Forum Topics

Do Labour Really Want to Form a Government?

The Today programme was looking at the policy Labour is proposing to increase worker shareholding in companies this morning. Basically all listed companies in the UK with over 250 employees would be required to give 10% of their shares over to a trust which would redistribute the dividends to workers in the company up to a maximum of £500 per worker with anything above that going to the government. The aim of the policy seems worthy but it was cooly picked apart on the radio this morning by a representative of one of the business industry associations. The seemingly benign proposal is essentially an extra 10% on corporate tax that will actually deliver little extra to workers at the affected companies. The example of Shell was given. It would require them to pay £1.2billion (!) per annum to the government. Because most of their staff work overseas only a tiny proportion of that would be paid to workers at the company. If being listed in the UK means there is effectively a 10% tax on your global earnings there would be a massive rush to delist from the UK stock market or cut the number of your UK employees to below the threshold. Either way the impact on jobs and the economy would be catastrophic.  An A Level economics student could have told the Labour party that so it must be assumed that they know the policy is totally unimplementable and that therefore it is designed to appeal to the conference and their membership rather than their electorate. Why then are Labour making it such a key part of their strategy to force an election when they are proposing policies that will make them unelectable? If there was an election the key factor in deciding which way to vote for me would be which party made Brexit less likely. This does still to be Labour but they seem to be going out of their way to make the choice a lot harder than it should be!

Gordon Southwell ● 2907d2 Comments ● 2906d

1st Wandsworth Sea Scouts

Can anyone please help me in regards to the 1st Wandsworth Sea Scouts - on the banks of the Wandle around about 1956,7 - what happened to them? - I live in Queensland Australia - and was member of that groupTrying to catch up with any old members. I will be visiting Wandsworth (after 50 years absence) this coming September

Patrick Barrs ● 3014d3 Comments ● 2915d

What Football Team Should a Boy From Wandsworth Support?

My nephew who lives locally has just turned seven and is starting to show an interest in football. His father loves the game but doesn't follow any particular team but would probably prefer he didn't start supporting Chelsea mainly because of the cost but also because of a few bad experiences at their ground over the years. He thinks it would be best if his son supported the 'local team' but can't really work out what that would be for someone living in Wandsworth. Fulham is probably the closest but Wimbledon wouldn't be that far away. Trophies aren't important, but supporting a team with a local identity would be.

Carmel Cunningham ● 2936d4 Comments ● 2916d

Northern Line Extension Next for a Delay?

Just in case you wondered it isn't a coincidence that the completion date for Crossrail, Spurs and Brentford's stadium have all been announced within a few days of each other. Whatever the official explanation is the real reason is shortage of skilled labour. There are a lot of projects going on but the situation has been made worse by economic factors and Brexit. The weakness of the pound has meant that many EU workers have been able to get better paid work elsewhere. Also Brexit has meant that many who assumed they would settle here have decided to leave because of the uncertainty over their future status. Remember this is before we find out what the terms would be leaving would be and they all still have the same rights as domestic workers currently. As soon as it is clear that is changing the exodus will accelerate. The Northern Line extension is last in the queue for these workers as it started later than the other projects so you can assume there will be an announcement about a delay very soon. The problem with the skill shortage is so bad you can't take it for granted any more than all of these projects will ever be finished.

Peter Higgins ● 2928d3 Comments ● 2917d

Virgin Media Putting Prices Up Despite Poor Wandsworth Service

I've was getting pretty hacked off with the poor quality service on broadband from Virgin which I pay quite a lot for. When it works it is very fast but reliability has really gone downhill. Would be interested to hear about potential alternative suppliers and if there is an adequate replacement for Tivo. I find that really good but I'm hoping there is a DVR out there that can replicate its functionality

Tony Church ● 2938d3 Comments ● 2919d

Roaming Charges to Return When We Leave EU

Sky are reporting that the Government have confirmed that roaming charges for UK phones in EU countries are likely to return when Brexit happens. I travel regularly to Ireland and the reduction in phone costs was a huge benefit. Also with the family in Spain this year it meant we could keep in touch with each other. I know this change might seem trivial to anyone who is faced with a loss of their job due to this insane decision but it is just one more practical negative — there don't seem to be any actual positives to leaving the EU only wishes parcelled up as catchphrases.

