Friday 24th April

[StephenDolan]

Morning all.

So it's back to EVEL for Cameron today. It gives the impression he'll do anything now for 5-10% bump from UKIP supporters.

[Spacedone]

I'm not sure that saying Cameron shares some of the blame for migrant deaths because of Libya was the wisest move Miliband could have made. All it has done is allow the Tories to sound indignant and accuse Labour's campaign of being negative.

Edit: to turn the first sentence into English rather than sleepy gobbledygook.

[LadyCentauria]

I'm not so saying Cameron shares some of the blame for migrant deaths because of Libya was the wisest move Miliband could have made. All it has done is allow the Tories to sound indignant and accuse Labour's campaign of being negative.

You could be right; but Libya, and the lack of forward planning by the Coalition Government regarding what support and aid it would need post-Gaddafi, is only a part of what will be a wide-ranging speech on Cameron's policies and actions and how they have diminished what standing, influence, and importance, Britain had in world affairs. I hope it will also cover what a Labour-led Government will do differently.

To be honest, sounding indignant and accusing Labour's campaign of being negative is the stock response of the Conservatives to anything and everything Labour say. Oh, and pouring scorn. They're good at pouring scorn.

Aside, who's this on Today promoting Heathrow expansion? Ah, John Holland Kay, Chief Exec of Heathrow...

[Spacedone]

I'm not so saying Cameron shares some of the blame for migrant deaths because of Libya was the wisest move Miliband could have made. All it has done is allow the Tories to sound indignant and accuse Labour's campaign of being negative.

You could be right; but Libya, and the lack of forward planning by the Coalition Government regarding what support and aid it would need post-Gaddafi, is only a part of what will be a wide-ranging speech on Cameron's policies and actions and how they have diminished what standing, influence, and importance, Britain had in world affairs. I hope it will also cover what a Labour-led Government will do differently.

To be honest, sounding indignant and accusing Labour's campaign of being negative is the stock response of the Conservatives to anything and everything Labour say. Oh, and pouring scorn. They're good at pouring scorn.

Aside, who's this on Today promoting Heathrow expansion? Ah, John Holland Kay, Chief Exec of Heathrow...

Oh I'm sure without a doubt that the full speech is much more nuanced and wide-ranging than the snippet the media are reporting this morning. The trouble is we won't get to hear about any of it because the news cycle today is now about how Miliband should apologise to Cameron.

Interestingly on all the tweets I've seen on this subject from reporters quite a few people are tweeting them to point out that the Tories deliberately refused to support rescue services in the Med back in 2014.

[seeingclearly]

Good morning, it looks like a fine day here in the Midlands, hope you all get sunshine too.

I'm rather glad that the subject of Libya has been raised. It is as big a disaster for the region as Iraq was, it just hasn't played out so long. If anything the fallout looks as though it might be greater, and Cameron has just shrugged it of as though it didn't happen. Without the terrible drownings it is all but forgotten. The fact they are happening means the suffering is great. Cameron would not hesitate to use Iraq against Labour and to discredit everything they did achieve because of it.

Apologies, it's been a sore point for me for a while. I don't care who they are, or what they've done, you don't hunt the leaders of other nations and shoot them like dogs. You take them to the international courts and try them for crimes against humanity, if that's what the situation requires. And you don't destroy a nation just because your predecessor did. The recent protest movements carried other things unfortunately, something common to all of them to some degree.

In a similar vein an article about Greece under Syriza, I found it interesting and relevant because of austerity, though the Greek position is very different from ours. In the light of where we are right now the analysis had some resonances.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/3034 ... -must-stop" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[LadyCentauria]

Morning all.

So it's back to EVEL for Cameron today. It gives the impression he'll do anything now for 5-10% bump from UKIP supporters.

Firm proposals for an English Income Tax and a veto to prevent Scottish MPs voting on non-Scottish matters, within the first 100 days of a Conservative Government!? An English Income Tax that applies in Wales and Northern Ireland, too. According to Liz Truss, Environment Secretary...

