"I'm sure most people here have read Alastair Darling's book, but if not, do so. It's easy to forget just. How. Close. We came."
Carl, I have read the Darling's book, and allowing for it being a little self-serving, what comes across strongly is how useless Gordon was - they had to wake him up to tell him what they'd concocted in his absence.
Yet Gordon was the one who took the credit and set the "forces of hell" on the Badger for daring to suggest that "cuts deeper than Thatcher's" were necessary.
Mind you, Stalin was similar when he thought his generals were taking the credit for helping to win WWII.
At GE 2015 the Lib Dems could find themselves with fewer than 30,000 members, 1 MEP and fewer than 2,000 councillors. With their GE campaign impaired by their financial position.
Sorry, but what is this from PBTories, that we have "Nothing to show" for the increase in deficit & debt during the last years of the Labour Government?
Averting the sudden and total collapse of our entire nation's financial system and economy was a tangible result, was it not?
I'm sure most people here have read Alastair Darling's book, but if not, do so. It's easy to forget just. How. Close. We came.
None of that makes the task that the incoming Government faced any easier of course, but still, let's be honest.
Sorry, but what is this from PBTories, that we have "Nothing to show" for the increase in deficit & debt during the last years of the Labour Government?
Averting the sudden and total collapse of our entire nation's financial system and economy was a tangible result, was it not?
I'm sure most people here have read Alastair Darling's book, but if not, do so. It's easy to forget just. How. Close. We came.
None of that makes the task that the incoming Government faced any easier of course, but still, let's be honest.
Arsonists often claim to be lifesavers, Carl.
Those on benefits go to prison.
Darling and Brown were lucky.
Well they weren't lucky in their handling of the crisis, which was pretty damn impressive.
But they are lucky that their terrible economic mistakes didn't have even worse consequences, I suppose. It's pretty worrying that the current Government is repeating those mistakes, though - stoking bubbles, worshipping the City and cravenly bowing to its interests, and all the rest of it.
And we are all certainly very lucky that we had a sure pair of hands like Alastair Darling in charge when it hit the fan.
At GE 2015 the Lib Dems could find themselves with fewer than 30,000 members, 1 MEP and fewer than 2,000 councillors. With their GE campaign impaired by their financial position.
Most unlikely , the Lib Dems are not defending enough seats next year to fall below 2,000 even if they lose them all . I would bot expect the number of members to fall that low in 2 years and just 1 MEP is a wet dream of yours . The Conservatives do not seem to have any problem running a GE despite having been millions of pounds in debt for many years .
Well they weren't lucky in their handling of the crisis, which was pretty damn impressive.
Impressive? What planet were you living on?
The handling of Northern Rock was an absolute shambles, the first bank run in the UK for 150 years. Darling and Brown between them managed the remarkable feat of creating a major crisis from the failure of a minor bank:
Lloyds collapsed only because of Gordon Brown's pushing them into the HBOS takeover.
The rescue of RBS was OK, but of course any government, of any party, in any country in the world, would have done much the same.
In any case, the whole crisis would not have had such disastrous effects in the UK if Brown hadn't screwed up financial regulation in the first place.
With the removal of banking control to the Financial Services Authority—the "super-SIB"—it is difficult to see how and whether the Bank remains, as it surely must, responsible for ensuring the liquidity of the banking system and preventing systemic collapse. ... The coverage of the FSA will be huge: its objectives will be many, and potentially in conflict with one another. The range of its activities will be so diverse that no one person in it will understand them all. Its structure will be as complex as those of the organisations that it replaces, if not more so. Practitioner involvement is likely to diminish, and costs are likely to escalate as salaries are equalised upwards.
We have no objection to the objective of trying to bring greater simplicity and one-stop shopping to the business of financial regulation, but we fear that the Government may, almost casually, have bitten off more than they can chew. The process of setting up the FSA may cause regulators to take their eye off the ball, while spivs and crooks have a field day.
Peter Lilley, 1997. Words that should be engraved on the hearts of Labour supporters.
@tim - Yes, a slim majority might have been very difficult indeed. That will remain true in 2015 as well, irrespective of party. Of course a minority government would be even worse.
There's a lot of political risk and I don't think the financial markets are factoring it in as they should. Of course, that's good news in the sense that it gives the rest of us time to do so.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, will be tried by a French court on pimping charges, his lawyer Frederique Baulieu said in an interview. Strauss-Kahn was charged earlier this year with acting as a procurer in a prostitution ring in the northern French city of Lille. DSK, as Strauss-Kahn is known in France, has denied the charges.
On Topic. The signed up L/Dems know that they have no alternative but to stick with Cleggover. He may be a poor leader but anyone else my be worse. Cable while an able minister would make a poor leader; a rousing cry by him would sound like a dirge, while Ed Daveys crumpled looks would put anyone off. What a crew!
At best Cable has been a decidedly average minister.
There are areas where he has coordinated well as part of a cross-government effort (e.g. the Ford? factory in the Liverpool area a couple of years ago). He certainly deserves some of the credit for that.
The reality, though, is that most of his time has been wasted. He has an instinctive desire to regulate as a first response to situation (this was told to me by one of the City's top regulators) rather than to see if there is a more sensible approach - this individual spent much of their time pushing back on pointless garbage from Cable's department.
However, he had fundamentally one thing he needed to do: and that was to fix the banking system. Absolutely that is a hugely difficult and complex task, but he has been a waste of space and time. He has done nothing constructive on this front - aside from the occasional, highly damaging, public musing.
Recently looking on Savills web site (as one does), at properties with land that are away from the SE and coast, I was struck by how much some of the very attractive properties had reduced their offer price, since the last time I had looked a few months ago.
This is a very different picture to London (younger son is buying flats south of Hampstead) where £1m does not buy you much at all and prices for good property are still advancing. Also I gather that a lot of serious money from continental Europe (away from the hands of M.Hollande) is being invested in London property (without mortgages of course).
The P/SP market in central London is a totally different market to the rest of the UK. Arguably they should publish house price data ex-London as the primary index for policy decisions. ex-London the market is much more challenging with limited turnover, prices dragging. There are occasionally big sales, but where previously there were multiple buyers, you now have one buyer picking between several properties.
Sorry, but what is this from PBTories, that we have "Nothing to show" for the increase in deficit & debt during the last years of the Labour Government?
