Thought this might be a good place for people to view their political opinions with each other, instead of hijacking just about every topic which has a 'slightly' political theme.

As much as we like to see political views, they can become dominant.

So, this morning I would like to say that it would appear that the political scene is changing. Tories putting the fear up Labour, should they dare to think of going all out for a Labour victory at the next General Election. Labour hiding behind Miss Haversham's cobwebs, whilst they see if they would want to take the country through the next period of undeniable hardship, which could damage them for eternity. Pretending to stand firm with the Unions for face value. The reason that there is always civil unrest, the minute the Tories are at No.10, is because the Unions start to rumble the minute the election results are known. Trouble makers! Always trouble makers!
Lib/Dems, who have experienced a 'touch of class' are not ready to give it up yet, so are hedging their bets against first past the post and will possibly jump from one side to another when it gets nearer the right time.
Personally I don't think Labour wish to win, I think Lib/Dems now know they haven't got a chance, and Tories are hoping that the promise of a better deal for pensioners will bring the votes in.
As Casper said before "beware of those who bare gifts" (or something like that) Tories have not mentioned that the now promised increases of astronomical proportions in state pensions, that the Pension Credits could very well be abolished. Pensioners, don't ever get the impression that one day the state may make you rich!
We are all surrounded by a visible line and if we are lucky enough to break through it, that's good. If not, we will be at the mercy of No 10 for ever. They are not necessarily bothered about the individual non-starters. It was easier for Labour to throw crumbs to the unemployed or those on short working hours, in ways of benefits, it actually saved them the problem of worrying about providing industry for employment (whilst in was being sold off, 'big time', under their noses). They knew that the unemployment scene was to get worse, hence 'tax credits' and to support the employers, and keeping the unemployment figures down. It kept people happy and quiet to the detrimental situation of the country.
The figures of unemployment now,% is no worse than it has been before, if you take the increase in population into account.
Which ever Government said the increase in migrants would be to do jobs we wouldn't. Absolute rot. Go to Kent and see the mums who would work in the fields picking strawberries and soft fruits all summer long. Take their children, so no need for childcare. The students who went home for the holidays could earn a few bob. A way of life and a time they so looked forward too each year. Apple picking, fruit packing. No it was the Government who said we were to good to do that type of work, not the workers. Read between the lines...more brainwashing.
If anyone is a strong loyal supporter to any one of our political parties in this country, you need your heads examining, because you obviously have blinkers and ear muffs on. Personally the next party political campaign for the General Election could be seen as a follow up to Spitting Image.

IMHO.

Now start the scrap~

Nice one granny, you tinker you, waiting for the fur and feathers to fly, you know what they say about football, politics and religion.

Oh, so right Casper.
I would love a topic on religion,particularly about understanding the historical facts, but when it is something that people hold within their hearts, those who mock and abuse can actually cause much pain. Very similar to ones husband or child being mocked, verbally abused or humiliated. Love over rides all things.

Don't have love for politicians. So get cracking!

Admin Notice :

This type of topic can generate a lot of strong opinions. Either way personal insults towards members will not be tolerated. Accounts may be suspended, or the topic closed.

opinions is what makes a great debate

Never been that interested in politics probably because i got a reasonable job and training on leaving school and been in employment most of my life bar a few months. Only took a real interest following 911 and invasions of Iraq. I still dont have a great deal of interest in local politics and not bothered who gets in as long as they do a half decent job. Just seems to me that politicians of any colour learn how to be economical with the truth, spin and always see things through there own tinted specs and [censored] off the opposition.The constant fobbing off by all about a referendum on Europe raises my suspicions.Anyway its UKIP for me because I find Nigel Farage far more entertaining than the other clowns who have been running the circus.

I shall be eternally grateful I don't live in North Korea.

I was fortunate enough to be able to visit East Berlin on two occasions. If anyone ever thinks that their way was the best way, if you get what I mean, then I would advise you to think again. I've never seen such a miserable sad existance anywhere and I've been to a few sad places believe me. North Korea is very similar. We don't live in a perfect system that's for sure but believe me it's better than the alternative. This remember is through experience not reading propoganda.

Every time I go into the voting booth, I grab the chunky pencil on a string and then scan the menu. Spike Milligan is never on the list, so I usually write his name at the bottom and put a "X" against it ! A wasted vote - yes, but the rest of them are a joke as well. At least it "might" put a smile on some crusty old ballot counter's face ?

These headaches are getting worse...............

Its very easy to dismiss all politicians as liars and cheats based on tiny soundbites and snippets on the news, but does anyone actually know their local MP and the work they do?

Extremes of the left or the right don't work, but I fear a coalition between UKIP and the Conservatives will lurch us to the extreme right, I take your comment on the former Eastern bloc countries, but some of the South American countries equal them with their right wing governments.

Quite right, casper, extremes of any complexion don't work, as has been proved by many states. The difficulty with this country is that, excluding the Loony Left and Rabid Right, there's little to choose between the main parties. It's interesting to see that, in this as in many other aspects, we follow the U.S.A. where it's barely possible to distinguish between Democrats and Republicans. I used to dread the prospect of a Labour government; these days I don't much care which party/parties is/are in power. I'm inclined to agree that an alliance between Conservative and UKIP is probably the worst option.

Well the topic seems to have started off well with some agreement between us, I think the personalities of the various members of parliament from all sides influences peoples choice when voting along of course with the policies of the said party, remember Nick Clegg, he came across as hail fellow well met, a saleable package but with no content, I have to say that the Tories win hands down as the party with most least appealing line up, in fact some of them are down right odious characters.

people will always never get that ALL governments, who ever they are, are like a giant corrupt accountant who work out ways to undermine your job, lower your pay, take your pension, degrade your rights of appeal, make private corps richer....this has gone on over decades THEY HAVE NO MONEY, ITS YOURS.....
its not their house getting re possessed or their pay lowered or getting made redundant or their pension reducing THEY DONT LIVE BY THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR FISCAL POLICIES OR DECISIONS .
People wake up....
" Incompetent corrupt sycophants who feather their nest"
Even down to your local council....for example Wirral council pay 860,000 for a staircase and blame it on LABOUR but cut street lighting to save money. Some council staff where on 150 k a year ....WHY ? TOO MANY pigs are at the trough of the tax payer !!!!
Google a pie chart of the uks GDP how its made and spent....don't be distracted by media controlled by your GOV that raping the unemployed or blaming immigration is the direction to look at....
The GOV love to distract you while busy taking things away, it started 40 years ago with THATCHER .
All partys are insidious liars.
I repeat on here....watch George carlins "American dream " video on youtube....its all been fore seen and predicted

A very insightful post Sven.As the three main parties have now congealed into a single, corrupt,homogeneous mass do you think it's worth voting at all? Would it really make any difference?

we live , in 2013, in a country which STILL.....
cant protect its children
cant look after its old
rich get even richer
poor get poorer
all our services are slowly quietly going private
we still have mass strikes like the 70s
MPS take the pee out the taxpayer with a 11 % pay rise while wages on average have lowered
your councils are still corrupt and money wasting
theres less police but even more crime
we continue to constantly try to "update" the NHS and education to pander to idiot MPS like GOVE OR HUNT.
THE BIG SIX ENERGY SUPPLIERS HOLD US TO RANSOM constantly while weak regulators sit back.
banks still make money out of debt, their most lucrative sector, while rigging stocks and moving drug money ! yet ask us to "trust them again"
union power has gone and the ONLY thing people can do IS STIKE .
and so on and so on....

