In any other job in the public sector , he would be on a supportive action plan to enable him to fulfil his contractual duties.
Dave will surely be at the European Council meeting on Wednesday, a commitment you would surely expect him to fulfill whether the House was sitting or not.
That's not fair. Homosexuals can get married at the present time, just not to people of the same gender. Heterosexuals can't get married to people of the same gender as well.
Gays certainly know a deal about what's fair and what's not.
That's not fair. Homosexuals can get married at the present time, just not to people of the same gender. Heterosexuals can't get married to people of the same gender as well.
So they can get married, just not to someone they've actually fallen in love with. That's like saying bans on mixed race marriages aren't unfair to mixed race couples.
Farage is a salesman, and is happy to admit to being one. If DC, EM, NC and NF were asked if they were salesman, how many would be comfortable giving the one word answer: yes? Yet nobody at the top of an organisation that depends for its success on his sales skills, can afford to be too important, or too precious, to describe themselves as a salesman.
And the top man needs to show leadership. Only UKIP of the 4 main parties is led by someone who obviously ticks both boxes.
Can that compensate for the absence of history, the lack of organisation, and FPTP? Almost always, the answer is no.
But currently, all the other leaders are so uninspiring, so pedestrian, and so dull, that Farage is in with a great shout.
When Cameron started to travel on sales missions to BRICs he was criticised for demeaning the position of PM. He said he didn't care if people called him a salesman, he would do what ever was necessary in his view.
He's a lousy salesman and he's an even lousier PM.
My comment was not to praise Cameron's salesmanship but to refute the comment that he would not call himself a salesman. Typical reply from someone who doesn't want to engage in factual comment and when losing the argument resorts to insults.
When Cameron started to travel on sales missions to BRICs he was criticised for demeaning the position of PM. He said he didn't care if people called him a salesman, he would do what ever was necessary in his view.
Point taken.
Cameron doesn't look comfortable and fluent as a salesman---it doesn't look as though it is a part of the job he enjoys.
A good salesman quickly establishes what is important for the individual customer he is talking to---the particular 'benefit' he values. A bad salesman concentrates on features. As long as you take people very seriously, it is a piece of cake selling when you are the PM. I think Cameron makes heavy weather of it.
Re the Greens, they ought to be able to appeal to disillusioned left wing voters, but that's hard when Labour are in Opposition, and they probably have limited working class appeal.
"Dave will surely be at the European Council meeting on Wednesday, a commitment you would surely expect him to fulfill whether the House was sitting or not."
Yes Neil I fully expect our current PM to attend any other meeting rather than answer questions in westminster.
That's not fair. Homosexuals can get married at the present time, just not to people of the same gender. Heterosexuals can't get married to people of the same gender as well.
So they can get married, just not to someone they've actually fallen in love with. That's like saying bans on mixed race marriages aren't unfair to mixed race couples.
I don't think he's got much of a chance. I'm not sure if anyone's noticed, but the current crop of Republicans that seem to be actively running - Rand Paul, Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz - are all southerners.
Farage is a salesman, and is happy to admit to being one. If DC, EM, NC and NF were asked if they were salesman, how many would be comfortable giving the one word answer: yes? Yet nobody at the top of an organisation that depends for its success on his sales skills, can afford to be too important, or too precious, to describe themselves as a salesman.
And the top man needs to show leadership. Only UKIP of the 4 main parties is led by someone who obviously ticks both boxes.
Can that compensate for the absence of history, the lack of organisation, and FPTP? Almost always, the answer is no.
But currently, all the other leaders are so uninspiring, so pedestrian, and so dull, that Farage is in with a great shout.
When Cameron started to travel on sales missions to BRICs he was criticised for demeaning the position of PM. He said he didn't care if people called him a salesman, he would do what ever was necessary in his view.
He's a lousy salesman and he's an even lousier PM.
My comment was not to praise Cameron's salesmanship but to refute the comment that he would not call himself a salesman. Typical reply from someone who doesn't want to engage in factual comment and when losing the argument resorts to insults.
To call Cammo lousy at his job(s) is not an insult; it's a fact. And about that, there is no argument.
He obviously wasn't too bothered about the church's strictures against suicide.
Looking at his record in the Algerian related terrorist group I suspect he wasn't too bothered by "thou shalt not kill" and "All men are created equal" either.
Since when was "all men are created equal" a church stricture? That's Thomas Jefferson. The Bible was fine with slavery.
Think Peter Hitchens is pro gay marriage now*, but here he speaks well on Cameron's reason for pushing it, and the way people who aren't pro are thought of
* actually no, he has changed his mind on the reason for the demand for it
Today has, I believe, been a good day. I only wish more votes could be free votes so that MPs can vote in the best interests of their constituents and the country rather than simply how they are ordered to by the whips.
But well done to all those MPs who did the right thing today and helped make our country that little bit better place for people to live.
Disposing of the public holdings in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds should be a priority for the Government, the International Monetary Fund will say tomorrow.
The recommendation will provide George Osborne, the Chancellor, with a much-needed ally as he prepares to try and persuade the public he should dispose of the 81 per cent stake in RBS and 39 per cent stake in Lloyds at a loss.