Averting the sudden and total collapse of our entire nation's financial system and economy was a tangible result, was it not?
I'm sure most people here have read Alastair Darling's book, but if not, do so. It's easy to forget just. How. Close. We came.
None of that makes the task that the incoming Government faced any easier of course, but still, let's be honest.
Arsonists often claim to be lifesavers, Carl.
Those on benefits go to prison.
Darling and Brown were lucky.
Well they weren't lucky in their handling of the crisis, which was pretty damn impressive.
How come the US banks have recovered so much quicker then, while ours are still in intensive care?
On Topic. The signed up L/Dems know that they have no alternative but to stick with Cleggover. He may be a poor leader but anyone else my be worse. Cable while an able minister would make a poor leader; a rousing cry by him would sound like a dirge, while Ed Daveys crumpled looks would put anyone off. What a crew!
At best Cable has been a decidedly average minister.
There are areas where he has coordinated well as part of a cross-government effort (e.g. the Ford? factory in the Liverpool area a couple of years ago). He certainly deserves some of the credit for that.
I thought Ford had stopped manufacturing in the UK.
On Topic. The signed up L/Dems know that they have no alternative but to stick with Cleggover. He may be a poor leader but anyone else my be worse. Cable while an able minister would make a poor leader; a rousing cry by him would sound like a dirge, while Ed Daveys crumpled looks would put anyone off. What a crew!
At best Cable has been a decidedly average minister.
There are areas where he has coordinated well as part of a cross-government effort (e.g. the Ford? factory in the Liverpool area a couple of years ago). He certainly deserves some of the credit for that.
The reality, though, is that most of his time has been wasted. He has an instinctive desire to regulate as a first response to situation (this was told to me by one of the City's top regulators) rather than to see if there is a more sensible approach - this individual spent much of their time pushing back on pointless garbage from Cable's department.
However, he had fundamentally one thing he needed to do: and that was to fix the banking system. Absolutely that is a hugely difficult and complex task, but he has been a waste of space and time. He has done nothing constructive on this front - aside from the occasional, highly damaging, public musing.
He did the country a big favour by nullifying the effects of Camerons immigration cap nonsense by upping intra company transfers.
Dave was quite prepared to screw growth even more.
I forget what it's called, but there is an economic principle warning against over-reliance on one measure.
You focus too much on GDP growth. It's not the be all and end all of life.
At GE 2015 the Lib Dems could find themselves with fewer than 30,000 members, 1 MEP and fewer than 2,000 councillors. With their GE campaign impaired by their financial position.
Most unlikely , the Lib Dems are not defending enough seats next year to fall below 2,000 even if they lose them all . I would bot expect the number of members to fall that low in 2 years and just 1 MEP is a wet dream of yours . The Conservatives do not seem to have any problem running a GE despite having been millions of pounds in debt for many years .
How many local government seats will the LDs be defending next year?
It's one of the follies in the garden (used to use it for tea on sunny days) but sadly this part of the estate went to the National Trust with the main house.
It's one of the follies in the garden (used to use it for tea on sunny days) but sadly this part of the estate went to the National Trust with the main house.
Tea on a sunny day sounds perfect for it. Hopefully the NT are looking after it well.
On Topic. The signed up L/Dems know that they have no alternative but to stick with Cleggover. He may be a poor leader but anyone else my be worse. Cable while an able minister would make a poor leader; a rousing cry by him would sound like a dirge, while Ed Daveys crumpled looks would put anyone off. What a crew!
At best Cable has been a decidedly average minister.
There are areas where he has coordinated well as part of a cross-government effort (e.g. the Ford? factory in the Liverpool area a couple of years ago). He certainly deserves some of the credit for that.
I thought Ford had stopped manufacturing in the UK.
Wouldn't swear it was Ford, but Cable went to Detroit (so could have been GM) - Cameron had a conference call with the CEO as well to discuss the topic. Think it was mid 2011 - managed to win a new engine (?) factory vs competition from Poland, etc.
It's one of the follies in the garden (used to use it for tea on sunny days) but sadly this part of the estate went to the National Trust with the main house.
Tea on a sunny day sounds perfect for it. Hopefully the NT are looking after it well.
We have a fairly grumpy relationship with them - but we're not entirely innocent, either.
If you ever make it to Dirty Dick's I'll tell you a lovely story about the Library that winds up the NT something rotten... ;-)
the candidates were asked their view on Ed Balls’ tactical announcement that Labour will go into the 2015 election pledging to match George Osborne’s departmental spending limits.
The answer should be obvious. Like it or not comrades, voters believed the last Labour government spent like there was no tomorrow.
An essential step to winning back economic credibility is for the Shadow Chancellor to talk tough about imposing “iron discipline” on his colleagues and to keep telling voters that the deficit will not balloon once again if Labour is once again entrusted with power. Every opinion poll tells the same story.
But no. Tulip Siddiq, a rising young Labour star, who was endorsed by Neil Kinnock and made a left-wing pitch for the seat, asked: “What is the difference between Labour and Tory if we match their spending pledges? It’s a myth that Labour created this mess.”
The deafening applause from the party faithful confirmed that, from this moment on, Ms Siddiq was a shoo-in for the seat
"@OpiniumResearch 33m Opinium/Observer results out tomorrow evening with some interesting movements."
Read into that what you will.
Opinium is the poll that has been showing UKIP higher (19) and Tories lower (27) - it had the 11-point Labour lead last month. My guess is it has UKIP down and the Tories up.
the candidates were asked their view on Ed Balls’ tactical announcement that Labour will go into the 2015 election pledging to match George Osborne’s departmental spending limits.
The answer should be obvious. Like it or not comrades, voters believed the last Labour government spent like there was no tomorrow.
An essential step to winning back economic credibility is for the Shadow Chancellor to talk tough about imposing “iron discipline” on his colleagues and to keep telling voters that the deficit will not balloon once again if Labour is once again entrusted with power. Every opinion poll tells the same story.
But no. Tulip Siddiq, a rising young Labour star, who was endorsed by Neil Kinnock and made a left-wing pitch for the seat, asked: “What is the difference between Labour and Tory if we match their spending pledges? It’s a myth that Labour created this mess.”
