Mugabe's party wins two-thirds majority in parliament.
The number of seats needed for such a majority was 142.
They won 142:
Vote management that even Sinn Féin would be proud of...
wait till you see Pat McQuaid's re-election in september..
Isnt there a legal challenge to him standing now that none of his home countries look like they can stomach nominating him? I dont hold out great hopes for any other exec member being much better but it would be sweet to see the back of him. That said he comes from a generation of canny Irish sports administrators who could teach us all a great deal about real politics so never write him off.
Mind you, I remember soon after selection in 1995 encountering mushy peas for the first time. I said blithely to my enthusiastic helpers that it was very honest of the restaurant to admit to it. I did get some odd looks, but it wasn't until months later that someone took me aside and explained quietly that in Nottinghamshire peas are SUPPOSED to be mushy. Euuu. I had a lot to learn.
Is it entirely prudent to reveal this the day before a selection meeting, Nick?
Must admit reading posts from some of the pb tories , Cameron would have been better describing his own party as containing fruitcakes loonies and closet racists .
Remind me how many ethnic minority LibDem MPs there are, Mark.
As for Josiah's outrageous Derbyshirism, would anyone really eat a Bakewell tart if they hadn't been indoctrinated into it as a sadly impressionable child? If Derbyshire had invented Sachertorte, I could understand his pride.
bakewell pudding, i believe.
anyway, staffycher oatcakes is where its at. ( how dare them troublesome scots claim a nasty dry crumbly biscuit to be anywhere near comparable )
Mugabe's party wins two-thirds majority in parliament.
The number of seats needed for such a majority was 142.
They won 142:
Vote management that even Sinn Féin would be proud of...
wait till you see Pat McQuaid's re-election in september..
Isnt there a legal challenge to him standing now that none of his home countries look like they can stomach nominating him? I dont hold out great hopes for any other exec member being much better but it would be sweet to see the back of him. That said he comes from a generation of canny Irish sports administrators who could teach us all a great deal about real politics so never write him off.
malaysian cycling is proposing a rule change (after the nominations were closed?) to allow any two countries to nominate anyone ( i think that's right). so assuming they could pass the rule change, Ol Pat will be supported by (possibly) Thailand and Morocco.
we're defo into Berlusconi if not Mugabe territory
They'll be calling the Tories fruit-loops next. But I must say they're doing a good job of convincing me that they're not a bunch of racists.
As for Josiah's outrageous Derbyshirism, would anyone really eat a Bakewell tart if they hadn't been indoctrinated into it as a sadly impressionable child? If Derbyshire had invented Sachertorte, I could understand his pride.
Mind you, I remember soon after selection in 1995 encountering mushy peas for the first time. I said blithely to my enthusiastic helpers that it was very honest of the restaurant to admit to it. I did get some odd looks, but it wasn't until months later that someone took me aside and explained quietly that in Nottinghamshire peas are SUPPOSED to be mushy. Euuu. I had a lot to learn.
That reminds me of my favourite New Labour story of Mandelson and the Guacamole.
Almost certainly an urban myth of "personhole" proportions, but who cares!
In the leadership election, I made Ed Miliband my first preference in the belief his leftwing credentials would see him counter the inevitable anti-poor narrative the elected right would attempt to impose on the financial crisis. But this week I have decided to cancel my membership. The blame for this, I am sorry to say, lies squarely with its leader. When Labour veteran George Mudie said yesterday that Miliband was "hesitant and confused" he was, if anything, being too kind on him.
Must admit reading posts from some of the pb tories , Cameron would have been better describing his own party as containing fruitcakes loonies and closet racists .
Remind me how many ethnic minority LibDem MPs there are, Mark.
Now Sunil , you are really getting desperate in justifying Conservative policy to yourself . Perhaps your attitude may change when you are subjected to the same sort of harassment as Max .
As for Josiah's outrageous Derbyshirism, would anyone really eat a Bakewell tart if they hadn't been indoctrinated into it as a sadly impressionable child? If Derbyshire had invented Sachertorte, I could understand his pride.
bakewell pudding, i believe.
anyway, staffycher oatcakes is where its at. ( how dare them troublesome scots claim a nasty dry crumbly biscuit to be anywhere near comparable )
Must admit reading posts from some of the pb tories , Cameron would have been better describing his own party as containing fruitcakes loonies and closet racists .
Remind me how many ethnic minority LibDem MPs there are, Mark.
Now Sunil , you are really getting desperate in justifying Conservative policy to yourself . Perhaps your attitude may change when you are subjected to the same sort of harassment as Max .
I'm not justifying any kind of racism, but do you think the LibDems are racist in not selecting enough ethnic parliamentary candidates? Or is there some other underlying reason for the lack of ethnic LibDem MPs?
