Could the Andrew Marr show be any more blatantly left wing? I'm not sure who I dislike more, Stephanie Flanders or Peter Hain.
This is the impartial balanced bbc's idea for the two reviewing the papers with Marr. Three socialists together. 1 slept in the past with socialist blokes, 1 is a socialist Mp and the third used to sleep with anyone preferably socialists...
Are you suggesting that socialism is a sexually transmitted disease?
Anything remotely positive to vote Labour for? Such poverty of thought and ambition will go a long way to explaining why ed will do so badly in May.
That cuts both ways of course. Why should anyone vote Conservative ? Yes, some people will because of the engendered fear that somehow a Labour Government will unleash plague, pestilence and usher in the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (the form I'm in, I couldn't back the winner of that race either !)
As I opined the other day, the choice is between an inept Labour administration and a Conservative administration so mired in its own Euro-introspection it'll forget about running the country until the much-awaited EU referendum after which the Tories can schism into obscurity and the rest of us will be left to pick up the pieces.
So defecit reduction Growing economy Increased full time jobs Low inflation Increased wages Count for nothing ? Fair enough.
What you mean saddo is "F*** you jack" I am doing all right, who cares about the majority
Er! 55% is not a majority on Planet Eck? While the 45 on your badge refers to the price of Brent crude?
Lol indeed. The feeble forty five.
another half wit joins the party, one clown does not have the wits to understand what is written in plain English , posts some puerile socialist/communist dribble and we have half wits laughing , it gets more like teatime at the zoo here every day.
Well, after a well organised heavy barrage and ambush by the MSM and the Tories against UKIP, re Amjad Bashir, the only change is that UKIP will emerge stronger and continue to clean house where necessary.
After the Lab/Lib/Con nutters went slightly barmy on PB last night, most promising the end of UKIP, have they come to their senses and realised that however much UKIP is attacked it only gets stronger.
And after a very strong performance on Marr by Farage, which hardly anyone on PB mentions, UKIP can now look forward to further advances.
Indeed. I thought, well that will shut them up, and it did.
Caveat Emptor Mr Cameron indeed.
UKIP resemble the Scot nats more by the day. Nothing is bad for UKIP or Nigel, everything is good for them. It's a lesson you should take more notice of.
The facts are though that the SNP and ukip HAVE improved their positions massively in the last few years... So of course their critics get annoyed by their supporters reporting the good news that keeps coming
In the real world, no one has ever heard of this MEP, never mind care about his defection.
Though the Game Of Thrones imitation that is internal UKIP politics continues.
And will do unfortunately for as long as Farage is in charge. His dominance of the party is the root cause of the problems they are having at the moment and they will not be able to get things like candidate selection and accountability sorted out properly until he steps down.
On the other hand there is an argument to be made that UKIP have been able to be ruthless with miscreants because he runs it in such a dictatorial manner whilst other parties do not seem to be able or willing to rid themselves of embarrassments so easily.
While I respect you're views with respect to Farage, and certainly think there are capable candidates to replace him, I think Farage is a very good performer as demonstrated on Marr this morning. I'm not saying that Ukip's rise wouldn't have happened without him as leader, but he's certainly done a good job as a figure head.
I have a huge amount of time for Farage and think that he is owed a huge debt of gratitude for having brought us to this point as far as both the rise of UKIP and the move towards leaving the EU is concerned. He was very much the man for the job until recently.
But I simply don't believe that his style of leadership or his abilities in the day to day running of a party are sufficient to maintain a mainstream party fighting for seats in Parliament. I think he is now the wrong man for the job.
Incidently although he is by far my favourite political thinker at the moment, I also don't necessarily think Carswell would be right as party leader. I see him more in the Keith Joseph mould as a policy maker. Perhaps the time is right for UKIP to have their own Thatcher from amongst their female candidates.
Thatcher was brought down by envious little men. So perhaps not the best advice, considering the source.
Mrs T was brought down by her own hubris over the poll tax.
She defenestrated herself because she didn't listen to cautious advice on the issue.
Not true. She was brought down by the fanatical Europhiles who would not countenance a more hostile position regarding the EU.
So Nigel will say (yet again)? "we discovered the chap was a bad un after we selected them and after we put him before the voters and after the voters choose UKIP at the ballot box....."
Nigel never learns from UKIP MEP selecting some rum coves. Ashley Mote (Nigel's personal selection in the South) is back in court.
A party is supposed to not select someone for something they haven't done yet? Absurd.
Well, after a well organised heavy barrage and ambush by the MSM and the Tories against UKIP, re Amjad Bashir, the only change is that UKIP will emerge stronger and continue to clean house where necessary.
After the Lab/Lib/Con nutters went slightly barmy on PB last night, most promising the end of UKIP, have they come to their senses and realised that however much UKIP is attacked it only gets stronger.
And after a very strong performance on Marr by Farage, which hardly anyone on PB mentions, UKIP can now look forward to further advances.
Indeed. I thought, well that will shut them up, and it did.
Caveat Emptor Mr Cameron indeed.
UKIP resemble the Scot nats more by the day. Nothing is bad for UKIP or Nigel, everything is good for them. It's a lesson you should take more notice of.
The facts are though that the SNP and ukip HAVE improved their positions massively in the last few years... So of course their critics get annoyed by their supporters reporting the good news that keeps coming
Nothing you have said contradicts my point. Nothing in the eyes of the faithful is ever bad, everything works to their advantage, it's like a cult for some supporters.
You just see what you want to see like the people you are trying to criticise
Well, after a well organised heavy barrage and ambush by the MSM and the Tories against UKIP, re Amjad Bashir, the only change is that UKIP will emerge stronger and continue to clean house where necessary.
After the Lab/Lib/Con nutters went slightly barmy on PB last night, most promising the end of UKIP, have they come to their senses and realised that however much UKIP is attacked it only gets stronger.
And after a very strong performance on Marr by Farage, which hardly anyone on PB mentions, UKIP can now look forward to further advances.
Indeed. I thought, well that will shut them up, and it did.
Caveat Emptor Mr Cameron indeed.
UKIP resemble the Scot nats more by the day. Nothing is bad for UKIP or Nigel, everything is good for them. It's a lesson you should take more notice of.
The facts are though that the SNP and ukip HAVE improved their positions massively in the last few years... So of course their critics get annoyed by their supporters reporting the good news that keeps coming
Nothing you have said contradicts my point. Nothing in the eyes of the faithful is ever bad, everything works to their advantage, it's like a cult for some supporters.
You just see what you want to see like the people you are trying to criticise
Pretty much every UKIP supporter on here has criticised the party at one time or another. The Conservative supporters are the most slavishly partisan, with a few honourable exceptions.
In the real world, no one has ever heard of this MEP, never mind care about his defection.
Though the Game Of Thrones imitation that is internal UKIP politics continues.
And will do unfortunately for as long as Farage is in charge. His dominance of the party is the root cause of the problems they are having at the moment and they will not be able to get things like candidate selection and accountability sorted out properly until he steps down.
On the other hand there is an argument to be made that UKIP have been able to be ruthless with miscreants because he runs it in such a dictatorial manner whilst other parties do not seem to be able or willing to rid themselves of embarrassments so easily.
While I respect you're views with respect to Farage, and certainly think there are capable candidates to replace him, I think Farage is a very good performer as demonstrated on Marr this morning. I'm not saying that Ukip's rise wouldn't have happened without him as leader, but he's certainly done a good job as a figure head.
I have a huge amount of time for Farage and think that he is owed a huge debt of gratitude for having brought us to this point as far as both the rise of UKIP and the move towards leaving the EU is concerned. He was very much the man for the job until recently.
