politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The Tories are very lucky the Lib Dems didn’t accept George Osborne’s coupon deal
He says George Osborne proposed a so-called ‘coupon election’ deal with the Lib Dems, whereby up to 50 Tory MPs would have been written off, ordered to make way for Lib Dems.
He was very good, many journalists tweeted his passionate almost tearful closing argument about being committed to welfare reform irrespective of his career.
He says George Osborne proposed a so-called 'coupon election' deal with the Lib Dems, whereby up to 50 Tory MPs would have been written off, ordered to make way for Lib Dems.
IDS should go with our thanks,respect and sympathy. A decent religious man who wanted to do his best. Having listened to him on Marr I am quite certain that the pressures of the job overwhelmed him.The position that he held requires a very thick skin. I do not think that he has one. His friends say that he is passionate about his views on welfare. That is usually a euphemism for thin skinned and angry. Gordon Brown was described as passionate when he allegedly hurled mobiles at staff. To do the job that IDS did you have to put up with the constant impugning of your own personal morality by clamant groups, disability charities and opponents. I can almost hear his wife imploring him not to take things personally but to remember that he was only enacting public policy. We get the merest hint on PB of the barrage of abuse that ministers face by reading the deeply unpleasant rants of our Caledonian friend. So thank you IDS. You will feel free today. Free to campaign for Brexit without the heavy burden of running a difficult department. Stephen Crabb will bring pragmatism to a difficult job. I wish him every success.
Plato, you've been in PR, you surely know a smear when you read one.
One man's smear is another man's truth.
Whether it's true or not is beside the point - neither I nor dyingswan can say whether it is. The point is it's an unsubtle attempt to rubbish Duncan-Smith whilst appearing to offer an even-handed 'more in sorrow than in anger' eulogy. I'm not sure what the point of it was - there's no-one on PB daft enough not to decipher it. Rottenborough's grumpy later response in the thread said the same thing in a far more honest and succinct way.
He told us explicitly what many of us have suspected for a while - Osborne's sole interest is in looking after the interests of the Tory client state. If you don't vote Tory, you don't matter.
A very interesting 'what if?' I agree that the Lib Dem activists would not have been happy about such an arrangement, just as they weren't happy about going into coalition with the Tories in the first place. But I wonder, with the benefit of hindsight, if they wish they'd taken the Tories up on the offer?
Does anyone believe that this was a serious possibility, as opposed to a long term trap for the Lib Dems?
I wonder when this was allegedly talked about. Early days I suspect when team building was the priority.
This does have the ring of something proposed with the intention of having it rejected, thus making a full on campaign in LD/C marginals fair game.
I read the Laws piece linked to earlier in the Mail. Ok, it is bits taken out of a book, not necessarily in any particular order, but it came across as incoherent tittle tattle.
He told us explicitly what many of us have suspected for a while - Osborne's sole interest is in looking after the interests of the Tory client state. If you don't vote Tory, you don't matter.
This coupon proposal from Osborne just piles up those against him. All those Conservative MPs that won seats from the LDs or were in marginals defending against the LDs can now look at Osborne in a new light!
He told us explicitly what many of us have suspected for a while - Osborne's sole interest is in looking after the interests of the Tory client state. If you don't vote Tory, you don't matter.
He told us explicitly what many of us have suspected for a while - Osborne's sole interest is in looking after the interests of the Tory client state. If you don't vote Tory, you don't matter.
Labour does the same.
Labour is not in power.
But they made it an art form whilst they were, and would do so again (with whatever widow's mite is left in the kitty) the minute they got back in.
Hard to argue with this. Clegg "sold" the Coalition to the LD party in 2010 on the basis it was a "one off" to deal with an exceptional situation and on that basis I, and many LDs, accepted it.
Had Clegg tried to forge Coalition 2.0 on the basis of a coupon deal, it would have torn the LDs apart just as the formation of the National Liberals did under John Simon.
So that's one deal - two parties split apart. Sounds like a good idea.
Looks like the Saffers are going to win a game. Not a huge NRR though.
Embarrassing isn't it when Afghanistan's concede less runs against the Saffer than England's bowlers did.
I watched the highlights package yesterday. England's bowling was truly woeful. Wide and in the slot, the South Africans let them off lightly.
I think what this tournament is showing between the more closely matched teams is that setting a score is seriously tricky. Runs on the board is not really working (the NZ/Aus game being an exception).
He told us explicitly what many of us have suspected for a while - Osborne's sole interest is in looking after the interests of the Tory client state. If you don't vote Tory, you don't matter.
Labour does the same.
Labour is not in power.
But they made it an art form whilst they were, and would do so again (with whatever widow's mite is left in the kitty) the minute they got back in.
So it turns out they are just like the Tories :-)
I thought the Tories always put country before party. That's certainly what I have been told on here enough times.
