[Politics] Tory meltdown finally arrived [was: incoming]...

[Blue Valkyrie]

So, today we have:

- Tory minister watching porn on his phone whilst attending a debate in the HoC
- Tory social mobility commissioner claiming that the reason for low female representation in A-Level Physics is because "girls don't like hard maths"
- Tory supporting newspaper (The Mail) claiming that Angela Rayner enjoys the sexist slurs directed towards her

Great day for equality. I seriously wonder how any woman (or, indeed, man) can vote Conservative.

I can potentially vote Conservative but under no circumstances will I vote "Cult of Johnson".

 

[beorhthelm]

The judge confirmed that Witty (March 13th) and the SAGE meeting advised about asymptomatic transmission. It seems the government ignored the advice, which is why the High Court has ruled the government broke the law.

thats not entirely what the judgment says. no one really cares about the details, just the headline, certainly the quoted tweet. im not interested in defending government handling, suffice to say the judgment is available online.
https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Gardner-Harris-v-DHSC-judment-270422.pdf

 

[A1X]

Apparently Johnson "...will build a nuclear power plant every year".

View attachment 147331

Slapdash nuclear power plants built with an emphasis on speed above anything else? What could possibly go wrong.

 

[pb21]

the Rolls Royce modular reactors will make that possible. whether they'll be approved and whether local groups wont delay or prevent installation we wait and see. i hope so because relying on gas and wind has been proven not very good energy policy.

No chance IMO, it takes much longer than a year to design, build, test and commission relatively simple small scale gas peaking plant facilities.

 

[JBizzle]

So, today we have:

- Tory minister watching porn on his phone whilst attending a debate in the HoC
- Tory social mobility commissioner claiming that the reason for low female representation in A-Level Physics is because "girls don't like hard maths"
- Tory supporting newspaper (The Mail) claiming that Angela Rayner enjoys the sexist slurs directed towards her

Great day for equality. I seriously wonder how any woman (or, indeed, man) can vote Conservative.

Despite it seemingly always being Tories getting embroiled in these scandals, they won't vote for everyone else because "they're all the same"

 

[Thunder Bolt]

thats not entirely what the judgment says. no one really cares about the details, just the headline, certainly the quoted tweet. im not interested in defending government handling, suffice to say the judgment is available online.
https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Gardner-Harris-v-DHSC-judment-270422.pdf

The person whose quote I copied said Witty instead of Vallance so look at 73. and 74. The SAGE quote is also correct in 79 and 95.

 

[beorhthelm]

No chance IMO, it takes much longer than a year to design, build, test and commission relatively simple small scale gas peaking plant facilities.

obviosuly there would still be a lead time, once rolling the programme should be able to deliver a dozen or so over a few years. modular reactors made off site, shipped into location that has been prepped. its certainly less than the 10-15 year cycle for a full nuke plant. if they are clever*, they'll put them on existing nuke or other power station sites to reduce a bunch of complaint and infrastructure.

*people responsbile for delivery of course. not the government, they'd want to put them somewhere for jobs.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

So, today we have:
Tory social mobility commissioner claiming that the reason for low female representation in A-Level Physics is because "girls don't like hard maths"

I had a go at her, because my daughter took the Physics prize in her Sixth form college, and went to uni to get a degree in Mathematical Physics. Unfortunately, the government doesn't tend to put money into science or research so the careers are either poorly paid or very sparse, unless you go abroad.

 

[Randy McNob]

Apparently Johnson "...will build a nuclear power plant every year".

View attachment 147331

he can put them next to the 60 new hospitals ?

 

[TomandJerry]

Government policies on discharging untested patients from hospital to care homes in England at the start of the Covid pandemic have been ruled unlawful by the High Court.

The ruling comes after two women took former Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Public Health England to court.

Dr Cathy Gardner and Fay Harris said it had caused a "shocking death toll".

Prime Minister Boris Johnson renewed his apologies for all those who lost loved ones during the pandemic.

Dr Gardner and Ms Harris partially succeeded in claims against Mr Hancock and Public Health England.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

 

[nicko31]

the Rolls Royce modular reactors will make that possible. whether they'll be approved and whether local groups wont delay or prevent installation we wait and see. i hope so because relying on gas and wind has been proven not very good energy policy.

They'd be better to persuing non intermittant renewables like tidal, geo-thermal and biogas.

Nukes need mega security, can't see approval being easy

And big insulation push (the easiest win of all)

 

[A1X]

And big insulation push (the easiest win of all)

Woah woah woah...are you saying that those protestors were...right?