"Jim Messina was in Hawaii, with a handful of other top Obama aides at the end of 2010, a few weeks after the Democrats had been put to the sword in the mid-terms. Out in the surf one day, his boss made an offer he couldn't refuse. "I've got a favour I want to ask," the President said. "I'd like you to run the re-elect."
Messina accepted, and swapped a deputy chief of staff's cramped White House office at the epicentre of Washington power for the sprawling campaign headquarters 700 miles away in Chicago, in a skyscraper overlooking Grant Park where Obama spoke on that unforgettable victory night in November 2008.
The pace in Washington was frantic; in these waning, desperate days of election 2012, it is surely if anything more frantic still in Chicago, made worse by a grim awareness that maybe nothing you do can make any difference at this stage, that America's voters have already made up their collective mind. Just four days from now – barring, of course, a repeat of Florida 2000 – their verdict will be known. And in the President's team, apart from Obama himself, no one will have been more responsible for the outcome than Messina..." http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/jim-messina-the-most-powerful-personin-washington-youve-never-heard-of-8278039.html
I really don't know how anyone from an ethnic minority could even contemplate voting Tory - the vast majority are smart enough not to, but a few do (sadly)...
The Tories remain exceptionally toxic to ethnic minority voters. The recent van/ethnic profiling episode is just another example to consolidate that view.
I diasagree with many on here who seem to think ethnic minority voters cannot swing an election. I would say that ethnic minority voters denied the Tories a majority at the last election.
Now don't start knocking our oatcakes, they are delish with a plate of stovies.
no, indeed, they are no bad esp. with salmon. and highland park. (maybe not with stovies?!). I'll be fine if you could just change the name to something else
They'll be calling the Tories fruit-loops next. But I must say they're doing a good job of convincing me that they're not a bunch of racists.
As for Josiah's outrageous Derbyshirism, would anyone really eat a Bakewell tart if they hadn't been indoctrinated into it as a sadly impressionable child? If Derbyshire had invented Sachertorte, I could understand his pride.
Mind you, I remember soon after selection in 1995 encountering mushy peas for the first time. I said blithely to my enthusiastic helpers that it was very honest of the restaurant to admit to it. I did get some odd looks, but it wasn't until months later that someone took me aside and explained quietly that in Nottinghamshire peas are SUPPOSED to be mushy. Euuu. I had a lot to learn.
At least we have one thing in common Nick: Birds pork pies. Or as you are a vegetarian, some of their stupendous cakes. Better than anything that inferior county Leicestershire can produce in their so-called 'home of the pork pie', Melton Mowbray.
In all seriousness, Birds is a brilliant confectioners. I was bought up on their stuff, and makde diversions to Bingham to buy some when I'm in the area. Yum.
As for mushy peas: I never developed a taste for them as I was banned from eating them as most contained E102, which I'm allergic to. It's the only time I've been thankful for the allergy. And uncoloured mushy peas should put anyone off: they're grey.
Must admit reading posts from some of the pb tories , Cameron would have been better describing his own party as containing fruitcakes loonies and closet racists .
Remind me how many ethnic minority LibDem MPs there are, Mark.
Now Sunil , you are really getting desperate in justifying Conservative policy to yourself . Perhaps your attitude may change when you are subjected to the same sort of harassment as Max .
Could you rephrase that to make it sound slightly more patronising, please?
One of PoliticalBetting.com's longest standing contributors bowed out this week. "It is with great sadness that I have to advise Mike Smithson and the site that I shall for profound personal reasons be permanently leaving the site," he wrote. "I created Jack W in order to challenge my own political views and this he has achieved, indeed even more so than I could have possibly imagined. In doing so I hope those who have followed his development on PB do not feel cheated. This was never my intention as I never believed Jack would develop as he has. But mortality has crept up on us both and I intend we now bow out with dignity." Political Better Mike Smithson knows Jack W's true identity, and the Backbencher has an idea herself. He was fairly well known in political life. But neither of us is telling."
As for Josiah's outrageous Derbyshirism, would anyone really eat a Bakewell tart if they hadn't been indoctrinated into it as a sadly impressionable child? If Derbyshire had invented Sachertorte, I could understand his pride.
bakewell pudding, i believe.
anyway, staffycher oatcakes is where its at. ( how dare them troublesome scots claim a nasty dry crumbly biscuit to be anywhere near comparable )
Must admit reading posts from some of the pb tories , Cameron would have been better describing his own party as containing fruitcakes loonies and closet racists .
Remind me how many ethnic minority LibDem MPs there are, Mark.
Now Sunil , you are really getting desperate in justifying Conservative policy to yourself . Perhaps your attitude may change when you are subjected to the same sort of harassment as Max .
I'm not justifying any kind of racism, but do you think the LibDems are racist in not selecting enough ethnic parliamentary candidates? Or is there some other underlying reason for the lack of ethnic LibDem MPs?
