A quick reminder
Posted on
September 30, 2013 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
This man only controls the finances of Scotland because Scotland is part of the UK.
Never forget that if you listen to Labour and vote No next September, there’s (at least) a 60% chance that he’ll control the finances of Scotland until 2020. Ready to risk it?
Dont forget that with his austerity (dont make me laugh) program he has already controlled Scottish finances to 2018.
Unless we vote YES in 2014
Let me see now.
If I vote YES in September 2014 I get a Finance Secretary who will spend Scotland’s money for the best benefit of the people of Scotland. :P:
If I vote NO in September 2014 I get a Chancellor who will spend Scot;land’s money for the best benefit of the rich millionaires in London and S.E. England. :-(:
Wow!
Such a tough choice.
I really do have a tough decision to make here.
I wonder if tossing a coin will help me decide?
Nah, on second thoughts think I’ll just vote with the majority, think I’ll vote YES! :D:
Rev did you pick this picture because it looks like Osborne is making the ‘tongue in cheek’ fellatio gesture?
it cracked me up when I first saw it.
Cheers 🙂
Steady on chaps, Bojo here,
Enough with this poppycock gloom and doom, never fear, Bojo’s here.
if I get to take over the Leadership, I’ll see my pals into the best jobs, or better still, my enemies within the Party into the ‘rough end of the stick’ jobs like little Gideons here.
If youre all really lucky, Michael Gove might be in charge!
Love & Squiffles
Bojo
We should nail this “something for nothing” myth. Most people have paid into the system, some for 30-40 years, and if unfortunate enough to fall foul of this mans economic policies and find themselves redundant they either are entitled to contributions based payment that equals about £1600 over six months then nothing if your partner works over 16hours a week, or, income assessed payments which last for as long as you are unemployed up to one year, as long as you can fulfil the erroneous conditions attached and then get moved onto Workfare. It looks more like nothing,(or very little), for quite substantial payments into the system.
Nothing for something.
Social security used to be a contract between the people and the state. In exchange for paying in monthly you got something out when needed to alleviate poverty and avoid starvation. If they change the terms of the contract we should be allowed to stop paying into it. The safety net has much bigger holes and much less weave to catch you these days.
Their policies are removing paid work from the economy, care workers, council staff and community staff will be joining the ranks of the unemployed, soon to be doing their old jobs for no pay. Pay a living wage for these jobs. Remove all the subsidies for the political classes.
How does this policy square with U.C. When all claims will be on line but you must report to No Job Centres every day.
Interesting to see the conference logo is just a slightly bolder version of the one used by Labour. Pastel shades for Tory lite, real bold St. George’s Cross staking centre stage and the vast majority of the available logo space. It is like they employ the same graphic designers or have phone calls before hand…what logo are you using this year…ooh, that sounds nice, mind if we join you.
O/T – only joking 😀
Nor should we forget that a NO vote will wipe £2 billion off Scotland’s budget.
“A NO vote in the independence referendum would lead to a cut of up to £2bn from Scotland’s budget, the deputy leader of the Scottish TUC has warned.”
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/scotland/article1320727.ece
@Keef
Bojo says “For he’s a jolly good fellatio and so say all of us.” *
*(Bullingdon Club song, allegedly)
These plans basically say “its time that the workshy idiotic, often criminally minded, drain on society should be taught a lesson and see their access to the countries money is limited until they actually put something worthwhile in”.
If only that edict applied to all walks of life.
How many MPs would then be facing a Monday morning in overalls and shame.
On ya Major 🙂
I’m sure I heard it being muttered after cowardly Cameron’s address to the blue coloured troughers. So might infact have been adopted as a Tory tribute.
Is that the tory tree behind George, or a stylised map of Ulster?
Looking at the logo behind him, it seems like a pretty accurate symbol of the state of the nation – frayed and torn at the edges, pieces missing completely, and a bit breaking off at the top!
If you’re on benefits you’ll get £60 a week to live on. Bear that in mind while you’re going hungry on benefits – The career politician who is standing up for you in Westminster gets £100 per week food allowance over and above his personal expenses, his £20k + housing allowance and his £66,396.00 salary (£134,565.00 salary if you’re Geo Osborne).
