For anyone who can't stand Sandy Toksvig - her last stint in the News Quiz R4 chair is tonight... she's off to set up her Women's Equality Party. Yes, really.
She's setting up a political party the week after the election..?
For anyone who can't stand Sandy Toksvig - her last stint in the News Quiz R4 chair is tonight... she's off to set up her Women's Equality Party. Yes, really.
She's setting up a political party the week after the election..?
And the Labour Party wasn't good enough? What could possibly have given her the idea that women's equality wasn't taken seriously enough?
Hey...they had a pink bus!! what more do you want?
For anyone who can't stand Sandy Toksvig - her last stint in the News Quiz R4 chair is tonight... she's off to set up her Women's Equality Party. Yes, really.
She's setting up a political party the week after the election..?
And the Labour Party wasn't good enough? What could possibly have given her the idea that women's equality wasn't taken seriously enough?
To be honest, I agree with her. It's about time women got a fair deal. Did you know around 5% of prisoners are women? This rancid oppression of the fairer sex must end!
Now, now Mr Dancer. You are stirring....
I'd like to see women doing more of the dirty and dangerous jobs too. Like being married to Ed Balls for example.
Ed Balls is undoubtedly a horrid politician. But no man who learns the piano in middle age is all bad.
For anyone who can't stand Sandy Toksvig - her last stint in the News Quiz R4 chair is tonight... she's off to set up her Women's Equality Party. Yes, really.
"The feminists hate me, don’t they? And I don’t blame them. For I hate feminism. It is poison."
- M. H. Thatcher quoted by Paul Johnson in Failure of the Feminists, The Spectator, 12 March, 2011.
If you really want to know what modern feminists think, take a peek at this (at your own risk)
To be honest, I agree with her. It's about time women got a fair deal. Did you know around 5% of prisoners are women? This rancid oppression of the fairer sex must end!
Now, now Mr Dancer. You are stirring....
I'd like to see women doing more of the dirty and dangerous jobs too. Like being married to Ed Balls for example.
Ed Balls is undoubtedly a horrid politician. But no man who learns the piano in middle age is all bad.
He seems to be emerging with the moral high ground on Miliband too - not that that's that hard.
To be honest, I agree with her. It's about time women got a fair deal. Did you know around 5% of prisoners are women? This rancid oppression of the fairer sex must end!
Now, now Mr Dancer. You are stirring....
I'd like to see women doing more of the dirty and dangerous jobs too. Like being married to Ed Balls for example.
Ed Balls is undoubtedly a horrid politician. But no man who learns the piano in middle age is all bad.
He seems to be emerging with the moral high ground on Miliband too - not that that's that hard.
As Shadow Chancellor, with Yvette as Shadow Home Sec, no one could have been better positioned to bring down Ed a year or so back, yet he did not.
If Keir Starmer becomes Labour leader how is he going to handle all the questions from the historic child abuse inquiry about why this or that person was not prosecuted?
I know I've advocated Labour understanding a bit more about their history etc but that really doesn't mean that they pick the first person who wanders into the room with the name "Keir".
He will be able to say that in the vast majority of impugned cases, the matter was never referred to him and he never took the decision. In any event, most of the impugned decisions were not taken between 2008 and 2013 when he was DPP.
Erm... Do they want their Press coverage to improve?
Carswell should throw his hat into the Labour Leadership ring. He's more qualified than Starmer.
It strikes me that everyone is throwing the towel in. Lets face it its better than throwing in the kitchen sinks. How did that one work out.
Labour are struggling to both face up to their legacy and even if they do, *how* to face up to their legacy. This is good news for the tories. Labour should look at what their internal polling apparently showed them. Real crossover took place after Labour's conference. That was the one you may recall where Miliband in his gimmicky speech actually forgot to mention the economy. Labour forgot their legacy, the voters didn't.
In a way I feel quite sorry for Farage. Agent Carswell has stuffed his party and Farage himself stands no chance of ever winning a Westminster seat because the anti-Farage tactical vote is everywhere larger than the uncritical worshipping Kipper vote.
@MikeK hasn't been around much, but he paid me promptly. We'll, I haven't tried to cash the cheque yet...
@LucianFletcher. good to see you back. I owe you a tenner (although I think it may be £10 worth of drinks at Dirty Dicks, so that's about half a shandy)
To be honest, I agree with her. It's about time women got a fair deal. Did you know around 5% of prisoners are women? This rancid oppression of the fairer sex must end!
