Bolitics The New Condem Government

[TheDon]

First I heard of the incident was this morning on the 5 live phone in .. but the vast majority of callers said the governemnt were right to not take part in the show with Campbell .. he not being a labour front bencher and never having been elected to office

Oddly the Tories never had a problem sending unelected non-front benchers onto question time when they were in opposition.

Still, nice to show they have settled into their hypocritical ways so early on.

[chrisp65]

Max Hastings, Piers Morgan, John Redwood and Alastair Campbell all in the same room and not a suicide bomber, wonky drone, friendly fire missile, or pretend SWP student with eggs for miles around.

Classic missed opportunity there.

[drat01]

i thought it was a request not an order or a change of rules ?

Not really Tony

He explained that No 10 had made it clear that a cabinet minister was "available" to appear but only if Mr Campbell was replaced by a member of the shadow cabinet.

He said it was up to "us on Question Time to decide who should be on the programme not Downing Street".

It seems that when Labour were in power any actions were seen as bullying. Now the Tory party and their new chums are there it seems that bullying actions symptomatic of the type we see from the Bullingdon, are nothing more than protocol. How times change so quickly it seems

[wiganvillain]

Max Hastings, Piers Morgan, John Redwood and Alastair Campbell all in the same room and not a suicide bomber, wonky drone, friendly fire missile, or pretend SWP student with eggs for miles around.

Classic missed opportunity there.

This to the thisness degree of thisness

[bickster]

That just goes to prove what a bunch of tossers all political parties are though Drat, they're all at the same thing, all when in power try to manipulate the situation to their own ends. The Red Tories did it, now the Blue with a hint of yellow Tories are doing it too.

Same horse different jockey

[snowychap]

Max Hastings, Piers Morgan, John Redwood and Alastair Campbell all in the same room and not a suicide bomber, wonky drone, friendly fire missile, or pretend SWP student with eggs for miles around.

Classic missed opportunity there.

[avfc89]

Richard, the only real way we rectify the Debt is by creating useful products and exporting them to other Countries; like I've said, we need bigger diverse thinking long term about Industry in this Country. Simply cutting and chopping items won't make a huge difference to the Economy, we need to create something useful and effective.

Which is a lot easier said than done.

True, true. I supposed we could learn from other nations tho.

You mean by paying workers £5 a day to make the stuff like they do in China?

The reason we (and other western economies) cannot make things anymore is because we have to pay the workers a liveable wage which makes our products much more expensive and no one wants to buy them.

We concentrate on making niche things we have patents for like pharmaceuticals and jet engines and make up for the lack of manufacturing by offering things like banking and financial services which emerging economies cannot reliably provide (yet).

I was talking more about France and Germany, we need to seriously consider industry and technology in this Country regardless of other Countries.

[drat01]

Lord Prescott

BBC story

Former deputy prime minister John Prescott has been made a peer in the Dissolution Honours List.

Mr Prescott, 71, who stepped down as an MP at the general election, was Tony Blair's deputy for ten years.

Former Northern Ireland first minister Ian Paisley, former Tory leader Michael Howard and Gordon Brown's long-serving aide Sue Nye were also given peerages. ............... more on the link plus some other funny ones :-)

No doubt there will be much abuse of this but it certainly brightened up the day :-)

[snowychap]

I suppose his wife will be happy, at least.

Floella Benjamin, though - that's great.

[Awol]

Lord Prescott

BBC story

Former deputy prime minister John Prescott has been made a peer in the Dissolution Honours List.

Mr Prescott, 71, who stepped down as an MP at the general election, was Tony Blair's deputy for ten years.

Former Northern Ireland first minister Ian Paisley, former Tory leader Michael Howard and Gordon Brown's long-serving aide Sue Nye were also given peerages. ............... more on the link plus some other funny ones :-)

No doubt there will be much abuse of this but it certainly brightened up the day :-)

Prescott, Paisley and Michael Howard?

not a suicide bomber, wonky drone, friendly fire missile, or pretend SWP student with eggs for miles around.

Classic missed opportunity there.

^ This post may get used a lot.

[drat01]

I suppose his wife will be happy, at least.

Floella Benjamin, though - that's great.

How come she can but Brian Cant?

