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Where the sun shines brightly

Posted on July 02, 2014 by

The Guardian has a story today about what Herald journalist Paul Hutcheon pithily described yesterday as Jim Murphy MP’s “100 day tour of Scottish Labour activists”, which we’ve previously featured on this site.

murphyholiday

But we were contacted by an alert reader who made a point echoed by one of the replies to Hutcheon’s tweet – doesn’t Mr Murphy already have a full-time job?

The UK parliament doesn’t break up for the summer recess for another three weeks, and the tour’s already been running for at least a fortnight. It seems unlikely that the shadow international development secretary’s been shuttling back and forth from far-flung corners of Scotland to London every other day, and it’s hard to see how the MP could devote much time to constituency issues when he’s racing across the country giving “thoughtfully tailored” speeches to diverse communities from “Barrhead to Barra”.

murphytour

So our reader got in touch, and received this reply:

Mr Murphy will not be on holiday for 100 days. He will continue to fulfil his full list of responsibilities while campaigning to keep Scotland in the UK.

Yours,
Claire Pryor

Office of Rt Hon Jim Murphy MP”

We hope that sets everyone’s mind at rest.

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Ross Matthews

If I was one of his constituents I wouldn’t be a happy camper. Shouldn’t he be in parliament doing his job? Does this mean his constituents have no representation for 100 days? Will he still be drawing his salary?

Jim Thomson

How does this work?

If you ask an MP for a response to some issue/question/problem the first thing that comes back is “Are you a constituent?” If you’re not, tough sh*t.

On the other hand, MPs seem to be able to stick their snouts into anyone else’s constituency and give forth with their “wisdom”. Forcing non-constituents to listen to their belly rumbles.

Somehow doesn’t seem fair.

I’m still waiting, by the way, for Jim Murphy to reply to a question I asked about his assertion made on a TV debate for young voters that NATO was a nuclear organisation when no such thing features in the Washington (i.e. NATO) Treaty.

john king

Anybody managed a head count in that picture of his own acolytes yet?

Barontorc

Obviously his full time job, you know, the one he’s paid by us to do, isn’t very demanding of his time.

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

Grouse Beater

Hoo haar!

Believe me, any politician who can work for twa maisters, can keep two opposing principles in his head, talk with a forked tongue, a is comfortable being Scottish and English, can be in two places at once!

It’s a piece of cake – well, two pieces.

Nana Smith

A nice long holiday paid by the taxpayer. So what’s new.

Meanwhile folks are struggling to pay for food…just makes you scream!

Andy-B

Surely he must be neglecting his constituents, by travelling all over Scotland, preaching Labour and Better Togethers dubious doctrine.

john king

Ten people in that picture, but then I am counting the baby in the pram!

MekQuarrie

Hmm. But still claiming susbsistence allowances and travel expenses (from our tax money) for a purely party political matter..?

jim watson

That picture of Murphy reminds me of the master debating style of Cecil Parkinson who was once reduced to ridicule by Denis Skinner shouting across the floor “Stop playing with yourself”. If I remember correctly this heckle never made it into Hansard.

I joined the SNP in time for the Monklands by election and as I jumped off an SNP truck I recall Murphy shouting “hey Watson, when did you join the nazis?” – funny why this came back to mind recently…

Gillie

The tour reveals that there are not many Labour activists in Scotland these days.

Then again perhaps BBC Scotland will eventually report that that millions have lined the streets to see Murphy’s red bus and tens of thousands have turned up to listen to him.

Training Day

It’s difficult to hear Murphy’s oleaginous whispers at the best of times.. those folk in the second picture are standing awfully far away..I’m sure Murphy went on to give a barnstorming address and didn’t just pose for a photo for two seconds..

Camz

Shadow international development secretary?

The person responsible for shadowing another, who is responsible for developing other countries interests?

If ever there was a non-job. Murphy’s out and about proves it. Not much to do, but plenty of wages for it.

galamcennalath

jim watson says:
I recall Murphy shouting “hey Watson, when did you join the nazis

Interesting. It’s not just a dreamt up smear for the referendum. They do seem to actually believe this Nazi thing.

cearc

On Holiday!

What they get to take holidays in term time.

MochaChoca

I take it Barr must have asked for their ginger crate back?

Calgacus MacAndrews

@john king says:
Ten people in that picture, but then I am counting the baby in the pram!