Given that most people do not vote Tory, IDS saying live on TV that the Chancellor believes you do not matter if you are not a Tory voter is not helpful, to say the least
Iain Dale "he’s incredibly popular at Conservative constituency association events. They are the same people who are highly suspicious of George Osborne, who they’ve never quite warmed to."
"One consequence of this resignation is confirmation that the Downing Street fear factor is on the wane. I was at Michael Ashcroft’s 70th birthday party last Saturday where I encountered a Minister who had disobeyed Downing Street’s instruction not to attend. “You’ll be on a little list,” I joshed. “I really couldn’t give a toss,” came the reply. And it was heartfelt. Yet more evidence that power is gradually ebbing away from Cameron and Osborne. The question is, who is the power ebbing to?" http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2016/03/iain-dale-duncan-smiths-friday-night-call-to-priti.html
The flipside of not accepting a coupon was for the LDs to get out of government well in advance of the election.
What on earth were they thinking by staying in to the end?
Because it's what we said we would do. In 2010, the LDs to the Coalition with the Conservatives for the duration of the Parliament. That shackled us to the Conservatives and the Conservatives to the LDs.
Imagine the vitriol the party would have faced had it walked out in 2012 for example. I thought it much more likely the Conservatives would walk out on the Coalition and try to go it alone.
Seems Osborne is going to piss off a lot of middle class folks, not that in the Telegraph sob story I have that much sympathy as it sounds like their "business" is built upon sand...if you own 17 homes and currently make no return you probably got something very wrong (and not buying the "but think of the folks we help")...but still if interest rates ever go up, there will be seriously hell to pay and all these people have seriously overstretched themselves and there is one person they will blame and it ain't themselves.
The flipside of not accepting a coupon was for the LDs to get out of government well in advance of the election.
What on earth were they thinking by staying in to the end?
Because it's what we said we would do. In 2010, the LDs to the Coalition with the Conservatives for the duration of the Parliament. That shackled us to the Conservatives and the Conservatives to the LDs.
Imagine the vitriol the party would have faced had it walked out in 2012 for example. I thought it much more likely the Conservatives would walk out on the Coalition and try to go it alone.
They could have got out in January 2015 or some such. Or at the dissolution even.
Staying in through the election [absent a coupon] made no sense at all.
"they Lib Dems would have been portrayed as Tory lapdogs for a generation"
They already are! They pop up now and then saying "look what we stopped" as if the coalition wasn't already doing heinous damage to things like the NHS with a LibDems minister writing the preface to the bill. The LibDems MPs voted more loyally fir Tory bills than Tory MPs did.
Has a political party ever collapsed into a black hole as quickly as the LibDems did?
Seems Osborne is going to piss off a lot of middle class folks, not that in the Telegraph sob story I have that much sympathy as it sounds like their "business" is built upon sand...if you own 17 homes and currently make no return you probably got something very wrong (and not buying the "but think of the folks we help")...but still if interest rates ever go up, there will be seriously hell to pay and all these people have seriously overstretched themselves and there is one person they will blame and it ain't themselves.
Last I read on this 1/3 of Conservative MPs were also landlords. They will of course overlook Osborne's changes to their wallet.
"they Lib Dems would have been portrayed as Tory lapdogs for a generation"
They already are! They pop up now and then saying "look what we stopped" as if the coalition wasn't already doing heinous damage to things like the NHS with a LibDems minister writing the preface to the bill. The LibDems MPs voted more loyally fir Tory bills than Tory MPs did.
Has a political party ever collapsed into a black hole as quickly as the LibDems did?
Give Labour under Corbyn a little more time
More seriously, yes, the Liberals went from leading a government in 1922 (technically) having 156 seats in. 1923, to having just 40 seats and no prospect of a return to power by 1925. And that wasn't as low as it went before the Second World War either. They were reduced to 21 seats by 1935, most of which were held in the absence of Conservative candidates.
Seems Osborne is going to piss off a lot of middle class folks, not that in the Telegraph sob story I have that much sympathy as it sounds like their "business" is built upon sand...if you own 17 homes and currently make no return you probably got something very wrong (and not buying the "but think of the folks we help")...but still if interest rates ever go up, there will be seriously hell to pay and all these people have seriously overstretched themselves and there is one person they will blame and it ain't themselves.
Also, in the detail it is revealed these 17 buy-to-let properties are former council houses on an estate. So much for Thatcher's dream of widening home ownership.
Laws confirms that Cammo and Osbo will do anything to keep in power, even to betraying 50 of their colleagues for personal gain. What a pair of wankers; they deserve all they get from the mass of the conservative party, when this news filters down.
Does anyone believe that this was a serious possibility, as opposed to a long term trap for the Lib Dems?
I wonder when this was allegedly talked about. Early days I suspect when team building was the priority.
It was floated I recall from Nick Boles. In a book or pamphlet.
No, no, it was all Osborne's fault, everything is. Haven't you read the script?
Boles is close to Osborne so i would expect him to be in favour before publication. Fact is that this group at the top of the party were negotiating away the chances of fellow Conservatives.
