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.

After Lansley, Cameron, Osborne and Hunt, feel safe in the NHS,

"NHS Safe in Tory Hands."



Crowding ‘raised hospital death toll’


Up to 500 patients died last year as a direct result of harm they suffered when hospitals became dangerously overcrowded, Britain’s A&E doctors have warned.

About 350 of the deaths were among patients who had not been diagnosed or given medical treatment quickly enough. Another 150 were not admitted because of bed shortages, even though their condition meant they would usually have been found a place on a ward. The College of Emergency Medicine’s figures have raised concern that growing turmoil in A&E units, and hospitals generally, is doing real harm.

Dr Clifford Mann, the college’s president, said its estimates were based on international studies which show that patients who arrived when hospitals are overcrowded were at greater risk of dying. “It’s sobering that up to 500 patients a year die because too many of our emergency departments are too often overcrowded,” he said.

A&Es in England were busy about 25% of the time, he added, which meant that 3.5 million patients who turned up at an A&E department each year were at slightly increased risk of death.

Applying the results of studies from Australia and Canada showed that up to 350 A&E patients with a range of serious illnesses who ended up waiting longer for admission than the supposed NHS maximum of 12 hours would die, Mann said. Although the exact reason is not clear, delays in diagnosis and vital treatment, such as surgery or antibiotics, are thought to explain most of the deaths.

NHS England said: “Unprecedented numbers of patients are accessing services, and staff are dealing with the highest-ever number of 111 and ambulance calls, A&E attendances and emergency admissions.

Meanwhile, ministers are being warned that the NHS is facing a “disaster” of ever-increasing bed blocking because social care is “chronically underfunded”. An alliance of local councils, NHS organisations and charities says more beds will be occupied by patients trapped there because the services they need after discharge are falling victim to cuts.

“The … system is chronically underfunded. While this remains the case, care and support for elderly and disabled people will only deteriorate,” they say in a letter in today’s Observer.


The Observer/

There is no chance of the UK giving up Trident, no matter who is in power or coalition. There is no chance of it being moved from Faslane either. Sturgeon can huff and puff, but she will be ignored. Scotland is still part of the UK and will do what it is told.

I would prefer a decent NHS to Trident.

Commit UK to the EU and NATO, and Finance Defence as a European concern.


Population of EU =500 Million, Population of UK = 63 million.

Reduction of cost and increased efficacy.

Now Sturgeon claims it would be better for the WHOLE of Britain if her Scottish Nationalists are sitting in Miliband's Cabinet
SNP leader boasts how most Scots want SNP to share power with Labour
Claims that SNP holding balance of power is better for all of the UK
35% of Scottish voters want to see a Labour-SNP coalition after election 
Collapse in support for Labour scuppers chance of an overall majority 
By MATT CHORLEY, POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 13:47, 25 January 2015 | UPDATED: 14:50, 25 January 2015

By JANE MERRICK
Sunday 25 January 2015
Liz Kendall has emerged as the favourite candidate among Blairite MPs to succeed Ed Miliband if he loses the general election.
The shadow Health minister gave an interview to The House magazine last week in which she said there was a role for the private sector in the NHS and that “what matters is what works”. While the MP for Leicester West would say she is working hard to get Mr Miliband into Downing Street, MPs from all wings of the Labour party saw her remarks as a clear “signal of intent” that she is considering standing in a future leadership contest on a Blairite ticket.
While Tony Blair himself is understood to admire Chuka Umunna, his allies in Parliament and beyond are settling on Ms Kendall, a former special adviser to Patricia Hewitt. They regard her as a true “keeper of the flame” of Mr Blair’s reformist agenda and see her as an impressive TV performer. The development will be disappointing to Mr Umunna, the shadow business secretary, and Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary, who are both seen as natural heirs to Blair.

Mr Miliband’s faltering position in the polls has triggered a near-panic in some putative leadership campaign camps in the past month, and now the election is just over 100 days away positions are hardening, says one Labour source. One suggestion being floated among MPs is a Tristram Hunt/Rachel Reeves joint ticket, with Ms Reeves, tipped as a future Chancellor of the Exchequer, agreeing to put aside any leadership ambitions to run alongside the shadow Education Secretary.
At the same time, allies of Andy Burnham, who came fourth in the 2010 contest, were suggesting their man could run with Ms Reeves instead. Yet a party source said Mr Burnham should “take the message” from his previous performance. This would leave Yvette Cooper, the shadow Home Secretary, as the only “establishment” candidate not from the 2010 intake.
A key Blairite said: “Liz is incredibly impressive on TV, has years of experience in government and really believes in the reforming agenda that Tony started.”
Ms Kendall raised eyebrows in Labour circles last week when her interview with The House was published. While Mr Miliband has planned to make the NHS the core of his election fight with the Tories, Ms Kendall’s comments were seen as a challenge to her leader. Ms Kendall said: “There will remain a role for the private and voluntary sectors where they can add extra capacity to the NHS or challenges to the system. I believe what matters is what works. That’s what I’ve always believed in and I continue to believe in.”

DB 3.5,

You get dafter and dafter, or just left the Bullingdon club night.

The most likely scenario after the next election is for the Tory Party to split into two.

One half of the party MPS led by Berlusconi Boris and the other half of camp followers joining UKIP under Nigel.


A few of the party members might even defect to Lib/dems, which will attempt move more to the right of central in an attempt to survive.

LOL !! "The most likely scenario after the next election is for the Tory Party to split into two."

Haze,

The present tory party have turned the British Armed Forces small force which is becoming more and more a bunch part timers.

Under the torrids, less and less wish to join the forces.

