The Labour Party supports austerity in England but opposes it in Scotland. If Labour were to win the general election, and also find themselves in power in Scotland’s 2016 parliamentary elections, there would be “new and higher” benefits in Scotland, whereas sanctions and cuts would continue to oppress the ordinary people of England. Indeed, they have repeatedly promised to be tougher on benefits than the Tories – in England.
Now let us for a moment suspend all our critical faculties, and believe that Gordon Brown is sincere about the higher benefits in Scotland. Let us also ignore the fact that to be practical, that would require devolution of a vastly greater proportion of the tax base than anything Labour or the Smith Commission are suggesting. Let us, just for now, believe it is a sincere and practical offer. It is possible to understand why it could attract some people – the union without the cuts and austerity.
But why one earth would any left wing person in England want to vote for a party which, if in power in both England and Scotland, would pay higher benefits to Scots than to English? Why would the English vote for a continued retrenchment of the welfare state there but not in Scotland. Indeed, is there not liable to be some resentment in England at this rather strange proposition? When you add to this Labour’s absolute insistence that while English MPs may not vote on Scottish affairs, Scottish MP’s must be allowed to vote on English affairs, it seems to me you would have to be nuts to vote for Labour in England at present.
The BBC’s latest promotion of super-Brown and his new promises has caused much hilarity in Scotland. I cannot improve on this incisive comment I lifted from the Guardian, by MurphyUKOK:
What is it with the Labour Party and these 2 in particular? The sequencing of their ‘pledges’ on Home Rule so far had been
1) totally opposed to home rule – it is either yes or no
2) eh no actually, we are shitting ourselves, it looks like we might lose- we ‘vow’ home rule
3) we didn’t vow home rule
4) the smith commission has finalised its position- we have delivered home rule
5) eh no … that actually isn’t home rule but if you vote for us again we will give you home rule
A party of lying fucking idiots!!!
But I think the Greens, the Tories and UKIP in England must be those most amused and delighted by Labour’s latest incredible convolution. All of which reinforces my frequently repeated assertion that Labour are going to be nowhere near government after the general election, unless in coalition with the Tories.
Independence is so close now we can almost touch it.
Are you a police informer, Fred?
‘Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown will close the day with a half-hour debate on Scottish representation in the Union.’
8.51 A packed agenda
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-31114895 Live coverage.
Also on that link there are reviews of the HoC documentary Inside the Commons broadcast last night.
“Yes, big man, I remember your stream of holocaust denying comments. I’m glad you seem to have outgrown that a bit. ”
I see you haven’t been following the Auschwitz thread.
So funny that there is this in my spam box this morning.
from ‘Teresa Murray’. Then my name followed by ‘Teresa just sent you a private message.’
Chilcot
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11389026/Watch-Live-Sir-John-Chilcot-faces-questions-from-MPs-over-delays-to-his-Iraq-war-report.html
Fred, Scotland is becoming a police state.
You are not wrong.
AMERICA – AMERICA – AMERICA —DECLASSIFICATION
I believe ‘The Iraq Inquiry’ was opened to allay public criticism of Tony Blair and George Bush who started the war knowing that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. This extraordinary view held by many good men and statement, considering an ‘inquiry’ is an investigation, a scrutiny and probe has become extant knowing the process of maximization and the way Chilcot has evaded probing questions that reveals to the British public how this particular process has impacted on the truth notably the classified exchanges between Blair and the Bush administration.
I believe it has been deemed in essential in camera, the final published Chilcot report will not become a basis for further criminal inquiries that:
(a) Declares the Iraq war was illegal.
(b) Compromises actions taken by the American and British intelligent services to obfuscate information used to take forward the early decision to strike Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein.
(c) Force arrest warrants to be issued by the ICC or the ICC Prosecutor requesting a Pre-Trial Chamber to issue a summons for a person to appear before the Chamber. A summons to appear will be issued if the Chamber is satisfied that a summons is sufficient to ensure the appearance of the person against whom it has determined that there are reasonable grounds to believe that he/she has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court.
AMERICA – AMERICA – AMERICA —DECLASSIFICATION
I believe ‘The Iraq Inquiry’ was opened to allay public criticism of Tony Blair and George Bush who started the war knowing that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. This extraordinary view held by many good men, and statement, considering an ‘inquiry’ is an investigation, a scrutiny and probe, has become extant knowing the process of maximization and the way Chilcot has evaded probing questions that reveals to the British public how this particular process has impacted on the truth notably the classified exchanges between Blair and the Bush administration.
I believe it has been deemed essential in camera, the final published Chilcot report will not become a basis for further criminal inquiries that:
(a) Declares the Iraq war was illegal.
