Good Morning All - just catching up on last night's threads.
Am puzzled as to why the Guardian wanted to do a puff piece on Carwyn Jones and Welsh Labour (as matters are still at a steady decline in Wales) but notice that comments were not allowed.
Looking out of my office window at a slightly battered prom (ignore the press hysteria as usually nothing happens here and it needed 5 police just to watch the waves yesterday and drink tea), went to an interesting meeting last night in the next coastal village which has suffered serious flooding due to failure on new, multimillion£ sea defences which the council had been told would not work. The local councillor was persuaded to attend (when in the street he dismissed claims that the village was being ignored by the police and fire brigade who were visible by their absence) as he was reminded that certain people had videos of him entering the local 'sex shop'. Anyway he was nearly lynched when one householder whose wall had nearly been destroyed by a flying public bench, was told that the bench had been screwed down to paving stones - which were just laid on sand and the said councillor defended the council's civil engineering department as competent. Also as much flooding was caused by blocked drains, he said it was the council's way of saving money not to check drains for blockages! (ignoring the fact that the council had recently awarded pay increases). What are his chances come next election?
The issue in both UK and US healthcare is not about payment mechanisms (respectively direct tax based or through insurance). The issue is about lack of market mechanisms. When organisations or services become too large they are unmanageable. Literally. A visiting Soviet diplomat is reputed once to have asked how we organize bread delivery in London (noticing that there was a good supply and a good choice) and was astonished to discover the government plays no role whatever. Some things are too complicated to deliver efficiently or effectively through command and control – only markets can do this.
In the US it is illegal for a health insurer to offer cover in another state. There is no national or regional supply chain management for drugs or consumables. In the UK the NHS manages everything. Badly.
If we want truly better, cheaper healthcare in the UK we should reinforce the concept of ‘free at the point of use’ (so the government pays, funded through general taxation) but move decisively towards a competitive free market in delivery of health services. The NHS is an expensive and unresponsive monster precisely because it is a soviet style command control anachronism.
I think Mike is right in the thread header here. Whatever the trivialities of the story Cameron should aim to avoid accusations of cronyism or being out of touch. The Mirror link has been shared a few times on my FB newslink and the story will reinforce antipathy towards Cameron from those who believe he is out of touch.
This next 18 months the Tories need to concentrate on winning over as many swing-voters as they can. Stories like this won't help. His PR team and advisors either need to sharpen up or start caring. Real people out there will be put off by stories like this.
Good Morning All - just catching up on last night's threads.
Am puzzled as to why the Guardian wanted to do a puff piece on Carwyn Jones and Welsh Labour (as matters are still at a steady decline in Wales) but notice that comments were not allowed.
Looking out of my office window at a slightly battered prom (ignore the press hysteria as usually nothing happens here and it needed 5 police just to watch the waves yesterday and drink tea), went to an interesting meeting last night in the next coastal village which has suffered serious flooding due to failure on new, multimillion£ sea defences which the council had been told would not work. The local councillor was persuaded to attend (when in the street he dismissed claims that the village was being ignored by the police and fire brigade who were visible by their absence) as he was reminded that certain people had videos of him entering the local 'sex shop'. Anyway he was nearly lynched when one householder whose wall had nearly been destroyed by a flying public bench, was told that the bench had been screwed down to paving stones - which were just laid on sand and the said councillor defended the council's civil engineering department as competent. Also as much flooding was caused by blocked drains, he said it was the council's way of saving money not to check drains for blockages! (ignoring the fact that the council had recently awarded pay increases). What are his chances come next election?
Ah, is that the large project at Selsey to break the sea defences and create a large inland sea marsh? That project always seemed a bit strange to me, even in the context of the 'managed retreat' philosophy of coastal defences.
I need to walk the new paths around the new inland bay - after all, the coast ain't where I walked it... ;-)
That's the reason SeanT is venturing off to Thailand for a month then .... and there was me thinking it was south-east Asia's annual "lock up your daughters" time.
A visiting Soviet diplomat is reputed once to have asked how we organize bread delivery in London (noticing that there was a good supply and a good choice) and was astonished to discover the government plays no role whatever.
Whatever one's view on the subject, the fact that the government was promising to increase the speed limit to 80 mph a couple of years ago and now might have to reduce it to 60 mph is almost guaranteed to immensely annoy a lot of people, many of whom I suspect are more likely than average to be swing voters.
Every one of these lame, trivial cheapshots underlines the fact that Labour and its media cheerleaders have completely ceded the arguments on policy to the tories in just about every area. In the absence of anythingh worthwhile to say by way of policy, the left are reduced to relentlessly playing the man rather than the ball.
They had an all out assault on Lynton Crosby a few month back before realising hardly any knew who he was or cared, then Jeremy Hunt, then Michael Gove and, always, Cameron.
Whilst these Timmyesque stories will give comfort to the committed tory haters in the short term, in the long term, the election will be won on the economy, education etc, not hairdressers, the background of the woman in the help to buy slot and the PM's choice of holiday destinantion.
A visiting Soviet diplomat is reputed once to have asked how we organize bread delivery in London (noticing that there was a good supply and a good choice) and was astonished to discover the government plays no role whatever.
What a great anecdote. I'm going to steal that.
Robert
Do you know the name of the world's first communist?
Whatever one's view on the subject, the fact that the government was promising to increase the speed limit to 80 mph a couple of years ago and now might have to reduce it to 60 mph is almost guaranteed to immensely annoy a lot of people, many of whom I suspect are more likely than average to be swing voters.
60 MPH locally, not nationally.
As for increasing the national limit to 80 MPH: no, no, no. Just no.
I have say when I saw the headline on the SKY paper review my reaction was what a rip off. I pay a lady with a salon in her back garden in the village £6.50 and she does an excellent job.
Has anyone actually enquired what the man got the MBE for? Has he been working tirelessly for some charity for years?
@Foxinsox - this thread is all about the cuts: Osborne's and Cameron's.
.
How will Labour fill the hole?
Your final sentence nails it: more cuts for the working age poor - and the youngest among them most if all - in order to make things tricky for Labour. As Old King Cole states below: Osborne's trouble is he cannot quite hide the fact he is enjoying himself.
Personally I would means test or simply withdraw all pensioner fripperies before taking housing benefit away from some kid who has been abused at home and left at a young age. I am not saying for a moment that I agree with all the choices that have been made to the extent these have been spelt out at all.
I do think that WTCs are still a bit on the generous side though. People earning £50K a year do not need handouts from the state funded by the taxes of those earning less simply because of the life choices they have made.
I am also unsure whether we can afford to pay what we do in international aid. We are borrowing money from our children to indulge our own conceit. I would substantially reduce our aid budget before welfare cuts.
Personally I would be open to the idea of further tax increases at the margins as well, particularly by reducing tax avoidance opportunities. Incorporating NI into tax so that it was paid on Investment income would be a start.
But Labour's response, typically, is that there does not have to be choices. Their response yesterday was that this "proved that the Chancellor's plans had not worked" like this had anything at all with the choices that have to be made. It is morally and intellectually dishonest. Even if growth had been higher the choices would be the same because what Osborne is addressing is the structural deficit not simply the current deficit.
