If the PB Tories were capable of stopping for breath instead of ploughing on despite getting every call wrong they'd read this and remember just how very well Matt D'Ancona knows Osborne and Cameron
I doubt the public would care very much about a politician having done drugs at university. Hash certainly not. Cocaine I doubt. Heroin or crystal meth I suspect would be more widely condemned.
The biggest impact, perhaps, would be on 60+ voters who would be most disapproving (I actually recall a report recently suggesting that the 35-55 group is more likely to have taken drugs than the 18-24 group). So perhaps a moderate risk to the Tories, but not that significant.
However, what is clear - from multiple stories - is that Labour was prepared to turn a blind eye to all sorts of behaviour by their friends.
Then why do you think D'Ancona believes Cameron and Osborne are vulnerable?
As for turning a blind eye re the CoOp, it's no coincidence that Mark Hoban has gone missing
I have no idea what any senior politician may have done at university.
However, d'Ancona seems to be building an arguing around something dominating the newscycle (at least that is the only specific reference he made to 2005). My view is the voters won't care, so perhaps the answer is to say 'whatever'.
@SeanT - There'll be nine months or so between a Scots Yes and a GE. The independence process will be decided long before we go to the polls, as will the make-up of negotiating teams. There was no folly in devolving power to Scotland. It was the democratic thing to do; ditto the independence vote. Looking at what's happening in Spain, in comparison we've been very grown-up and pragmatic. That will continue as far as process is concerned. We all have to share a small island whatever happens.
The problem is that these organisations will inevitably have their own interests, and any lack of transparency makes it very hard to see where their influence starts and stops. A good parallel is, perhaps, Michael Ashcroft. It was very unhealthy for the Conservative party that one person had, historically, as much influence as he did.
As the Irishman said when asked directions. "Ah Sir, If I was going there I wouldn't start from here!" It has to be recognised that the Co-op was part of the Movement in the very early days. There were, IIRC, once upon a time occasional Co-ops which weren't part, as there were TUC-affiliated Trade Unions which aren't. But, again IIRC, they're very few and far between.
Indeed. But local co-ops are very different to the commercial organisation that exists today.
Co-op group competes against lots of private businesses. It is wrong that they should have such a close relationship with a political party which would be - quite rightly - judged inappropriate if, say, Barclays and the LibDems were to have a similar arrangement.
If the PB Tories were capable of stopping for breath instead of ploughing on despite getting every call wrong they'd read this and remember just how very well Matt D'Ancona knows Osborne and Cameron
I doubt the public would care very much about a politician having done drugs at university. Hash certainly not. Cocaine I doubt. Heroin or crystal meth I suspect would be more widely condemned.
The biggest impact, perhaps, would be on 60+ voters who would be most disapproving (I actually recall a report recently suggesting that the 35-55 group is more likely to have taken drugs than the 18-24 group). So perhaps a moderate risk to the Tories, but not that significant.
However, what is clear - from multiple stories - is that Labour was prepared to turn a blind eye to all sorts of behaviour by their friends.
Just out of interest, when did Dave first become a Ministerial adviser? Did he work for Lamont?
I'm sure he worked for Lamont - no idea if that was his first appointment.
Morning all and why should we expect to see a "Falkirk" or "Flowers" effect on the polls? IMHO what these issues will do is solidify views of the small section of the electorate who are interested in politics between elections. Long term it could have a major effect on funding the #GE2015 campaigns, especially for Labour who seem poised to lose much of its union funding and now Coop funding.
I was struck the other day by a tweet showing the voting intention by age groups. While the 18-24 group had Labour at around double the Tory level, in the key older voter group, the Tories had a double digit lead over Labour. This seems to strike a chord with the fact the Tories seem to be more than holding their own week in and week out in council by-elections. One or two losses out of 20-30 per month is a very low attrition rate if the party is supposedly well behind Labour.
I remember OGH said some time ago he had got a good bet on the Tories getting the highest vote at #Euros2014 and that they had won the vote numbers at every Euro election since we moved to the present system. If that once again proves to be the case next year, especially IF UKIP is 2nd and Labour only 3rd, where does that leave Ed+Ed for 2015?
If there were any mileage in this then it would have appeared years ogo. The fact that it has not been an issue means that either Labour front bench feel just as vulnerable, or that nobody is that bothered any more about juvenile misbehaviour.
Flowers is different. His drug use is contemporary and may well be related to his poor performance at work.
If the PB Tories were capable of stopping for breath instead of ploughing on despite getting every call wrong they'd read this and remember just how very well Matt D'Ancona knows Osborne and Cameron
I doubt the public would care very much about a politician having done drugs at university. Hash certainly not. Cocaine I doubt. Heroin or crystal meth I suspect would be more widely condemned.
The biggest impact, perhaps, would be on 60+ voters who would be most disapproving (I actually recall a report recently suggesting that the 35-55 group is more likely to have taken drugs than the 18-24 group). So perhaps a moderate risk to the Tories, but not that significant.
However, what is clear - from multiple stories - is that Labour was prepared to turn a blind eye to all sorts of behaviour by their friends.
Then why do you think D'Ancona believes Cameron and Osborne are vulnerable?
As for turning a blind eye re the CoOp, it's no coincidence that Mark Hoban has gone missing
I have no idea what any senior politician may have done at university.
However, d'Ancona seems to be building an arguing around something dominating the newscycle (at least that is the only specific reference he made to 2005). My view is the voters won't care, so perhaps the answer is to say 'whatever'.
My view is that Matt D'Ancona knows Osborne and Cameron better than you do.
Salmond will probably win the 2014 referendum, mainly through the total ineptitude of all other Scottish politicians apart from himself.
I have long thought this to be the case and have said so on here. Salmond has a habit of doing the "impossible" and Scottish Labour seems hell bent on undermining all A Darling's efforts. The Cowdenbeath by-election in January should result in a stonking Labour hold. If it is anything less, it will be interesting.
The problem is that these organisations will inevitably have their own interests, and any lack of transparency makes it very hard to see where their influence starts and stops. A good parallel is, perhaps, Michael Ashcroft. It was very unhealthy for the Conservative party that one person had, historically, as much influence as he did.
As the Irishman said when asked directions. "Ah Sir, If I was going there I wouldn't start from here!" It has to be recognised that the Co-op was part of the Movement in the very early days. There were, IIRC, once upon a time occasional Co-ops which weren't part, as there were TUC-affiliated Trade Unions which aren't. But, again IIRC, they're very few and far between.
Indeed. But local co-ops are very different to the commercial organisation that exists today.
Co-op group competes against lots of private businesses. It is wrong that they should have such a close relationship with a political party which would be - quite rightly - judged inappropriate if, say, Barclays and the LibDems were to have a similar arrangement.
The point I am making is that this is a situation that has developed; i.e. not been planned. If it had been planned, or was the result of recent negotiation, the situation would be, I agree, different.
It comes to something when a teenage rent boy is telling you to get a grip on your habit:
The escort then spends much of the next hour fending off further texts from Flowers who tells him that coke is not strong enough and asks if he should try crystal meth. ‘I was totally shocked,’ said the young man. ‘To me crystal meth is a different level. I told him to lay off the coke for a bit.’
If the PB Tories were capable of stopping for breath instead of ploughing on despite getting every call wrong they'd read this and remember just how very well Matt D'Ancona knows Osborne and Cameron
However, what is clear - from multiple stories - is that Labour was prepared to turn a blind eye to all sorts of behaviour by their friends.
Then why do you think D'Ancona believes Cameron and Osborne are vulnerable?
As for turning a blind eye re the CoOp, it's no coincidence that Mark Hoban has gone missing
I have no idea what any senior politician may have done at university.
However, d'Ancona seems to be building an arguing around something dominating the newscycle (at least that is the only specific reference he made to 2005). My view is the voters won't care, so perhaps the answer is to say 'whatever'.
My view is that Matt D'Ancona knows Osborne and Cameron better than you do.
