It's just one of those topics that you cant discuss sensibly on the internet. Cycling is another I find (cyclist V motorist debates are some of the most venomous you ever see!).
As broadly a non-cyclist and a non-motorist, I can comment with detachment that both sides of that particular debate are utterly mental.
Paul Nuttal on DP putting lots of clear black water between UKIP & the French National Front - absolutely will not join any grouping involving them in the EU Parliament - UKIP are Eurosceptic moderate right.
There's certainly a very great deal of prejudice against him, but he's a very perceptive observer (and a very good writer).
He's an ultra Blairite who threw his toys permanently out of the pram after he proclaimed that brother David won and little Ed did instead. He's never gotten over it and he never will while little Ed is still in politics.
Cameron might have his 'swivel-eyed loons' to worry about but little Ed has boggle-eyed Blairites who are just as loony as they try to out tory the tories at every turn.
It's just one of those topics that you cant discuss sensibly on the internet. Cycling is another I find (cyclist V motorist debates are some of the most venomous you ever see!).
As broadly a non-cyclist and a non-motorist, I can comment with detachment that both sides of that particular debate are utterly mental.
Says the evil pedestrian....
You cant hide from this debate!!!
Oh Lord! The pedestrians! Stepping out into the road without looking with their quaint notions of right of way! The way in which they jump into the air and scurry into your path when you give a gentle ring of the bell to let them know you're about to pass!
I'd have them culled on sight were it not for the fact that my two bikes are both in need of repair and I'm walking to work.
Congrats to Cara Hilton. Her victory has certainly shaken things up north of the border.
But more importantly: congratulations to Sunil. Hope you enjoy your new opportunity.
Beggars belief that people actually voted for this stupid airhead. Listening to her on TV she is so stupid it is hard to believe. Does not bode well for Scotland.
Stupidity has rarely been a disqualification for public office.
Jack, Nowadays it seems to be compulsory. But fun aside I do despair that people like this are being put in positions of power, I may be forced to go over the water the way things are going.
It seems a bit rash to decamp to Orkney but at least you'll have the benefit of "Hammer of Salmond" - Carmichael as your MP !!
Chortle ....
Jack , LOL, I get enough rain and wind here on the west coast , a longer journey was on my mind. He does look he would be a nice chap to have a refreshment with mind you.
Shetland ??? .... a longer journey certainly and still within Carmichael's Empire of the Isles.
Jack, please suggest somewhere the sun shines more than a week or two a year
I'm tempted to say according to SNP legend up Alex Salmond's arse .... but I wouldn't suggest such a vulgarity !!
Was this on the basis of the TripleDouble dip recession that wasn't?
I guess when the facts change he changes his mind....
I think it was more on the basis of him not being very perceptive. If he had been, he would have known that GDP numbers are always subject to revision and, actually, like almost all figures and statistics - whether positive or negative - do not mean very much to voters.
The only sneering on PB this morning has come from MacolmG towards the people of Dunfermline. He poses as a nationalist and patriot but seems to loathe and despise Scots.
A distinct lack of self-awareness from PB's No. 1 misanthrope
Bob you are better whinging about marginal tax or tube tickets. Just a Labour welfare junkie who wants everything subsidised, almost certain you work in public services, shoudl have hosen tube and it would have saved you whinging..
Chill malcolm, I think BAJ was referring to Monica.
I was indeed! I work in the private sector, for the record.
When I become the country's first directly elected Dictator, my first act will be to ban caravan owners from owning any other road vehicle except a bike.
Caravan owners, should be in the same circle of hell as middle lane huggers and people who only do 70mph in the fast lane.
My second act will be death by vivisection for the latter two groups.
This post has nothing to do with the fact I've spent the last two hours following a caravan on the Woodhead pass
Business Secretary Vince Cable comes across a bit more downbeat than the PM and chancellor, but still cheers on the new the figures.
“We've always said the road to recovery would be a marathon, not a sprint. There is still work to do to address the lack of bank lending to SMEs and driving exports up to a globally competitive level. But today's figures are encouraging, especially for construction and manufacturing, which have been lagging. Taken alongside other indicators such as good employment figures and new businesses start-ups, they suggest that things are going in the right direction.”
