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BBC News agenda; Politics
Topic Started: Dec 24 2014, 11:08 AM (1,463 Views)
Tytoalba
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Now like most on this board I am biased. I admit it, but to be fair we are all biased by our personal circumstances, our upbringing and our experiences in life, but I do try to be objective.
I am convinced that the BBC , news programmes in particular, has an agenda , a left wing government supporting one. I point the finger , and leave you to decide for yourselves if the coincidences you see are just fair reporting or there is something unfair taking place.
We know that the labour party is having difficulties with their opposition of government policies on the economy, so they have directed their opposition agendas towards the health service and government cuts.
To me the BBC is doing the same, and in the last few days there have been reports by them on ambulance waiting times, hospital waiting times, cuts in council spending, with a cut in street lighting emphasised ,and this morning they had a cameraman at a reporter at a feeding stationto supply food to the "starving" who looked to me .well fed , and the numbers shown very limited indeed. It looked like a set up.
Naturally with their multi cultural agenda , there were black faces to the fore. They do like to focus in their stories on the one black police officer, or the black or female soldier where ever they can. It seems as if the camera man has instructions to get at least one black person in their footage to be cut into the reporting. If a child in a classroom has a head scarf on they get particular attention. They also manage to get a Labour party spokesperson to appear in the early morning to comment on the story they highlight, which seems to indicate that they are in collusion with the Labour party.
I forecast that for the next few months they will concentrate on those things that will advantage the Labour party and will disadvantage the current government, with an emphasis on the NHS, which itself is so successful in the main , but will always have deficiencies and failures. peaks and troughs, until the last few weeks before the general election, when they will take an even handed approach to avoid criticism.

Look and watch for yourself make your judgements in an objective manner , and then tell me it is not as I see it.
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ranger121
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somersetli
Dec 26 2014, 07:04 PM
I don't think that, in the main, the British public are very interested in what the government is doing or not doing. Or who is not telling them things that they ought to be told.
There is a certain red banner newspaper that is supposed to have the largest circulation in the country. It's "news" frequently centres on the idiosyncrasies of, so called, celebreties, footballers speeding, cheating on their spouses, the Duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy, topless bimbos, and various other trivia.
Other than that very few are interested.
As is reflected in the viewing figures for Parliament TV.

Even the more slightly 'high-brow' Mail, the right-hand column is a celebrity-fest, mostly nipple-free but has recently heavily featured its favourite arse.

Politically, apathy rules.
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ranger121
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papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 07:10 PM
somersetli
Dec 26 2014, 07:04 PM
I don't think that, in the main, the British public are very interested in what the government is doing or not doing.
That is not the point, the media's raison d'etre is SUPPOSED to be holding governments to account. The British public would be interested if they were told what is happening. As it is ignorance is bliss.
Why don't you tell us 'what is happening', that is so important that the BBC in all it's glory isn't telling us?

I'm dying to know.
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papasmurf
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ranger121
Dec 26 2014, 07:13 PM
Why don't you tell us 'what is happening', that is so important that the BBC in all it's glory isn't telling us?

I'm dying to know.
I have been doing that for several years.
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ranger121
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papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 07:15 PM
ranger121
Dec 26 2014, 07:13 PM
Why don't you tell us 'what is happening', that is so important that the BBC in all it's glory isn't telling us?

I'm dying to know.
I have been doing that for several years.
Telling us what, exactly?
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Pro Veritas
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papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 05:26 PM
Ranger, can you explain why even today there are reports on Euronews and other foreign news outlets that the British population should be being informed about but there is no mention anywhere on British media at all.
Well man-up and start the ball rolling by informing us about these issues then.

Or shut-up with the melodrama.

I don't care which.

But bleating on about what we are being kept ignorant of and then not linking to the issues means that you are now a part of the "conspiracy of silence" about those issues.

All The Best
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papasmurf
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Pro Veritas
Dec 26 2014, 07:19 PM


Or shut-up with the melodrama.

There is no melodrama involved. I just find it strange Euronews, France24, CNN and other foreign news outlets have far more comment about the dire effects the current British government policy is having on large sectors of the population, and the incompetence of George Osborne than British media ever does.
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Pro Veritas
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papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 07:24 PM
Pro Veritas
Dec 26 2014, 07:19 PM


Or shut-up with the melodrama.

There is no melodrama involved. I just find it strange Euronews, France24, CNN and other foreign news outlets have far more comment about the dire effects the current British government policy is having on large sectors of the population, and the incompetence of George Osborne than British media ever does.
But still no links.

