| Good moves by the government on 09:50 - Mar 11 with 4568 views | Swansea_Blue |
Re. attacks on the countryside, see also the building of electricity pylons everywhere - bloody horrible things. In this day and age, we should be prepared to bury them imo. |  |
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| Good moves by the government on 09:53 - Mar 11 with 4537 views | redrickstuhaart |
| Good moves by the government on 09:50 - Mar 11 by Swansea_Blue |
Re. attacks on the countryside, see also the building of electricity pylons everywhere - bloody horrible things. In this day and age, we should be prepared to bury them imo. |
Presumably neither practical nor cost effective.
People complain but will complain more if they have to pay... |  | | |
| Good moves by the government on 09:56 - Mar 11 with 4525 views | Lord_Lucan |
| Good moves by the government on 09:50 - Mar 11 by Swansea_Blue |
Re. attacks on the countryside, see also the building of electricity pylons everywhere - bloody horrible things. In this day and age, we should be prepared to bury them imo. |
Yes, I was listening to a thing about this on the radio this morning. One women couldn't sell her home as no mortgage company would lend buyers the money - due to the pylon.
Another person phoned in and advised that with new technology it is now cheaper to bury the lines but labour were using costing figures from 2012 using old technology.
I believe there are also worm robots being developed. Absolute madness to put pylons up. |  |
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| Good moves by the government on 09:59 - Mar 11 with 4504 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Good moves by the government on 09:53 - Mar 11 by redrickstuhaart |
Presumably neither practical nor cost effective.
People complain but will complain more if they have to pay... |
Sure. I'd naively like to think that as one of the largest economies in the world and one that always bangs on about it's countryside, and makes a lot of money from tourism, that we'd be willing to pay to bury them.
But you're right of course - the costs would fall on us, and at the expense of something else.
Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how these NHS cuts will play out. I wonder where the sacked people will find work and if this is going to see a growth of the private health sector. | |
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| Good moves by the government on 10:14 - Mar 11 with 4450 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Good moves by the government on 09:56 - Mar 11 by Lord_Lucan |
Yes, I was listening to a thing about this on the radio this morning. One women couldn't sell her home as no mortgage company would lend buyers the money - due to the pylon.
Another person phoned in and advised that with new technology it is now cheaper to bury the lines but labour were using costing figures from 2012 using old technology.
I believe there are also worm robots being developed. Absolute madness to put pylons up. |
Interesting about the blighting homes bit. It's no good getting a £250/yr government bribe to have pylons outside your house if lenders won't lend.
Worm robots sound cool | |
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| Good moves by the government on 10:40 - Mar 11 with 4366 views | DJR |
The Guardian reported this yesterday which seems to me to be an attack on the disabled and those not able to work.
"The radical package of reforms will see:
-£5bn in savings by making it harder to qualify for Personal Independence Payments - a benefit not linked to work that is meant to help people with the additional costs of their disability
-Further savings by freezing PIP payments next year, so they do not rise with inflation
-Raising the basic rate for Universal Credit paid to those searching for work, or in work, while cutting the rate for those who are judged as unfit for work."
This is the reaction of charities for the disabled and the like.
Sixteen leading disability and welfare charities have written an open letter to Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, expressing alarm at reports that the government is planning to cut PIP (personal independent payments – a disability benefit) by up to £5bn. (See 12.51pm.) They say the impact of the proposed cuts could be “devastating”, pushing up to 700,000 disabled households into poverty.
In the letter, Mark Hodgkinson, chief executive of Scope, and the other charities leaders say:
Disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and the limited capability for work amount, can be a lifeline for disabled households and can enable people who receive PIP to work. Making cuts to disability benefits would have a catastrophic impact on disabled people up and down the country. Scope’s analysis of government figures shows that without PIP, a further 700,000 more disabled households could be pushed into poverty. Life costs more for disabled people. Huge numbers already live in poverty as a result of these extra costs. The impact of any cuts to disability benefits would be devastating.
We agree with the government’s ambition to support more disabled people into work. However, making cuts to disability benefits will not achieve this goal or fix the system. In fact, there is little evidence to suggest cutting benefits increases employment outcomes. We know the benefits system is broken and needs reform. That there are disabled people out of work who want to work given the right support. And for some disabled people work isn’t appropriate. Changes to welfare must start here. Not with cuts.