(b) Compromises actions taken by the American and British intelligent services to obfuscate information used to take forward the early decision to strike Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein.
(c) Force arrest warrants to be issued by the ICC or the ICC Prosecutor requesting a Pre-Trial Chamber to issue a summons for a person to appear before the Chamber. A summons to appear will be issued if the Chamber is satisfied that a summons is sufficient to ensure the appearance of the person against whom it has determined that there are reasonable grounds to believe that he/she has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court.
“Maxwellisation”, MG, not “maximisation”. Named for a well-known crook who drowned himself when all was discovered. Too much to hope that Blair will do the same. However, the focus on the delay recently narrowed on Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary now, and then, under Blair, PPS (during which time he neglected, or more likely, simply omitted his responsibilities in the David Kelly case) He’s got form, he’s arrogant, and has been alleged to control Cameron, rather than the other way about. Not strongly reported on January 27th, but…
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jan/27/politics-sketch-sir-jeremy-heywood-questioned
and…
Upon Gordon Brown becoming Prime Minister in 2007, Heywood returned to government as Head of Domestic Policy and Strategy at the Cabinet Office. Political commentator Peter Oborne, in the wake of this appointment described Heywood as
“a perfect manifestation of everything that has gone so very wrong with the British civil service over the past 15 years.”
(Wiki)
Oborne in full and accurate flow here:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peteroborne/100110964/no-prime-minister-this-is-not-the-man-to-lead-the-civil-service/
Odd how the present rot can always be traced back to Blair, isn’t it? Just about everything detestable has his sticky fingerprints on it.
Peacewisher, sorry I had to go to bed. Yes, war is terrible, whoever commits it. But the truth is that Russia for nearly 100 years has not been a warmongering country, whereas the US has done nothing but create war, and failed states. Ukraine is just another example of this.
“Are you a police informer, Fred?”
Were you in Glasgow last weekend Juteman?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-31105300
We are being told that we ain’t seen nothing yet. It’s called ‘fiscal consolidation’.
4 February 2015
IFS says ‘worst of cuts to come’
The Institute of Fiscal Studies’ Green Budget says the worst of UK spending cuts are still to come with a “long way to go” before recovery.
‘To meet plans announced in last year’s Autumn Statement departmental spending cuts of £51.4bn, or 14.1%, are needed in the next parliament, the IFS said.
Cuts in the current parliament are expected to reach £38.3bn, or 9.5%.
The IFS said that over the next four years the UK is planning the largest fiscal consolidation out of 32 advanced economies.’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31126283
“However, it’s a bit of a leap from an example of a somewhat progressive political decision to “they only answer to the people of Scotland”. A couple of examples right back at you: I thought the people of Sctoland wanted out of NATO and rid of the monarchy. Perhaps I’m wrong.”
__________________________
FFs Phil how many countries are in NATO that DON’T have nuclear weapons, lets not try to run before we can walk eh.
Firstly get those WMD’s back down the road, forget multilateral disarmament, you start with unilateral first.
As for old droopy arse HRH, only the old folk really respect the royal ponces, the braindead O/O idiots like Fred, would lick her arse if they got half a chance,they’re a drawback for Scotland, and if the Ashcroft poll turns out be right, they’ll GTF south of the border as they’ve previously threatened.
“ROS I’ll give you that Tommy is quite an able speaker.”
_____________________________
Yes Fool Tommy by his own admission is a bit of a flawed character, but who in here isn’t?
In saying that he was one of the first to get a crowd together to stop the sheriff officer from evicting a woman in Mosspark for not paying her Poll tax.
Unashamedly off-topic:
“MP Mike Freer calls for BBC to exclude George Galloway from Question Time in Finchley and Golders Green” [Thursday 10:45pm 5th Feb.]
“Mr Freer and the Jewish Leadership Council have both written to the BBC urging the broadcaster to cancel his appearance.”
“Mr Freer said: “Selecting George Galloway to be on the BBC Question Time panel in Finchley and Golders Green is insensitive and provocative.”
http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/finchley_golders_green_mp_mike_freer_george_galloway_bbc_question_time_1_3943242
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Why is it insensitive?
Because Finchley and Golders Green has a large Jewish community and this year marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz: this is a good example of a non-sequitur.
Why is it provocative?
Because criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic and criticism of Zionism is anti-Semitic therefore George Galloway is anti-Semitic: another example of a non-sequitur.
What happened to those “British values” of intellectual honesty and freedom of speech?
They don’t exist when the subject is Israel.
