Fox It is not just Greece, in Spain the anti austerity Podemos are leading the polls ahead of the opposition Socialists, in Australia yesterday Queensland Labor routed the coalition on an anti-cuts platform, in the US even Obama is setting a platform of taxing the wealthy to pay for investment. The tide is beginning to move from austerity. Hollande is now overtaken by the anti austerity Marine Le Pen. Labour needs to get its core values voters in the tent, in the battle between the austerity Coalition and austerity lite voters will elect the real thing, though Cameron is almost certain to fall short of a majority
Has the tide ever been in favour of austerity? It's not something you advocate to win elections, it's something you have to do after you win them because you haven't got enough money.
Absolutely. Wise words. We will yet see Syriza implementing austerity.
If Miliband cannot cope with what a bloke who runs a drugstore chain says how can anyone believe he can deal with Putin or ISIS etc?
None of the options can deal with Putin, because he is willing to do things that to counter would require we and our allies doing things we are not going to do.
EdinTokyo I would say there was from 2009 with Merkel winning a majority with the FDP in 2009, the election of the Coalition in the UK and the Tea Party in the US in 2010, the election of the Popular Party in Spain in 2011 and Harper's reelection and the victory of the NDs in Greece in 2012 and Abbott in 2013 all on a platform of spending cuts. However, after 5+ years of austerity voters expected their economies to be near a return to surplus now and are beginning to revolt at the prospect of yet more misery
"tim had his moments of madness on here (don't we all?), but for me,he was one of the best posters on PB, and I think his absence cheapens the site. It involved his personal details being posted, during one of his frequent spats with Sean T, and I think tim did a bobajob and flounced, if I remember it correctly. My memory is a bit hazy, but I don't think tim was averse to a bit of personal detail outing as well. I live in hope that he returns for the GE."
Yep, I echo those thoughts. At his best tim could be very funny.
When thoughtful or talking about things other than politics (music, particularly), tim was great. Some of his put downs were very funny, and insightful. But his two great failings from my POV were the nastiness of his personal attacks (think his vendettas against Plato and Fitalass) once he got going, and his repetitiveness once on a rant.
Tim say one or two things of note but he was so obsessed with PB at times it was a dull Tim only site. Much better since he's gone.
EdinTokyo I would say there was from 2009 with Merkel winning a majority with the FDP in 2009, the election of the Coalition in the UK and the Tea Party in the US in 2010, the election of the Popular Party in Spain in 2011 and Harper's reelection and the victory of the NDs in Greece in 2012 and Abbott in 2013 all on a platform of spending cuts. However, after 5+ years of austerity voters expected their economies to be near a return to surplus now and are beginning to revolt at the prospect of yet more misery
Indeed. In fairness they were in a bind - either the austerity required to return us to surplus would have been self defeating (though some have believed that from the beginning, though not most people I think), or was more painful than people were willing to tolerate, which means that the pain has been stretched out yet further, and there are years yet more to go at the very least. Even if it is our own reluctance to take the necessary medicine that has prevented harsher measures to tackle the problem, we are still unwilling to bear the cost of it any more.
To be honest I think if someone just admitted they'd stretch it out over 10 years but at an level that people will barely notice because of the timeframe, people would not mind. They want the problem dealt with, eventually, so long as it is painless.
I reckon if the Lib Dems weren't in Government with the Conservatives, they could well be ahead of Labour. The Conservative party's failure to capture those 10 or so extra seats at the GE was the worst thing that could have happened to the Lib Dems.
One of the reasons I've been so confident of Clegg holding Sheffield Hallam is because of the university staff that live in the constituency like Clegg's dealing on Uni fees, and dislike Ed for playing games over it.
I honestly doubt whether CCHQ could devise a plan to parachute their own plant into the Labour Party who could secretly do more damage than Ed is doing all on his own......
Just everything he touches turns to.... well, crap.
But I’ll offer any PBer a bet that he’ll turn out a more successful leader than Cameron in increasing the Labour share of the vote, never forget that Dave is second rate and only put 3.7% on the Tory total.
10 £50 bets available at evens that Ed will better Daves performance.
I did find tim tiresome for his repetition, but his total disappearance does make me wonder for his health. Anyone had contact?
Looking at the bets he is liable for his disappearance is probably more for wealth than health reasons.
tim had his moments of madness on here (don't we all?), but for me,he was one of the best posters on PB, and I think his absence cheapens the site. It involved his personal details being posted, during one of his frequent spats with Sean T, and I think tim did a bobajob and flounced, if I remember it correctly. My memory is a bit hazy, but I don't think tim was averse to a bit of personal detail outing as well. I live in hope that he returns for the GE.
But I’ll offer any PBer a bet that he’ll turn out a more successful leader than Cameron in increasing the Labour share of the vote, never forget that Dave is second rate and only put 3.7% on the Tory total.
I did find tim tiresome for his repetition, but his total disappearance does make me wonder for his health. Anyone had contact?
