The following stories all come from a single day’s edition of a single British newspaper – the Independent’s issue dated 16 October 2013. Welcome to the United Kingdom.
Hungrier than ever: Britain’s use of food banks triples
“The Trussell Trust, the country’s biggest food bank operator, said it distributed food to 355,985 people, including nearly 120,000 children, between April and September compared with 113,264 during the same period in 2012. It handed out food to more people during those six months than in the whole of 2012, the trust said.
It released the figures days after the Red Cross announced it planned to distribute food aid to the needy in Britain this winter for the first time since the Second World War.
It said people going to food banks had started returning food that needed to be warmed up because they could not afford to switch on their electricity. More than 65,000 people were referred to food banks over the period because of benefit changes – a four-fold increase – and another 117,000 people were referred because of delays in paying their benefits.”
Poorest areas of England ‘will suffer under new NHS spending formula’
“New plans for allocating resources across England’s clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), under consideration by NHS England, would see a measure that takes deprivation into account dropped in favour of a greater emphasis on the age of the population.
In one CCG, South Eastern Hamp-shire, where the healthy life expectancy for women is 68, NHS funding would increase by £164 per person under the new formula – a 14 per cent increase. By contrast, in Sunderland, where a woman’s healthy life expectancy is 58, NHS funding per person would decrease by £146 – a decline of 11 per cent.”
Why is Birmingham’s infant mortality rate worse than in Cuba?
“Why is it that infant mortality is almost twice the national average, worse than in Cuba and on a par with Latvia and Chile? Why is it that Birmingham has some of the worst levels of statutory homelessness in the country? Why is it that levels of long term unemployment in the city are more than double the national average?
These are shocking statistics and a national disgrace.”
Firms need fewer rules to recruit more, says Tory Business Minister
“His comments risked reviving Coalition tensions over employment law. Last year the Liberal Democrats blocked the main recommendations from venture capitalist Adrian Beecroft, including a controversial proposal to allow companies to fire staff at will.”
Of course, that’s only one side of the story:
Osborne signs deal to put Britain at front of the queue for Chinese cash
“Leading a trade mission to China, Mr Osborne said: ‘The Chinese currency, the renminbi, is not terribly well known in Britain at the moment. But over my lifetime I think it’s going to become almost as familiar as the dollar, and I want British businesses involved in trading it, in investing it.'”
Hector Sants takes ‘stress leave’ from Barclays role
“Sir Hector Sants, one of the most senior bankers of his generation, has become the latest top executive forced to quit temporarily due to stress.
Sir Hector, who is thought to be on a £3m deal, was one of the chief architects of banking regulatory policy through the global financial crisis, and took on his post at Barclays in January.He is expected to be off work for about three months, not returning until the new year.”
Royal Mail ‘seriously underpriced’, says broker
“The shares, which were sold by the Government at 330p, ended at 489p yesterday as unconditional trading began. The rise leaves private investors with a paper profit of £361 on their original outlay of £750. ‘There should have been far more consultation with the retail market,’ Mr Hargreaves said: ‘There’s not one person in the City or Canary Wharf who understands retail and we were not consulted once.'”
Why Sir Richard Branson won’t find life too taxing on his Caribbean island
“He says he’s relocating for lifestyle reasons and denies the fact that a dramatically reduced tax bill could also be a factor. I want to accept Sir Richard’s explanation. He’s always been something of an ambassador for these shores, liking to drape himself in the Union Jack, and it would be a pity if pure cash was the lure overseas.
It’s definitely the case that he’s so rich that tax should not concern him – he can afford to pay whatever Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs throws at him.”
.
Daily developments in the Union can be followed in The Sealand Gazette.
I’d cheerfully burn my English passport at this point except it might be useful to let me into Scotland one day (presuming England doesn’t leave the EU too hastily).
You could always dip into any page of any Private Eye for a litany of wastefulness, corruption and Westminster stench.
It would be an eyewatering task to add up all the money that has been squandered by Westminster and is detailed within the pages of Private Eye over the years.
