Monday 3rd November 2014

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 6:18 am

Morning all.
So here we go with the Milibashing.
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehous ... king-ship/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With regards to the tax breakdown and the naked attempt to stoke the politics of selfishness, there needs to be a strong push back over this.

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 7:53 am

StephenDolan wrote:Morning all.
So here we go with the Milibashing.
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehous ... king-ship/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With regards to the tax breakdown and the naked attempt to stoke the politics of selfishness, there needs to be a strong push back over this.

One response would be to renew calls for Osborne to make public his own tax situation and whether he was indeed a beneficiary of Tory tax changes.

Oh and good morning.

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 7:56 am

Remember this stuff

I earn too little to pay 50p tax, claims Osborne (who owns a £3m home and a slice of family firm)
George Osborne earns £134,565 as Chancellor - just over £15,000 short of 50p tax threshold
He rents out Notting Hill family home while living in 10 Downing Street flat
Osborne has 15% stake in family wallpaper business which is worth an estimated £4million

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -rate.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 8:10 am

Also seeing as VAT and similar are excluded, how have these calculations actually been done?

How does the Treasury know that % of income tax has gone on "welfare"?

Lonewolfie · Post by **Lonewolfie** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 8:17 am

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:Remember this stuff
I earn too little to pay 50p tax, claims Osborne (who owns a £3m home and a slice of family firm)
George Osborne earns £134,565 as Chancellor - just over £15,000 short of 50p tax threshold
He rents out Notting Hill family home while living in 10 Downing Street flat
Osborne has 15% stake in family wallpaper business which is worth an estimated £4million
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -rate.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Don't forget he's also Heir Apparent to this...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Peter_ ... th_Baronet

...directly descended from the original 'toraidhes' - http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/defin ... glish/Tory - and, I'm sure, continues the 'highwayman' tradition...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ge ... ory-422644

Ooops...morning all

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 8:31 am

Morning.

'MPs to escape expenses investigations after paperwork destroyed by Parliament
House of Commons authorities have destroyed all evidence of MPs expenses' claims prior to 2010, meaning end of official investigations into scandal'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... ament.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

How very convenient.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 8:38 am

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:Also seeing as VAT and similar are excluded, how have these calculations actually been done?

How does the Treasury know that % of income tax has gone on "welfare"?

Some analysis here.
http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2014 ... naccurate/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It looks like they've included personal social services under welfare ,I'm sure if that is the case the media will highlight that as being misleading in the extreme.

Lonewolfie · Post by **Lonewolfie** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 8:43 am

Some dodgy reporting around the CSA this morning - I'm not going to link for the sake of decency - Lawson in the Mail says Mays' mistake was to instigate the inquiry in the first place, 'cos. like, y'know, it's mission impossible and all that...and just a quote from the Torygraph from a piece on Friday...

: tel0211.PNG (42.93 KiB) Viewed 24668 times

...in this case, the author ran with the story that Woolf resigned because of the meeting with Survivors (which she didn't attend) and the unanimous vote of 'no confidence'...who are the survivors to have an opinion? Written, editorially sanctioned and posted before the revelation that Woolf was ready to resign at the beginning of the week - which, IIRC, was kind of the position of Dodgy Dave....2 hours before the announcement (of Woolf standing down) OGRFG states that she's the best person for the job...even though the Home Office (and by extension, the necessary people in Government 'who need to know') would/should have known - so who let OGRFG make a false statement? Anyone would think they weren't fully in control of the situation. I'd laugh if it wasn't so harrowing, callous and hope-crushing for the Survivors.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 9:03 am

The Independent's list of questions that need to be answered about Woolf includes:

'Why was any mention of Colin Tucker, a struck-off solicitor and Woolf’s steward as Lord Mayor of London, also omitted?'

Google Colin Tucker & Woolf and or 'magic circle scandal' [which there is 'no shred of evidence' to support we are told].

It feels like many games have been played, who knows what's true or not ?

