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Strikes - Interesting (27th Jan 2023 - 12:52:29) Just seen in the paper a letter from a single mum she works at Heathrow airport lives in Hounslow. The new emission charges that the London mayor wants to bring in supported by labour will mean she will not be able to work. Now this is the point she earns £1800 a month single mum she pays all her bills without claiming any benefits and travels to work by car because there is no public transport for her. Her car is one year to old to be exempt .So if she can make ends meet why are all these people going on strike earning £30000 , £60000. She is the one that needs help the mayor of London should be sacked and labour should hang their heads in shame.

Re: Strikes - Bernard (27th Jan 2023 - 13:53:04) That newspaper is the right-wing, Labour-bashing Daily Mail. There is a regular bus service from Hounslow to Heathrow. The opinion article in the Mail also doesn't mention Child Benefit or Tax Free Childcare. I'd take it with a pinch of salt. What has your post got to do with Liphook? Our Conservative Council is hardly helping Liphook with quality bus services as alternatives to our expensive to insure/run/fuel cars. Rural bus services across the country were cut by 10% in the last year. Even self-confessed Tory, Rod Stewart was yesterday calling for a change of government; so concerned is he about Conservative's handling of the NHS. Personally, I think that our striking nurses deserve better.

Re: Strikes - Ian (27th Jan 2023 - 20:19:55) As much as I admire Sir Rod he is typical of your over 70’s, losing his grip on reality and not really able to contribute to sensible debate

Re: Strikes - Oldie (28th Jan 2023 - 17:37:44) Ian I suppose you’re looking for a response or perhaps it’s tongue in cheek stuff. I think the older generation are usually much more in tune with what’s going on they have more experience in life and can adapt to situations much easier because they have been there and seen it all. I’m there with the original poster strikes achieves nothing except hardship for a lot of people. The rail strike is TOTALLY unnecessary it’s just political going on for over a year ridiculous. If a young person can live on £1800 a month and pay her way and run a car with a child why are these people on strike. Yes you’re going to say they deserve more money so do millions of others it will come when the country gets back on its feet. And strikes will not achieve that.

Re: Strikes - Ian (28th Jan 2023 - 17:58:46) Actually, I think striking is immoral in this day and age. Society mostly no longer tolerates people deliberately inflicting hardship or inconvenience on others yet that is exactly what strikes do. Not a comment on whether any group is more entitled or deserving than any other, just agree that striking is wrong. I also though don’t appreciate dopey old sods with millions in the bank lecturing others, Sir Rod should stick to singing and his model railway set. In my experience age does not mean wisdom; more often arrogance, stubbornness and intolerance

Re: Strikes - paul (28th Jan 2023 - 19:27:42) Hi, This country is finished, in fact it has been a loser for many years. Striking is last resort of labour, and costs money in lost earnings to all.. The government and Chancellor are living in cloud cuckoo land, and wanting over 50's to return to work. The working populous that need help is the young, starting their careers.

Re: Strikes - Sam (28th Jan 2023 - 22:27:39) Just got to the throw the Brexit part into the mix given some of you refer to this country being finished.... remember the Golden Uplands promise... We told you so

Re: Strikes - Oldie (29th Jan 2023 - 10:34:41) Ian absolutely right but not all oldies are stupid we need stability from wisdom and hindsight the young think they know it all but as history shows they don’t. Sam grow up nothing to do with brexit it’s the same old story the union barons trying to bring down the government and the members following like sheep. Again history repeating itself all it does is ruin the country. It’s the Humphrey’s in Whitehall but perhaps you don’t remember him to young I expect that are causing all the problems thwarting the government at all times with their plans to stop all this immigration nonsense and many more plans. If the remainers and the do gooders turned their work to helping get the country on its feet again it would make more sense. But I’m to old according to many should be in my box . Have a nice day.

