news & politics:discussion

[Neil]

Tightening the rules for politicians needs to be part of any electoral reform.

[Guest]

 

[steviewevie]

2 minutes ago, Ozanne said:

 

STICK!

[Neil]

4 minutes ago, Ozanne said:

 

polling usa was my favourite beach boys song! 😛 

[Neil]

they've nicked a 44 year old man for the stabbing of those Bristol kids.

[Neil]

wonder if they'd robbed his missus, i think the kids were balaclava kids  on e-bikes (bristol has a problem with them).

[kaosmark2]

5 hours ago, Neil said:

i'd also tie -in public sector wages , so mps can't give themselves a better deal than the country gets from those politicians,.

Yeah, I agree. I do think there should be decent pay for MPs, it's just the current "lets vote ourselves payrises and vote everyone else poorer" is BS.

[kaosmark2]

5 hours ago, Ozanne said:

I really don’t think it does feed into that narrative in fact I reckon it barely features in any narrative at all for voters. How many times has bankers bonuses been mentioned since end of October? I haven’t seen it once so it’s not an attack line Labour have been using so it’s not like they are missing out.

I’m not saying MPs are low paid but I feel there is room to increase their pay, cut down on the amount of MPs and tighten rules in 2nd jobs so you can improve the calibre of candidates. MPs expenses are needed as they pay for the running of their offices inc team etc. 

Running of their offices doesn't need to be done via expenses and arguments. MPs could be given a budget for that and made to utilise it. Like councils are that they keep screwing over.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, kaosmark2 said:

Running of their offices doesn't need to be done via expenses and arguments. MPs could be given a budget for that and made to utilise it. Like councils are that they keep screwing over.

Arguments?

The issue with budgets is that it restricts MPs when they might need something more fluid like expenses in case something comes up that their team need to deal with or the MP needs to do. Oversight of expenses claims is how you ensure that it’s all above board along with proper punishments. 

[kaosmark2]

5 minutes ago, Ozanne said:

Arguments?

The issue with budgets is that it restricts MPs when they might need something more fluid like expenses in case something comes up that their team need to deal with or the MP needs to do. Oversight of expenses claims is how you ensure that it’s all above board along with proper punishments. 

They argue with the oversight offices. And even when they f**k up they get made a peer:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-mp-who-claimed-moat-cleaning-on-his-expenses-will-return-to-parliament-through-lords-10474701.html

If something comes up that I need to deal with I don't magically get money to handle it, I have to find it from elsewhere in my budget.

Edited January 31, 2024 by kaosmark2

[Neil]

I've just been reading about how a judge has ruled that it's reasonable to call IDS " Tory scum"

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/jan/31/dpp-supreme-court-appeal-protesters-tory-scum-iain-duncan-smith?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

[steviewevie]

 

[steviewevie]

 

[steviewevie]

Just now, steviewevie said:

 

Green curious? Which are you:

These green-curious voters fall into five categories. First, the ‘Radical Red’ Greens, who are Labour-loyal, environmentally conscious activists who tend to be graduates. They rally behind policies such as the introduction of a four-day week and prioritise climate change along with health and housing.

Then there are the ‘Green Populists’, caught between the Green party and Labour. They believe that Labour represents the working class but think the Greens better reflect their interests on immigration, welfare, job security and climate change. They are the most likely of the five groups to support the Green party in the next election.

Next come the ‘Green Moderates’. They dislike Greta-style jeremiads and tend to be more pragmatic. Among this group, support for Labour is rising. The idea of a Green New Deal type of programme – popular with big business – fits with their eco-activism.

The smallest faction is the ‘Evergreen Optimists’. These voters regard themselves as positive and open-minded. They believe in the political system and prioritise policies over party victories. This group is likely to vote Green.

Finally, there are the ‘Urban Random’ Greens, a cohort of young Londoners who are notably a little more right-wing than the other groups. They are sceptical of some green principles including net-zero targets and ultra low emission zones. They favour the Lib Dems to the Green party on climate issues. More than half of those in this group who voted Green last time say they won’t at the next election in a sign that the party’s policies have become too radical.

[steviewevie]

 

[steviewevie]

[steviewevie]

Polls narrowing

 🙂

[Neil]

I'm sat here waiting for a call from DWP for an assessment which should give me around an extra £100 a fortnight if I pass it (and back-dated eight months which should be a nice lump of cash)

just need to tell them the right things. my wife doesn't trust me to do that Cos I try to be confident about doing things for myself and overstate what  I can do.

As this is a working assessment saying I cant walk or carry things ( and that my brain is too fried to be accurate) should do it  I hope.

I hate phone calls since my brain injury so I'm only looking forward to the call to get it over with.i hope They're reliable and do actually call.

[Guest]

 

[Neil]

3 hours ago, steviewevie said:

Green curious? Which are you:

These green-curious voters fall into five categories. First, the ‘Radical Red’ Greens, who are Labour-loyal, environmentally conscious activists who tend to be graduates. They rally behind policies such as the introduction of a four-day week and prioritise climate change along with health and housing.