Carmel Cunningham ● 2920d1 Comments ● 2920d

Tom Cox RIP

Tom Cox who was MP for Tooting for three decades and lived in the Southfields area has sadly passed away aged 90. His funeral is being  held at North Sheen Cemetery TW9 4LL on Friday 21 September at 1 p.m. All enquiries to Mears & Cotterill Funeral Directors. Tel: 020 8874 7698

Barry Elms ● 2929d3 Comments ● 2921d

The New Putney and Wandsworth Town Constituency

The Boundary Commission deserve some congratulations on what appears to me a sensible and professional job in reorganising the Westminster constituency boundaries. The accusations of it all being a Tory plot to oust Corbyn is a Trump-like example of post-truth politics and the idea that we need maintain the number of MPs is complete nonsense. At a local level, whilst everybody needs to accept some compromise, this seems like a sensible solution. Putney Town and Wandsworth Town are more or less merged into the same community linked by Wandsworth Park and the South Circular. The periphery to the east in places like Roehampton is more orientated to the parkland areas, in the east Battersea and Clapham have much more in common with each other. Whilst theoretically Justine Greening will be even less safe in the new seat, lots of people voted against her last time because of Brexit which if the Fixed Term Parliament Act won't be the issue at the time of the next election. Not that we won't be dealing with the massive problems that leaving the EU will bring but it will be a done deal so there won't be an incentive for people who like Justine as a constituency MP but wanted to make a point about Brexit to vote against her.

Tony Church ● 2922d2 Comments ● 2921d

Disturbed By The South West Four Festival?

Did anyone else feel that the noise from the South West Four festival yesterday on Clapham Common was excessive? I don't live that close to it so it must have been nightmarish for people nearby and I hate to think what it was doing to the hearing of those attending. I'm definitely not against these festivals in principle and, as far as I am aware, the event stuck to the rules in terms of decibels allowed and hours of operation. The problem is that the allowable noise is too high for urban areas and the law needs to be change.

Barry Elms ● 2937d1 Comments ● 2926d

Wandsworth Council's £300,000 Pay Off

The danger here is thinking that Dawn Warwick is the problem and not that her case is indicative of a much bigger problem. There has been a very significant rise in the salaries of people at the top level of local government so far this century. This was justified by the argument that the public sector needed to keep talented people and had to keep pace with executive salary rises in the private sector particularly in financial services. The basis for this was a bit dubious at the time as there was little evidence that people were being poached from local government but the fiscal position generally was much better so there was money in the pot to pay for these rises. Two important changes have happened since this time. Firstly the defined benefit pension has more or less disappeared from the private sector and most people under forty won't have one. The fact that half of Dawn Warwick's pay off related to her pension entitlement shows how important this is. The net present value of someone who has had a career in local government and been paid a six figure salary would be millions. We complain about bankers' bonuses all the time but ignore this far greater expense that comes directly out of the public purse. Secondly the state of government finances has deteriorated significantly requiring us to make painful cuts in spending on services. One area where cuts are unlikely to be made is in the salaries of senior public sector employees. The public sector works very differently to the private sector. A personnel officer once told me that in the latter by 45 you are either firing people or getting fired as there is only room for a small number of people in any organisation who are older than that. Your pay is usually linked to the amount of revenue you bring in and if the people of your generation who were your clients are no longer there it will tend to fall if you keep your job at all. In the public sector it is like the Hotel California in that you check in but can never leave. People rise to the top whose main talent is knowing how to play the system and therefore aren't really that employable in any job that isn't funded by the tax payer. Because their contracts make them so expensive to get rid of and because it is very much in their interest to hang on as long as possible most public sector organisations gradually accrue more and more senior people many of whom add no real value. It shouldn't escape your attention that Wandsworth's children's service cut a senior position at a time when it is under huge pressure to improve standards and there was no suggestion that the loss of the role would undermine this goal. These taxpayer funded sinecures will but an even greater burden on public finances as time progresses. It is not just the cost of paying salaries but the pensions that will require other services to be cut. Wandsworth is relatively well off having reduced headcount at an early stage and the borough pension scheme is well funded at this point but that is not the case elsewhere. Schemes in other London boroughs have deficits of over half a billion and I was told of one example in which the number of potential pensioners from the Council scheme could eventually reach 7% of the population. This can't be funded at the local level so we will all have to contribute to the bill, a bill that in large part be paid by people who have no future entitlement to the generous pensions they are having to fund for previous generations.

David Parker ● 2939d4 Comments ● 2926d

Wandsworth's 'Shameful' Decision on Battersea Development

Could someone explain what exactly is shameful about this decision in particular rather than the way housing is managed generally.These 'affordable' units that people are getting upset about are going to be sold or rented at a 40% discount to the market level. Given the average price and rent of flats in this development these units could only become the homes of people who earn well above average incomes. So we are currently effectively subsidising the accommodation of the relatively well off - isn't this the scandal here.The only sustainable way to stop London house prices and rents spiralling ever upwards is match supply and demand and that means building as many homes as possible. The 4,200 homes that will be created as a result of this development will do much to put a lid on the market but without them the property shortage would be more acute.Ultimately there is no such thing as an 'unaffordable' home because people will live in these properties. Although they will be for people on higher incomes many of the people moving in to them will be moving out of cheaper properties creating more availability and reducing pressure on prices and rents.As far as the borough is concerned these new homes will all be paying Council Tax and the revenue can be used by the Council on things like social care and be more effectively targeted at the needy.What seems to me shameful here is how every property development is politicised by both parties pretending that our system of 'affordable' housing in some way benefits the poor. It does not.