Laws confirms that Cammo and Osbo will do anything to keep in power, even to betraying 50 of their colleagues for personal gain. What a pair of wankers; they deserve all they get from the mass of the conservative party, when this news filters down.
He told us explicitly what many of us have suspected for a while - Osborne's sole interest is in looking after the interests of the Tory client state. If you don't vote Tory, you don't matter.
Labour does the same.
Labour is not in power.
But they made it an art form whilst they were, and would do so again (with whatever widow's mite is left in the kitty) the minute they got back in.
So it turns out they are just like the Tories :-)
I thought the Tories always put country before party. That's certainly what I have been told on here enough times.
Given that most people do not vote Tory, IDS saying live on TV that the Chancellor believes you do not matter if you are not a Tory voter is not helpful, to say the least
In the same way that Tony is a Tory, George and Dave are Liberal Democrats.
If either of them vanished and were replaced by Nick Clegg almost no one would notice except for a slight increase in the sanctimony level.
One conclusion from IDS on Marr - CON MPs who ousted him in 2003 had good judgement. IDS simply fails to convince.
Lib Dem supporter not convinced by right wing Tory shocker.
If you were convinced by IDS then. I'd suggest, that you lack ritical judgemen.
I share your view. Having seen the effects of a dominant CFO in a FTSE company ride roughshod over all other departments including cutting sales people who were generating provable profits for the company. Mike may not have seen that happen in the private sector.
Seems Osborne is going to piss off a lot of middle class folks, not that in the Telegraph sob story I have that much sympathy as it sounds like their "business" is built upon sand...if you own 17 homes and currently make no return you probably got something very wrong (and not buying the "but think of the folks we help")...but still if interest rates ever go up, there will be seriously hell to pay and all these people have seriously overstretched themselves and there is one person they will blame and it ain't themselves.
Also, in the detail it is revealed these 17 buy-to-let properties are former council houses on an estate. So much for Thatcher's dream of widening home ownership.
On my former council estate, prices have spiked alarmingly. A property worth £95,000 last year is now being sold with an asking price of £119,000. At the same time, a house sold last year for 95 has just beenput out to rent for £700 a month. Last year it would have been £550.
Something is going very wrong somewhere. My guess is BTL landlords who have incorporated already are looking to max out on purchases before the rules change, and as these are solid, three bed semis with gardens , ideal starter homes, they are being fought over fiercely.
But I don't think it will end well. That woman with seventeen houses is (a) a fool (b) surely going to have to sell. That could well see prices crashing and rents spiralling.
A well-meaning policy badly implemented with disastrous results; cf. academies, foundation trusts, pasty tax, HS2, Forestry Commission...
Laws confirms that Cammo and Osbo will do anything to keep in power, even to betraying 50 of their colleagues for personal gain. What a pair of wankers; they deserve all they get from the mass of the conservative party, when this news filters down.
A most neutral source.
Is Osborne going to sue David Laws for libel if it is untrue?
Seems Osborne is going to piss off a lot of middle class folks, not that in the Telegraph sob story I have that much sympathy as it sounds like their "business" is built upon sand...if you own 17 homes and currently make no return you probably got something very wrong (and not buying the "but think of the folks we help")...but still if interest rates ever go up, there will be seriously hell to pay and all these people have seriously overstretched themselves and there is one person they will blame and it ain't themselves.
Is this doesn't make money in the same way Amazon doesn't make money, everything is reinvested?
People continuously and disingenuously bitch about Amazon not paying taxes, but it has never made a profit, Bezos' policy has always been about reinvesting everything they make, which is how they have gone from no where to the dominant force in multiple marketplaces in 21 years.
Laws confirms that Cammo and Osbo will do anything to keep in power, even to betraying 50 of their colleagues for personal gain. What a pair of wankers; they deserve all they get from the mass of the conservative party, when this news filters down.
A most neutral source.
Is Osborne going to sue David Laws for libel if it is untrue?
Not worth the effort I suspect. Similar to the whole pig story.
Laws confirms that Cammo and Osbo will do anything to keep in power, even to betraying 50 of their colleagues for personal gain. What a pair of wankers; they deserve all they get from the mass of the conservative party, when this news filters down.
A most neutral source.
Is Osborne going to sue David Laws for libel if it is untrue?
And run the risk that some judge says in open court, with the world's media looking on, that it IS true. Even Osborne isn't that bigger fool.
"they Lib Dems would have been portrayed as Tory lapdogs for a generation"
They already are! They pop up now and then saying "look what we stopped" as if the coalition wasn't already doing heinous damage to things like the NHS with a LibDems minister writing the preface to the bill. The LibDems MPs voted more loyally fir Tory bills than Tory MPs did.
Has a political party ever collapsed into a black hole as quickly as the LibDems did?
