Tom Newton Dunn @tnewtondunn · 4h 4 hours ago
Latest immigration figs a total disaster for Govt: EU up 45,000, but worse is non-EU up 30,000 too - ie the ones PM said were under control.
I know I shouldn't laugh ... but come on .... I can't stop myself. Danny Shaw ✔ @DannyShawBBC
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Glum and worried faces on Mitchell row in court. #plebgate
3:15 PM - 27 Nov 2014
The direct pie chart image is a work of art. Thank you, my friend.ephemerid wrote:I don't know if anyone's posted this before, apols if so.
http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2014 ... you-to-see" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; from Richard Murphy.
It's got a lovely colourful pie chart, all split up with the (real) categories in detail. With a written explanation of how he worked it all out.
The truth - pensions: 12.2%; specific non-unemployment benefits: 14.2%; unemployment benefits; 0.6% - of total spending of our tax.
I've Tweeted this, but I'd be grateful if a few more of you did the same. It would be nice to have an alternative pie to enjoy!
Michael Crick @MichaelLCrick
Andrew Mitchell did say pleb, on balance, says judge
Karen McVeigh @karenmcveigh1
"I'm satisfied that Mitchell did speak the words attributed to him including the politically toxic words" Judge #plebgate
Nick Robinson @bbcnickrobinson
Mitchell loses plebgate case. Was an argument about one word worth a career, a reputation and a fortune?
I can't thank my friends here enough for treating me with respect even when they may disagree with me. Thank you.- Rachel Reeves 27 November 2014
“David Cameron and Theresa May have simply ramped up the rhetoric without ever bringing in practical measures to address the impact of immigration or make the system fair. That has deeply damaged confidence in the whole system and proved divisive too. Their strategy is failing and their false promises ring hollow. They need to stop taking people for fools and set out a sensible debate with practical policies instead.”
“Immigration needs to be controlled and managed because it is important to Britain but the system needs to be fair. A Labour Government will get a grip of our borders with 1,000 more staff, stronger enforcement to stop employers exploiting cheap migrant labour to undercut wages and jobs, new rules to make sure people contribute first and can’t claim benefits until they have lived here for two years, and pursue European reform to strengthen transitional controls and change child benefit rules. We would bring in different controls and targets for different kinds of immigration so we can cut illegal immigration, reduce low skilled migration but still get the University students who benefit Britain."
http://press.labour.org.uk/post/1037164 ... -migration" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Karl Turner MP @KarlTurnerMP 3m3 minutes ago
Plebs 1 Toff NIL
Ah well, he's had his day in court...rebeccariots2 wrote:Why on earth did Mitchell want to take this through the courts?
This is double or treble, hubris.
He sure has ... just reading on Sparrow's blog that costs are estimated to have run to 1m ................... Look's like he's going to regret this day in court rather bitterly and at some length.ErnstRemarx wrote:Ah well, he's had his day in court...rebeccariots2 wrote:Why on earth did Mitchell want to take this through the courts?
This is double or treble, hubris.
I need to write my thoughts here - you're absolutely correct, Eric.Eric_WLothian wrote:Morning all.LadyCentauria wrote:The Smith Commission Report is here:
https://www.smith-commission.scot/wp-co ... port-1.pdf
Haven't read the report yet but there's (imo) a fundamental error in logic in the second paragraph.
The outcome of the vote is, of course, irrefutable but the idea that the promise of more powers in some way influenced the result is, as far as I am aware, unproven. The only conclusion that can be drawn from the referendum is that the majority of Scottish residents wish to remain in the UK - nothing more or less.Scotland voted ‘No’, but it did so with each of the three main UK parties promising more powers for the Scottish Parliament.
edited here to add - I'm specifically referring to the inappropriate hypothesising of the thoughts, motivations & consciences of Scottish votersScottish Independence Referendum 2014
No - 55.3% 2,001,926
Yes - 44.7% 1,617,989
http://www.ukpolitical.info/scottish-in ... rendum.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
That's not ours to know, nor does it advance anything of value - it muddies the waters.Scotland voted ‘No’, but it did so with each of the three main UK parties promising more powers for the Scottish Parliament.
Tim Montgomerie ن @montie · 31m 31 minutes ago
I still don't think Andrew Mitchell said pleb and he was certainly a superb international development secretary. A personal tragedy.
Is he a friend of Mitchell?refitman wrote:Do you think Michael Crick might start crying, on C4 news tonight?
Oh, rapture - Mitchell has to pay the court costs & arrogance fees! I'm glad.rebeccariots2 wrote:He sure has ... just reading on Sparrow's blog that costs are estimated to have run to 1m ................... Look's like he's going to regret this day in court rather bitterly and at some length.ErnstRemarx wrote:Ah well, he's had his day in court...rebeccariots2 wrote:Why on earth did Mitchell want to take this through the courts?
This is double or treble, hubris.
