On the current politics of this, isn't the problem that whether the plans get scored or not now seems to be in the hands of the government? ... The result is that Labour will have to be conservative in their assumptions, but won't be able to get the benefit from it.
And that is a problem how, exactly?
I'm talking about the problem with the strategy of asking for an OBR score for Labour, since it's their strategy. You can see how it's a problem for Labour, no?
I know. I was just pointing out that a fiscally responsible opposition might not be a problem for the country... ;-)
Well, sure. But looking at this from a good-government point of view not a political strategy point of view, it would obviously make sense to agree to let the OBR score the plans of the current opposition to bind in future oppositions, too.
I'm not sure - at this point i don't think that Labour *want* to change: they are just going through the motions. Only when they have hit rock-bottom can we start on the recovery programme
Isabel Hardman @IsabelHardman Another enigmatic point at #lab13, from Chuka. "Are we just going to let the future happen?"
They're going to propose an innovative way of dealing with the problem that Trident is coming to the end of its life?
I think Ed is asking Hetty - assuming she doesn't attempt to run off with @JackW
Labour History Group @LabourHistory Ed Miliband meets 107-year old Hetty Bower, who first joined the Labour Party 90 years ago: labour.org.uk/from-cable-str…
That LotO analysis should really have included a penalty deduction of 500 points from the score of any leader who stages a Sheffield rally in which he helicopters in like he thinks he's in a Leni Riefenstahl movie, punches the air, and shouts "we're aaaaaaaaawriiiiiiiiiight".
This would force them to the bottom of the pile, correctly.
In fact, anyone who does all that has told you everything you need to know about his judgement and maturity, even before you consider his views on CND, strikers or the economy.
And he still managed to increase the Labour percentage by the same as Cameron did the Tory score. Shows you how crappy Dave is doesn't it.
As I am currently in the US I can't make the call from personal observation (lack of coverage here, strangely), but from reading various comments on recent PB threads it seems like the current Labour conference is perhaps the politically most disastrous event to have occurred anywhere in the world since the, errr, last Labour conference. Given that, I would expect to see a major drop in Labour support in polls over the coming days and weeks.
Could be as bad as the poll collapse after the Miliband backed Trade Unions attacked Fortnum and Mason
I can also confidently predict an absolutely triumphant conference next week for the Tories; perhaps the most magnificent political event anywhere in the world since the, errr, last Tory conference. On the basis of what is clearly the absolute car crash currently taking place and the glory that will be next week's sublime affair, it seems pretty clear that at the end of this conference season the Tories will have a very comfortable opinion poll lead.
"While Ed’s focus groups tell him to whack the government as ‘out of touch’ Etonian toffs, you will not hear Harriet Harman having a dig at Osborne for going to St Paul’s. The Labour deputy leader is a niece of the Earl of Longford, has a Suffolk estate, and an is Old Paulina herself. Not content with her bumper government pension, she managed to get hubby a seat on the gravy train too. Old-timer socialist Michael Meacher could help solve the housing shortage by flogging one of the ten homes that make up his extensive property portfolio.
You don’t hear shadow international development secretary Hilary Benn saying much about Dave and co having big houses either. Along with a £2 million pad in Chiswick, Benn does not like to mention the family estate. While his old man gave up his titles to become an MP, the Benns were a little more reluctant to lose all those acres of Essex.
Across town in Islington, shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry has a growing property empire. She, Blair and Margaret Hodge were all neighbours on the same street once, with homes that would not leave you much change from a couple of million...
On the current politics of this, isn't the problem that whether the plans get scored or not now seems to be in the hands of the government? ... The result is that Labour will have to be conservative in their assumptions, but won't be able to get the benefit from it.
And that is a problem how, exactly?
I'm talking about the problem with the strategy of asking for an OBR score for Labour, since it's their strategy. You can see how it's a problem for Labour, no?
I know. I was just pointing out that a fiscally responsible opposition might not be a problem for the country... ;-)
Well, sure. But looking at this from a good-government point of view not a political strategy point of view, it would obviously make sense to agree to let the OBR score the plans of the current opposition to bind in future oppositions, too.
I'm not sure - at this point i don't think that Labour *want* to change: they are just going through the motions. Only when they have hit rock-bottom can we start on the recovery programme
You're doing political snark, but the good-government answer to this one is obvious. And it doesn't necessarily just apply to Labour oppositions. Opposition politicians have an incentive to come up with over-optimistic numbers, and this is a good way to fix their incentives.
Or this! Andy Burnham's yacht in Cannes? Shurely shome mistake?
"Some of Ed’s troops worked hard for their money, though. Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liam Byrne used to work for those well-known progressives Rothschilds. It’s unlikely he walked out short-changed when he left — and that’s before years of ministerial pay and the pension pot it brings. It’s not just the bankers, property speculators and inherited blue-blood brigade that are kings of the one per cent. The professional politicians are not doing too badly either. Looking at shadow health secretary Andy Burnham and his man-of-the-people, football-loving, one-of-the-lads-drinking-bitter patter, he hardly screams Riviera chic. His wife, however, can be found tweeting about hosting drinks ‘on our boat in Cannes harbour’.
Filtering for the inevitable party political approach, she makes some important points about modern politics:
"I asked whether, since she was so passionate about the issues, she'd ever consider getting involved in local politics. Perhaps one day she'd like to serve on the council? "We feel thick. We're little people," they replied. But after a moment's silence Michelle said: "Actually I think I could do it." It made me sad and frustrated that I didn't feel able to invite them to a Labour party meeting. I knew they'd be alienated by all the bureaucracy and formality: the discussion of the minutes, the apologies and the show of hands. In truth, I don't think anyone enjoys traditional Labour party meetings. Given that trust in politics and politicians is at an all-time low, what percentage of people would you expect to be interested in standing for parliament? – one in 100? one in 10? In fact, polling carried out for me earlier this year by YouGov (with a sample size of 1,633) showed that the answer is nearly one in four. That is much higher than I would ever have imagined. But the problem is hardly anyone knows how to go about it."
James Chapman (Mail) @jameschappers Tories: Lab has now committed to spending proceeds of more bank taxes on 11 different things, totalling least £30.695 billion #lab13
Chris Addison @mrchrisaddison YouGov: 63% think Labour isn't ready for government. But then they don't appear to be ready for opposition, either. Swings & roundabouts.
I do think it is quite funny all the PB Hodges thinking the Labour conference is crap, a car crash, rubbish, tearing each other apart blah blah blah(never forgetting to use right wing papers and right wing journos to prove it).....and next week non-PB Hodges will use the same for the Bullingdon get together(minus the quotes from Kavanagh,Hodges, etc etc).The joys of PB.
As I am currently in the US I can't make the call from personal observation (lack of coverage here, strangely), but from reading various comments on recent PB threads it seems like the current Labour conference is perhaps the politically most disastrous event to have occurred anywhere in the world since the, errr, last Labour conference. Given that, I would expect to see a major drop in Labour support in polls over the coming days and weeks.
Could be as bad as the poll collapse after the Miliband backed Trade Unions attacked Fortnum and Mason
I can also confidently predict an absolutely triumphant conference next week for the Tories; perhaps the most magnificent political event anywhere in the world since the, errr, last Tory conference. On the basis of what is clearly the absolute car crash currently taking place and the glory that will be next week's sublime affair, it seems pretty clear that at the end of this conference season the Tories will have a very comfortable opinion poll lead.
Your logic is missing a step.
The biggest reaction most voters have to the party conference is a flash of irritation as the reach for the TV remote to switch over.
Or this! Andy Burnham's yacht in Cannes? Shurely shome mistake?
"Some of Ed’s troops worked hard for their money, though. Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liam Byrne used to work for those well-known progressives Rothschilds. It’s unlikely he walked out short-changed when he left — and that’s before years of ministerial pay and the pension pot it brings. It’s not just the bankers, property speculators and inherited blue-blood brigade that are kings of the one per cent. The professional politicians are not doing too badly either. Looking at shadow health secretary Andy Burnham and his man-of-the-people, football-loving, one-of-the-lads-drinking-bitter patter, he hardly screams Riviera chic. His wife, however, can be found tweeting about hosting drinks ‘on our boat in Cannes harbour’.