£134m of government assistance, £125m of it from London. Don't quite understand this part of the Telegraph report: "the UK Government has given its "prequalification approval" for a £125m loan guarantee facility under the Treasury's £40m infrastructure guarantee scheme. "
But it looks like subsidised funding for INEOS.
It is not surprising that Salmond is not seeking to make too much political capital out of this. Could an independent Scotland have afforded this level of support? It would have been a real budget buster. The UK has a strategic interest in this plant and can afford it. Having said that the astonishing incompetence and unreality of UNITE officials certainly moved this application right to the front of the queue.
David, that is bollocks of the first order, not like you to be so out of touch. Of course Scotland could have afforded to fund the investment, you have been reading too much Westminster dross I am afraid. The pathetic claim that the UK borrowing over £100 Billion a year can afford it but Scotland could not is pretty puerile.
Congrats to Cara Hilton. Her victory has certainly shaken things up north of the border.
But more importantly: congratulations to Sunil. Hope you enjoy your new opportunity.
Beggars belief that people actually voted for this stupid airhead. Listening to her on TV she is so stupid it is hard to believe. Does not bode well for Scotland.
Stupidity has rarely been a disqualification for public office.
Jack, Nowadays it seems to be compulsory. But fun aside I do despair that people like this are being put in positions of power, I may be forced to go over the water the way things are going.
It seems a bit rash to decamp to Orkney but at least you'll have the benefit of "Hammer of Salmond" - Carmichael as your MP !!
Chortle ....
Jack , LOL, I get enough rain and wind here on the west coast , a longer journey was on my mind. He does look he would be a nice chap to have a refreshment with mind you.
Shetland ??? .... a longer journey certainly and still within Carmichael's Empire of the Isles.
Jack, please suggest somewhere the sun shines more than a week or two a year
I'm tempted to say according to SNP legend up Alex Salmond's arse .... but I wouldn't suggest such a vulgarity !!
From the Guardian: "Labour is "open" to renationalising some of Britain's railways and has cleared the way for scrapping the controversial high-speed HS2 project by handing a final say on the project if it wins the next election to Ed Balls. ... Ed Miliband is said to have "sub-contracted" responsibility for HS2 to Balls, the shadow chancellor, who is known to be sceptical about the scheme."
I find it hard to imagine Balls in No. 11 as Chancellor of the Exchequer. I wonder if this is some sort of psychological self-defence mechanism?
and, actually, like almost all figures and statistics - whether positive or negative - do not mean very much to voters.
Of course they don't. About their only virtue is they are slightly (but only slightly) less infuriating to the public than being basically told by politicians how they've 'never had it so good' if they feel the complete opposite is the case. Do that too many times and you risk completely destroying that which matters most during an election. Trust.
They've been flashing the prospect of a u-turn in front of us for some months now. Since Mandelson first told us that they only really backed it for party political reasons in the first place. Unfortunately most of us are too thick to understand the implications of this but in time tim will explain all.
So they can switch government spending from infrastructure to current spending to "incentivise" voters
Good news for Grangemouth. No doubt all parties involved will spin it as a success for themselves, but the true winners are the staff who remain employed.
Be hard for Unite to spin any success out of this one
"I don't understand how the Suez Crisis brought down a PM, the canal was built on perfectly sound engineering principles, crisis was far too strong a word, the water levels barely shifted during the period now described as a "crisis""
The first one was funny. Now you are just belabouring things
The day the Scots have to roll over to the likes of billionaire Jim Radclffe is a humiliation. Imagine a German workforce sitting on their hind legs tongues out infront of the mighty Sir Philip Green. It wouldn't happen
£134m of government assistance, £125m of it from London. Don't quite understand this part of the Telegraph report: "the UK Government has given its "prequalification approval" for a £125m loan guarantee facility under the Treasury's £40m infrastructure guarantee scheme. "
But it looks like subsidised funding for INEOS.
