Friday 1st May

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:29 pm

Rob Freeman ‏@RobFreeman 4m4 minutes ago
.@bbcnews just stated that Kathryn Shuttleworth signed the "Vote tory" small business letter yet is still undecided. Gullible, or bias?

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:30 pm

tinyclanger2 wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
Protestors At Miliband Glasgow Rally.jpg

Iain Martin retweeted
Kayleigh Anne ‏@Ceilidhann 16m16 minutes ago
Kayleigh Anne retweeted Alan Roden
Can't imagine why he wouldn't want to do deals with SNP.
When was the last time there was such concerted, overt hassling of candidates / political party at an election? I haven't been aware of this sort of anger since Thatcher ... anyone?
Arthur Miller's the Crucible but without the Claviceps purpurea theory?

There was an English king who suffered from ergot poisoning but I can't remember which one. Can you put me out of my misery?

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:31 pm

Just had an email from Welsh Labour.

There's a reminder in it that Rhodri Morgan and Welsh Labour ran a minority government here a few years back.

I didn't live in Wales then. Anyone here who did and can remember how things went ?

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:31 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:
pk1 wrote:Catherine Shuttleworth is the Director of Get Savvy Marketing Ltd so I doubt very much that she & the BBC Breakfast lady are one & the same.

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/05822 ... ecretaries" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Let's stick to the facts & not get involved in telling untruths about others, even if they are our political opponents !

Not quite sure what you're alluding to Tubby but the Company name proves my case.

She was on the BBC but not working for them - rather she works for her own company, Savvy Marketing !

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:32 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
tinyclanger2 wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
Protestors At Miliband Glasgow Rally.jpg
When was the last time there was such concerted, overt hassling of candidates / political party at an election? I haven't been aware of this sort of anger since Thatcher ... anyone?
Arthur Miller's the Crucible but without the Claviceps purpurea theory?

You got me there for a moment - had to visit wikipedia (don't worry I wasn't adjusting any biogs of my opponents).
Claviceps purpurea is an ergot fungus that grows on the ears of rye and related cereal and forage plants. Consumption of grains or seeds contaminated with the survival structure of this fungus, the ergot sclerotium, can cause ergotism in humans and other mammals.[1][2] C. purpurea most commonly affects outcrossing species such as rye (its most common host), as well as triticale, wheat and barley. It affects oats only rarely
Do you think it's mass 'ergotism' that's got Scotland going then?

I was trying to hint at some kind of mass hysteria a la Salem without inadvertently having a go at Scottish farming. (Don't want wrath of anyone falling - at least not if I didn't do it on purpose).

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:33 pm

She appears on BBC Breakfast too, but doesn't work for them.

She also signed the Tory small business letter. BBC News reporting with a straight face that she is still "undecided", I'm told.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:36 pm

Really not good enough at all.

Spacedone · Post by **Spacedone** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:39 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:She appears on BBC Breakfast too, but doesn't work for them.

She also signed the Tory small business letter. BBC News reporting with a straight face that she is still "undecided", I'm told.

If she does work for the BBC it certainly seems they've got her on speed-dial as a contributor.

LadyCentauria · Post by **LadyCentauria** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:40 pm

pk1 wrote:Catherine Shuttleworth is the Director of Get Savvy Marketing Ltd so I doubt very much that she & the BBC Breakfast lady are one & the same.

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/05822 ... ecretaries" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Let's stick to the facts & not get involved in telling untruths about others, even if they are our political opponents !

Some confusion appears to have arisen as Catherine Shuttleworth has been a guest on BBC Hereford & Worcester's Malcolm Boyden programme (April 8th) whilst her colleague, Alastair Lockhart, was the guest with business presenter Steph McGovern on BBC Breakfast on April 7th. Savvy Marketing (@savvythinking) tweeted a lot about both appearances and someone's probably scanned/speed-read their twitter stream and got their analysts in a twist...

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:41 pm

Craig Woodhouse retweeted
Conor Pope ‏@Conorpope 3m3 minutes ago
At Labour rally in Glasgow. Protesters outside screaming "scum", "quisling", "Red Tories out" at people and filming us as we go in. Grim.

