Well, that didnt last long..

They used to say the same about NHS staff, when they were freezing their salaries and then lo and behold, they asked us to applaud them every Thursday for their efforts and sacrifice.
Two faced hypocrites.
We will be back to normal at some point with local authority workers likely to be first in line for a pay squeeze.

The government can't really control private companies pay policy - they could increase CT or basic IT across the board to ensure public sector employees are looked after?

Not sure how that makes them hypocrites,everyone was just following the initiative of Annemarie Plas with clapping for the carers.
But unfortunately then the "clap for carers" became politicised,rather like another current high profile "initiative"

You can suggest it

As a Lib Dem I miss the heady days of the general election where I was called a Yellow Tory by the left and a whinging liberal by the right. Not been called a codger just yet which is nice.

I thought Boris didn’t believe in gesture politics.

He believes in whatever makes him popular on the day.

He actually treats the population as just gullible because the more lies and positive if untrue talk he comes up with is still believed by some. I am just glad I am not one of them because those that fell for it will soon find out his only interest is Boris much like his mentor Trump.
The cabinet is just as bad they are simply not up to the jobs but he needs them to make him look competent. The number of errors mount daily from transport, education, health, trade and the home office just to name a few. How many times since the election has Johnson had to stand by one of his cabinet or Cummings who would normally have to resign for the shambles they have made.

Just one problem,once all the gullible ones realise they've been duped its likely there will still be no credible opposition.

I will say it again the Labour leader is more popular and trusted than Boris. I doubt what worked in December will work again because by the next election the country will have endured 5 years of conservative incompetence.
I note that his first attempt of levelling up not gone too well with those educated at a private school having higher grades awarded than those who are not because of the algorithm they now use.

Just because you keep saying it,doesn't mean it will come to pass.
The Labour leader is more popular.......






Unfortunately its not a popularity contest and slightly worrying that you would think popularity is a key factor,after their disastrous attempt at gaining popularity in last manifesto with the numerous "giveaways"
I seem to recall free broadband,ending tuition fees and a £58bn payout to women pensioners!!!

Labour couldn't win against a Tory party in complete disarray and promising to give billions away in freebies 9 months ago,Labour couldn't even hang on to seats like Wakefield 9 months ago,Tories didn't actually have to do anything in December,they just watched Labour implode.
Have you seen the algorithm?
Do fee paying schools not achieve higher grades historically ?
The Labour idea of levelling up has never been about levelling up,but pulling others down to their level.
Doesn't matter how bad the Tories are,Labour are a spent force with tried and failed ideologies.

If Murdoch is still alive, he'll be the one who decides who our next government will be. Sadly we're just the pawns.

aww bless, more lefty rhetoric with no foundation other than what YOU think, Labour are gone, socialism doesn't work. Deal with it.

Schools need to open, kids need educating and any teacher that doesn't want to educate should quit and take up a more suitable job, one with no responsibility or expectations, being a Labour canvasser is a possible option.

Its really funny all these teachers up in arms about the A Level results - much of which could have avoided by simply allowing the students to sit the exams. Sadly their personal selfishness got in the way of the students long term future.

Because safety = personal selfishness, right?

You've clearly been sold by Johnsons "leveling up" line (or is that "lie"icon_wink.gif..

The real measure of whether the Tories have changed their "look after no 1" style, which Thatcher really majored on, will be when the dust begins to settle on Covid and a strategy has to be found on paying down the debt.
Do you think that those public service employees that have carried on through the pandemic will be rewarded or kicked in the nuts and would you expect the wealthiest in society to feel the burden of taxation a little more heavily or, maybe a further squeeze on the public sector.
Remember the triple lock on taxation ? will they adhere to that and if not, with massively falling tax receipts, just who do you think they will lean on ?

There was no reason why the A levels could not have been sit in very safe conditions - most schools wont have more than 50 sitting any one exam - that's 5 classrooms with 10 kids in each and one teacher as an invidulator. If the teachers were that worried about their own safety they could have worn PPE a full Hazmat suit even!!

Don't forget millions were still going to work every day - we have c60k excess deaths out of a population of 65m - the chances are ridiculously low. Kids have more chance of being struck by lightening than dying of Covid. Let's get things into perspective.

Who can they lean on? They can't dictate to private companies their pay policy unless you want to introduce prices and incomes policy of the 60/70s? They could simply increase income tax and NI across the board then we all suffer.

No doubt you will be expecting above inflation increases across the public sector?

When our schools closed, I don't remember it being the teachers who closed them. Pretty sure it was the DfE. But you keep on with the teacher bashing. Your usual target of NHS workers must be off the hit list now you've clapped for them a few times on a Thursday night.

I have never attacked the NHS workers nor did I clap for them nor will I ever be taking the knee - a lot I may be but a lemming I am not - to my knowledge the schools stayed open or did I get that wrong?

Did we have many teachers test positive for Covid that were still teaching?

Our schools closed initially, then reopened for vulnerable and key worker kids as soon as they could. Support/admin staff worked from home, and teachers were on a rota between coming in to teach and running online lessons from home. It's not perfect, but our trust's online lessons and resources are incredible for the time in which they were implemented, all by the current members of teaching and support staff. There was even an online national academy set up during lockdown to help further deliver online education. Obviously, it relies on devices and Internet access. Our trust have been able to provide laptops to most underprivileged kids, and a certain ex leader of a certain political party was laughed at for offering free broadband for all.

We had a self-isolation list set up beforehand for anyone with symptoms. I don't know how many staff have had it. I do know that one of our schools in the North have had 40 kids affected by family Covid deaths.

I'm just constantly amazed at people who have no idea what's gone into keeping kids educated and motivated throughout this pandemic, and who just spout the Daily Mail comments section outrage to perpetuate toxic, misguided divisions. If people actually educated themselves about the situation, they'd realise that teachers haven't just been sat at home twiddling their thumbs, waiting for A Place in the Sun to start, so they can get inspiration for their retirement home for all that lovely money they steal from the public purse.

What do you mean by rewarded - Pay increases ?
How much of a reward would be acceptable ?
Would it be an acceptable reward that they still have a job when thousands won't ?
What about private sector that have worked through the pandemic ?
Not sure the greatest strategy of paying down a debt is to start by dishing out rewards (pay increases).
What do you class as wealthiest ?Taxation is already geared to higher income earners paying more,how much would you like to see them pay?

I think its inevitable the triple lock will have to be broken,there will have to be public sector pay freezes.
Inevitable there will be tax hikes.
Circa £330bn needs to be recouped,no government could have anticipated this.
The government could have not been as generous with the furlough scheme,they could not have been as generous with the self employed element of furlough scheme and reduced the expected debt.Unfortunately it was a lose lose scenario for any government what ever the party.
Everyone will have to carry some of the burden.Again not sure what you class as wealthy,but i would increase taxation to 50% for income above £150k,unfortunately this only drags around 300 -350 thousand people into the increase.Would also bring in a new banding of £100k - £150k of 45%
But what we can't do is willy nilly go around giving pay increases because people did their job through the pandemic,however admirable what they have done.
Labour seem fantastic at rolling out criticism of everything,Angela Raynor today asking what support for people returning from France that will have to be quarantined,typical Labour,lets give them a handout - then start moaning when it has to be recouped somehow.

Quote ="TURFEDOUT"Angela Raynor today asking what support for people returning from France that will have to be quarantined,typical Labour,lets give them a handout - then start moaning when it has to be recouped somehow.'" Anyone taking a holiday abroad during a global pandemic should suffer the consequences of their actions, I'm afraid. They had pre-warning with the quarantine measures for returning from Spain the other week. France avoided being added to the list but it was only a matter of time. While we're on the subject of France and stupidity. Here's a beauty from the other side of the political spectrum. https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/polit ... nts/13/08/

Quote ="TURFEDOUT"Angela Raynor today asking what support for people returning from France that will have to be quarantined,typical Labour,lets give them a handout - then start moaning when it has to be recouped somehow.'" Anyone taking a holiday abroad during a global pandemic should suffer the consequences of their actions, I'm afraid. They had pre-warning with the quarantine measures for returning from Spain the other week. France avoided being added to the list but it was only a matter of time. While we're on the subject of France and stupidity. Here's a beauty from the other side of the political spectrum. https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/polit ... nts/13/08/

Yep,theres one i think we can all agree on - what an absolute t1t.