I think even SLB now agrees that Cameron deserves to be re elected.

[Don Quixote]

Yeah he's been a decent enough MP, but i suppose his constituents will decide if he gets another 5 years in the commons.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

The housing problem is solved by supply. I know many would like to davle with demand side social engineering solutions such as higher tax, rent caps etc but building more is the answer

Oh... So right wing ideology to do with greedy accumulation of wealth and capital has got nothing to do with it? Encouraging comfortably wage earning people to build their own little "property portfolio" based on massive debts has had no effect on the working of the housing market?

And then as prices started to rise - instead of managing the situation, the correct response was to relax lending criteria further so that people could borrow ever higher salary multiples over ever longer periods of time... that teeny little demand side factor also had no impact...? Only now does the casino limit seemed to have been reached as the drawbridge is pulled up to protect the asset values of the top 30%. Well done Tories.

 

[Seaber]

I am still non the wiser to who or what SLB is.

 

[B.W.]

Schlumberger Limited.
NYSE: SLB

 

[1066familyman]

I am still non the wiser to who or what SLB is.

I suspect it's a fishing attempt from a...
Slightly Laconic Bore.

 

[Mutts Nuts]

Secret Leftie Bozza

21st Century iron lady is doing a pretty good job of running the country that you choose to live in,i think you lay slightly to the right of Norman Tebbit myself

 

[Mutts Nuts]

I am still non the wiser to who or what SLB is.

Bozza answered that correctly

 

[Norman Potting]

Glorioso SLB, Sport Lisboa e Benfica, ComC, OM, MHIH, commonly known as Benfica, or simply as SLB. I wasn't aware that they had any particular views on the fortcoming elections.

 

[Prince Monolulu]

Yes, yes, yes but what are floppy haired bass twanger John Taylor's views on coming out of Europe please?

Ta

 

[Justice]

IDS for another term? God help the poor.

 

[beorhthelm]

And then as prices started to rise - instead of managing the situation, the correct response was to relax lending criteria further so that people could borrow ever higher salary multiples over ever longer periods of time... that teeny little demand side factor also had no impact...?

while this is true, that the policies (from all parties it must be noted) to help buyers only further inflates the market, the core problem is a couple of decades of insufficent building. none of the parties are address the root of the problem, strict and long winded planning, which starves the market of property and increases prices of land and housing stock of all types.

 

[drew]

stop there. why do people insist on talking down the NHS? what sort of frail and delicate flower do you think the NHS was that a mere 5 years later, after fiddling with some internal organisational structure, you'd consider it damaged? yes there are problems around the edges but that is not "irreparably damaged". if you think it is, then where is the party offering an improvment, because all i hear is "spend x billions" which doesn adress an actual problem.

also, there are no subsidies to companies (tax avoiding or otherwise) to pay minimum wage, if you refer to tax credits, thats a employee subsidy and was around well over a decade ago.

The reason people go on about the NHS is because a lot of people know people that work in the sector and it is in turmoil. Our own local trust is currently in dire straits with disgruntled staff official complaining about all sorts of different issues. An overriding factor is the constant high workload. No doubt there will be those in the private sector who will moan about the fact that they work 10 or 12 hours a day but in their case it is invariably about making money for their company and, ergo, for themselves. When in those 10/12 hours do you face people at their most vulnerable, when the next thing you do could mean life or death, whether that is a complex operation or a simple injection. In the private sector you might have to face disgruntled customers, in the NHS, nurses and doctors have to manage patient and relative's expectations. The NHS has never been a perfect organisation but under the Tories it tends to deteriorate far more. It did under Thatcher and it has under Cameron. And just to clarify, nobody, as far as I can see, is talking down the front line staff of the NHS.

As for your comment about no subsidies, I think someone else has already answered that. But to clarify, it doesn't have to be a direct subsidy to one party for it to benefit them, surely that is obvious!

Much improved economy, low unemployment, understands the NHS needs massive financial support and the prospect of no inheritance tax for working class families. Even SLB I think agrees.

Lots of campaigning along the Kings Road yesterday, thankfully not a ukip in sight.

Your comment about IHT was the 'give away'.

 

[wellquickwoody]

nhs nearly irreparably damaged, aaa credit rating lost, recovery delayed by two years, record number of working families in poverty, tax avoiding companies subsidised to pay minimum wage and avoid giving workers job security.
About 10% of estates currently pay any inheritance tax, still historically very low.
The most corrosive government in history.

swbte?

 

[beorhthelm]

So in your opinion tax credits do not subsidise low paying employers who still turn a healthy profit for their shareholders?
I suppose next you'll be saying the huge housing benefit payouts in no way subsidise the second mortgage or thriving business of the private landlord/landlady

tax credits do not subsidise employers, they subsidise employees. this is a manifest fact that is twisted for some reason by those that want to beat up on business. a company doesnt determine pay structures or wages on the basis of what individuals net income may be, they base on business needs and market rate. and if you want to insist on making the claim, just remember who brought them it and ask why they did?

meanwhile housing benefit is a rather different beast, and housing benefits certainly do inflate the markets for rental housing, by supplimenting demand for higher rents.

 

[ofco8]

IDS for another term? God help the poor.

Or those who think Benefits are a lifestyle choice.

 

[beorhthelm]

The reason people go on about the NHS is because a lot of people know people that work in the sector and it is in turmoil. Our own local trust is currently in dire straits with disgruntled staff official complaining about all sorts of different issues. An overriding factor is the constant high workload.

i have no doubt there are issues and that the workload is high. my point is this hasnt changed significantly in the past government. the pay award was not great but generally the NHS funding has been maintained and staff levels has too give or take a couple of thousand, which is a tiny proportion of the size of the workforce. if things are so bad when the funding has increased and 99% of the staff are the same, then it must have been on the edge before, right? if the arguement is that the increases need to more than they have been, then lets hear the case for that, why and where the funding needs to be made, and why that wasnt being planned for before.

 

[Ernest]

Or those who think Benefits are a lifestyle choice.

Yes £72 a week is a lifestyle choice

 

[1066familyman]

tax credits do not subsidise employers, they subsidise employees. this is a manifest fact that is twisted for some reason by those that want to beat up on business. a company doesnt determine pay structures or wages on the basis of what individuals net income may be, they base on business needs and market rate. and if you want to insist on making the claim, just remember who brought them it and ask why they did?

meanwhile housing benefit is a rather different beast, and housing benefits certainly do inflate the markets for rental housing, by supplimenting demand for higher rents.

There are many "manifest fact" that aren't quite what they appear to be.

In the house you can accuse someone of being "economical with the truth" but mustn't dare call them a "liar". It would remain a "manifest fact" that you haven't actually called that person a liar, but everyone knows exactly what you mean.

Of course tax credits aren't a direct subsidy paid to business, but if you think tax credits really aren't subsidising business profits then you're either being naive (which, knowing your history on here, I find highly unlikely) or deliberately misrepresenting the "manifest facts".

Anyway, last post from me. Not because I don't want to debate with you, but because I don't want to contribute any further to a fishing thread.

 

[midnight_rendezvous]

Yep, let's elect the Tories so the rich continue to get richer and the poor get poorer.

 

[smartferndale]

NHS

Hard decisions need to be made about the NHS. A non party group to decide how best to use the money allocated. Can we afford to cover everything given the increased demand caused by an ageing population. Equipment becoming ever more complicated and expensive. More drugs to cover more illness. There will never be enough money to cover everything. All in favour of charging those who miss appointments and those with problems caused by too much drink. Cut out time wasters somehow. i.e those who turn up at the doctors every week for spurious reasons. National campaign against obesity.
Make nursing a non graduate profession. I want caring and compassion, can these be taught not a really well educated academic who thinks it beneath them to give time to a patient and clean the urine etc from the elderly. Rant caused by visit to a certain ward in London