Westminster Politics
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
So like every other politician?
That's certainly one reading but it isn't the only conclusion you can take from Kendall's words. It could be that Kendall believes that Tory toughness is a necessary component of a winning strategy but insufficient on its own. So she advocates retaining the stick as is, but marries that to a (fairly vague) strategy of improving the nation's health and providing a better class of carrot in the shape of improved training schemes and better paying jobs. Only with these powers combined etc...
Seems to me to be just an extension of the generic argle-bargle you expect from the average politician - ie it's designed so you can read into it what you want.
The meltdown in government and the media is hilarious. FFS, pull yourselves together you donkeys.
Is every other politician believing in deep state conspiracies??
So just like the last 3 PMs.
Words fail...again.
Home Office refuses Afghan youth orchestra visas days before first gig
Portugal-based musicians on tour have played Breaking the Silence across Europe after Taliban seized music institute in Kabul
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2...sas-for-tour-of-england-days-before-first-gig
Home Office refuses Afghan youth orchestra visas days before first gig
Portugal-based musicians on tour have played Breaking the Silence across Europe after Taliban seized music institute in Kabul
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2...sas-for-tour-of-england-days-before-first-gig
Well if Galloway has the same beliefs as them it says it all.
A good chunk of the party in power apparently and our previous PM seem too. Conveniently glossing over the "party in power" (for 14 years) bit.
You literally said if every other politician believes in conspiracy theories, well yeah, how about the PMs themselves. Not only the current one, but also the one before, that if we want to exclude the other PM Tony fecking Blair with his "Saddam is building an atomic bomb" in 2002 which was the biggest foreign policy lie in modern history.
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Blair was 100 times more of a religious/conspiracy lying politician (politest word I could use in place of cnut) than Corbyn and Galloway. He just had 100 times better PR than those two. The blood, oh my God, on those Labour hands.
coming over here, stealing are woodwind instrument’s jobs.
"The British Empire was a good thing that benefitted the world" must be up there too.
These are the same dickheads that have had Nigel fecking Farage on a pedestal for the last 10+ years despite the fact that he constantly fails to make it as an MP. Like him or (most likely) not, Galloway keeps winning elections, why have the press and politicians any more right to be rude to/about him than all the other dweebs that represent us in Parliament?
Why aren't they outraged about Liz Truss swanning around spreading conspiracy theories as we pay her vast prime ministerial pension and security for life in exchange for 44 days of utter catastrophe?
I think Galloway is a complete and utter cnut, but it's a bit rich of this current government - who weren't elected, just like the short lived government before them - talking about anything related to democracy.
My partner works for DWP processing PIP claims and thinks an enormous majority of people are gaming/manipulating the system. She also sees a ton of ‘fraud’ daily - EG people claiming PIP because they can’t do XYZ, but also in receipt of carers allowance to do XYZ for someone else in the house, who also claims PIP and carers allowance for someone else, and so on.
I think people are ultimately driven to behave in certain ways and I believe in a comprehensive benefits system but the current set up is open to a lot of manipulation.
I think people are ultimately driven to behave in certain ways and I believe in a comprehensive benefits system but the current set up is open to a lot of manipulation.
Universal Credit is reduced by the amount equal to that received in carers allowance.
Say what you want about Galloway, at least he has a mandate, unlike the inept, unelected PM. Perhaps if they cared so much about the spectacle of democracy then they'd do the country a favour and call an election immediately instead of dragging us through the mud as they prolong as their asset strip frenzy.
UC and legacy benefits are projected to cost the taxpayer £80.9bn in 2023/24 (about £1150 per person in the UK if shared out equally).
During COVID the government wrote off £10bn in unusable PPE and lost £16bn due to fraud and error in their shitty loan scheme alone. Truss' 44 days as PM cost us £30bn. Fossil fuel projects received £80bn in government subsidies between 2015 and 2023.
So do you think that the amount that fraud costs universal credit is at all comparable to the amount that government incompetence and corruption costs? I'm even only considering wasteful and corrupt spending right now, not the cost of e.g. refusing to deal with the tax evasion and avoidance of the mega rich as well. And do you think that the sorts of people claiming more than they're entitled to on benefits are more or less likely to spend that money in the UK than the sorts of people who sell dodgy PPE or invest in fossil fuel projects?
The government also collects £30bn to £35bn a year less in tax than it should do.
Plus on the fossil fuels point - we gave Shell $£54m in tax breaks a year before they posted their $40bn annual worldwide profit.
It is always easier for any government to punch down, even when spending more on benefits would save money in the long term, just considering public health alone.
Well that's me convinced they are all shirkers.
FFS
It’s anecdotal, she handles 4 a day so a tiny fraction of the 6 month backlog of claims currently sat there waiting to be picked up, though I understand it’s the consensus amongst the case handlers that most claims (not awards) are people trying it on. Whether that’s word for word notes from a GPs supporting evidence or glaring contradictions in their claim such as the carers allowance issue.
