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.

Haze,

As some of Gideon's antecedents seem to be from Eire, is he entitled to be on Non-Dom tax privileges?

If so how many tory, or other MPs utilised this tax avoidance "loop hole"?

Didn't millibum pull a stroke with the tax thingy a little while ago?

Max.

In tory lingo he utilised a facility open to all. "Deed of Variance". Don't know details.

But many divest themselves of "wealth" to offspring as they get older.

It is the setting up of privileged "dynasties" which is thought by some problematic,

Especially, when viewing the present political elite of failures in the recent cabinet.

UKIP and Greens toast

Dave's toast, Millibum as well.

DC is quite rightly slated both by the press and the public for his personal attacks on EM
DC should string up his adviser in these matters, though i'm sure EM would gleefully rescue and reward him

Manuel,

It is a representation of DC's and henchmen's ineptitude and contempt for the public and voters in general!

EM and his crew are little better i'm afraid

A damn sight worse I'd say.
2517

it is sad to see that this current election is looking even more than usual like Saturday Morning Swap-shop

Tories
With every new Trident submarine we'll give everyone a year's supply of free Steradent which can be collected from their local 24/7 doctor's surgery or A&E dept


Labour
We can guarantee smoked sturgeon to be available every single day of the next parliament
We'll also ensure that as many houses as possible are built on those wealthy non-doms estates ..... This will also help bring many house prices below the £2m mansion tax threshold


UKIP
We'll stop a large % of immigration in its tracks by torpedoing any vessels carrying illegal from Africa
There'll be free beer for everyone to celebrate every vessel sunk


SNP
We'll screw up every piece of legislation we can think of, especially if it has nothing whatsoever to do with Scotland


Lib/Dems
We won't promise you anything at all as we haven't yet decided who we'll bed down with in the next parliament.
Anyway, we really would be very grateful indeed if you kept at least a couple of dozen of us in the house

Our local Ambulance men are pretty stressed out and don't appear to be very happy.

From my local rag:

Eight in 10 staff at ambulance service covering Northamptonshire have considered quitting due to stress, claims union


EMAS vehicles at Mereway ambulance station

Northampton Chronicle
Francesca Gosling
12:06Friday 10 April 2015

More than half of staff at the ambulance service covering Northamptonshire say stress levels are so high it affects how they do their job, a survey suggests.

The questionnaire, conducted by the union unison among staff in key departments at East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), revealed that eight in 10 respondents had considered leaving their job because of stress.

Unison said other responses showed three quarters of union members had sleeping problems (77.19 per cent) and more than two thirds (68.42 per cent) experienced irritability and mood swings as result of stress due to pressures from staff shortages, long hours and shift over-runs.

Out of those who reported stress-related problems, just under half (49.17 per cent) said they had had an affect on how well they were able to do their job at some point.

Another area of pressure highlighted by the survey was an increased emphasis on meeting time targets for dealing with patients, with one participant commenting: “There is a lot of bullying from managers on frontline staff regarding targets.”

One person, who previously worked as an army combat medic in Afghanistan, said: “I was less stressed and treated with more respect by my previous employer.”

Another commented: “I am just coping at the moment, but given the opportunity (i.e. the same pay) I would rather be cleaning toilets than this job.”

Lee Goddard, Unison branch secretary for EMAS, said: “Staff were asked if they felt that the EMAS NHS Trust supports a good work life balance and 73 per cent who responded said that they did not agree with this statement.

“Sue Noyes, CEO of EMAS since 2013, has introduced a Listening into Action (LIA) scheme, which involves a forum to listen to staff, but still staff do not feel as a whole that they are being listened to and heard.

“Unless staff views, opinions, health and wellbeing are seriously looked at and actions put in place, it is Unisons’ opinion that sooner or later it will be our staff that will be the patients at the very least.”

He explained that recent figures show that, on average, at least one member of frontline staff leaves the trust every eight days and said: “I would urge the trust to look at the roles of the staff and the current targets and restraints they face before it is too late for the trust, staff and ultimately the patients.”

A spokeswoman for EMAS responded: “The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is an absolute priority.

“It is recognised nationally that the role of ambulance crews can be physcially demanding, and that for frontline crews and Emergency Operations Centre colleagues the traumatic incidents responded to can cause increased levels of stress.”

The trust’s board last week approved a new ‘people’ strategy which, they said, will “see us invest further in the recruitment and development of colleagues” in order to respond appropriately to the “ever-increasing demand on the NHS and our service.”

Support services offered to staff include a ‘Peer 2 Peer’ scheme, which involves 80 staff members trained to provide a supportive network that allows colleagues struggling to cope with tragic incidents to discuss their feelings.

There is also a measure to train pastoral care workers in a similar way, but with the added capacity to talk to staff about their spiritual and religious needs.

The EMAS spokesman added: “We also provide support through the PAM Assist 24/7 confidential phone line, occupational health services, and EMAS chaplaincy support.”

EL - i'm sure you're right about ambulance staff, paramedics etc etc being in very stressful jobs, and i also suspect that some of the management is pretty crappy too .... unfortunately, i recollect UNISON are one of the more militant unions so would never ever come across with an unbiased view

On the other hand if Unison had been more militant the working conditions of ambulance crews may be better than they appear to be.

I have to admit the tory campaign so far reminds me of the obvious bribery and attempts to corrupt which one sees in second rate Banana republics.

The other parties are a little better and have in general the moral high ground.


But who was the tory spokeswoman on Question time last night.

I thought she represented Bing Crosby perfectly.

The four other panellists at least appeared honest and intellectually were head and shoulders above her.

She represented the tory party at its best.


==-=-=-=-=

I know, she must be a friend of Haze's at Party Headquarters.

The Wallace and Grommet episode on TV last weekend was brilliant. Should be renamed THE TWO ED's.

?another Non-dom!