A Political Thread pt. 2

[General Melchett]

If the Tories lost 15 more seats the SNP could become HM Opposition in a Parliament they want to get out of. Madness.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

An increasing priority for me, as a result of all the Tory sleaze, is to clean up politics and introduce stronger ethics and compliance within Government. While not perfect I liked much of what Starmer and Brown announced last week. Abolishing the HoL, more power for the regions/devolved Govts and more governance within Government. I would also like to see an investigation conducted in relation to COVID/PPE equipment contracts, similar to the one re. MPs expenses with criminal charges brought if necessary.

I definitely think the era of "gentleman's agreements" and the idea of the ministerial code etc being largely optional needs to end. The rules need to be tightened up and with more severe punishments, not just slap on the wrist or forced out of Commons punishment but fines and prison sentences. These people have overseen corruption on a scale that would see people banged up if they weren't in government.

Self regulation never works, MPs should not be in charge of applying their own rules unto themselves.

 

[Which Tyler]

An increasing priority for me, as a result of all the Tory sleaze, is to clean up politics and introduce stronger ethics and compliance within Government.

Didn't they conduct a survey recently on how to improve trust in politics and politicians, but "being more trustworthy" didn't seem to be one of the options explored.

 

[Gavin]

Quality interaction with Mick Lynch

For the full interview I must admire his skills in talking sense



Definitely appears that the government want the strikes to happen

 

[Reiser99]

Definitely appears that the government want the strikes to happen

They are hoping to turn the public against them like they did with protesters and then under the guise of avoiding public inconvenience they will cripple their ability to strike.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

The only ones I never agree on are rail strikes. The rest I have every sympathy.

 

[BiggusLaddus]

Aye the energy one.

We've been told by the DUP it's the British Government fault we can't get it and the British Government say it's the DUP fault.

But interesting how they've applied it in England.

I understand in Scotland it's distributed as £60 payments, at least from a friend

For direct debit bill payers, £67 per month gets paid into your bank account by the energy supplier.

Except if you are lucky/tight enough to pay less than that for electricity. In which case you get back the money you pay and the difference sits with the supplier as a credit.

 

[McTallshort]

The only ones I never agree on are rail strikes. The rest I have every sympathy.

Why? Genuine question

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Why? Genuine question

Because RMT and ASLEF always strike every year and their staff are very well remunerated compared to nurses and other public sector staff.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Because RMT and ASLEF always strike every year and their staff are very well remunerated compared to nurses and other public sector staff.

What is a Train Driver Salary in the UK?

Are you looking to become a train driver but not sure if it's for you. Here you can get information about the train driver salary, their pension and more...

www.cashfloat.co.uk

Train drivers really are not paid badly at all. I'm an engineer and I don't get close to this and I can guarantee I am working longer hours and more stressed.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

What is a Train Driver Salary in the UK?

Are you looking to become a train driver but not sure if it's for you. Here you can get information about the train driver salary, their pension and more...

www.cashfloat.co.uk

Train drivers really are not paid badly at all. I'm an engineer and I don't get close to this and I can guarantee I am working longer hours and more stressed.

And also the holidays they get and perks for their family of free travel.

And the reasons they strike as well. I have turned off now because I recall all of the misery they caused in previous years when I had to commute in and out of London. One I recall where one of their drivers was ****** when driving a train and got the sack and they went on strike. Just feels like any excuse they will strike.

Whereas other public staff I can see they absolutely need the pay rises.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Aren't the strikes more for the support/station staff than the drivers?

 

[Saintjay]

Around 96% of train drivers are members of Aslef as far as I am aware. The desk staff, ticket office staff are more likely to be RMT and are no way near drivers salaries. Safety, changing in conditions and resistance to compulsory redundancy are just some of the RMT issues.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

No wonder people just buy a car, cycle or walk or WFH with the disruption they can cause. Ticket office staff - rarely use now because just pay by contactless. That's why WFH made me realise what a waste of time and money commuting on trains/tube was.

 

[General Melchett]

No wonder people just buy a car, cycle or walk or WFH with the disruption they can cause. Ticket office staff - rarely use now because just pay by contactless. That's why WFH made me realise what a waste of time and money commuting on trains/tube was.

Yup. It's not as if the experience you get on British trains is world class. I have used trains in many different countries and the UK ranks near the bottom in terms of seat comfort, overcrowding, value for money, punctuality etc.

 

[Reiser99]

Yup. It's not as if the experience you get on British trains is world class. I have used trains in many different countries and the UK ranks near the bottom in terms of seat comfort, overcrowding, value for money, punctuality etc.

The worst is when they remove carriages and don't honour seat reservations and then it's a free for all. Tbh booking a seat is a waste of time anyway because if someone refuses to move there is nothing that can be done anyway.

 

[ncurd]

Just did some Maths on inflation going down. In real-terms its a 3.7p reduction or 6.4% on last month. Its still at August this year prices. Inflation since the Tories took to power is 35%.

So minor relief overall burden way too much.

 

[General Melchett]

Just did some Maths on inflation going down. In real-terms its a 3.7p reduction or 6.4% on last month. Its still at August this year prices. Inflation since the Tories took to power is 35%.

So minor relief overall burden way too much.

The UK started raising interest rates before the Federal Reserve and yet the USA's current interest rate is 4% compared with 3% in the UK. USA's inflation data that came out yesterday had inflation down to to 7.1% whereas we are still at 10.7%. Seems to be that more aggressive action is needed by the BoE and our Govt if we are to get a grip on inflation.

 

[ncurd]

Nurses striking tommorow Sunak going about 3% last year and how that's great. Might want to take a look at tables at bottom of this PDF

https://londoneconomics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/LE-RCN-AfC-pay-and-house-prices-since-March-2011-15-06-2021.pdf

 

[ncurd]

The last bit is always the point