Osborne Loses It - Our Triple A Rating And Its Future

[Deleted User]

Devon_Sailor wrote: »

Many local councils and authorities have been rightly admonished by Eric Pickles for having vast sums of capital reserves available (indeed, not just available, but being ADDED to!) whilst simultaneously slashing the "coalface" workers and services......D_S

Just a quick point - don't jump too quickly on councils building up reserves. External auditors expect councils to have reserves of a certain % of their annual revenue budgets to deal with unexpected issues. By all means criticise councils whose reserves are in excess of the levels recommended by the external auditors, but I'd be a bit worried if councils spent reserves because of a general rant by a politician. By the by, the politician in question doesn't seem too worried about the particular "reserves" he is carrying around with him, if his girth is any indication..:D! Bit personal there,but it's odd to take lectures on restraint from someone who finds it hard to exercise it himself!

WR

A._Badger

Wild_Rover wrote: »

Just a quick point - don't jump too quickly on councils building up reserves. External auditors expect councils to have reserves of a certain % of their annual revenue budgets to deal with unexpected issues. By all means criticise councils whose reserves are in excess of the levels recommended by the external auditors, but I'd be a bit worried if councils spent reserves because of a general rant by a politician. By the by, the politician in question doesn't seem too worried about the particular "reserves" he is carrying around with him, if his girth is any indication..:D! Bit personal there,but it's odd to take lectures on restraint from someone who finds it hard to exercise it himself!

WR

It's not only 'a bit personal - it's just a cheap ad hom. The problem with Pickles isn't his waistline, it's been his complete inability to rein in greedy council executives, lazy and ideologicaly driven council staff and hugely overpaid (though it's laughingly described as expenses) local councillors.

One gets the sense that Pickles knows he has failed and is frustrated by it. But until the local government system of this country is dismantled and rebuilt, all that one can charitably say about Pickles is 'at least he tried'..

grizzly1911

A._Badger wrote: »

It's not only 'a bit personal - it's just a cheap ad hom. The problem with Pickles isn't his waistline, it's been his complete inability to rein in greedy council executives, lazy and ideologicaly driven council staff and hugely overpaid (though it's laughingly described as expenses) local councillors.

One gets the sense that Pickles knows he has failed and is frustrated by it. But until the local government system of this country is dismantled and rebuilt, all that one can charitably say about Pickles is 'at least he tried'..

Time for a reshuffle perhaps.

They can all leave behind various unfinished projects and start new ones.;)

Thrugelmir

Originally Posted by DecentLivingWage
Yes, agreed - awful the way not all of us are skint! Osborne photographed at Champagne Ball last week - the tickets were £400 ! Four Hundred Pounds!! Can you believe that? While lots of us are facing up to having to sorn our cars, makes me feel sick! All In This Together? hollow laugh.... Its his falling pound thats pricing ordinary working dads and mums out of the market! A mansion tax and reversing tax breaks for the rich would be a much fairer way of balancing the books.

Tony Blair gets paid a fee of around £2.5 million as an advisor for JP Morgan.

Seems far removed from his working class rhetoric......

One of the posh boys without any doubt.

BobQ

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Tony Blair gets paid a fee of around £2.5 million as an advisor for JP Morgan.

Seems far removed from his working class rhetoric......

One of the posh boys without any doubt.

Blair was elected by a large proportion of the electorate and while we can all disagree with some of his Government's policies he generally did what he said he would do in 1997 (invest in the NHS, education, strive to reduce poverty, widen opportunity, introduce the NMW and fight terrorism).

What happened after he left UK politics is arguably no different to what some others did in recent times (Thatcher notably (Thatcher Foundation, Philip Morris, speeches) and Major). Although you could argue he has been more successful in making money than Thatcher (although she was already wealthy and would have made more has she not had health issues).

That said I think it does detract from Blair's image with his supporters that he seems to have been so keen to make money on the back of his service to the nation.

A._Badger

Blair did untold damage to this country. He is undoubtedly the worst post-war PM - for all that Heath gave him a good run for his money.

He presided over the hosing of taxpayers' money into hopelessly bloated and inefficient state-run bodies like the NHS, the results of which are only now coming to light since the Stafford outrage finally surfaced.

He deliberately, maliciously and without mandate opened the gates to uncontrolled immigration, for political advantage.

He failed to get to grips with the EU and gave away our freedom to self-govern in a series of treacherous surrenders exemplified by the Human Rights Act fiasco - again, the results of which are being endured now, when we find ourselves powerless to repatriate convicted criminals on the most absurd and spurious grounds.

He and his henchmen lied to the nation about the Iraq casus belli.

He was directly involved in scandals like the Hinduja and Ecclestone affairs. .

He and his inner cabal (notably Campbell and Mandelson but others too - no, we haven't forgotten Ms Jo "good day to bury bad news" Moore) routinely subverted and manipulated the media.

In a sensibly run country, Blair would be on trial. I sincerely hope that day is still to come. It will be a long and terrible charge sheet.

DecentLivingWage

Rumour tonight that Lord Ashcroft has withdrawn his funding, perhaps due to loss of faith in Osborne and in now doubtful investment of his money in a Tory win, journalist on Murnaghan earlier said it was start of rats deserting sinking ship...

robmatic

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Tony Blair gets paid a fee of around £2.5 million as an advisor for JP Morgan.

Seems far removed from his working class rhetoric......

One of the posh boys without any doubt.

Blair was educated at Fettes - the working class rhetoric was a stretch at the best of times.

Generali

DecentLivingWage wrote: »

Rumour tonight that Lord Ashcroft has withdrawn his funding, perhaps due to loss of faith in Osborne and in now doubtful investment of his money in a Tory win, journalist on Murnaghan earlier said it was start of rats deserting sinking ship...

I guess I was right then.

:rotfl:

Wookster

BobQ wrote: »

(invest in the NHS, education, strive to reduce poverty, widen opportunity, introduce the NMW and fight terrorism).

Blair didn't invest. He threw money.

I would bet every government department could lost 15-20% of its budget and perform better if they were managed appropriately.