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.

The IFS has consistently shown that almost all families are worse off once all tax and benefit changes are taken into account.

The BBC are covering it as well

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25869001

UK pay rising in real terms, says coalition

Most British workers have seen their take-home pay rise in real terms in the past year, the government claims.

It has produced figures showing all except the richest 10% saw their take-home wages rise by at least 2.5% once tax cuts were taken into account.

That is more than the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rate of 2.4% in the year to April 2013.

The government said the figures show only the top 10% of earners fell behind the CPI rate - which excludes the costs of buying and owning a home such as mortgage interest repayments - with an average increase of 2%

hays - i find that very hard to believe, and even if take-home pay has risen in the last year (not impossible), the increase in heating and food bills will have more than wiped that out - i.e. living standards have not (remotely) started to improve yet, even though industrial activity has

AT LAST: A Downing Street lie that deserves to put the Prime Minister on the spot.

By John Ward January 24, 2014




THE CAMERLOT CON: There is an odd alliance that could stop the fanatics. Don’t hold your breath waiting for the Eds to exploit it.

The key members of this Government have become masters of the blithely asserted shibboleth. We have Jeremy Hunt committed to the NHS, George Osborne who is paying off Britain’s debt with austerity, Boris Johnson around the edges of it saying crime is falling, Michael Gove insisting that his higher education ‘reforms’ can only make our universities better, and now David Cameron saying that “the vast majority of workers have wages that are outstripping inflation”.

This last is the most astonishing bare-faced bollocks yet. Its carrier – the Barclay Brothers’ Maily Telegraph – ran a piece devoted to spreading the fiction yesterday, in which we had to wait only a few lines for ‘A new analysis of figures released by Downing Street has suggested that take home pay outstripped inflation for all but the top 10 per cent of earners last year.’

What analysis? What figures? I’ve Googled it every which way, and I haven’t seen any evidence anywhere that anyone but the Telegraph has even heard of these numbers. But to be tedious (and apologies to the regulars here who’ve seen this chart already) let’s just nail this once and for all:



This is from the ONS, and it’s the third time (to make different points) I’ve shown it this week. You have to go back to the summer of 2009 to find wages and prices even equal let alone deflationary. Britain did not have deflation in 2013 and 2012 or 2011 or 2010, and anyway only the figures for the first three quarters of last year are in yet: so HowTF can Downing Street have analysed figures about last year they don’t have yet?


More: http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/at-last-a-downing-street-lie-that-deserves-to-put-the-prime-minister-on-the-spot/

It is because CPI is only 2.4%. Fuel has fallen causing food prices to fall or at least slow.

Solid post Cyners.

Its not take home pay that counts like you say, but it is in fact your disposable income like you say after fuel bills and food bills PLUS I would add working tax credits that you measure.

Suffice to say this Tory minister is being pulled to shreds up on twitter even SKY NEWS now say they will have to crunch these numbers again after coming out positive earlier on.

It seems they have been swamped with complaints.

This is very interesting. Miliband effectively agreeing with the Conservative from last week

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2540975/Wages-WILL-rise-faster-prices-year-admits-Ed-Labour-leader-concedes-average-pay-outstrip-inflation.html

Next

Wages WILL rise faster than prices this year admits Ed: Labour leader concedes average pay will outstrip inflation

Labour has quietly abandoned calls for an end to austerity measures
Worker’s pay has risen far below the rate of inflation for the past five years
Miliband will insist the economy is not serving working people

The longest pay squeeze in history is likely to come to an end this year, Ed Miliband will admit today.

The Labour leader, who has spent months warning about a ‘cost of living crisis’, will concede that economic recovery means the average worker’s pay rise is set to outstrip inflation.

But Mr Miliband will insist that ‘a few months of better statistics’ will not mean pressures on families are over and say that the real question is about ‘who gets the rewards’ as Britain recovers.

Tories will seize on his remarks as another economic policy shift by Labour, which has quietly abandoned calls for a Plan B involving an end to austerity measures and more government spending.

Good post Hays yes the debate will now move a notch higher onto the haves and have nots.

Labour will win hands down.

If this economic news is so good, why is the market coughing?

=======

What coughing?

Was all priced in Fred, but that matter aside I reckon Milly is a lot more cunning than he is given credit for.

When it does move on to the haves and have nots just after the Euros I think he will be in a very strong position.

Nothing like jealousy in politics and middle Britain will rise to it.

I think he will come out with all guns blazing against the rich boys.

We got an early show in PMQS on wed when he re- to camoron with his Bullingdon Boy stance.

Expect a lot more as he peaks at the right time.

footy 250

Haze,

I feel you are a little gauche!





I have a feeling that in 2015 the voters will reject the present predominantlyextreme right winged tory party and its leadership.

The current Conservative party is not very right wing at all. It is one of the complaints from backbenchers and supporters. It is probably one of the least right wing Conservative parties ever. The coalition limits its right wing tendencies. If it was not for the Libs, you would be seeing some real right wing policies with much stronger cuts plus a few policies that I won't mention.

Well no good speculating about what you are refering to Hays as labour will win next election with a majority.

Added benefit of wet female libs moving over to labour now aswel. Not sure I want them tho. Not a gender thing mind.

Just saw Labour's shadow Business Minister admitting that the government is right to say that take home wages ARE rising faster than inflation. He then said that they are not as high as they were. Well, he should take note of the fact that we have been in a recession and now things are improving.

We are heading back to the period when Thatcher won elections despite high unemployment. This was partly because people in work were doing very well. That situation should be the case in a year's time. The unemployed won't figure in the ballots.

Thatcher knew the trick is to squeeze the unemployed regarding their benefits and make sure the working are happy.The workers outnumber the unemployed by a huge number.

the state of the polls says little complimentary about either DC or EM .....

EM (labour) should be romping away, but their (poll) lead is consistently only at ~6/7%

DC (conservatives) should have been able to knock 7 bells out of EM, but notwithstanding that he inherited a severely poisoned chalice from GB - collapsed economy; empty coffers at the treasury - he has made a pretty poor fist over all sorts of things
had he shown the strength of character of MT - and it matters not whether or not you cared for her or her policies - then it would be the conservatives who would still be showing a respectable (poll) lead

actually, i don't think either party deserves or will achieve a proper working majority in the next parliament ..... indeed, i would not be at all surprised to see another hung parliament, though it's hard to see either NF or NC as effective power-brokers

all in all, what a dreadful bunch of ineffectuals we have in the seats of power

The policy seems to be working

Update - Labour lead at 3
by YouGov in Politics
Fri January 24, 2014 6 a.m. GMT

Latest YouGov / The Sun results 23rd January - Con 35%, Lab 38%, LD 8%, UKIP 12%;