Indeed - it is absolutely outrageous that Burnham's wife should be a successful marketing executive.
I'm sure the delegates will welcome him with wide open arms.
As I understand it - he isn't welcome in the official zone so will be interviewed in another seafront hotel instead. He seems as welcome as a fart in a lift.
I do think it is quite funny all the PB Hodges thinking the Labour conference is crap, a car crash, rubbish blah blah blah(never forgetting to use right wing papers and right wing journos to prove it).....and next week non-PB Hodges will use the same for the Bullingdon get together.The joys of PB.
It may not be crap but it aint good is it ?
Where is the co-ordinated powerful overarching theme to make Labour the party for the hard working lower classes who aspire through graft to make something of themselves ?
"Gulags for bags without jabs" and spare room bribes for the unemployed - hardly a manifesto of hope.
"So whose brainwave were these whack-the-Tories tactics? Step forward grumpy spinner Tom Baldwin, who joined Ed’s side from the Murdoch empire. The former Times hack dresses like a tramp and has the chippy socialist look down to a tee. He was in David Cameron’s year at Oxford; they even did the same degree. Baldwin may accuse the Tories of being out-of-touch rich boys, but he’s laughing all the way to the bank.
Mrs Baldwin is the granddaughter of Vita Sackville-West and was raised in the tough surroundings of Sissinghurst Castle in Kent. Rebecca Baldwin is the ex-wife of the 4th Baron Milford, who has earned herself the nickname ‘Just 16’ after it was alleged that was her answer to a question about how many millions she had inherited. When Baldwin is up late plotting new attacks on Tory toffs, he can do so from his £4 million villa overlooking Highbury Fields. Cruel former colleagues in newspaperland still fondly remember Tom loudly declaring after his wedding, ‘I’m on the deeds, I’m on the deeds.’
the good-government answer to this one is obvious. And it doesn't necessarily just apply to Labour oppositions. Opposition politicians have an incentive to come up with over-optimistic numbers, and this is a good way to fix their incentives.
Possibly, yes, but only if we take control of the OBR completely out of the hands of government. That's why I thought that the IFS giving their view and being treated seriously was valuable. I'm less convinced that the state should pay for the political parties to have their proposals scored. I'd be happy if both parties were to make a payment to have their manifestos scored. I might even exclude such a payment from the spending cap.
As I am currently in the US I can't make the call from personal observation (lack of coverage here, strangely), but from reading various comments on recent PB threads it seems like the current Labour conference is perhaps the politically most disastrous event to have occurred anywhere in the world since the, errr, last Labour conference. Given that, I would expect to see a major drop in Labour support in polls over the coming days and weeks.
Could be as bad as the poll collapse after the Miliband backed Trade Unions attacked Fortnum and Mason
I can also confidently predict an absolutely triumphant conference next week for the Tories; perhaps the most magnificent political event anywhere in the world since the, errr, last Tory conference. On the basis of what is clearly the absolute car crash currently taking place and the glory that will be next week's sublime affair, it seems pretty clear that at the end of this conference season the Tories will have a very comfortable opinion poll lead.
Your logic is missing a step.
The biggest reaction most voters have to the party conference is a flash of irritation as the reach for the TV remote to switch over.
Normally I'd agree. But from reading recent PB threads it seems as if this Labour conference is a so spectacularly disastrous that surely even the least political of voters will notice. It sounds as if it is not so much a car crash and more an express train carrying nuclear waste smashing head on into a petrol tanker depot.
I do think it is quite funny all the PB Hodges thinking the Labour conference is crap, a car crash, rubbish blah blah blah(never forgetting to use right wing papers and right wing journos to prove it).....and next week non-PB Hodges will use the same for the Bullingdon get together.The joys of PB.
It may not be crap but it aint good is it ?
Where is the co-ordinated powerful overarching theme to make Labour the party for the hard working lower classes who aspire through graft to make something of themselves ?
"Gulags for bags without jabs" and spare room bribes for the unemployed - hardly a manifesto of hope.
But this constant drivel from PB Hodges quoting The Mail/The Times/The Sun/The Express/The Telegraph....delete where applicable.... is so boring. Though as I say next week will be exactly the same with non-PB Hodges doing the same(minus the right wing rags) and PB Hodges declaring it an absolutely outstanding success of a conference, that they will have ran out of tissues and they will have a right arm like a bodybuilder by the second day.
SO As usual..you miss the point completely .. This Labour Conference so far is a stunning success.its all in there.. great speeches.policies falling over each other, McBrides little digs, lotsa laughs. Labour must surely soar away next week in the polls.. I wonder if the Palladium is free for next years performance..maybe a panto gig..
Or this! Andy Burnham's yacht in Cannes? Shurely shome mistake?
"Some of Ed’s troops worked hard for their money, though. Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liam Byrne used to work for those well-known progressives Rothschilds. It’s unlikely he walked out short-changed when he left — and that’s before years of ministerial pay and the pension pot it brings. It’s not just the bankers, property speculators and inherited blue-blood brigade that are kings of the one per cent. The professional politicians are not doing too badly either. Looking at shadow health secretary Andy Burnham and his man-of-the-people, football-loving, one-of-the-lads-drinking-bitter patter, he hardly screams Riviera chic. His wife, however, can be found tweeting about hosting drinks ‘on our boat in Cannes harbour’.
Indeed - it is absolutely outrageous that Burnham's wife should be a successful marketing executive.
Normally I'd agree. But from reading recent PB threads it seems as if this Labour conference is a so spectacularly disastrous that surely even the least political of voters will notice. It sounds as if it is not so much a car crash and more an express train carrying nuclear waste smashing head on into a petrol tanker depot.
Judging anything by PB is a risk!
My guess is that something on the bedroom tax might get through - but risk, there, is that while the specific may be popular it reinforces the narrative that Labour is on the side of the non-contributors
Probably a little, but not much, of the McBride stuff will cut through as well - likely to be lost in the assumption that they are all as bad as each other
Most importantly from Labour is that is is a missed opportunity. Every week and month that passes with them consumed in bubble cr*p is one less week to make their case. If they end up relying on 2010LD/boundary changes/Tory failures that's a very defensive and weak position to start a campaign from & one I suspect they will end up losing.
"We don’t vote for parties or leaders. We vote for individual MPs."
Outrageously question-begging. I regard my MP as an idle, arrogant pig but vote for him as a proxy for his party.
Also easily resolved by polling. Question 1: what is your VI? Question 2. Please name your current MP, and count the responses where the respondent can't answer 2. and where the MP is of the party named in question 1. Why doesn't a polling company do this?
I do think it is quite funny all the PB Hodges thinking the Labour conference is crap, a car crash, rubbish blah blah blah(never forgetting to use right wing papers and right wing journos to prove it).....and next week non-PB Hodges will use the same for the Bullingdon get together.The joys of PB.
It may not be crap but it aint good is it ?
Where is the co-ordinated powerful overarching theme to make Labour the party for the hard working lower classes who aspire through graft to make something of themselves ?
"Gulags for bags without jabs" and spare room bribes for the unemployed - hardly a manifesto of hope.
But this constant drivel from PB Hodges quoting The Mail/The Times/The Sun/The Express/The Telegraph....delete where applicable.... is so boring. Though as I say next week will be exactly the same with non-PB Hodges doing the same(minus the right wing rags) and PB Hodges declaring it an absolutely outstanding success of a conference, that they will have ran out of tissues and they will have a right arm like a bodybuilder by the second day.
So - stick up for Ed then - tell us how you aren't disappointed with this welfare tinkering at random.
the good-government answer to this one is obvious. And it doesn't necessarily just apply to Labour oppositions. Opposition politicians have an incentive to come up with over-optimistic numbers, and this is a good way to fix their incentives.