Sorry its 2014.....ha

or pray .

There are still some monasteries that might be open for business.

If Satan exists, I think he must have invented money.
What are your questions granny?

Wrong topic

https://www.wikiwirral.co.uk/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/848460.html#Post848460

Answer please .

Yes indeed I thought that parliament was elected (or unelected in some cases) to represent ALL of the people in the country, that their prime function was to look after the populace, they pay for this representation through the various forms of taxation (and through the nose), however what seems to be happening is they are feathering their own nests with our money, the system we have is archaic, silly men in tights and ruffles banging on the door, drunken old men falling asleep after a big meal and drinky poos, honourable members (now there's a joke)caught with their hands in the till, yet some of them have the gall to stand up and support the use of food banks,and that we ALL must suffer because "were all in this together" all this whilst waiting to enter the house of lords, more big meals, drinky poos, bo bo's plus £300 rips, we must be mad.

Casper i think your spot on,

I do think that the conservatives will defo be out in 2015, they've destroyed the uk as much as they can in four years and the nation are going to remember it.
DONT WASTE YOUR VOTE AND NOT VOTE
its one very small power you have
milliband is a joke, like a idiot at school who gets bullied
I hate Cameron cause of his pan faced stating of the obvious all the time...
farage is like able but hes only ever banging on one drum....immigration
The great thing about MPS is they always make big mistakes in public, get found out big time....
that we can rely on.....and the conservatives are leading with this big time.....WHO WILL I VOTE FOR???? REALLY DONT KNOW...

Well we don't have many options, we must use our right to vote, it was hard won, who to vote for? well that's the dilemma as you say not much of a choice, should it be the best of a bad bunch? the same old? all I can say at this moment in time is who I won't vote for and that is the party that has no empathy at all with the majority of people in this country, the party of self interest, the party of no compassion.

The danger is of a coalition between UKIP and the Cons, which will lurch the politics in this country to the far right, uniting the bigots of both parties, and that would be a very sad time for our country.

if you watch the doc "the corporation" you'll see they compare corps to psychopaths in methodology .
try this, write down in a list form what you hate about MPS and do another list for CRIMINALS .
you'll find many similarities...
it'll contain things like;
no apparent consequences for their actions
taxpayer picks up the bill
don't care about wasting £, its not theres
don't seem to have to live by normal society rules
don't really care but portray that they do to get what they want
if they cause chaos , they walk away
seem to be well connected to every other ... bag around and close ranks on investigation.....etc etc

MPS= CRIMINALS ha ha

There are a very few genuine MPs, I suspect treated with suspicion by the piglets, but the analogy you have given are indeed in common with the actions nay inactions of the majority, the whole system is indeed ready for a long overdue overhaul, lets cut the pomp and circumstance, the corruption, the deadwood, the do you know who I am old boys, shut the bars (after all are we allowed to drink during working hours) the jobs for the boys and girls nepotism, what about annual appraisals on individual performance, results published, that's just for starters.

As we head deeper and deeper into global confussion, we seem to be watching an ever increasing mountain of world issues which affect more and more of us, and seem to have no reslove. Drought, floods, wars,governments being overthrown, general unrest, unemployment, failed crops, threatened species of insects, animals and birds. Nuclear disasters, earthquakes, melting ice caps, climate change.
Governments that seem not to have any expertise in fundamental principles.
Lack of trust, spying on us, child slavery and abuse, illegal immigrants, terrorism, mass murder, and human trafficking. Poverty, starvation, homelessness, cruelty, drug trafficking, overcrowded prisons and so much more.

How many of the above apply to our own country ? Will we even have a country in the next 50 yrs. I think not. Just Europe with no national identity, that's how I see it, and having been pre-destined from long ago, with a President of Europe who could even be Ukranian. Could we be a communist Europe by then or a dictatorship ? For certain there will be no referendum on this for us in 2017, just bluff and more bluff.

The continuous list never seems to be resolved and continues to grow. It feels as if we are being suffocated and the elected world leaders seem to show some concern and then move onto the next item.

Nothing is being done and the boundaries are being moved out of their grasp. Is it really as bad as it seems or are we being fed too much information and life hasn't changed so much? Maybe more than our brains can adapt to, or deal with.

Ridicuously high salaries and Charities e.g. Save the Children always needing to accumulate more money, but do we see the results of the millions they must receive?

An expected increase in world population to 9 billion in the next 20 years. Is there a plan of action? How will we all be fed and housed ? One wonders if we will be controlled in some way or another but it would have to be on a global platform. Maybe we will be given a maximum life span to avoid pension payouts !

Everyone seems to be on the same wavelength about having to prepare but none seem to be acting or worse, either not knowing what to do or pushing everything under the carpet ready to jump up at a later date.

What on earth are we heading towards? I just feel that the inadequate leaders who are far too young and inexperienced to be in office when they take the crowns, have not a clue.

Why in Mrs Merkel in such a position that we seem to be reliant upon her ? Who voted her in a spokeswoman for Europe ?

It is with great concern that I see national pride sinking into the Irish Sea and wonder what wonderful times we can expect from the next government to take up residence in Westminster.

Not one of those who sit on the back benches, front benches or in between the benches nor any at Prime Ministers 'question time' are capable, (actually, there is just one who I would put my trust in but not a PM) and for any other one of them making big decissions on the world stage, quite frankly, in this day and age, scares the pants off me. Everyone of them an 'overgrown school boy' or a 'proper pushy little madam'

What is to be done?

Once upon a time.......

before the internet, we largely lived in contented ignorance.

All sorts of stuff has always been going on for hundreds of years.

We are but little tiny cogs in an unimaginable machine.

The love of family and an ice-cream in the sunshine are things to treasure.

With the European Elections showing the anti -Euro and anti- establishment votes right across the European union , it is to wonder if it is good or bad.

Understanding the voting system to make up the European Parliament is a nightmare (for me,at least) and despite the overall anti euro votes, the EPP (European People's Party )still has the majority MEP's and therefore it would seem that there will be no change.

Mrs Merkel's party remains in the same position as part of the EPP Group which comprising of politicians from Christian Democrats and Conservative orientation.

France as we know has FN receiving 25% of the votes which in itself is worrying due to the rise of anti-semitism, once again, moving across Europe, particularly France, over the last few years.

