 | Forum
Reply | Bit of protectionism from the EU here then.
at 09:50 27 Jan 2021
I find it interesting that the organisations excelling in rising to the occasion are those who (attempt to) pursue excellence rather than profit or cost savings as their primary goal, yet those who have fallen short are those who tend to take a shorter term (bonus period) view of the world.
I wonder if the dots will be joined.... |
| Forum
Reply | Bit of protectionism from the EU here then.
at 19:30 26 Jan 2021
If you've ever worked anywhere that follows the OJEU rules you would realise that not participating in the EU vaccine program was the right thing to do.
As a remainer the ability to get rid of this would almost have been enough for a leave vote. ... |
| Forum
Reply | Tory London Mayor candidate
at 14:10 16 Jan 2021
I've been busy working. Very right wing capitalist of me, sorry.
My politics - fully paid up member of the Liberal Democrats. Economically slightly right of centre (save then spend, prudence, live within your means, give away part of what you earn to those poorer than you), socially slightly left of centre (look after the poor and marginalised, protect the weak, defend justice (legal and social), allow personal wealth but realise the pie is only so big and the more you have the less is left for everyone else, protect freedom).
The Lib Dems nationally aren't doing this, but they are closer than the other two parties. Locally however they are, we live is a super safe Tory seat but the three local councillors are Lib Dem because they are local, hard working, really involved and will do anything for the people of the town (up at 3AM recently filling sand bags to stem the floods).
What worries me most at the moment is that real minority views are being "normalised" and "condoned". The view that "I can do it because everyone else is doing it" and because you are in an echo chamber and there is no community check and balance (eg normal people). The lockdowns have undoubtedly made this worse - I was banned from a "late capitalism" forum earlier this week for suggesting that hard left and hard right are so similar they are like a horseshoe where the top almost touches (more or less that statement word for word). Banned for a "childish and immature" view.
My hope is that the "old fashioned" virtues of politeness, helpfulness and civility will win through in the end - I consider that most people have these at their core, it's just that "most" seems to be declining. |
| Forum
Reply | Let’s make sure Free School Meals is the start of something much, much bigger
at 18:19 14 Jan 2021
The current definition of poverty in the UK means someone will always be in poverty - it's poorly thought through metric.
However, my experience is that the cost of housing in the UK is the root cause with a secondary reason being the complexity of modern life and the lack of helpful advice.
A return to council housing of some description, with rents and tenancies that give security and fair costs has been obvious since the early 90s.
Complicated finance deals, bank accounts, internet and online everything I love - but it's a minefield and the increasing success of scammers is proving that it's too much for a percentage of people. There are stories of the banks not helping and actually authorising the transfers for some of these scams, while CAB have seen funds cut.
Part of the Brexit vote was undoubtedly a desire to return to "simpler times", and I can understand the logic - even if it is flawed. |
| Forum
Reply | Tory London Mayor candidate
at 15:03 14 Jan 2021
It does appear that any sort of political discourse on this board is immediately "left is good, right is bad".
Anyone attempting to empathise, yet alone defend, a "right of centre" view gets many down votes and shouted at.
Yet, this country has seen eleven years of "right of centre" governments - the most recent being as far to the right as since the second Thatcher term.
The Guardian is revered as the truth, yet posts stories as deliberately misleading as this:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jan/13/fisheries-minister-admits-not-r
Yes, this candidate appears to have given a poor answer. Is he out of touch? Maybe, but remember in 2015 when Milliband was asked how many people he knew personally on minimum wage the answer was "none".
And Paz has attempted to bring his view to this subject into this echo chamber. A view I suspect shared by 30%+ of the country. I do wonder why the poor lad bothers sometimes.... |
| Forum
Reply | New car needed
at 16:23 7 Jan 2021
I looked in depth last year.
Self charging? Adds five or ten miles to a gallon, but you go about 500 metres before you're done.
Plug in hybrid? Great for 30 or so miles, but when on battery you're hauling an engine and gearbox and fuel tank around, then when on dead dinosaur juice a battery and electric motor.
Pure EV? Range anxiety and the infrastructure gaps. And almost no EV can tow.
