Anna B

IMO a lot of the rot set in when they stopped promoting exceptional workers from the bottom, up the greasy pole, to the top, so that ability was matched by a wealth of experience at all levels. Too many senior executives are graduates with plenty of 'book learning' and qualifications but precious little else. They go straight in at a senior level. Old school coppers for example insist that working from the round up gives them 'a nose' for policing which graduates lack. I think that's probably true of a number of professions. To add to that, they are often recruited from a very few 'top drawer' Universities, so you have the same elite crew doing the rounds of all the top jobs. Before anyone reminds me that these Universities only accept exceptional students, I beg to differ. There are a fair few 'Hooray Henries' and Henriettas in there as well who only got in there because Daddy knows all the right strings to pull.... 7% of the population went to private schools, but fill 70% of all the top jobs. Class discrimination is still very much alive in Great Britain and always has been..

I have to disagree. This fallacy about 'attracting the best talent' was started by the executives themselves, to justify the extortionate salaries that they had also awarded to themselves. It has proven to be a false assumption over and over again, as our stock in the world has declined markedly in most areas. Just look at the debacle over the post office for example, and the mess this government has made in so many areas of their remit. We have never been in such a sorry state. They have used their power simply to feather their own nests, and care not one jot about the broader picture and the people they are meant to serve. We also have the arrival of such gems as 'Police Commissioners' and 'Super Mayors' and other very expensive jobs for the boys though nobody seems to know what they do, and have seen no discernable improvement in their field of operations. Every grandiose pen pusher costs tax payers any number of truly useful workers in the public sector such as nurses and police and teachers. I know which I consider to be the more valuable.

Wow Padders, thankyou!

The bottom line is we have a lot of homeless people who quite simply cannot afford to rent or buy anything and end up on the street. Some of these are working hard in low waged jobs and still can't even afford a room in a shared house, such is the increase in rents. Cheap houses are being bought up by property developers and 'improved', 'gentrified' so that higher rents can be obtained. Builders prefer to build high end properties as the profits are greater. Nothing wrong with that in a free market economy, but where does it leave the working poor of which there are many (and growing.) Where are they supposed to live? You're right....It's no longer 'a new story,' and yes, 'it's life.' But does that make it acceptable? Especially as the problem is growing worse exponentially, and will affect more and more people going further up the social scale? The cost of living crisis is very real (more real for some than others) and shows no sign of abating. It's not just about the price of food, everything is out of kilter. Wages are not keeping up with prices and so poverty Increases. Improve wages to keep up with prices and inflation takes off. So whats the answer? This problem hasn't occurred overnight and has been in the pipeline for many years. Neither is it a surprise, many were warning of it years ago and were ignored. Now we are reaping the results of a 'free market economy:' unbridled, uncontrolled capitalism, which is all set to continue indefinitely with more and more victims falling by the wayside. We are all set for a perfect storm unless the politicians and major players get a grip, which they show no sign of doing. We will sink into a third world economy - but of course that's just fine- as long as you're one of the few on the winning side. That's life.....

Yes, you have a point, but affordable housing is what's in short supply. I was hoping that with 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms available, there would be something for all pockets. Poor people have to live somewhere too. If everything is unaffordable it puts the onus back on the council to provide suitable housing and they are having difficulty with that as the long waiting lists attest. They need a bit of help from the private builders.

Ok. I was just wondering if they would be affordable.

Any indication of the price of the individual flats yet?

I agree with that. I've been advocating improving public transport for a long time. I'd use it where I could.

As I tried to point out on my previous post, time is an issue. I and many other people have to be in several different locations during one working day, and that isn't possible using public transport as it takes too long.

It would, but that's not how they operate is it? Half the things that are now banned were never mentioned in any party political manifesto, they happen without discussion after the party is voted in, by which time there's nothing you can do about it.

Not terrorism, so mental illness. IMO Incels are in the grip of a mental illness of sorts, but by the same measure so are terrorists. That does not make it any less of a crime, and is no excuse. And both create terror in the true sense of the word. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

Starmer will be thrilled. He's been trying to get rid of her ever since he lied about supporting Jeremy Corbyn to get elected as leader.

Belittling the country, or simply stating the truth? Opinions may vary.

Generating nuclear power does not cause climate change, it is considered 'clean.' However it does produce by products that have to be disposed of very carefully. Weapons, on the other hand, especially nuclear create total devastation as we can see from Gaza, Ukraine, and any number of other warring countries. They throw tons of dust and debris into the air, and destroy land and buildings, and people which all has to be cleared up. Presumably the buildings will be rebuilt using more materials. The same can't be said for the land and the people. One bomb probably causes more global warming than any number of cars etc. Yet here we are suppling thousands of such bombs and weapons, while simultaneously trying to stop people poluting the environment with cars, often at great inconvenience to themselves. People don't use cars for fun, they use them because they need to. That has barely been addressed.