Ed Spheroids Speaks!

So Ed Spheroids, erstwhile Secretary of State for Schools, Families and Children (don't forget the Chiiildren) has been working for months on plans to cut the eduation bill by £2billion. 

Wow!

Perhaps he would care to produce the paperwork (dated) and screen-shots of any computer work (time and dated) to prove he has 'been working on this for months' and, if such 'savings' can be made, explain his logic of introducing policies and ideas that wasted the taxpayer's money in the first place - and then allowed the 'waste' to continue?

And he is going to make all this happen, commencing 2011, from the opposition benches?

Now that I must see!

Afterthought: Yvette Cooper may well still be interested - but someone needs to remind her that we, the public, have had more than enough of the little scrotum!

Clegg The Comedian

One fully understands the need for leaders to make jokes at their party conferences, but the best of all jokes though are undoubtedly the unintentional, such as the last quote in this.

Chris Huhne - devastating? The man could not even punch his way out of a paper bag!

Will He - Won't He?

Nothing seems to get the media into a frenzy than yet more rumours of Gordon Brown's demise as a result of 'Blairite' plotting.

Cannot the media find something more interesting about which to write? Do they, the media, really believe the 'man in the street' is that interested?

It can be argued that Brown will still be Prime Minister, come the General election next year, because:

(a) Contrary to what Blair may think, Brown does not have a 'reverse gear'.

(b) It is not that 'easy' to oust Brown when one reads Labour Party rules for the election of a leader.

(c) Even if (b) was 'followed-through' it would take us well into 2010.

(d) Should a new leader of the Labour Party be elected they would, on a moral basis, have to call an immediate General election as the public outcry about two leaders being elected without public involvement would be immense. This would mean an election in the winter months, something no political party would want as turn-out would suffer.

(e) Were Brown to 'run away' it would hardly do his standing any good when it came to him being 'offered' some surpanational job.

As a suggestion for the media, their time might be better spent on some 'investigatory' journalism - querying statements they are provided with by government, scientists etc rather than just reproducing them as 'gospel'. They may also wish to consider some research and then produce some 'journalism' into the UK's relationship/membership of and with the EU, the 'money-spinner' of climate change and/or global warming and the state of our democracy!

Liberal Democrats & Vince Cable

One of the main criticisms of the Liberal Democrat Party is that of their existence - what do they really believe in, what do they really stand for?

Vince Cable, writing in the Mail, demonstrates exactly why their existence is called into question with this article, which proposes 'a ten point plan to save our democracy'.

1. Discussing reforming party funding Cable writes: "It is dangerous and corrupting for parties to depend on large donations from rich donors with a dodgy past, who evade taxes and try to buy influence"

So the Liberal Democrats will return the £2.4million pounds donated by Michael Brown?

2. Calling for a reduction in the number of MPs and Peers, Cable writes: "I believe that most MPs do an important job representing their constituents, holding government to account and legislating."

Since when did present day MPs 'hold the government to account' and 'legislate'? Firstly, on important matters affecting this country, invariably the House of Commons is virually empty and secondly, as most of our laws emanate from Brussels, what actually do MPs legislate on?

3. Cable wants to 'make MPs financially responsible'. 'Expensegate' surely showed that, on a personal level, that is only too true! He continues about the need for government spending to be 'approved line for line' in 'open hearings'. Hardly a new idea, when it is one that has been proposed for ages by Hannan and Carswell in 'The Plan'!

4. Cable wants 'traditional British liberties' defended. Well, Cable could make a start by campaigning against the UK's EU membership, so that we can use imperial measurements and whatever lightbulbs we want - to mention just two 'traditional British liberties' that have been in the news lately!

5. On the subject of MPs expenses Cable does not think the 'public will forget' - too damn right, Vince, we will not! As to accepting the Kelly report, Cable is also advocating the right of an unelected and unaccountable bureaucrat to dictate to the electorate - who are after all the ones who 'provide' all this money - MP's remuneration. 'And our 'views' in all this are where?

6. Making the point that 'Local councils have been stripped of most of their functions by central government' Cable fails to draw the similarity between this and the UK Parliament being stripped of most of its functions by our membership of the EU and, more importantly, the Lisbon Treaty, the two latter subjects being something on which the Liberal Democrats are in favour!