If the PB Tories were capable of stopping for breath instead of ploughing on despite getting every call wrong they'd read this and remember just how very well Matt D'Ancona knows Osborne and Cameron
I doubt the public would care very much about a politician having done drugs at university. Hash certainly not. Cocaine I doubt. Heroin or crystal meth I suspect would be more widely condemned.
The biggest impact, perhaps, would be on 60+ voters who would be most disapproving (I actually recall a report recently suggesting that the 35-55 group is more likely to have taken drugs than the 18-24 group). So perhaps a moderate risk to the Tories, but not that significant.
However, what is clear - from multiple stories - is that Labour was prepared to turn a blind eye to all sorts of behaviour by their friends.
Then why do you think D'Ancona believes Cameron and Osborne are vulnerable?
As for turning a blind eye re the CoOp, it's no coincidence that Mark Hoban has gone missing
I have no idea what any senior politician may have done at university.
However, d'Ancona seems to be building an arguing around something dominating the newscycle (at least that is the only specific reference he made to 2005). My view is the voters won't care, so perhaps the answer is to say 'whatever'.
My view is that Matt D'Ancona knows Osborne and Cameron better than you do.
Of course he does. But that doesn't matter. The only 2 issues for any senior politicians of a revelation of this nature are (a) it hurts them with the voters or (b) it dominates the media and prevents them getting their message across.
d'Ancona may know what they may or may not have done. It doesn't matter.
I have been quite busy this week in meetings with our Trust and CCG commissioners, and am increasingly impressed with the Lansley bill. Putting GPs at the heart of commissioning was long overdue.
Previous commisioning rounds have been quite confrontational with a bit too much willy waving on both sides, the current round is much more consensual and positive. In part this may be our new Trust management, but a large part is that we are now working well with primary care on common solutions to joint problems.
Money is very tight, and we have plenty of tough issues to resolve, but the change of approach is the most positive change in the NHS for years. It may well turn out to have been a masterstroke.
If the PB Tories were capable of stopping for breath instead of ploughing on despite getting every call wrong they'd read this and remember just how very well Matt D'Ancona knows Osborne and Cameron
I doubt the public would care very much about a politician having done drugs at university. Hash certainly not. Cocaine I doubt. Heroin or crystal meth I suspect would be more widely condemned.
The biggest impact, perhaps, would be on 60+ voters who would be most disapproving (I actually recall a report recently suggesting that the 35-55 group is more likely to have taken drugs than the 18-24 group). So perhaps a moderate risk to the Tories, but not that significant.
However, what is clear - from multiple stories - is that Labour was prepared to turn a blind eye to all sorts of behaviour by their friends.
Just out of interest, when did Dave first become a Ministerial adviser? Did he work for Lamont?
I'm sure he worked for Lamont - no idea if that was his first appointment.
Lansley gave him job in the research dept in 1988. Cameron gave Lansley the NHS in return in 2010.
Is Ed Miliband doing a box ticking exercise every time he talks about his tastes in music? Je ne regrette rien” Piaf = Lamont in bath singing about collapse of Tories economics policy (tick). Right on compassion anthem associated with ANC -“Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” (tick). Go on Ed publish the contents of your ipod.
Past favourites - final movement of Beethoven's Ninth - keeps EU happy.
Good for Nick Clegg that he puts in some decent piano music.
I think once the inquiry starts and it displays all of Labour's dirty laundry all over the 10pm news it will start to have an effect. While the scandal is confined to the financial pages no one will notice or care. The £2.4m loans look very dodgy and require some scrutiny. Labour leader goes to ex-Labour councillor and party member chairman of a bank and days later a £2.4m loan at below commercial rates is approved.
The problem is that these organisations will inevitably have their own interests, and any lack of transparency makes it very hard to see where their influence starts and stops. A good parallel is, perhaps, Michael Ashcroft. It was very unhealthy for the Conservative party that one person had, historically, as much influence as he did.
As the Irishman said when asked directions. "Ah Sir, If I was going there I wouldn't start from here!" It has to be recognised that the Co-op was part of the Movement in the very early days. There were, IIRC, once upon a time occasional Co-ops which weren't part, as there were TUC-affiliated Trade Unions which aren't. But, again IIRC, they're very few and far between.
Indeed. But local co-ops are very different to the commercial organisation that exists today.
Co-op group competes against lots of private businesses. It is wrong that they should have such a close relationship with a political party which would be - quite rightly - judged inappropriate if, say, Barclays and the LibDems were to have a similar arrangement.
The point I am making is that this is a situation that has developed; i.e. not been planned. If it had been planned, or was the result of recent negotiation, the situation would be, I agree, different.
That is true.
But if something is unhealthy it should be unwound, regardless of how it developed.
If Easteross really believes that the Unions will not continue to provide Labour with all the financial support that they can muster between now and 2015,he is 'whistling in the dark'.
Medical School was illegal drug free. It was a very big contrast to my friends on other courses. Heavy drinking and sexual misbehavior were there to fill the gap though!
To be fair to Labour as well as Cam & Oz you'd be hard pushed to find a politician aged 35-55 who didn't do some illegal drugs at university: we were a very druggy generation (today's kids are LESS likely to do drugs, as I understand it). Who didn't at least smoke dope once, or snort a line, or pop an E or a tab?
Balls denies having done coke, but that leaves approximately 328 drugs he might have done. I know for a fact that other senior Labourites did have a LOT of, ahem, laughs at Uni.
For someone supposedly no longer interested in returning to politics Chris Huhne spends an absolutely extraordinary time talking about them since his release from Jail.
As I have said on here before if Scotland votes yes in 2104 it is inconceivable that there will be any Scottish MPs of any persuasion in the Westminster Parliament after 2015. In the event of such a result the Scottish Government in Holyrood would undoubtedly maintain that they were the sole legal representatives of the Scottish people and that it would be for them to negotiate on the Scottish peoples' behalf.
The Scotland Act would be repealed and all retained matters would be transferred to Holyrood to allow them to start organising a new government and to negotiate with rUK in respect of the break up. Even as an ardent unionist I would agree with them about that. I see no role at all for Scottish MPs in such a procedure.
In 1916 it was made clear that any MP who was elected in Eire and sat in the UK Parliament would be guilty of treason. None did funnily enough. I do not believe the UK divorce would be so acrimonious but the position would be the same.
So the 2014 vote is indeed a momentous event. If it succeeds there is no way back. The Labour party will have lost almost a fifth of their seats and the political map of rUK will probably go through further shocks as the Welsh and the Northern Irish rethink their relationship with an England that would be even more dominant in the Union.
Those in the Scottish Labour party who committed themselves to devolution in what they thought were the dark days of Thatcher have brought this about more than the SNP themselves. The Labour party may well be about to pay a terrible price for their folly. All we can rely on now is the good sense of the Scottish people.
I don't think these highly personal attacks on Miliband have anything to do with a strategy of discrediting Miliband. Under the circumstances of a likely tit for tat it would be absurd. What's more denigrating a politician by their associations just doesn't work. Thather's best friend was Pinochet for Gods sake! As for Blair.....lets not go there.
My guess this is all part of a 'No More Mr Nice Guy' plan devised by Crosby to make Cameron look like Thatcher in an attempt to win back UKIPers.
Was looking at this yesterday re Huxley's Brave New World, given the nature of the man's death, and the use of Soma in the book. It is an interesting view.
I don't think these highly personal attacks on Miliband have anything to do with a strategy of discrediting Miliband. Under the circumstances of a likely tit for tat it would be absurd. What's more denigrating a politician by their associations just doesn't work. Thather's best friend was Pinochet for Gods sake! As for Blair.....lets not go there.
My guess this is all part of a 'No More Mr Nice Guy' plan devised by Crosby to make Cameron look like Thatcher in an attempt to win back UKIPers.
What highly personal attacks on Miliband?
I've seen him complain about being smeared, but not read any personal attacks in the press.
