The wheels come off
Posted on
March 19, 2016 by
Chris Cairns
The world's most-read Scottish politics website
-
About
Wings Over Scotland is a (mainly) Scottish political media digest and monitor, which also offers its own commentary. (More)
-
Recent Posts
- 11-18
- 11-17
- 11-12
- 11-09
- 11-06
- 11-04
- 11-03
- 11-02
- 10-29
- 10-26
- 10-26
- 10-21
- 10-19
- 10-16
- 10-13
- 10-11
- 10-10
- 10-07
- 10-06
- 10-05
A tall tale
Wee Books
Video
Probably a robbery
Transphobia
Thanks, Chris!
With a very special thanks to all Red Tory Slaberites.
Can you feel the love?
link to archive.is
Bravo Chris. The demonising of the poor and sick continues unabated at the hands of these lunatics.
I had the pleasure of seeing Fire Exit, The Angelic Upstarts and Sham 69 last night in Edinburgh. The Upstarts in particular have never let go of their hatred for the Tory party. Title of their current album is the Bullington Bastards.
Sadly their hatred of the Nasty party is as relevant now as it was 30 years ago under Thatcher.
The ‘Tooth Fairy’ in the film Red Dragon had the right idea, eh!
link to youtube.com
Enjoy your weekend folks.
🙂
Well worth a watch, prof Stephanie Kelton, advisor to Bernie Sanders blows away mainstream economic myths..
youtu.be/Q1SMjeuyF-Y
Osborne.Evil.
The hypocrisy of alcoholic Tory Neil’s (alcoholics make bad judgement’s without proper, total abstinence, counselling). Thatcher’s henchman who can’t read a balance sheet and comes up with flawed statistics from poor research. Calling out Murdoch’s incestuous placeman for biased EU reporting. The policy being decided by a Non Dom tax evader. The crook who illegally bribed public officials and hacked phones. Now head of the Press Complaints Committee,
It would be laughable if it wasn’t so tragic. On re-dial to Cameron. The alcoholic pig faced sucker, who can’t read a balance sheet and totally lies to target the disable and vulnerable. Sanctioning and starving the vulnerable to death while syphoning £Billions of public money, illegally into the hands of his associates. Pouncing around the EU trying to cause a distraction. Elected to support the NHS and cut the debt. He has done neither.
The Tories are following neo-con doctrine to the letter, going way beyond anything Thatcher contemplated.
There are days I wake up sad, and days I wake up fearful. Scotland can only resist the onslaught for so long.
Chris’s cartoon captures the cruelty exactly, leaving us wondering why anybody in Scotland would vote No to block stronger democratic rights, and allow the Tories another five years of mayhem on our institutions, values, and economy.
It makes you angry just to think of what they’re doing, and how many idiots they’ve convinced it’s the only solution.
Your weekend entertainment; two for the price of one:
The politics: link to wp.me
The film: link to wp.me
[…] The wheels come off […]
As they,ll say in the former UKOK .
That man was a solid Prick.
Now all we need it for People to get the Message.
Great Toon Chris your worth your weight in Gold Bricks.
Thanks, Chris. Don’t know how you can bear to draw him. Is that shine on his shoes or a sprinkling of powder?
Fuck, I had loads to say but Ken500 and Grousebeater have summed it up perfectly.
Well done as per Chris.
The rumour is that IDS resigned because he wanted those 3 bricks means tested. Giddy said no, they were starter bricks and would encourage the building of new homes for the disabled. IDS said this was a step too far. Theresa May is worried that it might encourage an influx of migrant brickies.
Rees Mogg was heard to mumble brexit bricksit jocksit jackshit.
Some thoughts on recent events;
IDS jumping ship and the mess that is the Tory budget must be visible to Unionists; c’mon Unionists – are you not watching and listening to events in London? It’s a complete shambles; the Brexit, disabled people being victimised, an economy in freefall, Scotland being shafted. Is this what you want?
Where is the self respect that you stressed that you possessed by voting for Britishness? To my eyes that Britishness is now represented by a vulnerable section of British society who require help. But they are being victimised. Yes I know they’re are people who take the piss. But the man who runs the department tasked with managing benefits to the disabled has resigned because he believes his own goverment is to brutal.
To brutal! And you Unionists voted for this!
Truely British has become Brutish.
Brutish, you Unionists! Brutish. Brutes. Nasty. Inhuman. Cruel.
That is what it is to be a Unionist. Tarred with the same brush as George Osbourne and the Tory Party which was to cruel for even Ian Duncan Smith.
British is Brutish!!!!!
