politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Nick Palmer: Why Angela Merkel is going to remain as German
Comments
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Momentum will be all over Woodcock for heresy.Scott_P said:@JoeMurphyLondon: Uh oh - I hear @JWoodcockMP has written to @mariaeaglemp seeking "clarification" of how Ken @ken4london was app'td & who knew #pandorasbox
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On topic, a well argued piece and well written piece.
Other things being equal, I'd agree with it. However, the impact of the migrant crisis has yet to be fully felt and the terrorist acts and scares are not unrelated. While she may be safe now, you have to wonder how many more months like the last two she can sustain.
That said, it still comes down to alternatives and mechanisms, and I don't know enough about either to make any kind of informed comment on the inner workings of the CDU.0 -
Tragic.SeanT said:
lol. Fair enough.Anorak said:
Fuck off you smug git. :envy overload:SeanT said:ON topic, I think I might have had the world's peak travel experience last week.
I have been hopping across north India doing a travel piece for the Times, with my GF. In Agra we stayed in probably the most opulent suite I have ever seen (and I've seen a few), the "Lord Curzon Suite" at the Oberoi Armavillas. This photo gives a fair impression:
http://www.hotelsinagra.org/photos/1910224494.jpg
You basically get the best view of the Taj Mahal possible, from your immense marble balcony.
ANYWAY I met the hotel manager for a tiffin and he casually told me how much it cost - my suite. £5000 a night. Five grand. Ouch. And that's not high season. Oprah and Sarkozy have stayed in the same suite.
In celebration of the fact I wasn't paying I then (nervous readers please look away now) had some *relations* with my girlfriend, and at the crucial moment of rapture I looked up from the bed and saw the sun striking the dome of the Taj Mahal - so basically my experience was like being in that photo only with an orgasm, too.
Can anyone beat that?
If it's any consolation I now have the squitters after a dodgy final curry in Delhi, and I am presently staring at the November rain over Euston, with my tax returns to do, and no title for my new book. Hey ho.
On Merkel, not that I'd expect us to hear about many rivals to her in Germany given how little we pay attention to the continent, but that she is apparently still unchallenged in any serious way is either a testament to her skill or, I would say, a criticism of a moribund political system, or both. Unless they are once in a century type leaders, it seems unhealthy for someone to not have to fight hard for their position for as long as she has (which is not to say it has been easy, I am sure, and I am equally sure she is very very capable, where decisive foreign action is not required at least, where her fabled patience has come to resemble dithering), and even those legendary leaders faced challenges.0 -
If Ruth and Kezia keep up their respective standards for the campaign and in the debates the Tories coming second must be a real possibility. She is doing very well picking up ex Lib Dems. Still an outside chance given the structural advantages Labour have in Scotland but not much of one.TheScreamingEagles said:Ipsos Mori Scotland poll
With less than six months to go before Scotland goes to the polls at Holyrood, the poll shows the SNP still significantly ahead while the Scottish Conservatives have gained ground.
Among those likely to vote, 50% would cast their constituency vote for the SNP, a decrease of five points from August this year.
While 20% would vote for Scottish Labour with the support for the Scottish Conservatives two points adrift on 18%, up six points from August. Support for the Scottish Liberal Democrats remains at seven per cent support.
In terms of the party list vote, the SNP has dropped four points since August with a 46% backing. Labour also drop a point with support at 19% and again the Scottish Tories gain four points and move to 16%.
The Scottish Lib Dems register eight per cent support with the Scottish Greens at seven per cent.
Mr Diffley added: "This latest poll continues to show the SNP in a commanding position despite losing some ground after a bruising few weeks.
"Interestingly, it is the Scottish Conservatives who benefit and they are now seriously challenging Labour as the main challenger to the SNP ahead of the Holyrood vote next May.
http://bit.ly/1HYplOI0 -
My biggest overhead was taking the time out to train for future billable work. In the end, it was too much shag and hassle to be a one man band - closed the company down in April this year and joined the rentier class. I know, first up against the wall come the revolution etc.Anorak said:
The self-employed don't get paid for Christmas, etc.Pulpstar said:
35 days o_O ?!DaemonBarber said:
Do you continue to get paid when you take your 35+ days holiday per year?Tissue_Price said:
On paper, not terribly well. In practice they'd probably look after me. But not as well as I could look after myself with the hypothetical tax/NI savings over the last 10 years. But then, as a relatively young person I can afford to take that risk.DaemonBarber said:
Yeah, well all nice and glib i'm sure.Tissue_Price said:
I bet you do. To be fair, I'd have been happy not to pay NI in my job and take my chances.DaemonBarber said:There will be a difference, mostly due to NI. But I see this as fair recompense for not having ANY employment rights.
How would your company pay you if (heaven forbid) you should be ill for any period (off work for a month say)?
Longer-term, I'd much rather see much lower rates of income tax & NI in any case, which would make much of this moot. Land value and/or wealth taxes instead.0 -
Quite right, other companies need software updated or built which may take a few months so they get a specialist in and then goodbye. Why are the Tories of all people trying to cripple a flexible workforce?Richard_Tyndall said:
For many industries which work only need specialists for a couple of months a year they simply cannot employ someone for that period and then have them sitting around with nothing to do for the rest of the year. This applies to construction industries, energy, mining and a whole host of high end specialist manufacturing. It has SFA to do with tax. It is simply not practical.logical_song said:
The main point about the proposed 1 month limit is that people will no longer be prepared to work away living in B&B through the week, paying maybe £200+ for that, which they could no longer claim as expenses - and Britain will lose a flexible workforce.0 -
Tom Whitehead @WhiteheadTom
British extremists Abu Izzadeen and Simon Keeler caught in Hungary in breach of travel ban
Retweeted by Josie Ensor
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@JournoStephen: "The SNP should commission a poll on whether failing to fight ISIS is pardonable or unpardonable folly" https://t.co/rFG0pzamJf0
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The Book of Mormon proves you are wrong!Anorak said:
It is why IMO Jerry Springer the Musical failed. You cannot satirise something that is inherently absurd to start with.TOPPING said:Plato_Says said:Michael Deacon
Labour: a party hell-bent on doing satirists out of a job. My sketch: https://t.co/OZDOlGkA6L https://t.co/IpalsCzrYZThe Labour Party is ruining my job. Until a couple of months ago, that job was to write jokes about politics. It required a certain amount of effort. Since Jeremy Corbyn became Labour leader, however, that effort is now largely redundant. Today, the sketch writer’s role consists instead of helpless transcription.
Chalk and Apples.
JSTM was attempting to satirise, well, Jerry Springer, where bizarre, absurd and frankly unbelievable guests parade their "issues". It is, as they say, beyond satire.
BoM was taking an (in the end very friendly) look at the activities of missionaries in Africa, not an inherently absurd activity. It showed the good intentions of those missionaries even though the religion which sent them might be open to question and criticism.0 -
Never mind: I'm sure you'll find a way to get through. As an aside, I'm off to India later this year, though the south rather than the main tourist bits.SeanT said:
lol. Fair enough.Anorak said:
Fuck off you smug git. :envy overload:SeanT said:ON topic, I think I might have had the world's peak travel experience last week.
I have been hopping across north India doing a travel piece for the Times, with my GF. In Agra we stayed in probably the most opulent suite I have ever seen (and I've seen a few), the "Lord Curzon Suite" at the Oberoi Armavillas. This photo gives a fair impression:
http://www.hotelsinagra.org/photos/1910224494.jpg
You basically get the best view of the Taj Mahal possible, from your immense marble balcony.
ANYWAY I met the hotel manager for a tiffin and he casually told me how much it cost - my suite. £5000 a night. Five grand. Ouch. And that's not high season. Oprah and Sarkozy have stayed in the same suite.
In celebration of the fact I wasn't paying I then (nervous readers please look away now) had some *relations* with my girlfriend, and at the crucial moment of rapture I looked up from the bed and saw the sun striking the dome of the Taj Mahal - so basically my experience was like being in that photo only with an orgasm, too.
Can anyone beat that?
If it's any consolation I now have the squitters after a dodgy final curry in Delhi, and I am presently staring at the November rain over Euston, with my tax returns to do, and no title for my new book. Hey ho.0 -
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On topic (and why not, it beats SeanT's love life) the remarkable thing is that Merkel is only 61. At the risk of being as ungracious as Ken she looks older but that is what 10 years in power does for you (ask Tone).
