Setting aside the pros and cons of SSE moving to quickly reset Cameron's trip switch, this story is disastrous PR for him. There are thousands of people in a similar , or far worse, situation to this, and the power companies ain't racing to their rescue. During heavy storms, we always get called out to water dripping on to electrics, usually after the homeowner has called the Lecky board, and been told there's a 4 hour wait. We just shut it off, and tell 'em to wait for the engineer.
Of course the whole point of the story is that it is bad PR for Cameron. That's why The Mail contrasted his emergency with the 11,000 people who had to wait, and made great play of the fact the was watching The Sound Of Music
Pathetic stuff.
A lot of key swing voters are pathetically uninformed, and this is just the kind of bullshit that can swing them.
You are correct. IIRC "White Dee" of "Benefit Street" said she voted Labour because of the Coalition. Which came after the vote.
In the beginning Gord created the debt and the deficit.
What’s interesting about Ed Balls’ denial is that even the IMF now admits that the problem came before the crash – the below graph shows that the UK economy, under Labour, suffered its worst-ever overheating. It’s IMF data, but the IMF missed this at the time (the graph in pink is what it said then: i.e., no overheating, everything perfect). The IMF has changed its view, in the light of new economic data. Balls has not.
Even the revised IMF chart underestimates the real problem as it deals only with government debt.
Between 1998 and 2003, the banks were growing mortgage debt at a rate of over 10% per annum. It was this that inevitably led to the bursting of the housing bubble.
Compare that to todays mortgage market, with volumes still at 60% of pre-crisis peaks and net lending hardly growing.
It was not just Brown losing control over government debt but household (and corporate) debt too.
In the beginning the banks massively lowered the cost of borrowing - as they do every 75 years or so because of the internal logic of bankstering combined with human nature and average longevity.
As a *consequence* of the banks massively lowering the cost of borrowing, governments and individuals borrow far too much - as they always will cos human nature.
Inevitably the credit bubble eventually bursts creating a massively destructive deflation that lasts for years (and usually kills millions in the subsequent wars and revolutions).
As the two root causes of this cycle are a combination of human nature and the banksters ability to create massive credit bubbles and as human nature isn't changing any time soon then the solution is to prevent the banksters from being able to create massive and incredibly destructive credit bubbles.
(Hence Lab talking about 50p tax rates instead of Vickers.)
Who was driving and parking this time, it wasn't Osborne last time although he got the blame? And will the Daily Mirror make it a front page headline tomorrow?
Not panicking at all but it is an argument that can be lost by default as this poll is hinting at. Fwiw I still think No will win but I am not sure a low profile campaign is the best tactic. I think some of us in England are guilty of shrugging their shoulders about the whole matter. We don't see that much that goes on in your local media - perhaps you can tell me if Charlie Kennedy has emerged above the parapet.
Re. Charlie Kennedy, not at all afaicr. Opinions differ but I think he'd be an asset to the BT campaign. I assume either he has too much baggage, or he's luke warm about the prospect.
Agree that he's been very quiet lately - I can't remember any recent intervention of significance.
Irrespective of his merits or otherwise, If they fronted him, in any case, I think it'd only be seen as emphasising how it is only the LD and Labour penal battalions fronting for Tories who were afraid to come and get involved (as opposed to doing a seagull, ie. fly in, squawk, and fly out again before the locals can react, like Mr Hague a few days ago).
It is truly astonishing that so many of lib dems at westminster either haven't noticed that or just don't seem to care. It is blatantly obvious on scottish TV and media with Rennie and Carmichael the go-to daily rent a quotes for the coalition/No campaign. They must have a radio mic permanently wired into them by now. If the lib dems elsewhere ever stopped for a second to wonder just why they are finishing behind the kippers in scotland they might eventually work it out.
As far as I can recall the No campaign haven't even wheeled out the sole Tory MP in Scotland, David Mundell - although Ruth Davidson MSP was on Question Time the other week.
There are 11 LD MPs in Scottish seats but Michael Moore is hors de combat and Jo Swinson has just had a baby and when one ticks off Messrs Alexander and Carmichael that leaves 6 plus Mr Kennedy, all backbenchers. Is it my imagination or are those six also being quieter in the debate than one might perhaps expect?
