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Not to mention Nurses packing in NHS contracts, only to return to the same job as Bank Staff, earning more money.

Why not cut out the middle man and just pay Nurses the wage Bank Nurses get from the off?

Oh yes. Because Tories....


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Mixed news on Zero Hour contracts

Bad side - record numbers.

Good side - the increase seems to be tailing off.

Broadly, I don't think the concept of such a contract is inherently exploitative. They can indeed provide needed flexibility for some workers.

But, on this scale? Definite exploitation going on - and helps mask the scale of any actual employment crisis going on, no?

PM May laying down the law to Scotland in a half-empty hall:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/mar/03/theresa-may-lays-down-independence-vote-challenge-to-sturgeon

It looks to me, the Tories are trying to claw back powers from Edinburgh post-Brexit....

This quote was quite revealing:

"The prime minister told the Scottish Conservative party she would fight against any further decentralisation of power which meant the UK became “a looser and weaker union”. “We cannot allow our United Kingdom to drift apart,” she said.

Put aside the issue of Scottish independence for a moment and think carefully about those words.

There are whole areas of England, especially the North, crying out for some devolution, and this is May's reaction?

House of Lords reform, federalism etc etc it's not worth a bucket of horsegak discussing these things, because Westminster won't budge an INCH!

Hopefully people can now see why I mistrust Westminster and back Scottish Indy.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Not to mention Nurses packing in NHS contracts, only to return to the same job as Bank Staff, earning more money.

Why not cut out the middle man and just pay Nurses the wage Bank Nurses get from the off?

Oh yes. Because Tories....


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Mixed news on Zero Hour contracts

Bad side - record numbers.

Good side - the increase seems to be tailing off.

Broadly, I don't think the concept of such a contract is inherently exploitative. They can indeed provide needed flexibility for some workers.

But, on this scale? Definite exploitation going on - and helps mask the scale of any actual employment crisis going on, no?

Anecdotally, I know of one fast food chain franchise in town who flagrantly abuses zero hours contract. Our babysitter went to work for them as they were always advertising for staff, and she stated that the management deliberately threatened cuts in hours for staff, minor infractions meant a week without work, and because turnover and staff numbers were so high everyone was expendable, and treated accordingly.
Consequently there was absolutely no staff loyalty, and the quality of food and customer service nosedived, but rather than tackle the problem by being a responsible employer, they've doubledown on the threats and kept recruiting.
They're still going, mainly off the back that they're a well known franchise, located in the centre of town, and surrounded by pubs.

If someone offered me a zero hours contract, I would only take it on my own terms, I'd hate to have to rely on one.


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 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:
PM May laying down the law to Scotland in a half-empty hall:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/mar/03/theresa-may-lays-down-independence-vote-challenge-to-sturgeon

It looks to me, the Tories are trying to claw back powers from Edinburgh post-Brexit....

This quote was quite revealing:

"The prime minister told the Scottish Conservative party she would fight against any further decentralisation of power which meant the UK became “a looser and weaker union”. “We cannot allow our United Kingdom to drift apart,” she said.

Put aside the issue of Scottish independence for a moment and think carefully about those words.

There are whole areas of England, especially the North, crying out for some devolution, and this is May's reaction?

House of Lords reform, federalism etc etc it's not worth a bucket of horsegak discussing these things, because Westminster won't budge an INCH!

Hopefully people can now see why I mistrust Westminster and back Scottish Indy.

Hang on, this is May's personal statement, it's only representative of her, and maybe her party, not the whole of Westminster. It was a Labour Govt who started devolution, and promoted loosening of powers from Westminster, and there are many people who believe in much greater devolution, as well as those that wish to strengthen the union.