I don't know enough about German politics to say where the challenge will come from but I suspect she may have had enough. I will be surprised if she stands again in 2017. Europe will be different without her. It will take a considerable time, if ever, for her replacement to achieve the kind of dominance she has had in the last decade.0 -
@Robert___Harris: You know you're in trouble in politics when you have to start apologising for your apology.0
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Because George Osborne has been House Trained by the Treasury, perhaps. An alternative view is that he is so desperate for income in the short term and his hands have been so tied by his boss's spending promises that he will consign any and every industry to the scrap heap as long as he can screw the maximum amount of money out of them before the next GE.logical_song said:
Quite right, other companies need software updated or built which may take a few months so they get a specialist in and then goodbye. Why are the Tories of all people trying to cripple a flexible workforce?Richard_Tyndall said:
For many industries which work only need specialists for a couple of months a year they simply cannot employ someone for that period and then have them sitting around with nothing to do for the rest of the year. This applies to construction industries, energy, mining and a whole host of high end specialist manufacturing. It has SFA to do with tax. It is simply not practical.logical_song said:
The main point about the proposed 1 month limit is that people will no longer be prepared to work away living in B&B through the week, paying maybe £200+ for that, which they could no longer claim as expenses - and Britain will lose a flexible workforce.
Either way, that some still think he could/should be the next leader of the Conservative party I find beyond comprehension.0 -
Is is my imagination or has Ken now apologised *unreservedly* ?
I'm getting confused.Scott_P said:@Robert___Harris: You know you're in trouble in politics when you have to start apologising for your apology.
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This is brutal
@LabourMaquis: The horror of how Jeremy Corbyn thinks is magnificently illustrated by @seanjonesqc
Via @JPSargeant78 #ParisAttacks
https://t.co/fzMBv1AeFs0 -
Typical Ken. In quasi-apologising he's managed to offend South Londoners by suggesting that none of them has any manners.Richard_Nabavi said:
LOL, so only Etonians can be expected to be polite and sensitive!CarlottaVance said:"I grew up in South London; if someone was rude to you, you were rude back to them. I didn't get to Eton and get all that smarmy charming education, I'm afraid."
He is a sh*t, pure and simple. The Soviet Union used to accuse dissenters of being mentally ill. Perhaps that's what inspired Ken.
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I think, in Ms Eagles' position, I would have resigned immediately.Scott_P said:@JoeMurphyLondon: Uh oh - I hear @JWoodcockMP has written to @mariaeaglemp seeking "clarification" of how Ken @ken4london was app'td & who knew #pandorasbox
Mr Corbyn was on very thin ice with her original appointment, which came over very much as token-woman-ism.
If, now, she is to be 'assisted' without even the courtesy of a prior warning (I gather she learned it from Twitter) that is surely a step too far for any professional, man or woman.0 -
Anyway, we learned today that the Labour right/centre MPs aren't ever going to do anything. Labour frontbenchers of that persuasion have had about five reasons to resign this week alone. None of them have. Draw your own conclusions.0
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What a sorry state politics is in when the highlight is two nobodies arguing and insulting each other over a relatively trivial matter becomes a story.0
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Maria Eagle is my MP and I'm frankly disgusted with her inertia. If she does nothing she's effectively allowing herself to be constructively dismissed from the first big role she has ever had.AnneJGP said:
I think, in Ms Eagles' position, I would have resigned immediately.Scott_P said:@JoeMurphyLondon: Uh oh - I hear @JWoodcockMP has written to @mariaeaglemp seeking "clarification" of how Ken @ken4london was app'td & who knew #pandorasbox
Mr Corbyn was on very thin ice with her original appointment, which came over very much as token-woman-ism.
If, now, she is to be 'assisted' without even the courtesy of a prior warning (I gather she learned it from Twitter) that is surely a step too far for any professional, man or woman.0 -
Amendment being moved RIGHT NOW in Lords re votes at 16 in EU referendum.
Baroness Morgan speaking to move the amendment. Then, no doubt, a few other speeches, then the vote.0 -
Spot on.Pauly said:
Maria Eagle is my MP and I'm frankly disgusted with her inertia. If she does nothing she's effectively allowing herself to be constructively dismissed from the first big role she has ever had.AnneJGP said:
I think, in Ms Eagles' position, I would have resigned immediately.Scott_P said:@JoeMurphyLondon: Uh oh - I hear @JWoodcockMP has written to @mariaeaglemp seeking "clarification" of how Ken @ken4london was app'td & who knew #pandorasbox
Mr Corbyn was on very thin ice with her original appointment, which came over very much as token-woman-ism.
If, now, she is to be 'assisted' without even the courtesy of a prior warning (I gather she learned it from Twitter) that is surely a step too far for any professional, man or woman.0 -
Eagle is trapped. She can speak out, resign and be toppled / deselected by Momentum. Or keep quiet.Pauly said:
Maria Eagle is my MP and I'm frankly disgusted with her inertia. If she does nothing she's effectively allowing herself to be constructively dismissed from the first big role she has ever had.AnneJGP said:
I think, in Ms Eagles' position, I would have resigned immediately.Scott_P said:@JoeMurphyLondon: Uh oh - I hear @JWoodcockMP has written to @mariaeaglemp seeking "clarification" of how Ken @ken4london was app'td & who knew #pandorasbox
Mr Corbyn was on very thin ice with her original appointment, which came over very much as token-woman-ism.
If, now, she is to be 'assisted' without even the courtesy of a prior warning (I gather she learned it from Twitter) that is surely a step too far for any professional, man or woman.0 -
AnneJGP said:
I think, in Ms Eagles' position, I would have resigned immediately.Scott_P said:@JoeMurphyLondon: Uh oh - I hear @JWoodcockMP has written to @mariaeaglemp seeking "clarification" of how Ken @ken4london was app'td & who knew #pandorasbox
Mr Corbyn was on very thin ice with her original appointment, which came over very much as token-woman-ism.
If, now, she is to be 'assisted' without even the courtesy of a prior warning (I gather she learned it from Twitter) that is surely a step too far for any professional, man or woman.
Indeed. And she should announce her resignation on Twitter first, without telling Corbyn.
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Kerala?david_herdson said:
Never mind: I'm sure you'll find a way to get through. As an aside, I'm off to India later this year, though the south rather than the main tourist bits.SeanT said:
lol. Fair enough.Anorak said:
Fuck off you smug git. :envy overload:SeanT said:ON topic, I think I might have had the world's peak travel experience last week.
I have been hopping across north India doing a travel piece for the Times, with my GF. In Agra we stayed in probably the most opulent suite I have ever seen (and I've seen a few), the "Lord Curzon Suite" at the Oberoi Armavillas. This photo gives a fair impression:
http://www.hotelsinagra.org/photos/1910224494.jpg
You basically get the best view of the Taj Mahal possible, from your immense marble balcony.
ANYWAY I met the hotel manager for a tiffin and he casually told me how much it cost - my suite. £5000 a night. Five grand. Ouch. And that's not high season. Oprah and Sarkozy have stayed in the same suite.
In celebration of the fact I wasn't paying I then (nervous readers please look away now) had some *relations* with my girlfriend, and at the crucial moment of rapture I looked up from the bed and saw the sun striking the dome of the Taj Mahal - so basically my experience was like being in that photo only with an orgasm, too.
Can anyone beat that?
If it's any consolation I now have the squitters after a dodgy final curry in Delhi, and I am presently staring at the November rain over Euston, with my tax returns to do, and no title for my new book. Hey ho.0 -
Actually you've slightly over-concluded there. We haven't learnt that they won't do anything ever; we've learnt that they are not going to do anything in the immediate future.AlastairMeeks said:Anyway, we learned today that the Labour right/centre MPs aren't ever going to do anything. Labour frontbenchers of that persuasion have had about five reasons to resign this week alone. None of them have. Draw your own conclusions.
Whether a time will ever come where that changes remains to be seen.0 -
Not even Santa?Anorak said:
The self-employed don't get paid for Christmas, etc.Pulpstar said:
35 days o_O ?!DaemonBarber said:
Do you continue to get paid when you take your 35+ days holiday per year?Tissue_Price said:
On paper, not terribly well. In practice they'd probably look after me. But not as well as I could look after myself with the hypothetical tax/NI savings over the last 10 years. But then, as a relatively young person I can afford to take that risk.DaemonBarber said:
Yeah, well all nice and glib i'm sure.Tissue_Price said:
I bet you do. To be fair, I'd have been happy not to pay NI in my job and take my chances.DaemonBarber said:There will be a difference, mostly due to NI. But I see this as fair recompense for not having ANY employment rights.
How would your company pay you if (heaven forbid) you should be ill for any period (off work for a month say)?