Lonewolfie · Post by **Lonewolfie** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 9:36 am

yahyah wrote:The Independent's list of questions that need to be answered about Woolf includes:

'Why was any mention of Colin Tucker, a struck-off solicitor and Woolf’s steward as Lord Mayor of London, also omitted?'

Google Colin Tucker & Woolf and or 'magic circle scandal' [which there is 'no shred of evidence' to support we are told].

It feels like many games have been played, who knows what's true or not ?

Thanks Yah Yah, but no thanks!...as I did some reading around that last week (Is there a 'slightly queasy' emoticon?)

...but as I linked before, I think the Scottish Government are finally taking it seriously (with implications, of course, for cross-border enquiries)...

http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile/ne ... e.25708457

...although, as you mention 'no shred of evidence to support it' (Magic Circle) - there's always the possibility that Shredders Syndrome has spread

...

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scott ... ns-4552535

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 9:42 am

Thanks Wolfie.

I have to be careful what I read as being a survivor of abuse [by a relative, which had awful fallout in terms of family dynamics, continuing even now] too much can bring up feelings of powerlessness and anger.

What I do know is how powerful is the urge to keep things under wraps, even within a family, the need to protect the myth of the happy functioning unit and woe betide the one who breaks silence.

Multiply that up, to organised rings of abusers and people with political legal power and it is horrifying to imagine the impact on those abused, both then as victims and now as survivors who may never see justice prevail.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 9:43 am

Ian Dunt retweeted
Jonathan Haynes @JonathanHaynes · 4h 4 hours ago
So the 14-year-old girl says Ed Miliband was only man in a suit to stop: and gave her 60p-70p. She only gets £5 a day http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -stop.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

She also says she would vote for him if she could after his act of kindness.

Morning all.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 9:44 am

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Ian Dunt retweeted
Jonathan Haynes @JonathanHaynes · 4h 4 hours ago
So the 14-year-old girl says Ed Miliband was only man in a suit to stop: and gave her 60p-70p. She only gets £5 a day http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -stop.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
She also says she would vote for him if she could after his act of kindness.

Morning all.

So much for all those media pieces claiming/asking if Ed only gave her a two pence piece.

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 9:56 am

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Ian Dunt retweeted
Jonathan Haynes @JonathanHaynes · 4h 4 hours ago
So the 14-year-old girl says Ed Miliband was only man in a suit to stop: and gave her 60p-70p. She only gets £5 a day http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -stop.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
She also says she would vote for him if she could after his act of kindness.

Morning all.

Bacon sandwich photo included, Ding!

frightful_oik · Post by **frightful_oik** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:08 am

If anyone's at a loose end, 'Start the Week' this morning is worth a listen. Neo-Lib economics gets a bashing with only Anne McElvoy, the presenter, desperately trying to defend it.

Morning all.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:17 am

George Eaton @georgeeaton · 24m 24 minutes ago
Michael Gove "hates his job", writes @montie in @timesredbox http://thetim.es/10i9WJw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good. No sympathy whatsoever.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:18 am

Bad. And just what you'd expect from this lot.

George Eaton @georgeeaton · 33m 33 minutes ago
New tax statements showing welfare as largest chunk of spending (but not showing break-down) a clear attempt to soften voters up for cuts.

Tim Montgomerie @montie · 1h 1 hour ago
Photo gallery of the personal tax summaries that 24 million people are receiving from today via @hmtreasury https://www.flickr.com/photos/hmtreasur ... 350598405/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:27 am

Thanks for asking. I apologise for the silence but I've had the black dog snapping at my heels for the last few days. The worst for ten years.
Didn't read a paper, listen or watch the news or even start up the computer. Spent the whole time reading.
Not shook him off yet but I'm fighting it.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:29 am

rebeccariots2 wrote:
George Eaton @georgeeaton · 24m 24 minutes ago
Michael Gove "hates his job", writes @montie in @timesredbox http://thetim.es/10i9WJw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Good. No sympathy whatsoever.

