@GIN1138 I sometimes wish that we could post in different colours to highlight when we're being ironic.

MaxPB said:

The Osborne boom is based on a massive housing bubble.

I think that's absolutely right: people simply don't realise how unbalanced the UK economy is. Our current account deficit is close to 7%. To put that in context, almost a quarter of UK imports (a quarter!) are funded by either foreigners lending to us, or us selling off assets.

Our economy is increasingly resembling Spain's on the eve of the Eurozone crisis.

Fortunately, we will have currency depreciation to help cushion the blow. But irrespective, the household savings rate needs to move from 4% (a record low) to perhaps 11%. That will cause a nasty slowdown.

Gobe installs Falconer as campaign chief.

Falconer resigns.

Gove installs Falconer as campaign chief.

Falconer resigns.

NickPalmer said:

I think McDonnell's statement is pretty damned good. It's this sort of detailed analysis and forward-looking policy discussion that we need from anyone who is standing for the leadership (which apparently he isn't). If, say, Angela Eagle stands, I'm not interested in her opinions about Jeremy as I've heard them at length, I want to know what she stands for.

McDonnell's position is interesting if Corbyn did decide to step down. He has two big negatives - he's seen as much less sweet-natured than Corbyn by many other MPs (Corbyn is mostly liked by the resignees, they just don't think he's good at the job), and he once said pleasant things about the IRA (he's apologised and maybe it's yesterday's issue, or not?). On the other hand, he's a genuinely creative thinker who is doing a much better job of recognising changing realities and developing new policies (over everything from the economy to migration to Trident) than most shadow ministers. What do others think?

Ditching Freedom of Movement means I cannot vote for Labour again sadly.

tyson said:

@Sandpit

I posted yesterday- have you bought some special glasses? You know you can buy some that when you look at Corbyn you see JFK. With the Brexit ones, what do you see? A make believe prosperous Britain where we rule again our colonies. Maybe we can reverse the US War of Independence when our might navy sails again.

Corbrexer- defintion- loony tunes ideologue who hasn't the remotest clue how the world works.

You keep ignoring the fact that Italy is a basket case. You're the one whose blinkered. You think its the EU right or wrong. That's sad.

Gove on. Still only 12 MPs signed up according to Guido.

Jobabob said:

Yes, quite right. I note that Nick still hasn't said whether he thinks Corbyn should do the honourable thing and resign.

Clearly Yvette is the best choice to lead the party. Yet the old left are so blinkered (an increasingly distasteful on immigration and Europe) that they cannot see it.

Yvette was awful during the leadership campaign. I put her in last place behind Burnham (like many people my two 2 were the two reform candidates - Corbyn and Kendall). None of the rejected will run again, its passed onto the next generation.

I don't know Dan Jarvis - he is literally an empty suit. But I do know Sir Keir Starmer. New as an MP yes. But endlessly experienced as to the machinations of politics and how this country works. If we have to choose someone with a back story its Starmer over Jarvis every time.

Easy Jet in talks about moving HQ out of UK.

AlastairMeeks said:

@GIN1138 I sometimes wish that we could post in different colours to highlight when we're being ironic.

YOU CAN You just need skills in what Popbitch used to call the Dark Arts....

Annoyingly blink is no longer valid HTML....

OldKingCole said:

McDonnell speaking now; says he wants to be absolutely clear on immigration. After the UK leaves the EU “free movement of labour and people will come to an end.”

Anti-immigration feeling stemmed from austerity and economic uncertainty, he says, which Labour also needs to confront.

Quote from the Guardian’s “instant” site

This is not a line that Jeremy Corbyn can effectively deliver. McDonnell is a far better politician and is clearly more in synch with the thinking of ordinary Labour voters. Labour members will hate it.

I could not vote for a party led by an IRA apologist, but I don't doubt that Labour led by John McDonnell would fair much better than Labour led by Jeremy Corbyn. McDonnell may also have it in him to build bridges with the centre and the left of the party, which Corbyn is also incapable of doing.

