Thursday 12th November 2015
Posted: Thu 12 Nov, 2015 7:09 am
Morning all.
Somehow I doubt this will 'embarrass ministers'. They appear to be completely without the required component that enables them to feel shame, responsibility or guilt.UK becomes only G7 country to increase fossil fuel subsidies
Tory government is giving billions in ever increasing handouts to oil and gas majors at the same time as cutting support for clean energy, report reveals
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... t_b-gdneco" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The UK is alone among G7 nations in dramatically increasing its fossil fuel subsidies, despite an earlier pledge to phase them out, a new report has found.
The revelation will embarrass ministers who want to take a leading role at a crunch UN climate change summit in Paris in December, but who have been sharply cutting support for green energy at home.
The report from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and Oil Change International found that as a whole, G20 nations are responsible for $452bn (£297bn) a year in subsidies for fossil fuel production. The G20, which meets on Sunday in Turkey, pledged in 2009 to phase out fossil fuel subsidies...
Kevin Brennan @KevinBrennanMP 7m7 minutes ago
Kevin Brennan Retweeted Jonathan Ashworth MP
Dear Oxfordshire Council, When I found out what I'd been up to I knew I had to blame you. Yours, David Cameron
Jonathan Ashworth MPVerified account
@JonAshworth
Looking forward to joining @BBCOxford in a few mins discussing the Council cuts in David Cameron's backyard
Worth Labour making the complaint about this as even if (or should that be when?) Jeremy Heywood decides Cameron has done nothing wrong ... it keeps the story in the public eye and allows more information such as the report below to be brought to wider attention.nickyinnorfolk wrote:Cameron is being accused of breaching ministerial code by writing to Oxfordshire County Council to complain about his own government's cuts.
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/nation ... l_council/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
BBC Radio 4 reporting on the Cameron / Ian Hudspeth exchange and the complaint re breach of ministerial code is lamentable - of course.Chipping Norton at centre of war of words between David Cameron and Oxfordshire county council
The local council is planning to close the town's local children's centre as part of an £8m cost-cutting programme
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 30691.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Wow - the Beeb feature story which suggests their esteemed Dodgy Dave has feet of clay. Wonders will never cease.yahyah wrote:Morning.
Radio 4 headlined the Cameron hypocrisy on the hour, so hopefully they tackled it on Today. I overslept, didn't hear anything before 8am.
Oh - I spoke too soon! Might have known ....rebeccariots2 wrote:Worth Labour making the complaint about this as even if (or should that be when?) Jeremy Heywood decides Cameron has done nothing wrong ... it keeps the story in the public eye and allows more information such as the report below to be brought to wider attention.nickyinnorfolk wrote:Cameron is being accused of breaching ministerial code by writing to Oxfordshire County Council to complain about his own government's cuts.
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/nation ... l_council/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
BBC Radio 4 reporting on the Cameron / Ian Hudspeth exchange and the complaint re breach of ministerial code is lamentable - of course.Chipping Norton at centre of war of words between David Cameron and Oxfordshire county council
The local council is planning to close the town's local children's centre as part of an £8m cost-cutting programme
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 30691.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Rowena Mason @rowenamason 3m3 minutes ago
Lib Dem peers really have just elected Lord Rennard to party's federal executive.
My irony monitor just started bleeping hysterically.Patrick Wintour @patrickwintour 59s60 seconds ago
Clegg to write book on ‘how the politics of reason, evidence and compromise can survive in an age of unreasoned populism". Autobiography ?
Jim Pickard @PickardJE 1m1 minute ago
Nick Clegg's new book will be called: "Politics: The Art of the Possible in an Age of Unreason."
Finding the cash to heat the stables need never be a problem for the Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi for as long as his latest gig lasts. He has been signed up as chief strategy officer of Gulf Keystone Petroleum, one of the biggest operators in the oilfields of Kurdistan. His pay, “until further notice”, is £20,125 a month. That is £241,500 a year.