I almost went with a Kia E-Niro but didn't as the delivery lead time was a year (!) at the time, so instead bought a petrol Volvo XC40 with the view of keeping it six years - at which point EVs, or more importantly the charging infrastructure, will be "ready". |
| Forum
Reply | £2500 a week
at 19:57 1 Jan 2021
It will go onto the P60. The old fashioned car sponsorship by the local garage is an interesting question - then player pays the BIK but it's not a club expense.... |
| Forum
Reply | Rumours...
at 12:29 1 Jan 2021
If you've ever had the "pleasure" of encountering some of the "obnoxious" rich then you'll be aware that fines are just amounts of money they spend to do what they want. |
| Forum
Reply | £2500 a week
at 12:24 1 Jan 2021
This is the problem. Chelsea pay some under 18s more than that, what chance do we have of keeping "the next Kieron Dyer" with this cap? We've already lost academy kids for peanuts and with the Brexit u18 EU kids rule (and limits for u21) this will get worse! |
| Forum
Reply | TWTD Runners!
at 17:31 28 Dec 2020
Try the sportpursuit.com website, although check the delivery date if you want things soon as some of their stuff is a "bulk shipping discount" and can be a month away. |
| Forum
Reply | UNICEF help to feed British children for the first time in their history
at 22:05 16 Dec 2020
I fancy some down votes, I'm going to have a go...
The UK benefits system is deemed fairly generous, see the refugees attempting to cross from Calais rather than staying in France. This might also be because they don't like the French.
The UK has a cost of housing problem. We need to build 3 million three bed houses and rent them unfurnished at "not for profit" rates with an expected lifespan of 100 years. This stops us paying BTL landlords a lot of money for sometimes terrible accomodation. No right to buy.
Modern life is really complicated and even intelligent people struggle to understand aspects.
If you are poor then the technology required to access "modern life" may be out of reach.
If nobody has taught you then even going to the library to use that technology won't help.
The people at the job centre (etc) are not heartless or cruel, but overworked and dealing with the general public. I'd probably find myself stabbing people in the head after a few days working there as people just don't help themselves. For evidence, see every picture of crowded streets and few masks in the last few weeks.
Foodbanks are almost all staffed by volunteers, mostly retired, with funds from all sorts of places - but in my experience mostly the local community. I've seen examples of those helped at the bottom of their lives coming back two years later with things on a more even keel to help out or even donate back. The same 5% who "take the Micky" with the benefits system do the same with Foodbank.
My local MP (Tory) doesn't think they are necessary and refuses to engage on the subject.
Foodbanks are evidence that the benefit system is not fit for purpose. This isn't just about the amount of money, but general "living" support. IDS actually had a valid point on this 20 years ago - how that became Universal Credit I really don't understand.
The cutting of the foreign aid budget will only be used to lower the need for tax rises - anyone thinking it will "look after our own" will be disappointed.
I don't think voting for any party will make a difference as they stand - it needs a rethink of the social contract. |
| Forum
Reply | 'Banning Christmas would be inhuman'
at 20:31 16 Dec 2020
Why not? A few more bank holidays would be nice. We could have Eid, Diwali, Passover, Vaisakha. Problem is most are lunar calendar, so keep moving around - and Eid they only decide for certain two or three days beforehand. |
| Forum
Reply | 'Banning Christmas would be inhuman'
at 20:12 16 Dec 2020
Muslim chap I worked with and managed many years ago (he's still a friend) said it was unfair that Christmas day was a bank holiday but Eid wasn't and he had to use his holiday allowance. I said I was perfectly happy for him to have Eid off and come in Christmas day instead. He declined, saying that he enjoyed Christmas day almost as much and that many forget Jesus is a major prophet in the Koran. |
| Forum
Reply | 'Banning Christmas would be inhuman'
at 17:18 16 Dec 2020
Bites...
Eid - celebrated by between 3 and 5% of the UK population.
Christmas - celebrated by ~30% as a religious festival and 95% as a family celebration, including almost all of the 5% who celebrate Eid.
Remember that Easter was "banned", which is far more significant than Christmas in a religious sense. |
| Forum
Reply | If you had an amnesty
at 19:00 13 Dec 2020
Godmanchester Rovers.
Because any professional league team would be a betrayal. |
| | Durovigutum
|
Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 198 | | Comment Votes: | 20 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 218 |
|
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.