I think invisible is the word, much like labour apart from Murphy , who wants Yes people excluded from debates because they do not agree with him and the buffoon Davidson who said the result was certain and all that was left was "to bayonet the wounded". Yet people on here wonder why these losers are getting drubbed.
Setting aside the pros and cons of SSE moving to quickly reset Cameron's trip switch, this story is disastrous PR for him. There are thousands of people in a similar , or far worse, situation to this, and the power companies ain't racing to their rescue. During heavy storms, we always get called out to water dripping on to electrics, usually after the homeowner has called the Lecky board, and been told there's a 4 hour wait. We just shut it off, and tell 'em to wait for the engineer.
Of course the whole point of the story is that it is bad PR for Cameron. That's why The Mail contrasted his emergency with the 11,000 people who had to wait, and made great play of the fact the was watching The Sound Of Music
Pathetic stuff.
A lot of key swing voters are pathetically uninformed, and this is just the kind of bullshit that can swing them.
You are correct. IIRC "White Dee" of "Benefit Street" said she voted Labour because of the Coalition. Which came after the vote.
In all fairness - did she specify a GE rather than local gmt or London Assembly (if relevant) election?
Not panicking at all but it is an argument that can be lost by default as this poll is hinting at. Fwiw I still think No will win but I am not sure a low profile campaign is the best tactic. I think some of us in England are guilty of shrugging their shoulders about the whole matter. We don't see that much that goes on in your local media - perhaps you can tell me if Charlie Kennedy has emerged above the parapet.
Re. Charlie Kennedy, not at all afaicr. Opinions differ but I think he'd be an asset to the BT campaign. I assume either he has too much baggage, or he's luke warm about the prospect.
Agree that he's been very quiet lately - I can't remember any recent intervention of significance.
Irrespective of his merits or otherwise, If they fronted him, in any case, I think it'd only be seen as emphasising how it is only the LD and Labour penal battalions fronting for Tories who were afraid to come and get involved (as opposed to doing a seagull, ie. fly in, squawk, and fly out again before the locals can react, like Mr Hague a few days ago).
It is truly astonishing that so many of lib dems at westminster either haven't noticed that or just don't seem to care. It is blatantly obvious on scottish TV and media with Rennie and Carmichael the go-to daily rent a quotes for the coalition/No campaign. They must have a radio mic permanently wired into them by now. If the lib dems elsewhere ever stopped for a second to wonder just why they are finishing behind the kippers in scotland they might eventually work it out.
As far as I can recall the No campaign haven't even wheeled out the sole Tory MP in Scotland, David Mundell - although Ruth Davidson MSP was on Question Time the other week.
There are 11 LD MPs in Scottish seats but Michael Moore is hors de combat and Jo Swinson has just had a baby and when one ticks off Messrs Alexander and Carmichael that leaves 6 plus Mr Kennedy, all backbenchers. Is it my imagination or are those six also being quieter in the debate than one might perhaps expect?
I think invisible is the word, much like labour apart from Murphy , who wants Yes people excluded from debates because they do not agree with him and the buffoon Davidson who said the result was certain and all that was left was "to bayonet the wounded". Yet people on here wonder why these losers are getting drubbed.
In fairness to Ms Davidson whom I mentioned earlier, and for those less familiar with local politics, the bayonet enthusiast is of course Ian Davidson MP (Labour).
Now, now. Mr Nick Palmer was praising you the other day for being the site's permanent ray of sunshine, bestowing cheer and optimism at every opportunity. What's gone wrong?
I was calling him a complete and utter bellend in a very cheery way.
If Scotland votes for independence, what will you call your party?
So, we start with United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Wales has never been a Kingdom, but then neither has Northern Ireland (Ireland as a whole has).
So, what do we have? rUKIP? EWNIIP?