So an rUK Income Tax, in reality, which Welsh and Northern Irish MPs will have a right to vote on – or, at least, they really ought to. No suggestion that Wales and NI might like (or deserve) equal rights to choose whether or not they set their own, separate, income tax levels? This EVEL thing's going really well, and is really well thought out, isn't it? /sarcasm.

[tinyclanger2]

Am terrified of Cameron getting in. Eton Votes for England's Losers.

[PaulfromYorkshire]

The England only income tax could be a disaster for Cameron.

Where do people think the England only 8 billion p.a. for the NHS might come from? HS2?

England only income tax rises to fund unfunded Tory spending commitments?

[Lonewolfie]

I'm not so saying Cameron shares some of the blame for migrant deaths because of Libya was the wisest move Miliband could have made. All it has done is allow the Tories to sound indignant and accuse Labour's campaign of being negative.

You could be right; but Libya, and the lack of forward planning by the Coalition Government regarding what support and aid it would need post-Gaddafi, is only a part of what will be a wide-ranging speech on Cameron's policies and actions and how they have diminished what standing, influence, and importance, Britain had in world affairs. I hope it will also cover what a Labour-led Government will do differently.

To be honest, sounding indignant and accusing Labour's campaign of being negative is the stock response of the Conservatives to anything and everything Labour say. Oh, and pouring scorn. They're good at pouring scorn.

Aside, who's this on Today promoting Heathrow expansion? Ah, John Holland Kay, Chief Exec of Heathrow...

Oh I'm sure without a doubt that the full speech is much more nuanced and wide-ranging than the snippet the media are reporting this morning. The trouble is we won't get to hear about any of it because the news cycle today is now about how Miliband should apologise to Cameron.

Interestingly on all the tweets I've seen on this subject from reporters quite a few people are tweeting them to point out that the Tories deliberately refused to support rescue services in the Med back in 2014.

Morafteveninoon...

Looking at "Liz Truss" on Twitter, it seems she's asking Mr Ed to apologise for something he didn't actually say (or hasn't said yet - it's from a speech later today)...they're all of a dither about it...apparently it's got long words and you need an adequate level of comprehension to 'understand' what it means...(image from the Torygraph, where they also mention that it will, naturally, be an own goal for Labour, as it will remind people of Labours' War in Iraq....an action was only possible with the full support of OGRFG & PFPT* because 139 Labour MPs voted against, and Mr Ed has apologised for Labours' role)

edlib1209.GIF (32.04 KiB) Viewed 12307 times

With the best will in the world I can't see how these words equate to accusing OGRFG & PFPT* directly of causing deaths...protesting too much as the accusation of lack of planning is so very accurate?

*Puce faced piss trumpet

[tinyclanger2]

The England only income tax could be a disaster for Cameron.

Where do people think the England only 8 billion p.a. for the NHS might come from? HS2?

England only income tax rises to fund unfunded Tory spending commitments?

There's no doubt that it would be a disaster. Hence my terror. Am sick to death of these thieving scum - and of the people who put them there.

However, am currently watching a scruffy little bluetit feeding at the window, which cheers me somewhat.

[rebeccariots2]

I hope this doesn't get completely overshadowed. Very important.

Up to 220,000 care workers paid less than minimum wage, figures show
Shadow social care minister Liz Kendall writes in the Guardian that care workers are subject to ‘one of Britain’s largest illegal wage scandals’
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... gures-show" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

... In their article, Kendall and Prentis say that up to 220,000 care workers, or one in six, are paid less than the minimum wage. This is often caused by the refusal of employers to pay for the travel time between home care visits, costing care workers an average of £815 a year.

Kendall and Prentis write: “The scandal doesn’t stop at pay. Many care workers get little, if any, training and are forced to try and provide care in slots that last barely 15 minutes. A staggering 300,000 are employed on zero-hours contracts...

Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, said: “David Cameron has created a care crisis and the collapse of social care is dragging down the NHS. His cuts to social care are a root cause of the A&E crisis.

“Labour today pledges to end this scandal. We have a better plan for the care of older people. Labour will bring health and social care services together to ensure older people finally get the care and support they deserve, we will end time-limited, 15-minute visits and we will create a service that cares for those who care.”

