Kevin's Watch

Ah shoveling horse dung! Now I've done my share of that! Trick is to get the radio on and zone out.

Carillion, the huge corporation that has been paid Megabucks by the UK government for outsourcing contracts has filed for bankruptcy with the potential for thousands of job losses and hundreds of small firms to suffer large losses in unpaid accounts by the giant. Meanwhile those at the top will melt into the ether keeping hold of the massive salaries and bonuses and dividends they have sequestered away over the years. Another day another dollar at the top.

Didn't they block all bonuses and severance pay for Carillion execs?

Entirely possible Murrin, but my bet is that those guys have filled their boots to overflowing long before now. I think I caught something along the lines that they estimate that all this government outsourcing has cost in the region of 200 billions more than if the state had organised the work itself (so much for the much vaunted efficiencies of the private sector ) and I'm betting a sizable slice of this finds its way into executive pay packets and bonuses. These firms pitch way below levels at which profits can be realistically made in order to win the contracts and then pare the service levels down to nothing in order to keep the (sinking) ship afloat as long as possible. When they loose the contracts or the ship goes down, sure they take the immediate hit, but by then the fortunes have been long made and salted away.

Sounds like fun.

--A

The Daily Mail and The Daily Express are cock-a-hoop today over covertly filmed recordings of David Cameron saying that "Brexit is not such a disaster" and " Things are not as bad as we'd feared." He's come around! they crowed to heir faithful - but I have two things to observe on it. Firstly, in the words of Mandy Rice Davies, well - he would say that wouldn't he. Having been the chief architect of what some have described as the greatest mistake in British politics since the Suez crisis, he has every reason to make light of it, perhaps as much to deceive himself as to what he might have done as well as the British people. Secondly - how can he know "it's not so bad"? No-one knows. No-one can get begin to guess where this will all finish up... we're flying blind into an unknown future of Cameron's making and there is no person alive who can tell how it will all pan out. Like the weather, it's a complex system and by it's nature unpredictable.

And its not likely to blow over any time soon

Yeah, I just want to know now...

--A

I struggle to reconcile the SNP's position in regards to their desire to break away from the UK, but remain in an EU that is moving ever toward closer political union . In fairness the position has more coherence now that the UK is set to leave the EU, were it not for the fact that this was their position before the referendum in which we decided to leave. I guess they want to be in a BIG union, not a small one.....?

Contrary to what the Leave campaign would have you believe, the UK still has a lot of power over its internal affairs as a member of the EU. Scotland wants to control its own affairs. It's pretty straightforward.

It could be worse. You could have Trump for PM.

Hahahahaha yes it could Deer ... it really could.

Scotland has wanted their independence forever .. and the Brexit is just the ticket to spark another referendum for independence.

Im with the SNP

I'm Murrin wrote:Contrary to what the Leave campaign would have you believe, the UK still has a lot of power over its internal affairs as a member of the EU. Scotland wants to control its own affairs. It's pretty straightforward.

Fair comment, but is it not true that there are moves afoot to pull the EU member states into even closer political alignment; would the same argument hold (re autonomous powers) if that were to be achieved?

(nb. I believe firmly in the right of the Scottish people to decide their own destiny in respect of independence, but still think as I did at the time of the Scottish referendum, that it would be a great shame if they left the union.)

Well it would be a shame for what would ultimately become, the not so united kingdom. LOL .. I don't think the rest of the "UK" will suffer from not having Scotland in their ranks .. and if there is an independent Scotland they will have every chance of success as a member of the EU.

Interesting times.

There will be huge bureaucratic changes needed. Policing their border, border tariffs, requiring goods declarations and passports .. and all the other mechanisms necessary at a hard border.

A referendum failed a year or two ago .. whenever it was. Is it likely much will change? Well Brexit is a definite change.

I'm sure the people of Scotland would choose to remain in the EU over to remain in the Union - however that is unlikely to come about given the suprisingly rapid time-frame of our withdrawal from Europe. I'm not even sure they could remain as a single nation if they did achieve a separation from the UK before March 2019; I think they'd have to reapply anyway.

Much as I support the idea of Scottish independence, I'm just not convinced they can be self-sufficient now.

--A

I think that's a view you share with a good proportion of the Scottish people Av; I think their reasons for rejecting independence at the referendum were pragmatic rather than based on deep loyalty to the Union.

I see your point .. but as a member of the EU I cant see that would be a problem. Look at the rest of Ireland .. that is not part of the UK.

Id like to see Scottish independence but as you both rightly point out the people did not support independence in the last referendum. Only time will bear out whether that would change. It is probably the best time for it to be successful however.

It'll be an inevitable nightmare when or if it does happen .. there are too many English in Scotland atm lol

Perhaps they'd like to take a swing at re-drawing the border too while they're at it LOL

I imagine the day when Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and NI are all independent, and Great Britain is reduced to just England.

It would be amusing, but unlikely.

--A

hahahaha .. England might wish to retain the Great Great England

Cornwall maybe the most unlikely

I think there will surely come a day the UK will be divided again. To my mind its inevitable but maybe not in my lifetime.