Hmmm – maybe after IDS’s resignation last night the wheels are comin’ aff Giddy’s trolley! Let’s face it he’s a car crash waitin’ tae happen. Karma – it won’t help the folks who suffer under this lot, but there must be a wee bit of cheer amongst them this morning as they watch ALL the Tories spin out of control and crash and burn as a result of all their policies on just about everything. Hell mend them 🙂
Great cartoon & very witty comments.
So a doctor’s appointment in 48 hours if we vote slab.
Really pulling oot all the stops Kezia.
A real deal breaker for me.
P45 after May.
Snp x2 EU.
To paraphrase Churchill: The Quiet Man has a lot to keep quiet about.
Giving Goose
Sadly I don’t think people darn sarf know anything about how Scotland is treated. Not in the papers, not on the BBC/ITV.
Can’t blame them but the real villains know it is true but won’t admit it.
Iain Duncan Smiff says. “I don’t believe it”.
Great cartoon.
And, good to see the WM Tories in trouble. It does seem odd that Osborne thought he could push his cuts so far. Did he not seek advice first!?
Then we have IDS. He’s anti EU. If Cameron wins he may be out anyway. If Cameron loses, he may do well in the BoJo government.
Guardian has some thoughts link to archive.is
Labour spending their £500 million yet again. Where are they raising it from this time?
@ Giving Goose
Now, forever, they shall be known as “Great Brutes”, at least in my mind.
You can see a Doctor the same day. If you phone before nine. What planet are Labour on.
Or A & E for the 10% who shouldn’t be there. Minor misdeamenours. G Docs out of hours picks up the slack. Doctors volunteer for extra payments. It goes towards the ten short breaks (plus Hols) a year. Professional secrets. You are worth it.
Political machinations continue, of course IDS resigned, better than being sacked if the leave campaign lose, and puts George hopefully in a shaky position with becoming PM leaving room for Boris.
Well that is my take on this. Only time will tell.
Good cartoon Chris, having read the stories from disabled people, how anyone can stand aside is beyond me. We all should be out in the streets demonstrating. I think the time is surely coming when this Government will have gone too far.
How long before Osbourne goes. Then the Tories fall into the incestous back stabbing, for which they are renowned. It couldn’t happen to a better bunch of hooligans. How many more folk can they back stab as they scramble over. Most of them should be in jail.
The Chilcot Report delayed again. At this rate it wouldn’t need a thirty year rule.
Ace, comme d’habitude, Chris.
The fundamental problem underlying every government financial crisis over the last 50 years or so is broken Britain’s shocking & devastatingly low levels of productivity.
It remains 40% lower than the USA, 30% lower than France & Germany & around 22% lower than the G7 average. France could fuck off every Friday for a whole year & still produce more than we do.
Consequently, when incompetent politicians are set loose on the already sloppy governance of London’s corrupt financial institutions, the country (that’s us) has no capacity whatsoever to accommodate the inevitable disasters that follow.
Westminster’s common response, when the economy shows signs of reversing, is to sell national assets & slash public spending because Osborne, Brown, Darling & every Chancellor before them since the 1970s has absolutely no clue how to increase revenues; the extra taxes that one could raise from an economically vibrant economy with a healthy trade surplus.
Sadly, broken Britain has had a trade deficit almost as long as I have been alive, spending way more on importing stuff than it receives in exports.
Internally, it’s not any better; recent GDP growth has only been obtained by a flood of immigrants to England but the key GDP/head ratio has been stagnant for 8 years now.
That PIP payments to people with disabilities are being cut by some £30 per week is just one more tragic example of a succession of heartless decisions in a clueless attempt to balance the budget.
Of course, the evidence of the ineffectual wisdom of this & all the other bizarre political decisions is Britain’s massive debt mountain, likely to exceed £1.8 trillion by the end of this parliament.
Quite why any NO voter thinks this is the best we can be as a country remains a mystery to me; the evidence says otherwise. But unless the British are willing to demand a complete constitutional & institutional overhaul, the only hope for Scotland to escape this madness is to seek independence as soon as possible.
Great toon, Chris. Makes me smile, and sad at the same time, as it hits the nerve.
I see Chilcot announced as delayed again. Social media saying that heartless harpy Patel, might get the vacant post, but can’t see that as she is for Brexit.
Bojo pulling the strings here, angling for leadership.
You wonder when Scots supporting this travesty, will wake up.
Ken500 says:
19 March, 2016 at 9:28 am
You can see a Doctor the same day. If you phone before nine. What planet are Labour on.
Ruby replies
In my Doctor’s surgery which I expect is the same nationwide you don’t have to phone you just go along to the open surgery and you will see the doctor the same day.