Not rUK surely one might think - the UK of 1707 will be dissolved. But on the other hand the United Kingdom of 1603 will still survive in a formal, regnal sense. Now the UKIP hark back to such things as LNER apple green, etc., for trains (well, locos anyway - the coaches were varnished teak, so I'm not sure how that translates to an IC225 set made out of steel ...). So they might be daring and call it the UKIP, no?
From my perspective, as someone with a considerable interest in Thailand, I think SeanT is right. About Thailand, anyway. I think the only thing he's missed, and that may be deliberate, is that there's possibly a succession issue in this.
As someone else with an interest in Thailand, I think SeanT is talking bollocks.
This has nothing to do with democracy, its all about power. The reason why the coup against Thaksin took place was because he was too corrupt and was advancing his supporting factions too fast. Hence everybody else who was excluded got pissed off and unified to do something about it.
Yingluck is nothing more than a puppet. The Thaksin coalition is starting to crumble, for example Chalerm being removed from the deputy PM.
Salmond can do no wrong, Salmond can do no wrong, Salmond can do no wrong.
Just be glad that the No camp hasn't got two definite votes.
Very sure he can. It is not about Salmond, it is about the people of Scotland deciding what they want. You people are exceedingly stupid or obtuse. If it was the other way round I very much doubt people in Scotland would spend all their time fixated on insulting Cameron or thinking that 60 million people voting was all about him. Very strange behaviour.
I very much doubt people in Scotland would spend all their time fixated on insulting Cameron or thinking that 60 million people voting was all about him. Very strange behaviour.
Yup, nobody in Scotland mentions Cameron or debates.
This makes Scotland an excellent place to emigrate to,especially if you're getting on a bit and need long-term care,free.It has the added bonus that you are more likely to bump into a panda than a Tory MP.I wonder if Salmond will accept this level of immigration.
This makes Scotland an excellent place to emigrate to,especially if you're getting on a bit and need long-term care,free.It has the added bonus that you are more likely to bump into a panda than a Tory MP.I wonder if Salmond will accept this level of immigration.
There have been over 400K English people moved to live in Scotland and as it becomes even more attractive I am sure many more will join them and be welcomed.
And 700,000 Scots in England. You can send us the economically active and we'll send you students and pensioners. Result.
@journodave: Interesting story in The Sunday Times today about a potential legal challenge from Scots outside Scotland not being able to vote in #indyref
Ed Balls and Labour can be satisfied with a good weekend,morale of the troops uplifted with another popular policy with which to address the voters and one which will be repeated again and again,the Tories are the party of the rich.George Eaton has I think summarised it well.If Labour keep hammering the message,we could see a bouncelet in the polls.
Ed Balls and Labour can be satisfied with a good weekend,morale of the troops uplifted with another popular policy with which to address the voters and one which will be repeated again and again,the Tories are the party of the rich.George Eaton has I think summarised it well.If Labour keep hammering the message,we could see a bouncelet in the polls.
The 'balancing the books by 2020' announcement appeared to be less popular amongst Labour supporters on here.
And 700,000 Scots in England. You can send us the economically active and we'll send you students and pensioners. Result.
@journodave: Interesting story in The Sunday Times today about a potential legal challenge from Scots outside Scotland not being able to vote in #indyref
What a joke , just unionists bricking it, why don't we invite the world to vote on it.
Mr. G, wouldn't Scots not in Scotland be eligible to Scottish citizenship? If so, it'd be reasonable to allow them to vote.
Good evening Mr Dancer, and a very sensible question to open with.
Under what circumstances of birth/residency/allegiance would one be entitled to a Scotish passport? It would be reasonable for the referendum franchise to mirror those criteria, yes @malcolmg ?
Ed Balls and Labour can be satisfied with a good weekend,morale of the troops uplifted with another popular policy with which to address the voters and one which will be repeated again and again,the Tories are the party of the rich.George Eaton has I think summarised it well.If Labour keep hammering the message,we could see a bouncelet in the polls.
The 'balancing the books by 2020' announcement appeared to be less popular amongst Labour supporters on here.
Mr. G, wouldn't Scots not in Scotland be eligible to Scottish citizenship? If so, it'd be reasonable to allow them to vote.
Good evening Mr Dancer, and a very sensible question to open with.