Longer-term, I'd much rather see much lower rates of income tax & NI in any case, which would make much of this moot. Land value and/or wealth taxes instead.0 -
So they will (politically) die, one by one.AlastairMeeks said:Anyway, we learned today that the Labour right/centre MPs aren't ever going to do anything. Labour frontbenchers of that persuasion have had about five reasons to resign this week alone. None of them have. Draw your own conclusions.
What that means for the politics in this country is yet to be determined. But I struggle to see it as a good thing.0 -
I suspect her (and Benn's) thinking is this: JC is doomed (dooooomed, I tell you) and so I am going to sit here, eating my excrement-filled sandwich, until he falls, at which point I will be in pole position for a plum role in a proper opposition.Plato_Says said:Spot on.
Pauly said:
Maria Eagle is my MP and I'm frankly disgusted with her inertia. If she does nothing she's effectively allowing herself to be constructively dismissed from the first big role she has ever had.AnneJGP said:
I think, in Ms Eagles' position, I would have resigned immediately.Scott_P said:@JoeMurphyLondon: Uh oh - I hear @JWoodcockMP has written to @mariaeaglemp seeking "clarification" of how Ken @ken4london was app'td & who knew #pandorasbox
Mr Corbyn was on very thin ice with her original appointment, which came over very much as token-woman-ism.
If, now, she is to be 'assisted' without even the courtesy of a prior warning (I gather she learned it from Twitter) that is surely a step too far for any professional, man or woman.
Trouble is, the longer it goes on, the more spineless and devoid of principle they appear.
That said, Benn is at least vocalising his carefully-calibrated disagreements with his leader, all Eagles does is sit there with that "bulldog licking piss off a nettle" face.0 -
Slovenia are hard-balling in a serious way http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/12002350/Paris-France-terror-attacks-isil-Saint-Denis-raid-Molenbeek-suspects-Syria-bombing-live.html#update-20151118-1625
"With the exception of Norway's [Anders Behring] Breivik mass shooting, virtually every time there has been a terrorist attack representatives of the Muslims were responsible, therefore if we have these people staying in Slovakia legally it's our duty to verify whether they have contacts with problematic persons," Mr Fico told reporters.
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I took my wife to the West Indiesdavid_herdson said:
Never mind: I'm sure you'll find a way to get through. As an aside, I'm off to India later this year, though the south rather than the main tourist bits.SeanT said:
lol. Fair enough.Anorak said:
Fuck off you smug git. :envy overload:SeanT said:ON topic, I think I might have had the world's peak travel experience last week.
I have been hopping across north India doing a travel piece for the Times, with my GF. In Agra we stayed in probably the most opulent suite I have ever seen (and I've seen a few), the "Lord Curzon Suite" at the Oberoi Armavillas. This photo gives a fair impression:
http://www.hotelsinagra.org/photos/1910224494.jpg
You basically get the best view of the Taj Mahal possible, from your immense marble balcony.
ANYWAY I met the hotel manager for a tiffin and he casually told me how much it cost - my suite. £5000 a night. Five grand. Ouch. And that's not high season. Oprah and Sarkozy have stayed in the same suite.
In celebration of the fact I wasn't paying I then (nervous readers please look away now) had some *relations* with my girlfriend, and at the crucial moment of rapture I looked up from the bed and saw the sun striking the dome of the Taj Mahal - so basically my experience was like being in that photo only with an orgasm, too.
Can anyone beat that?
If it's any consolation I now have the squitters after a dodgy final curry in Delhi, and I am presently staring at the November rain over Euston, with my tax returns to do, and no title for my new book. Hey ho.
Jamaica?
No she'd always wanted to go
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Mr. Cide, Santa is a vile criminal.
He imprisons the differently proportioned, deriding them as 'elves' and keeping them in domestic fortitude, using them as modern day slaves to make him toys.
He then prowls shopping centres, preying on credulous parents and giddy children, whom he persuades to sit on his lap whilst he judges whether they've been naughty or nice (inevitably bribing them with an apparent gift to prevent them going to the police).
Breaking into homes, stealing pies and sherry, these are the acts of a renowned criminal, not an upstanding citizen.
Edited extra bit: a free festive tale about the villain:
http://thaddeuswhite.weebly.com/writing-blog/sir-edric-and-the-stolen-sherry0 -
You clearly don't need one if all that recent posting was about work!SeanT said:
Exactly. I'm self employed and I haven't had a paid holiday in about TWO DECADES. In fact I haven't taken a single proper holiday in that time.Anorak said:
The self-employed don't get paid for Christmas, etc.Pulpstar said:
35 days o_O ?!DaemonBarber said:
Do you continue to get paid when you take your 35+ days holiday per year?Tissue_Price said:
On paper, not terribly well. In practice they'd probably look after me. But not as well as I could look after myself with the hypothetical tax/NI savings over the last 10 years. But then, as a relatively young person I can afford to take that risk.DaemonBarber said:
Yeah, well all nice and glib i'm sure.Tissue_Price said:
I bet you do. To be fair, I'd have been happy not to pay NI in my job and take my chances.DaemonBarber said:There will be a difference, mostly due to NI. But I see this as fair recompense for not having ANY employment rights.
How would your company pay you if (heaven forbid) you should be ill for any period (off work for a month say)?
Longer-term, I'd much rather see much lower rates of income tax & NI in any case, which would make much of this moot. Land value and/or wealth taxes instead.
And office wage slaves think they have it hard.
PAH.0 -
Currently a load of details regarding HOW votes for 16/17 year olds will happen. Not much about WHY.0
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If the shadow defence secretary doesn't have an ounce of self-respect today, when is she going to get one in the future? They've got no spines and they've got no plan. On present showings, they deserve to be marginalised and consigned to the dustbin of history.Richard_Nabavi said:
Actually you've slightly over-concluded there. We haven't learnt that they won't do anything ever; we've learnt that they are not going to do anything in the immediate future.AlastairMeeks said:Anyway, we learned today that the Labour right/centre MPs aren't ever going to do anything. Labour frontbenchers of that persuasion have had about five reasons to resign this week alone. None of them have. Draw your own conclusions.
Whether a time will ever come where that changes remains to be seen.0 -
As a Tory, it is the hope that kills you
@MSmithsonPB: With just 2% between LAB & CON in Ipsos Holyrood 2016 poll it is entirely possible that the Tories could end in 2nd place ahead of LAB0 -
''None of them have. Draw your own conclusions. ''
Perhaps the people of Oldham will conclude that electing a solid moderate labour person is pretty meaningless, really.0 -
Plus never trust a man that wears that much redMorris_Dancer said:Mr. Cide, Santa is a vile criminal.
He imprisons the differently proportioned, deriding them as 'elves' and keeping them in domestic fortitude, using them as modern day slaves to make him toys.
He then prowls shopping centres, preying on credulous parents and giddy children, whom he persuades to sit on his lap whilst he judges whether they've been naughty or nice (inevitably bribing them with an apparent gift to prevent them going to the police).
Breaking into homes, stealing pies and sherry, these are the acts of a renowned criminal, not an upstanding citizen.
Edited extra bit: a free festive tale about the villain:
http://thaddeuswhite.weebly.com/writing-blog/sir-edric-and-the-stolen-sherry0 -
On at 3/1. Still hopeful.TheScreamingEagles said:As a Tory, it is the hope that kills you
@MSmithsonPB: With just 2% between LAB & CON in Ipsos Holyrood 2016 poll it is entirely possible that the Tories could end in 2nd place ahead of LAB0 -
Yup, there has been a stunning lack of bravery on display from Labour's centrist MPs. Many, many of them should have resigned this afternoon.AlastairMeeks said:Anyway, we learned today that the Labour right/centre MPs aren't ever going to do anything. Labour frontbenchers of that persuasion have had about five reasons to resign this week alone. None of them have. Draw your own conclusions.
