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Chancellor Alistair Darling holds food summit
2008-05-23 11:35:00 Chancellor Alistair Darling has held a food summit at 11 Downing Street today (Thursday) to consider the threat to the economy posed by rising food prices.
By: FWi - All News
Chancellor Alistair Darling holds food summit
2008-05-22 16:00:00 Chancellor Alistair Darling has held a food summit at 11 Downing Street today (Thursday) to consider the threat to the economy posed by rising food prices.
By: FWi - All News
Chancellor Alistair Darling in farmers' firing line
2008-05-17 15:02:00 Calls by Chancellor Alistair Darling for a "fundamental reform of Europe's agricultural sector" have been descibed as predictable and shortsighted.
By: FWi - All News
10p tax - See you next year Darling?
2008-05-13 20:13:00 OK, Darling has announced his fix for the 10p tax fiasco. This apology patch bribe is welcome news for around 4 million of those ripped off by Darling's first budget. However there are a couple of problems with this fortuitously timed solution (by-election?):For a start this will cost £2.7bn. Where is it coming from? Darling is going to borrow it. So much for "Tories and their unfunded tax cuts". And we are already in serious debt.Rather than helping out the 5.3 million people who needed help, everyone earning up to £40,835 will be £120 better off - except, that is, for over a million of the lowest paid.George Osborne stressed Alistair Darling's announcement was a one-off payment rather than a long-term plan to compensate those hit by the axing of the 10p tax rate.Let's summarise for those Labour supporting idiots who are crowing about this: Brown and Darling are only responding to their own cock-up. Over a million people are still worse off. If Brown had not been forced to act o...
By: Daily Referendum
NFU hits out at chancellor Alistair Darling
2008-05-13 18:35:00 The NFU has lambasted a letter sent by Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling to other EU finance ministers in which he calls for a fundamental reform of Europe's agriculture sector.
By: FWi - All News
Climate Change My Arse Part 27 - More Labour stealth tax.
2008-04-24 14:11:00 Iain Dale points out some sterling investigative work done by Tory MP Justine Greening. Justine's work shows that the car tax rise announced in Alistair Darling first budget means we will be handing over £2.5 billion to the Treasury. All for LESS than a 1 per cent reduction in emissions. Not so long ago I wrote a post about the extremely stupid EU directive to fit daytime running lamps on all motor vehicles from 2011. Here is an extract from Hansard written answers on the subject: From Hansard written answers:Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate her Department has made of the likely increase in annual fuel consumption resulting from the requirement to have daytime running lamps on motor vehicles.Jim Fitzpatrick: Research undertaken for the Department for Transport indicated that the requirement for new types of motor vehicle to be equipped with dedicated daytime running lamps would result in an increase of about 5 per cent. in fuel consumption....
By: Daily Referendum
Alistair Darling's Green Budget (It's 90% recycled).
2008-03-12 13:25:00 Alistair Darling will announce his first (and probably last) Budget in a few minutes. I'll try and keep you updated, but you've more than likely heard it all before.Well Darling has told so many lies I really don't know where to start. He knows that we know he's lying, but he's hoping that Joe Public will fall for it. Darling has postponed the 2p rise in fuel until October, that's just delaying trouble for him, us and industry. What this Budget works out to be is an increase in tax of £1.9bn and a massive amount of borrowing to fill the spending gap. Inflation is claimed to remain around 2% CPI but we all know how much our fuel and other everyday costs have gone up, and it's a damn sight more than 2%. So we are going to be spending more to live and paying more tax. Great.Cigarettes are to go up by 11p a packet today; five cigars go up by 4p. Beer up by 4p a pint, wine 14p a bottle, spirits 55p a bottle and cider 3p a litre by Sunday. On top of these massive increases, duties ...
By: Daily Referendum
Budget, GPs & Economy - Brown and Darling are incompetent and untrustworthy
2008-03-11 07:18:00 I woke up this morning to my Blackberry alerting me to three press releases, all of them were in some way critical of Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling. The first from the Press Association described how 59% of those questioned in a YouGov survey were sceptical about the Government's anti-pollution justification for taxes on motoring and flying. The survey found that most people believed that Darling's "green taxes" on flights and 4x4s (to be announced in tomorrows budget) are mainly to fill the government's coffers - not to encourage us to be greener. As George Osborne points out, this will always be public opinion if Brown and Darling do not promise to use the money collected to reduce tax in other areas.The second news alert from George Monbiot of the Guardian accuses the Government of a "bare faced lie" over the GP opening hours saga, George says:The government launched its campaign a year ago, with a press release published by the Department of Health. This claimed that a re...
By: Daily Referendum
Is Alistair Darling a Labour Cabinet Liability?
2008-02-16 22:58:00 A YouGov poll for the Times indicates that 44% of respondents believe Alistair Darling should be replaced as chancellor (Only 27% think he should stay). They blame his clumsy handling of the Northern Rock banking crisis and bad news on the economy. The same poll puts Cameron and Osborne 6 points ahead of Brown and Darling when asked which team they trusted most to run the economy.The Conservatives are on 41%, Labour on 32% and the Lib Dems 16%.