Michael Gove is the Tory Ed Miliband, just imagine him eating a bacon sandwich

Poor background for Gove. Sickly yellow colour. These things matter. May had a library.

rcs1000 said:

eek said:

OldKingCole said:

McDonnell speaking now; says he wants to be absolutely clear on immigration. After the UK leaves the EU “free movement of labour and people will come to an end.”

Anti-immigration feeling stemmed from austerity and economic uncertainty, he says, which Labour also needs to confront.

Quote from the Guardian’s “instant” site

McDonnell has actually grasped what Labour needs to say to keep the Northern and Midland seats.

He is a winner if Corbyn will stand down....

At the expense of a 1983 style wipe out in the South.

The choice is a 1983 style wipe out in the North or a 1983 style wipe out in the South. Which one would you go for.....

eek said:

AlastairMeeks said:

@GIN1138 I sometimes wish that we could post in different colours to highlight when we're being ironic.

YOU CAN You just need skills in what Popbitch used to call the Dark Arts....

Annoyingly blink is no longer valid HTML....

"Annoyingly" I can't do a marquee either...

Christopher Hope (@christopherhope)
July 1, 2016
Oh dear Just three Tory MPs are here for Michael Gove's launch. Perhaps even the Parliamentary party is squeamish about him #ToryLeadership


Michael Crick ‏@MichaelLCrick 1h1 hour ago
There must be a good chance that Theresa May will be Prime Minister by next Thursday, if she gets commanding lead among MPs

Who is Lynton working with now (he was Team Boris until yesterday) ?

rottenborough said:

Easy Jet in talks about moving HQ out of UK.

Do you have a link. There were rumours about that earlier this week that Easyjet denied...

Isabel Hardman ‏@IsabelHardman 2m2 minutes ago
“Whatever loyalty is, I don’t have it,” he [didn’t] add

I'm so using this as a headline

Gove, Gove will tear us apart

NickPalmer said:

I think McDonnell's statement is pretty damned good. It's this sort of detailed analysis and forward-looking policy discussion that we need from anyone who is standing for the leadership (which apparently he isn't). If, say, Angela Eagle stands, I'm not interested in her opinions about Jeremy as I've heard them at length, I want to know what she stands for.

McDonnell's position is interesting if Corbyn did decide to step down. He has two big negatives - he's seen as much less sweet-natured than Corbyn by many other MPs (Corbyn is mostly liked by the resignees, they just don't think he's good at the job), and he once said pleasant things about the IRA (he's apologised and maybe it's yesterday's issue, or not?). On the other hand, he's a genuinely creative thinker who is doing a much better job of recognising changing realities and developing new policies (over everything from the economy to migration to Trident) than most shadow ministers. What do others think?

Nick, as you know I have never voted Labour and have thought that the party has always done more damage than good. However, I have to admit to if not actually liking some of McDonnell's ideas then at least thinking that he was on to something and deserved more of a hearing than he has been getting.

Personally, I could never vote for the bloke or the party if he was its leader because of his stance in other areas. But that is just me, others may well feel those are yesterday's issues.

rottenborough said:

Easy Jet in talks about moving HQ out of UK.

They should move to France and "enjoy" the french labour laws.

TheScreamingEagles said:

Michael Gove is the Tory Ed Miliband, just imagine him eating a bacon sandwich

He's not *that* bad. Gove's time at education and justice has done nowhere near as much harm to the country as Ed whilst at energy.

But do I see him as PM? No. He doesn't have *it*, whatever *it* is.

rcs1000 said:

John_M said:

tyson said:

@Sandpit

I posted yesterday- have you bought some special glasses? You know you can buy some that when you look at Corbyn you see JFK. With the Brexit ones, what do you see? A make believe prosperous Britain where we rule again our colonies. Maybe we can reverse the US War of Independence when our might navy sails again.

Corbrexer- defintion- loony tunes ideologue who hasn't the remotest clue how the world works.

You keep ignoring the fact that Italy is a basket case. You're the one whose blinkered. You think its the EU right or wrong. That's sad.

If do a scatter plot with "government majority" on one side and "economic growth" on the other, you find that Italy has very clear inverse correlation. No government means strong economic growth; having a government (particularly one with a majority) means poor growth.

