Autumn statement today ...... hero’s or villains?

[lawros left foot]

My question is,if the Lords hadnt knocked back the Tax Credit Cuts, with all this money Gideon has found, would he have cancelled the proposed cuts?

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

I totally agree it's good to listen and form decisions. But, it's far better to do this first and not afterwards and then have to make a u-turn.

I'd agree, however, 3-6 months ago he was probably saying this to stabilise the markets, say what the market wanted to hear and test the water on this particular policy with the electorate. He then has to keep with this policy whilst he listened to various opinions and then make a judgement. Politics isn't easy, in my opinion, and you have to satisfy on so many levels that it's sometimes difficult to understand what's behind a judgement.

That said it seems a popular call in the end.

 

[lawros left foot]

I'd agree, however, 3-6 months ago he was probably saying this to stabilise the markets, say what the market wanted to hear and test the water on this particular policy with the electorate. He then has to keep with this policy whilst he listened to various opinions and then make a judgement. Politics isn't easy, in my opinion, and you have to satisfy on so many levels that it's sometimes difficult to understand what's behind a judgement.

That said it seems a popular call in the end.

I hope you will be as understanding when the next Labour government(whenever that may be) makes an equally unpopular decision

 

[Surf's Up]

Interesting that the SNPs response was considerably more economically literate, considered and incisive than the dogs dinner presented by the shadow chancellor who seemed to resort to cheap theatrics as a blind for his economic incompetence.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

This. If the burglary is something that's happened while you're out and could have been at any point in the preceding eight hours, with the perpetrators long gone, the police are never going to race round. I believe the policy is that they get responded to within an hour (might be two, not sure) in scenarios like that. If you come home to find them in your house, of course it's a different position.

1991, I woke up at 5am as I heard a noise in my kitchen, thought it was the kids so I went downstairs. I saw the burglar. Fortunatetly, for me, he ran out of the back door. The police arrived just after 7am.
To be fair, I did tell the police on the phone, that the burglar had done a runner.

 

[Tarpon]

It's all smoke and mirrors...The borrowing figures and tax take are awful in comparison to Gideon's predictions (again) but this posturing will keep a lid on rates. And that's the game. Does anyone here really believe that running a surplus is either possible or necessary? If so then you're one of the many who've fallen for one of the biggest political cons ever. "We could end up like Greece!!" Er no, no we won't. All this total nonsense that we're fed and lap up like moronic puppies makes me very angry. More cider please....

Indeed.

I continue to be utterly astounded and depressed by the confidence many appear to have in this government.

Austerity provides the perfect pre text to deliver the long standing ideological goal of irreversibly shrinking the state and government spending. Outright deceit and wilful ignorance wrestle to obscure the current and future impact on economic growth our society and values. The majority of the media and public are sold on the con (either wittingly and unwittingly depending on self interest) so on it rolls.

Following a victory they never expected & free of the coalition shackles the opportunity to enact unprecedented change at a fearful pace is being grasped. The decisions reek of entitlement, elitism and arrogance and there is little attempt to disguise the contempt for the poor and vulnerable. They will only be tempered by potential public revulsion at their impact alongside any risk to retaining power in 2020 and beyond. Tax credits is a marker for this but it won't be until the weekend that real in depth critical analysis gets behind the show and tell of today.

I genuinely believe a meaner more selfish and divided future awaits us all and that history and our children will judge us harshly. Most of us are being sold a big lie by an elite that have no interest beyond preserving their wealth privilege and power at our expense. 'Low welfare, high wage economy'...how they must piss themselves laughing as we tell ourselves all is good because we can maybe afford the next 'desirable' item while gorging on mindless celebrity culture etc. We need to wake up collectively and recognise the real value of a cohesive society before it is lost.

Awaits flaming.

 

[theboybilly]

I'm Border Force staff. Am expecting to get creamed. Again.

Remember that the next time some po-faced MP pops up on your telly saying words like "robust".

A public sector worker who's pension will be largely financed by those, like me, in the private sector

 

[jimhigham]

A public sector worker who's pension will be largely financed by those, like me, in the private sector

As a rule of thumb, I find it is normally the same right of centre folk that begrudge me my income that are also the most agitated about anything that jeopardises the border. I've heard this so many times over the years that it's becoming a little tedious. Apologies if I have misrepresented you with this remark but then you did seem to go out of your way to get a rise out of me.