[tonyh29]

No doubt there will be much abuse of this but it certainly brightened up the day

well seeing as he always said "I don't want to be a member of the House of Lords. I will not accept it." and Labour's penchant for U-Turning it was inevitable he was going to accept it

another nail in the working mans party coffin though

[drat01]

:-) you never fail to deliver Tony :-)

why is a nail in the coffin - couldn't be further from that in fact. As for U Turns again we have seen Cameron doing massive U turns all day with his speeches even on things he promised to members of his new party. I suppose he's is confused now living in the new house, especially as he has now cut back on the loads of money we were paying so that him and his wife could stay in their other gaffe - they couldn't really afford any more payments apparently

The HOL what a wonderful institution it is, long may it remain and continue to bring happiness. Can't wait to see one of my all time favourite political idiots - Selwyn Gummer - struggle with the new coat he has to wear.

[tonyh29]

you never fail to deliver Tony

and if i do your Pizza is free

[snowychap]

Selwyn Gummer

Have they made him a peer?

They'd have done better with Selwyn Froggitt.

[drat01]

you never fail to deliver Tony

and if i do your Pizza is free

:-) - I like

p.s. do you do any other offal?

[drat01]

Selwyn Gummer

Have they made him a peer?

They'd have done better with Selwyn Froggitt.

The list has some crackers on it

list

Conservatives

Guy Vaughan Black - former director of the Press Complaints Commission, executive director of the Telegraph Media Group

Dame Margaret Eaton OBE - chair of the Local Government Association

Edward Peter Lawless Faulks QC - barrister, leading practitioner, crime and personal injuries practice

John Gardiner - deputy chief executive of the Countryside Alliance

Helen Margaret Newlove - campaigner against anti-social behaviour

Dolar Amarshi Popat - businessman, chief executive of TLC Group, specialising in healthcare and hospitality

Shireen Olive Ritchie - local government councillor, specialises in areas of adult and children's social care

Deborah Stedman-Scott OBE, DL, FRSA - chief executive of Tomorrow's People, a national employment charity working in deprived areas of UK

Nat Wei - founder of Teach First and also a founder of Future Leaders

Hon Simon Adam Wolfson - chief executive of NEXT

Liberal Democrats

Floella Benjamin OBE DL - actor, presenter and campaigner for children's issues

Mike German OBE AM - former deputy first minister for Wales

Meral Hussein Ece OBE - local government councillor in Islington, advocate of equality issues

Sir Kenneth (Ken) Macdonald QC - former Director of Public Prosecutions

Kathryn (Kate) Jane Parminter - former chief executive of Campaign to Protect Rural England

John Shipley OBE - leading local government councillor in Newcastle upon Tyne

Labour

Sir Jeremy Hugh Beecham DL - senior figure in local government in England and the first chairman of the Local Government Association

Paul Boateng - former government minister and MP for Brent South

Rita Margaret Donaghy CBE - former chair of the Conciliation and Arbitration Service

Jeannie Drake - former deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union

Dr Dianne Hayter - chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel

Anna Healy - former government and political adviser, serving in numerous government departments

Roy Kennedy - Labour Party's director of finance and compliance, long serving member of the Labour Party

Helen Lawrie Liddell - former secretary of state of Scotland

Roger John Liddle - former special adviser on Europe

Dr Jack Wilson McConnell - former first minister of Scotland

John Stephen Monks - general secretary of the European Trades Union Confederation

Sue Nye - former director of government relations, Prime Minister's Office

Maeve Sherlock OBE - former chief executive of the Refugee Council and former special advisor to the Chancellor

Robert Wilfrid (Wilf) Stevenson - former director of the Smith Institute and special adviser to the PM

Margaret Wheeler MBE - director of organisation and staff development for the public service union Unison

Michael Williams - former special adviser on foreign affairs

Another Fave

Mr Wolfson, the chief executive of Next, has emerged as another major benefactor since David Cameron took over, giving £238,000 to the party over the past four years. Senior Tory officials have said that Mr Wolfson has become a significant influence in economic policy, co-chairing the party’s Competitiveness Group with John Redwood.

Goodness - I thought this sort of thing was all the property of one party? - certain right wing media would have you believe that - Oh hang on the Torygraph Lord sort of explains that also ....... :-)

"I would be glad to see him join his father and his cousin, Lords Wolfson of Sunningdale and Marylebone respectively on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords."