Osbourne is just a front for the clinically insane pieces of Tory filth like Duncan-Smith and Grayling, both of whom should be locked away in a padded cell for the rest of their lives for the good of humanity. Cameron is all over the European press this morning and being ripped to pieces for being the raving loony ignorant and stupid Little Englander that he is. The Tories are the epitome of what is wrong with England and the British establishment, perverts and psychopaths every single one. The Tory of policy of removing the UK from the ECHR will sound the death knell for the last vestiges of democracy in England and it won’t be long after that IDS and Grayling will be drawing up plans for the “final solution” of the unemployed, the poor and the sick. A NO vote next year is not an option for our country!
George has had a remarkable career path (student – data input clerk – shop assistant – Tory Party) to arguably the 2nd most powerful position in UK politics.
Why would anyone want this person involved in governing their life?
So, see when you turn up for your Monday Morning Community Service, what ID should you show:
MAGNUS
When you say control…,
Craig P says:
Is that the tory tree behind George, or a stylised map of Ulster?
It’s a giant scratchcard.
60%? More like 10% according to Electoral Calculus – http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/homepage.html
Re: logo, I thought it was a map of London?
“More like 10% according to Electoral Calculus”
Based on a uniform swing, ie total and utter bollocks.
GrutsForTea: NOOOO!
You are absolutely right and it is devastating.
Bit O/T but was visiting the in-laws at the weekend. Both life long Liberals/Lib Dems with one an ex Lib Dem Councillor (and when I say life long they are both in their 70s). We had thought that they might need a bit of work/effort to move to Yes but they said that they were already there – I was actually a bit gobsmacked because I thought that they might be difficult to shift them…for inf the swing issue for them is Trident, they want it gone.
The difficulty being, that’s what people see, and it allows Labour to peddle their line of “vote No, we’ll be in charge from 2015, and we’ll see you right.”
@Willie Zwingerland
Regarding the electoral calculus site – I was at university with (Dr) Martin Baxter. Very nice chap indeed, although I did have to coin the term ‘baxteriological warfare’ in his honour (I can’t remember the circumstances but it may have had something to do with copious quantities of Burmeister port).
He was telling us at Christmas that Labour was going to win the next UKGE but he wasn’t at all familiar with changing conditions in Scotland so we shall see – a pity really, because he is originally from Edinburgh.
Which is why Alex Salmond speaking to Alistair Darling is a waste of time.
Darling does not sit in the Conservative / Liberal Democrat cabinet. This means he does not know what the policies the Tories intend to implement in Scotland in the event of a No vote.
This means he cannot promise Scotland a goddamn thing! He can promise nothing.
Darling is a waste of time when it comes to telling the people of Scotland what they will get if they vote No. The reason being …he does not know!!!!
60%? More like 10% according to Electoral Calculus –
Personally, I prefer being stabbed in the front than in the back. At least with the Tories, they do what it says on the tin.
The prospect of a UK Labour government in many ways scares me more. I mean the last time they were in power they led the UK to one of it’s greatest economic disasters since the great depression.
The Scottish Government may have done too good a job in making Holyrood work for Scotland.
Given that most people in Scotland want decisions made in Holyrood. I think many still believe Scotland will be protected from Westminster actions in some way by having Holyrood. They still believe there is ‘the best of both worlds’ possible. Labour expected to control Holyrood for ever, and now it can’t it wants it demoted or even removed, to be at most an executive or ‘County Council’ Office in Scotland.
Neither the Labour Leadership or news outlets are going to inform people of this.
Scottish skier – I think that 2008 crisis would have happened regardless of who was in power in UK and Scotland. I remember Salmond was egging on RBS all the way when they were doing the ABN Amro takeover.
Rev – I don’t see how using a uniform swing (which has the benefit of being the simplest approach to take) is any worse than whatever subjective assumptions you’re using to get your 60% figure.
I see May is saying the Tories want to scrap the Human Rights Act. Dearie me, what a compassionate, empathetic bunch they are…
Im focusing on the positive and saying by the 2015 General Election Scots will have voted YES in 2014 to independence.
