Sat 11 and Sun 12 April

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 12:47 pm

refitman wrote:
yahyah wrote:I'm not registered on Twitter so don't understand how the reporting abuse system works.

But this post seems possibly illegal, calling for the death of the Lib Dem Ham & High candidate because of his behaviour.

https://twitter.com/dugmatimez

If anyone can do, please can you report it. It was posted at about 9.18am.
Will not repeat it here.
'Reporting' is one of the options when logged in. Have done so.

I've just reported it too although I don't follow that name. Glad I haven't been. Nasty!!!

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 12:50 pm

Eric_WLothian wrote:
Tubby Isaacs wrote: But if there are SNP MPs, the Tories won't win. It would help Labour, I think, to come first on seats. But the SNP won't allow a Tory government.

I don't know why Miliband is wasting time on this, now it look unlikely Con-Lib-Unionist won't get more than LAB-SNP-PC-SDLP.

It's better to go for them on policy and finances.
I would assume Miliband is working for an overall majority, not a Lab/SNP "coalition".
If he doesn't have overall Labour control, he would (imo) have a more stable government with the LibDems rather than the nationalists. (Difficult choice though).

He needs the Lib Dems to be able to get "English" legislation through. But he can't leave the SNP out completely because it would be seen as saying Scotland's votes didn't count. I don't know how he'd play it.

I don't think the SNP can possibly go with the Tories. Even on a "historic opportunity for Scotland". Nobody seems much to believe they will, so it's a waste of time.

Go for their record in Holyrood- the new policy does this well- FFA etc. Plenty there. Not least the serial shitting on Labour heartlands to provide Aberdeenshire freebies.

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 12:52 pm

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Not even everybody in the SNP believes the latest YouGov poll in Scotland, btw.

There are murmurs that CyberNats have tried to "swamp" the panel up there as they previously attempted with Panelbase.

AK - your measured tones are always a welcome relief to the fevered entity that constitutes my brain.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 12:58 pm

Ed & Andy Burnham doing a great job in Guisely, BBC News 24 ran a long clip from an NHS based event there. [may still be on, my husband's watching Bargain Hunt now with lunch].

Very impressive, Ed really looking calm, relaxed and ahead of the brief when answering questions.
Excellent stuff and the more people see of it, the more they will realise he is PM material, just not an air-filled wind bag like Cameron.

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 12:59 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:Not least the serial shitting on Labour heartlands to provide Aberdeenshire freebies.

I still read this site even though I might not be posting as much as usual so I read your repeated insult aimed at Aberdonians.

Lay off it !

Aberdonians work & pay taxes just like the rest of us in the UK.

There is simply no need to keep digging away at them. It's the place of my birth & where my family (each & every one of them contributors to the Treasury, none are beneficiaries of the 'Welfare' state) continue to live so give it a rest please.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:00 pm

& thanks to those who have reported those nasty death threat tweets.
May not like Lib Dems but prefer them alive.

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:01 pm

Only slightly off topic - more tory chaos
Tax disc loophole leaves angry drivers facing massive fines

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/a ... towed-dvla" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Some of the detailed cases are awful (cost wise)

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:02 pm

yahyah wrote:Ed & Andy Burnham doing a great job in Guisely, BBC News 24 ran a long clip from an NHS based event there. [may still be on, my husband's watching Bargain Hunt now with lunch].

Very impressive, Ed really looking calm, relaxed and ahead of the brief when answering questions.
Excellent stuff and the more people see of it, the more they will realise he is PM material, just not an air-filled wind bag like Cameron.

Thanks for that yahyah. I've been trying to follow it on twitter but gave up after the sneering tweets by the BBC's Iain Watson.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:10 pm

I don't have a lot of friends, and this morning suspect I've just lost another although we aren't what you'd call close more that our hubby's were friends until hers died.

Didn't have a clue who she voted for. She rang this morning and mentioned the GE. I said I was desperate for Labour to get in. Mentioned how awful it was for those on Welfare. And then she started on about immigration. It was classic Daily Mail.
I threw caution to the winds and proceeded to educate her

Suspect she's a UKIP leaning Tory...

Was just getting into full flow when the battery ran down on my phone.

Bugger!

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:11 pm

pk1 wrote:
yahyah wrote:Ed & Andy Burnham doing a great job in Guisely, BBC News 24 ran a long clip from an NHS based event there. [may still be on, my husband's watching Bargain Hunt now with lunch].

