Monday 6th July 2015

[Tubby Isaacs]

Saw this:



So the Labour government actually did better on absolute poverty than relative poverty. Does that quite fit the "they spent billions to get people above this silly relative poverty definition" stuff?

[rebeccariots2]

HuffPostUK Politics ‏@HuffPostUKPol 32m32 minutes ago
'What do they want from people?' A single mother begs Osborne not to slash tax credits http://huff.to/1LO6V7V" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rebeccariots2]

Andrew Neil ‏@afneil 13m13 minutes ago
Bottom line -- the ECB has just made it harder/more expensive for Greek banks to access liquidity

[ohsocynical]

Iain Duncan Smith's welfare reforms are disproportionately hurting women, report finds

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 69393.html

[Tubby Isaacs]

Guardian live blog

The ECB may not have pulled the trigger on Greek banks tonight, but it is reserving the right to take a shot if Tuesday’s emergency summit doesn’t deliver any progress.

[rebeccariots2]

Beth Rigby ‏@BethRigby 19s20 seconds ago
"@BCollier2012: @BethRigby When are Energy Firms going to foot the bill for pensioners' cold weather payments? #bbc"> good point!

Beth Rigby ‏@BethRigby 2m2 minutes ago
CMA also takes aim at 'green levies' for driving up bills: good cover for @George_Osborne to cut coalition green targets in #budget2015

[rebeccariots2]

The BBC has bowed to pressure and changed the format of the fiercely criticised highlights show Wimbledon 2Day.

From tonight and for the remainder of the Championships, Clare Balding will host the programme from inside a studio above Centre Court and the live audience will be axed.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tenn ... 68842.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good lord - but will they actually be allowed to show some tennis and talk about it?

[ohsocynical]

The Silent Casualties of the NHS

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-zoe- ... 24384.html

Dreadful. Absolutely dreadful.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Beth Rigby ‏@BethRigby 19s20 seconds ago
"@BCollier2012: @BethRigby When are Energy Firms going to foot the bill for pensioners' cold weather payments? #bbc"> good point!

And bus companies for the bus passes.

[Tubby Isaacs]

The BBC has bowed to pressure and changed the format of the fiercely criticised highlights show Wimbledon 2Day.

From tonight and for the remainder of the Championships, Clare Balding will host the programme from inside a studio above Centre Court and the live audience will be axed.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tenn ... 68842.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good lord - but will they actually be allowed to show some tennis and talk about it?

A live audience? What is this, TFI Friday?

[rebeccariots2]

The BBC has bowed to pressure and changed the format of the fiercely criticised highlights show Wimbledon 2Day.

From tonight and for the remainder of the Championships, Clare Balding will host the programme from inside a studio above Centre Court and the live audience will be axed.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tenn ... 68842.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good lord - but will they actually be allowed to show some tennis and talk about it?

A live audience? What is this, TFI Friday?

It was rather like TFI Friday - but with a complete absence of any content or charm.

[Eric_WLothian]

Just caught the end of C4 Dispatches.

Clive Betts, the Chairman of the parliamentary committee which scrutinises local government has called for an inquiry into £15bn of risky bank loans taken out by more than 200 councils across the country.
These risky and complex loans are known as LOBOs. Some councils like Newham and Cornwall are being charged interest rates of more than 7% on tens of millions of pounds of these LOBO loans at a time when base rates are at a historic low.
Expensive exit fees imposed on councils by banks like RBS and Barclays mean that councils can’t get out of these loans which can run for up to 70 years.

http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news ... dispatches

[Tubby Isaacs]

It was rather like TFI Friday - but with a complete absence of any content or charm.

Sounds unbelievably bad.

A few years ago, they mucked about Ski Sunday and tried to make it into a skiing lifestyle show. Felt sorry for the people presenting it, they must have realised it wasn't working.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Newham council told us it’s made ‘£65 m of savings’ on its borrowing since 2002 and that it’s ensured its ‘ borrowing protects the council’s finances from ...different interest rates’. It added that after refinancing its debts between 2002 and 2009 its interest payments were halved. They also say they comply with accounts and audit regulations.’

That'll be, er, interest rates coming down after the Crash.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Looks like a few local rags (including Newham's) are going after to LOBO loans story.

[LadyCentauria]

"Abandoning the child poverty targets will damage the interests of disadvantaged children, and represents a significant step back in attempts to make Britain a fairer society, argue Kitty Stewart, Tania Burchardt, John Hills and Polly Vizard":
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolic ... ibilities/

[Tubby Isaacs]

http://schoolsweek.co.uk/we-still-haven ... ing-model/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not sure I understand all of this, but get this bit.

It is clear from various pronouncements that “school-led” training is the government’s preferred option, and its share of the national pot is described as a “minimum”, with universities left with whatever remains once school-led has had its share.

The crude “school-led”/”university” distinction fails, however, to take account of the fact that a lot of training delivered through universities is at least as “schools-led” as that delivered through, for example, School Direct.

Placing too tight a cap on university recruitment could perversely undermine some genuinely “schools-led” training as well as reducing overall levels of recruitment. And universities will be prevented from opening new subject lines when no such restriction is placed on school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) or School Direct, representing a blatantly unfair and unjustifiable constraint on the market.

