Lord Duckhunter

What a ridiculous argument. I didn’t start the Iraq war, can I withhold a portion of my income tax? People without kids have to pay for other’s children to be educated.I have to pay for people on the dole, despite never having claimed it. How do we sort out the finances if only the people who caused the deficit are the ones who pay? Your socialist utopia seems to mean everyone sharing the benefits of a free market economy, but only the Private sector paying the costs when it goes wrong.

People like Clapton and Joe Cocker used to do whole tours in this state, what’s the Rock and Roll world coming to, cancelling after a few too many?

Had there been a Labour Govt, there would have had to have been public sector pension reform. The banks would still have taken millions, we would still be in Iraq and Afganistan and still bombed Libya. people would still have avoided paying tax, and the poorest would have suffered the most from the cuts that Alister Darling said would be "tougher and deeper than those implemented by Margaret Thatcher".

Is there an App for my terrible putting?

It is a fact that social mobility was higher when we had Grammar Schools.Harold Wilson, Ted Heath, Jim Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, and John Major were all Grammar school educated. Nowadays the high flyers of both parties are by and large privately educated and this trend will continue, we are further away from a comprehensive educated Prime Minister as we've ever been. In the late 60's lots of the high flyers in the media and politics came out of Grammar schools, that is now lost. The problem with pre comprehensive education was the secondary moderns, not the Grammar schools. We have Grammar schools where I live in Poole and 95% of parents want their kids to attend. One of the consequences of the present ecomonic conditions is that rich parents who would have funded their kids throughout their education privately, are now funding it until 11, and then trying getting them into Grammar.The upshot of this is that there are less places available for "normal" children.I have heard that more and more kids are passing the entrance exam and not getting places because of this. There are extremely bright kids who should be Grammar educated, but aren't because spaces are so scarce.There should be more Grammar schools, but also more money and speciallist learning for the ones that fail the 11+. As I said earlier the Secondary moderns were the problem, not the Grammar schools.

Lord Hutton who was a Labour Secretary of State for Work and Pensions says "The costs of providing these pensions are rising – up by a third in recent years – and these extra costs have fallen almost entirely on the shoulders of taxpayers". And that it is "not sustainable". He also says that it "cannot be brushed under the carpet", and it needs to be "faced up to and solutions found." Is that "the spittle spumed blusterings of the right wing propagandists in the print media" or a sensible statement of fact from a senior figure in public life ( and a Labour one at that).Do we follow your course, or his? With all due respect, I would have thought he knows slightly more about it than you.

What is it with these clowns, as well as the "World's greatest" they are seriously the most deluded. http://www.portsmouth.vitalfootball.co.uk/sitepage.asp?a=244750

Tha coalition also propose that low-paid public sector workers on less than £15,000 would not face any increase in contributions, and those earning less than £18,000 would have their contributions capped at 1.5%.

The education system has been broken since we lost most of the Grammar schools. The Tories wont bring them back because they dont want to be seen as "elitist" and Labour wont as they've spent 40 years telling us how bad they were. The problem with the old system was that the Secondary modern schools were dire. Instead of fixing that part of the education system the Lefties decimated the part of the system that did work fantastically well, the Grammar schools. Luckily I live in an area that still has Grammar schools, so my son and daughter may get to benefit.

I'd take a pay cut in return for half of July, all of August and Xmas off.

According to the BBC here are the present details for the public sector regarding what they contribute and retirement age.Bare in mind that most of the Private sector will have a defined benefit scheme and retire at 66. Teachers 6.4%........ 60 or 65 NHS 5.5 - 8.5%.............. 60 or 65 Civil service 1.5 or 3.5% ......... 60 or 65 Police 9.5% or 11% ............ 55 Firefighter 8.5% or 11%.......... 55 or 60 Military 0% ............. 55 Local govt 5.5 - 7.5% 65 From what I understand of the new proposals,the Coalition will adopt many of the recommendations on pension reforms that were set out in the Labour peer Lord Hutton's report (let's all watch Red Ed try and distance himself from it). Public sector workers will have to contribute more to their pensions and that the pensions received will be based on average earnings over the course of their career rather than on final salary. The increased contributions will be phased in between 2012 and 2014 and will not apply to public sector workers earning less than £15,000. Public sector retirement ages are likely to be linked to the state pension age, which will increase to 66 in 2014 or 2015, for all employees except for the police, army and fire service workers. There pensions will still be better than most private company schemes and all benefits earned already will be protected. To me that doesn't look like too bad a deal, and certainly better than I'll get in my next job. In the present climate, I would say that's a pretty good package, and I reckon most of the taxpayers will agree.

