Did the Tories provide figures for their corporation tax cuts about what they expected it would cost/make? If so, where did they come from and what did the OBR say about them?
Boris Johnson missed his chance last year . He probably woukd have wom but the moments gone. When may takes ill health retirement hammond will take over and the conservatives will lose seats all round . Corbyn pm by next may
He is a very able man. I am confident Boris is "up for the job" in terms of being a good salesman come election-time and, based on reports of how he worked as London Mayor and how he is doing in the Foreign Office, quite capable of getting on with the business of administration. But there are at least four black marks against him, more serious than his love life or gaffe-prone nature or the "buffoon" question..
Would the EU treat him as a serious negotiating partner? (I guess the EU would just have to learn to, but people will be bearing this in mind when considering supporting him.)
As leader of the party, would he be a net vote loser and potentially a brand-retoxifier? (There are certain parts of the population he can reach that other Tories can't, so I don't understand why more use wasn't made of him on the campaign trail, rather than the narrow presidential-style focus on May. But he also turns some swing voters right off, and he is yet another posho. May has got through to people that Cameron couldn't. Plenty of these voters would find Boris PM far less palatable. As a tool deployed correctly I'm sure he wins vote, as figurehead of a national campaign he could well be a big net negative.)
Could his obvious upper-class Englishness and divisiveness cost the Tories in key regions or nations? (We know how the folk of Liverpool see him, though no marginals there. But in some of the Midlands and northern seats May was targeting, he doesn't strike me as the right kind of Tory. Would he really buoy the party in Wales? Could he be a serious, wipe-out style, liability in Scotland?)
As a controversial figure within the party, could he create serious fissures within it? (Possibly unhealable if we believe certain newspaper front pages with respect to the Scottish party! But then there is the Gove issue, the internal class warfare that seems to have been taking place post-Cameron, and so on. The risk the Tory party would be taking by selecting him would not just be how the party is seen by the voters, but the coherence of the party itself.)
Boris would boost the Tory vote in Leave seats in the north, midlands or south, no difference in Remain seats, after all he effectively took Vote Leave over the winning post, in Scotland he would make no difference, Scots don't want another independence referendum and Davidson capitalised on that, whether Boris or May is PM would not change that at all
Boris does have a problem in that he only has a 5K majority now after this election. People who don't like him will tactically vote against him. If he becomes PM he is likely to need a mandate. It is interesting that IDS, Villars and Johnson who were all Brexit advocates now have tiny majorities.
Did the Tories provide figures for their corporation tax cuts about what they expected it would cost/make? If so, where did they come from and what did the OBR say about them?
I don't think they stated anything, and the OBR isn't empowered to cost manifestos. The IFS didn't cover it beyond comparing the rate of tax to other developed economies.
Did the Tories provide figures for their corporation tax cuts about what they expected it would cost/make? If so, where did they come from and what did the OBR say about them?
None of which I'm aware. McDonnell wasn't joking when he said the only numbers in the Tory manifesto were the page numbers. It's possible there are data elsewhere.
But the Tories never said "we can raise money by lowering tax". They ridiculed the idea of raising extra tax revenue as "magic money tree". Which means they believe we're exactly at the very peak of the Laffer curve.
No, they said "we lowered tax and raised money", which implies we are on the right hand side of the curve.
They wanted to lower the rate further to raise more money
There is no evidence whatsoever that, at 19%, we are already to the right of the Laffer peak for corporation tax. I have debunked this elsewhere. After adjusting for accounting year differences and then recsaling for inflation or GDP, historical CT receipts broadly follow trends in the tax rate - albeit with noise.
The recent Tory claim is based on a single year of CT receipts which were inflated due to an accounting year change, which weren't rescaled, and for whose uncertainty no account was made. In other words, it was economically illiterate rubbish.
When you cut corporation tax, tax receipts form other taxes go up in particulate income tax as more money is invested in the country and more company's fight for employees by raising pay. the optimal rate of corporation tax is 0% and any move in that direction is good.
Did the Tories provide figures for their corporation tax cuts about what they expected it would cost/make? If so, where did they come from and what did the OBR say about them?
I don't think they stated anything, and the OBR isn't empowered to cost manifestos. The IFS didn't cover it beyond comparing the rate of tax to other developed economies.
Surely the CT cuts are already set out in the Budget "Red Book" - which sets out all forecast tax receipts and Government spending over the next (approx) 5 years.
