Non-motoring > New government, fresh faces, same sleaze Miscellaneous
Thread Author: SteelSpark Replies: 37
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New Sat 29 May 10 19:30 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - SteelSpark
Didn't take long did it?

tinyurl.com/37654dz

Oh, how he was going to wield the axe on expenses and waste...

The least he could do is gracefully resign, rather than trying on all this "protecting his private life" nonsense. Unless, of course, he wants to help draft a law so that we can all lie on our tax returns...if we want to cover up who we are sleeping with.

Look out for the Secret Nookie Tax Avoidance Act of 2010...coming soon
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New Sat 29 May 10 19:38 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Ian (Cape Town)
Had the partner been a woman, would there be such a kerfuffle?
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New Sat 29 May 10 20:08 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - SteelSpark
>> Had the partner been a woman, would there be such a kerfuffle?

The kerfuffle has nothing to do with his partner being a man, as far as I can tell, rather that he has been wrongly claiming expenses.

However, maybe if his partner had been a woman, he would not feel that he had any chance at playing the "privacy" card, and would have already gone.
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New Sat 29 May 10 20:14 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - SteelSpark
Ah well, at least he has decided not to drag the nonsense out any longer

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/10191524.stm
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New Sat 29 May 10 20:34 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Dog
This message has been hidden as many of our users have rated it as offensive.
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He is a wishy washy LibDem so he should be put to the sword,
that is my 1st thought, but my wiser side say's what someone does beneath the 15 Tog is no business of mine,
although I don't think Soddomites should be allowed to work in schools or the clergy,
As for the £40k, he has put his hands up to that and will pay the money back so ...
I believe that being he is such an invaluable member of the cabinet, he should be allowed to stay on board.
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New Sat 29 May 10 21:22 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - SteelSpark
Surprisingly, he does seem to have managed to muddy the waters to make people think that this is somehow about his sexuality, rather than about him cheating on his expenses.

>> I believe that being he is such an invaluable member of the cabinet, he should be allowed to stay on board.

No credibility. How can you be in charge of deciding who should pay what, when you so blatantly haven't followed the rules yourself?
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New Sat 29 May 10 21:28 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Zero
Life is gonna be tough for all of us for a few years so when it comes to our leaders.

There is absolutely no place for someone with his snout in the trough, he is bacon.
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New Sat 29 May 10 23:35 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Ted

I note his integrity is endorsed by Lemsip O'Pick !

Kiss of death there for future career, then.

Ted
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New Sun 30 May 10 09:17 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Bromptonaut
@Dog,

The view that homosexuals should not be allowed to teach is I suppose (just) witihn the bounds of legitimate debate. The term soddomites as a cover all for gay men is grossly offensive.

Apart from anything else my gay contacts tell me they also regard such pursuits as a minority interest.
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New Sun 30 May 10 09:35 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - lancara
Biggest losers were Cameron & Clegg - should have been an instant dismissal. They've both looked very weak
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New Sun 30 May 10 09:36 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Focusless
>> The view that homosexuals should not be allowed to teach is I suppose (just) witihn
>> the bounds of legitimate debate.

I can sort of understand clergy - 'the Bible says so' or whatever - but teaching?? I'd like to watch that debate :)
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New Sun 30 May 10 09:39 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Dog
>>The term soddomites as a cover all for gay men is grossly offensive<<

Yep! I'll take that 'on board' friend,
Re: the op ... David Laws is a mi££ionaire many times over so I don't imagine he did what he did for the wonga and so I accept (his rather feeble) excuse.
England and 'non-England' are up the creek without a paddle financially and I believe that we have lost a valuable asset to HMS Britannia via his extensive financial experience.
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New Mon 31 May 10 02:13 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - SteelSpark
>> Re: the op ... David Laws is a mi££ionaire many times over so I don't
>> imagine he did what he did for the wonga and so I accept (his rather
>> feeble) excuse.

I wouldn't be so sure, it is surprising how cheaply the rich (including royalty and snooker players) will sell themselves and millionaires can often be the most careful of penny pinchers.