The deafening applause from the party faithful confirmed that, from this moment on, Ms Siddiq was a shoo-in for the seat
But more pertinently, the deafening applause from the party faithful confirmed that they were mightily out of synch with what the public thinks needs doing and who's to blame for where the country is.
At GE 2015 the Lib Dems could find themselves with fewer than 30,000 members, 1 MEP and fewer than 2,000 councillors. With their GE campaign impaired by their financial position.
Most unlikely , the Lib Dems are not defending enough seats next year to fall below 2,000 even if they lose them all . I would bot expect the number of members to fall that low in 2 years and just 1 MEP is a wet dream of yours . The Conservatives do not seem to have any problem running a GE despite having been millions of pounds in debt for many years .
How many local government seats will the LDs be defending next year?
It is unclear at the moment as some councils will have full elections on new boundaries .but around 500 . 245 ish in London .
Cable - he's a fool, and of the worst type. Clegg has saved us from him.
Louise Bagshawe - is rather missed in my book. I'd backed her for next Tory leader. I have no idea whether the Tory party 'stay in touch' with her, but they certainly should.
It is unclear at the moment as some councils will have full elections on new boundaries .but around 500 . 245 ish in London .
Excluding the few councils which have complete re-wardings (Hackney, Hart, Kensington & Chelsea, Milton Keynes, Slough, Tower Hamlets, West Oxfordshire), the Lib Dems are defending 650 seats.
O/T What would happen to the Royal Navy in the event of a Yes vote?
I'm not entirely sure that if the Scots declare their independence after a referendum that the entirely logically correct thing for the English to do isn't just to declare war.
The LDs would be bonkers to get rid of NC before the next election. He has played a blinder. Some (idiotic) Tories never acknowledged they didn't win the election, many LDs thought the LDs did.
If it could be structured, a situation-no-change coalition bet would be a good one.
Christie and Paul fire first shots in 2016 GOP primary race
As a former prosecutor who was appointed by President George W. Bush on Sept. 10, 2001, I just want us to be really cautious, because this strain of libertarianism that’s going through both parties right now and making big headlines, I think, is a very dangerous thought,” Christie said. Asked whether he includes Paul — a fellow potential 2016 presidential candidate — in his criticism, Christie didn’t back down. “You can name any one of them that’s engaged in this,” he said. “I want them to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and the orphans and have that conversation. … I’m very nervous about the direction this is moving in.” Audio of the exchange can be found here. Not to be outdone, Sen. Rand Paul and his team fired back at the New Jersey governor: @SenRandPaul Christie worries about the dangers of freedom. I worry about the danger of losing that freedom. Spying without warrants is unconstitutional. And from Paul’s staff: “If Gov. Christie believes the constitutional rights and the privacy of all Americans is ‘esoteric’, he either needs a new dictionary, or he needs to talk to more Americans, because a great number of them are concerned about the dramatic overreach of our government in recent years,” Doug Stafford, a senior adviser to Paul, said in a statement to POLITICO. “Defending America and fighting terrorism is the concern of all Americans, especially Sen. Paul. But it can and must be done in keeping with our Constitution and while protecting the freedoms that make America exceptional.” Paul’s retort seems to be pretty weak. “Christie’s afraid of freedom” might be the first really dumb thing said in the 2016 cycle. Christie also tied Paul’s positions to Obama’s circa 2008, pointing out that the President changed his tune when he started receiving daily intelligence briefings, something Christie says he predicted would happen due to his knowledge of counterterrorism efforts from his days as U.S. Attorney. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/07/25/christie-goes-after-libertarians-hard/
PPP 2016 general election Given the choices of Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Hillary Clinton, Andrew Cuomo, Kirsten Gillibrand, Martin O’Malley, Brian Schweitzer, Mark Warner, and Elizabeth Warren, who would you most like to see as the Democratic candidate for President in 2016? Hillary Clinton 52% {63%} [64%] (58%) {57%} [61%] (57%) Joe Biden 12% {13%} [18%] (19%) {16%} [12%] (14%) Elizabeth Warren 6% {3%} [5%] (8%) {4%} [4%] (6%) Kirsten Gillibrand 5% {1%} [1%] (1%) {1%} Cory Booker 3% Andrew Cuomo 2% {4%} [3%] (3%) {4%} [5%] (5%) Brian Schweitzer 2% {1%} [1%] (0%) {1%} [1%] (1%) Mark Warner 1% {3%} [2%] (1%) {2%} [1%] (2%) Martin O’Malley 1% {2%} [1%] (1%) {3%} [2%] (1%) Someone else/Not sure 17% {10%} [6%] (9%) {10%} [12%] (12%) Given the choices of Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Andrew Cuomo, Kirsten Gillibrand, Martin O’Malley, Brian Schweitzer, Mark Warner, and Elizabeth Warren, who would you most like to see as the Democratic candidate for President in 2016? Joe Biden 34% {38%} [49%] (57%) (32%) Elizabeth Warren 13% {13%} [11%] (13%) (8%) Andrew Cuomo 10% {10%} [10%] (5%) (18%) Cory Booker 4% Kirsten Gillibrand 3% {2%} [7%] (4%) Martin O’Malley 3% {3%} [1%] (1%) (2%) Mark Warner 2% {3%} [3%] (3%) (2%) Brian Schweitzer 2% {1%} [2%] (0%) (1%) Someone else/Not sure 29% {26%} [15%] (14%) (32%) If neither Hillary Clinton nor Joe Biden ran for President in 2016, who would you most like to see as the Democratic nominee? Elizabeth Warren 20% {17%} [18%] (21%) {16%} [16%] (9%) Andrew Cuomo 11% {25%} [22%] (25%) {19%} [21%] (27%) Cory Booker 8% Kirsten Gillibrand 5% {5%} [5%] (3%) {5%} Brian Schweitzer 4% {1%} [1%] (2%) {2%} [2%] (2%) Mark Warner 3% {4%} [5%] (4%) {4%} [3%] (4%) Martin O’Malley 2% {5%} [8%] (5%) {7%} [5%] (4%) Someone else/Not sure 47% {38%} [36%] (36%) {40%} [45%] (46%)
Which refers to my point about many in the LDs being in denial. NC made a brave and clear decision (pre-results) about which party he would back and it would be unthinkable for him to change the parameters now.
At GE 2015 the Lib Dems could find themselves with fewer than 30,000 members, 1 MEP and fewer than 2,000 councillors. With their GE campaign impaired by their financial position.