The Euro could drop like a stone depending on the greek elections !.....Greek people are very nice people !, but you have to say that the way their finances have been handled by the Greek government over decades is crazy !....hardly anybody paid any taxes at all !....and now getting out of this total mess is not easy : leaving the Euro is a possibility, in fact they should never have been allowed to join in the first place....It's a complete F----p this eurozone thing....trading between european parners is one thing but it's gone way too far with a single currency....the bigger and more level-minded countries are now being penalized by the excesses of irresponsible political driven badly managed kingdoms whose political burocrats have to along with the wants of a population that are jealous of the wealth created by the likes of Germany, France, Holland and a few others.

Margaret Thatcher was indomitably outspoken against submerging all the European nationalities into a single superstate some 21 years ago when I interviewed her for a Forbes magazine article entitled “It just won’t do. It’s not big enough minded.” The Iron Lady had a grander scheme in mind; a free trade area between and among North America and the European Community. What did we just elect our own Parliament for, she insisted sardonically; “ Just to be a talking show?”

On this score she was indomitable, ferociously scathing at the willingness of independent European nations giving up their autonomy to a bunch of bureaucrats in Brussels. She did not exactly predict the descent of the Euro, the financial crisis in Cyprus or the meltdown in most European sovereign securities or the need to bailout the banks of Italy, Spain and France.


But, in a scathing tone, Lady Thatcher insisted to me that a single currency was impossible. It would never work. “Every single fixed exchange rate has cracked in the end. We’re all at different levels of development of our economies. Some countries simply couldn’t live up to a single currency… We should each of us be proud to be separate countries cooperating together.”

The turmoil in European currency markets that fall of 1992 was proof for Thatcher that a united Europe was meant to crumble. And indeed her prophecy 21 years ago has been borne out lately. The grand experiment of a single monetary system, a single economic policy, working towards a common defense policy, even a common foreign policy meant to her that “80% of Britain’s economic decisions will be made in Brussels.” Actually, it has been more the need of the European Central Bank and Germany to prop up the staggering debt-laden economies of Greece, Spain, Italy, France and try to devise stability for Cyprus. Imagine having banks in Cyprus become an Achilles heel for Europe. Thatcher would have been furious.


And she doesn’t exactly look wrong in her worry over the prospect of German domination of Europe– though “domination” today means the helping hand of the giant strong economy of Europe. Thatcher was going to be damned if she made Britain subservient to Germany.

Forbes magazine

What does your car say about your politics?



Audi drivers are more likely to vote Labour in the upcoming General Election, says new research - while Suzuki owners more often lean towards UKIP.

The study, which asked 1,000 drivers who they would vote for in this year's election, revealed that Jaguar drivers are most likely to vote for the Conservatives while those behind the wheels of Fiats prefer the Green Party.

Almost half (46%) of Audi drivers say they will vote Labour, the survey concludes, as well as 40.8% of Citroen drivers and 36.7% of those in Nissans.

An impressive 44.6% of Jaguar owners will choose the Tories at the election, while 40.1% of Hyundai drivers and 37.3% of Renault owners will also vote blue.

However, a Suzuki is more likely to contain a UKIP voter, says the data. As many as 31.4% pledged their support for the separatist anti-EU membership party.

'Unexpected results'

The Lib Dems can rely on more support from Peugeot drivers than from owners of any other marque, as 17.2% prepare to back Nick Clegg with their vote.

NFDA Trusted Dealers, which carried out the research, highlights the unexpected results. Neil Addley, director of the franchised dealer-owned used car website, said: "Whilst in some areas of this survey we can see party support reflected along traditional lines, there are some real surprises.

"One surprising find is the popularity of Audi amongst Labour supporters, demonstrating the wide appeal and growth of the brand in the UK over the last few years.

"The survey also shows how close political allegiance runs and this should be a real message to politicians to remember the importance of drivers as voters and take note of what motorists want from the next government."

Sorry Fred yours was not covered. :-))

The UNITED STATES'S DOLLAR has been around over 200 years.

The USA has a population of about 300millions..


Maggie Thatcher lived too long.

The EU was born out of the "ECU" and will probably be around in 50 years time, similarly to the Euro.

To many countries outside the EU use it as a substitute for their own currency or the USA dollar.

So H/S you have tried to deflect from the news below, what have you to say about it?

UKIP suspect infects the "Con" party: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30967633

I have no idea whether this guy is a good guy or not at the moment. I am sure UKIP are trying to smear him for daring to leave. He may turn out to be as bad as UKIP say. I dare say that time will tell.

I have never thought that people moving party tells you much about the parties in question. It is generally a personal thing.

He is a perfect choice for Cameron.

Sorry in place of Cameron.

Shit hits fan in €l Grecoland


http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/jan/25/greek-election-syriza-confident-of-victory-live-updates

Question - Would much have been said on here if he indeed joined the Labour party?

:-))

not sure if i have missed anything but the usual drivel during the day but prob not .....

anyway, the greeks looked to have voted in the anti-austerity mob, which is no great surprise
what that means for € and eu in general, i really have no idea, but i cannot imagine that it will be greeted with cheers by the markets in the morning

Napoleon,

Why does a man of your obvious omniscience read any postings, other than your own, but still seem to return more and more often to this thread?

Interesting addiction and plea.

"I can't help it my lord."

==========


But having said that.

Population of Greece approx 11 million population of Euro-zone 335 million

GDP of Greece as percentage of Eur-ozone GDP about 2%.

Economically, I guess little effect.

Politically, may be a wake up call.

I would have thought a slight wobble, but tightened my SBs stops and widened share stops on Thursday.

Again will be up early to-morrow.
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