You may have discovered an important economic law here. This could be your John Nash moment. How many years until you pick up your Nobel?

eek said:

rcs1000 said:

eek said:

OldKingCole said:

McDonnell speaking now; says he wants to be absolutely clear on immigration. After the UK leaves the EU “free movement of labour and people will come to an end.”

Anti-immigration feeling stemmed from austerity and economic uncertainty, he says, which Labour also needs to confront.

Quote from the Guardian’s “instant” site

McDonnell has actually grasped what Labour needs to say to keep the Northern and Midland seats.

He is a winner if Corbyn will stand down....

At the expense of a 1983 style wipe out in the South.

The choice is a 1983 style wipe out in the North or a 1983 style wipe out in the South. Which one would you go for.....

As a man who believes government spending should be no more than 7% of GDP (where it was pre-WW1), I would go for both.

Mr. Lowlander, quite, but you must (as a relative newcomer) learn to be patient with Mr. Eagles. He suffers delusions of historical understanding.

Mr. Eagles, blimey. Was the formerly defeated candidate a sceptic about the EU?

In fact @rcs1000, the demographics, Scottish/Welsh problems and their split metro/wc base are really working against Labour at the moment. I don't see how they muster even a coalition forming total without the Midlands.

They have to pivot away from metropolitanism to survive.

rottenborough said:

Easy Jet in talks about moving HQ out of UK.

Easy come, easy Gove.

Groovy.

Gove down to 12 on BF.

Mr. Eagles, You Give Gove A Bad Name.

JosiasJessop said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Michael Gove is the Tory Ed Miliband, just imagine him eating a bacon sandwich

He's not *that* bad. Gove's time at education and justice has done nowhere near as much harm to the country as Ed whilst at energy.

But do I see him as PM? No. He doesn't have *it*, whatever *it* is.

Gove's a very good minister, but he doesn't look like a PM. Contrast with May's speech yesterday, even down to the room he's in.

John_M said:

NickPalmer said:

I think McDonnell's statement is pretty damned good. It's this sort of detailed analysis and forward-looking policy discussion that we need from anyone who is standing for the leadership (which apparently he isn't). If, say, Angela Eagle stands, I'm not interested in her opinions about Jeremy as I've heard them at length, I want to know what she stands for.

McDonnell's position is interesting if Corbyn did decide to step down. He has two big negatives - he's seen as much less sweet-natured than Corbyn by many other MPs (Corbyn is mostly liked by the resignees, they just don't think he's good at the job), and he once said pleasant things about the IRA (he's apologised and maybe it's yesterday's issue, or not?). On the other hand, he's a genuinely creative thinker who is doing a much better job of recognising changing realities and developing new policies (over everything from the economy to migration to Trident) than most shadow ministers. What do others think?

I'm not your target demographic, but it's clear that McDonnell is a political operator. He can string a sentence together. He's far more credible than Jeremy Corbyn and he wants to win an election. He's talking about policies not abstracts and ideals. Ticks the boxes for me.

I agree with everything JohnM said.
Nick- I don't think being a bastard is a negative BTW. I think a kindly nature and political leadership are directly incompatible....I don't want my leader to be like my kindly Uncle Ralph. Being a cnut- the one swear word I will not write on this site- is a very good thing. So, he gets my tick too.
And the IRA stuff- yes it's a cross, but I'm sure someone as clever as McDonnell can make amends for this if he's leader.

Patrick tries to post something in

rottenborough said:

OldKingCole said:

From the Guardian again: Austrian presidential election result overturned and must be held again

Oh FFS.

Yup, I’d be distinctly unimpressed if I was Austrian.

Oh dear, are people just discovering the range of HTML tags? This is going to get annoying very quickly.

eek said:

Lowlander said:

eek said:

AlastairMeeks said:

@GIN1138 I sometimes wish that we could post in different colours to highlight when we're being ironic.

YOU CAN You just need skills in what Popbitch used to call the Dark Arts....

Annoyingly blink is no longer valid HTML....

"orange"? "orange"? Pros use #FFA500

I find the use of words rather than HEX more poignant

Can you make strong points still?

