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.

What I cannot understand is this fanatical following of these political muppets that govern us on this thread.....to me most of them should be thrown in the bins !.....we are dominated by these untouchables (almost) that wreck the country with corruption, filth, and their felonious deeds all the time and on here we get this crap shoved down our throats....a little most imagination would be nice..

Jim Murphy wants ‘economic storm’ protection fund




by ANDREW WHITAKER







Published on the
06 January
2015
15:35











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JIM Murphy has called on the Scottish government to launch a resilience fund to protect people against “economic storms” such as the crisis facing the oil and gas industry, in a flagship policy announcement by Labour’s new leader in Scotland.


Mr Murphy said the Scottish government already had £100 million in funding from the UK Treasury for the next year to cover the cost of a fund aimed at protecting jobs and the economy in crisis hit parts of the country.

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The Scottish Labour leader said a “pot of cash set aside for economic shocks” could be used to help retrain workers and pay for business aid in areas where a major employer has pulled out.

Mr Murphy hailed the plan as an “entirely new approach” as he unveiled the scheme on Tuesday during a visit to Aberdeen where he held talks with energy industry bosses and unions following a dramatic decline in oil prices in recent months.

The East Renfrewshire MP set out his latest pledge a day after promising funding for 1,000 extra nurses if he is elected as First Minister at the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections.

Mr Murphy also said that Scottish Labour would double the number of specialist nurses dedicated to treating motor neurone disease from seven to 14 following a campaign by one of the party’s former spin doctors Gordon Aikman, who is suffering from the illness.

Local councils such as Aberdeen would be able to bid for a share of the resilience fund if the area was hit with major oil industry job losses under the plan, which Mr Murphy said he was asking the Scottish government to back in an “immediate” demand made by Labour.

However, Mr Murphy said the cash would be potentially available to all areas ravaged by unemployment and could have been used when Scotland’s steel industry suffered heavy losses with the closure of the Ravenscraig steelworks in Lanarkshire in 1992.

He said that if the Scottish government failed to back the plan, he would launch an immediate consultation on the resilience fund, which he said would be implemented if he is elected as First Minister in 2016.

Mr Murphy said the fund would operate on a similar basis to the Belwin scheme, which is designed to recompense authorities for the costs of emergency damage caused by flood and storms.

He said: “The Scottish government should do things differently. I want to set up a resilience fund and I’ll approach the Scottish government to take forward this idea that a specific pot of Scottish government cash should be set aside for economic shocks.

“It’s based on the Belwin scheme for floods and storms. This would be about dealing with economic storms that may affect areas.”

Mr Murphy, speaking at a press conference in Aberdeen, said the Scottish government could use some of the £100 million he claimed it had in Barnett consequential - funding Scotland received every year in a block grant from Westminster.

He said the Scottish government had been handed £231 million by Westminster in consequential funding, with £127m already committed to the National Health Service north of the border.

However, Mr Murphy suggested the rest of the cash was uncommitted and that part of it could be used to pay for a resilience fund.

The Labour leader also said the UK government should accelerate funding pledged in the Chancellor’s autumn statement to Holyrood to allow it to have a resilience fund and provide a “specific designated sum of money to protect communities.

Mr Murphy sad: “The idea is that we set aside a pot of cash and local authorities apply.

“Local authorities would make applications. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t happen, as £100 million is as yet unspent in Barnett consequentials.

“I want to see the proposals in the autumn statement taken forward and implemented in a quicker time.

“I want the Scottish government to set this up, but If they don’t I will launch a consultation on implementing this if I’m elected as First Minister.”.

Mr Murphy went onto state that the scheme could be used by local councils awarded a share of the fund to offer business rates aid to encourage new investment, as well as provide training opportunities for unemployed people.

He said: “It’s to protect people from the harmful consequences of local economic shocks such as in Aberdeen if the crisis continues to develop.