Then there are the ‘Green Populists’, caught between the Green party and Labour. They believe that Labour represents the working class but think the Greens better reflect their interests on immigration, welfare, job security and climate change. They are the most likely of the five groups to support the Green party in the next election.

Next come the ‘Green Moderates’. They dislike Greta-style jeremiads and tend to be more pragmatic. Among this group, support for Labour is rising. The idea of a Green New Deal type of programme – popular with big business – fits with their eco-activism.

The smallest faction is the ‘Evergreen Optimists’. These voters regard themselves as positive and open-minded. They believe in the political system and prioritise policies over party victories. This group is likely to vote Green.

Finally, there are the ‘Urban Random’ Greens, a cohort of young Londoners who are notably a little more right-wing than the other groups. They are sceptical of some green principles including net-zero targets and ultra low emission zones. They favour the Lib Dems to the Green party on climate issues. More than half of those in this group who voted Green last time say they won’t at the next election in a sign that the party’s policies have become too radical.

I heard something the other day that green issues don't alter who people vote for.

That was the main conclusion it did give fuller explanations which made sense to me but I can't remember it.

[SheffJeff]

30 minutes ago, Neil said:

I'm sat here waiting for a call from DWP for an assessment which should give me around an extra £100 a fortnight if I pass it (and back-dated eight months which should be a nice lump of cash)

just need to tell them the right things. my wife doesn't trust me to do that Cos I try to be confident about doing things for myself and overstate what  I can do.

As this is a working assessment saying I cant walk or carry things ( and that my brain is too fried to be accurate) should do it  I hope.

I hate phone calls since my brain injury so I'm only looking forward to the call to get it over with.i hope They're reliable and do actually call.

My uncle is in a similar position to you and has a similar philosophy but we always tell him that you need to tell the doctors and the DWP how you are on a bad day rather than how you are on a good day as that's what decisions are made on. Hope it goes well.

[mattiloy]

Apparently being a left wing europhile means supporting the only surviving policy of note from that brief free market extremist trussonomics era - the repealing of the EU’s 200% of salary bankers bonus cap.

This will raise a miniscule amount of money in additional tax directly but its also not clear that there would be any net gain. The second and third order effects are hard to know.

First off the total tax paid depends on how bonuses are structured and how much the recipients are able to avoid. Other effects to be considered such as whether it attracts better financial services professionals who make a material difference to the success of our financial services industry. My feeling is that no- basically all of the innovation in the sector comes from startups, not from the 60 year old overpaid baldie executives of large financial institutions.

Then on the other side what is the opportunity cost of that cash going to a few individuals - I guess that if they didnt pay out such large bonuses then they’d invest it back into the business or pay out higher dividends- this could have wider beneficial effects.

Then i think people miss the point of the EU cap on bankers bonus- it was never about fairness, since its a cap on bonus related to salary (200%). It just means that the top dogs get paid more salary, and less bonus. Which is about incentivising them to take more holistic decisions instead of satisfying some short sighted narrow criteria at the expense of all else because that is what is perceived to have been the causal factor in the 2008 crisis.

But actually, who cares, luckily for us that Ozanne has studied it extensively and has decided that paying bankers more in bonus will help us pay for all the great progressive Labour party policies, like free gruel for veterans or something 

[Neil]

5 minutes ago, mattiloy said:

Apparently being a left wing europhile means supporting the only surviving policy of note from that brief free market extremist trussonomics era - the repealing of the EU’s 200% of salary bankers bonus cap.

This will raise a miniscule amount of money in additional tax directly but its also not clear that there would be any net gain. The second and third order effects are hard to know.

First off the total tax paid depends on how bonuses are structured and how much the recipients are able to avoid. Other effects to be considered such as whether it attracts better financial services professionals who make a material difference to the success of our financial services industry. My feeling is that no- basically all of the innovation in the sector comes from startups, not from the 60 year old overpaid baldie executives of large financial institutions.

Then on the other side what is the opportunity cost of that cash going to a few individuals - I guess that if they didnt pay out such large bonuses then they’d invest it back into the business or pay out higher dividends- this could have wider beneficial effects.

Then i think people miss the point of the EU cap on bankers bonus- it was never about fairness, since its a cap on bonus related to salary (200%). It just means that the top dogs get paid more salary, and less bonus. Which is about incentivising them to take more holistic decisions instead of satisfying some short sighted narrow criteria at the expense of all else because that is what is perceived to have been the causal factor in the 2008 crisis.

But actually, who cares, luckily for us that Ozanne has studied it extensively and has decided that paying bankers more in bonus will help us pay for all the great progressive Labour party policies, like free gruel for veterans or something 

Bet you support a big bonus for not left wing you!

[Neil]

7 minutes ago, SheffJeff said:

My uncle is in a similar position to you and has a similar philosophy but we always tell him that you need to tell the doctors and the DWP how you are on a bad day rather than how you are on a good day as that's what decisions are made on. Hope it goes well.

Thanks,stupidly DWP phoned my wife to ask if I'm ready for their call. she said yes they didn't phone me.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Neil said:

Bet you support a big bonus for not left wing you!

You’d think he’d be happy with the announced Labour plans to renationalise the railways but funnily enough nothing gets said about that.