Monday 24th November 2014

[ohsocynical]

By Lord Ashcroft.

Nigel Farage is right – all general election bets are off
Ukip’s byelection triumphs may not be repeated in May, but all parties should be soul-searching after the events in Rochester

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... ction-ukip

[citizenJA]

Jonathan Reynolds MP retweeted
BBC News Press Team ‏@BBCNewsPR 39m39 minutes ago
The man who wrote govt report criticising #RBS has been told he can no longer be a customer, @BBCPanorama has learned http://bbc.in/1ux6fa5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We'll ask the UN to send several SPECIAL RAPPORTEURS.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I mean, if the Welsh Government were running buses like this...

Well quite. But I'm pretty sure Cameron thinks Welsh buses run a la Flintstones - holes in the floor for the passengers legs so they can run it along the streets themselves. And we all put our pet dragons out at night.

Don't worry, Plaid will be opening new rail lines there soon.

Had a very amusing exchange with one of them the other night. Wanted 120mph trains through North Wales because we had them in "England" from Crewe-London.

I pointed out we had slow trains in England too.

[ohsocynical]

Nicola Sturgeon ‏@StormySturgeon · 8 mins8 minutes ago
@ZacGoldsmith you say you're not going to defect to UKIP. Are you just trying to scare the British Public with your Carswell RT's?

Now that would shock me
" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The ladies of WomenDefyUKIP are very brave. I believe they get some nasty Tweets from Kippers.

[yahyah]

Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 15m 15 minutes ago
Based on the England only figures in the @LordAshcroft poll LAB can lose all its Scottish seats & still have working majority

Better news after the last few weeks.

[citizenJA]

TfL has ordered another 200 of those sodding buses that have no air and cost far more than others.

And finally admitted that nobody abroad is interested in buying the buses.

It's called 'Legacy'...

We could use them for the burial ritual in the late Spring 2015.

[mbc1955]

How to resist

Mugs for mugs.

[Tubby Isaacs]

TfL has ordered another 200 of those sodding buses that have no air and cost far more than others.

And finally admitted that nobody abroad is interested in buying the buses.

It's called 'Legacy'...

We could use them for the burial ritual in the late Spring 2015.

Not a moment too soon.

The darned things are running on my route now (No.8).

[PaulfromYorkshire]

Politico Daily ‏@Politico_Daily 4m4 minutes ago
Division on Lib Dem Amendment 15
Aye 119
Noe 193
Majority 74
#RecallBill

[rebeccariots2]

How to resist

Mugs for mugs.

If I had a Twitter account (I'm still toying with the idea ...) I would tweet that to the bumper mugs.

[ohsocynical]

Mike Smithson ‏@MSmithsonPB 3h3 hours ago
At GE2005 LAB was behind on votes in England but still won 92 more seats.
Today's @LordAshcroft has CON trailing LAB in England by 6%.

[ohsocynical]

TfL has ordered another 200 of those sodding buses that have no air and cost far more than others.

And finally admitted that nobody abroad is interested in buying the buses.

It's called 'Legacy'...

We could use them for the burial ritual in the late Spring 2015.

A line of funeral pyres along the banks of the unholy Thames.

[frightful_oik]

Evening all. How does one tweet to a hashtag such as cameronmustgo? (I've just signed up to twitter for the election campaign.)

[TheGrimSqueaker]

Evening all. How does one tweet to a hashtag such as cameronmustgo? (I've just signed up to twitter for the election campaign.)

Tweet whatever you want, but make sure you include #CameronMustGo (or whatever the phrase du jour is); actually you'll find as you start to type it suggestions are offered, and this one will be top of the list so just click on it.

[ohsocynical]

I Tweeted that as consolation for the lack of publicity about #CameronMustGo from the right wing press, thanks to Twitter the rest of the world knew it was a massive protest.
I had a couple of pathetic replies that it was only a few thousand Tweets and the rest of the world wouldn't know.

Take a look at this!

http://trendsmap.com/topic/%23cameronmustgo


People power!

[TheGrimSqueaker]

The bit I'm enjoying most about the #CameronMustGo twitterstorm is reading the increasingly shrill comments from representatives of the MSM as they watch their control slipping away.

[AngryAsWell]

Evening all. How does one tweet to a hashtag such as cameronmustgo? (I've just signed up to twitter for the election campaign.)

