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Corbyn's PMQ question
Couldn't put it better myself:
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/11871261/Why-should-I-pay-for-Jeremy-Corbyns-friend-Claire-to-have-so-many-children-tax-credits-PMQs.html
Last edited by: VxFan on Thu 1 Oct 15 at 01:17
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>> Not getting any better:
>>
>> www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/Jeremy_Corbyn/11877539/Jeremy-Corbyns-shame-over-Queen-slur.html
>>
>> At this rate he could be a goner quicker than expected.
>>
Bit of a do about nothing. Fun for the newspapers no doubt though.
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Heathcote Williams is an engaging cat, a wildly variable versifier and actually a bit of a raving nutter. Nothing wrong with that of course.
This poem is not in his top quartile by a long way. They will go crazily for the jugular these cats at the merest sniff of politics. Tsk, no self-control.
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Corbyn wants to nationalise the railways, eh?
I understood that the EU's First Railway Directive, back in 1998, says that that all member states must provide competition and allow independent companies to apply for non-discriminatory track access.
Is this still so?
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>> Corbyn wants to nationalise the railways, eh?
>>
>> I understood that the EU's First Railway Directive, back in 1998, says that that all
>> member states must provide competition and allow independent companies to apply for non-discriminatory track access.
>>
>> Is this still so?
Yes. Tho several member states have not implemented it at all, several have half implemented it and a few have paid lip service to it and have pretended to have implemented it.
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 20 Sep 15 at 21:56
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>> it and a few have paid lip service to it and have pretended to have
>> implemented it.
Where do you see UK in that spectrum? While Hull Trains and its extensions have got reasonsably well established other proposals seem to fetch up in the sidings.
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>>
>> >> it and a few have paid lip service to it and have pretended to
>> have
>> >> implemented it.
>>
>> Where do you see UK in that spectrum? While Hull Trains and its extensions have
>> got reasonsably well established other proposals seem to fetch up in the sidings.
Probably the only country that has more or less fully implemented the directive. The infrastructure provider, Network Rail has a fully open access agreement, where in theory if you are an authorised Train Operating Company (TOC) you can request a path subject to you running a type approved train over the appropriate route availability for that type. (i.e. size, weight, motive power)
The hurdle is to be a TOC, This is authorised by the Office of Rail Regulation, and to be a TOC you have to satisfy requirements of competence and safety and provide a business case for the service you wish to run, and where you can find network capacity to slot it in. The likes of wannabe hull trains usually fail at this timetable/business case hurdle.
We in the UK have more TOCs than nearly any country int he world.
Edit - about 40 TOCs
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 20 Sep 15 at 22:34
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>> Probably the only country that has more or less fully implemented the directive.
Why does that not surprise me?
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>>
>> >> Probably the only country that has more or less fully implemented the directive.
>>
>>
>> Why does that not surprise me?
Ironically, the only UK rail route that doesn't have full open access is the channel tunnel, because the French wont allow it.
(tho that will change at the end of this year when a non french company will run trains through it)
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Hmm - Cameron with "a private part" in a pig's head - snorts coffee over keyboard!
Mind you, I always thought he was a bit of bell-end
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>> www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3242494/Revenge-PM-s-snub-billionaire-funded-Tories-years-sparked-explosive-political-book-decade.html
>>
>> Revenge served cold comes to mind!
The question raised by that tale and yesterday's about labour being funded my the owner Hull City is surely 'how on earth do we allow our political system to be in hock to such characters'?
On another point, why did the Mail make a coy reference to a private part of Cameron's anatomy being placed in the dead pig's mouth. The correct term is penis and comprises ca mere five letters.
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The speech marks suggest that it is a quotation so perhaps it was the ghost writer Oakeshott who was being coy.
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News Thump is inundated with Cameron/Pig stuff. Particularly like the suggestion that Corbyn's opener on PMQ's might be:
'I have a letter here from 'Kermit' who would like to know if the Prime Minister at least bought her dinner first'.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Mon 21 Sep 15 at 17:51
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There is supposedly photographic evidence.
Presumably it would have to be certified by somebody who would recognise the honourable member.
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Going back to the sub-debate in the last volume - rail nationalisation. I've got a simple answer to that one. Nationalise it all then sell the bleeding lot to Deutsche Bahn.
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Too late, its already happening.
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Wow, that was quick. Right. Next problem, please. I'm on a roll.
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>> I'm on a roll.