I suspect we may well go into another election with the tories indicating that cuts (fairly inspecific on the whole) need to be made and Labour in lala land pretending that none of this need apply. Labour paid a part of the price for that in 2010 (in fairness I think they lost your support on that basis). Are they going to do the same again?
The previous quote you and Josias supplied was not Ed predicting a double dip, it was him reacting to the fact that the ONS had stated there was one. I can't get into the Guido link - what does that have him saying?
Every one of these lame, trivial cheapshots underlines the fact that Labour and its media cheerleaders have completely ceded the arguments on policy to the tories in just about every area. In the absence of anythingh worthwhile to say by way of policy, the left are reduced to relentlessly playing the man rather than the ball.
They had an all out assault on Lynton Crosby a few month back before realising hardly any knew who he was or cared, then Jeremy Hunt, then Michael Gove and, always, Cameron.
Whilst these Timmyesque stories will give comfort to the committed tory haters in the short term, in the long term, the election will be won on the economy, education etc, not hairdressers, the background of the woman in the help to buy slot and the PM's choice of holiday destinantion.
If the election is going to be decided on education then the Tories have a mountain to climb. Todays YouGov has CON trailing Labour by 24% to 31% as best party for this area.
It's a good story for the Mirror, and I'm sure it will resonate with many of its readers. Those voters who were never going to vote Tory in the first place, that is.
Actually, that's by no means certain, since the opposition Democratic Party is opposed to holding it, and some "riotous" elements are doing their best to make it impossible However, if it is held, the current government will win.
It's a good story for the Mirror, and I'm sure it will resonate with many of its readers. Those voters who were never going to vote Tory in the first place, that is.
I have never met a driver who sticks to M/Way speed limits.
No! Why try and fix something that ain't broken? The speed limits are fine, its the road system that's broken. Admittedly, technology has made cars safer, but we still go to as many, if not more, RTCs, it's just that you can walk away relatively unscathed from impacts today that, 20 years ago, would have left you in serious trouble.
Most people don't have the skill or reflexes to drive much faster than 60 or 70 mph anyway.
There will be 3 this time. Missing the first test will mean they'll lose running time to assess the new tyres and, probably more importantly, issues around the engine and ERS.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has just released its figures for car registrations in 2013 and report that the numbers have now recovered to pre-recession levels.
2013 new car market records best performance in five years
• 2,264,737 cars registered in 2013, up 10.8% on 2012 and exceeding SMMT’s 2.25 million forecast for the year.
• 2013 hits highest annual registration total since 2007 as December achieves 22nd consecutive monthly rise.
• On average, an additional 600 extra cars registered per day in 2013 than in the previous year.
• UK firmly secured as Europe’s second largest car market and only one to grow consistently throughout 2013.
• 2014 market expected to stabilise with sustainable growth of around 1% over the year.
the left are reduced to relentlessly playing the man rather than the ball.
Like this lefty class warrior you mean?
Bitter exchanges erupted in the Commons when David Cameron delivered a statement on his controversial attendance at the Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka.
In a highly personal attack on the Labour leader, who had urged the Prime Minister to join others and boycott the event, Cameron accused him of not knowing what he was talking about.
"If he knows anything about foreign affairs - and I doubt it, because he barely gets out of Islington..." he said
Taunting Miliband further, he added that his brother David once said Britain needed a Foreign Secretary who could stop the traffic in Beijing, but the Opposition leader couldn't even get out of Primrose Hill (in the London Borough of Camden).
Whilst these Timmyesque stories will give comfort to the committed tory haters in the short term, in the long term, the election will be won on the economy, education etc, not hairdressers, the background of the woman in the help to buy slot and the PM's choice of holiday destinantion.
It'll be won or lost on trust. No issue or policy has any chance of resonating without that. There's a reason pollsters keep polling on how "out of touch" politicians are thought of by the public. Little Ed is not blessed with a great abundance of it either but that just means it becomes who do you trust the least in the mind of the public.
@Alanbrooke - I agree with you about Labour needing to rethink the role of the state, but that does not let Osborne off having to explain where his cuts are going to fall and why he has set the timeframe he has. If he doesn't explain, then he is basically in the same place as Labour. At that stage, things like "understands ordinary voters/people like us" may well kick in.
Osborne has been let off, Labour have done nothing to nail him to the floor, they have presented no credible alternative. Their current position is to sign up to what Osborne does.
The best analysis I've seen ( though forget where ) is that Labour's current economic policy is "pointing and tutting". So they'll randomly pick an item - gyms was the latest - and say " tsk have you seen the price of that ?".
With opposition like that he's not even having to sweat.
It could be that Osborne is as complacent as you suggest. If so, in a funny way Labour has actually been pretty successful. Yesterday's announcement does indicate that he believes he is master of all that he surveys. However, if you say that £25 billion of extra savings are needed, you have to explain where the cuts are going to come from if you also state that tax rises are not necessary. The single biggest item of welfare spending is ring-fenced, as are health, education and overseas aid. So where does George go for the really big savings? Obviously, welfare spending is a target - but what is there to attack that will get him close to what he is after? The risk is that people will see this for what it is: political posturing. If they do, it will come back to bite him.
My guess is that George, like Dave, is planning/hoping for another coalition. He is throwing red meat to the Tory right now in the expectation that he never has to deliver. Instead, he can blame the LDs for forcing him into not cutting as deeply as he would like and for insisting on some tax rises. He'd do both anyway, but with a majority he'd have no cover - which would be post-92 GE revisited. .
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has just released its figures for car registrations in 2013 and report that the numbers have now recovered to pre-recession levels.
2013 new car market records best performance in five years
• 2,264,737 cars registered in 2013, up 10.8% on 2012 and exceeding SMMT’s 2.25 million forecast for the year.
• 2013 hits highest annual registration total since 2007 as December achieves 22nd consecutive monthly rise.
• On average, an additional 600 extra cars registered per day in 2013 than in the previous year.
• UK firmly secured as Europe’s second largest car market and only one to grow consistently throughout 2013.
• 2014 market expected to stabilise with sustainable growth of around 1% over the year.
That's basically it for economics news today, I'm afraid. Unless anyone care's about Sweden's Services PMI, or Bavarian inflation numbers... Anyone? Anyone?
If Ed is still in position by the GE that may feature......
Carlotta
We need a prediction of a triple dip recession.
Balls is safe on the double dip as it was reinstated in a recent ONS revision to post recession GDP numbers.
I pointed that out to Paul Staines in a tweet last night.
Result? Silence.
So this other tory PR 'triumph' is that they can prove Balls is wrong by admitting there was a double dip? It's such a clever and subtle 'master strategy' that you could almost mistake it for hilarious incompetence at first glance. What on earth are they drinking at CCHQ?
Oh dear one of my pet hates has come up- people bragging about how they spend as little as possible getting their haircut. My Dad does it often and it grates me for some reason. Its illogical for a start given you only have perhaps 8 cuts a year so the annual saving of not getting 'ripped off' by hairdressers is about the cost of a tank of petrol. Yet people take huge pride (including my Dad) in declaring their cheap haircut. BARMY
Whilst I am in rant mode ,another thing that infuriates me (and seemingly nobody else) is when you see signs up saying 'we are improving YOUR playground , health service , WH Smiths, council etc' -It is patronising in the extreme and also seemingly wanting of gratitude . Also in the case of WH Smith (there really is a sign at st Pancras saying this) inaccurate as I am not a shareholder in the retail chain. Just use 'the' instead of 'your' please!
