So that is the PM of the UK held to account for another week was it? Deary me. You really got the impression that Cameron was not even out of second gear and saw no need to do so.
The long pause in response to the braying by tory backbenchers by Miliband was just embarrassing. He looked like he almost wanted to cry.
I am not sure what has gone wrong here. For a time last Autumn Miliband really seemed to have the measure of Cameron and was besting him more often than not. What has changed? Clearly the economy has got better but not markedly so since then. Ed seems to have lost some of his enthusiasm. The polls remain good for him but he does seem out of sorts.
Ed tried not to do the punch and judy politics(toenails robinson kept telling us),it lasted 2 weeks,did you see ed's second Question,punch and judy was back.
Another politician full of sh!t.
3 questions on Syria when the PM had basically said yes to the first one once again showed his inability to think on his feet and his apprehension about leaving too long to talk about unemployment.
I think he getting hampered about asking questions about the NHS too by the appalling performance in Wales. He certainly looked very unhappy when the MP for Monmouth raised it later.
The polls still show the only main 'Opposition' party in the lead, but Ed Miliband's personal polling as Labour Leader along with the combined polling for him and Ed Balls on the economy is certainly not good.
So that is the PM of the UK held to account for another week was it? Deary me. You really got the impression that Cameron was not even out of second gear and saw no need to do so.
The long pause in response to the braying by tory backbenchers by Miliband was just embarrassing. He looked like he almost wanted to cry.
I am not sure what has gone wrong here. For a time last Autumn Miliband really seemed to have the measure of Cameron and was besting him more often than not. What has changed? Clearly the economy has got better but not markedly so since then. Ed seems to have lost some of his enthusiasm. The polls remain good for him but he does seem out of sorts.
It remains to be seen if these unemployment figures have any more traction than the GDP ones do. They are certainly easier for most folk to relate to. But the evidence of any "big mo" coming to the tories on the back of an excellent economic performance over the last 12 months so far is thin to nil.
Rubbish. The EU is utterly undemocratic and the important decisions made in the UK are made by our elected Parliament which is answerable to the people. Rather than putting up straw man arguments try addressing the actual issue which is the spread of EU competencies into areas which we had been told they could not control.
Who told you what specifically?
The Court’s Advocate General, Niilo Jääskinen. He said that the emergency power went beyond what the watchdog could do under the EU treaty provision used to approve the law. This was the position of the UK government as well which is why they pursued the case.
If you're going to decide you've been robbed whenever a court reaches an opinion that's different to the opinion of a lower court or some other authority then you're not going to be happy with any kind of government.
More straw man from you Edmund. Cameron made a whole flounce out of preventing EU control of the City of London and this was exactly the sort of control he was talking about. We (UKIP) said at the time that he was shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted and that has proved to be the case.
Anyone read the Hancock report that Guido has posted ?
How this chap is an MP is a mystery to me.
Absolutely disgraceful, both the behaviour and the LD attempts to bury it.
I think this will have even greater traction than Rennard, if the papers and TV news are legally able to run with it. And the conjunction of Rennard/Hancock is horrific for the LDs.
I thought he'd had the Lib Dem whip removed? If so, he can't stand for them in 2015.
Not removed, Mike Hancock MP resigned the whip over sexual assault allegations "in the best interests of the party nationally".
Although he remains a Lib Dem councillor in Portsmouth and a member of the Council Cabinet in the wake of the Pascoe report, so clearly the Lib Dems in Portsmouth think he's a fine chap. And yesterday the Lib Dem controlled Portsmouth Council voted not to release the unedited report for use in the civil action being brought against Hancock. Whilst at the same time using the existence of that same civil action to justify the adjournment of the Council's own investigation into Hancock. And on Friday the Council will appear in the High Court to contest the release of the report, with the council taxpayer picking up the bill.
Not just a politically motivated cover up. A publically funded politically motivated cover up.
''It remains to be seen if these unemployment figures have any more traction than the GDP ones do.''
If these numbers are correct then there must be people with anecdotal experience of a friend or relative being offered a job, getting a job, moving to a better job etc.
Mr. Tyndall, it's the propensity for that kind of anti-democratic, empire-building bullshit which makes me a firm sceptic.
Maybe anti-democratic and empire-building compared to some developed countries, but not compared to the UK. The UK has an unelected head of state, an unelected second chamber and an indirectly elected leader with broad powers of patronage. And it built an empire that covered almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area.
That's a straw man.
Fair enough, non-snarkily: The British government wanted to pass legislation expanding the powers of its surveillance operations to gather data on its citizens. This was unpopular, and they had to drop the plan because they couldn't get a majority in parliament. We then discovered, through the Snowden leaks, that they were already doing many of the things they'd requested, and been denied, permission to do from parliament. This became publicly known, but they carried on doing them and continue to this day.