We have had plenty of ethnic parliamentary candidates but not in winnable seats . The underlying reason is clearly that we have fewer MPs the majority of whom are local to their seats .
They'll be calling the Tories fruit-loops next. But I must say they're doing a good job of convincing me that they're not a bunch of racists.
As for Josiah's outrageous Derbyshirism, would anyone really eat a Bakewell tart if they hadn't been indoctrinated into it as a sadly impressionable child? If Derbyshire had invented Sachertorte, I could understand his pride.
Mind you, I remember soon after selection in 1995 encountering mushy peas for the first time. I said blithely to my enthusiastic helpers that it was very honest of the restaurant to admit to it. I did get some odd looks, but it wasn't until months later that someone took me aside and explained quietly that in Nottinghamshire peas are SUPPOSED to be mushy. Euuu. I had a lot to learn.
At least we have one thing in common Nick: Birds pork pies. Or as you are a vegetarian, some of their stupendous cakes. Better than anything that inferior county Leicestershire can produce in their so-called 'home of the pork pie', Melton Mowbray.
Nick is a vegetarian? I thought I was the only vegetarian in the PB Village!!
One of PoliticalBetting.com's longest standing contributors bowed out this week. "It is with great sadness that I have to advise Mike Smithson and the site that I shall for profound personal reasons be permanently leaving the site," he wrote. "I created Jack W in order to challenge my own political views and this he has achieved, indeed even more so than I could have possibly imagined. In doing so I hope those who have followed his development on PB do not feel cheated. This was never my intention as I never believed Jack would develop as he has. But mortality has crept up on us both and I intend we now bow out with dignity." Political Better Mike Smithson knows Jack W's true identity, and the Backbencher has an idea herself. He was fairly well known in political life. But neither of us is telling."
we're defo into Berlusconi if not Mugabe territory
I think you'll find we're well beyond those novices in the dark arts - we're into Charles J. Haughey territory.
lol. trumped.
has pat got something to hide, that he's so desperate for re-election? or just the ego the size of a planet? either way sept 17th is going to be fascinating
@patrickwintour The Tories coup in hiring Obama man Jim Messina as election adviser is amusing since Miliband has also been looking to US for campaigner.
@DPJHodges Tories have Crosby & Messina. Labour have Graff. Labour aren't even giving themselves a chance.
@BBCAllegra ... My Labour sources are v worried by Messina. Want Ed Miliband to get a move on and appoint Tom Watson's replacement. Ed is swift and decisive, so expect Tom's replacement to be announced in 2015
...The odds of Labour winning the next election just got a little longer.
Evidently there’s an element of “gun for hire” about Messina going to work for the Tories. Obama’s Democrats have little in common with Cameron’s Tories – especially on the key electoral issue of the economy, where Obama went for a stimulus and Cameron went for austerity. But it’s somewhat painful to see that a senior Democrat – albeit one who is to the right of the Labour Party – thinks that the Tories are the right horse to back in 2015.
Jim Messina is a superb hire for the Tories – I wish Labour had hired him.
But what’s depressing is the contrast between how the Tories and Labour are approaching general election planning. Whilst the Tories are assiduously searching the globe for the most effective political consultants money can buy – regardless of party affiliation – Ed Miliband still hasn’t appointed a replacement for Tom Watson (one of the few Labour politicians who is a strategic campaigner). At the moment it looks worryingly like Miliband is trying to decide which one of his mates from the Shadow Cabinet to appoint to run the General Election campaign.
The real fear is that Labour will fudge the issue and have the General Election campaign run by committee – a recipe for total message ill-discipline and strategic disaster.
...There is very little time to go until the next election. Time spent considering which politician should be running the election campaign is time wasted. Labour should – money permitting – be trying to hire the best political campaigners available to run our election campaign. If the Tories have hired Jim Messina, then Labour could do much worse than approaching David Axelrod – who has recently left the White House – to run a professional, experienced campaign for Downing Street.
The Tories now have Lynton Crosby and Jim Messina – Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker, if you will. Who do we have? At the moment. No-one. And that’s starting to look complacent at best and embarrassing at worst.
"Because they spend so much time out of the house earning money, many young women in cities like Manchester have never learned to cook. Sometimes their households scratch along, ill-fed. At other times their husbands are condemned to take over domestic duties.
That was Frederick Engels, the industrialist and communist, writing in 1845. But the complaints have not changed much over the decades. In January Anna Soubry, Britain’s public-health minister, decried the culture of TV dinners, which she blamed for eroding family life. Celebrity chefs campaign to revive a dying tradition of family Sunday roasts. There was great mirth earlier this month when the Grocer, a trade publication, revealed that pre-cooked soft-boiled eggs would soon go on sale, eliminating even the most basic culinary challenge":
One of PoliticalBetting.com's longest standing contributors bowed out this week. "It is with great sadness that I have to advise Mike Smithson and the site that I shall for profound personal reasons be permanently leaving the site," he wrote. "I created Jack W in order to challenge my own political views and this he has achieved, indeed even more so than I could have possibly imagined. In doing so I hope those who have followed his development on PB do not feel cheated. This was never my intention as I never believed Jack would develop as he has. But mortality has crept up on us both and I intend we now bow out with dignity." Political Better Mike Smithson knows Jack W's true identity, and the Backbencher has an idea herself. He was fairly well known in political life. But neither of us is telling."
