Current Affairs

[Kendhni]

He was head of the CPS and therefore should take ultimate responsibility for all its actions.
Surely the fact that the CPS declined to prosecute is part of the story

Overall it is a small part of the story, deliberately isolated and used disingenuously. Witnesses at the time did not want to give testimony, there were failings made by the police and the lawyer thought there was not much of a chance of success. When presented with that sort of advice do you think it would be a good use of public money to chase such cases?

Like any person in a position of seniority they take advice and guidance from their minions, it would be a pretty stupid world that meant the CEO was responsible for every day-to-day decision taken within their company. They would last about 5 minutes in the job. Maybe we should hold every member of management in the BBC responsible for JS behaviour as well - this was so well known that it is obvious they were complicit in its cover up.

[barney]

Too ridiculous to even debate.
A bit of straw clutching in my opinion given that Johnson is handling covid so badly.

[towny44]

He was head of the CPS and therefore should take ultimate responsibility for all its actions.
Surely the fact that the CPS declined to prosecute is part of the story

Overall it is a small part of the story, deliberately isolated and used disingenuously. Witnesses at the time did not want to give testimony, there were failings made by the police and the lawyer thought there was not much of a chance of success. When presented with that sort of advice do you think it would be a good use of public money to chase such cases?

Like any person in a position of seniority they take advice and guidance from their minions, it would be a pretty stupid world that meant the CEO was responsible for every day-to-day decision taken within their company. They would last about 5 minutes in the job. Maybe we should hold every member of management in the BBC responsible for JS behaviour as well - this was so well known that it is obvious they were complicit in its cover up.

That's a change from you Ken you're view historically has been that the top man should carry the can.

[Manoverboard]

There are there areas for me where the can should be shared ... Liverpool, Manchester and Derby.

These places have elected Mayors so let them take some responsibility and decide for themselves how their districts will manage the Panemic from start to finish rather than dumping everything on Boris and his Government. All they seem to be doing is moaning and asking for more money.

[screwy]

Give them the money, then let’s see their reaction when their ‘Citizens’ taxes rise to pay for it. Seems to me it’s not going to a nice place to live when the country is totally skint.

Maybe I’m wrong,a sure I will be told.

[barney]

Give them the money, then let’s see their reaction when their ‘Citizens’ taxes rise to pay for it. Seems to me it’s not going to a nice place to live when the country is totally skint.

Maybe I’m wrong,a sure I will be told.

You’re not wrong screwy.
Nobody is actually right or wrong, it’s just differing opinions.
My opinion is that if my boat is taking in water, I’ll keep bailing and worry about fixing it once I’m safe.

[Kendhni]

He was head of the CPS and therefore should take ultimate responsibility for all its actions.
Surely the fact that the CPS declined to prosecute is part of the story

Overall it is a small part of the story, deliberately isolated and used disingenuously. Witnesses at the time did not want to give testimony, there were failings made by the police and the lawyer thought there was not much of a chance of success. When presented with that sort of advice do you think it would be a good use of public money to chase such cases?

Like any person in a position of seniority they take advice and guidance from their minions, it would be a pretty stupid world that meant the CEO was responsible for every day-to-day decision taken within their company. They would last about 5 minutes in the job. Maybe we should hold every member of management in the BBC responsible for JS behaviour as well - this was so well known that it is obvious they were complicit in its cover up.

That's a change from you Ken you're view historically has been that the top man should carry the can.

Within reason ... in this case the advice the CPS got was that they could not win the case.

[Kendhni]

As of 6PM tonight we are back into lockdown with bars, restaurants and many other facilities closing down totally.
Naturally some restaurants will carry on with a click and collect service (better than my cooking).

While there is some pushback and people very concerned about the future, the general consensus seems to be that it is the intelligent thing to do. It appears that it isn't quite as tight as earlier this year - curiously that is what most people are complaining about. There is also a lot of expectation that there will be a cycles of opening and lockdown over the next 6 months.

[towny44]

Well that is a major surprise, this mornings shocking revelation that Jennifer Arcuri did have an affair with Boris. Whoever would have thought that?

[barney]

Well that is a major surprise, this mornings shocking revelation that Jennifer Arcuri did have an affair with Boris. Whoever would have thought that?

Shocking

What next?
Macron marrying his school teacher

[oldbluefox]

Well that is a major surprise, this mornings shocking revelation that Jennifer Arcuri did have an affair with Boris. Whoever would have thought that?

Probably getting tips from Sir John Major KG CH

[Stephen]

That'll go down well with the other half

[Onelife]

If reports are right good old Boris is going to cut and run by Spring as he can't manage on his £150k salary.

