Somewhere in time
We already knew that Jackie Baillie had a somewhat shaky grasp of chronology. Last week she told Newsnight Scotland that to find some of the £50m required for Scotland to subsidise the UK government’s bedroom tax, she’d magically travel into the past and un-spend £7m (or as she put it, £10m) of tourism investment that’s likely to bring 20 times that much into the Scottish economy.
And on today’s Good Morning Scotland, she had another balletic prance around in the timestream, speaking from the present about how the past was the future.
“Ms Baillie’s comments came ahead of two rallies in Glasgow against the change to benefits, which critics have labelled the “bedroom tax”.
Speaking on the Good Morning Scotland programme, she said: ‘We are very clear. Labour rejected this approach when it was put to them in government, for social landlords. We have campaigned for its abolition.
‘Yes we will abolish it. My understanding is that you can expect an announcement relatively soon.'”
Correct us if we’re wrong here, readers, but “Yes we will abolish it” actually IS an announcement, is it not? It’s unequivocal and unqualified, unlike the party’s consistent previous assertions that it would abolish the tax “If we were in power tomorrow”.
So why, in those last two sentences, did Jackie Baillie refer to something she’s just said in the (immediate) past as if it was something that was going to be said in the future? Please, someone call a Doctor.
.
UPDATE 12.53pm: “However, a Labour source has told BBC Scotland that Ms Baillie has “gone a bit too far”.”
UPDATE 2.30pm:
Doctor Who?
In your pic she looks as if she needs one now.
Doctor Crippen?
Call in the Truth team!
They’re squirming all over the place on this…
We need to be told, what’s labour’s position on this at –
10am
1pm
Tonight
Last week
2014
2015
Cannot say anything about Scotland without approval from HQ outside Scotland
In similar vein, a wee rhyme from my childhood:
I went to the pictures the morn’,
I got a front seat at the back’
I said to the wummin’ behind me, I cannae see fur yer hat’
She gave me some whole broken biscuits’
I ate them and gave her them back.
Did she say what cuts they would make elsewhere to pay for it?
Do they intend to make further cuts to Scotland’s pocket money to cover the costs here?
“Labour rejected this approach when it was put to them in government, for social landlords” – but not for private renter scum, who Labour rightly targeted with the original Bedroom Tax all those years ago.
Why do the Labour string pullers in Westminster continue to allow her to speak to people?
Because the alternative is having James Kelly do it.
Dr Who , Why , When , Where , How , Maybe , past tense and present tense my English is pretty awful but do the Labour party not speak utter shat
Whew, thanks for that – I thought it was just me. Every time that woman talks I feel like bore holes are being drilled into my brain.
James Consititchooooounnnnts Kelly
If New Labour actually do announce their first 100% clear policy on anything, they will simply be catching up on what the Scottish government has been saying all along. Why does it take so long for New Labour to do anything?
Because, like Sarwar, she realised she had ‘mispoken’!
I think the phrase you want is “mis-thought”.
While I am sure, to many, Ms Baillie epitomises the ideal person to direct us on matters of health, the standing of her party in the polls would suggest her assurance is rather more presumptive than prescient.
One also wonders whether this isn’t yet another example of the kind of respect due to her leader Mr Ed – the stalking horse.
Meanwhile, as JaBa struggles with concept of time, the Scottish Government is meant to give £50 million of its pocket money back to London? And we have to wait for an announcement she and An Ass have already made, but are powerless to implement?
Meanwhile, I have the image of a be-tutued Baillie prancing about to ‘Let’s Do The Time Warp Again on repeat in my head.
I would guess that this is an attempt to take some of the heat off Lamont’s faux pas at FMQ and Sarwar’s faux pas in the “debate” with Nicola Sturgeon.
The Labour ranks must be getting pretty restless for Labour to come out with a panic announcement like this.
my guess is this: They won’t abolish it not entirely, they’ll just create a whole new raft of benefits to cover the cut to benefits already being cut. Overly complicated, expensive to run, requiring a contract for new IT systems. Means testing outsourced to G4S anything rather than admit they fucked up, apologise and do away with it.
I was going to try and find a way of using the phrase ‘see you next Tuesday’ but had a good think about it and decided not to.
“Balletic prance”? JaBa in a tutu? A thought to ponder.
Anyhow, clearly the grey matter is not well connected to the glib tongue. Is she a lawyer?
