Friday, November 28, 2008

Thanet Piles On The Pounds

Yep, that's pounds sterling, not pounds avroidupois! Although judging by some of the lard buckets one encounters on the high street, I'm sure someone, somewhere may well have got this horribly mixed up.

Er, back to the story. Yes, according to a survey out today by Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), Thanet has seen the largest growth in average earnings OF ANY AREA IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY over the past five years! According to the bank boffins:

The average salary of workers in Thanet has increased by more than any other local authority (LA) over the past five years, rising by 60% from £18,769 to £29,956. This was nearly treble the average rise across Great Britain (21%).

I mean, really, I do find that literally incredible. Unless they forgot to factor out my enormous income, that is!

Click here for full story on HBOS website

28 comments:

Michael Child said...

Certainly beats me Richard, they appear to be saying that wages in Thanet are nearly up to the national average around £15 per hour, a perusal of the sits vacant in the local papers didn’t seem to come up with anything offering this sort of money.

Anonymous said...

important to point out to your less savvy readers, This an average of workers in thanet , NOT the average wage of TDC employees.

Richard Eastcliff said...

Yes, good point 1:54.

So the average worker on the Isle of Thanet, across all occupations, both private and public sector, now earns almost £30K a year.

Ken Gregory said...

Richard, its the likes of you who bump up the average

Ken Gregory said...

And, of course, this does not include the 'Black Economy'

Richard Eastcliff said...

I'm surprised you're not claiming it as a victory for five years of Tory rule in Thanet, Ken!

Anonymous said...

Hang on though, all it means is that the only jobs left are at TDC.

Ken Gregory said...

Richard,
I am only a few steps up the politico ladder, but I would be the first to say, that both conservative and labour administrations in thanet agree we want our work force to be paid the same as the rest of england. Than god we are now getting there

Anonymous said...

I claim the credit for the Tory administration. They are a much more caring bunch these days and are happy to put some cash in the pockets of the peasants, as long as an even greater wad goes into their own.

This is called capitalism. The more money the peasants have, the more they spend it in Sandy Beach's shop. And the more he has, he can then recycle in the big boys toys shop in the Med..

The socialists have a different philosophy. They take what little money the peasants earn, and then give it back to them in the form of pork scratchings and warm beer.

Not a bad idea, but Tory's don't like it because they prefer fois gras and fine wine.

There you have it. Economics for beginners in a nutshell.

Anonymous said...

This is bollocks.

Anonymous said...

Just wait till the train line comes in. It's not local employment that will drive the local economy.

Anonymous said...

Surely Labour can claim this as a victory for their national policies?

Nemesis said...

What is the basis for the HBOS figures ECR ?

Being ever cautious today, as you know, I phoned the Charity Commission case officer for their inquiry re East Kent Maritime Trust.

She had no idea that EKMT has also become somewhat better heeled in recent years. Not due to rising average wage but a legacy of 267,000 pounds for which Charity Comm say they have received no record (They have received no accounts either). I informed them that some sort of Mediation hearing is said to be on Dec 3rd (Funny how Charity Comm had not been told) re the damages claim for Cervia whilst in EKMT care.

I asked that Chjarity Commission consider instructing representation in the Cervia matters as they are the regulatory body and custodians of public interest. If the quarter mill legacy is bound by conditions perhaps it can be distrained by the Commission until such time as another body takes charity status to provide Thanet a heritage museum.

Perhaps tainted by this justification, of my cynicism re EKMT trustees which include me old pal Marmite Bill Hayton, I am prompted to ask if HBOS is relying on the average income stated on self cert mortgage applications.

See Michael's blog for the Cervia update.

Anonymous said...

4:58 This can't be a result of national Labour policies, because they have just destroyed the financial structure of the universe as we know it through mismanagement and neglect.

Anybody older than 35 knows that this is what always happens. The socialists blow all the cash and create general havoc everywhere, and then the Tories have to come in and fix it again.

Regretably, they always get thrown out before they get to spend some real cash sensibly, because the peasants are not man enough to take the medicine.