@Alanbrooke - I agree with you about Labour needing to rethink the role of the state, but that does not let Osborne off having to explain where his cuts are going to fall and why he has set the timeframe he has. If he doesn't explain, then he is basically in the same place as Labour. At that stage, things like "understands ordinary voters/people like us" may well kick in.
Osborne has been let off, Labour have done nothing to nail him to the floor, they have presented no credible alternative. Their current position is to sign up to what Osborne does.
The best analysis I've seen ( though forget where ) is that Labour's current economic policy is "pointing and tutting". So they'll randomly pick an item - gyms was the latest - and say " tsk have you seen the price of that ?".
With opposition like that he's not even having to sweat.
It could be that Osborne is as complacent as you suggest. If so, in a funny way Labour has actually been pretty successful. Yesterday's announcement does indicate that he believes he is master of all that he surveys. However, if you say that £25 billion of extra savings are needed, you have to explain where the cuts are going to come from if you also state that tax rises are not necessary. The single biggest item of welfare spending is ring-fenced, as are health, education and overseas aid. So where does George go for the really big savings? Obviously, welfare spending is a target - but what is there to attack that will get him close to what he is after? The risk is that people will see this for what it is: political posturing. If they do, it will come back to bite him.
Yes.
Other than the fact George is ensared in the same trap he thinks he's set for Labour the question many voters will ask is: What do you mean £25bn extra cuts? I though you said we'd be in the clear by 2015.
This double dip, downgraded chacnellor has failed. That's what his speech yesterday screams. It was a mistake - he should have kept schtum.
If Ed is still in position by the GE that may feature......
Carlotta
We need a prediction of a triple dip recession.
Balls is safe on the double dip as it was reinstated in a recent ONS revision to post recession GDP numbers.
I pointed that out to Paul Staines in a tweet last night.
Result? Silence.
So this other tory PR 'triumph' is that they can prove Balls is wrong by admitting there was a double dip? It's such a clever and subtle 'master strategy' that you could almost mistake it for hilarious incompetence at first glance. What on earth are they drinking at CCHQ?
I think it proves that all our politicians are more focused on tripping each other up, rather than running the country or holding the government to account.
If Ed is still in position by the GE that may feature......
Carlotta
We need a prediction of a triple dip recession.
Balls is safe on the double dip as it was reinstated in a recent ONS revision to post recession GDP numbers.
I pointed that out to Paul Staines in a tweet last night.
Result? Silence.
So this other tory PR 'triumph' is that they can prove Balls is wrong by admitting there was a double dip? It's such a clever and subtle 'master strategy' that you could almost mistake it for hilarious incompetence at first glance. What on earth are they drinking at CCHQ?
Aren't they actually accusing Balls of predicting a double dip recession and it is this he is denying? Guido presumably has quotes of these predictions. The quote that Josias and Carlota supplied doesn't relate to that, but does not seem to relate to what Balls said on Sky yesterday either.
It could be that Osborne is as complacent as you suggest. If so, in a funny way Labour has actually been pretty successful. Yesterday's announcement does indicate that he believes he is master of all that he surveys. However, if you say that £25 billion of extra savings are needed, you have to explain where the cuts are going to come from if you also state that tax rises are not necessary. The single biggest item of welfare spending is ring-fenced, as are health, education and overseas aid. So where does George go for the really big savings? Obviously, welfare spending is a target - but what is there to attack that will get him close to what he is after? The risk is that people will see this for what it is: political posturing. If they do, it will come back to bite him.
Yes.
Other than the fact George is ensared in the same trap he thinks he's set for Labour the question many voters will ask is: What do you mean £25bn extra cuts? I though you said we'd be in the clear by 2015.
This double dip, downgraded chacnellor has failed. That's what his speech yesterday screams. It was a mistake - he should have kept schtum.
Most voters (if not people) want cuts in welfare ,especially if its housing benefit for under 25s and certainly want cuts in the civil service quangos
It could be that Osborne is as complacent as you suggest. If so, in a funny way Labour has actually been pretty successful. Yesterday's announcement does indicate that he believes he is master of all that he surveys. However, if you say that £25 billion of extra savings are needed, you have to explain where the cuts are going to come from if you also state that tax rises are not necessary. The single biggest item of welfare spending is ring-fenced, as are health, education and overseas aid. So where does George go for the really big savings? Obviously, welfare spending is a target - but what is there to attack that will get him close to what he is after? The risk is that people will see this for what it is: political posturing. If they do, it will come back to bite him.
Yes.
Other than the fact George is ensared in the same trap he thinks he's set for Labour the question many voters will ask is: What do you mean £25bn extra cuts? I though you said we'd be in the clear by 2015.
This double dip, downgraded chacnellor has failed. That's what his speech yesterday screams. It was a mistake - he should have kept schtum.
Most voters (if not people) want cuts in welfare ,especially if its housing benefit for under 25s and certainly want cuts in the civil service quangos
Do voters really want cuts in housing benefits for working families in which the parents are under 25? Ditto cuts for under 25s who come from broken/abusive familes etc? If so, George will not be shy in saying so and may get £1 billion or so of savings. If not, he'll have to make so many exceptions that the savings will be negligible. He may also be able to cut a few hundred million from quangos. But that will still leave him with well over £20 billion to find.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has just released its figures for car registrations in 2013 and report that the numbers have now recovered to pre-recession levels.
2013 new car market records best performance in five years
• 2,264,737 cars registered in 2013, up 10.8% on 2012 and exceeding SMMT’s 2.25 million forecast for the year.
• 2013 hits highest annual registration total since 2007 as December achieves 22nd consecutive monthly rise.
• On average, an additional 600 extra cars registered per day in 2013 than in the previous year.
• UK firmly secured as Europe’s second largest car market and only one to grow consistently throughout 2013.
• 2014 market expected to stabilise with sustainable growth of around 1% over the year.
More tedious PR spinning from the CCHQ machine of which AveryLP is linked. He should be banned. He's not a genuine poster.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has just released its figures for car registrations in 2013 and report that the numbers have now recovered to pre-recession levels.
2013 new car market records best performance in five years
• 2,264,737 cars registered in 2013, up 10.8% on 2012 and exceeding SMMT’s 2.25 million forecast for the year.
• 2013 hits highest annual registration total since 2007 as December achieves 22nd consecutive monthly rise.
• On average, an additional 600 extra cars registered per day in 2013 than in the previous year.
• UK firmly secured as Europe’s second largest car market and only one to grow consistently throughout 2013.
• 2014 market expected to stabilise with sustainable growth of around 1% over the year.
More tedious PR spinning from the CCHQ machine of which AveryLP is linked. He should be banned. He's not a genuine poster.
If Ed is still in position by the GE that may feature......
Carlotta
We need a prediction of a triple dip recession.
Balls is safe on the double dip as it was reinstated in a recent ONS revision to post recession GDP numbers.
I pointed that out to Paul Staines in a tweet last night.
Result? Silence.
