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Quote of the day. Gordon Brown.
2008-06-10 00:13:00
Iain Dale has posted about Andrew Rawnsley's demolition job on Gordon Brown on Channel 4. In the comments Shaun came out with today's Quote of the day:I do believe the fat lady just cleared her throat...
More About: Quote Of The Day , Blogging , Gordon Brown

Populus poll gives 20 point Conservative lead.
2008-06-09 23:55:00
From the Times:Public support for Labour and Gordon Brown continues to plunge to new lows with the Prime Minister's leadership rating falling to a level even below that suffered by Iain Duncan Smith according to a new poll for The Times.Labour?s rating has dropped by 4 points since early May to 25 per cent, with the Conservative s up 5 points to 45 per cent. This is by far the worst Labour position since 1997 and the best Tory one. The Liberal Democrats are up one point at 20 per cent, according to the Populus poll. Only three-fifths of those who voted Labour in 2005 say they would do so now, compared with 95 per cent of Tories staying loyal. Almost one in five of those who voted Labour in 2005 say they would vote Tory in an election now. Moreover, Mr Brown has lost the benefit of the doubt of voters. His leader rating (on a 0 to 10 scale of very bad to very good) has fallen for the fifth time running, down from a peak of 5.49 last July to 3.9 now. This is lower any of the other sev...
More About: Poll , Polls

Uk Troops to be out of Iraq by end of year - ish.
2008-06-09 23:03:00
The BBC reports:The final withdrawal of British troops from Iraq could be announced by the end of the year.So what are they saying? Well, they are not saying it will be announced, only that it could. And even then they are saying that the announcement could be made by the end of the year - NOT that troops could be withdrawn by the end of the year. The government could announce that troops will be withdrawn in five years time - by the end of the year. I've got to ask - are the government paying the BBC to come out with this crap to try and save Gordon Brown 's neck?Also in the news:Moon monkeys could fly out of my arse by the end of the year.My pear tree could produce solid gold pears by the end of the year.Gordon Brown could make a decision by the end of the year.Guido Fawkes could link to me by the end of the year.Nick Clegg could explain his position on the Lisbon Treaty by the end of the year.UPDATE: Guido has linked to me - I guess the BBC could be right after all. Cheers Guido!
More About: Labour , Troops , Year

Ireland's Referendum on the Lisbon Treaty this Thursday - Videos.
2008-06-09 19:49:00
If you are Irish, please watch these videos before voting in the referendum on Thursday - half a billion people who are not allowed a vote are depending on you.If you have an hour or so to spare and want to more detail about the Treaty and how it will change Ireland if ratified, Click HERE to watch the video "End of Nations".
More About: Videos , Lisbon , Referendum

English votes on English matters - Unique Powers.
2008-06-09 11:07:00
Why is the question of English votes on English matters so difficult to sort out? We've had Malcolm Rifkind's Grand Committee, which it is argued will only add another layer of government. Now after a lengthy process Ken Clarke comes up with another bloody stupid idea.From the Telegraph: He (Ken Clarke) is said to have advised allowing all MPs to vote on English legislation at the initial second reading stage of parliamentary scrutiny. But only English MPs would get to vote during the detailed committee stage of the legislative process, where real changes can be effected. At the third and final reading, all MPs could once again vote, but a new parliamentary undertaking would prevent any party using Scottish votes to block amendments made by English MPs.Why oh why can't we just stop Scottish MPs voting in England on any matter that would normally be devolved to Scotland ? In other words - any subject that English MPs are not allowed to vote on in Scotland. Surely that would be a f...
More About: Unique , Matters

Stuart Wheeler takes Government to court over Lisbon Treaty.
2008-06-09 08:00:00
Stuart Wheeler gets his day in court today. He intends to prove that Gordon Brown's refusal to allow us the referendum his government promised in their manifesto is:"Not only immoral but illegal, too . "This was a referendum the people of Britain were promised well before the last election, during it, and after it. "But instead of fulfilling that promise, Gordon Brown has tried to push the Constitution in via the back door by rebranding a document and presenting it as a completely different text. "This is a ridiculous argument. Leaders across Europe - including Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the author of the EU Constitution - have acknowledged, indeed almost gloated about the fact, that the Treaty is the Constitution in all but name. "Furthermore, regardless of what name it is given, the vast majority of the British public want a referendum on this Treaty as demonstrated by the results of a YouGov poll last month."I had to laugh at the response from the Foreign Office spokesman: "Hard...
More About: Government , Labour , Stuart , Lisbon , Referendum