>>
So was my bacon this morning and it didn't get very far :-)
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>> Wow, that was quick. Right. Next problem, please. I'm on a roll.
Get fulham promoted.
(you wont get that done so quickly)
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>> Get fulham promoted.
>>
>> (you wont get that done so quickly)
Best start with something a bit easier, such as getting rid of ISIS.
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>> >> Wow, that was quick. Right. Next problem, please. I'm on a roll.
>>
>> Get fulham promoted.
>>
>> (you wont get that done so quickly)
>>
I asked for problems not impossibilities.
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It's actually all a mistake.
What really happened was that Dave was overheard saying to George "if you fancy a drink, I'll be in the Boar's Head tonight".
;-)
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That's thumbworthy t/motional.
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>> That's thumbworthy t/motional.
I think it went
"Do you think Corbyn will get elected"
"I have more chance of sticking my dick in a pigs mouth"
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Several people have rung number 10 for an official response.
All they got was crackling on the line.
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Great fun but the person who sounds stinkiest here to me is Ashcroft. His complaint seems to be that money couldn't buy him a position of power, unelected.
Oakeshott is on Newsnight now and wriggling - "we reported what we were told and left people to make up their own minds". I wouldn't buy a used car from her or Ashcroft.
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Never mind non-dom status or the Bullingdon Club. Ashcroft's most bizarre revelation concerns the Piers Gaveston Society.
Yes, Piers Gaveston would you believe it? Blimey, what a pong.
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At least she didn't have Xmas dinner with Jimmy Savile.
Oh, hang on.
(Pretty sure she never got a BJ from a dead pig though)
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Attacking a dead PM with a 30 year old story is so compelling, it will destroy the Tory Party forever.
Oh...
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"Jeremy Corbyn is regarded as more honest than David Cameron but just a third of the public sees him as a “capable leaderâ€, an exclusive poll reveals today.
As Labour’s new chief and his Tory rival square up for their party conferences, Ipsos MORI research reveals that Mr Cameron is twice as likely to be chosen in a crisis — but is deemed “out of touch†by six out of 10 people.
The poll also reveals just how badly Labour’s image has been damaged in the past five months of election defeat and leadership bickering. Since April, when the same questions were asked, the proportion of people who see Labour as “divided†has soared from 43 to 75 per cent."
www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/jeremy-corbyn-honest-but-poor-leader-and-cameron-better-in-a-crisis-poll-shows-a2954801.html
Voters dislike divided parties..
Last edited by: madf on Thu 24 Sep 15 at 13:31
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Update:
Corbyn becomes LAB leader EVER to record negative ratings in his opening Ipsos MORI satisfaction ratings
tinyurl.com/o3lsshg
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>> Corbyn becomes LAB leader EVER to record negative ratings in his opening Ipsos MORI satisfaction ratings
See? He's an original cat.
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Maybe he isn't exclusively focused on maximising his popularity rating.
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>> Maybe he isn't exclusively focused on maximising his popularity rating.
>>
Initial impressions are very hard to shake off.
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>>Maybe he isn't exclusively focused on maximising his popularity rating.
I sincerely hope he isn't. Because if he is then he's making a right hash of it.
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For all Corbyn's low ratings you also have to take into account that he is still in the new leader honeymoon period. When the election is looming and he and his nutty shadow chancellor have to explain how they are going to fund their Utopian ideal Labour ratings are going to go into meltdown.
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>> For all Corbyn's low ratings you also have to take into account that he is
>> still in the new leader honeymoon period. When the election is looming and he and
>> his nutty shadow chancellor have to explain how they are going to fund their Utopian
>> ideal Labour ratings are going to go into meltdown.
It will be a lot more attractive for many than "austerity". Not that we have had any, that matters.
I don't know which is worse, Corbyn's money printing idea or Osborne's idea of reducing the deficit by substituting expensive private capital for on balance sheet debt, instead of actually spending responsibly.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/23/hinkley-point-squandermania-george-osborne-china
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>>
>>
>> It will be a lot more attractive for many than "austerity". Not that we have
>> had any, that matters.
>>
>>
People are more sensible that they are given credit for. They realise that spending your way out of debt is not a viable option.
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>> voters dislike divided parties..
Indeed, something the Tories seem very good at forgetting from time to time.
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The Guardian's 'long read' feature covers the inside story of Corbyn's campaign/victory.
www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/25/jeremy-corbyn-earthquake-labour-party
The print version will be over 2-3 pages of Berliner format so it's a very long read!!
