There is something almost sweet about the mess the Scottish nationalists have made of their currency plans for an independent Scotland. Having waited all these decades for a cry freedom referendum and a chance to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK, they now find themselves campaigning to leave the Union on the basis that they will turn around the next morning, after giving England two fingers, and open negotiations on creating another union, a currency union.
And why not given we contribute 10 billion quid net (18 billion gross) to the EU?
True. I know that some on this board are Europhilic, some Europhobic, and others all points in between. But regardless of stance on the goodness or badness of the EU, failing to obtain tens of millions (hundreds of millions if treated as separate cases!) for want of filling out a form is irresponsible and, given the severity of the damage, arguably criminally irresponsible. There is a time and place for EU BAD!/EU GOOD!, but this isn't it.
Cameron: Money no object. Sky News: Number 10 confirmed that Mr Cameron's comments did not mean extra money would be found. Textbook.
There's PR and then there's incompetent fop PR. Textbook indeed.
Tens of millions of Euros are available from the EU Solidarity Fund.[3] The UK government applied at the time of the last big flood in 2007[1]. But Cameron has refused to apply, for reasons ineffable[2]. Meanwhile children in Somerset are s******g in plastic bags.
Oh, incidentally, there's a time limit for applications[3]. So every day Cameron sits on his behind runs the risk of the application failing for time reasons.
"The Welsh government has said it is in "daily contact" with the UK government about applying to the EU's solidarity fund to help cover the cost.
However, Mr Jones said the fund was only triggered in "exceptional cases".
Money is no object?? Cammie's been all over the news highlighting how exceptional these floods are. It looks like even the mighty lib dem 'leadership joke' Alistair Carmichael may have some competition for sheer incompetence.
£5,000 grants to flood-proof homes but minister claims Cameron's 'money is no object' pledge is NOT a blank cheque
Prime Minister insisted that 'money is no object' in press conference But Patrick McLoughlin cast doubt on claim, refusing to discuss new cash More than 120,000 people back Mail's campaign to use foreign aid to help A month's rain is expected to fall in the next few days, forecasters warn Cabinet warned floods could be worse than the winter of 1947 16 severe flood warnings, 122 flood warnings and 228 flood alerts in force Ministers defend claims wellie photo opportunities are 'floods tourism'
And why not given we contribute 10 billion quid net (18 billion gross) to the EU?
True. I know that some on this board are Europhilic, some Europhobic, and others all points in between. But regardless of stance on the goodness or badness of the EU, failing to obtain tens of millions (hundreds of millions if treated as separate cases!) for want of filling out a form is irresponsible and, given the severity of the damage, arguably criminally irresponsible. There is a time and place for EU BAD!/EU GOOD!, but this isn't it.
Yes you are right, Dave should get on the blower to Brussels!
Whilst the floods rightly continue to dominate the airwaves, the news that the Bank of England has amended its interest rate policy and upped its growth forecast to 3.4% for this year will have positive political consequences for the Coalition in the medium term :
And why not given we contribute 10 billion quid net (18 billion gross) to the EU?
Sure. But the reason we don't claim our share is worth thinking about. The money is dependent on the domestic government contributing extra too. Thus if we were actually going to increase spending on flood defences (money no object and all that) we could get matched EU funding to double it. It's one of many ways that we lose out by being members, yet as detached as possible.
And why not given we contribute 10 billion quid net (18 billion gross) to the EU?
Sure. But the reason we don't claim our share is worth thinking about. The money is dependent on the domestic government contributing extra too. Thus if we were actually going to increase spending on flood defences (money no object and all that) we could get matched EU funding to double it. It's one of many ways that we lose out by being members, yet as detached as possible.
Any EU funding is just recycled british taxation. The EU drains money from the UK.
What implications does 6% unemployment have for the benefits bill. Surely it will be good news?
Yes, but not as much as it once might have, perhaps. There are so many in-work benefits now that I wonder how big a difference falling unemployment actually makes. I dunno but a person leaving job seekers allowance into lowish paid work will retain most of the other benefits and not contribute much, if anything, to the tax take (increased tax allowances and massively high marginal tax rates as benefits are tapered).
Is the old idea that welfare bills shoot up in a recession and come down as the economy expands now out of date?
UKIP County Councillor for Chard North on Somerset CC has resigned from the party citing irreconcilable differences between himself and the chairman of the UKIP Somerset County Committee . He will sit as an Independent .
And why not given we contribute 10 billion quid net (18 billion gross) to the EU?
Sure. But the reason we don't claim our share is worth thinking about. The money is dependent on the domestic government contributing extra too. Thus if we were actually going to increase spending on flood defences (money no object and all that) we could get matched EU funding to double it. It's one of many ways that we lose out by being members, yet as detached as possible.
Except the EU money comes from the UK, and we only get a fraction of it back.
You could always flounce off vowing never to return if you don't like it.
Are you referring to the time I said I was going to stop posting for a while, but would likely be back and would do so if a certain poster left? You have to laugh at how nats remember events sometimes.