Thought he did ok - Neil is very good - but Labour has no answer to 'why is an investigation into the Coop a 'smear'.......especially since Ed is so keen on investigations.....
I'd be all in favour of a candid discussion about which politicians took or are taking what illegal substances. We might get some rationality in our drugs laws.
Mind you, Paul Flowers does seem to have a bit of a problem if the reports today are even halfway plausible. Taking drugs before leading a funeral service or attending a Cenotaph service is outrageous.
I don't think these highly personal attacks on Miliband have anything to do with a strategy of discrediting Miliband. Under the circumstances of a likely tit for tat it would be absurd. What's more denigrating a politician by their associations just doesn't work. Thather's best friend was Pinochet for Gods sake! As for Blair.....lets not go there.
My guess this is all part of a 'No More Mr Nice Guy' plan devised by Crosby to make Cameron look like Thatcher in an attempt to win back UKIPers.
I agree with you.There has been few placed stories about Cameron`s use of blue language in the press recently.I think Crosby is trying to model Cameron slightly in the model of Godfrey Bloom to win over UKIP voters.
Medical School was illegal drug free. It was a very big contrast to my friends on other courses. Heavy drinking and sexual misbehavior were there to fill the gap though!
To be fair to Labour as well as Cam & Oz you'd be hard pushed to find a politician aged 35-55 who didn't do some illegal drugs at university: we were a very druggy generation (today's kids are LESS likely to do drugs, as I understand it). Who didn't at least smoke dope once, or snort a line, or pop an E or a tab?
Balls denies having done coke, but that leaves approximately 328 drugs he might have done. I know for a fact that other senior Labourites did have a LOT of, ahem, laughs at Uni.
There is no mileage in this for either party.
I do agree medics were boozier than average
And the bustards had access to O2 - reputedly the best hangover cure going....
As I have said on here before if Scotland votes yes in 2104 it is inconceivable that there will be any Scottish MPs of any persuasion in the Westminster Parliament after 2015. In the event of such a result the Scottish Government in Holyrood would undoubtedly maintain that they were the sole legal representatives of the Scottish people and that it would be for them to negotiate on the Scottish peoples' behalf.
The Scotland Act would be repealed and all retained matters would be transferred to Holyrood to allow them to start organising a new government and to negotiate with rUK in respect of the break up. Even as an ardent unionist I would agree with them about that. I see no role at all for Scottish MPs in such a procedure.
In 1916 it was made clear that any MP who was elected in Eire and sat in the UK Parliament would be guilty of treason. None did funnily enough. I do not believe the UK divorce would be so acrimonious but the position would be the same.
So the 2014 vote is indeed a momentous event. If it succeeds there is no way back. The Labour party will have lost almost a fifth of their seats and the political map of rUK will probably go through further shocks as the Welsh and the Northern Irish rethink their relationship with an England that would be even more dominant in the Union.
Those in the Scottish Labour party who committed themselves to devolution in what they thought were the dark days of Thatcher have brought this about more than the SNP themselves. The Labour party may well be about to pay a terrible price for their folly. All we can rely on now is the good sense of the Scottish people.
Thought he did ok - Neil is very good - but Labour has no answer to 'why is an investigation into the Coop a 'smear'.......especially since Ed is so keen on investigations.....
OK on the Carlotta scale where Maria Hutchings was Good.
Shredded on the tim scale of 'Man Cries at Funeral' and 'Falkirk is a non-story'.....
Thought he did ok - Neil is very good - but Labour has no answer to 'why is an investigation into the Coop a 'smear'.......especially since Ed is so keen on investigations.....
Enquiry into the Co-op affair is entirely appropriate but pre-judging the results by declaring that Labour knew about Flowers` activities and implying that Labour`s top leadership condoned his illegal activities for donations is not unless the enquiries reveal it to be so.
The Co-Op had over expanded, Rev Flowers rose up the ranks, would have been able to cope with some of the pressures within his smaller regional Co-Op group prior to the acquisition of rival co-ops, Britannia BS, Somerfield Supermarkets. Buggins turn worked when the Co_Ops were smaller, not so well as it changed in the last 12 years. The organisation hadn't adapted well to the expansion in terms of balancing professional managers, trustees, & politicians.
Plenty of reasons for Labour to be happy with a larger Co-Op Bank, larger Co-Op Retail Group, look at the success of the Co-Op model, it can rival the profit driven plcs.
Then there is the close tie between The Co-Op and Labour Politics. MPs with a Labour Co-Op label, Labour Councils holding accounts with the Co-Op, all above board. But if loans are on too favourable rates, or terms to Labour then what?
My elite ninja spies (I read it on Twitter) reckon Hulkenberg's signed for Force India. This despite the Lotus seat not being sorted.
I have mixed feelings, if it's true. Glad he'll stay in the sport, but it's ridiculous he doesn't have a top seat. Bad news for Di Resta who definitely deserves a seat, but looks like he may be leaving due to lack of sponsorship.
Edited extra bit: both rugby bets failed this weekend. Ah well.
Thought he did ok - Neil is very good - but Labour has no answer to 'why is an investigation into the Coop a 'smear'.......especially since Ed is so keen on investigations.....
Enquiry into the Co-op affair is entirely appropriate but pre-judging the results by declaring that Labour knew about Flowers` activities and implying that Labour`s top leadership condoned his illegal activities for donations is not unless the enquiries reveal it to be so.
We know that the Labour Mayor of Bradford was aware of why Flowers stepped down from the council - to what extent he communicated that is unknown. We know Flowers (a witness whose reliability is yet to be tested) says a Labour MP was aware of his coke use. We know another loan to Labour was approved shortly after Miliband met Flowers.
But any suggestion that these questions should be addressed is a 'smear' according to prissy Ed's self pitying whinge in the Indie today.
If there were any mileage in this then it would have appeared years ogo. The fact that it has not been an issue means that either Labour front bench feel just as vulnerable, or that nobody is that bothered any more about juvenile misbehaviour.
Flowers is different. His drug use is contemporary and may well be related to his poor performance at work.
Then why do you think D'Ancona believes Cameron and Osborne are vulnerable?
As for turning a blind eye re the CoOp, it's no coincidence that Mark Hoban has gone missing
I have no idea what any senior politician may have done at university.
However, d'Ancona seems to be building an arguing around something dominating the newscycle (at least that is the only specific reference he made to 2005). My view is the voters won't care, so perhaps the answer is to say 'whatever'.
My view is that Matt D'Ancona knows Osborne and Cameron better than you do.
From McBride's book, Labour did plan to run with it but were stymied by one (unnamed) Labour minister putting his hand up to class As. I agree with you in expecting voters not to care. But McBride does say the question to put is, "when did you last take class A drugs?" (his emphasis) so this is not about university high jinks.
I think that Flowers recent behaviour must have been less dramatic in the past, and looks to me the crisis in his head coming to a crescendo. Over the last week he has been arrested, betrayed by a friend to the papers and had his past trawled through. His friends in the Labour party have abandoned him. If he is to get through this crisis he will need some support. Where is the fraternal support of Co-op and Labour party now? It does sound as if the Methodists have been more faithful to the doctrine of hate the sin, love the sinner.
Up disgracefully late today but I'll have a look for that on iplayer. Oh and I notice the England cricket team aren't what they're cracked up to be. Apparently they're scared of a 32 year old fast bowler with a test average of 31.
Pulpstar The importance of Scotland to Labour is exaggerated. If post 1945 elections had been fought without Scotland the Tories would have won only one more term in government in 1964, when ironically their leader, Alec Douglas-Home, was Scottish anyway and thus could not have been an English PM, while Wilson was English.
Indeed, more likely is that Scotland votes no and the Nationalists lose their raison d'etre
It's only purely political, political stories that change polls overnight or even within weeks(Cleggasm following TV debate, omnishambles post budget). Scandals take longer (see timelines for Watergate, Lewinsky).