The only stuff not in the Red Book would be new policies announced in the Con manifesto - eg the social care plans, cuts to Winter Fuel etc.
But existing Government policies are all set out in the Red Book and the CT cut was existing Government policy.
He is a very able man. I am confident Boris is "up for the job" in terms of being a good salesman come election-time and, based on reports of how he worked as London Mayor and how he is doing in the Foreign Office, quite capable of getting on with the business of administration. But there are at least four black marks against him, more serious than his love life or gaffe-prone nature or the "buffoon" question..
Would the EU treat him as a serious negotiating partner? (I guess the EU would just have to learn to, but people will be bearing this in mind when considering supporting him.)
As leader of the party, would he be a net vote loser and potentially a brand-retoxifier? (There are certain parts of the population he can reach that other Tories can't, so I don't understand why more use wasn't made of him on the campaign trail, rather than the narrow presidential-style focus on May. But he also turns some swing voters right off, and he is yet another posho. May has got through to people that Cameron couldn't. Plenty of these voters would find Boris PM far less palatable. As a tool deployed correctly I'm sure he wins vote, as figurehead of a national campaign he could well be a big net negative.)
Could his obvious upper-class Englishness and divisiveness cost the Tories in key regions or nations? (We know how the folk of Liverpool see him, though no marginals there. But in some of the Midlands and northern seats May was targeting, he doesn't strike me as the right kind of Tory. Would he really buoy the party in Wales? Could he be a serious, wipe-out style, liability in Scotland?)
As a controversial figure within the party, could he create serious fissures within it? (Possibly unhealable if we believe certain newspaper front pages with respect to the Scottish party! But then there is the Gove issue, the internal class warfare that seems to have been taking place post-Cameron, and so on. The risk the Tory party would be taking by selecting him would not just be how the party is seen by the voters, but the coherence of the party itself.)
Boris would boost the Tory vote in Leave would not change that at all
Boris does have a problem in that he only has a 5K majority now after this election. People who don't like him will tactically vote against him. If he becomes PM he is likely to need a mandate. It is interesting that IDS, Villars and Johnson who were all Brexit advocates now have tiny majorities.
Boris did increase his vote if not his majority but would connect with working class Leave voters using his charisma in a way a Remainer like May could not in the end and as she showed in the referendum
Boris Johnson missed his chance last year . He probably woukd have wom but the moments gone. When may takes ill health retirement hammond will take over and the conservatives will lose seats all round . Corbyn pm by next may
No chance Hammond I think, unless a grand coalition, Boris would easily beat him with the membership if he also stood for leader
Did the Tories provide figures for their corporation tax cuts about what they expected it would cost/make? If so, where did they come from and what did the OBR say about them?
I don't think they stated anything, and the OBR isn't empowered to cost manifestos. The IFS didn't cover it beyond comparing the rate of tax to other developed economies.
Surely the CT cuts are already set out in the Budget "Red Book" - which sets out all forecast tax receipts and Government spending over the next (approx) 5 years.
The only stuff not in the Red Book would be new policies announced in the Con manifesto - eg the social care plans, cuts to Winter Fuel etc.
But existing Government policies are all set out in the Red Book and the CT cut was existing Government policy.
Boris Johnson missed his chance last year . He probably woukd have wom but the moments gone. When may takes ill health retirement hammond will take over and the conservatives will lose seats all round . Corbyn pm by next may
No chance Hammond I think, unless a grand coalition, Boris would easily beat him with the membership if he also stood for leader
Plus Tory MPs will want someone with proven electoral appeal, as Boris has having won London twice
Ruth Davidson is moderate, personable, reasonable, down to earth and pragmatic. All the things Theresa May isn't and all the things the Conservative Party and the country need in a leader right now.
The people who will choose the next Tory leader, however, are not moderate, reasonable, down-to-earth or pragmatic. Some of them are personable, but that doesn't help.
I don't believe we should tax earned income further, so my preference would be to equalise the tax rates on earned and unearned income (i.e. subsume capital gains into income and eliminate CGT)
If you want to read a not-done-on-the-back-of-a-fag-packet analysis of the issue by some folk with with serious brains and a Nobel prize between them, the Mirrlees Review is nice and meaty (with gratitude to the IFS).