The other organisations that have signed the letter are: Inclusion Barnet; National Autistic Society; Thomas Pocklington Trust; Citizens Advice; Sense; Mencap; Disability Rights UK; RNIB; MS Society; Joseph Rowntree Foundation; Mind; Turn2Us; Z2K; Trussell; and Parkinsons UK. [Post edited 11 Mar 10:45]
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| Good moves by the government on 10:48 - Mar 11 with 4272 views | redrickstuhaart |
| Good moves by the government on 10:40 - Mar 11 by DJR |
The Guardian reported this yesterday which seems to me to be an attack on the disabled and those not able to work.
"The radical package of reforms will see:
-£5bn in savings by making it harder to qualify for Personal Independence Payments - a benefit not linked to work that is meant to help people with the additional costs of their disability
-Further savings by freezing PIP payments next year, so they do not rise with inflation
-Raising the basic rate for Universal Credit paid to those searching for work, or in work, while cutting the rate for those who are judged as unfit for work."
This is the reaction of charities for the disabled and the like.
Sixteen leading disability and welfare charities have written an open letter to Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, expressing alarm at reports that the government is planning to cut PIP (personal independent payments – a disability benefit) by up to £5bn. (See 12.51pm.) They say the impact of the proposed cuts could be “devastating”, pushing up to 700,000 disabled households into poverty.
In the letter, Mark Hodgkinson, chief executive of Scope, and the other charities leaders say:
Disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and the limited capability for work amount, can be a lifeline for disabled households and can enable people who receive PIP to work. Making cuts to disability benefits would have a catastrophic impact on disabled people up and down the country. Scope’s analysis of government figures shows that without PIP, a further 700,000 more disabled households could be pushed into poverty. Life costs more for disabled people. Huge numbers already live in poverty as a result of these extra costs. The impact of any cuts to disability benefits would be devastating.
We agree with the government’s ambition to support more disabled people into work. However, making cuts to disability benefits will not achieve this goal or fix the system. In fact, there is little evidence to suggest cutting benefits increases employment outcomes. We know the benefits system is broken and needs reform. That there are disabled people out of work who want to work given the right support. And for some disabled people work isn’t appropriate. Changes to welfare must start here. Not with cuts.
The other organisations that have signed the letter are: Inclusion Barnet; National Autistic Society; Thomas Pocklington Trust; Citizens Advice; Sense; Mencap; Disability Rights UK; RNIB; MS Society; Joseph Rowntree Foundation; Mind; Turn2Us; Z2K; Trussell; and Parkinsons UK. [Post edited 11 Mar 10:45]
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The benefits bill is growing disproportinately. Large numbers not working who would have done tears ago. Something has to change. Though paying people who do work enough to live on is another major factor given the huge sums paid by the state to subsidise those people. | | | |
| Good moves by the government on 10:49 - Mar 11 with 4258 views | textbackup |
| Good moves by the government on 09:50 - Mar 11 by Swansea_Blue |
Re. attacks on the countryside, see also the building of electricity pylons everywhere - bloody horrible things. In this day and age, we should be prepared to bury them imo. |
You’d think in this day and age they could just send the electric via wifi ffs |  |
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| Good moves by the government on 11:00 - Mar 11 with 4186 views | DJR |
| Good moves by the government on 10:48 - Mar 11 by redrickstuhaart |
The benefits bill is growing disproportinately. Large numbers not working who would have done tears ago. Something has to change. Though paying people who do work enough to live on is another major factor given the huge sums paid by the state to subsidise those people. |
Interestingly, pensioner benefits make up 48.1% of welfare spending, and many pensioners also receive disability benefits.