Looking at the bets he is liable for his disappearance is probably more for wealth than health reasons.
tim had his moments of madness on here (don't we all?), but for me,he was one of the best posters on PB, and I think his absence cheapens the site. It involved his personal details being posted, during one of his frequent spats with Sean T, and I think tim did a bobajob and flounced, if I remember it correctly. My memory is a bit hazy, but I don't think tim was averse to a bit of personal detail outing as well. I live in hope that he returns for the GE.
So he could dish it out but not take it?
He was a nasty poster, particularly towards blue supporting women.
I knew him (on line) from another site too and am not sad to see him flounce off.
One of the reasons I've been so confident of Clegg holding Sheffield Hallam is because of the university staff that live in the constituency like Clegg's dealing on Uni fees, and dislike Ed for playing games over it.
I talked about this yeaterday, Labour's plans don't add up - but the average student is now graduating with £43k of debt - that's ridiculous and given the 25 year timeframe, and the fact it's RPI linked means that quite simply there is a huge pot of money that's simply never going to be paid back.
But I’ll offer any PBer a bet that he’ll turn out a more successful leader than Cameron in increasing the Labour share of the vote, never forget that Dave is second rate and only put 3.7% on the Tory total.
10 £50 bets available at evens that Ed will better Daves performance.
I did find tim tiresome for his repetition, but his total disappearance does make me wonder for his health. Anyone had contact?
Looking at the bets he is liable for his disappearance is probably more for wealth than health reasons.
tim had his moments of madness on here (don't we all?), but for me,he was one of the best posters on PB, and I think his absence cheapens the site. It involved his personal details being posted, during one of his frequent spats with Sean T, and I think tim did a bobajob and flounced, if I remember it correctly. My memory is a bit hazy, but I don't think tim was averse to a bit of personal detail outing as well. I live in hope that he returns for the GE.
I did find tim tiresome for his repetition, but his total disappearance does make me wonder for his health. Anyone had contact?
Looking at the bets he is liable for his disappearance is probably more for wealth than health reasons.
tim had his moments of madness on here (don't we all?), but for me,he was one of the best posters on PB, and I think his absence cheapens the site. It involved his personal details being posted, during one of his frequent spats with Sean T, and I think tim did a bobajob and flounced, if I remember it correctly. My memory is a bit hazy, but I don't think tim was averse to a bit of personal detail outing as well. I live in hope that he returns for the GE.
So he could dish it out but not take it?
As I said, I'm a bit hazy on his flounce, but he did take a lot of flack, but he dished it out as well. You'd have had a few words with him, I suspect.
Nothing major that I can recall, in fact we cobbled together a couple of decent reality TV bets between us. He did get OTT at times though
Tim did not flounce . He reached his aimed milestone of 10,000 posts and decided that was enough . The revealing of his ( and his wife's ) personal details by Plato were also a major contributory factor .
I honestly doubt whether CCHQ could devise a plan to parachute their own plant into the Labour Party who could secretly do more damage than Ed is doing all on his own......
Just everything he touches turns to.... well, crap.
And... deep joy, it's far to late for them to get rid of him.
Do Labour really think that picking a fight with anyone who doesn't agree with their BS policies is good politics.
There are no major businesses who support them because their policies are crap.
If Miliband cannot cope with what a bloke who runs a drugstore chain says how can anyone believe he can deal with Putin or ISIS etc?
Miliband stood up to the Americans and the neo cons and stopped the invasion of Syria. It is Cameron I worry about, he actively created both IS as well as the crisis in Ukraine.
MTimT It does though show he is prepared to go on offense against the Tea Party
It shows he is a lame duck President who has calculated that he is not going to be able to work with Congress so he is free to say whatever he wants, and to use the bully pulpit to try to set the agenda for the next Presidential Election. To that extent, what he is saying now is closer to his real ideological beliefs than anything we have seen to date.
He has surprised some with this tactic, and they think of it in a positive light. Personally, I think that once his brave new proposals all come to nought, the public (and then the media, in that order) will tire of it and come to see him as increasingly irrelevant. It will be the populists in the Dem party setting the agenda with the Clintonites fighting a rearguard action and coopting those bits of the populist agenda they feel they need to in order to stay in the primaries.
I honestly doubt whether CCHQ could devise a plan to parachute their own plant into the Labour Party who could secretly do more damage than Ed is doing all on his own......
Just everything he touches turns to.... well, crap.
But I’ll offer any PBer a bet that he’ll turn out a more successful leader than Cameron in increasing the Labour share of the vote, never forget that Dave is second rate and only put 3.7% on the Tory total.
10 £50 bets available at evens that Ed will better Daves performance.
I did find tim tiresome for his repetition, but his total disappearance does make me wonder for his health. Anyone had contact?
Looking at the bets he is liable for his disappearance is probably more for wealth than health reasons.
tim had his moments of madness on here (don't we all?), but for me,he was one of the best posters on PB, and I think his absence cheapens the site. It involved his personal details being posted, during one of his frequent spats with Sean T, and I think tim did a bobajob and flounced, if I remember it correctly. My memory is a bit hazy, but I don't think tim was averse to a bit of personal detail outing as well. I live in hope that he returns for the GE.
