Bolitics The New Condem Government

[tonyh29]

yeah maybe he should sell some gold :-)

[snowychap]

Makes a change from blaming the weather I suppose? :-)

The weather was used with the other 'special factors' to muddy the waters.

From the bulletin:

Energy: There is some evidence of the warm weather affecting both electricity and gas supply output; with a quarter on quarter decrease of 3.2 per cent.

Hotels and restaurants: There is some evidence that a combination of the additional bank holiday and warm weather affected this sector; with a quarter on quarter increase of 2.2 per cent.

And from the review:

In this sector too, growth may have been affected by the additional bank holiday and the exceptionally warm weather in April and part of May.

However the overall impact is harder to gauge, and may vary in magnitude and direction between sectors.

For instance, it seems logical that business services and finance should see a drop in output in April reflecting the loss of a day’s normal activity. On the other hand, hotels, restaurants and transport might be expected to prosper from an extra holiday.

In fact hotel and restaurant output growth of 0.5 per cent in April was the weakest monthly increase so far in 2011. Growth increased in May to 0.8 per cent, suggesting that the beneficial effect of the royal wedding bank holiday may have been modest.

[VILLAFC2000]

Also the number of times that Cameron et al had meetings with members of Murdoch empire when the whole BSkyB bid was happening.

you do know that Ed meet Murdoch the same number of times as Osborne over the same period don't you :-)

Makes a change from blaming the weather I suppose?

interestingly the figures show us that Warm weather in April boosted spending on hotels and restaurants :-)

The growth was in line what what economists expected ( and not the ones you spoke to who predicted interest rate rises in 2010 :winkold: ) ..personally i'd rather a growth even if it is a small one than Ed Balls in charge of the economy :-)

You do know who the Torrie party represent dont you and whos interest's they look out for...!

One of the Fisrt policies was NOT to :-

- Make schools better

- Make the NHS Better

- increase Social Mobility.

It was a tax break for the rich....!

Good old Torries.

Sell some more Gold (With regards to Brown) - Where did you read that that the Daily Mail.....!

How could Ed Balls possibly not do a better Job that Gideon...!

[tonyh29]

It is still spelt Tory... I know education suffered under 13 years of labour but surely not to that extent :winkold:

[Awol]

Least Worst Option for Prime Minister....are you seroius...?

Yes

Or are you a multi millionaire or something...?

If I was then I'd be on a yacht shagging supermodels instead of debating with the other plebs.

What Cameron Knows about the average person, fairness and equality you can right on a grain of rice with a marker pen

You think other leaders 'care' about the little people? Bless.

And you have the audacity to say there is not a better leader....!

He's better than Clegg and Miliband. There, I said it again.

The deficit is being massively hyped and it typical Fits in nicely with the Torrie True Blue ideology.

Have you been observing the Eurozone and the United States recently? Any more pearls of wisdom on how deficits are being massively hyped up?

Those who voted Torrie are going to truely find out what a Torrie goverment is all about unless they are very wealthy...!

There is no more money and that is Labour's legacy. You might not like that but it's still true.

As for 'the Tories bum bankers and Murdoch' etc, did you sleep through 1997-2010? It appears that all of our political class for the last 20 years have been power obsessed kleptomaniacs. Pretending that one lot are more virtuous than the other in that respect is silly really.

Reference Ed Balls: see Labour's legacy. That loon is as culpable as Brown.

[markavfc40]

yeah maybe he should sell some gold :-)

Very clever. Lets not forget Thatcher sold off the family silver long before Brown **** up with the gold. I guess we could spend the next 4 years of this bodged up Government racking up mistakes of the past but it wouldn't help get us out the mess we are in now would it. Sadly as everyday passes and we find ourselves treading water at best the more focusing on the past seems to become the blue boys and girls favourite past time.

It is abundantly clear and has been for some time that the way Osbourne is going about things is not going to work. The arrogance of the man though is such that he won't accept that he has, and continues to, get things badly wrong. If Cameron has any sense, which is highly debatable based on what we have seen from him as PM, then he'd relieve him of his duties.

[Awol]

If Cameron has any sense, which is highly debatable based on what we have seen from him as PM, then he'd relieve him of his duties.

As Osborne was also 'allegedly' behind the push to employ Coulson it's hard to argue with that.

[drat01]

It appears that all of our political class for the last 20 years have been power obsessed kleptomaniacs. Pretending that one lot are more virtuous than the other in that respect is silly really.

and more quoting of the Tory spin machine. Funny how conveniently they forget Thatcher and her links to Murdoch, its as though every and any opportunity that they can try and deflect any sort o blame or questioning of themselves they will muddy the water and do so.