So this other tory PR 'triumph' is that they can prove Balls is wrong by admitting there was a double dip? It's such a clever and subtle 'master strategy' that you could almost mistake it for hilarious incompetence at first glance. What on earth are they drinking at CCHQ?
Aren't they actually accusing Balls of predicting a double dip recession and it is this he is denying?
Exactly. The only thing they have left to attack him on now is that he's denied predicting a double dip that actually happened. So therefore he was wrong to deny it because there was a double dip.
If Ed is still in position by the GE that may feature......
Carlotta
We need a prediction of a triple dip recession.
Balls is safe on the double dip as it was reinstated in a recent ONS revision to post recession GDP numbers.
I pointed that out to Paul Staines in a tweet last night.
Result? Silence.
I wouldn't bank on the double dip sticking, Ben.
The ONS are revising like a Somerville chemist before Finals. And many of the revisions result from methodology changes, reclassifications and compliance with new accounting standards so anticipate major fluctuations.
The double dip may come and go but you can take comfort that the twin 'eded' dipsticks will stay at least until summer 2015.
It seems that today's politicians (at all levels) are a bit like the management of the England cricket team, monochrome, boring, devoid of talent, unable to react meaningfully to events and unwilling to take responsibility for their mistakes and actions.
Furthermore they seem to be totally unable to extract the best from any maverick talent that comes across their path, manage that person inclusively and utilise their best ideas which may represent really new thinking.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has just released its figures for car registrations in 2013 and report that the numbers have now recovered to pre-recession levels.
2013 new car market records best performance in five years
• 2,264,737 cars registered in 2013, up 10.8% on 2012 and exceeding SMMT’s 2.25 million forecast for the year.
• 2013 hits highest annual registration total since 2007 as December achieves 22nd consecutive monthly rise.
• On average, an additional 600 extra cars registered per day in 2013 than in the previous year.
• UK firmly secured as Europe’s second largest car market and only one to grow consistently throughout 2013.
• 2014 market expected to stabilise with sustainable growth of around 1% over the year.
chortle
I think you'll find that may be one of the reasons the BoP is looking sick.
If only we had an economic team that understood the economy instead of Osborne and his junior twerkers.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has just released its figures for car registrations in 2013 and report that the numbers have now recovered to pre-recession levels.
2013 new car market records best performance in five years
• 2,264,737 cars registered in 2013, up 10.8% on 2012 and exceeding SMMT’s 2.25 million forecast for the year.
• 2013 hits highest annual registration total since 2007 as December achieves 22nd consecutive monthly rise.
• On average, an additional 600 extra cars registered per day in 2013 than in the previous year.
• UK firmly secured as Europe’s second largest car market and only one to grow consistently throughout 2013.
• 2014 market expected to stabilise with sustainable growth of around 1% over the year.
More tedious PR spinning from the CCHQ machine of which AveryLP is linked. He should be banned. He's not a genuine poster.
Someone, please, stuff a kipper up Hillman Minx's exhaust pipe.
It seems that today's politicians (at all levels) are a bit like the management of the England cricket team, monochrome, boring, devoid of talent, unable to react meaningfully to events and unwilling to take responsibility for their mistakes and actions.
Furthermore they seem to be totally unable to extract the best from any maverick talent that comes across their path, manage that person inclusively and utilise their best ideas which may represent really new thinking.
I may add that they also share a urge to control or regulate every aspect of life . What did the cricket team have , a 82 page menu?
on topic. a question: what is the most that Ed Miliband has ever paid for a haircut? Yeah, I know he looks like he cuts his own with a Ronco styler, but I bet it is well over £50...
I am happy to say that I have spent more than the PM on a haircut. Trevor Sorbie don't come cheap - but you get such fabulous restaurant tips!
@Alanbrooke - I agree with you about Labour needing to rethink the role of the state, but that does not let Osborne off having to explain where his cuts are going to fall and why he has set the timeframe he has. If he doesn't explain, then he is basically in the same place as Labour. At that stage, things like "understands ordinary voters/people like us" may well kick in.
Osborne has been let off, Labour have done nothing to nail him to the floor, they have presented no credible alternative. Their current position is to sign up to what Osborne does.
The best analysis I've seen ( though forget where ) is that Labour's current economic policy is "pointing and tutting". So they'll randomly pick an item - gyms was the latest - and say " tsk have you seen the price of that ?".
With opposition like that he's not even having to sweat.
It could be that Osborne is as complacent as you suggest. If so, in a funny way Labour has actually been pretty successful. Yesterday's announcement does indicate that he believes he is master of all that he surveys. However, if you say that £25 billion of extra savings are needed, you have to explain where the cuts are going to come from if you also state that tax rises are not necessary. The single biggest item of welfare spending is ring-fenced, as are health, education and overseas aid. So where does George go for the really big savings? Obviously, welfare spending is a target - but what is there to attack that will get him close to what he is after? The risk is that people will see this for what it is: political posturing. If they do, it will come back to bite him.
My guess is that George, like Dave, is planning/hoping for another coalition. He is throwing red meat to the Tory right now in the expectation that he never has to deliver. Instead, he can blame the LDs for forcing him into not cutting as deeply as he would like and for insisting on some tax rises. He'd do both anyway, but with a majority he'd have no cover - which would be post-92 GE revisited. .
As Mr Nabavi pointed out yesterday those on the left screaming where will £ 25bn come from seem to have forgotten they have signed up to Osborne's plans too. they don't have an alternative plan.
So while I can quite comfortably say the money will be found in efficiency savings because there's still so much to go at, I'd now like to offer you the same chance to explain where you're going to find £25bn.
The eagerly awaited Baden Wuerttemberg December CPI data is out, and shows a 1.3% y-o-y increase, and a 0.3% m-o-m increase. That means they are exactly the same as November's numbers
Put them in old army barracks along with the unemployed, and make them do useful work till they can become "free"
I am surprised no one has thought of this before. Housing freed up for the deserving, and the undeserving kept safe, and way from the "hard working families".
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has just released its figures for car registrations in 2013 and report that the numbers have now recovered to pre-recession levels.
2013 new car market records best performance in five years
• 2,264,737 cars registered in 2013, up 10.8% on 2012 and exceeding SMMT’s 2.25 million forecast for the year.
• 2013 hits highest annual registration total since 2007 as December achieves 22nd consecutive monthly rise.
• On average, an additional 600 extra cars registered per day in 2013 than in the previous year.
• UK firmly secured as Europe’s second largest car market and only one to grow consistently throughout 2013.
• 2014 market expected to stabilise with sustainable growth of around 1% over the year.
chortle
I think you'll find that may be one of the reasons the BoP is looking sick.
If only we had an economic team that understood the economy instead of Osborne and his junior twerkers.
Funny you should say that, Mr. Brooke, as I was planning a post on just that subject today. The news of course is rather better than you might be suggesting (but not by any amount that would cause the breakout of morris dancing on Warwickshire greens).
But I got lost in translation.
Please would you render into South Eastern English the following description of Sertec's operations:
"transfer and progression presswork, welded assemblies, tube manipulation, exhaust bright trim, wire forming and deep drawn components".
@Alanbrooke - I agree with you about Labour needing to rethink the role of the state, but that does not let Osborne off having to explain where his cuts are going to fall and why he has set the timeframe he has. If he doesn't explain, then he is basically in the same place as Labour. At that stage, things like "understands ordinary voters/people like us" may well kick in.