No tax payer's money to spend.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:29 am

AndrewSparrow @AndrewSparrow · 23h 23 hours ago
“@DPMcBride: Jim Murphy or Death: that's the choice for Scottish Labour. My latest article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/artic ... Union.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …” > Good read

Yes it is - a very good read. McBride has some lovely similes and phrases ...

... The big divisions are clear: Glasgow versus Edinburgh. Catholic versus Protestant. Westminster MPs versus Holyrood MSPs. Beneath those are thousands of tiny but bitter feuds, built up over decades.
Managing the intricacies of that infighting is like working out the seating plan at a mafia wedding...

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:30 am

ohsocynical wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
George Eaton @georgeeaton · 24m 24 minutes ago
Michael Gove "hates his job", writes @montie in @timesredbox http://thetim.es/10i9WJw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Good. No sympathy whatsoever.
No tax payer's money to spend.

Welcome back Ohso. We'd begun to worry about you a bit. Hope all is well.

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:31 am

rebeccariots2 wrote:Bad. And just what you'd expect from this lot.

George Eaton @georgeeaton · 33m 33 minutes ago
New tax statements showing welfare as largest chunk of spending (but not showing break-down) a clear attempt to soften voters up for cuts.

Tim Montgomerie @montie · 1h 1 hour ago
Photo gallery of the personal tax summaries that 24 million people are receiving from today via @hmtreasury https://www.flickr.com/photos/hmtreasur ... 350598405/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

Red meat to the Tory press.

Disgraceful that it can get down to the Street Lights level but Pension, Housing benefit etc can't be itemised.

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:31 am

ohsocynical wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
George Eaton @georgeeaton · 24m 24 minutes ago
Michael Gove "hates his job", writes @montie in @timesredbox http://thetim.es/10i9WJw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Good. No sympathy whatsoever.
No tax payer's money to spend.

Hello! I've been concerned - good to hear from you. I hope you continue to improve. Take care.

Good morning, everyone.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:34 am

ohsocynical wrote:Thanks for asking. I apologise for the silence but I've had the black dog snapping at my heels for the last few days. The worst for ten years.
Didn't read a paper, listen or watch the news or even start up the computer. Spent the whole time reading.
Not shook him off yet but I'm fighting it.

Ah - hadn't seen this when I responded to your previous post. Keep tending to yourself and working your way through and past the black dog. Can be good to take time away from the news onslaught - especially when it is as depressing as it has been for a while now. Very wise.

gilsey · Post by **gilsey** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:35 am

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Ian Dunt retweeted
Jonathan Haynes @JonathanHaynes · 4h 4 hours ago
So the 14-year-old girl says Ed Miliband was only man in a suit to stop: and gave her 60p-70p. She only gets £5 a day http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -stop.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
She also says she would vote for him if she could after his act of kindness.

Morning all.

Ed was quoted saying he'd given her all the change in his pocket, he didn't actually know how much it was.
Sorry, should have linked to where I read that.

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:36 am

ohsocynical wrote:Thanks for asking. I apologise for the silence but I've had the black dog snapping at my heels for the last few days. The worst for ten years.
Didn't read a paper, listen or watch the news or even start up the computer. Spent the whole time reading.
Not shook him off yet but I'm fighting it.

Good to hear from you

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:39 am

Morning all.

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:Remember this stuff
I earn too little to pay 50p tax, claims Osborne (who owns a £3m home and a slice of family firm)
George Osborne earns £134,565 as Chancellor - just over £15,000 short of 50p tax threshold
He rents out Notting Hill family home while living in 10 Downing Street flat
Osborne has 15% stake in family wallpaper business which is worth an estimated £4million
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -rate.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Unless Osborne is the most philanthropic (or incompetent, which is a possibility) landlord he has to be earning more than £15k from renting out a place in Notting Hill; so the only way he could not have benefitted from that tax change is through the use of some creative accounting. We will never see those tax returns.