I did find tim tiresome for his repetition, but his total disappearance does make me wonder for his health. Anyone had contact?
Looking at the bets he is liable for his disappearance is probably more for wealth than health reasons.
So he could dish it out but not take it?
As I said, I'm a bit hazy on his flounce, but he did take a lot of flack, but he dished it out as well. You'd have had a few words with him, I suspect.
Nothing major that I can recall, in fact we cobbled together a couple of decent reality TV bets between us. He did get OTT at times though
Tim did not flounce . He reached his aimed milestone of 10,000 posts and decided that was enough . The revealing of his ( and his wife's ) personal details by Plato were also a major contributory factor .
I reckon if the Lib Dems weren't in Government with the Conservatives, they could well be ahead of Labour. The Conservative party's failure to capture those 10 or so extra seats at the GE was the worst thing that could have happened to the Lib Dems.
An interesting what if scenario indeed. Certainly they would have a very easy job to play in comparison. The thought must keep Clegg up nights.
Do Labour really think that picking a fight with anyone who doesn't agree with their BS policies is good politics.
There are no major businesses who support them because their policies are crap.
If Miliband cannot cope with what a bloke who runs a drugstore chain says how can anyone believe he can deal with Putin or ISIS etc?
Miliband stood up to the Americans and the neo cons and stopped the invasion of Syria. It is Cameron I worry about, he actively created both IS as well as the crisis in Ukraine.
One of the reasons I've been so confident of Clegg holding Sheffield Hallam is because of the university staff that live in the constituency like Clegg's dealing on Uni fees, and dislike Ed for playing games over it.
I talked about this yeaterday, Labour's plans don't add up - but the average student is now graduating with £43k of debt - that's ridiculous and given the 25 year timeframe, and the fact it's RPI linked means that quite simply there is a huge pot of money that's simply never going to be paid back.
And? That's fine. That money came out of public funds before and it will again. It's essentially a capped graduate tax but with more power to recover the money from those that then choose to live overseas.
Do Labour really think that picking a fight with anyone who doesn't agree with their BS policies is good politics.
There are no major businesses who support them because their policies are crap.
If Miliband cannot cope with what a bloke who runs a drugstore chain says how can anyone believe he can deal with Putin or ISIS etc?
Miliband stood up to the Americans and the neo cons and stopped the invasion of Syria.
Was that really his intention though? My recollection is hazy, but I had thought Labour had sought to delay matters by defeating the government motion, but their own amendment failed, but that they had been in favour of action in Syria in principle?
One of the reasons I've been so confident of Clegg holding Sheffield Hallam is because of the university staff that live in the constituency like Clegg's dealing on Uni fees, and dislike Ed for playing games over it.
I talked about this yeaterday, Labour's plans don't add up - but the average student is now graduating with £43k of debt - that's ridiculous and given the 25 year timeframe, and the fact it's RPI linked means that quite simply there is a huge pot of money that's simply never going to be paid back.
But that was kind of the point, it was a de facto graduate tax, with the possibility of paying it off entirely. The threshold was suitably high for repayment, with lots of concessions from the libdems which wiped out any kind of saving from the treasury.
I honestly doubt whether CCHQ could devise a plan to parachute their own plant into the Labour Party who could secretly do more damage than Ed is doing all on his own......
Just everything he touches turns to.... well, crap.
Nicola Murray would be better...
The thick of it writing team must be watching this and thinking that they could never have got away with it. Nobody would believe that such ineptitude was possible in the real world.
I honestly doubt whether CCHQ could devise a plan to parachute their own plant into the Labour Party who could secretly do more damage than Ed is doing all on his own......
Just everything he touches turns to.... well, crap.
And... deep joy, it's far to late for them to get rid of him.
Just for the betting implications....what if, say Ed wakes up tomorrow, looks at the papers, then looks in the mirror and says to himself "who the fuck was I kidding that I was up to this job?" and does a Reggie Perrin....
Then I assume that Harriet would lead the party into the election? And if she won enough seats, would become Prime Minister until a new Labour leader could be elected? Which might bugger up a few bets....
One of the reasons I've been so confident of Clegg holding Sheffield Hallam is because of the university staff that live in the constituency like Clegg's dealing on Uni fees, and dislike Ed for playing games over it.
I talked about this yeaterday, Labour's plans don't add up - but the average student is now graduating with £43k of debt - that's ridiculous and given the 25 year timeframe, and the fact it's RPI linked means that quite simply there is a huge pot of money that's simply never going to be paid back.
But that was kind of the point, it was a de facto graduate tax, with the possibility of paying it off entirely. The threshold was suitably high for repayment, with lots of concessions from the libdems which wiped out any kind of saving from the treasury.
Really the worst of the concessions were to those from poor backgrounds. The whole effing point of the system is that YOU pay back for your own education, as and when you can afford it. Your parents' income should be irrelevant.
