coldel Posted December 11, 2019 Author Share Posted December 11, 2019 2 minutes ago, Adrian@TORQEN said: Have we covered this letter in this thread yet? ====== Economists’ letter to the Financial Times 25 November 2019 The UK economy needs reform. For too long it has prioritised consumption over investment, short-term financial returns over long-term innovation, rising asset values over rising wages, and deficit reduction over the quality of public services. The results are now plain. We have had ten years of near zero productivity growth. Corporate investment has stagnated. Average earnings are still lower than in 2008. A gulf has arisen between London and the South East and the rest of the country. And public services are under intolerable strain - which the economic costs of a hard Brexit would only make worse. We now moreover face the urgent imperative of acting on the climate and environmental crisis. Given private sector reluctance, what the UK economy needs is a serious injection of public investment, which can in turn leverage private finance attracted by the expectation of higher demand. Such investment needs to be directed into the large-scale and rapid decarbonisation of energy, transport, housing, industry and farming; the support of innovation- and export- oriented businesses; and public services. It is clear that this will require an active and green industrial strategy, aimed at improving productivity and spreading investment across the country. Experience elsewhere (not least in Germany) suggests a National Investment Bank would greatly help. With long-term real interest rates now negative, it makes basic economic sense for the government to borrow for this, spreading the cost over the generations who will benefit from the assets. As the IMF has acknowledged, when interest payments are low and investment raises economic growth, public debt is sustainable. At the same time, we need a serious attempt to raise wages and productivity. A higher minimum wage can help do this, alongside tighter regulation of the worst practices in the gig economy. Bringing workers onto company boards and giving them a stake in their companies, as most European countries do in some form, will also help. The UK’s outlier rate of corporation tax can clearly be raised, not least for the highly profitable digital companies. As economists, and people who work in various fields of economic policy, we have looked closely at the economic prospectuses of the political parties. It seems clear to us that the Labour Party has not only understood the deep problems we face, but has devised serious proposals for dealing with them. We believe it deserves to form the next government. Yours David G. Blanchflower Bruce V. Rauner Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College; Professor of Economics. University of Stirling; former member of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee Victoria Chick Emeritus Professor of Economics, University College London Lord Meghnad Desai Emeritus Professor of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science ========= Full letter here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YD3R8a7Qi6t9MwSVHiuQ_b7lMmw5GhRO/view To be fair pretty much all the economists listed are left leaning and were in effect canvased to support Labour, not to give an objective assessment of the manifesto. To use this as a piece of evidence to show that the manifesto costings are sound are in effect being asked to mark your own homework and therefore unreliable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irn Bru Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 17 hours ago, ATTAK Z said: For anyone who is about to vote for their Labour candidate tomorow I would ask: Would you be happy with the following starting Friday 13th November ? 1) Diane Abbott as Home Secretary 2) Angela Raynor as Secretary of State for Education 3) John McDonnell as Chancellor of the Exchequer Definitely not mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irn Bru Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 16 hours ago, coldel said: Diane Abbot is one that is definitely stealing a living, astonishing that someone so error prone continues to be in such a senior role. It worries me more she keeps getting elected mate !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 17 hours ago, coldel said: Diane Abbot is one that is definitely stealing a living, astonishing that someone so error prone continues to be in such a senior role. Can’t tell if this is ironic or not, given, you know, things like Chris Grayling buying ferry time from people with no ferries, or even the trump card... A man who is so bad at making mistakes it regularly costs him his job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Umster Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 30 minutes ago, SuperStu said: Can’t tell if this is ironic or not, given, you know, things like Chris Grayling buying ferry time from people with no ferries, or even the trump card... A man who is so bad at making mistakes it regularly costs him his job Surely a journalist can't be that bad they are sacked for publishing lies? No. Wait. Ah well, I look forward to 5 years of being led by a man who got away with posting £350m a week for our NHS on a bus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted December 12, 2019 Author Share Posted December 12, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, SuperStu said: Can’t tell if this is ironic or not, given, you know, things like Chris Grayling buying ferry time from people with no ferries, or even the trump card... A man who is so bad at making mistakes it regularly costs him his job No I meant it when I said she was stealing a living, you have to have red tinted glasses on to think otherwise, and no point attacking the Tories as a response, I think half of them are doing the same too! None of the above takes away from the fact that she is a liability and incompetent, and possibly could be Home Secretary which is terrifying. I haven't seen such a poor Tory Labour option in living memory, I really cannot remember it being such a circus full of clowns to the left and jokers to the right... Edited December 12, 2019 by coldel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 49 minutes ago, coldel said: I haven't seen such a poor Tory Labour option in living memory, I really cannot remember it being such a circus full of clowns to the left and jokers to the right... Too true ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted December 12, 2019 Author Share Posted December 12, 2019 Seems to be the done thing is to photo your dog in front of a polling station according to social media... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 (edited) DA confirms she is a leftie ETA Nicked from PH thread Edited December 12, 2019 by ATTAK Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 6 minutes ago, ATTAK Z said: DA confirms she is a leftie You're actually reading that website? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 2 hours ago, coldel said: No I meant it when I said she was stealing a living, you have to have red tinted glasses on to think otherwise, and no point attacking the Tories as a response, I think half of them are doing the same too! None of the above takes away from the fact that she is a liability and incompetent, and possibly could be Home Secretary which is terrifying. I haven't seen such a poor Tory Labour option in living memory, I really cannot remember it being such a circus full of clowns to the left and jokers to the right... I have no love for her at all, but if we’re going to start assessing MPs (on any side) by their competence, there’s not many that would cut the mustard. She’s only got her constituents to satisfy and, for reasons unknown, they keep her in a job. Ministers on the other hand, the likes of Grayling, are not only ‘stealing a living’ as you rightly point out, but are much worse than that, he actively wasted MILLIONS from the coffers. Which makes Abbott’s wasted salary seem like very small potatoes indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggz Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 35 minutes ago, Adrian@TORQEN said: You're actually reading that website? Wtf, websites like this exist? And people actually read them and take them seriously? What the hell happened to people in this country? Since when did we all become Texans, screaming about Russia, communism and Marxism? Talk about brainwashing lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted December 12, 2019 Author Share Posted December 12, 2019 11 minutes ago, SuperStu said: I have no love for her at all, but if we’re going to start assessing MPs (on any side) by their competence, there’s not many that would cut the mustard. She’s only got her constituents to satisfy and, for reasons unknown, they keep her in a job. Ministers on the other hand, the likes of Grayling, are not only ‘stealing a living’ as you rightly point out, but are much worse than that, he actively wasted MILLIONS from the coffers. Which makes Abbott’s wasted salary seem like very small potatoes indeed. I think DA is beyond most MP's though, so far down the competency list, and I wouldn't care if she wasn't a potential Home Secretary. There are a lot of competent MP's but for some reason they do not get the limelight they deserve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Wow, what a surprise https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/business-50719616 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted December 12, 2019 Author Share Posted December 12, 2019 (edited) Diane Abbotts shoe image is doing the rounds, even made it onto the Daily Fail. Have to say up close it doesn't look photoshopped, if it is it's a pretty good effort Edited December 12, 2019 by coldel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 22 hours ago, ATTAK Z said: 1) Diane Abbott as Home Secretary The incumbent Home Secretary was forced to resign from a few years ago after having secret meeting with the Israelis. Once again, you might like Diane Abbot but the alternative is even worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sargara Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 7 minutes ago, coldel said: Diane Abbotts shoe image is doing the rounds, even made it onto the Daily Fail. Have to say up close it doesn't look photoshopped, if it is it's a pretty good effort It's legit because the MP who posted it is herself in Labour too, either that or it's an insider stitch up conspiracy theory eh? https://twitter.com/Meg_HillierMP/status/1205063539100209154?s=20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted December 12, 2019 Author Share Posted December 12, 2019 (edited) 29 minutes ago, Sargara said: It's legit because the MP who posted it is herself in Labour too, either that or it's an insider stitch up conspiracy theory eh? https://twitter.com/Meg_HillierMP/status/1205063539100209154?s=20 Ho - Lee - Sheet Tweet has now been deleted, a beautiful fail Edited December 12, 2019 by coldel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 (edited) H'mm ... results of exit poll look interesting ... pound getting stronger at 1.19 1.21euro ! EU Edited December 12, 2019 by ATTAK Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted December 12, 2019 Author Share Posted December 12, 2019 Labour complete fail no surprise. SNP huge win see a referendum there for Indy ref 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted December 13, 2019 Author Share Posted December 13, 2019 Well there we have it, no surprise that Tories steamrollered it as dithering Corbyn was never going to be any sort of viable alternative that enough people could get behind. It seems its ok to have a racist misogynist xenophobe in charge in politics nowadays, all you need to do is shout 'get brexit done' and you are over the line! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggz Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 It's what people want. Parliament and the govt. is a reflection of the population, whether we like it or not. So, best to strap in and try and enjoy the ride Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sargara Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 On 08/12/2019 at 16:09, Sargara said: I'm not a Conservative fan by any stretch but I don't really have a choice. I voted for Brexit and the only party that's honouring it that's standing in my area are the Conservatives. My other choices are Libdem, Labour or Greens. I suspect many other areas will be the same as me and that is why we will see another Tory majority because the LD and SNP will eat into Labours votes. Well I nailed it with this post, apart from the LD bit. Should have put some money on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 I'm happy (but I know it's not all about me) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted December 13, 2019 Author Share Posted December 13, 2019 Lets see how it pans out when the WA is done early next year then have to face into what comes next, I really don't think people who voted took any time to read about all the other stuff that they need to deal with over the next 5 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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