So, a Quaker who has been largely discredited by HMRC for many years posts an opinion in a poorly formatted blog, and thats "evidence"

Tha naws t'pit is closed lad?

Labour with Gordon and his "moral compass" sold our Gold Reserves at an all time low and left a note "sorry, the pot is empty", and now we are supposed to want Grandad Cringebin to run the country, I doube he could run a bath.

Its all about expectation, isnt it but, you know that.
And, if we're measuring result vs expectation, why is Mrs May still in charge ?

Many, including Mrs May, thought that Corbyn would be obliterated in the election but his stock rose sharply.
May on the other hand went from demanding a landslide victory, to strengthen her Brexit negotiating hand and she came away with sweet FA.
You can poke as much fun as you like at Corbyn and his supporters but, they are, by far, the happiest with the election result.
Remember, all their planning was for 2020 and yet they goy mighty close in 2017

They lost by 60 seats

- but you knew that. That fact that cannot be ignored - do you honestly think he Tories will run such a bad campaign again and do you think Mrs May will be fronting it? What more can offer to give away next time?

He had an open goal and didn't just miss he missed by a mile - the Corbyn project is dead in the water now. A more centralist Labour party under Burnham/Cooper could easily win. Depends who is leading the Tories, how Brexit goes and how much they soften their views on austerity. They know what Corbyn is all about know is better the devil you know.

The only good thing to come out of this election is the clipping of the wings of Queen Nicola



If they do invest some more in Health and education then Labour are scuppered - if they want to stay in power then they have to do that.

The dementia tax is a strange one - if you go into residential care they take your house to pay for it - this has been the case since 1948 under all parties - so I don't know why this came as such a shock. Before you have a go I don't agree with it in either case its wrong.

What is funny is you have a man spouting inequality who comes from a very privileged background, privately educated, never had a proper job outside of politics and lives in an expensive suburb of London!! It beggers belief

Cant disagree with this although, it's a good job that some of our politicians are fighting for people who have very little.
Mrs May, despite all of her hot air (we're getting used to that now), really doesn't give a damn about those in need or the "jams".
It made a decent line in her various spoutings of hot air, yet, her actions have been somewhat different to the spoken word.

She is happy to tell the public sector workers, who have recently gone above and beyond their duty, that 1% is plenty and to give them very little hope of any increase in their salaries.
It must really make them feel good when she praises their actions after telling them how little they are worth.

I've no problem with anyone championing the cause of those who have least, no matter where they have come from.

I'm sure that we would love to have a working class hero running the country but, that will never happen.

One of the main reasons I voted Conservatives was from a purely selfish commercial point of view as Labour promised to increase Corporation tax drastically.

I am interested to understand what the reasons people voted Labour for was. Not including Austerity and Brexit, what other reasons did people vote for Labour?

There appears to be a notion that salary increases should be a given and that that is the norm in the private sector. That is far from the case - I would suggest there are plenty of people working in the private sector that would have loved to have had a 1% increase compounded for 7 years. The notion that the public sector is worse off than all the workers in the private sector is a fallacy propagated by the likes of Corbyn.

What is the civil service offering in increased productivity for its annual salary increases?

Increases in pay should be self funding otherwise you are in the departure lounge of oblivion.

So maybe NHS staff are due a bigger pay rise than 1%? theconversation.com/nhs-outpaces ... ains-53899

So maybe NHS staff are due a bigger pay rise than 1%? theconversation.com/nhs-outpaces ... ains-53899

I agree but, I think you will find that regardless of "productivity" improving, within the sector, they are still being capped at 1%.

Although, many accuse Labour of solving problems, by throwing money around, without thought AND there are some eye watering salaries within local government, with council leaders getting paid more than the PM, which is clearly wrong.
This isn't what we are talking about here.

I'm trying to say that we cannot have staff, with wage increases CAPPED at 1% (this doesn't mean its and automatic increase) and yet you, like T.May,still believe this to be justified.

Fair society ?, I dont think so.

So are you saying everyone should be getting 1% regardless of what sector they work in - I'm struggling with your fair society - its fair public sector should be guaranteed - let's face it if its there the unions will ensure its taken - but not the private sector who have no guarantees.