Looks more like 35,000 to me.

I’m wearing my special BBC glasses.

🙂

CameronB Brodie

If Mr Murphy was ‘signing on’ instead of sitting as an MP, I don’t think he could claim he was available for work, let alone actively looking for employment. How can he possible conduct his duties with due responsibility?

Corruption starts with double standards at the top. Down with this sort of thing.

Helena Brown

Shall we then expect an increase in Jim Murphy’s expenses to cover all the to and fro ing?

CameronB Brodie

john king
The BBC said the crowd was hoaching. 😉

Derek M

be careful with those special glasses Calgacus i hear they destroy your morality and integrity and turn you into a hate filled raving loony labour member bent on calling everybody nazi`s and dictators.

chalks

What is he actually saying though?

Nana Smith

@Helena Brown

Well of course Helena, I mean a man of such calibre can’t be expected to use his own money.

Please let us rid ourselves of these dishonest people.

CameronB Brodie

Calgacus MacAndrews
Snap. 🙂

Triangular Ears

David Miliband seems interested in what he has to say in the second photograph…

iclare

Body language of audience in last pic is telling

Gillie

Transcript of Jim Murphy’s thoughtfully tailored speech to the masses.

JM: “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

The masses replied: “Get tae Falkirk”

JM: “Righty-O then. Falkirk next stop”

heedtracker

Maybe it’s why not future PM Milliband sacked him from shadow Defence top job to International dev. He’s never around and not very good either. Although it does makes some sense for Ed as Scotland moves to nation statehood.

X_Sticks

Helena Brown says:

“Shall we then expect an increase in Jim Murphy’s expenses to cover all the to and fro ing?”

I think you just volunteered to monitor his expenses and report back Helena 😉

Chris Silver

oh come on Gordon Brown’s appearances at WM could be counted on one hand while he presents speeches to all in sundry for a hefty fee or promoting his book without much harm to his constituents, well unless you ask them about Dalgety Bay ll those in favour raise their third hand.

Derek M

oi would you all stop telling murphy to get tae Falkirk we have enough labour dross here already last thing we need is more of them 😉

joe kane

I hear Scottish Labour are thinking about adding new piece of merchandise to their Jim Murphy franchise range called “The Action Man Jim Doll”. It has realistic gripping hands to hold onto all that public cash he’s paid; eagle-eyes for that swivel-eyed loon effect now popular among the Labour Party elite and a string you can pull which endlessly repeats complete and utter Labour-bot rubbish.

Dorothy Devine

Calgacus MacAndrews , take it those are the ones with the Union flag on them and not the ones with fluttering saltires in front of them

There must be a theorem for that 100 saltires = 20 folk
40 Union flags = 1,000 folk.

bookie from hell

This Quote interesting in article

Murphy also talks about Scotland having a home rule parliament, “which we’re going to get no matter who wins the next election”. He acknowledges later that “home rule is a much more powerful phrase than devolution

just a phrase not actual differential between the two

Capella

Surely Jim Murphy in Scotland IS International Development!

Grouse Beater

Jim Watson tells a cautionary tale:
I recall Murphy shouting “hey Watson, when did you join the Nazis?” – funny why this came back to mind recently.

Shocking.

We really must swab the decks clean of these people.

biggpolmont

Whats the bill for bus hire diesel and driver so far?
probably enough to keep a food bank going for the next six months
Get back tae Wasteminster Murphy and do what your supposed to do! oppose the Wasteminster government!

Jim Marshall

I am one of Murphys constituents. He knocked my door while campaigning in the 2005 general election. ” Will you be voting on Thursday” he enquired. ” I certainly will” said I. After sizing up my demeanour he said “but not for me”. “Correct” said I. Without another word he stomped off. No attempt whatsoever to engage in debate.

I would so have enjoyed telling him that I thought of Labour politicians as war criminals.

Dave McEwan Hill

Labour activists? He came to Dunoon in his big Red Bus. There is ONE Dunoon resident in the photos offered online. The local paper didn’t bother covering his visit.

[…] « Where the sun shines brightly […]

Training Day

‘I hear Scottish Labour are thinking about adding new piece of merchandise to their Jim Murphy franchise range called “The Action Man Jim Doll”. It has realistic gripping hands to hold onto all that public cash he’s paid; eagle-eyes for that swivel-eyed loon effect now popular among the Labour Party elite and a string you can pull which endlessly repeats complete and utter Labour-bot rubbish.’