Osborne has been let off, Labour have done nothing to nail him to the floor, they have presented no credible alternative. Their current position is to sign up to what Osborne does.
The best analysis I've seen ( though forget where ) is that Labour's current economic policy is "pointing and tutting". So they'll randomly pick an item - gyms was the latest - and say " tsk have you seen the price of that ?".
With opposition like that he's not even having to sweat.
It could be that Osborne is as complacent as you suggest. If so, in a funny way Labour has actually been pretty successful. Yesterday's announcement does indicate that he believes he is master of all that he surveys. However, if you say that £25 billion of extra savings are needed, you have to explain where the cuts are going to come from if you also state that tax rises are not necessary. The single biggest item of welfare spending is ring-fenced, as are health, education and overseas aid. So where does George go for the really big savings? Obviously, welfare spending is a target - but what is there to attack that will get him close to what he is after? The risk is that people will see this for what it is: political posturing. If they do, it will come back to bite him.
My guess is that George, like Dave, is planning/hoping for another coalition. He is throwing red meat to the Tory right now in the expectation that he never has to deliver. Instead, he can blame the LDs for forcing him into not cutting as deeply as he would like and for insisting on some tax rises. He'd do both anyway, but with a majority he'd have no cover - which would be post-92 GE revisited. .
As Mr Nabavi pointed out yesterday those on the left screaming where will £ 25bn come from seem to have forgotten they have signed up to Osborne's plans too. they don't have an alternative plan.
So while I can quite comfortably say the money will be found in efficiency savings because there's still so much to go at, I'd now like to offer you the same chance to explain where you're going to find £25bn.
- It doesn't matter if it's not true - It doesn't matter if the barber raises thousands for charity - It doesn't matter if the barber is the best in the business - It doesn't matter that the story is, if you scratch the surface, nonsense (not least because millions of people will just see the headline, tut, and not bother scratching at all)
Because the fact remains it's an open goal for the press, an easy wind-up for PMQ, and an annoyance that can be rolled out during interview after interview. And, as Mike noted, the timing is abominable.
This was so easily avoided; the Tories really need better PR and image management advice. (That's about the 15th time I've thought that during this parliament)
UKIP and Farage blow hot and cold - We have the ridiculous (for a free market party) sovereign wealth fund policy and yet he was brilliant on Radio 4 today talking about immigration and linking it with Europe.
Are Cameron and Osborne so out of touch with most voters that they are unelectable in 2015 ?
The two posh boys not knowing the price of a pint of milk did not really play at the 2010 election, but I have a feeling it will come up time and time again during the 2015 campaign.
The eagerly awaited Baden Wuerttemberg December CPI data is out, and shows a 1.3% y-o-y increase, and a 0.3% m-o-m increase. That means they are exactly the same as November's numbers
More details as this story develops
You haven't answered my question on the identity of the world's first communist!
@Alanbrooke - I agree with you about Labour needing to rethink the role of the state, but that does not let Osborne off having to explain where his cuts are going to fall and why he has set the timeframe he has. If he doesn't explain, then he is basically in the same place as Labour. At that stage, things like "understands ordinary voters/people like us" may well kick in.
Osborne has been let off, Labour have done nothing to nail him to the floor, they have presented no credible alternative. Their current position is to sign up to what Osborne does.
The best analysis I've seen ( though forget where ) is that Labour's current economic policy is "pointing and tutting". So they'll randomly pick an item - gyms was the latest - and say " tsk have you seen the price of that ?".
With opposition like that he's not even having to sweat.
It could be that Osborne is as complacent as you suggest. If so, in a funny way Labour has actually been pretty successful. Yesterday's announcement does indicate that he believes he is master of all that he surveys. However, if you say that £25 billion of extra savings are needed, you have to explain where the cuts are going to come from if you also state that tax rises are not necessary. The single biggest item of welfare spending is ring-fenced, as are health, education and overseas aid. So where does George go for the really big savings? Obviously, welfare spending is a target - but what is there to attack that will get him close to what he is after? The risk is that people will see this for what it is: political posturing. If they do, it will come back to bite him.
My guess is that George, like Dave, is planning/hoping for another coalition. He is throwing red meat to the Tory right now in the expectation that he never has to deliver. Instead, he can blame the LDs for forcing him into not cutting as deeply as he would like and for insisting on some tax rises. He'd do both anyway, but with a majority he'd have no cover - which would be post-92 GE revisited. .
As Mr Nabavi pointed out yesterday those on the left screaming where will £ 25bn come from seem to have forgotten they have signed up to Osborne's plans too. they don't have an alternative plan.
So while I can quite comfortably say the money will be found in efficiency savings because there's still so much to go at, I'd now like to offer you the same chance to explain where you're going to find £25bn.
Efficiency savings.
Mostly fiscal drag and indexing of benefits below inflation.
As an aside, has anyone given a moment's thought to the guy who got the award?
I know when my Dad got his OBE it was one of the proudest moments of his life. I'm sure that the same will be the case for this guy. And he will have got it for legitimate reasons. And yet, for a cheap and meaningless attempt at point-scoring, the Mirror chooses to tarnish his achievement in the eyes of the public and in doubt, many of his friends and acquaintences.
This guy didn't ask to be dragged through the mud and has done nothing to deserve it..
Mike: you should be ashamed of yourself for perpetuating this kind of nonsense. I know you have a difficult job to do keeping such a good blog active, but sometimes you should think through what you post.
I know that many of the recipients on these honour lists are productive splendid people. Indeed one of my best friends, eminent in his field, received a knighthood, and I can just about forgive him for accepting that in view of his very humble origins. But surely what matters is one's own self assessment and maybe the opinions of one's immediate colleagues and friends. Why should an award with the imprimatur of complete, and probably ignorant, strangers matter tuppence? But then I'm a puritan republican lefty (weirdo?).
@Alanbrooke - I agree with you about Labour needing to rethink the role of the state, but that does not let Osborne off having to explain where his cuts are going to fall and why he has set the timeframe he has. If he doesn't explain, then he is basically in the same place as Labour. At that stage, things like "understands ordinary voters/people like us" may well kick in.
Osborne has been let off, Labour have done nothing to nail him to the floor, they have presented no credible alternative. Their current position is to sign up to what Osborne does.
The best analysis I've seen ( though forget where ) is that Labour's current economic policy is "pointing and tutting". So they'll randomly pick an item - gyms was the latest - and say " tsk have you seen the price of that ?".
With opposition like that he's not even having to sweat.
It could be that Osborne is as complacent as you suggest. If so, in a funny way Labour has actually been pretty successful. Yesterday's announcement does indicate that he believes he is master of all that he surveys. However, if you say that £25 billion of extra savings are needed, you have to explain where the cuts are going to come from if you also state that tax rises are not necessary. The single biggest item of welfare spending is ring-fenced, as are health, education and overseas aid. So where does George go for the really big savings? Obviously, welfare spending is a target - but what is there to attack that will get him close to what he is after? The risk is that people will see this for what it is: political posturing. If they do, it will come back to bite him.