But I simply don't believe that his style of leadership or his abilities in the day to day running of a party are sufficient to maintain a mainstream party fighting for seats in Parliament. I think he is now the wrong man for the job.
Incidently although he is by far my favourite political thinker at the moment, I also don't necessarily think Carswell would be right as party leader. I see him more in the Keith Joseph mould as a policy maker. Perhaps the time is right for UKIP to have their own Thatcher from amongst their female candidates.
Thatcher was brought down by envious little men. So perhaps not the best advice, considering the source.
Mrs T was brought down by her own hubris over the poll tax.
She defenestrated herself because she didn't listen to cautious advice on the issue.
Not true. She was brought down by the fanatical Europhiles who would not countenance a more hostile position regarding the EU.
FWIW I'm with Dr Fox. I recall the time quite well.
I think you need to take off the CCHQ-issue blue tinted specs and accept that for a lot of people the "recovery" is illusory at best and downright deceptive at worst. Indeed, for many people, 2010-15 has been about running hard to stand still in terms of working hours and income.
You'll be asking the PB Tories to start thinking for themselves next.
Seeing the world they're told to see it and reciting the propaganda they're told to recite gives some people their only reason for existing.
I've got some exit poll leaks from Athens, SYRIZA seems to be doing much better than the polls suggested. Early days though, but two sources are pointing at somewhere between 10-15% lead in the morning sample, by the way the record lead for a greek election post-1974 is 12% in 1981 followed by 10% in 2009.
Well, after a well organised heavy barrage and ambush by the MSM and the Tories against UKIP, re Amjad Bashir, the only change is that UKIP will emerge stronger and continue to clean house where necessary.
After the Lab/Lib/Con nutters went slightly barmy on PB last night, most promising the end of UKIP, have they come to their senses and realised that however much UKIP is attacked it only gets stronger.
And after a very strong performance on Marr by Farage, which hardly anyone on PB mentions, UKIP can now look forward to further advances.
Indeed. I thought, well that will shut them up, and it did.
Caveat Emptor Mr Cameron indeed.
UKIP resemble the Scot nats more by the day. Nothing is bad for UKIP or Nigel, everything is good for them. It's a lesson you should take more notice of.
The facts are though that the SNP and ukip HAVE improved their positions massively in the last few years... So of course their critics get annoyed by their supporters reporting the good news that keeps coming
Nothing you have said contradicts my point. Nothing in the eyes of the faithful is ever bad, everything works to their advantage, it's like a cult for some supporters.
what claptrap from an idiot who worships lying toerag Tory party. Look in the mirror you dolt, just because someone thinks differently from you does not mean they are in a cult. You really are thicker than mince.
Well, after a well organised heavy barrage and ambush by the MSM and the Tories against UKIP, re Amjad Bashir, the only change is that UKIP will emerge stronger and continue to clean house where necessary.
After the Lab/Lib/Con nutters went slightly barmy on PB last night, most promising the end of UKIP, have they come to their senses and realised that however much UKIP is attacked it only gets stronger.
And after a very strong performance on Marr by Farage, which hardly anyone on PB mentions, UKIP can now look forward to further advances.
Indeed. I thought, well that will shut them up, and it did.
Caveat Emptor Mr Cameron indeed.
UKIP resemble the Scot nats more by the day. Nothing is bad for UKIP or Nigel, everything is good for them. It's a lesson you should take more notice of.
The facts are though that the SNP and ukip HAVE improved their positions massively in the last few years... So of course their critics get annoyed by their supporters reporting the good news that keeps coming
Nothing you have said contradicts my point. Nothing in the eyes of the faithful is ever bad, everything works to their advantage, it's like a cult for some supporters.
True. "My party right or wrong". For some on here almost a religious belief arguing the opposite to what they had said previously without acknowledging that they had changed.
Mr. Speedy, if so, presumably that'd mean an easy outright majority rather than a coalition, yes?
It depends, so far the morning sample is SYRIZA 37-38%, ND 24-26%, if Papandreou's KIDISO has more that 3%, SYRIZA has a majority of 1 on 38% , if he's bellow 3% then SYRIZA has a majority of 1-2 with 37%. So far KIDISO is not doing that well.
Well, after a well organised heavy barrage and ambush by the MSM and the Tories against UKIP, re Amjad Bashir, the only change is that UKIP will emerge stronger and continue to clean house where necessary.
After the Lab/Lib/Con nutters went slightly barmy on PB last night, most promising the end of UKIP, have they come to their senses and realised that however much UKIP is attacked it only gets stronger.
And after a very strong performance on Marr by Farage, which hardly anyone on PB mentions, UKIP can now look forward to further advances.
Indeed. I thought, well that will shut them up, and it did.
Caveat Emptor Mr Cameron indeed.
UKIP resemble the Scot nats more by the day. Nothing is bad for UKIP or Nigel, everything is good for them. It's a lesson you should take more notice of.
The facts are though that the SNP and ukip HAVE improved their positions massively in the last few years... So of course their critics get annoyed by their supporters reporting the good news that keeps coming
Nothing you have said contradicts my point. Nothing in the eyes of the faithful is ever bad, everything works to their advantage, it's like a cult for some supporters.
True. "My party right or wrong". For some on here almost a religious belief arguing the opposite to what they had said previously without acknowledging that they had changed.
Yes and the dumb Saddo is its greatest offender. There are none so blind as those that will not see.
Mr. Richard, yes. You can also point out Carswell was the incumbent MP who won that large majority.
Personal votes for MPs amount to a couple of thousand at most.
Now I've always liked Carswell irrespective of the party he represents but to suggest that Clacton voted for him personally rather than the Conservatives generally is ridiculous.
A look at the results in neighbouring constituencies confirms this.
Well, after a well organised heavy barrage and ambush by the MSM and the Tories against UKIP, re Amjad Bashir, the only change is that UKIP will emerge stronger and continue to clean house where necessary.
After the Lab/Lib/Con nutters went slightly barmy on PB last night, most promising the end of UKIP, have they come to their senses and realised that however much UKIP is attacked it only gets stronger.
And after a very strong performance on Marr by Farage, which hardly anyone on PB mentions, UKIP can now look forward to further advances.
Indeed. I thought, well that will shut them up, and it did.
Caveat Emptor Mr Cameron indeed.
UKIP resemble the Scot nats more by the day. Nothing is bad for UKIP or Nigel, everything is good for them. It's a lesson you should take more notice of.
The facts are though that the SNP and ukip HAVE improved their positions massively in the last few years... So of course their critics get annoyed by their supporters reporting the good news that keeps coming
Nothing you have said contradicts my point. Nothing in the eyes of the faithful is ever bad, everything works to their advantage, it's like a cult for some supporters.
You just see what you want to see like the people you are trying to criticise
Pretty much every UKIP supporter on here has criticised the party at one time or another. The Conservative supporters are the most slavishly partisan, with a few honourable exceptions.
Please list all these partisan Conservative supporters.
One factor in favour of SYRIZA seems to be the weather, in their Athens stronghold the weather is warm and sunny but in the countryside it's stormy and snowy which probably has altered the turnout in their favour.
I've got some exit poll leaks from Athens, SYRIZA seems to be doing much better than the polls suggested. Early days though, but two sources are pointing at somewhere between 10-15% lead in the morning sample, by the way the record lead for a greek election post-1974 is 12% in 1981 followed by 10% in 2009.
Syriza could affect the EC project and this year's elections. But I note the view from rcs that a deal would be done with them.
Well, after a well organised heavy barrage and ambush by the MSM and the Tories against UKIP, re Amjad Bashir, the only change is that UKIP will emerge stronger and continue to clean house where necessary.
After the Lab/Lib/Con nutters went slightly barmy on PB last night, most promising the end of UKIP, have they come to their senses and realised that however much UKIP is attacked it only gets stronger.