O/T…Michael Fallon the UK Energy Minister has said (Source Glasgow Evening Times) that, without the guiding hand of Westminster investment in North Sea oil would suffer, and that many jobs would be lost.
Fallon, preaching at the Tory Conference in Manchester went on to say,only in the UK can we finance the tax regime that drives investment in North Sea oil.
The Tory Energy Minister then proceeded to say,This month the industry won tax relief worth £20 billion pounds, over 30 years against decommissiong costs.
Fallon finished of with saying its only because the UK has such broad shoulders, that the Uk oil industry is where it is.
I glean from this, that Westminster are desparate, not to loose the Golden Goose, that is North Sea oil/gas.
Aye SS. Labour are greedy, selfish pigs wearing people suits. They pretend to be the people’s knight in shiny armor, saving us from the Tories when the truth is they all they want is the ermine and cash. At least a Tory snake wears no mask and makes no pretenses.
@Brian Powell
If Labour get back in secure control of Holyrood again then magically devolution will appear to be actually ‘working’ again and they don’t need to fix it – particularly if the Tories are in power in Westminster, although that scenario would be the worst of both worlds for Scotland.
There is no point in anyone debating with the unionists about what happens after a No vote because they don’t know.Nothing can be guaranteed because they don’t know who will be in charge after 2015 and what policies they will implement.This is the real leap in the dark for Scottish voters.
O/T again Rev I do apologise, but couldnt believe it.
George Black, who is the Chief Executive of Glasgow City Council, receives £167.000 pounds per year in wages, more than David Cameron the UK PM, can someone tell me why?
SS if you think the last recession was the biggest wait until interest rates go up without the rise in economic activity to compensate for it. It’ll happen with whoevers in charge. Only the Bank of England accepting IOU’s from the govt is staying that decision for now
salmond was not EGGING on anyone at R.B.S. he sent good wishes and wished them well
@Sneddon
I’m digging a fallout shelter in my basement and have already got in three year’s supply of baked beans and gin. That should cover the essentials.
First Ed, now Gideon is offering Energy Price freezes and with classic comic timing, up pops Ruth Davidson to say this:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/10344091/Ruth-Davidson-Alex-Salmond-will-make-any-promise-to-get-independence.html
Andy-B – George Black probably feels hard done by!
Recent reportings show 4 of the top 20 paid council Employees in the UK are in Glasgow. Parcel O Rogues for sure
http://news.stv.tv/west-central/304710-glasgow-city-council-tops-uk-poll-of-highest-salaries/
Willie Zwigerland – If you were buying a house, im sure your friend would wish you well with the purchase. Like Salmond with RBS, your friend would presume you had actually checked for foundations first and not just paid over the odds to beat a rival!
Making the unemployed work for next to nothing, scrapping human rights, booting immigrants
Who wrote this for them the Daily Mail in conjunction with UKIP?
Can we get off this ride now please?
“So, see when you turn up for your Monday Morning Community Service, what ID should you show:
MAGNUS”
As usual Magnus perverts the reality. The root cause of any doubts about monetary union, passport citizenship, Border controls, EU membership, Debt allocation, Assets allocation and many other issues lie firmly at the feet of David Cameron and the UK Government.
All that the SNP Government can do, and have done, is to say what they should be done on those issues. And, by and large, the Scottish Government has in making their position, chosen options which, perhaps optimistically, presume that the UK Government will be sane and rational and adopt the best most mutually beneficial solution.
Given the UK Government’s attitude of refusing to discuss, debate or request anything which might clarify the situation that is all they can do, that is all anyone can do.
It is ridiculous to lay the blame for such obfuscation as exists at the door of the Scottish Government.
All of the consequences of a YES vote could and should be sorted out by NOW. However, the name of the game for the UK Government is to create as much confusion as possible. More than that, they are banking on the idea that if they say nothing, this will actually use Scottish voters’ conditioned reflex in expecting the worst from London. It is very clever, they are using such conditioning, which should be even more reason to vote YES, to underpin Project Fear.