Give Labour under Corbyn a little more time
More seriously, yes, the Liberals went from leading a government in 1922 (technically) having 156 seats in. 1923, to having just 40 seats and no prospect of a return to power by 1925. And that wasn't as low as it went before the Second World War either. They were reduced to 21 seats by 1935, most of which were held in the absence of Conservative candidates.
I think it fair to say that at present party affilliations are more transient and fluid than any period since the 1930s, even exceeding the formation of the SDP. Where it all goes remains to be seen. Surely we need AV more than ever...
Laws confirms that Cammo and Osbo will do anything to keep in power, even to betraying 50 of their colleagues for personal gain. What a pair of wankers; they deserve all they get from the mass of the conservative party, when this news filters down.
A most neutral source.
Is Osborne going to sue David Laws for libel if it is untrue?
Not worth the effort I suspect. Similar to the whole pig story.
Some of the the Osborne hate stuff being posted on here is ludicrous
Seems Osborne is going to piss off a lot of middle class folks, not that in the Telegraph sob story I have that much sympathy as it sounds like their "business" is built upon sand...if you own 17 homes and currently make no return you probably got something very wrong (and not buying the "but think of the folks we help")...but still if interest rates ever go up, there will be seriously hell to pay and all these people have seriously overstretched themselves and there is one person they will blame and it ain't themselves.
Also, in the detail it is revealed these 17 buy-to-let properties are former council houses on an estate. So much for Thatcher's dream of widening home ownership.
On my former council estate, prices have spiked alarmingly. A property worth £95,000 last year is now being sold with an asking price of £119,000. At the same time, a house sold last year for 95 has just beenput out to rent for £700 a month. Last year it would have been £550.
Something is going very wrong somewhere. My guess is BTL landlords who have incorporated already are looking to max out on purchases before the rules change, and as these are solid, three bed semis with gardens , ideal starter homes, they are being fought over fiercely.
But I don't think it will end well. That woman with seventeen houses is (a) a fool (b) surely going to have to sell. That could well see prices crashing and rents spiralling.
A well-meaning policy badly implemented with disastrous results; cf. academies, foundation trusts, pasty tax, HS2, Forestry Commission...
Even more bizarrely, this couple don't own their own home. They rent.
Seems Osborne is going to piss off a lot of middle class folks, not that in the Telegraph sob story I have that much sympathy as it sounds like their "business" is built upon sand...if you own 17 homes and currently make no return you probably got something very wrong (and not buying the "but think of the folks we help")...but still if interest rates ever go up, there will be seriously hell to pay and all these people have seriously overstretched themselves and there is one person they will blame and it ain't themselves.
Also, in the detail it is revealed these 17 buy-to-let properties are former council houses on an estate. So much for Thatcher's dream of widening home ownership.
On my former council estate, prices have spiked alarmingly. A property worth £95,000 last year is now being sold with an asking price of £119,000. At the same time, a house sold last year for 95 has just beenput out to rent for £700 a month. Last year it would have been £550.
Something is going very wrong somewhere. My guess is BTL landlords who have incorporated already are looking to max out on purchases before the rules change, and as these are solid, three bed semis with gardens , ideal starter homes, they are being fought over fiercely.
But I don't think it will end well. That woman with seventeen houses is (a) a fool (b) surely going to have to sell. That could well see prices crashing and rents spiralling.
A well-meaning policy badly implemented with disastrous results; cf. academies, foundation trusts, pasty tax, HS2, Forestry Commission...
Even more bizarrely, this couple don't own their own home. They rent.
So up to their eyeballs? Ridiculous, no one to blame but themselves.
Laws confirms that Cammo and Osbo will do anything to keep in power, even to betraying 50 of their colleagues for personal gain. What a pair of wankers; they deserve all they get from the mass of the conservative party, when this news filters down.
A most neutral source.
Well you may say that Mr. Laws is telling an untruth, bending the truth, or telling an outright wopper of a lie. In that case Cammo and co will go to the law to get redress. But I bet they don't!
Laws confirms that Cammo and Osbo will do anything to keep in power, even to betraying 50 of their colleagues for personal gain. What a pair of wankers; they deserve all they get from the mass of the conservative party, when this news filters down.
A most neutral source.
Well you may say that Mr. Laws is telling an untruth, bending the truth, or telling an outright wopper of a lie. In that case Cammo and co will go to the law to get redress. But I bet they don't!
They don't have to go to the law. A lack of action doesn't mean it is true.
Laws confirms that Cammo and Osbo will do anything to keep in power, even to betraying 50 of their colleagues for personal gain. What a pair of wankers; they deserve all they get from the mass of the conservative party, when this news filters down.
A most neutral source.
Well he also confirms in his book (written well before the latest flare up) that IDS was driven by a desire to improve the welfare system but was consistently and fatally blocked and undermined by Osborne and the Treasury.