Further to the conversation yesterday about the Virgin Galactic crash, there is a piece in today's Indy quoting a "rocket expert" who that she has been warning for years about the danger of these engines, and that this was an accident waiting to happen.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 34068.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sadly (for her credibility anyway) the engines and fuel tanks have now been recovered intact. It is beginning to look as though the crash was caused by an early and inappropriate deployment of the 'tail feathers' which, at the speed they were travelling at, would have inevitably caused the craft to breakup; whether this was down to computer malfunction or pilot error is now the area of concentration.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/virgin-g ... 1414972644" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:39 am

Calls for Minister for Portsmouth role to be axed as ‘job is redundant’ (News)

I assume he's getting extra money for assuming the title? Anyway, relatively informative read - at least by the News' lamentable standards.

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/local/ ... -1-6393398

DonutHingeParty · Post by **DonutHingeParty** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:40 am

George Osborne; why not save 5m by just sticking a hyperlink at the bottom of people's P60?
http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/year_ ... 13#ukgs302" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pensions:19%
Health Care: 17%
Education (Central) 4%
Education (Local) 8%
Defence 6%
Welfare (Central) 7%
(Of which unemployment is 1% of overall total)
Welfare (Local) 8%
Protection (Central) 2%
Protection (Local) 3%
Transport (Central) 1%
Transport (Local) 2%
General Government (Central) 2%
General Government (Local) 1%
Other Spending (Central) 8% - Biggest ticket item is Accounting Adjustments - 3% of total budget!
Other Spending (Local) 6% - Biggest ticket item is Accounting Adjustments - 3% of total budget!
Interest 8%

Of course, having made it blatantly clear that pensions are not to be considered part of "welfare" I expect not to hear any figure larger than 110 billion mentioned in the future.

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:48 am

Have we done this? Stephen Brien calling IDS

http://politicalscrapbook.net/2014/11/s ... al-credit/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

stephen-brien-undermines-duncan-smith-on-universal-credit

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:56 am

StephenDolan wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:Bad. And just what you'd expect from this lot.

George Eaton @georgeeaton · 33m 33 minutes ago
New tax statements showing welfare as largest chunk of spending (but not showing break-down) a clear attempt to soften voters up for cuts.

Tim Montgomerie @montie · 1h 1 hour ago
Photo gallery of the personal tax summaries that 24 million people are receiving from today via @hmtreasury https://www.flickr.com/photos/hmtreasur ... 350598405/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
Red meat to the Tory press.

Disgraceful that it can get down to the Street Lights level but Pension, Housing benefit etc can't be itemised.

I'm confused about the street lights. I thought they were provided by local government via council tax.

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 10:58 am

Willow904 wrote:
StephenDolan wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:Bad. And just what you'd expect from this lot.

Red meat to the Tory press.

Disgraceful that it can get down to the Street Lights level but Pension, Housing benefit etc can't be itemised.
I'm confused about the street lights. I thought they were provided by local government via council tax.

It's bound to all unravel isn't it?

At least I hope so!

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 11:27 am

After the are they, aren't they discussions about whether there is much activity in Rochester & Strood, have a look at this pic from the weekend. Looks to me as though Labour are ignoring the seat.......not.

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 11:29 am

pk1 wrote:After the are they, aren't they discussions about whether there is much activity in Rochester & Strood, have a look at this pic from the weekend. Looks to me as though Labour are ignoring the seat.......not.

Oh please please please.
UKIP, Labour and Tories third.

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 11:30 am

This doesn't surprise me

BFIELD
After the disaster (IMO) of suggesting to readers that they vote LD in 2010, the Guardian seems to be positioning itself to recommend the Greens at the next GE

Post stolen from UKPR.

@DHP - good to see you on UKPR

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 11:32 am

Latest Populus VI: Lab 35 (+1), Con 34 (=), LD 9 (+1), UKIP 13 (-2), Oth 9 (=).

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 11:32 am

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:
Willow904 wrote:
StephenDolan wrote: Red meat to the Tory press.

