Skateboarding on a Saturday afternoon

Took these pix on my Samsung phone and not too bad considering it is not as sophisticated a digital especially when taking moving images. They were taken along the South Bank. More on Flickr.

The world according to James Purnell

James Purnell looks like he would be comfortable at a pop concert according to the Times. He is also a right wing Bliarite.

In Purnell’s view the poor are to blame for their predicament…the only failure of capitalism is the benefits system that has been drafted onto it. Instead he wants to give people “the incentive to do the right thing instead of giving them the incentive to be dishonest”. This speaks more of Mr Purnell than anything about the benefits system.

In fact the Secretary of State repeats the old one that Incapacity Benefit goes up the longer that you are on it.

This is only true for the first year. It only rises with inflation after that, as do all benefits. The current top rate is £84.50 a week: although you get a massive cash injection of £17.75 a week if you become too ill to work before your 35th birthday. There is no incentive to stay on it year after year.

People on Incapacity Benefit live in grinding poverty. This compares with the £158 a week that research from the Joseph Rowntree Federation suggests that a single adult needs to maintain a basic standard of living.

Apparently Purnell is being tipped as a future PM. His plans for the public sector seem to revolve around complete privatisation of all services with the hope that the feather-bedded private companies make a fortune.

A kick down kiss up kinda guy.