Government set to recover just a third of the £1 billion it pledged to claw back from Covid fraudsters IPPR Analysis: Energy bills threaten to plunge millions into poverty this winter Government set to recover just a third of the £1 billion it pledged to claw back from Covid fraudsters The Government promised to recover £1bn between April 2021 and April 2023, but with just £226 million collected in 2021-22 it is all but certain to break its pledge. Fraudsters are now on track to get away with £8 of every £10 they stole with £3.7bn of taxpayers' money written ...
I've been away on holiday (Anglo-French hiking around Chichester followed by visiting long-standing friends near Margate) for a couple of weeks, hence no posts. However, here are a few random thoughts on what I've gathered from such of the news I've caught. Liz Truss is so awful that I find myself willing Rishi Sunak to do well in the debates and interviews (in some of which Truss is too chicken to participate.) Sadly we need to remember that Sunak is not only a lightweight (see previous comments on his Chancellorship) but also without backbone. His predecessor as Chancellor resigned rather ...
Alex Cole-Hamilton has urged the Scottish Government to do more to deal with the Monkeypox outbreak which has so far infected 71 people in Scotland. Whether the First Minister or Health Secretary has discussed Monkeypox with the JCVI; What briefings ministers have had from health officials; Whether it is intending to offer vaccination to all those most at risk of contracting monkeypox; What conversations have been had with Health ministers and officials in other parts of the UK; How many doses of the MVA smallpox vaccine it has access to and whether it will be ordering more. Alex said: During ...
The latest edition of my weekly political polling round-up, The Week in Polls, is now out. As it says: When Corbyn was Labour leader, directing a forced choice 'do you want Corbyn or Johnson as PM?' question at Lib Dems often generated a desire to hide under the table to avoid answering it. That changed with Starmer, with Lib Dem voters getting out from under the table and preferring a Starmer government to a Johnson government by 79%-21% in polling from Lord Ashcroft. (Other pollsters with other similar questions got similar results). But what about the post-Johnson world? Find out ...
In today's Scotland On Sunday, Alistair Carmichael rips through the SNP for their failure to ensure basic ferry services to Scotland's islands. Alistair grew up on Islay and now represents Orkney and Shetland so he knows exactly how important this is. "The fundamental rules of island life and island economics are if you get the transport right, then just about everything else falls into place because without decent transport links you don't have the access to the full range of medical facilities that the community will need "You cannot grow your economy because the people who are catching fish or ...
A motion passed at the Young Liberals Summer Conference yesterday criticises Lib Dem MPs for their comments over the RMT strike action. YL believe that the action was justified. Their motion said: (Conference notes)... The recent industrial action taken by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) was aimed at, amongst other things: Tackling fire and rehire; Protecting against compulsory redundancies; Seeking to protect the safe running of the railway by maintaining staffing levels; The industrial action was held with the support by 89% of members balloted. There has been a recent controversial response to the RMT ...
Children in Scotland go back to school this week. You would think that after three hellish years of pandemic related disruption and a widening attainment gap, the SNP Government would want to make sure that there were as many permanent teachers in the classroom as possible. Every year the Scottish Liberal Democrats at Holyrood look for the number of newly qualified teachers being offered permanent posts rather than fixed term or supply contracts. In the past 5 years, that has fallen from 56%, which was low enough, to just 23%. On the back of those figures, STV News has spoken ...
Today I attended the funeral procession, around the Eldonian Village that he created, of Tony McGann MBE. Tony was a fierce fighter for the people of what was Eldon Gardens. These were a set of three and four storey walk ... Continue reading →
Proposals for a windfall tax were first put forward by Ed Davey and the Lib Dems last autumn. Two months later, Labour announced a proposal for a windfall tax. Some weeks ago, Ed Davey and the Lib Dems proposed a freeze rather than a lifting of the price cap on domestic energy bills this autumn. It will be interesting to see which Lib Dem policies Keir Starmer will adopt next.
Newsmoggie is excited to report news from feline colleagues in the United States of America relayed by Larry the Cat. Larry needs no introduction to British audiences, but for readers overseas Larry is the Top Cat in Downing Street and has survived longer than all but two or three prime ministers, and probably longer than the next, and the next, and... The former President, known to himself as the current president, also known as Donald Trump, is alleged to be a fan of the musical Cats, perhaps Andrew Lloyd Webber's biggest fan. Newsmoggie understands it was Macavity, a somewhat mysterious ...
Sat, 12:48: RT @sundersays: This Hindustan Times piece on Rusdie's influence on the English language and Indian writing includes the short extract of h... Sat, 12:55: RT @Samfr: Hard to overstate how bad you have to be at politics to send out a press release on your commitment to end antisemitism and piss... Sat, 12:56: RT @NicholasPegg: Your mother Glenda Jackson played King Lear. Literally King Lear. https://t.co/ryfpJ3Yw6H Sat, 14:48: RT @ryxcommar: It would take literally hours to explain this tweet to someone in 2014. https://t.co/e2BxityI7o Sat, 17:23: RT @sundersays: This New Yorker extract from Rushdie's memoir (2012) is such ...
3rd Rail clearly visible at Maghull Station I recall back in the day when I was a member of the Merseytravel Committee (must have been 2001/2003ish) that I came upon the Department of Transport edict that 'there'll be no more 3rd rail electrification in the UK except in exceptional circumstances' or words to that effect. The significance of it, of course, is that 3rd rail is the bedrock of the Merseyrail system and I thought at the time it was seemingly an odd policy position to hold. I was assured it was all to do with safety due to people ...
A boost for the Ukrainians – and a problem The successful missile attack on the Russian arms depot on the Crimean Peninsula was a major boost for the Ukrainians. It may also have created a major problem. So far the Ukrainians have refrained from attacking Russian territory. This is a bit like fighting with one hand tied behind the back, but they have been told by their NATO quartermasters to restrain themselves due to a fear of provoking an escalation that would result in NATO and Russian troops facing each other in a possible World War Three scenario. Donetsk and ...
With the start of the new school year, our surgeries return this coming week. Fraser's weekly ward surgeries commence on Tuesday 16th August and take place during school term time. They are as follows : Tuesdays at 5pm prompt - Blackness Library Tuesdays at 5.45pm prompt - Ancrum Road Primary School Michael's weekly ward surgeries commence on Thursday 18th August and take place during school term time. They are as follows : Thursdays at 5.45pm prompt - West End Campus (come to reception area of St Joseph's RC and Victoria Park Primary Schools) Thursdays at 6.30pm prompt - Harris Academy ...
As I wrote when paying tribute to Judith Durham, her bandmate from The Seekers, Bruce Woodley, wrote three songs with Paul Simon. (Woodley is on the right of the group as you look at the thumbnail above.) One of them, Red Rubber Ball, reached number 2 in the US singles chart when recorded by The Cyrkle. That band also recorded Simon and Woodley's I Wish You Could Be Here. Their third collaboration was Cloudy, which appeared on the Simon and Garfunkel album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, where it was credited to Paul Simon alone. I love Paul Simon's music ...