If you click this
https://twitter.com/FlythenestHaven/fol ... lang=en-gb" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
it takes you to the FTN page followers, scroll round a bit and you'll find most of us. Just click "follow" then our tweets will go on to your news feed

[ohsocynical]

Evening all. How does one tweet to a hashtag such as cameronmustgo? (I've just signed up to twitter for the election campaign.)

Tweet whatever you want, but make sure you include #CameronMustGo (or whatever the phrase du jour is); actually you'll find as you start to type it suggestions are offered, and this one will be top of the list so just click on it.

Yes. As you type in the hashtag [you can check which ones are being used by reading other tweets] a bar will appear at the bottom of the Tweet repeating the hashtag. Click on it, that means your Tweet will be counted. Then when the bar disappears click Tweet.

One of the organisers when #WeBackEd was trending, tweeted to say if you put in more than one hashtag on your Tweet it won't be counted so I stick to one, just in case.

[PaulfromYorkshire]

Evening all. How does one tweet to a hashtag such as cameronmustgo? (I've just signed up to twitter for the election campaign.)

If you think of a Tweet like an email, the # is like the subject and the @ is like the recipient(s)

All your followers are effectively blind copied so will see it anyway.

The difference of course is that anyone else can search on your # or @ and read it

[ohsocynical]

One thing I've discovered since starting to Tweet. There are a lot of seriously pissed off people out there.

[Spacedone]

One thing I've discovered since starting to Tweet. There are a lot of seriously pissed off people out there.

Welcome to Twitter.

[ErnstRemarx]

Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 2m 2 minutes ago
In England where 533 of the 650 seats are @LordAshcroft has
CON 28
LAB 34
LD 6
UKIP 22
GRN 8
So UKIP just 6% behind CON

Green are higher on this one too. LD at 6 should really be on the bottom line.

It should, but of course they're a serious established party, and therefore this is no way representative of what will happen in May 2015.

<bursts into hysterical laughter>

[citizenJA]

The bit I'm enjoying most about the #CameronMustGo twitterstorm is reading the increasingly shrill comments from representatives of the MSM as they watch their control slipping away.

Help, protect & love one another, people. Our friends' lives are at stake; our lives are at stake. Thank you, everyone. Not all government's are the same.

[citizenJA]

[TheGrimSqueaker]

One thing I've discovered since starting to Tweet. There are a lot of seriously pissed off people out there.

And you've learned that I have a very twisted sense of humour .....

[PaulfromYorkshire]

A Person retweeted
LabourLordsUK ‏@LabourLordsUK 2m2 minutes ago
LibDem & Tory Peers vote down our #amd44 to #ConsumerRightsBill to protect tenant deposits, proving they're not on side of #GenerationRent

[ErnstRemarx]

Bury named as runner-up in national best town award although Aberystwyth won - congrats
Local Council must be doing something good then
Nods at Ernst

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/ ... own_award/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hello, AAW, we were pipped at the post. Bury punches well above its weight given that we get a lousy settlement via government funding and then royally fucked over when funding is reduced.

It's a miracle we still exist as a council, but something of a tribute to the people who work for us and very much a tribute to eople like my missus who has the sort of vision to make Bury a cultural capital in the north, keep money flowing in and establish a fabulous image for the borough as a whole. In the face of government vindictiveness, Bury's done a great job, and even (especially) the idiots in the local Tory group can't do us down.

Come and visit, one and all. I'll even show you round - you'll like what you see, particularly if your experience of northern towns is places like Oldham and Preston.

[frightful_oik]

Thanks for all the twitter help. I've now either tweeted or made a twit of myself.

[citizenJA]

It's called 'Legacy'...

We could use them for the burial ritual in the late Spring 2015.

A line of funeral pyres along the banks of the unholy Thames.

London is older than the City; the Thames older than its name - the ceremony ancient, pious, no fear, a clean purging of that which doesn't work taken back into the earth/water for purification - a nice, pagan party, you know?

[ohsocynical]

I'm driving Mr Ohso mad laughing at some of the Tweets.
In fact I've laughed so hard I can't find this one.

When Cameron said two Tweets made a Twat was he having a premonition?

And there was a photo of Osborne as Action man.
Someone tweeted:
I find the thought of manipulating his parts highly unsavoury.

[TechnicalEphemera]

Bury named as runner-up in national best town award although Aberystwyth won - congrats
Local Council must be doing something good then
Nods at Ernst

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/ ... own_award/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hello, AAW, we were pipped at the post. Bury punches well above its weight given that we get a lousy settlement via government funding and then royally fucked over when funding is reduced.