This promise of a referendum for a YES-NO vote as to whether Britain should stay in Europe is not likely to happen, no matter what. (in my opinion)

If France and Britain should leave the European Union, what happens then? All the smaller, poorer countries that have joined into Europe from communist regimes, will basically be left in 'no mans land', and who would be at the helm ? Germany of course, which is what they wanted not so very long ago.

Head of Europe by default and entering through the back door !

Alternatively, Russia could creep back into the closets undetected, until too late.

All very worrying so far as I can see, and yet how else can the voters make their objections be felt and acted upon. other than voting for the party who can maybe make the changes they want. Does all this mean that the European Union and the methods used to set it up and administer proceedures etc (if you understand what I mean) will never be able to achieve changes as it is so tightly sewn up?

If countires can't agree on any policies or changes , or who should be voted in, then what is to stop them having a European President (which they do already and a new on coming up is former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, which Cameron is not in agreement with, but Merkel is.) who is in overall control of all countries in the Union and therefore, democracy as we have known it, has been cleverly eroded and snatched away from all of us.


Note on Juncker: In July 2013, Juncker's coalition government was brought down by a scandal involving the country's intelligence agency.[2] As a result, a snap election was held in October in which Juncker sought a fifth term.[3][4] While his party won a plurality of seats, the opposition formed a majority coalition, and Juncker left office on 4 December 2013.

and

Jean-Claude Juncker, the former Luxembourg prime minister who headed the ticket for Europe’s centre-right Christian Democrats in last week’s EU elections, staked his claim on the EU’s most high-profile job on Sunday night, saying he alone had the right to be the next president of the European Commission

I wonder if there will be extremely rapid changes made, before any further anti Europe feelings can cause disruption amongst the 'powers that be' in the European Parliament.



Any opinions ?

This has come to light again due to the controversy over who the new European President will be. Apparently Blair might be lurking in the background.

Year : 2008 .

[youtube]l6Cj1b-rp1E[/youtube]

Whilst Gaza had it's worst night of fighting last Friday, the Middle East Peace envoy was otherwise busy:

Peace envoy Tony Blair's role is to hammer out ceasefire in times of conflict
But he spent most of last week in UK before hosting lavish party for Cherie
He held surprise 60th birthday party at £6m mansion in Buckinghamshire
Invited 150 of the couple's closes friends, including ministers and TV stars
Hired Strictly Come Dancing's Ian Waite and Kristina Rihanoff to perform
Also hired comedian Bobby Davro to entertain guests at the £50,000 party

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/ban-ki-moon-sack-tony-blair-as-the-middle-east-peace-envoy

Yes without doubt granny the storm is coming, who will be the scapegoats, throughout history there has always been a catalyst something to gel the seething throngs to blame some one or something for all the ills, religion, culture, who knows, the truth is out there, or will the blinding flash signal the end for us all.

Some good points there Casper. If the Tinned Sunshine* doesn't see most of us off, then ebola surely will. We are not doing anything about keeping that from our shores! Sorry, some stuffed suit WAS talking about it today in Parliament. Maybe talking will keep it out?? Mmmmmmmm.

* Nukes

Everyone holds their own opinion of the catastrophic events in the Middle East and to understand all, is more than impossible.
In an attempt to understand, I am becoming more and more heated by the hour.
This is the most horrific situation for Gaza, no matter what Hamas are up to, my emotions of great despair are with the Palestinian people. The children.......how do they understand ? It makes me cry every time I watch the news.
To make matters worse, and create an even more crisis, look at the following article. Time line of what US have agreed today.
God help them all.
Revelations springs to mind.'The Great Tribulation' !

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/gaza/10997123/Israel-Gaza-conflict-live.html

Today...


Analysis: BBC's Mark Lowen in Cairo

What was originally planned as peace talks between the warring sides in Gaza has now become something far weaker. The Palestinians have sent a delegation but the US appears to have downgraded their representation. Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair has also apparently changed plans to attend.

But, most significantly, Israel has pulled out, calling ceasefire talks with the Palestinians meaningless while rocket attacks continue. That has raised the possibility that Israel will simply complete its stated goal of destroying Hamas tunnels and then withdraw from Gaza without a long-term agreement.
+

So the 'talking around a table', can't possibly work when people don't bother to attend.

They have all got their own agendas granny, the innocent are stuck in the middle paying the price. All countries wring their hands and condemn the violence but continue to sell arms to both sides and some choose sides because it suits.

MY MY, why is it that we vote theses people into power then all we do is gripe about them, it appears from the comments here that we have crooks running the country who's sole aim is to steal your benefits (which they give you in the first place) I wonder why we don't vote in a dictator, we had two of them, Blair & Brown, the first has gone off and made his fortune the second is hiding away in Scotland, drawing his undeserved MP's pay, looking forward to the day he can retire on his PM's pension, it's a pity that your wood is so dense you can't see the trees.

(Artie40)now known as Jack. You have been in your box for 3 years. Who opened your lid for you to pop up and play out ?

Your right granny,Artie40 has appeared today on a few threads spreading his words of wisdom, I didn't know we have crooks running the country, thanks for that information Artie, I definitely wont vote for them then.

I thought it was Frank, I had my own business, I have my own holiday home and I cruise down the Rhine on the Bismarck.

They're coming after our libraries again
Anyone out there still care about Libraries and consider them to be important? Pay attention!

Library staff heard today that they are, in effect, being culled! 50% of Customer Service Assistants (previously know as Library Assistants) are going, only 5 Qualified Librarian posts will remain, and staff are going to have to be re-interviewed for the remaining jobs in early December and won't know until the week before Christmas. How s**t is that of the Council.

This is very bad news. The destruction of Wirral's proud Library service begins. The Council wish to replace skilled professionals with volunteers. Where the hell are these volunteers going to come from? The answer is nowhere. The Friends groups are all pretty much opposed to the use of volunteers in libraries. It's both impractical and unethical. Hopefully the people of Wirral will rise up again like they did in 2008-09.

Gone but not forgotten

from "word of the day"
autohagiographer - One who speaks or writes in a smug fashion about their own life and accomplishments
also
throttlebottom - harmless incompetent holding public office
(all the parties seem to have professional politicians and these although once in power and near the top of the tree they're not so harmless.

ps
although some views are disagreeable to some they have a right to put them

"staff are going to have to be re-interviewed for the remaining jobs in early December and won't know until the week before Christmas. How s**t is that of the Council."

It was a rhetorical question I know rudebox, but VERY VERY VERY is the answer ,isnt it.

Wheels within wheels. So much goes on that we hear nothing about. Only when we start to look deeper do we spot certain bits that make us more aware of what goes on behind closed doors.

Police Commissioner for Merseyside ,Jane Kennedy. Fine, apart from the fact she is a member of the 'Friends of Israel' support group, as most politicians are these days, and I do not support Israel after it's recent blitz on Palestine, so causes me another dilemma as to which party I now support.