The thick of it writing team must be watching this and thinking that they could never have got away with it. Nobody would believe that such ineptitude was possible in the real world.
One of the reasons I've been so confident of Clegg holding Sheffield Hallam is because of the university staff that live in the constituency like Clegg's dealing on Uni fees, and dislike Ed for playing games over it.
I talked about this yeaterday, Labour's plans don't add up - but the average student is now graduating with £43k of debt - that's ridiculous and given the 25 year timeframe, and the fact it's RPI linked means that quite simply there is a huge pot of money that's simply never going to be paid back.
But that was kind of the point, it was a de facto graduate tax, with the possibility of paying it off entirely. The threshold was suitably high for repayment, with lots of concessions from the libdems which wiped out any kind of saving from the treasury.
Really the worst of the concessions were to those from poor backgrounds. The whole effing point of the system is that YOU pay back for your own education, as and when you can afford it. Your parents' income should be irrelevant.
what if, say Ed wakes up tomorrow, looks at the papers, then looks in the mirror and says to himself "who the fuck was I kidding that I was up to this job?" and does a Reggie Perrin....
MTimT At least in terms of attacks on Wall Street and demands that the rich and wealthy pay more of a share of the tax burden Obama is not too far from US public opinion
One of the reasons I've been so confident of Clegg holding Sheffield Hallam is because of the university staff that live in the constituency like Clegg's dealing on Uni fees, and dislike Ed for playing games over it.
I talked about this yeaterday, Labour's plans don't add up - but the average student is now graduating with £43k of debt - that's ridiculous and given the 25 year timeframe, and the fact it's RPI linked means that quite simply there is a huge pot of money that's simply never going to be paid back.
But that was kind of the point, it was a de facto graduate tax, with the possibility of paying it off entirely. The threshold was suitably high for repayment, with lots of concessions from the libdems which wiped out any kind of saving from the treasury.
Really the worst of the concessions were to those from poor backgrounds. The whole effing point of the system is that YOU pay back for your own education, as and when you can afford it. Your parents' income should be irrelevant.
I honestly doubt whether CCHQ could devise a plan to parachute their own plant into the Labour Party who could secretly do more damage than Ed is doing all on his own......
Just everything he touches turns to.... well, crap.
Nicola Murray would be better...
The thick of it writing team must be watching this and thinking that they could never have got away with it. Nobody would believe that such ineptitude was possible in the real world.
I remember watching the 2010 campaign, the singing elvis, that bigoted woman, it had descended into something that was surreal, that had Amando Iannucci come up with the idea with script writers for the thick of it, they would have rejected it as lacking plausibility.
They had a singing Elvis following the Prime Minister FFS! And it was planned!!
kle4 Indeed, but it is the level of the pain they are now in revolt against
Hence why they will accept it being lowered a lot more, even if it stretches it out. People don't really care about fiscal responsibility, just that things are not so bad that they cannot ignore the fiscal irresponsibility. Even if Labour do not want to go full anti-austerity, they can go that far easily enough.
Do Labour really think that picking a fight with anyone who doesn't agree with their BS policies is good politics.
There are no major businesses who support them because their policies are crap.
If Miliband cannot cope with what a bloke who runs a drugstore chain says how can anyone believe he can deal with Putin or ISIS etc?
Miliband stood up to the Americans and the neo cons and stopped the invasion of Syria.
Was that really his intention though? My recollection is hazy, but I had thought Labour had sought to delay matters by defeating the government motion, but their own amendment failed, but that they had been in favour of action in Syria in principle?
Maybe true - but here was no 'invasion of Syria'. There was to be a vote in the UN on bombing the Syrian forces gassing their own civilians. Miliband stood his previous opinions on their heads and voted against that. This pulled the rug from under the rebels we wanted to support. Enter ISIS, who belatedly we did end up bombing when they started a policy of what amounted to genocide.
Plenty of posters here talking about ed as if he is ten points behind.
He isn't.
Labour may be on the ropes but they sure as hell ain;t on the canvass. Not even close.
If we're going the boxing analogy, this seems like both sides are rocking against the ropes on opposite sides, following bottles thrown from the crowd. Just a question of who gets rocked hardest.
More of a wrestling contest really, what with cartoonish opponents (read more ideologically extreme parties) bursting into the ring to mess with things.
One of the reasons I've been so confident of Clegg holding Sheffield Hallam is because of the university staff that live in the constituency like Clegg's dealing on Uni fees, and dislike Ed for playing games over it.
I talked about this yeaterday, Labour's plans don't add up - but the average student is now graduating with £43k of debt - that's ridiculous and given the 25 year timeframe, and the fact it's RPI linked means that quite simply there is a huge pot of money that's simply never going to be paid back.
But that was kind of the point, it was a de facto graduate tax, with the possibility of paying it off entirely. The threshold was suitably high for repayment, with lots of concessions from the libdems which wiped out any kind of saving from the treasury.
Really the worst of the concessions were to those from poor backgrounds. The whole effing point of the system is that YOU pay back for your own education, as and when you can afford it. Your parents' income should be irrelevant.