Yet the Scottish press and politicians prefer to find out if Alex Salmond paid for his own Tunnocks.
I can only bear to buy Private Eye every two or three issues. More than that and the rage actually gets debilitating.
The most sound case of all the arguments for independence. There is nothing desirable in watching on as Britain flays itself of all humanity in the death throes of a once progressive and philanthropic society – that at one point – when many had sacrificed everything for it’s salvation, nearly got to grips with the idea that everyone is deserving.
Despite the gruesomeness of the spectacle, almost like eyes being drawn to a car accident or something, there is an underlying morbid fascination with just how much horror can be inflicted upon us all before we completely snap?
The corrupt disgrace and chaos of British government. It’s not possible we could do worse than this. Better Apart.
You could also add in the following from the BBC:
Social mobility report: Work ‘may be no route out of poverty’
Work no longer pays enough to provide a route out of poverty for millions of families, the government’s social mobility tsar has warned.
link to bbc.co.uk
Osborne agrees to China investing in UK nuclear plants
The Chancellor, George Osborne, has announced that the UK will allow Chinese companies to take a stake in British nuclear power plants
link to bbc.co.uk
Ah, Westminster must retain thumbscrew control over Scotland as a Free Scotland would be such a stark contrast to their own demise. The yeomen could become restless when they realised that they’ve been ruthlessly used.
I used to be a subscriber to Private Eye but it wasn’t me boaking at the constant corruption that made me stop my subscription it was some very ignorant comments about the SG.
I am not aware that the Eye did any real piece on Purcell, GCC. SLab despite me thinking it would be right up the Eye’s street.
Haven’t read it for 18 months now – am I missing something now? should i re-start buying it?
I subscribed to Private Eye for years. Stopping once or twice because it was just too depressing or because I ran out of money… Perhaps this had an effect on my ability to decide while on holiday that I wasn’t going back!
With Labour promising to get even thougher on Welfare than the Tories, promising to run with Gove’s educational changes, making UKIPy noises about immigration and have let Straw loose to tell us why we plebs need to be spied on I just want out and out now…..nothing good will come of voting No.
Better Together have waxed lyrical about scares but the scariest thing of all is that we watch our country turn into a US mini-me.
I’m a subscriber to Private Eye, but only really to pass it on to my dad when I’m finished. I used to have to try not to read it too quickly, but now I find it difficult to finish it before the next issue is out. It’s like reading about a totally different country. The very occasional references to Scottish politics are barely more informed than anything you’d find in the mainstream press, and you’d certainly not know from Private Eye that there is an independence referendum happening in one part of the UK.
When I first started subscribing in 2006 it was absolutely essential reading, but over the past few years (especially since the 2011 landslide) it’s just become so obvious how Anglocentric it is.
And I never did hear back about that email I sent them about a certain Scottish journalist threatening ordinary people’s livelihoods…
@DD
Private Eye is an amazing publication, although I think they may be under serious threat if/when further press regulation is imposed after Leveson. And yes, it doesn’t do Scotland at all well (stupidly in fact) and most of it is like reading about a far away foreign country … except, horrifyingly, when you realise we’re still part of all that. To be honest, these days I mainly just skim through it for the cartoons.
I find the proposed NHS England funding formula change perverse. It looks like a self fulfilling change – it will accelerate the gap in healthcare within England as richer areas increasingly have longer life expectancy than poorer areas.
The people in south UK need to remove “post code lottery” from their health care vocabulary. It is no longer really a lottery as the system is being designed to ensure funding goes to wealthier areas.
I suspect Hector Sants has had a look at cleaning up Barclays and realised that leaves little remaining business!
Used to enjoy the Eye back in my Uni days when Ingrams and Co ran the show. Hislop is OK but he is both more to the right and Anglo-centric than some of his forerunners. Still plays an important journalistic role and one of the few that will run with a dogged investigation of wrong doing but not entirely the same beast it was.
