[Nigredo]

https://news.sky.com/story/budget-calcu ... t-12444849

Punched in my monthly financials on this, thanks to Red Rishi I can now choose between putting money into a savings account or having disposable income each month

[AOB]

I wonder what went through the minds of the minimum wage employees of the various business owners who appeared being interviewed on news reports yesterday whining about how the new minimum wage will affect their income. In effect these people were saying their employees were worth less than what the new minimum wage will be. That must have sent those employees off to work with a spring in their step today. How about these owners considering the affect being on minimum wage has on the people who actually do the hard income- bringing graft for their company, instead of whining?

[RedSparrows]

Imagine considering the workers in all of this. Imagine it!

[Tubby Isaacs]

The Welsh Government have for years been doing up the Heads of the Valleys road. It's a very important project but very complicated, with big cuttings needed and big embankments to be built, with flyovers being built over inadequate roundabouts.

Every single borough it goes through is deprived, Neath Port Talbot, RCT, Merthyr, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent, but I've never heard a big song and dance being made about "levelling up". Nobody is seriously suggesting that Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr are going to turn into posho Monmouth because this road's been improved. It's just what local/devolved government does.

In the meantime, here's Rishi boasting about doing up a bit of road near Leeds. And putting it in the wrong constituency. You'll never guess which party (narrowly) hold the constituency where it actually is (Pudsey).

[mattomac]

Considering his signature on the eat out to help the virus led to the death of so many you’d think he would have knocked that shit on the head.

When people are struggling to put food on the table… crowing about a road is quite cheap.

[satnav]

The road scheme he is talking about seems to be linked to improving road links to Leeds Bradford airport. I wonder if this is a sign that Rishi uses the airport when travelling back to his constituency in Richmond North Yorkshire.

[Youngian]

Fasten your seatbelts. Are you laying in wait at the pass, Rachel?

Older posters may recall Heath’s chancellor Anthony Barber pulled a crowd pleasing expansionist budget out of the hat like Sunak, when the economy was in no fit shape to sustain it. With disastrous political consequences.

[Cyclist]

Greensill. Hmmm. What gammon-faced pig--botherer has been in the news linked to shady goings-on with Greensill?

I didn't realise that Greensill had been leeching off the taxpayer for that long. If things don't change they'll stay as they are.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Rishi and co are probably OK as regards interest rates. Inflation hitting the poor hard could be another matter. The budget was relatively progressive in terms of low earners, but it won't fully disguise that their incomes are not growing like they were promised. The Tories do surprisingly well among this group nowadays. Look at the incredible vote shares they get in places like Thurrock now.

Not that Labour will win Thurrock back, but there are other places closer where the Tories could be taking a hit.

[davidjay]

Rishi and co are probably OK as regards interest rates. Inflation hitting the poor hard could be another matter. The budget was relatively progressive in terms of low earners, but it won't fully disguise that their incomes are not growing like they were promised. The Tories do surprisingly well among this group nowadays. Look at the incredible vote shares they get in places like Thurrock now.

Not that Labour will win Thurrock back, but there are other places closer where the Tories could be taking a hit.

So, culture wars it is then.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Not from egghead Rishi. You want the bloke who does the sums doing sums, not banging on about bathrooms.

As ever, the papers will do that, having been prompted by the government, who will then "step in to address" the row.

[Youngian]

Never heard Sunak do any culture war bollocks and it will be healthier political system if he became PM. Where the focus is on his policies not him as a rancid person unfit to govern. A slightly liberal ‘live and let live’ Asian man will need a different electoral coalition to Johnson to win an election but George Osborne can help out.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Would Osborne-Cameron have won without the EU referendum? What's going to be Sunak's version of that? Freeports?

[Cyclist]

I don't want to worry anyone, but...

While all the interesting stuff is distracting everyone, has anyone got any idea as to what Sunak was doing across the pond? As in why was he talking to the bosses of American healthcare companies, and what were they talking about?

[Cyclist]

Just by coincidence this morning

Rishi Sunak is under growing pressure to say who he met in California last week after it emerged he sat down for talks with American healthcare firms.

The Chancellor jetted off just as Omicron got its grips into the UK, but was forced to cut his trip short, flying back on Friday for crisis talks with hospitality leaders...


https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/ ... 739649.amp

The Chancellor met with US healthcare company Grail, owned by Illumina for which David Cameron is a paid adviser, to learn about tech being rolled out to NHS patients last week

And why would a former Prime Minister be paid by a foreign healthcare company?



Dark days ahead for the NHS.

[Watchman]

And why did we send the “money” man, and not the “health” man ?

[Boiler]

And why did we send the “money” man, and not the “health” man ?

Being charitable, one could say "because he's the one who'll have to pay for it", whatever "it" is and with the growing threat that Omicron poses (but not if you listen to some ) it would be sensible for the health person to stay here.

I'm worried. As should anyone else with pre-existing health conditions.

[Nigredo]

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/ ... ouncil-tax

Red Rishi handing out wonga again

[Youngian]

Pity Peter Bone stopped himself saying we’re becoming the Venezuela of Europe as he’d have a point. Not that I’d wish to insult the infinitely more competent President Maduro.

[Bones McCoy]

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/ ... ouncil-tax

Red Rishi handing out wonga again

Yeah, but we all have to keep up with the repayments.
So it's not even a proper handout.

Presumably they send Darius Guppy around with a baseball bat if we default.