Loved the BBC Scotlandshire piece “Beware the march of IDS”
We live in strange times and it may be that we see a line up behind Boris for the future Tory Cabinet to replace Cameron and Osborne…oh God!
At G2.
France has higher productivity because businesses struggle to fire people. As a result businesses invest in capital plant to avoid hiring labour. They have high levels of temporary contracting, and structural high unemployment as a result. Although sitting in the sun drinking cheap wine beats huddling in the rain in Coatbridge with a bottle of Buckie.
In the UK you can make a better return on your capital investing in houses – your own and a portfolio to let – than investing in industry. People do whats best for themselves. There is no political imperative to prevent houses being the number one source of wealth, and so our Ponzi scheme continues.
Scotland has a fairly static population, so demand really should not bid house prices up so much. Houses are still a major source of wealth, but there are opportunities here to develop a stronger diverse economy. Independence will allow us to make decisions, and to devise strategies which suit our needs, rather than those of a monied elite in the South of the UK. We are still resilient despite years of incompetent maladministration.
So independence is not a second choice if the other bit of the island cannot ( and it won’t ) get its act together. It is the only sane first choice if we are not to implode in the disaster which time will visit upon the UK economy.
Couldn’t resist these wee digs:
The Gambler
link to archive.is
The Nazi
link to archive.is
The Sneak
link to archive.is
The Shitebag
link to archive.is
The Undertaker
link to archive.is
The Vampire
link to archive.is
The Clown
link to archive.is
Justice
link to archive.is
Right, i’ve a lot of garden preparation waiting on me.
((((( SNP ALL THE WAY TO INDEPENDENCE )))))
Valerie says:
19 March, 2016 at 9:52 am
I see Chilcot announced as delayed again.
Ruby replies
Do you think the families of the victims are poised to sue as soon as Chilcot is published?
This ‘national security checking’ needs to be checked by the SNP. Do all MPs get a chance to see the unedited version?
@Ken500
Here you have start ringing just after 08:00 for a same day appointment and they are mostly gone by 08:30 so hitting redial frequently is a necessity.
Better patient education on what is and is not curable, viral infections that are self limiting for eg. But the problem is this causes some to stay away when they really need to go and there are some who will always ignore it.
Of course if more people got regular sweaty exercise, ate more vegetables, cut out sugar, moderated the booze, never smoked and kept regular hours the GPs would not be so busy.
The above intelligence is gleaned from Mrs Muscleguy who currently has labyrinthitis. I haven’t been in some time because I take my own advice.
G H Graham says:
19 March, 2016 at 9:52 am
I think the reason we are really poor at managing industry is because of the total lack of respect for the workforce. The “class system” which is all pervasive, management canteen, executive toilets et al is corrosive. It seems that every time a “bankrupt” British company is sold to a foreign buyer it suddenly flourishes, Roll Royce, Mini, Landrover etc. The British car industry failed because of the constant strikes and demands of the British workers we are told. Foreign car manufacturers set up here, Nissan, Honda etc and not a strike in sight and according to them the best and most productive workforce anywhere.
The autocratic managers just don’t understand that humans don’t take kindly to being treated like plebs.
I worked for a company that was taken over by an American organization. They sent in an American manager to assess things and the first thing to go was the named parking spots, the management toilets and the privileged canteen tables. He put it as only an American could, y’all sit together, y’all shit together.
The change for the better was amazing.
Oh, Chris – ouch! Nail. Head. Skelp! One thing missing on the wheel-chair though – a couple of wee Union Jack flags on the handles. Sure there was a bloke buzzing about in a wheelchair in Glasgow city centre during IndyRef#1 with wee UJs on his chair handles. Bit of a character. I often wonder what that bloke thinks of his glorious union now?
Loved the BBC Scotlandshire piece “Beware the march of IDS”
Oh how we larfed. Tory henchman and bootboys try to make tory crisis look like light comedy. Ho ho ha ha
euan mccolm Retweeted
Chris Deerin ?@chrisdeerin 2 hrs2 hours ago
Stop saying ‘IDS of March’
Murdochs Time toryboy in his Scotland region, now boosts Scotland’s devo progress, after destroying everything Scottish democracy, via Murdoch’s Times, shock
Kenny Farquharson ?@KennyFarq 12 hrs12 hours ago
/ Increasingly, devolution is protecting Scotland from the Tories. Home rule in action.
