General Election 2024: General UK Politics Discussion here

[alchresearch]

More history coming back to haunt Labour. 2017:

 

Tory winter fuel allowance cut puts 4,000 lives at risk, claims Labour
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell says taking £300 annual payment away from millions of pensioners would contribute to rise in winter deaths

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/05/tory-winter-fuel-allowance-cuts-puts-4000-lives-at-risk-claims-labour

[alchresearch]

16 hours ago, Mister M said:

Really glad that the Chancellor has announced that she's ordering an investigation of £600 million pounds of public money in dodgy Covid contracts.

Rachel Reeves orders investigations into £600m of Covid contracts | Labour | The Guardian

 

I wonder if Westy will be as concerned for the very working class Mone, I believe the Fraud Office were asking questions of her, her partner, Michael Gove and another former senior Government minister.

 

If they can get any of the money back would be a start.

 

But there won't be any changes in rules or laws or even prison sentences because they've all got their snouts in the trough and won't want to incriminate themselves in years to come when future favours for donors come to light.

[Mister M]

1 hour ago, alchresearch said:

If they can get any of the money back would be a start.

 

But there won't be any changes in rules or laws or even prison sentences because they've all got their snouts in the trough and won't want to incriminate themselves in years to come when future favours for donors come to light.

It's the system that needs to change, root and branch I think.

 

It's no good MPs of various stripes saying "it's within the rules". It might well be, however the rules need to change as it doesn't 'pass the sniff test'. It's only when it stinks to high heaven is there any movement.

I'm not over t he detail on the rules of who gets what government contract - but there should be a real oversight by something like a Public Account Committee who can scrutinise these outsourcing companies and their links to power

Edited September 24 by Mister M

[geared]

The politicians in general are far too involved with what they do.

 

Really the civil service should run most things, with the politicians and minsters sitting as oversight - to ensure the public interest is respected and public money is properly spent.

 

This would go a long way to solving issues where Ministers are appointed to a role they've absolutely zero experience with.   Minster for Science that's never stepped foot in a laboratory, Minister for transport that can't drive, Minister for rural affairs that's a City boy etc etc etc.

[cressida]

Sir Keir has been giving a rousing speech this afternoon.  I didn't know his sister is a care worker,  he said 'wouldn't it be wonderful if she walked into a room and was given the same respect as the Prime Minister.   His brother had learning difficulties and their father told Sir Keir 'he has achieved as much as you'. 

[crookesey]

2 minutes ago, cressida said:

Sir Keir has been giving a rousing speech this afternoon.  I didn't know his sister is a care worker,  he said 'wouldn't it be wonderful if she walked into a room and was given the same respect as the Prime Minister.   His brother had learning difficulties and their father told Sir Keir 'he has achieved as much as you'. 

Well he’s not going to say anything negative about himself is he?

[cressida]

Would any of us do that,  he did get a heckler speaking up for Jeremy Corbyn,  and Sir Keir replied the party had to have change and that's why they had a Labour government.

[despritdan]

He demanded a return of the sausages which I assume was aimed at his wife who's browbeaten him into giving up meat and locked his sausages away.

[Mister M]

Although he's not the greatest rhetorician, I thought his speech was good.

Although he corrected himself immediately, the "free the sausages" instead of "free the hostages" gaffe was funny.

[cressida]

5 minutes ago, crookesey said:

Well he’s not going to say anything negative about himself is he?

He said last year he went to the Lake District and found the cottage where he and his family had stayed when he was a child,  the couple came out to greet him and said he could look around,  upstairs as well,  a bit later the husband said to his wife 'you don't know who this is do you?' then told her, she said,  if I'd known that I'd have pushed you down the stairs.