I don't believe May, or the Tories could possibly do anything to strengthen the union, without offering some serious concessions, which they are unlikely to be preared to do. Besides, the Tories have just been responsible for tearing us away from one beneficial union, they don't want to be seen as the party that likes to destroy the United Kingdom as well, apart from the damage of Brexit, obviously. They may feel they've done quite enough harm already.
This is a great time for Scotland to extract the maximum amount of concessions from the Govt that they can. May does not want to see the UK broken, on top of her party already fething Britain over with their actions over the last year.

 r_squared wrote:

Hang on, this is May's personal statement, it's only representative of her, and maybe her party, not the whole of Westminster. It was a Labour Govt who started devolution, and promoted loosening of powers from Westminster, and there are many people who believe in much greater devolution, as well as those that wish to strengthen the union.

I don't believe May, or the Tories could possibly do anything to strengthen the union, without offering some serious concessions, which they are unlikely to be preared to do. Besides, the Tories have just been responsible for tearing us away from one beneficial union, they don't want to be seen as the party that likes to destroy the United Kingdom as well, apart from the damage of Brexit, obviously. They may feel they've done quite enough harm already.
This is a great time for Scotland to extract the maximum amount of concessions from the Govt that they can. May does not want to see the UK broken, on top of her party already fething Britain over with their actions over the last year.

I agree with you that the Tories and pretty much any party cannot strengthen the Union, May doesn't like the SNP and will never truly support them unless the circumstances dictate. Previous Governments have been granting much more devolution to Scotland than any other region but it seems to never be enough. I get the impression that people in Scotland would desire independence but would like to keep the benefits of being in the UK. Now whether a second referendum occurs and if the Brexit deal swings the vote in favour of the SNP, would it truly help Scotland? I imagine the SNP would have to backtrack on several statements and certain welfare and education policies may have to be cut in the interim period as another EU deal and subsequent leaving UK deal is formalised.

Now back to Mrs May, she had to go in with a hard-line speech. She was in political enemy waters after all. One point to consider is how much is currently left to devolve to Scotland which hasn't taken place? And would that be fair on the other UK regions? Of course no PM wants to be the one that's credited with breaking up the UK, but it is quite difficult to offer more concessions on top of more concessions and still be 'the head of the house'. There would eventually come a point in which it would be beneficial for Westminster to right off Scotland as an independent state if devolution continued indefinitely. I have no problem with the Scots winning independence but they must be out on their own just like we all will be to fend for ourselves with Brexit. The Scotland's sake the SNP must live up to what they prophesied.

If the SNP was clever they should keep schtum over the Brexit deal, that way we have a better chance of getting a good deal without any dissent and if it is totally unfavourable to Scotland the SNP can wash their hands, blame it on Westminster and declare a second referendum with more backing.

You guys would have a point, but the evidence says otherwise.

One of the excuses that Westminster has used in preventing the further devolution of powers to Edinburgh over the years is EU regulations.

But we're leaving the EU and Westminster's response to VAT powers going to Edinburgh was a big NO.

EU law prevented VAT being varied across a member state, but what's the excuse now? Areas like the Scttish Highlands, Cornwall, Welsh uplands etc etc would love to slash VAT to help them out, but Westminster is not interested.

They won't even guarantee that Farming and Fisheries stays in Scotland.

Andrea Leadsom let the cat out of the bag the other week when she talked of a national farming policy.

The Tories say one thing and then do another.

 loki old fart wrote:

 Shadow Captain Edithae wrote:
No amount of money will ever be enough for the NHS. Its a never ending black hole.

Maybe if the government legislated to stop companies overcharging the NHS.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39150672
NHS 'overcharged' by drug makers' non-compete deal, says CMA

The regulator accused Actavis in December of raising the price for 10mg hydrocortisone tablets by 12,000% in eight years, from 70p to £88.

I think a comparison of how much ypu guys spend per capita in healthcare shows how much of a "black hole" the NHS is compared to a for profit system. You guys are paying $4000, while we are paying $9300.I'd say keeping it is well worth it. And you don't have loads of people dying or going bankrupt because they can't afford healthcare costs.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/theresa-may-scottish-conservative-conference-snp-tunnel-vision-on-brexit-independence-referendum-2017-3

She also warned independence would "wrench Scotland out of its biggest market."