Flowers is not a blue v red story. Look at Balls positioning himself last week anti-coke, anti-gay. I wonder what group of North London decadent sophisticates he was trying to set himself in opposition to? (Hint: not the Cabinet). Labour post election civil war starting on all news channels.
Thought he did ok - Neil is very good - but Labour has no answer to 'why is an investigation into the Coop a 'smear'.......especially since Ed is so keen on investigations.....
Enquiry into the Co-op affair is entirely appropriate but pre-judging the results by declaring that Labour knew about Flowers` activities and implying that Labour`s top leadership condoned his illegal activities for donations is not unless the enquiries reveal it to be so.
We know that the Labour Mayor of Bradford was aware of why Flowers stepped down from the council - to what extent he communicated that is unknown. We know Flowers (a witness whose reliability is yet to be tested) says a Labour MP was aware of his coke use. We know another loan to Labour was approved shortly after Miliband met Flowers.
But any suggestion that these questions should be addressed is a 'smear' according to prissy Ed's self pitying whinge in the Indie today.
Cameron declared in Parliament that Paul Flowers `broke the bank`.
The evidence is Paul Flowers though he took drugs was just a figure-head who had little or no role in the day to day running of the bank.
That`s why we need the enquiry to get at the truth rather than making sweeping generalisations which are way off the truth
To be fair to Labour as well as Cam & Oz you'd be hard pushed to find a politician aged 35-55 who didn't do some illegal drugs at university: we were a very druggy generation (today's kids are LESS likely to do drugs, as I understand it). Who didn't at least smoke dope once, or snort a line, or pop an E or a tab?
Balls denies having done coke, but that leaves approximately 328 drugs he might have done. I know for a fact that other senior Labourites did have a LOT of, ahem, laughs at Uni.
It is very different post 1997 than previously. Mrs Ts govt won a lot of Scottish votes at the time, and it was Scots voting for Conservatives and National Liberals that brought an end to the Atlee govt. How times change!
Pulpstar The importance of Scotland to Labour is exaggerated. If post 1945 elections had been fought without Scotland the Tories would have won only one more term in government in 1964, when ironically their leader, Alec Douglas-Home, was Scottish anyway and thus could not have been an English PM, while Wilson was English.
Indeed, more likely is that Scotland votes no and the Nationalists lose their raison d'etre
Pulpstar The importance of Scotland to Labour is exaggerated. If post 1945 elections had been fought without Scotland the Tories would have won only one more term in government in 1964, when ironically their leader, Alec Douglas-Home, was Scottish anyway and thus could not have been an English PM, while Wilson was English.
Indeed, more likely is that Scotland votes no and the Nationalists lose their raison d'etre
With regards Flowers, the words parties in glass houses spring to mind. Tim Yeo is to become to the Tories what Flowers is to Labour minus the drugs. Predictable mud slinging is about to ensue.
Ed Miliband, rancid little hypocrite: Labour leader Ed Miliband accused Mr Cameron of hitting "a new low" by using the "gross errors of one man... to impugn the integrity of of the entire Labour movement".
"....all important Government statistics are fiddled, and that the crime figures are so violently massaged that they bear no relation to reality at all.
Yet fashionable opinion has until recently denied this truth, accusing doubters of ‘moral panic’. Lofty commentators and social scientists have proclaimed a new era of social peace and order.
When normal people, living in the real Britain, complain that this does not seem to be true where they live, they are sneered at as if they were deluded."
Remember, this article is about fiddled government stats, not MMR
If the coop bank gave labour a loan at cheap interest rates, is that a donation (applying a substance over form approach) and should it have been declared in the company's accounts?
Some comments on the West's betrayal of Israel, While China and Russia and the EU look on laughing:
1148: John Michael in Sydney, Australia emails: Iran cannot be trusted. Through this deal, the United States has well and truly betrayed Israel, especially when you consider Iran has threatened Israel in the past.
Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner, tweets: The West only cares about Iran's nuclear programme. It ignores the execution of political prisoners by Rouhani regime
1120: Ali Mostofi of the Iran News Blog writes: The only people who have won are the US Democrats and the likes of William Hague. It is good political capital for them. Meanwhile the humanitarian disaster continues in Iran. Expect the Shia regime to flip-flop over its obligations.
1102: In slight contrast to the hullabaloo among diplomats in Geneva, Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi points out that the deal "stops none of our country's nuclear activities". Mr Salehi says the Arak site will continue to function, and enrichment activity up to 5% will continue, in quotes carried by the Iranian conservative Tasnim news agency.
Interesting Desert Island discs; Ed Miliband has a curiously slow and passionless deliver, I think he would be better if he showed some real enthusiasm and passion. His musical taste is awful, but to be fair I do not see him having TSE level interest in music.
Meanwhile on planet earth Labour have another 40% polling figure which seems to be steady between 39-40%. Slightly up on the start of the year and the lead has widened slightly. Time running out for swingback or are we still officially in the mid-term comfort zone?
Fox Indeed, and I should have added Heath would probably have won in Feb 1974 in England, Wilson in October 1974 (although given most rightwing Tories despise Heath anyway they would probably count that as a defeat). On present polling Labour would still win a clear majority in England
Ed Miliband, rancid little hypocrite: Labour leader Ed Miliband accused Mr Cameron of hitting "a new low" by using the "gross errors of one man... to impugn the integrity of of the entire Labour movement".
Janan Ganesh on SP - Miliband would have been wiser to let the Coop scandal die a natural death rather than write a whiny op-ed pierce in the Indie which just keeps the story going.....
The consensus on the Sunday Politics was that Ed's Desert Island discs was 'all his own work' as no Spads would have allowed AhHa anywhere near the list (ditto Cameron & Ernie the fastest milkman..).
Blair's on the other hand was carefully constructed by the 20-somethings in Downing St.
Thought he did ok - Neil is very good - but Labour has no answer to 'why is an investigation into the Coop a 'smear'.......especially since Ed is so keen on investigations.....
Enquiry into the Co-op affair is entirely appropriate but pre-judging the results by declaring that Labour knew about Flowers` activities and implying that Labour`s top leadership condoned his illegal activities for donations is not unless the enquiries reveal it to be so.
We know that the Labour Mayor of Bradford was aware of why Flowers stepped down from the council - to what extent he communicated that is unknown. We know Flowers (a witness whose reliability is yet to be tested) says a Labour MP was aware of his coke use. We know another loan to Labour was approved shortly after Miliband met Flowers.
But any suggestion that these questions should be addressed is a 'smear' according to prissy Ed's self pitying whinge in the Indie today.
Cameron declared in Parliament that Paul Flowers `broke the bank`.
The evidence is Paul Flowers though he took drugs was just a figure-head who had little or no role in the day to day running of the bank.
That`s why we need the enquiry to get at the truth rather than making sweeping generalisations which are way off the truth
That bullshit.
Legally the Board is responsible for the business. The executive team work for the board and conduct the day to day activities. As Chairman of the Board, the buck stops with Flowers.
Janan Ganesh on SP - Miliband would have been wiser to let the Coop scandal die a natural death rather than write a whiny op-ed pierce in the Indie which just keeps the story going.....
Actually I agree with that. I also agree with the point that if this does cut through to the public it's Osborne (and Hoban) who will be in the firing line.
It is always best to let Osborne blunder around believing he is clever unmolested, it always blows up in his face
Gideon is a political F.U. waiting to happen with everything he touches. I think he should run the Tory campaign in 2015.
Janan Ganesh on SP - Miliband would have been wiser to let the Coop scandal die a natural death rather than write a whiny op-ed pierce in the Indie which just keeps the story going.....
All 3 panellists agreed with that and so do I
In my view,he`s not protesting against this attack which is dying anyway but against future attacks and setting a context for them.
What would be the point of employing Crosby if the Tories can`t campaign negatively?
"Flowers attacks are return of 'nasty party', says Labour."
