FlyTheNest

Morning all.

Moor (Chesterfield) result:

LDEM: 47.1% (+12.1)
LAB: 39.4% (-9.9)
CON: 7.4% (-8.3)
UKIP: 6.1% (+6.1)

Liberal Democrat GAIN from Labour.

Wot no Question Time review (again)?!

Two councillors in Moor Ward,used to be both Labour (parents live there)

Maybe I'm used to big portions but three "meals for one" equivalent to my usual one.

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:Wot no Question Time review (again)?!

The thought of Isabel Oakeshott being an immediate switch-off?

It is legitimate to believe the EU has over-reached, but not to despise its goals

Martin Wolf doesn't think much of *unt.

In a serious country, a foreign secretary who made such a remark, at such a moment, about such important, friendly countries would be sacked. Let him follow Boris Johnson on to the backbenches. In a serious governing party, he would have been booed. But Mr Hunt said it because he believed that this sort of malevolent stupidity is popular in the Tory party. That is terrifying.

HindleA wrote:Two councillors in Moor Ward,used to be both Labour (parents live there)

Though it was a LibDem stronghold when they ran the council. The winner yesterday stood against Tony Benn for the parliamentary seat several times.

(they must be about 80 now)

gilsey wrote:It is legitimate to believe the EU has over-reached, but not to despise its goals

Martin Wolf doesn't think much of *unt.

In a serious country, a foreign secretary who made such a remark, at such a moment, about such important, friendly countries would be sacked. Let him follow Boris Johnson on to the backbenches. In a serious governing party, he would have been booed. But Mr Hunt said it because he believed that this sort of malevolent stupidity is popular in the Tory party. That is terrifying.

That's why I thought that Jeremy Hunt's speech would be more of a "hit" than it appears to have been. Pity about the Holland\Russia timing!

Maybe its cynicism was a bit *too* obvious?

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Maybe its cynicism was a bit *too* obvious?

I thought they liked obvious? Subtlety is a bit beyond them.

Not following closely but didn't say he was misquoted or some such and not what he meant?

I will interrogate Sky who is visiting for a reasonable amount (rates by request) as to why no QT review,on presumption he doesn't get lost/waylaid by a better offer

HindleA wrote:Not following closely but didn't say he was misquoted or some such and not what he meant?

I thought that that was Shaun Bailey, the Conservative London Mayoral candidate choice. Mind you, they're probably all at it - so it's hard to keep track.

HindleA wrote:Not following closely but didn't say he was misquoted or some such and not what he meant?

Indeed he did say he was misquoted, but if it wasn't what he meant it was exceptionally careless wording.

I like that phrase of Wolf's, malevolent stupidity, fits so many govt ministers.

gilsey wrote:

HindleA wrote:Not following closely but didn't say he was misquoted or some such and not what he meant?

Indeed he did say he was misquoted, but if it wasn't what he meant it was exceptionally careless wording.

I like that phrase of Wolf's, malevolent stupidity, fits so many govt ministers.

I heard his (JH's) speech. His meaning seemed perfectly clear to me. His claim that he was "misunderstood" is stretching things!

Its one of the instances when "misquoted" actually means "I know I shouldn't really have said that" isn't it?

PorFavor wrote:

gilsey wrote:

HindleA wrote:Not following closely but didn't say he was misquoted or some such and not what he meant?

Indeed he did say he was misquoted, but if it wasn't what he meant it was exceptionally careless wording.I like that phrase of Wolf's, malevolent stupidity, fits so many govt ministers.

I heard his (JH's) speech. His meaning seemed perfectly clear to me. His claim that he was "misunderstood" is stretching things!

I liked the bit about "this isle' inventing Free Trade and exporting it around the world with gunboats .

Up there with Johnson on mythical History, as tho the free-trading Ottoman Empire and the Opium Wars never happened .

Ah, that was an "idea" of one of the young Tories who Dawn Foster talked to this week - "restore a fleet of gunboats and reclaim the Empire!"

(yes, almost literally)

Encouraging one from Jim O'Neill on the Tory obsession with 'lower taxes'
I’m an ex-Tory minister: only Labour grasps Britain’s desire for change
'In addressing the failures of the market, house prices and low wages, Corbyn and McDonnell have caught the public mood'
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... -mcdonnell" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Three quarters down this long read Nicholas Shaxson tackles the low-tax-offshorers --

The finance curse: how the outsized power of the City of London makes Britain poorer
' The financial sector is hailed as the crowning glory of the UK economy. But as it blooms, everything else withers.'
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/o ... _clipboard" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

" To see this more clearly, consider corporate tax cuts, for instance. In the last eight years, Britain has slashed its main corporate tax rate from 28% to 20%, cutting tax revenues by more than £16bn. Theresa May now wants to go further, as a magic open-for-business elixir to address the Brexit mayhem."

Go on Theresa, reduce corporation tax to ZERO !

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nata ... -shale-gas" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"She has first-hand experience of the local impact of shale gas developments and also has experience of working closely with industry, regulators and government on how to best engage local communities on this important topic"

Coyne's appeal against McCluskey re the last Unite general secretary election has been thrown out by the courts.

https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ecure-deal" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"EU may offer post-Brexit trade flexibility to help May secure deal"

EU officials hope that, despite the opposition of a large number of Tory and Labour MPs to a Canada-style agreement which would create barriers to trade, May will be able to garner enough support in parliament for a deal if it is clear that the declaration is not the last word on the future relationship.