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@rowenamason: A Labour source said Jeremy Corbyn believes Livingstone's apology is "sincere" and they will meet to discuss the issue
EDIT: No need for anyone to resign. Obviously.0 -
LOL. Of course it is.Scott_P said:@rowenamason: A Labour source said Jeremy Corbyn believes Livingstone's apology is "sincere" and they will meet to discuss the issue
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As a 'Tooory', I think you mean.TheScreamingEagles said:As a Tory, it is the hope that kills you
@MSmithsonPB: With just 2% between LAB & CON in Ipsos Holyrood 2016 poll it is entirely possible that the Tories could end in 2nd place ahead of LAB0 -
Mr. D, we know the why: they're likelier to vote In.0
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Some while back Cameron took the mickey out of her because she was getting overheated. All part of the rough and tumble of politics in Westminster. Now we see her kicked in the crutch by Corbyn with narry a whimper. Plus Livingstone throws out the most personal of insults to another defence minister. It's all hard to credit. I suppose if labour MPs do succeed in removing Corbyn we will be told its all OK now, labour can be trusted. The plain fact is that from whichever viewpoint you look, labour is an absolute useless shower.Pauly said:
Maria Eagle is my MP and I'm frankly disgusted with her inertia. If she does nothing she's effectively allowing herself to be constructively dismissed from the first big role she has ever had.AnneJGP said:
I think, in Ms Eagles' position, I would have resigned immediately.Scott_P said:@JoeMurphyLondon: Uh oh - I hear @JWoodcockMP has written to @mariaeaglemp seeking "clarification" of how Ken @ken4london was app'td & who knew #pandorasbox
Mr Corbyn was on very thin ice with her original appointment, which came over very much as token-woman-ism.
If, now, she is to be 'assisted' without even the courtesy of a prior warning (I gather she learned it from Twitter) that is surely a step too far for any professional, man or woman.0 -
A friend n Mumbai used to take me to the most unprepossessing entrance to a restaurant, in unlit streets and up a rickety staircase, to a small bare room, where I was served the most fantastic crab eaten anywhere on the planet.SeanT said:
Isn't it fab! I never realised poppadoms could be so delicious. And the squid ink chicken tikka. Ooof.MaxPB said:
Oh the Oberoi Mumbai is wonderful. A different kind of experience to normal Indian food.SeanT said:
I generally had excellent food in India. But it was hard to tell what would be good. Sometimes the cheap restaurants were fab (Pinch of Spice, Agra), sometimes the 5 star hotel jobbies were awful (looking at you, Imperial Hotel Delhi).MaxPB said:
I guess it really depends on what you are after. I have been there and it isn't Indian cooking. It is Indian inspired cooking, at least today.HurstLlama said:
it is not that expensive and you will not regret it.watford30 said:
Both still going. Veeraswamy is a block along the road from my office. Is it any good?HurstLlama said:
Golly, is the Gay Hussar still going? I used to take young ladies for dinner there in the early seventies. The Gay Hussar and, for the more adventurous type of lady, Veeraswamy's, both worked like a charm.watford30 said:
Enjoying lunch in a fancy West End restaurant? Try The Gay Hussar first.Slackbladder said:One has to ask... where's Tom watson?
Edit: That's not to say Veeraswamy isn't good, it is really good. Just not a proper curry house.
The very best food was in the Oberoi Mumbai, beloved by Bollywood celebs, and I would say that yes, it was very definitely *fine dining* (whatever that means). Pukka tucker.
Also, the wines are drinkable. Yes. Indian wines. Sula and Grovers are perfectly pleasant.
The main problem with food in India is hygiene and turnover.
Yes SeanT, even better than Cornwall...0 -
Me too. Some wise fellow did a thread on it a few months ago. I followed his sagacious adviceTissue_Price said:
On at 3/1. Still hopeful.TheScreamingEagles said:As a Tory, it is the hope that kills you
@MSmithsonPB: With just 2% between LAB & CON in Ipsos Holyrood 2016 poll it is entirely possible that the Tories could end in 2nd place ahead of LAB0 -
He's so thick he might well actually believe that.Scott_P said:@rowenamason: A Labour source said Jeremy Corbyn believes Livingstone's apology is "sincere" and they will meet to discuss the issue
EDIT: No need for anyone to resign. Obviously.0 -
Mr. Max, is it stunning?
Labour's cowardice when it comes to regicide has been remarked upon many times.
Mr. Eagles, the red nose of Rudolf is almost certainly indicative that Santa has his reindeer rendered subservient by giving them only powerful vodka to drink, reducing them to alcoholic obedience (as he is the only man in Lapland who can offer them grog, booze and so forth).
The man's a monster.0 -
I thought being a supporter of Mr Corbyn was about one's position on the left-wing spectrum. Your comment suggests it has more to do with swallowing whatever insult the leader cares to dish out.watford30 said:
Eagle is trapped. She can speak out, resign and be toppled / deselected by Momentum. Or keep quiet.Pauly said:
Maria Eagle is my MP and I'm frankly disgusted with her inertia. If she does nothing she's effectively allowing herself to be constructively dismissed from the first big role she has ever had.AnneJGP said:
I think, in Ms Eagle's position, I would have resigned immediately.Scott_P said:@JoeMurphyLondon: Uh oh - I hear @JWoodcockMP has written to @mariaeaglemp seeking "clarification" of how Ken @ken4london was app'td & who knew #pandorasbox
Mr Corbyn was on very thin ice with her original appointment, which came over very much as token-woman-ism.
If, now, she is to be 'assisted' without even the courtesy of a prior warning (I gather she learned it from Twitter) that is surely a step too far for any professional, man or woman.
Mr Corbyn appointed a minder to keep a hand on the reins. That is an insult, not only to Ms Eagle but to the rest of the party.
Either he considers Ms Eagle capable or not; if not, he should not have appointed her to be Shadow SoS Def in the first place.
0 -
The daft thing here is that if he goes ahead as reported then he has chosen a direction that will immediately reduce his tax take substantially as it will drive people out of business entirely no matter how their tax affairs are set up. It really is lunacy - which is why I cling to the hope he is not seriously considering it.HurstLlama said:
Because George Osborne has been House Trained by the Treasury, perhaps. An alternative view is that he is so desperate for income in the short term and his hands have been so tied by his boss's spending promises that he will consign any and every industry to the scrap heap as long as he can screw the maximum amount of money out of them before the next GE.logical_song said:
Quite right, other companies need software updated or built which may take a few months so they get a specialist in and then goodbye. Why are the Tories of all people trying to cripple a flexible workforce?Richard_Tyndall said:
For many industries which work only need specialists for a couple of months a year they simply cannot employ someone for that period and then have them sitting around with nothing to do for the rest of the year. This applies to construction industries, energy, mining and a whole host of high end specialist manufacturing. It has SFA to do with tax. It is simply not practical.logical_song said:
The main point about the proposed 1 month limit is that people will no longer be prepared to work away living in B&B through the week, paying maybe £200+ for that, which they could no longer claim as expenses - and Britain will lose a flexible workforce.
Either way, that some still think he could/should be the next leader of the Conservative party I find beyond comprehension.0 -
And Tamil Nadu. Travelling from Chennai to Cochin over a couple of weeks.MaxPB said:
Kerala?david_herdson said:
Never mind: I'm sure you'll find a way to get through. As an aside, I'm off to India later this year, though the south rather than the main tourist bits.SeanT said:
lol. Fair enough.Anorak said:
Fuck off you smug git. :envy overload:SeanT said:ON topic, I think I might have had the world's peak travel experience last week.
I have been hopping across north India doing a travel piece for the Times, with my GF. In Agra we stayed in probably the most opulent suite I have ever seen (and I've seen a few), the "Lord Curzon Suite" at the Oberoi Armavillas. This photo gives a fair impression:
http://www.hotelsinagra.org/photos/1910224494.jpg
You basically get the best view of the Taj Mahal possible, from your immense marble balcony.
ANYWAY I met the hotel manager for a tiffin and he casually told me how much it cost - my suite. £5000 a night. Five grand. Ouch. And that's not high season. Oprah and Sarkozy have stayed in the same suite.
In celebration of the fact I wasn't paying I then (nervous readers please look away now) had some *relations* with my girlfriend, and at the crucial moment of rapture I looked up from the bed and saw the sun striking the dome of the Taj Mahal - so basically my experience was like being in that photo only with an orgasm, too.
Can anyone beat that?
If it's any consolation I now have the squitters after a dodgy final curry in Delhi, and I am presently staring at the November rain over Euston, with my tax returns to do, and no title for my new book. Hey ho.0 -
I didn't actually tip the Tories then, was more interested in the Green potential for tactical votes from the SNP. Doesn't seem to have materialised.TheScreamingEagles said:
Me too. Some wise fellow did a thread on it a few months ago. I followed his sagacious adviceTissue_Price said:
On at 3/1. Still hopeful.TheScreamingEagles said:As a Tory, it is the hope that kills you
@MSmithsonPB: With just 2% between LAB & CON in Ipsos Holyrood 2016 poll it is entirely possible that the Tories could end in 2nd place ahead of LAB0 -
I do feel sorry for Santa.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Max, is it stunning?
Labour's cowardice when it comes to regicide has been remarked upon many times.
