Surely no one can possibly say otherwise.
Across the UK, after 10 years of seemingly pointless austerity (during which time the national debt has increased from £800 billion to over £2 trillion) ordinary people have become poorer and the super rich, super richer.
The tales of hungry kids raking through bins for discarded food and too hungry to concentrate in school and the incredible rise in the number of people obliged to use food banks as a succession of evil DWP ministers have made a succession of vile and disastrous policy changes that make social security more and more difficult to obtain, have shocked many of us.
It would be a hard-hearted person indeed who did not want to ensure that no one went hungry in one of the top 15 rich countries in the world. And so I applaud the policy.
BUT…
I’m at a total loss to see how it could be achieved, or indeed, how it could be paid for.
Who would ensure that people had access to this affordable and sustainable food? How would they do this? Where would they get it? Would supermarkets be obliged to sell this food? How would it differ from other food? Has it been costed? What would be cut to provide the means for this project?
Given how they run their own party, I’m not sure that there would be enough money in the coffers for any luxuries, never mind food for the hungry.
I suspect that Labour, now in the position that the Liberals and later Liberal Democrats were in a few years ago, can make all manner of outlandish promises, safe in the knowledge that they will never have to put them into practice.
++++++++++
And while we are on the subject of Labour’s conference, I noted an interview Richard Leonard gave to STV in which he said that they would nationalise railways, despite opposition from the Tories and SNP, if they were in government.
I’m sure that the Tories don’t want to do this. But, given the work done by Humza Yousaf when he was Transport Minister, and later comments by Nicola Sturgeon, I’m intrigued to know how he reaches the conclusion that the SNP doesn’t!
I’d also remind him that despite promises from John (now Lord) Prescott in 1997, Labour didn’t renationalise railways during their 13-year London government, and Labour in Wales recently gave the rail franchise to a French/Spanish consortium.
MUNGUIN'S NEW REPUBLIC 
Feeling rather wrung out after the rugby second half, looks like Wales are on for the Grand Slam.
As for Rick Leotard (is that right?) I wonder if the Big Labour party would have Corbyn speaking if England were playing live, or would they have moved the time? *strokes beard*
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Congrats to Wales.
And, I take it the second part of that was rhetorical…
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Guaranteeing access to food implies ending DWP sanctions. If there is another way to do so that does not involve putting people in workhouses, I wish someone would tell me.
Then there would still have to be a review of how much DWP actually pays people, and whether it’s actually enough to keep kids (and their parents) warm, fed, clothed, and with a roof over their heads. Perhaps the Leader of the United Kingdom Labour Party in Scotland – that would be Mr. Corbyn, surely? – should ask that nice Ms. Amber Rudd to arrange it.
Mind you, I’m a little puzzled that Leonard Richard imagines that a Scottish Government led by Labour would be able to achieve that. Maybe he knows something I do not, because so far as I know, social security benefits are reserved matters, and even for the ones whose administration is being devolved to Scotland Westminster still sets the rates.
As for nationalizing the railways – what a marvellous idea! One we all agree with! I look forward to Mr. Dick telling us exactly how it should be done and paid for, while still hanging on to peculiar Tory-inspired regulations which have the effect of preventing companies in public ownership from bidding for rail franchises. Unless they are non-UK public companies, of course. Or was that Tony Blair’s idea, or am I thinking of PFI?
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Well, exactly.
Its supposed to be healthy and affordable.
I suppose of course, these are not exact terms. What is healthy food? And what is affordable.
Something that Munguin would consider affordable would be out of the price rage of peons like Tris.
Joking apart it all looks a bit silly on that poster.
I’m sure that if we asked Dickie to explain it all to us, it would become clear.
I understand that the right to nationalise the railways was recently devolved, but it will only be doable when the present contract comes to an end.
On top of that, of course, the rails are not for sale, so we will have to put up with broken track, faulty signals and rubbish stations.
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I see… I missed the bit about renationalization after the current franchise is over, Tris. Kinda makes you hope Abellio would give us an excuse to give them the boot, doesn’t it?
