FlyTheNest

Ian Dunt retweeted
David Nutt @ProfDavidNutt · 37m 37 minutes ago
I know how Norman Baker feels. Home Office is blind and dismissive of evidence. Sad even a minister couldn't effect a chink of reason.

Mike Smithson retweeted
James Chapman (Mail) @jameschappers · 8h 8 hours ago
After a difficult period #TM4PM will have been done a power of good on Tory backbenches by Norman Baker's pointless resignation

norman smith @BBCNormanS · 9m 9 minutes ago
Theresa May behaves as if the Tories won the last election says @timfarron @BBCr4today

norman smith @BBCNormanS · 10m 10 minutes ago
Norman Baker departure evidence Coalition working well cos only resignation in 4 and a half years says @timfarron @bbcr4today

norman smith @BBCNormanS · 31m 31 minutes ago
Damien Green puts the boot into Norman Baker - He saw himself as a Lib Dem Home secretary on a par with Mrs May @BBCr4today

Rob Marchant @rob_marchant · 30m 30 minutes ago
So farewell then
Norman Baker.
You once wrote a book.
In the end it seems
They really did
Conspire against you.
#bonkers

Angry Reeves berates IDS over 'boorish' attack
https://www.politicshome.com/uk/story/45193/

Online ID 'card' to be launched next month: New system will allow users to store personal data online, file tax returns and apply for driving licences through a single website
Government forced to deny scheme is basically ID cards by the back door
Concerns raised over history of costly official IT projects and data blunders
Coalition government scrapped ID Cards project as 'erosion to civil liberties'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... bsite.html

rebeccariots2 wrote:

Rob Marchant @rob_marchant · 30m 30 minutes ago
So farewell then
Norman Baker.
You once wrote a book.
In the end it seems
They really did
Conspire against you.
#bonkers

DWP orders man to work without pay for company that let him go
John McArthur is sanctioned by jobcentre after refusing ‘forced labour’ at firm where he was previously paid minimum wage (Guardian)

Scandalously low pay should not be the new normal
A living wage is the kind of policy people expect from Labour, but is Ed Miliband letting it slip away?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... d-miliband

The Department of Health plans to crack down on non-English speaking staff

Exclusively for Red Box, YouGov asked the public what they think each of the parties stands for, inviting them to come up with an answer in their own words, writes Stephan Shakespeare. We will look at each party separately over the coming weeks; today we're looking at Labour.

What I found surprising in the responses was that the comments on Labour contain almost no call to bring back something resembling Blairism, not even a hint of it. Among current supporters of Labour, 33 per cent used the word “fairness”, 19 per cent “equality”, and 20 per cent suggested the party was about “ordinary people”, “the workers” or “people like me". The party represents “a better deal for working people” was another typical comment although there was also disappointment that it had moved too far towards the Conservatives.

Among supporters of rival parties, a frequent theme was again regret that Labour had lost its true voice for standing up for ordinary people. A comment from someone who supports the Lib Dems: “It has lost sight of its original working-class values. It stands for winning votes by any means necessary."

Reading people’s own words is a different experience from simply counting the clicks for a pollster’s options. It reminds me that the public is more egalitarian and concerned with fairness than is often supposed by commentators. No one in this sample seemed to hanker for the days of the Blairites.

5. Labour’s proposed supermarket tax would mean higher food prices
- Harry Phibbs, ConservativeHome

rebeccariots2 wrote:

Scandalously low pay should not be the new normal
A living wage is the kind of policy people expect from Labour, but is Ed Miliband letting it slip away?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... d-miliband

Good article. Hideous comments BTL - but to be expected.

Fair pay as a way of reducing poverty and the reliance on benefits / tax credits should be something understood as much more positive than the current situation by most people - surely? Or am I ridiculously naive?

Isn't now - with the HMRC propoganda for the government re tax spending about to arrive on doorsteps - the prime time for Labour to be arguing this case strongly?

I don't have any more info on that so if any of you have a subscription to the Sun, please will you copy & paste or precis it for me ?

rebeccariots2 wrote:

I don't have any more info on that so if any of you have a subscription to the Sun, please will you copy & paste or precis it for me ?

I've just had a toast to mouth fail PK.

Naushabah Khan
‏@naushabahkhan
The campaign in Rochester and #STROOD continues, thanks to everyone who has helped out today. #TogetherWeKhan

pk1 wrote:Good morning.

If you don't already get the free morning email from the Times Red Box, I do recommend doing so.

Today's edition has these two tasty morsels:

The Sun -

The Department of Health plans to crack down on non-English speaking staff

I don't have any more info on that so if any of you have a subscription to the Sun, please will you copy & paste or precis it for me ?