What you really want is someone who's got the work ethic and eye-for-detail of May behind the scenes, but the campaigning verve, passion and oratory of Boris in public.
No it is not, this vote was not a rejection of Brexit outside of Remain areas, it was a vote for an easing of austerity and against paying more for social care.
Correction: it was a vote against increased self-funding of social care. That's not the same as a vote against paying more.
Well somebody has to pay for it, if not through National Insurance or your estate then through higher taxes (and no that cannot be only paid by people richer than you)
Obviously. The risk of catastrophic care costs is a quantifiable and, therefore, collectivisable risk. This is the very business of government. The proposed arrangement was, in effect, a random massive inheritance, i.e. a failure of collectivisation. We no longer consider this acceptable for the costs of cancer and heart disease. It's hardly surprising that a similar failure to collectivise the costs of dementia proves unpopular.
I would separate the revenue raising for dementia care from its provision. We don't have specific taxes for medical care, so why link social care with a new tax. This should be funded from general taxation, which we must increase. I don't believe we should tax earned income further, so my preference would be to equalise the tax rates on earned and unearned income (i.e. subsume capital gains into income and eliminate CGT) and to close loopholes in the collection of estate tax (i.e. gifts and trusts).
We have no option but to tax wealth.
Tech - combined with our tax system - has made it possible for a tiny % of very smart/innovative/connected people to accumulate immense wealth, fantastically quickly - with very little of it going to the taxman in the process - while destroying the *traditional* tax receipts from the old industries which have been bankrupted.
No it is not, this vote was not a rejection of Brexit outside of Remain areas, it was a vote for an easing of austerity and against paying more for social care.
Correction: it was a vote against increased self-funding of social care. That's not the same as a vote against paying more.
Well somebody has to pay for it, if not through National Insurance or your estate then through higher taxes (and no that cannot be only paid by people richer than you)
Obviously. The risk of catastrophic care costs is a quantifiable and, therefore, collectivisable risk. This is the very business of government. The proposed arrangement was, in effect, a random massive inheritance, i.e. a failure of collectivisation. We no longer consider this acceptable for the costs of cancer and heart disease. It's hardly surprising that a similar failure to collectivise the costs of dementia proves unpopular.
I would separate the revenue raising for dementia care from its provision. We don't have specific taxes for medical care, so why link social care with a new tax. This should be funded from general taxation, which we must increase. I don't believe we should tax earned income further, so my preference would be to equalise the tax rates on earned and unearned income (i.e. subsume capital gains into income and eliminate CGT) and to close loopholes in the collection of estate tax (i.e. gifts and trusts).
We have no option but to tax wealth.
Tech - combined with our tax system - has made it possible for a tiny % of very smart/innovative/connected people to accumulate immense wealth, fantastically quickly - with very little of it going to the taxman in the process - while destroying the *traditional* tax receipts from the old industries which have been bankrupted.
This process is accelerating.
Yes we have other options. We could spend less money.
One for TSE: Amber Rudd-Michael Gove dream ticket. Michael Gove enobles Osborne.
Osborne comes back as the new Lord Mandelson??
No, it will be Boris no contest. Woman on BBC London News says she did not vote for May but would have voted for Boris. Boris could get a majority of 50 I think against Corbyn. Could even be Davis leads during negotiations then Boris takes over post Brexit before election
I don't want Boris. Put me down as anyone but Boris.
He's an incompetent buffoon. Not up to the job of governing as PM.
What you really want is someone who's got the work ethic and eye-for-detail of May behind the scenes, but the campaigning verve, passion and oratory of Boris in public.
Might I suggest this is why Ruth does well? She's a clever lady, smart tactician, and also a very effective campaigner who uses comedy to good effect.
She is basically Boris with less buffoonery.
Every Tory I've spoken to today from every wing of the party has mentioned her name, unprompted.
Every. Single. One.
To state the bleedin' obvious, 12 gains. TWELVE.
She formed a tank-riding, dog-walking Scottish firewall against PM Corbyn. Of course they're singing her praises.
Today. But she apparently is happy to keep free movement of people in return for single market access. That is toxic for many Tories south of the border.
It is not the same Party. The idea it is is a delusion,
Which is why her coming south wouldn't work. She should be aiming to be First Minister.
The Tories have 318 MPs - is there not a dynamic, persuasive, untainted prospect for the leadership among them?
