Would you like to be shot with a red gun or blue gun, sir? That is the limit of the choice being offered the UK electorate as New Labour announces it will keep the Coalition public spending plans and the Coalition benefit cuts. Given it will also throw away £100 billion on Trident, and New Labour initiated the rampant privatisation of the Health Service, PFI, Tuition Fees etc., my point could not have been more eloquently proven that the UK electorate is no longer offered any meaningful choice by the neo-con parties.
It also of course demolishes completely the Gordon Brown argument that Scots need to stay in the Union to put New Labour in to power. Who carries out Tory policies is not the question; and why a nation should surrender its freedom just to make sure Ed Balls has a ministerial car and salary while he implements Tory policies, is not a question which to me has an obvious answer.
The only meaningful political choice any part of the UK population will have in the foreseeable future is the Scottish Independence Referendum. If Scots do not take their chance, all they have ahead is economic decline and the collapse of public services. The choice could not be more stark.
@Fred
8 Jun, 2013 – 11:18 pm
I don’t know how you can be so right on say 9/11, Israel / Palestine, etc. and so wrong on self determination for the people of Scotland.
A bit of cognitive dissonance there perhaps!?
The latest from the green benches.
‘MP Tim Yeo facing committee coaching claim
Conservative MP Tim Yeo Conservative MP
Tim Yeo is a former environment minister Continue reading the main story
Government ‘will reform lobbying’ ( :} )
Q&A: Political lobbying
History of political lobbying scandals
Conservative MP Tim Yeo, who chairs the Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee, is alleged to have used his position to help a private company influence Parliament.
Sunday Times investigators secretly filmed the former environment minister.
The paper alleges he coached the boss of a firm, owned by a company that was paying Mr Yeo, before the businessman gave evidence to his committee.
Mr Yeo denies this, and says he intends to contest all the allegations.’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22830707
~~
Just a fraction of Yeo’s outside earnings.
Groupe Eurotunnel SA (non-executive) (of which Eurotunnel plc is a wholly owned subsidiary); company managing the Channel Tunnel. Address: Cheriton Parc, Cheriton High Street, Folkestone, Kent, CT19 4QS. My duties as a non-executive director include attendance at meetings of the Board and of the Environment and Safety Committee and advising senior management on a range of issues.
Received payment of £6,606.05, 10 May 2012. Hours: 9 hrs. (Registered 16 June 2012)
Received payment of £3,276.54, 16 May 2012. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 16 June 2012)
Received payment of £2,723.95, 4 July 2012. Hours: 4 hrs. (Registered 15 August 2012)
Received payment of £3,802.28, 26 July 2012. Hours: 6 hrs. (Registered 15 August 2012)
Received payment of £6005.42, 11 September 2012. Hours: 9 hrs. (Registered 8 October 2012)
Received payment of £3,906.86, 10 October 2012. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 12 November 2012)
Received payment of £3,419.97. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 17 February 2013)
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/tim_yeo/south_suffolk#register
He registers a shareholding in Eurotunnel who own Europorte who own GB Railfreight. The latter transports biomass from UK ports to power stations.
The company gave evidence to Yeo’s committee on 24 May and previously on 13 May.
GBRf puts firm views to Commons committee 24 May 2013
http://www.gbrailfreight.com/news.php?newsid=1106&
Drop biomass access charge plan says GBRf 13 May 2013http://www.gbrailfreight.com/news.php?newsid=1103&
~~
Q. Should They Work For You be renamed to They Work for Themselves? The BBC report says ‘”Lobbying – attempting to influence politicians – goes on all the time and is perfectly legitimate,” says BBC political correspondent Chris Mason.
But he adds: “It’s when allegations of money getting involved, or apparent conflicts of interest emerge, that it can get awkward.”
It also says ‘In the committee hearing, Mr Yeo publicly excused himself from the questioning because of his acknowledged conflict of interest.’
Our water and energy supply continues to be a story of constant sale and acquisition by foreign interests, Thatcher lives.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-07/borealis-led-group-boosts-severn-trent-bid-to-8-22-billion-1-.html
Note that Severn Water is over a barrel.
