[Archived] Election

[den]

How is John Prescott representative of the people he serves?

He mangles his words, screws his secretary behind his wife's back, smacks someone back when attacked unnecessarily and lives in a house worth £600k.

Well apart from the £600000 property, that sounds pretty much working class to me.

More so than the fox hunting, land owning toffs Bryan.

[thenodrog]

No not really.

The idea is that both the Lords and Commons are to become more representive of the people they serve. So having people like Lord Prescott in there is perfectly fine. Maybe we should just go back to having the old system whereby those with the biggest area of land look after themselves?

I doubt it. Labour have put my donation up twice without telling me and David Milliband was on the old e-mails last week asking me to fund a TV advert or something. Labour don't have the same access to funds as the Tories. Some commentators were saying they would have really struggled to fund a 2nd election campaign in October.

Is it about 4 weeks of Tory/Liberal Government and we've already had mumblings of Motorways being sold off to cut national debt. I suppose my road tax would decrease as I have to pay toll fees to use the M6? Mmm not bloody likely!

Woman in the offices son has had his Police training delayed by a year, because they don't want to take on new coppers at the moment.

Fun times!

4 weeks is not enough time to screw the economy. The blame can only lie at the feet of New Labour and you know it. Rem they inherited a very strong one .

As far as condoning the hypocrisy of Prescott!!! I'm gobsmacked. Rem no one can defend the indefensible.

Modes I never realised how skewed your judgement was until now.

[jim mk2]

Is it about 4 weeks of Tory/Liberal Government and we've already had mumblings of Motorways being sold off to cut national debt. I suppose my road tax would decrease as I have to pay toll fees to use the M6? Mmm not bloody likely!

Probably the one and only Tory policy I agree with. Private transport should be in private hands and public transport in public ownership. Not that they will sell the roads off - the motoring lobby is too powerful to allow it to happen.

[broadsword]

Well apart from the £600000 property, that sounds pretty much working class to me.

More so than the fox hunting, land owning toffs Bryan.

So that means it's OK for him to slag off the House of Lords and then take a peerage?

A classic case of do as I say, not as I do. He's an oik, and not especially bright so I'm not surprised.

[den]

So that means it's OK for him to slag off the House of Lords and then take a peerage?

A classic case of do as I say, not as I do. He's an oik, and not especially bright so I'm not surprised.

I was just joking really Bry. The sooner the Lords is changed to an elected body, rather than being a remnant of the old nobility, the better. It's not representative of anyone nowadays.

[thenodrog]

So that means it's OK for him to slag off the House of Lords and then take a peerage?

A classic case of do as I say, not as I do. He's an oik, and not especially bright so I'm not surprised.

Indeed I'd rather have proper aristocrats than turncoats. Prescott is the living embodiment of the pigs in Animal Farm.

[BuckyRover]

No not really.

The idea is that both the Lords and Commons are to become more representive of the people they serve. So having people like Lord Prescott in there is perfectly fine. Maybe we should just go back to having the old system whereby those with the biggest area of land look after themselves?

I doubt it. Labour have put my donation up twice without telling me and David Milliband was on the old e-mails last week asking me to fund a TV advert or something. Labour don't have the same access to funds as the Tories. Some commentators were saying they would have really struggled to fund a 2nd election campaign in October.

Is it about 4 weeks of Tory/Liberal Government and we've already had mumblings of Motorways being sold off to cut national debt. I suppose my road tax would decrease as I have to pay toll fees to use the M6? Mmm not bloody likely!

Woman in the offices son has had his Police training delayed by a year, because they don't want to take on new coppers at the moment.

Fun times!

Indeed. It's a disgrace.

I think we should continue spending 25% more than we earn as a country. It's worked for the last 10 years, let's continue.

[thenodrog]

This caught my eye.......

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/8217682.Jack_Straw_defends_use_of_chauffeur_driven_Government_car/

And especially this.... "Tony Blair continues to have a government car, and armed police on his door, at a reported cost of £6m a year to taxpayers’."

I realise it's 24/7 protection and that he's earning a Kings ransom out of nothing other than his previous position, but notwithstanding that I'd like to see a breakdown of that bill. 6m pa is going on for 20k per day!!