Yeah, she should be focussing on the 2021 elections to get the SNP out of power.
Sorry I don't think there will ever be a tory Scottish FM. She could much reduce the SNP seats tho, such that SNP & Greens don't get near a majority.
One for TSE: Amber Rudd-Michael Gove dream ticket. Michael Gove enobles Osborne.
Osborne comes back as the new Lord Mandelson??
No, it will be Boris no contest. Woman on BBC London News says she did not vote for May but would have voted for Boris. Boris could get a majority of 50 I think against Corbyn. Could even be Davis leads during negotiations then Boris takes over post Brexit before election
I don't want Boris. Put me down as anyone but Boris.
He's an incompetent buffoon. Not up to the job of governing as PM.
What you really want is someone who's got the work ethic and eye-for-detail of May behind the scenes, but the campaigning verve, passion and oratory of Boris in public.
Might I suggest this is why Ruth does well? She's a clever lady, smart tactician, and also a very effective campaigner who uses comedy to good effect.
She is basically Boris with less buffoonery.
Every Tory I've spoken to today from every wing of the party has mentioned her name, unprompted.
Every. Single. One.
To state the bleedin' obvious, 12 gains. TWELVE.
She formed a tank-riding, dog-walking Scottish firewall against PM Corbyn. Of course they're singing her praises.
Today. But she apparently is happy to keep free movement of people in return for single market access. That is toxic for many Tories south of the border.
It is not the same Party. The idea it is is a delusion,
Which is why her coming south wouldn't work. She should be aiming to be First Minister.
The Tories have 318 MPs - is there not a dynamic, persuasive, untainted prospect for the leadership among them?
Yeah, she should be focussing on the 2021 elections to get the SNP out of power.
Sorry I don't think there will ever be a tory Scottish FM. She could much reduce the SNP seats tho, such that SNP & Greens don't get near a majority.
You mean I'm not going to be needing my KLAXONs? How much worse can this week get
Boris Johnson missed his chance last year . He probably woukd have wom but the moments gone. When may takes ill health retirement hammond will take over and the conservatives will lose seats all round . Corbyn pm by next may
Boris is past his sell-by date. His irreverent approach was funny and attractive but now it has become stale and embarrassing, particularly as foreign secretary. His leadership and negotiating skills are exposed as zero.
Though many Tory members may still have a soft spot for Boris, many others will recognise that he is not a PM in waiting. He is much too short on Betfair.
Boris Johnson missed his chance last year . He probably woukd have wom but the moments gone. When may takes ill health retirement hammond will take over and the conservatives will lose seats all round . Corbyn pm by next may
Boris is past his sell-by date. His irreverent approach was funny and attractive but now it has become stale and embarrassing, particularly as foreign secretary. His leadership and negotiating skills are exposed as zero.
Though many Tory members may still have a soft spot for Boris, many others will recognise that he is not a PM in waiting. He is much too short on Betfair.
Boris Johnson missed his chance last year . He probably woukd have wom but the moments gone. When may takes ill health retirement hammond will take over and the conservatives will lose seats all round . Corbyn pm by next may
Boris is past his sell-by date. His irreverent approach was funny and attractive but now it has become stale and embarrassing, particularly as foreign secretary. His leadership and negotiating skills are exposed as zero.
Though many Tory members may still have a soft spot for Boris, many others will recognise that he is not a PM in waiting. He is much too short on Betfair.
I've always really envied your access to Boris and your lengthy treaty negotiation sessions with him.
Can you tell those of us who haven't been exposed to that side of him - what's it really like in that cauldron of intrigue?
How did you expose his negotiating skills as zero all of those times? Did you get a buzz out of continually besting him across a boardroom table? Maybe you've got like a top 10 list of your favourite things he's foolishly said to you that you were able to turn around to the advantage of your team of diplomats?
However if Con had 10 seats less I suspect Corbyn would have come in, governed in a fairly moderate way for 6 months which got people used to the concept of him as PM without doing anything too wild, and then Corbyn would have called another GE which would have given him a majority.
My thinking here is that Corbyn would have to negotiate Brexit almost immediately, meaning he would lose the support of either the RedKippers or London Remainers in short order.
As it is, we look like we'll have a Tory minority government leaking credibility and authority by the minute. Leading to a Labour government after the next election dominated by the hard left.