“If it had been around at the time it could have been used to help steel workers who lost their jobs in areas like Lanarkshire.”

Mr Murphy also claimed that the SNP’s economic credibility was in “tatters” as he accused the party of over estimating the value of potential oil receipts in an independent Scotland during last year’s referendum.




comments



6:45 PM on 06/01/2015





Should our government and politicians use taxpayer money to protect jobs in the private sector? I don't think so. Jim Murphy will have to watch that he is not going to end up making promises that will scare voters away.



Mr Murphy, the Scots already have an emergency fund .

It's called England.



Better still under Murphy's Westminster voting behaviour to-date it can help pay for the really important Scottish priorities like:
Renewal of Trident
Another War (Iraq, Afganistan, Lybia, Syria, Ukraine or whats next??)
MPs expenses (£1 million+)
R#yal Family upgrades (4million for Wills houses + £1 billion for HRH)
R#yal Family legal defence and PR fund



Has Jim got the OK for this idea?

WHAT A CROCK! Jim Smurphy

No one is telling me what to do! I am the independent leader of an independent Scottish Labour Party.

Scottish Labour will provide 1,000 more nurses funded by the London mansion tax!

Eh! hold on no we won't - I forgot to get PERMISSION for that idea from my London Labour colleagues - David Lammy Dianne Abbot and Tessa Jowel - crivvens help ma boab I am a right wullie!

I believed my London colleagues when they told me we in Scotland were EQUAL partners in a UNTIED KINGDOM!



Why wait till now?

Why did Jim Murphy not moot the idea of a resilence fund when Labour was last in office - am sure the people of Motherwell -Wishaw - Ravenscraig would like to know.

The reality is - these days - Trident Mad Murphy has no real authority - Scottish Labour is in meltdown - the people dont believe in the Labour party anymore - the people believe in them selfs.

The new found self belief in now channeled through the SNP - Scotlands champion.




I am not too sure where this £100m comes from but if it comes from the Barnett formula I doubt very much it just sits there and does nothing i.e. it gets spent on something - so Mr Murphy can you please explain what should be cut to pay for this?

Also this is not a new policy, its an old SNP one - its called an oil fund but unfortunately all the oil money has gone down to London and the oil fund sits at hee haw donkey.



"JIM Murphy has called on the Scottish government to launch a resilience fund to protect people against "economic storms" such as the crisis facing the oil and gas industry, in a flagship policy announcement by Labour's new leader in Scotland."

Here's an idea Sunny Jim, let's call it an 'Oil Fund' and use the oil revenue to build it up in case there are fluctuations in the oil price. just like Norway.

But wait, all the oil revenue went to London didn't it. And what is the present value of this oil fund... Nil, zero, zilch...

Doesn't this supposedly intelligent politician not understand 'devolution' and which government is responsible for what area.

Nugget...


But the SNP have already pledged this if we had gained our independence. That we didn't must be partly laid at Murphy's door (or his IrnBru crate). Is he now reduced to stealing the SNP's clothes?



Never heard a word from Murphy asking for either the Scottish or UK governments to do as he now requests, when his red Tory party was in power in Scotland, or at UK levels. The biggest threat to the oil industry in the Scottish waters is the level of tax imposed on it by the UK government. The industry has had to shoulder the highest tax burden of any industry in the UK. Just imagine if every other industry or business had to shoulder the same level of tax. How many would survive if any.



But the SNP have already pledged this if we had gained our independence. That we didn't must be partly laid at Murphy's door (or his IrnBru crate). Is he now reduced to stealing the SNP's clothes?


How about a fund to protect us from Labour and SNP stupidity and economic incompetence? I forgot we already have one, it's called the UK taxpayer!

RF

How about you starting another thread for the like minded!

