Wednesday 29th April 2015

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:05 pm

Eric_WLothian wrote:
citizenJA wrote: I'm puzzled by the hostility directed at Labour from some in Scotland - it's disproportionate to any failing of the Labour party during the last five years, in my opinion.
I don't see any particular hostility coming from anybody other than independence supporters. They're still unable to grasp the fact that three parties with different aims could possibly unite on one particular issue. The Tories are just capitalising on the split for their own electioneering ends.

Thank you, Eric_WLothian. That the hostility is less general is a mercy. Because I don't understand the vehemence.

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:07 pm

Can't find anything about this in the press but I'm really pleased to see somebody bothered mentioning it:

@PaulBrandITV · 1h 1 hour ago
Court has found #UKIP Rotherham candidate Jane Collins used defamatory language in relation to what 3 #Labour MPs 'knew' about child abuse

@PaulBrandITV · 1h 1 hour ago
Collins now has a month to prove the defamatory language was true, or pay out damages. Comments were made at last year's #UKIP conference.

@PaulBrandITV · 1h 1 hour ago
Court ruling is a boost to Labour's campaign in Rotherham, where a bitter fight rages with UKIP over child sexual exploitation. #GE2015

@PaulBrandITV
Statement from the 3 #Labour Rotherham candidates (former MPs) on ruling #UKIP used defamatory language about them

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:07 pm

When the SNP achieve their one party state and deliver Cameron back into No 10...am I allowed to boycott Scottish raspberries, jam, shortbread etc ?

If their attitude is f*** the rest of us and they don't care if the Tories win, it is hard to feel comradely, particularly when so many seem to be like Claire Robertson.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:09 pm

or:

Och, I cannae see the truth for The Sun in my eyes.

Rebecca · Post by **Rebecca** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:11 pm

yahyah wrote:When the SNP achieve their one party state and deliver Cameron back into No 10...am I allowed to boycott Scottish raspberries, jam, shortbread etc ?

If their attitude is f*** the rest of us and they don't care if the Tories win, it is hard to feel comradely, particularly when so many seem to be like Claire Robertson.

Ha!I started yesterday,and will not stop .
Used to refuse to buy anything from south Africa,don't do Israel and Scotland has now joined my death list.
Every little helps.

Post by **refitman** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:14 pm

PaulfromYorkshire wrote:
AngryAsWell wrote:Never a great fan, but still sad to see Joni Mitchell ‘in a coma’

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/enter ... 81521.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Sad indeed.

Not a fan? If there were a prize for best album opening, I'd give Joni it for the first 40 second passage of Court & Spark.

[youtube]x4enC_DzK6U[/youtube]

Not in a coma, according to the Beeb: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32510834" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:14 pm

Rebecca wrote:
yahyah wrote:When the SNP achieve their one party state and deliver Cameron back into No 10...am I allowed to boycott Scottish raspberries, jam, shortbread etc ?

If their attitude is f*** the rest of us and they don't care if the Tories win, it is hard to feel comradely, particularly when so many seem to be like Claire Robertson.
Ha!I started yesterday,and will not stop .
Used to refuse to buy anything from south Africa,don't do Israel and Scotland has now joined my death list.
Every little helps.

I don't do Israel, either. It's actually quite a tricky act to pull off a lot of the time, isn't it?

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:15 pm

yahyah wrote:When the SNP achieve their one party state and deliver Cameron back into No 10...am I allowed to boycott Scottish raspberries, jam, shortbread etc ?

If their attitude is f*** the rest of us and they don't care if the Tories win, it is hard to feel comradely, particularly when so many seem to be like Claire Robertson.

(my bold)
Yes, exactly this, Yahyah. It's the most frustrating thing for me.

Eric_WLothian · Post by **Eric_WLothian** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:18 pm

yahyah wrote:When the SNP achieve their one party state and deliver Cameron back into No 10...am I allowed to boycott Scottish raspberries, jam, shortbread etc ?

If their attitude is f*** the rest of us and they don't care if the Tories win, it is hard to feel comradely, particularly when so many seem to be like Claire Robertson.

