Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
Will Barry have a dabble.......?
Courtesy Independent......
Cash-for-access: £1,750 for access to the Prime Minister's bed...
For the right price, sponsors can leave a flyer on his duvet at the Tory party conference
First it was cosy "kitchen suppers" for donors in Downing Street. Now in their search for cash to win
the next election the Tories are going one stage further: they are selling access to David Cameron's
bedroom.
For just £1,750 companies are being offered the chance to "room drop" David Cameron and other
cabinet ministers at this year's Conservative Party Conference.
Every day during the conference companies or lobbying firms will be able to pay to have their
"message or promotional item" placed on the bed of the 350 most senior Tories staying in the
official conference hotel. They can also pay to get messages printed on the Tories' key cards.
There appears to be no limits or restrictions on the gifts or messages they supply - and as party
conferences don't count as official government occasions there will be no need to declare the lobbying
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
Some fools and their money are soon parted Reg- good luck to the Party if they can raise money that way but it not for me.
I get the one new client a month I need through networking. The bars at a Conference are a far better place for that....
Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
Good luck at the tax-avoiders convention.............
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
There will be lots of those at the Labour one.
Besides, nothing wrong with avoidance - we all do it if we can and rightly so.
Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
Why not tout your expertise there....?....sure there will be a welcome there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Courtesy Telegraph..........
Senior civil servants' tax bills paid using public money
Britain's most senior civil servants are having part of their tax bills paid using public money in an
arrangement that leaves them tens of thousands of pounds better off every year.
Sir Jeremy, who is paid £185,000, enjoys the use of a chauffeur-driven Toyota Prius as Britain's
most senior civil servant.
Sir Jeremy, who is paid £185,000, enjoys the use of a chauffeur-driven Toyota Prius as Britain's
most senior
Whitehall departments are picking up the tax bills for perks such as official cars, first-class rail travel
and rent-free accommodation.
The arrangements, which were described by tax advisers as "highly unusual", were made between
government departments and the taxman as part of a deal agreed more than a decade ago.
The effect of the deal is to increase the value of officials' pay packages by up to £30,000 a year
at the expense of taxpayers.
Those who benefited from the scheme include Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary;
Sir David Nicholson, the head of NHS England; and Phillippa Williamson, the former head of
the Serious Fraud Office.
Richard Bacon, a Conservative member of the public accounts committee, said he was "concerned"
that officials are being given tax-free benefits while members of the public have to pay the taxman for theirs.
Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
The question is are the other two thirds Finance johnnies saying ``gis a job``...?
Only a third of people attending Tory conference are party members
Barely a third of people attending the annual Conservative conference are party members, the
Tories have admitted
Lobbyists and other commercial visitors now almost outnumber grassroots Conservatives at conference.
Thirty-eight per cent of people attending the conference are party members, while 36 per cent are
from commercial or charitable organisations.
The disclosure will add to fears that the party's rank-and-file membership is collapsing, handing
more power to a few wealthy financial backers and professional politicians.
There have been warnings that membership of the Conservative Party may have fallen bellow
100,000 for the first time in post-war history.
Robert Woollard, chairman of the Conservative Grassroots, said: "The fact that just one third of those
attending conference are members, strongly suggests that the party faithful have been pushed too far.
The contempt and disdain shown to the grassroots must stop.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
All political parties are having issues over membership. In addition it has been the case for many years, across the main parties, that journalists and lobbyists outnumber the representatives attending. Nothing new there.
I love the conference and went every year when I was chairman and would like to go again. Not this year and probably not now for quite a few years. Maybe when I retire.
Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
Party membership being an issue only a third members at tory conferences, that's surely a worry?
on part conferences, I would say in years gone by when party conferences were not stage managed, they were good,
but these days all 3 main parties (well 2 main parties now) don't want debate, or opposition
and don't give a true picture of whats happening.
bring back the old conference days, where people could say whatever they wanted
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
quite agree keith we don't see any lively conferences. all choreographed for t.v. viewing.
i would imagine some of the fringe meetings to be lively though.
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
the main conference is what people see though
and they are so boring these days
hardly likely to encourage people to vote
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,894
Conferences have always been boring
...... unless you are into politics so will have little real interest to the majority of average voters who only take an interest in politics at election time.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
Jan
I don't agree, party conferences in past years(many years) did inspire some when they saw there were people out there radical,
Many times conferences hit the news headlines
now it would be difficult as an outsider to recognise who's party conference it was
often the parties also lose the opportunity to promote the party
instead just playing to its own members
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
back in the 70's and early 80's they were entertaining particularly the red ones with people storming out over something or nothing and people being allowed to say what they meant.
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
That's correct howard(although you only had to say it once)
but people saw a party and what it was about
now theres not much difference between them all
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
Glencore the parasites of starvation employ another failed CEO.....
Courtesy The Telegtaph.....
Ex-BP chief Tony Hayward to chair Glencore Xstrata after shareholder revolt
The City's rehabilitation of disgraced former BP chief executive Tony Hayward is complete as he
became interim chairman of the new FTSE 100 resource titan Glencore Xstrata.
Glenstrata AGM
Tony Hayward, the new interim chairman of GlencoreXstrata, pictured chairing the new group's
inaugural AGM
Emma Rowley By Emma Rowley12:37PM BST 16 May 2013Comments9 Comments
Mr Hayward became chairman after shareholders voted against Xstrata's former management
and left the newly formed company without a chairman - and its board wholly filled by Glencore men.