The Ninety Fifth Magical Mystery Blog Tour Bus Leaves in 5 Minutes!
2008-06-08 17:45:00
Got some time to kill but don't know where to go?Why don't you climb aboard the Magical Mystery Blog Tour Bus? There are still a few places left.Click on STOP 1 and the Bus will take you to your first Mystery Blog location. To get back on the Bus just click the Back Button and click STOP 2 to continue the Tour. I think you can work the rest out.The Bus rolls out on Sundays and Wednesdays - enjoy the ride. If you have any suggestions for the next tour drop me an email by hitting the Contact button at the top of the page.
More About: Blogging , Minutes

Lisbon Treaty - Yes vote just leads in Irish poll.
2008-06-08 17:11:00
From William Hill:Punters & Politicians Left Scratching Their Heads Following Latest Lisbon Treaty Poll The Yes Campaign has a slender 3% lead going into the final few days before Ireland ?s referendum on the controversial Lisbon treaty. The latest Red C poll in the Sunday Business Post has the Yes campaign sitting on 42%, the No?s at 39%, and the undecided?s at 19%.Earlier in the week a TNS/mrbi poll indicated that the opponents to the Lisbon treaty had a 5 percentage point lead over those in favour of it.The latest Red C poll has also had an effect on bookmakers betting on the Lisbon Treaty. William Hill now make a YES vote their 2-7 favourite, and offer odds of 5-2 for a NO vote. Prior to today?s poll the bookies had made the No?s 8-11 favourite, however, they were forced to reassess their prices after seeing the Red C Poll.William Hill?s Irish spokesman Tony Kenny commented ?It still looks to close to call? he continued ?We?ve seen a lot of money for both sides of the debate, ...
More About: Leads , Vote

Caroline Spelman - A storm in a Teacup?
2008-06-08 16:26:00
I've read some terrible rubbish over the last day or so about Caroline Spelman paying he live in nanny to work as her Constituency secretary during the day (Including some right leaning Blogs). For one thing this is very old news, for another, Tina Haynes (the nanny) did act as Caroline's Constituency secretary for the period in question. Spelman's Constituency phone number was her home number at the time and Tina dealt with all the calls coming into the house when Caroline was away. She did the filing and dealt with the office correspondence. Apparently she also provided Constituency meeting arrangements on Fridays.The fact is that Caroline stopped this arrangement when the Whip told her that it could be open to misinterpretation. It is also a fact that Caroline had to hire someone else as her Constituency secretary to take over the nanny's office duties during the day. The Tax payer LOST NOTHING from the arrangement with the nanny. In fact her replacement probably cost us more...
More About: Storm , Conservative

Caroline Spelman - A fuss about nothing?
2008-06-07 20:05:00
You can tell that it's been a quiet news week when the media go into a frenzy over a Tory MPs expenses from ten years ago. Caroline Spelman has been accused of paying her nanny, Tina Haynes, from her expenses for the period 1997-98. Sounds bad doesn't it? But, how does this sound: Caroline Spelman had a live in nanny at the time who was paid to carryout secretarial work for Caroline while the kids were at school. The nanny was paid six hours a day five days a week.There was a question over how much secretarial work Tina actually did for her publicly funded wages. This came about after Tina told BBC's Newsnight that she only posted letters and "took the odd phone call" and passed on messages "once or twice a week". I think it is entirely possible that Tina modestly played down her roll. After all, Caroline was using her home as her constituency office at the time, and it is highly unlikely that the office received only one or two phone calls a week.To clear the matter up, Tina iss...
More About: Fuss

