You are Prime Minister...

Originally Posted by Halcyon

Maybe free entry to war related events, eg. events, museums, air shows, etc would be better.

Man U vs Man City matches....

[Arthurgray50@blu]

Hi Foreverwar, As you said you are ex service personnel, this would apply to you, and you would get the ticket, l would say one thing, someone mentioned Banks and how they throw away money on loans to people who cannot pay them back.

Do you know how much crap l get through my door on loans from banks, trouble is they give money away in loans, but if the person cannot pay within say six months due to work etc, the banks are quick enough to bring the DC's in and get tough on you, I would stamp that out, and bring in an arrangement to help both sides sorting the debt out in a amicable manner, my son nearly commited suicide over a certain bank, that l won't mention.

[frogstamper]

As I've never served in the armed forces Arthur I wouldn't qualify for all your freebies, "but" I did spend five years in the cubs and sea scouts, would this allow me to have reduced benefits? say free UK and European air travel, but not long haul destinations?

Originally Posted by frogstamper

As I've never served in the armed forces Arthur I wouldn't qualify for all your freebies, "but" I did spend five years in the cubs and sea scouts, would this allow me to have reduced benefits? say free UK and European air travel, but not long haul destinations?

I served overseas and in Norn Iron - do I get upgraded to Club Class?

[Arthurgray50@blu]

Hi Frogstamper, the answer to your question - would be no, you would have to be in the armed services.

Originally Posted by frogstamper

As I've never served in the armed forces Arthur I wouldn't qualify for all your freebies, "but" I did spend five years in the cubs and sea scouts, would this allow me to have reduced benefits? say free UK and European air travel, but not long haul destinations?

Originally Posted by Arthurgray50@blu

Hi Frogstamper, the answer to your question - would be no, you would have to be in the armed services.

Mr Irony has officially left the building.........

[Derek]

Set the wage for MP's to be the same as the average wage for the rest of the UK (maybe with say 10% extra)

No expenses, for those living outside London I'm sure some housing could be sourced for them, and any donations etc have to be published to see just who is helping them financially.

Lets see how many of them are desparate to get into Politics after that.

[Hiroki]

I actually agree with a few of Arthur's points except for

9) IF you are a member of the armed service, no matter how long you serve, you will allowed FREE travel, flights, entertainment, football, medical care, private or NHS fastrak, to repay our debt to your commitment to our freedom.

Why? Why should they? Honestly they do the job for their own gain and they know all the risks so why should they be treated differently to any other person??? Still annoys me how a lot of them get compensation for being injured in a job they know all the risks for.

Originally Posted by Hiroki

I actually agree with a few of Arthur's points except for


Why? Why should they? Honestly they do the job for their own gain and they know all the risks so why should they be treated differently to any other person??? Still annoys me how a lot of them get compensation for being injured in a job they know all the risks for.

You annoyed people in the army get compensation for death and/or injury That's kind of harsh. They deserve that compensation, it is after all in the service of the country. Same with the Police and Firemen.

I simply do not agree they warrant free flights/football matches/entertainment. Far too expensive. I would like to see a discount for servicemen (any service: Army, Police, NHS and so on) offered at more places.

---------- Post added at 18:45 ---------- Previous post was at 18:42 ----------

Originally Posted by Derek S

Set the wage for MP's to be the same as the average wage for the rest of the UK (maybe with say 10% extra)

No expenses, for those living outside London I'm sure some housing could be sourced for them, and any donations etc have to be published to see just who is helping them financially.

Lets see how many of them are desparate to get into Politics after that.

I never understand this logic, their job is not akin to the "average joes" job. They need to be smart, they need to work long hours (which they do, sometimes weekends. Even Parliament recess which people complain about is not a full vacation as they return to work in their constituencies). You are consistently n the public eye, generally disliked by the population, and it's not exactly an easy job to get.

£65,000 is not exactly overkill for such a job.

