[Archived] When will the next general election be called?

[Baz]

He's not been sacked, he still has a job as an MP. If they had any real morals then both Fallon and Green would have resigned as MPs too.

 

[Gav]

He's been sacked as first secretary, not sure why your splitting hairs....

He's Mays number 2, its significant, and thats all that matters.

[Mike E]

The way it came about has nevertheless left a bad taste in my mouth.

A retired cop revealing information gathered during an investigation that didn't become evidence of any sort is a bit scary tbh.

I think Green has every right to feel hard done by, even though he used this particular rope to hang himself too.

Surely the retired cop is in breach of confidentiality? Or even data protection law?

[Baz]

15 hours ago, Gav said:

He's been sacked as first secretary, not sure why your splitting hairs....

He's Mays number 2, its significant, and thats all that matters.

It's not splitting hairs Gav. You think he should be removed as a minister, I think he should be removed as an MP.

I think there is a climate in politics now where it's perfectly acceptable to lie, and if you are caught out, to apologise for misleading, then carrying on. Misleading is a genuine error, not a lie. Its bad enough they basically dont answer the questions asked. 

A lie is a lie, an MP is a representative of the people of this country. You lie, your out. You watch porno at work, you get sacked. They are no better than you or I, and we'd all be sacked if we where caught watching porn at work.

This isn't a left / right wing political thing - I'd feel the same if it was a left winger too.

 

[Baz]

12 hours ago, Mike E said:

The way it came about has nevertheless left a bad taste in my mouth.

A retired cop revealing information gathered during an investigation that didn't become evidence of any sort is a bit scary tbh.

I think Green has every right to feel hard done by, even though he used this particular rope to hang himself too.

Surely the retired cop is in breach of confidentiality? Or even data protection law?

Sure the cop shouldn't have released into the public domain, but what is interesting is that Mr Green himself had tried using the police to access information from the government. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/dec/01/damian-green-decade-long-feud-met-officer-bob-quick. A bigger abuse?

[blueboy3333]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/22/this-man-died-sleeping-on-birmingham-streets-what-happened-to-his-life

Heartbreakingly sad.

[Baz]

6 hours ago, Baz said:

It's not splitting hairs Gav. You think he should be removed as a minister, I think he should be removed as an MP.

I think there is a climate in politics now where it's perfectly acceptable to lie, and if you are caught out, to apologise for misleading, then carrying on. Misleading is a genuine error, not a lie. Its bad enough they basically dont answer the questions asked. 

A lie is a lie, an MP is a representative of the people of this country. You lie, your out. You watch porno at work, you get sacked. They are no better than you or I, and we'd all be sacked if we where caught watching porn at work.

This isn't a left / right wing political thing - I'd feel the same if it was a left winger too.

 

Also he got a £17k pay-off too.

[Norbert Rassragr]

With regards to May, leadership contests and so on, I think it will depend on what happens to the economy when we leave the EU. If we end up with a good deal and the waters are calm, May will just about survive. No matter how many homeless people are on the streets or numbers using food banks (that is now the new normal to be blunt). If it all goes to poo, there will be a hell of a bun fight among the Conservatives as they seek to distance themselves from the calamity whilst promoting themselves as a future PM. In that atmosphere I doubt any winner of the contest would propose another election as they'd have May's gamble playing on their minds. 

As for the single handed typist Green, I think we are seeing the Met police getting their revenge for the s--t May gave them when she was Home Secretary. 

[philipl]

William Hills have 2018 odds on for the next General Election.

[JPTSwindon]

On 24/12/2017 at 14:34, philipl said:

William Hills have 2018 odds on for the next General Election.

No chance as per my earlier posts. 

In no particular order:

Polls are too close

The public don't want an election (voter fatigue)

MPs don't want an election (voter fatigue)

The Parties don't want an election 

Most MPs / the public want Brexit to play out before passing judgement via the ballot box

Most Labour MPs (not members) still hope Corbyn will trip over

 

[philipl]

Too many things are "impossible" going into 2018.

Something will break.

The Brexit list of what needs to be done by October, then by March 2019, then by December 2020  is clearly impossible even for a unified competent well-organised Government. For this Government, Brexit not done for them by the EU27 looks utterly impossible.

When that becomes obvious, is this Government going to survive?

 

 

 

[philipl]

Not going to put my shirt on it but ominous signs for the Government over night:

The Adonis resignation ought to be a nothing- a Labour peer who has made some serious errors of judgement, not least his recent words on Universities- has suddenly become a big story.

His accusations hit home

the mind boggling sweeheart deal for Virgin and Stagecoach

Chris Grayling is rubbish (that is a hit for nothing- everybody knows Grayling is abysmal) actually makes it more difficult for May to sack him because Adonis is the one who publicised it

and the allegation that every Civil Service head is against Government is intuitively 100%. Civil Servants jobs are to be good administrators and at that level to advise Cabinet on operating competently to achieve Government aims. This Government is so obviously utterly incompetent (and is targeting objectives which are counter to the direction of four generations of the Civil Service) is bound to be causing friction, especially as Tory behaviour towards them is disgusting and contemptuous.

 

Then Remain has started to fight dirty.

The story that Davis is saying Brexit might not happen is a non-story; he didn't say it in those words. But May has badly mishandled her team and allowed stories that Davis was being sidelined to run out of control. So Davis v May appears to be a real thing...

Most effective of all; Remain are now asking

NHS or Brexit?

You can't have both (there's no money) you have to choose.

 

Add all this up and irrespective of any Parliamentary logic, there is the stench of death around this Government.

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

There comes a point in the life  of a Government when no matter what they do they're sunk. The Alec Douglas Hume, Jim Callaghan, John Major and the Gordon Brown Governments  are classic examples. No matter what they did they were doomed. This Government isn't quite at that point yet but they're not far off.

[den]

So, the Tory reshuffle?  Department for works and pensions goes to Esther McVey. 

How could anyone think she’s fit for this position? From wiki....

 

“In the 2015 general election McVey was defeated by the Labour candidate Margaret Greenwood who gained the Wirral West seat by 417 votes.

After losing her seat, McVey took up the post of chair of the British Transport Police Authority from November 2015, on a four-year contract with a three months' notice requirement. However, 10 days after it was announced that a 2017 general election would take place, McVey resigned the post having been paid between £86,000 and £89,000 in 15 months. Between the elections she also had part-time jobs as a special adviser to two investment firms and a fellowship at the University of Hull.”

really?

 

 

[den]

Just to add, in 2013 McVey said it was right that people should go to food banks.

“In the UK it is right that more people are going to food banks because as times are tough, we are all having to pay back this £1.5 trillion debt personally which spiralled under Labour, we are all trying to live within our means, change the gear and make sure that we pay back all our debt which happened under them.”

whats all this “WE” paleface?  “WE” obviously doesn’t include you. She’s going to be in charge of welfare.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

37 minutes ago, den said:

Just to add, in 2013 McVey said it was right that people should go to food banks.

“In the UK it is right that more people are going to food banks because as times are tough, we are all having to pay back this £1.5 trillion debt personally which spiralled under Labour, we are all trying to live within our means, change the gear and make sure that we pay back all our debt which happened under them.”

whats all this “WE” paleface?  “WE” obviously doesn’t include you. She’s going to be in charge of welfare.

She is one loathsome, nasty, evil person. I'm really glad she's back in the public eye because people will see who really represents the Tory party. She's like a character out of a Charles Dickens novel in modern dress.

[jim mk2]

 

One thing is for certain, McVey and her like won't be suffering as a result of austerity and cuts to social and public services.

Toby Young, another loathsome character who infests the Tory party,  resigned today. Here's some background on this charmer.  Could someone explain how and why he was given this job in the first place? 

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/toby-young-resigns-universities-regulator-office-for-students-resignation-controversy-distraction-a8148921.html

[Norbert Rassragr]

It shows how weak May is that ministers can call the shots and decide where they will be. And the useless turds Hunt and Johnson stay in their roles.

[JAL]

How much have the Tories reduced the national debt by since they came to office ?

Why is the British government allowing our armed forces to be shrunk to almost non existent levels ?

Are we a bankrupt nation ?

[Paul]

3 hours ago, JAL said:

Are we a bankrupt nation ?

Probably not bankrupt but spending beyond our means. Tax rises are the only long term answer. It’s patently obvious austerity and cuts don’t work. 

Speculate to accumulate. 

We should be borrowing significant sums to invest in capital projects to rebuild the country’s crumbling infrastructure.

 

[joey_big_nose]

1 hour ago, Paul said:

Probably not bankrupt but spending beyond our means. Tax rises are the only long term answer. It’s patently obvious austerity and cuts don’t work. 

Speculate to accumulate. 

We should be borrowing significant sums to invest in capital projects to rebuild the country’s crumbling infrastructure.

 

The simple logic is to spend now and then reign in spending once the economy starts growing again.

Unfortunately the Tories like to pretend this isn't feasible for some reason. The whole austerity principle doesn't make sense.

[broadsword]

Austerity is just another term for war on the poor. How many of the 1% have their shoulders to the wheel, don't their bit to pay off the national debt? 

 

The double whammy of course would be to delay putting up tax until brexit goes through. That would be a bloody massacre. 

[Baz]

I see Carillion is in big trouble, massive company who specialise in big government building and outsourcing projects (new hospitals, roads, jails etc). If it goes under it could cause utter chaos in the public sector.

The biggest problem? Over £500m of pension funds missing from their scheme.

Guess who has gotten rich (Yes a personal friend of Cameron), and who will end up paying the pension money?

[Husky]

May is simply terrible.

We're all doomed, doomed I say.

[jim mk2]

 

Carillion is such a big and important company with so many government contracts it will not be allowed to collapse and will have to be taken into public ownership. Another case of the taxpayers having to bail out the private sector. Time to bring back public contracts in house. Outsourcing, like globalisation and privatisation, is finished.