And after a very strong performance on Marr by Farage, which hardly anyone on PB mentions, UKIP can now look forward to further advances.
Indeed. I thought, well that will shut them up, and it did.
Caveat Emptor Mr Cameron indeed.
UKIP resemble the Scot nats more by the day. Nothing is bad for UKIP or Nigel, everything is good for them. It's a lesson you should take more notice of.
The facts are though that the SNP and ukip HAVE improved their positions massively in the last few years... So of course their critics get annoyed by their supporters reporting the good news that keeps coming
Nothing you have said contradicts my point. Nothing in the eyes of the faithful is ever bad, everything works to their advantage, it's like a cult for some supporters.
You just see what you want to see like the people you are trying to criticise
Pretty much every UKIP supporter on here has criticised the party at one time or another. The Conservative supporters are the most slavishly partisan, with a few honourable exceptions.
Please list all these partisan Conservative supporters.
LOL, typical Tory giving out orders, I bet he does not have all day to carry out your wishes. 5 mins stating the odd few non Tories would be much easier.
Looks like the Tories are up for the new debate format. Now we have to wait for Ed to agree to have the SNP, PC and the Greens to tear lumps out of his voter base.
A very big win for the PM here as well, a very canny move to try and force the inclusion of the Greens in the debates.
A Syriza win and a Greek exit from the Euro could still cause much tumult in the markets, despite how long it has been priced in. The economic fallout of that will show how ridiculous the argument of "Europe isn't an important issue" is. We are currently chained to an economic stagnant bloc with regular pangs of risk and uncertainty. And part of the membership terms means that we can't sign trade deals with anyone else, allowing us to diversify our export base.
It's a good job the economic benefits make up for the political disadvantages, isn't it?
Well, after a well organised heavy barrage and ambush by the MSM and the Tories against UKIP, re Amjad Bashir, the only change is that UKIP will emerge stronger and continue to clean house where necessary.
After the Lab/Lib/Con nutters went slightly barmy on PB last night, most promising the end of UKIP, have they come to their senses and realised that however much UKIP is attacked it only gets stronger.
And after a very strong performance on Marr by Farage, which hardly anyone on PB mentions, UKIP can now look forward to further advances.
Indeed. I thought, well that will shut them up, and it did.
Caveat Emptor Mr Cameron indeed.
UKIP resemble the Scot nats more by the day. Nothing is bad for UKIP or Nigel, everything is good for them. It's a lesson you should take more notice of.
The facts are though that the SNP and ukip HAVE improved their positions massively in the last few years... So of course their critics get annoyed by their supporters reporting the good news that keeps coming
Nothing you have said contradicts my point. Nothing in the eyes of the faithful is ever bad, everything works to their advantage, it's like a cult for some supporters.
You just see what you want to see like the people you are trying to criticise
Pretty much every UKIP supporter on here has criticised the party at one time or another. The Conservative supporters are the most slavishly partisan, with a few honourable exceptions.
People incapable of thinking for themselves rely on faith and lickspittle loyalty.
Its odd because I've always thought that Conservatives believed in self-reliance, self-improvement and self-responsibility rather than the slavish groupthink mentality.
Now perhaps the PB Tories are an especially unimpressive bunch of Conservatives but they certainly do not give a good image of the party.
So defecit reduction Growing economy Increased full time jobs Low inflation Increased wages Count for nothing ? Fair enough.
Has the deficit been reduced that much ? I thought one of the criticisms of Osborne/Alexander is that they haven't really made that much impression.
Yes, there are more full-time jobs which is welcome but many of them are on low wages and there's an argument that employing people rather than spending capital on technological improvement is holding back the economy as productivity stagnates.
Low inflation - well, that's true everywhere and it's not just about fuel or food prices. My Travelcard (which I need to get to and from work) has persistently risen well above inflation.
Increased wages - debatable for many. Personally, I'm worse off now than I was in 2010 in terms of my salary against inflation.
I think you need to take off the CCHQ-issue blue tinted specs and accept that for a lot of people the "recovery" is illusory at best and downright deceptive at worst. Indeed, for many people, 2010-15 has been about running hard to stand still in terms of working hours and income.
I'd agree entirely there. I wouldn't expect the government to benefit too much from the fact things have improved since we bottomed out in 08/09. It's the slowest recovery in over 100 years. Robert Peston (who I've not always been a fan of) made a good point in The Times recently. With wages as a share of GDP at a 40(?) year low and corporate profits very high there's an issue about the distribution of rewards. Going on about the 1% isn't new but in Britain you have the additional factor of how foreign owned the country now is. So increasingly the beneficiaries of growth will be living abroad. It's all very well the government doing it's best to attract foreign investors, but whilst they might get a good return of their UK investments they can't vote.
I think that's an interesting problem for the Tories. The economic liberals have long told us it doesn't matter who owns what and we should be happy selling our assets to foreigners. But if our capital class is increasingly non-voting foreigners, the Tories have problems.
A Syriza win and a Greek exit from the Euro could still cause much tumult in the markets, despite how long it has been priced in. The economic fallout of that will show how ridiculous the argument of "Europe isn't an important issue" is. We are currently chained to an economic stagnant bloc with regular pangs of risk and uncertainty. And part of the membership terms means that we can't sign trade deals with anyone else, allowing us to diversify our export base.
It's a good job the economic benefits make up for the political disadvantages, isn't it?
I dont think Syriza will do the job, for the reasons RCS has mentioned a number of times here, they will let themselves be bought off with better loan terms I would think because they want to be in the Euro still.
Spain in December on the other hand might well be a corker, if Podemos win, as well they might, they are committed to resiling from Lisbon, and all the MoUs with the Troika, pulling out of many of the free trade agreements, hammering multinational for super taxes, and a whole load of SWP & Greenery nonsense.
So Nigel will say (yet again)? "we discovered the chap was a bad un after we selected them and after we put him before the voters and after the voters choose UKIP at the ballot box....."
Nigel never learns from UKIP MEP selecting some rum coves. Ashley Mote (Nigel's personal selection in the South) is back in court.
A party is supposed to not select someone for something they haven't done yet? Absurd.
1. Were all the UKIP policies clear for what he stood for as an MEP? 2. He had a track record in political life that could easily have been researched. 3. The main person they complained about him associating with was a UKIP member themselves with criminal records in Pakistan etc.
As for Ashley Mote, his first convictions were for benefits fraud that happened before he was elected as a UKIP MEP. Farage presented Mote to UKIPs members as the right person to select as their candidate. Just as Farage personally selected David Campbell-Bannerman and Marta Andreasen plus many others that either later defected or were jailed etc etc.
Mr. Booth, valid points but it's also worth recalling that we had the worst and longest recession in history, with the highest debt incurred ever (except when we had occasion to participate in a world war). At the same, there was, and is, the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, and increasing competition from the BRIC nations.
Addressing globalisation will not be easy. The wealthiest are very mobile and our current living standards, given both our debt, life expectancy and rising overseas competition, are likely unaffordable.
So Cameron's not just running from the debates - he's trying to escape tough interviews too?
I guess his election plan is just to use his banker mates to publicise his message without answering any questions...
Farage has plenty of banker mates from his time as a City trader, and through UKIPs wealthy backers. He would appear to enjoy being wined and dined in smart Establishment clubs, in St James's, where the Hedge Funders hang out.
Presumably you have an issue with them too, or is that relationship somehow different.
Third source says SYRIZA leads in the morning and mid-day exit poll samples by 12-14%, Golden Dawn is third, KKE and the River are battling for 4th place, PASOK is 5th, ANEL is just over the 3% threshold, KIDISO is just below 3%.
Seems that SYRIZA is mopping the undecided voters, or it could be my weather hypothesis.
