Thursday 14th January 2016

[danesclose]

Guardian reporting that, due to an "administrative error" Boris Johnson didn't settle his bar bill whilst on a trip to see British troops in Iraq.

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

We used to call it "Doing a runner"

[rebeccariots2]

This sort of stuff is why I - on balance - love Twitter.

Michael Rosen
‏@MichaelRosenYes
@IMcMillan Recommended you today to a teachers' workshop. They were doing #micropoetry. I said you were a micropoet. You walk under carpets.

[Tubby Isaacs]

You don't slip anything past Mikey Sheriff!

http://schoolsweek.co.uk/watchdog-wrath ... mocksteds/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Schools caught telling parents they have been rated as “outstanding” in external reviews face a ticking off from the education watchdog Ofsted as it gets tough on “mocksteds”.

Chiswick School, in west London, was censured after writing in an article published on its website and in a letter to parents that an “Ofsted lead inspector” had conducted the peer review.

Needs to go after more general "shadow inspection" claims. I recall Greenwich Free School being big on that... the real Ofsted were less impressed.

I'm assuming Tom Shinner, the mastermind behind that school, is still in the DFE on £100k plus. He and Munira Mirza ought to meet up.

[Tubby Isaacs]

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

Sounds like a completely new Trident review, with Thornberry leading it alone.

If this is correct, then it's an inconsistent mess. Why no pro-Trident co-chair to balance? Looks rigged. All this alienates non-troublemaking mainstream MPs.

I don't even think it'll get scrapped anyway. Free vote. Tell David Cameron the only person the only person who can scrap it is him by directing his MPs to vote against.

Chance of an anti-Trident Labour winning an election with a majority big enough to defeat Tories and rebel Labour MPs who want to scrap it? Pretty much zilch.

[Tubby Isaacs]

One of the problems is that it isn't a strictly left and right issue- see the GMB and Unite supporting Trident.

[howsillyofme1]

One of the problems is that it isn't a strictly left and right issue- see the GMB and Unite supporting Trident.

Just bloody get rid of it...useless antiquated load of rubbish!

Spend the money on something useful....it is hardly as we have got much of the stuff, or so we are told!

It shows the paucity of our industrial base where our only high tech industry is now selling killing machines to terrorist states or spending a load of money on something that will wipe out civilisation

Why not spend the money on looking for energy storage to help renewables become more useful, and on the renewables themselves, or many other things

The trouble is Corbyn is actually right, as is Thornberry, but the rest of the party des not want to even discuss the possibility. Cowards! If their argument was good for replacement then I am happy to change my view but all I have heard is:

i. There are a lot of jobs in Barrow
ii. North Korea will bomb us tomorrow
iii. Putin will bomb us even if North Korea won't
iv. We will lose influence and our seat on the security council
v. America will shout at us
vi We shouldn't ask someone else to take on the burden of our protection....

all of which are weak.....

[Tubby Isaacs]

Free vote?

[howsillyofme1]

Free vote?

I would say so I guess...

[PorFavor]

The Guardian view on fair play in politics: a Conservative coup
Editorial
From trade union reform to parliamentary process, the Tories show a pattern of contempt for the protocols of democracy
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... ative-coup" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I note that the word "sinister" crops up in the article.

[gilsey]

In other news, it snowed here for hours up to about 3pm. 3-4" lying, there were fieldfares in our tiny orchard for the first time in 2 years. They're always around but only come in the garden when there's snow.

It makes a change from rain.

Where's (roughly) "here", please?

North Yorkshire, about 10 miles south of Middlesbrough.

[gilsey]

Under-40s worse off as result of state pension changes, data shows
According to government figures, while many older people will benefit in the coming years, millions now in their teens, 20s and 30s will lose out
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/j ... s-says-dwp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That was the whole point of it wasn't it, to make the state pension 'sustainable', in the light of our 'ageing population'.

Younger people won't have the opportunity to earn extra through SERPS/S2P as we did - anything above the basic provision is effectively privatised.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Under-40s worse off as result of state pension changes, data shows
According to government figures, while many older people will benefit in the coming years, millions now in their teens, 20s and 30s will lose out
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/j ... s-says-dwp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That was the whole point of it wasn't it, to make the state pension 'sustainable', in the light of our 'ageing population'.

Younger people won't have the opportunity to earn extra through SERPS/S2P as we did - anything above the basic provision is effectively privatised.

Purpose to ensure support of key older demographic.

[rebeccariots2]

Newsnight a bit more interesting tonight. Last item on the flawed polls - deeply flawed polls - pre election 2015. They didn't survey the right people basically.

Maitliss completely unable to hear Tom Baldwin's point that the incredible way the media allowed their coverage to be framed by the polls and process - endless discussion of hung parliaments and scaredy SNP and who would be able to control who ... didn't serve the public well and may have contributed to the skewing and even further dwelling on process rather than policy. He made the perfectly reasonable point that because they were all so obsessed with coalition talk there was never any focus on what might really happen if there was a Tory majority government and therefore no proper opportunity for scrutiny of what that might mean for the NHS, tax credits etc. All Maitliss could ask was whether that might have meant there wouldn't have been an Ed Stone ...?

Woman from Birkbeck College was good. Saying there needs to be much more caution taken over polls and their methodology - the media should attach less importance to what she called 'cheap polls' where they haven't done enough to ensure good representation in their sample and taken enough time. She clearly preferred in depth social research type surveys as good indicators of where the electorate is.

[rebeccariots2]

A couple of tomorrow's front pages:

Neil Henderson ‏@hendopolis 2h2 hours ago
TELEGRAPH: 16m lose out on pensions #tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers

Sky News ‏@SkyNews 1h1 hour ago
DAILY EXPRESS: 'Millions get pension boost'

[citizenJA]

Goodnight, everyone
love,
cJA

[RogerOThornhill]

Delayed watching TW and seeing Portillo spectacularly missing the point about NHS 7 day service.

Medic - using the same doctors that provide 5 days over 7 day just spreads them more thinly
Portillo - But they've been offered an 11% pay rise.

Does he really not understand?

[HindleA]

And now my sister taken away suddenly,a husband and two teenage children left bereft.A bastard start to the year certainly."I've just been through it" all I can muster.