But nothing from ultra yoon toryboy Torrance, also, shock
Some toryboys think its all a joke, some hide in silence. Either way, its a UKOK shock shock
link to twitter.com
G. H. Graham, low uk productivity levels……. I Have a relative who used to work for an American electrical connection company, (terminals) during the 70’s and 80’s The Scottish workforce were continually being told that they were much less productive than the American plant. My relative was sent over to bring a new machine back to Scotland. When in The American plant he saw their production line, and it was true one woman did service / supervise a row of machines, that took 2 or 3 Scots. What we had not been told was that the machines were not comparable, the American plant machines were newer more advanced and required much less oversight.
Why do you think our motorcycle industry died in the 60’s and 70’s, the Management refused to invest in new models whilst the Japanese brought out new advanced models every year. It’s a miracle we have the productivity levels we do have, given the lack of investment. A pointer to the attitudes of our investor classes is the FTSE100, too many of the companies listed manufacture abroad.
@Grouse Beater
I agree, they can only do so much and to date they’ve done amazingly well, but with the limited powers at their command? It won’t be enough in the long run.
This week was only Gideon’s second budget of this parliamentary term.
Herald nothing IDS
link to twitter.com
UKOK hackdom in their Scotland region certainly hiding today but the further right you go, well some toryboys are actually telling tories something IDS, or actually not
Fraser Nelson ?@FraserNelson 13 hrs13 hours ago
Why Iain Duncan Smith resigned – my blog: link to blogs.spectator.co.uk …
alexmassie ?@alexmassie 14h14 hours ago
For the first time ever, people are going to hear what the Quiet Man has to say. Heckuva job, George.
Heckuva silence, tory hacks.
It has been clear to me, in my own mind, for a very long time, that the idea of Britishness and Britain is firmly anchored on very unsavoury ideals.
British has morphed into Brutish.
It’s the ultimate irony that the core tenants of what used to be perceived as “British” i.e. Democracy, Fairplay, Freedom of Speech, Compassion, Caring, have been long abandoned by the London Establishment and are only preserved by the Yes movement in Scotland.
Scottish Independence is the last redoubt of “Britishness”. Bizarre but true. The “Yes” movement is Compassionate, Caring, Fair, Democratic.
What London rule represents is just nasty. The Union has embraced Social Darwinism. And lets be clear about what this is.
It is nothing short of a belief in putting in place a social landscape where people who are disabled or disadvantaged in some way are hastened to an early grave.
Of course there should be a robust system in place to ensure that the welfare system is not abused.
But this London government, backed to the hilt by the other Unionist parties in Scotland, is deliberately targetting disabled people in an effort to fix an economic problem created by the London/Unionist Establishment.
Even the arch hanger n’ flogger Ian Duncan Smith can’t stomach it and certainly doesn’t want to be associated with it.
Anyone who lives in Scotland and continues to support this London Establishment should be ashamed of themselves.
British is Brutish!
Is it 2016, 1984 or 1939? Just checking.
link to britannica.com
It is a wonder the barsteward isn’t demanding she pay road tax on the chair.
Never thought I would see worse than Thatcher. Boy was I wrong.
Almannysbunnet Spot on, the first company I worked in was a large engineering firm, there were FIVE levels of canteen on the site,
Recently and,unfortunately my wife and I have both had procedures at QMH Dunfermline and the Victoria, Kirkcaldy. Treatment and professionalism of all involved can only be described as wonderful. My local Surgery (Valleyfield) has seen both or either of us within 3 days for many years now.
We remember what the Scottish Health Service (SHS) was like under Labour. God forbid we ever go back to those days! Labour are not fit to ……… – well, anything really!
House are a major source of wealth; well that depends.
The average house price in Scotland is £165,000. A 20% deposit will cost £33,000. A 30 year loan at 5% will cost £709 per month (principal & interest but excluding insurance costs).
The average wage in Scotland is about £27,000 before taxes. Let’s assume a net salary of £19,000.
Even if someone was able to save 20% of their net earnings for a a deposit it will take nearly 9 years. Then they will spend £709 or 45% of their net income servicing the debt.
Assuming no change in interest (don’t laugh), in 30 years the bricks will have cost £255,000 of which £123,000 (48%) will have been given to the bank in interest. So the bank will take about half of your money over the term of the loan but likely it will take much, much more than that because interest rates rarely stay low over a while term loan.
Meanwhile, the value of the property has risen. And it is only this inflation rate that will determine whether you actually made any money or not. The bank already made a handsome guaranteed profit but where you live can make the difference between becoming wealthy or permanently poor.
If the average rate of property inflation over the term is 3%, the house will be worth £400,000 for a cost of £255,000.
But if you live in a “shite” area & inflation has been a modest 1% then your bricks will only be worth £222,000, less than what it cost you.