So Cameron's not just running from the debates - he's trying to escape tough interviews too?
I guess his election plan is just to use his banker mates to publicise his message without answering any questions...
Farage has plenty of banker mates from his time as a City trader, and through UKIPs wealthy backers.
Presumably you have an issue with them too, or is that relationship somehow different.
Yes, I have a problem with them too. And I've told you this several times.
Of course, Farage is keen to have tough interviews and debates with other political leaders, so isn't entirely reliant on advertising spending for his campaign. Cameron runs scared.
So Cameron's not just running from the debates - he's trying to escape tough interviews too?
I guess his election plan is just to use his banker mates to publicise his message without answering any questions...
Before you start an another inaccurate meme about another thing you know nothing about.
Ms Oakeshott is writing a biography about David Cameron.
She wants a lot of interviews with Dave for the book, he has said no because she wants to talk about things he has said he won't talk about whilst he is PM.
Mr. Indigo, any chance of Podemos winning, though?
They are currently polling around the same as the leading party in Spain, give or take a percent, so its close, and there is a year to go, check this graph and look at the growth in their support!
Mr. Booth, valid points but it's also worth recalling that we had the worst and longest recession in history, with the highest debt incurred ever (except when we had occasion to participate in a world war). At the same, there was, and is, the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, and increasing competition from the BRIC nations.
Addressing globalisation will not be easy. The wealthiest are very mobile and our current living standards, given both our debt, life expectancy and rising overseas competition, are likely unaffordable.
I'd suggest that telling people they have to accept declining living standards at a time when the wage share is so low and corporate profits so high is going to be very difficult.
I think that's an interesting problem for the Tories. The economic liberals have long told us it doesn't matter who owns what and we should be happy selling our assets to foreigners. But if our capital class is increasingly non-voting foreigners, the Tories have problems.
There isn't a whole lot we can do about it though since its explicitly both allowed and promoted by the EU and WTO.
I'd suggest that telling people they have to accept declining living standards at a time when the wage share is so low and corporate profits so high is going to be very difficult.
I think you are right, I also think its more or less the unavoidable truth, our productivity even compared to our EU partners sucks, and is getting worse, we are 26% behind Germany and 19% behind France and way way behind most of Asia.
So defecit reduction Growing economy Increased full time jobs Low inflation Increased wages Count for nothing ? Fair enough.
Has the deficit been reduced that much ? I thought one of the criticisms of Osborne/Alexander is that they haven't really made that much impression.
Yes, there are more full-time jobs which is welcome but many of them are on low wages and there's an argument that employing people rather than spending capital on technological improvement is holding back the economy as productivity stagnates.
Low inflation - well, that's true everywhere and it's not just about fuel or food prices. My Travelcard (which I need to get to and from work) has persistently risen well above inflation.
Increased wages - debatable for many. Personally, I'm worse off now than I was in 2010 in terms of my salary against inflation.
I think you need to take off the CCHQ-issue blue tinted specs and accept that for a lot of people the "recovery" is illusory at best and downright deceptive at worst. Indeed, for many people, 2010-15 has been about running hard to stand still in terms of working hours and income.
I'd agree entirely there. I wouldn't expect the government to benefit too much from the fact things have improved since we bottomed out in 08/09. It's the slowest recovery in over 100 years. Robert Peston (who I've not always been a fan of) made a good point in The Times recently. With wages as a share of GDP at a 40(?) year low and corporate profits very high there's an issue about the distribution of rewards. Going on about the 1% isn't new but in Britain you have the additional factor of how foreign owned the country now is. So increasingly the beneficiaries of growth will be living abroad. It's all very well the government doing it's best to attract foreign investors, but whilst they might get a good return of their UK investments they can't vote.
I think that's an interesting problem for the Tories. The economic liberals have long told us it doesn't matter who owns what and we should be happy selling our assets to foreigners. But if our capital class is increasingly non-voting foreigners, the Tories have problems.
Blame those on benefits: We spend too much and produce to little. It is not difficult to understand....
"on discovering that he was leaving, UKIP suddenly announced that Bashir was under investigation, and tried to suggest that he would have been pushed had he not jumped. A week ago, the Yorkshireman was a popular frontbencher, often to be found in TV studios defending UKIP against accusations of bigotry. Now, the activists who were lauding him are trying to imply that he is some sort of crook."
Mr. Richard, yes. You can also point out Carswell was the incumbent MP who won that large majority.
Personal votes for MPs amount to a couple of thousand at most.
Now I've always liked Carswell irrespective of the party he represents but to suggest that Clacton voted for him personally rather than the Conservatives generally is ridiculous.
A look at the results in neighbouring constituencies confirms this.
If personal votes are 2,000 at the most, how do you explain the number of Lib Dems who look likely to hold their seats?
Diane Abbott on The SP laying into the Mansion Tax and Murphy's plan again.
'London Taxes for Scottish Nurses' bad on the doorstep.
It'll be very interesting to see what happens if Labour is routed in Scotland. The Tories clearly aren't going to bother placating the Scots any more and if Labour has nothing much left to lose there, will they either? They could end up in a bidding war for English voters with the Scots pushed towards the exit. The 'London' mansion tax is just the start.
"on discovering that he was leaving, UKIP suddenly announced that Bashir was under investigation, and tried to suggest that he would have been pushed had he not jumped. A week ago, the Yorkshireman was a popular frontbencher, often to be found in TV studios defending UKIP against accusations of bigotry. Now, the activists who were lauding him are trying to imply that he is some sort of crook."
Dan Hannan is my political role model, but I still think he is playing with fire here, that statement sounds like a non-denial denial, he said that UKIP called Bashir a crook, he didn't disagree with them. It will be interesting to see how this develops.
The Conservatives are close to agreeing to new plans for pre-election TV debates, the party's chairman has said.
Grant Shapps said the proposals to include seven parties were "a lot more sensible" than the first plans, which only involved the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and UKIP.
"I think we are edging here towards something that makes more sense," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
For those wanting a bit more data for their Scottish constituency betting.
'Top Scottish Labour official lays bare "pathetic" state of engagement with voters
SCOTTISH Labour bosses have drawn up a league table naming and shaming moribund local parties that are failing to contact enough voters ahead of the Westminster election. A leaked general election strategy paper shows that activists in fourteen seats, including key SNP targets in Glasgow and Lanarkshire, have been in touch with fewer than 100 voters.'
Most active CLPs – Edinburgh East, Midlothian, Kilmarnock and Loudon
Least active CLPs – Glasgow North West; Glasgow South; Glasgow South West; Inverclyde; Central Ayrshire, Paisley and Renfrewshire South; Paisley and Renfrewshire North; Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East; Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill; East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow; and Lanark and Hamilton East.
(ht Oldnat)
When their bar is being set so low, they truly must know they are finished : -
"His "to do list" for elected members and the wider party also includes: identifying the names of 20 known Yes voters; scoping potential visits to workplaces, businesses and lunch clubs; and recruiting 100 new members on the new £1 sign-up scheme,"
This is in seats where at least 50k+ people will be voting. And their goal is to make meaningful contact with 1000 in a month, get 100 members, identify 20 Yes voters....
There have to be people in the SNP contemplating a clean sweep of 59 MPs.
The Conservatives are close to agreeing to new plans for pre-election TV debates, the party's chairman has said.
Grant Shapps said the proposals to include seven parties were "a lot more sensible" than the first plans, which only involved the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and UKIP.
"I think we are edging here towards something that makes more sense," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
The BBC which is the Party Political Media wing of the Conservative party has arranged this. Nick Robinson, ex Conservative President of the Oxford Union.
The Conservatives are close to agreeing to new plans for pre-election TV debates, the party's chairman has said.