Britain is wallowing in sleaze and corruption. However if you have money and influence you can get away with anything. They will even let you have private rooms in hospitals so that you can abuse children.
Ugh. What a depressing collection of stories. The long-term implications of the NHS piece don’t bear thinking about, and the RMail shares issue was just too easy to predict.
All of this and Labour’s Holy Grail thinking.
To Labour the Holy Grail is that they will stay in power in Westminster forever and magically reverse all of these problems, while following policies (beliefs) that keep the disaster going.
People of Scotland, there is an other way.
I was a subscriber and avid reader of Private Eye for many years but cancelled my subscription last year because of their lack of interest in and increasing ignorance of what was happening in Scotland. What didn’t help was Ian Hislop ill-informed cheap shots and sneering at us on HIGNFY.
Who needs Gregs pies when you can have an egg and tattie scone doubler? I was buying such when ‘the state of the nation’ cropped up;
Cafe employee (early twenties): “The country is certainly on its knees”.
Me: “Which country”?
Cafe employee: Good point.
Me: I hope you are registered to vote for next year?
Cafe employee: I’ll definitely need to make sure I am.
Vote Yes if you want better or more than the British state can deliver.
I was going to apologise for going off topic, but the thread seems to have morphed into a Private Eye critique so I won’t bother with the apology.
I posted this at the end of the bully’s gospel thread but most people have moved on so it might not have been seen.
Labour ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown thought borrowing to “invest” was such a good idea it became an integral part of this Golden Rule.
Labour ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling thinks borrowing to “save” is complete nonsense.
Which Labour ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer should we believe?
Poorer Together, Sicker Together and Unequal Together
That is what happens when you combine age-old Tory dogma with neo-liberal values.
@Cameron B
Egg, tattie scone and black pudding doubler. A full Scottish breakfast! 🙂
Ah, Holebender, that’s a trick question. It’s a bit like “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?”
The answer of course is neither of them.
To understand their priorities follow this link
link to lobster-magazine.co.uk
and scroll down to the heading “Here we go again” on page 6.
@TMITJ
Go to Mc monagles in Clydebank and you get a good scoopful of chips with it too!
Back on topic – I’ve got a few don’t knows actually starting to ask questions now, always a good start.
gp
Three little letters Scotland.
That all it takes to be rid of these self-serving, corruption-condoning, tax-dodging, sleazy-sucking, money hungry bastards.
Three little letters; one unmistakable message.
YES.
YES
I was reading an article posted by Muttley79 at about 9am on the previous Mutton dressed as lamb thread (No archive link) naughty!
In it I. Davidson is quoted as saying “The battle is over save for bayoneting the wounded” I cant believe that the bastard actually said that. Well actually I can! Remembering what he said regarding Bannockburn this is utterly disgusting. I assume that he was making a reference to Culloden where the government army disgraced itself by carrying out the disgraceful practice of bayoneting the Jacobite wounded and dying. Has anyone any idea as to where and when he said that? I think that there are parts of Scotland where a statement like that would really resonate. If he did say that it should be broadcast far and wide.
Regarding my above comment the article in question was a link to the Guardian. Apologies my anger overwhelmed my writing.
O/T On Grangemouth INEOS spokesperson is scaremongering but no one from BBC taking them up on their claims that Gas is running out
In fact a huge new gas development West of Scotland which come on stream in nine months time has reserves of for more than 30 years.
link to archive.is
Sorry Rev. stuff the house rules. (I have forgotten how to archive a link) I am just so f*****g angry! Here is the link.
link to theguardian.com
Doug Daniel says:
17 October, 2013 at 10:17 am
” Private Eye,…. It’s like reading about a totally different country.”
er, that’s because it is. Sadly the Eye suffers from a bit of metropolitan myopia about the ‘provinces’. Disappointing but there you go.
In it I. Davidson is quoted as saying “The battle is over save for bayoneting the wounded”
Surely not – even ID is not that thick!
