Cameron: "Cuts will change our way of life"

[Stu Monty]

It does seem unlikely, and I see why it raised eyebrows. But people make all kinds of odd bequests. One woman left her ex-husband money with the express instruction that it be spent on a rope to hang himself.

 

I just find it a completely nonsensical idea. Nobody would, when pressed to clarify that this was exactly what they wanted, leave money to a political party of a random selection. It's simply not in any way believable.

 

Somebody knows that and is being duplicitous.

[Son of L8]

This whole thing with the will seems profoundly odd. If she intended the money to go to the political party, why was it written the way it was? The government isn't the party forming it, and the party isn't the government. They're separate albeit closely related entities. Legal language depends on specificity, so if the old bird's legal help had clarified that's what she actually meant before she shuffled off, they should have drafted the will properly to say that and avoided all this. If they were competent at the law, that's what they would have done.

 

I find the whole thing bizarre. They should have stuck the money on an outside shot in the Grand National instead, then the whole country could get a brief thrill out of it.

[dennis tooth]

Heres more earth to pile on SD's corpse:

 

The UK public sector recorded a small but unexpected deficit in July.

 

Public sector net borrowing, excluding the cost of financial interventions, totalled £62m, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

 

In the past two years, corporate and income tax receipts pushed the public purse into a July surplus, and markets expected a £2.5bn surplus this time.

 

The data remains subject to revision. The £823m surplus recorded in July 2012 was originally reported as a deficit.

 

The ONS said that public sector net debt - the total outstanding amount owed by the state - reached £1.193 trillion in the month, excluding borrowing to finance financial interventions, such as bank rescues.

 

That was equivalent to 74.5% of the country's gross domestic product

(GDP) - the UK economy's annual economic output.

 

The figures benefit from a deal reached between the Treasury and the Bank of England last year, to credit the public finances with the net income earned by the Bank on the government debts it owns, as part of its quantitative easing stimulus policy.

 

Excluding the effect of this deal, public sector net borrowing last month was £488m, suggesting the turnaround in finances from July last year - before the deal came into effect - has been even sharper.

 

Borrowing in the first four months of the current fiscal year has reached £24.7bn including the effect of the Bank of England deal, or £36.8bn excluding it. This compares with £35.1bn in the first four months of the previous year.

Corporate tax payments

 

"July is usually the second highest month for receipts during the financial year, reflecting the timing of corporation tax and self assessment payments," said the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which was set up by the current government to monitor the public finances.

 

The OBR pinned the blame for the poor performance on a strong rise in government spending, although it noted that spending can vary greatly from month to month.

 

Financial analysts played down the importance of the figure, with many saying they still expected to see steady improvement in the government's finances over the rest of the year, as the economy continued to recover.

 

"Obviously slightly worse than expected," said Peter Dixon, economist at Commerzbank. "But I think all-in-all, it's only a very small deficit.

 

"Revenues were up versus a year ago, but they were not strongly up given the strength of the economy, so you have to wonder why that was.

 

"The biggest problems appear to be at the moment on the spending side."

 

Total tax revenues in the month were 3.4% higher than a year earlier, with VAT, national insurance contributions and income tax all netting significantly more.

 

The OBR noted that this was well ahead of the 2.4% revenue growth rate that it had forecast.

 

"Strong tax receipts in July confirm that the economy is moving from rescue to recovery," said a Treasury spokesperson.

 

"There is still a long way to go as the UK recovers from the biggest economic crisis in living memory, and the government is sticking to the economic plan that has already cut the deficit by a third."

 

But corporate tax receipts fell slightly, from £7.1bn to £7bn.

 

"This shortfall could be a result of significant falls in our oil and gas reserves and the weakening of our financial sector," said David Kern, chief economist for the British Chambers of Commerce.

 

"Despite this, we are still early in the financial year and if the economy continues to improve, we could see a more meaningful reduction in the deficit in the months ahead."

 

The economy grew 0.6% in the second quarter of this year, up from a 0.3% rate during the previous three months, with the faster pace expected by economists to continue into the autumn.

 

The faster growth rate typically translates into faster tax revenue growth, as well as lower spending on unemployment benefits.

 

"Another month of disappointing figures raises very serious concerns that borrowing continues to be way off track," said Chris Leslie, the Labour Party's shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, adding that the chancellor's "promise to balance the books by 2015 is now in tatters".

[JER]

The perils of taking too many holidays

 

 

[lifetime fan]

He shaves his chest.

[Champ]

He shaves his chest.

 

I doubt it. I've always thought he has a peculiarly hairless face

[lifetime fan]

I doubt it. I've always thought he has a peculiarly hairless face

 

 

Etonian boys have to be cleanly shaven every morning. Stubble is not allowed.

[dennis tooth]

He shaves his chest.

 

Wouldnt you if you had a body like that?

Giz a suck of ye tits dave

[Champ]

Wouldnt you if you had a body like that?

