m21 minutes ago
Pleased to hear from Prime Minister that Govt have agreed to ACAS conciliation. I hope @TheBMA will now suspend strike action
So ... looks like they've realised they can't allow Hunt to carry on as he is and completely **** things up.

Yet another climb down.
Hope so, I hope good negociations will happen, I hope JHunt is out on his ear.
However, I don't trust Wollaston or the 'Prime Minister' she's heard from. Shouldn't the Health Minister get the message Wollaston's tweeting about or get replaced by another Health Minister in a transparent manner? Tory government has disgraced itself over junior doctors' employment conditions and contracts, repeatedly causing harm without apology. It's not over because Wollaston heard from the PM. 'suspend strike'? '@TheBMA' ? That's not for Wollaston to suggest. It's inappropriate.

Hunt is fireproof, he could ritually sacrifice kittens and Cameron would do nothing; he acted as OGRFG's firewall during Leveson, his actions deflected a lot of questions that could have proved awkward for Dave. The Health promotion was for services rendered, and because Rhyming Slang knows where the bodies are buried.

On another matter, this blog post by Jade Azim (a Young Fabian and activist at Durham Uni) could well be worth a read by both those who support Corbyn and those who don't. A wise head on young shoulders,

https://jadeazim.wordpress.com/2015/11/22/sod-it/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:08 pm

refitman wrote:
TechnicalEphemera wrote:There is indeed plenty of disagreement here, and with maybe the odd exception it is far more civilised than the Guardian.

To answer questions about who when it comes to a competent leadership team, most of the SC are doing ok, Cooper should be Shadow Chancellor, although I would give McDonnell a senior treasury post with his team of economists and tell Cooper to work with him to construct a true alternative to neo-liberalism. Not really bothered about Chris Leslie, second rate and far too right wing in my view.

As for leader, whoever is acceptable to 85% of the PLP. They just need to knock their heads together and find somebody.

If it was me then Dan Jarvis or Keir Starmer are both leaps into the unknown, but: Jarvis is an actual soldier and as a candidate probably the Tories nightmare, Starmer has held a hugely senior legal job which would serve as suitable experience.

From the rest, Benn possibly, Stella Creasy anybody?

I actually think Maria Eagle is exactly the right person at defence. Corbyn knew she was pro nukes (which is to a degree why he appointed her). The fact Corbyn has spent every spare second of his time either undermining her or saying daft things on defence isn't really her fault. Frankly it is a testament to her patience she hasn't punched him. His latest wheeze to inflict the massive electoral millstone of CND on the party is a cracker.
I wanted Eagle or Creasy as deputy. Was disappointed by the lack of support they got.,

Creasy was my choice for deputy, I think she would have done a cracking job. Disappointing that JC couldn't find a place for her in his Cabinet (although that may have been here choice of course).

You are probably right about Maria, but it (sort of) reinforces my point; if she and JC are going to disagree so fundamentally and publicly then maybe another brief would have been better.

I was disappointed that Dan Jarvis ruled himself out. Maybe his day will come, and I think he will be darned impressive if it does; same with Sadiq Khan, I was very disappointed with his decision to go for Mayor rather than Leader, he would have been a credible and interesting candidate.

Post by **refitman** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:11 pm

TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
refitman wrote:
TechnicalEphemera wrote:There is indeed plenty of disagreement here, and with maybe the odd exception it is far more civilised than the Guardian.

To answer questions about who when it comes to a competent leadership team, most of the SC are doing ok, Cooper should be Shadow Chancellor, although I would give McDonnell a senior treasury post with his team of economists and tell Cooper to work with him to construct a true alternative to neo-liberalism. Not really bothered about Chris Leslie, second rate and far too right wing in my view.

As for leader, whoever is acceptable to 85% of the PLP. They just need to knock their heads together and find somebody.

If it was me then Dan Jarvis or Keir Starmer are both leaps into the unknown, but: Jarvis is an actual soldier and as a candidate probably the Tories nightmare, Starmer has held a hugely senior legal job which would serve as suitable experience.

