Problem with the main website.

mkpdavies · 16-03-2006, 01:39 PM

A news story put on our website today.

http://www.ukip.org/ukip_news/gen12.php?t=1&id=1986

Quote:

Big rise in unemployment benefit claims

16-03-2006

The jobs market continued to deteriorate last month with the number of people claiming unemployment benefit rising at the fastest rate for 13 years.

The number of claimants rose by 14,600 in February to 919,700, the biggest monthly increase since December 1992, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The jobless rate, the preferred measure of unemployment, also rose by 0.1 percentage points to 5 per cent during the three months to the end of January and was 0.3 percentage points higher than at the corresponding stage a year ago.

The number of people employed fell by 7,000 to 28.81m over the three months, prompting the employment rate to decline 0.2 points over the quarter and 0.4 points over 12 months to 74.5 per cent.

The figures were announced as Lloyds TSB revealed plans to close some of its UK offices, threatenjing 500 jobs, while BA said it planned to close 17 travel shops affecting 300 jobs.

On the ONS data, John Philpott, economist at the the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said women had been the main casualties as "the effects of last year's economic slowdown spread beyond manufacturing to consumer services . . . notably the retail and hotel and restaurant sectors".

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, appealed to the Bank of England to cut interest rates to encourage greater investment and help people back to work. Philip Hammond, shadow spokesman for work and pensions, said: "A few weeks ago we saw new figures highlighting the large pay gap between men and women. Now we see that women's unemployment is rising twice as fast as men's."

Margaret Hodge, employment minister, admitted that the rise in the claimant count was disappointing but insisted that the "underlying fundamentals of the labour market remained robust".

The total number of people in work, despite the latest decline, remained 178,000 higher than at the corresponding stage last year. The unemployment rate, although slightly higher, was well below comparable rates in leading competing countries, Mrs Hodge said.

According to Eurostat, the European Union's statistical arm, unemployment rates in January were 9.1 per cent in Germany, 9.2 per cent in France, 8.4 per cent in Spain and, in the third quarter of last year, 7.5 per cent in Italy.

Countries with lower unemployment rates than the UK were Ireland, at 4.3 per cent, Denmark, 4.4 per cent, and the Netherlands, 4.6 per cent.

Mrs Hodge said students taking longer to get a job after coming out of education or training could be one reason for the rise in numbers claiming unemployment benefit. There was also evidence to suggest that more people, previously classed as economically inactive, were seeking work. This could also explain a rise in claimants.

The number of economically inactive people had risen by 102,000 to a record 7.96m in the year to the end of January but this included a rise of 156,000 inactive students, said Mrs Hodge.

Pay growth remained steady, with rises in headline average earnings over the three months to the end of January unchanged at 3.5 per cent.

Quite often you will see this on our main site. A complete copy and paste of a certain newspaper articele, which is fine, but surely that isn't enough!

Where is the comment from UKIP as a party?
Where are the solutions that we would offer to fix the problems?
Where is our spokesman for that area?

Sorry, but cut and pasting stories isn't enough. There has to be some indication that UKIP has a plan on resolving these things, otherwise it is just a Victor Meldrew site.

kernow · 16-03-2006, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkpdavies

of

Where is the comment from UKIP as a party?
Where are the solutions that we would offer to fix the problems?
Where is our spokesman for that area?

Sorry, but cut and pasting stories isn't enough. There has to be some indication that UKIP has a plan on resolving these things, otherwise it is just a Victor Meldrew site.

I quite agree! I rarely look at .ORG site anymore mainly because I have read about the "News" on there a couple of days before in some newspaper!

brian lee · 16-03-2006, 07:00 PM

I think the comments by MPKDavies are very apt.

First THEY need a policy about the website, news releases and other propaganda generally. Then they need a competent organisation to handle it. Stuart Gulleford should be left to concentrate on his job working for Jeffrey Titford.

If the content of the website cannot be improved it might as well be closed down because it continues to be an embarrassment. They just seem to bung stuff on for the sake of it.

An old Giles cartoon every day would at least give us all a laugh.

Martin Harvey · 16-03-2006, 07:06 PM

In this instance it is particularly poor, because a government minister and shadow (Conservative ) spokesman is getting the exposure. Complete madness. We must have UKIP views on the website, so that we 'ordinary' mortals are able to quote UKIP Party views. Otherwise all UKIP activists will end up making their own individual statements.
Martin Harvey.

SponPlague · 16-03-2006, 10:11 PM

DCB is investigating the website. Constructive comments, please, to partychairman@ukip.org :P

Colin McNamee · 17-03-2006, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SponPlague

DCB is investigating the website. Constructive comments, please, to chairman@ukip.org :P

Thank you for contact.

My response e-mail already sent:

Web site

Comments requested I understand ?

Get some-one who co-ordinates the news/comment items with a UKIP response, updated daily.