Are we to assume that these comments on foreign news services are just figments of your imagination?

Why are you reluctant to link to them?

Why are you doing your best to ensure we, the British public, remain ignorant of these issues?

All The Best
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ranger121
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It'll be a word in the ''smoking man's'' ear from G.O. that has kept him out of the public news whilst he goes around being incompetent all over the place.

He even has a website to brag about it.

No-hang on, he was at Bilderberg. Case closed.

Increased majority at each election guaranteed, by the Bilderbergs. It's a conspiracy.
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somersetli
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papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 07:10 PM
somersetli
Dec 26 2014, 07:04 PM
I don't think that, in the main, the British public are very interested in what the government is doing or not doing.
That is not the point, the media's raison d'etre is SUPPOSED to be holding governments to account. The British public would be interested if they were told what is happening. As it is ignorance is bliss.
I very much doubt it!
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papasmurf
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Pro Veritas
Dec 26 2014, 07:32 PM
But still no links.

Are we to assume that these comments on foreign news services are just figments of your imagination?

Why are you reluctant to link to them?

Why are you doing your best to ensure we, the British public, remain ignorant of these issues?

All The Best
I have been "doing my best" for the last 20 years to try and make the British public aware of them. I have also provided loads of links in the past and up until recently. It has become very obvious that people on this forum do not read them or you would not make those comments.
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ranger121
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papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 08:23 PM
Pro Veritas
Dec 26 2014, 07:32 PM
But still no links.

Are we to assume that these comments on foreign news services are just figments of your imagination?

Why are you reluctant to link to them?

Why are you doing your best to ensure we, the British public, remain ignorant of these issues?

All The Best
I have been "doing my best" for the last 20 years to try and make the British public aware of them. I have also provided loads of links in the past and up until recently. It has become very obvious that people on this forum do not read them or you would not make those comments.
Then the public are unaware of what is happening.

Round and round we go.
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papasmurf
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ranger121
Dec 26 2014, 08:41 PM
Then the public are unaware of what is happening.

Round and round we go.
In general terms they are unless they are one of the 18 million who have been badly effected by current government policy.
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ranger121
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papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 08:44 PM
ranger121
Dec 26 2014, 08:41 PM
Then the public are unaware of what is happening.

Round and round we go.
In general terms they are unless they are one of the 18 million who have been badly effected by current government policy.
Perhaps the majority are rather disinterested in what is happening to the other 18 million, or maybe actively encourage it.
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papasmurf
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ranger121
Dec 26 2014, 08:49 PM
Perhaps the majority are rather disinterested in what is happening to the other 18 million, or maybe actively encourage it.
That is because they are not being told the truth.
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ranger121
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papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 08:55 PM
ranger121
Dec 26 2014, 08:49 PM
Perhaps the majority are rather disinterested in what is happening to the other 18 million, or maybe actively encourage it.
That is because they are not being told the truth.
Do you really believe that they actually give a flying one?
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HIGHWAY
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papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 08:23 PM
Pro Veritas
Dec 26 2014, 07:32 PM
But still no links.

Are we to assume that these comments on foreign news services are just figments of your imagination?

Why are you reluctant to link to them?

Why are you doing your best to ensure we, the British public, remain ignorant of these issues?

All The Best
I have been "doing my best" for the last 20 years to try and make the British public aware of them. I have also provided loads of links in the past and up until recently. It has become very obvious that people on this forum do not read them or you would not make those comments.
You could say what the news was earlier today on Euronews about Britain that the bbc has refused to show
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Affa
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I have not read this in the UK media.

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.fr&sl=fr&u=http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2014/12/10/britannique-au-travail-et-pauvre_4537786_3214.html&usg=ALkJrhikPqO3obMc0mR8HFEuiMx0IQUeDQ

or this
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.fr&sl=fr&u=http://www.lemonde.fr/m-actu/article/2014/12/05/une-cite-en-lutte-pres-de-la-city_4534328_4497186.html&usg=ALkJrhg7X6TtoMXa10axTkQfosrnCxrYUA

Quote:
 
overcharged rents in substandard buildings.

Social Cleansing in London ......

Edited by Affa, Dec 26 2014, 10:09 PM.
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Tigger
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HIGHWAY
Dec 26 2014, 09:36 PM
papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 08:23 PM
Pro Veritas
Dec 26 2014, 07:32 PM
But still no links.