[PaulfromYorkshire]

The England only income tax could be a disaster for Cameron.

Where do people think the England only 8 billion p.a. for the NHS might come from? HS2?

England only income tax rises to fund unfunded Tory spending commitments?

There's no doubt that it would be a disaster. Hence my terror. Am sick to death of these thieving scum - and of the people who put them there.

However, am currently watching a scruffy little bluetit feeding at the window, which cheers me somewhat.

Morning TC nice bluetit thoughts

My point is if Labour announced a new tax the MSM would be all over it. We should do the same to the Tories.

Cameron has just announced a new England-only income tax.

He has squillions of England only unfunded spending commitments, not least HS2. Put 2 and 2 together.

[tinyclanger2]

The England only income tax could be a disaster for Cameron.

Where do people think the England only 8 billion p.a. for the NHS might come from? HS2?

England only income tax rises to fund unfunded Tory spending commitments?

There's no doubt that it would be a disaster. Hence my terror. Am sick to death of these thieving scum - and of the people who put them there.

However, am currently watching a scruffy little bluetit feeding at the window, which cheers me somewhat.

Morning TC nice bluetit thoughts

My point is if Labour announced a new tax the MSM would be all over it. We should do the same to the Tories.

Cameron has just announced a new England-only income tax.

He has squillions of England only unfunded spending commitments, not least HS2. Put 2 and 2 together.

ah good point.
am hoping blue tit may be nesting nearby (fingers crossed)

[Lonewolfie]

Good morning, it looks like a fine day here in the Midlands, hope you all get sunshine too.

I'm rather glad that the subject of Libya has been raised. It is as big a disaster for the region as Iraq was, it just hasn't played out so long. If anything the fallout looks as though it might be greater, and Cameron has just shrugged it of as though it didn't happen. Without the terrible drownings it is all but forgotten. The fact they are happening means the suffering is great. Cameron would not hesitate to use Iraq against Labour and to discredit everything they did achieve because of it.

Apologies, it's been a sore point for me for a while. I don't care who they are, or what they've done, you don't hunt the leaders of other nations and shoot them like dogs. You take them to the international courts and try them for crimes against humanity, if that's what the situation requires. And you don't destroy a nation just because your predecessor did. The recent protest movements carried other things unfortunately, something common to all of them to some degree.

In a similar vein an article about Greece under Syriza, I found it interesting and relevant because of austerity, though the Greek position is very different from ours. In the light of where we are right now the analysis had some resonances.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/3034 ... -must-stop" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For a long time I've felt that Libya needs to get more attention. For all the faults with the Iraq situation, the allies always intended to stay to rebuild, whereas Libya was the geopolitical equivalent of a drive-by shooting. Moreover, the very early 'mission creep' in Libya was, in my view, a big reason for Russia digging its heels in over Syria at a time when diplomatic pressure from the UN could have persuaded Assad to back off, and we wouldn't have had the situation where IS were able to get such a foothold.

This is why I think everyone should've invested in tin-foil hats...Iraq 1 (to remove Sadam Hussein from Kuwait) stopped short of total invasion (at massive and irrecoverable cost to the Marsh Arabs and their region), Iraq 2 went for total invasion, but completely destroyed the existing power/civil structures, ushering a vacuum for the likes of Haliburton et al to profiteer - further destabilisation achieved through sectarian division - all of a sudden, here's this guy, who was a pauper but now has enough funds and support to set up an entire nation state, leading IS as the 'great threat' for the future....meanwhile, the 'Arab Spring', in Tunisia and Egypt, strengthened resolve and anti-Gadaffi activity...leading to international action (where OGRFG & PFPT stood at his lectern and lectured us about how it's the 'right thing to do' as it made him feel 'important'....and what are we left with? Millions of refugees, millions dispossessed and an international community, riven itself by disagreement and division, throwing its' collective hands in the air and saying 'how did this happen?...what shall we do about it?....dunno, but we must do something....I know, let's blow up the boats before they leave'.

