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.

Public think benefit cap claimants should work or move

The vast majority (70%) of the public think people affected by the benefit cap should be prepared to find jobs or work more hours and two-thirds (65%) say they should be willing to move to a cheaper property.

Independent research published today (10 October 2013) shows that 60% support the cap even if it means that those affected have to take a job, regardless of the pay.

The Ipsos MORI report shows public attitudes towards the benefit cap and is published following the completion of its national rollout last month.

The Ipsos MORI report finds:

around three-quarters of the public support the benefit cap in principle
58% think that politicians needed to do more to reduce the welfare bill
50% think that benefits are too generous
11% think the benefits system is working effectively

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith said:

Today’s report makes it clear that the public support setting a limit on benefits and the successful delivery of the benefit cap shows we are committed to returning fairness to the welfare state.

Claimants affected by the cap need to make decisions about work and housing and what they can afford, just as hardworking families do.

We have made sure the support is there to help people back into work and the benefit cap and Universal Credit will ensure that work pays.

The benefit cap limits are set at £500 a week for couples, with or without children, and lone parent households, and at £350 a week for households of a single adult with no children. The cap is in place nationwide for existing appropriate claimants and all new claims are subject to the cap.

Since claimants were first notified of the benefit cap in April 2012, Jobcentre Plus have helped around 16,500 potentially capped claimants into work.

an interesting comment yesterday that tightened unemployment benefit rules have resulted in a significant number of people "disappearing" from the register, with the implication being that they were already working in some capacity

True scale of European immigration

An EU study has found 600,000 unemployed migrants are living in Britain - a 42 per cent rise


By Robert Mendick, and Claire Duffin

9:45PM BST 12 Oct 2013



More than 600,000 unemployed European Union migrants are living in Britain at a cost of £1.5 billion to the NHS alone, according to an EU report.


The authoritative study, obtained by The Sunday Telegraph, shows the number of jobless European migrants coming to Britain has risen dramatically in the past five years, intensifying demands for the Government to renegotiate EU membership.


Opponents of the EU seized on the figures to suggest Britain could not afford to allow European migrants to come here at will while continuing to provide a universal benefits system.


The 291-page report, to be published this week by the European commissioner in charge of employment and welfare, discloses:


• The number of “non-active” EU migrants in Britain has risen by 42 per cent between 2006 and 2012;


More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/10375358/True-scale-of-European-immigration.html

Is the EU exporting its unemployed to Britain? And will they bankrupt us?

By David Craig, on October 10th, 2013


Politicians and journalists will play around with the statistics around immigration - usually to try to claim that immigration is “under control”, “good for Britain”, “beneficial for our economy” and “an enrichment to our cultural life”. But they won’t ever talk about the real trends and costs in immigration – shortage of housing, pressure on schools, hospitals and policing and drain on our benefits system.

So I’ve started trying to see what the immigration figures are really telling us. To measure immigration I’ve used the Government’s figures for the number of foreigners registering for National Insurance (NI) numbers each year.

My first chart shows the overall number broken down by region of origin (click to see more clearly)





The first thing you’ll notice is that the number of migrants getting NI numbers went up from about 340,000 a year in 2002/03 to about 420,000 a year in 2004/05 - a rise of over 40,000 a year. Then the number shot up from 420,000 a year in 2004/05 to almost 800,000 a year by 2007/08 – a massive rise of about 130,000 a year. This was due to people from the A8 accession countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia) moving to Britain.

Then the numbers of foreigners getting NI numbers “stabilised” at a fairly shocking 600,000 to 700,000 a year – that’s an incredible 12,000 to 14,000 a week (2,400 to 2,800 every working day). However, when the 29 million people from Romania and Bulgaria get full rights to move freely to Britain for work or benefits (or both), we can expect the number of migrants getting NI numbers to shoot up again to close to 900,000 or even 1,000,000 a year.


More: http://www.snouts-in-the-trough.com/archives/7007

Help to buy - the argument in favour
the longish article in ST Biz (page 4) is worth a read, but for those who only get the Sunday Sport (for guess the bra size?) or the Socialist Worker on Sunday (for the whippet racing results?), the following little snippet will do as a taster, though the whole is well worth the read ....