Possibly, yes, but only if we take control of the OBR completely out of the hands of government. That's why I thought that the IFS giving their view and being treated seriously was valuable. I'm less convinced that the state should pay for the political parties to have their proposals scored. I'd be happy if both parties were to make a payment to have their manifestos scored. I might even exclude such a payment from the spending cap.
If ever there's an example of penny-wise, pound-foolish, it's trying to save taxpayer's money by skimping on letting voters know whether the sums of the people they're choosing between once every five years add up.
I do think it is quite funny all the PB Hodges thinking the Labour conference is crap, a car crash, rubbish blah blah blah(never forgetting to use right wing papers and right wing journos to prove it).....and next week non-PB Hodges will use the same for the Bullingdon get together.The joys of PB.
It may not be crap but it aint good is it ?
Where is the co-ordinated powerful overarching theme to make Labour the party for the hard working lower classes who aspire through graft to make something of themselves ?
"Gulags for bags without jabs" and spare room bribes for the unemployed - hardly a manifesto of hope.
But this constant drivel from PB Hodges quoting The Mail/The Times/The Sun/The Express/The Telegraph....delete where applicable.... is so boring. Though as I say next week will be exactly the same with non-PB Hodges doing the same(minus the right wing rags) and PB Hodges declaring it an absolutely outstanding success of a conference, that they will have ran out of tissues and they will have a right arm like a bodybuilder by the second day.
So - stick up for Ed then - tell us how you aren't disappointed with this welfare tinkering at random.
What, and face the wrath of the PB Hodges in full froth mode.....more than my life is worth. Any chance of another Mail link, we haven't had one for at least a good ten minutes.
To disappoint both partisan sides, I don't regard anything at the Labour conference so far as a knock-out blow either way. The Damian McBride revelations are unhelpful (though to date not as bad as they might have been for Ed Miliband and largely historical). The bedroom tax and childcare announcements are positive, though the question on how sweeties are going to be funded needs a lot more explanation than it's currently been given.
Given that today is the first proper day of the conference, that conclusion is hardly surprising.
I do think it is quite funny all the PB Hodges thinking the Labour conference is crap, a car crash, rubbish blah blah blah(never forgetting to use right wing papers and right wing journos to prove it).....and next week non-PB Hodges will use the same for the Bullingdon get together.The joys of PB.
It may not be crap but it aint good is it ?
Where is the co-ordinated powerful overarching theme to make Labour the party for the hard working lower classes who aspire through graft to make something of themselves ?
"Gulags for bags without jabs" and spare room bribes for the unemployed - hardly a manifesto of hope.
But this constant drivel from PB Hodges quoting The Mail/The Times/The Sun/The Express/The Telegraph....delete where applicable.... is so boring. Though as I say next week will be exactly the same with non-PB Hodges doing the same(minus the right wing rags) and PB Hodges declaring it an absolutely outstanding success of a conference, that they will have ran out of tissues and they will have a right arm like a bodybuilder by the second day.
So - stick up for Ed then - tell us how you aren't disappointed with this welfare tinkering at random.
I endured an interesting bit of Labourite spam last night - one of my followers on Twitter who never gets out of his pram became very agitated about #Lab13 and kept tweeting me about how Labour were really a shoo-in because of the "Ashcroft marginals" and how everything else was noise/attempted to make Grant Shapps the problem blahblah.
I thought this was really odd since he's never done this before - then I twigged that if a v quiet Labour supporter who I share animal pix with felt motivated enough to repeatedly send me non-sequitur tweets, maybe Labour's issues have really hit rock bottom.
Next years Labour Party conference at the Palladium Starring Rachel Reeves as the thigh slapping Principal Boy Ed Milliband as Buttons. Yvette Cooper as Cinders. ED balls and the Eagle girls as the three ugly sisters Bryant as the village softy Byrne as the Evil Baron.
To disappoint both partisan sides, I don't regard anything at the Labour conference so far as a knock-out blow either way. The Damian McBride revelations are unhelpful (though to date not as bad as they might have been for Ed Miliband and largely historical). The bedroom tax and childcare announcements are positive, though the question on how sweeties are going to be funded needs a lot more explanation than it's currently been given.
Given that today is the first proper day of the conference, that conclusion is hardly surprising.
That is the most sensible post I have read this morning. Are you on the right website?
It is good to read that Ed Milliband has said that his team do not brief against Labour people. Also good to read that Balls hardly knows McBride. Of course when the truth comes out then the fun starts.
Party conferences very rarely matter. But it may well be Labour who feel like they need to do something rather than the Tories. At some point, Labour will have to put policies on the table and that's the sort of thing you want to be listened to.
This conference is likely to be a footnote in history, but who does that suit?
the good-government answer to this one is obvious. And it doesn't necessarily just apply to Labour oppositions. Opposition politicians have an incentive to come up with over-optimistic numbers, and this is a good way to fix their incentives.
Possibly, yes, but only if we take control of the OBR completely out of the hands of government. That's why I thought that the IFS giving their view and being treated seriously was valuable. I'm less convinced that the state should pay for the political parties to have their proposals scored. I'd be happy if both parties were to make a payment to have their manifestos scored. I might even exclude such a payment from the spending cap.
If ever there's an example of penny-wise, pound-foolish, it's trying to save taxpayer's money by skimping on letting voters know whether the sums of the people they're choosing between once every five years add up.
I'm not skimping on it. I just want to charge the parties for it!
Normally I'd agree. But from reading recent PB threads it seems as if this Labour conference is a so spectacularly disastrous that surely even the least political of voters will notice. It sounds as if it is not so much a car crash and more an express train carrying nuclear waste smashing head on into a petrol tanker depot.
Judging anything by PB is a risk!
My guess is that something on the bedroom tax might get through - but risk, there, is that while the specific may be popular it reinforces the narrative that Labour is on the side of the non-contributors
Probably a little, but not much, of the McBride stuff will cut through as well - likely to be lost in the assumption that they are all as bad as each other
Most importantly from Labour is that is is a missed opportunity. Every week and month that passes with them consumed in bubble cr*p is one less week to make their case. If they end up relying on 2010LD/boundary changes/Tory failures that's a very defensive and weak position to start a campaign from & one I suspect they will end up losing.
Breaking News.
Charles thinks it's bad for Labour.
Ends.
It's more subtle than than, numpty.
It's a missed opportunity rather than anything else.
What was interesting today was to read McBride slagging off Darling through his "memoirs". Now since we know that McBride has carefully selected his words in ways supportive of Balls, why would McBride smear Darling? Jump forward to two options:- 1. Who could replace Ed Milliband this side of the GE? 2. Who could replace Balls as shadow chancellor? Answer to both is Darling. He is viewed by Balls as a threat and we end up with McBride smearing him on some very dubious conclusions.
Party conferences very rarely matter. But it may well be Labour who feel like they need to do something rather than the Tories. At some point, Labour will have to put policies on the table and that's the sort of thing you want to be listened to.
This conference is likely to be a footnote in history, but who does that suit?
I disagree - party conferences inspire or depress their own side/rivals and just look what happened when Osborne did his IHT stunt - Gordon called off the election that never was.
That they're mostly navel-gazing shouldn't be underestimated - the hacks give them acres of coverage in the press and the telly.
Normally I'd agree. But from reading recent PB threads it seems as if this Labour conference is a so spectacularly disastrous that surely even the least political of voters will notice. It sounds as if it is not so much a car crash and more an express train carrying nuclear waste smashing head on into a petrol tanker depot.
Judging anything by PB is a risk!
My guess is that something on the bedroom tax might get through - but risk, there, is that while the specific may be popular it reinforces the narrative that Labour is on the side of the non-contributors
Probably a little, but not much, of the McBride stuff will cut through as well - likely to be lost in the assumption that they are all as bad as each other
Most importantly from Labour is that is is a missed opportunity. Every week and month that passes with them consumed in bubble cr*p is one less week to make their case. If they end up relying on 2010LD/boundary changes/Tory failures that's a very defensive and weak position to start a campaign from & one I suspect they will end up losing.