[roversmum]

That's easy. Give him a bike and save £5,999,900.

[broadsword]

Very glad to see the FSA getting sacked off.

I don't know how much money Labour spent setting it up, but it was a complete waste fo time and money.

Sounds like Labour.

[koi]

Very glad to see the FSA getting sacked off.

I don't know how much money Labour spent setting it up, but it was a complete waste fo time and money.

Sounds like Labour.

Quite possibly Brown's biggest mistake (lets face it there's plenty to choose from). The FSA not only lost control of the domestic finance market but played a big part in the the global credit crunch.

It was funny to hear Darling criticising plans to give control back to the BoE and implement much stricter controls. By that I'm taking that the economic reforms promised by Darling during the election was a complete lie and would not have been implemented? that's what he's effectively saying. Still, you let the inmates take over the asylum and you get chaos, hopefully things seem to be moving fast and we might just turn it around.

[thenodrog]

I doubt it. Labour have put my donation up twice without telling me and David Milliband was on the old e-mails last week asking me to fund a TV advert or something. Labour don't have the same access to funds as the Tories. Some commentators were saying they would have really struggled to fund a 2nd election campaign in October.

Is it about 4 weeks of Tory/Liberal Government and we've already had mumblings of Motorways being sold off to cut national debt. I suppose my road tax would decrease as I have to pay toll fees to use the M6? Mmm not bloody likely!

Woman in the offices son has had his Police training delayed by a year, because they don't want to take on new coppers at the moment.

Fun times!

You've had the fun times modes. It was revealed on TV this am that the average public sector salary is 30% more than the average private sector equivalent. In 97 it was virtually equal. No wonder New Lab were so difficult to shift even given their abysmal performance.

[jim mk2]

Quite possibly Brown's biggest mistake (lets face it there's plenty to choose from). The FSA not only lost control of the domestic finance market but played a big part in the the global credit crunch.

Probably your most idiotic comment on this subject, but then again there's plenty to choose from. The failure of the FSA lies not with the organisation's structure but the "light touch" regulatory regime demanded by the City of London in order that it could have free rein to invent ever more complicated financial instruments with which to speculate with pensioners savings. Labour were guilty of failing to check the City's wilder activities but the Tories have admitted they would have nothing different - witness Cameron's praise for Labour's economic model back in 2006-7. The FSA did not "play a big part in the global credit crunch" either; the financial meltdown that began 3 years has its origins in the massive US subprime property market and infected the global economy. It's a nice thought but poor lending practices in Britain's tiny economy are not going to be the cause of a worldwide recession. This is not difficult to understand.

Meanwhile, the public finances were today revelaed to be in better shape last month than economists expected, according to official data. Public sector net borrowing was £16bn in May, below the £18bn consensus forecast and lower than the same month in 2009 – when net borrowing totalled £17.4bn, according to the Office for National Statistics. Net borrowing for April was also revised down by £1.6bn, to £8.3bn. The public sector net cash requirement totalled £12bn, well below the £19.1bn in May last year.

The latest data continue a message of improving finances delivered by official figures over the past few months. In May, total receipts were boosted relative to those of May 2009 by the return of VAT, as well as the welcome 50 per cent tax rate for the superich earning £150,000 or more. Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight, noted that the decline in unemployment benefit claimants was also aiding the nation's finances. Taxes on income and capital gains amounted to £9.3bn, about 9 per cent above levels in May 2009, while VAT receipts, at £7.3bn, were about 19 per cent above those in the previous May.

The data show a brightening picture of an economy clearly on the mend thanks to Labour's policies to reinflate the economy in the depths of the recession and demonstrate that Osborne's forthcoming assault on public services and tax rises for those on lower and middle incomes is unnecessary and idelogically driven. The nasty party is back with a vengeance.

[koi]

You don't half talk some crap Jim.

[SouthAussieRover]

You don't half talk some crap Jim.

And you don't?

[broadsword]

The failure of the FSA lies not with the organisation's structure but the "light touch" regulatory regime demanded by the City of London

So teh City devised the FSA and not the government then?

[koi]

And you don't?

No.

[colin]

Just out of interest.

The coaltition government cabinet has 23 members. 19 of them are millionaires.

Taking out any interest in prime numbers that's probably not a decent balance by anyone's standards.

At least "thumper" Prescott did a shift as a steward on a north sea ferry. I doubt if of the current cabinet knows one end of a vacuum cleaner from another.

Quite depressing really.

The only glimmer of hope is that someone will shout "Fag!" and the lot of them will bare their arses and cry out "Thank you sir, please may I have another."

The

[thenodrog]

Just out of interest.

The coaltition government cabinet has 23 members. 19 of them are millionaires.

Taking out any interest in prime numbers that's probably not a decent balance by anyone's standards.

At least "thumper" Prescott did a shift as a steward on a north sea ferry. I doubt if of the current cabinet knows one end of a vacuum cleaner from another.

Quite depressing really.

I'm amazed that you even dare to mention that massive hypocrite Lord Podger Prescott as a fine example to us all! It speaks volumes about Labour if he is the best example you can find out of 300 or so.

Anyway in answer to your initial point....

1. Being a millionaire is not really out of the ordinary these days if house prices are entered into the equation. The completion of a mortgage and the death of one or more parents plus a few bob in the bank and 'hey presto' a millionaire is created.

2. You don't want wealthy people to govern the country so who do you want? A mixture of long term benefit cheats perhaps? Single 16 year old mothers of 3 kids? Maybe a few illegals and the odd convicted druggie too? Surely people who are a. succesful at making money and b. people who are successful at managing money are the exact ones that we need to steer the nation?

Why does somebody's bank balance define their abilities Colin? No doubt you detest Alan Sugar too? He's got a few bob hasn't he? He's a keen Labour supporter too and he is held in great esteem as a fine example to all right across the nation. Yet if you were to be a kingmaker you'd not let him anywhere near No 11 in front of some demic from a sink estate who once emptied the bins.

[den]

2. You don't want wealthy people to govern the country so who do you want? A mixture of long term benefit cheats perhaps? Single 16 year old mothers of 3 kids? Maybe a few illegals and the odd convicted druggie too? Surely people who are a. succesful at making money and b. people who are successful at managing money are the exact ones that we need to steer the nation?

Ah yes Gord, the upper class/land owner throw back. Only the wealthy know how to manage finances and the working classes to know their place. Classic Conservatism.

[thenodrog]

Ah yes Gord, the upper class/land owner throw back. Only the wealthy know how to manage finances and the working classes to know their place. Classic Conservatism.

Just employing irrefutable logic Den.

No doubt you disagree with it but you cannot disagree with it....... if you know what I mean.

[den]

Just employing irrefutable logic Den.

You great galloola.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Normal Service Resumed No 2- " So much for government action to rebalance the economy in favour of manufacturing.So much for investment in a low-carbon future. So much for painless cuts that simply eliminate waste. The decision to scrap the £80m loan provided by Gordon Brown's administration to Sheffiled Forgemasters to support the civil nuclear supply chain is a reality check for those who imagined cutting Britain's deficit would be a painless process.

Labour's support for Sheffield Forgemasters was an example of the smart industrial inteventionism deployed elsewhere. It is one of only two companies in the world that make the specialised large forgings for the nuclear industry. The other is in Japan and one can only imagine the mixture of bemusement and glee with which this this example of cheese-paring was greeted in the Far-East.

What does this decision mean ? At a micro-level, it means the company's expansion plans will be mothballed. The 180 jobs that would have been created will be lost. But there is more to it than that. Both parts of the coalition talked in the run-up to the election about the need to make Britain less dependent on financial services and property speculation as the engines of economic growth. They talked about setting up green investment banks and the onward march of Britain's biotechnology industry. They talked the talk but clearly have no intention of walking the walk. "

Larry Elliot.

As someone who remembers only too well the wanton destruction of our World leading engineering industries by the Iron Idiot the last time around this latest lot seem to have learnt nothing from their grievous errors of the past

[jim mk2]

Alan Sugar is held in great esteem as a fine example to all right across the nation.

Comedy post of the year.

[den]

Just employing irrefutable logic Den.

No doubt you disagree with it but you cannot disagree with it....... if you know what I mean.

Almost as daft as saying the 19 out of 23 coalition millionaires are merely a few folk with a mortgage and a few quid in the bank.