Oh for chrissakerebeccariots2 wrote:Tim Montgomerie ن @montie · 31m 31 minutes ago
I still don't think Andrew Mitchell said pleb and he was certainly a superb international development secretary. A personal tragedy.
Sheila Gilmore @SheilaGilmoreMP 9m9 minutes ago
Paying sick/disabled people ESA throughout appeals process won't cost extra cash, but Tories have still said no: http://goo.gl/L4MrQ5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
He's been carrying out a one-man "Save Andrew" campaign, including showing some CCTV from Downing street that didn't seem to prove anything, one way or another, but Crick swore it meant that Mitchell didn't have time to call the police "Plebs".rebeccariots2 wrote:Is he a friend of Mitchell?refitman wrote:Do you think Michael Crick might start crying, on C4 news tonight?
Will Mitchell decline to pay his debts to society too?rebeccariots2 wrote:Sheila Gilmore @SheilaGilmoreMP 9m9 minutes ago
Paying sick/disabled people ESA throughout appeals process won't cost extra cash, but Tories have still said no: http://goo.gl/L4MrQ5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Martin Rowson @MartinRowson · 43m 43 minutes ago
Met #AndrewMitchell briefly last year at Political Cartoon Awards. Told him he was lucky he wasn't Mark Duggan. Looked slightly thoughtful..
Jesus, that reminds me of something I've read recently - it was a manifesto or standard note, or policy paper I was horrified by - the author(s) stated a democracy doesn't need an independent judiciary. Does that ring any bells with anyone?ErnstRemarx wrote:Ah well, he's had his day in court...rebeccariots2 wrote:Why on earth did Mitchell want to take this through the courts?
This is double or treble, hubris.
Oh dear. I hope there aren't any friends of Mitchell out there who encouraged him to go to court ... they'll be feeling pretty bad now if so.refitman wrote:He's been carrying out a one-man "Save Andrew" campaign, including showing some CCTV from Downing street that didn't seem to prove anything, one way or another, but Crick swore it meant that Mitchell didn't have time to call the police "Plebs".rebeccariots2 wrote:Is he a friend of Mitchell?refitman wrote:Do you think Michael Crick might start crying, on C4 news tonight?
Look over there at Wales!Boris Johnson has warned Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt the London Ambulance Service is facing a winter crisis due to a soaring number of 999 calls and dire staff shortages.
Thank goodness that's not a choice I have to make when voting here.Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 3h 3 hours ago
A big story from @LordAshcroft 's latest is willingness by 24% of LAB voters to switch to LDs to beat the Tories.
Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 3h 3 hours ago
Big picture from latest @LordAshcroft polling is that CON going to struggle to make the gains from LDs that national surveys suggest
How can this be credible?refitman wrote:Morning. Tories lead at 1 point on Yougov:
Latest YouGov / The Sun results 26th November -
Con 33%, (+1)
Lab 32%, (-1)
LD 6%, (-1)
UKIP 16%; (no change)
Grn 7%, (+1)
APP -26 (-4)
Will go check, but was all ok earlier....PaulfromYorkshire wrote:Anyone else having trouble with Twitter?
Nick Ridley @RidleyWasRight 3h3 hours ago
@DPJHodges Ashcroft poll today Labour a poor 3rd in Must Win seat Watford
Dan HodgesVerified account
@DPJHodges
@RidleyWasRight Labour are done.
rebeccariots2 wrote:Thank goodness that's not a choice I have to make when voting here.Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 3h 3 hours ago
A big story from @LordAshcroft 's latest is willingness by 24% of LAB voters to switch to LDs to beat the Tories.
Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 3h 3 hours ago
Big picture from latest @LordAshcroft polling is that CON going to struggle to make the gains from LDs that national surveys suggest
I'm not going to shed too many tears. Warning, contains Daily Mail:rebeccariots2 wrote:Oh dear. I hope there aren't any friends of Mitchell out there who encouraged him to go to court ... they'll be feeling pretty bad now if so.refitman wrote:He's been carrying out a one-man "Save Andrew" campaign, including showing some CCTV from Downing street that didn't seem to prove anything, one way or another, but Crick swore it meant that Mitchell didn't have time to call the police "Plebs".rebeccariots2 wrote: Is he a friend of Mitchell?
Mr Mitchell, 56, claims he was always destined to pursue a career in politics from an early age.
He grew up in an affluent household in Hampshire. His father, Sir David, was a minister in Margaret Thatcher’s government. He had two 18th century ancestors who were MPs for the Liberal Party.
Educated at Rugby school, he was nicknamed ‘Thrasher’ when he was head of house because he was a stern disciplinarian. He went to Cambridge, where he studied history, and was President of the Union in 1978, the year before Margaret Thatcher came to power.
After a spell at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst he served briefly in the Royal Tank Regiment before joining Lazard, the investment bank, working with British companies seeking large-scale overseas contracts.
In the same interview Mitchell said: ‘The best advice I got was, if you want to go into politics do something else first. I joined Lazard the investment bank. I became a member of the two most hated professions in the country – bankers and politicians.’