Now, now Mr Dancer. You are stirring....
I'd like to see women doing more of the dirty and dangerous jobs too. Like being married to Ed Balls for example.
Ed Balls is undoubtedly a horrid politician. But no man who learns the piano in middle age is all bad.
Maybe.
"Hitler had dreams of playing a musical instrument. He had short but unsuccessful lessons in piano and violin, and also dabbled in the flute and harmonica. In the end he settled for whistling, which he did frequently."
It has been alleged that Nigel Farage never formally resigned from Ukip as part of what party sources have told the Spectator was a stitch up to avoid a leadership contest.
It is claimed that the Ukip leader never wrote a letter to the party’s chairman tendering his resignation. He told the media on Friday that he would write to the party resigning. When it met on Monday, it is said the National Executive Committee had still not received a letter.
A source tells me that when someone asked where the letter was, they were told ‘it is being typed out as we speak’. The source says the letter never appeared.
For anyone who can't stand Sandy Toksvig - her last stint in the News Quiz R4 chair is tonight... she's off to set up her Women's Equality Party. Yes, really.
She's setting up a political party the week after the election..?
If Sandy Tokvig were to run for labour leader they could at least reuse the slab and have a useful twitter tag 'sandystones'.
In a way I feel quite sorry for Farage. Agent Carswell has stuffed his party and Farage himself stands no chance of ever winning a Westminster seat because the anti-Farage tactical vote is everywhere larger than the uncritical worshipping Kipper vote.
Carswell is a recidivist rebel, but so are quite a few other kippers. UKIP has had problems with splitters and feuding before. As Mrs Merton might ask "What could possibly be the common factor Mr Farage?"
Carswell is a recidivist rebel, but so are quite a few other kippers. UKIP has had problems with splitters and feuding before. As Mrs Merton might ask "What could possibly be the common factor Mr Farage?"
To be honest, I agree with her. It's about time women got a fair deal. Did you know around 5% of prisoners are women? This rancid oppression of the fairer sex must end!
Now, now Mr Dancer. You are stirring....
I'd like to see women doing more of the dirty and dangerous jobs too. Like being married to Ed Balls for example.
Ed Balls is undoubtedly a horrid politician. But no man who learns the piano in middle age is all bad.
Maybe.
"Hitler had dreams of playing a musical instrument. He had short but unsuccessful lessons in piano and violin, and also dabbled in the flute and harmonica. In the end he settled for whistling, which he did frequently."
Well, that's not a fair comparison. Yer man A Hitler seems to have failed at all his attempts.
Mr Balls has actually passed some piano exams. And as someone who has done exactly the same thing, I admire him for it. It is terrifying stuff: trying to play your arpeggios and 3 painfully learned pieces while around you flit 3 year old Chinese prodigies doing their Grade 16 exams with irritating brilliance.
It has been alleged that Nigel Farage never formally resigned from Ukip. snip A source tells me that when someone asked where the letter was, they were told ‘it is being typed out as we speak’. The source says the letter never appeared. http://bit.ly/1B1eJeo
So he lied on QT when he said he took the letter into the room with him?
Sadly this is all an example of Farage being too clever by half. He said he would resign, because he was expecting to win his seat and probably thought there would be 3 or 4 others as well. In poor Nigel's universe the threat to resign if he lost was intended to encourage people to vote for him. The reality is that when presented with the gift of cementing his leadership of UKIP, the good people of South Thanet voted him out. There seem to be a lot of Star Wars analogies going on to-night; Farage has clearly been seduced by the dark side.
For anyone who can't stand Sandy Toksvig - her last stint in the News Quiz R4 chair is tonight... she's off to set up her Women's Equality Party. Yes, really.
Fascinating photographs of Nigel Farage campaigning. It seemed initially the photographer was no fan of him, however, by the end was certainly warming to him.
To be honest, I agree with her. It's about time women got a fair deal. Did you know around 5% of prisoners are women? This rancid oppression of the fairer sex must end!
Now, now Mr Dancer. You are stirring....
I'd like to see women doing more of the dirty and dangerous jobs too. Like being married to Ed Balls for example.
Ed Balls is undoubtedly a horrid politician. But no man who learns the piano in middle age is all bad.
Maybe.
