The Labour Government

Chippy_boy said:
Recent analysis suggests that the world population will peak at around (IIRC) 11 billion rather than rise inexorably. Having 9 kids each is a remnant of third world culture where half your kids died and you needed the other half to help you subsist. The thinking is we'll grow out of it.
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Two things

1) if it stops at 9 billion then what? It doesn't matter if it. stops from a change in behaviour or a lack of room. Eventually it has to stop

2) if govts start paying/encouraging more pregnancies we are back to square one.

If perpetual growth cannot go.on forever why are we damaging our world when we know we will have to deal with it at some point.
 
Churchlawtonblue said:
Oh come on please Vic, it's clearly not only what's go on, it's what they didn't say but have done that also annoys some people, such as trying to slash the welfare bill, changing the inheritance tax goal posts, slashing winter fuel allowances, the deception over the tax rises.

Do you actually believe that everyone thinks like you and that we are all 100% happy with new Governments performance?

Clearly that isn't the case is it, so then ask yourself why others are unhappy? Polls indicate that the vast majority of voters including a large percentage who voted Labour are not happy with several things the government have done. And that includes many Labour MPs.

Its not all as rosey as you are trying to make out.
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Buyers remorse everywhere you look - unless you choose to wear blinkers .
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TinFoilHat said:
French PM has told the rich they are going to have pay their fair share of taxes to cover their debt.

Will our chancellor do the same?
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Even thinking such things scares the markets and makes rich people emigrate I'm afraid. I believe every benefit families first born will be given 'work experience in a care home. This is subject to change if enough people complain about paying 6 year olds 50p an hour for a 40 hour week.
 
One of the huge issues facing the UK is getting our public sector productivity rates up, to anywhere near pre-COVID levels. So this case intrigued me:

A man has been found guilty of fraud after moonlighting in four separate jobs at multiple councils, accruing a large salary from public funds.

Between February 2022 and June 2023, Bryn Howells was employed by Tewkesbury Borough Council, South Gloucestershire Council and Publica Group - a company providing services on behalf of three district councils.

He failed to disclose his existing employment when taking on new roles and submitted false timesheets, accruing a salary and benefits totalling £236,000.

How on earth could this have gone on for over a year before anyone in any of these councils spotted it? It beggars belief and makes me seriously wonder how hard everyone is working when an employee can only go 1/4 of a job for a year and that is not even noticed.
 
Chippy_boy said:
One of the huge issues facing the UK is getting our public sector productivity rates up, to anywhere near pre-COVID levels. So this case intrigued me:

A man has been found guilty of fraud after moonlighting in four separate jobs at multiple councils, accruing a large salary from public funds.

Between February 2022 and June 2023, Bryn Howells was employed by Tewkesbury Borough Council, South Gloucestershire Council and Publica Group - a company providing services on behalf of three district councils.

He failed to disclose his existing employment when taking on new roles and submitted false timesheets, accruing a salary and benefits totalling £236,000.

How on earth could this have gone on for over a year before anyone in any of these councils spotted it? It beggars belief and makes me seriously wonder how hard everyone is working when an employee can only go 1/4 of a job for a year and that is not even noticed.
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Suggesting the Public Sector workers are idle due to someone committing fraud and it wasn't picked up isn't really relevant and no doubt insulting to current PS employees.

As you'll no doubt be aware the PS has been ripped apart over the years. I hate to think how sparse both the internal & external fraud teams are these days since I escaped over 12 years ago, even then in the CS and working closely with the LA it was obvious that eventually there'd be gaps, if I can put it as the less butter on the knife the thinner the covering on the bread and eventually there'll be holes in all parts internally as well as in services.
 
blue b4 the moon said:
Suggesting the Public Sector workers are idle due to someone committing fraud and it wasn't picked up isn't really relevant and no doubt insulting to current PS employees.

As you'll no doubt be aware the PS has been ripped apart over the years. I hate to think how sparse both the internal & external fraud teams are these days since I escaped over 12 years ago, even then in the CS and working closely with the LA it was obvious that eventually there'd be gaps, if I can put it as the less butter on the knife the thinner the covering on the bread and eventually there'll be holes in all parts internally as well as in services.
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I did not suggest that ALL public sector workers were idle and it is ludicrous for you to say that I did. I talked about productivity as a whole.