Poor Labour, gave up their principles to gain power, lost power. Now living in a dream world where they abolish the Bedroom Tax just by saying so.
Sleepwalking to disaster, they still dont recognise 2010 or 2011 but we mustn’t wake them, it might be fatal 🙂
This is for Jackie…’waiting for someone or something to show you the way…’
JaBa. 🙂
Talking of imagery, I just got an unwanted flash of a pro-U wrestling promo ( a la the pro-indy “Kelvin Brawl’) where the star bout is JaBa v SuMo. 🙂
Is she going bald?
She is a liar among liars, what really gets me annoyed is when she is caught, she just smiles as in “SO WHAT” Slab at it’s best!
Just a quick mention of the land sale debacle, when will ANY of the gutless MSM mention that it was labour behind the buying of the land AND that Lamont’s HUSBAND was instrumental in the deal!
There must be some authority SOMEWHERE that can point out what is going on here, otherwise the whole world is corrupt.
Bear in mind this is the woman whose grasp of chronology prompted her to accuse the SNP Government of presiding over an NHS which had allowed Scotland to become the “C-Dif Capital of Europe” – using figures from 2006 when her own Labour Party was in power in Scotland! This woman, like most of her Holyrood Labour colleagues, is a joke and not fit for opposition, let alone government.
Do you think they should just have Bill Bailey standing behind her going “And now the news. That’ll be me away.”
A chancer who got lucky.
The people of Scotland can never believe in these people. My father used to say “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice and shame on me”. Vote Yes in 2014 because the revenge of these people will lay waste to Scotland for generations to come.
I am not sure if it’s the right thing for the Scottish Government to ease the pain of the bedroom tax. People need to realise that Holyrood can’t be placed in the position of completely easing the pain of Westminister policies but I feel for the people of Scotland who are suffering. However, should everyone suffer?
I look at what Slab are offering and I despair.
I despair that they could actually screw a No vote and somehow come back in control in Holyrood.
Holyrood would be turned into a glorified Glasgow Cooncil and a lot of the policies now decided and taken at Holyrood would be farmed out to the regigged gerrymandered district cooncils with a collapse in service and democracy. The vampires would have all the keys to the bloodbank.
That woman is the represents the overarching death grip on the incompetent, unintelligent and corrupt on our democracy.
Then I wake up from my daymare and think about next Saturday and our one-in-a lifetime, maybe never ever again, chance to consign Jackie Baillie and her ilk to the cesspit of our past.
She is an enormous waste of space.
Maybe the Tories have a policy for her after a YES vote?
Soylent Green.
Who runs Britain? The last 15mins is worth listening to when two journos confirm that the three main parties are one and the same. Democracy anyone?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b038dhw0
Baillie, Lamont, Gray, Kelly, Dugdale, McNeil, etc!!!! – Can you in your wildest dreams visualise that mob running Scotland? We would be running only one way – into the ground. We better, simply better, vote YES.
Mz Baillie typifies all that has gone wrong with a once well-respected Socialist Party.
Her desperate utterances remind me of a former teacher’s assessment “she is intoxicated by the exuberance of her own verbosity”
I listened to the interview this morning and really couldn’t believe what I was hearing, first from the Tory (forgotten his name) then Jackie Baillie
Found Baillie a touch sanctimonious, with her ‘soon [my precious], soon’ When pressed by Isabella Fraser, we just got more of the ‘soon’ in the same vacuous tone of someone handing down some important dictat to the mere mortals. As if Labour were some how the great saviour of the Scottish people.
Was interesting she didn’t answer the point that Labour haven’t actually filed ANY bill related to the Bedroom tax. Baillie just kept up the ad nauseum approach of blaming the SNP inferring that everything was on hold due to the referendum
The subtext is, Scottish Labour have been forced by Anus Mispoke and other ineptitudes to a position that Scottish Labour have defacto committed to abolish it. They just need London Labour to pat them on the head and assure them they have done the “Right ” thing.
Talk about procrastination. This are a joke. Too many lies now to be taken seriously, people surely are just saying, yeh yeh pull the other one, unless they too blissfully follow the delusion.
To be honest, with Jabs it always a question of ‘same shit, different day.’ She’s a proven liar, and boring to boot. Isn’t it time to give the absurd Liberal Democrats a shoeing as they gather in a phonebox in Glasgow?