You're OK with Baxters jams and Tunnocks teacakes - they backed the union.

The 54% is by no means cut & dried:

While only 14% of respondents said that Labour are their ‘preferred party’, a further 30% report that they may vote for Labour if they thought they had a chance of winning in their constituency, including 35% of Conservative supporters and 34% of Liberal Democrats.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/snp-on-cou ... -1-3757713

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:20 pm

Eric_WLothian wrote:
citizenJA wrote: I'm puzzled by the hostility directed at Labour from some in Scotland - it's disproportionate to any failing of the Labour party during the last five years, in my opinion.
I don't see any particular hostility coming from anybody other than independence supporters. They're still unable to grasp the fact that three parties with different aims could possibly unite on one particular issue. The Tories are just capitalising on the split for their own electioneering ends.

Funniest thing is that the same SNPers tell you how grown up Holyrood is compared with Westminster. Apparently you have to work with other parties in Holyrood.....

Eric_WLothian · Post by **Eric_WLothian** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:26 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:
Eric_WLothian wrote:
citizenJA wrote: I'm puzzled by the hostility directed at Labour from some in Scotland - it's disproportionate to any failing of the Labour party during the last five years, in my opinion.
I don't see any particular hostility coming from anybody other than independence supporters. They're still unable to grasp the fact that three parties with different aims could possibly unite on one particular issue. The Tories are just capitalising on the split for their own electioneering ends.
Funniest thing is that the same SNPers tell you how grown up Holyrood is compared with Westminster. Apparently you have to work with other parties in Holyrood.....

...unless you have a majority, in which case you can take over the committee system, provide the Presiding Officer and do what the f*** you like.

The Scottish Parliament worked quite smoothly with Lab/Lib coalitions which were broadly in agreement with the Labour government.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:30 pm

Has anyone else got a strategy worked out for keeping their equilibrium if the Tories get back in and the SNP achieve their maniacal dream of almost or all Scottish seats ?

The worst thing will be facing the crowing of right wingers rubbing Labour faces in the fact that Scotland helped the Tories win.

Sorry Paul, maybe you can convince me to Hug a Nat. Have you got any positive spin on it ?

Rebecca · Post by **Rebecca** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:31 pm

PorFavor wrote:
Rebecca wrote:
yahyah wrote:When the SNP achieve their one party state and deliver Cameron back into No 10...am I allowed to boycott Scottish raspberries, jam, shortbread etc ?

If their attitude is f*** the rest of us and they don't care if the Tories win, it is hard to feel comradely, particularly when so many seem to be like Claire Robertson.
Ha!I started yesterday,and will not stop .
Used to refuse to buy anything from south Africa,don't do Israel and Scotland has now joined my death list.
Every little helps.
I don't do Israel, either. It's actually quite a tricky act to pull off a lot of the time, isn't it?

Then we get to checking the number of units per bottle of wine,use by dates,fat content,sugar content etc.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:32 pm

The right wing joy at that outcome may be short lived - a minority Tory government staggering on with few Westminster allies would soon be deep in the smelly stuff

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:35 pm

yahyah wrote:Has anyone else got a strategy worked out for keeping their equilibrium if the Tories get back in

No. I was hoping that you had one. (But I don't think we'll need one.)

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:40 pm

Oh FFS !!!

Labour's Karl Turner and Greens candidate Sarah Walpole are not listed on a new batch of postal ballot papers sent out today.

http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2015-0 ... lot-paper/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:41 pm

AnatolyKasparov wrote:The right wing joy at that outcome may be short lived - a minority Tory government staggering on with few Westminster allies would soon be deep in the smelly stuff

Problem is, so would more than a few of us on this board. I consider a Tory victory to be a death sentence for me, ratcheting up the cost of the NHS to the point where I could no longer afford my medication, and ratcheting down my earnings to reach the point even quicker.