"Hitler had dreams of playing a musical instrument. He had short but unsuccessful lessons in piano and violin, and also dabbled in the flute and harmonica. In the end he settled for whistling, which he did frequently."
Well, that's not a fair comparison. Yer man A Hitler seems to have failed at all his attempts.
Mr Balls has actually passed some piano exams. And as someone who has done exactly the same thing, I admire him for it. It is terrifying stuff: trying to play your arpeggios and 3 painfully learned pieces while around you flit 3 year old Chinese prodigies doing their Grade 16 exams with irritating brilliance.
Hitler did find it difficult to put in the practice though, what with having a war to run and everything.
Am I the only one amused at the idea of Adolf Hitler playing the harmonica? Just thinking of the guy who used to come on in Eric and Ernie, playing a short burst, only to be told "Not now, Adolf...."*
It has been alleged that Nigel Farage never formally resigned from Ukip. snip A source tells me that when someone asked where the letter was, they were told ‘it is being typed out as we speak’. The source says the letter never appeared. http://bit.ly/1B1eJeo
So he lied on QT when he said he took the letter into the room with him?
Sadly this is all an example of Farage being too clever by half. He said he would resign, because he was expecting to win his seat and probably thought there would be 3 or 4 others as well. In poor Nigel's universe the threat to resign if he lost was intended to encourage people to vote for him. The reality is that when presented with the gift of cementing his leadership of UKIP, the good people of South Thanet voted him out. There seem to be a lot of Star Wars analogies going on to-night; Farage has clearly been seduced by the dark side.
Farage would have done better with a clone army, but sadly he recruited JahJah Binks as his first MP.
For anyone who can't stand Sandy Toksvig - her last stint in the News Quiz R4 chair is tonight... she's off to set up her Women's Equality Party. Yes, really.
For anyone who can't stand Sandy Toksvig - her last stint in the News Quiz R4 chair is tonight... she's off to set up her Women's Equality Party. Yes, really.
For anyone who can't stand Sandy Toksvig - her last stint in the News Quiz R4 chair is tonight... she's off to set up her Women's Equality Party. Yes, really.
For anyone who can't stand Sandy Toksvig - her last stint in the News Quiz R4 chair is tonight... she's off to set up her Women's Equality Party. Yes, really.
I love Sandi Toksfig. I'll miss her News Quiz on Radio 4.
Good for you Marf. I long for the day when licence fee funded comic's political attacks are more fairly balanced. Now if she appeared on a channel funded by either advertising or a subscription then the pretense at impartiality can be done away with.
Mote used EC money to fund his defence in the first trial and then avoided a long enough jail term so that he resumed as an MEP to trouser £500,000 in expenses!
Polly Toynbee @pollytoynbee 6m6 minutes ago Labour needs a wide field of talent and Starmer is a very strong candidate.Not choosing yet - but being new MP no obstacle. #keirforleader
I love Sandi Toksfig. I'll miss her News Quiz on Radio 4.
Good for you Marf. I long for the day when licence fee funded comic's political attacks are more fairly balanced. Now if she appeared on a channel funded by either advertising or a subscription then the pretense at impartiality can be done away with.
Yes ... it's hard to control comics. They're funny that way.
I love Sandi Toksfig. I'll miss her News Quiz on Radio 4.
Good for you Marf. I long for the day when licence fee funded comic's political attacks are more fairly balanced. Now if she appeared on a channel funded by either advertising or a subscription then the pretense at impartiality can be done away with.
Yes ... it's hard to control comics. They're funny that way.
Her stuff is all scripted (badly scripted) so it's actually rather easy - you edit her script.
I love Sandi Toksfig. I'll miss her News Quiz on Radio 4.
Good for you Marf. I long for the day when licence fee funded comic's political attacks are more fairly balanced. Now if she appeared on a channel funded by either advertising or a subscription then the pretense at impartiality can be done away with.
Yes ... it's hard to control comics. They're funny that way.
Marf, off topic, do you offer your drawings via an online purchasing platform?
Mote used EC money to fund his defence in the first trial and then avoided a long enough jail term so that he resumed as an MEP to trouser £500,000 in expenses!
Emma Harrison, David Rowland, Andy Coulson, the list goes on...
I love Sandi Toksfig. I'll miss her News Quiz on Radio 4.
Good for you Marf. I long for the day when licence fee funded comic's political attacks are more fairly balanced. Now if she appeared on a channel funded by either advertising or a subscription then the pretense at impartiality can be done away with.