That doesn't seem fair - neither did the huge increase the MPs awarded themselves didn't see the likes of Corbyn and McDonald refusing to take it!! So much for inequality

Next you will asking for a prices and incomes policy

For me i voted for a change in ethos to our society. I've no problem with having to tighten my belt, as long as those making the rules at least make a pretense that they are tightening too.

Also, I feel that Corbyn is pretty straight talking and his core beliefs are consistent with his voting record. He seems to actually be a decent human being unlike any PM in my lifetime.

I also think Labour are far more likely to invest in the north once we lose our funding from the european social fund

At least answer the basic principle or whether it is right to CAP increases in the public sector at 1%, regardless of performance or productivity.
Dont water it down or throw a smokescreen, a simple yes or no will do nicely.

We can then move on to some of the other issues.

At least you've looked at it - and of course you're perfectly entitled to refute it, as many people in the comments section do; the point of course, is that there is plenty of conflicting information out there and it's risky to rely only on what bounces back at you in your own echo chamber.



Sorry, but I have no idea what you mean, or what relevant it has?

If that is what the government can afford then yes it is - why should this be any different from a commercial enterprise which incidentally is actual funding the increase.

Is it OK to award pay increases if productivity drops - a simple yes or no to both questions will do nicely

It would appear Mrs May has learned nothing - why is she so afraid of engaging with other humans on a human level?

These are people who have lost everything including - in some cases - family members why is she so afraid of getting some well deserved flack!!

Time the Tories discarded this robot for someone who has empathy with and can engage with fellow humans

She's completely devoid of any social skills and looks thoroughly panicked when put in a position of having to engage with anyone other than pre-approved Tory stooges. Everything from her facial expressions to her body language is just plain awkward.

The best description I've seen of her so far is 'a baby giraffe who's been dressed at Oxfam'.

Doesn't empathy go against the whole Tory ideology?

Unless empathy and selfish are the same thing, it will be a long wait.
Mrs May has spouted hot air about fair society for months but, they are just empty words.
Nobody knows what she actually thinks because it seems to change with each day of the week but, she is lacking any attribute that you would want from a leader.
No conviction, no principles, no leadership and no bottle.

FWIW I dont think that Corbyn has got all of those attributes but, he does seem to have some principles (even if I dont agree with some of them).

Everyone knows that she has to go, it's just a matter of time and delaying getting rid isn't helping anyone.

There are MPs in both parties Brown hardly did himself any favours in 2010

Completely agree - she has to go and soon - no spine whatsoever

As my unlikely new hero MC Saskilla said during an interview with Victoria Derbyshire the other day: "Theresa May doesn’t care about the mandem, she don’t care about the gyaldem, she don’t care about the under privilege, she don’t even care about black people, she don’t care about nobody, let’s be real."

Although I'd amend it slightly - what she cares about is clinging on to power at, it appears, any cost - including the tentative peace in Northern Ireland. Her own MP's are now having to defend and justify her robotic incompetence - and they won't put up with that for long, as the Tories hate weakness; she'll be gone before conference.

On point 2, I agree.

On point 1, I dont know if you are being deliberately daft or, whether you understand how local government in funded ?
The only way for local government to increase it's income is from local council tax or government grants, they aren't selling chocolate bars that they can increase the price or, make the bar smaller or, put out a 3 for 2 offer.
Their revenue comes from me and you and if we dont adequately fund our local services and reward the staff properly, what will happen to those services ?
Yes they can alway manage costs a little better and maximise the efficiency of their various departments, just like any other business but, then what ?
We've had the brakes on for the last 7 years, how much longer do you want to reduce the living standards of those who work in these organisations or should they employ people who cant find work elsewhere and are just "happy" to have a job.

I think you don't understand productivity - productivity isn't an increase in revenue its a way of doing the same with less resource or doing more with the same resource. This country has one of the lowest productivity rates in the EU perhaps if we increased our productivity the brakes would be released - just a thought?

Agreed - she cannot last behaving the way she is.

So Jeremy Corbyn went to visit the people who live around Grenfell as did the Queen, but Theresa 'Robot' May wont. Is this really the kind of person who wants the best for our country?

And why is her hubby always hanging about like a bad smell? Is he just making sure wifey is acting in his, I mean the country's best interests?