http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35808186



I think that’s the nub of it right there. The cuts are not about “austerity” but about moving services from the public sector to the private sector - but in a far bigger way than before. I would not be surprised if, in the future, some welfare benefits will be handled by private insurance rather than by the state - you’ll have to pay into a policy to receive, say, unemployment benefits. We know the NHS is already target for privatisation, and I think we’re all awaiting the day when private insurance becomes a necessity.

i believe the ambulance, police and fire services are well on the cards ...

I was watching some fairly mundane TV on Sunday morning and they had an American comedian on who now lives in Britain. he had just had a child with his wife in Britain and was saying how much better the experience was.. something like 'In Britain you have the baby and then they hand you a mug of tea, in America you have the baby and they then they hand you a massive bill'.

It's something not much discussed that a privatised health service may possibly have a chilling effect - that 'elective' things people are doing that require medical intervention, like having children, will happen less once people see a huge bill as part of it, even if that bill will be paid by existing medical insurance. We already have an issue that there aren't enough babies being born to provide the working population to pay taxes to support the elderly we're going to have and the way things are going we're apparently going to be discouraging people from having children even more.


Back to the OP, Osborne has one very simple choice in fact. Does he do what is actually required for the best for the economy and the population, or does he do what is required for it to look like he's hitting the targets he set himself, which might in the end make things worse for a lot of people. The immediate opinion you'd go for with such a politically motivated chancellor is the latter but he has shown some signs of rising above his instincts when the cost has been high. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

A lot of ambulance services where I live appear to be private concerns “working in partnership with the NHS” as it says on the side. It’s the paramedics that aren’t privately run yet.

I don’t know whether you know your history of the fire service or not, but originally they were private concerns operated by insurance companies. They’d fix a badge on your house; If your house was on fire and you didn’t have a badge on your house, then tough. Your house burned down. If your house was on fire, and the house next door was also on fire, and different insurance companies were involved, then you’d have to wait for your fire service to appear. The ones attending your neighbour’s blaze would not be bothered with yours.

My in laws, who moved to Frinton in Essex last year, have been asked if they are interested in contributing to private patrols in their area. I think I posted that news story when it surfaced at the time. No arrest powers; probably fewer powers than the CPSO.

If they've got less powers than a CHIMP, you're effectively just giving members of the public money for nothing.

So, it looks like not even IDS could stomach the budget

clickety

Can't have done Gideon much good in his bid for leader. What a shame

If the political machinations described in our tv dramas are at all realistic… I remain to be convinced by IDS, he has been stitched up by the Eton gang since forever, but it sticks, as they say.

Iain Duncan Smith quit due to Treasury refusal to consider pensioner cuts | Politics | The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... ioner-cuts

He obviously wanted to complete the set of 'vulnerable people to give a kicking to'.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35855616

Took him long enough, but he finally figured out he was the Tory lightning rod. Christ, he has been from when he was a former leader. The Tory problem is the press smell blood and there's any number of former cabinet ministers who will brief against them at a time when they're already divided. The press won't give a crap who the sources are, this is Major all over again going by the signs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35877442

I know it's the new financial year blah blah, but I can't remember any previous votes on a budget

I believe in fact all budgets are voted on (which is why the speech traditionally ends 'I commend this budget to the house') however the vote is seen as a formality, given losing a budget vote would certainly be seen as enough grounds to trigger a vote of no confidence in the government. It's basically a four line whip.

Individual parts of a budget may lead to further legislation which would need votes on a case by case basis. That's generally where the battles on budget measures are fought out.

Cheers. Then it's the first time I've ever seen the press report on 'the overall vote'! I'd guess that's because they'd like to keep the Tory implosion going now that it's almost unstoppable anyway.

I don't know if losing a budget vote would automatically trigger vote of no confidence in the whole government but there's certainly an argument for no confidence in the Chancellor who proposed it (and wouldn't that be a crying shame).
There's a far greater risk of the government losing this budget vote than there has been for some time given how riven with infighting the Tories are at the moment. Even a three line whip might not work although I'm depressingly certain they'll squeak through.

I must confess that, while I didn't watch the entire budget debate I was somewhat disappointed that the opposition didn't seize on a very obvious line of attack.
Gideon claimed they were already satisfied they'd met their manifesto commitment to make £12 billion of welfare savings over the lifetime of this parliament so they, in fact, could drop the PIP changes and didn't need to find the £4 billion odd to make up for dropping the plans. If that was in fact the case and those cuts were effectively optional, why make them in the first place? Either you can't add up so are incompetent or were doing it for the joy of stabbing the disabled in the face to benefit the wealthy and are just a bit narked you got caught.

Sadly Labour have missed open goals for months now. McDonnell has a higher profile than Corbyn FFS.