It would have been more sensible for Osborne to back AV that way Tory and LD voters could have preferences each other and any Tories defecting to UKIP could have put the Tory candidate as their second preference. The Tories won under FPTP anyway in 2015, though under AV the majority would likely have been higher but in 2020 with a rising UKIP vote post a narrow Remain win AV could make the difference between a hung parliament and a Tory majority
Seems Osborne is going to piss off a lot of middle class folks, not that in the Telegraph sob story I have that much sympathy as it sounds like their "business" is built upon sand...if you own 17 homes and currently make no return you probably got something very wrong (and not buying the "but think of the folks we help")...but still if interest rates ever go up, there will be seriously hell to pay and all these people have seriously overstretched themselves and there is one person they will blame and it ain't themselves.
Also, in the detail it is revealed these 17 buy-to-let properties are former council houses on an estate. So much for Thatcher's dream of widening home ownership.
On my former council estate, prices have spiked alarmingly. A property worth £95,000 last year is now being sold with an asking price of £119,000. At the same time, a house sold last year for 95 has just beenput out to rent for £700 a month. Last year it would have been £550.
Something is going very wrong somewhere. My guess is BTL landlords who have incorporated already are looking to max out on purchases before the rules change, and as these are solid, three bed semis with gardens , ideal starter homes, they are being fought over fiercely.
But I don't think it will end well. That woman with seventeen houses is (a) a fool (b) surely going to have to sell. That could well see prices crashing and rents spiralling.
A well-meaning policy badly implemented with disastrous results; cf. academies, foundation trusts, pasty tax, HS2, Forestry Commission...
Even more bizarrely, this couple don't own their own home. They rent.
I expect they sold their own place to raise the capital for 17 deposits. They seem very highly geared financially. If the house market goes down they will go bankrupt and the houses will be auctioned. Likely to be bargins fairly shortly.
Then they are doubly idiots. I had the option of buying a second house last year but I turned it down because that would have left me with too little liquid capital and my first priority had to be buying a house for myself as that cut my monthly housing bill in half.
As it happens I have now inherited a house from my mother anyway, so it would have been feasible, but you don't spend money you haven't got buying houses for other people to live in and spending far more than you need to on rent. Absolutely moronic.
She seems to view it as a charitable effort. In that case, let her incorporate as a housing association and ask for donations to cover the costs, and pay herself a salary in the normal way to run it.
Osborne's clearly right (for once) that the system is broken. It's just his reforms seem to be making it worse.
Laws confirms that Cammo and Osbo will do anything to keep in power, even to betraying 50 of their colleagues for personal gain. What a pair of wankers; they deserve all they get from the mass of the conservative party, when this news filters down.
A most neutral source.
Well you may say that Mr. Laws is telling an untruth, bending the truth, or telling an outright wopper of a lie. In that case Cammo and co will go to the law to get redress. But I bet they don't!
Humbled ex LD minister writes book to make a bit of dosh.. You will see it on a few remainder shelves in bookshops or more likely at car boot sales..
The flipside of not accepting a coupon was for the LDs to get out of government well in advance of the election.
What on earth were they thinking by staying in to the end?
Kept saying that and was told I was posting rubbish. A coupon electrion would have been B&*%$y Awful Idea for the reasons which Laws gave. It’s clear now, though that Clegg should have pulled the LibDems out in the Autumn of 2014.
Seems Osborne is going to piss off a lot of middle class folks, not that in the Telegraph sob story I have that much sympathy as it sounds like their "business" is built upon sand...if you own 17 homes and currently make no return you probably got something very wrong (and not buying the "but think of the folks we help")...but still if interest rates ever go up, there will be seriously hell to pay and all these people have seriously overstretched themselves and there is one person they will blame and it ain't themselves.
Is he hoping for sympathy:
' Jonathan Grant, 36, is facing an increasing tax bill on his four properties in London and Berkshire from next year.
He hopes that political ambition might prompt an about-turn by George Osborne, who will need the votes of “mainly Conservative” landlord investors.
“I think he might change his mind if he wants to be Prime Minister,” said Mr Grant.
“I was very disappointed that there was no reversal on stamp duty. I was looking at buying a block up north somewhere, but I’ll now have to pay the 3pc stamp duty surcharge on that so I probably won’t do it,” he said. '
However will the North survive without his investment ?
Seems Osborne is going to piss off a lot of middle class folks, not that in the Telegraph sob story I have that much sympathy as it sounds like their "business" is built upon sand...if you own 17 homes and currently make no return you probably got something very wrong (and not buying the "but think of the folks we help")...but still if interest rates ever go up, there will be seriously hell to pay and all these people have seriously overstretched themselves and there is one person they will blame and it ain't themselves.
Is he hoping for sympathy:
' Jonathan Grant, 36, is facing an increasing tax bill on his four properties in London and Berkshire from next year.
He hopes that political ambition might prompt an about-turn by George Osborne, who will need the votes of “mainly Conservative” landlord investors.
“I think he might change his mind if he wants to be Prime Minister,” said Mr Grant.
“I was very disappointed that there was no reversal on stamp duty. I was looking at buying a block up north somewhere, but I’ll now have to pay the 3pc stamp duty surcharge on that so I probably won’t do it,” he said. '
However will the North survive without his investment ?