Can you imagine the reaction in Britain if this anti-democratic empire-building had been done by the EU?
Rubbish. The EU is utterly undemocratic and the important decisions made in the UK are made by our elected Parliament which is answerable to the people. Rather than putting up straw man arguments try addressing the actual issue which is the spread of EU competencies into areas which we had been told they could not control.
Who told you what specifically?
The Court’s Advocate General, Niilo Jääskinen. He said that the emergency power went beyond what the watchdog could do under the EU treaty provision used to approve the law. This was the position of the UK government as well which is why they pursued the case.
If you're going to decide you've been robbed whenever a court reaches an opinion that's different to the opinion of a lower court or some other authority then you're not going to be happy with any kind of government.
More straw man from you Edmund. Cameron made a whole flounce out of preventing EU control of the City of London and this was exactly the sort of control he was talking about. We (UKIP) said at the time that he was shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted and that has proved to be the case.
He didn't get anything out of the flounce, we knew that all along. It's _British_ politicians who are lying to you.
@EiT - on a more serious note, I am happy the UK is democratic...
It works effectively in practice, but isn't tidy in theory. Compared to the EU, there isn't much evidence of either the mechanism to respond to democratic pressures, or any results that suggest it has.
FWIW, that's not my experience in my recent years as an animal welfare lobbyist, nor that of colleagues in other areas like IT, and I wonder whether you've actually ever tried to press your elected representatives in either? The EU is designed to compromise and split differences - if you go to the European Parliament with a reasonable idea, you will often get a slice of what you want, but not all of it. The British government (all British governments, not just this one) start from the position that they're perfect, and it's usually a struggle to get them to listen to any alternative policy, never mind do anything.
That isn't particularly a pro-EU point, more an argument for less defensive government than we usually practice in Britain.
Sorry but the argument for consensus and compromise is one always proposed by elitists who think they are there to run our lives because they know best. It is rubbish. The EU 'compromise' is designed to deny any real choice to the electorate.
The polls still show the only main 'Opposition' party in the lead, but Ed Miliband's personal polling as Labour Leader along with the combined polling for him and Ed Balls on the economy is certainly not good.
So that is the PM of the UK held to account for another week was it? Deary me. You really got the impression that Cameron was not even out of second gear and saw no need to do so.
The long pause in response to the braying by tory backbenchers by Miliband was just embarrassing. He looked like he almost wanted to cry.
I am not sure what has gone wrong here. For a time last Autumn Miliband really seemed to have the measure of Cameron and was besting him more often than not. What has changed? Clearly the economy has got better but not markedly so since then. Ed seems to have lost some of his enthusiasm. The polls remain good for him but he does seem out of sorts.
It remains to be seen if these unemployment figures have any more traction than the GDP ones do. They are certainly easier for most folk to relate to. But the evidence of any "big mo" coming to the tories on the back of an excellent economic performance over the last 12 months so far is thin to nil.
It won't kick until there's a bit more of it and post budget. Second half of this year will start to see polls move. The real killer will be when Ed starts to poll sub 35%, then we're in HP territory.
Wythenshawe "Entrepreneur John Bickley has been selected to contest the Wythenshawe and Sale East election, after winning the Ukip hustings last Friday."
Anyone read the Hancock report that Guido has posted ?
How this chap is an MP is a mystery to me.
Absolutely disgraceful, both the behaviour and the LD attempts to bury it.
I think this will have even greater traction than Rennard, if the papers and TV news are legally able to run with it. And the conjunction of Rennard/Hancock is horrific for the LDs.
Guido and others have been trying to smear Hancock for 10 years now but the people in his ward and Portsmouth South keep increasing his majority .
By "and others" do you include the QC who authored the report, because unless he's making it all up Hancock hasn't got a leg to stand on, judging even by the redacted report. Here's the link - what parts of the QC's report are you disputing?
Wythenshawe "Entrepreneur John Bickley has been selected to contest the Wythenshawe and Sale East election, after winning the Ukip hustings last Friday."
Wythenshawe "Entrepreneur John Bickley has been selected to contest the Wythenshawe and Sale East election, after winning the Ukip hustings last Friday."
Anyone read the Hancock report that Guido has posted ?
How this chap is an MP is a mystery to me.
Absolutely disgraceful, both the behaviour and the LD attempts to bury it.
I think this will have even greater traction than Rennard, if the papers and TV news are legally able to run with it. And the conjunction of Rennard/Hancock is horrific for the LDs.
Guido and others have been trying to smear Hancock for 10 years now but the people in his ward and Portsmouth South keep increasing his majority .
Hancock hasn't got a leg to stand on, judging even by the redacted report.
Au contraire, he has a peg-leg that won't go down on p. 31 of the report.
