Francis Maude Should Resign

[phantom309]

Well as Francis Maude was being interviewed for TV about the union having balloted for strike action it doesn't seem too unreasonable, especially as he mentioned several times that there would need to be that 7 day warning period.

 

The union made no mention of strike it was a vote which to take industrial action and they received as a mandate from their membership. Somebody is making 2+2 =5 and using it for propaganda.

[Resident]

This is the thing Resident. People are stupid. They do stupid stuff. People doing stupid stuff and petrol is not a good mix.

 

That is why Maude was wrong. What he said was potentially ok advice when targeted at a capable individual. But he was talking to 60 million, many of whom do not really understand what can happen with petrol when not handled properly.

 

He was wrong. And the results have been tragic.

 

He's still not responsible for the actions of others.

 

What people are failing to realise is this woman was pouring petrol into a jug in her KITCHEN, next to a GAS COOKER that was in use, ie a naked flame.

 

There are countless warning signs at the petrol station regarding naked flames etc. It was her own fault that she failed to heed those warnings or believed that because she wasn't at the petrol station then the chemical properties of petrol were somehow different.

 

It's the same as if I told you to go out and buy a gun. I'm not accountable if you decided to check if it's loaded by pointing it at your face and squeezing the trigger.

 

Stop pandering to the stupid and let them hurt themselves, they'll soon learn not to be stupid.

 

It's a harsh view I grant you but it's needed.

[I1L2T3]

The ramping up of the strike threat was a cynical and very transparent diversionary tactic. Plain to see.

[I1L2T3]

Of course people take responsibility for their actions. But this is the thing - how they behave can be influenced by the government. In fact Maude wanted exactly that - to follow his advice. Otherwise why did he give it.

 

Tragically his advice has had disasterous results.

[Jim Hardie]

Of course people take responsibility for their actions. But this is the thing - how they behave can be influenced by the government. In fact Maude wanted exactly that - to follow his advice. Otherwise why did he give it.

 

Tragically his advice has had disasterous results.

 

 

But she didn't follow his advice.

[stereolab]

But she didn't follow his advice.

 

Yes but he talked up the possibility of a shortage, and encouraged people to store fuel at home.

 

Its unlikely that this woman would have had fuel at home, or that she would have been trying to share it with her daughter, had he not caused the current panic.

 

It doesn't matter that he didn't tell her specifically to set herself on fire, but his irresponsible and stupid advice created the conditions that led to it.

[I1L2T3]

But she didn't follow his advice.

 

The next door neighbour seemed to indicate what happened was related to the fuel shortages in the area and that the daughter had run out. If petrol had been available at the pumps.....

[Anna B]

Let me get this straight:

mother stockpiles petrol (due to Gvt warning or not, that's not confirmed...could have been the family lamnwomer's ration for all we know)

daughter runs out of fuel and asks mom for petrol

mom transvases petrol in kitchen near a lit stove

unsurprisingly, bang/wooof

...and that's somehow the fault of a Gvt announcement?

 

How?

 

I feel a Darwin Award nomination coming on, but hopefully the mom will recover.

 

But if there's going to be 'blame', then-

the mom should take it first, for being careless;

the daughter should take it next, for not doing it herself; and

untold numbers of local motorists should take it after that, for (expectedly) preventing her daughter from filling up any earlier (by being stupid themselves, let it be said).

 

I'm not fond of any particular party or Minister, but please dial the rethoric down a bit as, in all objectivity (look it up, peeps), the Gvt is a long way down the (ordered) list of 'culprits'.

 

@ Anna B - do you know if the MD of Fiskars (the only manufacturers of scissors in the whole wide world) had dinner with Cameron recently? I feel like running with a pair of scissors this weekend

 

Don't shoot the messenger....

 

Bye the way, Samantha Cameron's dad makes windmills for windfarms.

[ferno]

In a statement, the motoring organisation said that in Macclesfield, Cheshire, one observer had seen an elderly woman using a petrol pump to fill jam jars.

"A lady about 75 was seen filling up 20 empty one-gallon paint tins with plastic lids and also a tray of jam jars in her boot with petrol. She had her boot up so the petrol station staff couldn't see what she was doing.

"AA staff went over to her to stop her. Then station staff came out and prevented her from what she was doing. Her excuse was that 'her husband did it every week'," the organisation said.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2012/mar/30/fuel-panic-petrol-live

[I1L2T3]

Ultimately Maude had a duty to provide the correct H&S advice if he was going to encourage hoarding. That is the bottom line. The Tories had many opportunities to clarify their advice that day. They spent all day defending Maude and only admitted he was wrong later that night.

 

The FBU and motoring organisations had to fill the void left by the government failure to promote public safety.