‘“Severn management have been hanging tough,” Lakis Athanasiou, a utilities analyst at Agency Partners LLP in London, said by phone. “They’ve got no option now but to talk with the bidders. If they turn around and refuse the bid and the bidders walk, you can’t really see the management surviving not having accepted the bid because the share price will plummet over time.” ‘
“Fred’s ‘independent’ polls are as unreliable now as they were unrelaible when they were predicting a Labour win at the 2011 Scottish election.”
If opinion polls mean nothing then both polls mean nothing.
I don’t see how either poll was rigged so you have to look and see if both polls could be right. They can. The numbers don’t contradict, both polls can be correct.
Another bit of Fat Dave’s cruel agenda.
Cruel dinners: Hundreds of thousands of children set to lose free school meals
9 Jun 2013 00:01
Households with earnings of more than £135 a week are likely to lose out under the PM’s plans to replace most benefits with Universal Credit.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/cruel-dinners-hundreds-thousands-children-1941142
“I don’t know how you can be so right on say 9/11, Israel / Palestine, etc. and so wrong on self determination for the people of Scotland.”
The people of Scotland already have self determination, your attempts to create a false reality are no different to Israel’s attempts to create a false reality about Palestine. Don’t you see that in all the cases the only thing I’m arguing for is truth.
Don’t you see that when I see people propagating myths like the one about banknotes or the one about the maritime boundaries to further their own cause I have to speak up.
I see that the Old Biddy has – once again – kicked off the day’s posting.
Firstly she listened to the early morning BBC Radio 4 news broadcast and decided she would let those of us whose first action upon getting up in the morning is not to switch on the radio know all about Mr Tim Yeo. Then she got busy digging up lots of information on some of the money Mr Yeo earns from (perfectly legitimate) activities outside his work as an MP. And all this before 07h02 in the morning!
Such industry and application! Would that it were deployed to more consructive and useful purpose…….
————-
I notice by the way the her description of the Prime Minister appears to have changed from ‘Agent Cameron’ to ‘Fat Dave’.
It reminds one of 11 year old schoolchildren pointing their fingers in the playground and taunting others for their looks. Not very dignified, and somewhat immature.
And I repeat my previous question to Flaming June : does one have to be starving oneself in order to be allowed to call for action against starvation??
@Fred
9 Jun, 2013 – 8:59 am
Yeah, I’m right,cognitive dissonance!
Under the present constitutional ‘settlement’ the people of Scotland do not have self determination over UK reserved matters, and are subject to government by political parties they have not elected.
And, and, and Fred, heaven forbid, if that dreadful Eughkip continues to gain traction in the shires of England, things can only get worse for the the peoples of the Celtic fringe.
Fred said “The people of Scotland already have self determination ”
Could Scotland have stayed out of the Iraq war? Can Scotland stay in the EU if England votes to leave in a future referendum?
@Habbabkuk (La vita è bella!)
8 Jun, 2013 – 6:39 am
Oh no, say it ain’t true.
Who is Werritty, where is Werritty, what was Atlantic Bridge???
The Ffocs needs to be shot again imho. I declare the hunting season open again!
“Could Scotland have stayed out of the Iraq war? Can Scotland stay in the EU if England votes to leave in a future referendum?”
Could Wales? Could Cornwall, Could Norfolk? Could Milton Keynes?
As have frequently pointed out, when we declared war on Iraq the leaders of all three political parties were Scots. If anyone didn’t have self determination it was the rest of Britain.
A Scot gets to vote just the same as every other person in Britain.
Glad you agree that Scotland doesn’t have self determination Fred.
Thanks for admitting it.
Habbabkuk (La Vita È Bella!)
8 Jun, 2013 – 9:21 pm
LOL Habba. Brilliant laugh!
There is an empty chair at Murnaghan on Sky News.
Yeo-Yeo pulled out. How cowardly.
We are always being told by the shills for Israel about the technical prowess of ‘the little democracy in the Middle East’.