From the rest, Benn possibly, Stella Creasy anybody?

I actually think Maria Eagle is exactly the right person at defence. Corbyn knew she was pro nukes (which is to a degree why he appointed her). The fact Corbyn has spent every spare second of his time either undermining her or saying daft things on defence isn't really her fault. Frankly it is a testament to her patience she hasn't punched him. His latest wheeze to inflict the massive electoral millstone of CND on the party is a cracker.
I wanted Eagle or Creasy as deputy. Was disappointed by the lack of support they got.,
Creasy was my choice for deputy, I think she would have done a cracking job. Disappointing that JC couldn't find a place for her in his Cabinet (although that may have been here choice of course).

You are probably right about Maria, but it (sort of) reinforces my point; if she and JC are going to disagree so fundamentally and publicly then maybe another brief would have been better.

I was disappointed that Dan Jarvis ruled himself out. Maybe his day will come, and I think he will be darned impressive if it does; same with Sadiq Khan, I was very disappointed with his decision to go for Mayor rather than Leader, he would have been a credible and interesting candidate.

If I remember correctly, Creasy turned down a shadow post. I think Jarvis is in for a good shout when Corbyn steps down. You can understand why he didn't stand this time.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:13 pm

TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
citizenJA wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote: So ... looks like they've realised they can't allow Hunt to carry on as he is and completely **** things up.

Yet another climb down.
Hope so, I hope good negociations will happen, I hope JHunt is out on his ear.
However, I don't trust Wollaston or the 'Prime Minister' she's heard from. Shouldn't the Health Minister get the message Wollaston's tweeting about or get replaced by another Health Minister in a transparent manner? Tory government has disgraced itself over junior doctors' employment conditions and contracts, repeatedly causing harm without apology. It's not over because Wollaston heard from the PM. 'suspend strike'? '@TheBMA' ? That's not for Wollaston to suggest. It's inappropriate.
Hunt is fireproof, he could ritually sacrifice kittens and Cameron would do nothing; he acted as OGRFG's firewall during Leveson, his actions deflected a lot of questions that could have proved awkward for Dave. The Health promotion was for services rendered, and because Rhyming Slang knows where the bodies are buried.

On another matter, this blog post by Jade Azim (a Young Fabian and activist at Durham Uni) could well be worth a read by both those who support Corbyn and those who don't. A wise head on young shoulders,

https://jadeazim.wordpress.com/2015/11/22/sod-it/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm certain you're right, TGS - JHunt probably won't be out until current government are gone. I've muddled this point in print. Having re-read my post, I see that. Many thanks for any recommendation from you, my friend, your voice is priceless and I thank you.

If I start thanking everyone I read, love and learn from, you'll get a list of us all. I've been taught valuable lessons here from everyone. I continue to learn. This socialism thing, you know, it's a lot of work, a lot of cooperation required with someone in a leadership position keeping the team together. I've known some fine leaders. I'm not one of them.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:14 pm

From Andrew Sparrow ...

Small print alert: Average earnings revised downwards

And the OBR report also shows that average earnings have been revised downwards for the next five years (by 0.2% in 2016, then 0.2%, then 0.3%, then 0.4%, and then 0.4%).

Hows that 'higher wage' economy going then George?

Not to mention that quite a bit of your spending review relies on tax increases of one sort or another ....

Suddenly found out that it's not acceptable to do your ideological state shrinking entirely through spending cuts?

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:16 pm

HindleA wrote:Two seconds on decimating income of the unstated sick/disabled

Pedant Alert!!!!!!!
It should have been three seconds. One for each decimation.
WRAG rate has been cut by a third. It's going to kill people.

I watched a bit of the debate but gave up very quickly.