RF - don't be bullied off the site .... just do as i do and skate past 95/99% of it .... just occasionally you'll find something you want to comment upon

of course, if these tub-thumpers learnt the art of brevity and precis, their garbage (sorry, posts) wouldn't take up quite so many pages

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

meanwhile dow thunders south
if no late(r) recovery, then ftse will be in for another torrid day

For someone who claims to "skate past 95/99% of it" you are always putting your six quid's worth in.

it's the inflation that does it :-)
in fact, you won't often find me responding to the usual garbage though i may add to it

If he get six quid, he is overpaid!

Bit over the top that RF, we all have bad days. As the thread header says you can post about any subject that you wish here.

Its up to the individual to find like minded people to discuss a certain topic.

A lot on here like politics so we debate it.

If an individual doesnt like a topic just skate around it like Cyners says.

Stay with us and post about your hobbies say, see if we have other interested posters.

Hays Hays Hays............

Labour lead at 3

Latest YouGov / The Sun results 5th January - Con 31%, Lab 34%, LD 7%, UKIP 14%, GRN 8%;

No good having 3 times more money than us Hays if you spend it on crap eg, that new Tory Poster. LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL where was it taken.......ohhh yes GERMANY.

Whats wrong with Germany?

After all, that's where Dave wants to go. (or so it would seem)

He is certainly pro Europe. It is not an unreasonable stance. The public are split pretty much 50/50 over it. Sometimes there is a majority in favour and sometimes the other way. You can pretty much bet that a referendum will produce a vote in favour of staying in.

Perhaps cynic should start the - "I just want to talk about myself thread" since " I " seems to be his favourite word.:-)

Ive got German Blood in me Max(fathers side), blonde hair blue eyes Aryan Race, Zig Hile Zig Hile.

Well have all the Tories rounded up in ghettos after the GE win for labour. ie, socialist worker.

Diane Abbott attacks 'unscrupulous' Jim Murphy over mansion tax plan

Labour in-fighting breaks out over Mr Murphy's plan to use a mansion tax on homes mainly in the South East of England to fund 1,000 more nurses in Scotland, with Ms Abbott accusing him of trying to "expropriate" money from Londoners




By Simon Johnson, Scottish Political Editor

2:43PM GMT 06 Jan 2015

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Jim Murphy’s plan to employ 1,000 extra nurses in Scotland using the proceeds of a mansion tax in the south-east of England is “highly unscrupulous”, Diane Abbott has said as bitter Labour in-fighting over the controversial policy broke out.


Ms Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, said the Scottish Labour leader’s proposal meant he wanted to “expropriate money from Londoners to win an election in Scotland.”


After getting Mr Murphy’s name wrong, the Labour MP then undermined the party’s mansion tax plans by predicting that the super-rich would evade it and suggesting those in the firing line are middle-class families who bought their London homes 30 years ago.


Mr Murphy, the East Renfrewshire MP, hit back by arguing it is a UK-wide levy and he would decide how the proceeds that would come to Scotland under the Barnett formula would be spent.


He said Ms Abbott’s gaffe over his name meant he could not take her views “seriously” and pointed out that the tax revenue from North Sea oil in Scottish waters was similarly spent across the UK.




Their row on BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme came after Boris Johnson accused Labour of being “vindictive” to the South East by seeking to bribe Scottish voters with the nurse pledge. He accused Labour of seeking to “milk, mug, tax and squeeze London until the pips squeak”.

Labour’s mansion tax plan would apply to homes worth more than £2 million, around 95 per cent of which Mr Murphy said are in the south-east, and is predicted to raise £1.2 billion.

The Scottish Labour leader said Scotland alone could not raise the money to fund his promise as there are fewer than 1,000 properties to which it would apply and it would only generate £15 million north of the Border.





Ms Abbott, a veteran Left-winger who hopes to run for London mayor told World at One: “I’m very surprised John (sic) Murphy is making these boasts. I support the mansion tax in principle but there are to big problems.

“It’s effectively a tax on London – 80 per cent of it will come from London –and there are problems. The super-wealthy plutocrats, who will all think should pay the mansion tax, probably using their lawyers and accountants will evade it.

