Someone from an ordinary background would probably never dare to stand up in court and announce that they'd taken class A drugs because they'd probably correctly be wary of being charged with possession. But it seems members of the 1% have the confidence to believe the law on drugs won't be applied to them.
Apply the law or change it. The current situation is making a mockery of justice.
Sticking anyone in jail for taking drugs in their own home makes a mockery of justice, full stop.
Cyclically Adjusted Current [Account] Balance (CACB) to be met in f/y 2015-16, one year earlier than forecast in March.
How many years later than Osborne said in 2010 when he was proclaiming growth was established?
In 2010, Osborne inherited a (temporarily) growing economy. Almost all OECD countries were also growing at this time. The UK economy was growing at a rate that was 33rd out of 35 of the economies reported on by the OECD.
Almost all OECD countries then went into recession in 2011-12. The UK narrowly avoided this double dip but 2010 growth forecasts were not met.
Today, the UK is growing faster than any of the G7 countries and forecasts for GDP growth by the IMF and OECD have uprated the UK further than any other major economy.
Summary: Under George growth in he UK economy has moved from the bottom of the pile to the top.
El Capitano, the message the Tories are trying to convey is not "vote for us and we will make you work longer" but "vote for us because we are competent and make the right long term decisions". That involves taking some risks and making some unpopular decisions, but the Tories believe (possibly wrongly) that they will receive an electoral dividend as a result. They also hope to create a political divide with Labour made to look uncredible and incapable of accepting reality. The problem, as Southam Observer has consistently articluated well on here, is that the Tories have been very poor in delivering that message. At various times they have undermined their startegy by seeking short term political wins that either are or are perceived to be at odds with the strategy. They have generally been poor at countering hostile framing of policies (today's acceptance of "work til you're 70" being a case in point) and they have frequently been, or at least appeared, indifferent to the effect of their decisions on regular people or the disadvantaged. They are still yet to persuade the electorate that the (relartively mild) pain they have experienced has been worthwhile.
Welfare cap to come in - further banning socialism.
Are pensioner benefits included,meaningless stunt if not
Au contraire - stuffs Labour if they want to bribe their core vote.
The core Labour vote works, the core Tory vote is retired NIMBYs. Too scared of UKIP to stop paying pensioners winter fuel bills when they live in the Ritz
Housing benefit paid to workers - as are tax credits etc.
James Chapman (Mail) @jameschappers 41s Miliband's had enough: looking at his watch and complaining 'this has been going on for 40 minutes already' #AS2013
Benedict Brogan @benedictbrogan 53s Glum and dejected Labour MPs now know what it was like for Tories to endure years of Gordon Brown triumphalism #AS2013
Someone from an ordinary background would probably never dare to stand up in court and announce that they'd taken class A drugs because they'd probably correctly be wary of being charged with possession. But it seems members of the 1% have the confidence to believe the law on drugs won't be applied to them.
Apply the law or change it. The current situation is making a mockery of justice.
I imagine her thinking was partly informed by the ease with which cocaine use can be proved or disproved by a very simple test on a bit of her hair. Which could be carried out in the context of a perjury trial.
What constitutes unhealthy? On blood pressure tablets, legs dropped off?
Off topic both I and 3 of my, say, 20 closest friends, all in our early 50s have been diagnosed with various cancers this year, with no obvious links or causes like smoking etc. Beginning to look like the start of an epidemic.
Sorry to hear that.
I was in the same boat myself a few years ago, diagnosed with cancer in my early 30s, with no obvious links or causes like smoking etc.
It went very well for me and I hope that it does for you and your friends too. Mind you, the disease took a year of my life. Two years if you count the long period of unexplained declining health before the diagnosis.
(A pet theory of mine revolves around proximity to creosote and/or 2-stroke fuel as a child/teenager/young adult. But why the cancer should occur many years later is odd.)
Thanks. In my case the odds of a full recovery are looking pretty good.