Do Labour really think that picking a fight with anyone who doesn't agree with their BS policies is good politics.
There are no major businesses who support them because their policies are crap.
If Miliband cannot cope with what a bloke who runs a drugstore chain says how can anyone believe he can deal with Putin or ISIS etc?
Miliband stood up to the Americans and the neo cons and stopped the invasion of Syria. It is Cameron I worry about, he actively created both IS as well as the crisis in Ukraine.
Either that or he was playing politics
I suppose that is one way to describe representing popular opinion, pursuing British interests and doing the right thing. Thinking of what motivated Cameron terrifies me.
Plenty of posters here talking about ed as if he is ten points behind.
He isn't.
Labour may be on the ropes but they sure as hell ain;t on the canvass. Not even close.
Labour haven't quite the hang of the rope a dope thing.
They are trying to make do with just a dope....
The political class is looking down the road a little way to the point where the voters get engaged. And they shake their heads at what Ed will be seen as offering those voters....
Do Labour really think that picking a fight with anyone who doesn't agree with their BS policies is good politics.
There are no major businesses who support them because their policies are crap.
If Miliband cannot cope with what a bloke who runs a drugstore chain says how can anyone believe he can deal with Putin or ISIS etc?
Miliband stood up to the Americans and the neo cons and stopped the invasion of Syria.
Was that really his intention though? My recollection is hazy, but I had thought Labour had sought to delay matters by defeating the government motion, but their own amendment failed, but that they had been in favour of action in Syria in principle?
Maybe true - but here was no 'invasion of Syria'. There was to be a vote in the UN on bombing the Syrian forces gassing their own civilians. Miliband stood his previous opinions on their heads and voted against that. This pulled the rug from under the rebels we wanted to support. Enter ISIS, who belatedly we did end up bombing when they started a policy of what amounted to genocide.
ISIS were already there, bombing their enemy would have helped them along with the rebels you wanted to support, to the extent that the kind of rebels you thought you were supporting even existed in the first place.
Plenty of posters here talking about ed as if he is ten points behind.
He isn't.
Labour may be on the ropes but they sure as hell ain;t on the canvass. Not even close.
Only four polls in the whole of January put Labour on more than 35% while two polls put them on less than their GE 2010 level.
It is a lamentable situation for the Opposition to be in, and given the very large difference with two years ago, it is understandable that anti-Labour posters will be feeling on the up, even if the average for January as a whole still gives Labour a slender lead.
English voters believe Labour-SNP coalition will destabilise Britain Two thirds of English voters are against pact between SNP and Labour and oppose scrapping Trident, new poll shows
One of the reasons I've been so confident of Clegg holding Sheffield Hallam is because of the university staff that live in the constituency like Clegg's dealing on Uni fees, and dislike Ed for playing games over it.
I talked about this yeaterday, Labour's plans don't add up - but the average student is now graduating with £43k of debt - that's ridiculous and given the 25 year timeframe, and the fact it's RPI linked means that quite simply there is a huge pot of money that's simply never going to be paid back.
But that was kind of the point, it was a de facto graduate tax, with the possibility of paying it off entirely. The threshold was suitably high for repayment, with lots of concessions from the libdems which wiped out any kind of saving from the treasury.
Really the worst of the concessions were to those from poor backgrounds. The whole effing point of the system is that YOU pay back for your own education, as and when you can afford it. Your parents' income should be irrelevant.
English voters believe Labour-SNP coalition will destabilise Britain Two thirds of English voters are against pact between SNP and Labour and oppose scrapping Trident, new poll shows
'no longer'?? ''During the seventeenth century migration tended to be long distance and international. As a result, besides its youth, London's population in this period was also characterised by its diversity. All the regions and countries that made up the British Isles were well represented by self-conscious communities of migrants. Specific neighbourhoods were associated with Yorkshire, Scotland and Ireland. At the same time the Huguenot refugees from France successfully carved out a distinct district for themselves in Spitalfields; while Sephardic Jews and Ashkenazim from Poland and Germany settled around Whitechapel and Petticoat Lane. The Irish came to dominate the area around St Giles in the Fields, which came to be known as "Little Dublin".'' http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/Population-history-of-london.jsp
''At the same time, international, and indeed global, migration (both economic and forced) became more significant. Following the end of hostilities at the conclusions of the Seven Years War in 1763 and the American War in 1783, a large number of black men and women from Africa, the Caribbean and North America settled in London''
It has always been so for London. In part this must be due to geography, but it also grew itself by its bootstraps and as such it has always been a magnet for migrants.
Looks like the Greeks are angling for a timetable on interest and capital repayments that is linked to GDP. Not a stupid idea, and one that allows all sides to claim victory.
Big stumbling block at present is that the troika will not accede to the changes unless Greece remains under supervision.
Plenty of posters here talking about ed as if he is ten points behind.
He isn't.
Labour may be on the ropes but they sure as hell ain;t on the canvass. Not even close.