The flipside of not accepting a coupon was for the LDs to get out of government well in advance of the election.
What on earth were they thinking by staying in to the end?
Kept saying that and was told I was posting rubbish. A coupon electrion would have been B&*%$y Awful Idea for the reasons which Laws gave. It’s clear now, though that Clegg should have pulled the LibDems out in the Autumn of 2014.
When Osborne made the offer the Tories were in full panic mode. Cameron made the EU referendum promise at around the same time.
Laws confirms that Cammo and Osbo will do anything to keep in power, even to betraying 50 of their colleagues for personal gain. What a pair of wankers; they deserve all they get from the mass of the conservative party, when this news filters down.
A most neutral source.
What interest does Laws have to lie about it, seeing his political career is over??
Seems Osborne is going to piss off a lot of middle class folks, not that in the Telegraph sob story I have that much sympathy as it sounds like their "business" is built upon sand...if you own 17 homes and currently make no return you probably got something very wrong (and not buying the "but think of the folks we help")...but still if interest rates ever go up, there will be seriously hell to pay and all these people have seriously overstretched themselves and there is one person they will blame and it ain't themselves.
Also, in the detail it is revealed these 17 buy-to-let properties are former council houses on an estate. So much for Thatcher's dream of widening home ownership.
On my former council estate, prices have spiked alarmingly. A property worth £95,000 last year is now being sold with an asking price of £119,000. At the same time, a house sold last year for 95 has just beenput out to rent for £700 a month. Last year it would have been £550.
Something is going very wrong somewhere. My guess is BTL landlords who have incorporated already are looking to max out on purchases before the rules change, and as these are solid, three bed semis with gardens , ideal starter homes, they are being fought over fiercely.
But I don't think it will end well. That woman with seventeen houses is (a) a fool (b) surely going to have to sell. That could well see prices crashing and rents spiralling.
A well-meaning policy badly implemented with disastrous results; cf. academies, foundation trusts, pasty tax, HS2, Forestry Commission...
Even more bizarrely, this couple don't own their own home. They rent.
I expect they sold their own place to raise the capital for 17 deposits. They seem very highly geared financially. If the house market goes down they will go bankrupt and the houses will be auctioned. Likely to be bargins fairly shortly.
To be fair to Osborne one of the big issues with council house sales has been that so many of them have very soon ended up in the hands of landlords, their original buyers having sold them on for a hefty profit. This is particularly the case in London. One way to stop that is to make it much less attractive to be a landlord. With housing association properties soon to be available it's important for the government not to be seen to be providing little more than a get rich quick scheme.
Laws confirms that Cammo and Osbo will do anything to keep in power, even to betraying 50 of their colleagues for personal gain. What a pair of wankers; they deserve all they get from the mass of the conservative party, when this news filters down.
A most neutral source.
"Being in power” is, at bottom, the Tory Party’s raison d’être. Above that there are two factions. “Pull up the ladder, Jack", aka Thatcherism, and "nobless oblge", aka Lady Bountiful, which IDS is trying to sort of sanctify with his “care for the less fortunate”.
The flipside of not accepting a coupon was for the LDs to get out of government well in advance of the election.
What on earth were they thinking by staying in to the end?
Kept saying that and was told I was posting rubbish. A coupon electrion would have been B&*%$y Awful Idea for the reasons which Laws gave. It’s clear now, though that Clegg should have pulled the LibDems out in the Autumn of 2014.
When Osborne made the offer the Tories were in full panic mode. Cameron made the EU referendum promise at around the same time.
Seems Osborne is going to piss off a lot of middle class folks, not that in the Telegraph sob story I have that much sympathy as it sounds like their "business" is built upon sand...if you own 17 homes and currently make no return you probably got something very wrong (and not buying the "but think of the folks we help")...but still if interest rates ever go up, there will be seriously hell to pay and all these people have seriously overstretched themselves and there is one person they will blame and it ain't themselves.
Is he hoping for sympathy:
' Jonathan Grant, 36, is facing an increasing tax bill on his four properties in London and Berkshire from next year.
He hopes that political ambition might prompt an about-turn by George Osborne, who will need the votes of “mainly Conservative” landlord investors.
“I think he might change his mind if he wants to be Prime Minister,” said Mr Grant.
“I was very disappointed that there was no reversal on stamp duty. I was looking at buying a block up north somewhere, but I’ll now have to pay the 3pc stamp duty surcharge on that so I probably won’t do it,” he said. '
However will the North survive without his investment ?
Well that anecdote confirms that the 3% stamp duty is having an appropriate effect...
The flipside of not accepting a coupon was for the LDs to get out of government well in advance of the election.
What on earth were they thinking by staying in to the end?
Kept saying that and was told I was posting rubbish. A coupon electrion would have been B&*%$y Awful Idea for the reasons which Laws gave. It’s clear now, though that Clegg should have pulled the LibDems out in the Autumn of 2014.