Its doubly appalling when one of the luvvies of Live at the Apollo is set to be First Gentleman to the next Labour leader.
I love Sandi Toksfig. I'll miss her News Quiz on Radio 4.
Good for you Marf. I long for the day when licence fee funded comic's political attacks are more fairly balanced. Now if she appeared on a channel funded by either advertising or a subscription then the pretense at impartiality can be done away with.
Yes ... it's hard to control comics. They're funny that way.
Of course, it may be that after all those years of making endless gags at the expense of the Tories, she has just realised that the people of Britain have all the while been laughing at the pompous Left.
Polly Toynbee @pollytoynbee 6m6 minutes ago Labour needs a wide field of talent and Starmer is a very strong candidate.Not choosing yet - but being new MP no obstacle. #keirforleader
Polly Toynbee (like the Guardian itself) fulfills an essential function. If she is for something, the sensible view is usually the opposite. For those busy bees lacking the time to go into the arguments for and against, they can apply the Pollytest. Find out what she says and think the opposite.
It has been alleged that Nigel Farage never formally resigned from Ukip. snip A source tells me that when someone asked where the letter was, they were told ‘it is being typed out as we speak’. The source says the letter never appeared. http://bit.ly/1B1eJeo
So he lied on QT when he said he took the letter into the room with him?
Sadly this is all an example of Farage being too clever by half. He said he would resign, because he was expecting to win his seat and probably thought there would be 3 or 4 others as well. In poor Nigel's universe the threat to resign if he lost was intended to encourage people to vote for him. The reality is that when presented with the gift of cementing his leadership of UKIP, the good people of South Thanet voted him out. There seem to be a lot of Star Wars analogies going on to-night; Farage has clearly been seduced by the dark side.
Farage would have done better with a clone army, but sadly he recruited JahJah Binks as his first MP.
;-) Read any comment on any subject in any article in Spectator Coffee House. He has his clone army all right.
I love Sandi Toksfig. I'll miss her News Quiz on Radio 4.
Good for you Marf. I long for the day when licence fee funded comic's political attacks are more fairly balanced. Now if she appeared on a channel funded by either advertising or a subscription then the pretense at impartiality can be done away with.
Its doubly appalling when one of the luvvies of Live at the Apollo is set to be First Gentleman to the next Labour leader.
Greg Davies would be a great first Gentleman. He could help Liz point at squid and all the other important duties. I can see him at Royal Weddings and the like...
For anyone who can't stand Sandy Toksvig - her last stint in the News Quiz R4 chair is tonight... she's off to set up her Women's Equality Party. Yes, really.
Sandi Toksvig is not particularly funny, IMO. Alan Coren was brilliant on the News Quiz because there was a surrealism to his humour which meant you could never quite tell where he was going.
Predictable jokes clearly telegraphed in advance are tiresome. And the News Quiz has been too much like that for years. It's not the political make up which grates. It's the obviousness of it all.
The very left-wing comedienne who was on before she died (at a sadly young age) Linda ? was very funny. There was a sharpness and unexpectedness about her humour which the ever so predictable Andy Hamiltons and Marcus WhatstheirNames don't have and should learn from.
The idea that Keir Starmer could become next Labour leader is frankly just laughable. Honestly, Labour really are in a desperate mess if it is coming to this.
Polly Toynbee @pollytoynbee 6m6 minutes ago Labour needs a wide field of talent and Starmer is a very strong candidate.Not choosing yet - but being new MP no obstacle. #keirforleader
Polly Toynbee (like the Guardian itself) fulfills an essential function. If she is for something, the sensible view is usually the opposite. For those busy bees lacking the time to go into the arguments for and against, they can apply the Pollytest. Find out what she says and think the opposite.
She must have damaged the Labour movement more than any other person, living or dead.
The idea that Keir Starmer could become next Labour leader is frankly just laughable. Honestly, Labour really are in a desperate mess if it is coming to this.
I remember when Keir Starmer was making decisions to prosecute to camera in the full glare of the media and thought it had nothing to do with justice and everything to do with the self-promotion of Keir Starmer. I thought he was a prat then and nothing has come along to alter my opinion bar reinforcing the fact that I was right all along.
The idea that Keir Starmer could become next Labour leader is frankly just laughable. Honestly, Labour really are in a desperate mess if it is coming to this.
Her stuff is all scripted (badly scripted) so it's actually rather easy - you edit her script.