Very impressive, Ed really looking calm, relaxed and ahead of the brief when answering questions.
Excellent stuff and the more people see of it, the more they will realise he is PM material, just not an air-filled wind bag like Cameron.
Thanks for that yahyah. I've been trying to follow it on twitter but gave up after the sneering tweets by the BBC's Iain Watson.

It was genuinely impressive, not just saying so as a Labour supporter.
My husband, always an Ed fan but sometimes in the past a little concerned about how he might come across said how much he's grown into the role, and how confident he sounded.
There was a feeling of being in safe hands.

[Also, can see why you feel irked about references to Aberdeen, but sometimes Tubby uses a heavy dose of irony.
I read his comment as critical of the SNP, rather than the good folk of your home ground.
But, as I'm only on page 7 of my critical thinking skills book, I could of course be wrong

]

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:13 pm

pk1 wrote:
Tubby Isaacs wrote:Not least the serial shitting on Labour heartlands to provide Aberdeenshire freebies.
I still read this site even though I might not be posting as much as usual so I read your repeated insult aimed at Aberdonians.

Lay off it !

Aberdonians work & pay taxes just like the rest of us in the UK.

There is simply no need to keep digging away at them. It's the place of my birth & where my family (each & every one of them contributors to the Treasury, none are beneficiaries of the 'Welfare' state) continue to live so give it a rest please.

I'm sorry for causing offence.

I mean Aberdeenshire to stand for a rich part of Scotland, small c conservative. Rather like you might say "Gloucestershire" or similar for England. It's no insult to people from Surrey intended, and not saying people in Surrey don't work hard. It doesn't even mean that everyone there is rich.

I could have said "the middle classes" or something, but I wanted to contrast somewhere with Labour heartlands the SNP are now wooing. They've done nothing for the Labour heartlands. They've virtually tripled universal benefits and slashed targeted ones. That's not left wing.

This explains it well:

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/t ... -1-3159791" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:15 pm

Jonathan Portes ‏@jdportes 4h4 hours ago
Seems we're at "let's just make it up" stage: "@CCHQPress: @Jeremy_Hunt: " we inherited a shrinking #economy
and we have turned it around"

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:16 pm

I hope you dont come here less, PK.

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:17 pm

http://scotgoespop.blogspot.nl/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Greatly expanded devolution to Scotland, including all powers except defence and foreign policy?

Should ask for this : 61%
Should not ask for this : 29%

To state the bleedin' obvious, Devo Max or "all powers except defence and foreign policy" implies Full Fiscal Autonomy. In fact it implies a hell of a lot more as well, but Full Fiscal Autonomy is an indispensable part of the package. This is something that people overwhelmingly want. So how have Labour managed to convince themselves that opposing it tooth and nail is such a brilliant tactic?

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:19 pm

I reacted because it's 'home' to me & you have singled it out for snide remarks before.

I'll drop the subject now.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:19 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:I hope you dont come here less, PK.

Seconded.

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:19 pm

Good morfternoon.

I'm just going to going to try to track down the Jeremy Hunt interview on the BBC. I was only half listening but I thought I heard him say something rather peculiar (in an auto-pilot way).

I tend to follow the BBC news these days as I think it's probably the most listened to of the mainstream news outlets (although I occasionally stick my toe into Sky News waters) and I like to know what they're pumping out.

@ yahyah

I asked last night (just before I went to bed) how the car situation is. Can't spot a reply, so maybe you didn't see my post. Or would you prefer not to talk about it?

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:21 pm

tinyclanger2 wrote:http://scotgoespop.blogspot.nl/

Greatly expanded devolution to Scotland, including all powers except defence and foreign policy?

Should ask for this : 61%
Should not ask for this : 29%

To state the bleedin' obvious, Devo Max or "all powers except defence and foreign policy" implies Full Fiscal Autonomy. In fact it implies a hell of a lot more as well, but Full Fiscal Autonomy is an indispensable part of the package. This is something that people overwhelmingly want. So how have Labour managed to convince themselves that opposing it tooth and nail is such a brilliant tactic?

That there's a much bigger deficit than under the current Barnett system?

And also because too much devolution can lead to a race to the bottom. Seen it already with Air Passenger Duty. Devolved to Scotland, then immediately halved. Now if Wales and England don't reduce as well, they miss out on lots of tourism. Free money for airlines and frequent flyers.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:27 pm

PorFavor wrote:Good morfternoon.