William Hill - All Irish money on NO to Lisbon Treaty.
2008-06-07 18:06:00
From William Hill :William Hill have dramatically altered their prices on the Lisbon treaty referendum following the latest opinion poll on the controversial EU proposals. The bookmakers previously offered odds of 11-2 for a NO vote, but strong support for the No campaign resulted in Hills cutting those odds to Even money, with a Yes vote now available at 8-11.The latest TNS/MRBI poll gave the No campaign a 5% lead. 35% said they were going to vote NO, 30% YES , 28% were undecided, and 7% said they were not going to vote.William Hill Irish spokesman Tony Kenny commented ?We originally offered odds of 1-10 for a YES vote, but all the money is coming for the NO side? He continued ?Right now the NO campaign seems to have all the momentum, but a week is a long time in politics, and we?re expecting to see a lot more twists and turns before the result is announced next Friday?The Irish referendum takes place on Thursday the 12th June, with the result announced the following day ? the super...
More About: Money , Referendum

Chelsea Clinton 25/1 to be the first female President.
2008-06-07 18:01:00
Press release from William Hill:CLINTON 25/1 TO BE FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT - CHELSEA, THAT IS!WITH HILLARY CLINTON out of the running to win the current race for the White House, William Hill have opened a book on who will eventually be the first female President of the United States and they have installed Hillary Clinton as 6/1 favourite - but make her daughter, Chelsea , a 25/1 shot!Meanwhile, Hills have taken their second bet of £5000 for John McCain to win the US Election (the first one was in January when he was an 8/1 chance) and make him a 6/4 shot to beat 1/ 2 favourite Barack Obama, who has been the subject of one bet of £11,000 and another of £8000 with Hills as betting hots up.'Now we are down to a straight fight we expect to see some hefty wagers struck' said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.'We predict that £10million will be at stake on the outcome by November.'LATEST WILLIAM HILL ODDS FOR FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT: 6/1 Hillary Clinto; 16/1 Sarah Palin; Kathleen Sebeliu...
More About: Female , Chelsea Clinton

Irish odds on to vote NO in Lisbon Treaty referendum.
2008-06-06 15:42:00
William Hill are giving "even" odds for a YES vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum. Those of us opposed to the treaty will be glad to hear that the NO vote is "odds on" - 8/11. This could be down to the latest poll held on the Treaty.If you are Irish , please vote NO for us, because we were not allowed a referendum as we would vote against the Treaty.
More About: Ireland , Vote , Referendum

Irish look set to reject Lisbon Treaty.
2008-06-05 22:47:00
Hat tip to Iain Dale.From the Irish Times:The Lisbon Treaty is heading towards a shock defeat with the No side now in the lead, according to the findings of the latest Irish Times/TNS mrbi poll.It will take an unprecedented swing in the last week of the campaign for the Treaty to be carried.The poll shows the number of people intending to vote No has almost doubled to 35 per cent (up 17 points) since the last poll three weeks ago, while the number of the Yes side has declined to 30 per cent (down 5 points).The number of undecided voters is still a significant 28 per (down 12 points) cent, while 7 per cent won?t vote.The massive increase by the No vote since the last poll has mainly come through gains among undecided voters but, even more ominously for the Yes side, it has lost some support to the No camp.While the final outcome is still in the hands of undecided voters, the clear momentum is now with the No campaign, and it will take a dramatic shift in public attitudes over the nex...
More About: Ireland , Referendum

Labour MPs warn of rebellion - again (Planning).
2008-06-05 20:04:00
How long does it take for a government to realise that its policies are a load of old "pony". It's not as if there haven't been any obvious signs:Your party is polling lower than any time in its history.You lose a safe seat up north by a massive swing.The police are taking part in mass demonstrations.Your Leader as an approval rating is lower than a snake's jake.You are becoming dizzy from performing U-turns.Your grass root supporters give you two weeks to get your sh*t in one sock or step down.You face a summer of industrial action.Your Cabinet ministers are jockeying to replace you.Your MPs are rebelling week in week out - if it gets any worse they will start calling Brown "Darth" as he seems to spend most of his time fighting the rebellion.I could go on but I'm getting bored.Anyway, this brings me to today's threat of a rebellion from the Labour backbenchers. MPs are worried that removing the need for ministerial input into planning will make the system less accountable. No ...
More About: Climate , Planning , Gordon Brown , Rebellion