When Osborne made the offer the Tories were in full panic mode. Cameron made the EU referendum promise at around the same time.
That’s turning out well, too!
Yep - Cameron opened up one of hell of a big can of worms when he decided that the Tories might lose to Ed Miliband.
Laws confirms that Cammo and Osbo will do anything to keep in power, even to betraying 50 of their colleagues for personal gain. What a pair of wankers; they deserve all they get from the mass of the conservative party, when this news filters down.
A most neutral source.
Well he also confirms in his book (written well before the latest flare up) that IDS was driven by a desire to improve the welfare system but was consistently and fatally blocked and undermined by Osborne and the Treasury.
You were saying this on Friday, but the NAO and PAC seem to think that the problem with reform and UC was more down to mismanagement in the department than anything else. It comes across as a rather poor attempt at maligning remain-supporting Osborne.
I agree IDS believes (rightly) in the reform. But implementation hasn't gone well, and that's the department's fault.
The flipside of not accepting a coupon was for the LDs to get out of government well in advance of the election.
What on earth were they thinking by staying in to the end?
Kept saying that and was told I was posting rubbish. A coupon electrion would have been B&*%$y Awful Idea for the reasons which Laws gave. It’s clear now, though that Clegg should have pulled the LibDems out in the Autumn of 2014.
When Osborne made the offer the Tories were in full panic mode. Cameron made the EU referendum promise at around the same time.
That’s turning out well, too!
Yep - Cameron opened up one of hell of a big can of worms when he decided that the Tories might lose to Ed Miliband.
They might have done. Perhaps the referendum made the difference.
MineForNothing Opinium Survey - EU referendum: % who say they will "definitely" vote
Those backing Remain - 59% Those backing Leave - 76%
#Brexit
61% are 10/10 certain to vote, 70% 9 or 10 and 76% 8/9 or 10.
41% are for Leave, 40% for Remain and 19% Don't Know, winning the undecided is key for Remain. Overall voters think the EU is a good thing by 47% to 35% which could help that effort
Seems Osborne is going to piss off a lot of middle class folks, not that in the Telegraph sob story I have that much sympathy as it sounds like their "business" is built upon sand...if you own 17 homes and currently make no return you probably got something very wrong (and not buying the "but think of the folks we help")...but still if interest rates ever go up, there will be seriously hell to pay and all these people have seriously overstretched themselves and there is one person they will blame and it ain't themselves.
Is he hoping for sympathy:
' Jonathan Grant, 36, is facing an increasing tax bill on his four properties in London and Berkshire from next year.
He hopes that political ambition might prompt an about-turn by George Osborne, who will need the votes of “mainly Conservative” landlord investors.
“I think he might change his mind if he wants to be Prime Minister,” said Mr Grant.
“I was very disappointed that there was no reversal on stamp duty. I was looking at buying a block up north somewhere, but I’ll now have to pay the 3pc stamp duty surcharge on that so I probably won’t do it,” he said. '
However will the North survive without his investment ?
Comments
Yeah, but afterwards they'd say it was your fault and anyway you wanted the gun fired.
Worth having a scroll through Twitter
He's not making a Commons speech.
I wonder when this was allegedly talked about. Early days I suspect when team building was the priority.
One conclusion from IDS on Marr - CON MPs who ousted him in 2003 had good judgement. IDS simply fails to convince.
#Thinkofmybetfairposition
(I hope he won't be, by the way!)
I think it very sporting of the Conservatives, in the absence of any proper Opposition, to provide their own alternatives.
( George is crap is dog meat )
Labour does the same.
Master strategist?!
Hard to argue with this. Clegg "sold" the Coalition to the LD party in 2010 on the basis it was a "one off" to deal with an exceptional situation and on that basis I, and many LDs, accepted it.
Had Clegg tried to forge Coalition 2.0 on the basis of a coupon deal, it would have torn the LDs apart just as the formation of the National Liberals did under John Simon.
So that's one deal - two parties split apart. Sounds like a good idea.
I wouldn't even wish Osborne on a harmful non-sentient being like John McDonnell.
Edited because iPhone posting sucks.
Was this the period when Dave made his referendum promise too?
This disability row could have been avoided if our contribution to the EU was not increasing so fast. A few years ago Osborne and Cameron said they were going to resist £1.7bn extra.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/31/britain-eu-contribution-rise-quadruple-cameron
Clearly they did not resist hard enough and needed a woman with a handbag to sort it out.
I think what this tournament is showing between the more closely matched teams is that setting a score is seriously tricky. Runs on the board is not really working (the NZ/Aus game being an exception).
What on earth were they thinking by staying in to the end?
I thought the Tories always put country before party. That's certainly what I have been told on here enough times.
Given that most people do not vote Tory, IDS saying live on TV that the Chancellor believes you do not matter if you are not a Tory voter is not helpful, to say the least
I'm not sure it would have made much difference to the result by then.