I'm just going to going to try to track down the Jeremy Hunt interview on the BBC. I was only half listening but I thought I heard him say something rather peculiar (in an auto-pilot way).

I tend to follow the BBC news these days as I think it's probably the most listened to of the mainstream news outlets (although I occasionally stick my toe into Sky News waters) and I like to know what they're pumping out.

@ yahyah

I asked last night (just before I went to bed) how the car situation is. Can't spot a reply, so maybe you didn't see my post. Or would you prefer not to talk about it?

Hi PF.

I saw your post and was intending to reply on this new weekend thread but got side tracked by the latest Lib Dem sex scandal and forgot.

It's still at the garage, it was a blown head gasket, they've sent a part of the engine away to a nearby big town to test whether a part is flat, and to be re-ground down by a fraction of a milimetre if need be. Think it's called a 'shim'.

But it also has got to be serviced and MOT'd so final bill will be a lot more than the £680 for the initial job. Don't know what the MOT will throw up and trying not to worry about it.

The garage loan car has done about 140,000 miles and rattles and groans so we aren't going far from home in case it breaks down on the rural roads. It is dragging on though, has been weeks.

Thanks for asking.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:36 pm

The story about our Labour candidate's youthful remarks has made it into the Mail, Star, Sun as well as the BBC and Welsh press.

Bummer, hope it doesn't affect the vote here, UKIP & the Lib Dems will be delighted.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:40 pm

Telegraph top story.
''Labour and Tories will draw the election, new poll predicts
Two leading parties will be separated by a 'wafer-thin' 0.1 per cent of the vote, exclusive ICM Wisdom Index survey forecasts in signs Britain is on course for political deadlock''

Will someone tell the Telegraph their 'wisdom index', where people predict the result of the election, is not a poll in the true sense of the word ?

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:48 pm

There was me thinking our mayor should be representing us, not Northumberland. I suppose Northumberland's a better place for his roads worship.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:48 pm

I think the air quality might be better today, however, the air quality monitors in the UK are still not functional.

http://aqicn.org/map/europe/#@g/51.0333/0.3812/5z" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:48 pm

AngryAsWell wrote:Only slightly off topic - more tory chaos
Tax disc loophole leaves angry drivers facing massive fines

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/a ... towed-dvla" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Some of the detailed cases are awful (cost wise)

I got caught out by the changeover myself. My husband bought a new (2nd hand!) car and gave me his old one. He bought his before the system changed so got the rest of the tax on the new car but I didn't get round to registering the old car in my name until after the changeover. The first I realised my car wasn't taxed was when my husband got a refund for the remainder of the tax on his "old" car (now mine). I went and looked at the new registration document I'd received again to see if I had missed any info, and there it was, a tiny slip of white paper with a couple of lines in small black print explaining that cars now had to be taxed individually. It had been tucked right inside the registration document so I never saw it. Is it just me or didn't the government use to invest in at least an A5 colour sheet to draw attention to important changes? At the very least, they could have put the tiny slip of paper on top so it was the first thing you see when you open the envelope. You'd almost think they wanted people to get caught out. I wonder how much more revenue those extra fines have brought in? Anyway, as I said the last time I mentioned this (it happened before Christmas) although I was pretty furious with the government for not advertising the change better, the lady who helped me get it sorted at the Post Office was absolutely lovely. I was lucky I could borrow my husband's legally taxed car to get to the PO, though. And how do you get a car home once you've bought it from someone if it's no longer taxed the moment you buy it? Not to mention the little goldmine that means the government now get paid double for the month that a car changes hand, getting money from both buyer and seller. Labour would have got hammered over a shambles like this but the media barely raise a whimper when this coalition messes up. They're clearly enjoying all those tax cuts via the raising of the tax threshold too much to risk rocking the boat by complaining.

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:50 pm

Even Cameron hasn't been able to say how they will find the cash for their latest NHS 'promise'

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:50 pm

pk1 wrote:I reacted because it's 'home' to me & you have singled it out for snide remarks before.

I'll drop the subject now.

Thanks.

You were well within your rights. I'd have reacted the same if someone said "Gloucestershire" or "London". If I do it again, feel free to tell me off, but don't go away.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:51 pm

pk1 wrote:Even Cameron hasn't been able to say how they will find the cash for their latest NHS 'promise'

But all the BBC will care about is 'will Labour match the Tory pledge'.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:53 pm

Those free speech loving Liberals at LDV are modding any reference to their candidate Nawaz's little difficulty.