Either way, it's no excuse, it doesn't suddenly start to become OK to lie on your tax returns, just because you don't need the money.

If he is so rich, and wanted to keep his privacy he should have just paid it from his own pocket, rather than from ours.

>> England and 'non-England' are up the creek without a paddle financially and I believe that
>> we have lost a valuable asset to HMS Britannia via his extensive financial experience.

I don't think we need to lose his experience, he just can't be the guy in charge when, in the eyes of a lot of people, he has no credibility. He can no doubt still advise, he just can't be the boss anymore.
Last edited by: SteelSpark on Mon 31 May 10 at 02:17
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New Sun 30 May 10 09:39 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Statistical Outlier
@Bromptonaut - couldn't agree more, and you put it more politely than I would have.

@Dog, you've given me the first opportunity to use the 'report as offensive' button. It's homophobics like you that are the reason that I refuse to condemn the man. A highly capable minister who ended up in a relationship with his landlord and couldn't see a way of changing his circumstances without risking being found out and labelled a, what was it you called him, a 'sodomite'?

I wouldn't hesitate to condemn most expenses abuses, and I think he should pay the money back, but I think this is a sad loss.
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New Sun 30 May 10 09:44 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - lancara
P.S. The blogsphere has already started on his successor Danny Alexander - watch this space.
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New Mon 31 May 10 02:23 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - SteelSpark
>> A highly capable minister who ended up in a relationship with his landlord and couldn't see
>> a way of changing his circumstances without risking being found out and labelled a, what
>> was it you called him, a 'sodomite'?

No way out apart from...perhaps...paying for it out of his own deep pockets, rather than the pockets of the taxpayer.

He certainly has managed to deflect away from the simple fact that he claimed money he was not entitled to and has managed to convince quite a few people that he is a victim here, he should consider a career in politics...
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New Mon 31 May 10 10:01 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Dog
>>@Dog, you've given me the first opportunity to use the 'report as offensive' button. It's homophobics like you that are the reason that I refuse to condemn the man<<

It seems that freedom of speech is very selective ...
people use the word Lesbos about some women but get offended with sodomite. At the end of the day this trusted man let people down, shame 'cos he was doing a good job.
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New Mon 31 May 10 12:05 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Focusless
>> It seems that freedom of speech is very selective ...

Indeed - personally I would have preferred it to remain clearly visible so everyone could have a good laugh :)
Last edited by: Focus on Mon 31 May 10 at 12:06
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New Tue 1 Jun 10 08:56 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Bromptonaut
>> It seems that freedom of speech is very selective ...
>> people use the word Lesbos about some women but get offended with sodomite.

I din't want to labour this but the Sappho, Lesbos Lesbian link is a piece of recognised history. Homosexual women self identify as Lesbians though jokes about 'probably holidays on Lesbos' can offend.

The S word is deprecated by gay men and it is a myth that they all indulge in the act it describes.
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New Tue 1 Jun 10 19:24 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Roger.
tinyurl.com/dcwuxm
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New Wed 2 Jun 10 09:12 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Focusless
>> tinyurl.com/dcwuxm

Like Genesis (and I don't mean the band) it's an interesting read, but are you making a point?
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New Wed 2 Jun 10 09:17 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - SteelSpark
>> tinyurl.com/dcwuxm

Look, let's face facts, the guy who made all that nonsense up, was just bitter because his wife wouldn't oblige (not even on his birthday).
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New Tue 1 Jun 10 14:55 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Statistical Outlier
"It seems that freedom of speech is very selective ..."

Indeed, on balance I regret that your bigoted comments are now hidden; with more reflection I don't think that I would have used the button, prejudice is easier to confront when openly discussed.
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New Tue 1 Jun 10 15:10 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Dog
>>Indeed, on balance I regret that your bigoted comments are now hidden<<

It's clearly eating you away from within comrade (for some reason) move on - like I have.
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New Tue 1 Jun 10 15:57 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - helicopter
David Laws is a homosexual - Who the hell cares - I don't.

He has millions but still bends the rules to his advantage - Who the hell cares - I do because it is my money - public money being diverted fraudulently.

