Mailwatch(ed) Forum

Cabinet ministers are there to provide leadership and direction. Civil servants are there to provide experience and guidance. This is basic. Indeed, much of the chaos post 2015 was due to arrogant know-nothings like Gove disregarding the advice of the Civil Service.

Killer Whale wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2024 9:49 am Cabinet ministers are there to provide leadership and direction. Civil servants are there to provide experience and guidance. This is basic. Indeed, much of the chaos post 2015 was due to arrogant know-nothings like Gove disregarding the advice of the Civil Service.

It's all part of their belief that there's a secret Establishment out to get them. Because neutrality is bias.

Disaster for Sir Keir as he leads Farage and Badenoch comfortably on Best PM.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2024 3:14 pm Disaster for Sir Keir as he leads Farage and Badenoch comfortably on Best PM.

He still #mustresign

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2024 3:14 pm Disaster for Sir Keir as he leads Farage and Badenoch comfortably on Best PM.

Saw that oddly ignored by lots of people for some reason.

Twenty councillors quit Labour over government policy. BBC reports.

The councillors from Broxtowe, Notts, have criticised the direction the party is heading in government. They have formed a group as independents to run the local council.

Cllr Milan Radulovic, one of the councillors leaving the party and a member for 42 years, has criticised proposed local government reorganisation, which could mean the abolition of their council.

"I cannot support and will not support another centrist government intent of destroying local democracy and dictating national policy from a high pedestal, " he said.

Also in the report, around 100 local activists have quit.

This situation, although local, has widespread implications for the party nationally ahead of local elections in May.

Good luck to them having to deal with things like reality and budgets.

NevTheSweeper wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 12:39 am
This situation, although local, has widespread implications for the party nationally ahead of local elections in May.

What are those implications nationally, exactly ?

See my thoughts elsewhere on district councils.

These guys aren't worried about anything except their tenure coming to an end.

Hopefully amalgamated councils will heralded in more professionalism and fewer windbag populist councillors who just want to be loved.
The calibre of people opposing these changes is dire, mainly fruitcakes from Reform.

Abernathy wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 8:46 am

NevTheSweeper wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 12:39 am
This situation, although local, has widespread implications for the party nationally ahead of local elections in May.

What are those implications nationally, exactly ?

High Hopes - like the people predicting the collapse of the EU straight after Brexit.

Great more problems.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... commission

Cross-party talks over the future of social care will begin next month as the health secretary hit back over criticism that a commission on the issue would take too long to bring about change.


Wes Streeting said he wanted all parties to “agree on the direction on social care for the long term” and that the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Reform party had all said they would work together on it.

An independent commission to reform adult social care in England was launched on Friday but attracted criticism for kicking much-needed reforms “into the long grass”. Its final recommendations will not be made until 2028.

They've got a majority of 170 why not just do social care.

I'm more sympathetic than most here. I think they've got enough on their plate just stopping stuff falling over. 2028 sounds too late, but there's an interim report due in 2026 which could be the basis of some action.

Doesn't mean that they have a sustainable plan. As I recall, Johnson claimed to have a plan ready to go on day one of his tenure.

Nobody wants to see old people suffer. But nobody wants to pay for them, or can find a way to sufficiently monetise social care enough to attract major investment. Therein lieth the snag.

If the report were delivered by 2026 I wouldn't mind so much but it feels like kicking the can into the long grass. Also why the hell was Wes Streeting offering Musk an olive branch.

It's long grass before the election though, and nobody's going to forget about it.

I suspect there's politics involved here. Get all sides to agree on the problem, publicly, then back yourself to have a more popular funding mechanism than Badenoch at the next election.

But as Nick Davies points out here on Bluesky it's unlikely to work.

https://bsky.app/profile/njdavies.bsky. ... t7qy2h3s2k

I assume the needs aspect could be agreed before the election looms too large. If that gets done, then it's a question of who's prepared to piss about more on funding. I think the Tories could end up having to accept all sorts of tax changes they've been opposing to make numbers even remotely add up. Labour's line is "we're the government, we're getting stuff done".

Hopefully but it's this sense of frustation that nothing seems to be getting done just endless reviews.

The Weeping Angel wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 5:52 pm Great more problems.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... commission

Cross-party talks over the future of social care will begin next month as the health secretary hit back over criticism that a commission on the issue would take too long to bring about change.


Wes Streeting said he wanted all parties to “agree on the direction on social care for the long term” and that the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Reform party had all said they would work together on it.

An independent commission to reform adult social care in England was launched on Friday but attracted criticism for kicking much-needed reforms “into the long grass”. Its final recommendations will not be made until 2028.

They've got a majority of 170 why not just do social care.

Because the issue requires more time qand commitment than a single parliament - we're always on about reducing short-termism, he's doing that and you're having a pop...