Meanwhile, I have the image of a be-tutued Baillie prancing about to ‘Let’s Do The Time Warp Again on repeat in my head.
Jeez man, that’s a sentence I wish I’d never read…
BBC Labour Scotland are reporting that SLAB and Baillie have said that they intent to scrap the Bedroom Tax.
jackie baillie in a tutu. thanks for that, im sure my slobberin black lab will appreciate it more after the huge bowl of macaroni an cheese he has just scoffed.
It is illuminating to see the kids at “Scottish” New Labour awaiting approval from their elders in London for their proposed proposal. It is also odd given the latter have already said their Tory better together colleagues are not cutting welfare enough.
And of course in the main bbc so called news online, labour plan to abolish the bedroom tax, so that’s alright then is it, they do not have an ounce of integrity.
@BTP-
‘She is an enormous waste of space.’
First Time, now Space…what next in this thread?
Does light have to bend to get around Baillie?
Is ScotLab a black hole?
isnt integrity part of the criteria for politics ?
Labour source has told BBC Scotland that Ms Baillie has “gone a bit too far”.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-24090772
Oh dear, oh dear. Even Labour are saying that JaBa has lied.
As fine an example of arsefire as we had yet heard
ianbrotherhood
Jackie Baillie may well have emerged from a degenerating, dying black hole as their only hope of continuance.
See you in the Albanach or on The Hill
O/T
This week’s BBC Newswatch is on the referendum debate. There was panel of college students, and a few wanted more discussion of the issues rather than repeated scare and ‘Salmond’ stories, and wanted ‘answers’ to what would happen after Yes or No (though one student who thought there was too much coverage of the referendum, and who appeared to be saying it’s a bit scary to think about, said she thought the coverage was fine).
Boothman was on, and after more or less saying the question and date had only just been set (which is why the BBC hasn’t got beyond the process yet, according to him), answered the issue that the students had brought up about getting information; he said the big issues would be dealt with in depth in the coming year, but when asked about the BBC after a Yes vote he said the BBC had a position of not engaging in scenario planning – so, like many other issues, there can be none of the ‘answers’ that the students wanted.
Can we lay aside the physical appearance Jacke Baillie and concentrate on her political influence. She certainly casts a large shadow……
Bugger the Panda:
“I look at what Slab are offering and I despair.”
Despair is all Slab have to offer, BTP.
No Bedroom Tax bill. No abolition campaign. Jackie Baillie is simply talking rubbish.
If it is true that she has gone too far and an announcement is not due soon (or at all) then it will just be another in her catalogue of facts, statements and figures that sound impressive in an interview and completely deflect criticism but later turn out to be made up on the hoof and have no basis in fact. If this was a London version of the BBC she would be grilled by Paxman who would list these faus pas and then conclude “You are an out and out liar are you not or are you simply an imbecile?” Rude and objectionable as Paxman can be I really wish someone at Pacific Quay had the balls to hold politicians feet to the fire. In particular Labour who seem to lead a charmed life with this sort of thing.
In the guise of Ms Baillie, are we witnessing a supernova labour in Scotland – “core collapse when nuclear fusion suddenly becomes unable to sustain the core against its own gravity”.
I see it made top story on the Beeb – which will miff the Libs as it is their opening conference day. Is that what this is all about? Simple party politics.
As fine an example of arsefire as we had yet heard
Is that the V for Vendetta inspired dictatorial vision for SLab? Don’t worry – vote NO and we’ll send Ian Davidson’s bagmen round to take that ("Tractor" - Ed)ous Salmond away to a secret facility! Strength through unity! Unity through pies!
HandandShrip
Simpletons party politics.
I agree, neither BBC Scotland nor the STV are either capable or willing to take to task politicians like JaBa who simply lie their way thru interviews.
@Murray McCallum-
How is it possible for someone who is so resistible and objectionable to be an irresistible force and an immovable object? Professor Brian Cox tried to investigate, and she ate him.
Labour full of ‘something for nothing’.
must be a hell of alot of fusion goin on somewhere inside jaba to hold up the implosion
Current slab policy is that the bedroom tax should be ‘abolished’ by the Scottish Government financing the deficit it creates. Perhaps the announcement will just be a formalisation of that. Then it’s the SNP’s fault.
“In the guise of Ms Baillie, are we witnessing a supernova labour in Scotland – “core collapse when nuclear fusion suddenly becomes unable to sustain the core against its own gravity”.”