Will you be arguing that he should get a pay rise? I actually think the post of PM should be more financially rewarded..... but won'the be doing so until after he resigns

[screwy]

Boris must be the unluckiest PM ever. He was elected Leader and subsequently PM on one issue. The other promises to rebuild the North etc,well we will now never know if they would come to fruition.Along came Covid and buggered it all up,yes he has made mistakes along with his cabinet but this is all new. Labour can say what they want,the one thing they won’t say is ‘ Thank heaven we didn’t win the Elections. And so say all of us.

[towny44]

If reports are right good old Boris is going to cut and run by Spring as he can't manage on his £150k salary.

Will you be arguing that he should get a pay rise? I actually think the post of PM should be more financially rewarded..... but won'the be doing so until after he resigns

That does sound like a possibility, Boris is a one trick PM and by spring next year any furore over Brexit should be past it's peak and maybe even Covid could be declining if we have a vaccine, so his successor can come in with a clean sheet and the Tories can go on to win an even bigger majority in 2024.

[Onelife]

If reports are right good old Boris is going to cut and run by Spring as he can't manage on his £150k salary.

Will you be arguing that he should get a pay rise? I actually think the post of PM should be more financially rewarded..... but won'the be doing so until after he resigns

That does sound like a possibility, Boris is a one trick PM and by spring next year any furore over Brexit should be past it's peak and maybe even Covid could be declining if we have a vaccine, so his successor can come in with a clean sheet and the Tories can go on to win an even bigger majority in 2024.

Considering the caliber of our present opposition political parties l hope that proves to be the case

[Onelife]

I warm to people who wear their heart on their sleeve and Andy Burnham is a good example of this... His stance of more for the less well-off dose him credit but letting your heart rule your heart can sometimes lead you to lose sight of the bigger picture. Had the Government caved in to his requests they would have left themselves open to an avalanche of “how come them and not us” … a cry that would have been heard from every corner of the UK from those who lost their jobs and businesses prior to the second wave taking off.

The Media would have taken the Government apart had they paid Andy and not Paul.

[oldbluefox]

It's easy to spend somebody else's money, especially when you're not the one having to pay it back again.

[david63]

I had to laugh this evening when that twit Ashworth was spouting off in the House of Commons saying that there should be more money available - and who will be shouting the loudest when it comes to increased taxes and reduced spending when we start having to pay these massive loans back.

Do these people not realise that money does not grow on trees, and neither does the Government have any money - they borrow it and borrowed money has to be paid back.

[Gill W]

Burnham asked for the money to help people in Manchester.

The £65m is small compared to the £12BN spent on the poorly functioning Track and Trace system, and tiny compared to the ever spiralling cost of Brexit.

[Kendhni]

I had to laugh this evening when that twit Ashworth was spouting off in the House of Commons saying that there should be more money available - and who will be shouting the loudest when it comes to increased taxes and reduced spending when we start having to pay these massive loans back.

Do these people not realise that money does not grow on trees, and neither does the Government have any money - they borrow it and borrowed money has to be paid back.

It should be made clear that the government will provide more funding but it must be claimed back through the council tax and/or other local taxes (ooohhhh, a federal UK). The local representatives may be less likely to be ranting on social media then.

[Manoverboard]

Funding rules should be applied evenly over the entire Country but if Manchester, for example, wants more then let them pay for it themselves via local taxation.

[barney]

Funding rules should be applied evenly over the entire Country but if Manchester, for example, wants more then let them pay for it themselves via local taxation.

That’s massively controversial moby.

As we all know, England hugely subsidises the other three nations of the U.K. but the taxation level is the same.
Northern Ireland people get the most per head, followed closely by the Scots.
There is probably quite a strong argument for English independence.

[towny44]

Burnham asked for the money to help people in Manchester.

The £65m is small compared to the £12BN spent on the poorly functioning Track and Trace system, and tiny compared to the ever spiralling cost of Brexit.

It may be small Gill but when other authorities have accepted the same amount, it would only lead to anger and rancour, and of course would need to be retrospectively paid to the others and any that follow; and of course that figure I believe was what the govt actually offered Manchester, but Burnham wanted more.
Incidentally the majority of the cost of track and trace is for the test kits and chemicals needed to undertake the tests, and the lab costs would be very similar regardless of who did the work. You, and many others complaining about private firms involvement, are just clouding the issue to make a political point.

[Manoverboard]

Funding rules should be applied evenly over the entire Country but if Manchester, for example, wants more then let them pay for it themselves via local taxation.

That’s massively controversial moby.

As we all know, England hugely subsidises the other three nations of the U.K. but the taxation level is the same.
Northern Ireland people get the most per head, followed closely by the Scots.
There is probably quite a strong argument for English independence.

I would therefore reduce the subsidy for the Northern Irish and Scotish regions so that it is in line with the English formula.

We are of course talking about subsidy relating to Covid impact ... but