Election Year or Fear!

[ramAnag]

Slightly different I think RA, though I agree that often Public Enquiries are just money for old rope for lawyers. However, the Hillsborough enquiry and hopefully this one will finally lay bare the extent of the then governments use of the Police as a political force and further bring some closure to those wrongly attacked.

I understand and respect your point Swale, and I imagine it’s the same constabulary - or at least partially - for Hillsborough as it was for Orgreave five years earlier.

Doesn’t reflect well, but the senior officers at the time of Orgreave are likely to be dead or in/approaching their nineties by now and I suspect it’s more likely that the lawyers will get richer than that the truth will be discovered after all that time.

Ideally I think all wrongs and miscarriages of justice should be exposed but practically I’d prefer to see some evidence of progress in the more recent ones, where evidence is comparatively fresh, before we start going back forty plus years.

[MadAmster]

rA, INQUIRY.

[ramAnag]

rA, INQUIRY.

Mea culpa. Apologies, you’re quite right.

[Geoff Parkstone]

No votes in it, just a small pool of wronged post office "managers" likely owed a not insignificant amount of compensation to come out of Reeves' growing budget blackhole

[SithHappens]

Perhaps settlements are on the horizon.

[MadAmster]

Perhaps settlements are on the horizon.

LOL. That's Fuji-ing funny.

Of course, it's not just the UK government that takes forever when it comes to paying out on wrongdoings. Similar over here.

Over here we have thousands of families who were suspected on benefits fraud. Algorithms, mainly based on name, ethnic origin etc were targeted and forced to repay tens of thousands they had supposedly received illegally. The result was bankruptcies, families breaking up, kids being taken away by the local authority... Many years later we are nowhere near compensating the victims.

Groningen lies on top of huge gas fields. extracting the gas (proper gas, not petrol) has caused earthquakes which have damaged thousands of homes, offices and other company buildings. The company that made billions of profit are refusing to pay compensation. The government, co-owners and recipients of billions in tax from gas sales admitted some liability years ago. Hardly anybody has received any compensation. Those who have, all say it nowhere near covers repair or rebuild costs.

Two very serious incidents that are causing more misery day after day. A Dutch Parliament is supposed to last 4 years. Only 2 of the last 8 elections from 2002 has produced a coalition that lasted the course. The other 6 lasted 9 years between them. Take away 3 to 5 months from a cabinet falling and the elections and then an average of about 6 months post election to form a cabinet, there's been around 4 years in 23 where you could think there was a stable government. Little wonder issues like the benefit disaster and Groningen don't make much headway.

[Andy_Faber]

All of which summed up by Roger Waters (I think, please God don't let him and Dave Gilmour see this, join the forum and get in a spat over it): 'Money, get back, I'm all right Jack, keep your hands offa my stack'

[ramAnag]

All of which summed up by Roger Waters (I think, please God don't let him and Dave Gilmour see this, join the forum and get in a spat over it): 'Money, get back, I'm all right Jack, keep your hands offa my stack'

Fine track about materialism and greed which has been touched on elsewhere in this thread, but I believe they are both Arsenal season ticket holders so no worries, AF.

[Andy_Faber]

Fine track about materialism and greed which has been touched on elsewhere in this thread, but I believe they are both Arsenal season ticket holders so no worries, AF.

Sort of on the subject, there was a feature on the wireless about charitable giving by the truly wealthy, warren buffett and Bill Gates being examples of individuals who no doubt employ (armies of?) accountants to assist in minimising their tax liability, but then give large proportions of their fortunes to what you may consider more worthy causes (basically 'the poor') than their govts would do.

there's another wireless feature (currently ongoing so I don't know the conclusion) wherein Tony Hawkes ponders the morality of inheritance, specifically mulling over whether to pass his (clearly worthwhile) assets over to his son on his demise. I'll declare on this, I'm all for (appropriately taxed) wealth inheritance and (legal) succession planning thereof. If folk REALLY don't like it they should lobby their govts to change the rules

[swaledale]

Turns out the millionaire exodus was a complete work of fiction.... built on dodgy data from a company flogging golden passports to billionaires. Henley & Partners spun a PR stunt ? and the media ran with it. 10,000 headlines later, the truth emerges: less than 0.3% of UK millionaires left. That?s not an exodus. Time to tax wealth properly...no more excuses?.let?s adopt the US system, if you are a citizen you pay tax wherever in the world you live.