I'll say it now - TSE etc were right about May. I liked her initially but she needs to go. It may be that they were right more by accident than design, a if the Tories actually had a decent campaign we'd be looking at a reasonable Tory majority. But we are where we are now. The only thing that can save us now is if the Tory/DUP arrangement results in a stable government that has a good, solid rethink. May shows no sign of doing that now.
Boris Johnson missed his chance last year . He probably woukd have wom but the moments gone. When may takes ill health retirement hammond will take over and the conservatives will lose seats all round . Corbyn pm by next may
Boris is past his sell-by date. His irreverent approach was funny and attractive but now it has become stale and embarrassing, particularly as foreign secretary. His leadership and negotiating skills are exposed as zero.
Though many Tory members may still have a soft spot for Boris, many others will recognise that he is not a PM in waiting. He is much too short on Betfair.
I've always really envied your access to Boris and your lengthy treaty negotiation sessions with him.
Can you tell those of us who haven't been exposed to that side of him - what's it really like in that cauldron of intrigue?
How did you expose his negotiating skills as zero all of those times? Did you get a buzz out of continually besting him across a boardroom table? Maybe you've got like a top 10 list of your favourite things he's foolishly said to you that you were able to turn around to the advantage of your team of diplomats?
I don't have a top 10 list but some examples:
Boris humiliated (totally ignored) at the G7 when he proposed more sanctions against Russia. Boris saying we would follow the Trump line on Syria without knowing what it would be. Domestically - the London Garden Bridge (Joanna Lumley) or the Emirates bridge.
It's a toss up between him and May who is the worst leader or the most pliable negotiating opponent.
You're a little bit on the defensive with regard to Boris. I totally understand why.
One for TSE: Amber Rudd-Michael Gove dream ticket. Michael Gove enobles Osborne.
Osborne comes back as the new Lord Mandelson??
No, it will be Boris no contest. Woman on BBC London News says she did not vote for May but would have voted for Boris. Boris could get a majority of 50 I think against Corbyn. Could even be Davis leads during negotiations then Boris takes over post Brexit before election
I don't want Boris. Put me down as anyone but Boris.
He's an incompetent buffoon. Not up to the job of governing as PM.
What you really want is someone who's got the work ethic and eye-for-detail of May behind the scenes, but the campaigning verve, passion and oratory of Boris in public.
Might I suggest this is why Ruth does well? She's a clever lady, smart tactician, and also a very effective campaigner who uses comedy to good effect.
She is basically Boris with less buffoonery.
Every Tory I've spoken to today from every wing of the party has mentioned her name, unprompted.
Every. Single. One.
To state the bleedin' obvious, 12 gains. TWELVE.
She formed a tank-riding, dog-walking Scottish firewall against PM Corbyn. Of course they're singing her praises.
Today. But she apparently is happy to keep free movement of people in return for single market access. That is toxic for many Tories south of the border.
It is not the same Party. The idea it is is a delusion,
Which is why her coming south wouldn't work. She should be aiming to be First Minister.
The Tories have 318 MPs - is there not a dynamic, persuasive, untainted prospect for the leadership among them?
Yeah, she should be focussing on the 2021 elections to get the SNP out of power.
Sorry I don't think there will ever be a tory Scottish FM. She could much reduce the SNP seats tho, such that SNP & Greens don't get near a majority.
You mean I'm not going to be needing my KLAXONs? How much worse can this week get
One for TSE: Amber Rudd-Michael Gove dream ticket. Michael Gove enobles Osborne.
Osborne comes back as the new Lord Mandelson??
No, it will be Boris no contest. Woman on BBC London News says she did not vote for May but would have voted for Boris. Boris could get a majority of 50 I think against Corbyn. Could even be Davis leads during negotiations then Boris takes over post Brexit before election
I don't want Boris. Put me down as anyone but Boris.
He's an incompetent buffoon. Not up to the job of governing as PM.
What you really want is someone who's got the work ethic and eye-for-detail of May behind the scenes, but the campaigning verve, passion and oratory of Boris in public.
Might I suggest this is why Ruth does well? She's a clever lady, smart tactician, and also a very effective campaigner who uses comedy to good effect.
She is basically Boris with less buffoonery.
Every Tory I've spoken to today from every wing of the party has mentioned her name, unprompted.
Every. Single. One.
To state the bleedin' obvious, 12 gains. TWELVE.