I wonder if the messages from the tightening up of benefits and changes in the housing benefit etc are also playing a part in reducing these unemployment rates? Does anyone have any stats in this area to prove/disprove?
That's the only thing I can see that could move the numbers so fast. The shadow economy in places like London became a huge chunk of the total over the last twelve years so if people working in that and claiming unemployed are now going legit that could explain the speed.
As the majority are in unskilled service jobs like shops, restaurants, taxis, fast-food etc that would also fit decline/stagnation in average productivity.
edit: Interesting to ponder the consequences. Gut feel is it might even lead to increased welfare as the people driving the increase in the shadow economy were the employers not the workers.
Wythenshawe "Entrepreneur John Bickley has been selected to contest the Wythenshawe and Sale East election, after winning the Ukip hustings last Friday."
Rubbish. The EU is utterly undemocratic and the important decisions made in the UK are made by our elected Parliament which is answerable to the people. Rather than putting up straw man arguments try addressing the actual issue which is the spread of EU competencies into areas which we had been told they could not control.
Who told you what specifically?
The Court’s Advocate General, Niilo Jääskinen. He said that the emergency power went beyond what the watchdog could do under the EU treaty provision used to approve the law. This was the position of the UK government as well which is why they pursued the case.
If you're going to decide you've been robbed whenever a court reaches an opinion that's different to the opinion of a lower court or some other authority then you're not going to be happy with any kind of government.
More straw man from you Edmund. Cameron made a whole flounce out of preventing EU control of the City of London and this was exactly the sort of control he was talking about. We (UKIP) said at the time that he was shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted and that has proved to be the case.
He didn't get anything out of the flounce, we knew that all along. It's _British_ politicians who are lying to you.
Er yes. Your point being? A Europhile politician lies to the public (or at best is extraordinarily ill informed) about the real extent of EU influence over the UK. What a surprise. How does that change the fact that the EU is extending powers into areas we do not want them?
In other shock political news, White Dee votes labour....
Anyone watching Benefits Street might have noticed that most people in the programme don't have enormously strong accents, which proves that it's mainly in the Black County and not Birmingham where the horrible accents are to be found.
Rubbish. The EU is utterly undemocratic and the important decisions made in the UK are made by our elected Parliament which is answerable to the people. Rather than putting up straw man arguments try addressing the actual issue which is the spread of EU competencies into areas which we had been told they could not control.
Who told you what specifically?
The Court’s Advocate General, Niilo Jääskinen. He said that the emergency power went beyond what the watchdog could do under the EU treaty provision used to approve the law. This was the position of the UK government as well which is why they pursued the case.
If you're going to decide you've been robbed whenever a court reaches an opinion that's different to the opinion of a lower court or some other authority then you're not going to be happy with any kind of government.
More straw man from you Edmund. Cameron made a whole flounce out of preventing EU control of the City of London and this was exactly the sort of control he was talking about. We (UKIP) said at the time that he was shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted and that has proved to be the case.
He didn't get anything out of the flounce, we knew that all along. It's _British_ politicians who are lying to you.
Er yes. Your point being? A Europhile politician lies to the public (or at best is extraordinarily ill informed) about the real extent of EU influence over the UK. What a surprise. How does that change the fact that the EU is extending powers into areas we do not want them?
My point is that it's the UK that's anti-democratic, not the EU. As in the surveillance case, UK politicians do what they want and make up a load of bullshit to pretend to the voters they're doing something else.
That's because the last government was quite extraordinarily careless about protecting our most important industry. That's hardly Cameron's fault. Meanwhile, UKIP are working to ensure that the next election will put Labour back into power and thereby ensure that nothing is done about it. Thanks, UKIP.
Simon Kirby, the Conservative MP for Brighton Kemptown, says he is proud to represent a town with a large gay community. Does Cameron agree that the weather there is always sunny.
Cameron laughs. Brighton should get a mention on the shipping forecast, he says.
'double dig'
The Tories will lose Brighton Kemptown at the next election. ?
Will ? Free money is it ?
My God, this will be my first ever betting post. I had thought of a previous one, but the moderator would explode because of its nature.
General Election 2010:Brighton Kemptown
Conservative 16,217 38.0% Labour 14,889 34.9% Liberal Democrat 7,691 18.0% Green 2,330 5.5% UKIP 1,384 3.2% TUSC 194 0.5%
So, there's a nice LibDem vote to be squeezed, that should give, say, 2,000+ to Labour and 500+ from the Greens thanks to their making a pig's ear out of running the council.
Furthermore, Brighton is on the coast and that's UKIP territory. I can see their increasing their vote by 500+, disproportionately Tory.
So, ceteris paribus, the Tory will lose.
I don't have a betting account, so would anyone be so kind as to give me the bookies' odds on a Labour victory in this constituency?
Anyone read the Hancock report that Guido has posted ?
