Quote: Oldrocker @ 5th January 2014, 8:10 PM GMT

http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/regulation/right-to-buy-discount-to-increase/7001457.article

That helps enormously.

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It's just a further symptom, the high rents and lack of housing really began to kick in after 1994 when the EU borders were freed up. You can't dump an extra million people - immigrant, legal, illegal, asylum seeker, Northerners, etc. into a city in the space of a few years and expect the infrastructure to remain intact.

In the past, Landlords had to take on benefit claimants as they had no one else to rent to, now the market is saturated with potential tenants, it's a sellers market.

The drop in first time buyers due to the global financial crisis and the reluctance of the banks and mortgage companies to lend to the public also doesn't help.

As you may or may not know, I'm in the business but probably best to wait until I retire before saying anything.

Quote: zooo @ 3rd January 2014, 6:18 PM GMT

He is an absolute loon. Isn't this what James Bond types are for? Get rid of him for goodness sake.

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Oh he's a loon alright no doubt about that, But the weird thing is if you look at him he looks like he's only about twelve!, I say it was a reaction to his Uncle putting him on the naughty step and sending him to bed early.

Amsterdam alcoholics paid in beer for collecting litter.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25548061

I think they should extend the system by paying the clinically obese with cream cakes, and Miranda fans with shit.

Enter your own mother in law joke here...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25438325

Angela Merkel has been injured during an cross-country accident in Switzerland. (sorry!)

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/06/angela-merkel-skiing-accident

It would appear snow hates Germans

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25597617

Save UK Justice.

Quote: sootyj @ 6th January 2014, 11:41 AM GMT

It would appear snow hates Germans

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What a pity they don't play soccer on snow.

Quote: Jennie @ 6th January 2014, 11:43 AM GMT

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25597617

Save UK Justice.

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'Lawyers argue the cuts could see their fees fall by up to 30%' - last time I used a solicitor they charged me £300 to write a letter and £25 per phone call - even when they rang me!

It's not like we have a solicitor shortage in this country either, every second Asian person I meet is a lawyer - the other being a doctor or a chemist.

The sheer greed by the legal profession has brought them to this point. From unnecessary court cases, to no win no fee, to the various useless public enquiries. Subsequent governments have been bleeding money almost continually from non-stop legal fees.

As it's such a saturated market, there will never be a shortage of lawyers, but the ones with experience are threatening to walk if their massive fees aren't met. First the bankers threaten to leave and now the lawyers - it's a good thing I'm not in charge of the country as I would Easyjet all of them over to Romania.

Well firstly we're talking about legal aid and then its about how the money is divied up.
I mean if a guy from pizza hut turns up at your door, you don't refuse to to pay him a tenner because he only rode half a mile.
I don't think anyone's complaining about private practice, but unless you're richer than you let on,that's not much worry for you.
The loss of legal aid, in everything from benefits advice, to suing Rachman landlords and divorce. Is perhaps the biggest jack boot this f**king, horrible government has stamped on the face of human rights in quite some time.

Though on a separate subject IDS wrote movingly about how when his wife was diagnosed with cancer, he took a year off work to support her.
A paid year off work.

Something none of the people who benefit from his department could dream of. That he didn't realise the implication of what he said, show's how scarily out of touch his party is

Quote: sootyj @ 6th January 2014, 12:45 PM GMT

The loss of legal aid, in everything from benefits advice, to suing Rachman landlords and divorce. Is perhaps the biggest jack boot this f**king, horrible government has stamped on the face of human rights in quite some time.

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You're deliberately confusing the argument, the Legal Aid budget is being reduced, it's not being eradicated altogether. The lawyers are angry that they are being asked to work for less money.

We now live in an overly litigious culture with vast sums of money being spent on family law, immigration and asylum cases. This isn't denying justice, it's public money being spent on private arbitration.

Crime has also gone down slightly, which has had a financial impact on the outstanding legal work carried out in this country. Luckily, there will always be terrorists trying to dodge deportation or gypsies being asked to move on to keep the money flowing.

EDIT: And if you are outraged by the MPs expenses, they're miniscule in comparison to what lawyers on the tax money gravy train get away with.

Riley sits on hands over legal aid. Riley needs the job.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ 6th January 2014, 12:57 PM GMT

You're deliberately confusing the argument, the Legal Aid budget is being reduced, it's not being eradicated altogether. The lawyers are angry that they are being asked to work for less money.

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That's what they're protesting about. It's 2 fold they get less money, and everything is getting cut by 2 thirds. So that's wiping out most of the work the CAB does.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ 6th January 2014, 12:57 PM GMT

We now live in an overly litigious culture with vast sums of money being spent on family law, immigration and asylum cases. This isn't denying justice, it's public money being spent on private arbitration.

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Legal aid is what pays for your advice if you lose all of your benefits, because ATOS won't train its advisers in your disability. And the government won't ask them to, just so long as they fail 25% of claimants.

It's what helps when your landlord kicks you out for asking him to fix your boiler.

As ever the redtops will find a hefty number of bullshit cases, whilst ignoring a lot of people who'll get shat on without legal redress.

That said the moves to force families into negotiation, before stupidly expensive family courts is a good idea. So there are other options.

Quote: sootyj @ 6th January 2014, 3:41 PM GMT

As ever the redtops will find a hefty number of bullshit cases, whilst ignoring a lot of people who'll get shat on without legal redress.

That said the moves to force families into negotiation, before stupidly expensive family courts is a good idea. So there are other options.

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The question isn't over whether Legal Aid should be available, I think most agree that it should, it's the amounts that are being spent and on what which cause me consternation.

Two things I've never heard a lawyer say:

'There's not a lot of work' and 'I'm going to have to take a pay cut this year'.

Austerity cuts have finally hit the wealthy and instead of celebrating that 'we're all in this together', the rich legal types are using their muscle and media profile to claim that they're the victims, even though their own rapacious greed had brought about this situation in the first place.

And don't even get me started on how much was spent on the Lee Rigby murder trial. And now the new case of one of the suspects trying to sue the Prison Service.

There is the law and then there is justice, never confuse the two.