“But you could be a teacher in Hackney literally who bought a house at the beginning of the ‘80s for £50,000 and it’s worth £1 million and climbing. Jim Murphy can’t surely mean he is going to expropriate money from Londoners to win an election in Scotland.”

She said many people bought homes 30 years that were in areas that were unfashionable then but are now “very worried” about the levy, before adding: “Jim Murphy isn’t helping matters.”

Ms Abbott accused the Scottish Labour leader of “jumping the gun in a highly unscrupulous way” by making the announcement before the details of how a mansion tax would be implemented had been finalised.

But Mr Murphy said: “It’s hard to take this argument seriously, I mean she didn’t even remember my name at the start of it, and I don’t have to consult Diane Abbott about what I do in the Scottish Labour Party.

“What I’m doing is arguing for and supporting the British Labour Party policy. It’s a UK-wide tax – people in houses in Scotland worth over £2 million would pay it, Northern Ireland, Wales and England.”

He said he does not have to consult Ms Abbott or Ed Miliband over how to spend the proceeds because “I’m in charge” of devolved areas such as the NHS.

“Diane Abbott should maybe concentrate on supporting the Labour Party’s policy rather forgetting my name or attacking my approach to what I do in Scotland,” he added.

Speaking from Aberdeen, Mr Murphy pointed out North Sea oil and gas has similarly generated tax revenues for the whole of the UK thanks to the “pooling and sharing of resources”.

He also rejected SNP criticisms of the plan, saying the Nationalists “can’t handle” the plan as they campaign only in Scotland whereas the mansion tax would raise money that would be shared across the UK.

If Labour wins the general election, Mr Miliband has promised to raise £2.5 billion for an NHS Time to Care Fund, which would be used to fund more health care staff in England. The money would be raised through the mansion tax, a tax on tobacco firms and a crack down on corporate tax avoidance.

But under the Barnett formula, which allocates money to Holyrood based on spending on devolved areas south of the Border, Scotland would be entitled to the £250 million, around £30 million of which Mr Murphy has said he would spend on 1,000 more nurses.

His plan also faced criticism from Labour’s other candidates for mayor, with Dame Tessa Jowell warning against treating London as a “cash cow” and David Lammy telling the Evening Standard it showed the mansion tax would mean money being “siphoned off” from the capital.

Mr Johnson added to the wave of condemnation from Tories about the plan. He told his monthly LBC Radio Show that Labour has “decided to punish the south-east, or be fiscally vindictive to the south-east of England, in order to bribe the people of Scotland.”

He added: “It is no way to run a country. I don’t think it is right that the Labour Party should be saying one thing to Scotland and a different thing to London.”

Grant Shapps, the Tory chairman, said: “Jim Murphy’s comments show once again that Ed Miliband simply does not command the respect of his party. They don’t listen to him or consult him because he is a weak leader. If Miliband can’t prevent chaos from breaking out in his own party then he clearly isn’t fit to run the country.”

A Labour spokesman said: "The overwhelming majority of funding raised from the mansion tax will be spent in England, but as with any UK-wide tax, Scotland will receive a share of the proceeds under the Barnett formula, which has cross-party support.

"It is up to the Scottish Government how to spend this revenue."

I think it's time scootland paid for it's own give-aways, and to hell with Barnet.

sticky - 54415 - i think you've strange parentage through Zig-gy Stardust and Hile-da Ogden

Anybody end up in Casualty last night.

It is nothing to do with politics!

Cyners something for you............

http://www.sharecast.com/news/london-first-time-buyers-have-to-pay-nine-times-their-annual-income/22360539.html

the headline tells it all, and i'm quite sure that is so in central london
even a simple one bedroom flat in notting hill will easily go for ~£450k

however, there are still some good value areas outside london (kent and essex for example) where the rail/road links are excellent, good schools in the area and houses at £150-250k