<font color='purple'>purple</font>

and change purple to colour of choice

DaemonBarber said:

eek said:

Lowlander said:

eek said:

AlastairMeeks said:

@GIN1138 I sometimes wish that we could post in different colours to highlight when we're being ironic.

YOU CAN You just need skills in what Popbitch used to call the Dark Arts....

Annoyingly blink is no longer valid HTML....

"orange"? "orange"? Pros use #FFA500

I find the use of words rather than HEX more poignant

Can you make strong points still?

Maybe

RodCrosby said:

PlatoSaid said:

dr_spyn said:

Meanwhile in Vienna.

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/748819236378685440

Ha! Hofer sticks two fingers up at the EU.

I'm delighted for the Austrians. The whole thing smelled rotten. And the EU threatening them if they made the *wrong choice* was appalling.

You guessed it.

"Postal Vote Fraud" is the reason.

100+ % turnouts in some wards.

Green

Sandpit said:

JosiasJessop said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Michael Gove is the Tory Ed Miliband, just imagine him eating a bacon sandwich

He's not *that* bad. Gove's time at education and justice has done nowhere near as much harm to the country as Ed whilst at energy.

But do I see him as PM? No. He doesn't have *it*, whatever *it* is.

Gove's a very good minister, but he doesn't look like a PM. Contrast with May's speech yesterday, even down to the room he's in.

Can anyone do a blue screen - style thing with that sort of yellow colour? It might contrast with his shirt, but it'd be fun to put different backgrounds in ...

Oh, and on HTML tags: let's hope blink doesn't work in your browsers.

DaemonBarber said:

eek said:

Lowlander said:

eek said:

AlastairMeeks said:

@GIN1138 I sometimes wish that we could post in different colours to highlight when we're being ironic.

YOU CAN You just need skills in what Popbitch used to call the Dark Arts....

Annoyingly blink is no longer valid HTML....

"orange"? "orange"? Pros use #FFA500

I find the use of words rather than HEX more poignant

Can you make strong points still?

YES

Sandpit said:

Oh dear, are people just discovering the range of HTML tags? This is going to get annoying very quickly.

Yep.. My work here is done for the day.

Evening Standard poll on support for GE & 2nd Referendum.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/brexit-poll-most-brits-want-general-election-to-be-called-this-year-a3285706.html

RodCrosby said:

PlatoSaid said:

dr_spyn said:

Meanwhile in Vienna.

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/748819236378685440

Ha! Hofer sticks two fingers up at the EU.

I'm delighted for the Austrians. The whole thing smelled rotten. And the EU threatening them if they made the *wrong choice* was appalling.

You guessed it.

"Postal Vote Fraud" is the reason.

Are they rerunning the whole thing, or just the final round?

rcs1000 said:

John_M said:

rcs1000 said:

John_M said:

tyson said:

@Sandpit

I posted yesterday- have you bought some special glasses? You know you can buy some that when you look at Corbyn you see JFK. With the Brexit ones, what do you see? A make believe prosperous Britain where we rule again our colonies. Maybe we can reverse the US War of Independence when our might navy sails again.

Corbrexer- defintion- loony tunes ideologue who hasn't the remotest clue how the world works.

You keep ignoring the fact that Italy is a basket case. You're the one whose blinkered. You think its the EU right or wrong. That's sad.

If do a scatter plot with "government majority" on one side and "economic growth" on the other, you find that Italy has very clear inverse correlation. No government means strong economic growth; having a government (particularly one with a majority) means poor growth.

You may have discovered an important economic law here. This could be your John Nash moment. How many years until you pick up your Nobel?

It only seems to work for Italy, sadly. My theory is that Italian politicians are so venal and incompetent that the further the way they are from power, the better.

Did you know that the Five Star Movement initially applied to join the pro-European Alliance of Liberals and Democrats grouping in the European Parliament, and when they were turned down joined the UKIP grouping? Bizarre.

The MEPs have to form coalition groups of a certain size to qualify for EU grants of millions of euros. To hell with the ideaology.

SimonStClare said:

rottenborough said:

Gove down to 12 on BF.

A crushing blow for the Jacobites4Gove team. - Can they recover?

He is very disappointing - not going anywhere in my opinion