If the Co-Op Bank goes teats up at the end of the week, what happens to all the accounts held by The Labour Party, Labour dominated Councils, Unions et al.
The Observer's scare story last night must have been another Tory smear. If it doesn't force the Guardian to switch banks, what will?
It was so transparently political - I struggle to believe that he really sits around listening to Jerusalem, Je ne regrete rien or The Ballard of Joe Hill.
For instance, I like both Joe Hill and the Springfield Miners song. But no one would believe it if I chose them as a Desert Island Disc...
Compouter-1.. You are making the mistake of confusing the polls with the Labour posters on PB. There is no disguising the fact that EdM is not or ever will be PM material.. hence the panic.
Ed's list looks very Blue Labour, for better or worse. A man who is politics first and let's the music fit in afterwards. Don't forget he recently revealed his favourite sports were Baseball and American Football. Hardly sounds like what a SPAD would tell him.
Looks like Ed is setting up a marker for the Conservatives that Labour`ll be watching closely and will use legal measures if necessary to make sure that they aren`t using sweeping generalisations.
Can`t see Conservatives stop using aggressive tactics though.But individually it should make them a little weary incase they are called smearers and their careers and reputations go down the pan.
Anyone believe that a labour supporter could really write that with a straight face?
If the PB Tories were capable of stopping for breath instead of ploughing on despite getting every call wrong they'd read this and remember just how very well Matt D'Ancona knows Osborne and Cameron
I doubt the public would care very much about a politician having done drugs at university. Hash certainly not. Cocaine I doubt. Heroin or crystal meth I suspect would be more widely condemned.
The biggest impact, perhaps, would be on 60+ voters who would be most disapproving (I actually recall a report recently suggesting that the 35-55 group is more likely to have taken drugs than the 18-24 group). So perhaps a moderate risk to the Tories, but not that significant.
However, what is clear - from multiple stories - is that Labour was prepared to turn a blind eye to all sorts of behaviour by their friends.
Then why do you think D'Ancona believes Cameron and Osborne are vulnerable?
As for turning a blind eye re the CoOp, it's no coincidence that Mark Hoban has gone missing
I have no idea what any senior politician may have done at university.
However, d'Ancona seems to be building an arguing around something dominating the newscycle (at least that is the only specific reference he made to 2005). My view is the voters won't care, so perhaps the answer is to say 'whatever'.
My view is that Matt D'Ancona knows Osborne and Cameron better than you do.
Then there's no reason for D'Ancona to be worries or write his column then is there.
D'Ancona writes his column because if he didn't, he wouldn't be a paid columnist. As you can see from the Mail story about Wendy and TB, as long as you write it in the right way, the lawyers don't get upset. Anyway, this article is most likely to be read (or bits of it anyway) by about 50,000 people who have already made up their minds. I doubt it will inform anybody, really.
It was so transparently political - I struggle to believe that he really sits around listening to Jerusalem, Je ne regrete rien or The Ballard of Joe Hill.
No, but you're not Ed and that he would have 'political' songs does not strike me as odd.....At least he chose "Je ne regrette rien" rather than 'My Way'.....
Compouter-1.. You are making the mistake of confusing the polls with the Labour posters on PB. There is no disguising the fact that EdM is not or ever will be PM material.. hence the panic.
Not confusing anything. Imagined panic amongst Labour posters when their party is on 39%-40% and the lead has widened recently is more wishful thinking than reality. I really do hope the PB Tories keep dismissing the polling all the way up to polling day. Then we will really see if Ed M is PM material or not. Out of interest can anyone spot where on the polling map when Messina joined Crosby in helping the Conservative election campaign. I will give you a clue, it is were the Labour lead starts to increase slightly.
Bash the Tories tick, je ne regrette rien, Anti Apartheid tick, Link to dear old dad & Communist singer tick, sop to Labour history tick - Jerusalem as socialist anthem.
Ed Miliband's musical choice - no imput from Spads - possible.
The Observer's scare story last night must have been another Tory smear. If it doesn't force the Guardian to switch banks, what will?
Yes - that did strike me as the most significant story last night:
The development comes as the Observer can reveal that local authorities across Britain have been warned by financial advisers to urgently remove their money from Co-op bank accounts in the wake of the recent crises, including the arrest of Rev Paul Flowers in connection with the supply of class A drugs.
Mark Horsfield, director at advisers Arlingclose, whose clients include 30 local authorities which bank with the Co-op, said the situation was getting worse by the day as the bank was being buffeted by scandal. Headteachers managing school budgets have also been told to "watch out with the Co-op" by their local authorities on his firm's advice, Horsfield revealed, prompting concerns of a wider run on the bank.
A shock Nielsen poll in Australia gives Labor a 4 point lead on preferences, just 2 months after it went down to defeat. Most other polls have shown not much change from the election, so we will need to see if it is an outlier.
The first Nielsen poll of the Abbott government shows a 52-48 lead to Labor, the best result for Labor from Nielsen since the 2010 election campaign, or from any poll at all since the months following. Primary votes are 41% for the Coalition and 37% for Labor. Tony Abbott nonetheless opens his account with a 49-41 lead over Bill Shorten as preferred prime minister. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2013/11/24/nielsen-52-48-to-labor/
I have been quite busy this week in meetings with our Trust and CCG commissioners, and am increasingly impressed with the Lansley bill. Putting GPs at the heart of commissioning was long overdue.
Previous commisioning rounds have been quite confrontational with a bit too much willy waving on both sides, the current round is much more consensual and positive. In part this may be our new Trust management, but a large part is that we are now working well with primary care on common solutions to joint problems.
Money is very tight, and we have plenty of tough issues to resolve, but the change of approach is the most positive change in the NHS for years. It may well turn out to have been a masterstroke.
If the PB Tories were capable of stopping for breath instead of ploughing on despite getting every call wrong they'd read this and remember just how very well Matt D'Ancona knows Osborne and Cameron
Just out of interest, when did Dave first become a Ministerial adviser? Did he work for Lamont?
Lansley gave him job in the research dept in 1988. Cameron gave Lansley the NHS in return in 2010.
Dr Sox, I think you may well have just given tim brain freeze. He has pontificated for so long on the Lansley bill, that despite Avery giving him a really good insight, he was apparently blind to its many good points.
That said, it is taking many senior Primary Care workers (doctors, managers, nurses, pharmacists ...) away from their day job for far too long. We now have to square the circle of giving greater access to the patients - which uses a lot of time - with being part of the commissioning process - which uses a lot of time. I would (if really pushed) be able to work in evenings and at weekends to provide care to patients 24/7/52 but I would have to give up some of the work that goes on during the rest of the working week. Which bit would the public be happy for me to stop? The clinics or the commissioning work?
And I completely agree about the good, consensual, grown up approach to work between Primary and Secondary care that is happening in my area too.
Dr Sox, I think you may well have just given tim brain freeze. He has pontificated for so long on the Lansley bill, that despite Avery giving him a really good insight, he was apparently blind to its many good points.
That said, it is taking many senior Primary Care workers (doctors, managers, nurses, pharmacists ...) away from their day job for far too long. We now have to square the circle of giving greater access to the patients - which uses a lot of time - with being part of the commissioning process - which uses a lot of time. I would (if really pushed) be able to work in evenings and at weekends to provide care to patients 24/7/52 but I would have to give up some of the work that goes on during the rest of the working week. Which bit would the public be happy for me to stop? The clinics or the commissioning work?
And I completely agree about the good, consensual, grown up approach to work between Primary and Secondary care that is happening in my area too
Drugs would only be an issue if they did them in recent times. Juvenile follies are just that.
I am one of the most anti drug posters on here, having seen too many lives ruined by them, and it would not change my opinion on a politician if they had done some in the past.
If the PB Tories were capable of stopping for breath instead of ploughing on despite getting every call wrong they'd read this and remember just how very well Matt D'Ancona knows Osborne and Cameron
I doubt the public would care very much about a politician having done drugs at university. Hash certainly not. Cocaine I doubt. Heroin or crystal meth I suspect would be more widely condemned.