And no doubt the triple lock doesn't help when it comes to the growth in welfare spending. [Post edited 11 Mar 11:09]
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| Good moves by the government on 11:00 - Mar 11 with 4200 views | BlueBadger |
| Good moves by the government on 10:48 - Mar 11 by redrickstuhaart |
The benefits bill is growing disproportinately. Large numbers not working who would have done tears ago. Something has to change. Though paying people who do work enough to live on is another major factor given the huge sums paid by the state to subsidise those people. |
The best, most humane way to get people off long term sick and into work is to have an effective and functioning health service, proper laws protecting employment rights for the sick and disabled and well funded, accessible and reliable public transport rather than trying to reduce numbers by starving them to death. |  |
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| Good moves by the government on 11:02 - Mar 11 with 4161 views | Blueschev |
| Good moves by the government on 10:40 - Mar 11 by DJR |
The Guardian reported this yesterday which seems to me to be an attack on the disabled and those not able to work.
"The radical package of reforms will see:
-£5bn in savings by making it harder to qualify for Personal Independence Payments - a benefit not linked to work that is meant to help people with the additional costs of their disability
-Further savings by freezing PIP payments next year, so they do not rise with inflation
-Raising the basic rate for Universal Credit paid to those searching for work, or in work, while cutting the rate for those who are judged as unfit for work."
This is the reaction of charities for the disabled and the like.
Sixteen leading disability and welfare charities have written an open letter to Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, expressing alarm at reports that the government is planning to cut PIP (personal independent payments – a disability benefit) by up to £5bn. (See 12.51pm.) They say the impact of the proposed cuts could be “devastating”, pushing up to 700,000 disabled households into poverty.
In the letter, Mark Hodgkinson, chief executive of Scope, and the other charities leaders say:
Disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and the limited capability for work amount, can be a lifeline for disabled households and can enable people who receive PIP to work. Making cuts to disability benefits would have a catastrophic impact on disabled people up and down the country. Scope’s analysis of government figures shows that without PIP, a further 700,000 more disabled households could be pushed into poverty. Life costs more for disabled people. Huge numbers already live in poverty as a result of these extra costs. The impact of any cuts to disability benefits would be devastating.
We agree with the government’s ambition to support more disabled people into work. However, making cuts to disability benefits will not achieve this goal or fix the system. In fact, there is little evidence to suggest cutting benefits increases employment outcomes. We know the benefits system is broken and needs reform. That there are disabled people out of work who want to work given the right support. And for some disabled people work isn’t appropriate. Changes to welfare must start here. Not with cuts.
The other organisations that have signed the letter are: Inclusion Barnet; National Autistic Society; Thomas Pocklington Trust; Citizens Advice; Sense; Mencap; Disability Rights UK; RNIB; MS Society; Joseph Rowntree Foundation; Mind; Turn2Us; Z2K; Trussell; and Parkinsons UK. [Post edited 11 Mar 10:45]
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Hang on, I thought the Tories lost the last election? |  | | |
| Good moves by the government on 11:06 - Mar 11 with 4128 views | Steve_M |
| Good moves by the government on 09:56 - Mar 11 by Lord_Lucan |
Yes, I was listening to a thing about this on the radio this morning. One women couldn't sell her home as no mortgage company would lend buyers the money - due to the pylon.
Another person phoned in and advised that with new technology it is now cheaper to bury the lines but labour were using costing figures from 2012 using old technology.
I believe there are also worm robots being developed. Absolute madness to put pylons up. |
"Another person phoned in and advised that with new technology it is now cheaper to bury the lines but labour were using costing figures from 2012 using old technology."
I'm deeply sceptical about this claim. |  |
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| Good moves by the government on 11:07 - Mar 11 with 4121 views | DJR |
| Good moves by the government on 11:00 - Mar 11 by BlueBadger |
The best, most humane way to get people off long term sick and into work is to have an effective and functioning health service, proper laws protecting employment rights for the sick and disabled and well funded, accessible and reliable public transport rather than trying to reduce numbers by starving them to death. |
That is true but with only 816,000 vacancies (according to the latest statistics), many of which will presumably require qualifications or experience, the government appears to be pursuing an objective which is impossible to achieve.
And funny how some of the current targets (the disabled and foreign aid) are those at the bottom of the pile.