You can say this has all occurred in a vacuum and no-one could possibly have seen this coming, the security services missed all the evidence - but Iraq 2 was based on our (and the USs') very expensive and, allegedly very efficient, (self-same) security services information - the right thing to do (from a human perspective) has always been totally ignored by the international MSM/political class as they 'don't recognise' the effects of their own actions.

TTFN

[danesclose]

Good morning all.
The Telegraph sinks further into self parody with this, currently the 2nd story on its web site:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general ... -pact.html

The Irony-ometer went off-scale at this:

Are you worried about immigration?......Move to… Australia

[TheGrimSqueaker]

I'm not sure that saying Cameron shares some of the blame for migrant deaths because of Libya was the wisest move Miliband could have made. All it has done is allow the Tories to sound indignant and accuse Labour's campaign of being negative.

Edit: to turn the first sentence into English rather than sleepy gobbledygook.

Sparrow has just posted this:

Last night Labour sent out a briefing note about Ed Miliband’s foreign policy speech, embargoed until midnight. This is quite routine. Sometimes these advance notes contain only a brief taster of what is going to be said, two or three paragraphs, but sometimes they contain considerable detail. This one was about as extensive as they get. It ran to four pages (in small type).

The headline was: “Miliband: It’s time to reject the Tories’ small-minded isolationism that has led to the biggest loss of British influence in a generation.”

Somewhere about half way through, it includes this passage.

[Miliband] will say the refugee crisis and tragic scenes this week in the Mediterranean are in part a direct result of the failure of post conflict planning for Libya.

“In Libya, Labour supported military action to avoid the slaughter Qaddafi threatened in Benghazi. But since the action, the failure of post conflict planning has become obvious. David Cameron was wrong to assume that Libya’s political culture and institutions could be left to evolve and transform on their own.

“What we have seen in Libya is that when tensions over power and resource began to emerge, they simply reinforced deep seated ideological and ethnic fault lines in the country, meaning the hopes of the revolutionary uprisings quickly began to unravel. The tragedy is that this could have been anticipated. It should have been avoided. And Britain could have played its part in ensuring the international community stood by the people of Libya in practice rather than standing behind the unfounded hopes of potential progress only in principle.”

You can decide for yourself whether this amounts to saying Cameron was to blame for the migrant deaths in the Mediterranean.

Manufactured outrage on the part of the Tories, based on deliberate misinterpreting of briefing notes for a speech that hasn't been delivered yet. The only people who will be influenced by this would never have voted Labour anyway. I think I 'll wait for the actual speech which will, I suspect, further cement Ed's growing stature as PM in waiting.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

Oh, and ....... Morning all.

[mikems]

I think Libya was a crime and should have been opposed, not supported by Labour on media/intelligence services claims of imminent disaster in Benghazi. Sadly, out of fear of being accused of 'weakness' or whatever, Labour caved in and went along with it all.

There is real disaster for the Libyan people now, who looked to us to support them in overthrowing a dictator. Instead we trampled all over international law to do exactly what we wanted to do, and though we hadn't given it any real consideration beforehand, and really didn't give a damn about Libya, its people or the wider area, it just seemed like a good idea at the time to Dave.

[onebuttonmonkey]

Having woken up to the astonishingly gobsmacking news that the Tories are accusing Labour of negative campaigning, I've had to go to the doctors just to check I was still living in the same reality as everyone else. I couldn't get an appointment, so it appears I am. I trotted out this rant at the G (I know many of you here no longer frequent there and I have to say: don't go back - it's awful) because it's just... It's so the opposite of true, I'm beyond furious. I feel like someone is saying something so calcultedly crazy it's making me feel like I mist have lost my own mind.

Because it's a staggering bit of front for the Tories to be accusing Labour of negative campaigning. I mean, let's not forget that a key driver of stopping Search and Rescue was because the Tories were so scared of UKIP in the polls and wanted to "look tough" on immigration, or that all these horrible human consequences of doing so were obvious and apparent and talked about last year. They denied this until other people were blue in the face and it's only changed because they suddenly realised that people drowning as a result of their stated, favoured policy during an election looked bad. No - this is an election, so never mind that - it's no time for truth, is it, just for launching endless subsets of your manifesto in the hope of getting headlines for its title rather than its contents. No, let's just stick to negative campaigning and Cameron, shall we?

