Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Overt overspending...


Add up ALL the savings (or "cuts cuts! CUTS!!" in BBC talk) and multiply the number by 50% and add that on too: there you have the new annual total of what we pay the EU, NET not gross [Independent]. As was agreed by New Labour, the UK's rebate was reduced by more than 40% in 2010 to 3 billion quid. The 9.2 billion now paid DOES NOT include the added exposure of EU bail-outs via the European Commission and contributions to the IMF.

Hat-tip: Dan Hannan

P.S. off the EU topic but relevant to "cuts": Brent North MP Barry Gardiner has slammed his own Labour-run council for planning to close six libraries: "We can't cut these services and fail to completely understand the needs of local people. Libraries are fundamental for children. It is about growing up and being part of an intellectual community. The council has to identify areas that are most important to local people and has to protect them...

...There are more than 50 people on Brent Council who are earning as much as Eric Pickles - Secretary of State. Why?
" [LINK]

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2 comments:

Paul said...

Surely Eric Pickles is on some sponsorship from a pie company to make up for lack of salary?

Okay, fatist and uncalled for.

It's a sad day when even I spend time trying to convince people that spending will be up not down in real terms. It's a bit like those demonstrations where all you see is a man being dragged from a wheelchair but you don't get to see him with his mates running up the stairs at Millbank and everybody says "Look, disabled man being beaten up."

Just wheel out a few people who have lost their benefits and you've won the PR battle.

Span Ows said...

Ooh! Just posting one of my favourite tracks while you were writing this...ish.

"fatist and uncalled for" but funny and an almost "natural reaction" to poor Eric's "shape"....chins more than anything.

Re PR, I was surprised that last weekend's march didn't produce more "stage-managed" strife.