Everyone to their own, so that aside, just a quote which is questionable, considering her now position. I would have thought she should have been above this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Kennedy_(politician)

It was announced in January 2010 the Wavertree Labour party had picked Luciana Berger as her successor.[3] This selection caused some controversy because of Berger's London background, but also because she was resident at Mrs Kennedy's home for a month before the selection, a home Mrs Kennedy shares with her partner Peter Dowling, who is the local Labour party's agent. The postal votes were sent to Mr Dowling at Kennedy's home.

It ALL stinks to high Heaven !!

Yes, it does Pinz

Who knew this ?

Why Did The Media Keep The Recent Peaceful Icelandic Revolution Quiet?

....and this

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/oct/10/banking-iceland

U.K. Councils Investment

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/oct/10/localgovernment-iceland

I believe Wirral were reimbursed last year OUR £2 million, but not 100% sure. Probably no interest included !
Who advises these numpties anyway? What a flock of bird brains we have.

Sorry, forgot the first link .

Icelandic Revolution 2008 -2013

http://www.collective-evolution.com...ent-peaceful-icelandic-revolution-quiet/

I knew about it but only because of the groups/ people I circulate with. Being an RT viewer helps too....

That's the trouble with the mainstream and national media. Its nowt fresh re- lack of reporting anything that rocks the boat, so to speak. I reckon you must know this already though, surely??

#notoausterity #oct18 (100000 people marching through central London-road closures etc)

#mmm- they focused on the 10 arrests- that were probably Black Bloc infiltrators.

As RT is a Russian propaganda outlet, no I do not view it, and do realise that our own media do edit . The collapse of the banks was widely known but the facts of this revolution and continuation for five years has been hardly muttered about and is quite a surprise.
Maybe the Financial Times would have chronicled it, but I don't read that either.

Oh well, welcome to Catch-Up

Jeremy Corbyn ??? Yes ? No ?


Would be like going back 30/40 years in time, with Derek Hatton waving his ratchet.

Well we have gone back to Thatcherism except ten times worse at the moment.

The government is dodging its responsibilities and passing the problems onto the electorate.

We need a balanced socialist party, whether they win an election or not is down the electorate but there should be a socialist party to vote for. At the moment it is right wing labour or extreme right wing tory.

Hatton was never in national politics but like him or not, he at last got Liverpool some post-war money whereas the government had just tried to get rid of Liverpool and hoped that if they starved it of money it would eventually fade away.

I didn't like Hatton but somebody need to stand up to the government and he basically won.

Last night Derek Hatton claimed that he has successfully rejoined the Labour Party 29 years after they expelled him. Hatton — who joined Labour with the Trotskyist group Militant — boasted about his membership on Newsnight while defending Jeremy Corbyn. ‘In my pocket I’ve got a Labour Party card,’ he said, after tweeting a picture of his card earlier this year:


Did you live in Liverpool DD ? He is a former politician and the man is still a menace and a nutcase.
The following article just about says it all, apart from hair brained schemes that he thought up. I can't believe you think he did anything good DD !

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/mike-storey-debt-left-militant-3572497

Liverpool would have lost its city status by now if Thatcher had her way - she was trying to close Liverpool down by making it a ghost town.

Hatton fought her, she backed down. It might have been the only major good thing he did - but it was a big one!

Labour have blocked his membership again, the cards are sent out automatically but it has been voided.

Dissecting the article you linked.

Liverpool had a £157 million loan - that is chicken feed for a city the size of Liverpool, Wirral Council has loans greater than that.

3.8% interest rate was brilliant for 1986.

Liverpool never got the reconstruction money post WW2 that other areas of the country got, I remember the amount of bomb sites that were still virtually untouched still in the 1970's. Hatton started the rebuilding programme off without government assistance - actually in direct opposition of the government.

I spent about half my life in Liverpool in the 1980's, I saw the slums starting to disappear, those slums were far worse than anything we had on the Wirral. There were numerous flaws in the building programme but the council were getting fought every step of the way by the government and so could hardly be focussed.

As I said above, I'm not a great fan of Hatton and have openly slagged him off in the past but some of his achievements were commendable when you remove the government spin.

You must be a lot older than I thought DD. Sorry.

Saying that, Thatcher was advised by the treasury to abandon Liverpool after the Toxteth riots. It was Hesletine who persuaded her to visit the area and he did too, for three weeks, whist he tried to get to the bottom of the needs of the city. From there, the Liverpool Garden Festival brought masses to the city. The Albert dock was developed as a main tourist attraction, the Tate was brought to Liverpool. as just a few examples. Scotland Road slums were rebuilt before the 1980's and most people were taken to Skelmersdale new town. They had to have somewhere to take people before they could start demolition work. So build a new town first and then get on with the next project. These rebuilding programmes can't happen overnight. The new Kingsway tunnel was in progress from late 1960's . War damage was immense and clearing the sites was a task and a half all over the city for years. It kept people in work. The whole country was clearing slums and bomb damage, everywhere wanted money and still they haven't cleared Edge Lane or Smithdown Road area !!! Blame Thatcher for that too hey ? Waterfront looks nice tho'.

Liverpool were given £100m from Thatcher Government,(how much is that now? when wages were about £8.00 per week or less and rent was 7/6d (35p.weekly) Hatton was only the Deputy Leader, but managed to put the Leader in the wings whilst he took over and ran the show. He was corrupt and manipulative and he lead Liverpool into the biggest hole. I think you will find that just every tabloid, newspaper, official, labour party member, politician local government representatives and many more could/can see who and what he was. He did absolutely nothing for Liverpool , and it is the younger people of today that seem to sing his praises, mainly because the same people batter Thatcher's Government but those same people can remember neither, they just spout 'here say' that they have been drip fed and brainwashed with. Ask his school friends what he was like.

Warren Bradley was another and strangely enough they both had connections to the Fire Service. Bradley also had connections to others, who shall be nameless. Not what you know but who you know to get to high places. He fell too !

Sorry to say, but Hatton did NOTHING for the people of Liverpool. What he may have given with one hand he succeeded in taking back with the other 10,whilst swanning around in his chauffer driver black Merc.

Jeremy Corbyn is another, with a quieter approach but back in the 70's of wanting to re-nationalise everything (the railways for goodness sake !) If he succeeds ,I can see the Labour Party disbanding as it is now, and going in the direction similar to when Liberal's joined up to make the Liberal Democrat Party.. So we may end up with middle of the road, Liberal Labour Party, and that I can think would probably be the electorates preferred choice.

This article I linked...I viewed his stating on Newsnight. So if his membership had been refused, he knew about it and therefore proves him to still be a liar, deceiver and spin merchant.

Thatchers' funeral protest, Liverpool. What a joke! How many of them were born in 1980's and if they were, they would have been with nappies and dummies, so they remember nothing but think they should be listened to and heard. Ha bloody ha ! A right rough bunch of trouble makers, if you ask me.

Anfield , Liverpool.