E.L.O Mr Blue Sky. The sun is shining...
2008-06-05 14:09:00
Hello readers new and old. After posting quite a few posts yesterday, I've got bloggers' block this morning. So I'm off into the garden to try to find my shed. Seeing as the sun is shining, I thought I'd share one of my favourite songs with you. I've actually got this on my alarm clock and it's great to wake up to.E.L.O. Mr Blue Sky, Enjoy:
More About: Music , Blogging , Blue Sky , Shining

The Ninety Fourth Magical Mystery Blog Tour Bus Leaves in 5 Minutes!
2008-06-04 21:35:00
Got some time to kill but don't know where to go?Why don't you climb aboard the Magical Mystery Blog Tour Bus? There are still a few places left.Click on STOP 1 and the Bus will take you to your first Mystery Blog location. To get back on the Bus just click the Back Button and click STOP 2 to continue the Tour. I think you can work the rest out.The Bus rolls out on Sundays and Wednesdays - enjoy the ride. If you have any suggestions for the next tour drop me an email by hitting the Contact button at the top of the page.
More About: Blogging , Minutes

Gordon Brown's pork pies to parliament exposed.
2008-06-04 19:29:00
Since Gordon Brown came to power he has consistently dodged questions put to him in PMQs by spewing out an endless stream of Tractor production figures. The thing is, we all know that a vast majority of them are total and utter bullsh*t. Cameron was recently asked why he allows Brown get away with it. Well it looks like David has taken that to heart and will now expose Brown's dodgy figures.From the Conservative party website (If it's in red it's me):Mr. Brown's claim that the majority of drivers will benefit from changes to the road tax has been exposed as an error (polite parliamentary way of saying he's a lying git).Brown's claim, made in Prime Minister's Questions, contradicts previous Government statements:- In Alistair Darling's Budget Red Book, it was stated: "As a result of these reforms, the majority of motorists will be better or no worse off in 2009."- Treasury figures from April indicate that 81% of cars will be worse off (shocker!)after the changes to Vehicle Ex...
More About: Labour , Pork , Pies

Clinton is favourite to run with Barack Obama.
2008-06-04 16:59:00
From William Hill:Hillary Clinton is 6/4 favourite to be Barack Obama 's running mate in his bid for the Presidency.'Hillary will be hoping to get the chance to run alongside Barack as the dream pairing' said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe. 'But he is unlikely to rush into the decision'Hills also offer 3/1 Kathlees Sebelius; 5/1 Ted Strickland; 7/1 Bill Richardson; 8/1 Tim Kaine; 16/1 Max Cleland; Chrsi Dodd; Michael Bloomberg; 33/1 Anthony Zinni. Others on request.Hills make Obama 1/ 2 favourite to beat 6/4 chance McCain.

PMQs review on The Daily Politics Show 4th June 08.
2008-06-04 16:04:00
The Daily Politics ' analysis of Prime Minister's Questions, with Andrew Neil was excellent today. It started with some not very complimentary viewers comments on Gordon Brown's premiership. Cameron's question on the proposed road tax hike on family cars was discussed and Nick Robinson boiled all the waffle down to it being scrapped but that Labour didn't want to be seen U-Turning again. After all, what is Green about taxing a family who cannot afford to change their car? They'll still be driving the same car, while paying more tax to Brown for the privilege. Michael Howard pointed out that the Tory proposal was that any Green taxes introduced must be off set by reducing the tax burden on the family in other areas.Poor old Ben Bradshaw got a right old bashing from Andrew Neil. You've got to feel sorry for him - how are you supposed to defend such pathetic policies? Andrew also tore into him over climate change. He repeatedly asked Ben why the government were imposing Green tax...
More About: June , Review , Show