That is why Cameron will not debate with Salmond. That is why Darling, who has no authority to clarify any of these post-YES issues, is offered instead. But what kind of ‘debate’ would it be where only the intentions of one side can be questioned and answered?
And there is also the thorny issues following a post-No result regarding powers of the Scottish Parliament, electoral reform, NHS annexation and privatisation, UK EU membership, withdrawal from the ECHR (the UKCHR taking over completely), etc.
None of which they want clarification on.
Blaming the Scottish Government for this undemocratic lack of clarity is a sick joke.
@Desimond…Thanks for the link, I knew some at Glasgow City Council are paid a fortune, the question is why?.
What wonderous achievements do they perform at the City Chambers to merit such rewards, or is it as simple as something as a clique back slapping each other, and paying each other preposterious salaries.
Andy-B
You should have a look at the GHA’s key magazine for a back patting love fest
O/T: I really couldn’t believe the Brass were so stupid as to allow what I’ve just seen in 2 videos of Ibrox on Saturday: What on Earth was the Brass thinking of?
Anyway to find out what Archie Graham (Johann’s other half) earns as a long standing member of GCC – she was quick enough to exaggerate the household income of Nicola Sturgeon.
Major – excellent choice of essentials but you may need *ahem* air freshener . Me, I’ll be looting Waitrose for the last of the organic tequila
Andy-B..my mate occasionally works in I.T at the City Chambers, he says the seense of self-entitlement is unbelievable. He has been told on more than one occasion “Address me as Councillor” by some non-entity who is wondering when they they will get their PC back to fill in more expense claims.
The behaviour of Labour running Glasgow, especially over last 20 years is unbelievable. Truly a downward spiral of awfulness in policy, waste and abuse.
@Sneddon
Well, once I get going I should be self-sufficient in cooking gas so it’s a win-win scenario.
Desimond
It’s a wonder there are any PC/laptops to repair after thousand’s of pounds worth of them mysteriously vanished into thin air or up someone’s nose…………………
Well, once I get going I should be self-sufficient in cooking gas so it’s a win-win scenario.
Eureka! A perpetual motion machine that works!
“Anyway to find out what Archie Graham (Johann’s other half) earns as a long standing member of GCC “
It’ll be available on the council’s website. I looked it up once before, can’t remember the figure right now.
Scottish skier – I think that 2008 crisis would have happened regardless of who was in power in UK and Scotland.
Interesting theory. Could you expand a little? I’m just wondering how you concluded this. Now, as the Scottish government currently has no powers over the economy / backing regulations, I trust the scenario you described is one where Scotland was independent.
So, if you would be so kind, please detail when Scotland became independent (maybe it never joined the union?), then all successive governments and economic policy from then until the crisis – including relations to events on the world stage – and how their actions contributed to that. You might want to make a comparison where they went wrong compared to other countries which the crisis had much less effect on.
Thanks in advance.
Or I suppose you could say ‘my thoughts have no basis in fact at all as we have no way of knowing such things’ and you can forget the above pointless task.
Here is a comprehensive guide to how much Glasgow City Council councillors spent in 2012, salaries, council cars etc, its a right few quid.
http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3496
I have no experience in the real world of politics, so perhaps my question is a little uninformed. I tend to take a pragmatic view though and wonder if it would not be best for YS to debate anyone the BT puts forward? At least that way Scotland will be able to see how dishonest and lacking in substance BT actually are.
Scottish skier – simples – the 2008 crisis affected all European economies regardless of whether a left or right wing party was in power. Globalisation innit?
He’s in control of our finances because we’re stupid enough to keep voting Labour.
Toxic derivative debt exported from the US to the UK, then on to continental Europe. That appears to be the modern chain of command in this new age of feudalism. The fall out from the 2008 crises has shown which countries bought into this and which didn’t. Apart from Ireland perhaps, which does appear to have been strong-armed by German banks.
We are all under the cosh of a handful of financial institutions, apart from those ahead of the curve who have benefited enormously. These folk tend to be close to those who make the political decisions.
