[kreuzberger]

Should go further and ban all flavours but Steak Bake, Islay Malt and Ashtray.

An Islay malt and a Greggs steak bake - this it what the food of the gods looks like.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Fairly surprised to see more Freeports, but I suppose they do redirect jobs and money to poorer regions, and Houchenville seems to be an exception in its corruption. Sounds like there is other stuff happening with industrial policy that ought to increase output, not just redistribute it.

[Tubby Isaacs]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... ic-mission

McDonnell is right about benefit cuts but the "Spirit of 1945" stuff is a bit tiresome. There's a reason David Kynaston called his book on the era Austerity Britain, and the public certainly noticed. You can recognize it as an achievement in its own time, but still think that things have moved on a bit with new problems. Say what you like about Rachel Reeves, but she's unlikely to announce that the new pension age is 81- which is what Attlee's 65 would be if updated for life expectancy. And also being the 6th biggest economy by GDP doesn't mean that much- India is 5th, and not likely to develop a British style NHS any time soon.

[Youngian]

McDonnell forgot to mention the US imperialists kept Atlee's government afloat to keep Western Europe from turning to Uncle Joe for help. Doubt President Trump or even Harris will be so generous.

Fairly surprised to see more Freeports, but I suppose they do redirect jobs and money to poorer regions, and Houchenville seems to be an exception in its corruption. Sounds like there is other stuff happening with industrial policy that ought to increase output, not just redistribute it.

Can you run a VAT free private school in a freeport, if not why not? They create jobs don't they?
What new evidence is there that freeports have any worth when there was none in 2012 when Cameron closed them?
Being pragmatic instead of ideological as Starmer claims shouldn't be about endorsing projects that are someone else's ideology with little evidence of their effectiveness.

[Abernathy]

An Islay malt and a Greggs steak bake - this it what the food of the gods looks like.

Some people like those iodiney, peaty Islay malts, but in my view you may as well drink Dettol. Give me a good Speyside or a Highland every time.

[Killer Whale]

An Islay malt and a Greggs steak bake - this it what the food of the gods looks like.

Some people like those iodiney, peaty Islay malts, but in my view you may as well drink Dettol. Give me a good Speyside or a Highland every time.

Deliberately selected because it is a decidedly grown-up flavour.

ETA: And don't tell me you've never taken a wee nip of the Dettol, when it was only that and the Creme de Menthe left in the drinks cabinet.

[Abernathy]

And other whiskies aren’t “grown up”?

[Tubby Isaacs]

McDonnell forgot to mention the US imperialists kept Atlee's government afloat to keep Western Europe from turning to Uncle Joe for help. Doubt President Trump or even Harris will be so generous.

Fairly surprised to see more Freeports, but I suppose they do redirect jobs and money to poorer regions, and Houchenville seems to be an exception in its corruption. Sounds like there is other stuff happening with industrial policy that ought to increase output, not just redistribute it.

Can you run a VAT free private school in a freeport, if not why not? They create jobs don't they?
What new evidence is there that freeports have any worth when there was none in 2012 when Cameron closed them?
Being pragmatic instead of ideological as Starmer claims shouldn't be about endorsing projects that are someone else's ideology with little evidence of their effectiveness.

Hard to argue they don't move activity around, surely? Less so as there are more of them. of course.

You want to run in other ex-industrial areas on "doesn't matter if the investment goes to other areas already doing better"?

[Tubby Isaacs]

Just the same as the Tories latest.

Yvette Cooper reinstates Home Office unit for post-Windrush culture change
Home secretary also pledges to appoint commissioner to advocate for those affected by scandal
Amelia Gentleman
Thu 24 Oct 2024 17.05 BST
Share
A scrapped Home Office team responsible for reforming the department in the wake of the Windrush scandal has been reinstated by the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, amid a “fundamental reset” of the government’s response to the issue.

The post-Windrush transformation unit was set up after the 2018 scandal to help introduce cultural change within the Home Office to ensure similar disasters could not occur. It was quietly disbanded by the former home secretary Suella Braverman in 2023.

[Oboogie]

ETA: And don't tell me you've never taken a wee nip of the Dettol, when it was only that and the Creme de Menthe left in the drinks cabinet.

Dettol in the drinks cabinet? Is that common practice in Paisley, or is it just Abers?
I keep mine under the sink.

[Andy McDandy]

Not sure the Windrush unit was 'quietly' disbanded. It made the news.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Assume it wasn't actually announced by Braverman.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Some good stuff in the budget, by the sound of it. Reeves apparently to raise employers' NI by 2p in the pound, which gets back all of Hunt's second and unaffordable cut. And this, which I'd never thought of before but seems to be good.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... dit-change

More than 1m households to get £420 budget boost in universal credit change
Exclusive: move will cap amount that can be deducted from benefit payments to repay short-term loans and debts

The benefits system is always more complex than you've realized.

Positive though this is, it does give the impression of having made extremely hard nosed promises in the campaign then flailing about to see how they can undo some of the effects. I appreciate there is a lot of punitiveness among core Labour voters on benefits, but we'd all be better off if they hadn't made those promises and indeed if they weren't going ahead with scheduled Tory cuts to disability that weren't even mentioned in the campaign.

[Dalem Lake]

Hopefully they'll do something about benefit sanctions that pushes people into these debts in the first place. I missed an appointment at the jobcentre this year due to illness (first offence) and they sanctioned me over £300 which left me fucked and now I'm in arrears with rent, council tax, gas, etc.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Very sorry to hear that.

They're cunts.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

It would appear that, in a Prescott moment, the Labour MP for Runcorn, Mike Amesbury has decked someone who allegedly threatened him in the street...
He has reported himself to the rozzers for investigation, but no word of whether or not the scrote is pressing charges (but given that he's a Labour MP I'm sure the bules will push it anyway).

People need to learn that if you threaten some MP they may just take it personally, and unlike that twat of a DJ in the Prescott case you don't have to 'grin and bear it' just because you are a public figure.

[Youngian]

The MP looked tired and emotional.

[Oboogie]

Very tired and emotional...hmmm.

https://news.sky.com/video/cheshire-lab ... t-13242138

[Tubby Isaacs]

Hopefully they'll do something about benefit sanctions that pushes people into these debts in the first place. I missed an appointment at the jobcentre this year due to illness (first offence) and they sanctioned me over £300 which left me fucked and now I'm in arrears with rent, council tax, gas, etc.

Is there any chance you get this money back?

Awful to hear this.

[Dalem Lake]

Hopefully they'll do something about benefit sanctions that pushes people into these debts in the first place. I missed an appointment at the jobcentre this year due to illness (first offence) and they sanctioned me over £300 which left me fucked and now I'm in arrears with rent, council tax, gas, etc.

Is there any chance you get this money back?

Awful to hear this.

I did request a mandatory reconsideration where I spoke to a decision maker who seemed sympathetic but then upheld the original decision so I've lodged an appeal to tribunal but that'll take a year to get to a hearing. I'll be alright as luckily I'm housing association and they don't seem too bothered by the arrears (at the mo), and I suspect that's they're used to the Jobcentre fucking with people's money. Council were cunts though, but generally their hands are tied by legislation which is another area that I want the Labour government to look at. Council tax needs serious reform but so far Starmer has said that he's not going to bother looking at it.