..well I'm glad we're agreeing that leaving your biggest market with no real plan is a bad idea.



http://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/drinks-group-ag-barr-make-12673434

Drinks group AG Barr to make 'significant' change to Irn Bru recipe

.. the hell ?!

feth that.

I'll sit through Brexit, 13 minutes to increase the royal families income, there being no more Peep Show and/or the reintroduction of the feudal system with gritted teeth and a sigh, but if you feth about with Irn Bru then there'll be a riot.

(a picture of the largely geriatric audience at the Scottish Tory party's annual conference)

"What do you call an under 60 at a Tory party conference? A journalist" -shamelessly stolen from twitter.

I find the Tory's stance on Scotland to be very strange. The only thing at this stage which will save the union is further devolution yet May and various other cabinet members seem to hold the idea in contempt and are happy to make antagonistic comments at every opportunity.

It looks as though I should be getting my new passport sooner rather than later

They really overestimated the number of attendees eh?

Impressed that the audience all look so very disapproving, even when gazing at one of their own spouting classic Tory bunkum. Some serious skills to be quite so disdainful at all times.

Herzlos wrote:
They really overestimated the number of attendees eh?

My favourite part of it is that lone person sitting right at the back. Just makes me chuckle

do you remember how we all chuckled at Galloway and his cat impression thing ?





... Game of Thrones is looking a bit gak this year then eh ?

Herzlos wrote:
They really overestimated the number of attendees eh?

It's hard to tell as there isn't any real context to the picture. The Slab one was even worse though....

 Co'tor Shas wrote:

 loki old fart wrote:

 Shadow Captain Edithae wrote:
No amount of money will ever be enough for the NHS. Its a never ending black hole.

Maybe if the government legislated to stop companies overcharging the NHS.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39150672
NHS 'overcharged' by drug makers' non-compete deal, says CMA

The regulator accused Actavis in December of raising the price for 10mg hydrocortisone tablets by 12,000% in eight years, from 70p to £88.

I think a comparison of how much ypu guys spend per capita in healthcare shows how much of a "black hole" the NHS is compared to a for profit system. You guys are paying $4000, while we are paying $9300.I'd say keeping it is well worth it. And you don't have loads of people dying or going bankrupt because they can't afford healthcare costs.

Don't get me wrong, I do want to keep it. I just don't think throwing more and more money at it is going to work in its present state. We've been trying that for decades.

The NHS needs reform, from top to bottom.

(such as better regulations to prevent drugs companies ripping the NHS off?)

 Co'tor Shas wrote:

 loki old fart wrote:

 Shadow Captain Edithae wrote:
No amount of money will ever be enough for the NHS. Its a never ending black hole.

Maybe if the government legislated to stop companies overcharging the NHS.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39150672
NHS 'overcharged' by drug makers' non-compete deal, says CMA

The regulator accused Actavis in December of raising the price for 10mg hydrocortisone tablets by 12,000% in eight years, from 70p to £88.

I think a comparison of how much ypu guys spend per capita in healthcare shows how much of a "black hole" the NHS is compared to a for profit system. You guys are paying $4000, while we are paying $9300.I'd say keeping it is well worth it. And you don't have loads of people dying or going bankrupt because they can't afford healthcare costs.

And our headline national health stats are better than yours (expected lifespan, infant mortality rate, etc.)

Back to the question of outsourcing functions such as catering in the NHS. The theory behind outsourcing is that an organisation should concentrate on its "core competencies" and outsource functions it isn't very good at or doesn't need as a major in-house capability.