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:41 pm

yahyah wrote: You may well be right. But some BBC staff have their salaries paid into companies to save paying so much tax ?

May be a set up like that ?

But commend your desire for the truth.
It's easy to go in the wrong direction with these things.

It annoys me no end when opponents lie about each other but for me, I want nothing to do with it. I cannot abide liars & if I thought I was contributing to the general smearing of somebody based on a lie, I would be utterly mortified.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:42 pm

Night all.

Am feeling a little more sanguine about things since this morning.

Really value all your input, from links - the Sky music video was brilliant, the Robin Lustig piece has reassured me, to your views and company. Wouldn't rather spend next Thursday night anywhere else.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:44 pm

Chris Williamson ‏@ChriswMP 1m1 minute ago Tottenham, London
Good luck to everyone joining the badger march in David Cameron's constituency

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:50 pm

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... l-election" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cameron vows not to slash child benefit after earlier failures to rule out cut

I believe him. It's the reducing the budget deficit bit that he's lying about.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:52 pm

The Times of London ‏@thetimes 6m6 minutes ago
UK manufacturing growth slips to seven-month low

Rebalancing, long term economic plan!

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 01 May, 2015 6:57 pm

pk1 wrote:Catherine Shuttleworth is the Director of Get Savvy Marketing Ltd so I doubt very much that she & the BBC Breakfast lady are one & the same.

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/05822 ... ecretaries" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Let's stick to the facts & not get involved in telling untruths about others, even if they are our political opponents !

There are screen shots of her on BBC programmes.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:00 pm

John Harris piece.

Even if the Tories win the battle, they’ve already lost the war for England’s soul
A Cameron victory won’t hide the deep trouble the Conservatives are in. But a party synonymous with people soaked in wealth can rediscover the common touch
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... are_btn_tw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Having read it - against my first and better instinct - I'm now off to do the watering in the greenhouse and cool off.

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:02 pm

PorFavor wrote:
tinyclanger2 wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
Protestors At Miliband Glasgow Rally.jpg
When was the last time there was such concerted, overt hassling of candidates / political party at an election? I haven't been aware of this sort of anger since Thatcher ... anyone?
Arthur Miller's the Crucible but without the Claviceps purpurea theory?
There was an English king who suffered from ergot poisoning but I can't remember which one. Can you put me out of my misery?

According to Snorri Sturluson, in his Heimskringla, King Magnus, son of King Harald Sigurtharson, who was the half brother of Saint King Olaf Haraldsson, died from ergotism shortly after the Battle of Hastings.http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/ergotism" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's pretty out there.

But with the monarchs there was also porphyria I believe.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:02 pm

Goodnight, friends.
love
cJA

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:06 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
pk1 wrote:Catherine Shuttleworth is the Director of Get Savvy Marketing Ltd so I doubt very much that she & the BBC Breakfast lady are one & the same.

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/05822 ... ecretaries" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Let's stick to the facts & not get involved in telling untruths about others, even if they are our political opponents !
There are screen shots of her on BBC programmes.

As a member of BBC staff ?? How often do three BBC presenters appear on the same programme at the same time ?

She was a guest !!

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:09 pm

Can't handle defending a tory against posters on here so I will bid you goodnight but please, stick to the facts & don't get lured into the many lies that circulate on twitter.

We don't like it when it's against one of us, either personally or against our respective political party members/representatives so let's treat others in the same fashion.

Goodnight, all.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:10 pm

Jane Davies ‏@LabourGran 2 hrs2 hours ago
[screen shot of her Twitter appeal on behalf of Conservatives, but I can't transfer it]
#catherineshuttleworth retweeted her followers to sign letter to Cameron which proved to be Tory setup. 'Undecided?'

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:16 pm

graun blog wrote:While hundreds of Nicola Sturgeons spring up in London

what a, frankly, monstrous notion.

onebuttonmonkey · Post by **onebuttonmonkey** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:19 pm

: greg.jpg (20.01 KiB) Viewed 6803 times

So here's the idiotic, patronising, contemptuous bullshit that passes for campaigning from the LibDems round my way. I've contacted the MP, Greg Mulholland, to ask him about his record - so far, no reply. Still, who wants to think about that when we've got the same lies we told in 2010 to peddle, right?