No doubt there will be much more of this if defence spending is ramped up more with no relaxation of fiscal rules or increases in taxation. [Post edited 11 Mar 11:12]
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| Good moves by the government on 11:14 - Mar 11 with 4066 views | Blueschev |
| Good moves by the government on 11:06 - Mar 11 by Steve_M |
"Another person phoned in and advised that with new technology it is now cheaper to bury the lines but labour were using costing figures from 2012 using old technology."
I'm deeply sceptical about this claim. |
It was on Nick Ferrari's show, so your scepticism is well warranted. | | | |
| Good moves by the government on 11:15 - Mar 11 with 4065 views | BlueBadger |
| Good moves by the government on 11:07 - Mar 11 by DJR |
That is true but with only 816,000 vacancies (according to the latest statistics), many of which will presumably require qualifications or experience, the government appears to be pursuing an objective which is impossible to achieve.
And funny how some of the current targets (the disabled and foreign aid) are those at the bottom of the pile.
No doubt there will be much more of this if defence spending is ramped up more with no relaxation of fiscal rules or increases in taxation. [Post edited 11 Mar 11:12]
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Ah yes, that vacancy situation. A situation not helped by a) ongoing real-terms wage deflation across the board hampering recruitment and the current farcical situation whereby cash strapped Trusts(ie, all of them) are all desperately short staffed but have a recruitment freeze in place because of said financial constraints.
In Suffolk, for example, we're likely to lose the most of this year and last year's graduates to a combination of f the private sector and other careers because of this.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/nurses-shortage-job-cuts-students-nhs- [Post edited 11 Mar 11:24]
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| Good moves by the government on 11:17 - Mar 11 with 4044 views | BlueBadger |
| Good moves by the government on 11:02 - Mar 11 by Blueschev |
Hang on, I thought the Tories lost the last election? |
The openly racist, extremely incompetent and highly corrupt ones lost. The mildly corrupt, mildly incompetent and not-racist-but ones won.
At this point, some idiot will suggest that, as an alternative, you should vote for the exceptionally racist and openly backed by Putin ones next time out. | |
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| Good moves by the government on 11:21 - Mar 11 with 4011 views | DJR |
I have a friend on the steering committee of Disabled People Against the Cuts and this is from their latest newsletter.
6 March 2025
UN calls for ‘corrective measures’ to Tory disability benefit reforms, just as Labour prepares cuts of its own
A report by the United Nations (UN) has called on the UK government to take “corrective measures” to address the impact of cuts to disability benefits introduced under Conservative governments, just as Labour ministers prepare to introduce further such cuts.
The recommendation by the UN’s committee on economic, social and cultural rights (CESCR) comes in its “concluding observations” on the UK’s progress in implementing the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The committee concluded that “welfare reform” measures introduced by Conservative-led governments in 2012 and 2016 had disproportionately affected disabled people, low-income families, and workers in “precarious employment”.
And it says this led to “severe economic hardship, increased reliance on food banks, homelessness, negative impacts on mental health, and the stigmatization of benefit claimants”.
Among its recommendations, it calls for increased spending on social security, and for the government to take “corrective measures” to address the impact of post-2010 welfare reforms on the most disadvantaged groups.
It also calls for the level of disability-related benefits, including personal independence payment (PIP) and employment and support allowance, to be increased so they “adequately cover additional disability-related costs”.
The report was published by the committee just as the government is set to announce new austerity measures that are expected to include significant cuts to social security spending, including disability benefits, at the spring statement on 26 March.
The government’s long-awaited green paper on disability benefits will also be published in the next three weeks, ahead of the spring statement.
The UN committee calls on the government to carry out an independent assessment of the cumulative impact of post-2010 austerity measures on disabled people and other “disadvantaged groups” and to take “all measures necessary” to reverse those impacts in areas such as social security, social care and public transport.
It also calls for wide-ranging action to address disability-related discrimination and inequality across employment, housing, education, and access to sport and culture, and to introduce targeted measures to support disabled women.
The government had failed to comment on the CESCR report by noon today (Thursday).
Last year, another UN human rights committee concluded that the UK government had made “no significant progress” in the more than seven years since it was found guilty of “grave and systematic” violations of the UN disability convention.