The core competency of the NHS of course is diagnosing and treating sick people. Nutrition is an integral part of this, though, and any sizeable hospital needs a good in-house catering function. This has been forgotten or ignored in the zeal for "improving efficiency" by bring in private companies to provide services, because according to Tory and New Labour ideology, competition by private companies always produces better outcomes than a well-organised government/civil service department. Due to market forces. This of course ignores the fact that patients and staff in a hospital have no ability at all to go somewhere else for their food, so there aren't any market forces in operation.

Im sure I saw that spending on patient meals was down to 96p per meal in some trusts!

I'll try and find it again.

 Silent Puffin? wrote:
...I find the Tory's stance on Scotland to be very strange. The only thing at this stage which will save the union is further devolution yet May and various other cabinet members seem to hold the idea in contempt and are happy to make antagonistic comments at every opportunity...

I think they feel they can get away with making antagonistic statements, because they're the ones who have to approve another referendum. I cannot see them agreeing to do that any time soon.
But that doesn't mean they won't be susceptible to some arm twisting. Sturgeon is a pretty savvy operator, I think she'll know the best time to extract the maximum amount of milk, with the minimum amount of moo.

 r_squared wrote:
Sturgeon is a pretty savvy operator, I think she'll know the best time to extract the maximum amount of milk, with the minimum amount of moo.

And we have the leading contender for the 2017 Best Political Analogy award!

 Shadow Captain Edithae wrote:

 r_squared wrote:
Sturgeon is a pretty savvy operator, I think she'll know the best time to extract the maximum amount of milk, with the minimum amount of moo.

And we have the leading contender for the 2017 Best Political Analogy award!

TBF, its courtesy of Mr Pratchett, and I think Kilkrazy mentioned it in the American thread a couple of days ago.

Awww... I thought I was witnessing a moment in Dakka Dakka history, the birth of a quote the likes of which people quote in their signatures.

 r_squared wrote:
I cannot see them agreeing to do that any time soon.

They are unlikely to be asked for a couple of years yet, at least until whatever the brexit deal actually is.

Westminster could indeed withhold consent for Indyref2 but if they do they will be swapping a close run thing now to a near certainty in a generation.

 Shadow Captain Edithae wrote:
Awww... I thought I was witnessing a moment in Dakka Dakka history, the birth of a quote the likes of which people quote in their signatures.

Sorry about that, I should have referenced properly, plagiarism is a thing.


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 Silent Puffin? wrote:

 r_squared wrote:
I cannot see them agreeing to do that any time soon.

They are unlikely to be asked for a couple of years yet, at least until whatever the brexit deal actually is.

Westminster could indeed withhold consent for Indyref2 but if they do they will be swapping a close run thing now to a near certainty in a generation.

It may be less than a generation tbf,

http://newsthump.com/2017/03/03/theresa-may-to-convince-scotland-to-vote-for-independence-by-arguing-against-it/

 Mr. Burning wrote:
Im sure I saw that spending on patient meals was down to 96p per meal in some trusts!

I'll try and find it again.

It's relative though, we need to know where they started. If the cost per meal was £400 per meal and dropped to £399 that's not really a problem. If it was £2 a meal and drops to a £1 then it is and is likely to be the proverbial "bones in gravy meal".


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 A Town Called Malus wrote:

Herzlos wrote:
They really overestimated the number of attendees eh?

My favourite part of it is that lone person sitting right at the back. Just makes me chuckle

Probably didn't want to be there or maybe using the free wifi to look a geriatric porn?

Maybe there was an old age home next door and the offer of free food was too good to miss. They are probably all awake because it's the recess and May is doing a round of Bingo for them!

Still it's not been a good week for May

BMW are to move the manufacture of the Mini back to Germany (Brexit related)
Ford have no plans to develop new engines in Wales (not Brexit related, though suspicious it is Trump related)
New European weather supercomputer is to be built in Italy (currently in Reading)
Service sector growth now in decline (note not a contraction) - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39150718
And housing benefit support to be cut for 18-21 years olds (because, well they don't vote in large numbers) http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/housing-benefit-axed-18-21-year-olds-dwp-damian-green_uk_58b99db8e4b0d2821b4dcc6e?utm_hp_ref=uk

Still this is good for a laugh (and I support staying in the EU)....

