[davidjay]

They earn good money already because they've always had good unions.

[Boiler]

Because as things stand the most visibly successful unions are those consisting of people who are already earning good money, like train drivers and doctors.

Groups that attract the ire of our lovely media and its thick readers, especially train drivers.

I also see that Sharon Graham is to face a leadership challenge.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... -reform-uk

[Youngian]

Because as things stand the most visibly successful unions are those consisting of people who are already earning good money, like train drivers and doctors.

Groups that attract the ire of our lovely media and its thick readers, especially train drivers.

I also see that Sharon Graham is to face a leadership challenge.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... -reform-uk

Simon Dubbins, who started out as a print worker and has been an international director with the union since 2008

A relative of 80s print union leader Tony Dubbins? Like Sharon Graham, he found himself representing workers wedded to a previous century’s technology. Best of luck to Simon’s campaign. Who’s going to be in Sharon’s corner, Maurice Glasman and Jonathan Hinder?

[Boiler]

Funny... I just looked him up to see if they are related and it led me to a recent article by Tony Dubbins in the Morning Star about the Wapping dispute.

It was interesting to note reading that article that "the plumbers", as we disparagingly referred to the EETPU back then, were as much of a bunch of scabs there as they were at Auntie.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Sharon Graham deserves to be out on her ear, having got elected on a "no politicking" platform, and wound up trying to kick out Keir Starmer and veto Ed Milliband as Chancellor. Having said that, she's about right for a union with so many Kipper members.

[Tubby Isaacs]

They earn good money already because they've always had good unions.

Or they do jobs with industrial muscle? Hard to see the Lexit goons who run rail unions as particularly smart operators.

[The Weeping Angel]

Doubtless the problem now is “cuts”, which nowadays means something not rising as fast as it might have done.

The growth figures were decent till Trump launched a war with Iran. You’d think at some point there might be some acceptance that Reeves has got the macro pretty much right. But idiot backbenchers look to have bounced her out of her job.

There's now a black hole in the public finances.

[Abernathy]

A strictly hypothetical poll, here, which apparently shows a “Burnham Bounce” for Labour of about 5%.

https://bmgresearch.com/news/the-burnh ... ing-again/

I’m still not convinced.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Owen Jones says Starmer has "failed to fix the broken economic model". Does he have any idea what this means, apart from a vague sense of everyone being richer and not paying any more tax?

Perhaps he could ask his mate Grace Blakeley.

[Boiler]

He means "abandon neoliberalism and THATCHER!!!!11!!!1!"

[Tubby Isaacs]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... gdp-growth

UK households suffered a drop in disposable incomes in the first three months of the year as price rises and extra wealth taxes hit average spending power.

The Office for National Statistics said a rise in the consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation in the first quarter and higher capital gains tax receipts reduced real household disposable income by 0.8% from January to the end of March.

It marked the fourth quarter in the last five when disposable incomes have fallen, the ONS said in its latest assessment of the economy.

This paper is always telling us the Government is useless because lots more money needs to be spent on everything. So they put taxes up to pay for more spending, and get it in the neck for "falling living standards". They can't win.

[Tubby Isaacs]

He means "abandon neoliberalism and THATCHER!!!!11!!!1!"

And "end austerity", even though there's already a large fiscal expansion happening.

The only alternative economic model worth discussing is one where nearly everyone pays more tax.