"he’s incredibly popular at Conservative constituency association events. They are the same people who are highly suspicious of George Osborne, who they’ve never quite warmed to."
"One consequence of this resignation is confirmation that the Downing Street fear factor is on the wane. I was at Michael Ashcroft’s 70th birthday party last Saturday where I encountered a Minister who had disobeyed Downing Street’s instruction not to attend. “You’ll be on a little list,” I joshed. “I really couldn’t give a toss,” came the reply. And it was heartfelt.
Yet more evidence that power is gradually ebbing away from Cameron and Osborne. The question is, who is the power ebbing to?"
http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2016/03/iain-dale-duncan-smiths-friday-night-call-to-priti.html
Imagine the vitriol the party would have faced had it walked out in 2012 for example. I thought it much more likely the Conservatives would walk out on the Coalition and try to go it alone.
Seems Osborne is going to piss off a lot of middle class folks, not that in the Telegraph sob story I have that much sympathy as it sounds like their "business" is built upon sand...if you own 17 homes and currently make no return you probably got something very wrong (and not buying the "but think of the folks we help")...but still if interest rates ever go up, there will be seriously hell to pay and all these people have seriously overstretched themselves and there is one person they will blame and it ain't themselves.
Staying in through the election [absent a coupon] made no sense at all.
Our Trade Union spokesman bought a house w £250k from his union's fund for sick miners & won't say if he repaid it? https://t.co/ijqHHPUX96
Read the whole thread, it's appalling stuff
They already are! They pop up now and then saying "look what we stopped" as if the coalition wasn't already doing heinous damage to things like the NHS with a LibDems minister writing the preface to the bill. The LibDems MPs voted more loyally fir Tory bills than Tory MPs did.
Has a political party ever collapsed into a black hole as quickly as the LibDems did?
More seriously, yes, the Liberals went from leading a government in 1922 (technically) having 156 seats in. 1923, to having just 40 seats and no prospect of a return to power by 1925. And that wasn't as low as it went before the Second World War either. They were reduced to 21 seats by 1935, most of which were held in the absence of Conservative candidates.
If either of them vanished and were replaced by Nick Clegg almost no one would notice except for a slight increase in the sanctimony level.
Something is going very wrong somewhere. My guess is BTL landlords who have incorporated already are looking to max out on purchases before the rules change, and as these are solid, three bed semis with gardens , ideal starter homes, they are being fought over fiercely.
But I don't think it will end well. That woman with seventeen houses is (a) a fool (b) surely going to have to sell. That could well see prices crashing and rents spiralling.
A well-meaning policy badly implemented with disastrous results; cf. academies, foundation trusts, pasty tax, HS2, Forestry Commission...
People continuously and disingenuously bitch about Amazon not paying taxes, but it has never made a profit, Bezos' policy has always been about reinvesting everything they make, which is how they have gone from no where to the dominant force in multiple marketplaces in 21 years.
As it is...
Some of the the Osborne hate stuff being posted on here is ludicrous
Opinium Survey - EU referendum: % who say they will "definitely" vote
Those backing Remain - 59%
Those backing Leave - 76%
#Brexit
As it happens I have now inherited a house from my mother anyway, so it would have been feasible, but you don't spend money you haven't got buying houses for other people to live in and spending far more than you need to on rent. Absolutely moronic.
She seems to view it as a charitable effort. In that case, let her incorporate as a housing association and ask for donations to cover the costs, and pay herself a salary in the normal way to run it.
Osborne's clearly right (for once) that the system is broken. It's just his reforms seem to be making it worse.
Humbled ex LD minister writes book to make a bit of dosh.. You will see it on a few remainder shelves in bookshops or more likely at car boot sales..
Start with a big union and a small house and finish with a small union and a big house.
Today's http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/mar/20/britons-on-europe-survey-results-opinium-poll-referendum
' Jonathan Grant, 36, is facing an increasing tax bill on his four properties in London and Berkshire from next year.
He hopes that political ambition might prompt an about-turn by George Osborne, who will need the votes of “mainly Conservative” landlord investors.
“I think he might change his mind if he wants to be Prime Minister,” said Mr Grant.
“I was very disappointed that there was no reversal on stamp duty. I was looking at buying a block up north somewhere, but I’ll now have to pay the 3pc stamp duty surcharge on that so I probably won’t do it,” he said. '
However will the North survive without his investment ?
The problem with all this analysis is that differential rates of turnout are already weighted into polls.
You'd get a mighty big house for that sort of money back then in the North-East.
I agree IDS believes (rightly) in the reform. But implementation hasn't gone well, and that's the department's fault.
https://www.nao.org.uk/report/universal-credit-early-progress-2/
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmpubacc/619/61903.htm
They might have done. Perhaps the referendum made the difference.
41% are for Leave, 40% for Remain and 19% Don't Know, winning the undecided is key for Remain. Overall voters think the EU is a good thing by 47% to 35% which could help that effort