Actually I believe it’s a black hole:
@ianbrotherhood
How is it possible for someone who is so resistible and objectionable to be an irresistible force and an immovable object? Professor Brian Cox tried to investigate, and she ate him.
This and other comments on Baillie :D: :D:
Thank you so much for making me giggle Rev and thank you to all the posters here on WoS for keeping me sane in what is a mad, mad world of MSM. I’ll be at the march next Saturday and hope to bump into some of you and say Hello x
@Rev @1.25pm
Jackie Baillie certainly has a direct line to a parallel dimension.
MajorBloodnok
see you Saturday
One thing for sure Labour cannot go into the Dunfermline by-election spouting this nonsense. With no big personality as a candidate Scottish Labour do need big ideas to convince the voters. Where are they to come from?
gillie
SNP acceptance of Misogyny and the WOS shock troops?
The key word is ‘relatively’ here. She means soon from her frame of reference which we all know is geological timescale. Or she may well be suggesting its actually going to happen in a parallel universe. Cos’ they’re definitely living parallel to the universe the rest of us inhabit.
The thing is, they’re probably going to win the Dunfermline by-election even with all the gaffes and without trying too hard. As Scot Goes Pop says, the SNP really just have to take this one on the chin. Some vetting committee slipped up big time letting that manipulative bastard Walker on the list of candidates, and we just have to take our lumps for it.
“Labour ‘will abolish bedroom tax’ claims Jackie Baillie”
BBC Scotland quickly updated their story, it has become a “claim”.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-24090772
O/T (sort of)
This new blog from Derek Bateman is a hoot. Already on his third post, he takes on the latest Jackie Baillie nonsense and the sudden disappearance from the BBC headlines of the Johann Lamont gaffe, once they’d realised she was talking guff.
Bet he’s loving the freedom that comes with having finally left the institution which makes such a smug mockery of being a bastion of “impartiality”. Pretty brave of him too, as he’s risking alienating former colleagues (although I suspect he was probably victimised from within as by BEING impartial in his Newsweek programmes he wasn’t sticking to the prevailing orders from above).
As Morag has said elsewhere on this site: Derek, through the use of deep inverse satire, is “walking us through” how the BBC News & Current Affairs Dept operates. They can’t accuse him of “slander” because he of the clever parody he is using……
We have long wished for a brave whistle-blower to break ranks with Pacific Quay. With still a year to go, Derek’s brave “coming-out” is a hugely important contribution to the online debate. Bet you any money he’s been an avid Wings reader for a long time!
If you’re reading this, Derek, g’aun yersel’, min. You have tons of support. Your blog may have just a few readers at the moment, but I bet the numbers will grow. Look at how Wings and NNS started! From small acorns…..
http://derekbatemandotnet1.wordpress.com/
WOS screengrabs of assorted Loonionists are as impeccable as its political and news media analysis.
Einstein’s theory of Relativity comes in handy when trying to interpret Labour policy although, to be fair, Relativity and quantum physics are a lot less mind-boggling to get your head round.
One of the laws of Quantum Labour Dynamics state that the observer’s point of view in time affects the way they see the speed of the Labour policy train crash, which is always travelling at the absolute speed of neoliberal politics. Regardless of what Labour apparatchiks say, at any given point in time and space, it is a truism that Labour neoliberalism is a given and the observer should really just switch off their tv as Labour are a waste of time and space, relatively speaking.
Reference –
So you’re a kid and you want to understand Labour Policy? No problem. Let’s get started.
http://trendingsideways.com/index.php/the-theory-of-relativity-for-kids/
You wonder why they’ve skirted around the issue for so long. They could easily just nick the £50m from somewhere else (it’s not a lot of money), claim they’ve shelled out to scrap the bedroom tax and it’s a guaranteed headline-grabber and vote winner. Instead Labour have come out with a different story every day. No leadership whatsoever, proof if there was any needed that Lamont is miles out of her depth. She’s probably still only there because the next best option is Iain Gray again.
She could be telling the truth. Lots of children are injured every year by them.
It’s about time bedroom tacks were abolished.
@Quinie frae Angus-
Aye, Bateman’s on a roll, sounds like he’s enjoying himself. I just asked him to pop in here, so we’ll see – would be great to have him on-board.