Disgraceful that it can get down to the Street Lights level but Pension, Housing benefit etc can't be itemised.
I'm confused about the street lights. I thought they were provided by local government via council tax.
It's bound to all unravel isn't it?

At least I hope so!

What people really need to know about are government policy changes that effect them, yet on these matters communication has been inadequate or entirely missing. I'm a bit huffy about this because the first thing I knew that the tax disc on my husbands car wouldn't be transferred with it when we moved it into my name (he'd just bought a new one) was when he got a refund for the remaining tax. Luckily this alerted me to the fact the car I was now driving was no longer taxed. If I'd bought it from someone else I'd still be driving around in an untaxed car none the wiser because I'd failed to read the tiny piece of paper hiding inside the new log book I'd glanced at and then filed away. I then tried to tax my car online, only to be informed that I couldn't (not sure if it was just me or if the site wasn't working for anyone). I then had to borrow my husband's car and drive to the post office to do it. I now love the local independent co-op which recently refurbished its in-store post office and extended its Saturday opening hours (thank you!) and the lovely lady in the post office (double thank you!) and hate this penny pinching, poorly thought through and rushed policy making government with a vengeance.

And yes, I did know they were getting rid of tax discs, but the non-transferable bit didn't really come across in the press and seriously, since when did knowing how to comply with a new tax law depend on people happening to read an article about it in the paper?!

So now I've got that off my chest, my point is, if the government is going to write to every household in the country about things they don't particularly need to know, perhaps they could do the same for things they do need to know about.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 11:34 am

How Gov.derived figures

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ax-summary" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As regards welfare,basically "social protection" minus pensions.

Which includes about twenty nine billion annually on personal social services

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 11:34 am

I have mixed feelings about bigging up the Greens.

In the sort term they might take some votes that could otherwise go Labour, but could a strengthened Green party help "nudge" politics away from the right?

DonutHingeParty · Post by **DonutHingeParty** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 11:39 am

pk1 wrote:This doesn't surprise me

BFIELD
After the disaster (IMO) of suggesting to readers that they vote LD in 2010, the Guardian seems to be positioning itself to recommend the Greens at the next GE
Post stolen from UKPR.

@DHP - good to see you on UKPR

I've been hiding my face in shame since I mistakenly wrote Rotherham instead of Rochester in my maiden post.

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 11:41 am

DonutHingeParty wrote:
pk1 wrote:This doesn't surprise me

BFIELD
After the disaster (IMO) of suggesting to readers that they vote LD in 2010, the Guardian seems to be positioning itself to recommend the Greens at the next GE
Post stolen from UKPR.

@DHP - good to see you on UKPR
I've been hiding my face in shame since I mistakenly wrote Rotherham instead of Rochester in my maiden post.

DonutHingeParty · Post by **DonutHingeParty** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 11:49 am

AnatolyKasparov wrote:I have mixed feelings about bigging up the Greens.

In the sort term they might take some votes that could otherwise go Labour, but could a strengthened Green party help "nudge" politics away from the right?

To some, Labour will always be the party of Industry, dark satanic mills, unreconstructed beer drinking unionists and factories pumping out thick clouds of smoke.

In areas such as (my stomping ground)the South West, taking the "protection of the land" fight to the right by supporting the Greens can only be a good thing. Labour used to do well here until the SDP split, and then the Liberals hoovered up a lot of the progressive element. They will probably return in time, but at the moment people will be voting on an anti-Tory/UKIP ticket. Remember, a farmer might own 50 acres of land, but they still only get one vote.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 12:02 pm

"Welfare" as in non pension benefits overstated by at least twenty per cent in personal tax statements-Declan Gaffney

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 12:14 pm

The truth as ever is hard to disseminate.24 million propaganda sheets,journalists either too lazy or complicit in the farce versus a few left that care about such things and can be bothered to investigate.Bad times indeed.

TechnicalEphemera · Post by **TechnicalEphemera** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 12:18 pm

pk1 wrote:This doesn't surprise me

BFIELD
After the disaster (IMO) of suggesting to readers that they vote LD in 2010, the Guardian seems to be positioning itself to recommend the Greens at the next GE
Post stolen from UKPR.

