Do you want to discuss boring politics? (47 Viewers)

[Brighton Sky Blue]

That’s a real double standard I’m afraid to the point of hypocrisy.

Universal winter fuel payments guarantees that nobody falls through the cracks

Well as you well know Malcolm I’ve argued in favour of universal WFP for that very reason. No double standards on it from me.

 

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[MalcSB]

Well as you well know Malcolm I’ve argued in favour of universal WFP for that very reason. No double standards on it from me.

Fair enough, but others will have the same view about these uncosted breakfasts whilst arguing that paper millionaires shouldn't get winter fuel payments. And it no doubt will be the attitude of this government.

 

[Skybluekyle]

Robots. Good British robots.

Starmer: And as you go forth today remember always your duty is clear: to build and maintain those robots

 

[wingy]

That’s a real double standard I’m afraid to the point of hypocrisy. Are all children going to get free school meals?

Universal winter fuel payments guarantees that nobody falls through the cracks

I think the way to guarantee that is through the Council tax banding tbh which hopefully will hold some sway in the budget?

 

[MalcSB]

Starmer: And as you go forth today remember always your duty is clear: to build and maintain those robots

Aren’t Starmer and Reeves actually robots themselves. They have all the associated charisma and oratory skills.

 

[MalcSB]

I think the way to guarantee that is through the Council tax banding tbh which hopefully will hold some sway in the budget?

How is council tax banding going to help. I’ve seen nothing suggesting that who eligibility linked to banding is seriously on the cards

 

[wingy]

Aren’t Starmer and Reeves actually robots themselves. They have all the associated charisma and oratory skills.

Where has charisma got us or left us,?

 

[MalcSB]

Where has charisma got us or left us,?

Need to be able to win people over Wingy and to convince them that your plans are worth backing. It’s a leadership thing.

 

[SkyBlueCharlie9]

So how isn't it targeting normal people when they are already paying 50 odd pence per litre of fuel?

Maybe people with more kids can start paying more tax to cover their education. People who go to the doctors more pay more for that?

Ludicrous suggestion from a biased motorists perspective. Education boosts the country's economy as does health by keeping people at work. Thats why its primsrily free. Whilst keeping streets moving for cars, public transport, cycling and walking is also good for economy, all forms of motor vehicles use impacts on health and environment which is why it's quite rightly taxed! Like ciggies and booze it's harmful and has some negative impacts on economy. We need higher taxes on shitty cheap food with no nutritional value and less on home grown healthy food.

 

[TomRad85]

Think you need some time off Twitter!

Just reading Pete's posts thinking he's lost it a bit
Definitely been led down a social media rabbit hole.

Sent from my SM-A536U using Tapatalk

 

[fernandopartridge]

In terms of unemployed, I am taking your 1% of 4.2 % to act7ally be equal to 25% of the unemployed, say 350,000.
In terms of long term sickness, the biggest component and biggest increase is in depression/ anxiety. Apropos of nothing, we apparently need trigger warnings before Midsomer Murders.
There are more than 9 million people aged 16 to 64 defined as economically inactive, I.e. neither working nor looking for work.

If just 4% of these numbers could be encourage/ supported to return to work that would make a significant difference. Not entirely undoable given the comparisons below.

View attachment 38622

Hardly surprising with the cost of childcare

 

[MalcSB]

Where has charisma got us or left us,?

PS did Churchill not have charisma and oratory skills?

 

[shmmeee]

Fair enough, but others will have the same view about these uncosted breakfasts whilst arguing that paper millionaires shouldn't get winter fuel payments. And it no doubt will be the attitude of this government.

Very few children are millionaires. And pensioners don’t all hand out with each other in a big building where bullying is rife and there are long lasting social impacts.

Also universal WFP costs about 60% more than universal FSM.

 

[shmmeee]

Just reading Pete's posts thinking he's lost it a bit
Definitely been led down a social media rabbit hole.

Sent from my SM-A536U using Tapatalk

Happens to the best of us.

 

[MalcSB]

Very few children are millionaires. And pensioners don’t all hand out with each other in a big building where bullying is rife and there are long lasting social impacts.

Also universal WFP costs about 60% more than universal FSM.

Could you point me to the costings please. Won’t the breakfast clubs mean kids hang out together in a big building where bullying is rife for even longer?

 

[shmmeee]

Could you point me to the costings please.

FSM - £1bn/year for universality

The policy menu for school lunches: options and trade-offs in expanding free school meals in England | Institute for Fiscal Studies

The expansion of free school meals has been frequently discussed. IFS researchers consider the costs and benefits of different options.

ifs.org.uk

Apologies seems my initial source was out by 0.1bn its £1.5bn for universal WFP:

https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/changes-to-winter-fuel-payments-the-social-fund-winter-fuel-payment-regulations-2024/

 

[wingy]

PS did Churchill not have charisma and oratory skills?