Has anyone come up with any reason why we shouldn’t look after our own bit of Network Rail? Just wondering whether it was somehow reserved to Westminster, and if so, why. Maybe it’s just another of those little British quaintnesses that make no sense whatsoever when you look at them for more than a couple of seconds.
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Well, yeah, Ed. But as it goes Scotrail is the best run railway in Great Britain.
Presumably we don’t get to look after own own rails because we are too stupid, or they may think that as they run international trains in Scotland, we might give priority to our own trains and make theirs late when they are serving the English travellers.
Who knows? As you say… it’s Britain. It makes no sense.
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As the brexiteers keep saying
We are (the United Kingdom’s )
The fifth (down from 4 position )
Richest nation in the world
But strangely unable to afford
Pensions the NHS education
Social security elderly care
And so and so forth
Bit contradictory there I suggest
Conan busy stroking beard
Ooer ! I say
Double entendres
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I very much doubt that the UK is the 5th largest economy.
1. USA
2. China
3. Japan
4. India
5. Germany
6. France
7. (Maybe) UK
But of course, that’s just the size of the economy. It doesn’t in any way reflect the richness of the population.
Clearly Scandinavian countries are richer, as are mini states like Luxembourg, Monaco, Liechtenstein, and I should think the small Gulf states.
The size of the economy is direly effected by the fact that a lot of it is siphoned off to BVI, IoM, Jersey, Monaco, etc, etc.
Trust you to think something filthy.
Honestly!!!
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It seems that Niko is right, Tris – on 2017 / 2018 figures, the UK does come fifth in nominal GDP according to the IMF, the World Bank and the UN Statistics Division. Wikipedia pulls those together for us in https://t1p.de/zti2.
I’ve selected only sources dated during the past month for all the Wikipedia articles here.
“Nominal GDP”, however, is a pretty crude measure of anything, as you say, Tris: GDP per capita is a more relevant and interesting figure for us normal punters. Here – same sources – the UK comes 22nd, or 24th according to UNSTATS, but only because they include Liechtenstein and Monaco as nos. 1 and 2: https://t1p.de/le8w.
However, that figure is still no good to us if there are vast disparities in incomes – and as we know, the UK is absolutely bloody terrible for that, as is the US. To put it another way, it would not surprise me in the slightest if there were countries below the UK in that ranking where ordinary folk are a lot better off than folk here. My mind is a bit addled right now, and has gone blank about where to find the statistics for that. We know the Nordics are much more egalitarian than we are, of course, whereas the UK and the USA are heading in the opposite direction.
It’s a tricky subject too because purchasing power varies significantly from place to place (as the pro-dependence stalwarts here so often say “…but the beer in Norway is so *dear*!), so what we really need is those figures by Purchasing Power Parity. Here Wikipedia pulls together figures from the IMF and World Bank again, and the CIA: https://t1p.de/e4c0, which rank the UK 25th, 24th and 29th (27th) respectively – the CIA include Monaco and Liechtenstein and the other two don’t.
Freeman’s Free Fact-checking Service over and out.
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Thanks Ed… and I take it back, Niko. I was wrong and you were right.
Hmmmm. 🙂
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Everyone had access to healthy, affordable, sustainable food during WW2. It required strict rationing and a huge amount of Govt planning and ensured that although there wasn’t much to go round, no one should starve! SLab, being pro-Brexit in accordance with their English leader’s stance and that of many of their ‘supporters’ in areas of the South, and ignoring Scotland and its declared wishes altogether of course, may be planning something along similar lines just in case the Spanish stop sending us their lovely fruit and veg. Next they’ll be urging us to Dig for (Labour’s) Victory.
I detest all these stupid slogans, designed purely for the hard of thinking. I’m surprised Ms Grant didn’t add at the end “.. all courtesy of a huge subsidy from our neighbours” since that’s what they keep telling us. Where did I read today that Leonard is promising us free buses or something (courtesy of even more ‘subsidies’ from our neighbours I dare say)? It’s all about bribery and conning the masses, backed up by a whole lot of corruption in a country (UK) that has truly lost its way.
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I don’t mind them having policies and sloganising them, I just wish they would tell us how they would work and how much they would cost and how they would pay for them.
Opposition is really easy.
Slightly off topic… We should all be afraid.