She formed a tank-riding, dog-walking Scottish firewall against PM Corbyn. Of course they're singing her praises.
Today. But she apparently is happy to keep free movement of people in return for single market access. That is toxic for many Tories south of the border.
It is not the same Party. The idea it is is a delusion,
Which is why her coming south wouldn't work. She should be aiming to be First Minister.
The Tories have 318 MPs - is there not a dynamic, persuasive, untainted prospect for the leadership among them?
Boris Johnson missed his chance last year . He probably woukd have wom but the moments gone. When may takes ill health retirement hammond will take over and the conservatives will lose seats all round . Corbyn pm by next may
Boris is past his sell-by date. His irreverent approach was funny and attractive but now it has become stale and embarrassing, particularly as foreign secretary. His leadership and negotiating skills are exposed as zero.
Though many Tory members may still have a soft spot for Boris, many others will recognise that he is not a PM in waiting. He is much too short on Betfair.
I've always really envied your access to Boris and your lengthy treaty negotiation sessions with him.
Can you tell those of us who haven't been exposed to that side of him - what's it really like in that cauldron of intrigue?
How did you expose his negotiating skills as zero all of those times? Did you get a buzz out of continually besting him across a boardroom table? Maybe you've got like a top 10 list of your favourite things he's foolishly said to you that you were able to turn around to the advantage of your team of diplomats?
I don't have a top 10 list but some examples:
Boris humiliated (totally ignored) at the G7 when he proposed more sanctions against Russia. Boris saying we would follow the Trump line on Syria without knowing what it would be. Domestically - the London Garden Bridge (Joanna Lumley) or the Emirates bridge.
It's a toss up between him and May who is the worst leader or the most pliable negotiating opponent.
You're a little bit on the defensive with regard to Boris. I totally understand why.
I fail to see how Boris Johnson could conceivably be considered as a possible suitable future leader of the Conservative Party. Those in any doubt should consider his performance in the notorioius interview with Eddie Mair, dating back to 2013:
Not only does he come across and an evasive, bumbling idiot, but his actions show him to be, as Mr Mair rightly concludes in my view, a "rather nasty bit of work". It's certainly difficult to argue with that and the Tories really do need to look elsewhere and as a matter of some urgency with a view to identifying their next leader .... surely there's someone in their ranks better than this?
One for TSE: Amber Rudd-Michael Gove dream ticket. Michael Gove enobles Osborne.
Osborne comes back as the new Lord Mandelson??
No, it will be Boris no contest. Woman on BBC London News says she did not vote for May but would have voted for Boris. Boris could get a majority of 50 I think against Corbyn. Could even be Davis leads during negotiations then Boris takes over post Brexit before election
I don't want Boris. Put me down as anyone but Boris.
He's an incompetent buffoon. Not up to the job of governing as PM.
What you really want is someone who's got the work ethic and eye-for-detail of May behind the scenes, but the campaigning verve, passion and oratory of Boris in public.
Might I suggest this is why Ruth does well? She's a clever lady, smart tactician, and also a very effective campaigner who uses comedy to good effect.
She is basically Boris with less buffoonery.
Every Tory I've spoken to today from every wing of the party has mentioned her name, unprompted.
Every. Single. One.
We need Davidson to continue fighting the SNP, Boris to fight Labour
One wonders when the time will ever be right for Ms Davidson to come to Westminster though. She's actually in an awful predicament.
All political careers end in failure - just ask TMay and Cameron. The risk for Ruth is that the shine will come off some day, and when (not if, when) it does, when the music stops, will she have held on too long in Scotland and never took the opportunity that presented itself to her?
An unenviable position.
This presumes that she'd want to move to Westminster in the first place. It's far from automatically true. It's just as likely she'd see FM in Edinburgh as her ultimate goal.
Having slept for 12 hours and recovered from the drama I've calmed down from my anger at it all. Seems to me there's an obvious way forward, if anyone has the wit to make it happen. From the result it's clear the electorate do not approve either side having a majority and also have not provided a clear path to coalition of stability. We also know that 13 million on each side support the main party thrusts, and that the SNP remain the biggest player for Scotland and that LD and Plaid are relevant enough to have increased seats. Green politics is seen as niche but relevant enough that Lucas personal vote went up. I do not propose national government, I propose the agreement of a national programme and national Brexit task force. A programme to be made up of key proposals from both main sides and some issues of the minority parties. An agreed Brexit task force send strategy, national red lines. A new contract with the people, young and old. Run it all on cabinet government basis with a rainbow cabinet to the point of leaving the EU. Restore the faith of people in the establishment to understand the result given them. Then back to the country with each party's proposals to see if we want to give either or any majority rights. All non national programme issues to be debated and voted on free vote terms until the next majority government is elected. Let the opposition shoot it down if they want and not see part of their vision implemented.