@DHP - good to see you on UKPR

Continual Green puff pieces written with evidence free enthusiasm. But I think this is really just an attempt to suppress the Labour vote.

If the Guardian suggested voting Green their readership would laugh at them, as it would effectively be endorsing a Tory government.

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 12:20 pm

Burnham will say that there will be a vote on Labour MP Clive Efford’s bill on 21 November – the day after the byelection – which will be heavily backed by the leadership. This would exempt the NHS from the EU-US trade treaty known as TTIP, repeal the ‘section 75’ rules that force compulsory tendering of all NHS contracts, remove the freedom that allows NHS hospitals to earn up to 49% of their income from treating private patients, and restore the secretary of state’s responsibility for the NHS.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... are_btn_tw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 12:26 pm

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/20 ... ses-accept" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

coalition-s-flawed-academy-programme-political-gift-labour-refuses-accept

TechnicalEphemera · Post by **TechnicalEphemera** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 12:29 pm

TheGrimSqueaker wrote:Morning all.

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:Remember this stuff
I earn too little to pay 50p tax, claims Osborne (who owns a £3m home and a slice of family firm)
George Osborne earns £134,565 as Chancellor - just over £15,000 short of 50p tax threshold
He rents out Notting Hill family home while living in 10 Downing Street flat
Osborne has 15% stake in family wallpaper business which is worth an estimated £4million
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -rate.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Unless Osborne is the most philanthropic (or incompetent, which is a possibility) landlord he has to be earning more than £15k from renting out a place in Notting Hill; so the only way he could not have benefitted from that tax change is through the use of some creative accounting. We will never see those tax returns.

Further to the conversation yesterday about the Virgin Galactic crash, there is a piece in today's Indy quoting a "rocket expert" who that she has been warning for years about the danger of these engines, and that this was an accident waiting to happen.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 34068.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sadly (for her credibility anyway) the engines and fuel tanks have now been recovered intact. It is beginning to look as though the crash was caused by an early and inappropriate deployment of the 'tail feathers' which, at the speed they were travelling at, would have inevitably caused the craft to breakup; whether this was down to computer malfunction or pilot error is now the area of concentration.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/virgin-g ... 1414972644" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are a lot of amateur rocket experts talking about this. I am not sure who is credible (it all feels a bit 1920s aviation).

The one thing this isn't is pilot error. One of the crew moved one of two levers that deploy the feathering mechanism (which was unusual, either an error or a test).

However, the second control wasn't touched and interlocks should have been engaged to prevent the system deploying. This looks a bit like the Lauda Air 767 that was lost due to uncommanded thrust reverser deployment in cruise.

But again caution, did the system deploy because of a failed interlock and faulty control or was it structural failure (for example vibrations somehow causing it to fully or partially deploy). There was some suggestion of an engine restart which adds something to the mix.

Incidentally just because it didn't blow up this time doesn't mean the engine has a clean bill of health.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 12:29 pm

AngryAsWell wrote:
Burnham will say that there will be a vote on Labour MP Clive Efford’s bill on 21 November – the day after the byelection – which will be heavily backed by the leadership. This would exempt the NHS from the EU-US trade treaty known as TTIP, repeal the ‘section 75’ rules that force compulsory tendering of all NHS contracts, remove the freedom that allows NHS hospitals to earn up to 49% of their income from treating private patients, and restore the secretary of state’s responsibility for the NHS.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... are_btn_tw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All really good - and essential - components to redressing some of the wrongs, nay disasters, of this government's doing and help protect the NHS from some of the most imminent threats. How will the Lib Dems vote I wonder?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Mon 03 Nov, 2014 12:31 pm

AndrewSparrow @AndrewSparrow · 39s 39 seconds ago
No 10 says Cameron wants to stop free movement being an 'unqualified right' in EU - full summary of lobby briefing - http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014 ... ome-office" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

He's entered into cloud cuckoo land now.