Grant Shapps said the proposals to include seven parties were "a lot more sensible" than the first plans, which only involved the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and UKIP.
"I think we are edging here towards something that makes more sense," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
The BBC which is the Party Political Media wing of the Conservative party has arranged this. Nick Robinson, ex Conservative President of the Oxford Union.
The Conservatives are close to agreeing to new plans for pre-election TV debates, the party's chairman has said.
Grant Shapps said the proposals to include seven parties were "a lot more sensible" than the first plans, which only involved the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and UKIP.
"I think we are edging here towards something that makes more sense," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
The BBC which is the Party Political Media wing of the Conservative party has arranged this. Nick Robinson, ex Conservative President of the Oxford Union.
Well, after a well organised heavy barrage and ambush by the MSM and the Tories against UKIP, re Amjad Bashir, the only change is that UKIP will emerge stronger and continue to clean house where necessary.
After the Lab/Lib/Con nutters went slightly barmy on PB last night, most promising the end of UKIP, have they come to their senses and realised that however much UKIP is attacked it only gets stronger.
And after a very strong performance on Marr by Farage, which hardly anyone on PB mentions, UKIP can now look forward to further advances.
Indeed. I thought, well that will shut them up, and it did.
Caveat Emptor Mr Cameron indeed.
UKIP resemble the Scot nats more by the day. Nothing is bad for UKIP or Nigel, everything is good for them. It's a lesson you should take more notice of.
The facts are though that the SNP and ukip HAVE improved their positions massively in the last few years... So of course their critics get annoyed by their supporters reporting the good news that keeps coming
Nothing you have said contradicts my point. Nothing in the eyes of the faithful is ever bad, everything works to their advantage, it's like a cult for some supporters.
True. "My party right or wrong". For some on here almost a religious belief arguing the opposite to what they had said previously without acknowledging that they had changed.
It's an attitude I find pretty baffling to be honest, being by nature extremely indecisive, I cannot imagine trusting in a party, a shifting collection of politicians, so much that I would always stick to its official line.
The Conservatives are close to agreeing to new plans for pre-election TV debates, the party's chairman has said.
Grant Shapps said the proposals to include seven parties were "a lot more sensible" than the first plans, which only involved the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and UKIP.
"I think we are edging here towards something that makes more sense," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
The BBC which is the Party Political Media wing of the Conservative party has arranged this. Nick Robinson, ex Conservative President of the Oxford Union.
That must really confuse many Tories.
What really confuses a lot of people is the idea that Dave's initial refusal to take part without the Greens was a negotiating position.
I'm guessing the final thing to be negotiated is the date of the Cameron versus Miliband debate, I'd think the Tories would want it to be the first one, whilst Labour would want it to be the last.
The Conservatives are close to agreeing to new plans for pre-election TV debates, the party's chairman has said.
Grant Shapps said the proposals to include seven parties were "a lot more sensible" than the first plans, which only involved the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and UKIP.
"I think we are edging here towards something that makes more sense," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
The BBC which is the Party Political Media wing of the Conservative party has arranged this. Nick Robinson, ex Conservative President of the Oxford Union.
Put the crack pipe down and open a window to let the fumes out.
For those wanting a bit more data for their Scottish constituency betting.
'Top Scottish Labour official lays bare "pathetic" state of engagement with voters
SCOTTISH Labour bosses have drawn up a league table naming and shaming moribund local parties that are failing to contact enough voters ahead of the Westminster election. A leaked general election strategy paper shows that activists in fourteen seats, including key SNP targets in Glasgow and Lanarkshire, have been in touch with fewer than 100 voters.'
Most active CLPs – Edinburgh East, Midlothian, Kilmarnock and Loudon
Least active CLPs – Glasgow North West; Glasgow South; Glasgow South West; Inverclyde; Central Ayrshire, Paisley and Renfrewshire South; Paisley and Renfrewshire North; Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East; Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill; East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow; and Lanark and Hamilton East.
After all the flurry post IPSOS poll, the odds have settled down. Glasgow North remains the only seat in Glasgow where the SNP is favourite. Glasgow Central joint fav.
Interesting point about the IPSOS poll. The results are identical to their last poll of 22-29 Oct which also gave the SNP 52%. The sample size of that poll was 769. The latest one 774. All other Scotland only polls have a sample size higher than 1000.
The Conservatives are close to agreeing to new plans for pre-election TV debates, the party's chairman has said.
Grant Shapps said the proposals to include seven parties were "a lot more sensible" than the first plans, which only involved the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and UKIP.
"I think we are edging here towards something that makes more sense," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
The BBC which is the Party Political Media wing of the Conservative party has arranged this. Nick Robinson, ex Conservative President of the Oxford Union.
That must really confuse many Tories.
What really confuses a lot of people is the idea that Dave's initial refusal to take part without the Greens was a negotiating position.
Many people who are not political hacks might even think this was a climbdown. In fact, Dave now holds all the cards. The media just caved in.
The Conservatives are close to agreeing to new plans for pre-election TV debates, the party's chairman has said.
Grant Shapps said the proposals to include seven parties were "a lot more sensible" than the first plans, which only involved the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and UKIP.
"I think we are edging here towards something that makes more sense," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
The BBC which is the Party Political Media wing of the Conservative party has arranged this. Nick Robinson, ex Conservative President of the Oxford Union.
That must really confuse many Tories.
What really confuses a lot of people is the idea that Dave's initial refusal to take part without the Greens was a negotiating position.
Many people who are not political hacks might even think this was a climbdown. In fact, Dave now holds all the cards. The media just caved in.
For those wanting a bit more data for their Scottish constituency betting.
'Top Scottish Labour official lays bare "pathetic" state of engagement with voters
SCOTTISH Labour bosses have drawn up a league table naming and shaming moribund local parties that are failing to contact enough voters ahead of the Westminster election. A leaked general election strategy paper shows that activists in fourteen seats, including key SNP targets in Glasgow and Lanarkshire, have been in touch with fewer than 100 voters.'
Most active CLPs – Edinburgh East, Midlothian, Kilmarnock and Loudon
Least active CLPs – Glasgow North West; Glasgow South; Glasgow South West; Inverclyde; Central Ayrshire, Paisley and Renfrewshire South; Paisley and Renfrewshire North; Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East; Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill; East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow; and Lanark and Hamilton East.
After all the flurry post IPSOS poll, the odds have settled down. Glasgow North remains the only seat in Glasgow where the SNP is favourite. Glasgow Central joint fav.
Interesting point about the IPSOS poll. The results are identical to their last poll of 22-29 Oct which also gave the SNP 52%. The sample size of that poll was 769. The latest one 774. All other Scotland only polls have a sample size higher than 1000.
Well, the game is trying to work out where the bookies have the wrong odds; any constituency data that might give one an edge is worthwhile. Whatever the deal, there seems a sh*tload of SLab apathy emanating from Glasgow & the West.
The Conservatives are close to agreeing to new plans for pre-election TV debates, the party's chairman has said.
Grant Shapps said the proposals to include seven parties were "a lot more sensible" than the first plans, which only involved the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and UKIP.
"I think we are edging here towards something that makes more sense," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
The BBC which is the Party Political Media wing of the Conservative party has arranged this. Nick Robinson, ex Conservative President of the Oxford Union.
That must really confuse many Tories.
What really confuses a lot of people is the idea that Dave's initial refusal to take part without the Greens was a negotiating position.
Many people who are not political hacks might even think this was a climbdown. In fact, Dave now holds all the cards. The media just caved in.
Caved in from what? They made a proposal, Dave made a counter-proposal "include the Greens", they came back with a further proposal. It was open to any party leader to do the same. Don't see what principles the media appear to have violated.
The Conservatives are close to agreeing to new plans for pre-election TV debates, the party's chairman has said.