Mr. Eagles, the red nose of Rudolf is almost certainly indicative that Santa has his reindeer rendered subservient by giving them only powerful vodka to drink, reducing them to alcoholic obedience (as he is the only man in Lapland who can offer them grog, booze and so forth).
The man's a monster.
He gets to empty his sack once a year, and that's usually down a chimney.
#ICanAlwaysLowerTheTone0 -
I don't think it's about self-respect, the problem is that there is no plan that can work at the moment. Either they put up with it, or they flounce out. In the latter case, the grip of the nutters on the party (and in particular on the levers of power within the party) becomes stronger.AlastairMeeks said:If the shadow defence secretary doesn't have an ounce of self-respect today, when is she going to get one in the future? They've got no spines and they've got no plan. On present showings, they deserve to be marginalised and consigned to the dustbin of history.
Alternatively they could try a concerted flounce-out in the hope of provoking a crisis. But then what? Corbyn and his henchmen might call their bluff, cementing the slide of Labour to unelectable extremism, or at best the rebels might manage to engineer a leadership challenge - four months of navel-gazing and red-on-red war which might not have a better outcome than the last one. (Of course we're getting the red-on-red war anyway..)
I think the saner elements of the Shadow Cabinet were unwise to get involved with Corbyn in the first place, but I understand the dilemma. Renewal, if and when it eventually comes, will be led by people untainted by involvement with or collaboration with Corbynism.0 -
Another win for the EUcrats http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/12002350/Paris-France-terror-attacks-isil-Saint-Denis-raid-Molenbeek-suspects-Syria-bombing-live.html#update-20151118-1636
The European Commission has indicated it will resist any attempt by France to tighten EU border security, after it emerged that foreign fighters have as little as a one per cent chance of being caught when returning from overseas...
0 -
Calling @HYUFD
"One senior Labour MP, who wished to stay anonymous, told BuzzFeed News they had since put money on Benn at 25/1 to become the next leader."
http://www.buzzfeed.com/emilyashton/all-eyes-on-benn0 -
Thank you for that. I agree it sounds like HMRC is making a silly mistake but on the other hand I well remember the prognostications of doom when IR35 was introduced. So I doubt the effect of the new rules will be as bad as people in that article are making out.HurstLlama said:DaemonBarber said:1st?
FPT:
IT contractors raise alarm over HMRC mulling 'one-month' nudge onto payrollsHurstLlama said:
Kill off the UK IT industry? I am not surprised if that is true Cameron and Co seem quite content if industries die because of their policies such as what passes for an energy policy in their eyes. However, I wasn't aware of anything new going on the will affect the IT industry. Care to elaborate, Mr. Barber?DaemonBarber said:
Has he just realised that he's backed himself into a corner with the upcoming Autumn Statement and now realises he's about to kill off the UK IT industry?Barnesian said:
Look at Osborne's face. It is a ghastly mask. What is wrong with him?dr_spyn said:Watson has a perpetual frown on his face, it hasn't changed in his master speaks.
“The flexible labour market is at stake here. That same flexible labour market has helped us keep unemployment at record lows. The tax system should reflect how people in the UK work, not how HMRC wants them to work. This kind of measure could have a dramatic and devastating impact.”
IR35 was a bad implementation of a good idea. Saying contracts over 1 month means you are permanent staff is nutbar.0 -
During the middle week of a three-week stay in India last year, I got a severe case of the runs, worse than anything I had before or since. I had to go at least half a dozen times during the daylight hours, it was almost like pure water!SeanT said:
lol. Fair enough.Anorak said:
Fuck off you smug git. :envy overload:SeanT said:ON topic, I think I might have had the world's peak travel experience last week.
I have been hopping across north India doing a travel piece for the Times, with my GF. In Agra we stayed in probably the most opulent suite I have ever seen (and I've seen a few), the "Lord Curzon Suite" at the Oberoi Armavillas. This photo gives a fair impression:
http://www.hotelsinagra.org/photos/1910224494.jpg
You basically get the best view of the Taj Mahal possible, from your immense marble balcony.
ANYWAY I met the hotel manager for a tiffin and he casually told me how much it cost - my suite. £5000 a night. Five grand. Ouch. And that's not high season. Oprah and Sarkozy have stayed in the same suite.
In celebration of the fact I wasn't paying I then (nervous readers please look away now) had some *relations* with my girlfriend, and at the crucial moment of rapture I looked up from the bed and saw the sun striking the dome of the Taj Mahal - so basically my experience was like being in that photo only with an orgasm, too.
Can anyone beat that?
If it's any consolation I now have the squitters after a dodgy final curry in Delhi, and I am presently staring at the November rain over Euston, with my tax returns to do, and no title for my new book. Hey ho.
Beat that
0 -
Does sound like Osborne's move is as crackers as ever.
Of course, an opposition that wasn't busy trying to set fire to its own balls might be able to point something like this out and put pressure on for the mad proposal to be withdrawn.0 -
There is a worrying trend in the governments legislative bent in closing down tax avoidance avenues which are all focused on going after personal-level tax avoidance whilst opening up further avenues for institutional tax avoidance that has the effect of giving multi-nationals further advantages over local individuals.eek said:
For many contractors the T&S changes by itself will destroy contracting for them.DaemonBarber said:
I'm a contractor (as you may have gathered)
I've no issue with HMRC/Gov changing the rules and closing down loopholes. The travel/subsistance and dividend changes announced at the last budget for example are all fine.
This isn't going to result in me paying more tax. It will likely result in me paying no tax until I can find a FTE job on a salary that results in less tax.
It is about the flexible contractor market evaporating.
My company structure is there to afford me some protection for when i'm out of work or ill. I have to cover my own pension, sick-pay, holiday pay, insurance, accountancy and so on. It isn't a wheeze to get out of tax.
By refusing to engage in any debate beyond ya-boo-pay-up-you-tax-dodger, you show yourself up as ignorant and would be best placed to STFU.
Given that I compete with the big consultancies why should their consultant be allowed to claim train travel and hotels when spending Monday to Friday at a remote client while I am refused the ability to reclaim those expenses.0 -
There's always a reason to be prudent and not to stand and fight. But sometimes you have to be imprudent and make a stand. Now is that time for Maria Eagle. She has tried to work with Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. He has repaid her by seeking to humiliate her. She should resign and make a speech pointing this out.Richard_Nabavi said:
I don't think it's about self-respect, the problem is that there is no plan that can work at the moment. Either they put up with it, or they flounce out. In the latter case, the grip of the nutters on the party (and in particular on the levers of power within the party) becomes stronger.AlastairMeeks said:If the shadow defence secretary doesn't have an ounce of self-respect today, when is she going to get one in the future? They've got no spines and they've got no plan. On present showings, they deserve to be marginalised and consigned to the dustbin of history.
Alternatively they could try a concerted flounce-out in the hope of provoking a crisis. But then what? Corbyn and his henchmen might call their bluff, cementing the slide of Labour to unelectable extremism, or at best the rebels might manage to engineer a leadership challenge - four months of navel-gazing and red-on-red war which might not have a better outcome than the last one. (Of course we're getting the red-on-red war anyway..)
I think the saner elements of the Shadow Cabinet were unwise to get involved with Corbyn in the first place, but I understand the dilemma. Renewal, if and when it eventually comes, will be led by people untainted by Corbynism.
The only route - the ONLY route - that the centre and the right have to ultimate success is to win back the membership. That will be done by taking opportunities like those presented this week to show the current leadership is unprincipled and untrustworthy.0 -
Mr. Alistair, I wonder if that's because big firms can lobby, whereas solo operators can't.
It could just be rancid incompetence, of course.0 -
Now you've snitched on him you won't get any pressies. To be safe you can also have your chimneys removed without penalty.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Cide, Santa is a vile criminal.
He imprisons the differently proportioned, deriding them as 'elves' and keeping them in domestic fortitude, using them as modern day slaves to make him toys.
He then prowls shopping centres, preying on credulous parents and giddy children, whom he persuades to sit on his lap whilst he judges whether they've been naughty or nice (inevitably bribing them with an apparent gift to prevent them going to the police).
Breaking into homes, stealing pies and sherry, these are the acts of a renowned criminal, not an upstanding citizen.