7. Calling for the voting age to be lowered to 16, Cable forgets that to give those who have not yet reached adulthood the opportunity to decide on such weighty matters as who governs us, it would help if those to whom he proposes to give the vote were able to read and write to begin with!

8. The one point in his 'plan' Cable does seem to have got correct, it could be argued, is that of fixed-term parliaments.

9. Discussing the need for the punishment of MPs who abuse their position, Cable is again jumping on the Hannan & Carswell 'bandwagon' by, in effect, wanting a 're-call system'!

10. Arguing for proportional representation - yet again - Cable should, instead, be arguing for open primaries - another Hannan & Carswell idea. He also misses the point that if the Liberal Democrats could only decide what they stood for, what they believed in, more people would wish to vote for them - thus they would gain power regardless of the voting system!

In view of the above - the point of the Liberal Democrat Party is..........................?

Cameron 'Spin'

Writing in the Observer, David Cameron attempts to woo Liberal Democrats into joining his Party and, in so doing, really does 'wear the jumper of deception' in 'pulling the wool over our eyes'.

"Instead of explaining what unites Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, he's trying to drive a wedge between us."

Of course Clegg is, Dumpkof, he is trying to get votes!

Discussing the 'Ghurka issue', Cameron writes:

"We had different answers as to how best to repay those who had given our country so much, but we agreed the status quo was unacceptable, so we recognised it was best to work together, defeat the government and make them think again."

No Mr. Cameron, you saw an 'opportunity' to jump on Joanna Lumley's 'bandwagon' - get some free publicity and a photo opportunity - and seized it with both hands!

Discussing the environment, Cameron fails to openly admit that his 'hands are tied' and that he cannot propose any 'radical' policy due to his subservience to Brussels and EU law; which is probably why he writes:

"....we both believe that to secure our energy supplies and make them greener......"

For rank duplicity, this statement must take the prize:

"For many years now, we've both been arguing for a radical power shift in our country away from big government and to individuals and communities."

How the hell Cameron can write that when his is, at the same time, proposing that the United Kingdom remains a member of the most centralising, undemocratic, body that is the European Union?

Calling on Liberal Democrats to join with the Conservative Party, Cameron writes:

"In truth, it is the bureaucratic, backward-looking, big state government that Labour epitomises"

 And the difference, Mr. Cameron, between 'the bureaucratic, backward-looking, big state government that Labour epitomises' and the 'bureaucratic, backward-looking, big-state government that the EU epitomises' - that you wish to remain a member of - is???

Methinks the man had not 'engaged brain' when he put 'pen to paper' or 'fingers to keyboard'. In fairness one supposes that he can be forgiven as it seems he also fails to 'engage brain' when speaking!

Labour Just Don't 'Get It'

If this report of the comments by the Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Folkestone & Hythe is symbolic of Labour Party policy planning, strategy and implementation then the Labour Party really 'don't get it'!

"....... the failure by both the Government and the Party to explain adequately the advantages of being in the EU; from the freedom to travel and work in the EU without hindrance, to the need to cooperate throughout Europe to combat terrorism, meet the challenges from Global Warming and solve the banking crisis."

Since when did we need to be in the EU to 'cooperate to combat terrorism, meet the challenges from Global Warming (said existence open to question - Ed) and solve the banking crisis'?

He then continues that Labour's failure at the European elections are:

 

"Failures the The Labour Party must put right within 5 years time if we wish to have a role in shaping the Continent’s future."

5 years - have a role in shaping the congtinent's future? Dream on Donald!

"......but perhaps the new divide between those who rule us and those who are ruled contributed more so. Prosecuting benefit cheats when no MP was expelled or sent to prison for claiming for duck houses or garden maintenance was an outrage to those struggling to live on JSA."

Never mind those on Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) Donald, it was an outrage to taxpayers and the electorate as a whole! 