If we're going the boxing analogy, this seems like both sides are rocking against the ropes on opposite sides, following bottles thrown from the crowd. Just a question of who gets rocked hardest.
More of a wrestling contest really, what with cartoonish opponents (read more ideologically extreme parties) bursting into the ring to mess with things.
Leaving the boxing part out of it - who if anybody is in the stocks?
Looks like the Greeks are angling for a timetable on interest and capital repayments that is linked to GDP. Not a stupid idea, and one that allows all sides to claim victory.
Big stumbling block at present is that the troika will not accede to the changes unless Greece remains under supervision.
Is that ... if there is no increase in GDP it does not pay? Neat. AND they do not want supervision? Even neater. I'll have a bit of that down at NatWest later this week.
Hmm... just to labour the point - this idea comes from a country pathologically unable to be straight with anyone in terms of its finances?
Looks like the Greeks are angling for a timetable on interest and capital repayments that is linked to GDP. Not a stupid idea, and one that allows all sides to claim victory.
Also feels like something you could potentially scale up quite nicely for other EU countries into a system to do fiscal transfers where they need them.
Looks like the Greeks are angling for a timetable on interest and capital repayments that is linked to GDP. Not a stupid idea, and one that allows all sides to claim victory.
Big stumbling block at present is that the troika will not accede to the changes unless Greece remains under supervision.
This is going to be like the current student loan system - for an entire country isn't it ?
One of the reasons I've been so confident of Clegg holding Sheffield Hallam is because of the university staff that live in the constituency like Clegg's dealing on Uni fees, and dislike Ed for playing games over it.
I talked about this yeaterday, Labour's plans don't add up - but the average student is now graduating with £43k of debt - that's ridiculous and given the 25 year timeframe, and the fact it's RPI linked means that quite simply there is a huge pot of money that's simply never going to be paid back.
But that was kind of the point, it was a de facto graduate tax, with the possibility of paying it off entirely. The threshold was suitably high for repayment, with lots of concessions from the libdems which wiped out any kind of saving from the treasury.
Really the worst of the concessions were to those from poor backgrounds. The whole effing point of the system is that YOU pay back for your own education, as and when you can afford it. Your parents' income should be irrelevant.
Is the NPV of future write off estimate being accounted for in the Student loan book properly... one does wonder.
This [student loans] might even be more expensive than the old student grant system, depending how much does end up written off. Btw, it was the Treasury (prop G Osborne, Esq) who stopped it being an actual graduate tax, not the LibDems, and not David Willetts.
Looks like the Greeks are angling for a timetable on interest and capital repayments that is linked to GDP. Not a stupid idea, and one that allows all sides to claim victory.
Big stumbling block at present is that the troika will not accede to the changes unless Greece remains under supervision.
Is that ... if there is no increase in GDP it does not pay?
Realistically if there's no increase in GDP they won't be able to pay and the creditors already have to eat the downside, so from their point of view there has to be something to be said for a deal where they get some potential upside in the unlikely event that the Greeks get their shit together and their economy starts growing gangbusters.
Looks like the Greeks are angling for a timetable on interest and capital repayments that is linked to GDP. Not a stupid idea, and one that allows all sides to claim victory.
Big stumbling block at present is that the troika will not accede to the changes unless Greece remains under supervision.
Is that ... if there is no increase in GDP it does not pay? Neat. AND they do not want supervision? Even neater. I'll have a bit of that down at NatWest later this week.
Tying two subjects together, welcome to the student loans system.
And if any parties are wondering to put in their manifestos, income-contingent loans might be extended to other areas such as agricultural or industrial support.
I honestly doubt whether CCHQ could devise a plan to parachute their own plant into the Labour Party who could secretly do more damage than Ed is doing all on his own......
Just everything he touches turns to.... well, crap.
And... deep joy, it's far to late for them to get rid of him.
Just for the betting implications....what if, say Ed wakes up tomorrow, looks at the papers, then looks in the mirror and says to himself "who the fuck was I kidding that I was up to this job?" and does a Reggie Perrin....
Then I assume that Harriet would lead the party into the election? And if she won enough seats, would become Prime Minister until a new Labour leader could be elected? Which might bugger up a few bets....
I honestly doubt whether CCHQ could devise a plan to parachute their own plant into the Labour Party who could secretly do more damage than Ed is doing all on his own......
Just everything he touches turns to.... well, crap.
And... deep joy, it's far to late for them to get rid of him.
Just for the betting implications....what if, say Ed wakes up tomorrow, looks at the papers, then looks in the mirror and says to himself "who the fuck was I kidding that I was up to this job?" and does a Reggie Perrin....
Then I assume that Harriet would lead the party into the election? And if she won enough seats, would become Prime Minister until a new Labour leader could be elected? Which might bugger up a few bets....
Well yes it would, but then it must be at least a 100/1 shot.
Looks like the Greeks are angling for a timetable on interest and capital repayments that is linked to GDP. Not a stupid idea, and one that allows all sides to claim victory.
Big stumbling block at present is that the troika will not accede to the changes unless Greece remains under supervision.
