British Gas MD to get 10 million pound golden handshake!

[petercj]

Pointing out lies isn't nit picking though.

I don't agree with bankers taking huge bonuses but the misrepresentation of facts is what they did and the journo is doing the same thing.

The statement made is that he will leave with a package worth over 10,0000.000 - I don't think you can accuse someone of telling lies because they put together an estimate, which is all it can be without detailed information from the horse's mouth when the leaving day comes.

He is free to refute such claims, but I doubt very much that he will.

The broad facts are plain enough, and the public are increasingly growing intolerant of bonanza style profiteering by the energy companies, and this kind of golden handshake (call it what you like).

The name of the game has been to make as much money as possible, and reduce payment of tax as much as possible, which may be legal, but such profiteering is now increasingly being questioned. All sense of morality has been abdicated to the market place, and those who play the game will justify their actions by the profits they make and their ability to bend the rules to their advantage without actually breaking them - although an increase in transparency might show that the rules need changing away from being so flexible.

Bear in mind that we are not talking about profit made from a decent days work. This variant of 'profit' is made off the backs of working people by those who sit on their backsides all day playing monopoly.

 

[Howsie]

I'm 100% with you on the fact cats thing but I have a problem with the style of the article. The headline is simply untrue.

 

[petercj]

I'm 100% with you on the fact cats thing but I have a problem with the style of the article. The headline is simply untrue.

And I'm with you 100% on the need for more accurate reporting by the media, but if Bentley was getting a package worth one million he would be getting a good deal imo.

Consequently, I'm not really bothered if the author of the article is a million or two out, and I don't think many people will be.

As far as I'm concerned this report is just another paragraph in the memoirs of Thatcher, and yet another piece of evidence that the switch during her reign away from manufacturing industry and towards national dependency on service industry was a mistake. Which I recognise was an error of judgement consolidated and perpetuated by New Labour - just in case someone thinks I'm being Party political.

 

[nickelarsed]

manufacturing was hardly a success in the 1970's. It was in fact trashed long before Thatcher

 

[petercj]

manufacturing was hardly a success in the 1970's. It was in fact trashed long before Thatcher

Like to give some examples?

British industry was overdue for investment, and it was Thatcher that trashed what was left of it.

Since that time the collective British psychi has been indoctrinated with the idea that Britain is not up to manufacturing, we could have done as well as the Germans with the right leadership and investment.

Many of the problems around today have their roots in the Thatcher era - one example being the Incapacity Benefit system, which her Government brought in to massage the massive unemployment figures that her policies created.

The privatisation of training has been a disaster for Britain, and has created many a skills shortage - gas and plumbing being just one example.

Turning over the care of the elderly over to the private sector has led to poor training and lack of decent care.

The jungle created by the Thatcherite ideology has seen thousands of small businesses come and go over the past 30 years, and Britain has become a safe harbour for big businesses, many of whom operate as monopoly players.

Junk food sold through an American model of franchising; the virtual collapse of individual pubs across Britain has seen large chains taking over. Retail food dominated by supermarkets. DIY market dominated by a national chain, as will be plumbing merchandising in a few years time.

Working people were sold the idea that letting the rich prosper would be good for all concerned (i.e. the trickle down effect of wealth) which never really happened, the fool's gold of the Thatcherite promise was propped up by easy credit and the rise in house prices. Not surprisingly the bubble eventually burst!

Water has become a "precious commodity" since the privatisation of the water boards, and they can't wait to sell the stuff by the litre.

The pubic have been ripped off for gas and electric for some time, and despite massive profits, Britain is poorly prepared for future energy supply.

Working people are giving up their jobs because the can't afford the rail fares to get to work.

Bentley is something of a pawn put in place to run the machine that prints money quicker than the Treasury can.

And still the media churn out the propaganda that says privatisation of everything is the only viable model.

The accusation that the media have been misleading about this fat-cat payoff is seriously amusing.

 

[nickelarsed]

British industry was trashed by nationalisation. Something the German's, Japanese and American's never did to theirs. That was my point. Hate Thatcher as much as you want, I do. I hate all of them . But pretending that we were any better off before her is simply not true. And pretending that all those problems listed are some how down to the evil Thatcher is just plain wrong. It makes life easier to blame her for lots of people because it takes the focus off the faults of others. Remember what they called us in the 1970's? The sick man of Europe, we even had rolling power cuts, you had to wait for months just to get a phone line. At one point the dead were not even getting buried. So yea Thatcher I'm sure did lots wrong, but she was no worse than those that went before or after her. And better than some

 

[petercj]

British industry was trashed by nationalisation. Something the German's, Japanese and American's never did to theirs. That was my point. Hate Thatcher as much as you want, I do. I hate all of them . But pretending that we were any better off before her is simply not true. And pretending that all those problems listed are some how down to the evil Thatcher is just plain wrong. It makes life easier to blame her for lots of people because it takes the focus off the faults of others. Remember what they called us in the 1970's? The sick man of Europe, we even had rolling power cuts, you had to wait for months just to get a phone line. At one point the dead were not even getting buried. So yea Thatcher I'm sure did lots wrong, but she was no worse than those that went before or after her. And better than some

The Iron Lady was part of the problem - she wanted to do battle with the unions for her own ideological ends.

Yes, there were some idiots around in the unions at that time, but because Thatcher caused such a sense of insecurity in many working people the idiots got listened to.

In the 60's the Morris / Austin Mini was a massive success, and was admired across the world.

British steel was some of the best in the world, and you could tell whether it was British or not as soon as you started working with it.

The British motor cycle industry was closed down in Britain, and it was said there that was no longer a market for motor cycles.

The Japanese proactively created a market for their motorcycles by using state of the art manufacturing methods.

Very few people in Britain today understand what role the unions played in training and the maintenance of working standards, and the development of safe working practices, and employee rights. Mention the unions and most people think of militant trouble makers and the disruption of the 70's, particularly in the South of England.