Mugabe looks foward to a Conservative Government.
2008-06-04 12:41:00
Jason Brown, Founder of The Political Wire has posted an interesting article on Robert Mugabe 's sudden found love for the British Conservative s:After months of bad news for the Prime Minister, there is finally some good news for Gordon Brown, Robert Mugabe?s stooges have come out in support of the Conservatives party. Sam Akaki, a journalist for the government?s mouthpiece, the Harare Herald, claims that the British government has engineered Zimbabwe ?s descent into chaos:For Mr Akati, the solution to all this unfair and nasty bullying of the Mugabe regime is the return of a Conservative government.Only with the Conservative Party in power in the UK can that country hope to salvage its rapidly deteriorating relationship with Zimbabwe and Africa.Isn?t it now plainly clear that the British relationship with Zimbabwe in particular and Africa in general will not improve until the Conservative Party takes over in the United Kingdom?Quite what he hopes David Cameron will do isn?t clear. P...
More About: Government

Bookmakers favourite Barack steps up - Boris steps down.
2008-06-04 11:25:00
Boris has announced he is to step down as Conservative MP for Henley. This will start the ball rolling for a likely By-election on the 26th June. Henley is one of the safest seats for the Conservatives and it looks likely that Oxfordshire councillor John Howell will be a shoe in. He will be standing against Labour's candidate Richard McKenzie, the Lib Dems will be fielding Stephen Kearney, the Greens - Mark Stevenson and UKIP are putting up Chris Adams. UPDATE: The Libertarian party is also putting up a candidate, Ian Parker-Joseph (thanks to Harry in the comments).As Boris steps down, Barack Obama steps up and announces himself the "the Democratic nominee for president of the United States". However Clinton has yet to concede defeat. Barack is now 1/ 2 favourite to win the US Presidential Election with William Hill who make John McCain the 6/4 outsider.
More About: Boris , Bookmakers , Steps

Daily Referendum Blogrolls.
2008-06-04 07:00:00
Hello and welcome to my Blogroll page. If you run a political-ish blog or website and want to be added to my rolls, just leave a comment.CheersSteveBlogroll Me!
More About: Daily , Referendum

Irish Referendum on the Lisbon Treaty - Funny.
2008-06-03 21:51:00
I came across this on The Tap Blog. I had to post on here as it cheered me up so much. Fine Gael, the biggest Party in Ireland 's pro-EU governing coalition erected this voting meter in a Dublin mall. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Can you imagine the scramble to turn it off when they realised what was happening?
More About: Funny , Irish , Lisbon , Referendum

Exclusive: Jacqui Smith now 20/1 to replace Gordon Brown.
2008-06-03 16:30:00
William Hill have cut the odds of Jacqui Smith replacing Gordon Brown from 33/1 to 20/1.From William Hill:YOU BET SMITH COULD SUCCEED BROWNJacqui Smith has emerged as a potential contender to succeed Gordon Brown as Labour Leader and William Hill have cut her odds from 33/1 to 20/1 after she apparently impressed Labour MPs with her arguments over the 42 day issue. 'Ms Smith has apparently enhanced her reputation in recent days and we have cut her odds accordingly, but she still has some way to go to become the first female Labour leader' says Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.Hills make David Miliband 5/2 favourite and also offer 7/1 Johnson; Straw; 8/1 Balls; 9/1 Denham; Purnell; 14/1 Burnham; Cruddas; 16/1 Benn.Today Nick Robinson reported on his Blog that Smith's star could be rising in the Labour leadership race:Shares in Smith soared last night. As Labour MP's and peers poured out of the Parliamentary Labour Party meeting all were agreed that Jacqui the home secretary had put...
More About: Exclusive

Nick Clegg has more faces than Big Ben (Lisbon Treaty).
2008-06-03 15:26:00
I've pointed out several times what a complete and utter two faced ARSE Nick Clegg really is: HERE, HERE and HERE. Well it seems that William Hague has written to Cleggie asking where he actually stands on the subject of a referendum for the Lisbon Treaty. I'll be stuffed if I know.William writes:"Tomorrow the Lords will begin the key votes on the Lisbon Treaty, including the crucial vote on a referendum. In the Commons you ordered your MPs to abstain on the vote. You even ordered those frontbenchers who insisted on keeping their manifesto promises to resign.You said you wanted a referendum on the EU ? in or out. On 25th February you led your MPs in storming out of the Chamber because Mr. Speaker had not selected a Liberal Democrat amendment for that referendum.In the Guardian on 25th February you wrote: 'We want a referendum on Europe with substance. This generation deserves its chance to say where we stand on Europe - in or out.'Yet in the House of Lords, when an amendment was...
More About: Faces , Liars , Nick Clegg