Ianbrotherhood,
You mentioned ‘draped over’ on another thread – today I would suggest ‘under’
ianbrotherhood
We are such a bile soaked group though, would you want to see his reputation tarnished through an association with WOS? 😉
O/T – I’m watching the Lib Dem conf on the Parly Channel, but don’t seem to be watching the same as beeing tweeted – at the mo it’s a guy from Tower Hamlets speaking – tried looking for Democracy Live on BBC, but couldn’t find live stream – can someone post the link for me please?
@CameronB-
I’m sure we can tempt him…
…hoy! Derek! come away in, there’s a jam doughnut with your name on it.
http://www.bakeiteasy.co.za/images/doughnuts_04.gif
Re last post, picked up the live stream link from the Rev’s twitter timelne and saw Jo Swinson dong her bit – didn’t seem to go down that well with audience, nor with me. Amongst other waffle (Alex Salmond bad, separation bad), she put out a call for all of UK to campaign against separation by coming to Scotland and campaigning against and/or phone campaigning:-(
Well no one’s wholly useless.
A wee copy of the last photo (the one with the moving lipstick) posted on my office wall, produced a fantastic result; Haven’t seen a moose since.
Well done, Big Yin.
Just in so don’t know if anyone already made this comment. I think a serious injustice is being done to Ms Baillie. She obviously expects there will be an independent Scotland in a year’s time, in which case Labour in Scotland will no longer be beholden to their masters down South and can honestly promise to abolish Bedroom Tax.
Clearly her position would be stronger if she were to say openly that an independent Scotland is a prerequisite for Labour’s intention to abolish this Tax but perhaps we will be hearing about this from her shortly
I’m sure I read last week that Professor Brian Cox said that it was possible to build a time machine – looks like Jackie Baillie got there first.
Ooh! The unhinged one, (George Ffoulkes), seems a bit cross with BBC Scotland and has just tweeted this:
‘Only BBC Scotland would lead with a non-story from an anonymous Labour spokesperson. They are becoming an embarassment and a disgrace.’
Presumably referring to the Bed Tax rebuttal from London.
But – how did GF know that BBC Scot were leading with the Bed Tax article as it only came on telly just now, after he posted tweet?
He’s borrowed Jackie’s time machine.
Then her time machine must have the properties of the Tardis to accommodate them both;-)
£50 million the cost of having MP’s in Westminster easy peasy vote YES on the 18th sept nxt year and we are sorted
@TJenny
Ooh! The unhinged one, (George Ffoulkes), seems a bit cross with BBC Scotland and has just tweeted this:
‘Only BBC Scotland would lead with a non-story from an anonymous Labour spokesperson. They are becoming an embarassment and a disgrace.’
Presumably referring to the Bed Tax rebuttal from London.
Pipe down George, BBC Labour Scotland are doing their very best to protect Lamont and Baillie from themselves….
Its fun watching these balloons from labour make yet another bolloxs of themselves, please do not let Lamont or Baillie leave their positions they are Gods gift to the YES campaign.
PS. I include Iain grey in that.
I am now going for a “Baillie” it will be large.
Ms Baillie has been lying for so long and never been called out for it, that she thinks she could say anything and get away with it. She has now stepped over the line now and pissed off her London bosses. The Scottish MSM wont touch her but just wait till the London branch are finished with her. Goodness knows for how long she will disappear. (The last disappearance was about 3 months for “re-education”).
Jackie Baillie is full of herself – no mean feat.
Jackie Baillie is a Stranger to The Truth.
She has no idea where it lives, what it is and why it is.
She is so ensconced in her little self made bubble of fantasy, so in awe of how great she thinks her intellect is, that anything she says is the truth and even if it is not 100% accurate, her ample derriere will be covered by the tame Inky fingered press and the BBC Scotland Labour Unit.
If she were chocolate, she would eat herself…..errrrr
Lost my Passport and had to get an Emergency Travel Document from the British Consul in Bordeaux. It cost me more than my airfare to Glasgow!
Incidentally inside the BRITISH Consul at Bordeaux the waiting room wall is adorned with photographs of England with exhortations to “Visit England”
Come Scottish Tourist Board, get your finger out
If I lose my other Passport before I will have to take the Calais to Dover stowage route. I believe it is not too difficult.
Getting back to France might be a bit iffy.
See youse lot on Saturday
Ian Smart is here to sort it all out for us.:-)
http://archive.is/DISre
Nice piece of editing by the BBC… check it out:
http://archive.is/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-24090772
They really do think we button up at the back!