Monday 10th May 2021

[refitman]

Morning all.

[PorFavor]

Good morfternoon.

Glad to see that the Government is getting to grips with the most urgent problems. Although I suppose the electorate having the ability to vote them out of office in the future is urgent from their point of view.

"Queen’s speech: voters will need photo ID for general elections

Government’s legislative agenda is unlikely to include long-awaited reforms to adult social care" (Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ocial-care

[RogerOThornhill]

Good morning.

Instead of mucking around with photo ID, why not simply require people to take their polling card along?

I don't get how photo ID helps since I wouldn't imagine people manning polling stations know everyone in the area.

Meanwhile...adult social care?

Parked again.

Too difficult.

[AnatolyKasparov]

Can we all now agree that Mandelson is a toxic dinosaur who shouldn't be remotely entertained by whoever is Labour leader?

[gilsey]

Yes

[gilsey]

Meanwhile...adult social care?

Parked again.

Too difficult.

Too difficult and too expensive, although imo that's 2 separate issues.

The expensive bit is providing care for the poorer half or 2/3 of the people, not difficult at all, just throw money at it via councils. When hell freezes over.

The difficult bit is what to do about people with assets, financial or otherwise. All the talk of keeping more savings at the bottom end and capping the total cost of care at the top, wherever you set the limits some people in between would lose 100% over the lower limit and rich people would be laughing. Why not cap the cost at 20/40/45% of the value of the person's assets, shouldn't be beyond the wit of man. A wealth tax for people who need to go into residential care, in other words.

[RogerOThornhill]

Oops.

[RogerOThornhill]

And I see that Mustique is trending.

Still, I'm sure the PM will rule that he did nothing wrong...nothing to see here, move along now please...

[RogerOThornhill]

I see that Khalid Mahmood has gone for the triple.

Policy Exchange
The Spectator
Daily Telegraph

Why does he think this will help Labour change?

[tinybgoat]

Instead of mucking around with photo ID, why not simply require people to take their polling card along?

I don't get how photo ID helps since I wouldn't imagine people manning polling stations know everyone in the area.

I'm confused did you edit your post?
I first read it & thought you'd said. "I would imagine",
then read it again & says 'wouldn't',
Which makes more sense, except wouldn't that be justification for needing photo id?

I wouldn't be completely against having to have photo id, as long as it was freely available - apart from there being no real justification for needing one -
but agree why not just require people to take polling card along.

Also could possibly allow photo id as an alternative, if somebody has lost/forgotten they're polling card.

[RogerOThornhill]

Unless everyone in the polling station knows what everyone ion the area looks like I don't see how photo ID helps - my passport doesn't show my address.

However, if they were looking for proof of name and address, then if you don't have a polling card because it's got lost in the post, then take along a council tax bill, utility bill, bank statement or whatever.

Why would you want to set up a system for producing a photo ID card that is only going to be used once every five years?

[refitman]

Good morfternoon.

Glad to see that the Government is getting to grips with the most urgent problems. Although I suppose the electorate having the ability to vote them out of office in the future is urgent from their point of view.

"Queen’s speech: voters will need photo ID for general elections

Government’s legislative agenda is unlikely to include long-awaited reforms to adult social care" (Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ocial-care

I'm sure David Davis will be campaigning against this asap.

[tinybgoat]

Unless everyone in the polling station knows what everyone ion the area looks like I don't see how photo ID helps - my passport doesn't show my address.

However, if they were looking for proof of name and address, then if you don't have a polling card because it's got lost in the post, then take along a council tax bill, utility bill, bank statement or whatever.

Why would you want to set up a system for producing a photo ID card that is only going to be used once every five years?

Thanks,
that makes sense.

[gilsey]

I'm sure David Davis will be campaigning against this asap.

As David Davis MP said “It’s pointless, it’s a waste of time, it’s a waste ministerial effort and as I say it’s an illiberal solution in pursuit of a non-existent problem. And it will be expensive… for nothing.”

[gilsey]

@AngelaRayner
now addressing shadow cabinet: in Hartlepool, the people who had anti-immigrant sentiments went to the Tories. "We need to deal with that."

And we know this how? Sometimes she doesn't do herself any favours.

Seems to me tories won 'pool because labour voters stayed at home en masse.