A blog

[drat01]

The day gets better and better - a quick look at everyone's favourite redtop the Mail and we see that Dave's top notch celebrity is now coming out against him

Michael Caine warns Cameron about Tax

Sir Michael Caine has joined the growing revolt over the new coalition's plans to hike taxes, insisting it will encourage the wealthy and top companies to quit Britain.

Sir Michael, a tax exile for eight years in the 70s after income tax hit 82 per cent - claimed major increases would encourage people to leave the country like he did.

The star of Zulu, Alfie and The Italian Job insisted taxes had to be 'economic and not become emotional'.

His intervention is embarrassing for David Cameron because he came out in support of the Tory leader during the election campaign.

'I left the country for eight years when tax was put up to 82 per cent. You didn't get the 82 per cent tax from me for eight years. You didn't get any tax at all from me for the next eight years,' he told the BBC.

'Apart from that, a quarter of a billion dollars of movies were made outside this country instead of inside it which is just from one stupid, loud-mouth moronic actor. Imagine what is happening to companies, proper companies, who then disappear. It's no good.'

The Oscar winner, 77, added he once told Tony Blair 'you can't tax people who have enough money for air fare' because they would just leave.

However, he admitted he would not quit Britain for a second time because he would not want to be separated from his three grandchildren.

His comments come as Mr Cameron faces a damaging backbench rebellion over the coalition's tax plans.

The Oscar-winner had supported the Tory leader's plan for a National Citizen Service for youngsters and urged the nation to give him a chance before the ballot on May 6.

Although income tax is unlikely to rise, George Osborne is expected to unveil changes to capital gains tax in his emergency Budget next month.

Tory backbenchers are resisting demands to raise the levy from a flat rate of 18 per cent to 40 per cent or even 50 per cent to match income tax thresholds.

Mr Cameron insisted yesterday that he is listening to critics in his party and tried to mollify them by declaring he does not believe in high tax rates.

But the Prime Minister has been forced to make major concessions on tax to fund the key Lib Dem demand to raise income tax levels for the lowest earners.

Although businesses would be exempt, CGT hikes would hit anyone selling second homes or shares bought as an investment for the future.

The prospect of an imminent increase has sparked a huge rise in valuations as people look to offload their assets before any increase comes into force.

In a further blow to Mr Cameron, Sir Michael revealed he had secretly wanted senior Liberal Democrats in Government before the election.

'It's quite weird because I thought if only we had Vince Cable and David Laws in the Conservative Party - and we got them. They're there,' he said during the launch party for the Galleries of Modern London on Thursday night.

He added: 'The great thing about a coalition is nobody can do anything extreme to us. You have got an argument over everything. I believe politicians controlling each other is a fabulous thing for all of us.'

Sir Michael, who is worth an estimated £45million, spent eight years living in the U.S. in the 70s after income tax hit 82 per cent but returned when Margaret Thatcher came to power and cut the rate again.

He is a vocal critic of high taxes and vociferously attacked Labour last year after the top rate was hiked to 50 per cent, threatening to go back to America if they rose any higher.

At the time, he said: 'You know how much they made out of that high taxation all those years ago? Nothing. But they sent a mass of incredible brains to America.

'We've got 3.5million layabouts laying about on benefits, and I'm 76, getting up at 6am to go to work to keep them. Let's get everybody back to work so we can save a couple of billion and cut tax, not keep sticking it on.

'You're saying to poor people "let's tax those rich gits" and I understand that. You slice up the cake, give everyone a chance, but don't destroy the people that are making the bloody cake.'

Some lovely quotes in there and pics

[Gringo]

As per the commebt in the ID card thread, anyone who actually listened to the interview would have gained a completely different opinion to the one portrayed above.

It evens fails to mention the fact that he voted for bliar in 97 and 2001.

[drat01]

And now more for the ConDem's from the Torygraph - what a strange day

Treasury chief David Laws, his secret lover and a £40,000 claim

The Cabinet minister charged with rescuing the Government’s finances has used taxpayers’ money to pay more than £40,000 to his long-term partner, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

David Laws, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, claimed up to £950 a month for eight years to rent rooms in two properties owned by his partner. The claims could be against parliamentary rules governing MPs’ second home expenses.

