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.

By Telegraph View
6:35AM GMT 06 Jan 2015
The Tories have promised to tackle the astonishing payouts awarded to some public sector workers - and it's about time, too.

The public services need to attract talent, and may well have to provide competitive salaries and benefits as a result. But when people are being paid out of the taxpayers’ pocket, they should not expect to live like King Midas.

Yet when it comes to redundancy payments, some public servants have been doing exactly that. The largest sums involved are astonishing. Mark Byford, the BBC’s former deputy director-general, got £949,000 when he left; Caroline Thomson, the corporation’s former chief operating officer, got £670,000. In the NHS, Karen Straughair, the former chief executive of the South of Tyne and Wear Trust, got £605,000 when it was wound up; Jayne Brown, the former chief executive of the North Yorkshire and York one, got £414,000.

The Conservatives have let it be known that if they form a government after the May election, they will cap such payouts at £95,000. The party calculates that had such a policy been in place in 2011/12, more than £125 million would have been saved. Not only is this a fiscally sound idea, but it might also help restore some of the public’s faith in institutions that all too often seem to have a cavalier attitude towards spending. In today’s climate of austerity, people rightly expect value for money.

Just before the last election, David Cameron tried to strike a bargain with the public sector. He said that he would reduce bureaucracy and give its staff greater autonomy if, in exchange, they would give their “help in solving Labour’s debt crisis by keeping the cost of public sector pay only as high as the country can responsibly afford”. This is a perfectly reasonable thing to ask and ought to be universally welcomed. Good government in the 21st century must be competent, compassionate – and prudent.

"Because they are selling OUR services off to THERE CHUMS and getting preferential treatment. (back handers to you and me)"... Oh no not again surely, old habits and all that -):

How many "administrators" of the NHS under the given have had "compensation packages" of over £100000 and rehired by this government.

Just rehiring their condoms, sorry mates.

I hope the gravy trains come to the stops in March.

And I hope there is an investigation into contracts handed out by the present No 10 comedy act.

4 years of "you fill my hands and I will fill yours".

Good old tory politics.

gf
What you mean by this, is that you do not know the reasons that the company won the contract and that the reasons have not been released on a timetable to suit you.

"Of course there is secrecy. Stop talking rot Hays.

Its a cover up by the sleazy Tories once again."

It doesn't matter what excuses you give H/S, just except that you support a corrupt outfit.

And you just choose to believe the worst without evidence. It is one of the afflictions of a closed mind.

A closed mind? Well you've had plenty of time to develop one of those.

And your accused just as much as I Hays in fact Labour and the NHS want to know why they havent won the contract but the government arent releasing the reason, so in my books thats your lot who are being secretive, lets face it they rule or are supposed to rule the country.

The contract has only recently been awarded and not yet signed. When that has happened I am sure we will find out why it was awarded to the company.

wtf?



Anti-terror plan to spy on toddlers 'is heavy-handed’

Nursery staff and childminders are given 'duty' to report toddlers they suspect of being at risk of becoming terrorists under new Home Office measures



"Schools and nurseries should not be required to act as a police service," says general secretary Russell Hobby Photo: Rex



By Robert Mendick

7:00AM GMT 04 Jan 2015



Nursery school staff and registered childminders must report toddlers at risk of becoming terrorists, under counter-terrorism measures proposed by the Government.


The directive is contained in a 39-page consultation document issued by the Home Office in a bid to bolster its Prevent anti-terrorism plan.


Critics said the idea was “unworkable” and “heavy-handed”, and accused the Government of treating teachers and carers as “spies”.


The document accompanies the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill, currently before parliament. It identifies nurseries and early years childcare providers, along with schools and universities, as having a duty “to prevent people being drawn into terrorism”.


The consultation paper adds: “Senior management and governors should make sure that staff have training that gives them the knowledge and confidence to identify children at risk of being drawn into terrorism and challenge extremist ideas which can be used to legitimise terrorism and are shared by terrorist groups.



More:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11323558/Anti-terror-plan-to-spy-on-toddlers-is-heavy-handed.html

Can't take chances these day Max -):

The Christmas polling break is over. Opinium have the first poll of 2015 out tonight, conducted for the Observer. Topline figures are CON 32%, LAB 33%, LDEM 8%, UKIP 17%, GRN 4%.

‘Road to Weimar’ image shows Tories can’t be trusted to tell the truth4/1/2015

“It’s a British picture, a British road,” George Osborne told Cathy Newman on Channel 4 News. What a shame he was lying.

“Tory road to a ‘stronger economy’ is in fact a road to Weimar?” she tweeted in (mock?) astonishment on Saturday. “George Osborne told me it was British!”

He was lying. Just like the poster was lying in its three claims (most notably that of halving the deficit, which even drew flak from Tory-loving rag The Spectator.

You can watch the moment again, on Channel 4’s own account of how Osborne’s latest lie was exposed.

The article explains that the photo on the much-lambasted Conservative election poster was taken by German photographer Alexander Burzik in 2008, not far from his home town – Weimar.

This leads to the obvious question: If Osborne was not telling the truth about the origin of the photograph, why should anybody believe he isn’t lying about anything else he says?

Note also the last line on the Channel 4 report: “Tonight a Conservative source said that the poster was based on a variety of images, and they had been previously assured that all elements of the photograph were British.”

A variety of images? Not just one, then, as Osborne said. As for the previous assurance – who gave it? George Osborne?

We all now know what his words are worth.

On a more serious note:

If the polls are in any way accurate, a hung parliament is on the cards.

Wee-Eck will march into the HoC with a respectable mob of mp's at his command.


How will that effect England? Cos he sure as hell wont be selling his ass for promises, what will he demand in return for any support??