Gideon and Cameron are being shown up on a daily basis for their woeful economic policy, aimed primarily to support their own backers and led by idealogical attacks on key public core services. They try and hide this and deflect but the reality is there for all to see and even members of their own party are now becoming more and more vocal. Economic predictions from Gideon are nothing more than a joke and we still have not hit the full impacts of his regressive tax attacks on the poor. Before his idealogical led attacks growth in the UK was something like 2% inthe 9 months before, in the 9 months since its down to 0.2%.

The foreign policy stance is questionable as we see today re Libya. The coalition is nothing more than the ego trip for Clegg who is "Flashman's" fag so it seems.

I see Jon says that Cameron is "better" than Milliband, I would love to see the criteria he bases this on, especially in respect to his comments re Cameron before the election when his lack of experience and questionable idealogical stance was raised.

The simple facts are that this Tory Gvmt is awful for this country, its being supported by the LibDems who continue to back the massively destructive policies just for their few minutes of fame. Cameron's Gvmt has lost its biggest media backer, and its links with them are being exposed more and more on a daily basis. The idealogical led cuts are favouring only those who have wealth and typically will support the Tory policies. Despite being warned, and despite their arguments against it, direct cuts in the fabric of society in front line services are happening more and more an Cameron still wants the private sector to back fill - i.e. privatisation. We see today that Branson is moving his company out of the UK to avoid tax, avoidance of tax is something that this Gvmt are seemingly very happy, unless of course you fall below a certain financial line

How people with any sort of conscience can continue to support them is beyond me, but it seems that rather than defend all they can do is try and deflect to point at others rather than defend the policies, which shows how little real support there is for them. All in all so many of the so called scare stories re the Tory party and how they would attack certain parts of the UK are proving to be reality, something we saw before and something we are seeing again.

[markavfc40]

Fantastic post Ian. Very well put mate.

[Awol]

It appears that all of our political class for the last 20 years have been power obsessed kleptomaniacs. Pretending that one lot are more virtuous than the other in that respect is silly really.

and more quoting of the Tory spin machine. Funny how conveniently they forget Thatcher and her links to Murdoch, its as though every and any opportunity that they can try and deflect any sort o blame or questioning of themselves they will muddy the water and do so.

Give over Ian. If I'd said 30 years (or 40 years to take in Labour's stellar 1970's IMF bankruptcy performance) would that satisfy you? The shallow and self serving nature of politicians since I've been alive is an evident theme and alluding to that isn't 'Tory spin', it's just a fact.

All this guff about "idealogical [sic] attacks" is just that, guff. Spending had to be cut rapidly, what is going in Western countries that haven't taken that seriously is plain to see. I'm not saying things couldn't have been done better but the idea that Ed Balls is the UK's financial saviour in waiting is beyond ridiculous.

The foreign policy stance is questionable as we see today re Libya.

Yep, another area where we have seamless continuity with the last Government. Slashing away at the military and expecting them to charge around the world toppling evil Dictators without providing the means and mandates for them to do so. Patheitc behaviour.

I see Jon says that Cameron is "better" than Milliband, I would love to see the criteria he bases this on

The critieria would be based on everything Miliband says and everything he does. I was all for giving him a chance to grow into the role but he's shown himself to be a squeaking little weasel and the idea that he could run a country is laughable.

Had the Unions not steam-rollered the PLP then Miliband the grown up would have been shredding Cameron and Co by now. It's not his fault but Ed is just not up to the job.

How people with any sort of conscience can continue to support them is beyond me,

Because the alternative is even more of a joke than the incumbent. That's about common sense not conscience.

[blandy]

I just agreed with everything AWOL said. The only caveat I make is that I think Cameron is a tool. Milliband is less of a tool but less capable. While this Gov't is making an almighty arse of things, generally I genuinely don't think Labour would do any better. They'd probably be less inclined to eff about with the NHS and so on, which would be a good thing so the best to recommend them is "they'd be less harmful, possibly, than the current lot"

None of them look to have the first idea, or the clear thinking, or the political courage to do what's genuinely necessary and right.

[snowychap]

Had the Unions not steam-rollered the PLP then Miliband the grown up would have been shredding Cameron and Co by now.

I'm not so sure about that.

Miliband snr would, I think, have struggled hugely over the News International business.

Beyond that, it wouldn't have been too sensible to have Miliband D as a leader with the torture inquiry coming up (assuming that it does its job).

p.s.