It's a miracle we still exist as a council, but something of a tribute to the people who work for us and very much a tribute to eople like my missus who has the sort of vision to make Bury a cultural capital in the north, keep money flowing in and establish a fabulous image for the borough as a whole. In the face of government vindictiveness, Bury's done a great job, and even (especially) the idiots in the local Tory group can't do us down.

Come and visit, one and all. I'll even show you round - you'll like what you see, particularly if your experience of northern towns is places like Oldham and Preston.

Realistically though Bury was never going to compete with Aberystwyth, home of Louie Knight.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louie_Knight

Ah the carefree days before the flood, the Tea Cosy girls and those wonderful toffee apples.

[ErnstRemarx]

Here's that link from the MS story...

dwpvendetta.wordpress.com

[ohsocynical]

Thanks for all the twitter help. I've now either tweeted or made a twit of myself.

I didn't know what I was doing at first...Still can't find where to delete a Tweet and took a couple of weeks to discover notifications and messages.
Sometimes though it's best to keep it simple.

[AngryAsWell]

Bury named as runner-up in national best town award although Aberystwyth won - congrats
Local Council must be doing something good then
Nods at Ernst

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/ ... own_award/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hello, AAW, we were pipped at the post. Bury punches well above its weight given that we get a lousy settlement via government funding and then royally fucked over when funding is reduced.

It's a miracle we still exist as a council, but something of a tribute to the people who work for us and very much a tribute to eople like my missus who has the sort of vision to make Bury a cultural capital in the north, keep money flowing in and establish a fabulous image for the borough as a whole. In the face of government vindictiveness, Bury's done a great job, and even (especially) the idiots in the local Tory group can't do us down.

Come and visit, one and all. I'll even show you round - you'll like what you see, particularly if your experience of northern towns is places like Oldham and Preston.

..and for a taster (best taken in Bury Market, voted European Market of the Year several times) here's some photo's of Bury, old and new parts
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Bury+ ... manchester" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Spacedone]

Thanks for all the twitter help. I've now either tweeted or made a twit of myself.

I didn't know what I was doing at first...Still can't find where to delete a Tweet

On any tweet you send out there are 3 dots . . .

Click on that and it's an option under there.

[TechnicalEphemera]

Here is a cracking post on the Clegg white van shite posted in the Guardian.

Adam Boland
24 November 2014 3:14pm

Recommended
251

It is depressing how effective propaganda is. David Cameron poses with people in blackface and it is deemed "tradition", a random MP takes a number of photos of a place she is in and one of them is contrived to be "disgusting". Ed Miliband forgets to mention the deficit in one speech and it is a clear sign of incompetence, Cameron doesn't realise he has a £1.7 billion bill to pay and it is somehow the EU's fault. Nigel Farage is recorded stating he wants to privatise the NHS and Mark Reckless says he wants to deport people already here legally and it is accepted they mispoke but Miliband is awful because he didn't donate to a beggar correctly. Cameron gave a speech about austerity while wearing robes and sitting in a golden throne but Miliband is out of touch because he ate a sandwich wrong.

[AngryAsWell]

British PM David Cameron Sparks #CameronMustGo Twitter Trend
http://blog.datarank.com/british-pm-dav ... ter-trend/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ohsocynical]

Jon Swindon ‏@jon_swindon 56m56 minutes ago
INCREDIBLE! 300'000 Tweets saying #CameronMustGo & a record 98% rate of negative Dave comments http://blog.datarank.com/british-pm-dav ... ter-trend/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

Ouch!

[citizenJA]

Ed Miliband announces new measures to tackle rogue employment agencies

With a 36% increase in temporary agency workers since 2009, the Labour leader’s plan will crack down on exploitation

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

This article by Watt came out this morning - I've not read it yet - less than four-hundred comments below the line.

[ErnstRemarx]

Bury named as runner-up in national best town award although Aberystwyth won - congrats
Local Council must be doing something good then
Nods at Ernst

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/ ... own_award/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hello, AAW, we were pipped at the post. Bury punches well above its weight given that we get a lousy settlement via government funding and then royally fucked over when funding is reduced.