The strategy has evolved like this:

1) Launch entirely negative campaign based solely on attacking Ed Miliband
2) Continue for some weeks randomly stringing together insults like backstabber and adjectives like weak (see also, chaos, ruin and so forth, because, you know, he's a funny-looking Trotsky who hates Britain, apparently)
3) Discover this isn't popular in the polls and get a bit confused
4) Realise the solution to the unpopularity of your own negative campaigning is to accuse Labour of having been doing it.

This obviously misses out the idiotic threats about Scotland which involve trying to sell the idea that elected representatives representing the electorate is undemocratic if they're from Scotland. But it is typical - the party of the bedroom tax, of 1.4 million ZHCs, of 20% of people not earning a living wage, of 1m people a year needing charity to be able to eat, of infant malnutrition quadrupling, of falling household incomes in real terms, of 9 out of 10 new claimants being in work, of in work benefits costing more than out of work benefits, the party of sheer, unending human misery for the poor is starting to talk again about how its brand of Compassionate Conservatism is working. This isn't just a lie, it's one that knowingly avoids answering any questions on the numbers of people driven to suicide by its cuts, to despair by not being able to afford to live.

So there it is. The Tories, for whom positive campaigning means bending reality to accuse your opponents of doing what you've been up to, and then telling even bigger lies about your own record. "We won't let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers," right?

I don;t want to live in a post-truth political world. The truth matters. No one should even have to argue that, should they? *despair*

[tinyclanger2]

OBM - if there was an empathy icon I would deploy it.

[mikems]

The Guardian's headlines are following every twist and turn...of the tories' arguments. What the tories want to talk about is almost always the headline in the 'left-wing' Guardian. Today we had EVEL - after days of ignoring the NHS and focussing on the SNP devils - and now it has moved on to tory 'anger' at Miliband speaking partial truth.

Gloriously for our media types it is now a 'row' so it will all we hear about for some time, I fear, because at least it will keep real issues out of the spotlight.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

I think Libya was a crime and should have been opposed, not supported by Labour on media/intelligence services claims of imminent disaster in Benghazi. Sadly, out of fear of being accused of 'weakness' or whatever, Labour caved in and went along with it all.

There is real disaster for the Libyan people now, who looked to us to support them in overthrowing a dictator. Instead we trampled all over international law to do exactly what we wanted to do, and though we hadn't given it any real consideration beforehand, and really didn't give a damn about Libya, its people or the wider area, it just seemed like a good idea at the time to Dave.

The international intervention was supported by a UN resolution because of the civil war; the resolution authorised a no-fly zone and "whatever methods are needed" to protect the civilian population. The problem here was that France, the USA and the UK stretched the definition of "whatever methods are needed" to its absolute limit and then walked away; so I don't think it was illiegal, but what was done was certainly immoral.

Should Labour have opposed it? Probably, but it did have at least a veneer of legality to it so it might have been dangerous politically; I suspect that this was one of the factors that made Miliband come out so strongly against action in Syria, which certainly would have been an illegal war.

[LadyCentauria]

Bob Stewart (Conservative) says although at the time of the Benghazi threat action had to be taken immediately to prevent a massacre, planning for the aftermath should have begun immediately thereafter. I'm paraphrasing as my typing is too slow today; but he also agreed with Pat McFadden (Labour) who had said much the same and that the current situation in the Med is directly connected to that lack of forward planning to help establish a secure Government for Libya. Mr Stewart is of the belief that Mr Miliband will not say exactly what was in the press release about today's forthcoming speech, and that Miliband probably didn't write the press release himself.

I think they'd expected Mr Stewart to disagree with Mr McFadden's view of the 'row' but he hardly did at all and certainly didn't accuse Mr Miliband of anything negative, more that he expects Miliband's speech to lay out how Labour would proceed, should military action be required of them, with a rightful emphasis on planning for the 'invaded' country's future governance, rebuilding, humanitarian aid, etc.,

See BBC News, with Victoria Derbyshire at approx 9.45 am.