Re: Strikes - Bernard (29th Jan 2023 - 13:10:50) The strikes are not the issue. Some strikers are deserving of public support, others less so. Strikes are not the cause of anything, they are the effect. We only have a strike culture in this country when the economy is doing badly and people are worse off than they were. We had strikes when Ted Heath's Conservatives mismanaged the economy, the same with James Callaghan's Labour government which followed and unemployment increased even more. We then had strikes under Mrs Thatcher's Tories, when we had a recession, 3m unemployed and interest rates shot-up etc. We haven't had a significant strike culture for a while, but now they are back, because of the state of the economy. Inflation is a problem worldwide, following the pandemic, but mainly due to the war in Ukraine. But the UK is particularly suffering (bottom of the G7 for growth etc.) because of successive Conservative economic policies (particularly the spectacularly ill-advised Liz Truss billionaire budget) and, yes, the drag on growth and huge administrative burden on business because of Brexit. It is just what happens when you put-up trade barriers - imports become more expensive and exports become more difficult. Sort the economy; you won't get strikes. That's why this non-Labour supporting oldie is hoping for a change of government at the next election and, hopefully, a more pragmatic approach to economics and international relations that isn't governed by the wishes of billionaire newspaper owners. Kier Starmer and Rachel Reeves certainly can't do any worse. Bernard (another Oldie)

Re: Strikes - Oldie (29th Jan 2023 - 13:48:50) The other oldie our unemployment is at its lowest for some time so how does that work?? . People just don’t want to work especially the young something for nothing culture has set in . We are doing much better out of the EU it’s only the people that voted to stay in that can not except it . When we get on and remove all the red tape that has been imposed on us by the EU we will thrive don’t believe all the doom mongers. It’s happening before look at the Blair government totally cocked it up then walked away to be a millionaire and still won’t shut up . just.like John major useless. It’s all down to the British people if you work hard you succeeded.

Re: Strikes - Bob (29th Jan 2023 - 14:17:04) Universal suffrage and democracy is not working. Across the world idiots like Trump and Johnson are winning the popular vote, prevailing over common sense and highlighting the general public cannot be trusted. Personally I think the vote should be restricted to the 30 to 75 age group. Allowing enough time to gain life experience and young enough to be affected by the decisions made. For example Brexit! For good or bad the consequences of the vote will take a couple of decades to filter through, it was crazy that the over 70’s were allowed to vote on something they will probably not live to benefit/endure the consequences of. In addition they say 30 is the new 18!

Re: Strikes - Bernard (29th Jan 2023 - 15:26:07) Oh dear Oldie. If you read my post, you will see that I say that strike cultures thrive when the economy is doing badly. An economy suffers for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes its unemployment (as in the 70s and 80s), sometimes it's inflation, sometimes its just down to incompetent handling of the economy. Right now its down to inflation, plus shortage of labour supply and economic incompetence. We have low unemployment because the people who did much of the low-paid manual work left the UK and went back to more hospitable countries in the EU. The people that voted to stay in generally have accepted it - what else can you do? We are just fed-up with the predicted effect on our country's economy. Also, Boris tried the 'talking Britain up' thing, to no effect whatsoever - no US trade deal, no growth etc. There has to be substance and competence, not bluster and accusing the young of not working. Oldie, if you think that post-Brexit Britain is better-off and thriving, you need to go to SpecSavers.

Re: Strikes - Brit (29th Jan 2023 - 15:35:00) What’s all this got to do with these idiots striking. Union’s should be completely overhauled they are dinosaurs of our past. How can it be right for union leaders to carry on striking for a year when they have been offered nearly all of their requested there has to be a better way .All unions should be done away with and an independent court decides a fair deal.Now we are out of the EU we should be able to make our own rules and get this wonderful country of ours booming again. We have done it before we can do it again just needs hard work.we have so much going for us marvellous technology first class engineering we even top the world with wines and fiss can’t be bad. I think we should start blowing our own trumpet more and stop putting ourselves down.

Re: Strikes - passfield resident (29th Jan 2023 - 16:15:15) Brit-all the striking nurses are idiots, are they? What about not putting people down?

Re: Strikes - Oldie (29th Jan 2023 - 16:31:48) I don’t need glasses Bernard I see it all around people spending money huge trolly loads of goods in sainsburys mostly fast foods not the cheapest. Huge extensions on houses builders very busy long waiting times job to get plumbers electricians because people spending money left right a centre. I think you need to stop listening to the people that keep running this country down. We are still way up there with the others ahead of most. Just look at France in complete meltdown strikes can not make their minds up to help the war torn Ukrainian people.their president still cosying up to putin . You're the one that needs glasses.

Re: Strikes - Bernard (29th Jan 2023 - 20:13:25) Ahead of most by what measure, Oldie? According to our own government's website: "Compared to the pre-pandemic level, UK GDP in Q3 2022 was 0.8% lower. This compares with Eurozone GDP being 2.2% higher than its pre-pandemic level, while US GDP was 4.4% higher." That means that we are poorer, as a country, than we were before the pandemic, but all the countries in the Euro and also the USA are better-off than in 2019. This is by our own parliament's measures, rather than whether your neighbour called a plumber. You are just guessing to suit your point. You think that we are doing better than everyone else because you saw someone buying pizzas, for goodness sake. I want to talk about how well we are doing, but I can't because we're not. You can't argue with the actual facts. No amount of saying how great the country is will change the fact that we shot ourselves in the foot at the ballot box in 2016 and again in 2019. We will be great again, but not by voting Conservative in 2024/5 and not by simply saying we are.

Re: Strikes - passfield resident (30th Jan 2023 - 08:57:38) Excellent post Bernard

Re: Strikes - Bemused (30th Jan 2023 - 10:32:27) This thread seems to have gone a little of course. OP was about coping on a lower wage and why were people striking. It seems that the unions have told a few un truths in quotes on wages. What I can not understand is unions are striking and making businesses bankrupt so putting people out of work. So you have a much worse economy. Many more people out of work less productivity so a vicious circle. If someone can live on £24000 a year why can’t people on £30000-£60000 live on that until the country has a better economy?. It must be better to have a job than not . As many have said striking achieves nothing only misery.

Re: Strikes - Penny Williamson (30th Jan 2023 - 14:06:32) Some interesting posts, although I do agree with Bemused that this Thread has become rather disconnected from the original post. I think one of the problems in the UK at the moment (Bernard did point this out in his post dated 29/1) and I advisedly say “one of the problems”, is that with regard to strikes they are all being lumped together and no, I am not going down the dangerous and divisive path by saying who deserves what. All I will say is that some of the corporations/ businesses call them what you like are quite literally taking “the Michael” because compared to many people in the UK their members are not badly off. With regard to Bernard’s last post and his quote regarding statistics, I regard so-called Statistics as historically unreliable and his words ; “According to our own government's website:” says it all. I am sure the Government have their hidden Agenda. Why they would do this who knows but who in their right mind are believing anything that this present government says or does. I don’t think Bernard need worry about who wins the next General Election because unless Rishi Sunak can turn things around dramatically there is very little doubt that the Labour Party will win. However it will be interesting to see if they do how they are going to cope. In past times when Labour have come to power there is usually a healthy budget – money in the pot due to the austerity measure implemented by the Conservatives during their term, so unless Jeremy Hunt can pull several “white rabbits” of the hat in the time left before the next General Election is called, there will be no money in the pot.

Re: Strikes - Interesting (31st Jan 2023 - 10:31:50) Well I think this thread has run its course. Very interesting comments some wildly of subject but good debate. I think perhaps Penny has summed it up if the Labour Party gets in at the next election they will inherit a big deficit something they are not used to so time will tell. I hope whoever is in charge gets in right and we start to turn the corner. On another note I see Germany are suffering just about to go into recession so this economy thing is wide spread.

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