Still, it won't worry the 45ers, especially the ones living in Devon and Chicago, one less person for them to carry on the way to their great socialist paradise ... they are going to be so disappointed when they get there and realize they have been sold a pup, and are in worse shit than we are.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:43 pm

Eric_WLothian wrote:
Tubby Isaacs wrote:
Eric_WLothian wrote: I don't see any particular hostility coming from anybody other than independence supporters. They're still unable to grasp the fact that three parties with different aims could possibly unite on one particular issue. The Tories are just capitalising on the split for their own electioneering ends.
Funniest thing is that the same SNPers tell you how grown up Holyrood is compared with Westminster. Apparently you have to work with other parties in Holyrood.....
...unless you have a majority, in which case you can take over the committee system, provide the Presiding Officer and do what the f*** you like.

The Scottish Parliament worked quite smoothly with Lab/Lib coalitions which were broadly in agreement with the Labour government.

Tell me more about the committees.

I don't think checks and balances were exactly built in because it was considered so unlikely that one lot would get a majority.

Post by **letsskiptotheleft** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:45 pm

The Scum jokepaper supports the Tories in the south and the SNP in Scotland, of course when you are taken over by cultist tendencies you see no problem with having such a dilemma, because to them there is none.

Restoring my equilibrium if the Tories get back in? Probably chuck my laptop from a first floor window, become a selfish bitch due to the realisation that people get the governments they deserve.

Spacedone · Post by **Spacedone** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:46 pm

[youtube]RDZm9_uKtyo[/youtube]

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:48 pm

Michael White

David Cameron's dishonest and foolish tax pledge is an insult to voter
Tory ‘tax lock’ promise, called a gimmick by Ed Balls, is symptomatic of a political class which needs to start treating us like adults

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... are_btn_tw

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:55 pm

yahyah wrote:Has anyone else got a strategy worked out for keeping their equilibrium if the Tories get back in and the SNP achieve their maniacal dream of almost or all Scottish seats ?

The worst thing will be facing the crowing of right wingers rubbing Labour faces in the fact that Scotland helped the Tories win.

Sorry Paul, maybe you can convince me to Hug a Nat. Have you got any positive spin on it ?

The Tories can't win.

That's my positive spin!

Whether Scotland votes Labour or SNP, it doesn't matter. It changes nothing for the Tories, as they will still not be able to scrape together enough support to get to a majority (remember the Libdems are set to be wiped out in Scotland too, not just Labour!) and, to a degree, it changes nothing for Labour either because Labour need to win in England & Wales, if they are to brave the storm of media cries of illegitimacy that will accompany any Labour-led government. A collapse in Labour voters tactically voting in Tory/Libdem marginals will let Tories in, but they will also boost Labour's overall vote share and as we appear to be heading for a seriously hung parliament, Labour really need to top vote share and seats in England & Wales if they possibly can and then, whatever happens with the SNP, the Tories will be well and truly stuffed.

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 1:59 pm

pk1 wrote:Oh FFS !!!

Labour's Karl Turner and Greens candidate Sarah Walpole are not listed on a new batch of postal ballot papers sent out today.
http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2015-0 ... lot-paper/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That is simply unacceptable.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:01 pm

Willow904 wrote:
pk1 wrote:Oh FFS !!!

Labour's Karl Turner and Greens candidate Sarah Walpole are not listed on a new batch of postal ballot papers sent out today.
http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2015-0 ... lot-paper/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That is simply unacceptable.

Correct.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:01 pm

Willow904 wrote: The Tories can't win.

That's my positive spin!

Whether Scotland votes Labour or SNP, it doesn't matter. It changes nothing for the Tories, as they will still not be able to scrape together enough support to get to a majority (remember the Libdems are set to be wiped out in Scotland too, not just Labour!) and, to a degree, it changes nothing for Labour either because Labour need to win in England & Wales, if they are to brave the storm of media cries of illegitimacy that will accompany any Labour-led government. A collapse in Labour voters tactically voting in Tory/Libdem marginals will let Tories in, but they will also boost Labour's overall vote share and as we appear to be heading for a seriously hung parliament, Labour really need to top vote share and seats in England & Wales if they possibly can and then, whatever happens with the SNP, the Tories will be well and truly stuffed.