2. The whole area of press, TV, radio and the web site needs to be co-ordinated and the responsibility of Communication must be under the authority of one person, Just like a business. I do not know the business background of the people involved but the lack of cohesion is pathetic. Who does what unto whom ?

3. Sharpen up the site visually.

4. There are several in UKIP whose business revolves around web sites. It does not take much imagination to get them involved.

5. Lack of leadership, organisation (and MEP small-mindedness, added on reflection).

Intbel · 18-03-2006, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brian lee

An old Giles cartoon every day would at least give us all a laugh.

Behold the future ...

gimlet · 18-03-2006, 07:37 PM

Imagine that you were a apathic floating voter,?, looking to support a different political party (you knew nothing of UKIP and the other parties). You think, I will look at the web sites for UKIP, libdem, BNP, NF labour and conservative. Be honest - Have a look at the front pages of their websites and then ask yourself the question - which has grabbed your attention most? Be honest.

tammy_cat · 18-03-2006, 09:13 PM

Gimlet,

I looked at all the sites you suggested and the one that grabbed my attention the most was the Conservative Party site. . . because:

1. It had a changing flash underneath the heading, giving the party's underlying principles. Everytime it changed it grabbed my attention again and I thought it explained very well what Cameron's ideology is (not that I agree with it, but it did catch my attention).

2. It had one Top Story, which you could actually start reading, instead of just loads of headlines, which you have to click on before you can read anything.

3. It had a picture. Our site has no pictures. It used to have cartoons, but pictures are much better . . . and it shouldn't be pictures of UKIP people demonstrating outside some building or other, as this just make us look like a pressure group.

4. It had a Key values section, which laid out all the areas where the Tories want to improve things. You can look at the area that interest you and see what they want to do.

5. It had all the other news in a small section at the bottom, where you could find what you wanted by selection.

Anyway I thought Anthony was going to sort out the web site, now that he's been elected to the NEC. Shouldn't we give him a chance to do that, before we carry on griping about the old site?

brian lee · 18-03-2006, 10:14 PM

Thanks Intbel. We had better get cracking. We only have six years to go.

16-03-2006, 07:06 PM	#4 (permalink)
Martin Harvey Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: West Essex Posts: 164	Problem with the main website In this instance it is particularly poor, because a government minister and shadow (Conservative ) spokesman is getting the exposure. Complete madness. We must have UKIP views on the website, so that we 'ordinary' mortals are able to quote UKIP Party views. Otherwise all UKIP activists will end up making their own individual statements. Martin Harvey.

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16-03-2006, 07:00 PM	#3 (permalink)
brian lee Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: South Essex Posts: 612	I think the comments by MPKDavies are very apt. First THEY need a policy about the website, news releases and other propaganda generally. Then they need a competent organisation to handle it. Stuart Gulleford should be left to concentrate on his job working for Jeffrey Titford. If the content of the website cannot be improved it might as well be closed down because it continues to be an embarrassment. They just seem to bung stuff on for the sake of it. An old Giles cartoon every day would at least give us all a laugh.

16-03-2006, 10:11 PM	#5 (permalink)
SponPlague Uber Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Zurich Posts: 2,478	DCB is investigating the website. Constructive comments, please, to partychairman@ukip.org :P

18-03-2006, 07:37 PM	#8 (permalink)
gimlet Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Shropshire Posts: 827	Imagine that you were a apathic floating voter,?, looking to support a different political party (you knew nothing of UKIP and the other parties). You think, I will look at the web sites for UKIP, libdem, BNP, NF labour and conservative. Be honest - Have a look at the front pages of their websites and then ask yourself the question - which has grabbed your attention most? Be honest.

18-03-2006, 09:13 PM	#9 (permalink)
tammy_cat Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 68	Gimlet, I looked at all the sites you suggested and the one that grabbed my attention the most was the Conservative Party site. . . because: 1. It had a changing flash underneath the heading, giving the party's underlying principles. Everytime it changed it grabbed my attention again and I thought it explained very well what Cameron's ideology is (not that I agree with it, but it did catch my attention). 2. It had one Top Story, which you could actually start reading, instead of just loads of headlines, which you have to click on before you can read anything. 3. It had a picture. Our site has no pictures. It used to have cartoons, but pictures are much better . . . and it shouldn't be pictures of UKIP people demonstrating outside some building or other, as this just make us look like a pressure group. 4. It had a Key values section, which laid out all the areas where the Tories want to improve things. You can look at the area that interest you and see what they want to do. 5. It had all the other news in a small section at the bottom, where you could find what you wanted by selection. Anyway I thought Anthony was going to sort out the web site, now that he's been elected to the NEC. Shouldn't we give him a chance to do that, before we carry on griping about the old site?

18-03-2006, 10:14 PM	#10 (permalink)
brian lee Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: South Essex Posts: 612	Thanks Intbel. We had better get cracking. We only have six years to go.