Giz a suck of ye tits dave

 

Thanks. That's put me right off my lunch (I know, I know) now

[dennis tooth]

Its a new diet Im bringing out, try and eat while I stand over you and talk about Cameron's body.

[lifetime fan]

A disabled woman who needs 24-hour support has been told her care package will be cut to just three hour-long visits a day.

The woman, from east London, is still emotionally scarred and needed lengthy counselling after a previous care worker neglected and abused her.

She is unable to move around safely on her own, and faces the prospect of having to sit in incontinence pads during the day and all night because Newham council wants to slash her care package.

She has significant paralysis, following a brain haemorrhage in 2001 and a subsequent stroke, has epilepsy and is partially-sighted, and has been receiving 24-hour care for more than 10 years.

And because of her medication, she needs to drink a lot of water, which makes it even more uncomfortable for her to have her pads changed only three times a day, as well as risking infection.

Her family have also been told that the agency that has been providing the care workers who have been supporting her for the last 18 months – and which took over after the alleged abuse – is not registered with the Care Quality Commission.

Newham council is now facing questions over why it approved the agency to provide her care when it was not registered to provide that service.

The council has also told her that she cannot start using direct payments to arrange her own care for another three months because of a backlog.

Despite the concerns over the care agency, she has built up an excellent relationship with her two current care workers, but faces losing them if the council’s cuts go ahead.

She said: “I am still reeling from it all. I can’t believe it is going to happen. I have had 24-hour care since I came out of hospital.”

She said the council tried giving her three visits a day – at meal-times – when she first came out of hospital 10 years ago.

But she said: “It was horrendous. I was run-down, I wasn’t eating properly, I lost my communication skills.

“Having 24-hour care has helped me no end. I know I have improved health-wise. The two carers I have now, I respect them and they respect me. I can’t believe they are going to take them away from me.”

Her daughter said: “Mum needs 24 hour care. She can’t do anything for herself, go to the toilet or make her own food.”

A Newham council spokeswoman said: “For reasons of confidentiality, we cannot discuss individual cases.”

But she said all residents receiving adult social care were “regularly assessed”, with account taken of information from GPs, while there were regular reviews “so our level of care meets their changing ongoing needs”.

She said: “In situations where a customer receives a significant reduction in care, this change will not be immediate. Instead the reduction in hours will be decreased gradually to help support individuals manage their new care packages.

“We will closely monitor the impact of any changes made to care packages and review if there is a change in an individual’s needs.

“The adult social care providers we use are regularly monitored and evaluated. If customers have concerns about the service they receive, we will investigate immediately and if necessary change their service providers.

“All allegations of abuse are taken very seriously and investigated.”

[lifetime fan]

Sarah Teather to stand down as Lib Dem MP at 2015 election

 

 

Sarah Teather is to step down as an MP at the next election, citing "some aspects of government policy".

 

The Lib Dem was first elected in 2003 in Brent East, north-west London, at the age of 29 - making her the youngest MP in Britain - and later elected to the new seat of Brent Central.

 

She served as children's minister in the coalition government before returning to the backbenches last year.

 

A Lib Dem spokesman said the party was "disappointed" by her decision.

 

It comes comes a week before the annual party conference.

 

 

Ms Teather told the Observer she was stepping down because "she no longer feels that Nick Clegg's party fights sufficiently for social justice and liberal values on immigration".

 

It quoted her as saying that Mr Clegg's tougher approach to immigration - including a plan for some immigrants to pay a £1,000 deposit when applying for visas - left her feeling "desolate" and "catastrophically depressed".

 

Continue reading the main story

“

Start Quote

 

I have disagreed with both government and official party lines on a whole range of welfare and immigration policies, and those differences have been getting larger rather than smaller”

 

Sarah Teather

"It was an absolutely black moment. I couldn't even move from my seat when I read it. I was so depressed I couldn't even be angry. I was utterly desolate," she is quoted as saying.

 

She also pointed to her party's decision to back the Tories' planned cap on welfare, while she was in government.

 

"It was the moment of realising that my own party was just as afraid of public opinion as the Labour Party. Something did break for me that was never, ever repaired," she said.

 

In the statement on her website, she said: "For various reasons, to do with some aspects of government policy and the very particular issues that brought me to politics in the first place, I now feel that come the next general election, it will be the right time for me to step aside."

 

She went on: "As with most party members, there have always been a few issues where I have disagreed with party policy.

 

"But over the last three years, what has been difficult is that policy has moved in some of the issues that ground my own personal sense of political vocation - that of working with and serving the most vulnerable members of society.

 

"I have disagreed with both government and official party lines on a whole range of welfare and immigration policies, and those differences have been getting larger rather than smaller."

 

She said she had tried to balance fighting for what she believed in with the "loyalty and friendship" she felt towards colleagues - but that had created "intense pressure, and at times left me very tired".

 

"I don't think it is sustainable for me personally to continue to try and do that in the long term," she said.

 

Most recently Ms Teather voted against the government's motion on potential military action in Syria in response to the suspected use of chemical weapons.

