Coburn seems a bit of an idiot but anyone thinking he called Humza "Hamza" for any reason other than they have an extremely similar name is just being stupid
Hope he gets well soon; the HofC needs more MPs who speak their mind.
When was last time he ever said anything, must be nearly 10 years since I heard anything from him
Does he have your contact details, Malc?
LOL, very droll Peter. For the idiots I of course meant in the media , news etc. Invisible man as far as political actions , though I hope he is OK and gets well soon.
PS how did you do at Cheltenham this year, I actually came out just ahead so not bad at all.
Last week
"Labour should promise a referendum on EU membership if it is serious about winning the election and the UK should then take back control of its borders, MP Frank Field argued, as Ukip unveiled its immigration policies.
The Birkenhead MP said he hoped Labour was “waking up” to the impact of immigration on areas such as Merseyside and called for an initial target of bringing the number of migrants down to less than 100,000."
Been out all day buying palm trees.. missed Ed,s speech How did it go..owt new..
Five vague ideas for government along the lines of 'Labour in government will foundate its support for Islington muesli growers' but nothing definitive that their poor bloody infantry out canvassing can lure voters with.
One is that under Labour the government will control immigration which is both vague, stating the bleeding obvious and wrong at the same time as uk government dont have the power to control immigration from EU citizens and Labour have no intention of repatriation of such powers.
Cant remember what the others were, some hagiography regarding the NHS etc.
Been out all day buying palm trees.. missed Ed,s speech How did it go..owt new..
Teenagers and old age pensioners linked arms and marched to Birmingham Town Hall where they burnt effigies of David Osborne and George Cameron before ransacking Sunderland.
Coburn seems a bit of an idiot but anyone thinking he called Humza "Hamza" for any reason other than they have an extremely similar name is just being stupid
'' "Humza Yousaf, or as I call him, Abu Hamza, didn’t seem to turn up,” he was reported to have said.''
The intent is clear. The whole point of the remark was because they have a bit of their name thats similar.
Tactical voting only works if you are clear about which two horses are in the race. Whoever came up with that wheel clearly isn't. The Lib Dems have absolutely no chance in Argyle & Bute or in West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine. In Argyle & Bute it hardly matters, as the SNP are going to win at a trot anyway - but in WAK, a tight race between the SNP and Conservatives, it only helps the SNP if some idiot goes about telling voters that the way to stop the SNP is voting Lib Dem.
Another example is Dumfries & Galloway - admittedly a possible 3 way marginal, but according to the latest Ashcroft poll, Labour are in third, and its an SNP v Tory race. So again, whoever came up with the above nonsense is helping the SNP there by telling non-SNP voters to vote Labour.
Coburn seems a bit of an idiot but anyone thinking he called Humza "Hamza" for any reason other than they have an extremely similar name is just being stupid
'' "Humza Yousaf, or as I call him, Abu Hamza, didn’t seem to turn up,” he was reported to have said.''
The intent is clear. The whole point of the remark was because they have a bit of their name thats similar.
I think we can say that was a dog whistle that worked quickly
Coburn seems a bit of an idiot but anyone thinking he called Humza "Hamza" for any reason other than they have an extremely similar name is just being stupid
'' "Humza Yousaf, or as I call him, Abu Hamza, didn’t seem to turn up,” he was reported to have said.''
The intent is clear. The whole point of the remark was because they have a bit of their name thats similar.
The intent was indeed clear - to take the piss. Bit like calling the Chancellor Gidiot.
Coburn seems a bit of an idiot but anyone thinking he called Humza "Hamza" for any reason other than they have an extremely similar name is just being stupid
'' "Humza Yousaf, or as I call him, Abu Hamza, didn’t seem to turn up,” he was reported to have said.''
The intent is clear. The whole point of the remark was because they have a bit of their name thats similar.
I think we can say that was a dog whistle that worked quickly
Mainly because the left went off on one and carried on in a way that would make you think he had formulated a policy to build a set of concentration camps in the western Isles.
It seems no amount of bad press can lower the UKIP %. Although the fieldwork was up to Thurs so may not have captured any impact from the racial equality statements.
Perhaps there is just a better level of integration. While not perfect what I see is a community that is not generally enclaved into ghettos like appears to be the case with parts of England.
Yousaf himself has wife of white Scottish heritage and like most Asians in Scotland takes part in wider civic society.
Interesting comments on integration. Are there any ghettos comparable to Tower Hamlets, Bradford, Luton, etc., in Scotland?
I really need to visit Scotland at some point as I am ashamed to admit I have never been...
There is nothing like Tower Hamlets. While it would be wrong to pretend its a huge love in with no problems, there does appear to be a far better situation in Scotland than there is down South. But I think it would be best to find out from an Asian who has lived in both countries to give the best idea. Scotland should count themselves quite fortunate.
Coburn is a total idiot. Yousaf is an example of when integration works - although it looks like the Nats got to him first I have no idea how you could make a comparison between the two.
The Labour Party do not and never have stood for Integration. They have always championed a "separate but equal" policy of multiculturalism which would be perfectly acceptable in the American South under Jim Crow.
So rather than the Nats "getting" to Humza first, it is most likely he just found his natural political home.
Agreed x1000. What happened on Labour's watch was not multiculturalism as most people understand it and has only led to segregation, in some instances on a massive scale.
Doris and Sid bonkers of Neasden changed their mind so that 34.4/33.5 became 34.5/33.4 changing the published figure from 34/34 to 33/35?
Looking at the tables to 1 d.p. it's Labour 34.6%, Conservatives 32.9%. So a Labour lead of 1.7%. Will be interesting to see what the other polls bring. I really thought the Conservatives were building up some momentum, but combined with the Mori and Populus polls it seems that any movement continues to be slow.
I think the ICM poll is going to be very interesting. If that shows another decent Conservative lead I think we can pretty much say crossover looks to have happened on a permanent basis (with only the odd poll likely to have a Labour lead). If it close to parity though, or a Labour lead then it looks as though things remain tight as a tic.
Coburn seems a bit of an idiot but anyone thinking he called Humza "Hamza" for any reason other than they have an extremely similar name is just being stupid
'' "Humza Yousaf, or as I call him, Abu Hamza, didn’t seem to turn up,” he was reported to have said.''
The intent is clear. The whole point of the remark was because they have a bit of their name thats similar.
I think we can say that was a dog whistle that worked quickly
Mainly because the left went off on one and carried on in a way that would make you think he had formulated a policy to build a set of concentration camps in the western Isles.
Oh ha I meant Flighpath being the first to respond to
"anyone thinking he called Humza "Hamza" for any reason other than they have an extremely similar name is just being stupid"
Worth noting that Opinium has a sizable 7-point bounce in Miliband's rating - Cameron is down 2, narrowing the gap from 23 to 14. Seems that the Mail's kitchen thing hasn't done him any harm.
Worth noting that Opinium has a sizable 7-point bounce in Miliband's rating - Cameron is down 2, narrowing the gap from 23 to 14. Seems that the Mail's kitchen thing hasn't done him any harm.
It did lead to some amusing lines though "If Ed can't stand the heat he should get out of the second kitchen" :P
Coburn seems a bit of an idiot but anyone thinking he called Humza "Hamza" for any reason other than they have an extremely similar name is just being stupid
Well I'm being "stupid" then.
1) Coburn told the "joke" to a Daily Mail journo because he (wrongly) assumed a Daily Mail journo would also find it really funny.
2) If the *Daily Mail* is calling you out for racism, maybe that's a hint that there really is a bit of racism going on.
The press actually harm the Tories in my opinion. They all try so hard I think it makes things worse for the Tories. Kinda numbs the public to when a legitimate attack goes in.
The press actually harm the Tories in my opinion. They all try so hard I think it makes things worse for the Tories. Kinda numbs the public to when a legitimate attack goes in.
Daily Record probably having similiar effect on Labour in Scotland tbh.
Coburn seems a bit of an idiot but anyone thinking he called Humza "Hamza" for any reason other than they have an extremely similar name is just being stupid
Well I'm being "stupid" then.
1) Coburn told the "joke" to a Daily Mail journo because he (wrongly) assumed a Daily Mail journo would also find it really funny.
2) If the *Daily Mail* is calling you out for racism, maybe that's a hint that there really is a bit of racism going on.
No, its a hint that your party is damaging the Tories. The Mail has been putting the boot into UKIP since before the Euros. Coburn was silly to let a Mail Journo anywhere near him IMHO. God only knows what the Mails anti UKIPism is doing to its circulation, given half their readers appear to regard UKIP as not bad but a bit pinko liberal for their liking.
@malcolmg Just a question, and don't take it personally, but why would anyone so committed to an independent Scotland want to emigrate?
I don't want to , it is just Monica being mischievous. Only way I would go is if my daughter and grandchildren emigrated. I will travel a lot more again when I retire. I have moved many times for work and spent lot of time in England , USA , Germany , and France. I have a good life at moment , work from home and get paid very well and don't need to travel ,with only downside being I have to work very hard.
Hope he gets well soon; the HofC needs more MPs who speak their mind.
When was last time he ever said anything, must be nearly 10 years since I heard anything from him
Does he have your contact details, Malc?
LOL, very droll Peter. For the idiots I of course meant in the media , news etc. Invisible man as far as political actions , though I hope he is OK and gets well soon.
PS how did you do at Cheltenham this year, I actually came out just ahead so not bad at all.
Discussion of my Cheltenham results will be very brief this year, Malcolm.
The SNP boy Yousaf is one of the most popular and prominent Asian politicians in Scotland and only the other day was filmed larking about with Kazia Dugdale and Ruth Davidson to promote red nose day. The UKIP MEP Coburn is totally out of line and deserves all the criticism being heaped upon him.
Without making any defence of Coburn - who strikes me as a bit of an idiot in this instance - I am afraid your claims that there have never been race problems in Scotland is just fanciful. The official reported incidents of racist attacks - either physical or verbal - run at around 5000 a year and have been increasing in recent years.
The numbers for 2011/12 were
Scotland
5,389 reported incidents for a population of 3.1 million. That is 1.7 incidents per 1000 people.
England and Wales
51,187 reported incidents for a population of 55.7 million. That is 0.92 incidents per 1000 people.
So the rate of racist incidents as a proportion of the population in Scotland is nearly twice that of England and Wales.
The population of Scotland is 5.3 million, so the figure for 11/12 is 1.02 per 1000.
In 2012/13 this fell to 4,628 or 0.87 per 1000.
It is not this figure which matters. A higher number could indicate a more serious attitude to racist incidents and a lower number mean the problem is being ignored.
I'm not Asian so I can't comment on the experience for a Scottish Asian person, racism needs to be dealt with, it may or may not be. However, the higher level of integration and lack of ghettos is quite significant and easily apparent even to a non-Asian Scot.
Apologies Dair you are quite right. I had a brainwave when I looked up the Scots population.
The point of my posting was to counter Eastersoss's claims that there 'have never been race problems in Scotland'. This is clearly untrue as the numbers - even when you quite rightly corrected them - are still comparable with England and Wales.
Racism is a problem equally in all parts of the UK. Trying to claim that one nation doesn't have a problem seems to me to be entirely the wrong way to handle it.
To be fair though Richard we do not see anything like the hassle you see/hear from England.
Coburn seems a bit of an idiot but anyone thinking he called Humza "Hamza" for any reason other than they have an extremely similar name is just being stupid
Those thin-skinned sorts who whine about how folk referring to 'Nigel Falange' and 'NF' are trying to imply a connection with racist, Fascist politics must be really stupid.
Coburn seems a bit of an idiot but anyone thinking he called Humza "Hamza" for any reason other than they have an extremely similar name is just being stupid
Those thin-skinned sorts who whine about how folk referring to 'Nigel Falange' and 'NF' are trying to imply a connection with racist, Fascist politics must be really stupid.
In the pre-Budget lull, I've been musing on the question of "time for a change" following the MORI poll earlier in the week showing a high percentage thinking it was time for a change of Government.
Well, yes, those opposed to the current administration will always say that but it got me thinking.
In many ways, the current Government has carried on the trend of a more Presidential style - I don't avidly follow any and every news and political programme like some on here but my perception is the omnipresence of David Cameron. He may be primus inter pares in theory but the fact is he is the Government or the face of it. I can't remember the last time I saw Eric Pickles or Jeremy Hunt or even Nicky Morgan - it's 90% Cameron, 8% Osborne and 2% Hammond.
This may explain why the Prime Minister polls ahead of his Party - I suspect some see him and support him and like him as a leader and neither care or perhaps even know he is a Conservative - some on here seem to doubt that too.