@patrickwintour The Tories coup in hiring Obama man Jim Messina as election adviser is amusing since Miliband has also been looking to US for campaigner.
@DPJHodges Tories have Crosby & Messina. Labour have Graff. Labour aren't even giving themselves a chance.
Mr. Dave, point of order: the alternative to running a deficit ['large' is a matter of opinion] would've been cuts of £200bn that took immediate effect, which would've been rather drastic.
Not a point against you, but it irks me that the term 'austerity' gets used for UK policy *and* for what's happened/is happening in Greece, Spain and Italy. It's making the term so broad as to be meaningless, like using 'offensive weapon' to describe a knitting needle and a flamethrower.
@patrickwintour The Tories coup in hiring Obama man Jim Messina as election adviser is amusing since Miliband has also been looking to US for campaigner.
@DPJHodges Tories have Crosby & Messina. Labour have Graff. Labour aren't even giving themselves a chance.
One the things said to have contributed to the Tories failure in 2010 was not having a clear line of responsibility/authority with their campaign.
They now seem to have hired two election chiefs for 2015.
Mr. Dave, point of order: the alternative to running a deficit ['large' is a matter of opinion] would've been cuts of £200bn that took immediate effect, which would've been rather drastic.
Not a point against you, but it irks me that the term 'austerity' gets used for UK policy *and* for what's happened/is happening in Greece, Spain and Italy. It's making the term so broad as to be meaningless, like using 'offensive weapon' to describe a knitting needle and a flamethrower.
If immediate tax rises are OK, then immediate government spending cuts are OK.
DavidL - what you could do, if you feel like it, would be to write to your MP (if it's a Conservative)
Nick, have you forgotten that I live in Scotland? Loss of support from people like me might risk their deposit I suppose. I am thinking about a letter. I really don't like this. So much good work undone. Bad politics as well as immoral.
LOL, you would be retired or dead before you could find a Tory MP in Scotland to write to.................
Mr. Dave, I agree with you. Cutting the whole deficit (or almost all of it) at once would be too much, though. The Government's gradual cutting makes sense, the problem is they're taking too long and not cutting enough. Ring-fencing health whilst cutting defence and wasting money on greenist nonsense and aid is also unwise.
@patrickwintour The Tories coup in hiring Obama man Jim Messina as election adviser is amusing since Miliband has also been looking to US for campaigner.
@DPJHodges Tories have Crosby & Messina. Labour have Graff. Labour aren't even giving themselves a chance.
'''The British way is to treat everyone with respect, and not like criminals. The British way is to presume innocence, rather than guilt.''
The British way is to dump the idea, declare an amnesty and start again with a new system.
Better to have another million illegals crammed in than upset some people now and again, time we were more like New Zealand , they chucked someone out for being fat and likely to cost them money on health issues. We need to get tough , stop illegal entry and chuck out every illegal entrant they can catch pdq. People get hassled in all walks of life for all sorts of stuff. This country has really gone to the dogs, nothing but whinging and moaning, upset of Tunbridge Wells , etc etc. Don't see or hear much of that rubbish up here apart from a few nutters now and again , most people get on with their lives.
@patrickwintour The Tories coup in hiring Obama man Jim Messina as election adviser is amusing since Miliband has also been looking to US for campaigner.
@DPJHodges Tories have Crosby & Messina. Labour have Graff. Labour aren't even giving themselves a chance.
One the things said to have contributed to the Tories failure in 2010 was not having a clear line of responsibility/authority with their campaign.
They now seem to have hired two election chiefs for 2015.
My assumption is that Crosby is doing the rapid rebuttal, messaging stuff that requires local knowledge of the UK and Messina is the strategic planning/getting boots on the ground ideas.
Just dipped in to see how things are and find an afternoon of faux outrage about "nasty party baby eating allegations ... smear smear ...."
Oh well, one poll seems to have given the lefties hope to keep them going through summer. Amusing to see some posters from the LDs, the "big" party with the smallest % of BME MPs. Zero %, Nil %, None.. at all.
Almost as bad as their record for female MPs. What are the odds on 0% female LD MPs in 2015? Now back out again for some exercise. Rattling a stick in a swill bucket eh Rog?
Mr. G, I've proposed a "Train or Space Cannon - your choice" campaign for the next round of mobile adverts (alternative routes of departure for illegal immigrants) but apparently the Coalition thinks it's too tough (and the Lib Dems will only support a sustainable, green method of execution. The solar death ray is fine, but doesn't fling people into the heart of the sun...).