Maybe so but the toxic Clegg has public approval ratings of -51 (July STimes/YouGov) so the lib dems would obviously be bonkers to get rid of him.
I live in Westminster North. Our MP is Karen Buck. If you look her up and go to her website then it's pretty easy to see that she's terrible. Stupid beyond belief. Everything she has ever said or (apparently) thought is weak and ill-founded.
Omnium - No, as many an old duffer backbencher re-elected for donkeys years in a safe seat will attest, a semi-conscious parrot could be an MP if he got elected!
Omnium - No, as many an old duffer backbencher re-elected for donkeys years in a safe seat will attest, a semi-conscious parrot could be an MP if he got elected!
So, politics aside, how can you get rid of an obviously ghastly incumbent?
I live in Westminster North. Our MP is Karen Buck. If you look her up and go to her website then it's pretty easy to see that she's terrible. Stupid beyond belief. Everything she has ever said or (apparently) thought is weak and ill-founded.
Is it possible to sue your MP for being crap?
She's likely to be the MP for Westminster North for at least another 10 years.
Omnium - Short of getting them deselected by the local party you could always stand against them yourself, although your chances will be low. Otherwise the only way out is death (I would not advise paying for their assassination, although it would probably be your best bet) or retirement
O/T What would happen to the Royal Navy in the event of a Yes vote?
I'm not entirely sure that if the Scots declare their independence after a referendum that the entirely logically correct thing for the English to do isn't just to declare war.
"Eleven European wine and spirits producing countries have lodged a bid to block Scotland’s plans for minimum unit pricing on alcohol by branding them illegal, unfair and ineffective.
Nations including Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Bulgaria oppose the scheme and warned of the “grave consequences” it would have on their domestic economies..."
The submissions have been made to the European Commission, which is currently considering the Scottish Government’s request to be granted an exemption from trade regulations that prevent price fixing.
Sounds like every half-baked (which is pretty much all of them) 'new' initiative I've ever encountered in a school when it comes to evaluation:
'I call back the Home Office, and ask: if this is a pilot scheme, what does success look like? "It will be assessed broadly to see how successful it was on a number of levels." "What levels?" "They'll look at it to see how it's worked across the board." "What board?" "To see if it does what it set out to do." Are they counting the number of voluntary returnees? Or the number of votes the Conservatives took off Ukip? Are they going to poll illegal immigrants on what influenced their decision to leave? Or poll UK citizens on how tough they think Conservatives are on immigration? Have they got a baseline of people who typically return of their own accord? What's the time period? "I don't think we're going to discuss any details." "If this is a pilot, you should be able to tell me how you're going to assess it." "I can send you a statement about our reasons for the pilot," he says. "You're sticking with 'pilot', are you?" "As opposed to?"'
"Eleven European wine and spirits producing countries have lodged a bid to block Scotland’s plans for minimum unit pricing on alcohol by branding them illegal, unfair and ineffective.
Nations including Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Bulgaria oppose the scheme and warned of the “grave consequences” it would have on their domestic economies."
Jolly kind of Eck to fight the battle before Cameron expends any political capital on it....just as well Scotland will not be 'relying on the kindness of strangers'....
Sounds like every half-baked (which is pretty much all of them) 'new' initiative I've ever encountered in a school when it comes to evaluation:
'I call back the Home Office, and ask: if this is a pilot scheme, what does success look like? "It will be assessed broadly to see how successful it was on a number of levels." "What levels?" "They'll look at it to see how it's worked across the board." "What board?" "To see if it does what it set out to do." Are they counting the number of voluntary returnees? Or the number of votes the Conservatives took off Ukip? Are they going to poll illegal immigrants on what influenced their decision to leave? Or poll UK citizens on how tough they think Conservatives are on immigration? Have they got a baseline of people who typically return of their own accord? What's the time period? "I don't think we're going to discuss any details." "If this is a pilot, you should be able to tell me how you're going to assess it." "I can send you a statement about our reasons for the pilot," he says. "You're sticking with 'pilot', are you?" "As opposed to?"'
Criteria left wide open so anything can be claimed as a rip roaring success and down to tough political decisions etc, etc. TBF All parties are guilty of doing this.
IIRC There was an episode of Yes Prime Minister when an academic suggested that all projects should have pre commencement measures of failure published. Sir Humphrey was horrified.
Sounds like every half-baked (which is pretty much all of them) 'new' initiative I've ever encountered in a school when it comes to evaluation:
'I call back the Home Office, and ask: if this is a pilot scheme, what does success look like? "It will be assessed broadly to see how successful it was on a number of levels." "What levels?" "They'll look at it to see how it's worked across the board." "What board?" "To see if it does what it set out to do." Are they counting the number of voluntary returnees? Or the number of votes the Conservatives took off Ukip? Are they going to poll illegal immigrants on what influenced their decision to leave? Or poll UK citizens on how tough they think Conservatives are on immigration? Have they got a baseline of people who typically return of their own accord? What's the time period? "I don't think we're going to discuss any details." "If this is a pilot, you should be able to tell me how you're going to assess it." "I can send you a statement about our reasons for the pilot," he says. "You're sticking with 'pilot', are you?" "As opposed to?"'
Sounds like every half-baked (which is pretty much all of them) 'new' initiative I've ever encountered in a school when it comes to evaluation:
'I call back the Home Office, and ask: if this is a pilot scheme, what does success look like? "It will be assessed broadly to see how successful it was on a number of levels." "What levels?" "They'll look at it to see how it's worked across the board." "What board?" "To see if it does what it set out to do." Are they counting the number of voluntary returnees? Or the number of votes the Conservatives took off Ukip? Are they going to poll illegal immigrants on what influenced their decision to leave? Or poll UK citizens on how tough they think Conservatives are on immigration? Have they got a baseline of people who typically return of their own accord? What's the time period? "I don't think we're going to discuss any details." "If this is a pilot, you should be able to tell me how you're going to assess it." "I can send you a statement about our reasons for the pilot," he says. "You're sticking with 'pilot', are you?" "As opposed to?"'
It's just embarrassing. Although when you've put Matt Hancock up for the first few days of the holiday to handle the media all your judgement has gone anyway got shredded by Farages logic on the issue, plus his idea that in a single market you have a duty to employ a particular person due to geography rather than ability.