What was his overall performance like though, sure I read somewhere that he was quite a devious sort, not denying his skills but have seen doubts that he was whiter than white though,just some independent writing and no Idea if it's accurate or not?

 

[wingy]

What was his overall performance like though, sure I read somewhere that he was quite a devious sort, not denying his skills but have seen doubts that he was whiter than white though,just some independent writing and no Idea if it's accurate or not?

More recently we have thatcher,disaster for me but obviously not for many?

 

[Ring Of Steel]

PS did Churchill not have charisma and oratory skills?

and outside of the one situation where those qualities were important- ie in a state of war- he was a dismal PM.

 

[Ring Of Steel]

What was his overall performance like though, sure I read somewhere that he was quite a devious sort, not denying his skills but have seen doubts that he was whiter than white though,just some independent writing and no Idea if it's accurate or not?

well he was an all out racist & white supremacist (as were many in that era) and when in any kind of position of power outside of wartime he had a very bad track record. Never heard about the ‘devious’ side of him. He was needed at that time, and was perfect doing what he did, there was nobody else that could have done what he did- but before & the crisis he was pretty inept.

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

Just reading Pete's posts thinking he's lost it a bit
Definitely been led down a social media rabbit hole.

Sent from my SM-A536U using Tapatalk

More reading than social media
I know Twitter is a shit hole and Facebook and here - although here at least people tend to stand by their thoughts and back them up

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Could you point me to the costings please. Won’t the breakfast clubs mean kids hang out together in a big building where bullying is rife for even longer?

What objection could you have to ensuring that all children have access to nutritious breakfast and lunch at school?

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

What objection could you have to ensuring that all children have access to nutritious breakfast and lunch at school?

It’s a good point

 

[skybluetony176]

In terms of unemployed, I am taking your 1% of 4.2 % to act7ally be equal to 25% of the unemployed, say 350,000.
In terms of long term sickness, the biggest component and biggest increase is in depression/ anxiety. Apropos of nothing, we apparently need trigger warnings before Midsomer Murders.
There are more than 9 million people aged 16 to 64 defined as economically inactive, I.e. neither working nor looking for work.

If just 4% of these numbers could be encourage/ supported to return to work that would make a significant difference. Not entirely undoable given the comparisons below.

View attachment 38622

Depression and anxiety are very real illnesses, I can tell you that from personal experience. To belittle it is very ignorant. It’s not even the biggest cause of long term sickness. The main reason is a lack of treatment for preventable illnesses. The tories wrecking the NHS plays a big part in that. There’s no quick fix to that as getting waiting lists back down to the numbers they were when the Tories entered government is probably going to take the same 14 years it took them to get as bad as they are. And before anyone says COVID stop talking bollocks. Firstly waiting lists are pretty much bang on trend for where they would have been even without COVID. Secondly it was a worldwide pandemic, we didn’t suffer it in isolation and as Malcs graph shows there’s another issue in the UK with economic inactivity. Get the NHS fit for purpose and those numbers will drop.

 

[Ring Of Steel]

In terms of unemployed, I am taking your 1% of 4.2 % to act7ally be equal to 25% of the unemployed, say 350,000.
In terms of long term sickness, the biggest component and biggest increase is in depression/ anxiety. Apropos of nothing, we apparently need trigger warnings before Midsomer Murders.
There are more than 9 million people aged 16 to 64 defined as economically inactive, I.e. neither working nor looking for work.

If just 4% of these numbers could be encourage/ supported to return to work that would make a significant difference. Not entirely undoable given the comparisons below.

View attachment 38622

Belittling & mocking depression and anxiety now I see- I already knew you were deeply out of touch and living in some kind of weird utopia, now I know that to be the case.

My temptation was to insult you, but I’ll just say that to take the piss out of depression & anxiety is pretty offensive to millions of people, not all of whom have a boomer’s pension & lifestyle to sit around passing their judgements from. It’s not some kind of lifestyle choice of the younger generations to have these conditions, and most just battle on and try to grind it out without ever taking a day off.

 

[chiefdave]

In terms of long term sickness, the biggest component and biggest increase is in depression/ anxiety. Apropos of nothing, we apparently need trigger warnings before Midsomer Murders.

This kind of reads like you don't believe depression / anxiety to be a real thing which I can assure you is definitely not the case. Maybe we need to start looking at why we seem to have more people suffering with depression, anxiety and stress than our European neighbours. It's not getting any better soon, read a report recently that the figures in young people in the UK are off the scale.

Not sure that a life 'on the sick' is quite how you are imagining it. I have ongoing health issues, all likely traced back to stress, even ended up in the hospital recently not entirely sure I was coming back out. The healthiest I have been in years was when I was off work during covid. The doctor has suggested being signed off work but in my case the problem would likely recur as soon as I returned to work and looking at what I'd be entitled to if I was on long term sick it would be a huge struggle to survive.