Breaking News.
Charles thinks it's bad for Labour.
Ends.
It's more subtle than than, numpty.
It's a missed opportunity rather than anything else.
It's barely started yet, don't make a fool of yourself
That is true, and they may turn things around. But so far I stand by what I say
Or this! Andy Burnham's yacht in Cannes? Shurely shome mistake?
"Some of Ed’s troops worked hard for their money, though. Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liam Byrne used to work for those well-known progressives Rothschilds. It’s unlikely he walked out short-changed when he left — and that’s before years of ministerial pay and the pension pot it brings. It’s not just the bankers, property speculators and inherited blue-blood brigade that are kings of the one per cent. The professional politicians are not doing too badly either. Looking at shadow health secretary Andy Burnham and his man-of-the-people, football-loving, one-of-the-lads-drinking-bitter patter, he hardly screams Riviera chic. His wife, however, can be found tweeting about hosting drinks ‘on our boat in Cannes harbour’.
Indeed - it is absolutely outrageous that Burnham's wife should be a successful marketing executive.
7
Not sure what Burnham's wife's got to do with the Labour conference.
Party conferences very rarely matter. But it may well be Labour who feel like they need to do something rather than the Tories. At some point, Labour will have to put policies on the table and that's the sort of thing you want to be listened to.
This conference is likely to be a footnote in history, but who does that suit?
I disagree - party conferences inspire or depress their own side/rivals and just look what happened when Osborne did his IHT stunt - Gordon called off the election that never was.
That they're mostly navel-gazing shouldn't be underestimated - the hacks give them acres of coverage in the press and the telly.
Fair point, but I focussing on the public with regard to the "least political people will notice" comment. As far as activists go, it'll be the election campaign where that'll have most effect and Labour will have other opportunities.
Old Scally Holborn @CarrotHead So #labour says it can't commit to repealing any cuts, because it won't see the books until 2015. Curiously it can find money to spend.
What was interesting today was to read McBride slagging off Darling through his "memoirs". Now since we know that McBride has written carefully selected his words in ways supportive of Balls, why would McBride smear Darling? Jump forward to two options:- 1. Who could replace Ed Milliband this side of the GE? 2. Who could replace Balls as shadow chancellor? Answer to both is Darling. He is viewed by Balls as a threat and we end up with McBride smearing him on some very dubious conclusions.
No, I think McBride is telling the truth as he sees it here. If you read the Mail excerpts, basically what he is saying is that he and Brown were absolutely horrified because Darling was trying to tell the truth (in his famous August 2008 interview), and that he wanted to do a bit of the right thing by not ruling out a VAT increase in the Labour manifesto:
In 2009, Darling was being urged by the Treasury to let VAT go to 20 per cent. ... I was tearing my hair out. The Labour Party was being held to ransom by a Chancellor who was more concerned about his internal reputation with Treasury civil servants than about winning the election.
I’m still convinced it was a massive mistake.
You couldn't ask for a clearer account of how Labour, especially Brown, were deliberately trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the electorate. McBride's gripe with Darling was that the latter was trying not to do so; McBride simply can't get his head around the idea that a politician might try to be vaguely honest. Winning the election was the only thing that mattered.
Or this! Andy Burnham's yacht in Cannes? Shurely shome mistake?
"Some of Ed’s troops worked hard for their money, though. Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liam Byrne used to work for those well-known progressives Rothschilds. It’s unlikely he walked out short-changed when he left — and that’s before years of ministerial pay and the pension pot it brings. It’s not just the bankers, property speculators and inherited blue-blood brigade that are kings of the one per cent. The professional politicians are not doing too badly either. Looking at shadow health secretary Andy Burnham and his man-of-the-people, football-loving, one-of-the-lads-drinking-bitter patter, he hardly screams Riviera chic. His wife, however, can be found tweeting about hosting drinks ‘on our boat in Cannes harbour’.
Indeed - it is absolutely outrageous that Burnham's wife should be a successful marketing executive.
7
Not sure what Burnham's wife's got to do with the Labour conference.
No - go on name the good points out of this #Lab13 conference - you're trying to avoid the question I posed.
It's really simple - what are the good news take-aways so far from their conference?
The McBride revelations are only a minor issue really, What's new? Gordon was neurotic/verging on psychotic, Balls and Milli were his playmates, and Darling dared to challenge them with his "Forces of Hell" comment.
Who else did people think he was referring to?
Mind you, he knew the bullies were out to get him anyway.
I can barely listen to Balls - he's the worst form of cliched Class War stupidity. If this nonsense does anything but tickle the tummies of activists I'd be astonished.
Tom Newton Dunn @tnewtondunn That's a 1st: @edballsmp has just suggested @David_Cameron has a small penis. "For a Prime Minister, his towel is surprisingly small".
Interesting comment from antifrank upthread which accords with my own view; I am expecting a very good speech from Ed Miliband this week, in which he pulls together the themes he has tentatively explored at previous conferences into something closer to a grand unifying theory, supported by some of the policy ideas floated during the early part of the conference. I think there have been enough hints about its likely content; broadly leftist and populist, lots on cost of living, jobs, childcare and housing - the sort of speech that will enthuse the conference hall and appeal over the heads of the media directly to the masses.
The main challenges Miliband will face are (i) whether the vision will be credible; and (ii) whether people believe he can deliver it. The two challenges are linked. The early signs are that he will struggle on the credibility front; people just don't believe that any government can compel companies to employ British workers, that schools can offer a more comprehensive service, that welfare cuts can be resisted, that thousands of houses can be built etc and that the burden can be borne by only very high earners and large companies. It's counter-intuitive - too good to be true. It looks like Labour aren't prepared to accept reality. That may not matter if Ed can demonstrate a force of personality sufficiently compelling to make such significant barriers trivial. I am sure we all have a view on that, and I will restrain myself to noting that it is rare for such personality to emerge after so long in a leadership position
Nonetheless, I think it will be a very good speech, mature, thought-provoking, competent and, by the dire standards of modern political discourse, bold. I will award extra marks if he is prepared to mention the McBride revelations and say "never again" without whitewashing the current party.
As a supporter of a Palestinian nation can I be allowed to express my hope that the IDF will "desist" a few muzzies today. I hope that they do a blooby-good job!
I can save hundreds of posts on next weks conference, as the vast majority will go like this.
From Charles/Plato/TCPB/Richard Dodd/TGOHF/Avery LP etc etc etc:
1. Camerons speech was monumental and Churchillesque and captured the nations mood so well. 2. Gideon speech was fabulously thought out and delivered and again shows that he is an economic master and the best political strategist ever. 3.Gove oozes class and is the best Education Minister ever 4. May is just out of this world. 5. Shapps one liners against Labour were delivered with such good timing they were Tarbuckesque. 6. The two minute silence for Mrs T was what makes GB great. 7. William Hague shows the statemenship of a colossus. 8.Philip Hammond is one of those people that would be first over in the trenches and is growing brilliantly into his job. 9.Eric Pickles was leading from the front and was at times so hilarious with his jokes that some delegates actually pissed their pants (this could actually have something to do with the average age of the delegates and incontinence). 10. Lansley plans to introduce more private companies into the NHS is a masterstroke that the public has been crying out for. 11. Jeremy Hunt is worth his weight in gold, for well.....just being Jeremy Hunt. 12. IDS proved the Bedroom Tax is a vote winner.
The entire conference was an absolute triumph from begining to end and everyone went home tissueless.
There will be hundreds of quotes from the Telegraph/Mail/Epress/Sun/Times etc to give insight on how the conference was the conference to beat all conferences ....again.
tom bradby @tombradby I think that Ed Balls suggesting the PM is somewhat small in the manhood department is a bit of a new low, even for modern politics.