In a grim assessment of the state of the British economy, the IMF report will make clear that public ownership of the banks is not in the interests of economic recovery.
A team from the International Monetary Fund has spent a week interviewing top figures across the Treasury and the Bank of England as part of its Article IV inspection.
Mr Osborne is braced for a tough verdict which is expected to call for him to slow down the pace of deficit reduction amid disappointing growth.
This Maria Stubbins murder is awful. The man that killed her had already been convicted and served time for murder. Why on Earth was he ever allowed out on the streets again? Because some liberals believe rehabilitation of evil men is more important than protecting the public?
Yet opinion polls are consistently showing that, for all the Tory party’s agony, Labour is also leeching support.
The soft double-digit lead that Mr Miliband once enjoyed has withered, with two recent polls putting the party on 35 points. Nor can the slender advantage over the Tories be relied on.
As one senior figure says, if growth recovers even slightly, then the Conservatives will benefit while, in a general election, “Ukip support will flake to the Tories”.
That great, swashbuckling libertarian David Davis (H&H) strides as a paragon of freedom into the lobbies and votes, erm, against same-sex marriage. Do those two philisophical standpoints really compute??
I know it is either a) crap, naive, idiotic politics from Cameron to force this bill through or b) a deliberate attempt to piss off all the true-blues in his party, but that aside, now that the bill is actually on the table, I find it difficult to understand what motivates people to vote against it.
I just can't for the life of me - and maybe its a generational thing (I'm 35) - understand why anyone gives a toss who marries who, regardless of what sex they are.
It just doesn't interest me at all. Not. At. All.
ps - outside of PB, other wonky political blogs and the W'minster bubble, nobody will know anything at all about it anyway, all they'll see is the clapping in parliament and will think Cameron has done something well. It'll go down in history as a GOOD THING anyway, regardless of all the hulllabaloo...
Nick Clegg will chastise the Conservatives today for destabilising the Government as he attempts to quash rumours that there may be a premature end to the coalition.
In a sign of the concern at the effect of Tory infighting, the Deputy Prime Minister will use a speech to “reassure” voters that the pact will last until the next election, scheduled for 2015.
He will attack this week’s Tory “parliamentary game-playing” designed to wreck the introduction of gay marriage. The Lib Dem leader will also attack David Cameron for attempting to appease his party with a plan to enshrine an EU referendum in law.
Some senior Lib Dems fear that the Tories are trying to chisel them out of the coalition and Mr Clegg’s speech is in part an effort to pre-empt any further such talk. “There’s no conversation on our side about leaving,” one senior MP said. “The noises are coming from them.”
LoNigel Adams (Selby & Ainsty), Adam Afriyie (Windsor), Peter Aldous (Waveney), David Amess (Southend West), Richard Bacon (Norfolk South), Guto Bebb (Aberconwy), Henry Bellingham (Norfolk North West), Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley), Andrew Bingham (High Peak), Nicola Blackwood (Oxford West & Abingdon), Peter Bone (Wellingborough), Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West), Julian Brazier (Canterbury), Andrew Bridgen (Leicestershire North West), Steve Brine (Winchester), Fiona Bruce (Congleton), Robert Buckland (Swindon South), Simon Burns (Chelmsford), David Burrowes (Enfield Southgate), Douglas Carswell (Clacton), Bill Cash (Stone), Rehman Chishti (Gillingham & Rainham), Christopher Chope (Christchurch), Therese Coffey (Suffolk Coastal), Geoffrey Cox (Devon West & Torridge), Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire), David Davies (Monmouth), Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire), Philip Davies (Shipley), David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden), Nick de Bois (Enfield North), Nadine Dorries (Bedfordshire Mid), Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock), Richard Drax (Dorset South), Philip Dunne (Ludlow), Charlie Elphicke (Dover), Graham Evans (Weaver Vale), Jonathan Evans (Cardiff North), David Evennett (Bexleyheath & Crayford), Dr Liam Fox (Somerset North), Mark Francois (Rayleigh & Wickford), George Freeman (Norfolk Mid), Roger Gale (Thanet North), Sir Edward Garnier (Harborough), Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest), Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham), John Glen (Salisbury), Robert Goodwill (Scarborough & Whitby), James Gray (Wiltshire North), Andrew Griffiths (Burton), Robert Halfon (Harlow), Simon Hart (Carmarthen West & Pembrokeshire South), Sir Alan Haselhurst (Saffron Walden), John Hayes (South Holland & The Deepings), Oliver Heald (Hertfordshire North East), Gordon Henderson (Sittingbourne & Sheppey), Philip Hollobone (Kettering), Adam Holloway (Gravesham), Sir Gerald Howarth (Aldershot), John Howell (Henley), Stewart Jackson (Peterborough), Gareth Johnson (Dartford), David Jones (Clwyd West), Marcus Jones (Nuneaton), Chris Kelly (Dudley South), Kwasi