In fairness Donald did manage to get this right though and it is something all political parties would do well to remember:

"Top of the reasons for the euro disaster must surely be the Government’s failure to honour it’s Manifesto pledge to call a referendum on a New European Treaty. Such serious pledges once given must never be denied." (my emphasis)

Lambs to The Slaughter

In an e-mail from the Taxpayers Alliance, Susie Squire says:

"On Monday, Matthew Elliott and David Craig released their new book Fleeced! How we’ve been betrayed by the politicians, bureaucrats and bankers… and how much they’ve cost us, published by Constable. Fleeced! is the very first book to analyse the financial, fiscal and political crisis resulting from a decade spent under the stewardship of Gordon Brown and is a devastating indictment of Brown’s time as Chancellor and Prime Minister. The authors, who were the first to reveal the shocking truth about Brown’s overspending since 1997 in their previous books, show that in 12 years of New Labour around £1.5 trillion of taxpayers’ money has been squandered on an acceleration in profligate government spending fuelled by the economic boom; and around another £1.5 trillion has evaporated in the bust."

It could be said that as the public have become disinterested in politics and have believed what has been fed to them by the mainstream media, they have acted like sheep and thus deserve to have been 'fleeced'!

Just a thought!

LibDems Or LibDims?

In repeating a post by Guido Fawkes one is not, one hastens to add, implying that Guido is not widely read - however this is worthy of repetition.

"So it will be worth tuning into Hardtalk tomorrow where by all accounts Vince Cable gets a mauling from Andrew Neil about his history of changing his position on a range of issues during the financial crisis and Brillo gets him to admit that he was wrong last autumn to support the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS.  Vince admits to Brillo when challenged “you’re right – perfectly fair comment that my first reaction was not the right one.” Brillo also spotted that in Cable’s just released policy paper for Reform he is proposing to cut items that were only earmarked by Nick Clegg and Vince Cable in February as part of a planned increase of £6.7 bn in spending on childcare and education."

And the Liberal Democrats Dimocrats reckon they are ready to become the 'alternative' party? Oops!

Independent To Close By Christmas?

Reuters is reporting that the Independent newspaper could be closed by the end of the year, according to Denis O'Brien who is the Independent News & Media group's second largest shareholder.

One has to question this statement though:

"Newspaper sales in Britain have been dwindling for years in the face of growing competition from television online news providers."

As there appears to be little difference in the quality of output by either television or newspapers, whether said output is televised or on the web, one has to ask what planet the two Reuters 'journalists' have been living on.

What has 'killed' the newspaper industry may well have something to do with the 'parroting' of pronouncements by government, 'scientists' and bureaucrats - as if it was the 'gospel truth' - to the extent that the public has become totally disillusioned with what they are being fed. It can also be argued that the blogosphere has also been partly responsible for the decline in newspaper sales, as there have been so many instances of newspapers playing 'catch-up' of which this is a prime example.

In an attempt to forgive the mainstream media, one might presume the newspaper industry is but making an attempt to appear green - as in 'recycling rubbish'!

And A Few Months Later..........

It would appear from this report that the UK is being pressured to take asylum seekers who are presently encamped at Calais, an encampment which the French intend to close.

"A senior UN official said the UK should take in those with relatives already living here, but a spokesman for the Border Agency said genuine asylum seekers should make their claim in the country where they enter Europe."

Yeah, Yeah - heard it all before.......and then we will get some 'agreement' announced. An agreement made between that 'vertically-challenged Frenchman' and 'that mentally-challenged Scot' - surely a 'match made in hell'!

Logical

Courtesy of the Coffee House comes notice of a party conference preview which, discussing the party leaders, contains some 'cutting' observations.

"This is Brown’s tragedy. It’s Labour’s tragedy too. The seeds were sown in 2007 when Brown was handed the keys to Downing Street without a contest, even though most Labour’s MPs knew in their bones that he lacked the psychological fibre for leadership. And they knew it back in 1994 when Blair was chosen over Brown to succeed John Smith. If Brown was wrong when the time was right, how could he be right when the time was wrong?

The Prime Minister goes to the conference not as yesterday’s man but as yesterday’s has-been. Already we can hear those gravelly and vaguely menacing platitudes tolling from the rostrum. Tough decisions. The many not the few. Our brave forces in Afghanistan. The global threat of Alkie Ada. My moral compass. One thing my father taught me. I didn’t go into politics to blah blah blah. He could write the damn thing in his sleep. He might as well. He’ll be delivering it in other people’s."

Oh the power of the English language - in the right hands, priceless!

Should It Come To Pass

Courtesy of Politics Home it appears, according to the South Wales Guardian, that Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Adam Price has sensationally announced he is standing down at the next General Election. Commenting on the House of Commons, he said:

 "If I had my way I'd shut it down tomorrow and turn it into a museum of British democracy because that is what it is"

If the Lisbon Treaty is ratified and we are not given a referendum on continued membership of the European Union, Adam Price may as well have his wish, with one proviso*, as that is what Parliament will have become.