Edge Lane , Liverpool



Wavertree, Liverpool



...and so it goes on. Now why, oh why over all the years has nobody actually done anything ? The regeneration money was for the whole city. Capitol of Culture, my arse! Let's blame Cameron now .
Yes, the steam is coming forth from my nostrils, ears and every orifice right now.

Because the silly Tory government believes in demolish and build, which gives the most profit for their buddies and the most damage to the environment.

Grants are rarely available for extensive refurbishment but comes in huge piles for redevelopment.

Whole streets are almost always bordered up when there are plans to demolish. There are similar in every town in the whole country, Birkenhead has more than its fair share.

They are still living with the effects of Thatcherism - the destruction of industry, more and more money going to the rich.

Thatcher's ideals assumed that rich people would become philanthropic, she was hugely disappointed and stated this in later life.

The government's job is the redistribution of wealth, its extremely easy for the rich to become richer, Thatchers method of relying on benevolence failed miserably, we are in a world of unrelenting greed.

Tosh ! The companies involved with the regeneration of Liverpool is a local company and has local people as directors such as Warren Bradley, Mike Storey, Alan Henshaw... all ex council plus many more. Nothing to do with Tory mates in high places. Have a look at the link for figures etc. being spent on regeneration.

http://www.liverpoolvision.co.uk/wp...PMENT-UPDATE-March-2015-v1-03-Mar-15.pdf

Lets' not forget that Liverpool docks closed in 1972, long before Thatcher years. There is a lot of history which accumulated in the problems of the city, not down to one particular person, which you should be aware of.

Team DD

You might also read this from beginning to end, from 1985.

It gives a fair debate from both sides of the bench.


In 1965, the docks employed 13,589 people. That industry today employs 2,086 — a reduction of more than 80 per cent. There have been corresponding job losses in associated industries and services. There has been no let-up in the de-industrialisation of Liverpool. Between 1971 and 1981 the city lost 90,000, or one quarter, of its jobs. Manufacturing jobs have declined by nearly 40 per cent. and blue collar jobs by 30 per cent. Between 1979 and July 1983, 33,220 redundancies were notified by firms in Liverpool. The catalogue of job losses is endless.

http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1985/feb/21/liverpool

If anyone wants to blame the Prime Minister...

Harold Wilson 1964 - 1970 1974-1976

In the former Soviet Union, China and Cuba, maybe. And where exactly do we think we are going to get wealth to BE redistributed, once it has all BEEN redistributed? From the Government? Oh yes that will work.

The government redistributes the wealth in all the countries that I have knowledge of including the USA and the UK - it is an essential function of government, the only other realistic alternative is relying on philanthropy and in this day and age that doesn't happen on a scale large enough.

A society can't possibly work unless wealth is distributed either directly (shared wealth - true communism?) or indirectly through government controls.

If you really want me to explain I will but it will probably be quite long and boring.

That must be why Harold Wilson's government increased level of tax to 83% on top earners over £20,000 (£185,000 today) and devalued the pound,.

His programme of de-industrialisation and with high inflation started to lead to unrest .

"'Throughout the mid-1970s, especially 1974 and 1975, the British economy was troubled by high rates of inflation. To tackle this, the government capped public sector pay rises and publicly promoted a clear capped level to the private sector. This caused unrest among trade unions as wages did not keep pace with price increases. This extended to most industries including coal mining, which provided the majority of the country's fuel and had a powerful trade union.'"

Does anyone remember when his (Wilson) offices were ransacked and searched ? Not long after that he resigned, but it has long been thought he was attached to the KGB.
I find that hard to believe, but he did have contacts with some of the spy's of the day. 'The Golden Age of Spying' as it was referred to. There was also a threat of a military coup around that time.
If anyone remembers also when homosexuality was illegal. The way these people were enlisted into the spy networks was by obtaining evidence of their sexual preferences, prostitution too, and then blackmailing them.
Once homosexuality was legal and prostitution was not seen as particularly bad ,today I wonder if those have been replaced by child abuse within high places, for the sole purpose of blackmail, to obtain top secret information.

found this by chance.....the admission of guilt. 1995 Tim Fortescue.

I am reading about British spys this am. Getting very engrossed . What a life !

[youtube]GwkOWPauu_A[/youtube]

To jump back to Corbyn, the video in the following link is so true. These guys are trying to gain votes and refuse to disclose their thoughts of how they would run the party which is the very issue the electorate are voting on.

I'm one of the many who have re-joined the Labour party specifically to vote for Corbyn ..... that doesn't mean I will vote Labour at the next general election but I do want to have the opportunity to vote socialist.

Why Corbyn is winning

I heard say, "spying is a bugger of a job"

He was at Birkenhead Town Hall a week or so ago. The building was packed out- standing room only. Rapturous applause. He is at the Aldelphi tonight. As a union member, I get a vote and will be voting Corbyn. Last chance saloon for Labour in my books. Without Corbyn as Leader they will be getting no more votes from me!!

He's running ahead by a mile. I can only see the party splitting if he is nominated, as happened after Michael Foot was Labour leader. I think 4 of them started the breakaway and formed the Social Democrat Party, virtually immediately after he became leader.
Andy Burnham has also indicated today that similar could happen, as it was mentioned on the news this evening. So they must be considering it as an option.
If that did happen, then we are back to a two party race, all over again.
The three laggers are of no substance anyway. A pretty dismal affair by any parties standards. Everyone comes across as being so week these days. Maybe apart from Andy Burnham who is projecting his voice more and trying to appear as if he has command of a situation...which he doesn't.

Dusty, they had to keep their eye on the ball, you know !

At the Adelphi tonight

Well, I'm joining the Labour party and voting for Corbyn. I can think of no better way of ensuring a Conservative government for the forseeable future

That logic backfired on the Blairites, it could well backfire on the Tories as well - suits me fine

This Corbyn seems to think he's a modern day Robin Hood. Rob the rich and give to the poor, great if it worked. Nobbling the corporations would lead to many of them moving out the country. More unemployment, less tax being paid, more people on benefit. He's going to do hell and all, HOW?

Its the other way around, the rich think they are Dick Turpin.

Who should earn the most a banker or a binman?

Many bankers earn over 100 times the amount a binman gets - why? Who gave them the right? Which is the harder worker?

Banker.

And now forget your conditioning - can you explain any reason why?

It's always been the thinkers and doers that bring prosperity and work to places and unfortunately we have to have the manual workers.im not saying DD it's fair, but just the way it is. Don't agree with everything tat goes on but without Richard Branson, Alan Sugars, Duncan Ballantynes etc who all started with nothing we would not have got very far...

Yes, and are you talking about Investment bankers, personal bankers, Merchant bankers ?

Have a look at salaries, between bankers and bin men. Have a look and see who owns the banks and who pays the bin men's wages. Have a look as a comparison and ask who should be paid more headmasters or bin men. Who pays the bankers wages and why private companies shouldn't pay their staff what they wish when their income comes from major companies world wide, (not you).

Have you worked in a bank , in investment banking, travelled the world every week in business meetings between different companies ? Set up businesses and had the qualification necessary to achieve international recognition ?