Alex Salmond's plans to continue to charge English students tuition fees after independence was dealt a major blow on Tuesday after the European Commission said such an arrangement would constitute a "covert form of discrimination".
Then he will just have to introduce an overt Bastard English tax.
A currency union under terms agreed with the rUK (ie, the rUK's terms) would give the Scots the breathing space they needed to establish the credentials necessary to launch their own currency. So, in the event of a Yes, what we would have is a process which would see Scotland become an independent country in law, but still tied to the rUK fiscally and economically; and then a few years later a final separation when Scotland floated its own currency and became independent fiscally and economically. Essentially, the markets would decide how long the gap between step one and step two would be. Once they were assured that Scotland could manage its own currency successfully, then the button could be pressed.
I agree, but that's not what Salmond or the SNP is currently offering as a policy, is it?
They are offering a policy that is designed to win them a Yes vote. Once they have that, what happens next does not matter. They will have achieved all that they want. Scotland will become an independent country. The terms under which that practically happens are very much a secondary consideration.
If the policy is designed to win a Yes vote then it is a disaster. It looks like the Nats haven't got a clue what to do, which is not ideal for a party trying to persuade voters to take a big risk. "Hey look, here's some MORE risk - we don't even know what currency you will use! Hah!"
And this, of course, is because they do NOT have a clue what to do - see my link downthread: even in 2009 Salmond was hoping to join the euro!
That is bollocks, they are very clear what currency they are using and it is the pound , our current currency. Whinging Tory jessies can scream all they like but they are the eones that will suffer. Salmond is not the one panicking.
You could always flounce off vowing never to return if you don't like it.
Are you referring to the time I said I was going to stop posting for a while, but would likely be back and would do so if a certain poster left? You have to laugh at how nats remember events sometimes.
I'm talking about the time you were desperately calling for a poster to get banned but when your plaintive wailing was ignored, and you were never apologised to by anyone, you flounced off in the huff saying you wouldn't be back because of that and until he was banned. He wasn't banned yet here you are. You have to laugh at how right wing posters remember events sometimes.
A currency union under terms agreed with the rUK (ie, the rUK's terms) would give the Scots the breathing space they needed to establish the credentials necessary to launch their own currency. So, in the event of a Yes, what we would have is a process which would see Scotland become an independent country in law, but still tied to the rUK fiscally and economically; and then a few years later a final separation when Scotland floated its own currency and became independent fiscally and economically. Essentially, the markets would decide how long the gap between step one and step two would be. Once they were assured that Scotland could manage its own currency successfully, then the button could be pressed.
I agree, but that's not what Salmond or the SNP is currently offering as a policy, is it?
They are offering a policy that is designed to win them a Yes vote. Once they have that, what happens next does not matter. They will have achieved all that they want. Scotland will become an independent country. The terms under which that practically happens are very much a secondary consideration.
If the policy is designed to win a Yes vote then it is a disaster. It looks like the Nats haven't got a clue what to do, which is not ideal for a party trying to persuade voters to take a big risk. "Hey look, here's some MORE risk - we don't even know what currency you will use! Hah!"
And this, of course, is because they do NOT have a clue what to do - see my link downthread: even in 2009 Salmond was hoping to join the euro!
That is bollocks, they are very clear what currency they are using and it is the pound , our current currency. Whinging Tory jessies can scream all they like but they are the eones that will suffer. Salmond is not the one panicking.
Hint: (in case our postings are too nuanced for you) - we are loving it.
That is bollocks, they are very clear what currency they are using and it is the pound , our current currency. Whinging Tory jessies can scream all they like but they are the eones that will suffer. Salmond is not the one panicking.
Oh, you can use it. The rUK is not going to stop smuggling of real money going north over the border.
But you can have a not a jot of influence over any of the financial policy around it.
Good luck selling that to canny Scots.
Plus the EU may well not even acknowledge Scotland as an independent country if it is still using the pound. So separate EU membership becomes a non-issue for Brussels.
It's PB Wednesday so an independent Scotland will be manacled by an oppressive EUSSR, saddled with the Euro, forced to give up all sovereignty and lose all the advantages painfully won by noble Westminster. On PB Thursday an independent Scotland will be cast into the outer non-EU darkness, its people stripped of their EU citizenship and reduced to Zimbabwean levels of corruption, inflation and one party rule. Alternate between these poles for the next 227 days and watch the froth build.
Unfortunately, it look like you need 227 YEARS to win the referendum, seeing as average support for YES has risen by 1 point in 13 months.
Strange how one of your first posts was a declaration of indifference about Scotland and its independence, but in fact you barely post on any other subject.
Another sign of a particular type of PB Unionism is to take a snapshot of polls to assuage their (almost always uninformed) wish fulfillment. Let me guess, you'll also back up your absolute certainty that No will win the referendum with a bet at evens.
Divvie, just a unionist plant , has no clue about anything to do with Scotland and spouts BT pathetic arguments. Not worth arguing with the turnip.