The biggest impact, perhaps, would be on 60+ voters who would be most disapproving (I actually recall a report recently suggesting that the 35-55 group is more likely to have taken drugs than the 18-24 group). So perhaps a moderate risk to the Tories, but not that significant.
However, what is clear - from multiple stories - is that Labour was prepared to turn a blind eye to all sorts of behaviour by their friends.
Just out of interest, when did Dave first become a Ministerial adviser? Did he work for Lamont?
Agreed.
I was at a meal last night and someone who I knew had dabbled in drugs in his teen years was talking with me about just how involved he had been.
Turns out he had been very involved up to and including crack cocaine.
Now, many years later he has settled down, barely touches alcohol and does not take any drugs at all, holds down a steady job and is a loving father.
The particular problem he highlighted is a serious one, however uncomfortable it might be to say it out loud. It remains to his credit that he did, and it is disappointing that the hue and cry of dishonest politics forced him to retreat.
It was so transparently political - I struggle to believe that he really sits around listening to Jerusalem, Je ne regrete rien or The Ballard of Joe Hill.
No, but you're not Ed and that he would have 'political' songs does not strike me as odd.....At least he chose "Je ne regrette rien" rather than 'My Way'.....
What it does show is that Milliband has absolutely no interest in music at all. Its mostly music his parents would have liked, or music put on at a school disco. He doesn't seem interested in the enjoyment aspect of music, only the politics of the work. He only added the A-Ha song to try and lighten it up a bit.
I'm tiring of his constant references to his father, though. He uses "my Dad" like Cameron uses "as a father". Its a little thing, but starting to annoy me.
Sup up your beer and collect your fags - There's a row going on down near Slough. Get out your mat and pray to the West. I'll get out mine and pray for myself.
Thought you were smart when you took them on, But you didn't take a peep in their artillery room. All that rugby puts hairs on your chest. What chance have you got against a tie and a crest?
Hello-Hurrah - what a nice day for the Eton Rifles. Hello-Hurrah - I hope rain stops play for the Eton Rifles.
Thought you were clever when you lit the fuse, Tore down the house of commons in your brand new shoes, Composed a revolutionary symphony, Then went to bed with a charming young thing.
Hello-Hurrah - cheers then, mate. It's the Eton Rifles. Hello-Hurrah - an extremist scrape with the Eton Rifles.
What a catalyst you turned out to be: Loaded the guns, then you run off home for your tea - Left me standing like a guilty schoolboy...
We came out of it naturally the worst: Beaten and bloody, and I was sick down my shirt. We were no match for their untamed wit, Though some of the lads said they'd be back next week.
Hello-Hurrah - it's the price to pay to the Eton Rifles. Hello-Hurrah - I'd prefer the plague to the Eton Rifles.
"When I put in a call to Paul Weller, he mentions Cameron's alleged fondness for his old songs, and expresses a fatalistic puzzlement. "It's like, which bit didn't he get?" he says. "It's strange, but the whole nature of politics has shifted, hasn't it? The stark contrasts of Thatcherism and socialism have gone: you can't really tell who's Brown or Cameron or anyone else. "
He avoids talking about party politics these days, having had his fingers burnt in the 80s, he says. But when asked about David Cameron saying he liked Eton Rifles, a little bit of his old anger emerges.
"It's about class war, inspired by a right to work march from Liverpool going past Eton College. Some of the chaps came out to jeer. I took that scenario and made a song out of it... it's a microcosm of class.
"If you can't take the time or intellect to see what the song's about - you haven't got much chance of running the country, have you?" he muses
It was so transparently political - I struggle to believe that he really sits around listening to Jerusalem, Je ne regrete rien or The Ballard of Joe Hill.
No, but you're not Ed and that he would have 'political' songs does not strike me as odd.....At least he chose "Je ne regrette rien" rather than 'My Way'.....
What it does show is that Milliband has absolutely no interest in music at all. Its mostly music his parents would have liked, or music put on at a school disco. He doesn't seem interested in the enjoyment aspect of music, only the politics of the work. He only added the A-Ha song to try and lighten it up a bit.
I'm tiring of his constant references to his father, though. He uses "my Dad" like Cameron uses "as a father". Its a little thing, but starting to annoy me.
Any fule knows the Flowers attacks are about the election cash battle not that current yougov.
Yes, that is the real prize in Osborne's sights: cutting off the money to Labour. But come 2015 there will be enough rich Labour supporters to make up any deficit.
WTWE has Falkirk Labour Executive complaining that Ed's suppression of the report is damaging. But London Labour knows best....no Labour officials would talk to them - local members have been excluded from the process and SLAB and London Labour have not helped them.
I know what you mean. It is all very time consuming, and does take me away from seeing patients, but if we come to better patterns of shared working with primary care it will be time well spent.
I did wonder if it was just our local teams collabarating well; interesting to hear a similar experience from the other side of the table and elsewhere.
I have to admit to being rather pleasantly surprised by how well it is working at present. The constructive approach to our A/E and cancellations problems is what we have needed for over a decade.
Dr Sox, I think you may well have just given tim brain freeze. He has pontificated for so long on the Lansley bill, that despite Avery giving him a really good insight, he was apparently blind to its many good points.
That said, it is taking many senior Primary Care workers (doctors, managers, nurses, pharmacists ...) away from their day job for far too long. We now have to square the circle of giving greater access to the patients - which uses a lot of time - with being part of the commissioning process - which uses a lot of time. I would (if really pushed) be able to work in evenings and at weekends to provide care to patients 24/7/52 but I would have to give up some of the work that goes on during the rest of the working week. Which bit would the public be happy for me to stop? The clinics or the commissioning work?
And I completely agree about the good, consensual, grown up approach to work between Primary and Secondary care that is happening in my area too
"When I put in a call to Paul Weller, he mentions Cameron's alleged fondness for his old songs, and expresses a fatalistic puzzlement. "It's like, which bit didn't he get?" he says. "It's strange, but the whole nature of politics has shifted, hasn't it? The stark contrasts of Thatcherism and socialism have gone: you can't really tell who's Brown or Cameron or anyone else. "
He avoids talking about party politics these days, having had his fingers burnt in the 80s, he says. But when asked about David Cameron saying he liked Eton Rifles, a little bit of his old anger emerges.
"It's about class war, inspired by a right to work march from Liverpool going past Eton College. Some of the chaps came out to jeer. I took that scenario and made a song out of it... it's a microcosm of class.
"If you can't take the time or intellect to see what the song's about - you haven't got much chance of running the country, have you?" he muses
This attitude by artists (whether music or literature) amuses me. Once you write something, whether two-note ditty or Booker Prize winner, it is no longer yours. You may have written it with some message in mind, but readers may have a very different interpretation of it. As long as all interpretations do not go against the facts in the piece, they are equally accurate.
It's even more complex with music - you can love the tune or cadence without particularly liking the words, or even liking them in an ironic way. They can even trigger memories, either from things mentioned in the lyrics, or they can take you back to pleasant events when you first heard them.
The idea that artists somehow own the interpretation of their work - and can even declare who should or should not enjoy it - is rather funny.
The perfect song to encapsulate this attitude: or least from my interpretation. ;-)
Comments
However, d'Ancona seems to be building an arguing around something dominating the newscycle (at least that is the only specific reference he made to 2005). My view is the voters won't care, so perhaps the answer is to say 'whatever'.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-366088/Cocaine-David-Cameron.html
Looks like tim has a new 'horse'......
Co-op group competes against lots of private businesses. It is wrong that they should have such a close relationship with a political party which would be - quite rightly - judged inappropriate if, say, Barclays and the LibDems were to have a similar arrangement.
