Now is the winter of Britain’s discontent

Shropshirelass

Media causes so many problems. I read this morning about a terrible attack at a fuel station in which someone died, the report said it was not connected to the ‘fuel shortage’! There isn’t a fuel shortage, just idiots filling up when they don’t have to and creating the problem. There is plenty of fuel if people are acting normally. Reports of gas and electricity price rises and now snow on the way, such scare mongering. As my daughter says to her hyperactive dog, CALM, CALM,

Scaremongering on social media has a lot to answer for.....as well as from other sources, you are absolutely right.

No plan for anything just soundbites that he intends for tomorrow’s headlines.

I agreed with what Johnson said this morning on Marr ( when Marr let him get a word in edgewise.)
Left wing posters will disagree, naturally.

Interesting..... I thought he was making mincemeat out of Andrew Marr.

Kim19

Interesting..... I thought he was making mincemeat out of Andrew Marr.

Were you watching a different interview?

Example of how the PM treats everybody with disdain and thinks they're lower than he is.

Marr asking him about the thousands of pigs that will have to be culled, Johnson says sarcastically that he is sorry to tell Marr that animals have to be killed for the meat industry, didn't he know?

Honestly, what did we do to deserve this idiot in charge?

Kim19

Interesting..... I thought he was making mincemeat out of Andrew Marr.

???

lemongrove

I agreed with what Johnson said this morning on Marr ( when Marr let him get a word in edgewise.)
Left wing posters will disagree, naturally.

What bit did you agree with?

lemongrove

I thought long and hard about the removal of the triple lock to a double lock, in fact I have been surprised it has lasted so long.It was a Conservative government that brought in the triple lock in the first place.Have to wait and see what the Autumn Budget brings and what guarantees are put in place to safeguard pensioners who live on the Basic Pension or close to it.

Why were you surprised lemongrove? The Triple Lock was there to raise basic pensions to an equal level to other rich countries. It would therefore take more pensioners out of poverty.

That is what the Conservative government said was their intention. What has changed?

As the New Pension started at the level of the Old Pension plus the Guaranteed amount, it will increasingly be only the most elderly who will be in the highest level of poverty.

Why aren't you worried about that?

Whitewavemark2

lemongrove

I agreed with what Johnson said this morning on Marr ( when Marr let him get a word in edgewise.)
Left wing posters will disagree, naturally.

What bit did you agree with?

Marr was at his best this morning. No waffling allowed.

PippaZ

Whitewavemark2

lemongrove

I agreed with what Johnson said this morning on Marr ( when Marr let him get a word in edgewise.)
Left wing posters will disagree, naturally.

What bit did you agree with?

Marr was at his best this morning. No waffling allowed.

Johnson tried to talk over Marr.

Kim19

Interesting..... I thought he was making mincemeat out of Andrew Marr.

It's that old parallel universe effect again

I agreed with all of it, at least the bits I could hear when Marr wasn’t trying to talk over him.I know it’s the Andrew Marr Show but he does tend to think he needn’t ( or we needn’t) properly hear the political guests he hosts if he doesn’t like them.It’s his way, he has always done it.
He did it to Jeremy Corbyn and Nicola Sturgeon on two memorable occasions.

lemongrove

I agreed with all of it, at least the bits I could hear when Marr wasn’t trying to talk over him.I know it’s the Andrew Marr Show but he does tend to think he needn’t ( or we needn’t) properly hear the political guests he hosts if he doesn’t like them.It’s his way, he has always done it.
He did it to Jeremy Corbyn and Nicola Sturgeon on two memorable occasions.

So perhaps you could give us an idea about what he meant when he talked about the old tired economics?

growstuff

PippaZ

Whitewavemark2

lemongrove

I agreed with what Johnson said this morning on Marr ( when Marr let him get a word in edgewise.)
Left wing posters will disagree, naturally.

What bit did you agree with?

Marr was at his best this morning. No waffling allowed.

Johnson tried to talk over Marr.

Exactly. Rude man.

Casdon

You’re right PippaZ. I think it’s highly unlikely that they will even suggest means tested state pensions this parliament though, as they will alienate the majority of their voters if they do that.

I am not hoping for means-tested pensions. I was explaining what the Conservative Government said they would be doing. I would much rather have a basic income starting with pensioners. There would be a claw-back using tax from the highest incomes.

However, I am not looking at that at the moment.

By taking the third area out of the triple lock, there is one group that will set up not to benefit from "levelling-up". Levelling-up has now been defined by Johnson as making the whole of society a high-income society.

We can argue about whether we agree with that but one thing is sure, if you take the income-related part of the Tripple-lock out of the calculation State Pensions + any add-ons such as Serps, will drop further and further behind each year that the rise in incomes is above zero.

Why are the pensioners being left out? If the incomes do not go up, neither will the pensions so they are not going to be paying out money that they don't have (in Thatcher-speak). If incomes do go up then the tax take will go up.

What has he got against pensioners? That is all pensioners although my concern is for the very poorest. If he believes Pensioners are rich then tax those assets. Why punish the poorest?

Think you missed the point of my post lemongrove. There are shortages of lorry drivers across Europe but there are no empty shelves or shortages of fuel. The difference is Brexit.
I think Andrew Marr just tried to explain this to Boris Johnson.

No shortage of vets, or poultry processors or vegetable pickers or abattoir workers or butchers or care workers etc etc either.

It is Brexit that is causing it.

Mamie

Think you missed the point of my post lemongrove. There are shortages of lorry drivers across Europe but there are no empty shelves or shortages of fuel. The difference is Brexit.
I think Andrew Marr just tried to explain this to Boris Johnson.

I think the record just got stuck, Mamie.

This canard has been repeated and debunked ad nauseum over the past week or so. but the faithful just echo their leader and burble on regardless.

To look on the bright side, I learnt a new word.

Hecatomb

Exactly Whitewave.
If you take a supply chain that is already under pressure from a shortage of drivers, choose to become a third country which involves additional checks and delays at ports, make cabotage more problematic and create a hostile environment for workers coming from the EU, what can you expect?

I think the record has got stuck too MaizieD. Whatever happened to critical thinking and understanding that actions have consequences?

One thing I do agree with is that the U.K. should not be reliant on a low wage often described as low skilled labour force from abroad.

It is high time that ALL employers paid their employees a decent living wage and took some responsibility to train and up-skill their staff in-house (with a clause in employment contracts that if your employer pays for training then the employee has to remain with that company for a certain amount of time or pay back a percentage of the training fees. This would give the employers some protection from constant training up and then the staff leaving. There would have to be safeguards so that this could not be abused by either the employer or the employee)

No wonder we rarely see Johnson being held to account in interviews.

His affable veneer slips very quickly and his temper shows, his wives and work colleagues will recognise that look. A nasty piece of work.

Alegrias1

To look on the bright side, I learnt a new word.

Hecatomb

Snap! So did I! Pompous g*t! What's happening with pigs isn't a hetacomb - it's slaughter. Why couldn't have used a word the majority could understand?