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Winners and Losers

(125 Posts)
Eloethan Thu 31-Dec-15 00:11:32

"Property prices help Britain's richest to increase wealth gap" (Guardian 19.12.15):

"Britain’s richest households have pulled further ahead of the rest of the population as house prices have accelerated, with the top 10% now owning almost half of the country’s £11.1tn total private wealth.

".....Since the previous survey two years earlier, the top tenth of households had seen a 21% increase in their wealth ..."

" .... It left the top tenth of households owning 45% of total wealth, while the bottom half were left to share just 9%. The poorest 1%, meanwhile, owned just 0.05% of wealth."

Meanwhile:

"Wages fall in value by 13% since 2008". (The I Dec 15)

"Private rents soars faster than house prices and hit record high of £789 per month" (This is Money July 2015)

Record number of homeless families in "out of area" temporary accommodation (The Guardian Dec 14)

"London housing crisis forces young professionals to share bedrooms" (International Business Times June 15)

durhamjen Thu 31-Dec-15 01:07:22

A depressing list, Eloethan. It must change, mustn't it?

gillybob Thu 31-Dec-15 08:44:17

A depressing read indeed Eloethan I listened to a discussion on the radio yesterday talking about the massive North/South divide in house prices. (I know it's an unpopular subject but it does exist). The average house prices only rose by around 1% in the North and private landlords are laughing all the way to the bank with rents increasing hugely year on year.

What I always fail to understand is that successive governments continue to support massive growth in the south instead of forcing businesses out of London and further North. Why even consider new runways for Heathrow? Or bloody massively overpriced high speed railways? Why not focus the attention and the money elsewhere for a change? This would help massively in sharing out some of the wealth.

Londongirl Thu 31-Dec-15 09:07:58

Because it's all about making profit and keeping the bankers and big businesses happy. Social conscience, NHS, unions, state education are all ostracised concepts now.

gillybob Thu 31-Dec-15 10:30:02

Yes I appreciate that Londongirl but I can't understand how shortsighted any government can be (and I don't just mean the current one) to allow this kind of division of wealth to continue and worse still encourage it further by even considering additional services, runways,rail links etc. how many more rich people can they expect to cram in at the expense of the poor?

durhamjen Thu 31-Dec-15 12:04:57

I hope this man turns out to be a loser next year.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/dec/30/oliver-letwin-1985-memo-darcus-howe-david-lammy

Strange how MPs do not realise that in 30 years time, their words will be released. Obviously not thinking ahead.

Everybody knows all about Corbyn and how he went against his party on hundreds of occasions. But this stuff has been kept hidden for thirty years.
Letwin really was/is evil.

Anya Thu 31-Dec-15 12:15:40

I don't think you ought to call anyone 'evil' DJ - perhaps you need to practise what you preach and watch your own choice of words.

durhamjen Thu 31-Dec-15 12:32:05

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35204010

Here's another one, Eloethan.

Enquiry into the banking culture by the FCA to be shelved.
Winners becoming winners all over again.

Why can't I call Letwin evil?
As Darcus Howe says, it was bordering on criminal.
I'll just call him a baddie, shall I?

Anya Thu 31-Dec-15 12:36:16

It's simply not worth entering into any kind of reasoned discussion with some people is it? Can't work out if it arises from crass stupidity or a totally blinkered approach to the world we live in.

Anya Thu 31-Dec-15 12:36:59

Or both wink

durhamjen Thu 31-Dec-15 12:45:00

Anya, do you really think that in 30 years time, I will be haunted by these words?
Simon Danczuk is the latest one who should be careful what he writes/ tweets.

durhamjen Thu 31-Dec-15 12:47:11

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/30/oliver-letwin-career-privilege

This is why I think Letwin is evil.

durhamjen Thu 31-Dec-15 12:58:00

Isn't it strange how some people think that what they say is reasoned discussion, even when they are insulting the other person?
Emoticons do not soften the insult.
There are some people I do not get into discussions with either.

Ana Thu 31-Dec-15 13:01:43

smile

Anniebach Thu 31-Dec-15 13:02:46

There was the election when Letwin had to go into hiding because of a crass comment, he vanish for the entire campaign , it was a case of where's Letwin, the press treated it as a where's Walley,he couldn't be found though .

He should resign but his party will protect him , has Cameron condemned the comments yet? He never will which means he shares them

rosequartz Thu 31-Dec-15 13:06:46

Simon Danczuk is the latest one who should be careful what he writes/ tweets
Has he been suspended?

Anniebach Thu 31-Dec-15 13:28:29

Yes he has.rosequartz , but not Letwin

JessM Thu 31-Dec-15 13:30:41

Yes Danczuk has been suspended from the Labour party for allegedly sending sexual texts to a 17 year old. Subject to party investigation.

Anniebach Thu 31-Dec-15 13:30:58

So calling poor people low class isn't evil, it's just naughty?

JessM Thu 31-Dec-15 13:36:02

Anya not that you are ducking out of reasoned debate. TBH we don't get much reasoned debate on GN in defence of our present government and their associates. I think members can refer to political figures as evil if they choose to. As long as they can defend their position. However it is contravening GN guidelines to descend to schoolyard name calling when you don't like the arguments of another GN member.

durhamjen Thu 31-Dec-15 13:37:21

Letwin will probably be made a Lord in next year's honours list.

trisher Thu 31-Dec-15 13:37:54

Interesting isn't it. Letwin is obviously the real voice of this government saying and doing things most of us find highly objectionable. He is of course kept quietly in the background and we get Cameron smarming away and pretending they are all really nice people and doing the best for all of us. Makes ya sick doesn't it!

Anniebach Thu 31-Dec-15 13:42:34

Not forgetting Sir George Young , another old Etonian Tory MP who when speaking of the homeless said - .the homeless? aren't they the people you step over leaving the opera

durhamjen Fri 01-Jan-16 12:27:43

" It’s worth recalling that Oliver Letwin is still advising Cameron on, among other things, healthcare. The same Letwin who in 2004, when shadow chancellor, invited a group of businessman to his West Dorset constituency and, according to one who was present, astonished his audience by saying that within five years of a Conservative election victory “the NHS will not exist”. Hopefully Letwin’s advice doesn’t extend to flood defences and the environment."

A letter in the Guardian.

durhamjen Fri 01-Jan-16 13:16:00

www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jan/01/london-rough-sleepers-double-in-five-years

Another statistic to add to the list.