Frank Effing Field displaying his ignorance yet again by asking Gidiot about future tax credits when they will be abolished by then thanks to Universal Credit.
I don't necessarily expect most MPs to know this - although they should, given the 9 to 11 million people who will be affected - but the chair of the W&P Select Committee?
An hour ago, he tweeted that he is pleased about "the massive u-turn" on tax credits. Yeah, great. Gidiot's taking it from Housing Benefit and sick people instead.

Ye Gods.

------------------------------------

On a lighter note.....for the first time since I got out of hospital, I've had a bath in my swanky new bathroom (been too weak to get out until now) and it was FABULOUS. Candles, scented oils, the works. Absolute heaven. Ephie, thy name is Ms.Crinkly.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:18 pm

Jim Pickard ‏@PickardJE 2m2 minutes ago
Cutting "short money" for opposition while making it harder for Labour to take union cash isn't in usual consensual spirit of party funding.

I haven't seen anything in that 'usual consensual spirit of party funding' emanate from the Tories ...

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:21 pm

ephemerid wrote:
HindleA wrote:Two seconds on decimating income of the unstated sick/disabled

Pedant Alert!!!!!!!
It should have been three seconds. One for each decimation.
WRAG rate has been cut by a third. It's going to kill people.

I watched a bit of the debate but gave up very quickly.

Frank Effing Field displaying his ignorance yet again by asking Gidiot about future tax credits when they will be abolished by then thanks to Universal Credit.
I don't necessarily expect most MPs to know this - although they should, given the 9 to 11 million people who will be affected - but the chair of the W&P Select Committee?
An hour ago, he tweeted that he is pleased about "the massive u-turn" on tax credits. Yeah, great. Gidiot's taking it from Housing Benefit and sick people instead.

Ye Gods.

------------------------------------

On a lighter note.....for the first time since I got out of hospital, I've had a bath in my swanky new bathroom (been too weak to get out until now) and it was FABULOUS. Candles, scented oils, the works. Absolute heaven. Ephie, thy name is Ms.Crinkly.

I love you, Ephemerid.
Please take baths and heal and get well.

xx
cJA

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:23 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:
pk1 wrote:
Rebecca wrote: Blimey PK,whatever is wrong with you?Seriously.
Obviously,you are very unhappy with the ftn community,well,fair enough.
But what do you possibly gain from lurking here?Then dashing in for a nasty little swipe,then off again.
Wouldn't a cup of tea and a biscuit be more fun?
It would be like me reading the Sun(Would rather chew my own arms off)in order to bitch about it later.What's the point?
Nobody suggested that you were spoofing rebecca riots,what's with the ego?
Whats up Rebecca ? Didn't you see Refitmans instruction for me to post my comment here & not to 'snipe' on twitter ?

AFAIK this remains an open forum where everybody used to be welcomed however, it clearly has evolved into a bit of an echo chamber where dissenting views are unwelcome.

As for your nasty little swipe about my ego - again, you have chosen to misrepresent me. Because I pointed out how wrong often the assumption is when every new graun a/c must be Hugo, the natural progression for those short of critical thinking skills, would have been to accuse me so I was acting preemptively.
This saddens me.

There was indeed a bit of a jump to the assumption that the clone RR account was Hugo, but this came only a few days after the 'Roger0Thornhill' incident where posting style, voice and the pop-up/shut down cycle were such that it was extremely likely to have been Hugo, and sparked the worry that he was going to start a campaign of FTN clones. FWIW I apologise for making the assumption. That said, I used to have a lot of time for Hugo but he systematically wore that out.

I'm sorry you've lost faith in FTN so comprehensively. As others pointed out yesterday there is a variety of viewpoint here - I suspect if we were the echo chamber people kept saying we are, we would not have the frequent fallings out. I wish you'd reconsider but I understand if things have gone too far.

Agreed, Robert. Thank you.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:24 pm

Owen Smith ‏@OwenSmith_MP 11m11 minutes ago
Didn't hear Osborne mention the cut to Housing Benefit - capping rates in line with Local Housing Allowance - a cut of £.5Bn by 2020

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:25 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:In fact, **** it, I'm not hanging around here if I'm just going to get tarred with the 'Corbyn cultist' brush on social media. This was meant to be a haven, I can't be bothered if it's just going to turn into Guardian mk2.

IMO there are another set of cultists - the ones who think all Corbyn supporters are mindless fanatics.

Remember the days when it was people on the right who used to fight like cats in a sack and would cross a busy road for the express purposes of shooting themselves in the foot? I miss that.

Please don't go.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:25 pm

Sam Coates Times ‏@SamCoatesTimes 1m1 minute ago
Can Osborne get Labour funding cuts (via short money) through when it must go through Commons Estimates Committee where no Tory Majority?

I hope not.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:30 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:From Andrew Sparrow ...
Small print alert: Average earnings revised downwards

And the OBR report also shows that average earnings have been revised downwards for the next five years (by 0.2% in 2016, then 0.2%, then 0.3%, then 0.4%, and then 0.4%).
Hows that 'higher wage' economy going then George?

Not to mention that quite a bit of your spending review relies on tax increases of one sort or another ....

Suddenly found out that it's not acceptable to do your ideological state shrinking entirely through spending cuts?

(my bold)

Yes, and there it is on Sparrows' blog, earnings revised downwards for the next five years.
Tory government are so hopelessly bad at leadership, so wretched at creating a safe, secure, prospering country, it's hard not to despond. I knew the morning of May 8, 2015. I wish I were wrong, I really do. I'd be fine with being wrong. If all the people and country could be safe and prosperous with Tory government, I'd be happy, that's fine.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:31 pm

ephemerid wrote:
RobertSnozers wrote:In fact, **** it, I'm not hanging around here if I'm just going to get tarred with the 'Corbyn cultist' brush on social media. This was meant to be a haven, I can't be bothered if it's just going to turn into Guardian mk2.

IMO there are another set of cultists - the ones who think all Corbyn supporters are mindless fanatics.

Remember the days when it was people on the right who used to fight like cats in a sack and would cross a busy road for the express purposes of shooting themselves in the foot? I miss that.

Please don't go.

Please don't go.

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:37 pm

citizenJA wrote:
ephemerid wrote:
RobertSnozers wrote:In fact, **** it, I'm not hanging around here if I'm just going to get tarred with the 'Corbyn cultist' brush on social media. This was meant to be a haven, I can't be bothered if it's just going to turn into Guardian mk2.

IMO there are another set of cultists - the ones who think all Corbyn supporters are mindless fanatics.

Remember the days when it was people on the right who used to fight like cats in a sack and would cross a busy road for the express purposes of shooting themselves in the foot? I miss that.

Please don't go.
Please don't go.

Bugger. This *is* an echo chamber.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:38 pm

Owen Smith ‏@OwenSmith_MP 2m2 minutes ago
Owen Smith Retweeted Sam Coates Times
Here's a challenge for you, Sam: try and find an independent expert who thinks that's going to happen #goodluck

Sam Coates TimesVerified account
‏@SamCoatesTimes
More important than ever government gets Universal Credit working by the end of the Parliament, after today's tax credit decision.

Liking Owen Smith more and more.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:41 pm

The Government doesn't even claim it will,now 2021.

seeingclearly · Post by **seeingclearly** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:41 pm

I was right about the disregard on TCs, that has not been reversed, so stands at £2500 down from £5000.

Post by **refitman** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:43 pm

Small print alert: Not all tax credit cuts reversed

Not all of the tax credit cuts announced in the summer are being abandoned. The Treasury is still going ahead with a cut to the “income rise disregard” - the amount of extra a tax credit claimant can earn before losing benefits. In July Osborne announced that this was being cut from £5,000 to £2,500. That cut still applies, and it raises £170m.