Kwarteng (Spelthorne), Andrea Leadsom (Northamptonshire South), Phillip Lee (Bracknell), Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford), Edward Leigh (Gainsborough), Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West), Julian Lewis (New Forest East), Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater & Somerset West), David Lidington (Aylesbury), Peter Lilley (Hitchin & Harpenden), Jonathan Lord (Woking), Tim Loughton (Worthing East & Shoreham), Karen Lumley (Redditch), Karl McCartney (Lincoln), Stephen McPartland (Stevenage), Esther McVey (Wirral West), Anne Main (St Albans), Paul Maynard (Blackpool North & Cleveleys), Stephen Metcalfe (Basildon South & Thurrock East), Anne Milton (Guildford), Nicky Morgan (Loughborough), Anne-Marie Morris (Newton Abbot), David Morris (Morecambe & Lunesdale), James Morris (Halesowen & Rowley Regis), Bob Neill (Bromley & Chislehurst), David Nuttall (Bury North), Stephen O’Brien (Eddisbury), Matthew Offord (Hendon), Jim Paice (Cambridgeshire South East), Neil Parish (Tiverton & Honiton), Priti Patel (Witham), Owen Paterson (Shropshire North), Mark Pawsey (Rugby), Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead), Claire Perry (Devizes), Mark Pritchard (Wrekin, The), John Redwood (Wokingham), Jacob Rees-Mogg (Somerset North East), Sir Malcolm Rifkind (Kensington), Andrew Robathan (Leicestershire South), Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury), Andrew Rosindell (Romford), David Rutley (Macclesfield), Lee Scott (Ilford North), Andrew Selous (Bedfordshire South West), Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet & Rothwell), Sir Richard Shepherd (Aldridge-Brownhills), Henry Smith (Crawley), Sir John Stanley (Tonbridge & Malling), John Stevenson (Carlisle), Bob Stewart (Beckenham), Mel Stride (Devon Central), Julian Sturdy (York Outer), Robert Syms (Poole), David Tredinnick (Bosworth), Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight), Shailesh Vara (Cambridgeshire North West), Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes), Ben Wallace (Wyre & Preston North), Robert Walter (Dorset North), James Wharton (Stockton South), Heather Wheeler (Derbyshire South), Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley), John Whittingdale (Maldon), Bill Wiggin (Herefordshire North), Gavin Williamson (Staffordshire South), Rob Wilson (Reading East), Jeremy Wright (Kenilworth & Southam).on List
Nigel Adams (Selby & Ainsty), Adam Afriyie (Windsor), Peter Aldous (Waveney), David Amess (Southend West), Richard Bacon (Norfolk South), Guto Bebb (Aberconwy), Henry Bellingham (Norfolk North West), Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley), Andrew Bingham (High Peak), Nicola Blackwood (Oxford West & Abingdon), Peter Bone (Wellingborough), Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West), Julian Brazier (Canterbury), Andrew Bridgen (Leicestershire North West), Steve Brine (Winchester), Fiona Bruce (Congleton), Robert Buckland (Swindon South), Simon Burns (Chelmsford), David Burrowes (Enfield Southgate), Douglas Carswell (Clacton), Bill Cash (Stone), Rehman Chishti (Gillingham & Rainham), Christopher Chope (Christchurch), Therese Coffey (Suffolk Coastal), Geoffrey Cox (Devon West & Torridge), Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire), David Davies (Monmouth), Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire), Philip Davies (Shipley), David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden), Nick de Bois (Enfield North), Nadine Dorries (Bedfordshire Mid), Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock), Richard Drax (Dorset South), Philip Dunne (Ludlow), Charlie Elphicke (Dover), Graham Evans (Weaver Vale), Jonathan Evans (Cardiff North), David Evennett (Bexleyheath & Crayford), Dr Liam Fox (Somerset North), Mark Francois (Rayleigh & Wickford), George Freeman (Norfolk Mid), Roger Gale (Thanet North), Sir Edward Garnier (Harborough), Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest), Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham), John Glen (Salisbury), Robert Goodwill (Scarborough & Whitby), James Gray (Wiltshire North), Andrew Griffiths (Burton), Robert Halfon (Harlow), Simon Hart (Carmarthen West & Pembrokeshire South), Sir Alan Haselhurst (Saffron Walden), John Hayes (South Holland & The Deepings), Oliver Heald (Hertfordshire North East), Gordon Henderson (Sittingbourne & Sheppey), Philip Hollobone (Kettering), Adam Holloway (Gravesham), Sir Gerald Howarth (Aldershot), John Howell (Henley), Stewart Jackson (Peterborough), Gareth Johnson (Dartford), David Jones (Clwyd West), Marcus Jones (Nuneaton), Chris Kelly (Dudley South), Kwasi Kwarteng (Spelthorne), Andrea Leadsom (Northamptonshire South), Phillip Lee (Bracknell), Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford), Edward Leigh (Gainsborough), Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West), Julian Lewis (New Forest East), Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater & Somerset West), David Lidington (Aylesbury), Peter Lilley (Hitchin & Harpenden), Jonathan Lord (Woking), Tim Loughton (Worthing East & Shoreham), Karen Lumley (Redditch), Karl McCartney (Lincoln), Stephen McPartland (Stevenage), Esther McVey (Wirral West), Anne Main (St Albans), Paul Maynard (Blackpool North & Cleveleys), Stephen Metcalfe (Basildon South & Thurrock East), Anne