Thinblueline http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/ is commenting on a story carried in the Telegraph that there are substantial reserves in police coffers that could be used to prevent job losses over the next few years. The Telegraph finds £20 million, but Thinblueline – right on many similar matters – believes the real sum may exceed a billion. The term ‘reserves’ is not simple in accounting, but one usually has them to tide the business through lean periods when little or nothing is coming in. I doubt police forces are businesses in this sense, or that they need individual reserves for any efficient purpose.
There may be a pot that could be used to protect jobs. However, it is more likely to be in place for other contingencies, such as increased public unrest, demonstration, violence and disorder. Britain’s public is very docile, but the cuts are only just beginning to bite. Soon many will find themselves in severe poverty through benefits cuts (we will find there were no ‘back-room savings’, only a privatisation of the knives and proof that doctors lie on the promise of money) and with nowhere to turn as CABs and the rest no longer get discretionary grants. I expect (along with the OECD), that Britain will suffer a further recession soon as the private sector cavalry charge into a tar-pit. We may be looking at massive unemployment increasing benefit bills beyond belief. There could well be a turn to the streets – only British docility will prevent this.
Police financial reserves may be in place for this contingency. The Government presumably know they are destroying the country for some future fire-sale to the rich. They will soon be so bad as to make Nulabour look good! We need plans to create jobs, even if this has to mean 4 day weeks and pay for those of us in work, until we get everyone on stream and find more work to do. If we are to be medically fit for work, we should be put into work. Instead, people are being stuck into worse poverty, will find charities like CABs shut and may turn nasty. The Tories traditionally use the cops to club down the poor or any dissent. This may be their way of funding the over-time. If it is, it may suggest they planned what is coming.
Looks like they’re going to have to break into ‘the reserves’ sooner than they thought… http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11726822
Not often my predictions come true so quickly Grumpy! There are lots more groups warming up. People don’t realise the savage nature of these cuts yet – which I suspect would have come but in other ways with Nulabour. Perhaps we should nip over to Ireland – they are doling out free cheese over there – quantitative cheesing!
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