The committee on the rights of disabled people said last April that it had even found “signs of regression” – backward steps – in the UK’s progress towards fully realising the rights described in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. | | | |
| Good moves by the government on 11:25 - Mar 11 with 3968 views | DJR |
| Good moves by the government on 11:15 - Mar 11 by BlueBadger |
Ah yes, that vacancy situation. A situation not helped by a) ongoing real-terms wage deflation across the board hampering recruitment and the current farcical situation whereby cash strapped Trusts(ie, all of them) are all desperately short staffed but have a recruitment freeze in place because of said financial constraints.
In Suffolk, for example, we're likely to lose the most of this year and last year's graduates to a combination of f the private sector and other careers because of this.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/nurses-shortage-job-cuts-students-nhs- [Post edited 11 Mar 11:24]
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The Guardian reported the other day that the UK had recovered from Covid much worse than other comparative countries, including more people suffering with health-related issues than in other countries because the NHS was in such poor health going into the pandemic.
These very people, failed by Tory austerity, will now pay the price, including as a result of the things you mention. [Post edited 11 Mar 11:27]
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| Good moves by the government on 11:32 - Mar 11 with 3925 views | DJR |
Going back to the OP, NHS England was another aspect of the failed Lansley reforms, so it was perhaps unrealistic to think that the Tories would do anything about it.
One aspect of the Lansley reforms was to make the NHS independent of Ministers. I always thought one of the main reasons for this was to prevent Ministers being held responsible for the NHS.
NHS England was one aspect of this, but it led to a duplication of functions with the Department of Health, and the reforms themselves clearly failed not least because Covid proved even to the Tories that Ministers needed to have control over the NHS. | | | |
| Good moves by the government on 11:33 - Mar 11 with 3916 views | BlueBadger |
| Good moves by the government on 11:32 - Mar 11 by DJR |
Going back to the OP, NHS England was another aspect of the failed Lansley reforms, so it was perhaps unrealistic to think that the Tories would do anything about it.
One aspect of the Lansley reforms was to make the NHS independent of Ministers. I always thought one of the main reasons for this was to prevent Ministers being held responsible for the NHS.
NHS England was one aspect of this, but it led to a duplication of functions with the Department of Health, and the reforms themselves clearly failed not least because Covid proved even to the Tories that Ministers needed to have control over the NHS. |
NHS England whilst nominally independent, shamelessly kowtowed when they were told to do so.
When we were suffering from PPE shortage, particularly at the beginning of the pandemic rather than double efforts to source kit they downgraded requirements at the behest of incompetent and corrupt criminal Matt Hancock. | |
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| Good moves by the government on 11:38 - Mar 11 with 3877 views | DJR |
| Good moves by the government on 11:06 - Mar 11 by Steve_M |
"Another person phoned in and advised that with new technology it is now cheaper to bury the lines but labour were using costing figures from 2012 using old technology."
I'm deeply sceptical about this claim. |
Was that the person who advised tunnelling for HS2?
I also came across this from a document produced by the National Grid.
A report concluded that
underground cables are always more expensive
when compared to equivalent overhead lines.
A major element of this cost differential is
accounted for by the cable itself. The underground
conductor has to be bigger than its overhead
counterpart to reduce its electrical resistance
and hence the heat produced. The requirement
to properly insulate, while at the same time
maintaining the cable’s rating, means that special
insulation is needed.
Generally, tunnel installation
costs more than direct burial; however, civil
engineering costs for all methods of cable
installation are considerable compared to those
of an overhead line [Post edited 11 Mar 11:39]
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| Good moves by the government on 11:39 - Mar 11 with 3869 views | giant_stow |
I get the pushback in this thread and don't want to see vulnerable people carry the can, but what else is there to be done?
"9.29 million people aged 16-64 were economically inactive, and the inactivity rate was 21.5%."
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9366/#:~:text=9.29%2
Without knowing anything much, 21% of adults being economically inactive seems like a massive burden for everyone else to carry, especially when many of the active will be low paid. |  |
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| Good moves by the government on 11:45 - Mar 11 with 3796 views | BlueBadger |
| Good moves by the government on 10:49 - Mar 11 by textbackup |
You’d think in this day and age they could just send the electric via wifi ffs |
Get Amazon to deliver it, innit | |
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