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

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.

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

that isn't even a question

lookin forward to whichever ex-poly offers no frills degrees at a mere £5k p/a

Ha, was going to do a pun crossing name of a low price airline with the qualification, but it exists already...

http://www.easydegree.org/header-easydegree.org.jpg

"tesco value degree"
4 results (0.15 seconds)

About 22,800 results for "EasyDegree"

even:

Ryan Degree | Facebook
Ryan Degree is on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with Ryan Degree and others you may know. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world ...
www.facebook.com/people/Ryan-Degree/100000297459737 - Cached

kinda feel its unfair of ucas not to point out to prospective students that 'metropolitan' in a university name translates as 'total bollocks'

From what I remember Leeds Met runs quite a lot of vocational degrees, which you might argue represent better value for many punters than a BA in Fannying Around with Roman Pots from a redbrick.

How is Roman Potts these days?

kinda feel its unfair of ucas not to point out to prospective students that 'metropolitan' in a university name translates as 'total bollocks'

LOL, true

Always cool to see ILX taking the Telegraph line.

Feel there's a song in there somewhere

"We're gonna hang out our dirty washing..."

"The Telegraph Lineman is still on the liiiiiiiiinne"

dee-deet dee-deet dee-deet-dee-deet deedle deedle

as an ex-employee of a 'metropolitan' university i would say that a) the 'telegraph line' (assuming the 'telegraph line' is kinda the same as my last post) is otm b) if i had kids i wouldn't let them go to one of these under any circumstances

are you in london dg? london met is kind of uniquely fraudulent (ie, it literally committed fraud).

oh yeah i know abt them but still, b)^^^, they're not worth it

http://startupbritain.org/

'millions of success stories haven't been written yet'

bleugh- http://twitter.com/#!/dragonjones/status/52338400065372160

The team at StartUp Britain have brought together
their favorite places to go on the web to find information about starting a business.

Getting Inpspiration

jones of course living high on the hog off the royalties of that band he signed

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

For humanities/social science students I think all English universities currently receive about £1500 per head teaching grant from HEFCE. Additional tuition fee paid by the student = about £3200.