Here’s Ed Miliband, giving a speech this morning to literally at least 20 Labour MPs, Labour MSPs, journalists and possibly a stray member of the public who accidentally walked through the wrong door in Clydebank, a place where Labour leaders used to address gatherings of thousands.
Unusually, Miliband took a few questions from the hacks, all of whom promptly wasted the opportunity by lobbing completely pointless softballs about coalitions and deals, all of which (a) have been asked a hundred times already, (b) were rendered moot by Alex Salmond on the Marr show yesterday, and (c) were only ever going to be batted away non-committally.
So here’s an actually worthwhile one they can ask instead next time.
With apologies to Jason Donovan, we felt we should probably have a look at the latest election leaflet Scottish Labour are putting through people’s doors.
Yesterday we noted that nothing had yet been heard from Scottish Labour’s policy review into universal services, launched amid much hoopla in September 2012 off the back of Johann Lamont’s infamous “something for nothing” speech.
The party has spent much of its time since then attacking the SNP over social justice, claiming that universal benefits are a middle-class subsidy, hurting the poor by spending money on giving the well-off free stuff they could afford to pay for.
Those two years have come and gone, and nearly six months more, and there’s been no sign of a single report from the commission. And it turns out there never will be.
Alert readers should by now have spotted our story about the findings of the Independent Press Standards Organisation with regard to the Daily Record’s “The Vow Delivered” front page from last November. The paper was found by IPSO to have been guilty of “significantly misrepresent[ing] the fiscal consequences of the Smith Commission’s recommendations”, and ordered to publish a correction.
IPSO also noted in its judgement that the Record had amended the online version of the article accordingly. But that’s only partly true.
A number of readers last night sent us copies of the response to complaints they’d made to the Independent Press Standards Organisation about the Daily Record’s infamous “The Vow” front cover. We attach the full judgement at the bottom of this article, and as far as we’re concerned it’s fair and accurate. The Vow was a deliberate deception, but it didn’t break any rules – it merely relied on readers misinterpreting it.
The bit we’re still interested in is the paragraph above.
twathater on The Modern Politician: “@ Young Lochinvar 12.32am, Well said and as usual the POLITICIANS and deviants pushing this ideology are avoiding any responsibility…” Feb 12, 02:30
Young Lochinvar on The Modern Politician: “Well said. An example of how feminisation of society, nihilistic ideology and care in the community/ abandonment of the clinically…” Feb 12, 00:32
Young Lochinvar on The Modern Politician: “Chas Try reading top to bottom and left to right. Things will make more sense.. If you don’t agree with…” Feb 12, 00:06
willie on The Modern Politician: “Tragic, tragic, tragic the death of six killed and the twenty seven is just that. Who know what was in…” Feb 11, 22:38
DaveL on The Modern Politician: “Aye, and the BBC still don’t know that…” Feb 11, 22:24
Andrew scott on The Modern Politician: “O/T shooter in canada a tranny Quelle surprise” Feb 11, 20:17
Hatey McHateface on The Modern Politician: “Grangemouth closed because the SNP/Green wreckers at HR voted for virtue signalling Scottish Nutt Zero by 2045. 5 years ahead…” Feb 11, 19:45
Hatey McHateface on The Modern Politician: ““The deindustrialisation of Thatcher has ruined the health of much of the Scottish population and of the North of England”…” Feb 11, 19:36
Hatey McHateface on The Modern Politician: ““explain what you mean” If politicians get re-elected time after time, then in the eyes of the voters, they’re not…” Feb 11, 19:17
Hatey McHateface on The Modern Politician: ““girls fed testosterone” Crivens! I’d heard of maneaters. I’d never realised it was a literal description.” Feb 11, 19:11
Hatey McHateface on The Modern Politician: “Form an orderly queue, Insider. I’m still waiting to hear how Alf presents the passport issued by an imaginary country…” Feb 11, 19:06
Hatey McHateface on The Modern Politician: “Great stuff, Alf. Could have been better though – needed something from Fanon to add that little bit extra. BTW.…” Feb 11, 19:01
Insider on The Modern Politician: “Alf ! Still waiting for an answer to my query yesterday concerning your fascinating comments about how “different animal species”…” Feb 11, 18:01
Chas on The Modern Politician: “As usual, I read the comments starting from the bottom up. I note 6 in a row from Cheyne, all…” Feb 11, 16:02
Alf Baird on The Modern Politician: ““Scottish politics is different” Indeed so, but we must understand why this is the case. Its because we are talking…” Feb 11, 15:04
PC Foster on The Modern Politician: “Ha . A woman ‘in a dress’ is code for ‘we are too scared to mention it was a trans.!” Feb 11, 14:24
James Cheyne on The Modern Politician: “The awful governance and policies of Tories, Labour, Greens, libdems and the SNP are the worst of the worst applied…” Feb 11, 13:42
James Cheyne on The Modern Politician: “Psyops and psychology worked on the democratic voters.” Feb 11, 13:08
James Cheyne on The Modern Politician: “Making your options so awful, they can guide you into making the choices they aways wanted you to make.” Feb 11, 12:37
Lorna Campbell on The Modern Politician: “Yes, exactly. The media twists itself out of shape to try and not hurt the feelz of this dangerous lobby.…” Feb 11, 12:31
James Cheyne on The Modern Politician: “The replication of reducing Scotland to a one party system is being done in England, Wales and Ireland, Nobody worth…” Feb 11, 12:31
James Cheyne on The Modern Politician: “Labour moved into the SNP for a reason, The next step is to reduce the ability people having the right…” Feb 11, 12:12
sam on The Modern Politician: “She, like every other leading politician, reacted to public pressure. She abolished the poll tax and did not introduce the…” Feb 11, 12:07
James Cheyne on The Modern Politician: “We do know what two tiers beliefs are, and he follows them to the letter. Reduce the success and workings…” Feb 11, 11:59
James Cheyne on The Modern Politician: “The Scottish experiment. Trick them into believing they are in a union treaty with England. Get rid of the Scottish…” Feb 11, 11:47
100%Yes on The Modern Politician: “AYE, YOUR WRONG he’s got his own mind and he’s no one lap dog. He’s a British politician who in…” Feb 11, 10:41
TURABDIN on The Modern Politician: “FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS… “The true interests and desires of a society are embodied in what Rousseau called its…” Feb 11, 10:30
Marie on The Modern Politician: “I wondered that when I saw media reports saying that the shooter was a woman “in a dress”. Immediately smelled…” Feb 11, 10:22
Ian Smith on The Modern Politician: “We cannot forever keep financially hitting the successful to keep the subsidised in business. I prefer the German/Austrian type model…” Feb 11, 09:35
Willie on The Modern Politician: “As an aside this Wednesday morning I’ve just read an article in the Telegraph reporting outrage at new government letter…” Feb 11, 09:31
