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.

mnamreh

Cheer's , I have never read that account of his appeal before in detail , interesting to know if you have a small brain you can get out of prison early lol

TIM.

The majority of the coal pits were on borrowed time before being Nationalised in 1946.

A large percentage of them were "worked out" and unprofitable.

Those pits were subsidised by the profitable ones and the "state" taxes.

One of the problems was that much of the management in the nationalised industry, were the pupils of the appalling managers, agents area managers inherited from the previously "private company management teams

Another problem was the attempt to over mechanise some pits when geological conditions were unsuitable.

(Would suggest you do a little research into that period.)

The problems with other "heavy" industry, was that many were using worn out plant of bygone ages and that there was distrust by the "work forces" of once again management, who hadn't it their opinions earned it.

One of the reasons for the Nationalisation was if it hadn't happen, there would have be mass unemployment and the ongoing promise a "country for heroes" expectation. There were fears of "social upheavals".

Please don't try to tell me about the Bevin Boys.

It was inevitable that the number of pits needed to be reduced to those profitable.

But the manner in which the "Witch" Thatcher did it, was inhumane and that and many of her other actions led to a country at "war" with itself.

The closures could have been over a more prolonged period allowing for retraining, refocussing and assimilation of those who were made unemployed.

Rather than producing a lost "generation" who felt disenfranchised. Their children still have that "grudge".

I won't question your experiences as an union representative, but I have equivalent to a public service pension and can't recall having difficulties like you describe.

But if you are reflecting on my previous remarks on public service pensions, then I think my position remains the same.

Don't forget the government's public sector pension reforms come from the Hutton Report. The current government appointed Lord Hutton to chair the Public Service Pensions Commission. John Hutton was a labour MP until 2010 and was a cabinet minister in the last Labour government holding three different posts. The coalition chose him to chair the report so that it would be seen to be independent.

The chart below show the reasons for the changes in the public sector pensions. In fact the current government policy doesn't go as far as the Hutton Report in many areas. The unions may not like it, but they are stuck with it.

You should have shown the3 above going back to around 1960 then you would have seen the huge excess of contributions over payments that the governments spent le3aving the current mess which public sector workers are unfairly being asked to pay for.

The past has little to do with it. The fact is that the public sector pensions are underfunded now. Any surplus would be used up at some stage due to underfunding so someone would have to pay for it at some stage. It just happens to be now. I can find no references to excess in pension funds in 1960. In fact it seems to have been the opposite.

http://www.historyandpolicy.org/papers/policy-paper-11.html#european

Mnamreh,

Your post 13381.
You say, 'it just seems such a pointless exercise for so many 'bright' individuals'.

Agreed 100%.

Stable,

Your post 13385.

Whilst agreeing that due to it being coalition government the Conservatives can't have as much say as they would in a none co government, I do feel that the Conservatives are allowing the Lib Dems to punch far above their weight.

The general public think the Lib Dems are pathetic, with even their support from Lib Dem members is at its lowest ever, so I am sure that Cameron would gain far more public support if he had the bottle to take them on a bit more.
If he did so, I am also sure that as is being proven by the monthly vote polls, which I tend to follow (yes, I agree I should get a life) he would carry more of the population as a whole with him.

Greek.

forget aids there is going a worse virus that will not be cured.

Greek
I am sure many conservatives share your view re the Liberal influence, but without that agreement and the terms agreed we would have had to have another election or a lib lab government, I do believe that the next election is goint to be very rough, as the tories will blame Libs for not letting them do what they wanted, will continue to blame labour for most of the problems(true) and the libs fighting to get credibility on the basis of ud being told how things would have been if they had not held the tories back. The labour will be sidelined unless they change their 'leader'
Cameron will still lead but he must move to the right to take his party with him, and that means being closer to the generasl public on the EEC, but he cannot do that currently for the Libs would break up the coalition and that would do our current financial problems no good whatsover.

i am a right wing tory along with many more i no .and we are fade up with cameron
is family get millions from land subsides from the eu .that is why we are going nowhere .we will with regret be voting ukip and make no mistake there are a lot of us ,
if right wingers like us are sick of is useles and ignorant views then the next election will not good for our once proud party.