The corollary of omnipresence is viewer fatigue - it seems like he has been PM for decades because he's always there, day in and day out whereas in a less media-intensive era, the PM could go and shoot things on his Scottish estate for a couple of months and the country and world carried on. Now we have to have the PM involved with everything whether regarding Jeremy Clarkson or Comic Relief or English cricket.
The perception of continuity and longevity becomes truncated with the over-exposure and people simply want to see another face, a different face, on the television. In some ways, even though we have a Coalition Government, it has felt less collegiate and consensual than before with the single dominant voice which may already be past its sell-by date.
In many ways, the current Government has carried on the trend of a more Presidential style - I don't avidly follow any and every news and political programme like some on here but my perception is the omnipresence of David Cameron. He may be primus inter pares in theory but the fact is he is the Government or the face of it. I can't remember the last time I saw Eric Pickles or Jeremy Hunt or even Nicky Morgan - it's 90% Cameron, 8% Osborne and 2% Hammond.
You don't actually see many minister very often at all, definitely not defending the government record on the news channels etc. Under Blair, at times you wondered if ministers ever did any work beyond being on the telly / radio.
It seems that the current government, a minister will pop up, announce something, do some media that day and then disappear. Everything else is Cameron or Osborne (if it is good news) and that is about it. Vince likes to moan to journos from time to time, Clegg has been banging the drum on mental health, and Alexander gets wheeled out for bad economic news.
I think a lot of people would really struggle to name ministers beyond a handful or so.
I see Ed has been repeating the dodgy "back to the 1930's" claim. I presume it must be focus grouping well.
The Tories have done really really badly on this, they have let it become "fact", rather than basically saying remember 2001, do you really it is terrible? No? Well that is our plan. You wonder what they pay the likes of Crosby to do, Bad Al would never have allowed this to take hold.
Mr. Urquhart, be fair. I didn't sleep much last night and got up before six, and I can't sleep during the day tomorrow.
Longest I've gone without sleep is 26 hours. I'd be an hour or so short of that if I stayed awake through the night, watched F1 till the end of the race, then fell asleep.
May well go to bed a bit earlier than usual. Getting up for F1 means walking the dog first. So perhaps a 4.30am rising.
Bah.
I will be watching live too although in a slightly more civilised +1hr timezone compared with you. I've followed you in on the Massa podium tip plus a few other bets to keep it interesting. I would leave a note of those over on your blog if you would kindly post a link to your post on the matter? *grin*.
Fellow politicians spoke of their concern for the MP on social media. Jenny Willott, Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central, said: “Sorry to hear Frank Field, Labour MP, has collapsed. I hope he’s OK – I have a lot of time for Frank.” Nadhim Zahawi, Conservative MP for Stratford-on-Avon, added: “Wishing Frank Field a speedy recovery. One of the nicest most decent human beings I have had the privilege to meet.”
In answer to Mike K, people of South Asian origins are an integral part of Scottish society and have been since most arrived as part of the exodus from Uganda when Idi Amin expelled them all in the 1970s. They are not simply muslim. A great many are Sikh or from other religious groups including Roman Catholicism.
There have never been race problems in Scotland. Indeed in large parts of Glasgow, the Asian community members were more acceptable to the locals than those white British who happened to come from the other side of the religious divide (Rangers v Celtic).
The SNP boy Yousaf is one of the most popular and prominent Asian politicians in Scotland and only the other day was filmed larking about with Kazia Dugdale and Ruth Davidson to promote red nose day. The UKIP MEP Coburn is totally out of line and deserves all the criticism being heaped upon him.
I think that probably Brits of South Asian origin are more integrated is partly due to numbers and partly due to class.
The Yorkshire, Lancashire and Midlands ghettos largely came into being as factory owners cut costs in the 50's and 60's by employing cheap unskilled labour from the sub continent.
East african asians were more middle class to begin with, often professionals or entrepeneurs, who often spoke English as a first language. Because professional jobs and small businesses are more geographically dispersed there is a natural tendency for these communities to disperse.
Its a bit like the old joke, which contains an element of truth:
I see Ed has been repeating the dodgy "back to the 1930's" claim. I presume it must be focus grouping well.