More interestingly is a comment from yougov's Stephan Shakespeare:

Exclusively for Red Box, YouGov asked the public what they think each of the parties stands for, inviting them to come up with an answer in their own words, writes Stephan Shakespeare. We will look at each party separately over the coming weeks; today we're looking at Labour.

What I found surprising in the responses was that the comments on Labour contain almost no call to bring back something resembling Blairism, not even a hint of it. Among current supporters of Labour, 33 per cent used the word “fairness”, 19 per cent “equality”, and 20 per cent suggested the party was about “ordinary people”, “the workers” or “people like me". The party represents “a better deal for working people” was another typical comment although there was also disappointment that it had moved too far towards the Conservatives.

Among supporters of rival parties, a frequent theme was again regret that Labour had lost its true voice for standing up for ordinary people. A comment from someone who supports the Lib Dems: “It has lost sight of its original working-class values. It stands for winning votes by any means necessary."

Reading people’s own words is a different experience from simply counting the clicks for a pollster’s options. It reminds me that the public is more egalitarian and concerned with fairness than is often supposed by commentators. No one in this sample seemed to hanker for the days of the Blairites.

Not news to us but I bet it is to the wider commentariat, including DFH, Rawnsley & Rent-a-tool !

https://times-deck.s3-eu-west-1.amazona ... cac6d.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Finally,

5. Labour’s proposed supermarket tax would mean higher food prices
- Harry Phibbs, ConservativeHome

Umm, what supermarket tax ??

Tish wrote:

rebeccariots2 wrote:

Scandalously low pay should not be the new normal
A living wage is the kind of policy people expect from Labour, but is Ed Miliband letting it slip away?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... d-miliband

Good article. Hideous comments BTL - but to be expected.

Fair pay as a way of reducing poverty and the reliance on benefits / tax credits should be something understood as much more positive than the current situation by most people - surely? Or am I ridiculously naive?

Isn't now - with the HMRC propoganda for the government re tax spending about to arrive on doorsteps - the prime time for Labour to be arguing this case strongly?

I don't understand why Labour haven't continued to build on the predistribution speech, it's such an obvious popular policy, getting employers to pay proper wages so that working people don't have to be propped up by tax funded benefits. It's one of those win win for everybody policies (except multinational companies paying people poverty wages, who everybody hates anyway). If it is Ed Balls who is stopping the party from making it the centre of their manifesto then he's a bloody idiot and the other Ed should tell him to shut it.

“Halve the number of people on low pay in our country, changing the lives of more than 2 million people.”

“Help working families share fairly in the wealth of our country so, when the economy grows, the wages of everyday working people grow at the same rate.”

pk1 wrote:Here's the tweet that IDS used in his spiteful attack on Rachel Reeves:

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Naushabah Khan
‏@naushabahkhan
The campaign in Rochester and #STROOD continues, thanks to everyone who has helped out today. #TogetherWeKhan

The idiot doesn't understand that nowhere does it say Reeves was present & a RT certainly doesn't say or imply that.

Fuckwit.

What are the chances of getting sufficient number of votes for IDS to be Portillo'd ?

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:I can't watch this where I am

A Person retweeted
Shirley ‏@shirleykay11 2h2 hours ago
PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO WATCH BBC BANNED VIDEO OSBORNE LAUGHING & ADMITS UK HAD THE LOWEST DEBT " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; … EVERYONE RT” #bbcnews

AngryAsWell wrote:

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:I can't watch this where I am

A Person retweeted
Shirley ‏@shirleykay11 2h2 hours ago
PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO WATCH BBC BANNED VIDEO OSBORNE LAUGHING & ADMITS UK HAD THE LOWEST DEBT " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; … EVERYONE RT” #bbcnews

Its from November 2010, a treasury(?) select committee about 1st ConDem budget.
Not really relevant today and I really don't think it's "banned" by the BBC, just old news.

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:Alex Braithwaite ‏@labour52rose 1m1 minute ago
Ed Miliband must realise that next year’s election will be won on emotion http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/20 ... on-emotion" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

rebeccariots2 wrote:

I don't have any more info on that so if any of you have a subscription to the Sun, please will you copy & paste or precis it for me ?

I've just had a toast to mouth fail PK.

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:

Tish wrote:

rebeccariots2 wrote: Good article. Hideous comments BTL - but to be expected.

Fair pay as a way of reducing poverty and the reliance on benefits / tax credits should be something understood as much more positive than the current situation by most people - surely? Or am I ridiculously naive?

Isn't now - with the HMRC propoganda for the government re tax spending about to arrive on doorsteps - the prime time for Labour to be arguing this case strongly?