.

Tanker
U have just suggested that our P.M. is corrupt, are you sure of your facts?

Stable,

Agree with most of what you say, but I still feel the Conservatives could push the Lib Dems far more than they are doing, as I feel Nick Glegg and his cohorts would be much more reluctant to break up the coalition than you think, due to the said partnership being their best bet for any sort of power.
The Lib Dems are dead in the water, and without the Conservative life belt would sink without trace!
As to Tankers comments, I agree that Cameron is like most of our parliamentarians, with the 'I'm alright attitude', sod the rest.

Greek.

GF.

"I reckon this coalition have at best another 18 months"

Sadly, I made a prediction that the coalition would fall apart at the end of 18months. I seem to be wrong and realise that the coalition is stapled together as both parties think they need one another. A lousy marriage with its continuous bickering and threats of divorce, but never quite getting to court, in spite of the ongoing misery.

Judging by a present disorganised public opinion, many who wished an escape from "Labour" in 2010 and chose the Liberals, as they had no stomach for the then current disconnected tory leadership, would switch their votes back to Labour, taking many liberal voters with them. They feel the Liberal leadership by accepting some said coalition policies has betrayed them and what they thought the Liberal party stood for.

At the moment Labour seem lost, but are probably trying to work out what they should stand for in the present environment. Also considering where and how they think the UK "society" should develop. I hope that a modified pragmatic socially inclusive ideology will emerge suitable for current internal and external UK circumstances.

A hell of a task and it takes time to analyse the past mistakes and discard outdated ideas.

However, while the Libs and tories are digging bigger and deeper holes for themselves, I would think the last thing the labour leadership need, or wan is an election.

Guessing, or judging by recent economic figures, even if the coalition runs to its last available day before an election, the economy will still be in a disastrous state and the fickle public will reject both Liberals for their past treachery and the "tories" for their antiquated ideologies.

(That is even without the European Economy collapsing.)

The views of Tanker represent for me the best of "toryism". 8-)

Stable.

Check Camerons' land purchases.

(Question, from whom, at what price and when and why?)

Also, what payments for the properties upkeep is paid by the public?

---------

Flogging off of the good parts of a bank to Branson, at this moment in time, is suspicious to many.

Good to see that this tory led government has solved the "immigration problems".

They have conspired with the unions to block the airports!










8-)

A couple of months old but.... Labours embarrassing immigration secrets revealed

Reports kept under wraps by Labour showing that immigrants who came to Britain from Romania and Bulgaria had low education levels and were more likely to claim out-of-work benefits are to be released for the first time by ministers.

Just had an email from my daughter - apparently Morrisons are giving 25% for any 6 bottles of for this weekend only.

Lock up your sons, daughters, etc. Gary Glitter free to travel after three-year ban comes to an end

THE CARIBBEAN any woman or if you wish lady going to thee for a holiday
is putting her life at risk in barbados ever year there are reported 25 rapes and so many are so ashamed they do not report it this has been known for several years and the police there are only interested in STOPPING it being reported .
so if you do care about your familys and your good friends PLEASE tell them
because if they are raped and mugged they will get NO help. over there .
the reason i have posted this is because a brave lady as printed her rape in the sunday mail. which the barbados gov tried to stop.

REPLACEMENT WINDOWS



Last year, I replaced all the windows in my house with those expensive, double-pane, energy-efficient kind.

Today, I got a call from the contractor who installed them.

He complained that the work had been completed a year ago. and I still hadn't paid for them.

Hellloooo,............just because I'm blonde doesn't mean that I am automatically stupid.

So, I told him just what his fast-talking sales guy told me last year...
.that these windows would pay for themselves in a year.
Helllooooo? It's been a year, so they're paid for, I told him.

There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally hung up.
He never called back.

I bet he felt like an idiot.

So had you paid for them ? and was that THE contractor or a scam caller.