It's a miracle we still exist as a council, but something of a tribute to the people who work for us and very much a tribute to eople like my missus who has the sort of vision to make Bury a cultural capital in the north, keep money flowing in and establish a fabulous image for the borough as a whole. In the face of government vindictiveness, Bury's done a great job, and even (especially) the idiots in the local Tory group can't do us down.

Come and visit, one and all. I'll even show you round - you'll like what you see, particularly if your experience of northern towns is places like Oldham and Preston.

..and for a taster (best taken in Bury Market, voted European Market of the Year several times) here's some photo's of Bury, old and new parts
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Bury+ ... manchester" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is indeed a fabulous market - I can't think of another where you can, in one fell swoop, buy a three piece suite, enough meat for a tenner to last you for about 3 weeks, a full Brownie uniform, a haircut, sit down fish, chips and mushy peas, a sari, a full range of chisels, enough incense for the rest of your life, the full range of Val McDairmid novels, all the makings for an asian feast, the asian feast itself, salt marsh lamb (yum!), the mop of your dreams and the fridge to go with it, a hog roast lunch, a communion dress, non knock off jewellery, your pet's every need for the foreseable future, new curtains and blinds, black peas and vinegar - also yum - and still come back with change out of a fiver (OK, I lied about that bit).

I fucking love this town. It's full of dickheads, but it's the ones that aren't and that apparently defy some local genetic traits that give you massive hope for the future. If you ever come to Bury, tell me you're coming, and I will show you a town that is the best choice I've made in the last 20 years. Seriously.

Google 'East Lancs railway' for another very compelling reason to come by. And while you're at it, Google 'Trackside pub' for an even more compelling reason to rock up here. I'm proud of my adopted town and I'm very proud to represent it, both here, on Twitter, and in council itself.

[AngryAsWell]

Mike Smithson ‏@MSmithsonPB · 1 min1 minute ago
New post.
Labour’s Scottish crisis is masking what could be even more significant – the Tory collapse in England http://bit.ly/1y6i0Js" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Still waiting for that land....slide


http://www1.politicalbetting.com/index. ... n-england/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[AngryAsWell]

Hello, AAW, we were pipped at the post. Bury punches well above its weight given that we get a lousy settlement via government funding and then royally fucked over when funding is reduced.

It's a miracle we still exist as a council, but something of a tribute to the people who work for us and very much a tribute to eople like my missus who has the sort of vision to make Bury a cultural capital in the north, keep money flowing in and establish a fabulous image for the borough as a whole. In the face of government vindictiveness, Bury's done a great job, and even (especially) the idiots in the local Tory group can't do us down.

Come and visit, one and all. I'll even show you round - you'll like what you see, particularly if your experience of northern towns is places like Oldham and Preston.

..and for a taster (best taken in Bury Market, voted European Market of the Year several times) here's some photo's of Bury, old and new parts
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Bury+ ... manchester" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is indeed a fabulous market - I can't think of another where you can, in one fell swoop, buy a three piece suite, enough meat for a tenner to last you for about 3 weeks, a full Brownie uniform, a haircut, sit down fish, chips and mushy peas, a sari, a full range of chisels, enough incense for the rest of your life, the full range of Val McDairmid novels, all the makings for an asian feast, the asian feast itself, salt marsh lamb (yum!), the mop of your dreams and the fridge to go with it, a hog roast lunch, a communion dress, non knock off jewellery, your pet's every need for the foreseable future, new curtains and blinds, black peas and vinegar - also yum - and still come back with change out of a fiver (OK, I lied about that bit).

I fucking love this town. It's full of dickheads, but it's the ones that aren't and that apparently defy some local genetic traits that give you massive hope for the future. If you ever come to Bury, tell me you're coming, and I will show you a town that is the best choice I've made in the last 20 years. Seriously.

Google 'East Lancs railway' for another very compelling reason to come by. And while you're at it, Google 'Trackside pub' for an even more compelling reason to rock up here. I'm proud of my adopted town and I'm very proud to represent it, both here, on Twitter, and in council itself.

Photo's of Bury Market - we do seem to eat well oop 'norf
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Bury+ ... 20&bih=878" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
There are weekly organised coach trips just to the market from all over the place

[ohsocynical]

Mike Smithson ‏@MSmithsonPB 12m12 minutes ago
New post.
Labour’s Scottish crisis is masking what could be even more significant – the Tory collapse in England http://bit.ly/1y6i0Js" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tory collapse in England? Wow

[Sticky99]

Miliband's dividing line with the Tories on workers' rights
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/20 ... ers-rights" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

By adopting this stance, Miliband has carved a potent dividing line with the Conservatives. Rather than offering greater protection to workers in what is one of the least regulated labour markets in the developed world, the Tories are proposing further liberalisation, including the full implementation of the Beecroft proposals (such as no-fault dismissal or "hire and fire") and withdrawal from the EU social chapter, the document that guarantees workers paid holidays, paternity and maternity leave, and part-time workers the same rights as their full-time counterparts.