What was the Israeli Involvement in Collecting U.S. Communications Intel for NSA?
Israeli high-tech firms Verint and Narus have had connections with U.S. companies and Israeli intelligence in the past, and ties between the countries’ intelligence agencies remain strong.
By Haaretz, The Associated Press and Reuters
June 08, 2013 “Information Clearing House – “Haaretz” – Were Israeli companies Verint and Narus the ones that collected information from the U.S. communications network for the National Security Agency?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article35215.htm
If you have Zionist firms installing the very high speed, high capacity gear – then assume they are central in driving its use and running it.
“Glad you agree that Scotland doesn’t have self determination Fred.
Thanks for admitting it.”
You know Juteman it’s fanaticism such as that which convinces me the Scottish Nationalist is no different to every other Nationalist.
And it’s the fact that being equal just isn’t good enough for them which frightens me.
I only want Scotland to have equal powers to every other country, Fred.
If you think that is fanaticism, then I can’t help how your mind works.
@Fred
“Just loved the “The USA preaches its version of civic nationalism around the world” bit.
Is that why they’re giving all them cluster bombs to Israel”?
I know … I know … it’s awful … but it seemed dishonest to edit the link and it was the only one I found that gave a reasonably concise ‘compare and contrast’ general definition.
But shame about the countries used as examples …
We can agree about Israel/Palestine though.
@Fred
9 Jun, 2013 – 10:08 am
If you can’t see the fallacious nature of your argument I’m sorry for you.
This is a classic red herring, and doesn’t answer the case for self determination for Scotland, and for that matter Wales and Cornwall to remedy the democratic deficit caused by the present constitutional ‘settlement’ of the United Kingdom.
Villager
Hambuttocks thinks his rear end is a post-box for a blog called Craig Murray.org. If anyone writes an incisive analysis of institutional corruption and greed he quickly posts a self-rumptuous repost. Nearly 1 million flatuous remarks are already piled up inside. “Aroint thee witch the rump-fed ronyon cries.”
Habbabkuk (La vita è bella!)
8 Jun, 2013 – 11:47 pm
“Given your track record of – let us say – being economical with the truth (posts passim), why should we take your word for it?”
Again Halfacake, you make statements without the backing of references. Why should anyone take your word for anything?
“posts passim” is just not acceptable.
“I only want Scotland to have equal powers to every other country, Fred.
If you think that is fanaticism, then I can’t help how your mind works.”
They already do.
Take for example student tuition fees, they were introduced in England and Wales by the last Labour government, the vote was close, 316 votes for 311 against. If it hadn’t been for the 5 SNP MPs voting in favour the bill wouldn’t have passed, in all 46 Scottish MPs voted for the bill. Yet in Scotland there are no student tuition fees.
I’m not complaining about that, it’s all a part of living in a democracy, these things happen from time to time. What I an complaining about is fanatical Nationalists winging about not having any self determination. Try telling a Palestinian Scots don’t have self determination they’ll laugh in your face.
“If you can’t see the fallacious nature of your argument I’m sorry for you.”
I think the confusion might arise over the definition of “self determination”.
Hint, it doesn’t mean being able to tell everybody else what to do.
Scotland isn’t a country in your view Fred, just a region of the UK?
I’m glad you cleared that up.
Is Scotland a member of the UN, Fred?
If it was, maybe it could help the Palestinians.
“Scotland isn’t a country in your view Fred, just a region of the UK?
I’m glad you cleared that up.”
Scotland is a country and a region of the UK.
The UK has many regions, parishes, towns, counties, countries.
“Is Scotland a member of the UN, Fred?
If it was, maybe it could help the Palestinians.”
Earlier in the thread I asked what was the root cause of the problems in Palestine. No one has answered.
Villager
9 Jun, 2013 – 10:40 am
Habbabkuk (La Vita È Bella!)
8 Jun, 2013 – 9:21 pm
LOL Habba. Brilliant laugh!
~~
So funny that it has been removed?
Is Scotland a member of the UN, Fred?