My guess is that George, like Dave, is planning/hoping for another coalition. He is throwing red meat to the Tory right now in the expectation that he never has to deliver. Instead, he can blame the LDs for forcing him into not cutting as deeply as he would like and for insisting on some tax rises. He'd do both anyway, but with a majority he'd have no cover - which would be post-92 GE revisited. .
As Mr Nabavi pointed out yesterday those on the left screaming where will £ 25bn come from seem to have forgotten they have signed up to Osborne's plans too. they don't have an alternative plan.
So while I can quite comfortably say the money will be found in efficiency savings because there's still so much to go at, I'd now like to offer you the same chance to explain where you're going to find £25bn.
Efficiency savings.
Mostly fiscal drag and indexing of benefits below inflation.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has just released its figures for car registrations in 2013 and report that the numbers have now recovered to pre-recession levels.
2013 new car market records best performance in five years
• 2,264,737 cars registered in 2013, up 10.8% on 2012 and exceeding SMMT’s 2.25 million forecast for the year.
• 2013 hits highest annual registration total since 2007 as December achieves 22nd consecutive monthly rise.
• On average, an additional 600 extra cars registered per day in 2013 than in the previous year.
• UK firmly secured as Europe’s second largest car market and only one to grow consistently throughout 2013.
• 2014 market expected to stabilise with sustainable growth of around 1% over the year.
chortle
I think you'll find that may be one of the reasons the BoP is looking sick.
If only we had an economic team that understood the economy instead of Osborne and his junior twerkers.
Funny you should say that, Mr. Brooke, as I was planning a post on just that subject today. The news of course is rather better than you might be suggesting (but not by any amount that would cause the breakout of morris dancing on Warwickshire greens).
But I got lost in translation.
Please would you translate the following to South Eastern English:
"transfer and progression presswork, welded assemblies, tube manipulation, exhaust bright trim, wire forming and deep drawn components".
P.S. Josias to act as examiner.
ROFL I think you'll find I know more about this area than you do Mr P. having worked in it for 20 odd years or so.
For our Oxbridge management consultant labourite chums this means "low value added componentry that should be outsourced to China".
In the Midlands and places like Germany it translates as "jobs".
On thread, I suppose if Cammo thinks he's going to be out of power soon, we'll see more of this in the next year or so?
If so, I recommend he follows his predecessor and should further cut the PM wage to say sub £100k in the very near future, operation 'hair shirt' and return the compliment to Ed Miliband's party as he heads for the exit.
Ed Balls didn't predict a double dip recession, he merely commented on it occurring when the national statistician declared that it had. Fairly standard practice for a Scote. However, had he predicted it, he would have been right as there was indeed a double dip. It rematerialised again in a recent revision. It's a slightly pointless debate as whether there was one or not the economy as best bumped along the floor for a while.
@Alanbrooke - I agree with you about Labour needing to rethink the role of the state, but that does not let Osborne off having to explain where his cuts are going to fall and why he has set the timeframe he has. If he doesn't explain, then he is basically in the same place as Labour. At that stage, things like "understands ordinary voters/people like us" may well kick in.
Osborne has been let off, Labour have done nothing to nail him to the floor, they have presented no credible alternative. Their current position is to sign up to what Osborne does.
The best analysis I've seen ( though forget where ) is that Labour's current economic policy is "pointing and tutting". So they'll randomly pick an item - gyms was the latest - and say " tsk have you seen the price of that ?".
With opposition like that he's not even having to sweat.
It could be that Osborne is as complacent as you suggest. If so, in a funny way Labour has actually been pretty successful. Yesterday's announcement does indicate that he believes he is master of all that he surveys. However, if you say that £25 billion of extra savings are needed, you have to explain where the cuts are going to come from if you also state that tax rises are not necessary. The single biggest item of welfare spending is ring-fenced, as are health, education and overseas aid. So where does George go for the really big savings? Obviously, welfare spending is a target - but what is there to attack that will get him close to what he is after? The risk is that people will see this for what it is: political posturing. If they do, it will come back to bite him.
My guess is that George, like Dave, is planning/hoping for another coalition. He is throwing red meat to the Tory right now in the expectation that he never has to deliver. Instead, he can blame the LDs for forcing him into not cutting as deeply as he would like and for insisting on some tax rises. He'd do both anyway, but with a majority he'd have no cover - which would be post-92 GE revisited. .
As Mr Nabavi pointed out yesterday those on the left screaming where will £ 25bn come from seem to have forgotten they have signed up to Osborne's plans too. they don't have an alternative plan.
So while I can quite comfortably say the money will be found in efficiency savings because there's still so much to go at, I'd now like to offer you the same chance to explain where you're going to find £25bn.
Efficiency savings.
So in simple terms there's no debate on the principle just some quibbling round the edges.
The eagerly awaited Baden Wuerttemberg December CPI data is out, and shows a 1.3% y-o-y increase, and a 0.3% m-o-m increase. That means they are exactly the same as November's numbers
More details as this story develops
You haven't answered my question on the identity of the world's first communist!
- It doesn't matter if it's not true - It doesn't matter if the barber raises thousands for charity - It doesn't matter if the barber is the best in the business - It doesn't matter that the story is, if you scratch the surface, nonsense (not least because millions of people will just see the headline, tut, and not bother scratching at all)
Because the fact remains it's an open goal for the press, an easy wind-up for PMQ, and an annoyance that can be rolled out during interview after interview. And, as Mike noted, the timing is abominable.
This was so easily avoided; the Tories really need better PR and image management advice. (That's about the 15th time I've thought that during this parliament)
And to think PR was the one thing he was meant to be good at?
The eagerly awaited Baden Wuerttemberg December CPI data is out, and shows a 1.3% y-o-y increase, and a 0.3% m-o-m increase. That means they are exactly the same as November's numbers
More details as this story develops
You haven't answered my question on the identity of the world's first communist!
The eagerly awaited Baden Wuerttemberg December CPI data is out, and shows a 1.3% y-o-y increase, and a 0.3% m-o-m increase. That means they are exactly the same as November's numbers
More details as this story develops
You haven't answered my question on the identity of the world's first communist!
The eagerly awaited Baden Wuerttemberg December CPI data is out, and shows a 1.3% y-o-y increase, and a 0.3% m-o-m increase. That means they are exactly the same as November's numbers
More details as this story develops
You haven't answered my question on the identity of the world's first communist!
King Ethelred the Unready?
Nope.
Christopher Columbus.
Go on...
Three reasons.
1. When he set out he didn't know where he was going.
2. When he arrived he didn't know where he was.
3. He did it all on state money.
My second favourite Soviet era joke.
The favourite would get me banned if printed on PB.
@Alanbrooke - "So in simple terms there's no debate on the principle just some quibbling round the edges."
Absolutely right - it's been about that ever since the Coalition took the route it did. And that's why being seen to be in tune with voters is so important. If cuts and savings are necessary, who do you want to do them and over what time scale? The Tories lead on who is best for the country; Labour leads on who is best for me and my family. Dave leads on best PM/leader; Ed leads on being more in touch with ordinary people. Something has to give.
If Ed is still in position by the GE that may feature......
Carlotta
We need a prediction of a triple dip recession.
Balls is safe on the double dip as it was reinstated in a recent ONS revision to post recession GDP numbers.