Milton (Guildford), Nicky Morgan (Loughborough), Anne-Marie Morris (Newton Abbot), David Morris (Morecambe & Lunesdale), James Morris (Halesowen & Rowley Regis), Bob Neill (Bromley & Chislehurst), David Nuttall (Bury North), Stephen O’Brien (Eddisbury), Matthew Offord (Hendon), Jim Paice (Cambridgeshire South East), Neil Parish (Tiverton & Honiton), Priti Patel (Witham), Owen Paterson (Shropshire North), Mark Pawsey (Rugby), Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead), Claire Perry (Devizes), Mark Pritchard (Wrekin, The), John Redwood (Wokingham), Jacob Rees-Mogg (Somerset North East), Sir Malcolm Rifkind (Kensington), Andrew Robathan (Leicestershire South), Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury), Andrew Rosindell (Romford), David Rutley (Macclesfield), Lee Scott (Ilford North), Andrew Selous (Bedfordshire South West), Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet & Rothwell), Sir Richard Shepherd (Aldridge-Brownhills), Henry Smith (Crawley), Sir John Stanley (Tonbridge & Malling), John Stevenson (Carlisle), Bob Stewart (Beckenham), Mel Stride (Devon Central), Julian Sturdy (York Outer), Robert Syms (Poole), David Tredinnick (Bosworth), Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight), Shailesh Vara (Cambridgeshire North West), Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes), Ben Wallace (Wyre & Preston North), Robert Walter (Dorset North), James Wharton (Stockton South), Heather Wheeler (Derbyshire South), Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley), John Whittingdale (Maldon), Bill Wiggin (Herefordshire North), Gavin Williamson (Staffordshire South), Rob Wilson (Reading East), Jeremy Wright (Kenilworth & Southam).
In a sign of the concern at the effect of Tory infighting, the Deputy Prime Minister will use a speech to “reassure” voters that the pact will last until the next election, scheduled for 2015.
He will attack this week’s Tory “parliamentary game-playing” designed to wreck the introduction of gay marriage. The Lib Dem leader will also attack David Cameron for attempting to appease his party with a plan to enshrine an EU referendum in law.
Putting aside the idea that Calamity Clegg could 'reassure' anyone of anything except perhaps his own fallability how does attacking his coalition partners assist coalition unity and 'reassure' the continuity of the pact?
Clegg is clearly becoming as transparent and implausible in his posturing as Cameron.
Headline inflation (CPI) falls from 2.8% in March to 2.4% in April. Main driver is lower fuel and transport costs (-0.29%) but most welcome will be fall in food prices (-0.1%) which have consistently been rising at higher (4.0% +) than headline rates over the past two years.
Those arguing (probably correctly) that falling oil prices and a high sterling value in March will not persist as an inflation suppressant should not despair. Factory gate inflation also fell from 1.9% to 1.1% on a monthly basis.
The new CPIH Index, which is designed to measure home owner inflation, fell too, from 2.6% to 2.2%, against the fearmongering of the housing bubble Cassandras.
All much better news than expected. Consensus was for the rate of CPI increase to fall to 2.7% (Actual 2.4%) and for Factory Gate Inflation to 1.6% (1.1%).
All this explains the spring in Sir Merv's step and the catlike smile crossing his lips as he nears the end of his relationship with the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street.
Economic metrics which better consensus forecasts usually indicate rapidly improving economic performance. If Sir Merv. is looking smug, the next Ballentaylor and Ballylemon baronet is purring with satisfaction. He plans to celebrate with ceilidh in No 11 tonight: couples of all sexes invited.
Is there any area of the economy Boy George isn't getting right?
Sun Politics @Sun_Politics 1m YouGov/Sun poll tonight: CON 27%, LAB 38%, LD 10%, UKIP 16%. Tories at an equal record low since 2000. Voters don't like splits.
Headline inflation (CPI) falls from 2.8% in March to 2.4% in April. Main driver is lower fuel and transport costs (-0.29%) but most welcome will be fall in food prices (-0.1%) which have consistently been rising at higher (4.0% +) than headline rates over the past two years.
Those arguing (probably correctly) that falling oil prices and a high sterling value in March will not persist as an inflation suppressant should not despair. Factory gate inflation also fell from 1.9% to 1.1% on a monthly basis.
The new CPIH Index, which is designed to measure home owner inflation, fell too, from 2.6% to 2.2%, against the fearmongering of the housing bubble Cassandras.
All much better news than expected. Consensus was for the rate of CPI increase to fall to 2.7% (Actual 2.4%) and for Factory Gate Inflation to 1.6% (1.1%).
All this explains the spring in Sir Merv's step and the catlike smile crossing his lips as he nears the end of his relationship with the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street.
Economic metrics which better consensus forecasts usually indicate rapidly improving economic performance. If Sir Merv. is looking smug, the next Ballentaylor and Ballylemon baronet is purring with satisfaction. He plans to celebrate with ceilidh in No 11 tonight: couples of all sexes invited.
Is there any area of the economy Boy George isn't getting right?