Was in Denmark recently, you only have to spend a couple of hours walking around to be able to visibly see its a far healthier and happier nation. We've taken a wrong turn somewhere and at the moment we don't even seem to know we've done it let alone have any desire to fix it.

 

[wingy]

This kind of reads like you don't believe depression / anxiety to be a real thing which I can assure you is definitely not the case. Maybe we need to start looking at why we seem to have more people suffering with depression, anxiety and stress than our European neighbours. It's not getting any better soon, read a report recently that the figures in young people in the UK are off the scale.

Not sure that a life 'on the sick' is quite how you are imagining it. I have ongoing health issues, all likely traced back to stress, even ended up in the hospital recently not entirely sure I was coming back out. The healthiest I have been in years was when I was off work during covid. The doctor has suggested being signed off work but in my case the problem would likely recur as soon as I returned to work and looking at what I'd be entitled to if I was on long term sick it would be a huge struggle to survive.

Was in Denmark recently, you only have to spend a couple of hours walking around to be able to visibly see its a far healthier and happier nation. We've taken a wrong turn somewhere and at the moment we don't even seem to know we've done it let alone have any desire to fix it.

Get a career change would be my advice,go be a councillor or a lifestyle coach or whatever mate!

 

[chiefdave]

Get a career change would be my advice,go be a councillor or a lifestyle coach or whatever mate!

Done a lot of thinking about that but finding something else that pays the bills isn't easy, especially with a big mortgage hike coming in a few months.

The weird thing is you see articles about certain careers and how there's a huge shortage of staff and think maybe that would be better then you look into it and its near impossible to get into an entry level position. Train driving is one example, services being cancelled left right and centre because of driver shortages but it's pretty rare to find any of the operating companies offering trainee places. Not sure many people can spend a couple of years and thousands of pounds getting themselves trained!

 

[Grendel]

This kind of reads like you don't believe depression / anxiety to be a real thing which I can assure you is definitely not the case. Maybe we need to start looking at why we seem to have more people suffering with depression, anxiety and stress than our European neighbours. It's not getting any better soon, read a report recently that the figures in young people in the UK are off the scale.

Not sure that a life 'on the sick' is quite how you are imagining it. I have ongoing health issues, all likely traced back to stress, even ended up in the hospital recently not entirely sure I was coming back out. The healthiest I have been in years was when I was off work during covid. The doctor has suggested being signed off work but in my case the problem would likely recur as soon as I returned to work and looking at what I'd be entitled to if I was on long term sick it would be a huge struggle to survive.

Was in Denmark recently, you only have to spend a couple of hours walking around to be able to visibly see its a far healthier and happier nation. We've taken a wrong turn somewhere and at the moment we don't even seem to know we've done it let alone have any desire to fix it.

Perhaps Denmarks approach to immigration has cheered the locals up

 

[wingy]

Done a lot of thinking about that but finding something else that pays the bills isn't easy, especially with a big mortgage hike coming in a few months.

The weird thing is you see articles about certain careers and how there's a huge shortage of staff and think maybe that would be better then you look into it and its near impossible to get into an entry level position. Train driving is one example, services being cancelled left right and centre because of driver shortages but it's pretty rare to find any of the operating companies offering trainee places. Not sure many people can spend a couple of years and thousands of pounds getting themselves trained!

In the case of train's anything to do with the suggestion of nationalisation?

 

[MalcSB]

What objection could you have to ensuring that all children have access to nutritious breakfast and lunch at school?

It’s the principle that millionaires children would qualify when they could, according to some on here, surely afford to pay for it themselves. And isn’t yet another state intervention abrogating parents of their responibility?

 

[wingy]

It’s the principle that millionaires children would qualify when they could, according to some on here, surely afford to pay for it themselves. And isn’t yet another state intervention abrogating parents of their responibility?

There is that,, but then we're either looking at poorly brought up and provided for kids, otherwise get there parents a rise,or maybe prioritise feeding your kids before buying them a mobile phone?

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

It’s the principle that millionaires children would qualify when they could, according to some on here, surely afford to pay for it themselves. And isn’t yet another state intervention abrogating parents of their responibility?

How you have the nerve to complain of a generational divide and ageism on here while arguing against food for children I do not know.

 

[chiefdave]

we're either looking at poorly brought up and provided for kids

Getting shorter and going hungrier: how children in the UK live today

Children are becoming poorer in the UK – more so than in other countries.

uk.news.yahoo.com

 

[MalcSB]

How you have the nerve to complain of a generational divide and ageism on here while arguing against food for children I do not know.

It’s a bit chicken and egg, don’t you think?
Im not arguing against food for children, I’m arguing about the state paying for it when parents should.