[Arthurgray50@blu]

Hi DerekS, the way l would sort the wages for MPs would be quite simple, we know the old fiddle such as 'family' members working for £40.000 per year, this would be stopped, for the simple reason would be, if they work for 'my' government, they would have to apply for it, and they would receive the same wage as, £15.000.

We all know that MPs have there so called members working for them is a load of old cobblers, l would stop this, as this is there way of fiddling money out of you, and you pay my wages in your taxes.

[Halcyon]

So elections are coming up once again.... Would you make any more changes to the running of this country if you were the Prime Minister?

I would do the following few more things to my earlier posts:

1. Build a block of flats in central London. These would have a bunch of bedrooms, bathroom facilities, and an I.T. and conference room downstairs.
This would be where all MP's would stay whilst on business in London.
No big costs on second homes or hotel fees, just basic accomodation.

2. If you are on benefits and not actively seeking work, you are given a job automatically. If you refuse to do it, you don't get any more benefits.

3. Have one day a week where all public transport is free. This would encourage people to leave their cars behind.

4. Have the equivilant of flight marshals on buses to patrol the idiot teenagers that smoke or create hell for everyone else every day.

5. Encourage businesses to stop work on a wednesday and only work in the mornings. Wednesday afternoons would be advertised as a time for families and for sporting activities.

6. Allow school halls to become shelters overnight for the homeless and employ staff to run these.

7. To pay for all these changes, new taxes would be introduced:

- Any newcomer to this country would have to pay a yearly rental fee for living in this country. All british citizens would not have to pay this fee.

- More people taking up work would mean more money to the government.

- If you drop litter in the street you will marched to a cash point and will have to pay an instant £50 fine.

- If you use public transport or walk and do not own a vehicle you will not have to pay an environment protection tax that would be £100 a year.

Originally Posted by Hiroki

I actually agree with a few of Arthur's points except for


Why? Why should they? Honestly they do the job for their own gain and they know all the risks so why should they be treated differently to any other person??? Still annoys me how a lot of them get compensation for being injured in a job they know all the risks for.

Oh ! So while you sit in your house, safe and warm, while other men and women are wearing the uniform, leaving their loved ones behind, and getting their limbs blown off, comming home with PTSD after seeing their mates immolated, or, getting slotted by some ****** assed > insert nationality of Muj fighter here <. And yet you are getting annoyed that young men, and women, are getting compensated for the loss of limbs, being maimed, and dying. So that gutless, whining turds like you can gob off on internet forums about how they are such a waste of money.... Good thing we dont have to rely on you to keep civilization from going down the toilet any faster than it is....

Originally Posted by Earl of Bronze

Oh ! So while you sit in your house, safe and warm, while other men and women are wearing the uniform, leaving their loved ones behind, and getting their limbs blown off, comming home with PTSD after seeing their mates immolated, or, getting slotted by some ****** assed > insert nationality of Muj fighter here <. And yet you are getting annoyed that young men, and women, are getting compensated for the loss of limbs, being maimed, and dying. So that gutless, whining turds like you can gob off on internet forums about how they are such a waste of money.... Good thing we dont have to rely on you to keep civilization from going down the toilet any faster than it is....

I agree with him to an extent, although not on the compensation issue, that in all of these ideas there is a subtext that those in the military should be elevated to some higher form of citizenry. Discounted travel, free entry to football matches, discounts in stores, priority for government services and so on are all suggestions made in this, and other, topics.

There are plenty of other people who contribute massively to society. Police, Doctors and Nurses, Firemen, Teachers. Yet the amount of people that seem to think that the army are alone in their status is irritating.

The examples you give tend not to have the same "wastage" rate as the armed forces, nor is it part of their everyday job to expect that "wastage" rate (imho).

Originally Posted by foreverwar

The examples you give tend not to have the same "wastage" rate as the armed forces, nor is it part of their everyday job to expect that "wastage" rate (imho).

But I don't disagree with compensation as a result and a decent pension as well as money to the family of the solider if they died. I was questioning the extra entitlements some think they should get, and pointing out the contribution of other sectors of society.