Are you sure it's all scripted? I got the feeling some of it was improv. I can ask her.
What do you think of Susan Calman? She is the Scottish comedian on the show.
This piece might interest you - I can't believe it's true. I've met/read plenty of funny writers who are very right-wing, and funny with it. I'm on the left side of centre, but I switch seats a lot - to get a better view. Poking fun at all politicians, left or right, doubles your fun.
The idea that Keir Starmer could become next Labour leader is frankly just laughable. Honestly, Labour really are in a desperate mess if it is coming to this.
Labour thought they were getting Keir Hardie..... "Aw, bugger......"
Labour could only have a maximum of 6 candidates anyway, given the total number of MPs.
There are already four: Burnham, Cooper, Creagh, Kendall. If we get Hunt and Starmer that's it.
Why can't we have a proper Leftie in that list? Where is the Tony Benn de nos jours?
Maybe Stephen Kinnock can put himself forward?
Political family: tick. Labour aristocracy: tick Suitable European credentials: tick tick tick Welsh: tick Non-Metropolitan working class constituency: tick.
Can't be Mrs Balls. Can't be 'Lost to Ed' Burnham. Can't be 'Posher than the Tories' Hunt. Can't be Keir Starmer. Not sure it can be either Liz or Mary.
I've no idea who that leaves.
Chuka must surely be a money (or some such) casualty. Labour don't do sex scandals.
Labour could only have a maximum of 6 candidates anyway, given the total number of MPs.
There are already four: Burnham, Cooper, Creagh, Kendall. If we get Hunt and Starmer that's it.
Why can't we have a proper Leftie in that list? Where is the Tony Benn de nos jours?
Maybe Stephen Kinnock can put himself forward?
Political family: tick. Labour aristocracy: tick Suitable European credentials: tick tick tick Welsh: tick Non-Metropolitan working class constituency: tick.
Sandi Toksvig is not particularly funny, IMO. Alan Coren was brilliant on the News Quiz because there was a surrealism to his humour which meant you could never quite tell where he was going.
Predictable jokes clearly telegraphed in advance are tiresome. And the News Quiz has been too much like that for years. It's not the political make up which grates. It's the obviousness of it all.
The very left-wing comedienne who was on before she died (at a sadly young age) Linda ? was very funny. There was a sharpness and unexpectedness about her humour which the ever so predictable Andy Hamiltons and Marcus WhatstheirNames don't have and should learn from.
Linda Smith. She was quite superb.
Taken at far too young an age.
At the other extreme, Humphrey Lyttelton lived to a ripe old age. He got funnier the longer he lived. A gloriously rude octogenarian...
For anyone who can't stand Sandy Toksvig - her last stint in the News Quiz R4 chair is tonight... she's off to set up her Women's Equality Party. Yes, really.
She's setting up a political party the week after the election..?
It makes sense. If she wants the party to be at all serious (presumably as a lobbying force that also stands candidates?), it'll need to attract members and money. That takes time and effort and would probably take a few years for her to achieve. Far better to set up just after an election, giving yourself plenty of time until the next one, than to wait until it is almost upon you.
FWIW, I don't think that this is a particularly good idea, much as I enjoy her comedy (mostly).
The idea that Keir Starmer could become next Labour leader is frankly just laughable. Honestly, Labour really are in a desperate mess if it is coming to this.
I remember when Keir Starmer was making decisions to prosecute to camera in the full glare of the media and thought it had nothing to do with justice and everything to do with the self-promotion of Keir Starmer. I thought he was a prat then and nothing has come along to alter my opinion bar reinforcing the fact that I was right all along.
Can you imagine the outrage the left would be spouting if a former DPP had become a Tory MP and was being tipped for leadership of the party? As a humble civil servant myself I believe there is a point at which it becomes a conflict of interest to leave the service and go into politics. And as you say, I'd never noticed the DPP before he used the position to promote himself.
Her stuff is all scripted (badly scripted) so it's actually rather easy - you edit her script.
Are you sure it's all scripted? I got the feeling some of it was improv. I can ask her.
What do you think of Susan Calman? She is the Scottish comedian on the show.
This piece might interest you - I can't believe it's true. I've met/read plenty of funny writers who are very right-wing, and funny with it. I'm on the left side of centre, but I switch seats a lot - to get a better view. Poking fun at all politicians, left or right, doubles your fun.