I suppose you would like banks nationalised ? Rediculous ideas! How can HSBC for example be nationalised ?

Do you know the work that goes on in the high street banks ? Do you know how much they earn ? Less than bin men in Birmingham do. If the bin men had more qualifications they too could work in a banking industry. Isn't that what going to university is about, so that those who do, get higher paid ,more qualified jobs.

Your ideology does not work DD. Never has and never will.

I ask again, should head master/mistresses get earn more than a bin man and why should they ?

There aren't many Labour politicians who support the Marxist ideals of Mr.Corbyn. If he becomes leader, there will soon be action to oust him: I can't justify this claim, all I can say is, wait and see.

@granny

You asked a lot of questions but you didn't answer mine - you should be a politician!

The reason you haven't managed to answer is because there isn't an answer other than people have been conditioned to think that way as cools effectively pointed out. However it wasn't always that way, society couldn't have formed on that basis, it could only have been formed on achievement and empathy/generosity.

Academic qualifications are an invention by academics to big-up themselves. There is nothing wrong with testing and checking people's workmanship and knowledge - there is a lot wrong with forcing every trade or occupation to do paper-based education at the cost of practical knowledge and experience.

I've seen hundreds of very highly skilled manual workers in machine shops and managerial roles who didn't have any qualifications.

I've come across many workers straight from University that hadn't got a clue how to do even the simplest aspects of their jobs, these include managers, bankers, programmers and engineers.

Anyone that has done an NVQ/GNVQ/Apprenticeship or similar in recent years will tell you that the hardest part is the administration of the course paperwork - the content (which is what matters) falls into insignificance.

To answer another of your questions - I am an executive manager of a bank, that is how I manage to live a very comfortable lifestyle of my choosing with virtually no effort required - in fact I have to do more effort handling my rubbish than I do in my banking activities.

Would you consider paying a binman for consistently failing to collect bins, bankers are not only paid for failing, they get bonuses for it as well! Tell me how that imbalance came about?

@cools

Richard Branson, Alan Sugars, Duncan Ballantynes are the lucky few, how many times have they gone bust or costed other innocent parties loads of money, how many other entrepreneurs have gone bust at others expense and livelihood.

Yes, we need risk takers to advance ourselves but the most important people we need are the ones that are capable of maintaining stability so that we don't go on a path of destruction - and as you can see around the World at the moment the risk-takers, power-hungry and attention seekers have the balance of power and the world is in one heck of a mess and rapidly descending into barbarism - we are on a path of self-destruction at national and international level.

Executive managers are typically among the highest earners in the country.

No wonder you were worried about your shed being discovered

That's just one of the many storage places not owned by me, I'm not allowed to keep my car parts and tools in the vaults.

.....and just for the record. I worked in a bank, my sister worked in a bank, my father worked in a bank, my mother worked in a bank, my aunt worked in a bank, my uncle worked in a bank, my grandmother worked in a bank. So a century of banking all on each individual merit, not nepotism, gives a pretty good insight for my opinions. Not conditioning.

Once in the bank , there are many more exams to be taken to get to higher places, but I'm sure you are qualified in them too, matching your position of Executive Manager !!

Have you ever been employed as a binman? Do you think you could have hacked it? Its one job I've never had but I have done removals.

Nothing wrong wrong with testing and checking people's workmanship and knowledge as I said above. It should however be relevant to needs.

Can't believe you worked in banks and live in Heswall

The worst neighbour I had in Heswall was a bank manager, I'm very sure it wasn't you or your relatives. Banks are generally like the rest of society, those at the bottom are treated like rubbish and those without friends/relatives in high places only get so far, licking posteriors on the golf course also helps a lot - I just promoted myself instead of doing all the faffing around.

I don't live in Heswall and neither did any of my relatives. Try Leeds, Liverpool, Warrington and North Wales.
Other jobs have included, washing café floors and dishes, serving meals in restaurants . Mopping up sick from violently seasick army personnel travelling on the Irish ferries, and I'm not adverse to letting that be known. I bet you haven't mopped up sick on a nightly basis ....masses of it!

One of the worst jobs I did was on disco floor lights in nightclubs, vomit and ale that had been brewing for years and regularly topped up. Wasn't allowed to use bleach because "it could wreck the reflector" seemed to be a joke when the reflector was no longer visible anyway!

I've also done macerator repair.

My own personnel experience has been the higher I got salaried the less work I did and also the less meaningful/essential a lot of the work was.

So can anyone attempt to justify why bankers are paid more than binmen other than tradition/conditioning?

Binmen have it easy today with wheely bins which residents have to take to the kerbside. Compare that with the situation when I was young: the binmen carried the full bin from your premises, emptied it into the wagon and returned the bin. The bins were galvanised steel and in some locations the bin wagon would not get within a hundred yards or more of the house. That was a tough job; don't compare it with the job today.

As you haven't stated which group of bankers you are talking about.

Banker's Salaries ....= institutions paid from global profits and investments.

http://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Personal_Banker/Salary


Bin man salary, North West ,2 years ago from the horses mouth. Scroll down .......council tax payers

https://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130516115615AAjjybF

Head Teachers salaries from the Teaching Times .....council tax payers and national tax.

http://www.teachingtimes.com/articles/heads-salaries.htm

Chief Executive Officer, Wirral Borough Council £170,000 ....council tax payers


If the high wages from the top bankers were dived amongst thousands of binmen, who would be worse off ? You would, because the tax from the highest earners would have to be accumulated from somewhere else and it wouldn't be the bin men. To do that the bin men would have to be employed by a totally private company anyway, as the additional revenue it's not likely to be injected into the Councils. So they could end up worse off.

This is getting daft and there is little logic in your question.
As you stated earlier on another post DD, it must time to put you out of your misery. kissy ,kissy .

Team granny

It would be true if some idiot hadn't designed the wheelie-bin. The handle and wheels are on the wrong side for the binmen - how bloomin' awkard. Wheelie bins are almost three times the volume of the old steels (240 litre against 90 litre).

In the past the binmen didn't have repetitive contract renewals with the associated increase in "productivity" (more work, less time, less pay) and then some jumped up spotty kid doing time and motion to cap it all.

Bloody idiots....


The History of Wheelie Bins


Historians are divided over the origins of he wheelie bin. What we do know is that fossilised fragments of a wooden wheelie bin were discovered preserved in the volcanic ruins of the city of Pompeii. However prehistoric cave paintings discovered high in the Himalayas seem to show primitive wheeled refuse transit containers being used to contain left over mammoth bones.

[quote=diggingdeeper
I am an executive manager of a bank, that is how I manage to live a very comfortable lifestyle of my choosing with virtually no effort required
[/quote]

So, a Champagne Marxist: I reluctantly respected your opinions but no longer.

I'm also the owner of the same bank that I am executive manager of, the same as most people

An ultra right wing millionaire can be a Marxist without being hypocritical, so its ok Chris, we can still be brothers.

