National News Rishi Sunak

Sheik djibouti said:
Who knew 🤷‍♂️

Whilst the rivers may be full of shite, look on the bright side . . .at least everyone's pension funds are healthy!

Sorry, I meant at least everyone's pension fund were healthy . . . .

Good to see Australian Bank Macquarie took a massive £1.26 billion in dividends and interest from Thames water between 2008 - 2017 as the debts were spiraling . . .
Click to expand...
Absolutely despicable that such a company still exists. The case for public ownership of the water companies is overwhelming
 
And Water Companies don't care what their actions look like or reading the room considering United Utilities have paid out a record dividend of £301m. Yet revenue and profit dropped, with profit falling by over 40% to £256m

And then chuck in below with the many the other overflows of sewage etc:

www.bbc.co.uk

Coogan joins protest over United Utilities' Windermere pollution

The star joins protestors calling on United Utilities to stop paying shareholders record dividends.
www.bbc.co.uk

Yet the spokesman arrogantly suggesting it is only £2 a month increase for bill payers.

And they aren't the only ones with Severn Water announcing increased dividends of £261m.

Yet both will expect increased bills to pay for the infrastructure investment.
 
Marked Ox said:
And Water Companies don't care what their actions look like or reading the room considering United Utilities have paid out a record dividend of £301m. Yet revenue and profit dropped, with profit falling by over 40% to £256m

And then chuck in below with the many the other overflows of sewage etc:

www.bbc.co.uk

Coogan joins protest over United Utilities' Windermere pollution

The star joins protestors calling on United Utilities to stop paying shareholders record dividends.
www.bbc.co.uk

Yet the spokesman arrogantly suggesting it is only £2 a month increase for bill payers.

And they aren't the only ones with Severn Water announcing increased dividends of £261m.

Yet both will expect increased bills to pay for the infrastructure investment.
Click to expand...
This is the trouble when private businesses are in charge of public services.

I spoke to a councillor late last year due to reoccurring road repairs on the same stretch of road which were regularly over-running. It was down to 'gas repairs' every time. He told me they were being fined for every day that the repairs went over schedule, but it was pretty much pointless because the cost of those fines are entirely cancelled out by price increases.

These businesses don't care, because they know any come back from their awful practices (fines etc) will just be recouped by increasing the price for customers - they're inconveniencing us, then making us pay (quite literally) for any consequence of that. We take a double hit.
 
MustardYellow said:
This is the trouble when private businesses are in charge of public services.

I spoke to a councillor late last year due to reoccurring road repairs on the same stretch of road which were regularly over-running. It was down to 'gas repairs' every time. He told me they were being fined for every day that the repairs went over schedule, but it was pretty much pointless because the cost of those fines are entirely cancelled out by price increases.

These businesses don't care, because they know any come back from their awful practices (fines etc) will just be recouped by increasing the price for customers - they're inconveniencing us, then making us pay (quite literally) for any consequence of that. We take a double hit.
Click to expand...

The repairing of roads after Utility companies do their work used to be done by Councils and they charged the companies. Generally repairs then used to be to a decent standard. It got changed way back (can't remember if it was under Thatcher, Major or Blair) to the companies doing their own work with little oversight or threat (even with fines) so unsurprisingly quality has progressively got worse. Councils also lost the ability to manage when such works happened so rather than one lot of work, you get multiple periods of roadworks such as on the road between Drayton and Sutton Courtenay which seems to be in permanent roadworks over the last 18 months.

Councils have for many years campaigned to get these powers back but Central Govt have refused.

Not all potholes are due to the utility companies but plenty of them are though.
 
Marked Ox said:
The repairing of roads after Utility companies do their work used to be done by Councils and they charged the companies. Generally repairs then used to be to a decent standard. It got changed way back (can't remember if it was under Thatcher, Major or Blair) to the companies doing their own work with little oversight or threat (even with fines) so unsurprisingly quality has progressively got worse. Councils also lost the ability to manage when such works happened so rather than one lot of work, you get multiple periods of roadworks such as on the road between Drayton and Sutton Courtenay which seems to be in permanent roadworks over the last 18 months.

Councils have for many years campaigned to get these powers back but Central Govt have refused.

Not all potholes are due to the utility companies but plenty of them are though.
Click to expand...
They're essentially just s**t with total impunity.

I reckon I see people actually working when roads/sections of roads are closed 20% of the time. Why is it not a legal requirement that work is carried out 24/7 till the job is done?

I curse those who work on our roads on a daily basis.
 
