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

well, Andrew Mitchell and Nick Clegg's areas got some of the largest cuts.

Still though, Labour's lowest is -4.4%

Also Nick Clegg's surely inflated by that Forgemasters thing?

Entrepreneurs our only hope, according to Cameron

Our only hope, that's a bit desperate sounding isn't it?

Meanwhile Hague lurches from one cock-up to another

could have been worse, they could have been stalked by an alien that hunts humans for sport

Andrew Mitchell and Nick Clegg's areas got some of the largest cuts.

There are 11 MPs covering Brum. 9 of them are Labour, 1 LD and 1 Con, so I suppose it's a "Labour" area, but it's a Con/LD coalition council. But after May Labour will prob have the most councillors but the ConLD will still have a majority overall. Could be interesting.

Also Nick Clegg's surely inflated by that Forgemasters thing?

― anna sui generis (suzy), Monday, March 7, 2011 10:45 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

those are constituency boundaries (note two doncasters), and forgemasters is not in hallam.

tbf map is misleading

Mandelson now saying that Labour would've raised fees to £6k a year if they'd won. Don't all wet yourselves with surprise now.

Hague takes full responsibility for SAS mission but you can't blame him for it not going to plan.

a spokesman for the Libyan opposition [who] told the Times that he did not understand why the British team did not just make a normal appointment to see the revolutionary council.

What does the rest of the world think of Hague (or Cameron for that matter)? Does he even register?

Not in my back yard, and certainly not if it looks like an oik might be able to afford to live there:

Local people will be urged on Wednesday to use new powers to vote down housebuilding plans if architects continue to propose identikit "Legoland" estates.

In a signal of the coalition's aesthetic taste, the housing minister, Grant Shapps, will praise a range of developments that use local stone, reflect local architecture and recognise tradition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbcACpriZ9s

Not quite sure it's that simple, a lot of mid-market housing these days is pretty cheaply-built, high-margin stuff and I doubt a lot of it is durable over the long-term. Dunno how you get round that without interfering in the god-given right of the housing market to do whatever it wants though, and under the current rules developers will appeal and appeal over overturned decision until they win.

If I ever buy a house, you can bloody well bet it won't be built a la Brookside Close. Shapps in still a massive tool shocker.

xp LOL, The One Show is the epitome of soppy comfort telly for the hard of thinking. Wish the US media would bring the double-entendre snark on its own arseholes, watching that.

John Lydon beat Cameron to it as well

Oh yeah, that "how do you sleep" moment was uh... Wha?

Jokes

Party chairman Tim Farron also rallied the troops with a speech packed with jokes - some at the expense of the party's coalition partners the Conservatives.

Hitting back at jibes that the Lib Dems have become Conservatives since forming the coalition, he told activists: "I share a bed with my wife - it does not make me a woman."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12720315

zing

probably does mean he's getting fucked though

VG

Hague thinks running around like a headless chicken = being an effective Foreign Secretary

Interesting that Gove is mentioned as a possible successor. Clearly bored with the whole education thing already.

The Hague piece is weird. He's so chuffed about being busy yet he doesn't say what he's achieved by being so busy. He calls a journo a 'Lounge Lizard' for being lazy and then says we should be grateful because he's given up the piano to be a politician.

You should have heard him play piano.

There was also heavy criticicms at the conference of the U-turn on tuition fees.

Mr Clegg said in his 40-minute closing speech: "Being in coalition with another party is not always easy.

"Making compromises, settling differences and going out to explain decisions which aren't exactly the ones we would make on our own.

"But every single day I work flat out to make sure that what we are doing is true to our values."

He added the Lib Dems had always been the party of "fairness, freedom, progress and reform".

"We cherished those values in opposition. Now we are living by them in government," he said.

"So yes, we have had to toughen up. But we will never lose our soul."

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0aE9sakEsz4/SHF6nno4CMI/AAAAAAAAAEc/hv-f94GSJxs/s320/Emetic+front.jpg

Google has its claws in Cameron, say the critics. Rachel Whetstone, Google's European head of communications, is married to Steve Hilton, the prime minister's director of strategy.

And the prime minister's declaration that he wanted to see a US-style relaxation of IP laws, creating a "fair use" exemption – giving space for startups to copy and create innovative products, sourced from material which might be copyright-protected – was top of Google's legislative wishlist.

Got to say, respect to the LibDem conference for throwing out the NHS plan. Although it'll probably show up just how little influence they have in the coalition.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/51771000/jpg/_51771194_010434726-1.jpg

tough times, big fees tough competitor
but that £4 a month will help...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12824055

already under the threshold son

#winning

weird photo on the bbc front page
http://static.bbc.co.uk/homepage/ic/mediazone/strap/www/image/p00ftpf5_640_215.jpg
Cameron: "I can't really be bothered with this I've got a war to win"

Don't expect to read much about Osborne's nine month investigation by the Office of Tax Simplification, which found just over 1,000 tax reliefs and exemptions, and recommended that an incredible 47 be abolished.

BBC business editor Robert Peston tweets: "I have just started marathon 4 hour #bbcbudget broadcast. U have been warned. Goodness only knows what rubbish I'll be spouting in 240 mins"

robert peston perrenially sounds like a talking action man with its battery running down

First rap to mention a White Paper ever?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl1jPqqTdNo

"you're filthy rich from those that represent Walkers Crisps"

glad tony robinson's here to save us

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/mar/27/cable-confirms-ending-50p-tax-rate

perfect response to the 500,000 strong anti-cuts protest on Saturday

* insert snide DG comment here *

Leeds Metropolitan has become the first of the newer, less selective group of universities to officially announce its new fee level.

The former polytechnic and member of Million+ group of newer universities has said it will charge £8,500 for all full-time undergraduates from 2012.

lol

oo, £500 off!

million+: Universities and students both losers from Browne
12 Oct 2010 ... Responding to the Browne Review of university fees and ...
www.millionplus.ac.uk/.../universities-and-students-both-losers-from-browne

i have it on fairly good authority that the tories and civil servants who cooked this up are *genuinely surprised* that universities are pushing for the top rate. i don't believe it, but that's the line they apparently give, even outside of media briefings.

that means they're either liars or idiots, i meant to say

Or both.

Idiots wins by a short head

are ppl actually going to go to places like leeds met at those fees idk

iirc some of the better universities said/intimated they would charge the maximum before the legislation was passed

they sure did

from the universities' point of view, it's the only way to cover the 80% cut in the teaching grant

but the bigger question, whether it's fair to lumber leeds met graduates with a probable £50k+ debt is...

idk, i teach at an ex-poly now so have mixed feelings. maybe i shd go private, lecturing without the BS. just need a strong marketing team.