Are we to assume that these comments on foreign news services are just figments of your imagination?

Why are you reluctant to link to them?

Why are you doing your best to ensure we, the British public, remain ignorant of these issues?

All The Best
I have been "doing my best" for the last 20 years to try and make the British public aware of them. I have also provided loads of links in the past and up until recently. It has become very obvious that people on this forum do not read them or you would not make those comments.
You could say what the news was earlier today on Euronews about Britain that the bbc has refused to show
This was what I gleaned when comparing the coverage of the nationwide rioting that occurred a couple of years ago after the shooting of Mark Duggan.

The UK media - The rioters are arsehole just out to steal TV's and trainers.

The Global media - The UK has a deeply divided society with various forms of anti social behaviour rife, the worst offenders are at the very bottom of that society and also at the very top of society.

I know which one seems more accurate..........
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Tigger
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Affa
Dec 26 2014, 09:45 PM


Cheers for that, and on my last trip abroad my friends were not impressed by the UK's "recovery," -another debt fuelled housing bubble with more personal debt and lax credit? was the rather stark assessment.

I read some of the other stories as well as the one you highlighted. A lot of that would not appear in any right wing leaning newspaper, it also shows we are only kidding ourselves these days.
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ranger121
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Does anyone expect the media to do anything other than respect the government line that 'everything is fine' in order not to cause panic amongst the masses?
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Tytoalba
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C-too
Dec 26 2014, 04:01 PM
jaguar
Dec 26 2014, 03:43 PM
papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 03:10 PM
I wish people would take a step back and take a look at the problems of running an ambulance service in a mainly rural area like Wales. Many areas of the UK have similar problems whoever is in government.
In Cornwall for instance a target arrival time of 8 minutes to get to an urgent casualty is cloud cuckoo land thought up by a desk pilot looking at maps, and not getting an area physically checked first before deciding on a sensible target time.

I believe JFG is not complaining about the problems of running an ambulance service, but complaining how the NHS in Wales is managed under LABOUR.

Maybe you should step back and take a look at the problems of Labour running the NHS in England.
As far as I'm aware, under NL, the health systems of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland were run separately from each other, with England having the most efficient NHS in these islands.
The NHS in England made giant steps forward under NL.
So did the national debt.
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papasmurf
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ranger121
Dec 26 2014, 10:12 PM
Does anyone expect the media to do anything other than respect the government line that 'everything is fine' in order not to cause panic amongst the masses?
A free press is supposed to hold government to account, not be a government's propaganda conduit.
It appears the DWP and the Daily Mail have not only forgotten it, the civil service code of practice appears to have been broken:-
I have not copied and pasted the graphics in this:-
http://dpac.uk.net/2014/12/dwp-caught-giving-disability-propaganda-to-daily-mail/

Time and time again, the Daily Mail has published stories about disability benefit claimants who supposedly did not deserve their benefits because they were either fit for work, or because it was too easy to claim benefits.
Time and time again, the Work and Pensions Committee and/or the UK Statistics Authority which has investigated complaints about the media treatment of disability benefit claimants, have found DWP guilty of giving ‘direct quotations from Ministers [which] can give undue credence to inaccurate or misleading reports’ and they recommended that DWP ‘ensure that significant statistical releases are accompanied by a press release setting out the context and providing background explanatory notes’.
To which DWP responded that it ‘takes great care’ when publishing statistics to ensure that the information is used in an appropriate manner but it also stated that ‘The Committee and Government need to be mindful of the widespread public unease about the number of people claiming incapacity benefits and it is therefore unsurprising that this is reflected in the media. […] However, it is important to stress that it is not the Department’s role to dictate what can appear in stories in the media’. [Underlined by the author]
Not only have DWP or Iain Duncan Smith been found guilty of providing to some media selective information which were not supported by statistics or were not evidence based, but also that ‘the statistics do not comply fully with the principles of the Code of Practice… and that they were shared with the media in advance of their publication’.
Added to this, Iain Duncan Smith had ‘the belief’ that the benefit cap is driving benefit claimants into work, although no causal link has ever been established. The latest DWP press release on the benefit cap titled People are moving into work as a result of the benefit cap and the supporting document show that there is an increase in the percentage of capped claimants moving into work compared with the percentage of uncapped claimants, although the number is very small, but do not take into consideration the fact that potential capped claimants were also receiving additional support from Job Centres. Which means it is impossible to disaggregate the impact from the benefit cap from the impact of this additional support or to know whether the benefit cap has any impact at all.