Grant Shapps said the proposals to include seven parties were "a lot more sensible" than the first plans, which only involved the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and UKIP.
"I think we are edging here towards something that makes more sense," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
The BBC which is the Party Political Media wing of the Conservative party has arranged this. Nick Robinson, ex Conservative President of the Oxford Union.
That must really confuse many Tories.
What really confuses a lot of people is the idea that Dave's initial refusal to take part without the Greens was a negotiating position.
Many people who are not political hacks might even think this was a climbdown. In fact, Dave now holds all the cards. The media just caved in.
Caved in from what? They made a proposal, Dave made a counter-proposal "include the Greens", they came back with a further proposal. It was open to any party leader to do the same. Don't see what principles the media appear to have violated.
Indeed a lot of so called experts with egg all over their faces now.
The Conservatives are close to agreeing to new plans for pre-election TV debates, the party's chairman has said.
Grant Shapps said the proposals to include seven parties were "a lot more sensible" than the first plans, which only involved the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and UKIP.
"I think we are edging here towards something that makes more sense," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
The BBC which is the Party Political Media wing of the Conservative party has arranged this. Nick Robinson, ex Conservative President of the Oxford Union.
That must really confuse many Tories.
Not confusing because Nick Robinson was given the nickname "Toenails" because of his closeness to new Labour's Leaders.
Very sobering graph. The Conservatives really do need 3-4% of those UKIP voters to return "home" if they're to have a decent chance of some sort of victory in May.
Mr. Booth, Labour's attempt to create fiefdoms for itself by carving up England will not go down well.
Why should the North East which has a handful of Tories be ruled by London ? NEVNEL.
The NE had a vote on a devolved assembly and said no, perhaps its due another but on the previous vote, the NE should be ruled by London because that's how they voted.
The Conservatives are close to agreeing to new plans for pre-election TV debates, the party's chairman has said.
Grant Shapps said the proposals to include seven parties were "a lot more sensible" than the first plans, which only involved the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and UKIP.
"I think we are edging here towards something that makes more sense," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
The BBC which is the Party Political Media wing of the Conservative party has arranged this. Nick Robinson, ex Conservative President of the Oxford Union.
That must really confuse many Tories.
Eh? Ed Balls was a member of the Conservative Association at Oxford, and dressed up as a Nazi for fun. (That must confuse members of the far Right). Even Eric Pickles was interested in Communism whilst at school.
The reality is that beliefs people held in their youth, change as they get older. That even applies to political correspondents.
Re: Greece. I'm almost the diametric opposite of a socialist, and loathe left-wing politics. However, if I was a Greek voter, I admit I'd be sorely tempted. Why vote for the incumbent government - and, by implication, a continued imposition of heavy austerity - when you can vote for a party that will get the country a much better deal?
You know the rest of the eurozone are far too terrified of Grexit to do anything else. So, vote to call their bluff. It almost becomes the patriotic thing for Greeks to do.
That's why SYRIZA will win today. But, as soon as that deal's been cut, I'd expect voting patterns to return to normal, and they won't win a second term.
Does anyone know where to find the full results of the ICM Wisdom index poll? The Telegraph says the Lib Dems are up but don't provide figures and they don't seem to be up on the ICM site either.
The Conservatives are close to agreeing to new plans for pre-election TV debates, the party's chairman has said.
Grant Shapps said the proposals to include seven parties were "a lot more sensible" than the first plans, which only involved the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and UKIP.
"I think we are edging here towards something that makes more sense," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
The BBC which is the Party Political Media wing of the Conservative party has arranged this. Nick Robinson, ex Conservative President of the Oxford Union.
That must really confuse many Tories.
Eh? Ed Balls was a member of the Conservative Association at Oxford, and dressed up as a Nazi for fun. (That must confuse members of the far Right). Even Eric Pickles was interested in Communism whilst at school.
The reality is that beliefs people held in their youth, change as they get older. That even applies to political correspondents.
I was referring to the type of people who, no matter what, rail against the BBC for being a bunch of unrestrained pinko lefties at every turn, when they have to face up to the occasional non-lefty or actually neutral BBC person. I have no idea what Robinson's current political views are and I don't care, but the thought that he really is just a Conservative mouthpiece would be hilarious for those people who see everything the BBC does and everyone in it as anti- Conservative. It was merely a joke that that sort of person wouldn't know how to react in the situation.
Anything remotely positive to vote Labour for? Such poverty of thought and ambition will go a long way to explaining why ed will do so badly in May.
That cuts both ways of course. Why should anyone vote Conservative ? Yes, some people will because of the engendered fear that somehow a Labour Government will unleash plague, pestilence and usher in the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (the form I'm in, I couldn't back the winner of that race either !)
As I opined the other day, the choice is between an inept Labour administration and a Conservative administration so mired in its own Euro-introspection it'll forget about running the country until the much-awaited EU referendum after which the Tories can schism into obscurity and the rest of us will be left to pick up the pieces.
So defecit reduction Growing economy Increased full time jobs Low inflation Increased wages Count for nothing ? Fair enough.
What you mean saddo is "F*** you jack" I am doing all right, who cares about the majority
Er! 55% is not a majority on Planet Eck? While the 45 on your badge refers to the price of Brent crude?
What are you wittering about you demented half wit , we are talking about the UK economy here not labour knuckle draggers living in the past and trying to pretend they won something by partnering the Tories. We will see how many of the 55% support your heroes soon enough.
My, My! Been at the whisky already? Remember to leave some for tonight to toast the Pudding. (Haggis not Eck)
Well, what did Nicola tweet the other day, something about "Comments like that are totally unacceptable. Robust debate, Yes, Abuse like that, No". Seems like she, at least, in the SNP is embarrassed by some of the comments of her supporters. Perhaps you might like to take note.
Reading the ST article on the "bigots", it seems a fuss over not a lot.
In the somewhat throwaway remarks, he claims to represents the bigots of the UK, those who don't always stick to PC speech. That won't lose him many Kipper votes.
All he has to do is say "Je suis Mrs Duffy, mais tu es Gordon Brown."
The general insults about the quality of the party might be more important. Fortunately for them, the opposition is hardly world-class.
Anything remotely positive to vote Labour for? Such poverty of thought and ambition will go a long way to explaining why ed will do so badly in May.
That cuts both ways of course. Why should anyone vote Conservative ? Yes, some people will because of the engendered fear that somehow a Labour Government will unleash plague, pestilence and usher in the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (the form I'm in, I couldn't back the winner of that race either !)
As I opined the other day, the choice is between an inept Labour administration and a Conservative administration so mired in its own Euro-introspection it'll forget about running the country until the much-awaited EU referendum after which the Tories can schism into obscurity and the rest of us will be left to pick up the pieces.
So defecit reduction Growing economy Increased full time jobs Low inflation Increased wages Count for nothing ? Fair enough.
What you mean saddo is "F*** you jack" I am doing all right, who cares about the majority
Er! 55% is not a majority on Planet Eck? While the 45 on your badge refers to the price of Brent crude?
What are you wittering about you demented half wit , we are talking about the UK economy here not labour knuckle draggers living in the past and trying to pretend they won something by partnering the Tories. We will see how many of the 55% support your heroes soon enough.
My, My! Been at the whisky already? Remember to least some for tonight to toast the Pudding. (Haggis not Eck)
Well, what did Nicola tweet the other day, something about "Comments like that are totally unacceptable. Robust debate, Yes, Abuse like that, No". Seem like she, at least, in the SNP is embarrassed by some of the comments of her supporters. Perhaps you might like to take note.
Hmmp - you're indulging in personal abuse (and out of date abuse at that), I notice.
Mr. Booth, Labour's attempt to create fiefdoms for itself by carving up England will not go down well.
