[Politics] The Labour Government

[armchairclubber]

Concerns raised over ‘dystopian’ weight loss trials on unemployed​

Wes Streeting has accepted £280 million from a pharma company to trial an injectable weight-loss drug on those out of work in a move that has been compared to something out of a “dystopian sci-fi novel”.

Concerns raised over 'dystopian' weight loss trials on unemployed

People have raised concerns over what is being described as a "dystopian" weight loss trial on unemployed people in the UK.

www.thelondoneconomic.com

Labour’s latest DWP plans for mental health-related claimants could literally kill people​

Those with severe mental health difficulties are already petrified of the DWP & having support withdrawn. This is going to cause new & untold suffering to those whose lives are already shattered.

Labour's latest DWP plans for mental health-related claimants could literally kill people

Labour's NHS DWP mental health plans could kill people - as shown in recently-released reports & inquests. Not that Kendall will mention that

www.thecanary.co

 

[LamieRobertson]

Concerns raised over ‘dystopian’ weight loss trials on unemployed​

Wes Streeting has accepted £280 million from a pharma company to trial an injectable weight-loss drug on those out of work in a move that has been compared to something out of a “dystopian sci-fi novel”.

Concerns raised over 'dystopian' weight loss trials on unemployed

People have raised concerns over what is being described as a "dystopian" weight loss trial on unemployed people in the UK.

www.thelondoneconomic.com

Labour’s latest DWP plans for mental health-related claimants could literally kill people​

Those with severe mental health difficulties are already petrified of the DWP & having support withdrawn. This is going to cause new & untold suffering to those whose lives are already shattered.

Labour's latest DWP plans for mental health-related claimants could literally kill people

Labour's NHS DWP mental health plans could kill people - as shown in recently-released reports & inquests. Not that Kendall will mention that

www.thecanary.co

Apparently the public are being prescribed a sedative for budget day

 

[Machiavelli]

Apparently, (some) Cabinet colleagues at today’s Cabinet meeting expressed the view around the table that the budget plans are “a f***ing nightmare.”

It's hardly surprising given the dire inheritance though, wouldn't you agree?

 

[Titanic]

It's hardly surprising given the dire inheritance though, wouldn't you agree?

What happened to 'fully funded, fully costed' ??

 

[Machiavelli]

What happened to 'fully funded, fully costed' ??

Not sure how that constitutes a response to the inheritance but feel free to help me out

 

[bazbha]

It's hardly surprising given the dire inheritance though, wouldn't you agree?

What is hardly surprising is that a Labour Government are hiking taxes even higher. When they are probably booted out in 5 years time I'm sure the next Government will blame them for overspending so they need to raise taxes and the cycle will go on and on.

 

[portslade seagull]

Not sure how that constitutes a response to the inheritance but feel free to help me out

Labour have misled from day one much like the tories. Problem is we are stuck with this pair of failures as there aren't any real alternatives. Easy to blame the old incumbent much like the tories did when they found the supposed letter then used that for months on end as a get out clause much like the 20B supposed black hole

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Concerns raised over ‘dystopian’ weight loss trials on unemployed​

Wes Streeting has accepted £280 million from a pharma company to trial an injectable weight-loss drug on those out of work in a move that has been compared to something out of a “dystopian sci-fi novel”.

Concerns raised over 'dystopian' weight loss trials on unemployed

People have raised concerns over what is being described as a "dystopian" weight loss trial on unemployed people in the UK.

www.thelondoneconomic.com

Where does it state the unemployed will be used in this trial?

 

[jcdenton08]

Where does it state the unemployed will be used in this trial?

Obesity: Unemployed could get weight loss jabs to return to work - BBC News

The health secretary announces trials to explore the effect of weight loss drugs on worklessness.

www.bbc.co.uk

Unemployed could be given weight-loss jabs to get back to work, says Wes Streeting | Unemployment | The Guardian

Health secretary announces trials to assess impact of medicines such as semaglutide on worklessness

amp.theguardian.com

 

[jcdenton08]

To be honest, I’m not against the idea in principle. I just don’t think it’s going to work for a number of reasons.

 

[Simster]

What happened to 'fully funded, fully costed' ??

Personally I think it's a sad state of affairs where Labour have decided they can't be honest with the electorate to the extent that they can't admit taxes need to rise to pay for the mess left behind. It's almost as feeble as their total refusal to discuss Brexit and the best way to fix it. Wes Streeting's interview yesterday made me want to put my foot through my monitor.