This gave rise to a very interesting Freedom of Information request (for which S.Banks deserves credit) which DWP took over 2 months to respond to:
After getting the clarification he was looking for on whether there was a DWP press release about the Worst excuses used by benefit fraudsters, he asked the question:
Dear DWP CAXTON HOUSE Communications,
Thank you. In regards to your last point; to answer my query specifically can you please confirm that the dwp initiated contact with the Mail in this particular instance?
To which DWP responded:


Dear S Banks
The answer to your query below is yes, DWP initiated contact with the Mail in this particular instance.
Kind regards
Communications FOI Focal Point
Remembering what was quoted above: ‘However, it is important to stress that it is not the Department’s role to dictate what can appear in stories in the media’, it seems that DWP knows that it can rely on the Daily Mail to publish stories which are derogatory to disability benefit claimants, paving the way for more cuts. The Daily Mail did not publish the latest statistics showing that 90% of reassessed Incapacity Benefit claimants were entitled to their benefits or any article to re-establish some kind of balance in its treatment of disability benefit claimants.
But ultimately, the responsibility lies with DWP, the largest employer in the Civil Service, which has forgotten its duty of impartiality and have been using selected media and especially the Daily Mail to demonise disabled people, to turn the general public against them and make cuts to disability benefits more acceptable, also leading to an increase in hate crimes against them. DWP employees should hang their heads in shame.







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ranger121
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So the above is this most important secret that the British public don't know about, that the BBC will not report? Really?

I shall take it to pieces.
Edited by ranger121, Dec 27 2014, 12:30 AM.
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C-too
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Tytoalba
Dec 26 2014, 10:27 PM
C-too
Dec 26 2014, 04:01 PM
jaguar
Dec 26 2014, 03:43 PM
papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 03:10 PM
I wish people would take a step back and take a look at the problems of running an ambulance service in a mainly rural area like Wales. Many areas of the UK have similar problems whoever is in government.
In Cornwall for instance a target arrival time of 8 minutes to get to an urgent casualty is cloud cuckoo land thought up by a desk pilot looking at maps, and not getting an area physically checked first before deciding on a sensible target time.

I believe JFG is not complaining about the problems of running an ambulance service, but complaining how the NHS in Wales is managed under LABOUR.

Maybe you should step back and take a look at the problems of Labour running the NHS in England.
As far as I'm aware, under NL, the health systems of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland were run separately from each other, with England having the most efficient NHS in these islands.
The NHS in England made giant steps forward under NL.
So did the national debt.
A bit of a smart arse reply when you know that NL did not cause the international financial meltdown. What NL did do was to pick up the pieces of the schools and the NHS inherited from the Tories.
I guess your comment was intended to somehow cancel out the positive achievements by NL. A sad ploy used on different threads by some other posters.
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jaguar
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Quote:
 
A bit of a smart arse reply when you know that NL did not cause the international financial meltdown. What NL did do was to pick up the pieces of the schools and the NHS inherited from the Tories.
I guess your comment was intended to somehow cancel out the positive achievements by NL. A sad ploy used on different threads by some other posters.




[/quote]Picking up the pieces, Labour mortgaged the NHS for the next 30+ years under PFI. They allowed the private sector to dictate the terms and conditions of the PFI deals through utter incompetence in negotiating the contracts. PFI was started under the Major government and could have been stopped on day 1 in 1997.

In the PFI trusts the only staff who are NHS employee’s are doctors nurses and AHPs everybody else is employed by the PFI contractor. Central Manchester PFI is £5.5 BILLION over 35 years and South Manchester £1.1 BILLION over 40 years. South Manchester has a £20 MILLION hole in it’s 2014-15 ACCOUNTS. Both of these PFIs were signed by the last Labour government. Look at a lot if not all PFIs are in trouble and the vast majority were signed under the Blair/Brown years.

Edited by jaguar, Dec 27 2014, 11:05 AM.
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Affa
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ranger121
Dec 26 2014, 10:12 PM
Does anyone expect the media to do anything other than respect the government line that 'everything is fine' in order not to cause panic amongst the masses?

What I'd rightly expect is for the press, broadcasters, to cause panic in the Government for failures it does report.

The public do not panic when bad news is explained - take austerity measures. imo there is no justification for what the government has done, but they get away with it because of all the media assisted spin and insistence that 'it is the only way'.
The media are culpable, part of the problem not the solution.