It is not surprising that Salmond is not seeking to make too much political capital out of this. Could an independent Scotland have afforded this level of support? It would have been a real budget buster. The UK has a strategic interest in this plant and can afford it. Having said that the astonishing incompetence and unreality of UNITE officials certainly moved this application right to the front of the queue.
Loan guarantees are fairly common - yes it costs something (as a contingent liability) but not much. It saves a lot for Ineos by transferring the credit risk from certain dodgy countries to the government. The actual *cost* to the government would probably be c. £10-15m rather than the headline number though.
edit: the £10-15m would be what a bank would charge for this kind of service.
I It is not surprising that Salmond is not seeking to make too much political capital out of this. Could an independent Scotland have afforded this level of support? It would have been a real budget buster. The UK has a strategic interest in this plant and can afford it. Having said that the astonishing incompetence and unreality of UNITE officials certainly moved this application right to the front of the queue.
An independent Scotland could easily afford the loan guarantees involved - the only reason they didn't was that it's not a devolved power. Don't join some Labour MPs seeking to make political capital out of this - they have understandably fallen silent....
Note to self - PB has a tendency to micro analyse the short game, in fact the very very short game.
One of the most important factors that PBers need to remind themselves of, especially the day after a by-election and GDP figures, is that this electoral cycle would always be determined by the long game, the more so with a fixed term parliament in place.
It is the mantra that Cameron, Osborne and Clegg have clung to during the early difficult years of the Coalition. They have been vindicated.
@Roger – I think you mean: - “The day the Scots have to roll over to the likes of an anti business, job destroying, militant, bullying union like UNITE would be a humiliation.”
Sense has prevailed, jobs saved, the Scottish economy back on track - and those involved on both sides of the table, deserve a pat on the back.
Good afternoon everyone. I was wondering if our resident prophet of doom had said anything positive today. I gave up looking at posting 12,000. Clearly he is aiming to reach 20,000 by Christmas.
Great news about growth. 1.9% so far in 2013, 1.5% in the 1st half of the current financial year, either way, it is welcome.
Even better news about Grangemouth. Feel sorry for those who are to be made redundant thanks to UNITE total mismanagement of the discussions in recent weeks. Delighted that the 2000+ contractors who were told yesterday they had also lost their jobs will now get their jobs back.
Apart from the union climbdown, clearly as Stuart and others have said, the work behind the scenes of Messrs Swinney and Carmichael was crucial. John Swinney may not have been much of a leader of the SNP but his skills would be welcome in any Treasury team.
Note to self - PB has a tendency to micro analyse the short game, in fact the very very short game.
One of the most important factors that PBers need to remind themselves of, especially the day after a by-election and GDP figures, is that this electoral cycle would always be determined by the long game, the more so with a fixed term parliament in place.
It is the mantra that Cameron, Osborne and Clegg have clung to during the early difficult years of the Coalition. They have been vindicated.
I hang out on a TV show message board and the level of micro analysis is no different to here. Instead we discuss where writers have failed to follow the story bible of characters, changed who can do what, where SFX weren't consistent... blah blah. Oh and spats on Twitter between various studio types/actors/gossips/hacks.
And instead of polling - we talk TV ratings... This week there's been a huge fuss about fans who aren't happy about what some no name at Warner Bros said on Twitter - I imagine the other 3m people who actually watch the TV show have no idea and couldn't care less.
The day the Scots have to roll over to the likes of billionaire Jim Radclffe is a humiliation. Imagine a German workforce sitting on their hind legs tongues out infront of the mighty Sir Philip Green. It wouldn't happen
Unite made a fool out themselves. I can assure you that scotland is far more amenable to trade unions than most places but even given that there is very limited sympathy for their actions over this. It was unite who were forced to roll over after putting some 800 jobs on the brink. This all began with Stephen Deans who, lest we forget, chaired Falkirk CLP when Unite was accused of trying to rig the selection.
Though you could of course personally try telling the workers of Grangemouth that they are "humiliating themselves" and "sitting on their hind legs tongues out infront" for trying to hold on to their livelihoods. Best have some good stout running shoes if you do.
