GE 2024

[Streetwalker]

With Independence support still around 50% the big question is why the SNP are not as popular as the policy they espouse?

Too many Scots leaders taking the English coin , hasn't that always been the case ?

[Borchester]

That's your opinion, everyone is entitled to one.

To be fair Nick, every clock is right at least once a day and it looks as though Pappy is right this time. I can't see Rishi getting back in next time, but then again I can't see Starmer making a lot of difference, so it will be the usual centralist government we have had most of the time since we have had governments

I wonder if the Scots will vote Dougie Ross back in again? The man seems a bit of a disaster area, but Moray seems to have a soft spot for the amiable buffoon, so who can tell ?

[johnofgwent]

The tax payer literally gets a refund every time someone is caught. The perpetrator is often made to pay back the sums.

The obsession with making sure nobody gets anything they might not be entitled to is making the UK a nasty place.

So you cite a quote i can't requote stating a woman was not issued with an exemption certificate. Who failed to do that ? Was she expected to apply for one ? Was she TOLD to apply for one ?

if she was not issued tbe relevant documentation then the T@@@ who failed to do their job is the one who should be in the dock, not her.

and we need the uk to BE a very nasty place indeed. Right now it has far too welcoming an attitude in several areas

[papasmurf]

That's your opinion, everyone is entitled to one.

My opinion is based on reality not blind faith. The latest stuff up with the "aero" concrete, (which is far more than schools,) is yet another nail in the Tory coffin.

[Nick]

Given the ever increasing disasters as a direct result of the Tories 13 years in office, which are now hitting the Tories core voters, I very much doubt it.

That's your opinion, everyone is entitled to one. 

[papasmurf]

Getting back to the matter at hand. The English, or the majority of them at least, for some unfathomable reason, will probably vote the Tories back into power.

Given the ever increasing disasters as a direct result of the Tories 13 years in office, which are now hitting the Tories core voters, I very much doubt it.

[morayloon]

Getting back to the matter at hand. The English, or the majority of them at least, for some unfathomable reason, will probably vote the Tories back into power. 
The Red Tories have completely lost their way and, come the election, will have completely lost the lead they currently hold. This trying to outdo the Tories on Tory ground will come back to haunt them.
We Scots will then get yet another Government we did not vote for. 
I also don't think Labour's resurgence in Scotland will last despite their likely win in the upcoming byelection. So far, according to the polls, they haven't overtaken the SNP and I fervently hope they never do. 
It is incredulous that some Independence supporters are contemplating voting for a unionist party. I mean, how can they reconcile such a move with their supposed Independence views? 
A danger for the Nationalists lies with the numerous ex members and supporters who jumped ship because of the SNPs lack of action on the Independence front. If the SNP is not careful these alienated voters will simply not vote because of the failure to come up with any policy to further the cause. The 2017 election should have served as a lesson. Support was lost because of the attempt to stifle the Independence call. 

With Independence support still around 50% the big question is why the SNP are not as popular as the policy they espouse?

[papasmurf]

@@@  Any more calling people trolls Smurf and you'll be sanctioned  @@@

Just because you don't agree doesn't make someone a troll.

Someone who posts offensive comments like you do, that you can't back up. (you recent comments about benefit claimants. ) Is by definition a troll, which is you and Borchester.

An individual who posts false accusations or inflammatory remarks on social media to promote a cause or to harass someone. The anonymity of such venues enables people to say things they would not say in person, and they often like to ratchet up emotions to generate strong reactions.

a troll is a person who posts or makes inflammatory, insincere, digressive,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages online (such as in social media, a newsgroup, a forum, a chat room, an online video game) or in real life, with the intent of provoking others into displaying emotional responses,[2] or manipulating others' perception, thus acting as a bully or a provocateur. The behavior is typically for the troll's amusement, or to achieve a specific result such as disrupting a rival's online activities or purposefully causing confusion or harm to other people.[3]

[Nick]

@@@  Any more calling people trolls Smurf and you'll be sanctioned  @@@

Just because you don't agree doesn't make someone a troll. 