I very much disagree with: All this guff about "idealogical [sic] attacks" is just that, guff.. We've had that debate, though, so it's not really worth going over it again.

[tonyh29]

it wouldn't have been too sensible to have Miliband D as a leader with the torture inquiry coming up (assuming that it does its job).

I think based on Blair lying his way through one enquiry and Murdoch lying through another , then I think sadly we already know the answer to that question

conscience

keep seeing this word on posts from labour supporters , is this the new buzz word they are feeding you out of labour central ?

it's frankly laughable to suggest that people that vote Tory just don't give a shit about others , just because the people of Yorkshire can leave their coal in the outside bath tub without someone stealing it and they don't beat their whippets doesn't mean that rather disingenuous stereotypes are true does it ?

[Demitri_C]

if only labour appointed someone better than red ed they could actually be destroying this government.

ed was an awful decision, when he speaks he just doenst inspire me whatsoever

[snowychap]

Why does the UK government now recognize the National Transitional Council as the Libyan government?

Hague reportedly said around March's meeting, "We recognize states rather than groups within states."

"Mr Hague, having said that we recognize states not groups, are you not doing this?"

"This is a 'unique' situation and we now view that group as the state so we are recognizing it as that."

Or words to that effect,

Fine: expel the representatives of the Ghaddafi regime (should have probably done it much earlier) but recognizing the NTC just so you can free up assets for them to have? I think it's extremely difficult (even more than it was before) to argue that this wasn't about taking sides in a civil war from the very beginning.

[Dale]

University Fees are now - 9 000.

Hate to pick up on this as it is the wrong choice, but bullshit. Both Labour and the Tories were tied to the Browne Review whose recommendations were worse than what we have now. I happen to think in terms of repayment it is better (as does more for cost of living for graduates), what I think is entirely wrong is the fact that this was coupled with the withdrawal of (non-fee) funding from non science/engineering subjects.

[blandy]

conscience

keep seeing this word on posts from labour supporters , is this the new buzz word they are feeding you out of labour central ?

it's frankly laughable to suggest that people that vote Tory just don't give a shit about others...

Only laughable as an extreme. As a more general point it seems to me at least that a fair part of the Tory ethos is about "helping youself" (not as in helping yourself to the till, but as in enabling people to have control over their own destiny, to make their own decisions to be free to look after themselves and their careers etc and that Labours "ethos" is about (or once used to be) "helping people who need help, who can't help themselves"

So from that perspective, yes, the Tory ethos is sort of about the individual and the Labour one sort of about the state being there for the "little people".

A large majority of voters will vote on "what's best for me and my family"

Thatcherism (witch) was all about the grabbing, me me me side of things and it clearly chimed with many tory voters, and they haven't gone away.

I'd bet as an average tories are more selfish than non-tories.

[Gringo]

Why does the UK government now recognize the National Transitional Council as the Libyan government?

Hague reportedly said around March's meeting, "We recognize states rather than groups within states."

"Mr Hague, having said that we recognize states not groups, are you not doing this?"

"This is a 'unique' situation and we now view that group as the state so we are recognizing it as that."

Or words to that effect,

Fine, expel the representatives of the Ghaddafi regime (should have probably done it much earlier) but recognizing the NTC just so you can free up assets for them to have? I think it's extremely difficult (even more than it was before) to argue that this wasn't about taking sides in a civil war from the very beginning.

Because hilary told them to.

Disgraceful decision. Hilary justified it because the assets shouldn't be held by gadaffi - fair enough they're frozen, release them when a new govt is elected. She then spouted that the rebels were the democratic face of the people. Must have missed that election.

So now the rebels have in theory access to billions of petrodollars - what will they do with them? Buy weapons? Who from? Yes their friendly NATO allies. Corrupt as feck.

But I suppose the tories never claimed to have ethical foreign policies.

[tonyh29]

I'd bet as an average tories are more selfish than non-tories.

sorry but that's nearly as baffling a statement as when my Hungarian Nan said to my wife "How can Tony be a non believer (in God) when he's such a kind and good person "

you just can't measure something like that , you've fallen into Drat Ideology trap which is frankly (with respect) complete bollocks

[markavfc40]

Thatcherism (witch) was all about the grabbing, me me me side of things and it clearly chimed with many tory voters, and they haven't gone away.

I'd bet as an average tories are more selfish than non-tories.

I'd say that statement was pretty accurate Pete. I am basing this on my own life experience and the blue boys and girls I have encountered. I'd say that's how many also view them and many of them also view themselves.