"Stay away from my washing" | James O'Brien - The Whole Show 

Back in 1999 or 2000, at a time when Labour had a concerted effort to reduce waiting lists, my GP told me I had a double hernia, which I was unaware of. I was told if I wanted keyhole surgery, I might wait up to 9 months. I advised work Id be off for a week or two in around 9 months. Within 2 weeks, I had a letter from the NHS advising me I had surgery scheduled at a nearby private hospital in a week's time. I was advised it was a 'blind contract' with the NHS and nobody at the hospital would know I was an NHS patient. Thats how Labour took up spare capacity in the private sector and reduced NHS waiting lists. By 2010, NHS waiting lists were at an all time record low, something the previous Tory shambles were incapable of ever replicating.

I listen most days from Canada, never lived in the UK but my Grandpa came to Canada from the UK after the War, always told me stories about it

I want to thank James and all of the callers for this episode. I have three (somewhat invisible) disabilities and a fainting disorder which are unpredictable and cause me horrific pain and fatigue among other things. I suffer multiple joint dislocations daily and have very little independence. The three major roadblocks for me to be able to work are: there are currently no NHS services that offer treatment or management for my disabilities (including pain management), there is a real issue with how people perceive invisible illness and there is a huge oversight in how employers and DWP view and handle disability in relation to employment. I’m 22, I so desperately want to work. I want to contribute so much.

There is a 4th type of person who isn't working, James. Someone who for economic or family circumstance can't *move* to find work. Can't afford to sell their home or find a different living space at a new location because they don't have the money, or has to stay close to family to care for them or because the only way they can make do is with family's assistance. That traps people into unemployment or under-employment.

In the US, Governor DeSantis’ general counsel, Ryan Newman, was asked to define “woke” and he responded that the term means “the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them.”

1. I think clearing the nhs backlog will get people back to work who are only off work due to sickness 2. The ability to work from home part of the day or week 3. Decent adult apprenticeships 4. Work that is subsidised if needed. 5. More varied job descriptions so for example not just computer work but maybe work that requires some front facing work as well. 6. Understanding companies/ bosses with some ability to employ disabled people for example increasing their percentages of disabled workforce. 7. Accessible work spaces or flexibility relocation of desks. 8. Respect for flexible working. 9. For those scared to work in case they get sick again and have to go through the gruelling assessments would no doubt welcome a whole reform of the system. 10. Better pay and increasing the minimum wage 11. Flexible working hours some work better at different parts of the day or in some cases four day working. 12. Understanding that with the pittance unemployed sick get that sometimes bus fare recompense isn't enough some need to under to the job centre and back, maybe video meetings via phone.13. The change of culture for professionals who can no longer do their job... the assumption with alot of potential bosses believe you will want to return to a higher paid job as soon as you can (even tho you have no intention to as that may be a cause of your sickness to begin with)so don't employ them. 14. A system where people can straddle working and back up benefit, no one wants to not be able to pay their rent. 15. Support for medical appointments where staff don't feel a burden to their colleagues. 16. Work modifications 17. Management training. 18. Addressing workplace stress and companies who have some serious issues with discrimination. 19. Protection for those transferring from benefits to work, support monitoring allowing employees to try a role and see how they get on. Just some thoughts from discussions I've had and things I've witnessed. For those who have to work part time the lack of clarity on the support available to pay their bills when they struggle to hold down a full time job needs to be clearer.

Further to your initial comment James, noting the new health minister and the aim to open the NHS to private businesses...if they continue to support the decades old plan to privatise the NHS, then I would say Labour have failed the people of the UK in their first week. Well done😢

Look; it’s REALLY simple and no one is taking about it. Employers don’t WANT to employ someone who’s health or disability may mean they may need to take regular time off sick/may or may not be well enough to work on any given day . Understandably - most businesses (especially small to medium firms) can’t financially carry staff that will need regular time off sick/large amounts of flexibility . For most people with long term health problems/disabilities is about finding an employer who can and will offer that high level of flexibility needed.

Phil was brilliant 👏what an inspiration

I LOVED that Brummie woman!

It sounds like the local authorities need to restrict the number of air b&b s that can be allowed in an area. Shortage of water is a terrible thing. Arizona has told some developers that they cannot build any more homes due to the water shortage.

The attack on tourists isn't new when you think about the history of Wales and Western Eire.

No, never. Private sector is run fpr profit. Nothing else...

I hope that if I'm ever able to immigrate to the UK that I can meet Mr. O'Brien.

Copy the best from Scandinavian healthcare instead of reinventing the wheel

What would happen to the Big Pharma profits if the entire nation was healthy...and not dependant on drugs?

Thanks for the shout out to podcast listeners. From Australia

All the day trippers coming off the bus chanting "Torre milino Torre milinos"

Private Companies look out for their bottom line which are for PROFITS not for the benefits to the general public. This is what has happened in the U.S. with Medicare, the Government pays less and less and those costs are placed on seniors on fixed incomes...In come the private health insurance companies to take up the slack for PROFITS which COST MORE for those same seniors on fixed incomes.....