Marixism is an analysis not a doctrine.

I can't stand champagne.

Are you talking generally about the relationship of types of jobs to monetary reward ? Suggesting all jobs are worthy of the same remuneration?

No, equal pay wouldn't work, but the obscene differences in pay are also unjustifiable, they are the two extremes and getting more extreme year on year. We should be somewhere in the middle ground.

It is perverse that the jobs that nobody wants to do are paid the least, its a reversal of common logic, the less desirable a job is, the more the pay should be surely? Its also an abuse of the less fortunate.

In my life, the more I was paid, the less valuable my contribution was to society and to myself. I am pleased to be out of the rat race. I was embarrassed and guilty to be getting paid for what I did but I was trapped by societies' system.

Employers have got very lazy over the last 40 years, hardly any train their own workforce, they have got profit orientated and so illegal practices are going on all over the place.

When a company is found to have done something illegal, the owners and management should be held personally responsible.

It is no use fining companies huge amounts of money, its the customers that end up paying those fines, the owners and managers should be personally fined and jailed. Why should the public take on the penalties for the illegal acts of a company takes when the public have no stake in that company?

Everything is back to front, the upper echelons have worked the system in their own favour at the cost of the others. You know things are completely out of kilter when left wingers voted in quantity for what some would see as an ultra right wing party (UKIP) - this was a revolution equal in extremity to any civil war.

"In my life, the more I was paid, the less valuable my contribution was to society and to myself. I am pleased to be out of the rat race. I was embarrassed and guilty to be getting paid for what I did but I was trapped by societies' system."

I sort of anticipated the flavour of your reply , but dammit DD - youve retired ! I was set to offer you my bank details to pass on your embarrassing surplus salary to.

It's still worth a try, venice; he's probably got an equally embarrassing surplus pension.

Yes, I must endeavour to remain selfless , I just hate to think of people feeling uncomfortable. DD-- my offer to help you out , stands ,lol . Love Venice

Its over 10 years until I retire, I'm only in semi-retirement, I am self employed in three different fields of work.

I work as much as I need to live the life of my choosing and that lifestyle is exceedingly comfortable in my eyes, money isn't everything and most popular costly possessions hold no interest with me, I don't drink, I don't smoke (except for e-cigarettes that are dirt cheap).

Doing my rough accounts the other day, I thought I was behind after some extravagant purchases, but I'm actually ahead - I must be working far too hard

Joking aside, I am in a very fortunate position, I did plan ahead and despite a few major hiccups (including 5 years in poverty) my plans came together. I worked over 65-hour weeks at times because I realised that investing my time for a relatively small number of years would enable a much better lifestyle long before retirement.

I guess I was lucky; I worked two years beyond state retirement age simply because I enjoyed my job.

I enjoyed my job in engineering and was called a technician, then I was promoted to chair polisher in waste paper manufacturing and called an engineer?

What's the point of manufacturing waste paper?

None whatsoever, job description should have read:- create loads of meaningless reports then file under WPB

I see Corbyn is still talking politics and the rest of the Labour party and especially the other candidates are talking Corbyn and how to fiddle democracy to stop him winning.

If they want to compete against Corbyn, all they have to do is be straight, say what they think and come up with finite proposals over their ideas for a budget etc. The country are fed up with politicians that keep everything secret, say things to get elected, then make sure them and their mates are still getting rich at the Country's expense.

The behaviour of most senior politicians is so much like Yes Minister its almost like Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn had a crystal ball back in 1979.

Noticing how the 'other three' are now posing with grins as wide as the cheshire cat. Must have been given a bit of guidance in how to present themselves.

Corbyn, although not a fan of his ideas, has to be the easiest to listen too, presents himself as the one with the most experience/maturity (as he is) and not getting panicky like the others are. They seem to be shaking with rage whilst practicing calming techniques. They aren't worth a dime anyway. Just dummies for the ventriloquists.

Do they actually realise the harm they are doing to themselves and the Labour party? by the very act of trying to manipulate the voting process they are showing themselves to be devious and untrustworthy( I know these are the top qualities for politicians)how can anybody put faith in them? if the membership votes for Corbyn then that is who they want, and any plans to scupper that is therefore undemocratic, the you can pick any leader as long as its not Corbyn, lets face it he cant do any worse than the last lot and appeals to a growing number of people.

Its all about "getting in power" for too many politicians - that isn't politics, that is greed. Corbyn is showing a breath of fresh air just like Farage did, the population is getting desperate for any open politician.

One of the others will be bribed to back out to swing the vote.

With the Labour Party system they can't even offer them deputy leader so it will probably be knighthood, House of Lords or some way over-paid position.

Is this the type of question dodging you mean DD ?

She has a craft .

[youtube]sEyj9Ui6p20[/youtube]

Over-defensive isn't she which does absolutely nothing for trust.

She ought to go on a salesmanship course, the first thing you do is agree, then you talk it down afterwords.

eg "Yes, we have the highest level of household debt but we also have the highest level of non-wooden home ownership, these are assets that balance a large proportion of the debt"

Using that technique if she gets interrupted early then she can legitimately point out that she has answered the question and deserves an opportunity to explain the impact of the answer.

She knew the answer but was too busy being instinctively defensive first and foremost, appalling!

It's all very well talking about manipulating the voting process, but the majority of that has been done by people who don't want Labour ever to get into power who have signed up as "Labour supporters" in order to vote for Corbyn, knowing that with him as leader, Labour has less prospect of winning an election than Michael Foot had when he became leader in 1980. As happened to him, I expect that, assuming Corbyn wins, his tenure will be short.

The process was put into place by the Labour party now things are not going as planned they want to call foul they put Corbyn up, why are you so sure that Corbyn won't last long Chris? who would have thought the Tories would have gained a majority? people have grown weary of the same old politics they want something different the whole system needs changing bringing into the 21st century, do away with the old boys clubs and the men in tights banging on doors, lets see the country run for the benefit of the people and not the politicians, look back at the scandals paedo gangs ,thieves, perverting the course of justice, we must be mad to put up with it, beginning to feel sorry for Guy Fawkes.

This new voting system was introduced to coincide with the current leadership election in an effort to encourage a more open and democratic contest


There is evidence to suggest the political landscape in Britain is shifting and Corbyn's recent success could be accredited to his core message connecting with an electorate to whom the "centre ground" no longer appeals.

The support for Corbyn could signal a shift not only for the Labour Party but for the way in which party politics works in Britain.

The world has changed, there's no question about it. We have to learn from countries in continental Europe who have multi-party systems.

"The success of UKIP and the SNP show there is discontentment with the status quo and an appetite for new ideas. A lot of people inside the Westminster bubble are yet to catch up with this

Just had a thought, how would the Tories like it if the Labour party were in power and they banned directorships and disallowed funds from big business and the holding of dinner with Dave and reduced the Tory seats in England, I think the first words would be not democratic and you cant do that, oh yes we can we have a majority so suck it up, because basically that is what they are doing riding roughshod because they can.