*Cough*

www.gov.uk

New street works regime to clamp down on pothole pain

Regulations to inspect utility company street works and assess quality of their road repairs.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk

Utility companies got the responsibility to repair under John Major in 1991 - since then neither Labour or others have done anything about the issues we all face, until now.

Ergo there is about 33 years of cark to put right!
 
Essexyellows said:
*Cough*

www.gov.uk

New street works regime to clamp down on pothole pain

Regulations to inspect utility company street works and assess quality of their road repairs.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk

Utility companies got the responsibility to repair under John Major in 1991 - since then neither Labour or others have done anything about the issues we all face, until now.

Ergo there is about 33 years of cark to put right!
Click to expand...

Yep, both Tories and Labour at fault on this.
 
Scotland has such a good model on this and it’s worth noting what their process was. They took the decision that rather than patch potholes they’d spend the money and get stretches of road properly re done. They have a much better network of road quality now and far less repairs needed. Ultimately it’s turned out cheaper over a decade.
 
Marston Road yellow said:
Scotland has such a good model on this and it’s worth noting what their process was. They took the decision that rather than patch potholes they’d spend the money and get stretches of road properly re done. They have a much better network of road quality now and far less repairs needed. Ultimately it’s turned out cheaper over a decade.
Click to expand...
Hang on. What magic are you talking about here? Actual long-term thinking? It will never catch on.
 
Marston Road yellow said:
Scotland has such a good model on this and it’s worth noting what their process was. They took the decision that rather than patch potholes they’d spend the money and get stretches of road properly re done. They have a much better network of road quality now and far less repairs needed. Ultimately it’s turned out cheaper over a decade.
Click to expand...
Sorry but you haven't explained how Tory government backers make money out of this. Go back to the start.
 
Marston Road yellow said:
Scotland has such a good model on this and it’s worth noting what their process was. They took the decision that rather than patch potholes they’d spend the money and get stretches of road properly re done. They have a much better network of road quality now and far less repairs needed. Ultimately it’s turned out cheaper over a decade.
Click to expand...

A decade doesn`t fit with the political cycle locally or nationally - rinse & repeat

QR said:
Sorry but you haven't explained how Tory government backers make money out of this. Go back to the start.
Click to expand...

I`m sure the SNP can give Westminster plenty of lessons on diverting money................. :)
 
Good to see Suella Braverman starting her leadership campaign so early. Even Tory MPs know that they are going to get massacred in the next election so they are already distancing themselves from this current lot ready to take control of whatever is left of them.

No one is stupid enough to take over now. It would be like jumping into the driving seat of a bus as it goes over a cliff!

The problem is that Braverman and others think that the way to attract more support is to go even further right. It's incredible that at a time when public services are on their knees, she speaks of the things that the public really want. Cut taxes, leave ECHR and stop the transgender ideology!

I'm sure every one of us is lying awake at night wondering how we can reduce funding to our desperately broken public services, giving up our human rights, and bullying the 0.1% of the population that identify as something different to their birth sex.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Fareham dump her from office and show that her little plan counts for nothing?
 
Scotchegg said:
Good to see Suella Braverman starting her leadership campaign so early. Even Tory MPs know that they are going to get massacred in the next election so they are already distancing themselves from this current lot ready to take control of whatever is left of them.

No one is stupid enough to take over now. It would be like jumping into the driving seat of a bus as it goes over a cliff!

The problem is that Braverman and others think that the way to attract more support is to go even further right. It's incredible that at a time when public services are on their knees, she speaks of the things that the public really want. Cut taxes, leave ECHR and stop the transgender ideology!

I'm sure every one of us is lying awake at night wondering how we can reduce funding to our desperately broken public services, giving up our human rights, and bullying the 0.1% of the population that identify as something different to their birth sex.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Fareham dump her from office and show that her little plan counts for nothing?
Click to expand...

That would be Suella assuming she will be re-elected then.
 
Screenshot_20240505_230426_Chrome.jpg

Wouldn't be surprised to see tactical voting in order to unseat our Suella. The Lib Dems and Greens have zero chance of winning and may well loan their vote to Labour.
 
Interesting fact that the turnout in most of the local elections wouldn't have reached the threshold for a union to hold a strike.

Its certainly not as "dead cert" as some may think it is.

Even in Red Leicester the Labour vote tanked.


Leicester less red.jpg
 
Essexyellows said:
Interesting fact that the turnout in most of the local elections wouldn't have reached the threshold for a union to hold a strike.

Its certainly not as "dead cert" as some may think it is.

Even in Red Leicester the Labour vote tanked.


View attachment 19435
Click to expand...


I'm sure Keir will be holding an emergency crisis meeting as we speak in the wake of this devastating result!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom