An image widely shared on Twitter showing a still from the BBC coverage of the funeral, with tears flowing down the cheeks of George Osborne during the Bishop of London's Address.
As George Osborne wept through the service of the despotic ex dictator, I wondered how many tears he has shed for the countless disabled people his cuts have effected. So devastated are many genuinely disabled people suicide is increasing. Unemployment figures released today show a sharp increase. “UK unemployment rise adds to pressure on Osborne's austerity strategy. Unemployment reaches 2.56 million as another 20,000 under-25s add their names to the register. Pay rises registered the lowest increase since 2001” The Guardian. Tesco report first losses in 20 years. Take it from me when Tesco makes a loss the economy is close to skid row. There is no company more ruthless and penny pinching than Tesco. When Tesco is struggling most other retail businesses are having the last rites read. Meanwhile there is outrage over findings that RWE npower and others have paid little or no corporation tax despite significant profits.
“RWE npower, with 6.6 million customers, paid no corporation tax between 2009 and 2011, while Scottish Power paid only £102m in 2012 on profits of £1.2bn – even though the lowest corporate tax rate is 20%. German-owned E.ON paid only £532m in corporation tax between 2007 and 2011 on pre-tax profits of nearly £5bn. French-owned EDF paid "over £200m" last year on pre-tax profits of £1.7bn.
The figures are difficult to obtain as most of the companies are subsidiaries of foreign multinationals, and only emerged when Labour's Caroline Flint, the shadow energy secretary, approached each company directly. They have inflamed the public debate on fuel prices at a time when public trust in energy suppliers is at rock bottom”
As millions are spent on the funeral to be seen at, The Daily Mail reports today.
“Elderly patients are being shunted between hospital wards ‘like parcels’ because of a shortage of beds, say doctors who have warned the current system is on 'the brink of collapse'.
Frail patients are frequently woken up in the night and made to walk to another department in their pyjamas because someone else needs their bed, a damning report has found.
On occasions, they are also being discharged in the middle of the night and sent home in taxis just to make space on wards.
The Royal College of Physicians president, Sir Richard Thompson, said patients were being passed around ‘like parcels’ and ‘dominoes’. He added: ‘This is no way to run a health service. One doctor told me his trust does not function well at night or at the weekend and he is “relieved” that nothing catastrophic has happened when he arrives at work on Monday morning. Excellent care must be available to patients at all times of the day and night.”
Quote of the day.
Cameron insisted “we are all Thatcherites now” and paid tribute to her impact on public life ahead of the former Prime Minister’s ceremonial funeral today. The Independent
Still with me ? Thank you I will conclude. What the Thatcherites have done for our nation. They have made it a place where dishonesty, corruption and greed is not only accepted it is applauded. While MP’s still refuse to report their expenses fully, the Banks still rob the people, the NHS is being destroyed as MP’s pile their ill gotten gains into private healthcare. The poor and disabled, the old and the sick, struggle to heat their homes, while the utility companies make billions in profits and pay little or no tax. Unemployment goes up, while some of our best young people leave University to work in a fast food joint on minimal wage. Our best in the world armed forces return from fighting a war, to be chucked on the dole, and rely on charity to repair their smashed bodies and minds. Last word to Gordon Gekko from the film Wall Street sums up Thatcher and Thatcherism perfectly.
“The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.”
Eddie
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