General Election 2015

[LJS]

and that "main response" is a link to a vacuous blog that completely ignores the fact of Scotland's fucked finances.

...& of course we have had some discussion around this on the Dirtindy thread which seems to me the sensy place to discuss it. I know it is relevant to the GE but it sense daft to have the same chat going on in 2 threads.

[LJS]

Good to see Mikey Give keeping his sense of humour..

"General election 2015

Michael Gove: Tories must show they are 'warriors for the dispossessed'

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/13/michael-gove-tories-must-show-warriors-for-dispossessed

[5co77ie]

UKippers are the monster ravig loony party and i claim my £5

http://www.rtcc.org/2015/03/12/cutting-carbon-emissions-will-cause-crops-to-die-warn-ukip/

[LJS]

UKippers are the monster ravig loony party and i claim my £5

http://www.rtcc.org/2015/03/12/cutting-carbon-emissions-will-cause-crops-to-die-warn-ukip/

A tad unfair on the monster raving loonies in my view.

[eFestivals]

...& of course we have had some discussion around this on the Dirtindy thread which seems to me the sensy place to discuss it. I know it is relevant to the GE but it sense daft to have the same chat going on in 2 threads.

I agree, it should be kept to the indie thread.

But when you drop in this thread that you've "addressed" something when that haven't, I'll point out those porkies.

[eFestivals]

UKippers are the monster ravig loony party and i claim my £5

http://www.rtcc.org/2015/03/12/cutting-carbon-emissions-will-cause-crops-to-die-warn-ukip/

for bigger laughs from bigger loonies, follow Scottish politics.

[5co77ie]

having watched Newsnight last night the DUP are just as nuts! If people like Nigel Dodds hold the balance of power in Parliament we're fucked

[eFestivals]

having watched Newsnight last night the DUP are just as nuts! If people like Nigel Dodds hold the balance of power in Parliament we're fucked

actually, the DUP terms set out the other day were pretty fair. I was rather shocked that they weren't fruitcake.

[5co77ie]

Tories sell off NHS for £780 million

http://rt.com/uk/240029-nhs-privatisation-agreement-largest/

[eFestivals]

Tories sell off NHS for £780 million

http://rt.com/uk/240029-nhs-privatisation-agreement-largest/

while I'm not making any comment on whether that story is true or not, NEVER EVER believe Putin's mouthpiece.

You'd have more chance of referencing the truth by taking the word of UKIP.

Edited March 13, 2015 by eFestivals

[kemosabe]

Tories sell off NHS for £780 million

http://rt.com/uk/240029-nhs-privatisation-agreement-largest/

Its was already sold off with The Health and Social Care Act of 2012 which is starting to come into effect in the next few years.

[5co77ie]

while I'm not making any comment on whether that story is true or not, NEVER EVER believe Putin's mouthpiece.

You'd have more chance of referencing the truth by taking the word of UKIP.

The only place the story was reported was The Mirror and I'm not linking to that - so it just left RT.

[krisskross]

The only place the story was reported was The Mirror and I'm not linking to that - so it just left RT.

Its almost word for word in the guardian too.

[5co77ie]

Its almost word for word in the guardian too.

that's just appeared in my google links:

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/12/nhs-agrees-largest-ever-privatisation-deal-to-tackle-backlog

[LJS]

[LJS]

Today's UKip faux pas

Humza Yousaf has called on a UKIP MEP to resign after the Scottish government minister was reportedly compared to a convicted terrorist.

In a newspaper interview, David Coburn is alleged to have said: "Humza Yousaf, or as I call him, Abu Hamza".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-31886415

Ukip's defence of David Coburn is priceless

However, UKIP's Scottish chairman, Arthur Misty Thackeray, denied the comparison had been made, and said his colleague had made a "slip of the tongue" and "got a name wrong".

He added: "He simply got a name wrong, which many people do on a daily basis.

"For example, I very often get referred to as Minty, which I believe is a character from EastEnders, but I don't take offence at that and run greeting to the papers about Mistyphobia."

Mistyphobia. brilliant!!

[Ted Dansons Wig]

Tories sell off NHS for £780 million

http://rt.com/uk/240029-nhs-privatisation-agreement-largest/

Another nail in the coffin of acute and chronic care. We get one more vote to try to at least slow it down

[Ted Dansons Wig]

Its was already sold off with The Health and Social Care Act of 2012 which is starting to come into effect in the next few years.

It was sold off a long time ago (or the conditions were created to allow it). The 2014 act (assume we're talking about the same one) in the longer term has the potential to increase pressure on local authorities to provide more services not less. The access of support to people currently self funding next month means those self funders will start to question why they are paying so much for their care when LA's have the clout to get the prices down for the ones they fund. Then the private sector residential and nursing care market will struggle as there is downward pressure on their bed/room charges. Then theres only the LA to step in and provide the support if the market shrinks/ collapses.

Its no coincidence that at least one of the big outsourcers is gearing up to provide a major extra care and residential care building service for local authorities.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Ted Dansons Wig

[gary1979666]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2995749/We-just-shook-Ed-Balls-ambushes-George-Osborne-live-TV-force-agree-Chancellors-debate.html

This one made me chuckle. You can imagine Dave on Sunday morning watching Andrew Marr......."GIDEONNNNNNN!!!!!"

[5co77ie]

just out of interest how many people are having to vote against their own political persuasion to get a local politician in power more aligned to their politics?

[kaosmark2]

just out of interest how many people are having to vote against their own political persuasion to get a local politician in power more aligned to their politics?

Virtually everyone I know except those in my constituency.

In my constituency, virtually noone has decided whether to vote Green or Labour.

[5co77ie]

Virtually everyone I know except those in my constituency.

In my constituency, virtually noone has decided whether to vote Green or Labour.

which is why I don't think national party politics works, there's no point watching the interviews - when the real fight is between your local politicians and their beliefs about what they'll do on a local level.

[eFestivals]

Balls isn't exactly a great debater... Might blow up in his face this one...

he's up against Gideon. He's not taken on a hard task.

[krisskross]

just out of interest how many people are having to vote against their own political persuasion to get a local politician in power more aligned to their politics?

It looks to be a close run thing in Wood Green. Labour polling just above the Lib Dems who won last time. Gordon, the green party candidate says 'I support positive action to get more women MPs', so it'd be a shame to vote out a female MP and get him, so It'll be labour for me.

[gary1979666]

Latest on the debates:

The prime minister threw his weight behind new BBC proposals for a debate on April 2 in which he would join the leaders of Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Ukip as well as the Greens, SNP and Plaid Cymru. Mr Cameron had previously resisted such a move.

Under the new plan, a one-on-one debate between Mr Cameron and Mr Miliband would be ditched and replaced with a Question Time-style programme on April 30. This would see Mr Cameron, Mr Miliband and Nick Clegg have consecutive half-hour appearances in front of an audience hosted by David Dimbleby.

In addition, Mr Cameron signed up to a programme in which he and Mr Miliband would be interviewed by Jeremy Paxman and then questioned by a studio audience in a Sky/Channel 4 special on March 26, an event in which the two men would not share the stage.

The revised plan, which cuts Ukip out of the final TV programme despite Ofcom’s decision that it must be re-garded as a “major party” during the election, was put forward privately by the BBC before the weekend. Separately, on April 16 there would be a challengers’ special involving the SNP, Ukip, Plaid Cymru and the Greens.

Gotta love the below quote from Cameron - can't believe he has the nerve to say it!

He added: “The other parties have now got to stop running away from this and agree to the debate that the broadcasters have now suggested.”