And like Murphy, it has no balls.

jon esquierdo

Dave McEwan Hill

Did Murphy sail across with his audience in the bus?

Liquid Lenny

Thinking of the Nazi slurs, my best pal who is old labour through and through has been calling me a National Socialist for more than 20 years. Must be indoctrinated into them when the join the Labour Party.

CameronB Brodie

One Nation Labour = National Socialist? 🙂

Sinky

Post devolution MPs at Westminster are underemployed compared to Scottish Parliament MSPs.

How else could Alistair Darling £160,000 from public speaking engagements or various MPs including Ian Murray take on Directorships of football clubs etc.

On Radio Scotland on Saturday the said Ian Murray claimed to have knocked on 4000 doors over the last few months. Aye right.

Steve Bowers

Does the Murphy doll come with a free tin foil hat ?

MochaChoca

Backpack guy could easily be him from ‘Jim Murphy Fan Club’ fame.

handclapping

@CameronB
Certainly Scottish Labour = National Socialist

Peter Macbeastie

Nazis, eh?

It doesn’t matter how many times you explain to the hard of thinking that a name does not make you the same as anyone else with the same name, they still trot out Nazi because it’s the Scottish National Party. A brief examination of the ethos and political spectrum position of the SNP shows any association with the historical German Nazi Party to be total nonsense.

I knew a lad called Peter Macleod (which is my real name; Macbeastie is my internet domain account name) from Tiree. He was dark haired (I’m not) he couldn’t swim (I can) and his middle name was Neil (mine is James.) The middle names one was a bit freaky; his elder brother was James, mine was Neil. And he was a good ten years younger than me.

We joined the Navy, not knowing each other at the time, a week apart.

He, sadly, died whilst on leave from the Navy a couple of years after I met him, believe he drowned. Typical fisherman; could hardly swim even after time in the Navy. But the office I was working with in Portmouth Dockyard at the time got the notification he had died and until they checked his ID number they thought it was me. I came back off leave a week later to the warmest welcome I’ve ever had anywhere and the words ‘we thought you were dead’ followed by the explanation of why they’d thought that.

Saluatory lesson on the point that looking the same at a quick glance does not make you same in any other way.

big jock

Loving that picture. It looks like he is just randomly stopping where some wee kids have been sitting on a wall. The kids are probably thinking : “There is a daft man talkin to himself ma”.

Dave McEwan Hill

jon esquierdo

He did indeed

Lesley-Anne

Yo, Mr…erm…Murphy is it?

Did you pay for that can of Coke yourself or was it the taxpayer? I’m only asking cause listening to the shite you’re currently spouting it is clearly evident that the coke in the Coke aint working and therefore I for one will NOT be paying my share of your *ahem* claim for a can of Coke! 😛

Doug Daniel

So he has no duties? Well nice to have it confirmed at least.

I love that second picture. He looks like some random guy who’s stumbled out of a pub without his jacket, ranting at bemused onlookers.

“Feckin Nazis, ah tell ye. Don’t vote for shepurashun or ah’ll huv tae find a real joab.”

Bill Dunblane

(With apologies to Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett)

Jim is going on a Summer holiday,
From Westminster for a week or two,
The same ‘crowd’ following his Summer holiday,
Hearing the same old lies he tells the noo,
For a month or two.

He’s goin’ where no one believes him,
His Labour party’s turned so Blue,
We’ve heard it all from the No mob,
But none of it is true

Illy

“He will continue to fulfil his full list of responsibilities while campaigning to keep Scotland in the UK.”

Can we ask what his “full list of responsibilities” is?

big jock

That Panelbase poll hasn’t been published but its there:link to panelbase.com

By my crude analysis without the don’t no’s yes is on 48% compared to 43% at the start of June. However not knowing how they weight these things and calculate the don’t knows out I could be wrong. I am just looking at no’s and yes’s and working out from those who actually responded.

bookie from hell

WOW—-check this out REV

Scotland NHS–north korea

link to iea.org.uk

panda paws

“MP could devote much time to constituency issues when he’s racing across the country giving “thoughtfully tailored” speeches to diverse communities from “Barrhead to Barra”.”

Well I’m no fan of his but tbf Barrhead is in his constituency.