Edited extra bit: a free festive tale about the villain:
http://thaddeuswhite.weebly.com/writing-blog/sir-edric-and-the-stolen-sherry
0 -
Do other countries have these tax arrangements?Tissue_Price said:
Yes, taxing income causes unemployment. 'Twas always thus.DaemonBarber said:
No we're not. We're talking about the government's plans to "crack down" on personal services companies (which a plumber is not)notme said:
We are talking about people organising their affairs into limited company to allow them to minimise their tax liabilities, in many cases, dramatically so.DaemonBarber said:
And WTF does this fictional plumber have to do with the government proposals?notme said:
I would controversially suggest, that it is rife, endemic even.eek said:
Personally any contractor who claimed tax credits should be done for fraud.... Claiming tax credits in that circumstance was no different to claiming unemployment benefits while moonlighting...Pulpstar said:@Daemon_barber - Your argument looks sound enough, but there looks to be one mahoosive loophole in all of it... Tax credits !
Have any contractors ever given themselves a massive pay rise once the kids have hit 18
?!
That plumber who drives round in a £65k Range Rover, i bet he pays less tax then the people who valet it at the car wash, and gets more in tax credit
Small hint: Fuck all.
The government are trying to stop this, not sure if this is in the right way however. But employees masquerading as contractors is a convenient dodge from everyone concerned, except the government who lose out.
And as has been stated already, if this goes ahead as planned, lots and lots of companies will fold; fewer than this number of FTE roles will be created (significantly fewer I would guess); each FTE role will be a a significantly smaller "salary"; all of which will result in a massive hike in unemployment, and a massive reduction in tax take by HMRC.0 -
Mr. Cide, snitched?
Morris Dancer is a fearless warrior for justice, truth, and writing comedy coming out early 2016!
Morris Dancer does not fear an obese lecher from the icy wastes of the north.0 -
Actually, I do know. If nothing else changes Labour will become an unelectable rump, the Lib Dems may forever struggle to break through, and the Conservatives may end up in power for quite a while to come but as a fiscally dry New Labour.Casino_Royale said:
So they will (politically) die, one by one.AlastairMeeks said:Anyway, we learned today that the Labour right/centre MPs aren't ever going to do anything. Labour frontbenchers of that persuasion have had about five reasons to resign this week alone. None of them have. Draw your own conclusions.
What that means for the politics in this country is yet to be determined. But I struggle to see it as a good thing.0 -
@BBCNormanS: Q:How do u feel about working with Ken Livingstone ? Maria Eagle: I'm sanguine about it0
-
Once you get into the "stay schtum" mindset it gets increasingly difficult to break it. How do you answer "what took you so long?"MaxPB said:
Yup, there has been a stunning lack of bravery on display from Labour's centrist MPs. Many, many of them should have resigned this afternoon.AlastairMeeks said:Anyway, we learned today that the Labour right/centre MPs aren't ever going to do anything. Labour frontbenchers of that persuasion have had about five reasons to resign this week alone. None of them have. Draw your own conclusions.
0 -
The political commentariat seem to have almost totally given up on Corbyn in the last 72 hours. Admittedly, well behind the pb Tories, but the the political commentariat can't hope to be always right, never wrong....
But how long will it take for (i) the MPs and (ii) the voters to do likewise. There are people in the Shadow Cabinet who looked only to have taken a job so they could choose their moment to flounce (Falconer, Eagle, Bryant, perhaps even Andy Burnham - although you have to have limbo-low expectations of Burnham). Others have already had a torrid time, up to and including today with the Shadow Minister for Mental Health Luciana Berger, who must be wondering about Corbyn's commitment to her post if Red Ken gets to keep his).
How much do the have to take to walk away? What is their pain threshold? We must surely be reaching it... A multiple resignation from the Shadow Cabinet must be difficult for Corbyn to plough on with regardless. For one thing - who is he going to replace them with? You'd have to be an unreal, surreal optimist to see much by way of career opportunities in a Corbyn administration after the past 72 hours.0 -
I agree. She's essentially in the same position as Nigel Lawson was in 1989, except that Ken is no Alan Walters (though nor, it has to be said, is Eagle a Nigel Lawson).AlastairMeeks said:
There's always a reason to be prudent and not to stand and fight. But sometimes you have to be imprudent and make a stand. Now is that time for Maria Eagle. She has tried to work with Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. He has repaid her by seeking to humiliate her. She should resign and make a speech pointing this out.Richard_Nabavi said:
I don't think it's about self-respect, the problem is that there is no plan that can work at the moment. Either they put up with it, or they flounce out. In the latter case, the grip of the nutters on the party (and in particular on the levers of power within the party) becomes stronger.AlastairMeeks said:If the shadow defence secretary doesn't have an ounce of self-respect today, when is she going to get one in the future? They've got no spines and they've got no plan. On present showings, they deserve to be marginalised and consigned to the dustbin of history.
Alternatively they could try a concerted flounce-out in the hope of provoking a crisis. But then what? Corbyn and his henchmen might call their bluff, cementing the slide of Labour to unelectable extremism, or at best the rebels might manage to engineer a leadership challenge - four months of navel-gazing and red-on-red war which might not have a better outcome than the last one. (Of course we're getting the red-on-red war anyway..)
I think the saner elements of the Shadow Cabinet were unwise to get involved with Corbyn in the first place, but I understand the dilemma. Renewal, if and when it eventually comes, will be led by people untainted by Corbynism.
The only route - the ONLY route - that the centre and the right have to ultimate success is to win back the membership. That will be done by taking opportunities like those presented this week to show the current leadership is unprincipled and untrustworthy.0 -
Big business donates to the Tory party.Alistair said:
There is a worrying trend in the governments legislative bent in closing down tax avoidance avenues which are all focused on going after personal-level tax avoidance whilst opening up further avenues for institutional tax avoidance that has the effect of giving multi-nationals further advantages over local individuals.eek said:
For many contractors the T&S changes by itself will destroy contracting for them.DaemonBarber said:
I'm a contractor (as you may have gathered)
I've no issue with HMRC/Gov changing the rules and closing down loopholes. The travel/subsistance and dividend changes announced at the last budget for example are all fine.
This isn't going to result in me paying more tax. It will likely result in me paying no tax until I can find a FTE job on a salary that results in less tax.
It is about the flexible contractor market evaporating.
My company structure is there to afford me some protection for when i'm out of work or ill. I have to cover my own pension, sick-pay, holiday pay, insurance, accountancy and so on. It isn't a wheeze to get out of tax.
By refusing to engage in any debate beyond ya-boo-pay-up-you-tax-dodger, you show yourself up as ignorant and would be best placed to STFU.
Given that I compete with the big consultancies why should their consultant be allowed to claim train travel and hotels when spending Monday to Friday at a remote client while I am refused the ability to reclaim those expenses.0 -
It isn't a question of trying to provoke a crisis. It is perfectly possible for Ms Eagle to remain a supporter of Mr Corbyn's political views whilst demanding that he maintains professional standards of inter-personal conduct.Richard_Nabavi said:
I don't think it's about self-respect, the problem is that there is no plan that can work at the moment. Either they put up with it, or they flounce out. In the latter case, the grip of the nutters on the party (and in particular on the levers of power within the party) becomes stronger.AlastairMeeks said:If the shadow defence secretary doesn't have an ounce of self-respect today, when is she going to get one in the future? They've got no spines and they've got no plan. On present showings, they deserve to be marginalised and consigned to the dustbin of history.
Alternatively they could try a concerted flounce-out in the hope of provoking a crisis. But then what? Corbyn and his henchmen might call their bluff, cementing the slide of Labour to unelectable extremism, or at best the rebels might manage to engineer a leadership challenge - four months of navel-gazing and red-on-red war which might not have a better outcome than the last one. (Of course we're getting the red-on-red war anyway..)
I think the saner elements of the Shadow Cabinet were unwise to get involved with Corbyn in the first place, but I understand the dilemma. Renewal, if and when it eventually comes, will be led by people untainted by Corbynism.
Or are we to accept that the Labour Party - the Labour Party! - is in 2015 still so olde-worlde that the ladies (God bless them) are just for making the tea whilst the chaps get on with the serious work?0 -
I agree that she has been treated with contempt. That must be deliberate. The New Forces of Evil want her to flounce out so that they can take the party to a unilateralist, non-Trident position.AlastairMeeks said:Now is that time for Maria Eagle. She has tried to work with Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. He has repaid her by seeking to humiliate her. She should resign and make a speech pointing this out.
She has evidently decided not to cooperate in that plan. She now has nothing to lose by speaking out against Corbyn, daring him to sack her.
Good fun, isn't it?0 -
To be fair, a crohnie might have to go that many times per hour, and it would look like pure water except for all the blood in it.Sunil_Prasannan said:
During the middle week of a three-week stay in India last year, I got a severe case of the runs, worse than anything I had before or since. I had to go at least half a dozen times during the daylight hours, it was almost like pure water!SeanT said:
lol. Fair enough.Anorak said:
Fuck off you smug git. :envy overload:SeanT said:ON topic, I think I might have had the world's peak travel experience last week.