[Nick]

Source?  Is it the express?

And even 24,000 cheats (3x) out of 6 million claimants is less than 0.5%.  Again a tiny fraction.

At a certain point the measures you put in place to prevent fraud outweigh the benefits of stopping that fraud, particularly as those measures will also usually prevent genuine cases from getting assistance.
How far are you prepared to go to stop every last cheat? How many worthy cases are a reasonable price to pay?

Remember, this all came about because Smurf can't help taking the bait. And he certainly can't add up how a swing in voting works. This is supposed to be about the next GE, but as usual Smurf derails things. 

[Borchester]

The tax payer literally gets a refund every time someone is caught. The perpetrator is often made to pay back the sums.

The obsession with making sure nobody gets anything they might not be entitled to is making the UK a nasty place.

Not in my experience. Apart from anything else, most villains don't put the money stolen into solid investments so that they can pay it back if they get caught. Instead they piss the money away on expensive rubbish and assume that if caught the DHS will write it off.

It could be that all the benefit cheats in your area are saints who refuse to knuckled down to the Tory boss class and are not stealing but making a political statement,  but back in the day I was involved in chasing your heroes and I never came across one of them that stole because they were hungry. Instead the money was pissed away on drink, drugs and designer trainers

[BeElBeeBub]

That is the bit the DHS (or whatever it is called this week) admits too.

It does not matter. However much is being stolen it is clearly liveable else something would be done about it. The points to remember are that

(a) however much Pappy and the rest of the layabout army steal, they will always want more

(b) the poor sods who pay for (a) will never get a refund

(c) except in the case of the clients of one of my sister's ex boyfriends, who is currently ensconced in a palatial villa on a Portuguese mountain top where he toils through not very many hours a day to ensure that the rich stay that way

The tax payer literally gets a refund every time someone is caught. The perpetrator is often made to pay back the sums. 

The obsession with making sure nobody gets anything they might not be entitled to is making the UK a nasty place. 

Stella Buller was recovering from the birth of her first child when the NHS letter arrived. It warned her that she could face fines and charges of up to £435 for claiming four free prescriptions during her pregnancy.

Buller, 29, like all pregnant women in England, should have been exempt from prescription charges until 12 months after she gave birth. But she was never issued with a maternity exemption certificate and has now been told that the oversight makes her ineligible for free medication. She has been given three months to pay the cost of the prescriptions she collected during her pregnancy, or face three-figure penalty surcharges.

[BeElBeeBub]

8,200 people that are known about cheating the DLA, and as we all know, statistics like this are always on the really low side.

Source?  Is it the express? 

And even 24,000 cheats (3x) out of 6 million claimants is less than 0.5%.  Again a tiny fraction.

At a certain point the measures you put in place to prevent fraud outweigh the benefits of stopping that fraud, particularly as those measures will also usually prevent genuine cases from getting assistance.
How far are you prepared to go to stop every last cheat? How many worthy cases are a reasonable price to pay?

[Nick]

Yeah but I did.

Disability benefit (PIP) fraud is 0.2% of all disability benefit payments.

That is not "many" by any stretch of tgr imagination.

8,200 people that are known about cheating the DLA, and as we all know, statistics like this are always on the really low side. 

[Borchester]

Yeah but I did.

Disability benefit (PIP) fraud is 0.2% of all disability benefit payments.

That is not "many" by any stretch of tgr imagination.

That is the bit the DHS (or whatever it is called this week) admits too.

It does not matter. However much is being stolen it is clearly liveable else something would be done about it. The points to remember are that 

(a) however much Pappy and the rest of the layabout army steal, they will always want more

(b) the poor sods who pay for (a) will never get a refund

(c) except in the case of the clients of one of my sister's ex boyfriends, who is currently ensconced in a palatial villa on a Portuguese mountain top where he toils through not very many hours a day to ensure that the rich stay that way