@Jim Marshall – love the avatar. And as another constituent he hasn’t come to my door at any election!

big jock

Last panelbase was actually 48% without don’t knows could be a no change poll.

Soloman

Chalk : What’s he actually saying?

It’s either- ” I would like everyone to have a good look their garden sheds for empty Irn Bru bottles ”

Or

“The Milky Bars are all on me”

Gillie

I see Rory Stewart’s ‘Hands Across Border’ event has been cancelled.

Not enough feet on the ground apparently.

GP Walrus

@Dorothy Devine:
“There must be a theorem for that 100 saltires = 20 folk
40 Union flags = 1,000 folk.”

The union folk have very broad shoulders.

Jim Marshall

panda paws 1.56

I use this avatar as he is much better looking than me.

Grouse Beater

Gillie says: I see Rory Stewart’s ‘Hands Across the Border’ event has been cancelled.

Did he not hear our caring, sharing London buddies tell us border controls might be necessary? More like, hands through the barbed wire security fence – watch the guards don’t spot you.

big jock

Or fat necks and low brows GP…

Illy

I just saw something on Newsnet Scotland that I think needs questioning:

What’s wrong about a “Sex offenders for Yes” group? Are they not a minority deserving of a voice in the debate? Does your status as having run afoul of one of the UK’s “sex laws” make your political opinion any less worthy when discussing the independence of your nation?

Especially as the UK’s “sex laws” are completely inconsistant and generally only applied against the poor and defenceless.

joe kane

Speaking of Westminster MPs with lots of time on their hands and lots of other people’s money to burn, I’ve heard that entry is now free entry to hear nawbagger George Galloway on his newspeak tour of Scotland where Scots get a chance to hear their history, culture and country getting denigrated in public by someone who thinks nothing of fomenting sectarian tensions as a method of promoting his own populist political career.

Les Wilson

Well I do suppose Jim will be getting paid for his Westminster post, he is clearly not working for the people who voted for him. So does this count as a Westminster donation.

After all, if he is working on his own account, how can he be getting paid by Westminster, unless tax payers are being taken for a ride. There is an issue here, who appointed him to do this charade? Should he still be paid being outwith his post and his job.

Murray McCallum

A reasonable argument could be made that the country would be in better shape if *all* MPs stayed away from Westminster.

They seem to find new ways of making things worse.

Cag-does-thinking

We all know that the current international development brief is to rubbish Scotland and it’s government internationally by sneaky briefings. I don’t suppose we’ll hear anything from Jim on that on his Irn Bru crate. It’s funny to watch the ermine wearers twitching back to life now that they might have to go to England to keep their seat in the Lords. Baron Munchenhausen-by-proxy looks like he was forced back into the sunlight as the campaign reaches it’s end. None of them look really comfortable with the message they have to carry that it’s fine to have a Tory government in Westminster making the rules until Labour/Liberals/Sceaming Lord Sutch get their act together to form a government of the people sometime in 2025 or so. They are defending the indefensible. Luckily Jim has those nuclear weapons to defend himself with till his ermine comes through for services to small crowds.

handclapping

Judging by the folded arms in the second pic, he’s not getting through to them

heedtracker

If Murphy gets what he wants he’ll have do it without spectacular ukok press bias that has to boost Labour in Scotland while they wipe out Scottish democracy now.

Vote No and vote Labour for next 2015 Westminster GE will stop dead after 18th Sept but if they win, UK press/BBC may decide to take out SNP government in Holyrood on the back of all their vote no propaganda, with very different vote labour in Scotland and Tory in England pressure.

The way the media destroyed the Brown/Darling gov. did quite a lot for SNP election results so today, far right Press and Journal Holyrood doesn’t exist daily pressure to vote no weird stuff like “save devolution, vote no” full page pic of Labour lord Mcconnell of glenscorrodale, with 75% vote no poll and page after P&J page of project fear and then shitty old Guardian says Shrek votes no.

kendomacaroonbar

Hands across the border’s website cannot be found. I guess they should have asked the BBBC to arrange it.

They could have magic’d 1,500 bods into 35,000 with minimal effort.