Yawn!

 

[darkwolf666]

Indeed.

I continue to be utterly astounded and depressed by the confidence many appear to have in this government.

Austerity provides the perfect pre text to deliver the long standing ideological goal of irreversibly shrinking the state and government spending. Outright deceit and wilful ignorance wrestle to obscure the current and future impact on economic growth our society and values. The majority of the media and public are sold on the con (either wittingly and unwittingly depending on self interest) so on it rolls.

Following a victory they never expected & free of the coalition shackles the opportunity to enact unprecedented change at a fearful pace is being grasped. The decisions reek of entitlement, elitism and arrogance and there is little attempt to disguise the contempt for the poor and vulnerable. They will only be tempered by potential public revulsion at their impact alongside any risk to retaining power in 2020 and beyond. Tax credits is a marker for this but it won't be until the weekend that real in depth critical analysis gets behind the show and tell of today.

I genuinely believe a meaner more selfish and divided future awaits us all and that history and our children will judge us harshly. Most of us are being sold a big lie by an elite that have no interest beyond preserving their wealth privilege and power at our expense. 'Low welfare, high wage economy'...how they must piss themselves laughing as we tell ourselves all is good because we can maybe afford the next 'desirable' item while gorging on mindless celebrity culture etc. We need to wake up collectively and recognise the real value of a cohesive society before it is lost.

Awaits flaming.

Wish I was eloquent enough to have written that post... brilliant in every word!

 

[Tarpon]

Wish I was eloquent enough to have written that post... brilliant in every word!

Cheers. It was part fuelled by vino so I can now spot the typos! Stand by it all mind you: any bones thrown our way this week are, in my view, highly likely to be a only a minor speed bump in where we are heading.

 

[BLOCK F]

Indeed.

I continue to be utterly astounded and depressed by the confidence many appear to have in this government.

Austerity provides the perfect pre text to deliver the long standing ideological goal of irreversibly shrinking the state and government spending. Outright deceit and wilful ignorance wrestle to obscure the current and future impact on economic growth our society and values. The majority of the media and public are sold on the con (either wittingly and unwittingly depending on self interest) so on it rolls.

Following a victory they never expected & free of the coalition shackles the opportunity to enact unprecedented change at a fearful pace is being grasped. The decisions reek of entitlement, elitism and arrogance and there is little attempt to disguise the contempt for the poor and vulnerable. They will only be tempered by potential public revulsion at their impact alongside any risk to retaining power in 2020 and beyond. Tax credits is a marker for this but it won't be until the weekend that real in depth critical analysis gets behind the show and tell of today.

I genuinely believe a meaner more selfish and divided future awaits us all and that history and our children will judge us harshly. Most of us are being sold a big lie by an elite that have no interest beyond preserving their wealth privilege and power at our expense. 'Low welfare, high wage economy'...how they must piss themselves laughing as we tell ourselves all is good because we can maybe afford the next 'desirable' item while gorging on mindless celebrity culture etc. We need to wake up collectively and recognise the real value of a cohesive society before it is lost.

Awaits flaming.

No flaming, but I reckon you are exaggerating your case, for example: 'no interest beyond preserving their wealth privilege and power at our expense'.
Does this go for all the ordinary people who voted Tory and are reasonably happy with what they are doing?
Well, if you don't like the Government, then it is vital that Labour get rid of Corbyn and his fruit loops and take steps to assemble a competent Opposition to present a coherent alternative that can hold the Government to account and have some chance of being voted into power.
IMHO, one of the biggest examples of inequality in this country is the cost of housing.Sadly,even young people with good jobs are finding it impossible to purchase a home of their own. If by some utopian miracle, this could be put right overnight, then I for one, would be a lot happier and I guess that would go for an awful lot of nasty selfish Tories like myself. It won't happen.
Governments of all shades have been happy for house prices to rise, for all kinds of reasons. I have bored the pants off myself by banging on about it to anyone who will listen. Now that is real inequality......one of generational inequality.Trouble is,it isn't easy to put right, whatever Government is in power.