Edit - typos.

mikems · Post by **mikems** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:23 pm

But with the monarchs there was also porphyria I believe.

That's the German lot.

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:26 pm

mikems wrote:
But with the monarchs there was also porphyria I believe.
That's the German lot.

I understand it came originally from Mary Q of S to James I and then George III - but I believe we're going off piste.
I was aiming for mass hysteria. Am genuinely intrigued (as well as appalled) by the nationalist hysteria.

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:26 pm

Tubby Isaacs wrote:http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... l-election

Cameron vows not to slash child benefit after earlier failures to rule out cut
I believe him. It's the reducing the budget deficit bit that he's lying about.

He has made lots of vows.

He made a really big one to Scotland, which he turned into a discussion on EVEL the next morning.

He made some more on the NHS and the protection of people with disabilities too. (Cue Ivan)

So now he has vowed not to "slash" child benefit he will - bribe parents and parents-to-be by making child benefit for the second child as much as it is for the first child, call it a rise (look! I'm keeping my vow!) then remove it for subsequent children; tax it, because he's going to tax DLA/PIP and it's only fair, but it's not a slash (look! I'm keeping my vow!); or freeze it as he intends to freeze all working-age benefits, because that's fair too, but it's not a slash it's just not a rise (look! I'm keeping my vow!).

This is how it works.

Asked about X, you drone on about Y. Asked again about X, you get exasperated and drone on about Y.
Asked about X again, this time quite forcefully, you get furious and insist that X is not the issue.
Asked about X again, this time angrily, you finally concede that X is an issue you really really care about.
Asked about X yet again, this time by lots of people, you agree that X is a jolly important thing.
Asked about X by a clamouring MSM wanting an answer, you say that X will not something people need to worry about.
Finally - when told X is something you must clarify, you say that you will not change X and that's a vow.

In government, you discover that X may be important, but other things are much more important.
You can now tell one of your minions to break the vow, and take all responsibility for it.
When questioned, you sadly point out that had you known about the note left by the previous government, you would never have made that vow but tough decisions must be made and that's it.

onebuttonmonkey · Post by **onebuttonmonkey** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:27 pm

ohsocynical wrote:
pk1 wrote:Catherine Shuttleworth is the Director of Get Savvy Marketing Ltd so I doubt very much that she & the BBC Breakfast lady are one & the same.

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/05822 ... ecretaries" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Let's stick to the facts & not get involved in telling untruths about others, even if they are our political opponents !
There are screen shots of her on BBC programmes.

I said in the other place that whether or not the person asking the question is all that they seem is no excuse for not having a better answer. That's the real problem here.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:27 pm

Two more Tory no shows for hustings- both Milton Keynes MPs.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:30 pm

May2015 Election ‏@May2015NS 2m2 minutes ago
May2015 Election retweeted Martin Robbins
We have it as 322.5 if DUP win Belfast East and 9 seats overall - rounded up to 323 @mjrobbins? Very v close.

Wow, look. You'd think Labour weren't bullshitting about vote SNP get Tory after all!

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:31 pm

onebuttonmonkey wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:
pk1 wrote:Catherine Shuttleworth is the Director of Get Savvy Marketing Ltd so I doubt very much that she & the BBC Breakfast lady are one & the same.

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/05822 ... ecretaries" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Let's stick to the facts & not get involved in telling untruths about others, even if they are our political opponents !
There are screen shots of her on BBC programmes.
I said in the other place that whether or not the person asking the question is all that they seem is no excuse for not having a better answer. That's the real problem here.

Yep.

Mediamacro makes sure a proper answer isn't allowed. It's the same everywhere.

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:32 pm

Goodnight, everyone.

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:33 pm

pk1 wrote:Can't handle defending a tory against posters on here so I will bid you goodnight but please, stick to the facts & don't get lured into the many lies that circulate on twitter.

We don't like it when it's against one of us, either personally or against our respective political party members/representatives so let's treat others in the same fashion.

Goodnight, all.

Indeed.

Ms.Shuttleworth appears to have chosen to represent herself as an undecided voter, despite supporting the Tories by signing their letter.

But a member of the BBC staff she ain't.

