The 2015 Popularity Contest (aka UK General Election )

[Bruce Wayne]

I was at a conference he spoke at the other day - brutally disappointing

How so?

Who was, @Bruce Wayne ? I have heard he is very engaging in the real world.

Wait until I bore you to tears about cycling

 

[magicjuan]

We should try and predict the front page headlines paper by paper...

The Torygraph- Cameron victory in Milliband slaughter

The Mail- Farage propels house price doom

The Star - Eastenders love rat shock

 

[Clint Planet]

I'll give an example to support the above then actually - when I worked there, you had to shop a set amount of people for investigation every week. It didn't matter whether you actually came about that number of people who deserved investigation; you had to do it regardless.

So say you had to refer 10 people for investigation, but only came across, say, 5 dodgy ones, then you had to shop 5 perfectly fine benefit claimants.

If you didn't, you'd be called to a meeting with your manager asking why. In turn, that manager would be called to a meeting with their higher-up, and if the Job Centre overall were failing to meet targets then the regional manager would be called into a meeting, and so on.

So it wasn't about "helping" benefit claimants most of the time - it was looking for ways to get them off the things at all costs. Late for an appointment by five minutes? Strike, off the list, one claimant down towards the target.

This is 100% spot on - http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/stitching-up-claimants-part-job-says-3537051

The coalition policies had a very direct effect on the dehumanising of benefit claimants within 12 months. I was there during the transition - the difference was disgusting, not encouraging. Everyone who works at a Job Centre wants to help people into work, and the vast majority of those who go also want work, but there's right ways to go about it and wrong ways - treating people like subhuman scum for claiming the benefit no matter what the circumstance is the wrong way.

It's positively Orwellian. Target-driven world these day though, eh? And some of them must be scroungers, surely!

 

[Clint Planet]

They don't in relation to benefits though - Labour had the balance right; it wasn't soft, you could sanction the arseholes and it felt right to do so, but they didn't treat claimants as criminals by default.

They're the same in relation to zero hour contracts as they're convenient for employment figures for any political party, but in terms of benefits the Tories have been on a very evident ideological crusade which is distinctly different to Labour.

Hear hear. Tubey's playing a blinder here.

 

[roydo]

We should try and predict the front page headlines paper by paper...

The Torygraph- Cameron victory in Milliband slaughter

The Mail- Farage propels house price doom

The Star - Eastenders love rat shock

The Express.- Plaid Cymru hold secret to Diana murder.

 

[Joey66]

As I'm sure the NHS will come up again tonight, here (once again) is the 5 year plan produced by the NHS England chief executive last autumn that all of the parties are signed up to.

http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5yfv-web.pdf

No one other than DC and NC voted for a top down reorganisation where admin staff were paid off in great pay outs then rehired on lower pay!

 

[roydo]

Well, the political version of "Take me out" or whatever it is called is on soon.

5 Live reckon some publican has it on is his pub ffs.

 

[roydo]

Oh, and dont ask for streams.

 

[toffee matt]

Greens can't even find a leader from this country

 

[Bruce Wayne]

No one other than DC and NC voted for a top down reorganisation where admin staff were paid off in great pay outs then rehired on lower pay!

That has nothing to do with the document I linked to, although NHS England being freed from the Department of Health was part of the reorganisation.

 

[PhilM]

A rather apt quote from a film fills my mind as our leading politicians currently speak:

"Drunkards, tricksters, villains, whoremasters, Godless self-seeking ambitious tricksters.

You are no more capable of conducting the affairs of this nation as you are of running a brothel."

 

[GwladysBlue]

Greens and Plaid Cyrum should not be taking part in this debate, I'd even argue the Lib Dems.

 

[The Mighty Quint]

Is that right what Farage has just said, that the overall national debt has doubled to 1.5 trillion in 5 years?

Great Job the Tories have done if true.

 

[roydo]

lol at how non of them look at Jonny when "answering" the lads question

 

[tsubaki]

Greens and Plaid Cyrum should not be taking part in this debate, I'd even argue the Lib Dems.

They both have more reason to be there than UKIP. Plaid however should be banned on the grounds that their stated policy is to surrender most of the island to the Saxon invader.