[tinybgoat]

Old article, from February last year:
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/brexit-freeports
"Brexit Britain’s freeport utopia isn't about free trade, or ports"

The success of Sunak’s freeport experiment hinges on whether he is ready to tackle all the other factors – skills, education, infrastructure, transport – that made disadvantaged zones disadvantaged.

The alternative, according to Frick, is pretty dire. “In a bad case scenario, [these zones] simply don't gain any traction and any public investment in their establishment is lost,” She says. “In a worst case scenario, already established business relocates to the zones and pays significantly less taxes than before without generating any more economic activity and employment.”

Also mentions the attraction of freeports for deregulation,
though maybe eu deal's level playing field requirements will limit this.

Indeed, the UK government’s paper mentions – in a bout of Cummingsism – that the freeports could be set up as “controlled environments” to trial cutting-edge transport technologies. And, regardless of tariffs, freeports could offer tax breaks to businesses setting up shop in the area.

“The document refers to creating a ‘regulatory sandbox’,” Holmes says. “Are they going to completely relax planning regulations? They say that they're not going to undercut labor protection – but if you really wanted to get a big benefit from this, you would abolish the minimum wage in the freeports; you'd just massively deregulate health and safety. You’d try all of that.”

[GetYou]

Voter photo ID is a solution looking for a problem.

Having worked on many elections, I know that the rate of voter fraud is negligible.

[GetYou]

Spend the money on teaching critical thinking skills in schools, that's a big part of why we are where we are politically.

[tinyclanger2]

Have just found page 3 of the weekend's thread.
I appear to have lost the ability to notice I'm at the bottom of a page.

[AnatolyKasparov]

@AngelaRayner
now addressing shadow cabinet: in Hartlepool, the people who had anti-immigrant sentiments went to the Tories. "We need to deal with that."

And we know this how? Sometimes she doesn't do herself any favours.

Seems to me tories won 'pool because labour voters stayed at home en masse.

Its a strange one, immigration won it for Brexit in the referendum in lots of places like Hartlepool - that is true.

But even the dreaded vox pops didn't suggest it was a major factor *now*.

(there is always, of course, the possibility that her actual more measured words are being misreported)

[GetYou]

Voter photo ID is a solution looking for a problem.

Having worked on many elections, I know that the rate of voter fraud is negligible.

Well, quite literally, snap (GU):

4m ago 16:11

David Davis, the Conservative former Brexit secretary, has described the government’s plans to require people to vote photo ID when they vote as “an “illiberal solution in pursuit of a non-existent problem”. Davis told the Independent:

It’s yet another unnecessary ID card approach from the government. There’s no evidence that I’m aware of that there is a problem with voter fraud at polling stations ...

It’s illiberal. It’s an illiberal solution in pursuit of a non-existent problem. If you’ve got an ID card, you’re putting a barrier in the way of people to exercise their own democratic rights, which is not necessary and shouldn’t be there.

And Jess Garland, director of policy and research at the Electoral Reform Society, said:

David Davis is right: this policy is a solution in search of a problem.

But I said it first, so there

[AnatolyKasparov]

".....first time voters" - what????

Was our PM just mis-speaking, or something else?

[tinybgoat]

[tinybgoat]

Ignore the pink rabbit bit, couldn't work out how to post just the top tweet.
(Generally it's probably always best to ignore the pink rabbit ...)

[AFinch]

Thank you Refitmman. Well done. From one who has some idea of how difficult these things can be.

[refitman]

Nice to see Starmer finally condemning Israel, although it did take him until 8pm this evening to do so.

[refitman]

Thank you Refitmman. Well done. From one who has some idea of how difficult these things can be.

You're very welcome

[gilsey]

Tax dodging concerns over small firms used to pay NHS test-and-trace workers

Tax experts and unions fear weak controls by outsourcers and government agencies, and a complex chain of companies supplying labour for the service, which was created from scratch a year ago, have raised questions over the transparency of the system and left it wide open to abuse.

The scheme – which involves what are known as mini umbrella companies (MUC), often fronted by directors in the Philippines – allows employers to dodge their national insurance contributions, and is estimated to cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions a year.

Hard to think of anything at all that this project's got right.

[PorFavor]

It's true then - where there's MUC there's brass.

[AnatolyKasparov]

Nice to see Starmer finally condemning Israel, although it did take him until 8pm this evening to do so.

He has other things - a lot of them self inflicted, of course - on his plate just now.

[RogerOThornhill]

Oh dear...