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papasmurf
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Affa
Dec 27 2014, 11:34 AM

The media are culpable, part of the problem not the solution.




Precisely. The ignoring by the media of the dire consequences of the current government policies is unforgivable in a democracy.
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johnofgwent
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papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 03:10 PM
I wish people would take a step back and take a look at the problems of running an ambulance service in a mainly rural area like Wales. Many areas of the UK have similar problems whoever is in government.
In Cornwall for instance a target arrival time of 8 minutes to get to an urgent casualty is cloud cuckoo land thought up by a desk pilot looking at maps, and not getting an area physically checked first before deciding on a sensible target time.

Yes I agree there is indeed a rural problem.

The problem I have is they dont meet the targets in cardiff newpirt swansea merthyr bridgend ... in newport for example the welsh office shut down half a jey motirway junction (25) addind 3 mins to the fire engine arrival time then closed the main road through newpit city centre to the hosputal adding 2 min then closed the caerleon satellit ambulance station adding 4 more minutes.

The disjointed thinking of this calibre is what is killing people in the far from rural south east wales. The irony is the satellite station serving brecon wascstill operating last year as was the miuntain rescue unit hq the rural areas here actually have better chance of critical cover arriving in time than the conurbations
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C-too
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jaguar
Dec 27 2014, 11:03 AM
Quote:
 
A bit of a smart arse reply when you know that NL did not cause the international financial meltdown. What NL did do was to pick up the pieces of the schools and the NHS inherited from the Tories.
I guess your comment was intended to somehow cancel out the positive achievements by NL. A sad ploy used on different threads by some other posters.




Picking up the pieces, Labour mortgaged the NHS for the next 30+ years under PFI. They allowed the private sector to dictate the terms and conditions of the PFI deals through utter incompetence in negotiating the contracts. PFI was started under the Major government and could have been stopped on day 1 in 1997.

In the PFI trusts the only staff who are NHS employee’s are doctors nurses and AHPs everybody else is employed by the PFI contractor. Central Manchester PFI is £5.5 BILLION over 35 years and South Manchester £1.1 BILLION over 40 years. South Manchester has a £20 MILLION hole in it’s 2014-15 ACCOUNTS. Both of these PFIs were signed by the last Labour government. Look at a lot if not all PFIs are in trouble and the vast majority were signed under the Blair/Brown years.


[/quote]
NL did, or to be more accurate, NHS Trusts did allow the private sector to fix the terms IN THE EARLY STAGES of PFIs. But once again there is a lot of distortion in the publicity of PFIs. These agreements are/were over thirty years, a bit like the mortgage on your house which become easier over time. What will be the value of these payments after 20 years? They also cover maintainance of buildings and grounds. Have you ever seen an estimate for cost of building and maintainance over 30 years from an alternative method of funding? When/if you do, subtract one from the other then we will know what we are talking about.

I believe you have seen the 2007 Wanless Review, it indicates just how bad a state the NHS was in, in 1997. So yes, the NHS and, thanks to Mrs.T's Grant Maintained School system both needed to be rescued in 1997.

And none of the financial troubles were caused by the international financial meltdown ?? Your case is undermined by your obvious subjective approach.

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Rich
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johnofgwent
Dec 27 2014, 12:56 PM
papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 03:10 PM
I wish people would take a step back and take a look at the problems of running an ambulance service in a mainly rural area like Wales. Many areas of the UK have similar problems whoever is in government.
In Cornwall for instance a target arrival time of 8 minutes to get to an urgent casualty is cloud cuckoo land thought up by a desk pilot looking at maps, and not getting an area physically checked first before deciding on a sensible target time.

Yes I agree there is indeed a rural problem.

The problem I have is they dont meet the targets in cardiff newpirt swansea merthyr bridgend ... in newport for example the welsh office shut down half a jey motirway junction (25) addind 3 mins to the fire engine arrival time then closed the main road through newpit city centre to the hosputal adding 2 min then closed the caerleon satellit ambulance station adding 4 more minutes.

The disjointed thinking of this calibre is what is killing people in the far from rural south east wales. The irony is the satellite station serving brecon wascstill operating last year as was the miuntain rescue unit hq the rural areas here actually have better chance of critical cover arriving in time than the conurbations


Jog, if I may be so bold......please use the spell checker facility. /8/
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johnofgwent
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Rich
Dec 27 2014, 01:54 PM
johnofgwent
Dec 27 2014, 12:56 PM
papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 03:10 PM
I wish people would take a step back and take a look at the problems of running an ambulance service in a mainly rural area like Wales. Many areas of the UK have similar problems whoever is in government.
In Cornwall for instance a target arrival time of 8 minutes to get to an urgent casualty is cloud cuckoo land thought up by a desk pilot looking at maps, and not getting an area physically checked first before deciding on a sensible target time.