Nor does it sound a particularly effective spin line for Labour to pursue, though perhaps you know better in this case.
I'll say one thing for Eric Joyce - he's a good hater:
His take on Grangemouth:
The saving of Grangemouth will expose just how much power Unite has over Labour
.....So far, Grangemouth has exposed Labour’s distaste for the private sector, where most people earn a living. It’s about to expose the terrible extent to which Unite is dominating the party’s decisions. A rubicon may have been crossed. But in the wrong direction.
Comments
Cameron might have his 'swivel-eyed loons' to worry about but little Ed has boggle-eyed Blairites who are just as loony as they try to out tory the tories at every turn.
I guess when the facts change he changes his mind....
I'd have them culled on sight were it not for the fact that my two bikes are both in need of repair and I'm walking to work.
When I become the country's first directly elected Dictator, my first act will be to ban caravan owners from owning any other road vehicle except a bike.
Caravan owners, should be in the same circle of hell as middle lane huggers and people who only do 70mph in the fast lane.
My second act will be death by vivisection for the latter two groups.
This post has nothing to do with the fact I've spent the last two hours following a caravan on the Woodhead pass
“We've always said the road to recovery would be a marathon, not a sprint. There is still work to do to address the lack of bank lending to SMEs and driving exports up to a globally competitive level. But today's figures are encouraging, especially for construction and manufacturing, which have been lagging. Taken alongside other indicators such as good employment figures and new businesses start-ups, they suggest that things are going in the right direction.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/business-news-markets-live/10403412/Business-news-and-markets-live.html
...
Ed Miliband is said to have "sub-contracted" responsibility for HS2 to Balls, the shadow chancellor, who is known to be sceptical about the scheme."
I find it hard to imagine Balls in No. 11 as Chancellor of the Exchequer. I wonder if this is some sort of psychological self-defence mechanism?
The day the Scots have to roll over to the likes of billionaire Jim Radclffe is a humiliation. Imagine a German workforce sitting on their hind legs tongues out infront of the mighty Sir Philip Green. It wouldn't happen
edit: the £10-15m would be what a bank would charge for this kind of service.
One of the most important factors that PBers need to remind themselves of, especially the day after a by-election and GDP figures, is that this electoral cycle would always be determined by the long game, the more so with a fixed term parliament in place.
It is the mantra that Cameron, Osborne and Clegg have clung to during the early difficult years of the Coalition. They have been vindicated.
Sense has prevailed, jobs saved, the Scottish economy back on track - and those involved on both sides of the table, deserve a pat on the back.
Great news about growth. 1.9% so far in 2013, 1.5% in the 1st half of the current financial year, either way, it is welcome.
Even better news about Grangemouth. Feel sorry for those who are to be made redundant thanks to UNITE total mismanagement of the discussions in recent weeks. Delighted that the 2000+ contractors who were told yesterday they had also lost their jobs will now get their jobs back.
Apart from the union climbdown, clearly as Stuart and others have said, the work behind the scenes of Messrs Swinney and Carmichael was crucial. John Swinney may not have been much of a leader of the SNP but his skills would be welcome in any Treasury team.
And instead of polling - we talk TV ratings... This week there's been a huge fuss about fans who aren't happy about what some no name at Warner Bros said on Twitter - I imagine the other 3m people who actually watch the TV show have no idea and couldn't care less.
It really is no different
Why?
Though you could of course personally try telling the workers of Grangemouth that they are "humiliating themselves" and "sitting on their hind legs tongues out infront" for trying to hold on to their livelihoods. Best have some good stout running shoes if you do.
Nor does it sound a particularly effective spin line for Labour to pursue, though perhaps you know better in this case.
His take on Grangemouth:
The saving of Grangemouth will expose just how much power Unite has over Labour
.....So far, Grangemouth has exposed Labour’s distaste for the private sector, where most people earn a living. It’s about to expose the terrible extent to which Unite is dominating the party’s decisions. A rubicon may have been crossed. But in the wrong direction.
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/10/grangemouths-will-expose-just-how-much-power-unite-has-over-the-labour-party/