She is one of many people who is asked to comment on BBC news programmes; there is one owner of treatment centres who is continually asked to comment whenever drug/alcohol issues come up for discussion (which annoys the hell out of me).

TV channels have little black books of people who can be relied upon to turn up and pontificate on their sofas. If you watch as much news as I do, you see the same "analysts" and "experts" trotted out time and time again.

Polyfilla.

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:45 pm

onebuttonmonkey wrote:
ohsocynical wrote:
pk1 wrote:Catherine Shuttleworth is the Director of Get Savvy Marketing Ltd so I doubt very much that she & the BBC Breakfast lady are one & the same.

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/05822 ... ecretaries" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Let's stick to the facts & not get involved in telling untruths about others, even if they are our political opponents !
There are screen shots of her on BBC programmes.
I said in the other place that whether or not the person asking the question is all that they seem is no excuse for not having a better answer. That's the real problem here.

Is there a good answer to a question like that?

howsillyofme1 · Post by **howsillyofme1** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:45 pm

Evening

Sorry pk1 but there are questions here - perhaps the woman was not an employee of the BBC but she has appeared fairly frequently on BBC shows in a pseudo-professional capacity.

She did start a business with a Tory MP and she did sign probably the worst piece of propaganda that we have ever seen in an election campaign: then she appears on a BBC show as an 'undecided' and is given the right to shout partisan nonsense at Miliband

The Tories seem to have their slimy tentacles in everywhere; from the bulk of the press, to the BBC, to the polling companies and, despite running the worst and most negative political campaign, they seem to be getting away with it

Just imagine what it will be like when we have the Labour Party in power supported by nationalists, Greens and a few LD dissidents.....the howls of illegitimacy will come from those vested interests like nothing we have heard before

Us on the left are going to have to stop bitching with one another and take on these bastards.....and if Labour is in power again it has to be radical and brave. Take on these vested interests and bring them down a peg or two and put, us, the people back in control of our country (if we ever where)

Are you saying that it is not just a bit strange that someone with that background was not picked up as being partisan; and also that she was not the only one who seemed to have very close links to the Tory Party but seems to be undergoing some sort of incertitude about who to vote for in this closest of elections

These blatant attempts to set the agenda by the media - always in the favour of the Tories I may add - make me distrust anything I read and hear

onebuttonmonkey · Post by **onebuttonmonkey** » Fri 01 May, 2015 7:58 pm

TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
onebuttonmonkey wrote:
ohsocynical wrote: There are screen shots of her on BBC programmes.
I said in the other place that whether or not the person asking the question is all that they seem is no excuse for not having a better answer. That's the real problem here.
Is there a good answer to a question like that?

If you intend to win an election, yes. Or a good way of not answering it.

So I don't disagree that the Tories setting the agenda by appearing to place it in ordinary people's mouths is disingenuous - she does dispute this, by the way, whether that's worth anything. But the point remains: Labour are being attacked on two co-ordinated lines: the crap letter joke and the overspending myth. People like us can answer these questions - but we're not trapped by the narrative and by not fighting these battles for years.

And the point remains, whoever asked that question, the answer should be a good one. Whether it's a plant or an ordinary person doesn't make any difference to the quality of the answer. Getting angry about the status of the person asking it doesn't make the failure to answer any better.

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Fri 01 May, 2015 8:07 pm

onebuttonmonkey wrote:
TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
onebuttonmonkey wrote: I said in the other place that whether or not the person asking the question is all that they seem is no excuse for not having a better answer. That's the real problem here.
Is there a good answer to a question like that?
If you intend to win an election, yes. Or a good way of not answering it.

So I don't disagree that the Tories setting the agenda by appearing to place it in ordinary people's mouths is disingenuous - she does dispute this, by the way, whether that's worth anything. But the point remains: Labour are being attacked on two co-ordinated lines: the crap letter joke and the overspending myth. People like us can answer these questions - but we're not trapped by the narrative and by not fighting these battles for years.

And the point remains, whoever asked that question, the answer should be a good one. Whether it's a plant or an ordinary person doesn't make any difference to the quality of the answer. Getting angry about the status of the person asking it doesn't make the failure to answer any better.