Yes I agree there is indeed a rural problem.

The problem I have is they dont meet the targets in cardiff newpirt swansea merthyr bridgend ... in newport for example the welsh office shut down half a jey motirway junction (25) addind 3 mins to the fire engine arrival time then closed the main road through newpit city centre to the hosputal adding 2 min then closed the caerleon satellit ambulance station adding 4 more minutes.

The disjointed thinking of this calibre is what is killing people in the far from rural south east wales. The irony is the satellite station serving brecon wascstill operating last year as was the miuntain rescue unit hq the rural areas here actually have better chance of critical cover arriving in time than the conurbations


Jog, if I may be so bold......please use the spell checker facility. /8/
I have a cataract in my left eye and have had a vitrectomy in the right where the cataract op went wrong and blistered the retina. I wrote that on the samsung galaxy tab which does not seem to engage the spell checker. It does have an audio description which sounded ok before i hit submit. Clearly the thing has been on the christmas tipple more than I was.

I'm writing this on the desktop ... which has a bigger font. And a working spooling chucker.


Edited by johnofgwent, Dec 27 2014, 02:24 PM.
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ranger121
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papasmurf
Dec 26 2014, 11:15 PM
ranger121
Dec 26 2014, 10:12 PM
Does anyone expect the media to do anything other than respect the government line that 'everything is fine' in order not to cause panic amongst the masses?
A free press is supposed to hold government to account, not be a government's propaganda conduit.
It appears the DWP and the Daily Mail have not only forgotten it, the civil service code of practice appears to have been broken:-
I have not copied and pasted the graphics in this:-
http://dpac.uk.net/2014/12/dwp-caught-giving-disability-propaganda-to-daily-mail/

Time and time again, the Daily Mail has published stories about disability benefit claimants who supposedly did not deserve their benefits because they were either fit for work, or because it was too easy to claim benefits.
Time and time again, the Work and Pensions Committee and/or the UK Statistics Authority which has investigated complaints about the media treatment of disability benefit claimants, have found DWP guilty of giving ‘direct quotations from Ministers [which] can give undue credence to inaccurate or misleading reports’ and they recommended that DWP ‘ensure that significant statistical releases are accompanied by a press release setting out the context and providing background explanatory notes’.
To which DWP responded that it ‘takes great care’ when publishing statistics to ensure that the information is used in an appropriate manner but it also stated that ‘The Committee and Government need to be mindful of the widespread public unease about the number of people claiming incapacity benefits and it is therefore unsurprising that this is reflected in the media. […] However, it is important to stress that it is not the Department’s role to dictate what can appear in stories in the media’. [Underlined by the author]
Not only have DWP or Iain Duncan Smith been found guilty of providing to some media selective information which were not supported by statistics or were not evidence based, but also that ‘the statistics do not comply fully with the principles of the Code of Practice… and that they were shared with the media in advance of their publication’.
Added to this, Iain Duncan Smith had ‘the belief’ that the benefit cap is driving benefit claimants into work, although no causal link has ever been established. The latest DWP press release on the benefit cap titled People are moving into work as a result of the benefit cap and the supporting document show that there is an increase in the percentage of capped claimants moving into work compared with the percentage of uncapped claimants, although the number is very small, but do not take into consideration the fact that potential capped claimants were also receiving additional support from Job Centres. Which means it is impossible to disaggregate the impact from the benefit cap from the impact of this additional support or to know whether the benefit cap has any impact at all.

This gave rise to a very interesting Freedom of Information request (for which S.Banks deserves credit) which DWP took over 2 months to respond to:
After getting the clarification he was looking for on whether there was a DWP press release about the Worst excuses used by benefit fraudsters, he asked the question:
Dear DWP CAXTON HOUSE Communications,
Thank you. In regards to your last point; to answer my query specifically can you please confirm that the dwp initiated contact with the Mail in this particular instance?
To which DWP responded:


Dear S Banks
The answer to your query below is yes, DWP initiated contact with the Mail in this particular instance.
Kind regards
Communications FOI Focal Point
Remembering what was quoted above: ‘However, it is important to stress that it is not the Department’s role to dictate what can appear in stories in the media’, it seems that DWP knows that it can rely on the Daily Mail to publish stories which are derogatory to disability benefit claimants, paving the way for more cuts. The Daily Mail did not publish the latest statistics showing that 90% of reassessed Incapacity Benefit claimants were entitled to their benefits or any article to re-establish some kind of balance in its treatment of disability benefit claimants.
But ultimately, the responsibility lies with DWP, the largest employer in the Civil Service, which has forgotten its duty of impartiality and have been using selected media and especially the Daily Mail to demonise disabled people, to turn the general public against them and make cuts to disability benefits more acceptable, also leading to an increase in hate crimes against them. DWP employees should hang their heads in shame.