Scottish skier – simples – the 2008 crisis affected all European economies regardless of whether a left or right wing party was in power.
‘Affected’ of course. How could it not ‘affect’ every country in some way.
Britain obviously in much deeper shit than most other western European countries, even wee diddy ones, some of which have surpluses. George keeps reminding us of this every day.
Based on a uniform swing, ie total and utter bollocks.
Is that the same kind of thing we had a while back that had UKIP taking great swathes of Aberdeenshire? 🙂
The prospect of a UK Labour government in many ways scares me more.
I actually agree with this for Scotland. For the UK as a whole Labour are marginally better (though not by much). But given their absolute, naked hatred of the SNP and the kind of bile we’ve had for the past couple of years, I fear a Labour government after a no vote a lot more than the Tories. The Tories will just be the Tories. Labour will be on an enraged mission to punish, destroy and ensure their Scottish fiefdom can’t be challenged again. And they’ll take pleasure doing it.
The thought of Foulkes, Curran, Sarwar et al being in power after a no is surely not one anyone could imagine bodes well for the interests of Scotland or people living here?
Brave Sir Dave bravely ran away from Alex Salmond.
Now brave Sir George is bravely being angry at helpless destitute victims which his failed neoliberal economic policies have made unemployed.
Here’s some good analysis and argument of Osborne’s stalinistic slavefare plans –
George Osborne’s totalitarian “benefits crackdown”
Another Angry Voice
30 Sept 2013
http://anotherangryvoice.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/benefits-crackdown-totalitarianism.html
Just had a look at that Electoral Calculus. Anyone know who runs it, out of interest?
They use a 3 letter abbreviation for every party except UKIP which gets all four of it’s letters. However, the SNP which is already a 3 letter name (standing of course for Scottish national party; no nationalist in sight) and which stands now and always has and runs the current Scottish government under the name SNP, gets listed by that site under the name….NAT
Kind of makes it look very untrustworthy for Scotland.
Further to joe kane’s link @10:06pm. George Osborne is simply entrenching “capitalism with Asian values”, into what we once considered a democratic western society. This destruction of democracy has been predicted by many with brains larger than mine, including Slovenian philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Žižek.
Note: “capitalism with Asian values” has nothing to do with ethnic cultural values, it is short-hand for Chinese, and to a lesser extent Singaporean style totalitarian oligarchy.
http://albphilosopher.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/asian-values-or-the-monstrosity-of-capitalism/
Thanks CameronB. That’s interesting.
On the whole I think the British establishment prefer to run society on buisness lines ie like a tyranny. A workplace isn’t a haven of democracy. Nobody is interested in what employees think. They’re there to work for the owners. Same with neoliberal Westminster which is largely just a window dressing exercise pretending to address important issues and pretending real political dividing lines exist between the 3 main parties when they don’t. They all share the same policies and merely haggle over who will implement them more cheaply and more efficiently.
The Westminster-Whitehall bubble neoliberal agenda is largely set by Washington DC bubble albeit with a time delay measured in years. As WOS clearly and convincing argued recently, the British public leans leftwards. As the right-wing neoliberal policies of the Westminster-Whitehall bubble originate from outside of the UK, the British electorate merely provide some kind of Greek chorus wheeled out to provide some kind of comment and maybe even have a debate but within a set framework of permissible public thought and expression. Westminster policies are sold to the British public using the same advertising and marketing techniques used to sell the latest brand of soap power or toothpaste. On the whole the public have largely no influence on policy formation or policy decision making.
The fact that neoliberalism is about selling off public assets makes British democracy a largely meaningless exercise anyway. Democracy can only work if you have control of public services and public assets. With the voting public owning nothing and having nothing to manage or control, as it is all sold off to private secretive tyrannies, Westminster and the British Government is a meaningless charade without substance and of no importance except to act as a distraction from those who really hold power and who make unaccountable and undemocratic decision that affect us all, such as the minuscule group of owners and shareholders of private power companies, water companies, health companies, railway companies etc etc.
Reference –
The silenced socialists
WOS
12 Sept 2013
http://wingsoverscotland.com/the-silenced-socialists/