So what would you have said in his place, given that it wasn't a real question just a cheap shot, and that she was unlikely to accept any answer he gave for that very reason?

onebuttonmonkey · Post by **onebuttonmonkey** » Fri 01 May, 2015 8:14 pm

TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
onebuttonmonkey wrote:
TheGrimSqueaker wrote: Is there a good answer to a question like that?
If you intend to win an election, yes. Or a good way of not answering it.

So I don't disagree that the Tories setting the agenda by appearing to place it in ordinary people's mouths is disingenuous - she does dispute this, by the way, whether that's worth anything. But the point remains: Labour are being attacked on two co-ordinated lines: the crap letter joke and the overspending myth. People like us can answer these questions - but we're not trapped by the narrative and by not fighting these battles for years.

And the point remains, whoever asked that question, the answer should be a good one. Whether it's a plant or an ordinary person doesn't make any difference to the quality of the answer. Getting angry about the status of the person asking it doesn't make the failure to answer any better.
So what would you have said in his place, given that it wasn't a real question just a cheap shot, and that she was unlikely to accept any answer he gave for that very reason?

Isn't the point not whether he convinced her but whether he sounded convincing to everyone else?

And since when did the cheapness of a shot mean that it didn't have to be defended?

I'm not sure that what my answer would have been matters, given I'm not trying to stand for election. But I might have wanted to point out that, if we're talking about trust and about reputation, that it was the same as a Conservative chancellor had done on the 60s, that the fact it was a bad joke didn't mean we don't take the situation seriously, that, if we want to look at who can be trusted, what about those using the accusations as an insult - with a few examples. There's a serious election to be fought, and using stunts like this just avoids having a conversation about our records.

My real issue is with the Greece/austerity question. But, you know, as I say, it's not me trying to be PM. For the record, the format was lousy and no one did particularly well. That's not the fault of the people asking the questions, though, whoever they do or don't support. i find the attempt to savage her somewhat demeaning - after all, had it been the other way round or at the expense of a different party, she'd be being celebrated.

EDIT: Adding - I'm not saying the way she acted was reasonable. But again, plenty of voters aren't. It's no excuse for not handling the situation better; the attention given to her just shows that her attack worked.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 01 May, 2015 8:22 pm

Faisal Islam retweeted
joncraigSKY @joncraig · 44m 44 minutes ago
Scots Lab's Jim Murphy just made best speech I've heard him make in this election campaign at Ed Miliband rally in Glasgow. Witty, punchy.

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Fri 01 May, 2015 8:24 pm

onebuttonmonkey wrote:Isn't the point not whether he convinced her but whether he sounded convincing to everyone else?

I don't know, you tell me? It was an ambush question, yes he should have answered it better, but you've had 24 hours to come up with an answer and still can't.

That question was unanswerable. It is an integral part of the Big Lie and, you're right, that boil should have been lanced years ago; but firstly is a touch tricky to do that when the entirety of the MSM are perpetuating it the myth, secondly I doubt anybody with any degree of political sophistication believes it anyway (including Ms Shuttleworth) and thirdly anybody outside of that Bubble is unlikely to give the proverbial toss.

And, yes, of course it matters that she was a plant, if only because it proves I'm right with 'firstly'.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 01 May, 2015 8:27 pm

Latest from the G politics blog:

Nicola Sturgeon has said the SNP would vote down a Labour budget.

TechnicalEphemera · Post by **TechnicalEphemera** » Fri 01 May, 2015 8:29 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:Latest from the G politics blog:
Nicola Sturgeon has said the SNP would vote down a Labour budget.

Oh no she wouldn't - and she knows it.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Fri 01 May, 2015 8:34 pm

: Late Swap of Party.jpg (65.02 KiB) Viewed 9930 times

Karl Turner retweeted
David Prescott ‏@DavidPrescott 2h2 hours ago
Proud to welcome West Lindsey @LibDems Councillor Mark Binns to the Labour Party #LabourGAINsborough #GE2015

He's left it rather late, hasn't he? If he's standing in the local elections that is.

onebuttonmonkey · Post by **onebuttonmonkey** » Fri 01 May, 2015 8:34 pm

TheGrimSqueaker wrote:
onebuttonmonkey wrote:Isn't the point not whether he convinced her but whether he sounded convincing to everyone else?
I don't know, you tell me? It was an ambush question, yes he should have answered it better, but you've had 24 hours to come up with an answer and still can't.