The company expects him to put in between eight and 21 hours a week. In September, he received a single payment of £52,325 to cover the first two-and-a-half months in the job.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 30926.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Christopher Hope @christopherhope 5m5 minutes ago
EXLUSIVE HMRC to merge 170 offices into 13 hubs as part of major overhaul | via @Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/econ ... rhaul.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
It's a night mare trying to deal with them now !rebeccariots2 wrote:Christopher Hope @christopherhope 5m5 minutes ago
EXLUSIVE HMRC to merge 170 offices into 13 hubs as part of major overhaul | via @Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/econ ... rhaul.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
rebeccariots2 wrote:Christopher Hope @christopherhope 5m5 minutes ago
EXLUSIVE HMRC to merge 170 offices into 13 hubs as part of major overhaul | via @Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/econ ... rhaul.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 30451.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;Britain's official statistics watchdog has castigated the Government over David Cameron’s citation of questionable figures purporting to show how many European Union migrants claim benefits in the UK.
.... In a strongly-worded letter seen by the Independent, Sir Andrew Dilnot, the authority’s chair, described the Government’s handling of the release of the figures as “disappointing” and “unsatisfactory” and said officials had been “spoken with”.
Clegg himself contributed to 'unreason', as he's pleased to pompously term it - coming out with all that lying nonsense about how austerity was necessary after he himself had (pre Coalition) called it 'economic masochism'. And he knew damn well that bankers caused the crash and not Labour, and yet kept on harping on about 'Labour's mess'. Horrible hypocrite of a man.rebeccariots2 wrote:My irony monitor just started bleeping hysterically.Patrick Wintour @patrickwintour 59s60 seconds ago
Clegg to write book on ‘how the politics of reason, evidence and compromise can survive in an age of unreasoned populism". Autobiography ?
Jim Pickard @PickardJE 1m1 minute ago
Nick Clegg's new book will be called: "Politics: The Art of the Possible in an Age of Unreason."
Still ... at least we have been spared Andrew Sparrow's devoted reporting of Clegg's Call In since the demise of the coalition. Small mercies and all that.
Jim Pickard @PickardJE 5m5 minutes ago
Jim Pickard Retweeted Jonathan Walker
Big story if this goes ahead...
Jonathan WalkerVerified account
@jonwalker121
Ex-Cabinet Minister Andrew Mitchell says he believes government will break up Birmingham into smaller councils http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/mi ... ar_twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
This has been gossiped about for a while.rebeccariots2 wrote:Jim Pickard @PickardJE 5m5 minutes ago
Jim Pickard Retweeted Jonathan Walker
Big story if this goes ahead...
Jonathan WalkerVerified account
@jonwalker121
Ex-Cabinet Minister Andrew Mitchell says he believes government will break up Birmingham into smaller councils http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/mi ... ar_twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
Tbh, I'm amazed they have 170 offices, and it's hard to see the point of them when they've already closed the public enquiry desks.rebeccariots2 wrote:Christopher Hope @christopherhope 5m5 minutes ago
EXLUSIVE HMRC to merge 170 offices into 13 hubs as part of major overhaul | via @Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/econ ... rhaul.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
nickyinnorfolk wrote:Cameron lying again.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 30451.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;Britain's official statistics watchdog has castigated the Government over David Cameron’s citation of questionable figures purporting to show how many European Union migrants claim benefits in the UK.
.... In a strongly-worded letter seen by the Independent, Sir Andrew Dilnot, the authority’s chair, described the Government’s handling of the release of the figures as “disappointing” and “unsatisfactory” and said officials had been “spoken with”.
Tell him to write to them and keep a record ... Forget the phone or computer. It's what I do. Takes ages, but their loss.yahyah wrote:It's a night mare trying to deal with them now !rebeccariots2 wrote:Christopher Hope @christopherhope 5m5 minutes ago
EXLUSIVE HMRC to merge 170 offices into 13 hubs as part of major overhaul | via @Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/econ ... rhaul.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
They sent my husband a strange letter last week, completely out of kilter with his actual tax affairs, seemed like a standard form letter generated by computer but every time he rings up he gets the 'half an hour wait time' message.
When he decided to retire early, nine years ago, we made a lot of calls to HMRC & the National Insurance people and you got dealt with virtually straight away, and the staff seemed more knowledgeable than often now.
Don't Tories even understand the effect of their own policies on themselves, even if they can't muster concern for those who have lost their jobs or are being overworked and stressed by cuts and 'reforms' ?
Twitter account @WhitehallEdits spots the Wikipedia changes made from the the government’s computer network on, well, Whitehall.
Most of them are fairly harmless, but occasionally a truly great edit comes along.
