Thursday 21st May 2015

[danesclose]

Evening all. With the train strike being called off on Monday, what right do the freeloading bastards at Virgin have to cancel services?
A number of friends of mine were planning to travel from Middlesbrough to Wembley for the Championship play off final on Monday, and now have to make expensive alternative arrangements

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32812606

[citizenJA]

Evening all. With the train strike being called off on Monday, what right do the freeloading bastards at Virgin have to cancel services?
A number of friends of mine were planning to travel from Middlesbrough to Wembley for the Championship play off final on Monday, and now have to make expensive alternative arrangements

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32812606

Send Virgin the bill.

[citizenJA]

Watch out, immigrants: Cameron is coming
- John Crace

If you want a job done well, do it yourself. That’s the message the prime minister had taken from the latest figures showing that net migration was stubbornly continuing to disobey his instructions. When the going gets tough, David Cameron rolls up his sleeves and gets going to deport a few illegal immigrants in person.

Some sixth sense drew him to Ealing and on his first raid he struck gold. Five or six illegals rounded up and put on a plane before you could write a new immigration policy. But only just.

Several hours later, he was in the atrium of the Home Office for the first meeting of the One Nation Conservative Soviet.

Junior ministers from various departments had been bussed in to fill up the front row of seats with fixed smiles and enthusiastic applause to hear what new policy their party leader had come up with on the way back from west London.

At the last minute, an apparatchik noticed that a lot fewer members of the media had turned up than expected. We were into a Code Red Empty Chair situation. Dave must never be televised in front of anything less than a full house and so a coachload of detainees were hurriedly summoned from the nearest detention centre.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... of-the-way" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

John Crace describing a 21st century PR masterpiece called callmedave

[seeingclearly]

1h ago14:04

[Liz] Kendall says the problem the Labour’s proposed energy price freeze was that people did not believe it.[sic] (Politics Blog, Guardian)

Really?

I've had a fair few links come through intimating that by this time next year there'll be a lot of people desperately wishing they'd have done the sensible thing and voted Labour. I hit a thread about E-on and how CAB was heralding their new smart meter effort that reduces the excess poorer people pay for their fuel, it brings it to the normal tariff. There were a few who suddenly remembered when I pointed out that we used to have a social tariff that made fuel significantly cheaper. But they'd accepted that it was ok to pay more! But they had to be reminded. That was five years ago, but it might as well have been fifty. If TCC isn't gone by then, next spring, I think things will start suddenly swimming into focus as the smoke UD talks about clears.

[citizenJA]

Andy Burnham - Cambridge
Yvette Cooper - Oxford
Liz Kendall - Cambridge
Mary Creagh - Oxford
Tristram Hunt - Cambridge

So representing a good 0.5 % of the population right there

Some of them actually earned their places rather than got there through guaranteed places to public schoolboys.

By extension you could say that no university graduate should be leader because most people don't go to uni.

Yeah, I'm glad you've brought this up, RobertSnozers.
Those are really good schools, you know?
More people should have access to that kind of quality education, true.
Ed Miliband went to Oxford.

[RogerOThornhill]

Andy Burnham - Cambridge
Yvette Cooper - Oxford
Liz Kendall - Cambridge
Mary Creagh - Oxford
Tristram Hunt - Cambridge

So representing a good 0.5 % of the population right there

Hopeless isn't it.

At least 4/5ths didn't do PPE...

[citizenJA]

Andy Burnham rules out union funding in bid for Labour leadership

“What I have decided is a risk, but it is a sign of my confidence and openness that this contest is conducted in the right way. If I take no money from the unions, I am not dependent on them and that will put me in a stronger position to defend unions and to defend the union link in the future, which I intend to do.”

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... ership-bid" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm so confused.

[AnatolyKasparov]

I think its a smart move, personally.

[RogerOThornhill]

Watching QT, we've just had Nicky Morgan trumpeting the "We had 2m more apprentices" stuff which we now know is utter bollocks.