I didn't say I was sure, it's just what I expect to happen, simply because the majority of Labour politicians think that the country isn't ready for a Marxist government: those who proposed him are now kicking themselves and are being condemned by their colleagues (easy to be wise after the event). I just don't think he can last.

Sorry Corbyn lives on Planet Utopia, not going to happen!

Not at all true, out of the 36 people that nominated Corbyn, at least 31 have either said that they don't regret nominating him or they have declared their intent to vote for him.

Out of the 36 there are 22 that have declared they are going to vote Corbyn, 9 that are going to vote for others and 5 that haven't declared who they are going to vote for.

Out of the 9 that are going to vote for others, at least 7 have said they don't regret nominating Corbyn.

In fact, I only know of Margeret Beckett that has said she has regretted nominating Corbyn but there are currently three I haven't accounted for:- Jo Cox, Louise Haigh, and David Lammy. I would doubt David Lammy regrets it.

I think they're probably saving face: anyway, it hardly matters since it's going to be a long time before any left-wing government is elected.

Apologies for my naivete but can any one explain to me why the general consensus is that a socialist(left wing) Labour Party would be unelectable? The Scottish people are exactly the same as ourselves. They are not a different culture. Yet they have, overwhelmingly, voted for the SNP. A political party far more socialist (left wing) than Labour.

Could be because a socialist left wing party as opposed to centre left, will not sit well with the European Union. Pushing through reforms would be much more difficult and probably stagnant in many cases,as EU basically calls the tune now. Think of the present Greek Government and what fences they have had to jump over.

Mr Corbyn has raised the issue of considering 'women only' rail carriages in response to the increase in sex offences being up by 25%.
We had this once before , introduced in 1874 which were finally scrapped in the 1970's . This man seems to be stuck somewhere in the dark ages.

More carriages to cover demand and therefore higher fares.

Is it a good idea or not ?

Despite the usual lambasting he got, he did not express an opinion, he merely suggested it should be looked at.

I disagree with it in practice, its financially infeasible. A cheaper more practical solution could be more comprehensive CCTV monitoring combined with panic buttons (along with substantial fines for false usage).

Something that lasted 96 years (well more than half of the life of railways) but was cut for cost saving purposes cannot automatically assumed to belong to the dark ages.

I still agree with the national ID card system, anybody that boards a train should be registered, it is compulsory to confirm identity in hotels, work places and other transports (especially aircraft) and nobody thinks anything of it.

Maybe Mr Corbyn is not the crackpot leftie he is made out to be. These people backing his financial plans are not idiots.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics...king-anti-austerity-policies-corbynomics

Personally I think the gov have gone too far with their austerity measures but still looking after their well to do cronies

Early on in his speech to Parliament Osborne said: "Indeed, the sale of government assets this year will deliver the largest privatisation proceeds of all time, higher than the previous record in 1987."

The Conservative Party plans to raise £31 billion ($47.7 billion) this year by selling off publicly owned assets, the most ever raised from privatisation in a single year.


click

It looks as if it is mostly banks which were bailed out a number of years ago, at phenomenal cost to the public purse. So if they get a return by selling the shares etc. that were privately owned in the first place, they have simply
recuperated the original bailout.

When it comes down to companies, Governments can only go so far, because in the end we will have nothing left to sell. Once that happens, the shit hits the fan, as it did with various other entities.

Government are far too interested in "getting in power" than the long term future of the country.

Asset stripping OUR property to fund their political gains and their mates pockets should be a crime.

Politics of Syrian conflict. Oh my gosh !

Listening to Parliament, today. It seems to be Syria..President Assad is bombing and using chemical weapons against his own people, assuming they must be the opposition to Assad.

To help him do that, he has brought in ISIS.

Iran and Russia support President Assad.

Israel hates Syria, Iran and Russia.

Britain and USA although having come to some treaty with Iran just recently, are allies with Israel.

Iran supports Hammas plus other terrorist groups,

Hammas are active in Palestine, Israel hates Palestine and Hammas. Palestine hates Israel.

ISIS are now touching the borders of Europe.

Turkey is fighting PKK instead of ISIS, PKK is fighting ISIS

Now there is discussion as to how things are about to proceed and pan out.

My own view on fall out of getting involved:

If Britain gets involved in the overthrow of Assad , Russia and Iran are not going to be happy.


Israel could get dragged into the equation if ISIS get into Israel. We will defend Israel and we also support Palestine.

Russia has 20 million Muslims.

Bombing our enemy's enemy, is not a good option and I think we should let them get on with it and keep us out. Otherwise we could end up fighting in all four corners and win none of them.

Watching and listening to Parliament is quite eye opening. Some of these MP's including local from Wirral and Liverpool would do better to be paying attention on what is being said by the Prime Minister, rather than asking the same questions over and over again in a different way. The repeated answers to which they have obviously missed, whilst playing away on their 'twitter' accounts. So much time could be saved.

3.30pm the house was FULL. Still under discussion and now 5.00pm and it's half empty. Damn, dinner time must be calling ! They've sneaked out one by one and would appear that nothing is more important, than their dinners.

The Labour Leadership Election has less than 72 hours left for members/ affillated members and supporters to vote.

PlusOne got his vote.I have been jibbed.

Any other Lefties been rejected?

Assad is the only realistic chance of bringing stability to the region, ISIS cannot be beaten, war with them is pointless.

Stability would be a lot better than what we have got, even if it means not having your best buddy as leader.

The UK should not carry out any air strikes in Syria, there are no sustainable benefits and it will increase antagonism and reduce any chances of peace.

If ISIS are not beaten, then Syria will surely become their Caliphate ?

Does that matter as long as it brings stability to the region?

But it won't. The next step will be Jordan, possibly Lebanon and then onto Israel.
Israel will be the jewel in the crown. Syria will be desolate.

So America are knocking Russia again for rightfully helping Assad "recapure" Syria. Surely this American destabilising of Syria is getting a bit too obvious, if they don't want ISIS and they don't want Assad, what have they planned to resolve the civil war? Tony Blair as president of Syria?

Does this make sense ?




In short, the US and its Middle Eastern allies are simply playing the waiting game; watching for the opportune time to charge in and "liberate" Syria from whatever army manages to take Damascus first, at which point a puppet government will be promptly installed.

and this....

Of course no one in Washington will care to know the details, as long as the new regime in Syria is receptive to things like piping Qatari natural gas to Europe via a long-stalled pipeline, a project which will do wonders for breaking Gazprom’s energy stranglehold and robbing Vladimir Putin of quite a bit of leverage in what is becoming an increasingly tense standoff with the EU over Ukraine

....and so it goes on and on and on..Another convenient delay. Will we ever get to the truth ? At the age of 76 maybe he's hoping he'll die first, before it's published.

Iraq Inquiry published 'in June or July 2016' Sir John Chilcot says

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34665607