Anonymous said...

I read this as the salary increase was for local government staff. So it is the staff employed by TDC that are on the high earnings not the rest of the workers. Unless I read it wrong.

Anonymous said...

Too right 4.58

We are all Thatcherites now.

For medicine taking you will appreciate that is a value add activity in the service economy with considerable margins.

Have you any idea how much profit per week medicine taking would yield to the entrepreneurial peasant ?

Under Margaret Thatcher, whilst she gave away billions in discount to council house right to buyers, a quarter of a million hard working families were made homeless. Families who had never gone cap in hand for a council house.

Yet I recall seeing only one sad wreck of a person, clearly lacking moral fibre, who wept bitter tears of self pity as she lost her home.

Margaret Thatcher.

Who completely lacked the dignity and moral fibre of the peasants who were forced from homes they had saved and worked to get into.

We are all Thatcherites now. That means we embrace her selfish principles but have never allowed ourselves to sink to her depths of moral inferiority.

Anonymous said...

I know of a secretary working for Dover Council who is on more than 30K

Anonymous said...

"The average salary of workers in Thanet has increased by more than any other local authority (LA) over the past five years, rising by 60% from £18,769 to £29,956."

I don't think that £30k in five years is a lot of money.

Anonymous said...

Pop in a social welfare voice

Practice an irritating condescending smile.

Job's yours.

Smoking Cessation officer £35,000

"Should we smoke near Thor miss?"

"We are not allowed to comment on Thor. But you should stop smoking because it is hazardous to your heaaaaalth."

"That what I was getting at miss. Not so much conceptual as comparative. Meaning is it morer haxardous to inhale ciggie smoke or Thor environ air do you see ?"

"Well noooo. I am just here to counsel you how to stop smokingggg"

"Counsel me"

"Stop smokinggggg"

Worth every penny of 35 grand.

Anonymous said...

If most people in Thanet or TDC are not earning anything like the amount mentioned then surely we should be told whose salary has risen siginificantly to cause the average wage to go up that much??

Anonymous said...

Michael Child and others make the perceived assumption Thanet people work in Thanet. You will not find many a jobs at all locally near the £30K p.a mark. I earn £35K per annum but I have to work well away from Thanet for it and many Thanetians do the same. That said up to recently the situations vacant pages were fuller than I had ever seen them. We do need to attract work that isn't holiday based, that is which isn't low paid.

Anonymous said...

There's plenty of poor souls earning nowhere near the average wage and struggling to get by. Now the Labour government sold us into more years of penury to come.

I can only think this figure of £30k must include Thanet based Pfizer employees, higher paid TDC employees (It certainly doesn't apply to Serco contractors working for TDC who are paid less than their counterparts in Canterbury) and some of the local crooks, sorry entrepreneurs, living in the lap of luxury around Kingsgate. There's more millionaires on the North Foreland estate than ever will be on Eastcliff, Richard!

Lucy Mail said...

It's all very well having an enormous income, but it's all for nothing if you can't see it beneath your out-goings!

Anonymous said...

Yes, I have to admit I've got a bit of a roof over the old toolshed these days Lucy. Too much fine Thanet dining!

Anonymous said...

have you heard about km and kcc business awards last year the judges were not included in the main award to rbli and the kcc just gave the awards to them and said it was the judges special excellence award.THE JUDGES WERE NOT INVOLVED AND HEARD TO THEIR AMAZEMENT ON STAGE

Anonymous said...

I was made redundant a few weeks back.
Can somebody please point out all those 30k jobs because im just about to accept a job for 16k down from my last wage of 24k.

A colleague who was also made redundant with me has had to settle for a job of 14k down from 21k a year.

So tired of these terrible reports.
May as well throw away my next vote on the BNP as it is fun to watch how they come up with tricks to undermine that party when they get a few more votes than they would like.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps they included Lewis Hamilton before he became a Swiss
tax haven refugee.
It certainly included our local MPs and their family .

Anonymous said...

How about Pinky and Perky's salary
and the other council high earners.