Owen Jones and Stella Creasy both doing well. Morgan struggling.

[LadyCentauria]

Andy Burnham rules out union funding in bid for Labour leadership

“What I have decided is a risk, but it is a sign of my confidence and openness that this contest is conducted in the right way. If I take no money from the unions, I am not dependent on them and that will put me in a stronger position to defend unions and to defend the union link in the future, which I intend to do.”

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... ership-bid" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm so confused.

So that he can defend the unions and the union links to political parties without being 'in the union's pocket' by being funded directly by unions himself, cJA. That makes sense to me.

[AnatolyKasparov]

Watching QT, we've just had Nicky Morgan trumpeting the "We had 2m more apprentices" stuff which we now know is utter bollocks.

Owen Jones and Stella Creasy both doing well. Morgan struggling.

Jones is a bit marmite and all, but I wouldn't mind seeing him trying to become a Labour MP - the "authentic" left of the party needs new blood.

Stella impressing again, then - no surprise

[TechnicalEphemera]

Andy Burnham - Cambridge
Yvette Cooper - Oxford
Liz Kendall - Cambridge
Mary Creagh - Oxford
Tristram Hunt - Cambridge

So representing a good 0.5 % of the population right there

Some of them actually earned their places rather than got there through guaranteed places to public schoolboys.

By extension you could say that no university graduate should be leader because most people don't go to uni.

The point is not some of them went to Oxbridge, the point is they all did. They are not normal Universities, it would be nice to have a wider field. Even Warwick, Manchester or Bristol would be an improvement, still pretty elite but a different perspective.

[RogerOThornhill]

There's something odd going on with inspections of free schools this year.

Three Ofsted inspections into free schools published in election run-up – compared to 10 last year

http://schoolsweek.co.uk/three-ofsted-i ... last-year/

But the latest ones aren't the oddest thing. Here's the number of inspections up to May for each year of opening.

2011-12....23.....8
2012-13....57....42
2013-14....94....10

So we have 37 more schools opened in Sept 2013 than the year before but the numbers inspected by this time of year has reduced by 32.

Is that completely random? I'd say it wasn't. Deliberate policy not to inspect before the election?

[seeingclearly]

Andy Burnham - Cambridge
Yvette Cooper - Oxford
Liz Kendall - Cambridge
Mary Creagh - Oxford
Tristram Hunt - Cambridge

So representing a good 0.5 % of the population right there

And this is everything the electorate is seething about. There's a nice young woman who won a seat in Bristol somewhere, unusual name I can't remember, but she's a local person who put herself forward to be a labour candidate. One of the comments about her, was 'she looks normal'. Meaning I believe not made over tarted up primped for the media. This same young woman gave a short account of being inducted into parliament, and all the instructional stuff and the time tabling and so on. As I read I kept hoping she'd hang on to the qualities that she got elected for, and would stay real and normal. And at least she wasn't Oxbridge. People really are offended by that, and even when I point out that not everyone who goes there is posh, it's clearly not convincing to people who want representation by people like themselves, ordinary people, who know what it's like to live on not much, and who don't expect perks for doing what at the end of the day is a job they are getting paid fairly well to do.

[LadyCentauria]

The more I hear Stella Creasy the more I like her. Perhaps as Deputy Leader she'd be in a stronger position, if we can win in 2020, to move up to Leader thereafter. I'd agree that Owen Jones could make a good MP, could he but be persuaded to stand.

Oh dear, chap in audience says they have to wait up to 4 weeks for an appointment in his local GP practise which has 6 GPs in it. He believes the Conservatives can deliver 7 day GP services...

[citizenJA]

I think its a smart move, personally.

I'm okay with it.
Remarkable.
Below the line, Burnham was accused of accepting union money though he was doing the opposite.
!!!!

goodnight, everyone
wonderful conversations here today
love
cJA

[LadyCentauria]

Goodnight, cJA. You're right, wonderful conversations today

[LadyCentauria]

Tim Farron standing up for strong unions in workplaces, collective bargaining, etc., but criticising over-powerful union leaders.

