Completely agree with that.

The ordinary members have very little say in where their donations go its the fat cats like McClusky who decides which first growth claret he going to have that evening.

Tories can't claim any moral high ground about the way their party is funded.



Unions represent their members after all whereas firms like McKinsey, Deloitte, PWC, Serco, Capita etc are in it for the money.



From my viewpoint the NHS has done very well with the cards it was dealt. The deck was stacked against it before the pandemic began.



This isn't just about funding (where increases have been a fraction of what they ought to have been since 2010) but also about how it's set up. The Health and Social Care Act was a complete mess. A complete dog's breakfast. One wonders what they'll come up with in their next top down reorganisation, pardon me for not being optimistic. The Conservatives are responsible for funding the NHS over the past 11 years and how it is set up and how it operates, to blame the NHS itself for 100k dead and counting is missing the point.

We have a predominantly right wing media in the UK and sadly many people believe what they read in the gutter press without further research or challenge.



So, for your information, no union member is obliged to contribute to a union's political fund should they not wish to do so. They can opt in or opt out. The shareholders of political donating companies have no such right.

A very interesting report out today regarding the £37 BILLION spaffed away on the "world beating" test and trace system.

Pretty much zero value for money but, front line NHS workers have their pay rise cut from the 2.1% agreed (pre pandemic) in 2019 to a pitiful 1% now and this comes after perhaps THE most testing year that The NHS have ever experienced.

Let's have some context here of £37bn 80% of the costs relate to taking and processing of the actual tests - one day this week they did 1.5m tests a number unimaginable 12 months ago when testing capacity was 2,000/day.



So that leaves 7bn in development costs - is that such a huge number to develop the systems to manage volumes on such a huge scale - I don't know - how much has it cost to develop similar systems in say Germany. Maybe it is but its not the 37bn everyone is quoting.



Perhaps it is because the money has had to be spent on these rush projects that there isn't the money to increase wages all over the public sector. In reality what % of the NHS has actually increased its workload - I would suggest the vast majority have seen a significant decrease in their activity

All political donations of public companies have to be declared and shareholders can object and stop them. Shareholders can sell their shares if they don't like what is going on - simple really. Just the same as the unions you pay in but you have no sway on how it is spent.

Its not the same. You can remain a member of the union and not pay into the political fund, but as a shareholder you have to go with the majority or leave.

This government has consistently shown its incompetence, its ability to lie and its ability to direct tax payers money towards its donors and friends. Consequently, its hardly surprising that people are questioning why test and trace has cost so much and where the money's gone. No doubt there will be a public enquiry once all the dust has settled - and once Johnson ( the ex PM) is touring America on a lucrative book and lecture tour.

The privatised world beating test and trace was funded to ensure no more lockdowns would be necessary after the first, how well is that going.

That's democracy surely both have the same options - if you don't agree you can act either sell the shares or leave the union - its the same. Once you pay in to Unite you have no say in how Big Len spends it.

I would agree - but if you want to criticise the track and trace then at least split the costs out and try and then subject the potential waste to scrutiny.



The testing system ramp up has been very impressive - the tracking was always going to be an issue even in Germany the positives got beyond a number that their trace could no longer function which was the major reason for their lockdown over Christmas.



As for protecting from another lockdown two things stopped that happening - a new more virilent variant and the student all going back to uni. One was a government decision and one was just what a virus does