Under what circumstances of birth/residency/allegiance would one be entitled to a Scotish passport? It would be reasonable for the referendum franchise to mirror those criteria, yes @malcolmg ?
I generally agree with this, but the decision's been made. Just let Scotland make a decision one way or the other, without going over this ground again. Otherwise we'll still be talking in 2024 ...
Ed Balls and Labour can be satisfied with a good weekend,morale of the troops uplifted with another popular policy with which to address the voters and one which will be repeated again and again,the Tories are the party of the rich.George Eaton has I think summarised it well.If Labour keep hammering the message,we could see a bouncelet in the polls.
The 'balancing the books by 2020' announcement appeared to be less popular amongst Labour supporters on here.
The same old rubbish from the Tories.
The only people putting Labour into No 10 will be the Tories themselves. If your policies are not attractive to the electorate you have no one to blame but yourselves.
You are in Government and you are the ones who can lose the next election.
If people vote UKIP, Lib Dem or Labour they do so because they don't want to vote for you. And that is entirely your fault and no one elses.
Ed Balls and Labour can be satisfied with a good weekend,morale of the troops uplifted with another popular policy with which to address the voters and one which will be repeated again and again,the Tories are the party of the rich.George Eaton has I think summarised it well.If Labour keep hammering the message,we could see a bouncelet in the polls.
The 'balancing the books by 2020' announcement appeared to be less popular amongst Labour supporters on here.
The same old rubbish from the Tories.
The only people putting Labour into No 10 will be the Tories themselves. If your policies are not attractive to the electorate you have no one to blame but yourselves.
You are in Government and you are the ones who can lose the next election.
If people vote UKIP, Lib Dem or Labour they do so because they don't want to vote for you. And that is entirely your fault and no one elses.
Amazing the entitlement of the Cameroons, isn't it?
"We can treat our supporters like dirt because they'll always vote for us, therefore we can just ignore them, except to insult them every now and again."
The sheer business, political and life inexperience of the Cameroons is something to behold. They really think that social conservatives and Eurosceptics will assist in their own marginalisation.
Same old Balls. Like his old boss Gordon Brown, he now wants to try to frame all the hard work being done by George Osborne as his achievement while blaming any pain along the way clearing up the last Labour Government's economic mess on his predecessor if he gets into Office.
Ed Balls and Labour can be satisfied with a good weekend,morale of the troops uplifted with another popular policy with which to address the voters and one which will be repeated again and again,the Tories are the party of the rich.George Eaton has I think summarised it well.If Labour keep hammering the message,we could see a bouncelet in the polls.
The 'balancing the books by 2020' announcement appeared to be less popular amongst Labour supporters on here.
Ed Balls and Labour can be satisfied with a good weekend,morale of the troops uplifted with another popular policy with which to address the voters and one which will be repeated again and again,the Tories are the party of the rich.George Eaton has I think summarised it well.If Labour keep hammering the message,we could see a bouncelet in the polls.
The 'balancing the books by 2020' announcement appeared to be less popular amongst Labour supporters on here.
The same old rubbish from the Tories.
The only people putting Labour into No 10 will be the Tories themselves. If your policies are not attractive to the electorate you have no one to blame but yourselves.
You are in Government and you are the ones who can lose the next election.
If people vote UKIP, Lib Dem or Labour they do so because they don't want to vote for you. And that is entirely your fault and no one elses.
Amazing the entitlement of the Cameroons, isn't it?
"We can treat our supporters like dirt because they'll always vote for us, therefore we can just ignore them, except to insult them every now and again."
The sheer business, political and life inexperience of the Cameroons is something to behold. They really think that social conservatives and Eurosceptics will assist in their own marginalisation.
Mr. G, wouldn't Scots not in Scotland be eligible to Scottish citizenship? If so, it'd be reasonable to allow them to vote.
Good evening Mr Dancer, and a very sensible question to open with.
Under what circumstances of birth/residency/allegiance would one be entitled to a Scotish passport? It would be reasonable for the referendum franchise to mirror those criteria, yes @malcolmg ?