Mr. G, I've proposed a "Train or Space Cannon - your choice" campaign for the next round of mobile adverts (alternative routes of departure for illegal immigrants) but apparently the Coalition thinks it's too tough (and the Lib Dems will only support a sustainable, green method of execution. The solar death ray is fine, but doesn't fling people into the heart of the sun...).
Hmmm... It would definitely have to be the train for me, Mr. Dancer
Must admit reading posts from some of the pb tories , Cameron would have been better describing his own party as containing fruitcakes loonies and closet racists .
Remind me how many ethnic minority LibDem MPs there are, Mark.
Now Sunil , you are really getting desperate in justifying Conservative policy to yourself . Perhaps your attitude may change when you are subjected to the same sort of harassment as Max .
I'm not justifying any kind of racism, but do you think the LibDems are racist in not selecting enough ethnic parliamentary candidates? Or is there some other underlying reason for the lack of ethnic LibDem MPs?
You think they should just select based on ethic origin rather than ability then.
So the Tories have hired an Australian and an American-I guess that they are abiding by `British firms having a duty to hire British workers`.Never heard about Jim Messina but I guess they key is how he`s going to work with a supposed rottwweiler like Crosby.
They'll be calling the Tories fruit-loops next. But I must say they're doing a good job of convincing me that they're not a bunch of racists.
As for Josiah's outrageous Derbyshirism, would anyone really eat a Bakewell tart if they hadn't been indoctrinated into it as a sadly impressionable child? If Derbyshire had invented Sachertorte, I could understand his pride.
Mind you, I remember soon after selection in 1995 encountering mushy peas for the first time. I said blithely to my enthusiastic helpers that it was very honest of the restaurant to admit to it. I did get some odd looks, but it wasn't until months later that someone took me aside and explained quietly that in Nottinghamshire peas are SUPPOSED to be mushy. Euuu. I had a lot to learn.
At least we have one thing in common Nick: Birds pork pies. Or as you are a vegetarian, some of their stupendous cakes. Better than anything that inferior county Leicestershire can produce in their so-called 'home of the pork pie', Melton Mowbray.
Nick is a vegetarian? I thought I was the only vegetarian in the PB Village!!
Eeek, I thought he's a vegetarian, I'm sure we had a conversation about it once. If not, apologies Nick ...
'Remember what we learned today, it's almost impossible for a Caucasian to be an illegal immigrant.'
Except at Kensal Green Underground station.
'By that time the UKBA had given us a statement saying they had arrested three people in the operation - a Ukrainian woman, a Brazilian woman and an Indian man. I was curious to see how Barry Gardiner could justify the accusation that UKBA border officials had only targeted people of colour.'
This victory for Camerons "nannying" will rile the sort of Libertarians who believe non white people should carry documents to confirm their immigration status
I thought it was the Coop's nannying, no? You know, that mutual which sponsors Labour MPs and has had close links with Labour for nearly a hundred years.
Why is Boris so quiet ? Normally, you can't keep his mouth shut !
As I remember, Boris is in favour of an amnesty.
From what I've read this morning, that sounds like the only viable solution.
Someone the other day posted an academic study of the 1986(?) US amnesty which suggested it encouraged future illegal immigration.
This seems rational, in that if a potential illegal immigrant thinks that their entry status may be regularised at some point in the future it increases the incentive to migrate.
An amnesty is probably the only viable way of dealing with the existing pool of illegal immigrants (although I would tie it with very strict rules re: acceptance of our society's rules - e.g. any crime that results in a prison sentence of more than 1 year results in immediate deportation with no right of appeal).
However, you need to get the entry system working first because otherwise the pool of illegal immigrants will only replenish itself.
(p.s. haven't read the story in full, but WTF are the police doing re: random immigration checks? Unless there is very good intelligence that a large proportion of people going through that tube station are illegal immigrants, they shouldn't be doing that sort of thing)
Are you counting the 18 billion GBP we give to Europe each year as part of "overseas aid"? (Compare India only 300 million GBP, Pakistan even less at 170 million GBP)
'Someone the other day posted an academic study of the 1986(?) US amnesty which suggested it encouraged future illegal immigration.'
The evidence from Spain & USA all show massive increases in illegal immigration after amnesties. Spain has offered 6 amnesties in 20 years and during that period applications by illegal immigrants have increased from 44,000 to 700,000. USA numbers increased from 2.7 million in 1980 to 9.3 million in 2000.
19 Apr 2010 - Graph showing estimated US illegal immigration ... Spain and Italy have had amnesty for illegal immigrants in the past. Spain's last amnesty ...
