Op-ed: Just popped on Sky News All Out Politics and #MrsWeakAndWobbly aka Theresa May is giving her first major speech since losing the Tory majority in June 2017. The speech relates to the publication of the Taylor report on modern working practices. A few links to that are:
Who is Matthew Taylor? "Mr Taylor, a former policy chief to Tony Blair and chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts, made the comments as his nine month-long review – ordered by Theresa May’s administration –laid out seven principles for “fair and decent work” in Britain and recommended a crack down on “insecure” and “exploitative” conditions." This link has other info on Taylor.
"Matthew Taylor was doing the rounds at the weekend, talking about the Review of Modern Employment Practices which he is conducting on behalf of the government – more evidence that Mrs May wants to rebrand the Conservatives as a sort of Blue Labour. Taylor, a former parliamentary wannabe who later worked for Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, currently heads that temple of high-minded windbaggery, the Royal Society of Arts. The other members of his Review Group are Paul Broadbent, a retired policeman who runs the Gangmasters Licensing Authority; Greg Marsh, an entrepreneur who made his pile hiring out posh flats with an upmarket version of Airbnb; and long-time employment lawyer, Diane Nicol. This group has been touring Britain talking with people about the changing nature of work. They seem to have homed in on self-employment. This has been growing sharply, up from 3.8m in 2008 to 4.7m in 2016. There are concerns that some better-off people have become self-employed to avoid tax, and that some of those doing low-paid work are being exploited by cost-cutting employers. There is a particular grouse against app-based forms of self-employment such as Uber and Deliveroo, which have greatly improved services to the public while offering opportunities to many who might be unable to get other types of work." Really? As for employment; I wonder how much the Tories paid Taylor and his team to undertake this review and if it will be acted on. Opinion Theresa May talked the talk but will she walk the walk? Who wrote Mrs May's speech today? It had all the hallmarks of a third party writer. There was a carefully orchestrated question and answer session following the speech but Robert Peston made waves with his questions re Trade Union involvement dividing Taylor and May, showing obvious divisions which will continue between the Labour Party and the Tories. Questioning went downhill from that point with a BBC reporter asking if the report would simply be shelved due to the Tory's hung parliament status. (The report was commissioned when May still led a majority government) A couple of tough questions and May fell apart. Rambling answers spun and spun again. Overall her speech was full of spin rather than substance. And once again she quoted jobless figures that no longer are comparable to previous decades though she did claim the lowest jobless total since 1975. How jobless figures are collected and who is classed as jobless has changed many times. While the report had some positive ideas overall it was a mixed bag. Matthew Taylor is part of old New Labour and times have changed. Theresa May is clueless. Try walking a mile in someone else shoes Mrs May; someone scraping a living and just getting by. http://uk.businessinsider.com/labour-shadow-minister-it-is-morally-unacceptable-to-use-uber-2017-7?r=US&IR=T https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/employment-practices-in-the-modern-economy Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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