How about a program on the speaker fees that members of parliament routinely earn in addition to to their salaries and various work related reimbursement. Its gob smacking.

But robbing Peter to pay Paul, as in the transfer of funds from hospitals to general practice, simply changes where the bottleneck takes place.

My daughter applied for loads of jobs and the companies didn't even bother getting back to her!

According to an ex Conservative MP Tony Blair advised Sunak. If he is advising Starmer what is the chance of a change.

31:12 that's horrible 😢

Money for private companies is what GB Energy is all about.

People should stop visiting and when the money starts to dry up they can cry about how much they need tourists to come visit.

"..luxury roomettes and draught Red Barrel and swimming pools full of fat German businessmen pretending they're acrobats forming pyramids and frightening the children and barging into queues and if you're not at your table spot on seven you miss the bowl of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup.."

How far left is the head banger left?

Wow these so called work coaches DONT HELP GET YOU WORK, it’s a prove you looked tick box

I retired age 67 in 2023...But if I had not had both hips done in 2012, I would have had to stop working around 2013, as things were getting really bad. So, for me, step one is: get the NHS up and running again. A lot of people would be back to work if they had their operation. Step two: face the reality of long covid, address the issue. Then a fair number will get back to work. Offer proper affordable childcare. Make sure public transportaion is affordable and functions well. My other ideas would be controversial, regarding drug addiction (legalise) and mental health.

So Labour are exactly the same as tories - what a surprised

How come the country to the west has its economy going gangbusters?

Part time work is a populous option, coz you still qualify for welfare but most part time workers choose to say unemployed or self employed because people accuse them of benefit cheating, because of the Tories trying to remove Labour's Equality act 2009 the right to work & welfare to meet costs, hopefully work from home awards, will be reinvested as independent businesses are multi marketing competitors & more interesting than Tory tax thieves ...

Now obriens team have won he is totally happy with the footballification of politics

Hannibal Directive goes silent with media I had a bit of respect for

🇵🇸 FREE PALESTINE 🇵🇸

11:40 So here's the thing: UK has a shortage of workers now, but globally and on a larger time scale there will be fewer and fewer jobs as we go. We've seen that before with industrialization, we've _been_ seeing that with digitalization, and we're about to see it with AI. Yes, all of those also created jobs, but you only need one guy to supervise a machine doing what used to be done by a houndred. WE WILL NOT HAVE JOBS. And on the other hand, we will have fewer and fewer people able to work. We are going through a mental health crisis that we don't know how to address. Societies are aging. Pollution is making us sick, as is global warming. Antibiotics are loosing power. With global travel, we are likely to experience new diseases, pandemics and epidemics more often. WE WILL NOT HAVE WORKERS. We don't need policies that get people back to work. We need to find policies that allow societies to thrive _without_ work, because there won't be any.

The long covid clinics aren't fit for purpose they are fractured and don't even have their own base every time I saw someone we had to work out which clinic they could find a romm in and there's not the research into it that's being studied by the local doctor and surgeons etc and for me at least I've not had any medical help whatsoever.

1. CUT Housing Benefits 2. No Tax on 1st £20,000 3. Make work pay

😊 hi RU-vid James you just reminded me of a song that goes something like this the chances of anything coming from Mars or a million to one that said I'm still they come isn't that what's going on in the channel

Karl has poppers?

Oh no are you going to tell us like Starmer your a CIA man thru and thru

Say what you will about the USA. But after listening to these callers talk about the NHS and how long-term disability is handled in the UK, I'm happy I live on the other side of the pond.

I first came across the pronoun thing when I did some work in 2021 for a couple of government agencies. I saw email signatures that had “he/him” and “she/her” or similar after them. I was confused at first and thought they were qualifications like BSc, DipStats or whatever but pretty quickly figured out what they were. I joked that mine were “sir/milord”. So to some degree I find them kind-of silly. But you know what? To some people they’re not silly. They’re part of their identity. Does it threaten me? No. Put me out? No. So why not honour and respect them? No skin off my nose. My two cents.

🌸🙄🌸

The Spanish have brought this on themseñves, for decades they have doubled or tripled the prices of houses and apartments to buy and rent to absolutely cash in on foreign tourism and foreigners buying property...they have gotten so greedy that now they realise that they cant afford them themselves...i have lived in Spain for 30 years and worked in the real estate sector and have been predicting this for years....everyone should stop coming to Spain for a year or two then watch them suddenly drop their prices and beg everyone to come back once they realise that their economy is tanking and at least 1 or several of their family members loses their jobs, as so many jobs in Spain are related to the tourist industry, from hairdressers to drivers to cleaners to bankers to even fishermen

"the claim that there is no racsim" No there is no claim there is no racism

" It is a matter of forming a new state consciousness/ that includes every productive citizen , since political powers of the day are neither willing or able to create such a situation, Socialism must be fought for."... Joseph Goebbels 1932.

Wokeness is when I phoned the DVLA and they asked me if i were an ally.

I would like us to discuss our politics without reference to the US. UK people have NO business making remarks about a nation built on personal freedom and individual sovereignty. People of the UK have traded freedom for 'security' lol, so please stop making me laugh