Inflation is still above target. Prices are still rising faster than earnings. People have already been squeezed for far too long. Trying to make failure look like a success just makes Tories look like they are treating the electorate with contempt.
Putting aside the idea that Calamity Clegg could 'reassure' anyone of anything except perhaps his own fallability how does attacking his coalition partners assist coalition unity and 'reassure' the continuity of the pact?
Clegg is clearly becoming as transparent and implausible in his posturing as Cameron.
Priceless!
Because it's not aimed at the headless chickens on the tory backbenches or even the inept tory leadership. It's aimed at his supporters like Cammie's posturing used to be aimed at his.
So no, it won't reassure anyone aside from those lib dems worrying about Clegg instigating an early end to the coalition.
Yet opinion polls are consistently showing that, for all the Tory party’s agony, Labour is also leeching support.
The soft double-digit lead that Mr Miliband once enjoyed has withered, with two recent polls putting the party on 35 points. Nor can the slender advantage over the Tories be relied on.
As one senior figure says, if growth recovers even slightly, then the Conservatives will benefit while, in a general election, “Ukip support will flake to the Tories”.
Putting aside the idea that Calamity Clegg could 'reassure' anyone of anything except perhaps his own fallability how does attacking his coalition partners assist coalition unity and 'reassure' the continuity of the pact?
Clegg is clearly becoming as transparent and implausible in his posturing as Cameron.
Priceless!
Because it's not aimed at the headless chickens on the tory backbenches or even the inept tory leadership. It's aimed at his supporters like Cammie's posturing used to be aimed at his.
So no, it won't reassure anyone aside from those lib dems worrying about Clegg instigating an early end to the coalition.
Politicians are politicking, more at eleven. Now back to our lead story about ursine catholics and papal defecation in arboreal surroundings.
That great, swashbuckling libertarian David Davis (H&H) strides as a paragon of freedom into the lobbies and votes, erm, against same-sex marriage. Do those two philisophical standpoints really compute??
I know it is either a) crap, naive, idiotic politics from Cameron to force this bill through or b) a deliberate attempt to piss off all the true-blues in his party, but that aside, now that the bill is actually on the table, I find it difficult to understand what motivates people to vote against it.
I just can't for the life of me - and maybe its a generational thing (I'm 35) - understand why anyone gives a toss who marries who, regardless of what sex they are.
It just doesn't interest me at all. Not. At. All.
ps - outside of PB, other wonky political blogs and the W'minster bubble, nobody will know anything at all about it anyway, all they'll see is the clapping in parliament and will think Cameron has done something well. It'll go down in history as a GOOD THING anyway, regardless of all the hulllabaloo...
An idiotic and disappointing position for DD to take. The idea he can claim to be a champion of Libertarianism whilst opposing equality in this way is just laughable.
Beith, rh Sir Alan Birtwistle, Gordon (Burnley) Pugh, John (Southport) Teather, Sarah
Benton, Mr Joe (Bootle) Clarke, rh Mr Tom (Coatbridge) Cooper, Rosie (West Lancashire) Crausby, Mr David (Bolton NE) Dobbin, Jim (constituency next to Rochdale) Donohoe, Mr Brian H. (Ayrshire Central) Flello, Robert (Stokr South)( Glindon, Mrs Mary (North Tyneside) Godsiff, Mr Roger (Birmingham Hall Green) Goggins, rh Paul (somewhere in Manchester) Mudie, Mr George (Leeds East) Murphy, rh Paul (Toarfen Pound, Stephen (Ealing North) Timms, rh Stephen (East Ham)
1922 committee,3 letters short of the 46 required for a leadership contest ? Rumours have been around for awhile that letters have been submitted asking for a leadership contest, but how much truth to these who knows.
1922 committee,3 letters short of the 46 required for a leadership contest ? Rumours have been around for awhile that letters have been submitted asking for a leadership contest, but how much truth to these who knows.
Summer will arrive soon and they'll all depart to Provence or a voter friendly Cornwall or wherever. Cameron's chief danger is if the Tory vote collapses (15%?) in next year's Euros and goes to UKIP ( seen as a free hit the Euros ) with a fair chunk of Labour and Lib Dems too. Then he might be toast. Labour missed a trick by not dumping Gord after the 2009 Euros, had they replaced him with Milliband D they might've hung on with Lib Dem support despite the odds. The Tory party tends to be more ruthless. Such an outcome and indeed turn of events is stiff with " ifs " this far out mind. It would, however, change the goalposts in Salmond's favour too IMO ( ie a more right wing Tory leader/UKIP pact?) as at present he needs a game changer having made a total Horlicks of the currency issue.
Headline inflation (CPI) falls from 2.8% in March to 2.4% in April. Main driver is lower fuel and transport costs (-0.29%) but most welcome will be fall in food prices (-0.1%) which have consistently been rising at higher (4.0% +) than headline rates over the past two years.
Those arguing (probably correctly) that falling oil prices and a high sterling value in March will not persist as an inflation suppressant should not despair. Factory gate inflation also fell from 1.9% to 1.1% on a monthly basis.