I can't help but think this is total desperation from Ed Balls - when all else fails - claim your rival has a smaller penis.
I mean really? This is Viz Politics from the man who wants to be Chancellor.
tom bradby @tombradby I think that Ed Balls suggesting the PM is somewhat small in the manhood department is a bit of a new low, even for modern politics.
I can't help but think this is total desperation from Ed Balls - when all else fails - claim your rival has a smaller penis.
I mean really? This is Viz Politics from the man who wants to be Chancellor.
What's structural social security, and what does it mean to have a cap on it?
It means that they realise that Osborne and IDS are right about welfare, but are trying to find a form of words which conceals this.
I assume he's trying to conceal something or he'd used words everybody understood, but what aspect of welfare are we talking about?
At a guess it is meant to mirror the structural deficit concept, ie benefits excluding those incurred because you are in a recession and have lots of jobless.
I do think it is quite funny all the PB Hodges thinking the Labour conference is crap, a car crash, rubbish blah blah blah(never forgetting to use right wing papers and right wing journos to prove it).....and next week non-PB Hodges will use the same for the Bullingdon get together.The joys of PB.
It may not be crap but it aint good is it ?
Where is the co-ordinated powerful overarching theme to make Labour the party for the hard working lower classes who aspire through graft to make something of themselves ?
"Gulags for bags without jabs" and spare room bribes for the unemployed - hardly a manifesto of hope.
But this constant drivel from PB Hodges quoting The Mail/The Times/The Sun/The Express/The Telegraph....delete where applicable.... is so boring. Though as I say next week will be exactly the same with non-PB Hodges doing the same(minus the right wing rags) and PB Hodges declaring it an absolutely outstanding success of a conference, that they will have ran out of tissues and they will have a right arm like a bodybuilder by the second day.
So - stick up for Ed then - tell us how you aren't disappointed with this welfare tinkering at random.
What, and face the wrath of the PB Hodges in full froth mode.....more than my life is worth. Any chance of another Mail link, we haven't had one for at least a good ten minutes.
I wonder if there are Kenyans on their equivalent of PB calling other Kenyans racist for saying theyve heard Somalians are responsible for the Shopping Centre attack?
I assume he's trying to conceal something or he'd have used words everybody understood, but what aspect of welfare are we talking about?
I think he just means they'd cap annual spending, which is odd because they've opposed caps on what individual households can receive, as well as opposing the end of the spare room subsidy and the end of child benefit for the well-off.
Quite what they do when they get 10 months into the year and discover that the cap is going to be exceeded is anyone's guess. Tough luck - people have to starve for the last few weeks of the year?
Immigration has always been a contentious issue. However, in the past, many people have combined dislike of the scale of immigration with a recognition that they help Britain’s economy and keep vital public services going. YouGov’s latest survey for Prospect repeated some questions we asked eight years ago. Hostility to immigration is up and the belief in its beneficial effects is down.
The sharpest change concerns the NHS. In 2005, Britons agreed by four-to-one that service would collapse if it couldn’t recruit nurses from abroad. Today, the proportion saying this is true is down from 73% to 50%, while the proportion disagreeing has doubled from 17% to 36%.
The other seismic change concerns attitudes to the European Union. In 2005, we supported by two-to-one “the right of people in EU countries to live and work wherever they want”. Today we oppose free movement by 49-38%... http://yougov.co.uk/news/2013/09/23/how-hostility-immigration-has-grown/
I can save hundreds of posts on next weks conference, as the vast majority will go like this.
From Charles/Plato/TCPB/Richard Dodd/TGOHF/Avery LP etc etc etc:
1. Camerons speech was monumental and Churchillesque and captured the nations mood so well. 2. Gideon speech was fabulously thought out and delivered and again shows that he is an economic master and the best political strategist ever. 3.Gove oozes class and is the best Education Minister ever 4. May is just out of this world. 5. Shapps one liners against Labour were delivered with such good timing they were Tarbuckesque. 6. The two minute silence for Mrs T was what makes GB great. 7. William Hague shows the statemenship of a colossus. 8.Philip Hammond is one of those people that would be first over in the trenches and is growing brilliantly into his job. 9.Eric Pickles was leading from the front and was at times so hilarious with his jokes that some delegates actually pissed their pants (this could actually have something to do with the average age of the delegates and incontinence). 10. Lansley plans to introduce more private companies into the NHS is a masterstroke that the public has been crying out for. 11. Jeremy Hunt is worth his weight in gold, for well.....just being Jeremy Hunt. 12. IDS proved the Bedroom Tax is a vote winner.
The entire conference was an absolute triumph from begining to end and everyone went home tissueless.
There will be hundreds of quotes from the Telegraph/Mail/Epress/Sun/Times etc to give insight on how the conference was the conference to beat all conferences ....again.
Have I missed anything out?
Here are the points from the list above that I am very unlikely to post. If I do, I will happily buy you a beer (per point) at hte next PB gathering [when is that, btw?]
I can save hundreds of posts on next weks conference, as the vast majority will go like this.
From Charles/Plato/TCPB/Richard Dodd/TGOHF/Avery LP etc etc etc:
1. Camerons speech was monumental and Churchillesque and captured the nations mood so well. 2. Gideon speech was fabulously thought out and delivered and again shows that he is an economic master and the best political strategist ever. 3.Gove oozes class and is the best Education Minister ever 4. May is just out of this world. 5. Shapps one liners against Labour were delivered with such good timing they were Tarbuckesque. 6. The two minute silence for Mrs T was what makes GB great. 7. William Hague shows the statemenship of a colossus. 8.Philip Hammond is one of those people that would be first over in the trenches and is growing brilliantly into his job. 9.Eric Pickles was leading from the front and was at times so hilarious with his jokes that some delegates actually pissed their pants (this could actually have something to do with the average age of the delegates and incontinence). 10. Lansley plans to introduce more private companies into the NHS is a masterstroke that the public has been crying out for. 11. Jeremy Hunt is worth his weight in gold, for well.....just being Jeremy Hunt. 12. IDS proved the Bedroom Tax is a vote winner.
The entire conference was an absolute triumph from begining to end and everyone went home tissueless.
There will be hundreds of quotes from the Telegraph/Mail/Epress/Sun/Times etc to give insight on how the conference was the conference to beat all conferences ....again.
Have I missed anything out?
Here are the points from the list above that I am very unlikely to post. If I do, I will happily buy you a beer (per point) at hte next PB gathering [when is that, btw?]
and I'm getting the best reception I've had for years, including from traditional Tory voters.
What the wider public will make of it all through the media filter I have no idea! Let's await the polls.
I noticed the following:
Opinions differ about Heathrow, but really we need to decide something instead of putting it off until 2016. And I'm tempted to wonder whether we should be spending £40 billion on HS2 with a view to benefiting in 2030, rather than, say, 20 projects of £100 million each, easing bottle necks all over the country here and now, with the balance used for the R&D tax credits and for easing the squeeze on incomes for ordinary people. I'm aware that this is heretical to all the political parties, but if backbenchers and candidates don't raise these issues, who will? By 2015, it's likely to be too late to reconsider. And if we don't train our own people sufficiently, why waste breath complaining that employers bring in foreign workers?
Perhaps because 20 projects of £100 million each won't help the capacity problems. Alternatives were extensively looked into and rejected by... (fx: drum rolls) the Labour government. Basically, you'd get nowhere near enough improvements from your 20 projects to match future usage requirements.
What's structural social security, and what does it mean to have a cap on it?
It means that they realise that Osborne and IDS are right about welfare, but are trying to find a form of words which conceals this.
I assume he's trying to conceal something or he'd used words everybody understood, but what aspect of welfare are we talking about?
At a guess it is meant to mirror the structural deficit concept, ie benefits excluding those incurred because you are in a recession and have lots of jobless.
OK, that sort-of makes sense, but what happens to pensions? Are people getting old structurally?