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/bbc-question-time-pret-coffee-brexit_uk_58b91536e4b0d2821b4d0d8c?utm_hp_ref=uk-news

 Whirlwind wrote:
Still this is good for a laugh (and I support staying in the EU)....

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/bbc-question-time-pret-coffee-brexit_uk_58b91536e4b0d2821b4d0d8c?utm_hp_ref=uk-news

Probably not the best choice of words but I kinda get her point I'm in Lincolnshire and there are a lot of EU workers involved in agriculture.

I was hoping that this election for the N.I assembly would be a rejection of the corrupt tribalism between the DUP and Sinn Finn but it seems that was to much to ask for. People turned against Mike Nesbitt for wanting to work with the SDLP, and they still won't get over that damn flag. Even after the R.H.I scandal people are still voting in droves for the DUP, claiming that everyone makes mistakes and that it's more important to keep them shinners out!

 Whirlwind wrote:
...And housing benefit support to be cut for 18-21 years olds (because, well they don't vote in large numbers) http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/housing-benefit-axed-18-21-year-olds-dwp-damian-green_uk_58b99db8e4b0d2821b4dcc6e?utm_hp_ref=uk...

Definitely not the nasty party anymore eh Theresa?

Admittedly, I didn't even know we were entitled to this, I certainly could have done with it 20 odd years ago when I first moved out, it'd have made a huge difference if I was entitled to it back then.

 r_squared wrote:


It may be less than a generation tbf,

http://newsthump.com/2017/03/03/theresa-may-to-convince-scotland-to-vote-for-independence-by-arguing-against-it/

If it is refused now I can't see it being allowed until well into the 2020s if not longer, depending on the political landscape of course. The SNP is likely to be the dominant political force in Scotland for a long time to come and they will have Indyref2 on their manifesto so, as long as they keep getting elected, they will have a mandate to call for a referendum.

There cannot be another indepence referendum until the Brexit process has worked through.

 Whirlwind wrote:

 Mr. Burning wrote:
Im sure I saw that spending on patient meals was down to 96p per meal in some trusts!

I'll try and find it again.

It's relative though, we need to know where they started. If the cost per meal was £400 per meal and dropped to £399 that's not really a problem. If it was £2 a meal and drops to a £1 then it is and is likely to be the proverbial "bones in gravy meal".

In 2014 some trusts had a £31 per head budget and some had £3-4 per head. If I wasnt having some kind of episode 96p is still within the lower end of the ball park. But Its interesting to note that the figures provided by trusts can include the cost of operating the service.
I guess what is more important is that food at hospitals is generally rubbished at a time when all evidence shows that a healthy nutritious diet is a key component in fighting disease and ailments which are stressing the health service. You would think appetizing meals and the odd unbruised apple would be part of the NHS arsenal.

New European weather supercomputer is to be built in Italy (currently in Reading)

The existing site was no loner able to be expanded. The computer is moving but the research, Therefore the jobs, are staying. The apparatus is also funded by non EU countries.

 Future War Cultist wrote:
I was hoping that this election for the N.I assembly would be a rejection of the corrupt tribalism between the DUP and Sinn Finn but it seems that was to much to ask for. People turned against Mike Nesbitt for wanting to work with the SDLP, and they still won't get over that damn flag. Even after the R.H.I scandal people are still voting in droves for the DUP, claiming that everyone makes mistakes and that it's more important to keep them shinners out!

I was following the coverage on BBC Parliament and it seemed that nothing really has changed. More or less the same result as last time.

The whole thing fels like a waste of time.

Then we had a SF politican and a Unionist politician arguing about the 1970s and I knew it was time to switch channels.