I generally agree with this, but the decision's been made. Just let Scotland make a decision one way or the other, without going over this ground again. Otherwise we'll still be talking in 2024 ...
The terms were bog standard UK referendum terms determined by London in the Edinburgh Agreement - and the SNP went along with this to avoid legal challenges (in my opinion, they could still in extremis have claimed Scottish primacy, given the majority of the SNP and recent legal cases in the Supreme Court, but people such as returning officers would still have been worried about whether what they were doing was legal).
Mr. G, wouldn't Scots not in Scotland be eligible to Scottish citizenship? If so, it'd be reasonable to allow them to vote.
Good evening Mr Dancer, and a very sensible question to open with.
Under what circumstances of birth/residency/allegiance would one be entitled to a Scotish passport? It would be reasonable for the referendum franchise to mirror those criteria, yes @malcolmg ?
Geoff, it is detailed in the White Paper, available for everyone.
Comments
Scott
Even the revised IMF chart underestimates the real problem as it deals only with government debt.
Between 1998 and 2003, the banks were growing mortgage debt at a rate of over 10% per annum. It was this that inevitably led to the bursting of the housing bubble.
Compare that to todays mortgage market, with volumes still at 60% of pre-crisis peaks and net lending hardly growing.
It was not just Brown losing control over government debt but household (and corporate) debt too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Twenties
As a *consequence* of the banks massively lowering the cost of borrowing, governments and individuals borrow far too much - as they always will cos human nature.
Inevitably the credit bubble eventually bursts creating a massively destructive deflation that lasts for years (and usually kills millions in the subsequent wars and revolutions).
As the two root causes of this cycle are a combination of human nature and the banksters ability to create massive credit bubbles and as human nature isn't changing any time soon then the solution is to prevent the banksters from being able to create massive and incredibly destructive credit bubbles.
(Hence Lab talking about 50p tax rates instead of Vickers.)
Personally think its fair enough to have a one on one between the two big party leaders
Why did he bother saying 'and Farage'? It would be illegal for him to be included anyway wouldn't it?
If Scotland votes for independence, what will you call your party?
So, we start with United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Wales has never been a Kingdom, but then neither has Northern Ireland (Ireland as a whole has).
So, what do we have? rUKIP? EWNIIP?
fUKIP
Just be glad that the No camp hasn't got two definite votes.
This has nothing to do with democracy, its all about power. The reason why the coup against Thaksin took place was because he was too corrupt and was advancing his supporting factions too fast. Hence everybody else who was excluded got pissed off and unified to do something about it.
Yingluck is nothing more than a puppet. The Thaksin coalition is starting to crumble, for example Chalerm being removed from the deputy PM.
I'm not going to mention the monarchy.
Oh, wait...
@TimMontgomerie: Until Labour specifies spending cuts we shld assume 50p hike would be first of many tax rises http://t.co/2IagmTXX4b http://t.co/W2syO650c0
Result.
desperate even by your standards Scott
Mr. G, wouldn't Scots not in Scotland be eligible to Scottish citizenship? If so, it'd be reasonable to allow them to vote.
"Tax the rich until the pips squeak"
..... which is a good summary of Labour philosophy.
What would be the Conservative, Lib Dem and UKIP equivalent slogan?
Under what circumstances of birth/residency/allegiance would one be entitled to a Scotish passport? It would be reasonable for the referendum franchise to mirror those criteria, yes @malcolmg ?
For the rest of us, not something to look forward to. And UKIP will put him snuggly into number 11.
The only people putting Labour into No 10 will be the Tories themselves. If your policies are not attractive to the electorate you have no one to blame but yourselves.
You are in Government and you are the ones who can lose the next election.
If people vote UKIP, Lib Dem or Labour they do so because they don't want to vote for you. And that is entirely your fault and no one elses.
conserve the banksters then the EU
conserve the EU then the banksters
conserve the UK
"We can treat our supporters like dirt because they'll always vote for us, therefore we can just ignore them, except to insult them every now and again."
The sheer business, political and life inexperience of the Cameroons is something to behold. They really think that social conservatives and Eurosceptics will assist in their own marginalisation.
Incredible.