I wonder if there are Kenyans on their equivalent of PB calling other Kenyans racist for saying theyve heard Somalians are responsible for the Shopping Centre attack?
I found out about PB when I was working in Kenya.
On the subject I doubt it, my guess would be that there won't be any indiscriminate revenge attacks, but if they do find people connected with these attacks, the will be lynched.
I'll try and dig out an article from a few years ago, where six burglars were thrown alive onto a bonfire.
I thought that Mr Balls was very good. We can carry on spending money and those nasty bankers will pay for everything. Hooray, what's not to like?
A bit miserly with the 10p tax rate, though, Carry on with increasing allowances a bit faster instead. The bankers will pay for it all.
And guaranteed jobs ... that will be 100,000 people digging holes in the ground, and then another 100,000 filling them in again. At a stroke he'll reduce unemployment and increase GDP.
It's so simple, it makes you wonder why no one's done it before?
Although, to be fair to him, I'm still puzzled as to why reducing the journey time between Brum and London by twenty minutes is so important. Get up twenty minutes earlier, you lazy bastards!
This sentence deserves to win some sort of award: “They are constantly lurking on the lower depths of the pavement, like little Ribena-fuelled U boats."
What's structural social security, and what does it mean to have a cap on it?
It means that they realise that Osborne and IDS are right about welfare, but are trying to find a form of words which conceals this.
I assume he's trying to conceal something or he'd used words everybody understood, but what aspect of welfare are we talking about?
At a guess it is meant to mirror the structural deficit concept, ie benefits excluding those incurred because you are in a recession and have lots of jobless.
OK, that sort-of makes sense, but what happens to pensions? Are people getting old structurally?
As you say, demographic pension variations will complicate matters, perhaps they will periodically vary retirement age by a few months to keep the pension spending constant.
Perhaps because 20 projects of £100 million each won't help the capacity problems. Alternatives were extensively looked into and rejected by... (fx: drum rolls) the Labour government. Basically, you'd get nowhere near enough improvements from your 20 projects to match future usage requirements.
It looks like Ed Balls just pulled a Syria Maneuver. He hasn't quite said they're against, but he's said the planning all has to be done properly, in a way that makes it look like he'll say it hasn't.
This is an example of the weak, stodgy mindset of British people compared to the US. Confronted with a high-speed rail project they don't want, the British come up with a lame, bureaucratic justification to kick it into the long grass. Meanwhile over in California they instead devise a bold new, ambitious, futuristic, theoretically cheaper alternative so people can spend years studying that and kick the actual, practical rail project into the long grass that way.
@frasernelson: But Balls is right HS2 waste, on economic flatlining and standard of living. Hate to say it, but it's a good speech full of substance.
The PB Tory demographic wont get it of course
Of course he is right on HS2, any idiot can come to the same conclusion. HS2 is a votebuying scheme for the Tories in the midlands. I don't see how it survives after 2015, Lab or Con.
@frasernelson: But Balls is right HS2 waste, on economic flatlining and standard of living. Hate to say it, but it's a good speech full of substance.
The PB Tory demographic wont get it of course
Of course he is right on HS2, any idiot can come to the same conclusion. HS2 is a votebuying scheme for the Tories in the midlands. I don't see how it survives after 2015, Lab or Con.
Why is he right? What's the alternative solution to the railway capacity crunch that's coming up (and actually with us in some places)?
There isn't one. And Labour know this as much as everyone. After all, they were the ones who initially saw the need for the project ...
and I'm getting the best reception I've had for years, including from traditional Tory voters.
What the wider public will make of it all through the media filter I have no idea! Let's await the polls.
I noticed the following:
Opinions differ about Heathrow, but really we need to decide something instead of putting it off until 2016. And I'm tempted to wonder whether we should be spending £40 billion on HS2 with a view to benefiting in 2030, rather than, say, 20 projects of £100 million each, easing bottle necks all over the country here and now, with the balance used for the R&D tax credits and for easing the squeeze on incomes for ordinary people. I'm aware that this is heretical to all the political parties, but if backbenchers and candidates don't raise these issues, who will? By 2015, it's likely to be too late to reconsider. And if we don't train our own people sufficiently, why waste breath complaining that employers bring in foreign workers?
Perhaps because 20 projects of £100 million each won't help the capacity problems.
There are other transport capacity problems than those which are supposed to be related to the west coast railway.
A trip around any town or county in the country will show you where these other transport capacity problems are right now.
What's so special about the west coast railway that its supposed future capacity problems are more important than the rest of the country's actual transport capacity problems?
I wonder if there are Kenyans on their equivalent of PB calling other Kenyans racist for saying theyve heard Somalians are responsible for the Shopping Centre attack?
Given that Al-Shabab have claimed responsibility I doubt it. When Lee Rigby was killed the malignant parade of sickos pronouncing on here had no evidence or knowledge.
Very big Somali gang in Woolwich.
edit: 300 strong according to the Mail although that may be exaggerated
I have just realised that Wee-Timmy is a gynmast! Willing to take and position, flip-back, and then contort into breaking his gonads. A supple as urine; as much back-bone as a millipede; and funded by a corrupt, discredited and - often - external party to any rhyme-or-reason.
@frasernelson: But Balls is right HS2 waste, on economic flatlining and standard of living. Hate to say it, but it's a good speech full of substance.
The PB Tory demographic wont get it of course
Of course he is right on HS2, any idiot can come to the same conclusion. HS2 is a votebuying scheme for the Tories in the midlands. I don't see how it survives after 2015, Lab or Con.
I hope you are right. It is one of the more idiotic projects thought up by either party over the last decade or so. Twentieth century thinking that is already decades out of date.
It is called a "broad-church": It is summinck you have probably never experienced in your "Green" Donegal. Oh, if only you had had a broader education....
Dianne Abbot going wild. Still, I'm sure UKIP voters will be happy in 2015 when they vote UKIP and get Labour.
"1312: Shadow health minister Diane Abbott tells Labour activists: "We must never, ever make the mistake of giving any credence whatsoever to arguments that originate in the minds and hearts of racists, fascists and UKIP."
I'm impressed that people are so knowledgeable, and so confident of the future, that they can confidently throw around phrases like 'idiotic' about HS2. They must have done a fantastic amount of in-depth research and be absolutely brilliant at futurology.
@frasernelson: But Balls is right HS2 waste, on economic flatlining and standard of living. Hate to say it, but it's a good speech full of substance.
The PB Tory demographic wont get it of course
Of course he is right on HS2, any idiot can come to the same conclusion. HS2 is a votebuying scheme for the Tories in the midlands. I don't see how it survives after 2015, Lab or Con.
Why is he right? What's the alternative solution to the railway capacity crunch that's coming up (and actually with us in some places)?
There isn't one. And Labour know this as much as everyone. After all, they were the ones who initially saw the need for the project ...
Lateral thinking. There is no need in this day and age why we should be having to have all those businessmen travelling up and down to London for face to face meetings. A fraction of the HS2 cost invested in effective high speed internet and a push for far more meetings to be conducted remotely would be a much better idea. It would not solve the whole issue but it would certainly make a difference.
HS2 wil not achieve the aims set out by the Government. That is being shown time and time again by reports and investigations. It is becoming the ultimate white elephant and will be a sad testament to Cameron's rule if it does, by any freak chance, go ahead.
Comments
Labour History Group @LabourHistory
Ed Miliband meets 107-year old Hetty Bower, who first joined the Labour Party 90 years ago: labour.org.uk/from-cable-str…
"While Ed’s focus groups tell him to whack the government as ‘out of touch’ Etonian toffs, you will not hear Harriet Harman having a dig at Osborne for going to St Paul’s. The Labour deputy leader is a niece of the Earl of Longford, has a Suffolk estate, and an is Old Paulina herself. Not content with her bumper government pension, she managed to get hubby a seat on the gravy train too. Old-timer socialist Michael Meacher could help solve the housing shortage by flogging one of the ten homes that make up his extensive property portfolio.