Less than three years after he was forced to resign as BP's chief executive in the wake of the
Gulf of Mexico disaster, Mr Hayward was slotted into the prestigious role as disgruntled investors
kicked out Xstrata's chairman Sir John Bond at the group's first annual meeting on Wednesday.
The recently-completed deal, the biggest even seen in mining, became an effective takeover of
miner Xstrata by commodity trading giant Glencore, and an exodus of senior Xstrata figures followed.
While Sir John had announced his resignation, he was expected to remain in his post at the new group until a
successor was found.
Guest 710- Registered: 28 Feb 2011
- Posts: 6,950
Worst UK pension providers named
"Britain's worst pension providers have been named for the first time in official tables that reveal how some insurers are paying annuities 30% below the best deals on the market.
Scottish Widows and Clerical Medical, part of the government-backed Lloyds Banking Group, have emerged as the worst providers of retirement incomes for the mainstream market. The insurers pay an annuity (a guaranteed annual income in retirement) of £839 a year on a savings pot of £18,000, compared to £1,099 at the best payer, Reliance Mutual. Major companies exposed as low payers on conventional annuities include the £70bn Phoenix Group, which controls the savings of 6 million people through brands such as Pearl and Royal & Sun Alliance.
The figures were published by the Association of British Insurers amid growing criticism that annuities are failing savers. Many savers in pension schemes are unaware that when they retire, they can shop around with the pot of money they have accumulated. Until now, best buy tables have revealed the top payers, but have not exposed the worst, leaving many savers unaware that if they stay with the pension plan they saved with, they may receive a poor annuity.
More than 400,000 people retire every year with an annuity, but recent research found that just 13% realised that by taking an annuity with their existing pension provider, they risked ending up with a lower income than they could get by shopping around. Less than one in five realised that if they smoked or were overweight, they could also obtain a higher income..."
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/aug/21/worst-uk-pension-annuity-named-abi Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
and pension are worked for
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
Annuity rates are influenced by 15 year gilt prices that underpin the products in addition mortality rates, longevity, charges and competition all have a place in determining the price. Longevity and, more recently, QE have brought down rates dramatically over a lot of years, going back 24 years that I know of.
There will always be some providers who offer higher rates than others - next week Scottish Widows might be offering the highest rate as they have often done in the past. I am only surprised at Reliance Mutual - it won't last....
There is a quid pro-quo here. The government has borrowed a lot of money so the low gilt yield helps them finance the deficit this way. In addition of course businesses need the low interest rates on their borrowing to expand and individuals want them for their mortgages. Low rates to savers and annuities are the downside so you can effectively say that pensioners and savers are the ones paying for Browns economic foul-up.
That said - there is good news.
You can go to the open market option and, in that way, significantly increase your annuity income. You are not stuck with the provider through whom you invested your pension.
In addition if you smoke you could get a higher rate than a non-smoker as you have lower life expectancy.
If you have high blood pressure, had cancer, or one of many conditions common at retirement you could get a significantly better rate. I have placed business where they get 30-40% more income than on a standard annuity.
Also if you have saved enough and planned the right way you may find it best not to buy a traditional annuity at all. There are many alternatives. But you do need to have taken your retirement planning seriously to have the level of fund needed for some of these options. With a small fund you lose out, less money to give you an income and fewer income options.
Remember as well, 25% of the pension fund can be taken tax-free as a lump sum.
Do not be put off doing a pension by this publicity - the tax-relief on contributions is valuable meaning that for every £100 you pay you get £125 invested so that is 25% immediate growth on you money even for non-taxpayers.
It is worth also adding that a company good at growing your pension may not be a good one from whom to draw your pension. Scottish Widows have one of the better stakeholder and personal pensions as long as you avoid the many 'dog funds' they, like all other providers, have.
I have to give the usual warnings - you should seek independent financial advice on pension saving and in drawing your pension income. Nothing I have said here should be interpreted as a personal recommendation to invest.
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
Be interesting to see how Scottish widows and the like perform in future months
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
Courtesy Independent....
Foxtons: The estate agent that gives estate agents a bad name
The firm is set to float on the stock market - cue joy for the staff who will be quids in, and despair
for customers burnt by its controversial tactics
Forget trust, it's results that matter
Anthony Hilton: Why this is one housing market to stay out of
Who lives in a house like this? Some vendors will go to great lengths to sell their property
90% of house buyers want estate agents to be regulated
Forget trust, it's results that matter
When Foxtons continued its march across London's gentrifying neighbourhoods by opening a
branch in Brixton earlier this year, an off-message objector wasted little time in twice redecorating
the window of estate agent's cafe-style frontage. Shortly after the spray-painted word "yuck"
was removed, employees arrived a few mornings later to find "yuppies out!" added instead.
The incident may have elicited a wry smile among Londoners many of whom believe that Foxtons,
renowned for its fleets of liveried Minis and robust sales techniques, has achieved the difficult
feat of lowering estate agents in public esteem. But proof that sharp suits - and accusations of
sharp practice - are no impediment to commercial success, was brought into sharper relief today
when the firm announced it plans to profit from the capital's resurgent housing market by floating
on the stock market.
Amid a near 60 per cent rise in the number of smaller independent estate agents going bankrupt
in the last 12 months and the rise of online property sites such as Zoopla, it seems larger
corporate property brokers and their managers are doing rather well.
As well as raising £55million and wiping out the firm's remaining debt while valuing it at around £500m
, the sale by Foxtons' private equity owner BC Partners is expected to realise a windfall of
up to £100m for the estate agent's top management, who hold about 20 per cent of the business.
