Retirement age 75.

[silver fox]

On the UK political spectrum farthest left is Radical Islam as on the opposite end of the spectrum farthest right is Fascism.

What total rubbish is that, Radical Islam is religion driven dictatorship and has no place or position in any democracy of any sort.

[Mr B S Sniffer]

Former Royal Bank of Scotland boss Fred Goodwin has had his knighthood removed.

Mr Goodwin, who was heavily criticised over his role in the bank's near-collapse in 2008, was given the honour by the Labour government in 2004.

Take it up with your Labour Party!

"The Queen cancelled and annulled the title following Whitehall advice.

Party leaders, led by Prime Minister David Cameron, welcomed the decision. In the past, only convicted criminals or people struck off professional bodies have had knighthoods taken away.

Mr Goodwin oversaw the multi-billion-pound deal to buy Dutch rival ABN Amro at the height of the financial crisis in 2007, which led to RBS having to be bailed out to the tune of £45bn by taxpayers.

There had been a growing clamour for Mr Goodwin to be stripped of his honour following thousands of job losses at RBS and in the banking industry since then, and the impact on the wider economy."

My labour party? That's a new one on me

[Toodles McGinty]

Mr Goodwin, who was heavily criticised over his role in the bank's near-collapse in 2008, was given the honour by the Labour government in 2004.

If only they'd consulted Mystic Meg. Or any psychic that can see four years into the future and foreseen a worldwide financial collapse. Withholding that knighthood might have prevented the whole thing.

Why oh why didn't Cameron withdrawn Green's knighthood the second he came into power? He could have saved the pensions of all those BHS workers.

We don't need policies. We just need clairvoyants so the wrong honours aren't given out.

FFS.

[Hamble]

If only they'd consulted Mystic Meg. Or any psychic that can see four years into the future and foreseen a worldwide financial collapse. Withholding that knighthood might have prevented the whole thing.

Why oh why didn't Cameron withdrawn Green's knighthood the second he came into power? He could have saved the pensions of all those BHS workers.

We don't need policies. We just need clairvoyants so the wrong honours aren't given out.

FFS.

Cameron Gov advised the Queen to relieve him of his knighthood when they got in power.

To use one of your favourite gobbet line of reasoning they(Tory's) were in opposition (during the banking debacle) and had been for a long time therefore had no power to stop (or award gongs) to greedy bankers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/therepor...3bn_of_rb.html

[Mr B S Sniffer]

Cameron Gov advised the Queen to relieve him of his knighthood when they got in power.

To use one of your favourite gobbet line of reasoning they(Tory's) were in opposition (during the banking debacle) and had been for a long time therefore had no power to stop (or award gongs) to greedy bankers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/therepor...3bn_of_rb.html

Quite happy to give Redwood with his vested interests a gong tho!

https://citywire.co.uk/wealth-manage...nours/a1187405


Or Sir Paul Ruddock a tory donor

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/u...hthood-1112594

I seem to remember Cameron saying he was going to clean up politics, not sure how as he'd have to exterminate most of his MP's

[Hamble]

Quite happy to give Redwood with his vested interests a gong tho!

https://citywire.co.uk/wealth-manage...nours/a1187405


Or Sir Paul Ruddock a tory donor

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/u...hthood-1112594

I seem to remember Cameron saying he was going to clean up politics, not sure how as he'd have to exterminate most of his MP's

And I thought you could get through a thread without death wishes.

[Toodles McGinty]

Cameron Gov advised the Queen to relieve him of his knighthood when they got in power.

To use one of your favourite gobbet line of reasoning they(Tory's) were in opposition (during the banking debacle) and had been for a long time therefore had no power to stop (or award gongs) to greedy bankers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/therepor...3bn_of_rb.html

Using a-holes that have been given gongs as a way to somehow hold up any party as terrible is insane. So Jimmy Savile, the darling of Maggie Thatcher, is somehow proof that the Tories were terrible people? I mean, they are, but not because they invited a paedo round.

Someone got a knighthood while Labour was in power, then 4 years later they did something utterly irresponsible isn't the fault of that government. Whether it's Labour, Tory or whoever. It's clutching at the most ridiculous straws possible.

[Mr B S Sniffer]

And I thought you could get through a thread without death wishes.

Nothing of the sort, merely a humorous observation. That sort of thing can be left in the hands of people like this!

[Ceam]

Nothing of the sort, merely a humorous observation. That sort of thing can be left in the hands of people like this!

Problem is there are to many abusing the system. The system can be frustrating at times, but it does it's best.

It is not a bottomless pit.

[Alikado]

Cameron Gov advised the Queen to relieve him of his knighthood when they got in power.

To use one of your favourite gobbet line of reasoning they(Tory's) were in opposition (during the banking debacle) and had been for a long time therefore had no power to stop (or award gongs) to greedy bankers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/therepor...3bn_of_rb.html

The awarding of gongs is not just the prerogative of the ruling party, the opposition also nominate.

[Mr B S Sniffer]

Problem is there are to many abusing the system. The system can be frustrating at times, but it does it's best.

It is not a bottomless pit.

Try telling the bankers that.

I have no doubt that abuses of the system take place but the right wing press has vilified and stoked up this hatred. The internet is full of cases that have lead to severe hardship or even the death of genuine people.

The tories fully deserve their label of "the nasty party". I'd even go so far as to say some of them relish the title!

[Toodles McGinty]

Problem is there are to many abusing the system. The system can be frustrating at times, but it does it's best.

It is not a bottomless pit.

Agreed.

In 2015/16, HM Revenue and Customs reported that they failed to collect £34 billion of the tax that they were due. Among the break down of reasons for the 'gap', £5.2 billion was attributed to tax evasion (illegal), and £1.7 billion was attributed to tax avoidance (legal).

Of the total spent on welfare, £3.5 billion (two per cent) was given out in overpayments. Of the total overpayments, £2 billion worth of claims were considered fraudulent.

Plenty of people abusing the system.

As of March 2017, HMRC employed around 500 staff to work with “high net worth” individuals, with assets over £10m, on their tax affairs. It employed another 500 or so staff to investigate the tax affairs “affluent” taxpayers with an income over £150,000 a year, or assets over £1 million.

As of October 2017, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) employed around 4,000 staff to deal with benefit fraud, with around 1,900 of these directly involved in investigations.

To me, given those figures, the government would be far better off concentrating on tax fraud than benefit fraud, as they are the ones really abusing the system.

But of course, the right wing press and lurid poverty porn shows such as 'Benefits Street' demonise the very poorest in society, leaving the rich to get away with billions.

Abusing the system indeed. Especially when the powers that be are more interested in some poor sod on jobseekers who might have a cleaning job in the hand, rather than the wealthy creaming off billions from the likes of us.

[silver fox]

Agreed.

In 2015/16, HM Revenue and Customs reported that they failed to collect £34 billion of the tax that they were due. Among the break down of reasons for the 'gap', £5.2 billion was attributed to tax evasion (illegal), and £1.7 billion was attributed to tax avoidance (legal).

Of the total spent on welfare, £3.5 billion (two per cent) was given out in overpayments. Of the total overpayments, £2 billion worth of claims were considered fraudulent.

Plenty of people abusing the system.

As of March 2017, HMRC employed around 500 staff to work with “high net worth” individuals, with assets over £10m, on their tax affairs. It employed another 500 or so staff to investigate the tax affairs “affluent” taxpayers with an income over £150,000 a year, or assets over £1 million.

As of October 2017, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) employed around 4,000 staff to deal with benefit fraud, with around 1,900 of these directly involved in investigations.

To me, given those figures, the government would be far better off concentrating on tax fraud than benefit fraud, as they are the ones really abusing the system.

But of course, the right wing press and lurid poverty porn shows such as 'Benefits Street' demonise the very poorest in society, leaving the rich to get away with billions.

Abusing the system indeed. Especially when the powers that be are more interested in some poor sod on jobseekers who might have a cleaning job in the hand, rather than the wealthy creaming off billions from the likes of us.

Yes there is abuse of the system and most do not agree with it at all, but the benefit fraudsters pale into insignificance compared to the actions of some "big" companies, apart from those already mentioned we have the contractors undertaking public sector work.

For instance the likes of Carillion just go "bust" AFTER paying out massively to shareholders and senior executives, guess who picks up the bill? certainly not the barstewards who took the money and they are far from the only one.

Rail operators who fold or pull out of contracts because they got it wrong, the list could go on for ever and has got to be a damning indictment of privatising public sector operations.