That question was unanswerable. It is an integral part of the Big Lie and, you're right, that boil should have been lanced years ago; but firstly is a touch tricky to do that when the entirety of the MSM are perpetuating it the myth, secondly I doubt anybody with any degree of political sophistication believes it anyway (including Ms Shuttleworth) and thirdly anybody outside of that Bubble is unlikely to give the proverbial toss.

And, yes, of course it matters that she was a plant, if only because it proves I'm right with 'firstly'.

An ambush? In an election campaign? An ambush that followed the exact same attack line that had been used every day? If only someone could have seen it coming... oh. Erm. right.

The whole point of seeking election is you either can answer the question or you find a way to get away with not answering it. Whether I have that skill only matters if I'm the leader - and, away from the diversion, the real question is whether Ed Miliband manged it. It is disappointing he didn't, given that the two biggest and most obvious bombs he has to diffuse are the crap economy prop and the crap economy question. If you think the non-answer is less disappointing because some other people who aren't him also can't answer it, then you're welcome to a very cheap form of consolation. The front bench of the Labour party have spent five years not fighting a narrative they now can't answer. That is a tragedy regardless of who challenges them on it.

it matters to the reputation of the Tories if they planted her. But that's a different question entirely to whether the question was answered well in the view of those who don't already support Ed Miliband. I know a lot of people who've said, "yes, but I don't care who she is, why can't he answer the question?" If Ed had answered it, no one would care. A lot of people in Labour only care who she is because a very predictable ambush was very badly handled.

It's not the biggest issue. And as it is, I think the question's crap. But that doesn't mean Labour can convince people who aren't me without being able to look like they can handle it. And all the "she is a one of them" doesn't change that.

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Fri 01 May, 2015 8:35 pm

Laura Kuenssberg ✔@bbclaurak
Sturgeon tells @BBCScotlandNews tonight SNP would in theory vote down a Labour budget but it wdn't sink the govt

Am very much hoping that this isn't really what Scotland wants.
We have real problems to sort out. Anyone wanting to create just a different set of squirrels to distract us from saving lives and improving the quality for others, cannot really have their people's interest at heart.

Tubby Isaacs · Post by **Tubby Isaacs** » Fri 01 May, 2015 8:37 pm

tinyclanger2 wrote:
Laura Kuenssberg ✔@bbclaurak
Sturgeon tells @BBCScotlandNews tonight SNP would in theory vote down a Labour budget but it wdn't sink the govt
Am very much hoping that this isn't really what Scotland wants.
We have real problems to sort out. Anyone wanting to create just a different set of squirrels to distract us from saving lives and improving the quality for others, cannot really have their people's interest at heart.

Think she's within her rights there. It's basically stating what leverage she has.

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Fri 01 May, 2015 8:41 pm

But having and using leverage does not equal having anyone else's interests at heart

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 01 May, 2015 8:48 pm

Dr Éoin Clarke ‏@LabourEoin 4 hrs4 hours ago
Last 4 political polls are.

Panel Base - Labour lead 2%
YouGov - Labour lead 1%
Populus - Tory & Labour level
Survation - Labour lead by 2%

onebuttonmonkey · Post by **onebuttonmonkey** » Fri 01 May, 2015 8:48 pm

tinyclanger2 wrote:But having and using leverage does not equal having anyone else's interests at heart

Neither does it mean they don't.

We are in a ludicrous situation where the rest of the country is using the SNP as the kind of football they've used Westminster as, when it suited them. If the people of Scotland choose to vote SNP and elect SNP MPs to Westminster and make them the third biggest party, then those MPs have every right to be heard. It would be undemocratic to deny their voices, especially to try and further our own partial agenda.

i detest the SNP - hate them and think they are as blue as the Tories and as shortsighted as the Kippers. Democracy doesn't change because I dislike their choice, though. *sigh*

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Fri 01 May, 2015 8:50 pm

Russell Brand ‏@rustyrockets 3 hrs3 hours ago

We held back the best bit of Milibrand. Watch trew election conclusion Monday " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …