Thursday, February 28, 2008

Incapacity pays!

If the Government is so keen to get people off incapacity benefit and into work, why doesn't it reduce the benefit so it's worth as much as unemployment benefit rather than employ agencies?

Perversely, incapacity benefit even increases the longer it is claimed!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Benefits of the doubt?

How many civil servants face action for the gross incompetence that allowed Melanie Thompson to defraud HMRC of £29,000 in child benefits without any checks!?!

"Her calls were not checked out, they (the Inland Revenue) just said yes and paid her the money."

"In this particular case you are a very dishonest woman and they (the Inland Revenue) are a very inefficient department." - Judge Peter Jacobs.

Who could blame people for stealing from banks if they never locked their safes!?!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Thought for the day

With so many allowances available to MPs that they appear to cover most conceivable day-to-day living expenses, what do they spend their salaries on!?!

En-suite prison cells?

It's disturbing to think that murderers Levi Bellfield, Mark Dixie and Steve Wright could spend the rest of their lives in prison with the luxury of en-suite showers!

Would a hangman's noose have saved the lives of their victims!?!

Monday, February 25, 2008

"Speaker denies harming Parliament"

"The Sunday Times also reported that [the speaker] claimed £17,000 a year for his home in Scotland and £7,500 in costs for using that home as an office."

"Mr Martin has been a very, very good Speaker." - Gordon Brown.

Her Majesty's Immoral Revenue & Customs

Is it appropriate for HMRC to pay £100,000 for data stolen from a Liechtenstein bank by a former employee?

Should British banks be allowed to sell customer data to foreign governments!?!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Greens welcome gas price hikes?

Should green consumers welcome recent increases in energy costs as they automatically increase the rewards for saving the planet by using less energy!?!

Good news for Labour!

Biggest brain drain from UK in 50 years

How many of these "highly qualified professionals" are Conservative supporters!?!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Rights and Shackles

Are the human rights of prisoners more important than the human rights of the general public to protection from them?

Would a murderer and rapist have escaped from medical treatement if they had been handcuffed or shackled!?!

Monday, February 18, 2008

Welcome to the Police State!

"Police, probation and local authorities will also be expected to identify and share information about people who are at risk of committing violent crimes."

Action plan targets violent crime

How many new prisons will be built to house these offenders?

Should sentences be increased and tougher!?!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Northern Rocks!

Can Northern Rock staff now look forward to retiring at 55 with a taxpayer guaranteed pension, shorter working hours, more days off sick, more holidays and less stress!?!

Northern Rock to be nationalised

Friday, February 15, 2008

Surrender on terror

"The government rejects any suggestion that Britain is a soft touch for terrorists." - Cabinet Office spokesman

Five students win terror appeal.
"The convictions of five young Muslim men jailed over extremist literature have been quashed by the Appeal Court. "

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Looking back in anger?

If £486m of Manchester City Council funding is not spent according to the wishes of one phone call, six letters and twenty-one emails following a month long 'consultation', will mancunians be right to have ignored it!?!

More English and less Scottish!

[English] Council tax 'set to rise by 4%' [in 2008].

[Scottish] Local authorities 'to freeze tax' [in 2008].

The English are paying even more for even less!

Super Quangos

How does the electorate influence decisions made by Quangos that are responsible for nearly a quarter of all public expenditure!?!

"A recent Sunday Times survey found that [Quangos] cost each adult in Britain a total of £3,600/year."

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Terror pornography!?!

If you can no longer be prosecuted for "simply looking at" downloaded terrorist literature from the internet, can paedophiles now make the same claim about "simply looking at" child pornography!?!

Childcareless?

Will any of the care agencies that failed to protect Jessica Randall suggest the general public would be better served if they closed down as fewer agencies would improve standards and communications!?!

"We, along with our partners, acknowledge all of the mistakes which were made and we have already taken action to address the key findings of this report to ensure that our services for children are improved as proposed." - Paul Burnett, director for children and young people at Northamptonshire County Council

Culture Vultures?

How will English school children get their fix of "high culture" when so many English venues have just lost their government funding!?!

The Department for Children, Schools and Families says each child will have access to "at least five hours of high-quality culture per week".

Free healthcare

Have senior civil servants been sacked for signing contracts guaranteeing the income of private clinics regardless of how many procedures they carry out!?!

"On average, 84% of the value of the 25 contracts - worth over £1.2bn in total - were being fulfilled."