You don’t hear shadow international development secretary Hilary Benn saying much about Dave and co having big houses either. Along with a £2 million pad in Chiswick, Benn does not like to mention the family estate. While his old man gave up his titles to become an MP, the Benns were a little more reluctant to lose all those acres of Essex.
Across town in Islington, shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry has a growing property empire. She, Blair and Margaret Hodge were all neighbours on the same street once, with homes that would not leave you much change from a couple of million...
"Some of Ed’s troops worked hard for their money, though. Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liam Byrne used to work for those well-known progressives Rothschilds. It’s unlikely he walked out short-changed when he left — and that’s before years of ministerial pay and the pension pot it brings. It’s not just the bankers, property speculators and inherited blue-blood brigade that are kings of the one per cent. The professional politicians are not doing too badly either. Looking at shadow health secretary Andy Burnham and his man-of-the-people, football-loving, one-of-the-lads-drinking-bitter patter, he hardly screams Riviera chic. His wife, however, can be found tweeting about hosting drinks ‘on our boat in Cannes harbour’.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/23/labour-party-working-people-involved
Filtering for the inevitable party political approach, she makes some important points about modern politics:
"I asked whether, since she was so passionate about the issues, she'd ever consider getting involved in local politics. Perhaps one day she'd like to serve on the council? "We feel thick. We're little people," they replied. But after a moment's silence Michelle said: "Actually I think I could do it." It made me sad and frustrated that I didn't feel able to invite them to a Labour party meeting. I knew they'd be alienated by all the bureaucracy and formality: the discussion of the minutes, the apologies and the show of hands. In truth, I don't think anyone enjoys traditional Labour party meetings. Given that trust in politics and politicians is at an all-time low, what percentage of people would you expect to be interested in standing for parliament? – one in 100? one in 10? In fact, polling carried out for me earlier this year by YouGov (with a sample size of 1,633) showed that the answer is nearly one in four. That is much higher than I would ever have imagined. But the problem is hardly anyone knows how to go about it."
Tories: Lab has now committed to spending proceeds of more bank taxes on 11 different things, totalling least £30.695 billion #lab13
Chris Addison @mrchrisaddison
YouGov: 63% think Labour isn't ready for government. But then they don't appear to be ready for opposition, either. Swings & roundabouts.
There must be one surely?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2429797/Let-battle-commence-As-ex-spin-doctor-Damian-McBride-arrives-Brighton-Labour-descends-bitter-fighting.html
I'm sure the delegates will welcome him with wide open arms.
The biggest reaction most voters have to the party conference is a flash of irritation as the reach for the TV remote to switch over.
Where is the co-ordinated powerful overarching theme to make Labour the party for the hard working lower classes who aspire through graft to make something of themselves ?
"Gulags for bags without jabs" and spare room bribes for the unemployed - hardly a manifesto of hope.
"So whose brainwave were these whack-the-Tories tactics? Step forward grumpy spinner Tom Baldwin, who joined Ed’s side from the Murdoch empire. The former Times hack dresses like a tramp and has the chippy socialist look down to a tee. He was in David Cameron’s year at Oxford; they even did the same degree. Baldwin may accuse the Tories of being out-of-touch rich boys, but he’s laughing all the way to the bank.
Mrs Baldwin is the granddaughter of Vita Sackville-West and was raised in the tough surroundings of Sissinghurst Castle in Kent. Rebecca Baldwin is the ex-wife of the 4th Baron Milford, who has earned herself the nickname ‘Just 16’ after it was alleged that was her answer to a question about how many millions she had inherited. When Baldwin is up late plotting new attacks on Tory toffs, he can do so from his £4 million villa overlooking Highbury Fields. Cruel former colleagues in newspaperland still fondly remember Tom loudly declaring after his wedding, ‘I’m on the deeds, I’m on the deeds.’
Possibly, yes, but only if we take control of the OBR completely out of the hands of government. That's why I thought that the IFS giving their view and being treated seriously was valuable. I'm less convinced that the state should pay for the political parties to have their proposals scored. I'd be happy if both parties were to make a payment to have their manifestos scored. I might even exclude such a payment from the spending cap.
Jamie Reed @jreedmp
Just found @DPJHodges at #lab13
'Get out!' I screamed 'Members only!'
I then swore at him for two minutes without taking a breath.
Labour must surely soar away next week in the polls..
I wonder if the Palladium is free for next years performance..maybe a panto gig..
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/BroxtoweInfo/conversations/messages
and I'm getting the best reception I've had for years, including from traditional Tory voters.
What the wider public will make of it all through the media filter I have no idea! Let's await the polls.
I'm sure there must be many. 7
My guess is that something on the bedroom tax might get through - but risk, there, is that while the specific may be popular it reinforces the narrative that Labour is on the side of the non-contributors
Probably a little, but not much, of the McBride stuff will cut through as well - likely to be lost in the assumption that they are all as bad as each other
Most importantly from Labour is that is is a missed opportunity. Every week and month that passes with them consumed in bubble cr*p is one less week to make their case. If they end up relying on 2010LD/boundary changes/Tory failures that's a very defensive and weak position to start a campaign from & one I suspect they will end up losing.
Outrageously question-begging. I regard my MP as an idle, arrogant pig but vote for him as a proxy for his party.
Also easily resolved by polling. Question 1: what is your VI? Question 2. Please name your current MP, and count the responses where the respondent can't answer 2. and where the MP is of the party named in question 1. Why doesn't a polling company do this?
Given that today is the first proper day of the conference, that conclusion is hardly surprising.
I thought this was really odd since he's never done this before - then I twigged that if a v quiet Labour supporter who I share animal pix with felt motivated enough to repeatedly send me non-sequitur tweets, maybe Labour's issues have really hit rock bottom.
could explain a lot...
Starring Rachel Reeves as the thigh slapping Principal Boy
Ed Milliband as Buttons.
Yvette Cooper as Cinders.
ED balls and the Eagle girls as the three ugly sisters
Bryant as the village softy
Byrne as the Evil Baron.
“@GuidoFawkes: Campbell: "The Tories didn't inherit a mess"” There you have it, 12% deficit, not a mess, apparently... #Clowns
The record for visiting all 270 London Underground stations has been broken by eight minutes.
Geoff Marshall, 41, from Ealing, west London, and Anthony Smith, 28, completed the record in 16 hours, 20 minutes and 27 seconds.
It is the second time Mr Marshall has held the record, after a total of 25 attempts.
The freelance video producer said the feat took "more skill than people think".
"You have to get off one line and run to the other," Mr Marshall said.
"We run from Cockfosters to High Barnet so it's a combo of athleticism and the ability to decode a Tube timetable.
"People tar you with a trainspotter brush, but I've never written down a train number in my life."
The pair's attempt was completed on 16 August, but it took Guinness World Records more than a month to verify their record. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24203949
This conference is likely to be a footnote in history, but who does that suit?
Consider it negative Short money.
Has some truth for incumbents but not challengers.
It's a missed opportunity rather than anything else.
1. Who could replace Ed Milliband this side of the GE?
2. Who could replace Balls as shadow chancellor?
Answer to both is Darling. He is viewed by Balls as a threat and we end up with McBride smearing him on some very dubious conclusions.
That they're mostly navel-gazing shouldn't be underestimated - the hacks give them acres of coverage in the press and the telly.
But Andrew Neil opened the BBCDP prog with "this conference is turning into a stormy affair".
So #labour says it can't commit to repealing any cuts, because it won't see the books until 2015. Curiously it can find money to spend.
In 2009, Darling was being urged by the Treasury to let VAT go to 20 per cent.
...
I was tearing my hair out. The Labour Party was being held to ransom by a Chancellor who was more concerned about his internal reputation with Treasury civil servants than about winning the election.
I’m still convinced it was a massive mistake.