Is that ... if there is no increase in GDP it does not pay?
Realistically if there's no increase in GDP they won't be able to pay and the creditors already have to eat the downside, so from their point of view there has to be something to be said for a deal where they get some potential upside in the unlikely event that the Greeks get their shit together and their economy starts growing gangbusters.
Yes and growth has returned to Greece. But who decides what the proportion should be? Who assures us the figures are true (well not us but them, the creditors).
There are only five seats where a split on the left could lead to the Tories or UKIP winning, and a further four where a split between Labour and the Lib Dems could lead to UKIP winning. However, there are 40 constituencies where a split on the right could lead to Labour winning the seat, and Labour are favoured in 16 of these. It now becomes apparent why David Cameron is so desperate to include left leaning parties in the debates; the split voting effect is harming his chances of victory a lot more than it is harming Ed Miliband’s prospects. A rise in Green support would help David Cameron enormously by splitting the left vote in much the way that UKIP are splitting the right.
There are only five seats where a split on the left could lead to the Tories or UKIP winning, and a further four where a split between Labour and the Lib Dems could lead to UKIP winning. However, there are 40 constituencies where a split on the right could lead to Labour winning the seat, and Labour are favoured in 16 of these. It now becomes apparent why David Cameron is so desperate to include left leaning parties in the debates; the split voting effect is harming his chances of victory a lot more than it is harming Ed Miliband’s prospects. A rise in Green support would help David Cameron enormously by splitting the left vote in much the way that UKIP are splitting the right.
His 'local elections based prediction' looks less one sided.
"A Labour-led coalition in such a scenario would require both the Liberal Democrats and the SNP to get 324 seats, giving the coalition a majority of two. A Conservative-led coalition would require all of the Liberal Democrats, UKIP and the DUP to get 340 seats, a majority of 18."
Looks like the Greeks are angling for a timetable on interest and capital repayments that is linked to GDP. Not a stupid idea, and one that allows all sides to claim victory.
Big stumbling block at present is that the troika will not accede to the changes unless Greece remains under supervision.
Is that ... if there is no increase in GDP it does not pay?
Realistically if there's no increase in GDP they won't be able to pay and the creditors already have to eat the downside, so from their point of view there has to be something to be said for a deal where they get some potential upside in the unlikely event that the Greeks get their shit together and their economy starts growing gangbusters.
Yes and growth has returned to Greece. But who decides what the proportion should be? Who assures us the figures are true (well not us but them, the creditors).
Presumably the various proportions would be something they'd negotiate. In the event that the creditors couldn't trust official Greek statistics at all I suppose they could do their own surveys, but I in practice I doubt if it's that bad.
Comments
https://twitter.com/GeneralBoles/status/562019418944061441
To be honest I think if someone just admitted they'd stretch it out over 10 years but at an level that people will barely notice because of the timeframe, people would not mind. They want the problem dealt with, eventually, so long as it is painless.
Just everything he touches turns to.... well, crap.
I knew him (on line) from another site too and am not sad to see him flounce off.
I did find tim tiresome for his repetition, but his total disappearance does make me wonder for his health. Anyone had contact?
Looking at the bets he is liable for his disappearance is probably more for wealth than health reasons.
tim had his moments of madness on here (don't we all?), but for me,he was one of the best posters on PB, and I think his absence cheapens the site. It involved his personal details being posted, during one of his frequent spats with Sean T, and I think tim did a bobajob and flounced, if I remember it correctly. My memory is a bit hazy, but I don't think tim was averse to a bit of personal detail outing as well. I live in hope that he returns for the GE.
tim had his moments of madness on here (don't we all?), but for me,he was one of the best posters on PB, and I think his absence cheapens the site. It involved his personal details being posted, during one of his frequent spats with Sean T, and I think tim did a bobajob and flounced, if I remember it correctly. My memory is a bit hazy, but I don't think tim was averse to a bit of personal detail outing as well. I live in hope that he returns for the GE.
So he could dish it out but not take it?
As I said, I'm a bit hazy on his flounce, but he did take a lot of flack, but he dished it out as well. You'd have had a few words with him, I suspect.
Nothing major that I can recall, in fact we cobbled together a couple of decent reality TV bets between us. He did get OTT at times though
Tim did not flounce . He reached his aimed milestone of 10,000 posts and decided that was enough . The revealing of his ( and his wife's ) personal details by Plato were also a major
contributory factor .
He has surprised some with this tactic, and they think of it in a positive light. Personally, I think that once his brave new proposals all come to nought, the public (and then the media, in that order) will tire of it and come to see him as increasingly irrelevant. It will be the populists in the Dem party setting the agenda with the Clintonites fighting a rearguard action and coopting those bits of the populist agenda they feel they need to in order to stay in the primaries.
Looking at the bets he is liable for his disappearance is probably more for wealth than health reasons.
tim had his moments of madness on here (don't we all?), but for me,he was one of the best posters on PB, and I think his absence cheapens the site. It involved his personal details being posted, during one of his frequent spats with Sean T, and I think tim did a bobajob and flounced, if I remember it correctly. My memory is a bit hazy, but I don't think tim was averse to a bit of personal detail outing as well. I live in hope that he returns for the GE.