I pointed that out to Paul Staines in a tweet last night.
Result? Silence.
So this other tory PR 'triumph' is that they can prove Balls is wrong by admitting there was a double dip? It's such a clever and subtle 'master strategy' that you could almost mistake it for hilarious incompetence at first glance. What on earth are they drinking at CCHQ?
At least it stops people talking about haircuts. There's that.
Comments
Labour spinner complains about Tory spinner. Self-awareness isn't your greatest strength, is it?
Liberate yourself, they're all rubbish anyway.
We need a prediction of a triple dip recession.
Balls is safe on the double dip as it was reinstated in a recent ONS revision to post recession GDP numbers.
Do you even realise? It certainly doesn't look like it.
LOL
Am puzzled as to why the Guardian wanted to do a puff piece on Carwyn Jones and Welsh Labour (as matters are still at a steady decline in Wales) but notice that comments were not allowed.
Looking out of my office window at a slightly battered prom (ignore the press hysteria as usually nothing happens here and it needed 5 police just to watch the waves yesterday and drink tea), went to an interesting meeting last night in the next coastal village which has suffered serious flooding due to failure on new, multimillion£ sea defences which the council had been told would not work. The local councillor was persuaded to attend (when in the street he dismissed claims that the village was being ignored by the police and fire brigade who were visible by their absence) as he was reminded that certain people had videos of him entering the local 'sex shop'. Anyway he was nearly lynched when one householder whose wall had nearly been destroyed by a flying public bench, was told that the bench had been screwed down to paving stones - which were just laid on sand and the said councillor defended the council's civil engineering department as competent. Also as much flooding was caused by blocked drains, he said it was the council's way of saving money not to check drains for blockages! (ignoring the fact that the council had recently awarded pay increases). What are his chances come next election?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_general_election,_2014
The issue in both UK and US healthcare is not about payment mechanisms (respectively direct tax based or through insurance). The issue is about lack of market mechanisms. When organisations or services become too large they are unmanageable. Literally. A visiting Soviet diplomat is reputed once to have asked how we organize bread delivery in London (noticing that there was a good supply and a good choice) and was astonished to discover the government plays no role whatever. Some things are too complicated to deliver efficiently or effectively through command and control – only markets can do this.
In the US it is illegal for a health insurer to offer cover in another state. There is no national or regional supply chain management for drugs or consumables. In the UK the NHS manages everything. Badly.
If we want truly better, cheaper healthcare in the UK we should reinforce the concept of ‘free at the point of use’ (so the government pays, funded through general taxation) but move decisively towards a competitive free market in delivery of health services. The NHS is an expensive and unresponsive monster precisely because it is a soviet style command control anachronism.
This next 18 months the Tories need to concentrate on winning over as many swing-voters as they can. Stories like this won't help. His PR team and advisors either need to sharpen up or start caring. Real people out there will be put off by stories like this.
I need to walk the new paths around the new inland bay - after all, the coast ain't where I walked it... ;-)
10 minutes 10 seconds
Balls's timing is as suspect as TSE's taste in toeware.
Con 296 .. Lab 283 .. LibDem 37 .. SNP 10 .. PC 2 .. NI 18 .. Ukip 2 .. Green 1 .. Respect 0 .. Ind 0 .. Speaker 1
Conservatives 30 seats short of a majority.
We have cross over!
They had an all out assault on Lynton Crosby a few month back before realising hardly any knew who he was or cared, then Jeremy Hunt, then Michael Gove and, always, Cameron.
Whilst these Timmyesque stories will give comfort to the committed tory haters in the short term, in the long term, the election will be won on the economy, education etc, not hairdressers, the background of the woman in the help to buy slot and the PM's choice of holiday destinantion.
Do you know the name of the world's first communist?
Three great poll leads and a flailing chancellor disappearing up his own backside.
As for increasing the national limit to 80 MPH: no, no, no. Just no.
.......................................................
Changes from last projection (3Dec 13) :
Con -5 .. Lab +7 .. LibDem -2 .. SNP -1 .. Green +1 .. All others unchanged.
Has anyone actually enquired what the man got the MBE for? Has he been working tirelessly for some charity for years?
Result? Silence.
Because it couldn't go that fast.
It was a great car to drive, as overtaking anything - even a lorry - felt like a victory.
As for increasing the national limit to 80 MPH: no, no, no. Just no.
Fully agree. Should be at least 90 and maybe 100.
I do think that WTCs are still a bit on the generous side though. People earning £50K a year do not need handouts from the state funded by the taxes of those earning less simply because of the life choices they have made.
I am also unsure whether we can afford to pay what we do in international aid. We are borrowing money from our children to indulge our own conceit. I would substantially reduce our aid budget before welfare cuts.
Personally I would be open to the idea of further tax increases at the margins as well, particularly by reducing tax avoidance opportunities. Incorporating NI into tax so that it was paid on Investment income would be a start.
But Labour's response, typically, is that there does not have to be choices. Their response yesterday was that this "proved that the Chancellor's plans had not worked" like this had anything at all with the choices that have to be made. It is morally and intellectually dishonest. Even if growth had been higher the choices would be the same because what Osborne is addressing is the structural deficit not simply the current deficit.
I suspect we may well go into another election with the tories indicating that cuts (fairly inspecific on the whole) need to be made and Labour in lala land pretending that none of this need apply. Labour paid a part of the price for that in 2010 (in fairness I think they lost your support on that basis). Are they going to do the same again?
Good to see you back! A welcome change to have a poster who doesn't part to the right.
As you'll have noticed there are now more blue rinses posting on here than 'Lino Carbosiero' is likely to see in a lifetime
5 bloggers in discussion with @VivianneRedingEU inc @MSmithsonPB. Watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7qKlqDsKa8
Reding is EU Justice commissioner who had a row with Theresa May.
Why try and fix something that ain't broken? The speed limits are fine, its the road system that's broken.
Admittedly, technology has made cars safer, but we still go to as many, if not more, RTCs, it's just that you can walk away relatively unscathed from impacts today that, 20 years ago, would have left you in serious trouble.
Most people don't have the skill or reflexes to drive much faster than 60 or 70 mph anyway.
F1: Lotus to miss the first pre-season test:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/25631982
There will be 3 this time. Missing the first test will mean they'll lose running time to assess the new tyres and, probably more importantly, issues around the engine and ERS.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has just released its figures for car registrations in 2013 and report that the numbers have now recovered to pre-recession levels.
2013 new car market records best performance in five years
• 2,264,737 cars registered in 2013, up 10.8% on 2012 and exceeding SMMT’s 2.25 million forecast for the year.
• 2013 hits highest annual registration total since 2007 as December achieves 22nd consecutive monthly rise.
• On average, an additional 600 extra cars registered per day in 2013 than in the previous year.
• UK firmly secured as Europe’s second largest car market and only one to grow consistently throughout 2013.
• 2014 market expected to stabilise with sustainable growth of around 1% over the year.
There's a reason pollsters keep polling on how "out of touch" politicians are thought of by the public. Little Ed is not blessed with a great abundance of it either but that just means it becomes who do you trust the least in the mind of the public.