The jargon... the jargon... it's infested everything. I've spent whole days in meetings - when in the private sector and now - to come up with 'mission statements' that mean bugger all. And when you say they mean bugger all you get these stares that always remind me of Quint when he says, 'lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes' about sharks. *ponders on all that precious life lost...*
Sounds like every half-baked (which is pretty much all of them) 'new' initiative I've ever encountered in a school when it comes to evaluation:
'I call back the Home Office, and ask: if this is a pilot scheme, what does success look like? "It will be assessed broadly to see how successful it was on a number of levels." "What levels?" "They'll look at it to see how it's worked across the board." "What board?" "To see if it does what it set out to do." Are they counting the number of voluntary returnees? Or the number of votes the Conservatives took off Ukip? Are they going to poll illegal immigrants on what influenced their decision to leave? Or poll UK citizens on how tough they think Conservatives are on immigration? Have they got a baseline of people who typically return of their own accord? What's the time period? "I don't think we're going to discuss any details." "If this is a pilot, you should be able to tell me how you're going to assess it." "I can send you a statement about our reasons for the pilot," he says. "You're sticking with 'pilot', are you?" "As opposed to?"'
Sean Connery will commandeer a nuclear sub from the Clyde and defect to England, despite the Salmond government insisting that he has gone rogue and will "nuke London" in order to get the Navy to sink him. Even his crew believe that he will attack the Auld Enemy! It is only a freak Irn-Bru accident in the sub's galley that gets the crewmen to evacuate the vessel!
Red October 2014!!
"Comrades! This is your captain! It is an honour to speak to you today! And I'm honoured to be sailing with you on the maiden voyage of our Motherland's most recent achievement. And once more, we play our dangerous game. A game of chess....against our old adversary...the English Navy! For 300 years, your fathers before you and your older brothers played this game...and played it well. But today, the game is different. WE have the advantage! It reminds me of the heady days of Bannockburn and Robert the Bruce, when the world trembled at the sound of our war drums. Now they will tremble again - at the sound of our silence. The order is: engage the silent drive! Comrades! Our own fleet doesn't know our full potential! They will do everything possible to test us, but they will only test their own embarrassment. We will leave our fleet behind! We will pass through the English patrols, past their sonar nets, and lay off their largest city, and listen to their rock and roll...while we conduct missile drills! And when we are finished, the only sound they will hear is our laughter, while we sail to Dublin, where the sun is warm, and so is the...comradeship. A great day, comrades! We sail into history!"
Sean Connery will commandeer a nuclear sub from the Clyde and defect to England, despite the Salmond government insisting that he has gone rogue and will "nuke London" in order to get the Navy to sink him. Even his crew believe that he will attack the Auld Enemy! It is only a freak Irn-Bru accident in the sub's galley that gets the crewmen to evacuate the vessel!
Red October 2014!!
"Comrades! This is your captain! It is an honour to speak to you today! And I'm honoured to be sailing with you on the maiden voyage of our Motherland's most recent achievement. And once more, we play our dangerous game. A game of chess....against our old adversary...the English Navy! For 300 years, your fathers before you and your older brothers played this game...and played it well. But today, the game is different. WE have the advantage! It reminds me of the heady days of Bannockburn and Robert the Bruce, when the world trembled at the sound of our war drums. Now they will tremble again - at the sound of our silence. The order is: engage the silent drive! Comrades! Our own fleet doesn't know our full potential! They will do everything possible to test us, but they will only test their own embarrassment. We will leave our fleet behind! We will pass through the English patrols, past their sonar nets, and lay off their largest city, and listen to their rock and roll...while we conduct missile drills! And when we are finished, the only sound they will hear is our laughter, while we sail to Dublin, where the sun is warm, and so is the...comradeship. A great day, comrades! We sail into history!"
Sean Connery will commandeer a nuclear sub from the Clyde and defect to England, despite the Salmond government insisting that he has gone rogue and will "nuke London" in order to get the Navy to sink him. Even his crew believe that he will attack the Auld Enemy! It is only a freak Irn-Bru accident in the sub's galley that gets the crewmen to evacuate the vessel!
Red October 2014!!
"Comrades! This is your captain! It is an honour to speak to you today! And I'm honoured to be sailing with you on the maiden voyage of our Motherland's most recent achievement. And once more, we play our dangerous game. A game of chess....against our old adversary...the English Navy! For 300 years, your fathers before you and your older brothers played this game...and played it well. But today, the game is different. WE have the advantage! It reminds me of the heady days of Bannockburn and Robert the Bruce, when the world trembled at the sound of our war drums. Now they will tremble again - at the sound of our silence. The order is: engage the silent drive! Comrades! Our own fleet doesn't know our full potential! They will do everything possible to test us, but they will only test their own embarrassment. We will leave our fleet behind! We will pass through the English patrols, past their sonar nets, and lay off their largest city, and listen to their rock and roll...while we conduct missile drills! And when we are finished, the only sound they will hear is our laughter, while we sail to Dublin, where the sun is warm, and so is the...comradeship. A great day, comrades! We sail into history!"
Sean Connery will commandeer a nuclear sub from the Clyde and defect to England, despite the Salmond government insisting that he has gone rogue and will "nuke London" in order to get the Navy to sink him. Even his crew believe that he will attack the Auld Enemy! It is only a freak Irn-Bru accident in the sub's galley that gets the crewmen to evacuate the vessel!
Red October 2014!!
"Comrades! This is your captain! It is an honour to speak to you today! And I'm honoured to be sailing with you on the maiden voyage of our Motherland's most recent achievement. And once more, we play our dangerous game. A game of chess....against our old adversary...the English Navy! For 300 years, your fathers before you and your older brothers played this game...and played it well. But today, the game is different. WE have the advantage! It reminds me of the heady days of Bannockburn and Robert the Bruce, when the world trembled at the sound of our war drums. Now they will tremble again - at the sound of our silence. The order is: engage the silent drive! Comrades! Our own fleet doesn't know our full potential! They will do everything possible to test us, but they will only test their own embarrassment. We will leave our fleet behind! We will pass through the English patrols, past their sonar nets, and lay off their largest city, and listen to their rock and roll...while we conduct missile drills! And when we are finished, the only sound they will hear is our laughter, while we sail to Dublin, where the sun is warm, and so is the...comradeship. A great day, comrades! We sail into history!"