[…] response to the article on Wings over Scotland, entitled The SNP is predicated on the idea of Nationalism: therefore our SNP MSPs campaign for […]

Rosa Alba Macdonald

Not only is there a question as to whether Scottish and indeed UK Labour are fit for purpose and representative of socialism, there needs to be an evaluation on the part of each voter as to whether Westiminster – with its protocols and practises, is a fit means of governing not just Scotland but rUK needs (without even debating First Past The Post).
More here: link to rosaalba.wordpress.com

Andrew

To Be fair, he almost certainly turns up more that his esteemed colleague the representative for Kirkaldy and Cowdenbeath.

Vestas

@ Bookie

Its Kristian Niemietz so what do you expect from the author of ‘Redefining the Poverty Debate’ and ‘A New Understanding of Poverty’?

In case you’re not aware of him then here’s a representative snippet of his Randian drivel :

“The explosion in the tax credit bill has more to do with an overuse of the system than with ‘subsidising poverty wages’. Tax credits were originally intended to be a wage supplement, not a wage replacement. The best way to bring tax credit spending under control again is restoring the system to its original purpose, rather than interfering with market wages.

But ultimately, unless we come to grips with the now much-cited ‘cost of living crisis’, neither wage controls nor income redistribution are cost-effective ways of boosting the living standards of the least well off.

There is scope for massive reductions in living costs by developing scenically unattractive parts of the greenbelts, ditching the green agenda, getting rid of agricultural protectionism, deregulating childcare and ending the overuse of regressive ‘sin taxes’. These measures would do more to improve the living standards of the low-paid than any NMW hike ever could, and without jeopardising their employment chances in the process.”

Last paragraph says it all I reckon….

joe kane

Anybody interested, below is a link to Galloway’s recent frothing and ranting away in Coatbridge in his bizarre looking Orthodox Jewish-like costume.

His uber British nationalist bilge starts at 16:45 and ends at 1:53:00.

Just a few lowlights –

– at 1:40:45 he goes on about Scotland now having oil but before that it only had shortbread, then moves swiftly on to fighting against the Nazi hordes and then Orkney and Shetland never having voted SNP and don’t want to be independent of the UK etc etc.

– at 01:51:45 Galloway describes Kelvin Mackenzie as Scottish in order to smear Scottish people by association with Mackenzie’s lies about Liverpool fans and Hillsborough.

George Galloway Coatbridge
Independence Live
Livestream

bookie from hell

George Galloway

The House Magazine

Friday 20th April 2012

WORDS: PAUL WAUGH AND SAM MACRORY

He may be a radical but George Galloway is also respectful of Parliament – and seeking an office in Westminster that reflects his intention to spend much more time in the building during his new electoral term

George Galloway is perhaps the most experienced ‘newbie’ MP you’ll ever meet. As he walks through Westminster Hall, he urges guests not to step on the plaque to ‘Braveheart’ William Wallace.

link to politicshome.com

Lesley-Anne

Gillie says:

I see Rory Stewart’s ‘Hands Across Border’ event has been cancelled.

Not enough feet on the ground apparently.

Dammit!

You can really go off some people can’t you?

I mean here I was all set to go down to Tory Rory’s wee night time soiree and gie him a wee helping hand. I had my nice new flag all ready as well, recently hand delivered non the less. 😉

What on earth am I supposed to do now?

I wonder if I can send in an expense claim to his office for one YES Saltire flag for say, oh I dunno…£500,000 will they pay it? 😛

Kenny Campbell

As a shadow minister his constituents already get a rough deal…as one would imagine that this takes up some time at least.

Lesley-Anne

I’m just wondering here. Once he has finished putting his *ahem* audience to sleep does he pass the bucket round for folks to make a *cough* donation. Secondly who paid for the bucket, if it was the taxpayer then I refuse to pay my share on the grounds that he never asked me first if I agreed to the idea of him spouting shite and getting donations from the inflicted in the process. 😛

muttley79

It looks like there is going to be an upsurge in the whole “No are going to win, just look at the opinion polls” spin in the next few months. This article from Sluggerotoole pretty much captures the message we will be getting from No/MSM till September 18th. No mention of Yougov’s less than stellar reputation in regards to Scottish politics either.

link to sluggerotoole.com

bookie from hell

John McTernan ?@johnmcternan · Jun 26
Utterly marvellous by @georgegalloway on why independence is all wrong:

praise from mr. Iraq himself

Clootie

Is that Wiles front right?

seanair

O/T But BBC and navy types bumming up the new aircraft-carrier at Rosyth. One of two which are to be built, but no need now for the second one so it’s available on e-bay at £3 biilion some years from now. No need either for the first one apart from a pretence that we are up with the big boys and their toys. Slight snag too that the planes designed for use on the carrier are way behind in production, but not in price, which is rising. Altogether costing what—-£7 billion plus?
Needless to say Jim Murphy in complete agreement with Tories, decrepit admirals etc that we must have these monstrosities.