On Friday night, Mr Laws apologised and announced that he would “immediately” pay back tens of thousands of pounds claimed for rent and other housing costs between 2006 and 2009. He also referred himself to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.

Mr Laws said: “I regret this situation deeply, accept that I should not have claimed my expenses in this way and apologise fully.”

His controversial claims were not uncovered by an official inquiry into MPs’ expenses last year because Mr Laws did not admit that his landlord was also his long-standing lover.

The disclosure is the first big setback for the Coalition. Mr Laws, a Liberal Democrat, has the task of implementing public-sector cuts worth more than £6  billion.

He has already drawn up tough new rules limiting the pay and perks of hundreds of thousands of public sector workers. However, his hard-line approach could be undermined by the disclosure of his own controversial use of public money.

The Daily Telegraph’s Expenses Files show that between 2004 and 2007, Mr Laws claimed between £700 and £950 a month to sub-let a room in a flat in Kennington, south London. This flat was owned by the MP’s partner who was also registered as living at the property. The partner sold the flat for a profit of £193,000 in 2007.

In 2007, Mr Laws’s partner then bought another house nearby for £510,000. The MP then began claiming to rent the “second bedroom” in this property. His claims increased to £920 a month. The partner also lived at the property. Mr Laws’s main home is in his Yeovil constituency. The arrangement continued until September 2009, when parliamentary records show that Mr Laws switched his designated second home and began renting another flat at taxpayers’ expense. His partner remained at the Kennington house.

Mr Laws’s partner is James Lundie, who is thought to work for a lobbying firm. The Daily Telegraph was not intending to disclose Mr Laws’s sexuality, but in a statement issued in response to questions from this newspaper, the minister chose to disclose this fact.

“I’ve been involved in a relationship with James Lundie since around 2001 — about two years after first moving in with him. Our relationship has been unknown to both family and friends throughout that time,” it read.

“James and I are intensely private people. We made the decision to keep our relationship private and believed that was our right. Clearly that cannot now remain the case.

“My motivation throughout has not been to maximise profit but to simply protect our privacy and my wish not to reveal my sexuality.”

John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner, will now have to scrutinise whether any rules have been broken.

Since 2006, parliamentary rules have banned MPs from “leasing accommodation from… a partner”.

Mr Laws said: “I claimed back the costs of sharing a home in Kennington with James from 2001 to June 2007. In June 2007, James bought a new home in London and I continued to claim back my share of the costs. I extended the mortgage on my Somerset property, for which I do not claim any allowances or expenses, to help James purchase the new property.

“In 2006 the Green Book rules were changed to prohibit payments to partners. At no point did I consider myself to be in breach of the rules which in 2009 defined partner as ‘one of a couple … who although not married to each-other or civil partners are living together and treat each-other as spouses’.

“Although we were living together we did not treat each other as spouses. For example we do not share bank accounts and indeed have separate social lives. However, I now accept that this was open to interpretation and will immediately pay back the costs of the rent and other housing costs I claimed from the time the rules changed until August 2009.”

Friends of Mr Laws said that the decision to disclose his sexuality was an “immense decision”.

“Anyone who knows David, knows he is someone of great integrity,” one friend said. “He has been very private about his life. But he absolutely wants the public to understand the reasons for this arrangement, it has not been about making a profit. He has decided he wants to be absolutely clear. His integrity is obviously very important.”

Mr Laws’s claims for a series of other expenses are also now expected to come under scrutiny. Between 2004 and 2008, he submitted regular claims, in rounded figures, for service and maintenance, repairs, utilities and other items.

He typically claimed between £50 and £150 a month for utilities and £100 to £200 for maintenance. Receipts were not provided to back up the claims.

However, in April 2008, the rules were changed and MPs had to provide receipts for any claims above £25. Mr Laws’s expense claims dropped sharply. For example, he claimed only £37 a month for utilities.

Mr Laws, a former investment banker who is said to be independently wealthy, has been an MP since 2001 and represents Lord Ashdown’s former constituency.

A damn good bet for the first "casualty" of the ConDem's and it will be interesting to see who "condemns" him first the old Tory party or the old LibDems