Question: Are the Tories officially on record as saying they will do all of those things?

A thoroughly interesting piece, I completely agree with it all.

I have often wondered why UKIP and Tory voters (which can often amount to the same thing!) want to vote for parties that would slash employment rights…which they and their own families benefit from. It isn’t like all of these voters are pampered pooches with large inheritances. Labour’s stance on employment rights resonates with people to a far greater degree than the other parties, and like the NHS, employment rights is an area of strength for the party.

As for the Beecroft proposals, whilst the Tories haven’t directly stated they plan to scrap all those listed protections, their current dismantling of employee rights is indicative of where they are heading. Qualification period for redundancy pay has increased; right to a fair tribunal hearing has all but been scrapped, and the time that employees can claim for unfair dismissal has also increased. If the Tories get a majority next year they’ll no doubt continue ripping up employee rights, as the party will be unshackled from the constraints of coalition government and will be free to pursue their loony-right agenda.

Miliband’s proposals sound encouraging. I have no doubt that additional regulation against agency practices is required. Hopefully the proposals are tough enough to weed out the particularly bad agencies that extensively hire from abroad and that are charging employees for actually working – ridiculous but true.

The agency culture is generally negative for pay and conditions, even if the agencies are totally legitimate. Employers, especially SME’s will pay their employees less because of the cut that agencies take per employee. Often it can mean employees are paid £2 an hour less compared to being paid directly by the employer. I hope a lot of employees realise that they can save money and give their staff a small pay rise by handling payroll and recruitment internally, depending on how much an agency receives.

Labour’s plan to create more engineers sounds very encouraging: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30175203" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is excellent for living standards, great for business by creating the skills they need – wish this was rammed home to people more. Unfortunately instead of substance like this, we see drivel like Ed eating a bacon sandwich or scrutinised for giving a homeless person money.

[TechnicalEphemera]

Mike Smithson ‏@MSmithsonPB 12m12 minutes ago
New post.
Labour’s Scottish crisis is masking what could be even more significant – the Tory collapse in England http://bit.ly/1y6i0Js" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tory collapse in England? Wow

Well largely on the basis of a couple of polls, so let's not get carried away.

However 6 months out from the election Cameron's party has a smell of death about it. I just can't see them putting together any sort of offer to the mainstream.

I also wonder whether his continual tracking right is now costing him moderate voters.

[AngryAsWell]

Martin Rowson ‏@MartinRowson · 9 mins9 minutes ago
Latest Graun cartoon here. By the bye... http://gu.com/p/43tb5/tw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[TechnicalEphemera]

Miliband's dividing line with the Tories on workers' rights
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/20 ... ers-rights" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

By adopting this stance, Miliband has carved a potent dividing line with the Conservatives. Rather than offering greater protection to workers in what is one of the least regulated labour markets in the developed world, the Tories are proposing further liberalisation, including the full implementation of the Beecroft proposals (such as no-fault dismissal or "hire and fire") and withdrawal from the EU social chapter, the document that guarantees workers paid holidays, paternity and maternity leave, and part-time workers the same rights as their full-time counterparts.

Question: Are the Tories officially on record as saying they will do all of those things?

A thoroughly interesting piece, I completely agree with it all.

I have often wondered why UKIP and Tory voters (which can often amount to the same thing!) want to vote for parties that would slash employment rights…which they and their own families benefit from. It isn’t like all of these voters are pampered pooches with large inheritances. Labour’s stance on employment rights resonates with people to a far greater degree than the other parties, and like the NHS, employment rights is an area of strength for the party.

As for the Beecroft proposals, whilst the Tories haven’t directly stated they plan to scrap all those listed protections, their current dismantling of employee rights is indicative of where they are heading. Qualification period for redundancy pay has increased; right to a fair tribunal hearing has all but been scrapped, and the time that employees can claim for unfair dismissal has also increased. If the Tories get a majority next year they’ll no doubt continue ripping up employee rights, as the party will be unshackled from the constraints of coalition government and will be free to pursue their loony-right agenda.