I was just pondering...if Labour calculated that they'd get the SNP's support whatever happened as they couldn't possibly be seen to back the Tories, then is it likely that Miliband stuck Jim Murphy up there to run the campaign deliberately?

"Sorry about that Jim, and you lost your seat too? Ah well, these things happen"
"Phew! that's got rid of another of the New Labour types"

A bit too Machiavellian?

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:03 pm

EM

I'm not looking for euphoria

Trust me Ed, I will be euphoric when you get into No 10 !!

Britain can be better than this !

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:05 pm

PorFavor wrote:
yahyah wrote:Has anyone else got a strategy worked out for keeping their equilibrium if the Tories get back in

No. I was hoping that you had one. (But I don't think we'll need one.)

I don't think we'll need one either.

Eric_WLothian · Post by **Eric_WLothian** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:07 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:
Eric_WLothian wrote:
Tubby Isaacs wrote:
Funniest thing is that the same SNPers tell you how grown up Holyrood is compared with Westminster. Apparently you have to work with other parties in Holyrood.....
...unless you have a majority, in which case you can take over the committee system, provide the Presiding Officer and do what the f*** you like.

The Scottish Parliament worked quite smoothly with Lab/Lib coalitions which were broadly in agreement with the Labour government.
Tell me more about the committees.

I don't think checks and balances were exactly built in because it was considered so unlikely that one lot would get a majority.

There were no checks and balances because the PR system was not expected to give any one party overall power. The multi-party committees were expected to scrutinise the proceedings and investigate / report any shortcomings. Once a committee consists of a majority from the ruling party, it becomes a rubber stamp.

The situation reached a nadir last year when Holyrood’s public audit committee was left in the bizarre situation of publishing two versions of a report on the proposed national police force – one backed by the SNP majority on the committee while the second “minority” report criticised the change. It was claimed a cult of “obedience and slavishness” was developing among SNP-dominated committees.
...The Holyrood committee system was initially a hidden strength of the parliamentary process, the driving force behind landmark legislation and responsible for ground-breaking inquiries. A decade ago, as the crisis in Scotland’s justice system unfolded over the reliability of fingerprint evidence, it was Holyrood’s justice system which seized the moment with a lengthy inquiry revealing the extent of the flaws in the system which were still in place.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/scott-mcna ... -1-3669392

Sharp practice at Holyrood: how the SNP uses committees to push the case for independence
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/benri ... ependence/

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:07 pm

Q: What about Murdoch. Will you change media ownership?

Miliband says he has stood up to Murdoch.
In its manifesto, Labour says it will look at this.

Miliband says Murdoch is “much less powerful than he used to be”.
The British people have more sense than these papers think.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/liv ... rview-live" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yep.

apologies - edited to include Miliband's answer according to Sparrow's blog

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:07 pm

RogerOThornhill wrote:
I was just pondering...if Labour calculated that they'd get the SNP's support whatever happened as they couldn't possibly be seen to back the Tories, then is it likely that Miliband stuck Jim Murphy up there to run the campaign deliberately?

"Sorry about that Jim, and you lost your seat too? Ah well, these things happen"
"Phew! that's got rid of another of the New Labour types"

A bit too Machiavellian?

Ha ! I had the same thought yesterday then I remembered it was an election, not a coronation.

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:09 pm

The owners of a historic London pub who triggered outrage by demolishing it without permission are to be ordered to rebuild it brick by brick.

Council chiefs will next week issue an unprecedented enforcement notice to the firm that owns the Carlton Tavern in Maida Vale requiring it to “recreate in facsimile the building as it stood immediately prior to its demolition”.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/d ... 11892.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:17 pm

pk1 wrote:
The owners of a historic London pub who triggered outrage by demolishing it without permission are to be ordered to rebuild it brick by brick.

Council chiefs will next week issue an unprecedented enforcement notice to the firm that owns the Carlton Tavern in Maida Vale requiring it to “recreate in facsimile the building as it stood immediately prior to its demolition”.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/d ... 11892.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If they couldn't get their proposal past Westminster or persuade Johnson to overrule, it must have been truly shit.

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:21 pm

Caught WATO, the Osborne clip from 2009 was delicious.