Sean Connery will commandeer a nuclear sub from the Clyde and defect to England, despite the Salmond government insisting that he has gone rogue and will "nuke London" in order to get the Navy to sink him. Even his crew believe that he will attack the Auld Enemy! It is only a freak Irn-Bru accident in the sub's galley that gets the crewmen to evacuate the vessel!
Red October 2014!!
"Comrades! This is your captain! It is an honour to speak to you today! And I'm honoured to be sailing with you on the maiden voyage of our Motherland's most recent achievement. And once more, we play our dangerous game. A game of chess....against our old adversary...the English Navy! For 300 years, your fathers before you and your older brothers played this game...and played it well. But today, the game is different. WE have the advantage! It reminds me of the heady days of Bannockburn and Robert the Bruce, when the world trembled at the sound of our war drums. Now they will tremble again - at the sound of our silence. The order is: engage the silent drive! Comrades! Our own fleet doesn't know our full potential! They will do everything possible to test us, but they will only test their own embarrassment. We will leave our fleet behind! We will pass through the English patrols, past their sonar nets, and lay off their largest city, and listen to their rock and roll...while we conduct missile drills! And when we are finished, the only sound they will hear is our laughter, while we sail to Dublin, where the sun is warm, and so is the...comradeship. A great day, comrades! We sail into history!"
Joe Saward reckons that the endless Indian bureaucracy has pissed off the teams enough that they want the red tape to end or the race won't go ahead. Every year (well, both of them) there's been a race there complaints about ridiculous bureaucracy have been loud, and the circuit isn't stellar.
In addition, it's possible Austria could replace the German Grand Prix. If true, one imagines the Germans will not be pleased to learn that, for them, ze racing* iz over.
Sean Connery will commandeer a nuclear sub from the Clyde and defect to England, despite the Salmond government insisting that he has gone rogue and will "nuke London" in order to get the Navy to sink him. Even his crew believe that he will attack the Auld Enemy! It is only a freak Irn-Bru accident in the sub's galley that gets the crewmen to evacuate the vessel!
Red October 2014!!
It's sort of like like satire isn't it Sunny? Private Eye are clearly missing a great talent.
Who says trainspotters don't have a sense of humour?
Comments
"I'm sure most people here have read Alastair Darling's book, but if not, do so. It's easy to forget just. How. Close. We came."
Carl, I have read the Darling's book, and allowing for it being a little self-serving, what comes across strongly is how useless Gordon was - they had to wake him up to tell him what they'd concocted in his absence.
Yet Gordon was the one who took the credit and set the "forces of hell" on the Badger for daring to suggest that "cuts deeper than Thatcher's" were necessary.
Mind you, Stalin was similar when he thought his generals were taking the credit for helping to win WWII.
Those on benefits go to prison.
Darling and Brown were lucky.
But they are lucky that their terrible economic mistakes didn't have even worse consequences, I suppose. It's pretty worrying that the current Government is repeating those mistakes, though - stoking bubbles, worshipping the City and cravenly bowing to its interests, and all the rest of it.
And we are all certainly very lucky that we had a sure pair of hands like Alastair Darling in charge when it hit the fan.
Most unlikely , the Lib Dems are not defending enough seats next year to fall below 2,000 even if they lose them all . I would bot expect the number of members to fall that low in 2 years and just 1 MEP is a wet dream of yours .
The Conservatives do not seem to have any problem running a GE despite having been millions of pounds in debt for many years .
http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/zinooici1f/YG-Archive-Pol-Sunday-Times-results-120713.pdf
The handling of Northern Rock was an absolute shambles, the first bank run in the UK for 150 years. Darling and Brown between them managed the remarkable feat of creating a major crisis from the failure of a minor bank:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6996136.stm
Lloyds collapsed only because of Gordon Brown's pushing them into the HBOS takeover.
The rescue of RBS was OK, but of course any government, of any party, in any country in the world, would have done much the same.
In any case, the whole crisis would not have had such disastrous effects in the UK if Brown hadn't screwed up financial regulation in the first place.
With the removal of banking control to the Financial Services Authority—the "super-SIB"—it is difficult to see how and whether the Bank remains, as it surely must, responsible for ensuring the liquidity of the banking system and preventing systemic collapse.
...
The coverage of the FSA will be huge: its objectives will be many, and potentially in conflict with one another. The range of its activities will be so diverse that no one person in it will understand them all. Its structure will be as complex as those of the organisations that it replaces, if not more so. Practitioner involvement is likely to diminish, and costs are likely to escalate as salaries are equalised upwards.
We have no objection to the objective of trying to bring greater simplicity and one-stop shopping to the business of financial regulation, but we fear that the Government may, almost casually, have bitten off more than they can chew. The process of setting up the FSA may cause regulators to take their eye off the ball, while spivs and crooks have a field day.
Peter Lilley, 1997. Words that should be engraved on the hearts of Labour supporters.
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1997/nov/11/bank-of-england-bill
History won't judge him by his voice pitch, and nor will sensible people today.
In fact the reassessment has already largely happened.
There's a lot of political risk and I don't think the financial markets are factoring it in as they should. Of course, that's good news in the sense that it gives the rest of us time to do so.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, will be tried by a French court on pimping charges, his lawyer Frederique Baulieu said in an interview.
Strauss-Kahn was charged earlier this year with acting as a procurer in a prostitution ring in the northern French city of Lille. DSK, as Strauss-Kahn is known in France, has denied the charges.
http://bloom.bg/16iMglk
"@OpiniumResearch 33m Opinium/Observer results out tomorrow evening with some interesting movements."
Read into that what you will.
When PB Tories posted that story some weeks ago the NewsSense™ view, posted many times, was that is was a different constituency, and a non-story.
Just like Labour's tax avoidance.
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/07/theresa-mays-stop-and-search-review-hits-target/
There are areas where he has coordinated well as part of a cross-government effort (e.g. the Ford? factory in the Liverpool area a couple of years ago). He certainly deserves some of the credit for that.
The reality, though, is that most of his time has been wasted. He has an instinctive desire to regulate as a first response to situation (this was told to me by one of the City's top regulators) rather than to see if there is a more sensible approach - this individual spent much of their time pushing back on pointless garbage from Cable's department.