 

[Pavilionaire]

Well he would say that wouldn't he!!

As someone who deals with HMRC on a daily basis I can absolutely assure you that is total BS.

A helpline that was invariably answered within 3 rings now takes 10-15 minutes to be answered. Correspondence that used to get a response in 4-6 weeks is now taking 3-4 months. I had an acknowledgement from HMRC yesterday thanking me for my "recent contact". My letter was dated 8 December 2021 - so HMRC now deems over 4 months to be "recent".

I have been dealing with HMRC for decades and never has the service deteriorated to such an appalling level.

As a former civil servant myself (Customs & Excise and Inland Revenue) we were trained that we were there to "serve the public". Now it is a total farce.

As an accountant who also deals with HMRC on a daily basis I agree with everything you have said.

New client tax agent status - used to take 2-3 weeks, now 4-5 weeks. New payroll scheme - was 1 week, now 3 weeks and counting. We've set up a couple of new employers, today is payday, the scheme info was submitted online 3 weeks ago but still no Employer / PAYE references. New client authorisations submitted in March are only just going live and I need to send out 2021/22 IT Checklists.

And the agents HMRC website is abysmal, there's no integration of taxes and you can't view your clients' PAYE / VAT / Corp Tax Accounts transactions.

As you say, the agent line is 10-15 mins every time, whereas we had priority with 2-3 rings. Sometimes you wait so long you forget which client it was you were calling about.

All a bit parochial I know, but this organisation is responsible for raising the tax the UK needs to pay its way. I feel sorry for the staff who - by and large - are courteous and helpful.

 

[nicko31]

Woah woah woah...are you saying that those protestors were...right?

They were totally right, especially as we are on the brink of millions going into fuel poverty this Autumn.

But don't touch the companies whose profits have gone up 10 fold from OUR north sea

 

[Bob!]

The Guardian considering the possibilty of Worthing turning red.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/27/labour-tory-strongholds-worthing-johnson

 

[Pinkie Brown]

The Guardian considering the possibilty of Worthing turning red.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/27/labour-tory-strongholds-worthing-johnson

If the red wave of council seats is anything to go by, Worthing is very winnable for Labour. I believe a boundary change is due which would make Worthing one seat rather than current east and west. As I 'understand,' two northerly wards would move to Arundel and South Downs with two wards to the east containing Sompting and Lancing moving into the new Worthing seat. Given ward demographics this can only be a plus for Labour. If boundaries were to stay the same, East Worthing and Shoreham is clearly the most vulnerable with the charmless Tim Loughton set to lose his seat. That would be a local Portillo moment to savour.

 

[beorhthelm]

They'd be better to persuing non intermittant renewables like tidal, geo-thermal and biogas.

Nukes need mega security, can't see approval being easy

And big insulation push (the easiest win of all)

not that we shouldnt insulate, it is probably the hardest because it requires ~27million installations, many of diminishing or uneconomically viable improvements. estimated to employ half a million people which will need training (or lose ~16% of existing construction), distributed unevenly across the country. delivery is very hard to do.

 

[nicko31]

not that we shouldnt insulate, it is probably the hardest because it requires ~27million installations, many of diminishing or uneconomically viable improvements. estimated to employ half a million people which will need training (or lose ~16% of existing construction), distributed unevenly across the country. delivery is very hard to do.

Yes a huge job, but even if we only insulated 15-20% in the near term it would lead to significant fall in energy demand. Despite this, where is the incentive or tax breaks to do insulation? What's more it could be done quickly

Johnson's ill thought nuke plan will take 10 year to plan, 10 years to build and another 10 years to get the carbon back from building it the first place. Add to that, its the most expensive form of new energy with a toxic legacy when its all ever.

 

[Billy the Fish]

Woah woah woah...are you saying that those protestors were...right?

For balance, i'm not sure if @nico31 saying it on NSC equates to unequivocal proof!

Just to echo what [MENTION=599]beorhthelm[/MENTION] said, it's obviously a good thing to insulate but it's clearly not that easy to roll it out nationwide. Grant schemes were running for years without reaching everyone and there are pitfalls to cavity wall insulation in older houses.

 

[nicko31]

For balance, i'm not sure if @nico31 saying it on NSC equates to unequivocal proof!

Just to echo what [MENTION=599]beorhthelm[/MENTION] said, it's obviously a good thing to insulate but it's clearly not that easy to roll it out nationwide. Grant schemes were running for years without reaching everyone and there are pitfalls to cavity wall insulation in older houses.

OK, so what easier win than insulation?