[seeingclearly]

Yes, great reading today with some high peaks. Especially liked the what people want bit, John Mann, and though I can't exactly like it the thought of TCC of the sixth sense was enough to make me snort!

I'm still worried about those 21-25 year olds who no one will mention, perhaps because I have one, and I guess the one thing few people mention, even when talking about what we really want is the freedom to find what is best for us, without the state shoving us from behind. My brothers generation missed out on falling straight into work after leaving college. They did a bit here and there as they could and found a personal way through by the time they were 26 or 27. There was enough leeway for them to be not damaged by not finding full time work early. Most did a few jobs one of which was something fulfilling. They all went on to do well. Because I think they had that little bit spare, enough to get to a gig or their local, or visit someone in another town, or just to fill their car up and point it somewhere and just go. I think this is something vital, a sense of personal freedom, and that people are damaged in its absence. So to the minimal things which you together identified as 'what people really want' I'd add that ephemeral thing, a sense of personal freedom.

Thanks all, and good night, reading here shows me we can still have hope.

[seeingclearly]

TGS, glad of your good news.

[rebeccariots2]

Nicky Morgan on QT embarrassing.

I think 'hypno dog' had got at her beforehand myself - she didn't seem able to snap herself out of staring eyes mode.

[LadyCentauria]

Goodnight, @seeingclearly – totally agree with you!

@rr2: she was, wasn't she!?
Edit: formatting, as usual. Bumboils™

[Hobiejoe]

I was ambling around t'interwebs, and I found this. From the BBC. How utterly, utterly depressing.

You don't have to click on it, in fact I'd strongly suggest you don't. I've seen it, and my will to live is gathering in a little pool right by the drain that I noticed needing clearing out last week.

[Hobiejoe]

I was ambling around t'interwebs, and I found this. From the BBC. How utterly, utterly depressing.

You don't have to click on it, in fact I'd strongly suggest you don't. I've seen it, and my will to live is gathering in a little pool right by the drain that I noticed needing clearing out last week.

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/201505 ... f-the-rich

The BBC, remember, the BBC. What has become of us?

[LadyCentauria]

Since I was watching the Sky newspaper review I thought I'd put the time to good use by commentating on it here. The host asked Bob Roberts (former Labour advisor,) at the start of the segment, where Labour went wrong and he says they didn't, they were just hit by the double-whammy of the rise of rampant Scottish Nationalism taking almost all of Scotland's Westminster seats from them plus a combination of the rise of English Nationalism and unwarranted fear of the power of the SNP (which could never really be very powerful in Westminster anyway just on sheer numbers.) Any perceived fault could only be being unprepared for something unforeseen so you can't prepare for it. The polls all turned out to be totally unreliable in those circumstances and, although the Conservatives pushed the fear factor they were just as shocked at the actual results as Labour were, although much happier about it. He wouldn't be drawn on the candidates for the leadership, so they turned to the papers.

The Sun 'newspaper' Has McCluskey's head on a dodo's body with headline 'Red as a Dodo' and subheading of "Evolve or die, says Liz"...
Mail has 'Migrant Tsunami' with the earth surrounded and overwhelmed by waves. As a sidebar on that they have "Don't take us for fools, PM" saying his 'new powers' announced yesterday were little more than a stunt.
Interesting watching Bob Roberts and Jenny Kleeman taking those apart
Telegraph has a demand to tax sugar/sugary foods, "Tax sugar to pay for tackling obesity," is the headline on their front page.
The Times has an article on "Genetic key to prostate cancer will help save thousands of lives."
Mail also has, "We're going to need a MUCH bigger boat!" - their annual story of sharks off the Cornish coast with a picture of a boat and of a 'really fierce-looking' shark, completely out of scale to the boat...