It's PB Wednesday so an independent Scotland will be manacled by an oppressive EUSSR, saddled with the Euro, forced to give up all sovereignty and lose all the advantages painfully won by noble Westminster. On PB Thursday an independent Scotland will be cast into the outer non-EU darkness, its people stripped of their EU citizenship and reduced to Zimbabwean levels of corruption, inflation and one party rule. Alternate between these poles for the next 227 days and watch the froth build.
Unfortunately, it look like you need 227 YEARS to win the referendum, seeing as average support for YES has risen by 1 point in 13 months.
Strange how one of your first posts was a declaration of indifference about Scotland and its independence, but in fact you barely post on any other subject.
Another sign of a particular type of PB Unionism is to take a snapshot of polls to assuage their (almost always uninformed) wish fulfillment. Let me guess, you'll also back up your absolute certainty that No will win the referendum with a bet at evens.
SHOCKING scale of Somerset floods revealed by satellite (Hi-Res Pics) http://buff.ly/1g6LKxC pic.twitter.com/7OaZiwAgeK
Hard to believe the most obsequious Cameroon spinners were trying to play it all down not so long ago. Oh all right, no it isn't. ;)I saw a much more impressive satellite photo somewhere which showed all of the Wessex peninsular, so that you could more easily appreciate the scale of the flooding. With the photos you link to it's hard to get a sense of the scale in relation to the size of Somerset/England as a whole.
Oh, extra brownie points for anyone who can find Hinkley Point on those satellite pictures (Hinkley Point itself is about 15m above sea level, but the single access road is cut off at a 5m rise).
Actually, to be pedantic (when am I ever anything else) a neep is a swede, a turnip a tumshie. I'm sure malcolm would agree that Gildas is both a neep and a tumshie.*
Actually, to be pedantic (when am I ever anything else) a neep is a swede, a turnip a tumshie. I'm sure malcolm would agree that Gildas is both a neep and a tumshie.*
Comments
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/iainmartin1/100259291/westminster-dynamites-alex-salmonds-currency-union-causing-scottish-nationalist-meltdown/
Oh, incidentally, there's a time limit for applications[3]. So every day Cameron sits on his behind runs the risk of the application failing for time reasons.
[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6926631.stm
[2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-25703786
[3] http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/regional_policy/provisions_and_instruments/g24217_en.htm
"The Welsh government has said it is in "daily contact" with the UK government about applying to the EU's solidarity fund to help cover the cost.
However, Mr Jones said the fund was only triggered in "exceptional cases".
Money is no object??
Cammie's been all over the news highlighting how exceptional these floods are.
It looks like even the mighty lib dem 'leadership joke' Alistair Carmichael may have some competition for sheer incompetence.
Patrick Wintour @patrickwintour now
Benefits Street star White Dee is writing in the Spectator and wants to stand as an Independent MP
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2014/02/ill-stand-as-an-mp-white-dees-spectator-diary/
Ladbrokes Politics @LadPolitics 1m
@tnewtondunn @FraserNelson @spectator 50/1 White Dee wins Birmingham Ladywood, still available pic.twitter.com/F4eunrqdSz
Alex Salmond's plans to continue to charge English students tuition fees after independence was dealt a major blow on Tuesday after the European Commission said such an arrangement would constitute a "covert form of discrimination".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/scottish-politics/10632342/European-Commission-Alex-Salmonds-tuition-fees-plan-breaks-EU-law.html
£5,000 grants to flood-proof homes but minister claims Cameron's 'money is no object' pledge is NOT a blank cheque
Prime Minister insisted that 'money is no object' in press conference
But Patrick McLoughlin cast doubt on claim, refusing to discuss new cash
More than 120,000 people back Mail's campaign to use foreign aid to help
A month's rain is expected to fall in the next few days, forecasters warn
Cabinet warned floods could be worse than the winter of 1947
16 severe flood warnings, 122 flood warnings and 228 flood alerts in force
Ministers defend claims wellie photo opportunities are 'floods tourism'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2557460/Hours-Cameron-promised-money-no-object-floods-Transport-Secretary-admits-I-dont-think-blank-cheque.html
Two of the numbers pumped into my ARSE forecast is growth for 2014 of 3.5% and unemployment down to 1.9m by 1 Jan 2015.
My ARSE leads the way !!
Is the old idea that welfare bills shoot up in a recession and come down as the economy expands now out of date?
You know he wants to.....
Good point.
Why point at squirrels when there's floods to point at?
Why point at squirrels when there's floods to point at?
Ask Calamity Clegg.
But you can have a not a jot of influence over any of the financial policy around it.
Good luck selling that to canny Scots.
Plus the EU may well not even acknowledge Scotland as an independent country if it is still using the pound. So separate EU membership becomes a non-issue for Brussels.
Now we know you are an English fifth columnist.
Oh, extra brownie points for anyone who can find Hinkley Point on those satellite pictures (Hinkley Point itself is about 15m above sea level, but the single access road is cut off at a 5m rise).
*Possibly genetically modified?
http://caledonianmercury.com/2010/05/28/useful-scots-word-tumshie/008038