The Animals 1960’s hit “We’ve gotta get out of this place” seems appropriate as the anthem for today. And yes, I can remember it from 1st time around 🙂
The sad news is that Norway has hundreds of food banks as well.
However, that will be Norway, Maine, USA.
Norway, Scandanavia, can only emulate by way of a global seed bank.
Mmmmm…
The ill informed BBC journos failed to contradict the INEOS of Grangemouth claims that Gas is running out.
In fact in seven months time a new gas development west of Scotland will start to pump enough gas to last over 30 years.
As reported last month by Shetland Times link to archive.is
The UK state broadcaster didn’t report this good news for Scotland.
Surely not – even ID is not that thick!
I must confess that was my thought too.
I’m losing count of the times I’ve read “The ill informed BBC journos failed to contradict the…”
However more often than not it would probably be more accurate to say “The willfully blind BBC journos failed to contradict the…”
I should have added that the writer in the Guardian does have that Davidson comment in quotation marks but I would like to see it in the flesh so to speak because I really can’t believe he said something as inflamatory and as moronic as that.
Ricky Ross said this in 1990, but it could equally apply today
I note with utter distain that the Herald have implemented censorship
I made a comment on their article about James Naughtie complaining about the BBC not living up to their promise of covering everything in the run up to the referendum and ignoring the SNP party conference. I was the first to comment this morning, but going back to look it ain’t their
@TMITJ
Davidson did not say those words in that context.
What he actually said was;
“As well as bayoneting the wounded after the event, as it were, presumably you will always have a responsibility to indicate, going forward, what prudent steps need to be taken in order to make sure that the ship is maintained on an even keel.”
It was said at a Scottish Affairs Committee meeting on Scotland’s referendum on WEDNESDAY 5 JUNE 2013 – See Q3252
link to publications.parliament.uk
At the end of the meeting he was quite rude to one of the witnesses as she was unable to give the negative answers he wanted to hear.
“Davidson did not say those words in that context.
It was said at a Scottish Affairs Committee meeting on Scotland’s referendum on WEDNESDAY 5 JUNE 2013”
No. He said it last month, round about 17 minutes into this:
link to mixlr.com
Regarding the reference in the Independent article to the infant mortality rate being worse in Birminham than in Cuba. I believe Cuba has one of the highest doctor per capita in the world. Certainy a lot higher than Britain and most, if not all, of the developed world.
@The Man in the Jar
Egg, tattie scone and black pudding doubler. A full Scottish breakfast!
Once again the misguided YES believers claims leave them wanting,
When did 3 items on a Morning Roll ( preferably Mortons) make a doubler?
😉
Davidson is a gift that just keeps giving (although the mixed metaphor a tad painful)
@handandShrimp
More the case he is a gi(f)t that keeps on taking sadly. No doubt an Ermine cape awaits such a noble fellow
I subscribe to PI and find much of the content disgusting. It is true that there is next to no content about Scotland (due to lack of Scottish correspondents?). But Scotland should have a similar journal – the Irish have.
For decades the government told us to fear the one party communist states behind the Iron Curtain.Now a member of the government wants us to welcome a one party communist state and learn to love their currency.Make your mind up lol.
Thanks, Stu.
“As well as bayoneting the wounded after the event…”
“The debate will go on in the sense there’s a large number of wounded still to be bayoneted.”
“Bayoneting the wounded”: He seems to have latched on to that wee turn of phrase, doesn’t he? He must think it suits his smart mouth.
Well spotted Alex, and for bringing those stories to our attention.
Pretty sure George Osborne is in China just now, and somewhere in Somerset will have the first nuclear power station built by the Chinese.
As for the other headlines, a Dickensian society beckons, Scotland, if a note vote is prevelant.
@Jimbo
For me “Bayoneting the wounded” encapsulates perfectly the Redcoat mentality of SLab drones like Davidson, who don’t yet realise that they are just expendable front-line ground-troops – and stooges – for London elites and the Tory party…
What does he even mean by it? Bayoneting the wounded is an atrocity. A war crime. Is he suggesting that the unionists are intending to do something equivalent to a war crime when they win? Or is he accusing someone else of intending to do it? I honestly don’t understand what sort of metaphor he is trying to invoke.