TechnicalEphemera · Post by **TechnicalEphemera** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 1:54 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:
tinyclanger2 wrote:http://scotgoespop.blogspot.nl/

Greatly expanded devolution to Scotland, including all powers except defence and foreign policy?

Should ask for this : 61%
Should not ask for this : 29%

To state the bleedin' obvious, Devo Max or "all powers except defence and foreign policy" implies Full Fiscal Autonomy. In fact it implies a hell of a lot more as well, but Full Fiscal Autonomy is an indispensable part of the package. This is something that people overwhelmingly want. So how have Labour managed to convince themselves that opposing it tooth and nail is such a brilliant tactic?
That there's a much bigger deficit than under the current Barnett system?

And also because too much devolution can lead to a race to the bottom. Seen it already with Air Passenger Duty. Devolved to Scotland, then immediately halved. Now if Wales and England don't reduce as well, they miss out on lots of tourism. Free money for airlines and frequent flyers.

Asking the Scots if they want more powers will always get a positive answer. However FFA is barking for a number of reasons.

- the deficit it will instantly create (as above and note the UK equivalent would be over 70 billion).
- Scotland's oil is declining steadily, it is a large part of their economy.
- there is a lot of social deprivation in Scotland and the population is small, as a state the Barnett formula lets them live beyond their means.

When you strip out the economies of scale a large country gives in terms of taxation and spending, and allow for declining oil, you are left with a country that lacks the requisite tax base for the services it now has.

That is why Labour is opposed to FFA, because it is crap for Scotland.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:02 pm

TechnicalEphemera wrote:
Tubby Isaacs wrote:
tinyclanger2 wrote:http://scotgoespop.blogspot.nl/

That there's a much bigger deficit than under the current Barnett system?

And also because too much devolution can lead to a race to the bottom. Seen it already with Air Passenger Duty. Devolved to Scotland, then immediately halved. Now if Wales and England don't reduce as well, they miss out on lots of tourism. Free money for airlines and frequent flyers.
Asking the Scots if they want more powers will always get a positive answer. However FFA is barking for a number of reasons.

- the deficit it will instantly create (as above and note the UK equivalent would be over 70 billion).
- Scotland's oil is declining steadily, it is a large part of their economy.
- there is a lot of social deprivation in Scotland and the population is small, as a state the Barnett formula lets them live beyond their means.

When you strip out the economies of scale a large country gives in terms of taxation and spending, and allow for declining oil, you are left with a country that lacks the requisite tax base for the services it now has.

That is why Labour is opposed to FFA, because it is crap for Scotland.

Renewable energy capacity is huge.

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:06 pm

When you toss in the Scottish LA debt (posted the other night) Scottish finance begins to look a bit wobbly
Scottish councils pile up record debt
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... ecord-debt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:08 pm

Bleeding Gloucestershire

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:09 pm

pk1 wrote:Even Cameron hasn't been able to say how they will find the cash for their latest NHS 'promise'

From the growing economy of course!

The one that the other day was said to be expected to slow down and slip back to 0.4% growth for the last quarter and is still heavily reliant on consumer spending and household debt...

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:12 pm

RogerOThornhill wrote:
pk1 wrote:Even Cameron hasn't been able to say how they will find the cash for their latest NHS 'promise'
From the growing economy of course!

The one that the other day was said to be expected to slow down and slip back to 0.4% growth for the last quarter and is still heavily reliant on consumer spending and household debt...

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:20 pm

AngryAsWell wrote:When you toss in the Scottish LA debt (posted the other night) Scottish finance begins to look a bit wobbly
Scottish councils pile up record debt
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... ecord-debt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...and according to this one its now up to £14.8 billion and would seem to be growing
"The Accounts Commission inquiry says councillors were often in the dark about the long-term affordability of record debt levels and were failing to exercise enough oversight of decisions to increase borrowing."

http://www.scot-buzz.co.uk/scottish-cou ... ebt-bulge/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:22 pm

tinyclanger2 wrote:Bleeding Gloucestershire

Oi!

Gloucester, Cinderford, Stroud, lots of Cheltenham, are not rich places.

I can't believe you would... (cont p.94)

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:24 pm

pk1 wrote:
RogerOThornhill wrote:
pk1 wrote:Even Cameron hasn't been able to say how they will find the cash for their latest NHS 'promise'
From the growing economy of course!