[Willow904]

Morning all.

Is that Ed Miliband getting bold, I see?

I'm glad he isn't allowing the obvious opportunity for the Tories to cry "foul" to stop him expressing his opinion on British foreign policy under the coalition government. He has a right to free speech, and the Tories' preemptive attempts to silence him with accusations of negative campaigning will hopefully be seen as the self-serving, hypocritical cant that it is. We, as a nation, have a right to discuss the coalition's foreign policy decisions. I'd be very worried if considerations of political expediency were to stop Ed Miliband from saying what he thinks. The Tories shouldn't be allowed to intimidate opponents into not discussing important issues through their superior shouting power. If the Tories are as appalled at what is happening in the Med right now as the rest of us are, they should stop playing politics and join in the conversation about what has gone wrong and what we can do to try and fix it.

[PorFavor]

Good morfternoon.

The Guardian’s City editor Jill Treanor has filed this first take on Douglas Flint’s speech this morning:

HSBC, Britain’s biggest bank, issued a stark warning about the risk to the economy of the UK pulling out of the European Union as it revealed it was considering moving its headquarters out of London.

The surprise announcement of a full blown review into where the bank should base its operations will stun politicians on the general election campaign trail. (Guardian Election Blog - my emphasis)

Well, I don't think it will stun all politicians. Just the more short-termist of them. And we all know who they are.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

Bob Stewart (Conservative) says although at the time of the Benghazi threat action had to be taken immediately to prevent a massacre, planning for the aftermath should have begun immediately thereafter. I'm paraphrasing as my typing is too slow today; but he also agreed with Pat McFadden (Labour) who had said much the same and that the current situation in the Med is directly connected to that lack of forward planning to help establish a secure Government for Libya. Mr Stewart is of the belief that Mr Miliband will not say exactly what was in the press release about today's forthcoming speech, and that Miliband probably didn't write the press release himself.

I think they'd expected Mr Stewart to disagree with Mr McFadden's view of the 'row' but he hardly did at all and certainly didn't accuse Mr Miliband of anything negative, more that he expects Miliband's speech to lay out how Labour would proceed, should military action be required of them, with a rightful emphasis on planning for the 'invaded' country's future governance, rebuilding, humanitarian aid, etc.,

See BBC News, with Victoria Derbyshire at approx 9.45 am.

This is ex-Lieutenant Colonel Bob Stewart, commander of the British peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and friend of Martin Bell (he helped him in his campaign to oust Neil Hamilton); if the BBC expected him to spout the party line then they were deluded. Not a man I always agree with but, in this instance, his opinion is probably one of the best informed and well worth listening to.

[StephenDolan]

HSBC warns it could leave UK over EU referendum uncertainty

http://gu.com/p/47z6d" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Oops Dave.....

[TechnicalEphemera]

Can we tweet Nick Robinson and ask him if he is going to report Labour's promise to spend more on the armed forces than the Tories?

It is what they are trying to hide.

[Eric_WLothian]

The England only income tax could be a disaster for Cameron.

Where do people think the England only 8 billion p.a. for the NHS might come from? HS2?

England only income tax rises to fund unfunded Tory spending commitments?

There's no doubt that it would be a disaster. Hence my terror. Am sick to death of these thieving scum - and of the people who put them there.

However, am currently watching a scruffy little bluetit feeding at the window, which cheers me somewhat.

Is this not just FFA for Scotland, from the rUK point of view - or am I missing something?

(A scruffy policy from a blue twit?)

[PorFavor]

Political Pictures @PoliticalPics

Tory HQ this morning it's just like the grim reaper had visited never seen so many miserable people ! 13 days to go
10:06 AM - 24 Apr 2015 (Election Blog, Guardian at 10.10)

No sign of the Cheeky Shappy's bright little face.

(And no - I can't even attempt to paint a word picture for the refuseniks amongst us.)



Edited to add an "e"

[ohsocynical]

Political Pictures @PoliticalPics

Tory HQ this morning it's just like the grim reaper had visited never seen so many miserable people ! 13 days to go
10:06 AM - 24 Apr 2015 (Election Blog, Guardian at 10.10)

No sign of the Cheeky Shappy's bright little face.