Bayonet the wounded after the event is Davidson’s code for Vote No Get Stuffed. We should use it as an example to alert people to the real intention of Westminster wrt independence after a No vote, we will be wounded and there will be no mercy.
Do you really think so? I agree that’s what it sounds like, but surely even he couldn’t be so crass – could he?
I had to go for a long walk to calm down!
Morag I am positive that the bayoneting of the wounded is a reference to the battle of Culloden. For those not up on the history of Culloden a quick lesson.
The battle took place around mid-day and was all over in just over one hour. The weather was sleet driven by a cold north easterly wind. Unusually the Duke of Cumberland who was in charge of the British Government army issued an order that a guard be put on the field to prevent assistance being given to the Jacobite wounded and those close to death. These poor souls scattered across the heather had to endure the freezing cold all afternoon and overnight. In the morning “The Butcher” Cumberland issued an order to his troops to search the field and to put to death all Jacobite wounded. The lucky ones were bayoneted the unlucky ones had their brains bashed out with the but of a brown bess musket.
I wonder what other war criminals Davidson likens himself to?
Don’t any other politicians from his own party mention that this might not be the right tone to strike?
@ Morag
“What does he even mean by it?”
I may be wrong, Morag, but I took it to mean that (as far as he is concerned) the independence referendum battle is fought and won. The NO side are victorious already, and it is just a case of being rid of the last remnants of YES supporters.
I was searching for something regarding the wounded at Culloden and I came across this. Honestly I didn’t know it existed. It was however taken from a two page spread in Scotland on Sunday in 2010
link to bbc.co.uk
I am the tall one centre rear in a blue bonnet. Morag you will recognise the gentleman in red right of centre. (Covers ears in case I hear the scream from here) 🙂
Very, very interesting link in the Guardian today:
“UK aims to become hub for Arctic oil exploration”
“The UK does not have any territory in the Arctic, and so no formal role in negotiating international policy within the Arctic Council, but is regarded as an interested party because some of its northernmost reach is close to the region.”
link to theguardian.com
I suppose they don’t mean Carlisle!
Just musing over John MacLeans famous saying.
‘A bayonet, that’s a weapon with a working man at either end,”
I wonder if he would class Davidson as a working man?
Jimbo, as I said above, I agree that’s what it sounds like. I’m just completely stunned that he would have said it.
I am the tall one centre rear in a blue bonnet. Morag you will recognise the gentleman in red right of centre. (Covers ears in case I hear the scream from here)
Bwahahahaha! 😀
@Morag
Or should that be Ambassador Dellen? 😉
@The Man in the Jar.
Chevalier Johnstone, was an officer in the Jacobite Army. After the battle he described,how the Highlanders reacted, when they realised they had been beaten.
The Highlanders gave vent to their grief with wild howlings, tears flowed down there cheeks,they knew that there country was now under the control of the Duke of Cumberland,and would be plundered whilst they and their children, would be reduced to slavery.
Popular Jacobite slogan etched onto numerous swords and dirks. Some still in private collections some in various museums.
“Prosperity to Scotland and No Union”
Iain Davidson thinks the referendum is won for No. The MSM in Scotland think the referendum is over, Iain McWhirter pretty much said this today in the Herald. I think this is more a psychological trick on the part of the Unionists/MSM (although why McWhirter is giving it credibility I am not sure?), than anything else. But we have been here before. Remember 2011? I know that it was a election and not an independence referendum, and it was the SNP who were well behind and not the Yes campaign. However, the situation still holds, of the SNP can win after being so written off, then Yes can win too.
HandandShrimp
I should have added that the writer in the Guardian does have that Davidson comment in quotation marks but I would like to see it in the flesh so to speak because I really can’t believe he said something as inflamatory and as moronic as that.