So he could dish it out but not take it?
As I said, I'm a bit hazy on his flounce, but he did take a lot of flack, but he dished it out as well. You'd have had a few words with him, I suspect.
Nothing major that I can recall, in fact we cobbled together a couple of decent reality TV bets between us. He did get OTT at times though
Tim did not flounce . He reached his aimed milestone of 10,000 posts and decided that was enough . The revealing of his ( and his wife's ) personal details by Plato were also a major
contributory factor .
Sigh, it was not Plato.
@alstewitn: In the 1920s, @BootsUK the chemists donated large sums for the expansion of @UniofNottingham - a substantial act of public philanthropy.
Then I assume that Harriet would lead the party into the election? And if she won enough seats, would become Prime Minister until a new Labour leader could be elected? Which might bugger up a few bets....
£100 lent out, £50 expected back ?
Last week was NHS, and we know how well that worked out.
Is this bash the workers week?
He isn't.
Labour may be on the ropes but they sure as hell ain;t on the canvass. Not even close.
They had a singing Elvis following the Prime Minister FFS! And it was planned!!
Good night all.
This pulled the rug from under the rebels we wanted to support. Enter ISIS, who belatedly we did end up bombing when they started a policy of what amounted to genocide.
More of a wrestling contest really, what with cartoonish opponents (read more ideologically extreme parties) bursting into the ring to mess with things.
"London is no longer an English city"
http://youtu.be/lF6zBJjvyOQ
Quite. Even with Salmond boasting about joining with labour to impose laws.
Which only goes to show what a p8sspoor show the conservatives under Cameron are. They should be streets ahead of this fool in England.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10747315/Six-in-10-students-will-have-their-debts-written-off.html
They are trying to make do with just a dope....
The political class is looking down the road a little way to the point where the voters get engaged. And they shake their heads at what Ed will be seen as offering those voters....
It is a lamentable situation for the Opposition to be in, and given the very large difference with two years ago, it is understandable that anti-Labour posters will be feeling on the up, even if the average for January as a whole still gives Labour a slender lead.
Daily telegraph
English voters believe Labour-SNP coalition will destabilise Britain
Two thirds of English voters are against pact between SNP and Labour and oppose scrapping Trident, new poll shows
Sadly EdM is not that smart...
''During the seventeenth century migration tended to be long distance and international. As a result, besides its youth, London's population in this period was also characterised by its diversity. All the regions and countries that made up the British Isles were well represented by self-conscious communities of migrants. Specific neighbourhoods were associated with Yorkshire, Scotland and Ireland. At the same time the Huguenot refugees from France successfully carved out a distinct district for themselves in Spitalfields; while Sephardic Jews and Ashkenazim from Poland and Germany settled around Whitechapel and Petticoat Lane. The Irish came to dominate the area around St Giles in the Fields, which came to be known as "Little Dublin".''
http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/Population-history-of-london.jsp
''At the same time, international, and indeed global, migration (both economic and forced) became more significant. Following the end of hostilities at the conclusions of the Seven Years War in 1763 and the American War in 1783, a large number of black men and women from Africa, the Caribbean and North America settled in London''
It has always been so for London. In part this must be due to geography, but it also grew itself by its bootstraps and as such it has always been a magnet for migrants.
Big stumbling block at present is that the troika will not accede to the changes unless Greece remains under supervision.
I'll have a bit of that down at NatWest later this week.
Hmm... just to labour the point - this idea comes from a country pathologically unable to be straight with anyone in terms of its finances?
And if any parties are wondering to put in their manifestos, income-contingent loans might be extended to other areas such as agricultural or industrial support.
(Wasn't Mrs Thatcher disappointed that this sort of thing did not take place in Britain any more, unlike the United States?)
Wonder whether that has anything to do with His Lordship's soon to be released poll of Scottish constituencies?
A very good read from the previous thread.
There are only five seats where a split on the left could lead to the Tories or UKIP winning, and a further four where a split between Labour and the Lib Dems could lead to UKIP winning. However, there are 40 constituencies where a split on the right could lead to Labour winning the seat, and Labour are favoured in 16 of these. It now becomes apparent why David Cameron is so desperate to include left leaning parties in the debates; the split voting effect is harming his chances of victory a lot more than it is harming Ed Miliband’s prospects. A rise in Green support would help David Cameron enormously by splitting the left vote in much the way that UKIP are splitting the right.
The NHSCrossover!"A Labour-led coalition in such a scenario would require both the Liberal Democrats and the SNP to get 324 seats, giving the coalition a majority of two. A Conservative-led coalition would require all of the Liberal Democrats, UKIP and the DUP to get 340 seats, a majority of 18."
http://sluggerotoole.com/2015/01/24/forecasting-the-2015-uk-general-election/
Also, the local elections model puts UKIP >30 seats. Hurrah!