And if you have enjoyed a 5% rate over the term, then your bricks will be worth £713,000, making a move to the tranquil retreat of Skye & Lochalsh from the crowded streets of Essex really easy.
Of course, I’ve ignored the other costs of owning a property; maintenance, local taxes & purchase/sales transaction costs but I wanted to show that property wealth is highly dependent on debt interest & price inflation rates.
You can easily see why there is a massive amount of wealth in London; a chronic shortage of housing has created huge long term demand, boosting price inflation.
Thus, residents in the depopulated highlands can only look on as their old neighbours are replaced by newcomers flush with equity from the far south.
Welcome to broken Britain.
The Clown
link to archive.is
The Nazi
link to archive.is
The Vampire
link to archive.is
((((( SNP ALL THE WAY TO INDEPENDENCE )))))
Oooh right through the heart. Apart from Hamish (I love Hamish),
your best ever. No more political comment needed from anybody. Move on.
What we are witnessing is a government that is elitist and has never been educated to “manage”. Management is a dirty word to these folk. They are educated to exploit in order to maintain the status quo. As long as there is something to exploit they can survive.
The SNP have managed Scotland with their feet set in cement and one hand tied behind their back. One can only wonder at how we could flourish if set free. No Eton, Oxbridge elite governing our country, no house of Lards, no effing honours system to “encourage” you not to rock the boat.
I look forward to watching the Tories eating each other at Westminster next week.
They are running out of people to exploit, the chickens are coming home to roost. I want a front row seat to watch the fun.
Nailed it as usual Chris…wonderful stuff.
O/T Both Primary and Secondary schools which my daughter attended here in Edinburgh and rebuilt under PFI,were subject to a council announcement yesterday , yes you guessed it they’re fallin doon ffs.
Criminal behaviour from the Labour party in Scotland.
Ha ha Chris !
One for posterity.
A new high in ‘British values’ 🙂
So a Welshman born in Inverness, that goes by the name of Stephen Crabb, is to succeed IDS.
How long before he is known as Stephen Grab 🙂
I just wonder if it’s worth bothering discussing what Kezia’s plan are when she becomes First Minister?
Just out of curiousity do all surgeries not have ‘open surgery’ where you can go and see the doctor on the same day. Why would you need an appointment?
What difference would it make if you booked your appointment online or by phone?
Do you think pharmacists should be able to write prescriptions? Pharmacists can dispense meds for minor ailments and so can their shop assistants infact you can buy meds for minor ailments in the supermarket.
I though she was against free prescription/something for nothing why would she want to extend the minor ailments service?
IDS is an evil sod, but was he pushed?
Gideon Osborne is a souless clown, allegedly a coke head.
Cameron born into wealth and privilege.
These types are educated not only beyond their intellectual capacity but also to believe they are better than us.
The British people are subservient and it’s only the Yessers who see this.
BTW brilliant cartoon, sad and true
Late arriving this morning.
Great stuff and no laughing matter Chris:
That’s just how it is in this YooKtopia!
At least the old dear hasn’t had her one good tyre slashed yet.
@Grousebeater
Thanks for those links. 🙂
@Almannysbunnet 11:19am
Hope you are right.
SNP x 2 on 5th May
Catching the last bit of the labour party conference before lunch
Oh Alex Rowley… coming on popcorn ready!
@Ruby, 11:32am.
The use of pharmacists to give out more medications I’d a sound proposal. The routine in Saudi is for me to go to the pharmacy if we are ill and the pharmacist will provide for sale whatever meds he thinks will cure it.
Usually it is nothing more than stronger painkillers or antibiotics & generally the cost is about 30 SAR per medication (£5). We do get more specialised meds for free, but the more trivial ones are bought over the counter.
Let’s face it, if I could have the necessary medication for a small token cash sum rather than wait 48hrs for a doctor appointment, I know which I would choose.
Al Dossary
You can go to the pharmacy and and get meds for minor ailments & they are free. However you do need to tell the pharmacist what is wrong they don’t examine you or give you any tests. I’m OK going to the pharmacist when I have athletes foot or something similar but I would prefer to wait a couple of hours to see the doctor with something more serious.
You don’t have to wait 48hours to see a doctor you can go to the open surgery and see a doctor on that day. You might have to wait a couple of hours but you do see a doctor.
‘WHAT IS THE NHS MINOR AILMENT SERVICE?
Everyone can go to their pharmacist for advice or to buy a medicine for a minor illness or ailment.
But this is a new NHS service for people, including children, who don’t pay prescription charges. It means that if your pharmacist thinks you need it then they can give you a medicine on the NHS without you having to pay for it. It will also save you making an appointment with your GP simply to get a prescription.’
