>He was thrilled with himself. Thrilled with the chaos that had been caused. Thrilled to be the centre of attention.
>
>“We’re doing our utmost,” he continued. Our utmost to be misleading; to tell half truths; to accuse the rail union of the very practices he was guilty of himself. He wasn’t the employer. That was Network Rail and the train operating companies. So it was only right that he had kept out of all the negotiations. It seemed to have slipped his mind that the government effectively owned most of these companies and they couldn’t reach a pay agreement without his say so.
>
>But no. Shapps was unashamed about how little effort he had made to help resolve the dispute. It was only right that he had done next to nothing. In fact, the less he had done, the more it proved how cooperative had had been. No one wanted these strikes less than him. He lied.
>
>Everyone wanted a decent pay rise, he continued. Only the dispute wasn’t about money, he insisted. Which will come as news to many of those going on strike. It was about terms and conditions. And by the way, revenues were 20% down since the pandemic, so strikers could whistle for the cash. Not that it was about the money.
>
>The shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, was at her best in reply. A channel of righteous anger. She really did not want the strikes to go ahead either, but she respected the right of unions to go on strike. It was called the democratic process. And she knew where most of the blame lay. With Shapps himself. The minister who had gone missing in action. The man who had done most to ensure the strikes went ahead with his hands-off approach to industrial action. …
Friendly reminder that the average wage in 1979 was £4,387 or the equivalent of £72,000 in today’s cash.
Average for 2022? £38,000.
You have all been robbed and are being mad at fellow others who have also been robbed.
Well he’s just another Tory with a really fucking shady past. I think it’s a requisite.
3 comments
>He was thrilled with himself. Thrilled with the chaos that had been caused. Thrilled to be the centre of attention.
>
>“We’re doing our utmost,” he continued. Our utmost to be misleading; to tell half truths; to accuse the rail union of the very practices he was guilty of himself. He wasn’t the employer. That was Network Rail and the train operating companies. So it was only right that he had kept out of all the negotiations. It seemed to have slipped his mind that the government effectively owned most of these companies and they couldn’t reach a pay agreement without his say so.
>
>But no. Shapps was unashamed about how little effort he had made to help resolve the dispute. It was only right that he had done next to nothing. In fact, the less he had done, the more it proved how cooperative had had been. No one wanted these strikes less than him. He lied.
>
>Everyone wanted a decent pay rise, he continued. Only the dispute wasn’t about money, he insisted. Which will come as news to many of those going on strike. It was about terms and conditions. And by the way, revenues were 20% down since the pandemic, so strikers could whistle for the cash. Not that it was about the money.
>
>The shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, was at her best in reply. A channel of righteous anger. She really did not want the strikes to go ahead either, but she respected the right of unions to go on strike. It was called the democratic process. And she knew where most of the blame lay. With Shapps himself. The minister who had gone missing in action. The man who had done most to ensure the strikes went ahead with his hands-off approach to industrial action. …
Friendly reminder that the average wage in 1979 was £4,387 or the equivalent of £72,000 in today’s cash.
Average for 2022? £38,000.
You have all been robbed and are being mad at fellow others who have also been robbed.
Well he’s just another Tory with a really fucking shady past. I think it’s a requisite.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/shortcuts/2015/mar/16/grant-shapps-business-mp-conservative-chairman-michael-green