So Reeves's plans for economic growth are to be largely dependent on fast-tracking investment in infrastructure - good, Keynesian economics. At the same time, we learn that there are 366,000 fewer construction workers in the country than there were five years ago. So who's going to do the building? Immigrants of course, but they can't say that. The ONS says that the UK population will grow by 5 million by 2032 - all coming from net migration, with births and deaths being flat - and the usual suspects are up in arms. Starmer and Reeves should be honest about the fact immigration is vital for our economic growth. Currently, they are too scared to do so.
Those foreigners don't half build big stuff for cheap labour Quite clearly more foreigners are needed to do all the work in the UK as there are only 1.57 million unemployed people there
Sixty-Seven people killed in an air crash in Washington and Trump, before any investigation has had a chance to begin, has stated at a press conference that the crash was caused by 'woke' recruitment policies for air-traffic controllers. 'What evidence do you have for this, Mr. President?' 'It's common sense', he says. The correspondent I just heard reporting on the presser described it as 'stone cold crazy'. USA! USA! USA!
There isn't a shortage of construction workers, there's a shortage of work for those construction workers as nobody is spending their pennies.
This is from last year, Bob..... Over 250,000 extra construction workers required by 2028 to meet demand - CITB These new infrastructure projects are going to require a whole lot more workers even than that.
What diversity programmes was Trump referring to?published at 07:04 07:04 please log in to view this image Bernd Debusmann Jr Reporting from the White House As we've been reporting, Trump repeatedly suggested that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes may have contributed to the crash - although he acknowledged that the investigation is still at its very early stages. In his remarks, he referenced the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) hiring of people with "severe intellectual" disabilities and other mental or physical issues. A website for the FAA's diversity and inclusion hiring programme appears to have been taken down in December. An archived version of the site, however, shows that the FAA was seeking people with "targeted disabilities" that the federal government was prioritising for recruitment at the time. The website specifically referenced hearing and vision issues, as well as "missing extremities, partial paralysis, completely paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism". Trump read from this list, verbatim, during the news conference. However, the programme listed on the site appears to be for the whole FAA, and does not specifically appear to be for air traffic control roles. The archived website also shows that the FAA was offering non-competitive "on-the-spot" hiring for veterans and people with disabilities. The recruitment website was the subject of considerable media attention at the time, particularly from conservative US news outlets. In a statement sent to Fox at the time, the FAA said that "like many large employers, the agency proactively seeks qualified candidates from as many sources as possible, all of whom must meet rigorous qualifications that of course will vary by position".
Not sure i fancy bob aged 61 with parkinsons, Gary aged 18 and who is always ****ting on the street plus sharon with 10 kids building my house mate
is the 1.57 million all bobs garys and sharons would bob and sharon be included in the unemployed numbers or would they be on different benefits anyway
So, not content with attempting to 'buy' Greenland, claiming the Panama canal for the US and suggesting that Canada should be the 51st US state, Trump now wants to ethnically cleanse the Gaza strip and turn it into a Riviera of the Middle-East. And they said Putin was a mad and dangerous imperialist.
Pity you missed conscription, you'd have got there for free...heard you jew boys are all the rage down Gaza strip nowadays
MPs' pay set to increase 2.8% to £93,904 in April 3 hours ago Share Save Paul Seddon Political reporter please log in to view this image Getty Images MPs' basic salary is set to rise 2.8% to £93,904 from April, after Parliament's expenses watchdog decided to link it to wider proposals for the public sector. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) said the rise should reflect government plans for workers such as teachers and NHS staff. Those pay deals are currently being negotiated with unions, following recommendations from pay review bodies late last year. A final decision on MPs' salary will be made in mid-March, following a two-week consultation beginning on Monday. Advertisement MPs' pay will increase by 5.5% from April Government recommends 2.8% pay rise for public sector The recommended rise is higher than the current CPI figure for inflation, which measures price rises over the previous year and stands at 2.5%. But it is lower than the measure of public sector earnings that has typically been used by Ipsa in recent years to set MPs' salary. In September 2021, the watchdog said it would, for a period of three years, link their salary rises to average public sector pay figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in October. Had this figure been used for next year, MPs would have seen their salary rise 4.2%, to a total of £95,182. Ipsa points out that it has not always stuck rigidly to the October earnings figure - and it has the flexibility to use other statistics if it wants to. Advertisement Working population Last year, it recommended a 5.5% rise, in line with the deal awarded to senior civil servants, after concluding the official pay figures did not fully reflect "underlying trends in public sector pay". Ipsa chair Richard Lloyd said its recommendation for MPs' pay next year reflected the experience of the "wider working public sector population", as well as the "current economic climate". Ipsa has also recommended the 2.8% uplift should also apply to the £18,309 top-up awarded to MPs who chair select committees. In the spring, it is set to launch a wider review of MPs' pay that will determine the salary they are paid from April 2026 onwards. Among other factors, this review will look at how MPs are paid in comparison to elected politicians internationally. MPs previously set their own salaries but this changed after the 2009 expenses scandal, which saw Ipsa set up in an attempt to make the pay-setting process more transparent and independent.