The Tories have done really really badly on this, they have let it become "fact", rather than basically saying remember 2001, do you really it is terrible? No? Well that is our plan. You wonder what they pay the likes of Crosby to do, Bad Al would never have allowed this to take hold.
It feels like Labour are campaigning, but it's yet to feel that the government are.
Back to the 30s? The man won't even tell the truth about his kitchens.
Mr. Urquhart, be fair. I didn't sleep much last night and got up before six, and I can't sleep during the day tomorrow.
Longest I've gone without sleep is 26 hours. I'd be an hour or so short of that if I stayed awake through the night, watched F1 till the end of the race, then fell asleep.
My boss once said in rather sheepish tones that he was double-booked, could I cover a meeting for him?
I got out of it 34 hours later. Negotiated through the night and the next day. He neglected to tell me there was an immovable deadline.
Then he did it on me twice again. A two-day trio to Pakistan that turned into two weeks (I learned after that to pack for a month!). Then a meeting that turned into a six week marathon. One day off. Weekends included. The lawyer on the other side having to report progress to her client every twelve hours.
Her client was Enron....
(Happy ending though. Enron tried to walk from the final signed deal. Went all the way to the House of Lords. Who told t,hem our drafting was not ambiguous. Pay up the quarter of a billion as the contract required...)
Had 90 minutes;' phone canvassing, which is in some ways more fun because you don't get the visual cues and can't predict what you'll hear. Had one chap down as "doubtful" - he said the thing that bothers him most is the story about "that Top Gear bloke". What did I think about that, eh?
Er. "I'm not a fan of Mr Clarkson to be honest, and if he really thumped someone..."
"That's right! Got to have rules even for the famous. But you politicians all suck up to people like him."
In answer to Mike K, people of South Asian origins are an integral part of Scottish society and have been since most arrived as part of the exodus from Uganda when Idi Amin expelled them all in the 1970s. They are not simply muslim. A great many are Sikh or from other religious groups including Roman Catholicism.
There have never been race problems in Scotland. Indeed in large parts of Glasgow, the Asian community members were more acceptable to the locals than those white British who happened to come from the other side of the religious divide (Rangers v Celtic).
The SNP boy Yousaf is one of the most popular and prominent Asian politicians in Scotland and only the other day was filmed larking about with Kazia Dugdale and Ruth Davidson to promote red nose day. The UKIP MEP Coburn is totally out of line and deserves all the criticism being heaped upon him.
I think that probably Brits of South Asian origin are more integrated is partly due to numbers and partly due to class.
As the old saying goes....in Britain, class trumps race....in America, race trumps class....
I see Ed has been repeating the dodgy "back to the 1930's" claim. I presume it must be focus grouping well.
The Tories have done really really badly on this, they have let it become "fact", rather than basically saying remember 2001, do you really it is terrible? No? Well that is our plan. You wonder what they pay the likes of Crosby to do, Bad Al would never have allowed this to take hold.
It feels like Labour are campaigning, but it's yet to feel that the government are.
Back to the 30s? The man won't even tell the truth about his kitchens.
In answer to Mike K, people of South Asian origins are an integral part of Scottish society and have been since most arrived as part of the exodus from Uganda when Idi Amin expelled them all in the 1970s. They are not simply muslim. A great many are Sikh or from other religious groups including Roman Catholicism.
There have never been race problems in Scotland. Indeed in large parts of Glasgow, the Asian community members were more acceptable to the locals than those white British who happened to come from the other side of the religious divide (Rangers v Celtic).
The SNP boy Yousaf is one of the most popular and prominent Asian politicians in Scotland and only the other day was filmed larking about with Kazia Dugdale and Ruth Davidson to promote red nose day. The UKIP MEP Coburn is totally out of line and deserves all the criticism being heaped upon him.
I think that probably Brits of South Asian origin are more integrated is partly due to numbers and partly due to class.
As the old saying goes....in Britain, class trumps race....in America, race trumps class....
There is an element of truth. I have a number of medical colleagues who have worked in Scotland. The only ones who have reported being abused or insulted because of their origins were the English ones. The Asian and mainland Europeans seem to have had no problems.
Ed Miliband has been on TV virtually daily for weeks revealing most of his policies with minimal rebuttal from the conservatives or the coalition. Having virtually laid out their manifesto before the budget I would expect George Osborne to produce a budget that will be highly political giving tax cuts paid possibly by the same tax take labour are planning for their tuition fee reduction together with deficit reduction of the 30 billion expressly quoted in terms of welfare and departmental savings plus tax avoidance and that the figures he produces will pass examination by the IFS and then the challenge for labour will be to show how they will meet the 30 billion needed
Comments
"Labour should promise a referendum on EU membership if it is serious about winning the election and the UK should then take back control of its borders, MP Frank Field argued, as Ukip unveiled its immigration policies.
The Birkenhead MP said he hoped Labour was “waking up” to the impact of immigration on areas such as Merseyside and called for an initial target of bringing the number of migrants down to less than 100,000."
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/frank-field-urges-labour-promise-8771445
One is that under Labour the government will control immigration which is both vague, stating the bleeding obvious and wrong at the same time as uk government dont have the power to control immigration from EU citizens and Labour have no intention of repatriation of such powers.
Cant remember what the others were, some hagiography regarding the NHS etc.
The intent is clear. The whole point of the remark was because they have a bit of their name thats similar.
Another example is Dumfries & Galloway - admittedly a possible 3 way marginal, but according to the latest Ashcroft poll, Labour are in third, and its an SNP v Tory race. So again, whoever came up with the above nonsense is helping the SNP there by telling non-SNP voters to vote Labour.
Latest Opinium poll (10 - 12 Mar)
LAB - 35% (+1)
CON - 33% (-1)
UKIP - 14% (-)
GRN - 7% (-)
LDEM - 7% (-1)
Opinium/Observer: Labour 35% (+1), Conservatives 33% (-1), Lib Dems 7% (-1), UKIP 14% (n/c), Greens 7% (n/c) http://bit.ly/18ouuE3
No crossover from Opinium.
Wait for the Budget starting pistol then....
Interesting comments on integration. Are there any ghettos comparable to Tower Hamlets, Bradford, Luton, etc., in Scotland?
I really need to visit Scotland at some point as I am ashamed to admit I have never been...
There is nothing like Tower Hamlets. While it would be wrong to pretend its a huge love in with no problems, there does appear to be a far better situation in Scotland than there is down South. But I think it would be best to find out from an Asian who has lived in both countries to give the best idea.
Scotland should count themselves quite fortunate.
Agreed x1000. What happened on Labour's watch was not multiculturalism as most people understand it and has only led to segregation, in some instances on a massive scale.
I think the ICM poll is going to be very interesting. If that shows another decent Conservative lead I think we can pretty much say crossover looks to have happened on a permanent basis (with only the odd poll likely to have a Labour lead). If it close to parity though, or a Labour lead then it looks as though things remain tight as a tic.
"anyone thinking he called Humza "Hamza" for any reason other than they have an extremely similar name is just being stupid"
peep peep
Why the Tories waste their time chatting about kitchens I will never know.
LABOUR AND THE TORIES HAVE SECRET TALKS http://atrueindependentscotland.com/labour-and-the-tories-have-secret-talks/ …
Seeds of a National Government?
Will they realise they have no clue what they are talking about?
Apparently the UKIP PPC for North Minehead was overheard and taped in a local Italian restaurant, the Axis Cafe, making plans to annexe Taunton.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9917087/Lord-Ashcroft-in-election-strategy-talks-with-Labour.html
The public have a limited attention span. They won't be picking up the amusing lines.
The Tories don't have a tight message. Its just a general slag off Ed approach.
1) Coburn told the "joke" to a Daily Mail journo because he (wrongly) assumed a Daily Mail journo would also find it really funny.
2) If the *Daily Mail* is calling you out for racism, maybe that's a hint that there really is a bit of racism going on.
The press actually harm the Tories in my opinion. They all try so hard I think it makes things worse for the Tories. Kinda numbs the public to when a legitimate attack goes in.
SNP at 41 per cent DESPITE Opinium revision of 1V from 71 to 50! Mike I think your tactical voting friends will have their work cut out!
Not sure the SNP will do quite as well as it looks at the moment. The 2010 Lib Dems.
Try harder next time x
In the pre-Budget lull, I've been musing on the question of "time for a change" following the MORI poll earlier in the week showing a high percentage thinking it was time for a change of Government.
Well, yes, those opposed to the current administration will always say that but it got me thinking.
In many ways, the current Government has carried on the trend of a more Presidential style - I don't avidly follow any and every news and political programme like some on here but my perception is the omnipresence of David Cameron. He may be primus inter pares in theory but the fact is he is the Government or the face of it. I can't remember the last time I saw Eric Pickles or Jeremy Hunt or even Nicky Morgan - it's 90% Cameron, 8% Osborne and 2% Hammond.
This may explain why the Prime Minister polls ahead of his Party - I suspect some see him and support him and like him as a leader and neither care or perhaps even know he is a Conservative - some on here seem to doubt that too.
The corollary of omnipresence is viewer fatigue - it seems like he has been PM for decades because he's always there, day in and day out whereas in a less media-intensive era, the PM could go and shoot things on his Scottish estate for a couple of months and the country and world carried on. Now we have to have the PM involved with everything whether regarding Jeremy Clarkson or Comic Relief or English cricket.
The perception of continuity and longevity becomes truncated with the over-exposure and people simply want to see another face, a different face, on the television. In some ways, even though we have a Coalition Government, it has felt less collegiate and consensual than before with the single dominant voice which may already be past its sell-by date.
"I see Wings over Scotland £45K target fund raiser is over the £100K with 2 weeks to go. Exceedingly popular."
The Scottish equivalent of Guido. It's surprising how these really unpleasant sites get popular
May well go to bed a bit earlier than usual. Getting up for F1 means walking the dog first. So perhaps a 4.30am rising.
Bah.
Perhaps there is a parallel with the LibDems we can draw here...
It seems that the current government, a minister will pop up, announce something, do some media that day and then disappear. Everything else is Cameron or Osborne (if it is good news) and that is about it. Vince likes to moan to journos from time to time, Clegg has been banging the drum on mental health, and Alexander gets wheeled out for bad economic news.
I think a lot of people would really struggle to name ministers beyond a handful or so.
The Tories have done really really badly on this, they have let it become "fact", rather than basically saying remember 2001, do you really it is terrible? No? Well that is our plan. You wonder what they pay the likes of Crosby to do, Bad Al would never have allowed this to take hold.
Longest I've gone without sleep is 26 hours. I'd be an hour or so short of that if I stayed awake through the night, watched F1 till the end of the race, then fell asleep.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/14/frank-field-recovering-after-collapse
There's not many MPs would have such enconiums.....
The Yorkshire, Lancashire and Midlands ghettos largely came into being as factory owners cut costs in the 50's and 60's by employing cheap unskilled labour from the sub continent.
East african asians were more middle class to begin with, often professionals or entrepeneurs, who often spoke English as a first language. Because professional jobs and small businesses are more geographically dispersed there is a natural tendency for these communities to disperse.
Its a bit like the old joke, which contains an element of truth:
Q: "What do you call an asian in Cornwall"
A: "Doctor"
Back to the 30s? The man won't even tell the truth about his kitchens.
I got out of it 34 hours later. Negotiated through the night and the next day. He neglected to tell me there was an immovable deadline.
Then he did it on me twice again. A two-day trio to Pakistan that turned into two weeks (I learned after that to pack for a month!). Then a meeting that turned into a six week marathon. One day off. Weekends included. The lawyer on the other side having to report progress to her client every twelve hours.
Her client was Enron....
(Happy ending though. Enron tried to walk from the final signed deal. Went all the way to the House of Lords. Who told t,hem our drafting was not ambiguous. Pay up the quarter of a billion as the contract required...)
Tick. Tock.
https://disneyways.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/excited.jpg
Er. "I'm not a fan of Mr Clarkson to be honest, and if he really thumped someone..."
"That's right! Got to have rules even for the famous. But you politicians all suck up to people like him."
"But..."
"No! I'm not voting!" (hangs up)
Can't win 'em all, eh?
I assume we're all agreed that Crossover has not taken place until ELBOW officially says it has.
@Adam_Ludlow: 33% expect Cameron to be PM after the next election, 20% expect Miliband to be http://t.co/LKTrxpqsZJ
1. Spurs season could end tomorrow.
2. ICM on Monday. Big deal if tory lead repeated ... or not.
3. Budget on Weds.
Squeaky bum time in scrap towers.