And I'm certainly not buying this woke bullshit that we cannot question things lest we offend some delicate soul.

And it shouldn't take a fraud team to spot this. What about a manager? Or just someone who gave a shit that only 1/4 of the amount of expected work was being done? Is it unreasonable to have expected that someone might notice in over a year?

The fact they did not, raises genuine questions about productivity.
 
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Chippy_boy said:
I did not suggest that ALL public sector workers were idle and it is ludicrous for you to say that I did. I talked about productivity as a whole.

And I'm certainly not buying this woke bullshit that we cannot question things lest we offend some delicate soul.

It's not unique to the public sector either, but you see it all over the place - I live in a quiet cul-de-sac and frequently a Council logo'd flatbed will pull up and blokes will sit there for hours - out of sight - doing fuck all. Whether that's council workers or outsourced, I have no idea.
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Hmmm, granted you didn't use the word ALL however, that was the inference of your post.

Anyway I've made my point and will leave it there. It'll be interesting to see other responses to your post.
 
blue b4 the moon said:
Hmmm, granted you didn't use the word ALL however, that was the inference of your post.

Anyway I've made my point and will leave it there. It'll be interesting to see other responses to your post.
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Yes it will, in the Labour Government thread.

It's a very safe bet that the reaction will be very different to that has it been posted in a Conservative or Reform thread.

BTW I edited my post whilst you replied. You may wish to see the edit. I removed the anecdote about my local experience, not because it is untrue but I felt it distracted from the main point.
 
BigJoe#1 said:
Any news on the Mansion House speech?

What I heard was that she (Rachel from accounts) was suggesting punters take a look at the 2:30 at Catterick tomorrow for best investment and big returns.
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The speech was quite well received by the city. The Editor of City AM on LBC this morning was quite positive about it. Any thoughts yet which tax rises you're happy to pay or if not which services you're happy to go without?
 
hampshireblue said:
As usual an insightful contribution. FWIW, the speech was quite well received by the city. The Editor of City AM on LBC this morning was quite positive about it. Any thoughts yet which tax rises you're happy to pay or if not which services you're happy to go without?
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Are these the taxes the new Government forgot to mention would happen when their own labour MPs voted against the wellform reforms that the new Government also forgot to mention in their manifesto. But at least they havent broken any manifesto promises. ;-)
 
Chippy_boy said:
One of the huge issues facing the UK is getting our public sector productivity rates up, to anywhere near pre-COVID levels. So this case intrigued me:

A man has been found guilty of fraud after moonlighting in four separate jobs at multiple councils, accruing a large salary from public funds.

Between February 2022 and June 2023, Bryn Howells was employed by Tewkesbury Borough Council, South Gloucestershire Council and Publica Group - a company providing services on behalf of three district councils.

He failed to disclose his existing employment when taking on new roles and submitted false timesheets, accruing a salary and benefits totalling £236,000.

How on earth could this have gone on for over a year before anyone in any of these councils spotted it? It beggars belief and makes me seriously wonder how hard everyone is working when an employee can only go 1/4 of a job for a year and that is not even noticed.
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It sounds like he worked a lot of hours - enough to avoid its being obvious what he was doing. But you'd think colleagues would notice he was "out of the office" a lot (a surveyor) - and how did HMRC not pick it up, as they'd have to issue a tax code to his different employers. Quite bizarre really?
 
Vic said:
It sounds like he worked a lot of hours - enough to avoid its being obvious what he was doing. But you'd think colleagues would notice he was "out of the office" a lot (a surveyor) - and how did HMRC not pick it up, as they'd have to issue a tax code to his different employers. Quite bizarre really?
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Not a problem for HMRC as many individuals have more than one job ....
 
Vic said:
It sounds like he worked a lot of hours - enough to avoid its being obvious what he was doing.
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And there's the big question. Did he work 16 hours a day, and therefore his only contributing 4 hours a day to each job was enough to go unnoticed? Or 8 hours total and 2 hours per job. Etc.

You'd hope that anything less than 8 hours contribution would be noticed!

It raises a question about how much the now pervasive working from home, first started during COVID, has contributed to a significant drop in productivity.

It's difficult to imagine how anyone required to regularly attend the office could get away with this for more than a month.
 
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