Why should the North East which has a handful of Tories be ruled by London ? NEVNEL.
They can vote for independence if they want.
That's an interesting suggestion. Given how long the Unionists managed to defer an independence referendum for Scotland, and how they are attempting to forbid one, both on purely technical procedural grounds, how could (say) a revived Northumbria Party, now bereft of its leader (currently opposing Mr Salmond in Gordon on behalf of SLAB), achieve legitimate independence?
Mr. Booth, Labour's attempt to create fiefdoms for itself by carving up England will not go down well.
Why should the North East which has a handful of Tories be ruled by London ? NEVNEL.
They can vote for independence if they want.
That's an interesting suggestion. Given how long the Unionists managed to defer an independence referendum for Scotland, and how they are attempting to forbid one, both on purely technical procedural grounds, how could (say) a revived Northumbria Party, now bereft of its leader (currently opposing Mr Salmond in Gordon on behalf of SLAB), achieve legitimate independence?
Some guy called Braden Davy tried to revive the Northumbria Party a few years back.
Before becoming a SPAD for Anne Begg and is now standing as the Labour candidate for Gordon (and like all the Unionist candidates believes they should work together to defeat nasty separatist Alex Salmond - as long as the candidate is them).
Reading the ST article on the "bigots", it seems a fuss over not a lot.
In the somewhat throwaway remarks, he claims to represents the bigots of the UK, those who don't always stick to PC speech. That won't lose him many Kipper votes.
All he has to do is say "Je suis Mrs Duffy, mais tu es Gordon Brown."
The general insults about the quality of the party might be more important. Fortunately for them, the opposition is hardly world-class.
I saw the Telegraph and the Times headlines. The Tories are getting desperate. UKIP remains the only party offering an IN/OUT referendum - no strings attached !
Its certainly generating some interesting comments on the Telegraph where Natalie just told everyone about scrapping the army... and border controls...
Nick Robinson - BBC Chief Political Correspondent - Tory Andrew Neil - Senior TV Political Programme Host - Tory Jeremy Paxman - Recently Retired Newsnight Bigmouth - Tory
Anything remotely positive to vote Labour for? Such poverty of thought and ambition will go a long way to explaining why ed will do so badly in May.
That cuts both ways of course. Why should anyone vote Conservative ? Yes, some people will because of the engendered fear that somehow a Labour Government will unleash plague, pestilence and usher in the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (the form I'm in, I couldn't back the winner of that race either !)
As I opined the other day, the choice is between an inept Labour administration and a Conservative administration so mired in its own Euro-introspection it'll forget about running the country until the much-awaited EU referendum after which the Tories can schism into obscurity and the rest of us will be left to pick up the pieces.
So defecit reduction Growing economy Increased full time jobs Low inflation Increased wages Count for nothing ? Fair enough.
What you mean saddo is "F*** you jack" I am doing all right, who cares about the majority
Er! 55% is not a majority on Planet Eck? While the 45 on your badge refers to the price of Brent crude?
What are you wittering about you demented half wit , we are talking about the UK economy here not labour knuckle draggers living in the past and trying to pretend they won something by partnering the Tories. We will see how many of the 55% support your heroes soon enough.
My, My! Been at the whisky already? Remember to least some for tonight to toast the Pudding. (Haggis not Eck)
Well, what did Nicola tweet the other day, something about "Comments like that are totally unacceptable. Robust debate, Yes, Abuse like that, No". Seem like she, at least, in the SNP is embarrassed by some of the comments of her supporters. Perhaps you might like to take note.
Hmmp - you're indulging in personal abuse (and out of date abuse at that), I notice.
And Burn's Night is when? And if you want to read personal abuse, may I kindly suggest that you re-read the comments of MalcolmG towards other writers on this site.
Mr. Booth, Labour's attempt to create fiefdoms for itself by carving up England will not go down well.
Why should the North East which has a handful of Tories be ruled by London ? NEVNEL.
They can vote for independence if they want.
That's an interesting suggestion. Given how long the Unionists managed to defer an independence referendum for Scotland, and how they are attempting to forbid one, both on purely technical procedural grounds, how could (say) a revived Northumbria Party, now bereft of its leader (currently opposing Mr Salmond in Gordon on behalf of SLAB), achieve legitimate independence?
If such a movement gained control of all or near of the local area's seats, effective independence would surely result in any case, the legitimacy or acceptance of that would come in time no doubt. The letter of the law might take more time to be completed, and be really reluctant, but if the vote of the people is overwhelmingly if indirectly signalling a complete and intentional disassociation with the very principle of the rest of the nation, why would they care? The war will have been won by that point, they could afford to be patient about signing the official treaty ending it.
Nick Robinson - BBC Chief Political Correspondent - Tory Andrew Neil - Senior TV Political Programme Host - Tory Jeremy Paxman - Recently Retired Newsnight Bigmouth - Tory
Anything remotely positive to vote Labour for? Such poverty of thought and ambition will go a long way to explaining why ed will do so badly in May.
That cuts both ways of course. Why should anyone vote Conservative ? Yes, some people will because of the engendered fear that somehow a Labour Government will unleash plague, pestilence and usher in the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (the form I'm in, I couldn't back the winner of that race either !)
As I opined the other day, the choice is between an inept Labour administration and a Conservative administration so mired in its own Euro-introspection it'll forget about running the country until the much-awaited EU referendum after which the Tories can schism into obscurity and the rest of us will be left to pick up the pieces.
So defecit reduction Growing economy Increased full time jobs Low inflation Increased wages Count for nothing ? Fair enough.
What you mean saddo is "F*** you jack" I am doing all right, who cares about the majority
Er! 55% is not a majority on Planet Eck? While the 45 on your badge refers to the price of Brent crude?
What are you wittering about you demented half wit , we are talking about the UK economy here not labour knuckle draggers living in the past and trying to pretend they won something by partnering the Tories. We will see how many of the 55% support your heroes soon enough.
My, My! Been at the whisky already? Remember to least some for tonight to toast the Pudding. (Haggis not Eck)
Well, what did Nicola tweet the other day, something about "Comments like that are totally unacceptable. Robust debate, Yes, Abuse like that, No". Seem like she, at least, in the SNP is embarrassed by some of the comments of her supporters. Perhaps you might like to take note.
Hmmp - you're indulging in personal abuse (and out of date abuse at that), I notice.
And Burn's Night is when? And if you want to read personal abuse, may I kindly suggest that you re-read the comments of MalcolmG towards other writers on this site.
It's inappropriate for you to complain about personal abuse when you are simultaneously indulging in it - especially as Mr Salmond has been on a diet.
Mr. Booth, Labour's attempt to create fiefdoms for itself by carving up England will not go down well.
Why should the North East which has a handful of Tories be ruled by London ? NEVNEL.
The NE had a vote on a devolved assembly and said no, perhaps its due another but on the previous vote, the NE should be ruled by London because that's how they voted.
If they are being given the option of being ruled by Tory Toffs from London , they will have changed their minds.
Mr. Booth, Labour's attempt to create fiefdoms for itself by carving up England will not go down well.
Why should the North East which has a handful of Tories be ruled by London ? NEVNEL.
They can vote for independence if they want.
That's an interesting suggestion. Given how long the Unionists managed to defer an independence referendum for Scotland, and how they are attempting to forbid one, both on purely technical procedural grounds, how could (say) a revived Northumbria Party, now bereft of its leader (currently opposing Mr Salmond in Gordon on behalf of SLAB), achieve legitimate independence?
If such a movement gained control of all or near of the local area's seats, effective independence would surely result in any case, the legitimacy or acceptance of that would come in time no doubt. The letter of the law might take more time to be completed, and be really reluctant, but if the vote of the people is overwhelmingly if indirectly signalling a complete and intentional disassociation with the very principle of the rest of the nation, why would they care? The war will have been won by that point, they could afford to be patient about signing the official treaty ending it.