I have very little doubt that environmental chemicals are the culprits.
My principle when it comes to Budgets and Autumn statements, the ones that get cheered on the day, are the ones you have the worry about the most.
There was a lot of detail hinted at. There could be some nasty surprises in what the HMRC regard as tax evasion. It was also far too detailed on matters like Rates although I support the principle.
Never fails to wind me up how limited the reporting of pensions is.
You don't have to work until you are 70 - that is just the age you will get a state handout.
It is truly terrifying how the word "pension" has become synonymous with "state pension". If you are relying on the state, especially the British state, to give you income in the later stages of your life then you are an idiot.
I could have minced my words but I would be doing readers a disservice.
If you have any working years whatsoever you should be making provision for your retirement. Otherwise you should not be planning to retire. Ever.
Why would anyone actually *want* to retire? Saving ill health, surely it's just a move into a different phase (eg volunteering) rather than working for a living.
Yes Charles , fine when you are loaded and have been born with a silver canteen of cutlery in your mouth. I know you do not meet real people very often but I have to tell you lots of them hardly make enough to live on and so volunteering option means they starve. They have no option but to toil till they get the meagre state pension. I expect your next one will be that they should "eat cake", but never mind you will be just fine and can salve your conscience by a bit of volunteering, just to be sure you get your gong.
I think that's unnecessarily offensive to Charles. You don't know why he does charity work but anyone who does - whether rich, poor or on a middling income - deserves commendation not scorn. Also I think that the figures show that it is people who earn relatively little who give a greater proportion of their income to charity so we should be encouraging more of the well off to be equally - indeed more - public-spirited and looking out for their fellow citizens.
I disagree, his flippant , oh people can volunteer , typifies the rich Tory "I am all right Jack" attitude of this government. They never stop to think that some people are poor and if they do not work they do not eat, therefore stopping work before pension age and doing something jolly is not an option. It is exactly that type of attitude that gets the Tories the name of the NASTY party. Not everybody is rich enough to be able not to work.
The only flippant comment was your remark that Charles can only be volunteering because he wants a gong.
We all have to save more to make provision for our old age and life's calamities generally. Of course it is easier for the rich. But at least this government has raised the tax free allowance for those earning the least, which is a start and a whole lot better than the 100% tax increase imposed on the poorest - and in an underhand way - by the last Labour government.
My principle when it comes to Budgets and Autumn statements, the ones that get cheered on the day, are the ones you have the worry about the most.
There was a lot of detail hinted at. There could be some nasty surprises in what the HMRC regard as tax evasion. It was also far too detailed on matters like Rates although I support the principle.
I've not seen all of the statement.
Just remember the 2015 Budget will be the launchpad for the 2015 General Election campaign.
I'm just glad I was at the Arsenal match last night. Incidentally, anyone thinking that Arsenal are going to fade this season would be well-advised to have a look at that match. 2-0 did not begin to reflect the gulf between the teams and some of Arsenal's play bordered on the inspirational. For the first 20 minutes, Hull barely touched the ball.
I'm just glad I was at the Arsenal match last night. Incidentally, anyone thinking that Arsenal are going to fade this season would be well-advised to have a look at that match. 2-0 did not begin to reflect the gulf between the teams and some of Arsenal's play bordered on the inspirational. For the first 20 minutes, Hull barely touched the ball.
Arsenal look good, the odd thing about this season, you win or lose a couple of games and you can go from second to ninth.
Balls is rather red in the face..maybe he realises he is completely out of his depth..a joke..
Whether or not you agree with him only a complete fool wouldn't acknowledge that he knows a lot more about economics than Osborne does.
Balls is a total joke.
He's spent the last few years talking nonsense, and time has shown him to completely wrong.
Why Miliband keeps him on is a mystery. Something to do with the Co Op?