Marf: I read out to some colleagues that Guardian column by Rhiannon Lucy Coslett. We were all in stitches by the end. There is plenty of material for a right-wing comedian to use but I think that the best comedy transcends left/right divides in politics - and there is always an element of danger in it.
One reason why I think that the comedians we see over and over again on our screens are not as funny as they think they are is that they play safe, they lack danger and excitement and the unexpected. And humour needs the unexpected.
Sandi Toksvig is not particularly funny, IMO. Alan Coren was brilliant on the News Quiz because there was a surrealism to his humour which meant you could never quite tell where he was going.
Predictable jokes clearly telegraphed in advance are tiresome. And the News Quiz has been too much like that for years. It's not the political make up which grates. It's the obviousness of it all.
The very left-wing comedienne who was on before she died (at a sadly young age) Linda ? was very funny. There was a sharpness and unexpectedness about her humour which the ever so predictable Andy Hamiltons and Marcus WhatstheirNames don't have and should learn from.
Linda Smith. She was quite superb.
Taken at far too young an age.
At the other extreme, Humphrey Lyttelton lived to a ripe old age. He got funnier the longer he lived. A gloriously rude octogenarian...
The Thick Of It couldn't parody the last fortnight for Labour. #EdStone, losing Balls and now Chuka/Keir?
The story of a member of the staff who saw the Ed Stone appearing on TV and started to uncontrollably screaming, so much so they thought he was having some sort of break down. Now that was The Thick of It.
"Another Labour insider told of the scene in the press office when Miliband posed with the notorious Ed stone, the 8ft 6in slab of limestone upon which his six key election pledges were inscribed. When it appeared on TV, a press officer ‘started screaming. He stood in the office, just screaming over and over again at the screen. It was so bad they thought he was having a breakdown."
Mr. Omnium, no dafter than a millionaire Marxist of multiple kitchens proposing to drag Britain into the leftish hell of socialism.
Probably a lucky escape. His comment about 'I've been fighting Tories all my life' told us that he was a nutter, and then we got the confirmation from his brother.
The tag 'millionaire' has no meaning now, at least in London. My dad is a millionaire, and he never earned more than 15k as a salary. 'Rich' is probably 20 million.
Michael Crick, Channel 4 news: Labour insiders not impressed by any of the candidates, want another leadership election in 2018 in case whoever is elected this year proves not to be up to the job. Obviously worried about being saddled with the wrong choice for five years.
The idea that Keir Starmer could become next Labour leader is frankly just laughable. Honestly, Labour really are in a desperate mess if it is coming to this.
Labour thought they were getting Keir Hardie..... "Aw, bugger......"
What Labour really need is a politician just like Keir Hardie. He was also against immigration!
For anyone who can't stand Sandy Toksvig - her last stint in the News Quiz R4 chair is tonight... she's off to set up her Women's Equality Party. Yes, really.
She's setting up a political party the week after the election..?
Preparing for a shot at London Mayor next year, perhaps?
I'm prepared to be shown to be wrong, but I'm not completely convinced that what Labour needs right now for a leader is someone who has yet to sit in Parliament and who is a human rights lawyer by background.
@AndyJS The Lib Dems have been almost completely obliterated. It's a new reality that hasn't yet hit most people.
Part of the problem is that the TV particularly the BBC doesn't seem to have clicked with the public mood.
Alistair Carmichael keeps popping up for a soundbite on every Scottish politics story on BBC Scotland. They had Miranda Who back on This Week again. Ofcom need to come out and downgrade them pronto so we can keep the news focused on relevant parties.
The idea that Keir Starmer could become next Labour leader is frankly just laughable. Honestly, Labour really are in a desperate mess if it is coming to this.
Labour thought they were getting Keir Hardie..... "Aw, bugger......"
What Labour really need is a politician just like Keir Hardie. He was also against immigration!
100 years ago Labour had a message that resonated.
The core of the Labour idea is that it really matters what happens to the people in the machine. Labour policy is shaped around illuminating and addressing that idea for the workplace of the early 20th century. Then they add on a programme of works which sees as many people as possible shuffling forms.
That's it.
If you were a populist party forming today then you'd be worrying about issues that pass Labour by completely.
Mr. Omnium, no dafter than a millionaire Marxist of multiple kitchens proposing to drag Britain into the leftish hell of socialism.