I can! Davidson is a political dinosaur, a Weegie thug. He is the ape man of Scottish politics. He thought it was a good idea to threaten a female SNP MP ‘with a doing.’ The guy is a cretin, a moron, and living proof of why we need a Yes vote. He is a SLAB careerist writ large. Have to agree with The Man in the Jar about the reference to bayoneting the injured being about Culloden. He has already made offensive remarks about Bannockburn. Davidson is trying to goad us into a reaction. If there is a No vote I think I will self combust…
(although why McWhirter is giving it credibility I am not sure?)
Because he is a Unionist?
Beware false friends.
Aye Juteman, I realise that. Hoped he might have a bit of sense to ignore the hysterical MSM’s the referendum’s already over and won by the No side schtick though. Apparently not. How quickly have this lot forgotten 2011? It should just make independence supporters even more motivated and determined. If we win there will a lot of GIRUYs on here!
My understanding is that Iain McWhirter does not actually support independence. He seems to have ended up on the Yes side by it being a less bad outcome than a No.
He does seem to be showing hallmark New Labour tendencies – hoisting up the white flag and ditching any modicum of core belief at the earliest sign of a battle ahead.
I thought Rory Bremner’s face was a picture after his conversation with Davidson.
This campaign will only end at 10pm on 17th September next year. Then the vote takes place the next day. If there is a Yes vote, brilliant the struggle for independence is over, and we can then turn our collective attention towards shaping and changing Scotland. If there is a No vote then the struggle will go on. However, this declaring victory that the No campaign and the MSM are clearly now doing, as a tactic, is a very dangerous one for them. People in Scotland will not want to be taken for granted, and this is exactly what the No/MSM are doing.
For many folk like McWhirter, indy is the lesser of two evils. The result will simply be a discussion over his dinner-table. His life, and his kids lives won’t change too much. There are lots of folk on this forum in the same boat. Life will go on for the comfortable amongst us.
For other folk, this really is a life changing event for our families, and our children. It isn’t simply a dinner party topic of conversation about nationality.
There will be a reckoning after the vote.
Anyone who calls the result of any ballot with eleven months still to go is an imbecile.
@Juteman
Have to disagree with you on the point of people on here’s life not changing as a result of a No vote. I genuinely believe that a No vote will affect everybody in Scotland, and not in a good way. We are looking at NHS privatisation, tuition fees restored, end of free prescriptions, probable exit from the EU, Holyrood being hit hard.
“We are looking at NHS privatisation, tuition fees restored, end of free prescriptions, probable exit from the EU, Holyrood being hit hard.”
Quite possibly, but remember – for some people, all of those are good things. Not people you’d want to be in a room with, but there are plenty of them.
@muttley79
Think you may have taken what he said out of context.
this really is a life changing event for our families, and our children. It isn’t simply a dinner party topic of conversation about nationality.
Juteman knows fine well how peoples lives may change after the vote. Read his post again.
I hear what you are saying, Muttley.
But there are changes, and there are changes.
Some folk might not be able to send their kids to Uni, and other folk may struggle to even keep a roof over their heads.
Fair point Stu, I can understand Scottish Tories being Unionists…Westminster is their only chance of seeing policies they like. It is Darling going to the Tory Party conference and getting warm applause that melts my brain.
But how many people would be able to afford to send their kids to university, if £9,000 a year tuition fees came in? This would be a disaster for Scottish universities, as you would be at a stroke taking out all working, and most middle class people’s children from being able to go to higher education. What happens if you completely fuck up higher education in a nation as small as Scotland? What do the potential young students do now, as the jobs market here is not exactly thriving as it is?
@Rev Stu
Quite possibly, but remember – for some people, all of those are good things. Not people you’d want to be in a room with, but there are plenty of them.
Do you reckon there is a lot of people like this in Scotland?
“Do you reckon there is a lot of people like this in Scotland?”
At least 260,000.
@Rev
Maybe a tad high. At least 5% of Tory voters are Yes voters so it is unlikely that all 260,000 are quite what you reckon.