You couldn't ask for a clearer account of how Labour, especially Brown, were deliberately trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the electorate. McBride's gripe with Darling was that the latter was trying not to do so; McBride simply can't get his head around the idea that a politician might try to be vaguely honest. Winning the election was the only thing that mattered.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2429682/Useless-Darling-just-Damian-McBride-reveals-poor-Alistair-played-martyr-amid-2008-economic-crisis.html
It's really simple - what are the good news take-aways so far from their conference?
I'm all ears.
The McBride revelations are only a minor issue really, What's new? Gordon was neurotic/verging on psychotic, Balls and Milli were his playmates, and Darling dared to challenge them with his "Forces of Hell" comment.
Who else did people think he was referring to?
Mind you, he knew the bullies were out to get him anyway.
Tom Newton Dunn @tnewtondunn
That's a 1st: @edballsmp has just suggested @David_Cameron has a small penis. "For a Prime Minister, his towel is surprisingly small".
The main challenges Miliband will face are (i) whether the vision will be credible; and (ii) whether people believe he can deliver it. The two challenges are linked. The early signs are that he will struggle on the credibility front; people just don't believe that any government can compel companies to employ British workers, that schools can offer a more comprehensive service, that welfare cuts can be resisted, that thousands of houses can be built etc and that the burden can be borne by only very high earners and large companies. It's counter-intuitive - too good to be true. It looks like Labour aren't prepared to accept reality. That may not matter if Ed can demonstrate a force of personality sufficiently compelling to make such significant barriers trivial. I am sure we all have a view on that, and I will restrain myself to noting that it is rare for such personality to emerge after so long in a leadership position
Nonetheless, I think it will be a very good speech, mature, thought-provoking, competent and, by the dire standards of modern political discourse, bold. I will award extra marks if he is prepared to mention the McBride revelations and say "never again" without whitewashing the current party.
[Kenya]
As a supporter of a Palestinian nation can I be allowed to express my hope that the IDF will "desist" a few muzzies today. I hope that they do a blooby-good job!
From Charles/Plato/TCPB/Richard Dodd/TGOHF/Avery LP etc etc etc:
1. Camerons speech was monumental and Churchillesque and captured the nations mood so well.
2. Gideon speech was fabulously thought out and delivered and again shows that he is an economic master and the best political strategist ever.
3.Gove oozes class and is the best Education Minister ever
4. May is just out of this world.
5. Shapps one liners against Labour were delivered with such good timing they were Tarbuckesque.
6. The two minute silence for Mrs T was what makes GB great.
7. William Hague shows the statemenship of a colossus.
8.Philip Hammond is one of those people that would be first over in the trenches and is growing brilliantly into his job.
9.Eric Pickles was leading from the front and was at times so hilarious with his jokes that some delegates actually pissed their pants (this could actually have something to do with the average age of the delegates and incontinence).
10. Lansley plans to introduce more private companies into the NHS is a masterstroke that the public has been crying out for.
11. Jeremy Hunt is worth his weight in gold, for well.....just being Jeremy Hunt.
12. IDS proved the Bedroom Tax is a vote winner.
The entire conference was an absolute triumph from begining to end and everyone went home tissueless.
There will be hundreds of quotes from the Telegraph/Mail/Epress/Sun/Times etc to give insight on how the conference was the conference to beat all conferences ....again.
Have I missed anything out?
I think that Ed Balls suggesting the PM is somewhat small in the manhood department is a bit of a new low, even for modern politics.
I can't help but think this is total desperation from Ed Balls - when all else fails - claim your rival has a smaller penis.
I mean really? This is Viz Politics from the man who wants to be Chancellor.
RT @MichaelPDeacon: "And today I can pledge a Labour Prime Minister will invest in a 25% larger towel, funded by a tax on bankers' bonuses!"
At a guess it is meant to mirror the structural deficit concept, ie benefits excluding those incurred because you are in a recession and have lots of jobless.
Any further thoughts on the parrot issue?
Quite what they do when they get 10 months into the year and discover that the cap is going to be exceeded is anyone's guess. Tough luck - people have to starve for the last few weeks of the year?
The sharpest change concerns the NHS. In 2005, Britons agreed by four-to-one that service would collapse if it couldn’t recruit nurses from abroad. Today, the proportion saying this is true is down from 73% to 50%, while the proportion disagreeing has doubled from 17% to 36%.
The other seismic change concerns attitudes to the European Union. In 2005, we supported by two-to-one “the right of people in EU countries to live and work wherever they want”. Today we oppose free movement by 49-38%... http://yougov.co.uk/news/2013/09/23/how-hostility-immigration-has-grown/
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
I suspect Derek Draper's acolyte is desperately seeking attention by making things up.
The various alternatives have been extensively looked into. You may want to read the following:
http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/hs2-review-of-strategic-alternatives/hs2-review-of-strategic-alternatives.pdf
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/highspeedrail/alternativestudy/pdf/railintervention.pdf
So Nick, are you in favour or against HS2, or are you just waiting for Labour to announce what they're going to do? (renationalisation, perhaps?)
On the subject I doubt it, my guess would be that there won't be any indiscriminate revenge attacks,
but if they do find people connected with these attacks, the will be lynched.
I'll try and dig out an article from a few years ago, where six burglars were thrown alive onto a bonfire.
I thought that Mr Balls was very good. We can carry on spending money and those nasty bankers will pay for everything. Hooray, what's not to like?
A bit miserly with the 10p tax rate, though, Carry on with increasing allowances a bit faster instead. The bankers will pay for it all.
And guaranteed jobs ... that will be 100,000 people digging holes in the ground, and then another 100,000 filling them in again. At a stroke he'll reduce unemployment and increase GDP.
It's so simple, it makes you wonder why no one's done it before?
Although, to be fair to him, I'm still puzzled as to why reducing the journey time between Brum and London by twenty minutes is so important. Get up twenty minutes earlier, you lazy bastards!
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/scooter-kids-seize-control-of-pavements-2013092379707
This sentence deserves to win some sort of award: “They are constantly lurking on the lower depths of the pavement, like little Ribena-fuelled U boats."
As you say, demographic pension variations will complicate matters, perhaps they will periodically vary retirement age by a few months to keep the pension spending constant.
This is an example of the weak, stodgy mindset of British people compared to the US. Confronted with a high-speed rail project they don't want, the British come up with a lame, bureaucratic justification to kick it into the long grass. Meanwhile over in California they instead devise a bold new, ambitious, futuristic, theoretically cheaper alternative so people can spend years studying that and kick the actual, practical rail project into the long grass that way.
There isn't one. And Labour know this as much as everyone. After all, they were the ones who initially saw the need for the project ...
There are other transport capacity problems than those which are supposed to be related to the west coast railway.
A trip around any town or county in the country will show you where these other transport capacity problems are right now.
What's so special about the west coast railway that its supposed future capacity problems are more important than the rest of the country's actual transport capacity problems?
edit: 300 strong according to the Mail although that may be exaggerated
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2334488/Inside-dark-world-Woolwich-Boys-The-300-strong-gang-Somalis-linked-Rigby-murder-suspect-targeted-terror-groups-looking-jihadists-future.html
I have just realised that Wee-Timmy is a gynmast! Willing to take and position, flip-back, and then contort into breaking his gonads. A supple as urine; as much back-bone as a millipede; and funded by a corrupt, discredited and - often - external party to any rhyme-or-reason.
:up-your-game-son:
Try heading to Germany and get on the ICE trains - we need that from london to Inverness, Cardiff and Exeter.
It is called a "broad-church": It is summinck you have probably never experienced in your "Green" Donegal. Oh, if only you had had a broader education....
"1312: Shadow health minister Diane Abbott tells Labour activists: "We must never, ever make the mistake of giving any credence whatsoever to arguments that originate in the minds and hearts of racists, fascists and UKIP."
HS2 wil not achieve the aims set out by the Government. That is being shown time and time again by reports and investigations. It is becoming the ultimate white elephant and will be a sad testament to Cameron's rule if it does, by any freak chance, go ahead.