I was struck the other day by a tweet showing the voting intention by age groups. While the 18-24 group had Labour at around double the Tory level, in the key older voter group, the Tories had a double digit lead over Labour. This seems to strike a chord with the fact the Tories seem to be more than holding their own week in and week out in council by-elections. One or two losses out of 20-30 per month is a very low attrition rate if the party is supposedly well behind Labour.
I remember OGH said some time ago he had got a good bet on the Tories getting the highest vote at #Euros2014 and that they had won the vote numbers at every Euro election since we moved to the present system. If that once again proves to be the case next year, especially IF UKIP is 2nd and Labour only 3rd, where does that leave Ed+Ed for 2015?
Flowers is different. His drug use is contemporary and may well be related to his poor performance at work.
The escort then spends much of the next hour fending off further texts from Flowers who tells him that coke is not strong enough and asks if he should try crystal meth. ‘I was totally shocked,’ said the young man.
‘To me crystal meth is a different level. I told him to lay off the coke for a bit.’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2512506/Disgraced-Co-op-banker-Rev-Paul-Flowers-texted-teenage-rent-boy-invite-Labour-peers-party--asked-crystal-meth.html#ixzz2lYjn6yjW
d'Ancona may know what they may or may not have done. It doesn't matter.
Previous commisioning rounds have been quite confrontational with a bit too much willy waving on both sides, the current round is much more consensual and positive. In part this may be our new Trust management, but a large part is that we are now working well with primary care on common solutions to joint problems.
Money is very tight, and we have plenty of tough issues to resolve, but the change of approach is the most positive change in the NHS for years. It may well turn out to have been a masterstroke.
Past favourites - final movement of Beethoven's Ninth - keeps EU happy.
Good for Nick Clegg that he puts in some decent piano music.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/oct/24/clegg-cameron-shared-desert-island
I am sure you can provide a link which clearly states that Lansley's appointment was in return for him giving Cameron a job in 1988.
And making it appear that he is close to the PM increases his market value?
But if something is unhealthy it should be unwound, regardless of how it developed.
The Scotland Act would be repealed and all retained matters would be transferred to Holyrood to allow them to start organising a new government and to negotiate with rUK in respect of the break up. Even as an ardent unionist I would agree with them about that. I see no role at all for Scottish MPs in such a procedure.
In 1916 it was made clear that any MP who was elected in Eire and sat in the UK Parliament would be guilty of treason. None did funnily enough. I do not believe the UK divorce would be so acrimonious but the position would be the same.
So the 2014 vote is indeed a momentous event. If it succeeds there is no way back. The Labour party will have lost almost a fifth of their seats and the political map of rUK will probably go through further shocks as the Welsh and the Northern Irish rethink their relationship with an England that would be even more dominant in the Union.
Those in the Scottish Labour party who committed themselves to devolution in what they thought were the dark days of Thatcher have brought this about more than the SNP themselves. The Labour party may well be about to pay a terrible price for their folly. All we can rely on now is the good sense of the Scottish people.
My guess this is all part of a 'No More Mr Nice Guy' plan devised by Crosby to make Cameron look like Thatcher in an attempt to win back UKIPers.
http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/psychotropic-drugs-alduous-huxley-brave-new-world/
It certainly shows on PB today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_on_the_consequences_of_devolution_for_the_House_of_Commons
I've seen him complain about being smeared, but not read any personal attacks in the press.
Perhaps you can link to some?
Mind you, Paul Flowers does seem to have a bit of a problem if the reports today are even halfway plausible. Taking drugs before leading a funeral service or attending a Cenotaph service is outrageous.
Why is an inquiry into the Coop a 'smear'?
Plenty of reasons for Labour to be happy with a larger Co-Op Bank, larger Co-Op Retail Group, look at the success of the Co-Op model, it can rival the profit driven plcs.
Then there is the close tie between The Co-Op and Labour Politics. MPs with a Labour Co-Op label, Labour Councils holding accounts with the Co-Op, all above board. But if loans are on too favourable rates, or terms to Labour then what?
I have mixed feelings, if it's true. Glad he'll stay in the sport, but it's ridiculous he doesn't have a top seat. Bad news for Di Resta who definitely deserves a seat, but looks like he may be leaving due to lack of sponsorship.
Edited extra bit: both rugby bets failed this weekend. Ah well.
Do you think it will work? Anecdotally, I remember someone saying Robert Maxwell acted like a Tory.
But any suggestion that these questions should be addressed is a 'smear' according to prissy Ed's self pitying whinge in the Indie today.
I think that Flowers recent behaviour must have been less dramatic in the past, and looks to me the crisis in his head coming to a crescendo. Over the last week he has been arrested, betrayed by a friend to the papers and had his past trawled through. His friends in the Labour party have abandoned him. If he is to get through this crisis he will need some support. Where is the fraternal support of Co-op and Labour party now? It does sound as if the Methodists have been more faithful to the doctrine of hate the sin, love the sinner.
Indeed, more likely is that Scotland votes no and the Nationalists lose their raison d'etre
Flowers is not a blue v red story. Look at Balls positioning himself last week anti-coke, anti-gay. I wonder what group of North London decadent sophisticates he was trying to set himself in opposition to? (Hint: not the Cabinet). Labour post election civil war starting on all news channels.
The evidence is Paul Flowers though he took drugs was just a figure-head who had little or no role in the day to day running of the bank.
That`s why we need the enquiry to get at the truth rather than making sweeping generalisations which are way off the truth
Biggest jokes on this thread:
- Tottenham Hotspurs
- England's Ashes Team
- Scotland, and
- the usual L37tards
The only sense seems to be eminating from Dr Fox of Leicestershire. A Dhimmy [sometime voter] being correct; surely not...!Time for a late morning wake-up call for posters and hosts on this venerable site....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKLETNBTGx8
Labour leader Ed Miliband accused Mr Cameron of hitting "a new low" by using the "gross errors of one man... to impugn the integrity of of the entire Labour movement".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25076219
Hmm. What was it Miliband said about Mitchell? Has he retracted or apologised?
"....all important Government statistics are fiddled, and that the crime figures are so violently massaged that they bear no relation to reality at all.
Yet fashionable opinion has until recently denied this truth, accusing doubters of ‘moral panic’. Lofty commentators and social scientists have proclaimed a new era of social peace and order.
When normal people, living in the real Britain, complain that this does not seem to be true where they live, they are sneered at as if they were deluded."
Remember, this article is about fiddled government stats, not MMR
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2512529/PETER-HITCHENS-Yippee-crimes-falling--dont-count-almighty-fraud.html
If the coop bank gave labour a loan at cheap interest rates, is that a donation (applying a substance over form approach) and should it have been declared in the company's accounts?
1148: John Michael in Sydney, Australia emails: Iran cannot be trusted. Through this deal, the United States has well and truly betrayed Israel, especially when you consider Iran has threatened Israel in the past.
Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner, tweets: The West only cares about Iran's nuclear programme. It ignores the execution of political prisoners by Rouhani regime
1120: Ali Mostofi of the Iran News Blog writes: The only people who have won are the US Democrats and the likes of William Hague. It is good political capital for them. Meanwhile the humanitarian disaster continues in Iran. Expect the Shia regime to flip-flop over its obligations.
1102: In slight contrast to the hullabaloo among diplomats in Geneva, Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi points out that the deal "stops none of our country's nuclear activities". Mr Salehi says the Arak site will continue to function, and enrichment activity up to 5% will continue, in quotes carried by the Iranian conservative Tasnim news agency.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day!
Interesting Desert Island discs; Ed Miliband has a curiously slow and passionless deliver, I think he would be better if he showed some real enthusiasm and passion. His musical taste is awful, but to be fair I do not see him having TSE level interest in music.
Time for a walk...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/96/UK_opinion_polling_2010-2015.png
http://labourlist.org/2013/11/ed-milibands-desert-island-discs-choices/
Why did Ed call the Police in Falkirk the day after the Tories?
I think you underestimate the intelligence of the public.