(And no - I can't even attempt to paint a word picture for the refuseniks amongst us.)



Edited to add an "e"

Shapps keeps his head down for around a week, then pops up again.

[refitman]

Can we tweet Nick Robinson and ask him if he is going to report Labour's promise to spend more on the armed forces than the Tories?

It is what they are trying to hide.

Tweeted.

Flythenest Haven ‏@FlythenestHaven now

Will @bbcnickrobinson report Labour's promise to spend more on the armed forces than the Tories?
0 retweets 0 favorites

[Willow904]

Can we tweet Nick Robinson and ask him if he is going to report Labour's promise to spend more on the armed forces than the Tories?

It is what they are trying to hide.

If Nick Robinson falls for the Tories' dead cat, then he is very stupid (as, of course, with an election coming up, we know he will be scrupulously balanced at all times, so it wouldn't be bias, would it?!). Sparrow had no trouble seeing through it.

And here is the story CCHQ seems to be trying to knock off the bulletins (see 9.20am) - Ed Miliband saying Labour would protect defence more than the Tories.

[utopiandreams]

Good Morning. Bit late today, but better late than never... Or so I tell myself. I could be wrong of course.

Emergency meetings were held at Number Ten last night as ministers tried to get their electoral campaign back on track. Simon Cowell and Andrew Lloyd Webber were also invited as now is not the time for more scaremongering and mud-slinging; instead they shall play to their strengths. Britain's Got Talent has been put on temporary hold and is being replaced by a special show hosted by Boris Johnson and Esther McVey. Patel expressed her anger, insisting she were the pretty one, but agreed to perform the Lambada with Jeremy. Dave and George shall roll up their sleeves to perform conjuring tricks where things are made to disappear and bundles of cash magically appear before your very eyes. David is also believed to be performing a Gary Barlow cover.

Grant is to make a special appearance as several well known characters. Michael volunteered to put words into other peoples mouths but was overruled for fear of being confused with the ventriloquist's dummy. He was left feeling down in the mouth when nobody would recognise a single one of his talents. He insisted he was good with the ladies but had nothing to show for it. Pickles was also disappointed but soon consoled when told that he was larger than life and would likely put the others in the shade.

Edit: replaced face with mouth. Well I had only just thought it up.

[onebuttonmonkey]

The IFS have reported on Cameron's new right to buy policy. No surprises here about the findings, but all the same it's good to see more confirmation.

Even Robert Peston's tweeted it (I saw it via the Guardian's Patrick Butler):

Patrick Butler ‏@patrickjbutler 18m
Right to buy will cost taxpayer billions, deplete social housing and exacerbate social division, says @TheIFS

Here's the link: http://election2015.ifs.org.uk/article/ ... ertainties

I can't possibly imagine why the Tories would rather talk about negative campaigning than policy, can you?

[PorFavor]

@ Willow904

Andrew Sparrow is waxing sceptical this morning, isn't he?

This bit made me smile -

It looks like soon CCHQ will be running out of dead cats. Larry is probably getting a bit nervous. (Guardian Election Blog)

[LadyCentauria]

Bob Stewart (Conservative) says although at the time of the Benghazi threat action had to be taken immediately to prevent a massacre, planning for the aftermath should have begun immediately thereafter. I'm paraphrasing as my typing is too slow today; but he also agreed with Pat McFadden (Labour) who had said much the same and that the current situation in the Med is directly connected to that lack of forward planning to help establish a secure Government for Libya. Mr Stewart is of the belief that Mr Miliband will not say exactly what was in the press release about today's forthcoming speech, and that Miliband probably didn't write the press release himself.

I think they'd expected Mr Stewart to disagree with Mr McFadden's view of the 'row' but he hardly did at all and certainly didn't accuse Mr Miliband of anything negative, more that he expects Miliband's speech to lay out how Labour would proceed, should military action be required of them, with a rightful emphasis on planning for the 'invaded' country's future governance, rebuilding, humanitarian aid, etc.,

See BBC News, with Victoria Derbyshire at approx 9.45 am.

