A high skilled high wage economy

[bill.advanced]

Well, well, apparently our prime minister is looking to create a high wage high skilled economy.
Well this must be music to Matt Wracks ears, and the fire brigades union.
They apparently will now be knocking on open doors, with the government desperate to offer firefighters a substantial wage increase.
It’s the kind of thing you only read about in fictional books.
Possibly Boris has recently acquired some of Charles Dickens works, and has grown fond of Ebaneezer Scrooge.
Listening to his speech today reminded me why I dislike him so much. It was lacking in detail, clarity, and at times reality. But what it was not lacking in was rhetoric. Yes he wants a high skilled high wage economy, but what he offers in reality is the exact opposite. He wants to level things up, stimulate higher efficiency and growth, reduce taxes (hmff), improve working conditions, improve care for the elderly, improve social care, and the NHS. Now listening to all of this it seems that he will need to bring in Jeremy Corbyn to help him out.
This man is full of rhetoric and lacking in any detail, and right now more than ever we need a leader who is exactly the opposite.
But what we also need right now is an effective opposition, and sadly that is not looking likely anytime soon.

[velbert]

Tory MP reveals ‘desperation’ of living on £82k as he asks for pay rise
Sir Peter Bottomley says: “I don’t know how they manage. It’s really grim.”



Sir Peter Bottomley/Getty images


Veteran Tory Sir Peter Bottomley has spoken of the “grim” struggle of living on an MP’s £81,932 salary.

Sir Peter’s comment raised eyebrows on the day Universal Credit has been cut for the most vulnerable living in poverty.

The Commons Father of the House, 77, who represents Worthing West, said many of his colleagues were finding their situation “desperately difficult”.


He believes MPs should be paid the same amount as GPs – whose average salary in England is £100,700. The average UK wage is £31,461.


Sir Peter told the New Statesman: “I take the view that being an MP is the greatest honour you could have, but a general practitioner in politics ought to be paid roughly the same as a general practitioner in medicine.

“Doctors are paid far too little nowadays.

“But if they would get roughly £100,000 a year, the equivalent for an MP to get the same standard of living would be £110-£115,000 a year – it’s never the right time, but if your MP isn’t worth the money, it’s better to change the MP than to change the money.”



Cut in Universal Credit/PA Archive

Although Sir Peter - who has been in the Commons since 1975 and is its longest serving MP - said he is currently not struggling financially, he believes the situation is “desperate” for newer colleagues.

He added: “I don’t know how they manage. It’s really grim.”

Sir Peter almost considered stepping down as an MP in 1982.

His wife Virginia gave up most of her paid work to run as a candidate on the Isle of Wight when they had two children to look after.

He recalled: “MPs’ pay was low, and I wasn’t going to go either broke or crooked to keep going.”

When asked what kept him in the Commons, Sir Peter said: “I’m still an MP because I’m still alive and people vote for me.”

Removing the £20-a-week Universal Credit uplift has been widely opposed by charities, unions, think tanks and leaders from across the political spectrum.


The Government has said the uplift was always intended to be temporary, has helped claimants through the toughest stages of the pandemic and it is right to focus on its jobs plan.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/tory-...59174.html

[noisycat]

Most people are put out to pasture by the time they’re 77, but this buffoon is still on nearly £82,000 with expenses on top. No wonder, most people think MP’s are totally out of touch.

[bill.advanced]

A GP goes to university for 6-7 years attains a doctorate in medicine, and finishes up owing the state around £70-80,000 of student debt.

An MP does none of the above, their only qualifications include being a British citizen, being able to talk without actually saying anything, being adept at not answering direct awkward questions, and being able to heckle other MPs whilst they are saying nothing of any note.

I would like to quote Billy Connolly.

“ by virtue of the fact that you wish to become a politician, should bar you from ever becoming one”

:mad:

[bill.advanced]

I was going to post this in the anyone for a joke thread, but it’s no joke.

What do you do when the country is on its knees, fuel, and container prices quadruple, 100,000 shortage of lorry drivers, inflation taking off, shortages of many basic items, pigs being culled on farms, Covid 19 figures rising, NHS struggling to cope.

Well you do what any self respecting politician would do, you go on holiday in a remote villa in Marbella.
Must be great having an 86 majority in Parliament, and no effective opposition, you can do what you like, when you like, to who you like

[Nightstaffer]

Aye and there is fekk all we can do about it !
By the time the next election comes round those papers, columnists and commentators who are condemning and ridiculing Johnson. Gove, Raab , Patel will be praising them
And HGV drivers, coal miners grandkids will read the Mail and vote them back in

[bill.advanced]

I have always found the sound bite politicians of the US irritating and extremely disingenuous. You know comments like, “LETS MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” or “LETS LIVE THE AMERICAN DREAM” and “GOD BLESS AMERICA” utter meaningless drivel. But that drivel can be persuasive, LETS GET BREXIT DONE” or “LETS CREATE A HIGH SKILLED HIGH WAGE ECONOMY” utter drivel.

It seems now that we are lead by a man who uses sound bites to confuse and mitigate the damage that he is doing to our economy. Where is all of this money coming from, it seems that we have went from the politics of frugality to let’s break open the piggy bank and spend the lot, and when that’s finished let’s fill the credit cards to the max. Johnson is barely recognisable as a Tory at times, he gives the impression that he is capable of anything, but will produce nothing more than a financial Armageddon.

It’s accepted now that inflation will be at 4-5% by January, and the Bank of England will need to increase interest rates. All of this debt borrowed at extremely low interest rates will have to be repaid, but at higher rates. We seem to be sleep walking into something with our eyes closed, but when we wake up and see the damage this man is causing it may be to late.

So instead of a high wage high skilled economy, we may end up with a high tax, low income economy with debts that will strangle this country for decades to come. I am old enough to remember how poor we were due to our overburdened economy recovering from WW2, I hope that we are not heading back there again.