During a recent meeting in Brussels with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, Jeremy Corbyn was told that supporting a Canada-style free trade deal now would not bind the hands of a future Labour government, diplomatic sources have told the Guardian.

NHS in outsourcing talks with Mitie after body parts fiasco

NHS chiefs fear the current contractor Healthcare Environmental Services (HES) could collapse and are urgently trying to find a replacement firm to undertake some or all of the work done by the company.

The Environment Agency has launched a criminal investigation and said HES had breached its permits at five sites in England. “We are taking enforcement action against the operator, which includes clearance of the excess waste, and have launched a criminal investigation,” the EA said.

NHS England is planning for the possible collapse of HES, which in the last year has been served with 13 warning notices and two compliance notices by the Environment Agency as NHS waste has piled up at its three sites. It allowed five times the amount of waste – which should have been prepared there for burning elsewhere – to build up at its disposal plant in Normanton, West Yorkshire.

HES is run by husband and wife Garry and Alison Pettigrew who have paid themselves almost £1m in dividends over the past two years despite the company losing more than £1.7m. (Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/society/201 ... rts-fiasco

tinybgoat wrote:https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ecure-deal
"EU may offer post-Brexit trade flexibility to help May secure deal"

EU officials hope that, despite the opposition of a large number of Tory and Labour MPs to a Canada-style agreement which would create barriers to trade, May will be able to garner enough support in parliament for a deal if it is clear that the declaration is not the last word on the future relationship.

During a recent meeting in Brussels with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, Jeremy Corbyn was told that supporting a Canada-style free trade deal now would not bind the hands of a future Labour government, diplomatic sources have told the Guardian.

I don't think prolonged uncertainty would be very helpful, myself.

ITMA's Week --

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... an-fiction" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

May secretly woos key Labour MPs to back her Brexit deal

Senior Tories press ‘national interest’ case for supporting PM to avoid no-deal outcome

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... rexit-deal

Three local council byelections this week:

Cambridgeshire CC - Tory hold, though their share was cut to under a half compared to nearly two thirds in 2017 (the first time this division has been fought in its present form, following boundary changes) This area was safe for the Tories in previous recent elections too, but historically there was some LibDem strength here - and this was perhaps apparent in them getting a double figure increase in their vote to 30 per cent. Labour were hampered by their candidate having some past social media posts exposed, and saw their share drop by 5 points - not far behind them was a veteran Independent (and one time Tory) who was the only addition to the three parties who stood last time, who garnered just over 10% for their efforts.

Chesterfield DC - LibDem gain from Labour in a ward which has been a battleground for the two parties in recent decades - returning two LibDems in 2003 and 2007 before Labour won both seats in 2011 and retained them in 2015. The swing was approaching 13% as the LibDems reached the high 40s and Labour had a similar fall to under 40% - their hapless candidate had lost a nearby vacancy to the LibDems in a byelection last year (third time lucky in 2019?) Three years ago saw the first election this century in which another party stood, the Tories - but they got duly squeezed and saw their share more than halved, only just ahead of a UKIP candidate (slightly surprising they haven't been seen before, given they have performed decently elsewhere on this council) who scored 6%.

Hambleton DC - Tory hold with 65% of the vote, almost unchanged on the 2015 result (the first here since boundary changes) when they took both seats in this ward comfortably seeing off a couple of Independents (the higher polling also being a former Tory councillor for the predecessor ward) So the main change this time round was the differing opposition - the other Independent three years ago stood for Labour this time and whilst they were well beaten (again) they still came easily ahead of the candidate of the localist Yorkshire Party (less locally, however, they were from some way outside this ward) who scored 10%.

Five contests next week.

" The most bizarre contribution came from leadership hopeful Sajid Javid after it was pointed out to him that his father wouldn’t have been allowed into the country from Pakistan under the government’s new immigration proposals. How did that make him feel, asked the Guardian editor, Katharine Viner, who was chairing the event. “Extremely optimistic,” Javid replied. Who knew the home secretary hated his father quite that much? "

Chris Grey's Brexit blog
Never-ending brexit, too depressing for words.


I caught the end of This Week yesterday and quite liked Portillo's very confident scenario on what's next, basically there's no majority for any Brexit plan so govt will fall and there'll be a GE, he's cheerful about that because he's certain Cons would get an overall majority, on the grounds that last time people voted for Corbyn because they thought he couldn't win, so next time will be different. Hmm.

gilsey wrote:Chris Grey's Brexit blog
Never-ending brexit, too depressing for words.


I caught the end of This Week yesterday and quite liked Portillo's very confident scenario on what's next, basically there's no majority for any Brexit plan so govt will fall and there'll be a GE, he's cheerful about that because he's certain Cons would get an overall majority, on the grounds that last time people voted for Corbyn because they thought he couldn't win, so next time will be different. Hmm.

Know how you feel . Having been away for forty two years, disenfranchised, I'm just hoping the French aren't so wicked as the British government .