Debate on GB News – The Clash on Social Care Reform

Readers of my blog may be interested to see my contribution to the debate on GB News – The Clash on Social Care Reform:

22 Comments

  1. Peter Wood
    September 7, 2021

    Good Evening,

    What a disconnected discussion. The care givers simply saying ‘give us the money NOW’, and you politicians want to discuss, in detail, the whole issue and then decide how to address the problem.

    The care givers have a point; the Chancellor has made it clear that he does have a magic money tree in his garden and he’s been tapping it with abandon for the last 2 years. The probem with this is, as rubber tree owners know, you can tap a tree to death..

    Your point about the ‘dishonesty’ of Bunter’s plan, that the money to be raised is woefully insufficient and will not do what’s advertised, was missed. Bunter’s serial dishonesty, on this and his other broken promises, should make this plan a non-starter, but it seems the Tory sheep in parliament are going to vote it through. What will you do when it doesn’t work, raise taxes again?

    1. Peter
      September 8, 2021

      Peter Wood,
      Yes the two on the bottom of the screen are always going to demand more money and berate politicians for not delivering.

      Sir John Redwood is continuing his focus on numbers but the Tory next to him has it right. It is about broken promises.

      The Johnson Government are simply doing as they please and ignoring the people who voted for them. Lord Frost has made some very sound statements – again – on Northern Ireland but we know he will be ignored by this government. He is simply there for window dressing.

      Covid is just a convenient excuse for all manner of policies.

      Johnson and co have to go. I donā€™t think he is in it for the long term anyway. He has his eye on a very well rewarded career on the world stage after politics along the Tony Blair template.

      Voters cannot do anything for several years now and some Conservative MPs may hope this will be forgotten by then. When the time comes it is important to deny further opportunities to careerists and chancers. It is a long term strategy unfortunately, but this nominally conservative party has to go in the same way that Labour did before them.

    2. Nota#
      September 8, 2021

      @Peter Wood – we live in a weird country in a weird World of entitlement. Those demanding taxpayer money also resist the taxpayer having as say in their business, their income and how they spend all this taxpayer money. It should be all in receipt of direct taxpayer subsidy should have an publicly elected, responsible, accountable individual that ensures value for money

  2. mancunius
    September 7, 2021

    A little O/T, but I thought your question in the House to the Pensions Minister an excellent one, about publishing figures that showed the reality of the present and future few years in context. I was astonished at her comment in reply that pensions had received increases in the past. I find this alarming. It is almost as if the Minister thought it a noble achievement to have had indexed rises to the pension. Does the Minister not understand the point of constant indexing, and the lasting harm caused to the standard of living by not fully maintaining it?
    On the NI rise questions, I was even more surprised that only one MP, Richard Drax, pointed out that tax cuts are needed o raise revenue, not tax rises breaking the manifesto commitment.
    I see in media coverage that cabinet members such as Liz Truss were reportedly threatened with a reshuffle if they failed to back the PM. If this is so, the PM should be shown the door for such purblind arrogance.

    1. rose
      September 8, 2021

      But where was the real pressure coming from? Surely the PM would have preferred to proceed without a tax rise? But Javid wanted much more for the NHS and Sunak wanted tax rises as he has all along, so between them they decided what would happen. As ever, we need Sir John in no 11 and nobody else.

    2. Nota#
      September 8, 2021

      @mancunius – yes strange, MP’s had a pay rise awarded – no question. The NHS has had a pay rise – no question. Employed by the taxpayer and you get a pass on being in it together.

      Basic UK State Pension after 30years contributions is Ā£137.60 per week, getting a rise to pay for heating and lighting increases being forced through by Government is not allowed.

  3. Mark B
    September 8, 2021

    Good morning.

    The problem is that the government has, in principle, an endless amount of money and that there are plenty of people with their begging bowl.

    These people, who benefit from such largess and therefore have an interest, fail to ask the one question ! How, before government started to get involved, did people / families cope before ?

    This is a failure of planning. A failure to talk. A failure to face up to the fact that we are an aging population.

    1. Nota#
      September 8, 2021

      @Mark B – then again this Government in particular doesn’t see it as taxpayers money but their own money tree money. It doesn’t see it has a responsibility to the taxpayer or the people of this country

    2. Stephen S
      September 8, 2021

      One has to view this debacle as confirmation that sound Conservatives are a rare bird indeed these days. Just reading the voting list speaks for itself. The pips of the tax burden are certainly going to be squeaking once ā€œLabours tax on jobsā€ is increased at the worst possible time.

