Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

as in reflexology?
or did you mean as in narcissistically looking in the mirror?

psst!
did no one tell you that the labour party is similarly dictated to by the unions?

Unemployment figures - Under David Cameron, Britain's cost of living crisis is not improving, its intensifying - Liam Byrne


11 September 2013
Liam Byrne MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, responding to Labour Market Statistics, said:

“Today's headline fall in unemployment is welcome, but what today's figures expose is that while out of touch ministers are boasting, families are battling. They're battling another fall in wages, another rise in youth unemployment and yet another rise in long term unemployment. There is simply not enough work to go round and the proof is a record high in the number of part-time workers looking for full-time jobs.

“Real wages fell yet again by £12 a week; unemployment went up across half of Britain; the youth jobless rate rose by 9,400 and long term unemployment rose yet again. There's now been an incredible rise of 364,000 part time workers looking for full time jobs since the election.

“We can't go on like this. Under David Cameron, Britain's cost of living crisis is not improving, it’s intensifying.

“We need a recovery that benefits everyone, not just a few at the top. That is why Labour wants to help to make work pay by introducing a lower 10p starting rate of tax, paid for by a mansion tax, and to repeat the tax on bank bonuses to pay for a compulsory jobs guarantee for young people.”

sticky - trying answering the point i raised instead of wriggling like a millipede

Fred I think Milly is taking a calm responsible approach to the way Labour are funded.

Im quite pleased with his performance in this area in fact all in all as the polls show although he is less trusted on the economy than Camoron but his trend is upand the gap is closing.

I think Milly is the type who will grow into a position and can see him as the PM of this country at the next election.

One thing for sure Clegg and the liberals are going to have a torrid time going up to the elections. Ms Teather is just the tip of the iceberg in my opinion.

The unions were pretty dismissive of Miliband. The interviews with the union leaders said that Miliband may say that the system of automatic affiliation of members to Labour will stop, but it is not his business. They said that it was an internal union matter and they would do what they wanted.

neither side would want to risk a public showdown or even any serious handbag swinging ...... the "tough stuff" will happen behind closed doors

Mansion tax again....how much could they raise, and at what level does a house become a mansion?

gf
No one cares what Vince Cable has to say.

As we are climbing out of a major recession I would expect high unemployment, falling incomes etc. I would be more worried if that wasn't happening.

We have the biggest debt of all the countries in recession. Our's is the biggest because of Brown's spending spree. The one thing that you can guarantee is that a Labour government will spend, spend, spend whether they have the money or not.

Before the usual crowing starts
:
Do the new released unemployment figures indicate those who are not registering as they fall into the group who are now staying in education or training in England until you’re 17 or 18?

Also, wondering how much those figures are massaged by said “apprenticeships”. (Not against apprenticeships in principle.)?

Also, think it would be interesting to see so called “part timers” and “self employed” figures.

GF,

Post 29179

I agree!

===============

Hays,

Labour spending spree.

NEW SCHOOLs..

NEW HOSPITALS.

NHS REFORMS and improved Public Health.

New Universities.

ETC.

All allowed to decay under Thatcher and cronies who lined their pockets with revenue from North Sea and sell off of the "country's silver" and "social housing".

Grasping short term ideology.

And now we have Spending spree and HS2.

---------

Also, how safe are you in A&E under this government.

After reading some of the "Con" supporters posts above it's easy to see why one of their own referred to the "Con" Party as being seen as the Nasty Party.

Hays.

What is the current national debt compared now under the tory led coalition?

What has the increase in debt been used for?

If Cameron spent a little more time at home, thinking rather than wandering off to tell other countries how to solve their problems, he would be a little wiser and the UK a little better off.

fred -as i wrote earlier, though findus unsurprisingly chose to ignore ......

though the numbers may indeed be skewed by the method used, so long as the same system has been used for say the last 12 months, then the trend if arguably not the number is valid

Fred
Yes hospitals, schools etc. What Labour have never understood, is that it doesn't matter how worthy the purpose of the spending, you can't have thing that you cannot afford.

I recall the baulk of the NHS money was swallowed up in salaries for the hierachy.
2517

fred - would you vote for raising taxes, probably significantly? ..... or would still choose to sit on the sidelines and pontificate as usual? :-)

He would vote for not voting.

Cynic.

It depends on how the data is specified and then correlated.

Then it depends on the periods which one is considering.

If redefinition of entities takes place then it depends of the regrouping of the entities.

One of my daughter is an "analyst" in government department and another one in University research dept.

Both are fed up with the slovenly collection of data, and uncorrelated "deductions" being made from that data.

Falsification.

-----

Honest Meta Analysis is a different thing.

=====

The government doesn't collect or publish the figures. They are all handled by the ONS, which is an independent body. The ONS is not subject to any interference by the government. If the ONS says that unemployment is falling then it is.

Who defines "employment"?