Ok then, let’s go through this information that you believe is so important that everyone in the UK ought to be informed of it, and the BBC and other news outlets have purposefully ignored.

It concerns three Daily Mail stories. The first, by Gerri Peeve, does not quote its source for the story but says it’s ‘a disclosure’ by the DWP.

Now, if he had posted it as a thread on here, the first that most would have replied (especially one) is, “Please post a link to the statistics, or the press release, or the report, or whatever you have used to come to your conclusion.”

The only press release about Incapacity Benefits in October 2010 from the DWP was “Government reforms begin with fitness for work assessments” published 11/10/2010:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-reforms-begin-with-fitness-for-work-assessments

which does not mention any percentage figures at all, and merely announces what the government is doing about the reassessment of Incapacity benefit claimants.

http://83.244.183.180/100pc/ibsda/cnage/ctdurtn/a_carate_r_cnage_c_ctdurtn_feb10.html

Is the chart of numbers released with the press release, which also doesn’t give any percentage figures either. So how Mr Peeve has extrapolated his headline from this chart, and where the DWP ‘claims’ are situated is quite a mystery.

The next story concerns the ease of getting DLA, which allegedly, one can claim and receive by just filling out a form. First published in November 2011:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2060067/Disabled-benefit-Just-form-200-000-got-handouts-year-face-face-interview.html

Let’s look at the story, which says:

Quote:
 
Official figures released last night revealed that 16 per cent of new claimants received the benefit – worth £70 a week – after merely filling out a claim form.
A further 36 per cent provided supporting evidence, while another 42 per cent provided a GP report, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.


Ok, let’s say that there are possibly 16% of people claiming DLA who are so disabled with terminal diseases, amputated or lost limbs, blind, deaf, severely arthritic, or so mentally challenged that they do not need to do anything other than a self-declaration that they are disabled enough to be entitled to the benefit. The other 84% are not so severely disabled that they qualify under self-assessment, and so have to provide evidence from elsewhere to support their claim.

36% provided statements from health care professionals such as hospital consultants and others stating how serious their disability is, and 42% provided evidence from their GP in support of their claim (which actually is asked for on every single claim form, but hey, let’s not get too detailed here).

So, 78% of claimants actually do have to provide evidence from professional people as well as fill in a form.

Only 6% of the total claimants have a “face to face” assessment:

From personal experience of doing DLA decisions, this is only asked for (to decide on DLA claims) when a claimant appears to exaggerate their condition in order to qualify. The DWP sends an independent doctor to see the claimant in their own home and carries out a medical examination, and provides a report to the DWP. This is a very expensive process, each visit ordered costs £150, whereas a written GP report costs £36, and a hospital consultant does not get paid for completing a DWP report, which is why they take such a long time to acquire. If they’re not getting paid for doing it, they’re not going to rush, are they?

Anyway, those opposed to the introduction of PIP are quite correct; if the DWP ‘assess’ everyone on self-assessment DLA to change them to PIP with a medical examination, it’s going to cost billions that we don’t have. It is also quite obvious that 16% of claimants won’t NEED to be “examined” because they automatically qualify because they are so disabled.

IDS is also expressing his opinion that everyone should be medically examined before they are given benefit. That’s the way that HE wants it done (and the government agrees) and the DWP will do whatever he and the government tells them to. If that means looking terminally stupid and completely incompetent by calling in and examining the 16% who clearly are so disabled that they don't need to be seen by an independent doctor, they'll do that as well.

The third story is again by the ubiquitous Mr Peeve, who again does not link to the alleged official DWP press release. Well, here it is in all its glory:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/221382/foi-1582-2011-annexa.pdf

Lord Freud takes what apparently is a “survey” of fraud investigators, and ‘reveals’ the top ten worst excuses used by benefit cheats.