Miliband’s proposals sound encouraging. I have no doubt that additional regulation against agency practices is required. Hopefully the proposals are tough enough to weed out the particularly bad agencies that extensively hire from abroad and that are charging employees for actually working – ridiculous but true.

The agency culture is generally negative for pay and conditions, even if the agencies are totally legitimate. Employers, especially SME’s will pay their employees less because of the cut that agencies take per employee. Often it can mean employees are paid £2 an hour less compared to being paid directly by the employer. I hope a lot of employees realise that they can save money and give their staff a small pay rise by handling payroll and recruitment internally, depending on how much an agency receives.

Labour’s plan to create more engineers sounds very encouraging: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30175203" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is excellent for living standards, great for business by creating the skills they need – wish this was rammed home to people more. Unfortunately instead of substance like this, we see drivel like Ed eating a bacon sandwich or scrutinised for giving a homeless person money.

The only issue I have with this is the need for more Engineers?

Really, where are they going to work?

Rolls Royce just announced layoffs, Marconi - gone, Rover - gone, BAE looking iffy.

We seem to have very few engineering companies. So what the UK needs is more Engineering companies first, then more engineers. However since most UK companies are run by useless accountants who refuse to take risk and invest I can't see it.

There are a couple of exceptions to this doom, but they are exceptions.

[rebeccariots2]

Miliband's dividing line with the Tories on workers' rights
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/20 ... ers-rights" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

By adopting this stance, Miliband has carved a potent dividing line with the Conservatives. Rather than offering greater protection to workers in what is one of the least regulated labour markets in the developed world, the Tories are proposing further liberalisation, including the full implementation of the Beecroft proposals (such as no-fault dismissal or "hire and fire") and withdrawal from the EU social chapter, the document that guarantees workers paid holidays, paternity and maternity leave, and part-time workers the same rights as their full-time counterparts.

Question: Are the Tories officially on record as saying they will do all of those things?

A thoroughly interesting piece, I completely agree with it all.

I have often wondered why UKIP and Tory voters (which can often amount to the same thing!) want to vote for parties that would slash employment rights…which they and their own families benefit from. It isn’t like all of these voters are pampered pooches with large inheritances. Labour’s stance on employment rights resonates with people to a far greater degree than the other parties, and like the NHS, employment rights is an area of strength for the party.

As for the Beecroft proposals, whilst the Tories haven’t directly stated they plan to scrap all those listed protections, their current dismantling of employee rights is indicative of where they are heading. Qualification period for redundancy pay has increased; right to a fair tribunal hearing has all but been scrapped, and the time that employees can claim for unfair dismissal has also increased. If the Tories get a majority next year they’ll no doubt continue ripping up employee rights, as the party will be unshackled from the constraints of coalition government and will be free to pursue their loony-right agenda.

Miliband’s proposals sound encouraging. I have no doubt that additional regulation against agency practices is required. Hopefully the proposals are tough enough to weed out the particularly bad agencies that extensively hire from abroad and that are charging employees for actually working – ridiculous but true.

The agency culture is generally negative for pay and conditions, even if the agencies are totally legitimate. Employers, especially SME’s will pay their employees less because of the cut that agencies take per employee. Often it can mean employees are paid £2 an hour less compared to being paid directly by the employer. I hope a lot of employees realise that they can save money and give their staff a small pay rise by handling payroll and recruitment internally, depending on how much an agency receives.

Labour’s plan to create more engineers sounds very encouraging: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30175203" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is excellent for living standards, great for business by creating the skills they need – wish this was rammed home to people more. Unfortunately instead of substance like this, we see drivel like Ed eating a bacon sandwich or scrutinised for giving a homeless person money.

Hello Sticky99, been wondering where you had gone. Labour do need to be very clear about their workers rights agenda. I think some of them will be up to the job. Saw a tweet earlier today which linked to a news page from a UK recruitment agency who were announcing their new Polish branch. I'd be interested to know what kind of work they will be recruiting for - so will try to go back and find and file it.

[adam]

Can we tweet Ashcroft an invitation to take an anonymous poll of Tory MPs to see how many have considered defecting? He's very keen on getting information out in the open.

[ohsocynical]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... CMP=twt_gu

Great Rowson cartoon again.

Edited to say: @AngryAsWell. SNAP