Today, one of those popped up, and boy is it a good one.
http://metro.co.uk/2015/06/03/someone-i ... s-5228949/
So all that guff about Jez "snubbing" Brenda was more fibs by the right wing press? Who knew??yahyah wrote:So Corbyn didn't kneel before the Queen.
Hope all those calling him a sell out will apologise.
In spite of attempts here to divide the city, Trojan horse, and ghastly local rag spring instantly to mind, most people are proud of Birmingham. We had a Tory council here till 2012, since then they've bled us dry. We turned mostly red in May, dividing it would create more problems than it would solve, and pit the very rich against the very poor. This whole idea makes me want to wave a huge flag saying fuck off and leave my city alone.AnatolyKasparov wrote:This has been gossiped about for a while.rebeccariots2 wrote:Jim Pickard @PickardJE 5m5 minutes ago
Jim Pickard Retweeted Jonathan Walker
Big story if this goes ahead...
Jonathan WalkerVerified account
@jonwalker121
Ex-Cabinet Minister Andrew Mitchell says he believes government will break up Birmingham into smaller councils http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/mi ... ar_twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …
It actually makes some sense on psephological grounds, but runs into the problem that - big and unwieldy as it is - Brum sees itself as a single coherent community, and I can't see splitting it up being popular (the exception is, of course, the bit Mitchell represents - Sutton Coldfield - though it is too small to be a viable unitary on its own but is still unwilling to be subsumed by Warwickshire; up north, Southport is in a not dissimilar position)
I'm shocked. Shocked!AnatolyKasparov wrote:So all that guff about Jez "snubbing" Brenda was more fibs by the right wing press? Who knew??yahyah wrote:So Corbyn didn't kneel before the Queen.
Hope all those calling him a sell out will apologise.
For the money!StephenDolan wrote:Simon Danczuk, the 'Labour' MP beloved and pilloried by the Sun
http://gu.com/p/4e652" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"Does Danczuk not realise what a disloyal fool he is to act as a rent-a-quote for the anti-Labour Sun? "
On the money.
adding this. Just In the case of Ladywood alone, a place I have known since early childhood, and which has suffered from generational poverty, such a plan would leave it in even worse state, it was beginning to look up a bit till the financial crisis. Makes me want to weep because the communities are good, just work and income deprived, and tbh, what has the sucess of the West Mids got to do with that? And I can see another two out of the ten with equal if not mire sifficulties and an unbelievable statement about reducing the new boroughs to just rubbish collecting? I'm on firebnow because how dare someone representing a mostly rich area look down his tory nose and despise the rest of Birmingham, they had their hands on the helm here, and did no good at all, and presided over the distancing of the council from local people and their needs, and outsourcing far too much. I won't start on education and what has been lost, I might not recover from thinking about it too much.seeingclearly wrote:In spite of attempts here to divide the city, Trojan horse, and ghastly local rag spring instantly to mind, most people are proud of Birmingham. We had a Tory council here till 2012, since then they've bled us dry. We turned mostly red in May, dividing it would create more problems than it would solve, and pit the very rich against the very poor. This whole idea makes me want to wave a huge flag saying fuck off and leave my city alone.AnatolyKasparov wrote:This has been gossiped about for a while.rebeccariots2 wrote:
It actually makes some sense on psephological grounds, but runs into the problem that - big and unwieldy as it is - Brum sees itself as a single coherent community, and I can't see splitting it up being popular (the exception is, of course, the bit Mitchell represents - Sutton Coldfield - though it is too small to be a viable unitary on its own but is still unwilling to be subsumed by Warwickshire; up north, Southport is in a not dissimilar position)
Hello.Willow904 wrote:The moderators seem a bit jumpy on the Guardian's live blog today. I've just posted a comment attacking David Cameron, the City of London and the exploitation of Indian workers. I wonder how long it will last? I think my previous one was moderated for questioning the quality of the blog (do we really need a picture of the hotel the Indian PM will be staying at <yawn>?) so it will be interesting to see if my rather more critical comment survives or whether they really are being over sensitive today.
followed by -3h ago10:24
Here is Narendra Modi’s plane at Heathrow.
It amused me, anyway. Credit where it's due, an' all.And here he is getting out of it.
Reading social worker speaks out on staff exodus and falling standards
The social worker said more than 20 social workers have left over the last two years and been replaced by agency staff
http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/readin ... t-10421479