Probably a lucky escape. His comment about 'I've been fighting Tories all my life' told us that he was a nutter, and then we got the confirmation from his brother.
The tag 'millionaire' has no meaning now, at least in London. My dad is a millionaire, and he never earned more than 15k as a salary. 'Rich' is probably 20 million.
Quite so, but it doesn't stop the Daily Mail using it to beat someone with..
Michael Crick, Channel 4 news: Labour insiders not impressed by any of the candidates, want another leadership election in 2018 in case whoever is elected this year proves not to be up to the job. Obviously worried about being saddled with the wrong choice for five years.
Smart thinking.. last time the got a complete duffer.
Comments
Sucka!
@sunny_hundal @Keir_Starmer Glad you feel that way Sunny. How about a retweet to spread the word? Twitterstorm at 6. #keirforleader
Says how far labour have fallen when supporters are taking to twitter to think they can boost someone to run....
//twitter.com/GynoStar/status/594665688452575234/photo/1
WTF is going on? Who broke a mirror in LHQ?
I'll have you know my Sir Edric stories are bastions of good sense and political correctness.
Labour are struggling to both face up to their legacy and even if they do, *how* to face up to their legacy.
This is good news for the tories.
Labour should look at what their internal polling apparently showed them. Real crossover took place after Labour's conference. That was the one you may recall where Miliband in his gimmicky speech actually forgot to mention the economy. Labour forgot their legacy, the voters didn't.
@MikeK hasn't been around much, but he paid me promptly. We'll, I haven't tried to cash the cheque yet...
@LucianFletcher. good to see you back. I owe you a tenner (although I think it may be £10 worth of drinks at Dirty Dicks, so that's about half a shandy)
"Hitler had dreams of playing a musical instrument. He had short but unsuccessful lessons in piano and violin, and also dabbled in the flute and harmonica. In the end he settled for whistling, which he did frequently."
Honestly, it's about as politically correct as a drunk, teenage Jeremy Clarkson.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094012/
Mr Balls has actually passed some piano exams. And as someone who has done exactly the same thing, I admire him for it. It is terrifying stuff: trying to play your arpeggios and 3 painfully learned pieces while around you flit 3 year old Chinese prodigies doing their Grade 16 exams with irritating brilliance.
Hope you enjoy it.
The reality is that when presented with the gift of cementing his leadership of UKIP, the good people of South Thanet voted him out.
There seem to be a lot of Star Wars analogies going on to-night; Farage has clearly been seduced by the dark side.
https://mousephoto.wordpress.com/2015/05/12/looking-for-nigel/
Am I the only one amused at the idea of Adolf Hitler playing the harmonica? Just thinking of the guy who used to come on in Eric and Ernie, playing a short burst, only to be told "Not now, Adolf...."*
*Or it may have been Arthur.
2015:
Lab: 1,545,080 (43.69%)
Con: 1,233,386 (34.88%)
UKIP: 286,946 (8.11%)
LD: 272,544 (7.71%)
Greens: 171,652 (4.85%)
Others: 26,622 (0.75%)
TOTAL: 3,536,230
2010:
Lab: 1,245,637 (36.62%)
Con: 1,174,588 (34.53%)
LD: 751,561 (22.10%)
UKIP: 59,452 (1.75%)
Greens: 54,316 (1.60%)
Others: 115,783 (3.40%)
TOTAL: 3,401,317
Changes:
Lab: +7.07%
Con: +0.35%
UKIP: +6.37%
LD: -14.39%
Greens: +3.26%
Others: -2.65%
Swing, Con to Lab: 3.36%
Taking out the bins?
The Matt Lebo forecast was for Con - 322 and Lab - 254. That's not actually miles off from what happened (he hadn't fully adjusted for the SNP surge)
I am not a fan of Chukka generally but if the problem is as suggested by Owen Jones,I would be upset that is still a problem in 2015.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/15/former-ukip-mep-guilty-fraud-ashley-mote
Mote used EC money to fund his defence in the first trial and then avoided a long enough jail term so that he resumed as an MEP to trouser £500,000 in expenses!
Labour needs a wide field of talent and Starmer is a very strong candidate.Not choosing yet - but being new MP no obstacle. #keirforleader
The due diligence beggars belief.
Or can Dave do no wrong?
The. Joke. Is. On . Her.
Read any comment on any subject in any article in Spectator Coffee House.
He has his clone army all right.