However, he had fundamentally one thing he needed to do: and that was to fix the banking system. Absolutely that is a hugely difficult and complex task, but he has been a waste of space and time. He has done nothing constructive on this front - aside from the occasional, highly damaging, public musing.
You focus too much on GDP growth. It's not the be all and end all of life.
Edit: Lancaster selected earlier than expected a few days ago, so it's 3 today.
Take a gander at the link - http://www.flickr.com/photos/80463834@N00/3998778070/
If you ever make it to Dirty Dick's I'll tell you a lovely story about the Library that winds up the NT something rotten... ;-)
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/26/vladimir-putin-dmitry-medvedev-russian-fishing-holiday-pictures_n_3658797.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=2696121,b=facebook
http://travel.aol.co.uk/2013/07/26/pony-killed-satanic-ritual-devon-national-park/?icid=maing-grid7|uk|dl4|sec1_lnk2&pLid=197235&a_dgi=aolshare_facebook
http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2013/07/26/two-headed-baby-born-in-india/?icid=maing-grid7|uk|dl8|sec1_lnk2&pLid=197179&a_dgi=aolshare_facebook
CDU/CSU: 40.8%
SPD: 24.8%
Greens: 12.9%
FDP: 5.3%
Linke: 7.3%
AfD: 2.4%
Others: 6.5%
CDU/CSU + FDP: 46.1%
SPD + Greens + Linke: 45.0%
http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/index.htm
Tulip!?
But more pertinently, the deafening applause from the party faithful confirmed that they were mightily out of synch with what the public thinks needs doing and who's to blame for where the country is.
Louise Bagshawe - is rather missed in my book. I'd backed her for next Tory leader. I have no idea whether the Tory party 'stay in touch' with her, but they certainly should.
ANDY JS
PLEASE DO NOT SPECULATE ON THE SITE ABOUT THE IDENTITY OF POSTERS> THANK YOU
Come on! My only interest in this phrase is that she might have his address so I can put him out of his misery.
http://globaldefenceanalysis.wordpress.com/2013/07/26/scottish-first-minister-confused-over-royal-navy-in-scotland/
The LDs would be bonkers to get rid of NC before the next election. He has played a blinder. Some (idiotic) Tories never acknowledged they didn't win the election, many LDs thought the LDs did.
If it could be structured, a situation-no-change coalition bet would be a good one.
As a former prosecutor who was appointed by President George W. Bush on Sept. 10, 2001, I just want us to be really cautious, because this strain of libertarianism that’s going through both parties right now and making big headlines, I think, is a very dangerous thought,” Christie said.
Asked whether he includes Paul — a fellow potential 2016 presidential candidate — in his criticism, Christie didn’t back down.
“You can name any one of them that’s engaged in this,” he said. “I want them to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and the orphans and have that conversation. … I’m very nervous about the direction this is moving in.”
Audio of the exchange can be found here.
Not to be outdone, Sen. Rand Paul and his team fired back at the New Jersey governor:
@SenRandPaul Christie worries about the dangers of freedom. I worry about the danger of losing that freedom. Spying without warrants is unconstitutional.
And from Paul’s staff:
“If Gov. Christie believes the constitutional rights and the privacy of all Americans is ‘esoteric’, he either needs a new dictionary, or he needs to talk to more Americans, because a great number of them are concerned about the dramatic overreach of our government in recent years,” Doug Stafford, a senior adviser to Paul, said in a statement to POLITICO. “Defending America and fighting terrorism is the concern of all Americans, especially Sen. Paul. But it can and must be done in keeping with our Constitution and while protecting the freedoms that make America exceptional.”
Paul’s retort seems to be pretty weak. “Christie’s afraid of freedom” might be the first really dumb thing said in the 2016 cycle. Christie also tied Paul’s positions to Obama’s circa 2008, pointing out that the President changed his tune when he started receiving daily intelligence briefings, something Christie says he predicted would happen due to his knowledge of counterterrorism efforts from his days as U.S. Attorney.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/07/25/christie-goes-after-libertarians-hard/
Hillary Clinton (D) 43% [47%] (46%) {46%} [44%]
Chris Christie (R) 42% [44%] (42%) {41%} [42%]
Hillary Clinton (D) 46% (50%) {50%} [53%]
Paul Ryan (R) 44% (43%) {44%} [39%]
Hillary Clinton (D) 44% {49%} [51%]
Jeb Bush (R) 41% {43%} [37%]
Hillary Clinton (D) 45% [51%] (49%) {49%} [51%]
Marco Rubio (R) 40% [41%] (42%) {41%} [37%]
Hillary Clinton (D) 47% [51%] (49%)
Rand Paul (R) 39% [41%] (43%)
Chris Christie (R) 45% [49%] (49%) {44%}
Joe Biden (D) 39% [40%] (40%) {44%}
Paul Ryan (R) 46% (45%) {45%}
Joe Biden (D) 43% (48%) {49%}
Jeb Bush (R) 45% {45%}
Joe Biden (D) 41% {48%}
Joe Biden (D) 42% [46%] (46%) {48%}
Marco Rubio (R) 42% [45%] (44%) {43%}
Joe Biden (D) 43% [46%] (47%)
Rand Paul (R) 43% [44%] (43%)
Given the choices of Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Hillary Clinton, Andrew Cuomo, Kirsten Gillibrand, Martin O’Malley, Brian Schweitzer, Mark Warner, and Elizabeth Warren, who would you most like to see as the Democratic candidate for President in 2016?
Hillary Clinton 52% {63%} [64%] (58%) {57%} [61%] (57%)
Joe Biden 12% {13%} [18%] (19%) {16%} [12%] (14%)
Elizabeth Warren 6% {3%} [5%] (8%) {4%} [4%] (6%)
Kirsten Gillibrand 5% {1%} [1%] (1%) {1%}
Cory Booker 3%
Andrew Cuomo 2% {4%} [3%] (3%) {4%} [5%] (5%)
Brian Schweitzer 2% {1%} [1%] (0%) {1%} [1%] (1%)
Mark Warner 1% {3%} [2%] (1%) {2%} [1%] (2%)
Martin O’Malley 1% {2%} [1%] (1%) {3%} [2%] (1%)
Someone else/Not sure 17% {10%} [6%] (9%) {10%} [12%] (12%)
Given the choices of Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Andrew Cuomo, Kirsten Gillibrand, Martin O’Malley, Brian Schweitzer, Mark Warner, and Elizabeth Warren, who would you most like to see as the Democratic candidate for President in 2016?
