FlyTheNest

A DWP spokeswoman said it was “nonsense” to suggest that the end of the standalone child poverty unit meant the government was not committed to its work.

She said: “We are absolutely committed to tackling poverty and in the new year we will publish a social justice paper outlining our plans for the years ahead.

“Work is the best way out of poverty and there are record levels of low unemployment. By increasing the national living wage and taking millions of people out of paying any income tax, we are ensuring it always pays to be in work.”

tinybgoat wrote:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12 ... r-figures/


I don't think £30 million is particularly significant, compared to total NHS costs, but think it represents the recoverable costs (ie. treatment billed for by hospitals).
Confusingly, the article gives a yearly figure of £30 million, but then gives accumulated debt over 4 years for individual hospitals.
I suppose if it was trying to cause trouble it could have highlighted unrecoverable costs instead.
https://fullfact.org/health/health-tour ... -who-pays/

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... zero-hours

working-homeless-britain-economy-minimum-wage-zero-hours

Britain’s shame: the people who are homeless, even though they’re in work
Aditya Chakrabortty

Farage blames Merkel for the German truck attack

Farage also attacked Brendan Cox, the widower of Jo Cox. Nick Ferrari, the presenter, asked Farage about Cox’s Twitter response to what Farage said this morning.

Chris Bryant MP
✔
@RhonddaBryant

The sheer nastiness of Farage sometimes takes my breath away. " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
10:03 AM - 20 Dec 2016

27 27 Retweets
33 (Politics Live, Guardian)

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:Nigel Farage in unbelievable attack on Brendan Cox for backing organisations that "pursue violent and very undemocratic means".

Willow904 wrote:

tinybgoat wrote:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12 ... r-figures/


I don't think £30 million is particularly significant, compared to total NHS costs, but think it represents the recoverable costs (ie. treatment billed for by hospitals).
Confusingly, the article gives a yearly figure of £30 million, but then gives accumulated debt over 4 years for individual hospitals.
I suppose if it was trying to cause trouble it could have highlighted unrecoverable costs instead.
https://fullfact.org/health/health-tour ... -who-pays/

We spend something like £12bn in overseas aid to help foreigners, but resent a mere £30m spent on making ill people better? That the British public swallow this bull designed to create false reasons to dismantle our free at the point of use universal healthcare is so depressing. It's not like these people are all spivs or scammers, they must all be in genuine need of medical care or they wouldn't have received any in the first place and we want to ruin our universal healthcare system for ourselves in order to achieve the ability to do what, exactly? Turn them away if they can't pay? Not even US hospitals do that. I wonder how much money British tourists owe to US hospitals? No doubt US hospitals pursue outstanding bills far more aggressively than UK ones, but if people don't have the money they will simply end up going bankrupt and the hospital still doesn't get its money. Indeed, I believe hospital debt and the money futilely spent on trying to recover it is part of why the cost per capita of US healthcare is so high. We surely save far, far more by not wasting time and money on bureaucracy (or at least did before the internal market and privately outsourced services) than we can gain by knowing someone is liable for payment before we treat them anyway because no civilised country, not even the US, would turn away someone in genuine medical need.

Bloody Tories.

PorFavor wrote:We're very snappy, this morning!

StephenDolan wrote:I think he enjoys the notoriety tbh. Not interested in converting others to his cause.

The media need to stop normalising him. Don't ask for his bigoted opinion. The interviewer/booker will have a good idea what NF will say.

Don't allow the terms of discussion to be set by his ilk.

Merry Xmas Everybody
Are you stranding the commuters on the line?
Are you striking on the railways all the time?
Do you wave an Aslef banner?
Are you in the RMT?
Do you worship Arthur Scargill just like me?
So here we go, let’s wreck Christmas,
Make sure no one’s having fun,
Look to the miners’ strike,
We’ve only just begun.
Are they waiting for the family to arrive?
Do they need an operation to survive?
Do they have to use the railway,
So they can get to work?
Call it off, you say? Don’t be a berk.
So here we go, let’s wreck Christmas,
Make sure no one’s having fun,
Look to the good old days,
We’ve only just begun.
So here we go, let's wreck Christmas, make sure no one's having fun
So here we go, let's wreck Christmas, make sure no one's having fun
Are you painting Labour slogans on the wall?
Are you hoping that the Government will fall?
If you want a revolution
Let’s start with Southern Rail
Sign up to Momentum, we can’t fail.
So here we go, let’s wreck Christmas,
Make sure no one’s having fun,
Look to the Eighties, now,
We’ve only just begun.

Turning back to Nigel Farage for a moment, Hope Not Hate has issued a response. It said in a statement:

We are aware of a serious and potentially libellous statement made about Hope Not Hate by Nigel Farage on LBC radio this morning.

We have no idea on what Mr Farage bases his outrageous comments. Hope Not Hate has a proud history of campaigning against extremism and hatred.

We will not be making any further comment until we have had the opportunity to consult with our lawyers. (Politics Live, Guardian)

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Becoming a bit of a habit, this

PorFavor wrote:Surely other political parties are going to condemn Nigel Farage? No?

StephenDolan wrote:

PorFavor wrote:Surely other political parties are going to condemn Nigel Farage? No?

Blimey, haven't Sturgeon or Farron?

Willow904 wrote:We spend something like £12bn in overseas aid to help foreigners, but resent a mere £30m spent on making ill people better? That the British public swallow this bull designed to create false reasons to dismantle our free at the point of use universal healthcare is so depressing. It's not like these people are all spivs or scammers, they must all be in genuine need of medical care or they wouldn't have received any in the first place and we want to ruin our universal healthcare system for ourselves in order to achieve the ability to do what, exactly? Turn them away if they can't pay? Not even US hospitals do that. I wonder how much money British tourists owe to US hospitals? No doubt US hospitals pursue outstanding bills far more aggressively than UK ones, but if people don't have the money they will simply end up going bankrupt and the hospital still doesn't get its money. Indeed, I believe hospital debt and the money futilely spent on trying to recover it is part of why the cost per capita of US healthcare is so high. We surely save far, far more by not wasting time and money on bureaucracy (or at least did before the internal market and privately outsourced services) than we can gain by knowing someone is liable for payment before we treat them anyway because no civilised country, not even the US, would turn away someone in genuine medical need.

Bloody Tories.

yahyah wrote:Morning.

Hope all are well. Have been busy, some friends moving so saying goodbye to them and making some new ones. Also we're taking over the care of a stray cat, a lovely gentlemanly tabby with a big face and long white socks.

Some good news from Wales is that former Plaid leader Lord Elis-Thomas has said he will support Welsh Labour in government for for their term. He's been critical of Leanne Wood and thinks Plaid didn't deal with the negotiations after the Welsh Assembly election well. Now, hopefully, Welsh Labour won't have any problems with getting what they want through the Senedd.

Now, anyone for a slice of Italian amaretto cake ? Homemade and pretty good.

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:Be warned there are five more where that came from!

Notorious criminal John "Goldfinger" Palmer was shot six times in a "contract-style" killing, an inquest has heard.

The 65-year-old was found dead in the garden of his gated home in South Weald in June 2015.

Although Essex Police originally thought he died of natural causes, it emerged he had been shot six times.