IMHO any other solution will be damaging to the parties, damaging to stability, damaging to Brexit and, as such, catastrophic for us all. We've given our answer, they need to listen to it.
Comments
The only stuff not in the Red Book would be new policies announced in the Con manifesto - eg the social care plans, cuts to Winter Fuel etc.
But existing Government policies are all set out in the Red Book and the CT cut was existing Government policy.
If you want to read a not-done-on-the-back-of-a-fag-packet analysis of the issue by some folk with with serious brains and a Nobel prize between them, the Mirrlees Review is nice and meaty (with gratitude to the IFS).
Chapter 13 and Chapter 14 deal with savings; Chapter 15 with wealth transfers.
Tech - combined with our tax system - has made it possible for a tiny % of very smart/innovative/connected people to accumulate immense wealth, fantastically quickly - with very little of it going to the taxman in the process - while destroying the *traditional* tax receipts from the old industries which have been bankrupted.
This process is accelerating.
We could spend less money.
Though many Tory members may still have a soft spot for Boris, many others will recognise that he is not a PM in waiting. He is much too short on Betfair.
Can you tell those of us who haven't been exposed to that side of him - what's it really like in that cauldron of intrigue?
How did you expose his negotiating skills as zero all of those times? Did you get a buzz out of continually besting him across a boardroom table? Maybe you've got like a top 10 list of your favourite things he's foolishly said to you that you were able to turn around to the advantage of your team of diplomats?
As it is, we look like we'll have a Tory minority government leaking credibility and authority by the minute. Leading to a Labour government after the next election dominated by the hard left.
I'll say it now - TSE etc were right about May. I liked her initially but she needs to go. It may be that they were right more by accident than design, a if the Tories actually had a decent campaign we'd be looking at a reasonable Tory majority. But we are where we are now. The only thing that can save us now is if the Tory/DUP arrangement results in a stable government that has a good, solid rethink. May shows no sign of doing that now.
Boris humiliated (totally ignored) at the G7 when he proposed more sanctions against Russia.
Boris saying we would follow the Trump line on Syria without knowing what it would be.
Domestically - the London Garden Bridge (Joanna Lumley) or the Emirates bridge.
It's a toss up between him and May who is the worst leader or the most pliable negotiating opponent.
You're a little bit on the defensive with regard to Boris. I totally understand why.
http://tinyurl.com/y7jcs3fb
Not only does he come across and an evasive, bumbling idiot, but his actions show him to be, as Mr Mair rightly concludes in my view, a "rather nasty bit of work".
It's certainly difficult to argue with that and the Tories really do need to look elsewhere and as a matter of some urgency with a view to identifying their next leader .... surely there's someone in their ranks better than this?
Hard for English people to understand I know.
Seems to me there's an obvious way forward, if anyone has the wit to make it happen.
From the result it's clear the electorate do not approve either side having a majority and also have not provided a clear path to coalition of stability. We also know that 13 million on each side support the main party thrusts, and that the SNP remain the biggest player for Scotland and that LD and Plaid are relevant enough to have increased seats. Green politics is seen as niche but relevant enough that Lucas personal vote went up. I do not propose national government, I propose the agreement of a national programme and national Brexit task force. A programme to be made up of key proposals from both main sides and some issues of the minority parties. An agreed Brexit task force send strategy, national red lines. A new contract with the people, young and old. Run it all on cabinet government basis with a rainbow cabinet to the point of leaving the EU. Restore the faith of people in the establishment to understand the result given them. Then back to the country with each party's proposals to see if we want to give either or any majority rights. All non national programme issues to be debated and voted on free vote terms until the next majority government is elected.
Let the opposition shoot it down if they want and not see part of their vision implemented.
IMHO any other solution will be damaging to the parties, damaging to stability, damaging to Brexit and, as such, catastrophic for us all. We've given our answer, they need to listen to it.