He held a number of senior posts for Lazard in Africa and the Far East, and was highly successful. He now lives in a £3million house in one of the most fashionable squares in Islington, North London, with his wife Sharon, a doctor, and their two daughters.
He also has a £500,000 property in his Sutton Coldfield constituency and a house in the French ski resort of Val d’Isere which he lets out.
Until a year before the general election, he was raking in hundreds of thousands of pounds on top of his £64,000 MP’s salary. He was a director of no fewer than six subsidiaries of Lazard, he worked for a City PR firm, and had a £40,000 post with a firm of management consultants.
In 2009 it was revealed he claimed £19,000 for furnishing and decorating his constituency home.
Mitchell’s wealth is not just the result of his lucrative work in the City. In 1879, his forebears founded El Vino wine merchants, which has two wine bars in London and which have long been the favoured watering hole of lawyers, journalists and City types.
In 2002 El Vino was sold in a £7million deal and Andrew Mitchell reportedly pocketed £630,000 from his 9 per cent stake.
Twitter seems to be a minefield. First Rachel Johnson's account used to call 'our Leader' all sorts ... and now this. Social media is certainly hotting things up for this next election.Tory MP Karl McCartney favourites NSFW bondage image of naked woman, denies all knowledge
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 87409.html
Yes - that's a good point. Having thought about this particular choice - LD or Tory - I realise it's not really a choice anyway - they're both Tories in my book - so I would decide to vote for Labour anyway, even if it was nowhere in the running.yahyah wrote:rebeccariots2 wrote:Thank goodness that's not a choice I have to make when voting here.Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 3h 3 hours ago
A big story from @LordAshcroft 's latest is willingness by 24% of LAB voters to switch to LDs to beat the Tories.
Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB · 3h 3 hours ago
Big picture from latest @LordAshcroft polling is that CON going to struggle to make the gains from LDs that national surveys suggest
Tactical voting has implications when there could be another hung Parliament.
Can see why a Lib Dem is preferable to a Tory, but if Labour's total vote share is lower than the
Tories it'll give Clegg the excuse to support the Tories again.
Dan Hodges @DPJHodges · 10m 10 minutes ago
One good thing about Plebgate is that in the course of writing about it I became friends with a good, honorable man called Andrew Mitchell.
This awful situation was sort of inevitable ... both foodbank and council caught between a rock and a hard place. And all the while the DWP and coalition vultures refuse to acknowledge the link between food banks and cuts, food banks and their policies.Busy Nottingham food bank to close in protest at harsh council cuts
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 85641.html
A busy food bank is shutting down in protest against the local council allegedly using its existence as a reason to deny hardship funds to local people who cannot afford to pay for basics.
The NG7 food bank in Nottingham has fed more than 5,000 people since it opened two and a half years ago. But it will shut its doors after Christmas because the organisers are upset that the city council is justifying welfare cuts on the grounds that desperate people can turn to food banks instead.
The volunteers behind the food bank say that “other approaches” are now required to help those in need without legitimising council spending cuts. “The setting up and development of this food bank has been underpinned by a specific ethos. In particular, we have been concerned with the way punitive welfare reforms and further draconian immigration policy has affected already vulnerable groups,” the food bank said in a statement issued this week.
“Regrettably and disappointingly, in meeting with senior NCC [Nottingham City Council] managers they have advocated the co-opting of food banks, as part of their strategies in avoidance of using their own funds.
“Given these facts and despite our best ongoing efforts, we have recognised that we are not being used as a temporary service of last resort, but rather being seen as a part of the long term strategy of replacement for statutory services, who have a duty and the resources to address a large part of the need.”...
Don't forget his friend, David Davis MP who every time plebgate was mentioned, went running to every available tv studio to defend Mitchell.refitman wrote:He's been carrying out a one-man "Save Andrew" campaign, including showing some CCTV from Downing street that didn't seem to prove anything, one way or another, but Crick swore it meant that Mitchell didn't have time to call the police "Plebs".rebeccariots2 wrote:Is he a friend of Mitchell?refitman wrote:Do you think Michael Crick might start crying, on C4 news tonight?
Tristram Hunt @TristramHuntMP 2m2 minutes ago
Typical response from Paul Dacre to my new policy: Mail on Sunday currently creeping around my old school trying to get teachers to talk...
Might fancy making money full time?pk1 wrote:Mitchell had a 17,000 majority in 2010.
Huge task to overturn but losing this libel case might have him thinking about his seat.
And it is both EU and non-EU immigration that is rising. At the same time, emigration, which had fallen quite steeply, has only risen very slowly.pk1 wrote:Blimey, that's a huge increase on the last set of figures isn't it ? IIRC the last set said 243,000.danesclose wrote:Morning all.
New Statesman has just tweeted:Net migration to UK now 260,000 - higher than in Labour's last year in office. Cameron previously pledged to cut it to "tens of thousands".
Oh dear, Dave