The one that the other day was said to be expected to slow down and slip back to 0.4% growth for the last quarter and is still heavily reliant on consumer spending and household debt...

I listened to David Cameron speaking about the £8 bn bonanza announcement. Very tight-voiced (even by his standards) - barely suppressed anger at being asked to explain the wheres and whyfors of it, I sensed. I still haven't heard a reprise of the Jeremy Hunt clip to which I referred earlier.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:24 pm

AngryAsWell wrote:When you toss in the Scottish LA debt (posted the other night) Scottish finance begins to look a bit wobbly
Scottish councils pile up record debt
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... ecord-debt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't know if there's been historically lots more debt in Scottish Councils, but those are very striking figures. No wonder some are queasy about giving Holyrood borrowing powers as well.

Spacedone · Post by **Spacedone** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:26 pm

yahyah wrote:Telegraph top story.
''Labour and Tories will draw the election, new poll predicts
Two leading parties will be separated by a 'wafer-thin' 0.1 per cent of the vote, exclusive ICM Wisdom Index survey forecasts in signs Britain is on course for political deadlock''

Will someone tell the Telegraph their 'wisdom index', where people predict the result of the election, is not a poll in the true sense of the word ?

Isn't that a big improvement for Labour on the Telegraph/ICM "Chicken Entrail Soothsaying" Index? Every other time the Tories have been winning by a landslide.

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:27 pm

TechnicalEphemera wrote:
Tubby Isaacs wrote:
tinyclanger2 wrote:http://scotgoespop.blogspot.nl/

That there's a much bigger deficit than under the current Barnett system?

And also because too much devolution can lead to a race to the bottom. Seen it already with Air Passenger Duty. Devolved to Scotland, then immediately halved. Now if Wales and England don't reduce as well, they miss out on lots of tourism. Free money for airlines and frequent flyers.
Asking the Scots if they want more powers will always get a positive answer. However FFA is barking for a number of reasons.

- the deficit it will instantly create (as above and note the UK equivalent would be over 70 billion).
- Scotland's oil is declining steadily, it is a large part of their economy.
- there is a lot of social deprivation in Scotland and the population is small, as a state the Barnett formula lets them live beyond their means.

When you strip out the economies of scale a large country gives in terms of taxation and spending, and allow for declining oil, you are left with a country that lacks the requisite tax base for the services it now has.

That is why Labour is opposed to FFA, because it is crap for Scotland.

The Nat position is that, freed of the dragging weight of the perfidious English, they will thrive by growing their economy & developing new industries. As an argument it isn't totally devoid of merit, the Scots do have a record of punching above their weight in innovation and entrepreneurship (but they also had the Darien Scheme); as cJA points out, the renewable energy market has massive potential, which the Tories have always fought shy of - the reason being, of course, that it won't give the immediate return beloved of the Tories, so won't be plugging that gap any time soon.

So, in the medium term FFA could work, maybe; in the short term it will be nothing short of disaster.

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:27 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:
tinyclanger2 wrote:Bleeding Gloucestershire

Oi!

Gloucester, Cinderford, Stroud, lots of Cheltenham, are not rich places.

I can't believe you would... (cont p.94)

(who me?)

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:28 pm

Like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3q2jDqrjQY

TechnicalEphemera · Post by **TechnicalEphemera** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:30 pm

AngryAsWell wrote:
AngryAsWell wrote:When you toss in the Scottish LA debt (posted the other night) Scottish finance begins to look a bit wobbly
Scottish councils pile up record debt
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... ecord-debt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
...and according to this one its now up to £14.8 billion and would seem to be growing
"The Accounts Commission inquiry says councillors were often in the dark about the long-term affordability of record debt levels and were failing to exercise enough oversight of decisions to increase borrowing."

http://www.scot-buzz.co.uk/scottish-cou ... ebt-bulge/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ouch equivalent to about 140 bn debt (UK) and 1/3 needs paying back in ten years!

The key question is probably what the deficit is they are running, I thought the SNP had powers to raise taxes to cover this sort of thing, why haven't they?

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:31 pm

Spacedone wrote:[

Isn't that a big improvement for Labour on the Telegraph/ICM "Chicken Entrail Soothsaying" Index? Every other time the Tories have been winning by a landslide.