"We now have the spectacle of millions of pounds being paid out to private companies for operations that never take place." - Karen Jennings, head of health at Unison

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Jeremy Kyle generation

Is the "Jeremy Kyle generation" caused by the welfare state and the poor quality of state funded secondary education in many areas?

"Research carried out in Bristol by Wetz (see below) uncovered the fact that many of the children who left school with no qualifications were doing well in their education at the age of 10 or 11 - the turning point came as they joined their secondary schools."

Civil Service merry-go-round?

How many of the civil servants made redundant at a total cost of *just* £430m have found new jobs elsewhere in the civil service!?!

Has anyone noticed "significant improvements in the way public services are being delivered" as a result of these efficiencies!?!

Pitching for protection?

Who will protect my human rights not to be intimidated when visiting the local shops!?!

"The Children's Commissioner for England says [high-pitched devices used to disperse teenagers] should be scrapped as they infringe the rights of young people."

Should fire engines have them installed!?!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Burning our money!

Do attacks on firecrews tend to occur in middle-class areas or in areas where successive generations have become reliant on the welfare state!?!

Scottish Toll Free Roads

Why should English taxpayers be funding the Forth and Tay road bridges rather than Scottish drivers?

"Scotland now has no chargeable roads. Funding for both bridges will now be provided entirely by the Scottish Government."

Apart from private toll roads, are the only chargeable roads exclusively English!?! The westbound Severn river crossings, the M6 toll road and London congestion zone?

Thursday, February 07, 2008

His Disgrace the Archbishop of Canterbury

When will Rowan Williams leave the UK and flee to a Christian country!?!

"The Archbishop of Canterbury [believes] that some Sharia law in the UK seems "unavoidable" "

PS How can Gordon Brown condemn Sharia law when Scottish law is also different to the law in England & Wales!?!

PPS What changes have been made by the Government to 'Stamp duty' as a sop to Sharia law!?!

PPS Muslims should have to choose between "the stark alternatives of cultural loyalty or state loyalty", everyone else does! No one is forced to live in the UK and the borders are porous!

PPPS "Nobody in their right mind would want to see in this country the kind of inhumanity that's sometimes been associated with the practice of the law in some Islamic states; the extreme punishments, the attitudes to women as well." Would the Archbishop be allowed to decide which elements of Sharia law are acceptable in the UK!?!

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Government funded boozing?

Has Government research been carried out to discover how teenagers are spending their weekly Educational Maintenance Allowance of up to £30!?!

"The money’s paid directly into your bank account. Once it’s there, you can use it to pay for whatever you like – for example, books, travel or equipment."

Under-18s may face new drink ban.

Political Capital!

How many taxpayers would rather keep 1,000 extra jobs at Northern Rock or get their money back as soon as possible from Virgin Group!?! Is Robert Peston's leftie credentials slipping out!?!

"The chancellor has decided that the priority is speedy repayment of all those taxpayer loans, even if it means job losses." - Robert Peston, BBC business editor.

For the sake of 'just' £250m, wouldn't complete nationalisation of Northern Rock now offer the taxpayer better value for money rather than Richard Branson's shameless offer!?!

Mark Dixie

Why is the BBC unable to publish a photo of Mark Dixie, the 35 year old man accused of murdering Sally Anne Bowman?
They have published a photo of Nigel Wrench, the BBC Radio 4 presenter accused of drugging and raping another man!

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Holocaust trips

If "Every young person should have an understanding of [the Holocaust]" according to Schools Minister Jim Knight, why is the Government only funding visits to Auschwitz for two sixth-formers from every school in England!?!

Housing the workers?

Should people in work qualify for council houses!?!

'Work or lose home' says minister.

Monday, February 04, 2008

Wilson Doctrine

Did Tooting MP Sadiq Khan happen to be bugged on official business visiting one of his constituents in prison or on unofficial business meeting one of his childhood friends!?!

Either way, he should have been bugged when visiting a terror suspect!

Why are terror suspects worried if bugging "undermines the principle of confidentiality in the justice system in this country", they frequently want to destroy this country!!

Ministry of Disease and Incompetence?

Will Ministers condemn themselves for increasing GP's pay without expecting them to offer evening and weekend surgeries!?!

"Average family doctor pay in the UK rose by 10% to £110,000 in 12 months. It comes after pay rose by 20% in the first year and means GPs have seen pay rise by about £30,000 in two years."

Friday, February 01, 2008

Educational food for thought?

Are "white working class boys" failing at school because there are too many grammar schools or too few!?!

No one would suggest that the quality of food at McDonalds could be improved by shutting down the 164 most exclusive restaurants across England & Wales!