By: Daily Referendum
Alistair Darling will deliver George Osborne's Budget on 12th March.
2008-01-31 12:23:00 George Osborne Alistair Darling will deliver his first Budget on the 12th of March. The question is not "will Darling steal Tory policies" it's "how many Tory policies will Darling steal". This government is totally devoid of any ideas - unless they have been stolen from the other major parties. It wouldn't be so bad if the ideas they have stolen were to be implemented in a competent manner, but every major scheme they embark on seems to end in a total waste of tax payers' money through poor (if not invisible) management.
By: Daily Referendum
Chancellor Alistair Darling tries to soften blow of capital gains tax refor
2008-01-25 12:00:00 Chancellor Alistair Darling confirmed yesterday he still plans to scrap valuable tax reliefs on business assets like farmland, and introduce a new flat rate of capital gains tax.
By: FWi - All News
The UK Chancellor is planning to give more power to the FSA in the wake of
2008-01-04 15:10:00 [This blog post is also available as a video - click here to watch.] Alistair Darling, the UK Chancellor, is intending to give more power to the Financial Services Authority (FSA), to help prevent a repeat of the Northern Rock fiasco. The plans aren’t finalised yet, because Mr. Darling has promised three months of consultation with the ...
Gordon Brown thinks the public will forgive and forget.
2007-12-19 20:26:00 During his monthly press conference this morning Gordon Brown said: "Many of the things that have been written about for the last few weeks would be forgotten quickly." He may be right, but the problem he and his cabinet face is the fact that the label "incompetent" sticks, and that will not be forgotten - not this time. Incompetence is not just for Christmas, it's for life. We all know from work that when someone is officially found to be incompetent they are sacked - no ifs - no buts. Gordon and his party will be sacked at the next General Election, if they think otherwise, then they are deluding themselves.Brown then came out with a classic: "I think people know that when a problem arises we will deal with it." That is a pure, out and out lie. He knows it's a lie, but he hopes that just by saying it some of the "not so bright" members of our society may just believe him. What has he dealt with? The bank details of 25 million families are still missing, the second outbreak of fo...
By: Daily Referendum
Major review of health and safety laws launched by Alistair Darling
2007-11-30 09:33:00 Chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling has launched a major review of business health and safety laws. The review, annou
Data protection minister Michael Wills knew nothing of missing discs.
2007-11-26 20:07:00 The Data protection minister Michael Wills claims he knew nothing of missing discs until Alistair Darling made his statement in the House of Commons. BE WARNED, THIS IS NOT A JOKE, THERE WILL BE NO PUNCHLINE!Mr Wills told the joint committee on human rights: "I'm afraid I learnt about it when I heard the statement in the House of Commons". He also claimed that he was unaware of any of the other recent security failures. The Earl of Onslow asked: "So there are lots of leaks and you know nothing about it - and you're minister for data protection?"SEE, I TOLD YOU, IT'S NO JOKE.
By: Daily Referendum
The Carpenters join the cabinet in the hunt for lost HMRC CDs
2007-11-25 23:01:00 I thought it was so kind of the carpenters to help the cabinet look for the lost CDs.
By: Daily Referendum
Alistair Darling must explain his "lost data fiasco" statement discrepancie
2007-11-25 08:31:00 If you have read the news headlines this morning, you will have soon realised that this is going to be a VERY bad day for Gordon Brown and his cabinet. George Osborne wants to see Darling get up in parliament to explain the discrepancies between in his statement made last week and what we now know to be the truth. Was a junior HMRC desk jockey to blame for the CDs going walkabout, or is it as George Osborne says, that there are documents which suggest that senior officials were well aware of what happened? I know what my money would be on.Also the time line for all this is a bit confusing to say the least. The CDs were posted on the 18th of October (with or without management approval?). On the 3rd of November, HMRC senior management are told the CDs are lost in the post. Now, here is where it gets a little puzzling, why did it take them until the 10th (eight days later) to inform Darling and hence the PM? And why did it take until the 14th of November (a further 5 days) for...
By: Daily Referendum
Prime Ministers Questions, lost personal data fiasco.
2007-11-21 13:30:00 David Cameron has just had a damn good attempt at getting Gordon Brown to accept responsibility for the lost personal data fiasco. Gordon did not do the Honourable thing, instead he thought it would be a good idea to blame the opposition. David very rightly called this attempt to deflect the blame "pathetic".How far away are we from a vote of no confidence? This Labour government since Brown took over, has presided over one massive fiasco after another. We must be the laughing stock of the developed world.PMQs should now be shown on the evening news, the people need to know what kind of shower are supposedly governing this country.Tony Blair must be splitting his sides.Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
By: Daily Referendum
Alistair Darling, where are my bank details?