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I don’t think I’ll ever understand what goes on in that man’s head. Not that I’d particularly want to.
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I sure he means well, he’s just not that bright and he’s absolutely not a leader.
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Right enough… the temptation is to respond with that indulgent, condescending, patronizing word “bless”.
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Ah, memories of 1954. Will the new ration books be online? During the first fourteen years of my life, shopping was dominated by rationing. How will the more recent generations cope if indeed this comes to pass? Would the vote in 2014 been different if Scots had known what fate awaited them?
Why are the polls not showing a greater proportion of us being in favour of being an independent nation once again? Or are they being manipulated the same way our population have been brainwashed over the years to believe that we aren’t good enough to run our own affairs?
I’ve had my time, but it’s future generations of Scots who are going to suffer if we don’t exit this cruel, corrupt, completely incompetent union. And what really sticks in my gullet, is the fact that not only will Westminster refuse to grant us permission to hold another Scottish Independence Referendum, but that we have to ask them in the first place. How ludicrous is that? Another country telling us what to do.
Tell them to “away and bile their heid”, and we will do exactly what a majority of the population want us to do, and hopefully vote the next time to become independent of the Westminster slime.
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I expect that the ration books will be on line and that if you don;t have access to the internet or the techy savvy to operate it, you’ll just have to starve.
Of course they will make a mess of it, because they make a mess of everything. The software won’t work right and millions of people will be excluded, especially if they come from classes other than the political elite. Folk will be sanctioned for not printing off their ration books on time.
But never mind. I’m sure that her majesty and their royal highnesses will be OK, and that’s all that really matters.
I’ve no idea why the independence vote isn’t at 75%.
I mean who chooses to go down with the sinking ship singing Rule Britannia until the spluttering stops…?
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Your first paragraph, Tris: “…if you don’t have access to the internet or the techy savvy to operate it, you’ll just have to starve”.
Isn’t that how they operate Universal Credit? And even with all that on-line form-filling, it still takes them five weeks to make any payments? I pray to all the gods of social security that they don’t try to introduce it in Dundee in my lifetime.
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I think so, Ed.
I really want to see it scrapped.
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Incredible. Quite literally incredible.
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Tris
I haven’t seen any of the conference this weekend and I usually make the effort for a laugh but I have been so pissed off with the SNP and public sector pay that I couldn’t bring myself to watch or read anything political. Scottish Labour though just don’t matter anymore, no one is really listening other than their pals in the unionist media who are slaughtering them in England and bigging them up in Scotland with the help of the BBC in Scotland.
Any policy they come up with will no doubt be uncosted and pure fantasy as we know. They can’t do truth, or maths as we know (see James Kelly MSP). Richard Leonard is awful, I actually find him worse than Dugdale ever was and that really is saying something, when I do watch FMQs he is often like a rabbit caught in the headlights, he just looks like he is out his depth and is often ridiculed by the First Minister. It must be hard for the tiny Scottish Labour membership watching Leonard and the likes of Kelly. I was never a fan of their so called big hitter like Dwer and Brown, they were just hate filled brit nats who didnt really give a crap about Scotland, if they did they would support independence.
Labour just don’t matter.
Bruce
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Labour appears to have shot itself in the foot.
I’m not sure who the members are these days, but their numbers have fallen dramatically.
From Dewar onward there has been a decline in the abilities of the leadership.
They seem to have misread their membership. I guess most particularly in the appointment of Jim Murphy, who it always seemed to me, was a Tory.
Now with Leonard spouting Corbyn’s policies that we all know will never happen, and demanding that we leave the EU because that is what the English voted for, they seem to have become irrelevant.
I read that they spent more on publicity for a fund raising exercise than it brought in.
That’s how good they are.
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Labour. They’ll nationalise the railways, free bus travel for all, nobody goes hungry, the rich taxed , an end to poverty and JAM. More jam than you could ever eat . JAM Tomorrow.
I did hear Corbyn lying in his speech. It was not the SNP that wooed Trump to build a golf course, it was Labour, it was Jack McConnell. He just can’t get it right.
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Jeeez, that’s so incredibly obviously a lie.
I’m going to send him a picture of Jock with the Joke.
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