The Tories (as any opposition party does) will attack Labour for every error, misstep or blunder.
The difference now is that an almost wholly complicit media will do the kicking for them.
And yes, Labour has been unelectable for quite some time now. That’s how elections work.
Thing is, being shit in opposition does not mean what the Tories have done to the UK over the past 14 years is any less negligent. One of the richest countries in the world and it is a fucking dumpster fire.
You brought up ‘overpopulation/over stretching of resources’ as an ‘elephant in the room’.
I responded to that by saying that there is enough wealth in the UK to deal with the population, and the resources are only stretched because, as I said, the wealth of the UK has been funnelled upwards by the billionaire class and their disgusting acolytes.
The elephant in the room is the ruling class that exists because the UK loves a bended knee. The King got an extra 45m quid this year…hmmmmm…
so just from the layman, in the antipodes, with no skin in the game…really alot of fluff and no tangiables?
as much as itll get me pelters on a left leaning forum, a new government immediately signing off on public servant and government workers negotiations within two months is not this massive victory - ill explain;
the dance (in aus) is; the public service workers get wind of a change of government from conservative to one that is beholden to union donations, they make a play for not insignificant better conditions and renumeration, current government push back, new government come in and ‘resolve’ the ‘difficult negotiations’ quickly by negotiating a deal, and get a political win…its just a charade though…
That is taking a very basic view of the landscape.
Public Sector have had 35% wage cut over the last 14 years of tory government. Any negotiation was never going to fix that in 1 swipe of the pen. But for the new government and PS unions and workers to have come to a deal so quickly means that very significant steps were offered up to bring public sector wages back to parity.
The other option would have been to continue allowing public sector wages to run well under an acceptable level meaning you don’t attract new blood, or worse, the new blood you do attract are coming in with ulterior motives, profiting themselves and sciming their own little bit of extra from those in need
The two main disputes that they resolved had been dragging on for years. The settlements were just the minimum that they were due.
In terms of the NHS staff, they were bleeding personnel to other countries, noticeably Australia. They needed a fast settlement for purely market reasons.
In terms of the rail workers, that dispute was causing major infrastructure disruption which impacts on the rest of the economy.
The Tories were dragging both these on for ideological reasons. The new government has simply applied market theory and cut to the chase.
The real test is whether they can establish mechanisms to prevent these disputes in future.
[quote=“Arminius, post:8978, topic:3448, full:true”]
Big picture, there is a basic question. Over the past 15 years, the public sector cut of GDP has been growing as aggressively as anywhere else in the G20, to the point now that the UK is one of the most ‘statist’ economies in the G20. At 44%, it is a hefty number and (I need my avatar!) numbers don’t lie. An enormous amount of value is being extracted from the UK economy on behalf of a public sector that has no intention of delivering that value to the public. The simple fact of the matter is the British state extracts a percentage of GDP comparable to more generous European welfare states, yet delivers far less.
Yeah big problem. Is it the fault of the public sector or those who manage it?
Theres a number of issues here.
Public contracts are more expensive. Thats down to procurement procedures and rules that need to be adhered to.
The private contracts need to be administered and managed. That requires project managers and money.
Typically a private contractor will target in the region of 40% gross profit.
I also bet the contracts have more holes in them than my edam brain.
Yes you do need an avatar. I thought you were someone else for a moment
