It's election time! Watch as Cameron cosies up to the NHS

SOURCE GUARDIAN: GP access seven days a week by 2020 ‘guaranteed’ under Tories – CameronAccess to a GP seven days a week by 2020 would be guaranteed under a Tory government, David Cameron will announce on Tuesday, backing the measure with a £100m fund. Labour has made a separate commitment to guarantee GP access within 48 hours. The prime minister’s announcement is designed to give a clear commitment that all NHS patients would be able to see their GP between 8am and 8pm, seven days a week. The government in April launched a seven-day-a-week-access...

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Why is political advertising exempt from rules on lying?

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) only considers lying an offense if it fools more than half the target market. If OFT rules were applied, all UK elections would be judged completely "fair". This is because no political party for decades has won the votes of more than a third of the electorate let alone half. Therefore it cannot be said more than half the target market had been 'fooled'.Does anyone doubt that politicians lie? Politicians know we know they lie, not least because they themselves work so hard to point out each others' fibs....

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Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 25th Sept)

Bank of England deputy asks US to fine banks lessThe deputy governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, said: “I am trying to build capital in firms and it’s draining out the other side (in fines and penalties).” Bailey has called for better co-operation with US regulators over the scale of fines being levied on banks to ensure they do not weaken their financial position. Regulators in the US levy largr penalties than their UK counterparts, which on Tuesday fined Barclays £38m for failing to keep its clients’ money separate from the bank’s...

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After the Scottish referendum: Will Westminster renege on its devolution pledges?

Fee and Chris try to guess what happens next...SOURCE SKY NEWS: Scotland Devolution Pledge 'Non-Negotiable'Scotland First Minister Alex Salmond has accused the No campaign of tricking voters into believing the promise of devolution. He said: "I suppose I feel sorry for those in the No side who were tricked by Westminster into believing there would be an immediate offer of extra powers, an explicit timescale, the vow that was given to Scotland obviously persuaded some people to vote No at the last minute, and now within 24 hours of the polls...

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Graphs at a glance: Middle-paying jobs have been disappearing for years. Is that why in spite of the economic recovery, wages are still stagnant?

It used to be the case that when unemployment fell wages rose. Bank of England figures show this has been true up to the last recession, but stopped being true since the recovery that started in 2013. According to Ben Broadbent, a deputy governor of the Bank of England, “average pay growth [in 2014] is almost 2% points – more than four standard deviations – weaker than the 1993-2012 regression line (Chart 10)." Statistically “four standard deviations” means this 2% deficit is extremely unlikely to be due to random chance. As James Bond,...

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Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 18th Sept)

G4S, Serco: Cancelling “guaranteed profits” probation contracts could cost taxpayers £300m-£400mTaxpayers will face a £300m-£400m penalty if controversial probation privatisation contracts are cancelled after next May's general election under an "unprecedented" clause that guarantees bidders their expected profits over the 10-year life of the contract. Labour is already committed to unpicking the justice ministry contracts to outsource probation services but will not now be able to do so without incurring the multimillion pound bill because of...

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The BBC’s Nick Robinson v Alex Salmond: where will corporation tax be paid? Both are wrong, surely?!

SOURCE TELEGRAPH: Alex Salmond goes to war with BBC over RBS 'leak'An irate Alex Salmond today declared war on the BBC after the Corporation disclosed Royal Bank of Scotland’s decision to move its headquarters to England if there is a Yes vote. The First Minister dismissed the economic significance of announcements by RBS, Lloyds Banking Group, Tesco Bank, TSB and Clydesdale Bank to re-domicile south of the Border, saying they only meant moving “brass plates” instead of jobs. Mr Salmond directed a tirade at Nick Robinson, the BBC’s political editor,...

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Graphs at a glance: How policy makers use averages to rip-off half the population

In an earlier post we pointed out that London is sucking the life out of the UK. Were we being fair? It is certainly true that London has a greatly disproportionate share of the UK's economic activity.One consequence is things in London cost more, from the price of a pint to the price of a house. So are people in London paid more than in the rest of the UK so they can afford higher "London Prices"? Well, yes and no. On average Londoners are paid more: 15% more than the UK average.  But take a closer look, and the story is different.The...

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Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 11th Sept)

MPs' pay rise of 9% 'should go ahead'Marcial Boo, chief executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), said MPs did an important job and should not be paid a "miserly amount". Their pay will go up from £67,000 to £74,000 under Ipsa's plan. The PM, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband called the hike unacceptable when it was proposed at the end of last year. The Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Labour party leaders argued it would be wrong when public sector pay rises were capped at 1%. But speaking to the Sunday Telegraph in his...

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