All this "I didn't cause it" is a joke. Who do you want to pay the money back, the bankers? How do we manage that then, how do we get it all back off them? Gordon Brown and Ed Balls?, who carried on spending when advised not to, how does that work, how do we get it all back off them? My fathers generation didn't cause WW2, but they had to pay for it. Perhaps shops should have 2 rates of VAT. 20% for us Private sector workers, and the old rate for the public sector workers, as they "didn't cause it". It wasn't the bankers who decimated the private pension provisions for millions of workers it was Gordon Brown.Never mind though, as long as our children and their children and their children pay for the public sector pensions there will be no need for a strike.

Is it possible to be right wing and think for yourself without the aid of the Daily Mail..? help

What a ridiculous thing to say. Why is it that Lefties portray themselves as radical thinkers and yet the right (according to them) get their views from the papers. I would have thought that thousands of public sector workers being led sheep like,into damaging national strikes by the militant brothers, are the ones that need to stop and think for themselves. It’s not a left and right issue, it’s a public sector/private sector issue. The private sector are sick to death of the whining and whinging by public sector employees, who don't seem to appreciate how lucky they are.The whole protest stinks of self interest and if the public sector think they have the backing of the rest of the country they are sadly mistaken.

My Mrs is a midwife, so we have both sides of the coin in our house. With my private sector pension, I had to increase my contributions from 6% to 10% to keep the same benefits 1/60th of my final salary for every year I've worked there. When I joined the Company 10 years ago, those were the terms I was offered. Luckily, they have stuck to it so far, but it is now closed to all new employees, who are now in a defined contribution one. I didn't strike, I didn't march in London, I just got on with it. Why can't Public sector employees be brought into line . Increased contributions for existing pensions, and defined contribution scheme for new employees? I was luckier than most, a lot of Companies have closed down their final salary pensions, frozen the benefits and switched people to a defined scheme. Some have watered it down to an average salary instead of final salary. Public sector workers need to wake up and smell the coffee. They have better pension's and more security, than most people who pay their wages. If anyone should be complaining it is the mug tax payers.

I would think it was £14,000 from Skates, with Stoke making up the other £6,000 to his basic Stoke contract of £20,000.

Agreed

Dont know if this has been posted. "I've been caught in an infuriating web of rules and red tape which some managers are not even sure about". "Portsmouth were paying me around £14,000 a week to do nothing". http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11701_6991595,00.html

We have 3 boys and my Mrs will tell you that their football kits represent the best value you can ever get out of clothes. Hard wearing,and they are easy to wash and dry quickly, dont need ironing and the kids love wearing them. As for adults, surely they have a choice, buy one or wear last years. People complaining sound like a load of tarts. I cant see too many real men saying "that's soooo last year" when seeing someone wearing the sash.

Poole is one of the biggest towns in the country that has never had a Football League side. Bradford is the 14th largest city in the UK population wise. Bournemouth have terrible support considering the size of the surrounding catchment area . If you include Poole,Wimborne, Ferndown, Verwood, Upton, Wareham,Christchurch, Corfe Mullen and Broadstone there is no other club anywhere near and yet they get gates of 5,000. .

Surely when it comes to "date rape" then what you wear and how you act makes a difference. If you turn up to meet a bird for a date and she's wearing a low cut top, a micro skirt and no knickers, you'll start thinking "I'm in here". If she's then all over you all night, then most blokes would assume she's up for it. This doesn't mean that you have a right to rape her, but surely she should take some responsibility for her behaviour.There are parts of big cities that you shouldn't go walking around wearing expensive clothes, flashing the cash. You dont asked to be mugged, but when you are, most people would ask what on earth you were doing acting like that.

My issue is not with the £814mil for vaccinating the world's poorest children, that is an honourable and worthy cause and something that every Werstern Govt should be doing. My issue is with aid going to Countries like India, that have a space programme and their own aid programme, the fact that aid has not been cut and the fact that the EU dishes out our aid as well.The EU is proposing to dish out 15 mil Euros to China, that is what should be ****ing you off, not aid that saves childrens lives.

I reckon the dumb Skate meant "starting from scratch"

I just dont think some Skates get it, this was posted on one of their forums, followed by "I agree" from others. "I think Pompey should appear to be a more exciting prospect than Birmingham at this moment in time. We have just been taken over by a company who seem to be in it for the long haul and want success, and essentially we are starting from scrap, which gives any manager the opportunity to create a name for themselves by creating success and a legacy (so to speak) which will be (largely) down to them. No offense to Birmingham, but they have just been relegated, and even though they have just been in the prem, history shows that never guarantees immediate returns. If SC stays he will have free control to finally build his own team with far less restrictions, and the backing of (most) fans." Brum have a full squad, are in Europe are not committed to a CVA, but Skates are a "better prospect" "far less restrictions" at Pompey, what are they on?

I find it strange the change in student attitudes over the years. In the 60’s they were against wars and yet nowadays a lot of young people seem to want us to get involved in Libya. It’s very easy to say we should go in and protect civilians, when it’s not their brothers, sisters and relatives coming home in coffins. Hitchins was right, in dealing with that nipper on QT.