The new CPIH Index, which is designed to measure home owner inflation, fell too, from 2.6% to 2.2%, against the fearmongering of the housing bubble Cassandras.
All much better news than expected. Consensus was for the rate of CPI increase to fall to 2.7% (Actual 2.4%) and for Factory Gate Inflation to 1.6% (1.1%).
All this explains the spring in Sir Merv's step and the catlike smile crossing his lips as he nears the end of his relationship with the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street.
Economic metrics which better consensus forecasts usually indicate rapidly improving economic performance. If Sir Merv. is looking smug, the next Ballentaylor and Ballylemon baronet is purring with satisfaction. He plans to celebrate with ceilidh in No 11 tonight: couples of all sexes invited.
Is there any area of the economy Boy George isn't getting right?
Inflation is still above target. Prices are still rising faster than earnings. People have already been squeezed for far too long. Trying to make failure look like a success just makes Tories look like they are treating the electorate with contempt.
Rotting kippers on Margate Sands.
You need fresh fish.
I recommend a good Dover Soul served au blue avec une sauce elphiquois.
Today has, I believe, been a good day. I only wish more votes could be free votes so that MPs can vote in the best interests of their constituents and the country rather than simply how they are ordered to by the whips.
But well done to all those MPs who did the right thing today and helped make our country that little bit better place for people to live.
Perhaps our new porcine friend could tell us the whereabouts of our old friend Avery, who has yet to report back on when we can expect a month of trade surplus.
Perhaps our new porcine friend could tell us the whereabouts of our old friend Avery, who has yet to report back on when we can expect a month of trade surplus.
He's still doggedly running the Lansley for PM campaign.
Headline inflation (CPI) falls from 2.8% in March to 2.4% in April. Main driver is lower fuel and transport costs (-0.29%) but most welcome will be fall in food prices (-0.1%) which have consistently been rising at higher (4.0% +) than headline rates over the past two years.
Those arguing (probably correctly) that falling oil prices and a high sterling value in March will not persist as an inflation suppressant should not despair. Factory gate inflation also fell from 1.9% to 1.1% on a monthly basis.
The new CPIH Index, which is designed to measure home owner inflation, fell too, from 2.6% to 2.2%, against the fearmongering of the housing bubble Cassandras.
All much better news than expected. Consensus was for the rate of CPI increase to fall to 2.7% (Actual 2.4%) and for Factory Gate Inflation to 1.6% (1.1%).
All this explains the spring in Sir Merv's step and the catlike smile crossing his lips as he nears the end of his relationship with the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street.
Economic metrics which better consensus forecasts usually indicate rapidly improving economic performance. If Sir Merv. is looking smug, the next Ballentaylor and Ballylemon baronet is purring with satisfaction. He plans to celebrate with ceilidh in No 11 tonight: couples of all sexes invited.
Is there any area of the economy Boy George isn't getting right?
Inflation is still above target. Prices are still rising faster than earnings. People have already been squeezed for far too long. Trying to make failure look like a success just makes Tories look like they are treating the electorate with contempt.
Rotting kippers on Margate Sands.
You need fresh fish.
I recommend a good Dover Soul served au blue avec une sauce elphiquois.
Delicious.
Aah you mention El Phicko. Yes I read his absurd piece of hubris about the White Cliffs still being blue and all the fallacious reasons why Dover was safe. Of course what he failed to point out was that Labour gained two of the four wards outright and that UKIP didn't stand a candidate in Dover North and if they had and that candidate had done as well as the other UKIP candidates in the Dover area then Dover would probably have been highlighted as a three way marginal with 'El Phicko' being the Dover 'Soul' being served up on a platter..
Still with both Labour and UKIP targetting Dover there's as much chance of getting fresh Kippers there as Dover Sole.
Comments
One wonders how many days would have convinced him to support gay marriage ??
Hhmmm.
I'd say I could have convinced him over the course of a single night!
http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/16/rick-santorum-preparing-for-2016-run-but-hasnt-pulled-the-trigger/
400/150 ish ??
Labour are in Opposition, and they probably have limited working class appeal.
Yes Neil I fully expect our current PM to attend any other meeting rather than answer questions in westminster.
NO 161
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22367125
"The Green Party will end up with more councillors in Thursday's local elections than UKIP, claims its leader."
whoops
Life in the old Jacobite yet !!
And about that, there is no argument.
David Cameron's nice car was the key to Samantha's heart
David Cameron only persuaded his wife Samantha to go out with him because he had a nice car, the Prime Minister has revealed.
Back to the future tories again.
https://twitter.com/Ed_Miliband/status/336912207659008002/photo/1
* actually no, he has changed his mind on the reason for the demand for it
http://youtu.be/5MrA8_rx1qg
But well done to all those MPs who did the right thing today and helped make our country that little bit better place for people to live.
Disposing of the public holdings in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds should be a priority for the Government, the International Monetary Fund will say tomorrow.
The recommendation will provide George Osborne, the Chancellor, with a much-needed ally as he prepares to try and persuade the public he should dispose of the 81 per cent stake in RBS and 39 per cent stake in Lloyds at a loss.
In a grim assessment of the state of the British economy, the IMF report will make clear that public ownership of the banks is not in the interests of economic recovery.