David Parker ● 3348d5 Comments ● 2928d

Article By Wandsworth Councillor That Is Worth A Read

Recently elected Wandsworth councillor Maurice Macleod has written a thoughtful and well-balanced article about fire safety in tower blocks which is well worth reading https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/31/grenfell-tower-block-tenants-tragedy

Gordon Southwell ● 2930d0 Comments ● 2930d

Copyright Infringement.

Does anyone by any chance have a copy of the 1989 True Detective Winter Special? I am particularly interested in the content on page 35. Master Detective, part of the True Detective Group refuse to send me a scan of what is published on page 35 but they have forwarded me a scan of the front and inside page stating that a story on page 35 deals with former Hammersmith, Fulham and Putney child killer Harold Jones. They won't send me the scan because they have stolen photographs that I own copyright of and they have used them in the August 2018 edition of Master Detective. They have scanned about 12 of my photos directly from my book Every Mother's Nightmare - Abertillery in Mourning to use in the August edition. They state in an email to me that I should be grateful that they recommend my book.

Neil Milkins ● 2955d0 Comments ● 2955d

'Merrily We Roll Along' being performed at Putney Arts!

Hi everyone! Local theatre group Cygnet Players are set to perform the Sondheim classic 'Merrily We Roll Along' at Putney Arts Theatre from 4th-8th Sept. Shows are at 7:45pm nightly, with a 2:30pm Saturday matinee. Tickets are £18 (£15 concessions). Discounts available for Tuesday night and the matinee. To book, please visit www.cygnetplayers.com/box-office, call 07941 448689, or email cygnetsboxoffice@gmail.com. Hope to see you there!

Cygnet Players ● 2955d0 Comments ● 2955d

Freddie Mills Documentary.

If Freddie Mills was not the killer of 8 women in London between 1959 and 1965 then who was? Will anything be given away tonight on B.B.C.4 at 9.00pm.Murder in Soho: Who Killed Freddie Mills?A look at the life and untimely death of a British boxing hero, set in 1960s Soho.

Neil Milkins ● 2962d0 Comments ● 2962d

Luna Cinema Wandsworth Park

I was thinking of going to the showing of Shape of Water in Wandsworth Park later this week but the ticket prices were a bit high for us. We bought tickets recently for open air cinema in Fulham that were just over £6 compared to over £16 each for the Wandsworth Park one. Are there any discounted ticket offers around for this showing or is the only option to pay the full price?

Peter Higgins ● 2970d0 Comments ● 2970d

Freddie Mills Documentary.

PLEASE SHARE. I have been in contact for about 10 years with 2 daughters and a son of former world light-heavyweight boxer Freddie Mills. I know a documentary regarding their father being falsely accused of being "Jack the Stripper" The Hammersmith Nudes' Killer was being made. It is now finished and Freddie's daughter Amanda Mills sent the following message to me today.Hi Neil. Yes. We are all well thank you. It's been confirmed for Wed. Aug 1st .BBC4 9pm Murder in Soho. Who killed Freddie MillsTrailer is running now....BBC4 Best wishes Amanda

Neil Milkins ● 2971d0 Comments ● 2971d

Abbott House

Is anyone on here a resident of Abbott House, Nightingale Lane? If so would you mind sending me a private message?Thanks in advance! E

emarisa Battoia ● 3104d1 Comments ● 2973d

Helicopter Noise Last Night

Does anybody know what was going on with all the helicopter noise in the area last night? It sounded as if it was coming from over Wandsworth Park. It was from shortly after midnight for around half an hour.

Gordon Southwell ● 2977d1 Comments ● 2977d

The Forthcoming Putney By Election

I think we can now assume that Justine Greening will be the Tory's candidate for Mayor. They don't really have a credible alternative and she might make it a less uneven contest than it might otherwise have been. Protocol would allow for her to remain as Putney's MP during the contest and as, she is likely to lose this, in normal circumstances this would be sensible. However, these are strange times and thinking it through she might consider the option of stepping down as MP. This would have a number of advantages for her. Firstly the 'burning boats' strategy would demonstrate her commitment to the job and attract support. Secondly, it would unshackle her from a Putney seat that looks highly vulnerable as the full implications of Brexit unfolds. There is likely to be a hard fought battle for the Conservative leadership next time around and if a relatively sensible person rather than a Brexit ultra is in charge she would be back in the cabinet/shadow cabinet. So if she stands down then waits for a seat with a more comfortable majority to become available she will be much better placed to take advantage of the fall out. If she did stand down I wouldn't be pleased because I think she is a good MP but I think ultimately she has a bigger role to play in the nation's affairs and this might be the way to go about it.

David Parker ● 2999d1 Comments ● 2978d