I don't understand why Labour haven't continued to build on the predistribution speech, it's such an obvious popular policy, getting employers to pay proper wages so that working people don't have to be propped up by tax funded benefits. It's one of those win win for everybody policies (except multinational companies paying people poverty wages, who everybody hates anyway). If it is Ed Balls who is stopping the party from making it the centre of their manifesto then he's a bloody idiot and the other Ed should tell him to shut it.

Morning Tish

Low pay is definitely there in Ed's six pledges

“Halve the number of people on low pay in our country, changing the lives of more than 2 million people.”

“Help working families share fairly in the wealth of our country so, when the economy grows, the wages of everyday working people grow at the same rate.”

We could rail that these are too timid. But if Labour are elected there is at least a mandate to tackle low pay and pushing the minimum wage up to the living wage would be a logical conclusion.

Tish wrote:

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:

Tish wrote: I don't understand why Labour haven't continued to build on the predistribution speech, it's such an obvious popular policy, getting employers to pay proper wages so that working people don't have to be propped up by tax funded benefits. It's one of those win win for everybody policies (except multinational companies paying people poverty wages, who everybody hates anyway). If it is Ed Balls who is stopping the party from making it the centre of their manifesto then he's a bloody idiot and the other Ed should tell him to shut it.

Morning Tish

Low pay is definitely there in Ed's six pledges

“Halve the number of people on low pay in our country, changing the lives of more than 2 million people.”

“Help working families share fairly in the wealth of our country so, when the economy grows, the wages of everyday working people grow at the same rate.”

We could rail that these are too timid. But if Labour are elected there is at least a mandate to tackle low pay and pushing the minimum wage up to the living wage would be a logical conclusion.

I know they're still committed to it, and I don't doubt that if Labour do get in they'll make fair pay central to their agenda (if only because its one of the few things that won't involve an increase in public spending). I just wish they'd talk it up more, put themselves about and argue the case for it, becouse it seems like good, popular policies like this are getting lost in the mist.

John Prescott retweeted
Sam Coates Times @SamCoatesTimes · 2h 2 hours ago
In which the IFS - which is on fiery form at the moment - question Osborne's "how your tax money is spent" pie charts http://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/7424" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

John Prescott retweeted
Sam Coates Times @SamCoatesTimes · 2h 2 hours ago
IFS (1/2): "Lumping a quarter of total spending into one bucket labelled "welfare" may not strike the most helpful balance...

John Prescott retweeted
Sam Coates Times @SamCoatesTimes · 2h 2 hours ago
IFS 2/2: especially when it includes such diverse items social care, public service pensions, disability benefits (etc...)."

giselle97 wrote:

Tish wrote:

PaulfromYorkshire wrote: Morning Tish

Low pay is definitely there in Ed's six pledgesWe could rail that these are too timid. But if Labour are elected there is at least a mandate to tackle low pay and pushing the minimum wage up to the living wage would be a logical conclusion.

I know they're still committed to it, and I don't doubt that if Labour do get in they'll make fair pay central to their agenda (if only because its one of the few things that won't involve an increase in public spending). I just wish they'd talk it up more, put themselves about and argue the case for it, becouse it seems like good, popular policies like this are getting lost in the mist.

I wish that Ed Balls had been removed. This man, in my opinion, is the biggest restraint against progress for the Labour Party (no pun intended!). I suspect it's now too late although Anatoly did say a short time ago that there would be another reshuffle (I seem to recal)..

giselle97 wrote:Anatoly - re your thoughts on Darling.... what about the scenario that Darling was waiting for a call from EM which didn't come so then thought that he may as well stand down?

Iain Duncan Smith 'Knew Universal Credit Was Going Wrong Well Before Admitting It'
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/11 ... 92594.html

Eric Pickles takes over ‘rotten’ Tower Hamlets
Crackdown on London borough’s ‘partisan approach to politics’ represents one of his biggest interventions in local government

...showed the directly elected Labour mayor, Lutfur Rahman, had sown division and should bow his head in shame at the report’s findings. Executive power had been left unchecked and misused, he added.

Tish wrote:Eric Pickles is to take over direct control of Tower Hamlets after receiving a report by PwC.

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

Pickles says: “a deeply concerning picture of obfuscation, denial, secrecy the breakdown of democratic scrutiny and a culture of cronyism risking the corrupt spending of public funds”.

The Council says: “While the PwC report identifies some process and governance issues that needed to be improved, the council notes that no evidence of criminality or fraud has been identified by the government appointed forensic auditors."

Who to believe?

Ah, rumours - so often much more exciting than the real thing