Off Topic The Politics Thread

Bringing up and feeding hungry children are slightly different things but hey ho. I honestly dont know whether that particular council needs the 25k to feed them or not. I know plenty of areas that do need help up here though, even more so during this pandemic.

 

I accept what you say about help needed where you are. Genuine question - since the UK has some of the most generous benefit payments in the world, why do you think these are still inadequate?

 

I suppose individual circumstances dictate adequacy or inadequacy. I'm sure there are many who play the system but the vast majority wont. I'm just a simple guy Goldy. I look at a charity donating 25k to feed hungry children as a good thing, whether it's a stunt or not, if some hungry British child gets fed, then brilliant. I look at multi million pound contracts handed out to companies who provide little to nothing in return as a pretty bad thing. That's just how my conscience works mate.

 

If there are people that have been paid millions for no value, then I agree heads must roll in government. The Tories will have to justify it all to the voters at the next GE

I just can't help feeling there's a greater problem(s) over the meals for kids issue, and it's in no one's interest to paper over it/them

 

I agree

 

I appreciate that this could be tricky legally, but I'd like to see all govt (central and local) contracts with a value greater than (say) £10m published on a dedicated website. There could be some exceptions (e.g. defence)

It would help allay much of the speculation in the (social) media about who is getting what, penalties for non performance etc

Ultimately any government body is spending our mòney and we should have a greater right to scrutiny. We clearly have been unable to rely on various Oppositions to do it for us over the years

 

Agree, there needs to be much greater openness, and it's never needed more than when a political party comes into power with a humongous majority and feels it is answerable to no one

 

It was exactly the same during the Blair years - and those years were when political spin really started on a massive scale

Successive governments haven't done anything to reverse that

 

Exactly. Sofa government

 

From memory, and I'd have to check, this is already supposed to happen. And I think the threshold was much lower than you suggested - 10k I think? All supposed to be published in OJEU. The issue is the many workarounds people find...

Also no idea how Brexit has impacted this.

 

Sorry - to clarify I meant the entire contract detail not just a list of contracts awarded

Much of the noise around some - for example PPE - contracts has been around the lack of detail as regards (for example) contract performance conditions, leading to wild speculation as to what may or may not be in the contracts

 

Got you. Yep, that would be good.

 

Says it all. Or it should but there's still plenty thinking they're doing a grand job.

 

So if I pop down to the shops first thing Wednesday are we talking Soviet Union levels of availability or peak Zimbabwe?

Alternatively, anyone got a recipe for a Christmas pudding I can make from protein powder and eggs?

Oh I’m out of eggs.

 

Apparently you can get all the brussels sprouts you can eat
Get toilet paper though

 

Well yeah obviously I’ll be picking up 96 toilet rolls as I do most weeks.

 

Other half has just done our Xmas shop

Busy but not overly so. Some seasonal items already sold out but plenty of stock otherwise

 

Wait a minute, all these EU countries closing their borders to us! Almost like they have control over them or something.

 

Macron has been taking the piss for months.
Jumped up little prick.

 

Oh mate.