  4. Micky Taking
    September 8, 2021

    The continuum set out once again. The Government tries to dress up the can kicked down the road, just like all previous ones did. Review this, plan that, wait for business and therefore tax recovery to soften the social shambles of cost of Care. Some back of fag packet estimate of new tax raised to deal with the mess. But, of course twin with that horror of cash leakage called the NHS. Who wants to stop the mealticket of the NHS being handed mind-boggling sums every year? More layers and regional administration of the Ā£billions will cream off whatever money was intended. Reform only ever tinkers with the maladministration, and has been so repetitive that NHS managers and staff simply shrug ‘here we go again’.

  5. formula57
    September 8, 2021

    That was fifteen minutes I will not get back: I do not resent expending the time, but only because of your cogent contributions. Why did the others not hear you making the points they were making but more intelligently and in context? GB’s Dan might learn when to shut up and how to intervene to good effect.

  6. Mike Wilson
    September 8, 2021

    Interesting to hear that the NHS costs Ā£230 billion whereas income tax raises Ā£200 billion. No wonder the government wants more and more young people moving here each year – simply to get the tax take up in the hope they donā€™t use the NHS much. No wonder the people in boats are welcomed.

    Of course, young people get old. But our political system is only concerned with the present.

    1. Micky Taking
      September 8, 2021

      Those young people might not pay their way in costs incurred welcoming them. Training, homes, education, health care, families, transport, extended family joining….the list of cost goes on.

    2. MWB
      September 8, 2021

      The people in boats are very unlikely to ever make a contribution in the form of tax payments. They will be net recipients all their lives, receiving housing costs, benefits, child allowances, health care, education, and not paying a penny towards them. Helped out of their boats on the south coast, and shown the way to a free life, paid for by the English people.

    3. Nota#
      September 8, 2021

      @Mike Wilson – there maybe a visual amount the NHS consumes available, but as no one is responsible, or accountable to the taxpayer for it, there is therefore no need have plan define objectives of achieve a quantifiable result. As @Micky Taking – says in another context ‘back of fag packet estimate’ that’s how the Government runs the UK

  7. Sir Joe Soap
    September 8, 2021

    The shrieky lady seemed to have it in for you, but if she had listened you were both in agreement. The situation needs looking at and costing, not just throwing money at.
    Broken promises we’re getting used to- no border in the Irish Sea, etc etc.

  8. a-tracy
    September 8, 2021

    Step 1 start re-charging the EU countries for healthcare provided in the UK as Spain and France etc. are hot in this with bills coming into the UK NHS for people who don’t contribute to the UK NHS. Reciprocal billing must be instigated buy the same computer systems our EU counterparts use to bill the UK. Include every person in the UK where their home nation bills us back for ex-pats healthcare. Put the money immediately back into the NHS and the staff their might be more inclined to start charging. It is not a world health service yet it is being run as one.

  9. alan jutson
    September 8, 2021

    Thanks for your contribution JR.

    I agree, how can you vote on anything without any knowledge of the detail, how it is going to work, or what it is going to produce, a fundamental point all the others seemed to not understand.

    I wonder, do any of them run their own households like this, purchasing a trolly load of food (not caring about meal planning, sell by dates or storage facilities) and then decide what they eat day by day on a whim, what’s left over or gone bad they will just throw away, but always making sure they put it in the recycling bin, so that’s alright and their conscience is clear.

  10. Mark Thomas
    September 8, 2021

    Sir John,
    Debate aside, at least GB News give you a platform. I doubt you would get this on the BBC, Channel 4, or Sky.

    I just wish they had high-definition cameras.

  11. John Hatfield
    September 8, 2021

    Well said John.

  12. rose
    September 8, 2021

    What a pair of utter charmers those two Labour activists were! And really strong and compelling arguments, too!

  13. gyges
    September 12, 2021

    I was struck by the ‘Trump-derangment-syndrome’ exhibited by two of the guests. JR made comments broadly in agreement with the other guests’ point of view; yet this was misconstrued (disingenuously, or otherwise) by the two guests as a contrary view. A pointless interview and disheartening to watch.

Comments are closed.