This is ex-Lieutenant Colonel Bob Stewart, commander of the British peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and friend of Martin Bell (he helped him in his campaign to oust Neil Hamilton); if the BBC expected him to spout the party line then they were deluded. Not a man I always agree with but, in this instance, his opinion is probably one of the best informed and well worth listening to.

True, especially since he said in March this year that he would consider standing down as an MP should the Joint Chiefs of Staff resign over cuts to the Defence Budget. They didn't, AFAIK, so he is the PPC for Beckenham, again. It's odd that the Conservatives put him forward, if they wanted to add fuel to the non-existent fire of the 'row' – so perhaps they don't, really. But he was there, Victoria Derbyshire put forward a leading question, he refused to bite. He has my admiration for that, as well as for his support for Martin Bell, and his leading service in Bosnia and elsewhere.

[StephenDolan]

Looking at the latest YouGov data (usual paper reweightings blah blah blah) the how likely are you to vote stats are

O (definitely not) to 10(definitely)
Have
4,.........6,10,70

which would be some turnout. If true.

[PorFavor]

Andrew Neil showing that he's prepared to look like an idiot for the greater good:

Andrew NeilVerified account
‏@afneil

HSBC says it's worried that UK might leave EU. So threatens to move HQ to Asia. Can anyone explain logic of that?
(Guardian Election Blog)

Yes. Next question . . . .

[danesclose]

Shapps keeps his head down for around a week, then pops up again.

A bit like a fun version of "Whack-A-Mole"

[PaulfromYorkshire]

This is a truly dreadful piece of "journalism", as I've posted there.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 00701.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

politics/people-are-annoyed-that-ed-miliband-is-blaming-the-tories-for-mediterranean-migrant-deaths

[AnatolyKasparov]

"People are annoyed" - what sort of headline is that? Its almost some Day Today parody

[LadyCentauria]

Ed Miliband speech at Chatham House live on BBC Parliament now.

[citizenJA]

Good-morning.
Excellent posts, everyone, thank you.
When it's time for me to check the news each day, I come here first.

[tinyclanger2]

"People are annoyed" - what sort of headline is that? Its almost some Day Today parody

Well they're right. I"M annoyed. I'm annoyed with the fact that Cameron NEVER ANSWERS A SODDING QUESTION and yet there are people (other than his "wealth creating" mates) who would still vote for him.

I'm all for language evolving, but there is a difference between evolution and misuse. Since when did it become viable to use "wealth creator" instead of "thieving get"?

[tinyclanger2]

Hell Yes t-shirt is now arrived in Clanger location

[tinyclanger2]

Will I be wearing it to work next week?

HELL YES

[onebuttonmonkey]

In other news from the other place:

Cameron says the Tories have been proposing English votes for English laws since 2001. The real threat to the UK comes from those who will not engage with this agenda. If Scotland chooses to abolish air passenger duty, how can it be fair for Scottish MP, potentially holding the balance of power, to then impose higher APD on English airports.

So there you have it - the reason English votes for English squirrels is so incredibly important and necessary is because of... erm... because of... um... something or other to do with... airport duty. No, really.

This is such an incredibly, underwhelmingly rubbish argument, it could almost be the opening to a Star Wars film. In fact, hang on - it is the opening to a Star Wars film:

Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to
outlaying star systems is in dispute.

And if we don't solve the turmoil of having different airport duties, who knows where this will all end, eh? Probably in Tory campaigners dressed Darth Sturgeon, I expect. *sigh*

Can we have grown up as our next Prime Minister? Please?

Edit: formatting.

[PorFavor]

Hell Yes t-shirt is now arrived in Clanger location

Is that everyone, now? We should have had one of those thermometer thingies like they do outside church buildings to show the progress of the roof fund.

[tinybgoat]

Hell Yes t-shirt is now arrived in Clanger location

Is that everyone, now? We should have had one of those thermometer thingies like they do outside church buildings to show the progress of the roof fund.

Got T-shirt, now eagerly awaiting posters.