Note that it isn’t an ‘official’ report into reasons given, but hear-say evidence from anonymous “Benefit Officials”.

The first two are obvious court cases, a matter of public record.

The others, are actually quite correct. Having worked in a fraud investigation unit in the past, I’ve heard most of them myself.

Another classic which was photocopied and put on the staff notice board was:

Q: What is your Nationality:

A: None. I have a low sperm count”

The point is that I and many other members of staff used to put all sorts of crap on “Staff Surveys”; they’re not worth the paper and bandwidth, to take them as being the absolute truth might just be stretching things a bit, no?

So the whole story is a ‘survey’ dressed up as ‘official’ opinion.

The response to the FOI request states:

Concerning point b), the top ten excuses used by benefit fraudsters were compiled using responses from a survey that benefit fraud investigators were asked to complete. Investigators were not asked to provide details of the cases where the excuses they put forward were used, and therefore we are unable to provide you with these details.

So, hear-say, in other words. No breaches of the civil service code, either.

Which brings us onto whether the DWP “initated contact” with the Mail in this particular instance. But not the other two stories, which are just as ‘bad’, one should note.
Err.. It was a ‘press release’ – so obviously the press were contacted about it.

So, in summary, a story about the introduction of the WCA in some areas and how many claimants would be affected by the changes becomes: 75% are already marked as being ‘fit for work’ before they are actually assessed - due to some clever extrapolations and assumptions.

A report on how many people have to provide medical evidence as well as a self-assessment statement for DLA is twisted round so that it appears that virtually nobody has provide medical evidence; when the obvious facts are that 78% DO provide further evidence and that 6% are actually medically examined to see how disabled they actually are.

Last but not least, a staff survey of hear-say excuses dressed up as some kind of ‘official’ statistic.

It isn’t news, is it, and nor is it evidence of some 'conspiracy'; the stories are 4 years old, and all are completely irrelevant to the majority of the population.

If this is the best you can find, god help us all.
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ranger121
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Oh, forgot, the BBC didn't publish any of the above.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13217824

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13587434

True, the middle one wasn't ran, but is it any surprise? But they did do a piece on how complex the system is and causes underpayments:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19947214
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papasmurf
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ranger121
Dec 27 2014, 05:11 PM
Oh, forgot, the BBC didn't publish any of the above.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13217824

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13587434

True, the middle one wasn't ran, but is it any surprise?
Middle one out of two? You have effectively proven my point.
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ranger121
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What, that they didn't run a story that even I can tell is basically untrue?

That they didn't want to distort the figures to make a story?
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ranger121
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I don't think you've quite grasped this. There are three DM stories, over a period of 4 years, two of which the BBC covered at the same time, even though you have stated that they didn't.

The 'middle' story is the 'non-story' about the fact that a small percentage of DLA claimants are so disabled that they don't have to provide evidence from a health-care professional, despite the fact that the DLA form claim at the time had to be countersigned by one, and are getting the benefit for life 'on the nod' so to speak. How "easy" it is to claim.

I would not expect a quality news source such as the BBC to run with such a story.
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papasmurf
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ranger121
Dec 27 2014, 05:20 PM
What, that they didn't run a story that even I can tell is basically untrue?

That they didn't want to distort the figures to make a story?
Unfortunate the majority of the population has no idea that story is basically untrue.
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ranger121
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papasmurf
Dec 27 2014, 05:47 PM
ranger121
Dec 27 2014, 05:20 PM
What, that they didn't run a story that even I can tell is basically untrue?

That they didn't want to distort the figures to make a story?
Unfortunate the majority of the population has no idea that story is basically untrue.
So you think that the BBC should be critical of the press, if it sees poor reporting?

"Have I Got News For You" et al ring any bells?
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papasmurf
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ranger121
Dec 27 2014, 05:49 PM
So you think that the BBC should be critical of the press, if it sees poor reporting?

Yes it should, and to be fair is, BUT, not on mainstream programming or news bulletins.
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ranger121
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papasmurf
Dec 27 2014, 05:55 PM
ranger121
Dec 27 2014, 05:49 PM
So you think that the BBC should be critical of the press, if it sees poor reporting?

Yes it should, and to be fair is, BUT, not on mainstream programming or news bulletins.
People clearly wish to be entertained by the satirists, rather than be bored to death with a close-up analysis of the day's non-stories, however Mr Wright can be quite entertaining.

http://www.channel5.com/shows/the-wright-stuff

Ah, but that's only C5, as part of their public service obligations.
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