Thanks. I was interested to see what your view was!
Its certainly generating some interesting comments on the Telegraph where Natalie just told everyone about scrapping the army... and border controls...
Mr. Booth, Labour's attempt to create fiefdoms for itself by carving up England will not go down well.
Why should the North East which has a handful of Tories be ruled by London ? NEVNEL.
The NE had a vote on a devolved assembly and said no, perhaps its due another but on the previous vote, the NE should be ruled by London because that's how they voted.
If they are being given the option of being ruled by Tory Toffs from London , they will have changed their minds.
Yes indeed, important constitutional referendums should be repeated regularly.
Comments
Seeing the world they're told to see it and reciting the propaganda they're told to recite gives some people their only reason for existing.
Early days though, but two sources are pointing at somewhere between 10-15% lead in the morning sample, by the way the record lead for a greek election post-1974 is 12% in 1981 followed by 10% in 2009.
I will have a much clearer picture at around 3pm.
Now I've always liked Carswell irrespective of the party he represents but to suggest that Clacton voted for him personally rather than the Conservatives generally is ridiculous.
A look at the results in neighbouring constituencies confirms this.
A very big win for the PM here as well, a very canny move to try and force the inclusion of the Greens in the debates.
Mr. Speedy, cheers for the extra info on Greece.
It's a good job the economic benefits make up for the political disadvantages, isn't it?
"I never give up" @IsabelOakeshott tells @afneil about her bid for a @David_Cameron interview #bbcsp
So Cameron's not just running from the debates - he's trying to escape tough interviews too?
I guess his election plan is just to use his banker mates to publicise his message without answering any questions...
Its odd because I've always thought that Conservatives believed in self-reliance, self-improvement and self-responsibility rather than the slavish groupthink mentality.
Now perhaps the PB Tories are an especially unimpressive bunch of Conservatives but they certainly do not give a good image of the party.
I think that's an interesting problem for the Tories. The economic liberals have long told us it doesn't matter who owns what and we should be happy selling our assets to foreigners. But if our capital class is increasingly non-voting foreigners, the Tories have problems.
Spain in December on the other hand might well be a corker, if Podemos win, as well they might, they are committed to resiling from Lisbon, and all the MoUs with the Troika, pulling out of many of the free trade agreements, hammering multinational for super taxes, and a whole load of SWP & Greenery nonsense.
2. He had a track record in political life that could easily have been researched.
3. The main person they complained about him associating with was a UKIP member themselves with criminal records in Pakistan etc.
As for Ashley Mote, his first convictions were for benefits fraud that happened before he was elected as a UKIP MEP. Farage presented Mote to UKIPs members as the right person to select as their candidate. Just as Farage personally selected David Campbell-Bannerman and Marta Andreasen plus many others that either later defected or were jailed etc etc.
Addressing globalisation will not be easy. The wealthiest are very mobile and our current living standards, given both our debt, life expectancy and rising overseas competition, are likely unaffordable.
Presumably you have an issue with them too, or is that relationship somehow different.
Seems that SYRIZA is mopping the undecided voters, or it could be my weather hypothesis.
Of course, Farage is keen to have tough interviews and debates with other political leaders, so isn't entirely reliant on advertising spending for his campaign. Cameron runs scared.
Ms Oakeshott is writing a biography about David Cameron.
She wants a lot of interviews with Dave for the book, he has said no because she wants to talk about things he has said he won't talk about whilst he is PM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_Spanish_general_election,_2015
:release-the-saddo-one:
Mr. Indigo, cheers. That's a steep rise.
'London Taxes for Scottish Nurses' bad on the doorstep.
http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2015/01/daniel-hannan-mep-as-bashir-signs-up-to-the-conservatives-dont-knock-defectors-whichever-party-they-join-or-leave.html
"on discovering that he was leaving, UKIP suddenly announced that Bashir was under investigation, and tried to suggest that he would have been pushed had he not jumped. A week ago, the Yorkshireman was a popular frontbencher, often to be found in TV studios defending UKIP against accusations of bigotry. Now, the activists who were lauding him are trying to imply that he is some sort of crook."
"anjem" Bashir
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2015/01/nigel-farage-says-good-riddance-to-anjem-bashir-and-reveals-ukip-terms-for-a-coalition/
Con 261 [ 259 ] [ 260 ]
Lab 294 [ 296 ] [ 307 ]
LD 26 [ 26 ] [ 17 ]
UKIP 5 [ 4 ] [ 0 ]
Grn 1 [ 1] [ 1 ]
SNP 41 [ 42 ] [ 43 ]
PC 3 [ 3 ] [ 3 ]
NI 18 [ 18 ] [ 18 ]
Spk 1 [ 1 ] [ 1 ]
Note: The earliest comparative figures were NOT ADJUSTED.
Labour climbs to mighty 14 in Scotland. Tories lose 5 in the South but gain 8 in Midlands / Wales.
Adjustments have given UKIP 5 seats and added 8 to LD.
Latest National percentages: Con 32.0, Lab 32.2, LD 7.2, UKIP 15.2, Grn 8.0
The Conservatives are close to agreeing to new plans for pre-election TV debates, the party's chairman has said.
Grant Shapps said the proposals to include seven parties were "a lot more sensible" than the first plans, which only involved the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and UKIP.
"I think we are edging here towards something that makes more sense," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.
Anyone else going to pull out ?
"His "to do list" for elected members and the wider party also includes: identifying the names of 20 known Yes voters; scoping potential visits to workplaces, businesses and lunch clubs; and recruiting 100 new members on the new £1 sign-up scheme,"
This is in seats where at least 50k+ people will be voting. And their goal is to make meaningful contact with 1000 in a month, get 100 members, identify 20 Yes voters....
There have to be people in the SNP contemplating a clean sweep of 59 MPs.
After all the flurry post IPSOS poll, the odds have settled down. Glasgow North remains the only seat in Glasgow where the SNP is favourite. Glasgow Central joint fav.
Interesting point about the IPSOS poll. The results are identical to their last poll of 22-29 Oct which also gave the SNP 52%. The sample size of that poll was 769. The latest one 774.
All other Scotland only polls have a sample size higher than 1000.
The reality is that beliefs people held in their youth, change as they get older. That even applies to political correspondents.
You know the rest of the eurozone are far too terrified of Grexit to do anything else. So, vote to call their bluff. It almost becomes the patriotic thing for Greeks to do.
That's why SYRIZA will win today. But, as soon as that deal's been cut, I'd expect voting patterns to return to normal, and they won't win a second term.
Well, what did Nicola tweet the other day, something about "Comments like that are totally unacceptable. Robust debate, Yes, Abuse like that, No". Seems like she, at least, in the SNP is embarrassed by some of the comments of her supporters. Perhaps you might like to take note.
In the somewhat throwaway remarks, he claims to represents the bigots of the UK, those who don't always stick to PC speech. That won't lose him many Kipper votes.
All he has to do is say "Je suis Mrs Duffy, mais tu es Gordon Brown."
The general insults about the quality of the party might be more important. Fortunately for them, the opposition is hardly world-class.
Before becoming a SPAD for Anne Begg and is now standing as the Labour candidate for Gordon (and like all the Unionist candidates believes they should work together to defeat nasty separatist Alex Salmond - as long as the candidate is them).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/greenpolitics/11368244/British-army-to-be-replaced-by-home-defence-force-if-Greens-win-power-in-May.html
Andrew Neil - Senior TV Political Programme Host - Tory
Jeremy Paxman - Recently Retired Newsnight Bigmouth - Tory
Oh...