As mentioned above. Stephen Crab.
link to archive.is
PS:
Technical problems with the campaign videos at the labour conference it doesn’t work as planned. 🙁
Three ‘loaded’ questions to use on the doorstep says labour spokesperson… forgot them already.
Then … Another video which we can’t see.
Geez! This is dreary stuff.
Switch to Big Brian interviewing Kezia.
Popcorn away till later nothing to see here!
Al Dossary
It will also save you making an appointment with your GP simply to get a prescription.’
Ruby replies
You don’t have to see a doctor to get a prescription every time. There is a very good repeat prescription service whereby you can just ask for the same prescription to be sent to your local pharmacy. Lets say you saw the doctor and he/she diagnosed Athletes Foot and gave you a prescription and then you find have contacted Athlete’s Foot a second time you can just email the Doctor’s surgery and request a repeat prescription. For people taking meds long term they just get a series of repeat prescriptions which they can pop into a box in the surgery or send it by post.
Ruby, I am not having a pop at you – just stating that it is a good system and the pharmacist historically have been under utilised.
Anything that takes the strain off the GP workload is worthwhile and they should be better utilised by people – my own GP surgery was typically a 2 week appointment to be seen unless it was an emergency in which case you would be seen around 8-9am.
No system is perfect, but on the whole Scotland’s NHS does I think function rather well.
As for IDS – I do wonder what the power brokers have planned for him. This is not a sudden attack of remorse, maybe the big boys are tiring of the pork lover and his powder loving friend.
Davidb.You are correct in what you say but i would like to add several other points from my experience living in France.The french tend to buy French,have their holidays in France therefore retaining more of their money in France.House outwith the large citys are around two thirds less than in the UK and house inflation is very low.The basics in life are a lot cheaper heating,buying a home and local council taxes.Wages are not as high as the uk and tax probably a bit higher although pensions are considerably better and people retire younger.They also tend to have a different mindset family,holidays and time off and not so driven by money and status, although they do workhard.
The country tends to fall down as far as the encouragement of free enterprise and free thinking.Their school,university,college system is very rigid.
I do feel more homesick for Scotland now than i ever did in the past and thats mainly down to the independence issue looking more and more possible.I left seven years ago and had long since given up on it being a possibility.The problem i would have is its easier financially to go to France but to do the reverse is much more difficult.
If you had given the old dear a trident (or a Trident) instead of an infusion it would have been unambiguous. As it is you could change the face to Hunt and flog it to the English papers. They probably pay more than the Rev too 🙂
All the stuff on IDS seems to have missed the anger that his butchery of the benefits system is being used to give Giddy’s pals a cut in their Capital Gains Tax. It looks as if CMD and Giddy had worked on IDS to cut further than he wanted “to balance the Budget” but hadn’t told him that there would be cream for the fat cats from his “savings”. That is the sort of thing that gets up the nose of even a posh boy, poor thing.
Almannysbunnet @10.25 am
“”The British car industry failed because of the constant strikes and demands of the British workers we are told. Foreign car manufacturers set up here, Nissan, Honda etc and not a strike in sight a…””
By the time Nissan and Honda set up their car manufacturing plants in Britain in the mid-80s the new Employment Legislation had come into force.
Maybe that had something to do with the reduction in strikes and not just in car manufacturing.
Before anyone pulls me up about Honda being in the UK before that they collaborated with Rover from 1979 until they set up their own manufacturing plant in the mid 80s.
How to handle Andrew Neil
link to huffingtonpost.co.uk
The kids are alright 🙂
New survation poll see Scot goes Pop link.
‘Scottish’ labour doomed.
IDS’ resignation is more to do with the EU referendum than welfare. England will vote Leave, Scotand will vote Remain. Scotland’s Indy Ref 2 coming soon.
Al Dossary says:
19 March, 2016 at 12:18 pm
Ruby, I am not having a pop at you – just stating that it is a good system and the pharmacist historically have been under utilised.
Ruby replies
I din’t think you were having a pop at me. I just thought you weren’t aware of the current system in Scotland.
What I’m trying to find is if all doctor’s surgeries have ‘open surgery’ like the one I go to or not.
Why would you want to wait 48 hours for an appointment when you can go to the open surgery?
Even although I think it’s a waste of time discussing the plans Kezia has when she becomes First Minister I will check out the surgeries in here constituency to see if they have open surgery.
If for example she was standing in my area these plans she has for online booking, 48 hour appointment & extending the minor ailments service would not be a vote winner because she isn’t offering anything extra.
Osborne and Cameron, from Hubris to Nemesis in 24 hours?