Sorry but the Keynesians have been proved right throughout the crisis. The only reason we're seeing a mini recovery now is because Osborne has put the brakes on deficit reduction and embraced a stimulus measure in the housing market. Trouble is that Labour's message was that Osborne wasn't for turning when he plainly has.
What constitutes unhealthy? On blood pressure tablets, legs dropped off?
Off topic both I and 3 of my, say, 20 closest friends, all in our early 50s have been diagnosed with various cancers this year, with no obvious links or causes like smoking etc. Beginning to look like the start of an epidemic.
Sorry to hear that.
I was in the same boat myself a few years ago, diagnosed with cancer in my early 30s, with no obvious links or causes like smoking etc.
It went very well for me and I hope that it does for you and your friends too. Mind you, the disease took a year of my life. Two years if you count the long period of unexplained declining health before the diagnosis.
(A pet theory of mine revolves around proximity to creosote and/or 2-stroke fuel as a child/teenager/young adult. But why the cancer should occur many years later is odd.)
Thanks. In my case the odds of a full recovery are looking pretty good.
I have very little doubt that environmental chemicals are the culprits.
Great!
Environmental chemicals are probably the culprits of many health problems, but it could take medical science a long time, perhaps centuries, to work out all the threads of the story.
That reply to the reply was truly brutal. Balls is lucky very few will ever see it.
Still quite disappointed that the deficit for this year is only down to £111bn. Really expected it to be much nearer £100bn than that. I hope this is still over cautious on the part of the OBR who were far too optimistic.
Still pretty optimistic about my bet with Tim though.
That reply to the reply was truly brutal. Balls is lucky very few will ever see it.
Still quite disappointed that the deficit for this year is only down to £111bn. Really expected it to be much nearer £100bn than that. I hope this is still over cautious on the part of the OBR who were far too optimistic.
Still pretty optimistic about my bet with Tim though.
Still room for improvement from here - there certainly has been from March - Nov.
That reply to the reply was truly brutal. Balls is lucky very few will ever see it.
Still quite disappointed that the deficit for this year is only down to £111bn. Really expected it to be much nearer £100bn than that. I hope this is still over cautious on the part of the OBR who were far too optimistic.
Still pretty optimistic about my bet with Tim though.
£111bn and yet Osborne has allegedly stuck to his plan A of radical deficit reduction. He's a decent spinner I'll give him that.
That reply to the reply was truly brutal. Balls is lucky very few will ever see it.
Still quite disappointed that the deficit for this year is only down to £111bn. Really expected it to be much nearer £100bn than that. I hope this is still over cautious on the part of the OBR who were far too optimistic.
Still pretty optimistic about my bet with Tim though.
Still room for improvement from here - there certainly has been from March - Nov.
One of Darling's great talents in government was to make whatever he was put in charge of incredibly boring and not newsworthy. For someone repeatedly being handed hot potatoes it was a real gift. He couldn't quite manage it in the Treasury but that was probably the fault of the lunatic next door and the small matter of the roof coming in.
He has made Better Together quite dull too. Dull and safe. Dull and reliable. Dull and sensible. It is killing the yes vote and tories who criticise him really do deserve to have their heads put on sticks.
David, what planet do you live on, he is not affecting YES intentions in any way , he is a boring twit and all that happens is people go into a coma when he starts wittering on.
Ed Balls' response was wretched. And yet, he is Labour's best attack dog on the economy. He clearly needs to go - but who on earth would replace him as SCotE?
Hard to believe how bad Balls was,he seemed to lose it within seconds of starting,and the red face looks like he has very high blood pressure. The tory barracking knocked him off balance straight away,and only Bercow saved him from worse. Had to keep going outside as it has just reached high tide here,and the water reached the highest I have ever known,the road outside is about 10 metres deep in water,and the closest it has ever been to my house,another 3 or 4 metres and we would have had serious problems. People not used to this area often park on the road and go for a walk,and come back to their car underwater,despite the warning signs that the road floods at high tide.