 

The MP, who is chair of the all-party parliamentary group on refugees, also criticised the government's immigration poster campaign which told illegal immigrants to "go home or face arrest".

 

In 2003 she overturned a Labour majority of more than 13,000 to be elected in Brent East and increased her majority at the 2005 general election.

 

Following boundary changes she won the Brent Central seat in 2010, by a slim margin of 1,345.

 

Ms Teather was appointed minister for children and families in the coalition government, but she lost her place in September last year to make room for the return of David Laws, who resigned over his expenses in 2010.

 

A Liberal Democrat spokesman said: "Of course we are disappointed by Sarah's decision.

 

"The Liberal Democrats have a proud record in government, including cutting taxes for working people by £700 and lifting the poorest paid out of tax altogether, helping businesses create a million jobs; investing billions more in schools to help the poorest children and introducing radical plans for shared parental leave.

 

"Sarah was a part of this when she served as a minister in the coalition, as well as playing a key role in ending Labour's disgraceful policy of locking up children for immigration purposes."

 

BBC News - Sarah Teather to stand down as Lib Dem MP at 2015 election

[Pureblood]

Too little, too late. See what i did there?

[Section_31]

Like she'd get re-elected anyway.

[Gym Beglin]

Where to start...

 

 

HS2 finally starting to be uncovered for the fucking monstrosity it is.

The Commons’ all-party public accounts committee said that they have yet to see a 'convincing case' for the £50,000,000,000 (billion) investment. It has also emerged that the Welsh government is demanding compensation of up to £2 billion because the proposed line will not benefit them.

Also, David Cameron has branded those opposed to the scheme as being an 'unholy alliance'.

 

Bringing religion into the argument, real class is Cameron. He's probably going to build the trainline through churchyards and old burial grounds, fuckwit.

[Strontium]

Like she'd get re-elected anyway.

 

 

That's an odd comment. Her old seat was abolished at the last election, and the new seat had a notional Labour majority of 8,000. She won it by 1,345 votes. So, while I think it's a bit rich for her to witter on about social justice after voting against gay marriage, there's no doubt she was (and is) a very popular MP who is more than capable of winning against the odds.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

I'm thinking that the LD popularity has dipped a 'touch' since then, Stronts.

[Strontium]

So I've been told, but it didn't stop us winning the Eastleigh by-election.

[Stu Monty]

So I've been told, but it didn't stop us winning the Eastleigh by-election.

 

It did reduce a 3,800 majority to 1,700 though, in a seat where it's not a Labour - Lib Dem marginal.

 

There's an obvious difference. But then you know that, obviously.

[lifetime fan]

Anyone actually tried getting a one bed council flat (ground floor)?

[Pureblood]

So, while I think it's a bit rich for her to witter on about social justice after voting against gay marriage, there's no doubt she was (and is) a very popular MP who is more than capable of winning against the odds.

 

Also a bit rich after the cave in to the Tories on tuition fees. She's a toxic dwarf. Good riddance.

[Champ]

Anyone actually tried getting a one bed council flat (ground floor)?

 

You mean when you're working and you've currently got somewhere to live?

[lifetime fan]

Where to start...

 

 

HS2 finally starting to be uncovered for the fucking monstrosity it is.

The Commons’ all-party public accounts committee said that they have yet to see a 'convincing case' for the £50,000,000,000 (billion) investment. It has also emerged that the Welsh government is demanding compensation of up to £2 billion because the proposed line will not benefit them.

Also, David Cameron has branded those opposed to the scheme as being an 'unholy alliance'.

 

Bringing religion into the argument, real class is Cameron. He's probably going to build the trainline through churchyards and old burial grounds, fuckwit.

 

 

HS2 doesn't even pass the common sense test.

 

You can fly quicker and cheaper.

[Strontium]

It did reduce a 3,800 majority to 1,700 though, in a seat where it's not a Labour - Lib Dem marginal.

 

There's an obvious difference. But then you know that, obviously.

 

 

Obviously. I only intend to show that the notion that we are universally unpopular and will have nearly no MPs after the next election is nonsense.

 

Also a bit rich after the cave in to the Tories on tuition fees. She's a toxic dwarf. Good riddance.

 

 

If only we'd tapped the money tree again.

 

Don't worry, I'm sure Labour will get rid of tuition fees.

 

Haha, oh that's right, they brought them in.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Surely a 20% swing from LD to UKIP and only holding onto it with a 4% majority because the other two parties split the vote is a sign that the LDs might be a touch unpopular. That's not to say there's not a core support, but when you lose 10k votes and UK get 10k extra votes, maybe the liberal agenda (which, in general, I support) isn't quite as popular as it once was.

 

It's going to be hard for LDs in 2015, regardless. I'd say Eastleigh wasn't a show of defiance in the face of negative predictions, but a rung on the downwards ladder. That's not a dig, just a look at how it's panning out. I'd much, much sooner the LDs win seats than Tory or UKIP.