 

[drew]

A public sector worker who's pension will be largely financed by those, like me, in the private sector

Exactly what point are you trying to make? Are you suggesting his pension is too high as that suggests you know what his pension will be. Are you suggesting that the private sector shouldn't fund the public sector because if you are, goodbye public sector. Would you be happier if border control was run by the private sector? I take it you are happy that you get tax relief on your pension contributions which, it could be argued, means that every tax payer (which is pretty much everyone) is contributing to your pension pot!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Governments of all shades have been happy for house prices to rise, for all kinds of reasons. I have bored the pants off myself by banging on about it to anyone who will listen. Now that is real inequality......one of generational inequality.Trouble is,it isn't easy to put right, whatever Government is in power.

And it won't be put right all the time you have a generation which has totally failed us still in charge. I have often joked about banning over-30s from standing for parliament and also from voting; maybe it isn't such a bad idea after all?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

A public sector worker who's pension will be largely financed by those, like me, in the private sector

Are you are private sector worker who's overall current well-being, security and education has been provided by the public sector?

 

[BLOCK F]

And it won't be put right all the time you have a generation which has totally failed us still in charge. I have often joked about banning over-30s from standing for parliament and also from voting; maybe it isn't such a bad idea after all?

You have a valid point HT.
I think the younger generation have got a rough deal compared to my age group and those somewhat younger.( I am 67)

 

[grummitts gloves]

I'll chuck in my two penneth re Policing. The Home Office target was to reduce Police numbers to 80,000 in the UK and cut the Police budget by a further 20%. This is in addition to the cuts that have been ongoing for the last few years. Use Sussex Police as an example. In 2003, Sussex Police consisted of approximately 3,200 officers and staff. Edna might be able to tell you the current establishment figure, but from memory it's at least 500 less. Just as an example, France has roughly the same population as the UK, but twice as many officers as we do. I appreciate they have a much greater geographical area to Police, but even still, taking into account current events, a drop to 80,000 in the UK would be very worrying indeed.

In recent weeks, the Government admitted that the formula it used to work out Police budgets was based on flawed data and didn't need to be cut anywhere near as much as first suggested, but up until yesterdays U turn, they were still going ahead with it. Saying that crime is down, all depends on how the crimes are recorded. Home Office counting rules have constantly been changed as to what is or isn't a recordable crime or series of crimes certainly for the last 27 years that I'm aware of, so don't read too much into the stats around crime figures being down.

What should be more concerning is the slow creep of private security firms offering to take on more and more Police roles, not just 'back office' stuff but roles the general public would expect a Police Officer to deal with, not some profit making firm that happens to have a main director married to the current Home Secretary.

 

[Ernest]

A public sector worker who's pension will be largely financed by those, like me, in the private sector

Whose pension is protected by the state isn't it ? Railway pensions are one of the last things worth having

 

[Titanic]

What should be more concerning is the slow creep of private security firms offering to take on more and more Police roles, not just 'back office' stuff but roles the general public would expect a Police Officer to deal with, not some profit making firm that happens to have a main director married to the current Home Secretary.

How does this work financially? are the police pricing themselves out of a job?

 

[grummitts gloves]

How does this work financially? are the police pricing themselves out of a job?

I'm not entirely sure as I haven't looked into that side of it too deeply, but you would presume that they would claim that a G4S employee will perform the role for a lower yearly salary than the Police employee and still make profit for G4S? Depending on the roles they would look to fill, the salaries would vary, particularly for Police staff, as their pay is based on bandings for the role they perform. Likewise officer salaries depend on length of service and rank, but a starter for 10 is that a new Police Constable who has just joined will be on a salary of £19,000. It was cut by this government a couple of years ago by about £3000 and pension contributions deducted from source, increased from 11% rising to 14%.

 

[LlcoolJ]

( I am 67)

This partially explains why you think the current government is doing a good job. They are very careful not to upset the largest and costliest group of benefit claimants in the country as the "grey vote" is so powerful.

Only partially mind as I know plenty of over 60s who are more enlightened.

Buying a house will be the least of the next generation's worries once these *******s have finished ruining all that's good about our public services. And no, I don't support Labour either.