The Labour Government

[Chippy_boy]

When is the next General Election or put another way how much longer have they got?

If it gets to Tuesday it's too long.

 

[hampshireblue]

Forget the amount.
Take a couple, where one earns £26,000 versus 2 of them earning £13000?
Take home £80 a week different.

Well it's actually £52 per week, but what's a 40% mistake between friends? :-)

 

[Chippy_boy]

What's people's views on this £1.5bn loan guarantee from the government to JLR?

I have to say I am pretty mixed about it. On the one hand, we don't want to see JLR or a plethora of small suppliers go bust. But in the other hand, this is a problem entirely of JLR's own making. Hacks like this are largely avoidable and are invariably caused by inadequate IT standards or implementation. (I won't go into the details here, but there's a trade off between cost and security, and too often companies opt for lower cost.)

Anyways, JLR is a big company. If it is concerned about the viability of some of its critical suppliers, is it not up to JLR to decide if it's important enough to its own business, to support those suppliers? The hack is supposed to be costing JLR £50m per week in lost revenues. This is a drop in the ocean of it's parent's - Tata Group's - revenues. They employ over 1 million people and have revenues of around $500m per day.

They can easily afford to sort this out themselves without borrowing money off the government, i.e. taxpayer.

Is this another example of he government being taken for a ride, or to be welcomed?

Edit: Mrs Chippy_Boy reminds me that the UK government (i.e. taxpayer) has already bunged Tata a £500m grant for the Port Talbot steelworks developments. Tata is a vastly wealthy business. I wonder if they are laughing at us thinking the UK government is a soft touch?

 

[Chippy_boy]

Labour Party conference coming up.

All delegates have been screened and threatened with expulsion if they dare try any stunts there.

Such as not clapping vigorously enough.

 

[The Future’s Blue!]

What's people's views on this £1.5bn loan guarantee from the government to JLR?

I have to say I am pretty mixed about it. On the one hand, we don't want to see JLR or a plethora of small suppliers go bust. But in the other hand, this is a problem entirely of JLR's own making. Hacks like this are largely avoidable and are invariably caused by inadequate IT standards or implementation. (I won't go into the details here, but there's a trade off between cost and security, and too often companies opt for lower cost.)

Anyways, JLR is a big company. If it is concerned about the viability of some of its critical suppliers, is it not up to JLR to decide if it's important enough to its own business, to support those suppliers? The hack is supposed to be costing JLR £50m per week in lost revenues. This is a drop in the ocean of it's parent's - Tata Group's - revenues. They employ over 1 million people and have revenues of around $500m per day.

They can easily afford to sort this out themselves without borrowing money off the government, i.e. taxpayer.

Is this another example of he government being taken for a ride, or to be welcomed?

Edit: Mrs Chippy_Boy reminds me that the UK government (i.e. taxpayer) has already bunged Tata a £500m grant for the Port Talbot steelworks developments. Tata is a vastly wealthy business. I wonder if they are laughing at us thinking the UK government is a soft touch?

Exactly what any government should be doing.

 

[Chippy_boy]

Exactly what any government should be doing.

So not JLR or Tata's responsibility then, to look after their own business?

 

[The Future’s Blue!]

So not JLR or Tata's responsibility then, to look after their own business?

Of course, and ours to look after our people and our industry. After all, it is a loan that, if used, will be paid back.

 

[lefty goldblatt]

 

[blueinsa]

What's people's views on this £1.5bn loan guarantee from the government to JLR?

I have to say I am pretty mixed about it. On the one hand, we don't want to see JLR or a plethora of small suppliers go bust. But in the other hand, this is a problem entirely of JLR's own making. Hacks like this are largely avoidable and are invariably caused by inadequate IT standards or implementation. (I won't go into the details here, but there's a trade off between cost and security, and too often companies opt for lower cost.)

Anyways, JLR is a big company. If it is concerned about the viability of some of its critical suppliers, is it not up to JLR to decide if it's important enough to its own business, to support those suppliers? The hack is supposed to be costing JLR £50m per week in lost revenues. This is a drop in the ocean of it's parent's - Tata Group's - revenues. They employ over 1 million people and have revenues of around $500m per day.

They can easily afford to sort this out themselves without borrowing money off the government, i.e. taxpayer.

Is this another example of he government being taken for a ride, or to be welcomed?

Edit: Mrs Chippy_Boy reminds me that the UK government (i.e. taxpayer) has already bunged Tata a £500m grant for the Port Talbot steelworks developments. Tata is a vastly wealthy business. I wonder if they are laughing at us thinking the UK government is a soft touch?

Had to be done with the amount of jobs at stake but it’s a huge wake up call for business who have to ensure their systems are nailed down.

 

[metalblue]

Not like Tory K to be mischievous at a Labour party conference.

Trevor Phillips was at it today as well. Survey for Sky saying 53% of Labour members want Starmer gone.

