Brown on the ropes?

Same crap, different day.

[demented]

I think it's basically cancer prescriptions, something talked about for a while and feet dragged over. Good news on that front. The ID card ramblings yesterday at the conference were pretty scary though.

[Xaccers]

Originally Posted by Damien

I like the thing about people being able to get any medication now, but I do hope they don't mean everyone for everything. Serious conditions only...

Bet it's going to be another "loft insulation for all!" fiasco.
Pretty sure my mum gets free prescriptions because she's diabetic, so it's probably going to mostly cover people who already get free prescriptions plus a few conditions who currently don't.
I'd love to know where the money for it is going to come from though? Maybe Wales and Scotland could subsidise us?

[Derek]

Originally Posted by Xaccers

Maybe Wales and Scotland could subsidise us?

Or maybe Londoners could do it seeing they get more money per head than anyone else.

Originally Posted by Derek S

Or maybe Londoners could do it seeing they get more money per head than anyone else.

Do we? Awesome

Take that everywhere else (Especially Scotland, Stupid SNP)

[Osem]

Some people still don't get it - Brown simply says what he thinks as many potential Labour voters as possible want to hear. He's proved what he's about having been at the helm or thereabouts since 1997 and led us into (in Darling's words) the worst crisis for 60 years. How many times have Brown and his crew told us all that executives who fail should pay with their jobs instead of staying in post and being effectively rewarded for their failure. How odd then that this policy doesn't apply to those whose indeptitude got us into this mess!

He (and Bliar before him) will say and do anything to cling onto power - how many times are people going to fall for this con trick? Whether it's old news repackaged as new, existing funding reannounced, figures manipulated/reinterpreted, madcap schemes that'll fail but cost £billions, promises that will never materialise or just plain old spin and lies, it all amounts to the same thing - a government as bankrupt of morals, ability and ideas as any failed bank is of cash.

Vote for Brown and his cohorts and get more of the same!

Originally Posted by Xaccers

Bet it's going to be another "loft insulation for all!" fiasco.
Pretty sure my mum gets free prescriptions because she's diabetic, so it's probably going to mostly cover people who already get free prescriptions plus a few conditions who currently don't.
I'd love to know where the money for it is going to come from though? Maybe Wales and Scotland could subsidise us?

They said by buying in bulk and not getting brand name drugs, which alarms me because it implys they are buying brand name drugs at the moment Also according to the Beeb, 12% do pay, so I guess it will cover them (or those who have serious conditions). 12% seems small though...I thought it was higher.

---------- Post added at 20:36 ---------- Previous post was at 20:35 ----------

Some people still don't get it - Brown simply says what he thinks as many potential Labour voters as possible want to hear. He's proved what he's about having been at the helm or thereabouts since 1997 and led us into (in Darling's words) the worst crisis for 60 years.

Well, there is time till the next elections. He can say it, and if he delivers it Labour voters will be happy otherwise they will not. It's not an election year, so we can wait to see if he actually does it..

[Derek]

Originally Posted by Damien

Do we? Awesome

Yep.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news...804171.0.0.php

Scotland, with pockets of deprivation, one-third of the UK's land-mass and far-flung communities, does indeed receive substantial state spending, but its average of £9631 public money per head is still less than London's at £9748 or Northern Ireland's £10,271.

[Xaccers]

Originally Posted by Damien

Well, there is time till the next elections. He can say it, and if he delivers it Labour voters will be happy otherwise they will not. It's not an election year, so we can wait to see if he actually does it..

Unfortunately the problem with buying votes is that once you've bought them and gotten back into power (bribing pensioners with an increase in fuel benefits, then taxing them to claim it back) you then don't have to do anything until the next election when you start bribing people again.

All parties in power do it, just look at how the council tax subsidies are dished out.
In a "current government" area and you'll get more subsidies and therefore lower council tax than an area under opposition control. Makes the opposition look bad to have to either cut services or increase council tax (capping to stop them doing that also helps make them look bad as it means they're more likely to have to cut services).
Why do you think Scotland got the poll tax first? If it upset people it didn't matter, they weren't tory voters and never would be.

[Osem]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnett_Formula

These figures suggest otherwise but I suspect we'll still be arguing about who owns what oil/gas when it's all gone and GB's left with coal.

and here's more figures from the Treasury for anyone who's interested:

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/...809_chap10.pdf

BTW is there a reason why The Herald's figures compare spending in Scotland with that in London as opposed to the whole of England? London, being the capital, is hardly representative of the whole of England is it.

Originally Posted by Derek S

Yep.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news...804171.0.0.php

Cool, But what is the spending on. I mean London has a number of factors that may unfairly effect the stats..

[Derek]

Originally Posted by Damien

Cool, But what is the spending on. I mean London has a number of factors that may unfairly effect the stats..

You mean like being a huge land area and low population density, supplying most of the oil and things like that?

Without taking this completely off topic and into a whole 'Scotland-has-it-so-much-easier-we'd-be-better-off-without-them' argument the post from the Herald is only a small selection of what was a multi-page article a few months back. Suffice to say it went into as much detail as it could about how the figures were broken down and while some parts of England get shafted money wise other areas do quite nicely.

Of course thats not what certain people in English based newspapers (some of which have Scottish editions conveniently missing articles published in England) and some broadcasters want to hear as it takes away their most convenient whipping boy.

Originally Posted by Derek S

You mean like being a huge land area and low population density, supplying most of the oil and things like that?

Without taking this completely off topic and into a whole 'Scotland-has-it-so-much-easier-we'd-be-better-off-without-them' argument the post from the Herald is only a small selection of what was a multi-page article a few months back. Suffice to say it went into as much detail as it could about how the figures were broken down and while some parts of England get shafted money wise other areas do quite nicely.

Of course thats not what certain people in English based newspapers (some of which have Scottish editions conveniently missing articles published in England) and some broadcasters want to hear as it takes away their most convenient whipping boy.

To be fair, I really don't want to be without Scotland, my issue with Scotland (mostly the SNP) is that they don't seem to want to be part of the UK anymore. Which is sad

Anyway, Yeah, I not sure on what the figures are and mean. I would say London has a lot of money spent of things like security as well as also having some very poor sectors living in and around London.

[Xaccers]

Originally Posted by Damien

To be fair, I really don't want to be without Scotland, my issue with Scotland (mostly the SNP) is that they don't seem to want to be part of the UK anymore. Which is sad

Well said

[Derek]

Originally Posted by Damien

To be fair, I really don't want to be without Scotland, my issue with Scotland (mostly the SNP) is that they don't seem to want to be part of the UK anymore. Which is sad

And IMO have only got into power (sort-of) up here due to Labour making a mess of things, I don't believe the majority of Scots want away from the rest of the UK, well aside from during England football matches when the commentators 1966 time-machine is in full working order