A team from the International Monetary Fund has spent a week interviewing top figures across the Treasury and the Bank of England as part of its Article IV inspection.
Mr Osborne is braced for a tough verdict which is expected to call for him to slow down the pace of deficit reduction amid disappointing growth.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22564023
Fret not though, I have written an Ed is crap thread for Saturday.
Banging on about Europe, the master strategy of champions.
Yet opinion polls are consistently showing that, for all the Tory party’s agony, Labour is also leeching support.
The soft double-digit lead that Mr Miliband once enjoyed has withered, with two recent polls putting the party on 35 points. Nor can the slender advantage over the Tories be relied on.
As one senior figure says, if growth recovers even slightly, then the Conservatives will benefit while, in a general election, “Ukip support will flake to the Tories”.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ed-miliband/10070938/Gay-marriage-and-the-EU-pile-on-the-agony-for-the-Tories-but-Labour-is-leeching-support.html
I know it is either a) crap, naive, idiotic politics from Cameron to force this bill through or b) a deliberate attempt to piss off all the true-blues in his party, but that aside, now that the bill is actually on the table, I find it difficult to understand what motivates people to vote against it.
I just can't for the life of me - and maybe its a generational thing (I'm 35) - understand why anyone gives a toss who marries who, regardless of what sex they are.
It just doesn't interest me at all. Not. At. All.
ps - outside of PB, other wonky political blogs and the W'minster bubble, nobody will know anything at all about it anyway, all they'll see is the clapping in parliament and will think Cameron has done something well. It'll go down in history as a GOOD THING anyway, regardless of all the hulllabaloo...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/cartoon/
Nick Clegg will chastise the Conservatives today for destabilising the Government as he attempts to quash rumours that there may be a premature end to the coalition.
In a sign of the concern at the effect of Tory infighting, the Deputy Prime Minister will use a
speech to “reassure” voters that the pact will last until the next election, scheduled for 2015.
He will attack this week’s Tory “parliamentary game-playing” designed to wreck the introduction of gay marriage. The Lib Dem leader will also attack David Cameron for attempting to appease his party with a plan to enshrine an EU referendum in law.
Nigel Adams (Selby & Ainsty), Adam Afriyie (Windsor), Peter Aldous (Waveney), David Amess (Southend West), Richard Bacon (Norfolk South), Guto Bebb (Aberconwy), Henry Bellingham (Norfolk North West), Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley), Andrew Bingham (High Peak), Nicola Blackwood (Oxford West & Abingdon), Peter Bone (Wellingborough), Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West), Julian Brazier (Canterbury), Andrew Bridgen (Leicestershire North West), Steve Brine (Winchester), Fiona Bruce (Congleton), Robert Buckland (Swindon South), Simon Burns (Chelmsford), David Burrowes (Enfield Southgate), Douglas Carswell (Clacton), Bill Cash (Stone), Rehman Chishti (Gillingham & Rainham), Christopher Chope (Christchurch), Therese Coffey (Suffolk Coastal), Geoffrey Cox (Devon West & Torridge), Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire), David Davies (Monmouth), Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire), Philip Davies (Shipley), David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden), Nick de Bois (Enfield North), Nadine Dorries (Bedfordshire Mid), Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock), Richard Drax (Dorset South), Philip Dunne (Ludlow), Charlie Elphicke (Dover), Graham Evans (Weaver Vale), Jonathan Evans (Cardiff North), David Evennett (Bexleyheath & Crayford), Dr Liam Fox (Somerset North), Mark Francois (Rayleigh & Wickford), George Freeman (Norfolk Mid), Roger Gale (Thanet North), Sir Edward Garnier (Harborough), Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest), Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham), John Glen (Salisbury), Robert Goodwill (Scarborough & Whitby), James Gray (Wiltshire North), Andrew Griffiths (Burton), Robert Halfon (Harlow), Simon Hart (Carmarthen West & Pembrokeshire South), Sir Alan Haselhurst (Saffron Walden), John Hayes (South Holland & The Deepings), Oliver Heald (Hertfordshire North East), Gordon Henderson (Sittingbourne & Sheppey), Philip Hollobone (Kettering), Adam Holloway (Gravesham), Sir Gerald Howarth (Aldershot), John Howell (Henley), Stewart Jackson (Peterborough), Gareth Johnson (Dartford), David Jones (Clwyd West), Marcus Jones (Nuneaton), Chris Kelly (Dudley South), Kwasi Kwarteng (Spelthorne), Andrea Leadsom (Northamptonshire South), Phillip Lee (Bracknell), Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford), Edward Leigh (Gainsborough), Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West), Julian Lewis (New Forest East), Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater & Somerset West), David Lidington (Aylesbury), Peter Lilley (Hitchin & Harpenden), Jonathan Lord (Woking), Tim Loughton (Worthing East & Shoreham), Karen Lumley (Redditch), Karl McCartney (Lincoln), Stephen McPartland (Stevenage), Esther McVey (Wirral West), Anne Main (St Albans), Paul Maynard (Blackpool North & Cleveleys), Stephen Metcalfe (Basildon South & Thurrock East), Anne Milton (Guildford), Nicky Morgan (Loughborough), Anne-Marie Morris (Newton Abbot), David Morris (Morecambe & Lunesdale), James Morris (Halesowen & Rowley Regis), Bob Neill (Bromley & Chislehurst), David Nuttall (Bury North), Stephen O’Brien (Eddisbury), Matthew Offord (Hendon), Jim Paice (Cambridgeshire South East), Neil Parish (Tiverton & Honiton), Priti Patel (Witham), Owen Paterson (Shropshire North), Mark Pawsey (Rugby), Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead), Claire Perry (Devizes), Mark Pritchard (Wrekin, The), John Redwood (Wokingham), Jacob Rees-Mogg (Somerset North East), Sir Malcolm Rifkind (Kensington), Andrew Robathan (Leicestershire South), Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury), Andrew Rosindell (Romford), David Rutley (Macclesfield), Lee Scott (Ilford North), Andrew Selous (Bedfordshire South West), Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet & Rothwell), Sir Richard Shepherd (Aldridge-Brownhills), Henry Smith (Crawley), Sir John Stanley (Tonbridge & Malling), John Stevenson (Carlisle), Bob Stewart (Beckenham), Mel Stride (Devon Central), Julian Sturdy (York Outer), Robert Syms (Poole), David Tredinnick (Bosworth), Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight), Shailesh Vara (Cambridgeshire North West), Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes), Ben Wallace (Wyre & Preston North), Robert Walter (Dorset North), James Wharton (Stockton South), Heather Wheeler (Derbyshire South), Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley), John Whittingdale (Maldon), Bill Wiggin (Herefordshire North), Gavin Williamson (Staffordshire South), Rob Wilson (Reading East), Jeremy Wright (Kenilworth & Southam).
speech to “reassure” voters that the pact will last until the next election, scheduled for 2015.
He will attack this week’s Tory “parliamentary game-playing” designed to wreck the introduction of gay marriage. The Lib Dem leader will also attack David Cameron for attempting to appease his party with a plan to enshrine an EU referendum in law.
Putting aside the idea that Calamity Clegg could 'reassure' anyone of anything except perhaps his own fallability how does attacking his coalition partners assist coalition unity and 'reassure' the continuity of the pact?
Clegg is clearly becoming as transparent and implausible in his posturing as Cameron.
Priceless!
Headline inflation (CPI) falls from 2.8% in March to 2.4% in April. Main driver is lower fuel and transport costs (-0.29%) but most welcome will be fall in food prices (-0.1%) which have consistently been rising at higher (4.0% +) than headline rates over the past two years.
Those arguing (probably correctly) that falling oil prices and a high sterling value in March will not persist as an inflation suppressant should not despair. Factory gate inflation also fell from 1.9% to 1.1% on a monthly basis.
The new CPIH Index, which is designed to measure home owner inflation, fell too, from 2.6% to 2.2%, against the fearmongering of the housing bubble Cassandras.
All much better news than expected. Consensus was for the rate of CPI increase to fall to 2.7% (Actual 2.4%) and for Factory Gate Inflation to 1.6% (1.1%).
All this explains the spring in Sir Merv's step and the catlike smile crossing his lips as he nears the end of his relationship with the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street.
Economic metrics which better consensus forecasts usually indicate rapidly improving economic performance. If Sir Merv. is looking smug, the next Ballentaylor and Ballylemon baronet is purring with satisfaction. He plans to celebrate with ceilidh in No 11 tonight: couples of all sexes invited.
Is there any area of the economy Boy George isn't getting right?
YouGov/Sun poll tonight: CON 27%, LAB 38%, LD 10%, UKIP 16%. Tories at an equal record low since 2000. Voters don't like splits.
So no, it won't reassure anyone aside from those lib dems worrying about Clegg instigating an early end to the coalition.
Tory/UKIP 43%
Labour 38%
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22619312
Lab-LD voting against
Beith, rh Sir Alan
Birtwistle, Gordon (Burnley)
Pugh, John (Southport)
Teather, Sarah
Benton, Mr Joe (Bootle)
Clarke, rh Mr Tom (Coatbridge)
Cooper, Rosie (West Lancashire)
Crausby, Mr David (Bolton NE)
Dobbin, Jim (constituency next to Rochdale)
Donohoe, Mr Brian H. (Ayrshire Central)
Flello, Robert (Stokr South)(
Glindon, Mrs Mary (North Tyneside)
Godsiff, Mr Roger (Birmingham Hall Green)
Goggins, rh Paul (somewhere in Manchester)
Mudie, Mr George (Leeds East)
Murphy, rh Paul (Toarfen
Pound, Stephen (Ealing North)
Timms, rh Stephen (East Ham)
1. Domaine des Douves is a new brand name for Chateau Beauregard's second wine.
2.. It is a Jancis Robinson pick.
You need fresh fish.
I recommend a good Dover Soul served au blue avec une sauce elphiquois.
Delicious.
He's still doggedly running the Lansley for PM campaign.
Still with both Labour and UKIP targetting Dover there's as much chance of getting fresh Kippers there as Dover Sole.