Comments
Almost all OECD countries then went into recession in 2011-12. The UK narrowly avoided this double dip but 2010 growth forecasts were not met.
Today, the UK is growing faster than any of the G7 countries and forecasts for GDP growth by the IMF and OECD have uprated the UK further than any other major economy.
Summary: Under George growth in he UK economy has moved from the bottom of the pile to the top.
Facts, tim, facts.
Osborne boosts social housing builds!
What use is a Labour government now?
All being capped.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/bim45065.htm
Huzzah for Ozzie, Danny and the Coalition !!
Miliband's had enough: looking at his watch and complaining 'this has been going on for 40 minutes already' #AS2013
Benedict Brogan @benedictbrogan 53s
Glum and dejected Labour MPs now know what it was like for Tories to endure years of Gordon Brown triumphalism #AS2013
*up 0.01%
A sad sight ....
Does this mean that B&Q will be replacing all their old folk employees with spotty teenagers?
I have very little doubt that environmental chemicals are the culprits.
Ed Balls = Norwich
Government accounts on cash basis so it reduces deficit when it is done but it makes public finances worse in the future.
Ed looking glum .... who can blame him ?!?
The boomers and pensioners vote on mass so they get a load of free stuff at the expense of everyone else.
Almost crying too.
Is it this: http://news.sky.com/story/1173225/student-loan-sale-nets-government-160m
Ridiculous piece of underselling or are they selling more off ?
Sorry kind of could potentially affect me.
But it was accurate.
How about
George Osborne = Norwich
Ed Balls = Ipswich
"And....er.....no ....er....no....er....."
Surely if Labour is to do anything at the next election, this is Ball's last performance as the SCotE
"Ed Balls - are you Burnley FC in disguise ...."
Disgraceful !!
We all have to save more to make provision for our old age and life's calamities generally. Of course it is easier for the rich. But at least this government has raised the tax free allowance for those earning the least, which is a start and a whole lot better than the 100% tax increase imposed on the poorest - and in an underhand way - by the last Labour government.
I'm so using this picture in a future thread
Chris Deerin @chrisdeerin 4m
Let's turn the TV off and remember better times
pic.twitter.com/KZjTuLU2gx
He's spent the last few years talking nonsense, and time has shown him to completely wrong.
Why Miliband keeps him on is a mystery. Something to do with the Co Op?
Just remember the 2015 Budget will be the launchpad for the 2015 General Election campaign.
That slightly scares me.
Telling that Balls is talking about DWP, energy, housing, any department or issue other than the economy #AutumnStatement #AS2013
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71546000/jpg/_71546181_pa2.jpg
Yeah, I know, mind bleach time....
OK, I'm calling it. This is one of Ed Ball's worst parliamentary performances.
This is an assassination.
The nation deserves a better Shadow Chancellor.
Ozzie having great fun at Balls expense.
Environmental chemicals are probably the culprits of many health problems, but it could take medical science a long time, perhaps centuries, to work out all the threads of the story.
Still quite disappointed that the deficit for this year is only down to £111bn. Really expected it to be much nearer £100bn than that. I hope this is still over cautious on the part of the OBR who were far too optimistic.
Still pretty optimistic about my bet with Tim though.
LAB, surely, can't go into GE2015 with him as shadow chancellor
John McFall's just done the same. Still, if they want to ignore reality and keep Balls in place, the Tories won't complain.
Also, I'm still giggling at your comment from the other day
"The most dangerous thing you've ever done is eat a Scotch Pie, three days after it's expiry date"
The tory barracking knocked him off balance straight away,and only Bercow saved him from worse.
Had to keep going outside as it has just reached high tide here,and the water reached the highest I have ever known,the road outside is about 10 metres deep in water,and the closest it has ever been to my house,another 3 or 4 metres and we would have had serious problems.
People not used to this area often park on the road and go for a walk,and come back to their car underwater,despite the warning signs that the road floods at high tide.