The Miliband Brand clip was job well done, things are looking bright again, Scotland notwithstanding.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:23 pm

Eric_WLothian wrote:
Tubby Isaacs wrote:
Eric_WLothian wrote: ...unless you have a majority, in which case you can take over the committee system, provide the Presiding Officer and do what the f*** you like.

The Scottish Parliament worked quite smoothly with Lab/Lib coalitions which were broadly in agreement with the Labour government.
Tell me more about the committees.

I don't think checks and balances were exactly built in because it was considered so unlikely that one lot would get a majority.
There were no checks and balances because the PR system was not expected to give any one party overall power. The multi-party committees were expected to scrutinise the proceedings and investigate / report any shortcomings. Once a committee consists of a majority from the ruling party, it becomes a rubber stamp.

The situation reached a nadir last year when Holyrood’s public audit committee was left in the bizarre situation of publishing two versions of a report on the proposed national police force – one backed by the SNP majority on the committee while the second “minority” report criticised the change. It was claimed a cult of “obedience and slavishness” was developing among SNP-dominated committees.
...The Holyrood committee system was initially a hidden strength of the parliamentary process, the driving force behind landmark legislation and responsible for ground-breaking inquiries. A decade ago, as the crisis in Scotland’s justice system unfolded over the reliability of fingerprint evidence, it was Holyrood’s justice system which seized the moment with a lengthy inquiry revealing the extent of the flaws in the system which were still in place.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/scott-mcna ... -1-3669392

Sharp practice at Holyrood: how the SNP uses committees to push the case for independence
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/benri ... ependence/

Cheers- it's not unknown for committees at Westminster to split on party lines, but there's been lots of good stuff this time. Graham Stuart, for instance, who chairs the Education Committee, is so good you wonder why he then votes for Gove stuff.

I guess it's all in the nature of the SNP- very tightly controlled. Way beyond New Labour, where there were always principled leftists and maverick rightists.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:24 pm

"Phones are ringing off the hook" says @KarlTurnerMP over missing candidates on postal ballot forms. No Green either pic.twitter.com/3i39czUOFD

Oops

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:29 pm

George Eaton ‏@georgeeaton · 5m5 minutes ago
I expect Russell Brand seems like a moderate compared to some of the revolutionaries Miliband debated in his youth. #Milibrand

Reaction on Twitter seems to be positive, looks like this was an awfully good move.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:30 pm

citizenJA wrote:
PorFavor wrote:
yahyah wrote:Has anyone else got a strategy worked out for keeping their equilibrium if the Tories get back in

No. I was hoping that you had one. (But I don't think we'll need one.)
I don't think we'll need one either.

I shall change my signature to:

All hands to the pumps. Batten down hatches. Prepare for enemy action.

[Another of my dads saying when things became a bit rough.]

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:32 pm

@IsabelHardman 20m20 minutes ago
As infuriating as the Russell Brand Ego Show is, I have to say Miliband comes across pretty well in video. Not sucking up, argues back etc.

@georgeeaton 13m13 minutes ago
Miliband's interview with Brand an unambiguous net positive. In tight marginals, youth vote could determine the outcome.

@TheIndyPeople 30m30 minutes ago
The interview with Russell Brand that could well win Ed Miliband the General Election http://ind.pn/1JSlQdS" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

@piersmorgan
Cameron can mock all he likes, but Miliband's @rustyrockets interview was a very smart PR move. Got all the headlines & people talking.

@piersmorgan 6m6 minutes ago
Miliband took huge risk with @rustyrockets stunt & it worked.
What's Cameron done other than whine, vilify & forget his football team?

Tish · Post by **Tish** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:39 pm

Just watched the Brand interview, then saw this posted underneath

"ChirrupForScience
3 minutes ago · Shared publicly
I genuinely didn't care enough to vote and I absolutely wasn't going to vote, but I think Ed Miliband has won me over. The Labour manifesto seems pretty good, and the mere fact that he agreed to do this interview shows he understands Russell's point and the opinions of many of his supporters. Cameron couldn't even give him the time of day and just writes him (and I assume his opinions) off as rubbish."