Blair's on the other hand was carefully constructed by the 20-somethings in Downing St.
Legally the Board is responsible for the business. The executive team work for the board and conduct the day to day activities. As Chairman of the Board, the buck stops with Flowers.
In my view,he`s not protesting against this attack which is dying anyway but against future attacks and setting a context for them.
What would be the point of employing Crosby if the Tories can`t campaign negatively?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25076219
"Flowers attacks are return of 'nasty party', says Labour."
If the Co-Op Bank goes teats up at the end of the week, what happens to all the accounts held by The Labour Party, Labour dominated Councils, Unions et al.
The Observer's scare story last night must have been another Tory smear. If it doesn't force the Guardian to switch banks, what will?
For instance, I like both Joe Hill and the Springfield Miners song. But no one would believe it if I chose them as a Desert Island Disc...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wQYdmqK6Tk
There is no disguising the fact that EdM is not or ever will be PM material.. hence the panic.
Wow, just wow.
Then there's no reason for D'Ancona to be worries or write his column then is there.
D'Ancona writes his column because if he didn't, he wouldn't be a paid columnist.
As you can see from the Mail story about Wendy and TB, as long as you write it in the right way, the lawyers don't get upset. Anyway, this article is most likely to be read (or bits of it anyway) by about 50,000 people who have already made up their minds. I doubt it will inform anybody, really.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/96/UK_opinion_polling_2010-2015.png
Anti Apartheid tick,
Link to dear old dad & Communist singer tick,
sop to Labour history tick - Jerusalem as socialist anthem.
Ed Miliband's musical choice - no imput from Spads - possible.
The development comes as the Observer can reveal that local authorities across Britain have been warned by financial advisers to urgently remove their money from Co-op bank accounts in the wake of the recent crises, including the arrest of Rev Paul Flowers in connection with the supply of class A drugs.
Mark Horsfield, director at advisers Arlingclose, whose clients include 30 local authorities which bank with the Co-op, said the situation was getting worse by the day as the bank was being buffeted by scandal. Headteachers managing school budgets have also been told to "watch out with the Co-op" by their local authorities on his firm's advice, Horsfield revealed, prompting concerns of a wider run on the bank.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/23/labour-faces-co-op-cash-crisis
The first Nielsen poll of the Abbott government shows a 52-48 lead to Labor, the best result for Labor from Nielsen since the 2010 election campaign, or from any poll at all since the months following. Primary votes are 41% for the Coalition and 37% for Labor. Tony Abbott nonetheless opens his account with a 49-41 lead over Bill Shorten as preferred prime minister.
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2013/11/24/nielsen-52-48-to-labor/
Jerusalem - Parry...
That said, it is taking many senior Primary Care workers (doctors, managers, nurses, pharmacists ...) away from their day job for far too long. We now have to square the circle of giving greater access to the patients - which uses a lot of time - with being part of the commissioning process - which uses a lot of time. I would (if really pushed) be able to work in evenings and at weekends to provide care to patients 24/7/52 but I would have to give up some of the work that goes on during the rest of the working week. Which bit would the public be happy for me to stop? The clinics or the commissioning work?
And I completely agree about the good, consensual, grown up approach to work between Primary and Secondary care that is happening in my area too
I was at a meal last night and someone who I knew had dabbled in drugs in his teen years was talking with me about just how involved he had been.
Turns out he had been very involved up to and including crack cocaine.
Now, many years later he has settled down, barely touches alcohol and does not take any drugs at all, holds down a steady job and is a loving father.
Why should anyone hold his past against him?
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/benedictbrogan/100247406/dominic-grieve-knew-what-he-was-saying-and-was-right-to-say-it-by-all-means-ask-him-to-explain-but-he-shouldnt-have-to-apologise/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
The particular problem he highlighted is a serious one, however uncomfortable it might be to say it out loud. It remains to his credit that he did, and it is disappointing that the hue and cry of dishonest politics forced him to retreat.
What it does show is that Milliband has absolutely no interest in music at all. Its mostly music his parents would have liked, or music put on at a school disco. He doesn't seem interested in the enjoyment aspect of music, only the politics of the work. He only added the A-Ha song to try and lighten it up a bit.
I'm tiring of his constant references to his father, though. He uses "my Dad" like Cameron uses "as a father". Its a little thing, but starting to annoy me.
When the shades of night are falling
Comes a fellow ev'ryone knows
It's the old dope peddler
Spreading joy wherever he goes
Every evening you will find him
Around our neighborhood
It's the old dope peddler
Doing well by doing good
He gives the kids free samples
Because he knows full well
That today's young innocent faces
Will be tomorrow's clientele
Here's a cure for all your troubles
Here's an end to all distress
It's the old dope peddler
With his powdered happiness
THE ETON RIFLES
Sup up your beer and collect your fags -
There's a row going on down near Slough.
Get out your mat and pray to the West.
I'll get out mine and pray for myself.
Thought you were smart when you took them on,
But you didn't take a peep in their artillery room.
All that rugby puts hairs on your chest.
What chance have you got against a tie and a crest?
Hello-Hurrah - what a nice day for the Eton Rifles.
Hello-Hurrah - I hope rain stops play for the Eton Rifles.
Thought you were clever when you lit the fuse,
Tore down the house of commons in your brand new shoes,
Composed a revolutionary symphony,
Then went to bed with a charming young thing.
Hello-Hurrah - cheers then, mate. It's the Eton Rifles.
Hello-Hurrah - an extremist scrape with the Eton Rifles.
What a catalyst you turned out to be:
Loaded the guns, then you run off home for your tea -
Left me standing like a guilty schoolboy...
We came out of it naturally the worst:
Beaten and bloody, and I was sick down my shirt.
We were no match for their untamed wit,
Though some of the lads said they'd be back next week.
Hello-Hurrah - it's the price to pay to the Eton Rifles.
Hello-Hurrah - I'd prefer the plague to the Eton Rifles.
why must there always be the last little thing at the bottom of Pandora's box...
"When I put in a call to Paul Weller, he mentions Cameron's alleged fondness for his old songs, and expresses a fatalistic puzzlement. "It's like, which bit didn't he get?" he says. "It's strange, but the whole nature of politics has shifted, hasn't it? The stark contrasts of Thatcherism and socialism have gone: you can't really tell who's Brown or Cameron or anyone else. "
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/mar/18/popandrock.politicsandthearts
...and in 2010.
He avoids talking about party politics these days, having had his fingers burnt in the 80s, he says. But when asked about David Cameron saying he liked Eton Rifles, a little bit of his old anger emerges.
"It's about class war, inspired by a right to work march from Liverpool going past Eton College. Some of the chaps came out to jeer. I took that scenario and made a song out of it... it's a microcosm of class.
"If you can't take the time or intellect to see what the song's about - you haven't got much chance of running the country, have you?" he muses
http://www.channel4.com/news/paul-weller-returns-to-politics-with-a-small-p
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/21/falkirk-labour-candidate-selection-meeting
WTWE has Falkirk Labour Executive complaining that Ed's suppression of the report is damaging. But London Labour knows best....no Labour officials would talk to them - local members have been excluded from the process and SLAB and London Labour have not helped them.
I know what you mean. It is all very time consuming, and does take me away from seeing patients, but if we come to better patterns of shared working with primary care it will be time well spent.
I did wonder if it was just our local teams collabarating well; interesting to hear a similar experience from the other side of the table and elsewhere.
I have to admit to being rather pleasantly surprised by how well it is working at present. The constructive approach to our A/E and cancellations problems is what we have needed for over a decade.
It's even more complex with music - you can love the tune or cadence without particularly liking the words, or even liking them in an ironic way. They can even trigger memories, either from things mentioned in the lyrics, or they can take you back to pleasant events when you first heard them.
The idea that artists somehow own the interpretation of their work - and can even declare who should or should not enjoy it - is rather funny.
The perfect song to encapsulate this attitude: or least from my interpretation. ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ErniokVQkc