The buggers are dying on the vine. It opens so many pathways to Scotland for a second Ref
Fekem
The Scottish Tory Ruth Davidson’s response to Welsh Secretary’s appointment to replace IDS at DWP:–
“Delighted – DWP is a big job, but Stephen understands welfare reform from the inside. Watch the change in tone.”
Change in tone?—-the Tory’s are toxic Ruth! TOXIC!
“On 17 March 2016, following his vote in the House of Commons to cut Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) for disabled people by £30 per week,[24] a 38degrees petition was launched demanding that Crabb resign his post as patron of Mencap Pembrokeshire.
Graffiti asking: “Why do you hate the sick” was seen on the facade of Stephen Crabb MP’s building on 12 March 2016.”[Wikipedia]
@Jack Murphy
Graffiti asking: “Why do you hate the sick” was seen on the facade of Stephen Crabb MP’s building on 12 March 2016.”[Wikipedia]
Here it is:
link to twitter.com
RE. Doctor’s appointments… My practice also offers Telephone consults,a service where one of the GPs will call you with in an hour or two (you are given a 15min time slot) to discuss youre issues and get advice/a prescription left at the desk or phoned through to the pharmacy.
The Doctor is looking at your records on screen and obviously knows roughly who you are.
I’ve found this to be the service I make most use of,a simple but effective way to save everyone time and money.
TBH I thought this would have been an NHS Scotland thing but haven’t seen anyone mention it.
What a great cartoon.
Half time about over: 0-0
IDS resignation damages George Osborne’s Tory leadership hopes
The Observer:
link to archive.is
Was listening to radio shortbread this morning….SNP free zone.. but we heard the views of the OKUK opposition parties on IDS.
Maybe the forgot to call Sturgeon for a quote.
PS:
Someone said the labour conference was a one-day affair so I checked and it is. Changed days.
Opportunity missed as Corbyn could have had a field day and a captive audience to slate the tories if he had applied to come but he didn’t bother.
Want to know more about Crabb. Read the following.
Warning: If you are prudish you should give this one a miss. It’s a bit smutty. I found it hilarious.
link to archive.is
Take Crabb’s smut with a pinch of salt
Another Flipper.
link to archive.is
STEPHEN CRABB Main home? That would be a room in fellow MP’s flat…
Ding Dong he loves Thatcher.
link to archive.is
Meet Stephen Crabb, the working-class Welsh Secretary with a fondness for Margaret Thatcher
Liz g
I’ve checked my surgery and they do say the following
‘If you need telephone advice with either a Doctor or Nurse please phone the above number and we will take your number and someone will call you back at the earliest opportunity.’
That sounds as if it could be similar to what you are describing.
They also say
Doctors consult every weekday morning between 8:30am and 10:00am. No appointment is necessary between these times. It is usually possible to see the doctor of your choice. Waiting times are usually no more than 30 minutes (although this cannot be guaranteed)
Stephen Crabb another one who said the role of SOS was meaningless but changed his mind and took the job.
‘Asked about a 2007 article written by Mr Crabb as a fairly new MP in opposition in which he described the Secretary of State role as meaningless, Mr Davies said: “I’m sure he’s changed his view since this morning at least!’
Building relationships will be Stephen Crabb’s first challenge: As Stephen Crabb takes over as Secretary of State for Wales, Chief Reporter Martin Shipton reflects on the broken relationships he has to mend
Shipton, Martin. Western Mail [Cardiff (UK)] 16 July 2014: 19.
Sorry no link. You will have to log in to ProQuest with you library card number if you want to read the article.
I wonder if the people of Wales were luckier with Stephen Crabb than we were with Alistair Carmichael & David Mundell.
Ruby @ 2.04
Aye Ruby dis sound like the same service,mibbie they do all do it.
Just haven’t seen it mentioned.
Wonder if there is anything like this down south?
My daughter’s friend moved down to England and struggled to even get registered with a GP, 18 months in and one baby later still can’t get a dentist.
Re. Osbourne’s New Order. The trouble with ‘Trickle-down’ theory, is it is complete PISH. Don’t believe me? Take a look around.
link to psmag.com
#OligarchicalCollectivism #UtilityMonsters
Liz g says:
19 March, 2016 at 2:20 pm
Ruby @ 2.04
Aye Ruby dis sound like the same service,mibbie they do all do it.
Just haven’t seen it mentioned.
Wonder if there is anything like this down south?
My daughter’s friend moved down to England and struggled to even get registered with a GP, 18 months in and one baby later still can’t get a dentist.
Ruby replies
Now see that would be something interesting for ET to comment on.
Not many people seem to be commenting about open surgery & phone in services perhaps all Wingers are mega healthy and they never go to the doctor.