"Help to Buy is artificial but no more than the myriad schemes, including ultra-low interest rates and quantitive easing, introduced to lift the economy. This one has the merit that, in the first phase at least, it is working"

Is it national bra day today. Read two comments about bras today. One from mitzy on the midas thread. :-))

i didn't want to remind the donkeys that it's actually national braying day!

The uptick in the housing market should have some nock on effects in the wider economy. Furniture, DIY, local builders for improvements, estate agents, solicitors etc will all benefit from people moving. Their incomes will trickle down. The government will get income from stamp duty and tax on the support businesses above. It would be a mistake to underestimate the net effect of increased activity in the housing sector.

Talking about the housing market. Just seen in the local that the Beckhams have off loaded there house at Sawbridgeworth for a reported £12 million along with a few sports cars and a house in France as well.


The website Homes24 estimates Rowneybury is worth £8,416,869.

Cost of sending a first class letter 'to hit £1 within a few years'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-mail/9977658/Cost-of-sending-a-first-class-letter-to-hit-1-within-a-few-years.html

Exploding Toilet Leaves Man Scared To Flush
Sky NewsSky News – Sat, Oct 12, 2013..

A man has been seriously injured after a toilet exploded in his face when he was checking the water pressure in his New York apartment.

Michel Pierre needed 30 stitches after his face, arms and legs were struck by shards of porcelain.

The 58-year-old, who was temporarily knocked unconscious by the blast, is now so scared his loo will burst again that he flushes it using a rope while hiding behind his bathroom door.

"Obviously there is a serious problem in the building," his lawyer Sanford Rubenstein said.

"Clearly toilets are supposed to flush, not explode."

Mr Pierre is seeking compensation from the management company of the 16-storey block, which was built in 1964 and contains 275 flats.

The water had been turned off on the day his toilet and three others exploded, and it is thought a build-up of air pressure that was pushed through pipes when the supply was switched back on may be to blame.

Theresa Racht, a lawyer representing the building's board, said: "This is a horrific incident. Everybody feels terrible that such a thing could have happened.

"It certainly makes me think twice about flushing the toilet when the water's been turned off."

She added: "This could very well be what we call a true accident."

And why not? Who sends letters these days. It is a trend. How many telephone boxes do you see? It is the same with the old telegram service. Almost anything can be done with email these days. How long did it take to take a film photograph and get it processed. You could always travel to India via a tea clipper. Cash is fast disappearing together with cheques.

Ive got one of the old red BT telephone kiosks.

Night club owner keeps badgering me to buy it. Reckons hes going to turn it into one of the Worlds smallest wine bars.

Havent a clue how much its worth...............any ideas anyone????.

Don't know what its worth but as you will know will need a forklift to move it. Helped a friend plant one in his garden, solid cast iron.

They Weigh 750kg

For £2,000, a red phone box you can own: BT sell-off iconic landmarks as demand slumps



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2135919/For-2-000-red-phone-box-BT-sell-iconic-landmarks-demand-slumps.html

Cheers DC, was already part of the fixtures when I bought this house about 2 years ago. Its in good nick obviously well looked after.

HAYS HAYS HAYS........... check this out.........

electionista‏@electionista7h
UK - YouGov/Sunday Times poll: CON 34% LAB 39% LDEM 9% UKIP 11% / 31% approve of Govt, 54% disapprove / 41% believe PM doing well, 52% badly

Camoron is losing support.

10 % lead for labour here..........

electionista‏@electionista8h
UK - Survation/MoS poll: CON 27%, LAB 37%, LDEM 11%, UKIP 18%

Hmmmmmmmmmm interesting..........

electionista‏@electionista8h
UK - European Parliament elections - Survation poll: LAB 35% UKIP 22% CON 21% LDEM 11% GRN 5% SNP 3% Plaid 2%

Tories in 3rd place behind UKIP.


ALARM BELLS RINGING.