Only one person, but if even a fraction of the people who watch it think the same, then job well done!

Spacedone · Post by **Spacedone** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:41 pm

TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
George Eaton ‏@georgeeaton · 5m5 minutes ago
I expect Russell Brand seems like a moderate compared to some of the revolutionaries Miliband debated in his youth. #Milibrand
Reaction on Twitter seems to be positive, looks like this was an awfully good move.

I've seen a few from a young people along the lines of "Maybe Miliband will make a decent PM after all."

Rebecca · Post by **Rebecca** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:43 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
citizenJA wrote:
PorFavor wrote:
No. I was hoping that you had one. (But I don't think we'll need one.)
I don't think we'll need one either.
I shall change my signature to:

All hands to the pumps. Batten down hatches. Prepare for enemy action.

[Another of my dads saying when things became a bit rough.]

I am going to buy the latest John Connolly,establish a complete media blackout and eat chocolate.
But,I am begging someone here,pm me if it is safe to poke my head up when the results are known.No way will I be able to sit up and follow it.

Willow904 · Post by **Willow904** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:47 pm

I really enjoyed the Russell Brand / Miliband interview. It's a timely reminder of how poorly served we have been of late in terms of proper political discussion and debate. It was enjoyably spikey, an exchange of views, where airing the issues was more important to both interviewer and interviewee than "winning" or "spinning". We could do with more of this, across the political spectrum. Politics is essentially a philosophical discipline, but somewhere along the way it has been reduced to little more than a retail offer of policies, with a right-wing media scrambling to make the Tories retail offer look more appealing than Labour's. The assumption that "this is it", bar a few tweaks, is a useful contrivance for the right, which likes things as they are and the apathy that follows is exactly what they want. The last thing the Tories want is people talking about how politics can be used to challenge the wealthy elite, how it can be made to serve ordinary people, what needs to be done to redress the imbalance of inequality, because an idea, once it takes hold, is far harder to defeat than one man with one party manifesto.

Spacedone · Post by **Spacedone** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:48 pm

It seems that Dan Hodges wasn't a fan of the interview. I'm shocked, positively shocked I tell you.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:54 pm

Once again an excellent article from Alistair Campbell...

Why Ed was right to see Brand, and why it is Dacre, Murdoch and Cameron who are the real rusty rockets

http://www.alastaircampbell.org/blog/20 ... y-rockets/

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:56 pm

Spacedone wrote:It seems that Dan Hodges wasn't a fan of the interview. I'm shocked, positively shocked I tell you.

He really is a bitter little man isn't he?

Feel like pointing out that D.Miliband got over it so he should too...

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 2:59 pm

Spacedone wrote:
TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
George Eaton ‏@georgeeaton · 5m5 minutes ago
I expect Russell Brand seems like a moderate compared to some of the revolutionaries Miliband debated in his youth. #Milibrand
Reaction on Twitter seems to be positive, looks like this was an awfully good move.
I've seen a few from a young people along the lines of "Maybe Miliband will make a decent PM after all."

It goes very nicely with the #Milifandom surge too.

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 3:04 pm

I have a dilemma if the Tories get in again.

I can't turn to drink because I'm in recovery.
I can't turn to drugs ditto.

I can't march because I can't walk far enough.
I can't riot ditto.

So to save me the agony of having nothing to ease my pain, vote Labour.

Please.

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 3:07 pm

Michael Crick ‏@MichaelLCrick · 2 mins2 minutes ago
250,000 ballot papers now gone missing in stolen printers' van, covering Eastbourne and Hastings seats, and local elections.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 3:10 pm

The New Statesman's election endorsement: why it has to be Labour
Ed Miliband has missed opportunities to broaden his party's appeal, but a vote for Labour is still better than the alternatives.

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/20 ... -be-labour

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 3:13 pm

The case for cuts was a lie. Why does Britain still believe it?
The austerity delusion
by Paul Krugman

http://www.theguardian.com/business/ng- ... y-delusion

So now we're getting all the anti-Tory articles...Where the hell have they been for the last five years?