[AngryAsWell]

Latest Survation poll shows England voted David Cameron back into No10 in fear of SNP surge

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

[AngryAsWell]

stephen jones ‏@bassmadman · 2 mins2 minutes ago
Labour leadership candidates answer readers’ questions on education - http://labourlist.org/2015/07/labour-le ... education/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

[HindleA]

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

The Guardian view on the benefit cap: a disgraceful policy that’s about to get worse


"Harold Wilson, the man who won Labour more elections than any other, once said that his party “is a moral crusade or it is nothing”. To roll over in the face of this cynical assault on social security is to plump for the latter course."

Worse in my opinion,they eagerly enjoined in the assault.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Bit of a disagreement between Osborne and Johnson on the garden bridge.

Johnson reckoned the TFL share of £30m could have been raised from private sources after initially being loaned. Osborne didn't, and ordered Johnson to pay £30m as a grant.

Osborne's probably right, given Johnson's record of bailing things out he said wouldn't cost public money. But I'd much rather the bridge were scrapped.

[AngryAsWell]

Isabel Hardman ‏@IsabelHardman · 3 mins3 minutes ago
I will be genuinely interested to see how the Church, whose vicars cannot take a Sabbath on Sunday, responds to the Sunday trading changes.

Sunday trading changes? Anyone heard anything about that?

[rebeccariots2]

Garrick members decide not to let women join.jpg (36.89 KiB) Viewed 6446 times

amelia gentleman ‏@ameliagentleman 3h3 hours ago
#garrick members decide not to allow women to join

Please supply your own comments for that outcome and picture.

And on the same day that the England team twitter sent out 'that' tweet about the Lionesses (now deleted apparently)...

[AngryAsWell]

Isabel Hardman ‏@IsabelHardman · 3 mins3 minutes ago
I will be genuinely interested to see how the Church, whose vicars cannot take a Sabbath on Sunday, responds to the Sunday trading changes.

Sunday trading changes? Anyone heard anything about that?

Evidentially Osborne going for 24/7 Sunday trading.

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/with_replies?lang=en-gb" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rebeccariots2]

Has anyone else had the email from Stella Creasy?

And if you have - does the link at the very bottom of it work for you?

The one I've bolded here ...

P.S. Here is one of my ideas - devolving power and money to our grassroots through CLP match-funding.

I'd like to know more about that idea and how she thinks it would work - but it tells me the web article isn't available when I click on it. Grrrrh ... thought people were supposed to test links worked before sending out a mass email.

[rebeccariots2]

Isabel Hardman ‏@IsabelHardman · 3 mins3 minutes ago
I will be genuinely interested to see how the Church, whose vicars cannot take a Sabbath on Sunday, responds to the Sunday trading changes.

Sunday trading changes? Anyone heard anything about that?

Evidentially Osborne going for 24/7 Sunday trading.

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/with_replies?lang=en-gb" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More zero hours contracts in the making no doubt - or working additional Sunday shifts at the same weekday rate. Productivity seems to mean spreading the margerine ever thinner on more slices of bread in Osborneland.

[RogerOThornhill]

Isabel Hardman ‏@IsabelHardman · 3 mins3 minutes ago
I will be genuinely interested to see how the Church, whose vicars cannot take a Sabbath on Sunday, responds to the Sunday trading changes.

Sunday trading changes? Anyone heard anything about that?

Evidentially Osborne going for 24/7 Sunday trading.

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/with_replies?lang=en-gb" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More zero hours contracts in the making no doubt - or working additional Sunday shifts at the same weekday rate. Productivity seems to mean spreading the margerine ever thinner on more slices of bread in Osborneland.

I may be a traditionalist but I think it's pretty sad that Sunday is just another day of the week now and not a day of rest.

And yes, I know that some have to work but I don't see why it has to extend to everything.

[Tubby Isaacs]

This expanded Sunday trading is going to be a right boon to "traditional family values".

[Tubby Isaacs]

You'll never get completely logical Sunday trading laws, but I wouldn't want them changed too much.

[RogerOThornhill]

Great comment in the BBC story...

Toomuchstupidhere 18m ago

3
4
This government is shabby, shabby, shabby in the extreme.

At least you fucking miserly old farts moaning on here won't have to spend £145 of your precious, precious pennies on what was once a world beating broadcasting organisation, once it's gone.

If nothing else, it'll stop your interminable fucking endless moaning about the BBC.

No doubt, no doubt you ageing shit for brains will find something else you can inflict your shitty little opinions on us about.

[RogerOThornhill]

Talking about Sunday trading...anyone remember early closing?

Thursday in our area - unthinkable now.

[rebeccariots2]

Talking about Sunday trading...anyone remember early closing?

Thursday in our area - unthinkable now.

We still have a few shops that close early on a Wednesday here. And quite a few shops have different / shorter opening hours for the winter / out of season months - but that's a bit different.

[LadyCentauria]

There are a handful of shops around here closing early on Wednesdays and quite a few more which close for lunch every day. Our local chemist still keeps a half-day Saturday.

Hoping that @citizenJA is ok...