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

ha, yes

the easy alternative not mentioned in the wsj piece is to deny child benefit to any individual above the threshold. it's not "paid to the mother", so if you do that, a couple with one parent above and one below the threshold could claim (via the low-earning parent), but a couple with two parents above could not.

that's slightly different from their dream policy of "no CB for families with an earner above the 40% threshold", in that families like ned's where one is below the threshold no longer lose it. so the savings are not quite so big (dunno by how much), but the implementation seems simple.

if they do it like that, single parents on 50k lose out, which seems unfair when couples on 40k each don't, but that was true of their dream policy too.

I am in favour of your solution.

Boris Johnson criticised for 'Kosovo' benefits remark expands a little on chris bryant's use of "cleansing"

Love how Boris makes the usual get-out-clause claim of "my remarks were taken out of context", and then you read them three paragraphs down with the added context and nothing about what he said changes at all.

ed davey, human shield

well, almost human

In an election tomorrow Nick Clegg would hold onto his Sheffield Hallam seat by the skin of his teeth, with 33% to Labour’s 31%, and the Conservatives on 28% – a swing of 17.5% to Labour. And in Eastleigh, according to a poll I conducted in August, Chris Huhne would be comfortably trounced by the Conservatives, 43% to 31%, with Labour doubling their vote share to 20% – a swing of 10% to the Tories and 13% to Labour.

forgetting about closing tax loopholes used solely by millionaires with expensive accountants and shit for a moment the government says it will impose fines on anyone claiming child benefit without disclosing their partner's income and all the related shit that supposes and implies

even labour did absolutely nothing -- the opposite of nothing -- about millionaire tax avoiders for 13 years so yeah pretty sure that's a non-starter with the tories

yeah don't actually expect any action on that stuff just clumsy and transparent as fuck to go OK guys this is the new child benefit rule oh shit there's an obvious loophole stick a fine on it then I guess

Small detail in the Telegraph's report on ministerial gifts:

Ratan Tata, the Indian billionaire, is the only person from outside the Government to have been granted two private meetings with the Prime Minister.

Is "absolutely nothing" the opposite of nothing? I think it probably is.

Might stick a load of cash on Clegg losing his seat at the next election right now. Combination of a collapse in student vote + Sheffield Forgemasters + everyone fucking off to vote either Labour or Tory will surely do for him. It's not like he can fall back on being a good constituency MP. And the government isn't even that unpopular.

There'll be a legal challenge to that child benefit fine, I'm sure.

opposite of nothing = indulging the avoiders

cf the mittal bros

xp

Guardian front page says the ConDems' housing plans will actually create higher benefits bills. I don't know if that's true but together with the Child Benefit cockup it looks as though the veneer of supposed competency might be getting scraped off this govt.

So by raising the cost of social housing to 80% of the market rate they'll actually be increasing the number of people who'll need housing benefit to pay for it? Fucking A+++ work there lads.

Also the ticking time bomb is that ministers across all departments don't yet have the slightest clue how they're going to actually implement these cuts. Some of them are inevitably going to look like crap bunglers in the process.

It would be a good idea to preclude purchasers of BTL property in council blocks etc from charging more than double what the council itself does for those properties, instead of say £300/week for the flat my neighbour pays about £95/week for as a renter with the council. Would also encourage people who bought ex-local places to be owner-occupiers.

Might stick a load of cash on Clegg losing his seat at the next election right now. Combination of a collapse in student vote + Sheffield Forgemasters + everyone fucking off to vote either Labour or Tory will surely do for him. It's not like he can fall back on being a good constituency MP. And the government isn't even that unpopular.

think we've done this before, but forgemasters and the labour party are _completely_ irrelevant in hallam. the student vote isn't that big. public sector job losses and university funding might lose him a few votes (to the third place labour party) but nowhere near enough. would be surprised if conservatives field a strong candidate there too. they've considered it unwinnable since 97.

events could intervene, but i think you'd be wasting your money.

According to my research at the beginning of this month, in an election tomorrow Nick Clegg would hold onto his Sheffield Hallam seat by the skin of his teeth,

wtf does "according to my research" mean? was that a poll? a swing calculation? or back of the envelope stuff?

So by raising the cost of social housing to 80% of the market rate they'll actually be increasing the number of people who'll need housing benefit to pay for it?

That's the gist. It's like none of these guys realised how unaffordable "market rates" really are.

"Difficulties on fairness"

"Difficulties on competence"

I think this one could run and run

fucking ridiculous. it's outrageous and, i think, massively dysfunctional (i.e. against even the interests of capital) the state the housing market is in, and the state it has got us into. don't think that pumping billions of pounds into the private sector via housing benefits is a healthy situation, and the state could save/invest that money by increasing social housing. cutting it and raising the fucking rent (which they basically end up paying) there is dumm.

It would be a good idea to preclude purchasers of BTL property in council blocks etc from charging more than double what the council itself does for those properties, instead of say £300/week for the flat my neighbour pays about £95/week for as a renter with the council. Would also encourage people who bought ex-local places to be owner-occupiers.

