DEM not gonna CON dis NATION: Rolling UK politics in the short-lived Cleggeron era

Suzy I think your point would probably still stand without the strawman building.

Labour can't actually commit to anything without a leader though. The contender who seems to be doing the best at raking the Tories is Ed Balls, but then again Michael Gove has been giving him a lot of ammunition.

Interesting that Mays letter. I wonder if she leaked it herself.

this govt is probably more right-wing than thatcher's

The amazing thing being that so many people seemed to think Cameron wasn't a "right-winger", I've felt like shaking people and saying "Are you blind, deaf, stupid?!?!?"

Matt, I don't think the side-scold was necessary: I was merely building hypocrites, not scarecrows.

Speaking of hypocrites, it's my old nemesis Tessa May. *eyeball roll*

I can kinda see where a rolling check to make sure council housing stock is allocated according to need on an ongoing makes sense, tbh?

Working in a council rental scheme fwiw.

on an ongoing *basis*

First in a long time that there isn't/doesn't feel like a 'silly season'.

We had a psychic octopus in the news a matter of weeks ago!

We needed something from the back pages to cheer us all up.

Ooooh cracks emerging

Grant Shapps is a tool, BTW.

Known that for years.

In other news, Tory donor gets the personal touch:

Prime Minister and Witney MP David Cameron will write to the family of Alexander Codrington after the aristocrat’s son was found dead in woodland, it emerged last night.

The 16-year-old, whose father is baronet Sir Christopher Codrington, is thought to have killed himself shortly before dawn on Friday near the West Oxfordshire village of Fordwells after an hour-long conversation with police on a mobile phone.

It was reported that the teenager and Stowe School pupil had just split up from his girlfriend.

Mr Cameron lives just six miles from the Codringtons’ family home in Fordwells.

A spokesman for 10 Downing Street said: “The Prime Minister is very saddened to hear this tragic news and will be writing to the family.”

A lesson in how not to look electable by Oona King:

People keep asking “who is going to win?” and “who is the favourite?” or “do you think there could be a last minute upset?” And I have to be honest and tell them that I haven’t been following Big Brother.

I love reality television as much as the next person but when you’re standing for election you spend every evening rushing to meetings and hustings.

I was once offered the chance to appear on I’m a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here. It was a tempting offer, a nice big cheque for three weeks work. And, who knows, it might have been fun eating maggots. But, the jungle I prefer is politics.

And I hear you cry, “How can politics ever be better than show business?” Good question. I am not a sad character who doesn’t want fun in her life. In fact, put on some good music and I’ll be on my feet faster than Louie Spence. But I know life isn’t easy for a lot of people and I would so much like to change that. When we think of knife crime, bad housing or no housing, and kids who get left behind we need to get serious.

There’s no doubt Boris Johnson does good show business. But is he seriously dealing with London’s problems? We know the answer and it’s no joke.

And I don’t think Ken Livingstone is the way to go. He may qualify for Britain’s Got Talent but only on UK Gold.

I don’t mean to Glee but it’s important for Labour and London that we Don’t Stop Believing.

CRINGE.

Right, that's her ruled out...

I don't believe a single person has asked her who she thought was going to win Big Brother. Might as well ask her who her favourite Spice Girl is.

I love reality television as much as the next person but when you’re standing for election you spend every evening rushing to meetings and hustings.

That's how she managed to be beat reality television star, George Galloway, oh hold on...

Actually, Big Brother is something a person who's worked at Channel 4 as a diversity head probably gets asked about a lot.

I'm fine with her words in the main (Boris point is deft) but the last two sentences ARE written using Tin Ear technology.

And I don’t think Ken Livingstone is the way to go. He may qualify for Britain’s Got Talent but only on UK Gold.

is the joke here 'lol u old'?

i mean i think its a joke, it doesn't look or smell or sound like one or stimulate the typical reaction ie laughter but i think its a joke

it's the kind of prepared line a guest on have i got news for you tries to shoehorn in just anywhere and results in dead silence.

"I don't mean to Glee"?

what?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/04/time-to-organise-resistance-now

is tony benn really the best the british left can do?

at least there's heavyweight support from um john pilger, ken loach, and haha lindsey german

gawd

Gruesome

We reject this malicious vandalism and resolve to campaign for a radical alternative, with the level of determination shown by trade unionists and social movements in Greece and other European countries.

fuck sake

Not as LOLsome as that pre-election "Why we're voting Liberal Democrat" list of twats (xp0

Yeah the only way to overturn this is to put together a credible set of reasons why higher public spending would be a way out of the deficit rather than just going "wah racists and millionaires".

Never mind higher public spending, fingers crossed for some public spending!

i think there's a place for a mainstream left-wing [more left wing than new labour, if you can imagine such a thing] movement agains the cuts. but not one led by (basically) the swp and its famous mates.

Won't need to be particularly left-wing once people start feeling the pinch.

yeah, i just mean kind of social-democratic, kind of willing to make the case for equality of access to education/health/______, etc.

not saying renationalize the car industry or anything

Won't need to be particularly left-wing once people start feeling the pinch.

Not so sure about that. I fear the Tories have won the (largely uncontested) argument that the cuts are "necessary" and "unavoidable", it just seems to have been accepted.

OTM #1 (xp)
OTM #2 (xxp)

I fear the Tories have won the (largely uncontested) argument that the cuts are "necessary" and "unavoidable", it just seems to have been accepted.

People are happy to "accept" things as long as they aren't actually affecting them.

They'll just blame the Labour government or the unemployed or the immigrants

i dunno. you can't "do" anything to register your dissent -- yet, the cuts haven't started to cut. i don't know if people do accept it that much. do they even poll that kind of thing? so far it's mostly been announcements. but (e.g.) the schools programme seems to be a damp squib -- they just aren't signing up.

as matt said, you would need a convincing picture of "what happens next", which neither the tories nor the guardian letter writers have provided. but cameron has made it explicit now that the cuts are not just done out of expediency, and there are strong arguments that they've gone way overboard. i think the elements are there. be kind of nice if the new labour leader were able to mobilize them.

be kind of nice if the new labour leader were able to mobilize them.

yeah, it's not a case of the voting masses 'accepting' it so much as (like we have over here) a lack of credible opposition focusing, expressing and hitting the govt with people's discontent

Seriously, please just fuck off now?

oh ok, that's a link

wait that's absolutely indefensible, that's fucking scandalous

booming comment from pissedoffman there

we could all learn something

A Home Office spokeswoman said Mrs May had made clear she regarded tackling violence against women as a priority. "However, in tough economic times, we are now considering our options for delivering improved protection and value for money," she added.

Thank you once again Liberal Democrat voters everywhere

pissedoffman- if raoul moat had gotten that college course back in 1995

wow independent commentators are like the most vile i've ever read?

Was just thinking that myself.

A Home Office spokeswoman said Mrs May had made clear she regarded tackling violence against women as a priority. "However, in tough economic times, we are now considering our options for delivering improved protection and value for money," she added.

Honestly, there's "saving money" and then there's "defending the indefensible". How much longer is this going to wash?

Honestly, there's "saving money" and then there's "defending the indefensible"

Seriously- random picks out of a hat couldn't be less suitable of a way to manage these cuts.

The Big Society will no doubt come to the aid of these abused women - if indeed they are abused and they are not the ones doing the abusing, of the system and of taxpayers money

A Home Office spokeswoman said Mrs May had made clear she regarded tackling violence against women as a priority. "However, in tough economic times, we are now considering our options for delivering improved protection and value for money," she added.

Honestly, there's "saving money" and then there's "defending the indefensible". How much longer is this going to wash?

― Matt DC, Thursday, 5 August 2010 17:09 (12 minutes ago) Bookmark

this wouldn't even cost anything extra! it just uses existing police resources.

Maybe Cameron told her that wife beaters have nuclear weapons?

Nice one:

From: “Dominic Raab”
Subject: Re: Re:
To: Johnny Chatterton
Date: 19 July 2010 09:30

Dear Johnny

I have now had my email address removed from the public HoC internet, to avoid it being used by lobby groups such as your own. I have spoken to the Information Commissioner’s Office who inform me that – as it is no longer in the public domain – I am entitled to request that you stop using it on your campaign website, so that I no longer receive pro-forma emails.

Please understand that MPs get a high volume of correspondence and emails. Just processing the emails from your website absorbs a disproportionate amount of time and effort, which we may wish to spend on higher priorities, such as helping constituents in real need or other local or Parliamentary business.

These emails from your and other lobby groups are becoming a real nuisance. I am easily contactable by constituents, who can write to me at the House of Commons, and readily accessible via surgeries and other public meetings.

So, I am now formally requesting that you remove my email from your website system. If you refuse, I will submit a formal complaint to the Information Commissioner.

Regards,

Dominic Raab