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

IDS showing his true colours now, once a right wing cunt always a right wing cunt

Liked James Lansdale's question to Danny "Quisling" Alexander, "Why are you treating unemployed people like criminals?"

both a cancer on society iirc, except the rich section of either obv

If there aren't jobs here for them then there are plenty in Australia, they just have to look for them.

Though the track, "2 minute silence", contains no music or speaking at all, the accompanying video features noiseless contributions from David Cameron, Thom Yorke, the lead singer of Radiohead, Andy Murray, the tennis player, Martin Johnson, the England rugby coach as well as the British actors Bob Hoskins and David Tennant.

so radiohead have asked cameron to appear in one of their music videos and he agreed? the word 'contributions' suggests as much.

the track, "2 minute silence", contains no music or speaking at all,

I'm liking this new direction of Radiohead's

Isn't it organised by the Royal British Legion and just happens to have both Yorke and Cameron on it?

thought yorke was a white poppy guy

Radiohead have never been very poppy

that's the joke

Thassa cracker, so it is

Harriet Harman has said it is "not part of Labour's politics for somebody to be telling lies to get themselves elected". Which must surely be news to anyone who's observed them over the last 10 years.

LOL Tony Bliar notnimynameamirite?

I'm thinking more at local government and constituency level, but outright lying in campaign literature appears to be part of all three parties' DNA, Woolas just did so more obviously than most. If Miliband and Harman are serious about cleaning up the party I fear they'll have a lot of work to do.

Also defending a racist liar is really NAGL for Labour MPs right now...

I'm thinking more at local government and constituency level, but outright lying in campaign literature appears to be part of all three parties' DNA

Lib Dems are renowned for, if not outright lying, fighting dirty shall we say

Do you think this makes it acceptable for the Labour Party to do likewise?

No, just amusing to see them perched precariously up on their high horse. This is generally true whenever any political party gets all snooty about the conduct of another party.

I wouldn't be surprised if this was the start of a rash of stories like this actually, expenses scandal style.

it'll be a fascinating precedent, if it sticks

wonder if the losing mp was supported by lib dem high command: they ought to feel worried

obviously what woolas was saying was more in the line of defamation (though has he been sued for this?), but if, say, a political party says, vote for us or the country will TURN INTO GREECE, is that a lie?

if all three parties conspire not to talk about economic policy, it's a sin of omission, but not a lie as such.

Um, this might be a ridiculous question but, erm, WTF is going on at Millbank Tower?

My tweetstream is full of conflicting reports.

student invasion, fires set, tory hq evacuated

"Nick Clegg, we know you, you're a fucking Tory too."

A few smashed windows and a couple of injured police, but on the whole it seems like a huge and largely peaceful demo that the media are trying to turn into a riot. Lot's of funny anti-Clegg placards too!

"lot's" lol ffs

I was wondering if it was just diversionary press tactics to discredit the protesters but ILX's Favourite Socialist New Statesman Columnist (tm) is on site describing some pretty scary scenes.

Not sure how scary it is relative to, say, anti-capitalist protests of a decade ago, not to mention the poll tax riots, but it looks pretty fucking angry. I approve.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11726822

police literally making a space for the protestors so they can get a good run up at the windows o_O

Krishan Guru-Murthy tweeted that someone just threw a fire extinguisher off the roof of Millbank. Okay that's pretty scary.

Stuff like this inevitably makes me think of this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gpRqmuW7Ak

Now you can smash all the windows that you want
All you really need are some friends and a rock
Throwing a brick never felt so damn good
Smash more glass
Scream with a laugh
And wallow with the crowds
Watch them kicking peoples' ass

But you get to the place
Where the real slavedrivers live
It's walled off by the riot squad
Aiming guns right at your head
So you turn right around
And play right into their hands
And set your own neighbourhood
Burning to the ground instead

Riots are rarely productive I suppose but peaceful protests are about the same level of use.

I don't really know if this alienates people who wd otherwise be against the ConDem's policies or just confirms a bunch of entrenched beliefs all round. Also I dunno if the firestarters are spooks or genuine sabbatical SWP dudes but it doesn't make much odds either.

I know real people could get injured here but at the same time it's good to see some actual visible display of ANGER, fuck knows its merited.

Bet you any money they're SWPy types though.

Fine line between spooks and genuine SWPy types tbf.

I say "fine line", I mean "3 or 4 years".

swp'ers are bigger pussies than nus dudes, doubt it's them

surely they're anti-globalization mob? overlap but not the same as swp, who are generally pretty well behaved at these sorts of things.

would rather they weren't throwing stuff off a tower block tbh.

If no one hears from LJ in the next 24hrs send out a search party.

Sorry yeah, it's been a long time. The anti-globalization mob are mostly the Hunt Sabs post Blair pissing on their chips, yes?

The anger is being expressed at the wrong targets and in the wrong place.

Public demonstrations of anger are one thing but there's nothing socialist about frightening ordinary working people (receptionists etc.) who in real terms probably have a lot more to lose (they're the ones who are going to end up being priced out of London because of spiralling rents and the downsizing of housing benefit) than the protestors.

tory hq is the wrong place?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millbank_Tower#Occupants

I dunno, watching some clips of House of Commons discussion earlier today really does give me more sympathy towards those who've scaled it up to riot status. If a bunch of complacent overprivileged sociopaths are deciding what is happening to you, of course you're going to be angry.

Also, this is what happens at peaceful protests: "The British Stop the War Coalition (StWC) held a protest in London which it claimed was the largest political demonstration in the city's history. Police estimated attendance as well in excess of 750,000 people and the BBC estimated that around a million attended."

That really worked, didn't it?

But obviously I don't want to see anyone hurt, and there's always the likelihood that the people who escalate are just there to kick off and don't actually give a shit about the cause.

These kind of random bursts of adrenalin violence are never cool, absolutely. But if these kids are playing into the hands of their enemies by shifting the focus of the discussion, we oughtn't to get sucked into the same trap. On a sliding scale, this uncoolness is nothing to what's being protested about.

i realise there are other people in millbank but i would like to know where exactly this perfect alternative venue is

Yeah this can't be fun for the people working elsewhere in Millbank who have nothing to do with the Tory Party or the government. You'd hope they'd have been evacuated ages ago but that would presume competence here.

I'm looking forward to seeing some hapless LibDem stooge get eviscerated on Newsnight tonight if nothing else. But I can't see it actually changing anything unless some LibDems actually grow a spine and rebel.

wonder if this was a tory undercover agent subverting the cause from within
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01758/beer-pot-noodles_1758450i.jpg

You have to check the boots tbh

i realise there are other people in millbank but i would like to know where exactly this perfect alternative venue is

um, on the streets. tv coverage would be better for one thing.