The consolation prize 91
Posted on
November 29, 2014 by
Chris Cairns
Archive for the ‘uk politics’
Monkey disowns organ-grinder 185
Posted on
November 27, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
We mentioned this story (about David Cameron pushing ahead with “English votes for English laws” legislation that would exclude Labour MPs from budget votes, despite the Smith Commission report categorically saying he wouldn’t) earlier today, but one particular line from it deserves a post of its own.
He said: ‘This is the Prime Minister’s view, it is not government policy.’”
You heard it right, readers: a never-seen dimwit in a job so pointless he himself stood in the last election on a policy of abolishing it altogether really just said “Don’t listen to anything this idiot says about government policy, he’s only the Prime Minister.”
It’s been that sort of day, folks.
Bams to the slaughter 179
Posted on
November 27, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
You have to hand it to David Cameron – he doesn’t hang about. Barely two hours had passed after the declaration of the result of the independence referendum when he started tying new devolved powers into legislation on “English votes for English laws”, in a slick knifing of his unsuspecting hitherto-allies in Labour.
And just as hot on the heels of the Smith Commission’s final report, he’s at it again.
Vow left on bus, eaten by dog 279
Posted on
November 26, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
We’ve had another letter from the government.
Another rise in inflation 104
Posted on
November 25, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
It’s still Jim Murphy Day here at Wings (did you all get nice presents?), but we’re as sick as you are of hearing him avoid questions about devolution, so instead we’re going to take a look at something else he said this afternoon.
£250 million? We’re sure it used to be rather less than that.
Welcome to Britain 63
Posted on
November 24, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
There was a very disturbing opinion poll published by YouGov earlier this year and recently highlighted by the pollster, which took 16 policy propositions across a variety of subjects and set them against each other in a sort of Politics World Cup to find out the British public’s priorities. The result was predictable but no less depressing for it.
By some chillingly large margins, the policy the people of the UK want implemented more than any other is the spiteful removal of the right to benefits for new immigrants. (We suspect that if the question had offered the option of withdrawing benefits from immigrants full stop it wouldn’t have changed the figures much.)
And we couldn’t help wondering how big a deal that really was.
Aneurin Bevan’s grave 123
Posted on
November 23, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Labour shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves on Sunday Politics.
Did you spot what she got wrong, readers?
Every which way but loose 85
Posted on
November 23, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
The talk of the steamie in this weekend’s Sunday papers is that Scottish Labour are set to backpedal on the devolution of 100% of income tax, a position previously described by Gordon Brown – the great architect of “The Vow” – as a “Tory trap” which was “not in Scotland’s interests”.
(Coincidentally, the papers also report that Brown, who said he would personally ensure the safe delivery of the new devolution settlement, will stand down at the 2015 election in order to devote more time to his “charity” work.)
It is, of course, a challenge to keep track of Labour’s position on the move from one day to the next. In 2013 it wanted to devolve all taxation, then in 2014 it decided as its final settled position that it wasn’t a good idea after all, and has flip-flopped on a more or less weekly basis ever since. Just this month the favourite for the Scottish branch office leadership, Jim Murphy, poured cold water on the notion, but now it seems yet another U-turn is on the cards.
We wouldn’t put a lot of money on it being the last one.
A man telling a lie 46
Posted on
November 23, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Ed Miliband on the BBC 10 O’Clock News, 21 November 2014.
Gander dislikes sauce 174
Posted on
November 22, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
There’s a glorious piece in today’s Daily Mail from BritNat arch-troll Simon Heffer, in which he fumes and splutters about the outrageous idea of finding himself, thanks to the huge surge in support for the SNP since the referendum, ruled next year by a government “that only a small minority in England would have voted for”.
We’re sure that Scots everywhere will empathise with the unfortunate Mr Heffer’s intolerable plight, having many decades of experience of that very scenario. We’d also be interested to know, however, if he sent a submission to the Smith Commission detailing his radical solution to the whole devolution issue, as outlined in the Mail on 6 September this year:
We very much hope that he did.
Conflicting accounts 157
Posted on
November 21, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
From an editorial in today’s Daily Record:
“The debate in the House of Commons yesterday proved once and for all that The Vow is doing its job.
The Prime Minister insisted no review is ‘on the horizon’, saving valuable funds for Holyrood.”
But that isn’t a very accurate report of events, for several reasons. Not least of them is the fact that David Cameron wasn’t even there.
The time is right 235
Posted on
November 21, 2014 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Last night, the Lib Dems outpolled the Monster Raving Loonies by just 198 votes.
(Well, the original Monster Raving Loonies, anyway. Not the ones who won.)