It's also shocking that some Tory sympathisers seem to want to give the Conservatives a free pass for their disastrous contribution to this state of affairs. Let's remember they were first elected because apparently the level of borrowing got too high under Labour. It has since more than trebled. They have also acted as if the 4-5% annual economy decline caused by their implemented Brexit doesn't matter. Well it does. 4-5% might not seem like much but if the average household income went up by that amount, they'd have 20% more disposable income.

I've had enough of Labour already as they seem unwilling to deal with the problems caused by the disastrous years under Conservative party rule, but it is a bit rich of a Tory to somehow smugly declare that they knew Labour wouldn't fix everything.

 

[armchairclubber]

Where does it state the unemployed will be used in this trial?

I've not seen that said in the confirmative way that you put it?

Unemployed could be given weight-loss jabs to get back to work, says Wes Streeting

Health secretary announces trials to assess impact of medicines such as Ozempic on worklessness

www.theguardian.com

Obesity: Unemployed could get weight loss jabs to return to work

The health secretary announces trials to explore the effect of weight loss drugs on worklessness.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Flounce]

What happened to 'fully funded, fully costed' ??

Obviously complete bullshit from the moment the statement was first issued. Repeated as often as “my father was a toolmaker”…nearly

 

[nicko31]

To be honest, I’m not against the idea in principle. I just don’t think it’s going to work for a number of reasons.

Sticking plaster

Eat less, eat well, moderate exercise will work for most

 

[armchairclubber]

Sticking plaster

A £280 million sticking plaster by the sounds

Eat less, eat well, moderate exercise will work for most

It's way way more complex than that for many, unfortunately.

For those that may be on prescriptions that cause weight gain, either mental health or physical conditions, that advice, as well as the prospect of a jab (which may well have side effects and require ongoing support) could be quite stark or impractical.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Interesting comment below - you'd have thought we had a Tory PM....

Responding to the speculation, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said public services needed “reform” and government departments will have to “become more productive”.

 

[chip]

Had an awful journey home tonight but now I know whar Eastleigh looks like. On the radio it said that magistrates will be able to sentence people to up to a year in prison and this will help reduce a back log. They seem to have forgotten about trials being decided by a jury of peers. Am I the only one who finds this a disturbing development or have I missed something? Have they forgotten about common law? I can imagine that this will produce a lot of unsafe and out of kilter verdits. A very strange thing to do without parliament backing it and some debate.

 

[chip]

To be honest, I’m not against the idea in principle. I just don’t think it’s going to work for a number of reasons.

I think this idea and its potential implementation could be a form of coercive control and undermines the principle of informed consent in treatment. I'm not against the idea, but it is rather like carbon capture - it works at the wrong end of the problem and only treats symptoms.

 

[A1X]

Had an awful journey home tonight but now I know whar Eastleigh looks like. On the radio it said that magistrates will be able to sentence people to up to a year in prison and this will help reduce a back log. They seem to have forgotten about trials being decided by a jury of peers. Am I the only one who finds this a disturbing development or have I missed something? Have they forgotten about common law? I can imagine that this will produce a lot of unsafe and out of kilter verdits. A very strange thing to do without parliament backing it and some debate.

Magistrates courts don’t do trial by jury and can impose custodial sentences up to 6 months already, as far as I can tell the proposal is to up that to 12 months to clear smaller cases out of the crown courts which do rely on jury trials.

It won’t work as (a) the number of cases is low and (b) many of the magistrates courts were closed down under George Osborne so there’s already a backlog there. But there’s nothing sinister about it that I can gather.

 

[Machiavelli]

Had an awful journey home tonight but now I know whar Eastleigh looks like. On the radio it said that magistrates will be able to sentence people to up to a year in prison and this will help reduce a back log. They seem to have forgotten about trials being decided by a jury of peers. Am I the only one who finds this a disturbing development or have I missed something? Have they forgotten about common law? I can imagine that this will produce a lot of unsafe and out of kilter verdits. A very strange thing to do without parliament backing it and some debate.

As @A1X explains, they're not introducing this from scratch, merely extending it from six to twelve months. Presumably this is done on the basis that magistrates courts are both quicker and cheaper (but willing to be proved wrong on this point).
What needs to be factored in is that there's an enormous backlog. This is hugely problematic for the victims of crime as their cases aren't being brought to court which can compound the initial crime. It's worth adding that this enormous backlog has been built up over the past 14 years due to austerity, and the slashing of the justice budget. This latest move sits alongside the early release of prisoners but, short of new money, there's little option but to take such measures.
A few posts back, others were criticising RR for not giving new money to departments and revelling in disquiet around the Cabinet table on this. Well, this is because debt is extremely high -- far higher than 14 years ago -- austerity has hollowed out public services, growth has been negligible and at historically alarming levels, and much, much more.

It's predictable that all of this will be ignored by the vast majority that post on this particular thread.