This is it, no political party has seems prepared to say, "Fuck these thieving, grasping landlords where they breathe". There should be a rent cap, not a housing benefit cap.

Working in East London at present, and was just idly looking in the window of an estate agents, rents are ridiculous, basically you would have to be on housing benefit to afford them

Notable difference is that hardly any estate agents in North London will accept DSS tenants while here 99% of all the properties I accepted DSS

This is it, no political party has seems prepared to say, "Fuck these thieving, grasping landlords where they breathe". There should be a rent cap, not a housing benefit cap.

Because capping rent would kill or at least subdue the buy-to-let market and thus stop recovery in the housing market whose sustained boom brought economic growth for so long and prosperity to so many.

Has anyone read this, by the way? Looks like a good summation of the problem at any rate. Housing really was New Labour's biggest failure, wasn't it?

oh god that book makes me so angry and upset - i got it a year ago and am still halfway through it because i keep having to stop as i am on the verge of tears/murderous rage.

Well, there was the doomed national health care database, off-the-books PFIs.... but yeah when you look at all the consequences of not having enough affordable housing to go around, probably.

Because capping rent would kill or at least subdue the buy-to-let market and thus stop recovery in the housing market whose sustained boom brought economic growth for so long and prosperity to so many.

Indeed, as yer man mayne says, the housing market is a feckin' dog's dinner

Cameron: BBC cuts "delicious"

“At the same time, I will say, we’re all in it together, including, deliciously, the BBC, who in another negotiation agreed a licence fee freeze for six years. So what is good for the EU, is good for the BBC, is good for everyone.”

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/02/gov_may_restrict_unfait_dismissal_claim_rights/

genius. the problem with the job market at the moment is obviously that it's too difficult to get rid of people.

Grindingly inevitable, that one.

Yeah, thanks for that one, Lib Dems... also well done, Nick, Vince and the boys

Conservative MP Michael Fallon described the figures as "nonsense".

He criticised the CIPD's record on forecasting job losses, saying the institute had been "spectacularly wrong before" when it predicted that unemployment would reach three million before the recovery got under way.

"It didn't," Mr Fallon said. It has recently hovered around 2.5 million.

During the heated and, at times, bad-tempered exchange, the MP said: "You are less reliable than a dead octopus."

Mr Philpott replied, saying, "Actually the octopus was pretty accurate while he was still alive."

He also defended the CIPD's record and asked Mr Fallon to withdraw his accusation that its work was "nonsense".

This is amazing.

LOL failed attempt at populism from Sir Bufton Tufton there

"You are more rubbish than a ginger haired octopus oh hang on..."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/02/mark-saunders-song-titles

The Oxford-educated barrister sent his best friend and the best man at his wedding, Alex Booth a text message saying: ‘This is the end my only friend. The end. X’- a lyric by the The Doors from their song ‘The End, which featured in the movie, Apocalypse Now.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/blhblahblah

i.e. he started it.

what a heroic final sentiment

ha

policeman who inserted song titles into his testimony at the inquest for a drunk lawyer whom he shot, what's on your ipod?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11671164

if prisoners do get the vote is this likely to have much impact on future election results? 70k doesnt sound like a massively influential number when spread across all the constituencies.

Just the thought of Cameron/Clegg/Milliband going to jail to Canvass....

Mass movement of prisoners based on their voting intentions on the way then?

Cameron vs Bronson

Portsmouth MP Mike Hancock grabbed a screwdriver and repaired a door at the House of Commons after it was damaged by a colleague following a row with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

The Portsmouth South MP and his friend Bob Russell, the MP for Colchester, had attended a meeting for Lib Dem MPs to question Mr Clegg, their party leader.

A discussion about changes to housing benefits became heated - and on the way out, Mr Russell slammed the door, causing it to come off its hinges.

Mr Hancock returned early the next morning with a screwdriver to re-hang the door and spare Mr Russell's blushes.

The two MPs had taken Mr Clegg to task about government plans to cap housing benefit at £400 a week, and to make new social housing applicants pay 80 per cent of the average private market rent for council houses.

Mr Hancock said: 'It was a strong debate. It took place behind closed doors, so I don't want to say exactly what was said. 'But feelings were high, and when Bob left the room, having had enough of what we heard, it's fair to say he shut the door harder than would normally have been expected.' He added: 'I came back because I wanted to save everyone's embarrassment. The door was off its hinges. It was pretty big, like most of the doors in the House, and it was pretty heavy.

Man charged with task of preventing David Cameron looking like a fat-faced cunt given job paid by taxpayers

Protection of frontline public services in action there.

i know this isn't strictly relevant to this thread but what's the general take on the US mid-term results and how does it impact on the UK, if at all? did the obamacrats do better/worse than expected?

really hoping palin & co do/have done to the republicans what benn & the gang did to early 80s labour