Joe Biden 34% {38%} [49%] (57%) (32%)
Elizabeth Warren 13% {13%} [11%] (13%) (8%)
Andrew Cuomo 10% {10%} [10%] (5%) (18%)
Cory Booker 4%
Kirsten Gillibrand 3% {2%} [7%] (4%)
Martin O’Malley 3% {3%} [1%] (1%) (2%)
Mark Warner 2% {3%} [3%] (3%) (2%)
Brian Schweitzer 2% {1%} [2%] (0%) (1%)
Someone else/Not sure 29% {26%} [15%] (14%) (32%)
If neither Hillary Clinton nor Joe Biden ran for President in 2016, who would you most like to see as the Democratic nominee?
Elizabeth Warren 20% {17%} [18%] (21%) {16%} [16%] (9%)
Andrew Cuomo 11% {25%} [22%] (25%) {19%} [21%] (27%)
Cory Booker 8%
Kirsten Gillibrand 5% {5%} [5%] (3%) {5%}
Brian Schweitzer 4% {1%} [1%] (2%) {2%} [2%] (2%)
Mark Warner 3% {4%} [5%] (4%) {4%} [3%] (4%)
Martin O’Malley 2% {5%} [8%] (5%) {7%} [5%] (4%)
Someone else/Not sure 47% {38%} [36%] (36%) {40%} [45%] (46%)
I think Mark Senior and I will become friends.
http://teachingbattleground.wordpress.com/2013/07/26/kids-are-failed-by-the-system-not-their-genes/
And on PISA rankings:
http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6343921
*chortle*
http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/2013/07/draft-will-there-be-another-con-lib-coalition-the-reasons-to-think-not-outweigh-the-reasons-to-think.html
Is it possible to sue your MP for being crap?
"Eleven European wine and spirits producing countries have lodged a bid to block Scotland’s plans for minimum unit pricing on alcohol by branding them illegal, unfair and ineffective.
Nations including Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Bulgaria oppose the scheme and warned of the “grave consequences” it would have on their domestic economies..."
The submissions have been made to the European Commission, which is currently considering the Scottish Government’s request to be granted an exemption from trade regulations that prevent price fixing.
'I call back the Home Office, and ask: if this is a pilot scheme, what does success look like? "It will be assessed broadly to see how successful it was on a number of levels." "What levels?" "They'll look at it to see how it's worked across the board." "What board?" "To see if it does what it set out to do." Are they counting the number of voluntary returnees? Or the number of votes the Conservatives took off Ukip? Are they going to poll illegal immigrants on what influenced their decision to leave? Or poll UK citizens on how tough they think Conservatives are on immigration? Have they got a baseline of people who typically return of their own accord? What's the time period? "I don't think we're going to discuss any details." "If this is a pilot, you should be able to tell me how you're going to assess it." "I can send you a statement about our reasons for the pilot," he says. "You're sticking with 'pilot', are you?" "As opposed to?"'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2013/jul/26/illegal-immigrant-billboard-stunt?CMP=twt_gu
"Eleven European wine and spirits producing countries have lodged a bid to block Scotland’s plans for minimum unit pricing on alcohol by branding them illegal, unfair and ineffective.
Nations including Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Bulgaria oppose the scheme and warned of the “grave consequences” it would have on their domestic economies."
http://www.offlicencenews.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/13509/Scottish_minimum_pricing_plans_opposed_by_11_countries.html
Jolly kind of Eck to fight the battle before Cameron expends any political capital on it....just as well Scotland will not be 'relying on the kindness of strangers'....
http://www.itv.com/news/update/2013-07-26/scotland-yard-to-investigate-london-labour-selection/
TBF All parties are guilty of doing this.
IIRC There was an episode of Yes Prime Minister when an academic suggested that all projects should have pre commencement measures of failure published.
Sir Humphrey was horrified.
Poor old scottish tories. They never learn.
http://order-order.com/2013/07/26/cleggs-argie-job-flop/
Red October 2014!!
"Comrades! This is your captain! It is an honour to speak to you today! And I'm honoured to be sailing with you on the maiden voyage of our Motherland's most recent achievement. And once more, we play our dangerous game. A game of chess....against our old adversary...the English Navy! For 300 years, your fathers before you and your older brothers played this game...and played it well. But today, the game is different. WE have the advantage! It reminds me of the heady days of Bannockburn and Robert the Bruce, when the world trembled at the sound of our war drums. Now they will tremble again - at the sound of our silence. The order is: engage the silent drive! Comrades! Our own fleet doesn't know our full potential! They will do everything possible to test us, but they will only test their own embarrassment. We will leave our fleet behind! We will pass through the English patrols, past their sonar nets, and lay off their largest city, and listen to their rock and roll...while we conduct missile drills! And when we are finished, the only sound they will hear is our laughter, while we sail to Dublin, where the sun is warm, and so is the...comradeship. A great day, comrades! We sail into history!"
SMukesh said:
Looks like a bad night for the Cons at the locals!
and then this -
MikeSmithson said:
It's reported that CON has taken Kingston Beverley off LDs. A big result and victory if confirmed.
'http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2013/jul/26/illegal-immigrant-billboard-stunt?CMP=twt_gu
Of course the 'stunt' has been running for a whole week so rather a tad optimistic to expect any results.
Maybe Williams could explain how the country ended up with so many illegal immigrants and why her beloved Labour party did sweet fa about it.
.
Very good, Dr. Prasannan
F1: with Russia and Austria set to join next year people have been pondering which races will be lost (New Jersey may be delayed but seems likely to go through).
http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2013/07/26/questions-over-india/
Joe Saward reckons that the endless Indian bureaucracy has pissed off the teams enough that they want the red tape to end or the race won't go ahead. Every year (well, both of them) there's been a race there complaints about ridiculous bureaucracy have been loud, and the circuit isn't stellar.
In addition, it's possible Austria could replace the German Grand Prix. If true, one imagines the Germans will not be pleased to learn that, for them, ze racing* iz over.
*at home
It's sort of like like satire isn't it Sunny? Private Eye are clearly missing a great talent.
Who says trainspotters don't have a sense of humour?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqvwnxgxazY