UK Politics VIII

[Isis]

Come now, you wouldn't expect the security detail to waste time by listening to the news?

I was just laughing at your post and happily sipping my coffee when I noticed your av...Nice.

What's funny is that they're so fucking out of touch with the real world and this gave them the slightest brush with reality. We're laughing at people getting a bit of a shock - they weren't physically hurt. They still got to the theatre and the performance started on time! :lol:

Also, there's a video of the incident where a guy is shouting 'OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!' I laughed so much I choked.

This reminds me of the row I had with tomfoster when I laughed at Mandy getting slimed with green custard. And he didn't find it funny. At all. I wonder what he thinks about this. Does the summon civil servant button work? *taps button repeatedly* Hello? Anybody there? *tap tap*

[john]

Yeah, I think it's officially time to abandon hope for this session. So, assuming the terrible years ever end, at the next general election I think i'll need to choose between the Scottish Socialist Party, the Greens and Sandy Mcclelland, the local butcher. Democracy in action.

[Derfel Cadarn]

The SNP (currently in power in Scotland) are pissing me off. They seem to be determined to fulfill certain promises/pledges when reality would maybe suggest they compromise a little.

Example 1: A few years back the SNP decided they wanted an extra 1000 cops on the street and gave specific money to the Scottish police forces for this purpose. So when the recession hit and police forces were expecting massive cuts they were still recruiting heavily, because the money they were given could only be for that purpose. Recruitment of cops stops this year and the 8 police forces brace themselves for massive cuts. Huge numbers of civilian employees are facing redundancy which means police officers will be forced to back-fill those office roles rather than be out on the street. As well as civilian cuts, many forces try to cut police officer numbers to save money, by attempting to early-retire the cops who've done their 30 years. Probationer cops in their first 2 years are told if they screw up twice, they're out.

The budget is announced. On the up-side, the SNP dont cut the police budgets by as much as expected. The downside being that the SNP dont want to give the other parties the chance to gloat that officer numbers are back down. So the police forces are told they have to maintain their current officer numbers or face further cuts. Which means several forces are getting ready to restart recruitment (despite being skint) to keeo the numbers up and will have to get rid of more civilian staff to pay for the more expensive, new cops. The result being more cops stuck in the office doing functions that are presently being done by cheaper civilian staff.

Example 2: The SNP had decreed that council tax was to remain frozen again. Not a bad thing per se, but the problem is councils are getting less money from government. Glasgow City Council have been told they are getting less money. And will get even less if they raise the council tax. So instead of a slight raise in council tax which would probably equate to the value of a pack of 20 cigarettes per month, th council will have to cut services and lose more staff. All so the SNP can say they are keeping their promise. I'm sure it will be a cold comfort to teachers and binmen etc etc that they are losing their jobs so that they dont have to pay an extra fiver a month council tax.

In my mind, the sensible thing would be to allow councils to make a small rise in council tax. It would be annoying, would meaning everyone having to pay a little bit more, but better than lots of people doing essential roles getting the boot. I'd rather pay an extra fiver a month council tax than have my rubbish lie uncollected. My neighbour hasnt left her house in who knows how long and is reliant on Care staff visiting her three times a day. These cuts could mean an end to that.

The SNP should allocate out the money and trust those they are giv9ing it to to spend it as needed, not put stupid provisions on it to allow the SNP to save face because of promises made prior to the financial crisis hitting.

[mormont]

So, Vince Cable: the next high-profile Lib Dem casualty?

Vince Cable has privately threatened to “bring the Government down” if he is “pushed too far” during fractious discussions with his Conservative colleagues, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

The Business Secretary also claims that David Cameron will seek to scrap or reduce the winter fuel allowance paid to pensioners from next year.

He believes that policies are being rushed through by the Conservatives and that ministers should be “putting a brake on” some proposals, which are in “danger of getting out of control”. Mr Cable says that, behind the scenes, the Tories and Liberal Democrats are fighting a “constant battle”, including over tax proposals. Likening the conflict to a war, he says he can always use the “nuclear option” of resignation. His departure from the Government would spell the end of the Coalition, he claims.

We may yet find out.

The abolition of regional development agencies by the coalition was a "little Maoist and chaotic", business secretary Vince Cable told a gathering in Birmingham last night.

Vince Cable told undercover reporters he had "declared war on Rupert Murdoch" and planned to block his efforts to take full control of BSkyB, according to the BBC's Robert Peston.

He has been running off at the mouth a wee bit, hasn't he?

[MinDonner]

He must be getting near retirement age, not a lot of career ahead of him to lose? Or is this the good cop/bad cop strategy to make us think the Lib Dems aren't the unprincipled Tory-licking liar scum that they are currently proving themselves to be?

[Hereward]

Be fair, it must be difficult for a LibDem to get used to no longer being in a position where no-one gives a damn what you have to say. Still, I imagine he's just guaranteed Murdoch will get to take over BSkyB, so he's definitely making a difference now.

[Gilgamesh]

He must be getting near retirement age, not a lot of career ahead of him to lose? Or is this the good cop/bad cop strategy to make us think the Lib Dems aren't the unprincipled Tory-licking liar scum that they are currently proving themselves to be.

What do you expect the Lib Dems to do? Labour didn't have a mandate to govern, and a minority government or second election wasn't in anyone's interests. In a coalition you have to compromise, and there are plenty of right-wing conservatives who are just as unhappy as left-wing Lib Dems. Assuming the main locus of criticism is about university fees, well, how else was it to be paid for? The previous Labour gov messed up the university system by attempting a false form of social engineering (the 50% figure), and ultimately they would have had to alter the system too. Which is what annoys me about the so-called student "protests"; what alternative were they suggesting other than "booo!"?

Of course, if we had a bit more money, maybe this wouldn't be such an issue.

Do I think Cable will go? Nay. A few daft words on things we already know. Labour spent 10 years with Blair and Brown arguing and scheming over all manner of things, with the point being that there are always debates within government. Cable even has some fairly high-profile conservative supporters, I believe.

To me, like the whole wikileaks thing, this looks like media gossip and trouble making. I could of course be horribly wrong though!

[john]

He only got taken off the BSkyB deal, which will now be overseen by Cameron's favourite boy Jeremy Cunt the Hulture Secretary. Culture, Media and Sport, just the people you want investigating competition issues.

I want to know how charming these Telegraph journos are. How do you get a cabinet minister to give this kind of chat in a supposed constituency clinic?

[Lummel]

You giggle a little bit according to a clip of the chat I heard on the radio.

[mormont]

You giggle a little bit according to a clip of the chat I heard on the radio.

Seems to be a fairly reliable tactic, given the number of Lib Dems it's worked on...

[Usotsuki]

UK commanders were keen to redeploy Army troops leaving Iraq to Afghanistan because of fears they would be cut if they were not used, it is claimed.

Former envoy to Kabul Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles told MPs he was told by ex-Army head Sir Richard Dannatt the conflict gave them a "raison d'etre".

But Sir Richard has strongly denied the claims, calling them "somewhere between misjudged and mischievous".

I've always preferred being made redundant to being shot myself but perhaps that's a minority preference.

[MinDonner]

I've always preferred being made redundant to being shot myself but perhaps that's a minority preference.

I suspect the real culprit here is the letters page of the Warminster Herald, fearing the sudden influx of unemployed squaddies returning home to rampage through the leafy streets. Never underestimate the power and influence of a few blue-rinsed nimbies writing sternly-worded missives on floral notepaper!

[The Iceman of the North]

I've always preferred being made redundant to being shot myself but perhaps that's a minority preference.

Something tells me that if there's something to this story, it's not your average grunt that wants this, but rather the higher ups. Not much fun being a colonel if you can't do anything fun with your boys.

[BigFatCoward]

anybody else surprised that the tories did worse in the bi election than the lib dems? i was sure it would be a big protest vote against clegg the jellyfish!

[Zoë Sumra]

It was in Oldham. Not surprising at all.

[mormont]

anybody else surprised that the tories did worse in the bi election than the lib dems? i was sure it would be a big protest vote against clegg the jellyfish!

For one thing, 'how the parties did' always depends on how you measure things. Looked at one way, the Lib Dem share of the vote actually rose slightly. Looked at another way, 3,000 of the 14,000 people who voted for Elwyn Watkins last time, did not do so this time: whereas Debbie Abrahams actually got more votes than Woolas did.

But it's unarguable that the Tories did worse on any measure. David Cameron must be cheering loudly crying in his beer. ;)

[Xanrn]

You mean 1883 Chaetau La imbécile menteur de classe aristocratique?

[mormont]

Alan Johnson is resigning for 'personal reasons', apparently: no news article yet, just Twitter reports.

[Hereward]

Beaten to it. Does not being able to stand Red Ed count as a personal reason?

[mormont]

Beaten to it. Does not being able to stand Red Ed count as a personal reason?

Of course. But let's not be premature until we discover whether there is a secretary/researcher/donkey/duck island manufacturer involved here as well.