Unemployed had to sleep under bridge to work for Jubilee

[SupremeSpod]

The point is that Prescott is trying to garner publicity for his election to "Police Chief"...

"We need more plod on the street, not private security firms!" - that kind of thing.

He's a self-serving fat bastard who should be harpooned, sliced up and fed to the Japanese.

[original PM]

I agree Prescott could not give 2 $h1ts about these people he is just using them to gain votes.

And you know that is probably worse than the situation in the first place as that seems to have some from misunderstandings/poor managament where as Prescott is making a calculated decision to 'champion' their cause to further his own career and ultimatley line his own pockets

[d000hg]

Sleeping in a tent is no hardship, but being made to do 14 hour shifts, unpaid, is beyond Victorian.

Surely they were getting paid JSA - hardly Victorian.

[xoggoth]

He's a self-serving fat bastard who should be harpooned, sliced up and fed to the Japanese

Funny you should say that.

Japanese whalers harpoon John Prescott

[TimberWolf]

Surely they were getting paid JSA - hardly Victorian.

At least with Victorian workhouses you got a solid roof over your head and a bed. Now it's just a tent in a muddy field.

[SupremeSpod]

At least with Victorian workhouses you got a solid roof over your head and a bed. Now it's just a tent in a muddy field.

Ah, festival season is upon us again.

[OwlHoot]

... Every single government since Thatcher wants to privatise the UK as they think its cheaper but in the long run, it ain't...

It isn't just the efficiency - By eliminating and avoiding public service monopolies as far as possible, they can prevent bolshie unions holding the country to ransom as they did in the 70s.

(And despite being partly bankrolled by unions, the same incentive holds as much for Labour as the Tories.)

[Sysman]

Surely they were getting paid JSA - hardly Victorian.

I rmember doing stuff like this for free in my student days.

If I were still young and on JSA I would have seen it as an adventure and a chance to meet some totty.

Better than sitting at home writing out job applications, even if the totty failed to matetialise.

[TimberWolf]

I rmember doing stuff like this for free in my student days.

If I were still young and on JSA I would have seen it as an adventure and a chance to meet some totty.

Better than sitting at home writing out job applications, even if the totty failed to matetialise.

14 hours standing around is hellish eternity though. Unless as you say you are less than 30 years of age and looking for totty.

[Sysman]

It isn't just the efficiency - By eliminating and avoiding public service monopolies as far as possible, they can prevent bolshie unions holding the country to ransom as they did in the 70s.

(And despite being partly bankrolled by unions, the same incentive holds as much for Labour as the Tories.)

And that was the basis for persuading so many that home ownership was a desirable thing.

If you were renting your house from the Coal Board and went on strike, the Coal Board could not evict you for not paying the rent,

If you'd sunk your life savings into your own house, you were going to think twice about going on strike then risking repossession and getting landed with hefty penalities for moirtgage payments in arrears.

Ditto on a smaller scale if you'd taken out a hefty loan for a car.

Labour followed this through with a policy of easy credit.