I have no objection whatsoever to homosexuals as long a they do not try and force their opinions on me....( although I have to say I did enjoy the drama about lesbians on BBC 2 last night.)

Who was it that said ......

In Britain homosexuality used to be illegal....

...then it was tolerated ....now civil partners are recognised....

....I 'm leaving the country before it becomes compulsory........
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New Tue 1 Jun 10 18:03 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - SteelSpark
>> Who was it that said ......
>>
>> In Britain homosexuality used to be illegal....
>>
>> ...then it was tolerated ....now civil partners are recognised....
>>
>> ....I 'm leaving the country before it becomes compulsory........

At least give it a try first, before wasting money on air fare, you never know... :)
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New Mon 31 May 10 07:51 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - L'escargot
>> ......... homosexuals ........... gay men

I wish we could go back to the days when you could be gay without being a homosexual.
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New Sun 30 May 10 11:28 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - L'escargot
Being a Liberal Democrat is all very well, but he shouldn't have been that liberal!
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New Mon 31 May 10 05:00 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Ian (Cape Town)
>> Being a Liberal Democrat is all very well, but he shouldn't have been that liberal!
>>

Cue for plenty of Jeremy Thorpe jokes...?
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New Mon 31 May 10 09:30 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - maltrap
What gets me is that they still refer to each other as "the right honourable" if they,re caught with their hand in the till they should be prosecuted.
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New Mon 31 May 10 12:47 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Iffy
...till they should be prosecuted...

Agreed.

The 'my honourable friend' stuff is a device to keep debates in the commons temperate.

The theory is debates are much less likely to deteriorate into a slanging match if each protagonist must first draw breath and say 'the honourable member for Little Tissington fails to understand that...'

MPs must also speak through the chair - The Speaker.

It works, and it works in court, too, where barristers refer to each other as 'm'learned friend', and all submissions are directed through the judge.

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New Mon 31 May 10 12:52 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Zero
hasnt prevented one Honourable member from calling another honourable member

"living proof that a pig's bladder on the end of a stick can be elected to Parliament".
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New Mon 31 May 10 13:00 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Iffy
Given the amount of hot air that's been let off in there, it's a miracle there are not more instances of the rules being cast aside.

By the same conventions, they don't call each other liars.

Churchill put his mind to this:

"My honourable friend is guilty of terminological inexactitude."

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New Wed 2 Jun 10 10:07 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Stuu
Ive been checking in on this thread and Im still confused as to what his sexuality has anything to do with expenses? Aside from the money going to a man rather than a woman obviously.
Presumably if he was straight and it went to a woman, there would have been rather less said on this thread?

He is just a cheat, thats all that matters so far as I can see.
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New Wed 2 Jun 10 10:10 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - SteelSpark
>> Ive been checking in on this thread and Im still confused as to .....

SQ

I agree Stu, it is just about him cheating on his expenses. However, while trying to worm his way out of it he started playing the sexuality card - apparently with some success.

Last edited by: VxFan on Wed 2 Jun 10 at 10:14
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New Wed 2 Jun 10 11:32 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Zero
Yes, he did throw in the persecuted minority card when caught with his fingers in the till. That was a mistake as well.
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New Wed 2 Jun 10 14:18 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Iffy
The explanation given was that he was not originally in a relationship with his landlord, so the claim was legitimate.

Leaving aside the gender of those involved, it makes sense that you can legitimately pay rent to a landlord, but a husband can't really pay rent to his wife, or the other way around.

So the claim became far more questionable when they became a couple, which he realised.

But to stop claiming would have made it obvious he was a homosexual, and he did not wish that to become common knowledge.

So he carried on claiming, which is what he was referring to when he said he now realised he had done something wrong.
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New Wed 2 Jun 10 14:30 
 New government, fresh faces, same sleaze - Armel Coussine
>> he did throw in the persecuted minority card when caught with his fingers in the till. That was a mistake as well.

A bit like the Duchess of York claiming she was on the hustle because she was drunk. Pull the other one, eh? I recommend the front cover of the current Private Eye.
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