2007-11-20 19:42:00 I could not believe what I was listening to at 15:30 today. How the hell did 25m sets of personal details get lost in the post? My details are contained on one of the two missing discs, my bank account number, sort code, name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number. In fact everything that a crook could want. Why was this not brought to public attention sooner? Darling has made his excuses, but could it have something to do with him not wanting to announce such an almighty balls-up at the same time Jacqui Smith was informing the country that our security companies are overrun with illegal immigrants? Did they try to cover this up, just as they covered up the security fiasco?Darling said there was no evidence the data had fallen into criminal hands, which also means there is no evidence to show that it hasn't - Muppet. He's telling us there is nothing to worry about, but, and it's a big but, we should monitor our bank accounts. I sit here now, not knowing whether som...
By: Daily Referendum
Tony Blair, Alistair Darling and a virtual Paris Hilton - HEXUS.gaming
2007-11-19 18:22:00 HEXUS.gaming Tony Blair, Alistair Darling and a virtual Paris HiltonHEXUS.gaming, UK-0;- 53 minutes agoIn a bizarre attempt to appeal to youngsters, The Serious Policy Game includes a virtual representation of American socialite Paris Hilton and a Master Of …Virtual British government goes online Inquirer all 2 news articles Read the entire original post via
C.difficile at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.
2007-10-11 16:14:00 The investigation into the deaths caused by an outbreak of C.difficile at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, ties in with my earlier post. Heather Wood, lead author of the Healthcare Commission's report said that: "For many of these patients there may well have been a good chance that they would have recovered if all steps had been taken. I would think the lessons, not just about cleanliness, hygiene and infection control, but the care provided to patients who contract C.difficile is something that has wider lessons for the NHS." Nigel Ellis, the head of the Commission's investigation said: "The hospital trust didn't even pick up the first of the two outbreaks; wasn't aware that it was an outbreak at the time. And when the second outbreak came about, they were still not quick enough to act to take the steps that we would consider to be reasonable. presumably their priorities were elsewhere." What this boils down to is the fact that C.difficile was definitely or pro...
By: Daily Referendum
Alistair Darling Looks To A Rock Solid Financial Future
2007-10-11 14:17:00 The Chancellor Alistair Darling can?t seem to stay away from headlines this week as he announces new measures to the House of Commons in the wake of the Northern Rock crisis hoping to avoid similar problems in the future. It has been reported that the treasury had been considering a series of options since last month?s ...
By: Product Reviews
Media response to Alistair Darling's Pre Budget Report
2007-10-10 09:22:00 I have to admit that from my first impressions of the media's coverage of Alistair Darling's Pre Budget Report, I thought they were going to let him off the hook. Thankfully today's press has done nothing of the sort and there are some very critical comments from various media outlets. Even those that normally normally lean to the left :Simon Jenkins The Guardian: We heard nothing of £16bn on ID cards, £12bn on an unnecessary NHS computer, £6bn on a defence mainframe, and further billions blown on offender management, rural payments, abandoned hospitals, tax-credit losses and consultancy fees. Someone might even care to cast a sceptical eye on the ludicrous sums being splurged on the out-of-control Olympics project, conservatively costed at £9bn. This is all serious money, the price of sheer incompetence in modern British government.Patrick Wintour and Larry Elliott The Guardian:Labour saw Mr Cameron's poll bounce last week - especially in key marginals in southern England - as ...
By: Daily Referendum
Alistair Darling hires ex Enron accountant
2007-10-09 23:05:00 When announcing his proposals on IHT in today?s pre-budget report Alistair Darling said that he...
Alistair Darling Rises Up To Tories Inheritance Tax Claims
2007-10-09 19:03:00 Alistair Darling has stolen the Tories? thunder by promising to cut inheritance tax while boosting investment in health and education. Delivering his first report, Mr Darling said that he would raise the threshold for inheritance tax to £600,000 for couples and to £700,000 by 2010. This comes after the Tories proposed to increase the inheritance ...
By: Product Reviews
Alistair Darling - Pre Budget Report.
2007-10-09 16:26:00 Darling started by telling the House he would not be taking any risks. This naturally started a round of jeering from the opposition. OK I've let a lot of his waffle wash over me. Every statement starts with "I can announce today" and finishes with "in 2000 and whenever."This guy should be wearing a mask, he is blatantly stealing policies put forward at the Conservative conference. The NONDOMs tax, air travel tax and inheritance tax. He's jiggled the figures a bit but they are Tory policies, what a bloody cheek after the piss poor week they've just had. You'd think they would try and show a little honesty for a change.Gordon Brown bottled out of an election because he faced losing to these policies. He has got some neck on him to nick them in broad daylight. The inheritance tax threshold rise to £600,000 is all SPIN, married couples get that anyway, so he's spent nothing!George Osborne was superb, ripping up Darling and his waffle for all to see. Just for good measure George al...
By: Daily Referendum
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