Predictable jokes clearly telegraphed in advance are tiresome. And the News Quiz has been too much like that for years. It's not the political make up which grates. It's the obviousness of it all.
The very left-wing comedienne who was on before she died (at a sadly young age) Linda ? was very funny. There was a sharpness and unexpectedness about her humour which the ever so predictable Andy Hamiltons and Marcus WhatstheirNames don't have and should learn from.
Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen!
Actually, not during the last 10 days it isn't!
Confused of Polpetine
Her stuff is all scripted (badly scripted) so it's actually rather easy - you edit her script.
Are you sure it's all scripted? I got the feeling some of it was improv. I can ask her.
What do you think of Susan Calman? She is the Scottish comedian on the show.
This piece might interest you - I can't believe it's true. I've met/read plenty of funny writers who are very right-wing, and funny with it. I'm on the left side of centre, but I switch seats a lot - to get a better view. Poking fun at all politicians, left or right, doubles your fun.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2291952/We-struggle-right-wing-comedians-admits-BBC-chief.html
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/the-plight-of-conservative-comedy-wheres-the-rights-em-daily-show-em/283937/
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/septemberoctober_2012/on_political_books/why_arent_conservatives_funny039432.php?page=all
There are already four: Burnham, Cooper, Creagh, Kendall. If we get Hunt and Starmer that's it.
Why can't we have a proper Leftie in that list? Where is the Tony Benn de nos jours?
Maybe Stephen Kinnock can put himself forward?
Political family: tick.
Labour aristocracy: tick
Suitable European credentials: tick tick tick
Welsh: tick
Non-Metropolitan working class constituency: tick.
Kinnock for Labour leader, say I!!
I've no idea who that leaves.
Chuka must surely be a money (or some such) casualty. Labour don't do sex scandals.
.......I'll get my coat.
Taken at far too young an age.
At the other extreme, Humphrey Lyttelton lived to a ripe old age. He got funnier the longer he lived. A gloriously rude octogenarian...
FWIW, I don't think that this is a particularly good idea, much as I enjoy her comedy (mostly).
Are you sure it's all scripted? I got the feeling some of it was improv. I can ask her.
What do you think of Susan Calman? She is the Scottish comedian on the show.
This piece might interest you - I can't believe it's true. I've met/read plenty of funny writers who are very right-wing, and funny with it. I'm on the left side of centre, but I switch seats a lot - to get a better view. Poking fun at all politicians, left or right, doubles your fun.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2291952/We-struggle-right-wing-comedians-admits-BBC-chief.html
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/the-plight-of-conservative-comedy-wheres-the-rights-em-daily-show-em/283937/
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/septemberoctober_2012/on_political_books/why_arent_conservatives_funny039432.php?page=all
Marf: I read out to some colleagues that Guardian column by Rhiannon Lucy Coslett. We were all in stitches by the end. There is plenty of material for a right-wing comedian to use but I think that the best comedy transcends left/right divides in politics - and there is always an element of danger in it.
One reason why I think that the comedians we see over and over again on our screens are not as funny as they think they are is that they play safe, they lack danger and excitement and the unexpected. And humour needs the unexpected.
'The LDs are rather lucky the Tories went backwards in that seat, or else they would have taken that one as well.'
Backwards ? LD majority 2010 5,260 LD majority 2015 1,510
Both of them are sadly missed.
"Another Labour insider told of the scene in the press office when Miliband posed with the notorious Ed stone, the 8ft 6in slab of limestone upon which his six key election pledges were inscribed. When it appeared on TV, a press officer ‘started screaming. He stood in the office, just screaming over and over again at the screen. It was so bad they thought he was having a breakdown."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00t9sk3/election-2015-1-election-2015-part-1
The tag 'millionaire' has no meaning now, at least in London. My dad is a millionaire, and he never earned more than 15k as a salary. 'Rich' is probably 20 million.
Alistair Carmichael keeps popping up for a soundbite on every Scottish politics story on BBC Scotland. They had Miranda Who back on This Week again. Ofcom need to come out and downgrade them pronto so we can keep the news focused on relevant parties.
The core of the Labour idea is that it really matters what happens to the people in the machine. Labour policy is shaped around illuminating and addressing that idea for the workplace of the early 20th century. Then they add on a programme of works which sees as many people as possible shuffling forms.
That's it.
If you were a populist party forming today then you'd be worrying about issues that pass Labour by completely.