Post by **refitman** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:44 pm

@SC - snap!

gilsey · Post by **gilsey** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 4:47 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:In fact, **** it, I'm not hanging around here if I'm just going to get tarred with the 'Corbyn cultist' brush on social media. This was meant to be a haven, I can't be bothered if it's just going to turn into Guardian mk2.

IMO there are another set of cultists - the ones who think all Corbyn supporters are mindless fanatics.

Remember the days when it was people on the right who used to fight like cats in a sack and would cross a busy road for the express purposes of shooting themselves in the foot? I miss that.

Those days will be with us again soon enough when the EU referendum comes round.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 5:06 pm

yahyah wrote:
HindleA wrote:
ohsocynical wrote: And it wasn't classed as a particularly severe winter or so I understand.
It has to be because of fuel costs. Nothing's changed on that front has it?

They are saying a major factor was the flu virus and a less effective vaccine.
& cutting the budget for public service ads to remind at risk groups to go for their (even less than effective) vaccine ?

When I was still working, over ten years ago, our practice, and others in Gloucestershire sent letters to pensioners inviting them for their vaccinations. Are they still doing so now ?

Ours never have. They used to open up the surgery on a Saturday morning in October and invite everyone to come along via word of mouth and notices in the surgery. The queues were huge and having to stand for anything up to an hour in the cold wasn't well recieved. It was like you see in films with army recruits filing through and having their jabs.
Not sure now how they go about it.

Mr Ohso was right in the middle of the bladder treatment, so we missed out. I asked at the chemist, and we booked in for the next day...The pharmacist did it.
It was quicker than having to book the nurse to do it at the docs.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 5:12 pm

yahyah wrote:Oh So ....did you mean to thank the stalker ? Presume Rusty's link is not good news for the NHS.

Well, his post was polite, and we're always posting links that make us despair so I couldn't see any reason not to thank him.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 5:20 pm

Here's the SchoolsWeek bit on implications for education.

http://schoolsweek.co.uk/comprehensive- ... ces-grant/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This bit:

The Education Services Grant is going to be scrapped
This will save £600m, but isn’t good news for councils.

The detail says that a consultation will be held on the reduction of “statutory duties” of local authorities. Given only a few remain – such as admissions and safeguarding – it is tough to see what this reduction will involve.

Oh, it's quite clear from the targeted onslaught against LAs over the past five years and the rhetoric of "council-run schools" and the "shackles of the local authority" that they don't want LAs anywhere near education.

In five years:
1. Every school will have become an academy whether they like it or not. The funding review will recommend all schools to be funded directly from the DfE
2. LAs won't have a single education function left
3. Every duty they have now will be run by Regional Schools Commissioners who will start to empire-build and become the new middle tier.
4. Parent governors won't exist. They're trying to ease them out right now.

The centralization of education will be complete - everything run by the DfE or their selected representatives.

How on earth do Tories think this in any way acceptable?

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 5:31 pm

Those tax credits which got out of control under Gordo.

Rising from £23.5bn now to £29.1bn in 2020.That's quite a rise.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 5:37 pm

Moody's:

“We still believe that the government will manage to gradually improve its public finances and bring the public debt on a declining trend. That said, the OBR now forecasts a deficit of 2.5% of GDP in 2016/17, compared to 2% of GDP just eight months ago. This is partly due to the statistical reclassification of the housing associations into the public sector, but it also reflects higher departmental spending as some of the planned spending cuts, in particular the tax credit cuts, have been withdrawn.”

So where's the extra money come from? There's more debt and a bigger deficit surely?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Wed 25 Nov, 2015 5:37 pm

: Autumn Statement Impact on Family Incomes.jpg (123.38 KiB) Viewed 6324 times

Labour DWP Team ‏@LabourDWP 12m12 minutes ago
Labour DWP Team Retweeted Torsten Bell
By 2020, some working families on Universal Credit will be over £3,000 a year worse off

Torsten Bell
‏@TorstenBell
As promised @resfoundation impact of Summer Budget/Autumn Statement on incomes for different family types in 2020