Police and Prison Officers voice concerns over public safety.
2008-06-03 12:14:00
The Prison Population has reached an all time high of 83,000 and concern is again being levelled at the Government for the lack of investment in the prison system over the last ten years.Colin Moses, National Chairman of the POA said; ?There has been a significant lack of investment in our prisons for many years and the problems are stacking up. We currently have serious staff shortfalls throughout the service and as new places become available they are immediately filled, this is placing the staff and prisoners alike under tremendous pressure. I often ask myself, how many custodial warrants are outstanding because as a prison place is available a prisoner appears. So are the public really safe or are the police only executing warrants dependant on prison and police cell spaces? We are aware that the Ministry of Justice have instructed all Governors to send prisoners to open prisons. It is believed that all open prisons will be operating at around 95% capacity. To the POA that can o...
More About: Safety , Voice , Public , Police

Gordon Brown - Our courageous leader? - 42 days.
2008-06-02 21:00:00
Apparently Ed Balls told Today that Mr Brown would not be forced to resign if the Government lost the vote on 42 days:"In the end, leadership is about doing the right thing. I think the public will support Gordon Brown . "It is about showing leadership at difficult times and showing courage, compared to opposition parties who are playing politics with this."Where do we start?Gordon Brown's idea of leadership is: I'm in charge. We will do as I say....until my MPs tell me different. And why does courage come into it? If Brown knew what the word meant he wouldn't have cancelled the election, backed down over the 10p tax fiasco, dodged signing the Lisbon Treaty with the other leaders, dodged the EU-Africa summit in Lisbon and stitched up Baroness Amos to take his place or reneged on the Labour manifesto promise to give us a referendum (because we would vote NO). Like an Italian Tank, he's got gears, but they are all reverse ones.And as for "The public will support Gordon Brown" what ...
More About: Days , Courageous

Unite calls on Gordon Brown to turn left.
2008-06-02 14:37:00
Press release: Joint leader of unite calls on Labour to change direction2 Jun 2008In the wake of the Crewe catastrophe, Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of Unite, will warn that: "It is not the differences between Gordon Brown and Tony Blair that are the problem, it is the similarities."Speaking at the union's industrial conferences in Brighton this week, Mr Simpson will call for 'New Labour' to be consigned to the history books, as the union opens up a new front to change the policies of the Labour government to show the electorate that only Labour can deal with inequality, housing shortages, rising fuel costs and the health service.A windfall tax on the billion pound profits of oil companies would redefine Gordon Brown's premiership and win back votes for Labour.Mr Simpson will tell delegates: "For years the labour movement held its breath expecting, hoping, for change after the departure of Tony Blair. While we went blue from the lack of oxygen, the country has gone blu...
More About: Calls , Left , Unions

A couple of text messages to share.
2008-06-02 08:15:00
I received a couple of text messages this morning that I thought would be good to share. Apologies if you've already had them:The Labour Party have today changed their emblem from a rose to a condom as it more accurately reflects their political stance. A condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pr*cks, and gives you a sense of security while you are actually being f*cked.Being British is about drivin' in a German car 2 an Irish pub 4 a Belgian beer, then on way 2 ya home, grabbin' an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab, 2 sit on a Swedish sofa and watch USA shows on a Japanese TV. And most of all being suspicious of anything Foreign. Oh and.. Only in Britain .. Can u get a pizza 2 ya home faster than ambulance. Only in Britain do banks leave both doors open and chain pens 2 the counter. Also Supermarkets make sick people walk to the back of the shop 4 prescriptions whilst healthy people get their fags at front of shop. We might...
More About: Blogging , Couple , Share , Messages , Text