Sunil - We will have a referendum on the EU in 2017 so that is already being dealt with by Cameron if re-elected. I fail to see why overseas aid to growing economies like India is increased at the expense of cuts to the armed forces, libraries, social services, the police, legal aid etc
Just reading through the comments in the Times under the illegal immigrant random searches.
The vast majority of the comments [there are over 200 so far] think it's perfectly sensible - the gap between PB and a fairly neutral readership paper is quite instructive.
I shall soon be carrying my passport everywhere; and I'm white.
Seriously i think a case can be made for national identity cards to be issued in it's digital modern form. After all I carried one on me all through WW2 and I was a schoolboy.
Nope, it was in As A Father Dave's As A Mother's Union bloke report
Oh, I must have imagined this:
"As a community-based retailer we have listened to the concerns of our customers and members, many of whom say they object to their children being able to see overt sexual images in our stores.
"Whilst we have tried to mitigate the likelihood of young children seeing the images with a number of measures in-store, the most effective way of doing this is for these magazines to be put in individual, sealed modesty bags.
"As an interim measure, we have introduced our own opaque screens on shelf to reinforce our existing policy limiting the display of such material. The Publishers of these magazines now have until 9 September to start providing their own modesty bags, after which any lads’ magazine which does not have the relevant bag will not be supplied in our stores.”
The odd thing about the whole furore is that it's not the covers of these mags that are objectionable, but the very violent content - largely violence against women, but also some celebrations of some very nasty militaristic violence.
[For the avoidance of doubt, I only know this because, when I'm waiting to get my hair cut, I use the opportunity to familiarise myself with popular culture, not wanting to be out of touch and all that]
Why is Boris so quiet ? Normally, you can't keep his mouth shut !
As I remember, Boris is in favour of an amnesty.
From what I've read this morning, that sounds like the only viable solution.
Someone the other day posted an academic study of the 1986(?) US amnesty which suggested it encouraged future illegal immigration.
This seems rational, in that if a potential illegal immigrant thinks that their entry status may be regularised at some point in the future it increases the incentive to migrate.
An amnesty is probably the only viable way of dealing with the existing pool of illegal immigrants (although I would tie it with very strict rules re: acceptance of our society's rules - e.g. any crime that results in a prison sentence of more than 1 year results in immediate deportation with no right of appeal).
However, you need to get the entry system working first because otherwise the pool of illegal immigrants will only replenish itself.
(p.s. haven't read the story in full, but WTF are the police doing re: random immigration checks? Unless there is very good intelligence that a large proportion of people going through that tube station are illegal immigrants, they shouldn't be doing that sort of thing)
Never ever should there be an amnesty , they should be caught and deported immediately.
I forget who said it before (Avery maybe?) but amnesties always work best where you have control of the situation but don't want to wait for that control to manifest itself fully. I have no doubt that the illegal immigration situation is not yet suitable.
"First the liberal loonies do not want an advert asking for the illegals to identify themselves then they complain again when we try and identify the illegals. What is their solution?"
I'm all ears. And We Wouldn't Start From Here doesn't count...
Comments
anyway, staffycher oatcakes is where its at. ( how dare them troublesome scots claim a nasty dry crumbly biscuit to be anywhere near comparable
we're defo into Berlusconi if not Mugabe territory
Almost certainly an urban myth of "personhole" proportions, but who cares!
I hope Ed is enjoying his summer holidays
When even Kevin Maguire joins the PB Tories in pointing out Ed is Crap...
Save Ed !!
Meanwhile, on googling Mandelson and his Gaucamole, I came across this suberb article in the Daily Malice from Simon Hoggart
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-465577/Hagues-baseball-cap-Mandelsons-mushy-peas-True-tales-just-great-political-myths.html
Perhaps Ed is on holiday.
@guardian
Prince William and Kate register Prince George's birth http://t.gu.com/nzBXc
"Jim Messina was in Hawaii, with a handful of other top Obama aides at the end of 2010, a few weeks after the Democrats had been put to the sword in the mid-terms. Out in the surf one day, his boss made an offer he couldn't refuse. "I've got a favour I want to ask," the President said. "I'd like you to run the re-elect."
Messina accepted, and swapped a deputy chief of staff's cramped White House office at the epicentre of Washington power for the sprawling campaign headquarters 700 miles away in Chicago, in a skyscraper overlooking Grant Park where Obama spoke on that unforgettable victory night in November 2008.
The pace in Washington was frantic; in these waning, desperate days of election 2012, it is surely if anything more frantic still in Chicago, made worse by a grim awareness that maybe nothing you do can make any difference at this stage, that America's voters have already made up their collective mind. Just four days from now – barring, of course, a repeat of Florida 2000 – their verdict will be known. And in the President's team, apart from Obama himself, no one will have been more responsible for the outcome than Messina..." http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/jim-messina-the-most-powerful-personin-washington-youve-never-heard-of-8278039.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23551323
The Tories remain exceptionally toxic to ethnic minority voters. The recent van/ethnic profiling episode is just another example to consolidate that view.
I diasagree with many on here who seem to think ethnic minority voters cannot swing an election. I would say that ethnic minority voters denied the Tories a majority at the last election.
http://birdsbakery.com/
In all seriousness, Birds is a brilliant confectioners. I was bought up on their stuff, and makde diversions to Bingham to buy some when I'm in the area. Yum.
As for mushy peas: I never developed a taste for them as I was banned from eating them as most contained E102, which I'm allergic to. It's the only time I've been thankful for the allergy. And uncoloured mushy peas should put anyone off: they're grey.
@JackW even has his own Guardian article! http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/oct/24/1
"WHO IS JACK W?
One of PoliticalBetting.com's longest standing contributors bowed out this week. "It is with great sadness that I have to advise Mike Smithson and the site that I shall for profound personal reasons be permanently leaving the site," he wrote. "I created Jack W in order to challenge my own political views and this he has achieved, indeed even more so than I could have possibly imagined. In doing so I hope those who have followed his development on PB do not feel cheated. This was never my intention as I never believed Jack would develop as he has. But mortality has crept up on us both and I intend we now bow out with dignity." Political Better Mike Smithson knows Jack W's true identity, and the Backbencher has an idea herself. He was fairly well known in political life. But neither of us is telling."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakewell_tart
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakewell_pudding
I love Staffordshire Oaties as well, although I should perhaps whisper that quietly ...
as for staffs vs derbs. have to concede on cheese. derby wins
... My Labour sources are v worried by Messina. Want Ed Miliband to get a move on and appoint Tom Watson's replacement.
Ed is swift and decisive, so expect Tom's replacement to be announced in 2015
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griddle_scone
The clipping was in the third buff folder of the second box.
has pat got something to hide, that he's so desperate for re-election? or just the ego the size of a planet? either way sept 17th is going to be fascinating
The Tories coup in hiring Obama man Jim Messina as election adviser is amusing since Miliband has also been looking to US for campaigner.
@DPJHodges
Tories have Crosby & Messina. Labour have Graff. Labour aren't even giving themselves a chance.
speaking of scones. now 5 years since my last tattie scone. what to do?
http://labourlist.org/2013/08/jim-messina-is-a-superb-hire-for-the-tories-i-wish-labour-had-hired-him/
...The odds of Labour winning the next election just got a little longer.
Evidently there’s an element of “gun for hire” about Messina going to work for the Tories. Obama’s Democrats have little in common with Cameron’s Tories – especially on the key electoral issue of the economy, where Obama went for a stimulus and Cameron went for austerity. But it’s somewhat painful to see that a senior Democrat – albeit one who is to the right of the Labour Party – thinks that the Tories are the right horse to back in 2015.
Jim Messina is a superb hire for the Tories – I wish Labour had hired him.
But what’s depressing is the contrast between how the Tories and Labour are approaching general election planning. Whilst the Tories are assiduously searching the globe for the most effective political consultants money can buy – regardless of party affiliation – Ed Miliband still hasn’t appointed a replacement for Tom Watson (one of the few Labour politicians who is a strategic campaigner). At the moment it looks worryingly like Miliband is trying to decide which one of his mates from the Shadow Cabinet to appoint to run the General Election campaign.
The real fear is that Labour will fudge the issue and have the General Election campaign run by committee – a recipe for total message ill-discipline and strategic disaster.
...There is very little time to go until the next election. Time spent considering which politician should be running the election campaign is time wasted. Labour should – money permitting – be trying to hire the best political campaigners available to run our election campaign. If the Tories have hired Jim Messina, then Labour could do much worse than approaching David Axelrod – who has recently left the White House – to run a professional, experienced campaign for Downing Street.
The Tories now have Lynton Crosby and Jim Messina – Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker, if you will. Who do we have? At the moment. No-one. And that’s starting to look complacent at best and embarrassing at worst.
Miss Plato, if the blues do have Darth Vader I hope it's the James Earl Jones version and not the other one.
"where Obama went for a stimulus and Cameron went for austerity."
You could argue that Cameron went for both. He increased taxes, and ran a large deficit.
Not a point against you, but it irks me that the term 'austerity' gets used for UK policy *and* for what's happened/is happening in Greece, Spain and Italy. It's making the term so broad as to be meaningless, like using 'offensive weapon' to describe a knitting needle and a flamethrower.
They now seem to have hired two election chiefs for 2015.
"Clegg appoints former South African MP as Lib Dem strategy director
Ryan Coetzee, key figure behind success of Democratic Alliance party, stresses importance of projecting 'coherent message'
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/sep/20/clegg-appoints-south-african-strategy-director?CMP=twt_fd
People get hassled in all walks of life for all sorts of stuff. This country has really gone to the dogs, nothing but whinging and moaning, upset of Tunbridge Wells , etc etc. Don't see or hear much of that rubbish up here apart from a few nutters now and again , most people get on with their lives.
I'm sure we'll find out soon!
Oh well, one poll seems to have given the lefties hope to keep them going through summer.
Amusing to see some posters from the LDs, the "big" party with the smallest % of BME MPs. Zero %, Nil %, None.. at all.
Almost as bad as their record for female MPs. What are the odds on 0% female LD MPs in 2015?
Now back out again for some exercise. Rattling a stick in a swill bucket eh Rog?
Have you found out the percentage of non-white people in your local area, tim?
Is it possible to be an illegal immigrant in the uk from an EU member state?
"The Home Office said a Ukrainian woman aged 33"
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/exclusive-doreen-lawrence-pledges-to-condemn-racial-profiling-spot-checks-in-the-house-of-lords-8742754.html
Iain Dale's Blog on LBC - Labour MP Relies on 'Hearsay' to Criticise UKBA
'Remember what we learned today, it's almost impossible for a Caucasian to be an illegal immigrant.'
Except at Kensal Green Underground station.
'By that time the UKBA had given us a statement saying they had arrested three people in the operation - a Ukrainian woman, a Brazilian woman and an Indian man. I was curious to see how Barry Gardiner could justify the accusation that UKBA border officials had only targeted people of colour.'
This seems rational, in that if a potential illegal immigrant thinks that their entry status may be regularised at some point in the future it increases the incentive to migrate.
An amnesty is probably the only viable way of dealing with the existing pool of illegal immigrants (although I would tie it with very strict rules re: acceptance of our society's rules - e.g. any crime that results in a prison sentence of more than 1 year results in immediate deportation with no right of appeal).
However, you need to get the entry system working first because otherwise the pool of illegal immigrants will only replenish itself.
(p.s. haven't read the story in full, but WTF are the police doing re: random immigration checks? Unless there is very good intelligence that a large proportion of people going through that tube station are illegal immigrants, they shouldn't be doing that sort of thing)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-02/unicef-condemns-cuts-to-australia27s-foreign-aid/4862672
BBC2 NOW!
Portillo in Epping #sadmanonatrain
Con/UKIP split is wave finger in the air.
On Youtube, search for EORTV.
'Someone the other day posted an academic study of the 1986(?) US amnesty which suggested it encouraged future illegal immigration.'
The evidence from Spain & USA all show massive increases in illegal immigration after amnesties.
Spain has offered 6 amnesties in 20 years and during that period applications by illegal immigrants have increased from 44,000 to 700,000.
USA numbers increased from 2.7 million in 1980 to 9.3 million in 2000.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/.../8629354.stm
19 Apr 2010 - Graph showing estimated US illegal immigration ... Spain and Italy have had amnesty for illegal immigrants in the past. Spain's last amnesty ...
The vast majority of the comments [there are over 200 so far] think it's perfectly sensible - the gap between PB and a fairly neutral readership paper is quite instructive.
Will Heaven in the DT talks about Readerland - and he refers to his non-journo friends who are a banker, a junior doctor, a medical student or two, a lawyer and primary school teacher... as if these are representative of the population. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/willheaven/100229477/whats-a-troll-and-who-is-stella-creasy-readerland-vs-the-twitter-bubble/
I'll ask again, maybe you didn't see the questions
What would you say was the motivation for a person to try and emigrate illegally to the uk?
Is it possible to be an illegal immigrant in the uk from an EU member state?
Seriously i think a case can be made for national identity cards to be issued in it's digital modern form. After all I carried one on me all through WW2 and I was a schoolboy.
How is the second so?
"As a community-based retailer we have listened to the concerns of our customers and members, many of whom say they object to their children being able to see overt sexual images in our stores.
"Whilst we have tried to mitigate the likelihood of young children seeing the images with a number of measures in-store, the most effective way of doing this is for these magazines to be put in individual, sealed modesty bags.
"As an interim measure, we have introduced our own opaque screens on shelf to reinforce our existing policy limiting the display of such material. The Publishers of these magazines now have until 9 September to start providing their own modesty bags, after which any lads’ magazine which does not have the relevant bag will not be supplied in our stores.”
http://www.co-operative.coop/corporate/Press/Press-releases/Headline-news/The-Co-operative-calls-for-lads-mags-to-cover-up/
The odd thing about the whole furore is that it's not the covers of these mags that are objectionable, but the very violent content - largely violence against women, but also some celebrations of some very nasty militaristic violence.
[For the avoidance of doubt, I only know this because, when I'm waiting to get my hair cut, I use the opportunity to familiarise myself with popular culture, not wanting to be out of touch and all that]
So, so predictable.
"First the liberal loonies do not want an advert asking for the illegals to identify themselves then they complain again when we try and identify the illegals. What is their solution?"
I'm all ears. And We Wouldn't Start From Here doesn't count...