Spacedone · Post by **Spacedone** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:32 pm

citizenJA wrote:I think the air quality might be better today, however, the air quality monitors in the UK are still not functional.

http://aqicn.org/map/europe/#@g/51.0333/0.3812/5z" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not that much better. I went out earlier (I was intending to go to a football match) but the air out there is still triggering my asthma. I'm back home now and starting to return to normal(ish) thankfully.

Another weekend stuck at home.

TechnicalEphemera · Post by **TechnicalEphemera** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:34 pm

Spacedone wrote:
yahyah wrote:Telegraph top story.
''Labour and Tories will draw the election, new poll predicts
Two leading parties will be separated by a 'wafer-thin' 0.1 per cent of the vote, exclusive ICM Wisdom Index survey forecasts in signs Britain is on course for political deadlock''

Will someone tell the Telegraph their 'wisdom index', where people predict the result of the election, is not a poll in the true sense of the word ?
Isn't that a big improvement for Labour on the Telegraph/ICM "Chicken Entrail Soothsaying" Index? Every other time the Tories have been winning by a landslide.

Well not that big a change, however the wisdom index is clearly bollocks. Ask a bunch of people questions about who will win an election and act shocked when the answer simply mirrors the polls.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:36 pm

TechnicalEphemera wrote:
AngryAsWell wrote:
AngryAsWell wrote:When you toss in the Scottish LA debt (posted the other night) Scottish finance begins to look a bit wobbly
Scottish councils pile up record debt
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... ecord-debt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
...and according to this one its now up to £14.8 billion and would seem to be growing
"The Accounts Commission inquiry says councillors were often in the dark about the long-term affordability of record debt levels and were failing to exercise enough oversight of decisions to increase borrowing."

http://www.scot-buzz.co.uk/scottish-cou ... ebt-bulge/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Ouch equivalent to about 140 bn debt (UK) and 1/3 needs paying back in ten years!

The key question is probably what the deficit is they are running, I thought the SNP had powers to raise taxes to cover this sort of thing, why haven't they?

Exactly! The SNP have been damned disingenuous, indeed, totally evasive, by not owning up to the fact they haven't raised taxes while having the capacity to do so for years.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:40 pm

Spacedone wrote:
citizenJA wrote:I think the air quality might be better today, however, the air quality monitors in the UK are still not functional.

http://aqicn.org/map/europe/#@g/51.0333/0.3812/5z" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Not that much better. I went out earlier (I was intending to go to a football match) but the air out there is still triggering my asthma. I'm back home now and starting to return to normal(ish) thankfully.

Another weekend stuck at home.

You're right - wishful thinking on my part. It rained last night, the clouds & sky looked a bit clearer. My head is aching now & spoonfuls of honey aren't making it better. I've got to tack off into the blight to do errands today & I don't wanna.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:40 pm

TechnicalEphemera wrote:
Tubby Isaacs wrote:
tinyclanger2 wrote:http://scotgoespop.blogspot.nl/

That there's a much bigger deficit than under the current Barnett system?

And also because too much devolution can lead to a race to the bottom. Seen it already with Air Passenger Duty. Devolved to Scotland, then immediately halved. Now if Wales and England don't reduce as well, they miss out on lots of tourism. Free money for airlines and frequent flyers.
Asking the Scots if they want more powers will always get a positive answer. However FFA is barking for a number of reasons.

- the deficit it will instantly create (as above and note the UK equivalent would be over 70 billion).
- Scotland's oil is declining steadily, it is a large part of their economy.
- there is a lot of social deprivation in Scotland and the population is small, as a state the Barnett formula lets them live beyond their means.

When you strip out the economies of scale a large country gives in terms of taxation and spending, and allow for declining oil, you are left with a country that lacks the requisite tax base for the services it now has.

That is why Labour is opposed to FFA, because it is crap for Scotland.

Murphy is a bit po-faced, but the other day during the second Scottish debate I was struck by the despair in his voice as he tried to explain how much Scotland is subsidised by the rest of the UK. How much Scots who could ill afford it would lose. He sounded genuinely distressed.
He also said like it or not much of the money that bolstered pensions etc, came from London and the South East. Probably not the best thing to say to nationalists who appear to have donned blinkers, but the truth nonetheless.

I can understand love of country. I can understand the thinking that Scots are best to dictate how fellow Scots should live and horrible to have to accept 'charity' [in the loosest term] but they do.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Sat 11 Apr, 2015 2:43 pm

We're a country including you, Scotland & Scottish peoples. edited to clarify collectively, united, all together now, sing...