I have been hopping across north India doing a travel piece for the Times, with my GF. In Agra we stayed in probably the most opulent suite I have ever seen (and I've seen a few), the "Lord Curzon Suite" at the Oberoi Armavillas. This photo gives a fair impression:
http://www.hotelsinagra.org/photos/1910224494.jpg
You basically get the best view of the Taj Mahal possible, from your immense marble balcony.
ANYWAY I met the hotel manager for a tiffin and he casually told me how much it cost - my suite. £5000 a night. Five grand. Ouch. And that's not high season. Oprah and Sarkozy have stayed in the same suite.
In celebration of the fact I wasn't paying I then (nervous readers please look away now) had some *relations* with my girlfriend, and at the crucial moment of rapture I looked up from the bed and saw the sun striking the dome of the Taj Mahal - so basically my experience was like being in that photo only with an orgasm, too.
Can anyone beat that?
If it's any consolation I now have the squitters after a dodgy final curry in Delhi, and I am presently staring at the November rain over Euston, with my tax returns to do, and no title for my new book. Hey ho.
Beat that
I am always very impressed by the handful of folks with Crohn's Disease who crop up in high level sport and other demanding professions.0 -
You'd think Eagle would have the self respect and guts to do just that. But no, she's sitting there taking the punches like a battered wife soaking up abuse.MarkHopkins said:AnneJGP said:
I think, in Ms Eagles' position, I would have resigned immediately.Scott_P said:@JoeMurphyLondon: Uh oh - I hear @JWoodcockMP has written to @mariaeaglemp seeking "clarification" of how Ken @ken4london was app'td & who knew #pandorasbox
Mr Corbyn was on very thin ice with her original appointment, which came over very much as token-woman-ism.
If, now, she is to be 'assisted' without even the courtesy of a prior warning (I gather she learned it from Twitter) that is surely a step too far for any professional, man or woman.
Indeed. And she should announce her resignation on Twitter first, without telling Corbyn.
Labour's self destruction is extraordinary to watch.0 -
Didn't Stalin have a somewhat distinctive way of dealing with the "impudent"? Is Jehadi Jez about to declare a fatwa?AnneJGP said:
I thought being a supporter of Mr Corbyn was about one's position on the left-wing spectrum. Your comment suggests it has more to do with swallowing whatever insult the leader cares to dish out.watford30 said:
Eagle is trapped. She can speak out, resign and be toppled / deselected by Momentum. Or keep quiet.Pauly said:
Maria Eagle is my MP and I'm frankly disgusted with her inertia. If she does nothing she's effectively allowing herself to be constructively dismissed from the first big role she has ever had.AnneJGP said:
I think, in Ms Eagle's position, I would have resigned immediately.Scott_P said:@JoeMurphyLondon: Uh oh - I hear @JWoodcockMP has written to @mariaeaglemp seeking "clarification" of how Ken @ken4london was app'td & who knew #pandorasbox
Mr Corbyn was on very thin ice with her original appointment, which came over very much as token-woman-ism.
If, now, she is to be 'assisted' without even the courtesy of a prior warning (I gather she learned it from Twitter) that is surely a step too far for any professional, man or woman.
Mr Corbyn appointed a minder to keep a hand on the reins. That is an insult, not only to Ms Eagle but to the rest of the party.
Either he considers Ms Eagle capable or not; if not, he should not have appointed her to be Shadow SoS Def in the first place.0 -
The best part is it appears to be happening in slow motion...watford30 said:
You'd think Eagle would have the self respect and guts to do just that. But no, she's sitting there taking the punches like a battered wife soaking up abuse.MarkHopkins said:AnneJGP said:
I think, in Ms Eagles' position, I would have resigned immediately.Scott_P said:@JoeMurphyLondon: Uh oh - I hear @JWoodcockMP has written to @mariaeaglemp seeking "clarification" of how Ken @ken4london was app'td & who knew #pandorasbox
Mr Corbyn was on very thin ice with her original appointment, which came over very much as token-woman-ism.
If, now, she is to be 'assisted' without even the courtesy of a prior warning (I gather she learned it from Twitter) that is surely a step too far for any professional, man or woman.
Indeed. And she should announce her resignation on Twitter first, without telling Corbyn.
Labour's self destruction is extraordinary to watch.0 -
Maybe the moderates aren't doing anything because the voters aren't really noticing.
OGH has pointed out that labour seem to be doing OK in the polls, and there haven;t been any earthquakes in the locals either, really.0 -
Shh... This is a family friendly site.ReggieCide said:
Not even Santa?Anorak said:
The self-employed don't get paid for Christmas, etc.Pulpstar said:
35 days o_O ?!DaemonBarber said:
Do you continue to get paid when you take your 35+ days holiday per year?Tissue_Price said:
On paper, not terribly well. In practice they'd probably look after me. But not as well as I could look after myself with the hypothetical tax/NI savings over the last 10 years. But then, as a relatively young person I can afford to take that risk.DaemonBarber said:
Yeah, well all nice and glib i'm sure.Tissue_Price said:
I bet you do. To be fair, I'd have been happy not to pay NI in my job and take my chances.DaemonBarber said:There will be a difference, mostly due to NI. But I see this as fair recompense for not having ANY employment rights.
How would your company pay you if (heaven forbid) you should be ill for any period (off work for a month say)?
Longer-term, I'd much rather see much lower rates of income tax & NI in any case, which would make much of this moot. Land value and/or wealth taxes instead.0 -
The problem is the Labour "moderates" have not picked their battles: they've been screaming bloody murder about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that Corbyn has done, to such an extent that when they do have a point (as they do this week with his comments about terrorism), the rank-and-file dismiss it as just the usual suspects moaning like always.AlastairMeeks said:
The only route - the ONLY route - that the centre and the right have to ultimate success is to win back the membership. That will be done by taking opportunities like those presented this week to show the current leadership is unprincipled and untrustworthy.
If they want to win back the membership, the "moderates" are going to have to meet them halfway and say while there are some stances Labour will have to take that are not the left-wing ideals, there will still be some rock-solid principles which will never be sacrificed no matter what (which means being steadfast in opposing right-wing lunacy like Osborne's surplus charter, just for starters).0 -
Why the sympathy? The relief must be huge after so much restraint.TheScreamingEagles said:
I do feel sorry for Santa.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Max, is it stunning?
Labour's cowardice when it comes to regicide has been remarked upon many times.
Mr. Eagles, the red nose of Rudolf is almost certainly indicative that Santa has his reindeer rendered subservient by giving them only powerful vodka to drink, reducing them to alcoholic obedience (as he is the only man in Lapland who can offer them grog, booze and so forth).
The man's a monster.
He gets to empty his sack once a year, and that's usually down a chimney.
#ICanAlwaysLowerTheTone0 -
It seems the Shadow Front Bench are willing to put up with any amount of humiliation as long as they keep their well paid jobs.Scott_P said:@BBCNormanS: Q:How do u feel about working with Ken Livingstone ? Maria Eagle: I'm sanguine about it
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I wish we had her0
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They're all shit scared of Momentum.LadyBucket said:
It seems the Shadow Front Bench are willing to put up with any amount of humiliation as long as they keep their well paid jobs.Scott_P said:@BBCNormanS: Q:How do u feel about working with Ken Livingstone ? Maria Eagle: I'm sanguine about it
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Do they get extra? Thought it was just LotO.LadyBucket said:
It seems the Shadow Front Bench are willing to put up with any amount of humiliation as long as they keep their well paid jobs.Scott_P said:@BBCNormanS: Q:How do u feel about working with Ken Livingstone ? Maria Eagle: I'm sanguine about it
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The moderates first need to decide what they stand for. Till they've got their own prospectus to put forward, they're not going to convince anyone, any more than the three losing candidates did in the leadership campaign over the summer.Danny565 said:
The problem is the Labour "moderates" have not picked their battles: they've been screaming bloody murder about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that Corbyn has done, to such an extent that when they do have a point (as they do this week with his comments about terrorism), the rank-and-file dismiss it as just the usual suspects moaning like always.AlastairMeeks said:
The only route - the ONLY route - that the centre and the right have to ultimate success is to win back the membership. That will be done by taking opportunities like those presented this week to show the current leadership is unprincipled and untrustworthy.
If they want to win back the membership, the "moderates" are going to have to meet them halfway and say while there are some stances Labour will have to take that are not the left-wing ideals, there will still be some rock-solid principles which will never be sacrificed no matter what (which means being steadfast in opposing right-wing lunacy like Osborne's surplus charter, just for starters).0 -
Not speaking from personal experience, but from conversations with friends who do it after a long break, apparently they go off quicker than a cheap Chinese fireworkReggieCide said:
Why the sympathy? The relief must be huge after so much restraint.TheScreamingEagles said:
I do feel sorry for Santa.Morris_Dancer said:Mr. Max, is it stunning?
Labour's cowardice when it comes to regicide has been remarked upon many times.
Mr. Eagles, the red nose of Rudolf is almost certainly indicative that Santa has his reindeer rendered subservient by giving them only powerful vodka to drink, reducing them to alcoholic obedience (as he is the only man in Lapland who can offer them grog, booze and so forth).
The man's a monster.
He gets to empty his sack once a year, and that's usually down a chimney.
#ICanAlwaysLowerTheTone0 -
Don't let Chestnut hear you say that, he was swearing blind yesterday that local by-elections (with their turnout of about 20 people in each) are the ultimate indicators.taffys said:Maybe the moderates aren't doing anything because the voters aren't really noticing.
OGH has pointed out that labour seem to be doing OK in the polls, and there haven;t been any earthquakes in the locals either, really.0 -
Are shadow ministers paid anything other than their salaries as MPs? I didn't think they were.LadyBucket said:
It seems the Shadow Front Bench are willing to put up with any amount of humiliation as long as they keep their well paid jobs.Scott_P said:@BBCNormanS: Q:How do u feel about working with Ken Livingstone ? Maria Eagle: I'm sanguine about it
0 -
Personally, I'm glad the SNP is taking opposition deadly seriously at the moment, not just looking to pour further humiliation on Labour by tieing them up in knots over profound issues involving national security.0
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I would say it is no accident.Alistair said:
There is a worrying trend in the governments legislative bent in closing down tax avoidance avenues which are all focused on going after personal-level tax avoidance whilst opening up further avenues for institutional tax avoidance that has the effect of giving multi-nationals further advantages over local individuals.eek said:
For many contractors the T&S changes by itself will destroy contracting for them.DaemonBarber said:
I'm a contractor (as you may have gathered)
I've no issue with HMRC/Gov changing the rules and closing down loopholes. The travel/subsistance and dividend changes announced at the last budget for example are all fine.
This isn't going to result in me paying more tax. It will likely result in me paying no tax until I can find a FTE job on a salary that results in less tax.
It is about the flexible contractor market evaporating.
My company structure is there to afford me some protection for when i'm out of work or ill. I have to cover my own pension, sick-pay, holiday pay, insurance, accountancy and so on. It isn't a wheeze to get out of tax.
By refusing to engage in any debate beyond ya-boo-pay-up-you-tax-dodger, you show yourself up as ignorant and would be best placed to STFU.
Given that I compete with the big consultancies why should their consultant be allowed to claim train travel and hotels when spending Monday to Friday at a remote client while I am refused the ability to reclaim those expenses.
I wonder if the big consultancies still charge for travel and hotels whilst failing to tell the client about the rebate they will receive.0 -
I believe you are right.Plato_Says said:Do they get extra? Thought it was just LotO.
LadyBucket said:
It seems the Shadow Front Bench are willing to put up with any amount of humiliation as long as they keep their well paid jobs.Scott_P said:@BBCNormanS: Q:How do u feel about working with Ken Livingstone ? Maria Eagle: I'm sanguine about it
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Yep. It was increasingly difficult to compete with the big consultancies (one man bands create more paperwork). Glad I got out when I did, the T&S changes alone are barking mad.logical_song said:
Big business donates to the Tory party.Alistair said:
There is a worrying trend in the governments legislative bent in closing down tax avoidance avenues which are all focused on going after personal-level tax avoidance whilst opening up further avenues for institutional tax avoidance that has the effect of giving multi-nationals further advantages over local individuals.eek said:
For many contractors the T&S changes by itself will destroy contracting for them.DaemonBarber said:
I'm a contractor (as you may have gathered)
I've no issue with HMRC/Gov changing the rules and closing down loopholes. The travel/subsistance and dividend changes announced at the last budget for example are all fine.
This isn't going to result in me paying more tax. It will likely result in me paying no tax until I can find a FTE job on a salary that results in less tax.
It is about the flexible contractor market evaporating.
My company structure is there to afford me some protection for when i'm out of work or ill. I have to cover my own pension, sick-pay, holiday pay, insurance, accountancy and so on. It isn't a wheeze to get out of tax.
By refusing to engage in any debate beyond ya-boo-pay-up-you-tax-dodger, you show yourself up as ignorant and would be best placed to STFU.
Given that I compete with the big consultancies why should their consultant be allowed to claim train travel and hotels when spending Monday to Friday at a remote client while I am refused the ability to reclaim those expenses.0 -
@PickardJE: Labour MP on his party: "We are about half an inch away from meltdown."
As they were yesterday. As they will be 6 months from now...0 -
My friends who worked at Anderson Consulting in the mid 1990s on the big Inland Revenue job in Newcastle used to have a scam. Every week they would buy fully flexible First Class tickets from London to Newcastle, and then either travel on saver tickets, or stay in Newcastle. Given these tickets were £250+, it was £1,000/month tax free.MP_SE said:
I would say it is no accident.Alistair said:
There is a worrying trend in the governments legislative bent in closing down tax avoidance avenues which are all focused on going after personal-level tax avoidance whilst opening up further avenues for institutional tax avoidance that has the effect of giving multi-nationals further advantages over local individuals.eek said:
For many contractors the T&S changes by itself will destroy contracting for them.DaemonBarber said:
I'm a contractor (as you may have gathered)
I've no issue with HMRC/Gov changing the rules and closing down loopholes. The travel/subsistance and dividend changes announced at the last budget for example are all fine.
This isn't going to result in me paying more tax. It will likely result in me paying no tax until I can find a FTE job on a salary that results in less tax.
It is about the flexible contractor market evaporating.
My company structure is there to afford me some protection for when i'm out of work or ill. I have to cover my own pension, sick-pay, holiday pay, insurance, accountancy and so on. It isn't a wheeze to get out of tax.
By refusing to engage in any debate beyond ya-boo-pay-up-you-tax-dodger, you show yourself up as ignorant and would be best placed to STFU.
Given that I compete with the big consultancies why should their consultant be allowed to claim train travel and hotels when spending Monday to Friday at a remote client while I am refused the ability to reclaim those expenses.
I wonder if the big consultancies still charge for travel and hotels whilst failing to tell the client about the rebate they will receive.
Of course, it was also effectively theft.0 -
No - but they get access to funds to help with research etc - which helps them feel more importantHurstLlama said:
Are shadow ministers paid anything other than their salaries as MPs? I didn't think they were.LadyBucket said:
It seems the Shadow Front Bench are willing to put up with any amount of humiliation as long as they keep their well paid jobs.Scott_P said:@BBCNormanS: Q:How do u feel about working with Ken Livingstone ? Maria Eagle: I'm sanguine about it
0 -
Who uses these 'big consultancies' btw - always been a mystery to me...MP_SE said:
I would say it is no accident.Alistair said:
There is a worrying trend in the governments legislative bent in closing down tax avoidance avenues which are all focused on going after personal-level tax avoidance whilst opening up further avenues for institutional tax avoidance that has the effect of giving multi-nationals further advantages over local individuals.eek said:
For many contractors the T&S changes by itself will destroy contracting for them.DaemonBarber said:
I'm a contractor (as you may have gathered)
I've no issue with HMRC/Gov changing the rules and closing down loopholes. The travel/subsistance and dividend changes announced at the last budget for example are all fine.
This isn't going to result in me paying more tax. It will likely result in me paying no tax until I can find a FTE job on a salary that results in less tax.
It is about the flexible contractor market evaporating.
My company structure is there to afford me some protection for when i'm out of work or ill. I have to cover my own pension, sick-pay, holiday pay, insurance, accountancy and so on. It isn't a wheeze to get out of tax.
By refusing to engage in any debate beyond ya-boo-pay-up-you-tax-dodger, you show yourself up as ignorant and would be best placed to STFU.
Given that I compete with the big consultancies why should their consultant be allowed to claim train travel and hotels when spending Monday to Friday at a remote client while I am refused the ability to reclaim those expenses.
I wonder if the big consultancies still charge for travel and hotels whilst failing to tell the client about the rebate they will receive.0