*The proviso is that the railing spikes get 'decorated' with the head of every MP - and ex-MP, still living - that has ever voted for our continued membership of the European Union!

Conservatives 'Welcome' Liberal Democrat Voters

Eric Pickles, MP for Brentwood and Ongar and Chairman of the Conservative Party, has issued a welcome to all Liberal Democrat voters.

"I believe, as many others do, that the Labour Party has failed our country."

Trouble is, Eric dear chap, that no only has the Labour Party failed our country - so has the Liberal Democrats and your party by the 'blind' decision to remain a member of the European Union!

Time to get off that bloody fence Eric!

Journalism (4)

Oh how I love 'subjective' journalism - an example of which is the report in today's Daily Telegraph that:

"Global warming has led to a change in their breeding and migrating patterns and this has forced the Department for Transport into a rethink on the rules which governing temporary road signs"

And the basis for the statement 'Global warming has led to a change in their breeding and migrating patterns' is.........?

On telephoning the Department of Transport (Road Signs) on 0207 944 2974 I was informed, by a most helpful lady, that the reason for this change was at the behest of Froglife, a conservation charity, and that the 'request' had been initially made in 2007! On querying whether this might also have anything to do with whether toads were a protected species under an EU directive or regulation and what basis was the claim about global warming, I was then informed that the Telegraph story was not factually correct and quote "I would not know - we are trying to protect the motorist, not toads."

Froglife - one of whose patrons was Ken Livingstone, he of 'newt' fame - has now, along with the Herpetological Conservation Trust, 'metamorphosed' into the Amphibians and Reptile Conservation Trust - as in July 2009. On their website they state that they are a registered charity, number 1130188, yet Companies House gives their number as 06932972. Inputting 1130188 into the Companies House website gives Trianco Activair Limited.

Afterthouoght: One interesting aspect of the report though is: ".......while the Natterjack is found in north west and southern England........" Too true - a few hundred 'Natterjacks' can be found in the confines of Westminster!

Thought For The Morning - Bad Joke?

Muffled Vociferication asks a question in her latest post, headed as above.

In answer to her question - not a ghost of a chance!

'Green' Agenda Or 'Jobs' Agenda

The Daily Telegraph reports that environmental groups are urging the government to commit to an 'emissions cut' of at least 40 per cent by 2020, a ban on coal-fired plants and an end to airport expansion.

Spheroids! This probably has more to do with preserving their well-paid jobs than it has to do with cutting carbon emissions*!

Incredible that we will shortly get rid of one 'load of balls' next year and then along comes another load!

Oops - there goes the cynicism again!

Cameron To Vote Against Fox Hunting Ban

So headlines an article in today's Daily Telegraph. So no doubt, yet again, valuable parliamentary time will be spent debating a topic which, in the context of important matters facing our country, ranks fairly low down the list.

What a great pity that he will not vote against our membership of the EU - in the referendum he won't give us!

Since when did we elect politicians to decide what they will and will not 'grant' us?

Well Has She?

An Englishman's Castle asks a very valid question.

Well Mr. G. Brown/Borders Agency - has she and if not, why not? Did Baroness Scotland carry out the correct checks and if not, why not?

If she did - just publish the documentation!

It is worth remembering that ignorance is no defence when it comes to the law on employing illegal immigrants.

It Wouldn't - Would It?

The Telegraph is reporting that a second wave of 'swine-flu' is on the way, with reported cases having risen from 3,000 to 5,000 in one week.

This would not be a case of the government attempting to divert our minds off more pressing matters - would it? 

One could argue that detection of the 'Hand of Mandelson' is behind this latest government announcement in that it would be economically beneficial to the government if the media would 'cut' to another subject.

Touche!

Guido Fawkes has a quote from Liam Byrne on his latest post, as his 'Quote of the day'.

"There are dodgy employers out there who are trying to undercut their competitors and drive down British wages from employing people illegally..........."

With apologies to any readers 'north of the border' - and in particular to Subrosa - but one cannot resist the opportunity to comment that, yet again, 'Scotland' benefits from laws made 'south of the border'.

Just a passing thought!