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Corbyn won't last a year.
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>> Corbyn won't last a year.
>>
I expect he 'll last to 2020..The Party Conference will ensure any MPs who rebel will be deselected..
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I wonder what odds I could get on him becoming PM? Might be worth a punt.
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He's only about 6 or 7:1 surprisingly
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That'll be blow to him. I think he would have quite liked that debate as a centre piece vote. As I've said before he'll find his options reduce not increase as leader.
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>> Or consistent.
>>
>> news.sky.com/story/1559825/labour-will-not-debate-trident-after-union-blow
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It comes to it when the unions are asking the leader to tone things down.
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I don't think they could. I think they got the members to vote for other debates. Although how much was back doored i don't know.
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So McDonnell says we have an elected dictatorship
Remind me who popularised that phrase or the variant elective dictatorship in thr first place.
As a clue it was in a Dimbleby lecture.....
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>> So McDonnell says we have an elected dictatorship
>>
>> Remind me who popularised that phrase or the variant elective dictatorship in thr first place.
>>
>>
>> As a clue it was in a Dimbleby lecture.....
>>
It was of course Lord Hailsham - Quintin Hogg- referring to the Wilson Governments' narrow majorities but it was in fact coined by Garabaldi nearly 100 years earlier..
In reality, it's an exaggeration. Dictatorships do what they like until deposed - usually by force. In a democracy , if the Government passes laws which are unpopular, they tend to be replaced and laws repealed.# So it's an emotive phrase but basically wrong in the long term.
# See the 50% rate of income tax introduced by Gordon Brown in the dying days of his Government and repealed by the next Government.
# In some cases , the leader gets replaced in a coup and the laws repealed by the same Government - see The Poll Tax. Very unpopular, M Thatcher gets the chop by her own Party, tax repealed.
In some cases, the new laws are ostensibly VERY unpopular amongst those affected, the Opposition says it will repeal them when in power - and does not - see the Labour Laws passed by the Conservatives in the 1980s limiting strikes. Not repealed by Blair/Brown Governments. despite union pressure.
My conclusion: an " elected dictatorship" is only effective for a short period. Natural democratic swings means it does not last for ever. And the arguments of those for a second chamber to be elected ? It's hard to see how reality will change ... (which is not to say it's not a good idea)
Last edited by: madf on Mon 28 Sep 15 at 09:51
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>> In reality, it's an exaggeration. Dictatorships do what they like until deposed - usually by
>> force. In a democracy , if the Government passes laws which are unpopular, they tend
>> to be replaced and laws repealed.# So it's an emotive phrase but basically wrong in
>> the long term.
That is obviously true but the effect, strengthened by the fixed term parliament thing, is that we have the dictatorship with a quinquennial opportunity to change it. Other features include:
* A strong executive cabinet with appointment in the gift of the PM
* Whipped voting on practically all government legislation
* MPs who don't toe the line risk de-selection
* An upper house with only revising power
* No written constitution - though the Human Rights Act can be a useful proxy
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Yes: it's a pig's ear but it works.
BUT it only works because parties stick to the unwritten rules.
If the LibDems stick to this pledge:
"One of the Liberal Democrats' most senior figures has boasted the party can defeat the government at will in the House of Lords and may "misbehave" by repeatedly changing laws to provoke reform.
Lord Newby, the party’s chief whip in the Lords, said the Lib Dems could force through “umpteen†changes to laws every day despite having just eight MPs because there are so few Tory peers."
tinyurl.com/nar8usb
then we could perhaps see a breakdown in the rules..
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Well if the Tories hadn't blocked electoral and Lords reform during the coalition, there would be no need for this. Libs behaved responsibly and selflessly by entering the coalition, they were let down by their partners and now it's time to dish it back out in opposition. You know, actually oppose the government (in the name of Her Majesty) in the absence of a larger party (more interested in its own navel/self destruction) which should be doing the job.
Ha.
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One minor correction
>> * An upper house with only revising power
an upper house with only delaying / suggested revising power
If a government wants something enough the HoL can only revise it twice, the HoC can revise it back again and carry it into law if they want it enough.
If, heaven forbid, we get an elected HoL some order needs to be built in as to whose elected mandate is strongest.
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I think Corbyn will cling on to power for a very long time.
If I were DC, I'd be thinking about calling a snap election to get a decent majority.
Thanks, Brompton for the Gruaniad article. Interesting. But a journo who was being paid by the word, I'm afraid, which has led to a long and turgid article. For example:
"Behind an oak-panelled door leading to the PLP offices, Corbyn’s supporters pleaded with any undecided MPs to nominate their man – if only to allow “a real debate†about the future of the party."
What is the relevance of the oak-panelled door or whither it might lead?
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>>I think Corbyn will cling on to power for a very long time.
I agree. And Tory in-fighting will help prevent his position being brought to a crisis level.
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>> >>I think Corbyn will cling on to power for a very long time.
>>
>> I agree. And Tory in-fighting will help prevent his position being brought to a crisis
>> level.
It's funny, because up until he was elected I thought he would cling on to power for a matter of months, if that.
Do you think there's much Tory infighting? I think that Corbyn's "consensus" politics makes it very hard for people to strike a blow against him. Whilst the nation will (deo volente) probably not make him PM, the Labour party will find it impossible to argue against him.
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>>Do you think there's much Tory infighting?
No, but I think there will be.
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>> >>I think Corbyn will cling on to power for a very long time.
>>
>> I agree. And Tory in-fighting will help prevent his position being brought to a crisis
>> level.
>>
I can't think the tories are in any hurry to get him out before 2020
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"f I were DC, I'd be thinking about calling a snap election to get a decent majority. "
Fixed term parliaments..
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>Fixed term parliaments..
An Act ripe for repeal which could be done very straightforwardly and rapidly. The Lib Dems would cheerfully vote it through the Lords as they couldn't possibly get fewer than 8 seats in another election IMO.
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>> What is the relevance of the oak-panelled door or whither it might lead?
>>
Shows Jeremy is a toff really :-)
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>> Shows Jeremy is a toff really :-) >>
That does not matter - what does matter are his policies and the fact that almost all his working life has been spent in the North London/Westminster bubble.
Where are politicians who have real world experience?
I suspect most of the new SNP MPs have, but in their case it hasn't helped much, I fear :-)
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>>Where are politicians who have real world experience?
>>I suspect most of the new SNP MPs have,
Generally though not *useful* real-life experience. Being a schoolmaster or union rep doesn't prepare you for running a Government department.
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I tuned in to listen to his speech.
After lame comments and enough thank yous to everyone and their dog that would outdo the Oscars, followed by repeats of his old stuff I got bored and gave up.
I guess he writes his own stuff and does not understand that he is talking to the country ( well some of it) and not just his mob.
Glad I had an off button :-)
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>> I tuned in to listen to his speech.
>> After lame comments and enough thank yous to everyone and their dog that would outdo
>> the Oscars, followed by repeats of his old stuff I got bored and gave up.
>>
>> I guess he writes his own stuff and does not understand that he is talking
>> to the country ( well some of it) and not just his mob.
>> Glad I had an off button :-)
>>
Wasn't his own old stuff he repeated, apparently.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/Jeremy_Corbyn/11898060/labour-conference-day-three-live.html
I'm sure he agrees that recycling is good for the planet, but he didn't need to use bull manure quite that old!
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>> >>Where are politicians who have real world experience?
>> >>I suspect most of the new SNP MPs have,
>>
>> Generally though not *useful* real-life experience. Being a schoolmaster or union rep doesn't prepare you
>> for running a Government department.
>>
I think at least one of our members will tell you that civil servants "run" the department :-)
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No shorts in the latest photo, shot from a frivolous very low angle (where are Corbyn's spinners when they are needed?), but still, smart maroon socks with horrible plastic sandals, Jeremy Corbyn is a national treasure and a lesson to those nasty pimps in and around Savile Row, horrid fellows.
Makes me proud to be British. A luta continua Jez if you will forgive the familiarity...
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Tue 29 Sep 15 at 19:15
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I'm still wearing shorts, AND I've got a Greybeard but, I wouldn't be seen dead wearing socks with sandals.
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Man in Morrisons today was wearing a dark suit with no socks and Jesus sandals....and a beard !
OMG !
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"Man in Morrisons today was wearing a dark suit with no socks and Jesus sandals....and a beard !"
Yes - but did he have a tie?
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>>Man in Morrisons today was wearing a dark suit with no socks and Jesus sandals....and a beard !
And howl many Old Peculiars did you he come away with??
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>> Man in Morrisons today was wearing a dark suit with no socks and Jesus sandals....and
>> a beard !
Dog got there first... but I was going to say 'mirror'?
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Corbyn's woe continues - Westpig