Have you seen this video:
link to bbc.co.uk
‘Out of the mouths of babes’
For Jack Murphy:
link to thefreelibrary.com
The Tank Commander believes Mr Crabb is her political soulmate.
Ruby,In our practice you can see a doctor on the same day if you phone after 8.00 am. Normally you can get an appointment within a couple of days if it’s not urgent. They also do phone consults when needed.
The pharmacist at the local chemist shop is very good and helpful with the minor ailments thingy.
There’s a lot to be said for the good old Scottish NHS.
Thanks call me dave at 1:17pm–
“Here it is:
link to twitter.com ”
and also many thanks to Ruby at 3:10pm
“For Jack Murphy:
link to thefreelibrary.com
The Tank Commander believes Mr Crabb is her political soulmate.”
Marie Clark says:
19 March, 2016 at 3:15 pm
Ruby,In our practice you can see a doctor on the same day if you phone after 8.00 am. Normally you can get an appointment within a couple of days if it’s not urgent. They also do phone consults when needed.
The pharmacist at the local chemist shop is very good and helpful with the minor ailments thingy.
There’s a lot to be said for the good old Scottish NHS.
Ruby replies
That’s sound pretty good perhaps it’s better than the open surgery.
I do like more natural cures to minor ailments rather than drugs. For example a couple of drops of Oil of Geranium on a cotton bud dabbed onto a cold sore as soon as you feel the ‘zing’ works much better, quicker and is a lot cheaper than Zovirax.
I got this tip from a book called ‘The Fragrant Pharmacy’
link to amazon.co.uk
It’s pretty interesting.
You can also use the Essential Oil of Geranium in your bath for a fragrant relaxing experience I can’t imagine you could do likewise with Zovirax.
I feel a bit guilty that I have highjacked Chris’s cartoon thread with talk of NHS & Aromatherapy.
My excuse is that I’m not very good at doing an art critique after I’ve said it’s brilliant I’m a bit lost as to what to say I will however give it a try in my next post.
A powerful, shadowy, organisation that meets behind closed doors and governs our daily lives, now too evil for even IDS to be a member.
The Tory Cabinet.
@ Ruby
The previous GP in my local practice didn’t use appointments; the queues were lengthy and made worse by his disappearing regularly to make urgent house calls and to fulfil his duties as a police surgeon.
When he retired, the practice was taken over by a group, who do require patients to make appointments, with some time set aside each day for emergencies, with booking first thing as other people have described.
Because there are several of them, they work shifts and make house calls on their way home.
It seems to work well enough.
Chris,
Every cartoon you do a classic, this one is stellar.
Nice One.
As mentioned earlier regarding polls.
I will not accept any poll ratings.
MI5 can easily sway anything to suit Westminsters own agenda.
Paranoid?
Who me??
@Ruby
Our practice doesn’t have open surgery but if you phone between 8am-8.30am you can see a Dr that day if it’s urgent. It works really well.
Chris – Great skill but for once the emotion was real sadness… 🙁
I wonder how much regret NO voters experience as they come to terms with the enabling of this impact on their fellow Scots.
Well done Chris!
It does seem to me that who caused the financial crashes has been pretty much played down if not totaly whitewashed over.
And I just don’t understand how anyone anywhere, from whatever walk in life, can possibly think it is right to claw back money from the very people who were farthest away from that catastrophy and to take from those who have the least!
I know the Bullingdon Boys were taught to hate the poor, or basically just anyone who isn’t ‘them’.
Pure evil.
The Crumbling Conservatives daisycollinsblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/20/the…
Feedback would be much appreciated
I’ve been away all weekend and unable to post, but when I saw that cartoon on Saturday I wanted to cry, not laugh.
You do realise that’s not funny, Chris. Isn’t it in breach of contract or something?
Hello Morag!
You are spot on, this one bites.
A reflection of how horribly madly far this Tory government thinks it can go.
Evil.
Sheesh! I had a skelp at IDS on wings just the other day and no matter what else is said by him there is no way he resigned because the Tory government were being too cruel.
This is the guy who was brought up in a very unnatural manner. Even more unnatural than the usual Tory manner of the parents putting junior into the hands of a Nanny almost from birth.
This is followed by a boarding prep school and then boarding them out all the way to a university education.
Even most domestic and wild animals have an inbuilt instinct to protect and nurture their young with the exceptions all being killer species and some of those will actually eat their own young.
Go read the IDS biography and you may see what I mean. Not to mention that his CV was proven, by the BBC of all people, to be a total load of lies.
link to bbc.co.uk
link to newstatesman.com.