How this chap is an MP is a mystery to me.
Absolutely disgraceful, both the behaviour and the LD attempts to bury it.
I think this will have even greater traction than Rennard, if the papers and TV news are legally able to run with it. And the conjunction of Rennard/Hancock is horrific for the LDs.
Guido and others have been trying to smear Hancock for 10 years now but the people in his ward and Portsmouth South keep increasing his majority .
Smear?
Oh dear Mark, try being a little less party enthusiast and a little more open minded.
That's because the last government was quite extraordinarily careless about protecting our most important industry. That's hardly Cameron's fault. Meanwhile, UKIP are working to ensure that the next election will put Labour back into power and thereby ensure that nothing is done about it. Thanks, UKIP.
Don't blame UKIP, think you'll find it's the Tories own responsibility.
David, I disagree, the fact that Cameron/Osborne are now increasing their lead over Miliband/Balls on the issue of the economy in the polling would suggest the opposite was happening.
The polls still show the only main 'Opposition' party in the lead, but Ed Miliband's personal polling as Labour Leader along with the combined polling for him and Ed Balls on the economy is certainly not good.
So that is the PM of the UK held to account for another week was it? Deary me. You really got the impression that Cameron was not even out of second gear and saw no need to do so.
The long pause in response to the braying by tory backbenchers by Miliband was just embarrassing. He looked like he almost wanted to cry.
I am not sure what has gone wrong here. For a time last Autumn Miliband really seemed to have the measure of Cameron and was besting him more often than not. What has changed? Clearly the economy has got better but not markedly so since then. Ed seems to have lost some of his enthusiasm. The polls remain good for him but he does seem out of sorts.
It remains to be seen if these unemployment figures have any more traction than the GDP ones do. They are certainly easier for most folk to relate to. But the evidence of any "big mo" coming to the tories on the back of an excellent economic performance over the last 12 months so far is thin to nil.
Evening all. Interesting thread and sadly true. I did however note that on Con 37, Lab 32, Lib 12 and UKIP 10 at 316 seats to 284 seats the Tories would effectively have a "majority" because the 22 LibDems and 9 Nationalists would be a smaller total and the majority of the others would be DUP/UUP. Last week I happened to overhear a comment from the DUP Leader in the Commons to David Cameron which sounded very like him telling DC the Tories could rely on DUP support after GE2015
Comments
I think he getting hampered about asking questions about the NHS too by the appalling performance in Wales. He certainly looked very unhappy when the MP for Monmouth raised it later.
He needs some new lines.
Not just a politically motivated cover up. A publically funded politically motivated cover up.
If these numbers are correct then there must be people with anecdotal experience of a friend or relative being offered a job, getting a job, moving to a better job etc.
Can you imagine the reaction in Britain if this anti-democratic empire-building had been done by the EU?
"Entrepreneur John Bickley has been selected to contest the Wythenshawe and Sale East election, after winning the Ukip hustings last Friday."
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/455358/Ukip-pick-former-Labour-supporter-as-candidate-in-constituency-of-late-Paul-Goggins
http://sdrv.ms/1jvCDaf
Good move by ukip.
Whats your spread on how many people are googling him at this precise moment to find out some dirt?
#Wythenshawe & Sale East #UKIP candidate John Bickley grew up on a Wythenshawe housing estate and formerly voted Labour, reports the Times.
Should be a good test of the the ability of Ukip to gain votes in Labour heartlands.
As the majority are in unskilled service jobs like shops, restaurants, taxis, fast-food etc that would also fit decline/stagnation in average productivity.
edit: Interesting to ponder the consequences. Gut feel is it might even lead to increased welfare as the people driving the increase in the shadow economy were the employers not the workers.
http://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-cup/man-utd-v-sunderland/anytime-goalscorer
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/15/cameron-to-demand-eu-treaty-reform
That's because the last government was quite extraordinarily careless about protecting our most important industry. That's hardly Cameron's fault. Meanwhile, UKIP are working to ensure that the next election will put Labour back into power and thereby ensure that nothing is done about it. Thanks, UKIP.
General Election 2010:Brighton Kemptown
Conservative 16,217 38.0%
Labour 14,889 34.9%
Liberal Democrat 7,691 18.0%
Green 2,330 5.5%
UKIP 1,384 3.2%
TUSC 194 0.5%
So, there's a nice LibDem vote to be squeezed, that should give, say, 2,000+ to Labour and 500+ from the Greens thanks to their making a pig's ear out of running the council.
Furthermore, Brighton is on the coast and that's UKIP territory. I can see their increasing their vote by 500+, disproportionately Tory.
So, ceteris paribus, the Tory will lose.
I don't have a betting account, so would anyone be so kind as to give me the bookies' odds on a Labour victory in this constituency?
Oh dear Mark, try being a little less party enthusiast and a little more open minded.