If this budget doesn’t land they’ll be slaughtered in next years elections and he will be gone before the Labour conference next year.

Instead of focusing on what Farage and reform are doing for an election 3 plus years away he should be focusing on his political future to ensure he is there to fight Farage next GE.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Trevor Phillips was at it today as well. Survey for Sky saying 53% of Labour members want Starmer gone.

If this budget doesn’t land they’ll be slaughtered in next years elections and he will be gone before the Labour conference next year.

Makes a change from him being lucky to last the week, I suppose. ;-)

 

[TinFoilHat]

Trevor Phillips was at it today as well. Survey for Sky saying 53% of Labour members want Starmer gone.

If this budget doesn’t land they’ll be slaughtered in next years elections and he will be gone before the Labour conference next year.

Instead of focusing on what Farage and reform are doing for an election 3 plus years away he should be focusing on his political future to ensure he is there to fight Farage next GE.

He's fucked then.

Set up a "Budget monitoring group" with his mate McSweeney to write one and giving it to Reeves to read out to make her the fall girl after.

He'd make a great Tory leader.

 

[metalblue]

Makes a change from him being lucky to last the week, I suppose. ;-)

Baby steps and all that and a week is a long time in politics. What I would say is the 53% who want him gone are miles apart on what they want to replace him.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Baby steps and all that and a week is a long time in politics. What I would say is the 53% who want him gone are miles apart on what they want to replace him.

I don’t disagree. He’s not doing very well and is focussing too much on the negative, but the reports of his demise are hugely premature.

Super majority and is too boring for a scandal.

 

[metalblue]

He's fucked then.

Set up a "Budget monitoring group" with his mate McSweeney to write one and giving it to Reeves to read out to make her the fall girl after.

He'd make a great Tory leader.

Reeves has a massive job on her hands. Partly why it’s been delayed I suspect.

 

[metalblue]

I don’t disagree. He’s not doing very well and is focussing too much on the negative, but the reports of his demise are hugely premature.

Super majority and is too boring for a scandal.

Surely Labour spent too long in opposition to throw it all away after a single term by sticking with Starmer if the parties fortunes don’t change.

He’s been exceptional at the international part of the job so he’s not been a disaster and he’s been dealt a shit hand with the economy where it is and they’ve not got any coherent plan to improve it so far. Tough business politics.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Surely Labour spent too long in opposition to throw it all away after a single term by sticking with Starmer if the parties fortunes don’t change.

He’s been exceptional at the international part of the job so he’s not been a disaster and he’s been dealt a shit hand with the economy where it is and they’ve not got any coherent plan to improve it so far. Tough business politics.

Who knows? We’re in unprecedented times. 24/7 criticism of any government in all countries. It’s easy to rile up hatred now we’re so well connected.

Hopefully some positive domestic policies will start to stem the tide here, but he could give everyone £10m and he’d still be criticised.

 

[Chippy_boy]

Surely Labour spent too long in opposition to throw it all away after a single term by sticking with Starmer if the parties fortunes don’t change.

He’s been exceptional at the international part of the job so he’s not been a disaster and he’s been dealt a shit hand with the economy where it is and they’ve not got any coherent plan to improve it so far. Tough business politics.

Indeed so. It would be hypocritical to give Labour any slack for circumstances out of their control, when the Tories, inheriting a dire financial situation in 2010, and subsequently a global pandemic and hugely disruptive war in Europe, got no such allowance from their sniping critics. According to whom, all of our economic and social woes, are the Tories’ fault. It’s a bit more nuanced than that.

The Tories were indeed a shit show in their latter years. But so are Labour now. They do not get a free pass based on anything at all.

 

[Vic]

Indeed so. It would be hypocritical to give Labour any slack for circumstances out of their control, when the Tories, inheriting a dire financial situation in 2010, and subsequently a global pandemic and hugely disruptive war in Europe, got no such allowance from their sniping critics. According to whom, all of our economic and social woes, are the Tories’ fault. It’s a bit more nuanced than that.

The Tories were indeed a shit show in their latter years. But so are Labour now. They do not get a free pass based on anything at all.

The Tories (aided by the Lib Dems) did effectively get a free pass for the years of austerity - until it became obvious it was an ideological austerity, not a necessity. Wrecking public services was a mission.

 

[Chippy_boy]

Reeves has a massive job on her hands. Partly why it’s been delayed I suspect.

I think sole reason for the delay is her praying for some random and unknown economic good news to partly bail her out. So she’s leaving it as long as she possibly can.

I can understand that, but the downside is a self-fulfilling doom prophesy. The economy is now on pause, with businesses and people sitting on their hands fearing what she might do. So the economic situation in November is likely to be just as dire - perhaps even more so - than it is now.

Unless of course you believe the left wing geniuses on here who will tell you that we are not broke, can never go broke, that we need to spend more on public services and all will be well. And the rich - I.e. someone else, but not me, can pay for it all.