My guess is that George, like Dave, is planning/hoping for another coalition. He is throwing red meat to the Tory right now in the expectation that he never has to deliver. Instead, he can blame the LDs for forcing him into not cutting as deeply as he would like and for insisting on some tax rises. He'd do both anyway, but with a majority he'd have no cover - which would be post-92 GE revisited. .
"He should be applauded "
He might get the "clap"?
Whilst I am in rant mode ,another thing that infuriates me (and seemingly nobody else) is when you see signs up saying 'we are improving YOUR playground , health service , WH Smiths, council etc' -It is patronising in the extreme and also seemingly wanting of gratitude . Also in the case of WH Smith (there really is a sign at st Pancras saying this) inaccurate as I am not a shareholder in the retail chain. Just use 'the' instead of 'your' please!
Feel better now!
Other than the fact George is ensared in the same trap he thinks he's set for Labour the question many voters will ask is: What do you mean £25bn extra cuts? I though you said we'd be in the clear by 2015.
This double dip, downgraded chacnellor has failed. That's what his speech yesterday screams. It was a mistake - he should have kept schtum.
I think it proves that all our politicians are more focused on tripping each other up, rather than running the country or holding the government to account.
It could be that Osborne is as complacent as you suggest. If so, in a funny way Labour has actually been pretty successful. Yesterday's announcement does indicate that he believes he is master of all that he surveys. However, if you say that £25 billion of extra savings are needed, you have to explain where the cuts are going to come from if you also state that tax rises are not necessary. The single biggest item of welfare spending is ring-fenced, as are health, education and overseas aid. So where does George go for the really big savings? Obviously, welfare spending is a target - but what is there to attack that will get him close to what he is after? The risk is that people will see this for what it is: political posturing. If they do, it will come back to bite him.
Yes.
Other than the fact George is ensared in the same trap he thinks he's set for Labour the question many voters will ask is: What do you mean £25bn extra cuts? I though you said we'd be in the clear by 2015.
This double dip, downgraded chacnellor has failed. That's what his speech yesterday screams. It was a mistake - he should have kept schtum.
Most voters (if not people) want cuts in welfare ,especially if its housing benefit for under 25s and certainly want cuts in the civil service quangos
Yes.
Other than the fact George is ensared in the same trap he thinks he's set for Labour the question many voters will ask is: What do you mean £25bn extra cuts? I though you said we'd be in the clear by 2015.
This double dip, downgraded chacnellor has failed. That's what his speech yesterday screams. It was a mistake - he should have kept schtum.
Most voters (if not people) want cuts in welfare ,especially if its housing benefit for under 25s and certainly want cuts in the civil service quangos
Do voters really want cuts in housing benefits for working families in which the parents are under 25? Ditto cuts for under 25s who come from broken/abusive familes etc? If so, George will not be shy in saying so and may get £1 billion or so of savings. If not, he'll have to make so many exceptions that the savings will be negligible. He may also be able to cut a few hundred million from quangos. But that will still leave him with well over £20 billion to find.
"especially if its housing benefit for under 25s "
Why 25? Is there a rational explanation, or is it just a convenient generalisation?
The only thing they have left to attack him on now is that he's denied predicting a double dip that actually happened. So therefore he was wrong to deny it because there was a double dip.
It's pure PR genius, as usual.
The ONS are revising like a Somerville chemist before Finals. And many of the revisions result from methodology changes, reclassifications and compliance with new accounting standards so anticipate major fluctuations.
The double dip may come and go but you can take comfort that the twin 'eded' dipsticks will stay at least until summer 2015.
Furthermore they seem to be totally unable to extract the best from any maverick talent that comes across their path, manage that person inclusively and utilise their best ideas which may represent really new thinking.
I think you'll find that may be one of the reasons the BoP is looking sick.
If only we had an economic team that understood the economy instead of Osborne and his junior twerkers.
If there is another war, will under those under 25 be exempt from conscription?
I see Run Run Shaw, Hong Kong kung fu movie magnate has died aged 107. A life cut cruelly short....
I am happy to say that I have spent more than the PM on a haircut. Trevor Sorbie don't come cheap - but you get such fabulous restaurant tips!
So while I can quite comfortably say the money will be found in efficiency savings because there's still so much to go at, I'd now like to offer you the same chance to explain where you're going to find £25bn.
The eagerly awaited Baden Wuerttemberg December CPI data is out, and shows a 1.3% y-o-y increase, and a 0.3% m-o-m increase. That means they are exactly the same as November's numbers
More details as this story develops
You may have hit on the perfect plan!
Put them in old army barracks along with the unemployed, and make them do useful work till they can become "free"
I am surprised no one has thought of this before.
Housing freed up for the deserving, and the undeserving kept safe, and way from the "hard working families".
But I got lost in translation.
Please would you render into South Eastern English the following description of Sertec's operations:
"transfer and progression presswork, welded assemblies, tube manipulation, exhaust bright trim, wire forming and deep drawn components".
P.S. Josias to act as examiner.
- It doesn't matter if it's not true
- It doesn't matter if the barber raises thousands for charity
- It doesn't matter if the barber is the best in the business
- It doesn't matter that the story is, if you scratch the surface, nonsense (not least because millions of people will just see the headline, tut, and not bother scratching at all)
Because the fact remains it's an open goal for the press, an easy wind-up for PMQ, and an annoyance that can be rolled out during interview after interview. And, as Mike noted, the timing is abominable.
This was so easily avoided; the Tories really need better PR and image management advice. (That's about the 15th time I've thought that during this parliament)
The two posh boys not knowing the price of a pint of milk did not really play at the 2010 election, but I have a feeling it will come up time and time again during the 2015 campaign.
But surely what matters is one's own self assessment and maybe the opinions of one's immediate colleagues and friends. Why should an award with the imprimatur of complete, and probably ignorant, strangers matter tuppence? But then I'm a puritan republican lefty (weirdo?).
For our Oxbridge management consultant labourite chums this means "low value added componentry that should be outsourced to China".
In the Midlands and places like Germany it translates as "jobs".
And just for you Avery "brummy metal bashing".
If so, I recommend he follows his predecessor and should further cut the PM wage to say sub £100k in the very near future, operation 'hair shirt' and return the compliment to Ed Miliband's party as he heads for the exit.
http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/fashion-blog/2013/nov/18/ed-miliband-mini-mullet-haircut-itv-daybreak
Hair today, gone tomorrow?
However, had he predicted it, he would have been right as there was indeed a double dip. It rematerialised again in a recent revision. It's a slightly pointless debate as whether there was one or not the economy as best bumped along the floor for a while.
Christopher Columbus.
1. When he set out he didn't know where he was going.
2. When he arrived he didn't know where he was.
3. He did it all on state money.
My second favourite Soviet era joke.
The favourite would get me banned if printed on PB.
Absolutely right - it's been about that ever since the Coalition took the route it did. And that's why being seen to be in tune with voters is so important. If cuts and savings are necessary, who do you want to do them and over what time scale? The Tories lead on who is best for the country; Labour leads on who is best for me and my family. Dave leads on best PM/leader; Ed leads on being more in touch with ordinary people. Something has to give.
Wasn't the money "state investment" that reaped massive rewards later?
However good a hairdresser this bloke is, would he have been awarded an MBE if he didn't cut Cameron's hair?