“Because criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic and criticism of Zionism is anti-Semitic therefore George Galloway is anti-Semitic: another example of a non-sequitur.”
____________________________
Yip Doug that’s just about it, you’d better watch out the Shomrim don’t show up at your door, and beat you within an inch of your life, for expressing your opinion.
http://beforeitsnews.com/eu/2015/01/corporate-jewish-police-start-london-patrols-shomrim-on-their-uniforms-and-cars-meaning-guards-in-hebrew-2576238.html
“What happened to those “British values” of intellectual honesty and freedom of speech?”
Mr Freer has the right to ask the BBC not to include George Galloway on Question Time and the BBC have the right to tell him they are going to anyway.
What was your problem again?
“Firstly get those WMD’s back down the road, forget multilateral disarmament, you start with unilateral first.”
I used to be against nuclear weapons, a few decades ago. Since then I’ve noticed that nobody has actually been killed with nuclear weapons since 1945 and a lot of people have been killed with conventional weapons. If the money spent on nuclear bombs had been spent on conventional bombs and dropped on people the world would be a far worse place.
This doesn’t mean that people who are against nuclear weapons are wrong but it does mean that they can’t claim the moral high ground.
Fred, George Galloway answered a question something like this:
“No, no, Iraq was invaded because it didn’t have weapons of mass destruction. North Korea hasn’t been invaded because it does have weapons of mass destruction”
The labour government persuaded Libya to abandon its WMDs, and later the ConDem government trashed the place. Bad mistake, Libya.
Power relationships are quite simple, it seems. Whoever can, does.
But one cheeky plan I’ve heard is to build enough bunkers to get the whole population underground, and lots of neutron bombs on missiles with a range so short they couldn’t get much beyond your own territory. You’d be no threat to any other country, but any invading forces could be nuked without damaging your own infrastructure much.
The Institute of Fiscal Studies’ Green Budget says the worst of UK spending cuts are still to come with a “long way to go” before recovery.
Or, before this country is run entirely for the benefit of a hedge fund. The IFS is partially aware of this:
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/dec/09/fiscal-studies-thinktank-public-spending-tax-cuts-criticism
Pity it can’t get its ducks in a row.
Clark@3:18 “But one cheeky plan I’ve heard is to build enough bunkers to get the whole population underground, and lots of neutron bombs on missiles with a range so short they couldn’t get much beyond your own territory. You’d be no threat to any other country, but any invading forces could be nuked without damaging your own infrastructure much.”
A bit similar to Churchill’s plan to use mustard gas.
http://www.kenthistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4581.5;wap2
Freer Con Finchley and Golders Green is a Con Friend of Israel and is only following orders from his donors to object to GG’s inclusion on QT tonight:
Mick Davis Chair Jewish Leadership Council
‘Name of donor: Mr Mick Davis
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £5,500
(Registered 15 September 2014)’
**Chaim P Zabludowicz
‘Donations to my constituency party or association, which have been or will be reported by my party to the Electoral Commission:
(a) Name of donor: Chaim P Zabludowicz
(a) Address of donor: private
(a) Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £2,200
(a) Donor status: individual
(a) (Registered 16 October 2011)
Freer’s visits to Israel –
Name of donor: Conservative Friends of Israel Ltd
Address of donor: c/o Shelley Stock Hunter LLP, 7/10 Chandos Street, London W1G 9DG
Amount of donation (or estimate of the probable value): flights, accommodation and meals, to a value of £1,200
Destination of visit: Israel & Palestinian Territories
Date of visit: 11-13 March 2014
Purpose of visit: political delegation to Israel
(Registered 27 March 2014)
Name of donor: Conservative Friends of Israel
Address of donor: 45b Westbourne Terrace, London W2 3UR
Amount of donation (or estimate of the probable value): £2,000
Destination of visit: Israel and the West Bank
Date of visit: 17-22 February 2013
Purpose of visit: fact-finding political delegation
(Registered 7 March 2013)
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/regmem/?p=24934
**A good read here. Donor to Smoothface Cameron, Con party, Con Friends of Israel, BICOM. Developer of occupied land in Palestine, arms manufacturer with access to Richard Perle, etc etc.
http://powerbase.info/index.php/Poju_Zabludowicz
£186m has been donated in total to the Conservative party.
http://searchthemoney.com/profile/657
To Freer, three other MPs and the party from Poju Zabludowicz £129,000.
http://searchthemoney.com/associate/594
Incredible. Party for sale, sold, bought and paid for.
Since Labour are talking about a Constitutional Convention on devolving powers to every small nation of the UK and every region of England, i’m not sure i agree that voters in England would have to be crazy to vote Labour. If ~Scotland got a lot more devolution and the English regions all get the same devolved powers Scotland gets the constitutional issue will be fixed. I’m not sure if any of the UK parties’ leaders and MPs are forward thinking enough to realise that, but maybe they’ll prove me wrong.
Labour are pretty lamentable on a lot of policy areas where they’ve adopted Conservative policies imo, but the tories are still considerably worse. And even Miliband and Balls have some decent policies – increased national minimum wage, federalism, a nationalisesd National Investment Bank, renationalising the Royal Mail, enforcing some competition in the energy market (though i’d prefer nationalising the energy companies too).
So not really irrational for some people in England (and Scotland) to vote Labour as the lesser of two evils, as long as we have the terrible First Past the Post voting system.
And some Labour backbenchers are pretty decent people with reasonable voting records.
Having said that i hope the Greens get a reasonable vote and a few more seats. I’d like them to replace Labour or the Lib Dems, but the chances of that happening in a single election are minimal, so best that can be hoped for is that they scare the Labour party leadership a bit back to the left to avoid losing votes to them that might give the tories or Lib Dems the edge over Labour otherwise in some seats.
Freer, Zabludowicz et al are just pawns in the game of course for the widest destruction.
The perspicacious Michel Chossudovsky writes.
‘What is a Conspiracy Theory? What is the Truth?
By Prof Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, February 05, 2015
Obama is on a hot war footing. Western civilization is threatened by the Islamic State.
The “Global War on Terrorism” is heralded as a humanitarian endeavor.
We have a “Responsibility to Protect”. Humanitarian warfare is the solution.
Evil folks are lurking. ‘Take ‘em out”, said George W. Bush.
The Western media is beating the drums of war. Obama’s military agenda is supported by a vast propaganda apparatus.
One of the main objectives of war propaganda is to “fabricate an enemy” . As the political legitimacy the Obama Administration falters, doubts regarding the existence of this “outside enemy”, namely Al Qaeda and its network of (CIA sponsored) affiliates must be dispelled.
The purpose is to tacitly instil, through repeated media reports, ad nauseam, within people’s inner consciousness, the notion that Muslims constitute a threat to the security of the Western World.
Humanitarian warfare is waged on several fronts: Russia, China and the Middle East are currently the main targets.
/..
http://www.globalresearch.ca/what-is-a-conspiracy-theory-what-is-the-truth/5429344
Filthy work on QT last night. Hatchet job on GG by the panel inc Freedland. Third question 40 mins in on rise in antisemitism and holding GG accountable by association from one of a young Jewish male threesome who were shouting out throughout the responses.
Note there was no reaction to GG’s account of the three physical attacks that have been made upon him either from the panel or from the audience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guAjF0csFI0
Medialens comments thereon which give an idea of the proceedings.
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/thread/1423179511.html
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/thread/1423175517.html
There was also a cutting aside to GG from Dimblebore early on – “When you show up” – implying that GG is mostly absent from the HoC.
GG’s BBC car was attacked after the programme. See Medialens for copies of the tweets.
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/thread/1423184462.html
~~~
Another outstanding display of bias from ZBC.
Molly Scott Cato is on Any Questions tonight Nevermind.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0512lnd
Shapps is on the panel too so what is the betting that the subject of antisemitism will crop up?
So what is the remedy?
Govt NHS Reforms ‘Wasted’ Billions Of Pounds
A leading think tank says the Government squandered billions of pounds on “damaging and distracting” health reforms
http://news.sky.com/story/1422281/govt-nhs-reforms-wasted-billions-of-pounds
‘”Historians will not be kind in their assessment of the coalition government’s record on NHS reform,” The King’s Fund chief executive Chris Ham said.
“Billions of pounds will have been wasted on those misguided reforms.
“The NHS therefore at the end of the parliament is experiencing both financial pressures and challenges in hitting targets that matter to patients because time, effort and money that should have been spent on patient care has been diverted into complex organisational changes.”‘
Fred
4 Feb, 2015 – 9:45 pm
“Mr Freer has the right to ask the BBC not to include George Galloway on Question Time and the BBC have the right to tell him they are going to anyway.”
“What was your problem again?”
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
It is you that seems to have a problem Fred………..with thinking.
Mr Freer and the Jewish Leadership Council have used their right to freedom of speech in an attempt to [1] deny the BBC’s right to host which guests it chooses and [2] to deny Mr Galloway’s right to his freedom of speech by trying to get him excluded from the show.
This is typical of Zionist supporters. Its hypocrisy Fred and you don’t see it.