My mum and one of my sisters are PIP claimants. Can my mum walk the length of a bus? Yes. Is her COPD otherwise and often near completely debilitating? Yes, and she’s medically retired from the NHS. Should she get PIP? Apparently not by the letter of the law, but she does because a case handler looked favourably upon her. That’s not the kind of manipulation I’m talking about, but I need people to understand where I’m coming from. I don’t think all claimants are lying scroungers and PIP is one facet in a big complex picture. Without PIP my mum would be up a creek without a paddle, my sister too.
My mum and one of my sisters are PIP claimants. Can my mum walk the length of a bus? Yes. Is her COPD otherwise and often near completely debilitating? Yes, and she’s medically retired from the NHS. Should she get PIP? Apparently not by the letter of the law, but she does because a case handler looked favourably upon her. That’s not the kind of manipulation I’m talking about, but I need people to understand where I’m coming from. I don’t think all claimants are lying scroungers and PIP is one facet in a big complex picture. Without PIP my mum would be up a creek without a paddle, my sister too.
I think fraud is a strong word for what I was meaning to describe but yes, it pales in significance compared to everything else you’ve raised which would be a priority fix for me.
Fair enough, I think I know what you mean. I know that PIP and attendance allowance etc. are often slightly gamed, but that's generaly because the rules are unkind and the amounts insufficient to begin with, so often the carers / social workers help people out as they know they need the money.
Conversely, my Mum with stage 4 lung cancer is not entitled to ESA because she underpaid her NIC by £60 in 1 tax year. She has made over 35 years of NIC contributions and would be entitled to a full state pension if she survived to retirement age, which she won't. We have a lot more pressing issues to deal with rather than punching down on the most vulnerable.
Sorry to hear this. Is your mum able to claim PIP? She may well be able to claim under special rules. The old form used to be the DS1500.
I don't know, obviously if what you say is correct then giving Starmer/Labour a 'bloody-nose', was not the intention.
So, what was?
Surely the people who voted for GG didn't think that voting for him would change a thing in Gaza? It might change things in Rochdale, but that is down the road a bit and given GG's record its not likely to be good news anytime soon, especially it would seem with both major party Leaders now looking for his scalp; he will become something of a pariah in the commons.
For the people of Rochdale, 'shooting oneself in the foot' is an image that comes to mind.
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I mean its essentially a protest vote. I don't think the people of Rochdale expect the outcome of their town's byelection to change the narrative in Gaza, but rather to send a message of discontent towards Keir Starmer and the current iteration of the Labour party, and perhaps a warning of how Starmer shouldn't take their vote for granted. I think Labour's candidate would have quite likely lost even if the whole anti-semitism scandal and consequent disowning of him by the party hadn't occurred. Weeks prior to that he was being booed pretty much every-time he was out canvassing.
Thanks, will look into this, but from what I remember she wasn't eligible for PIP.
So, it is 'virtue signalling' to Labour then?
So, why did Labour choose that candidate in the first place if he was so disliked?
Perhaps this will help Starmer get a grip on the candidate selection processes in places like Rochdale, before the GE...a shot across his bows, in that sense then?
I suspect many people just voted with their hearts rather than their heads, but let's hope for Rochdale's sake, the long term damage done via GG's election is minimal. The town has enough problems already without uniting the wrath of both major party leaders against its newly elected MP.
Especially since GG is not someone to 'walk quietly and carry a big stick" is he?
How about blaming the political elite and parties instead of blaming the voters. This is what democracy is all about. Those votes should not be taking for granted and should be earned.
Who else do we blame, its us who elect them?
You are right, votes should not be taken for granted, but the vast majority are, it's the swing voters or GE only voters who will choose the next government, I suspect that's who Starmer in particular is after with his cards close to his chest, that is until Rishi fires the GE starting gun.
Ummm...yes?
Rishi Sunak believes Palestinian marches are now hate marches and being controlled by 'extremists' (note - they can't define what they mean other than parroting Islamophobic dog whistles).
This is the same claim parroted by our former Home Sec, who also called it a 'hate march'.
We also have Lee Anderson who claims that the Mayor of London is now controlled by Islamists, and refuses to apologise.
I mean, we have politicians in very powerful and influential positions coming out with deep state idiocy, and alienating and demonising British Muslims. Say what you want about George Galloway, but if you have a problem with him and his covid conspiracy theories, then you should really be holding the Tory party to a higher degree of responsibility.
Just like what I said, they take people's vote for granted. You either vote for us or blame yourself, how about you fecking work for the vote.
The same political class and media have been banging on for years about how the left needed to listen and chase voters. The minute they took charge suddenly it's about blaming the voters instead.
They're all a bunch of hypocrites.
God bless the people of Rochdale. Aaron Bushnell sacrificing his young life probably won't stop the Gaza massacre either. But he did something. So did the Rochdaleans.
Rest in power Aaron Bushnell.
Voter panel
, FFS. He won actual votes in an actual election. He got his arse handed to him in an interview, and he is still crying about it. For how long this meltdown will continue?