JamesS

After looking at these and other pictures of his tour, why are so many “ordinary” members of the public turning up wearing rucksacks?

Are the “ordinary” public following him from event to event?

Bugger (the Panda)

The blonde wifey top middle photo is the same wifey standing directly in front of the Pram in the lower photo.

bookie from hell

You Gov 2011

Scottish elections

looks like last 6 weeks of campaigning swung it to SNP but you gov never picked it up

link to en.wikipedia.org

muttley79

Jim Murphy is just another neo-Con in the upper ranks of the Labour Party. He is the exact same as Darling, Brown, Bilderberg Balls, Alexander, Reeves and co. These people are essentially Tories in all but name. They have embraced the neoliberalism of the Tories wholesale in the last 20 to 30 years. Alexander for one was sent to the USA when he was a student; to drink the neoliberal kool aid, and be told and programmed what to think and say respectively. They speak the same tedious, New Labour speak, which blames the poor and vulnerable, while sucking up to the uber rich.

Morag

I think what swung it for the SNP in 2011 was sheer terror at the prospect of Gray as FM. Hopefully the prospect of Lamont/Miliband will have a similar salutory effect for thise who believe Labour has a snowball’s chance in hell in 2015.

muttley79

@JamesS

It is mostly SLAB activists following him around. As Bugger says you can see the same people in different pictures of Murphy’s tour. Why would ordinary people follow Murphy around? He is always salivating over nuclear weapons, while the number of people requiring food banks to feed themselves keeps on increasing. Murphy and co do not give a shit about social justice. Self preservation is the name of their game.

roguetk421

He was at the Barrhead Gala day a few weeks back. He came over to the Yes stall I was attending, laughing and throwing some shit banter at us. Two-faced git; he goes on TV rubbishing the Yes campaign then thinks he can have a laugh with us.

Along with some local Labour councilors, he set up a United with Labour stall 10 meters from the Yes stall. He then quickly buggered off no doubt to get his mug in the local newspaper and to spout off some rubbish to the locals.

Anyway, his stall was, at best, poorly attended with most of the foot fall coming to the Yes stall looking for badges, balloons, information etc. They soon got rained off much to our delight. I have pictures but I don’t know how to post them.

muttley79

@Morag

They should be picturing a coalition between Cameron and Farage because that is much more likely. Or at least another government of Cameron, Osbourne, Johnson, Gove, Hunt, May etc (probably the most likely).

Helena Brown

Well if I am monitoring his expenses I can guarantee he will be having an increase, now I just have to check what first class airfare is from any part of Scotland, make that the most expensive part of Scotland, add £100 a day for breakfast and lunch, he should be back in Westminster for dinner, no charges for lodgings as he HAS to get back to Westminster. Does anyone know if he is a drinking man?

Nana Smith

So here we have Cameron telling the world and his wife the SNP are threatening businesses….

link to bloomberg.com

ronnie anderson

@ CameronB ( the crowd was hoaching ) is the wan o plauges we wur promised , a Plague of Fleas.

Andy-B

How desperate are the unionists when the Telegraph newspaper reports that Shrek, aka Mike Myers, says no to independence.

link to telegraph.co.uk

HandandShrimp

Morag

Not only that but Lamont has Gray as her Finance Minister…why is anyone’s guess.

Vestas

@ seanair

Current estimates are £5.35bn per ship + £150m per F35B. Its BAE who are prime contractor so I’d reckon on at least 30% more per ship. The cost of the F35B is only going to rise as the USA have massively cutback orders for the F35A and F35C.

To give you some idea just how expensive these aircraft are going to be then think on this – the USA has spent over $335bn dollars on F35 development so far and it STILL doesn’t meet the design specifications.

I doubt whether each aircraft carrier will have more than 15 F35Bs as there’s no way the Brits can afford more. £8bn per ship + 15 F35Bs – what a bargain eh?

Total farce from start to finish, but the MoD are utterly incompetent and BAE are utterly corrupt so there’s no surprise there.

Appleby

Where else can these useless politicians get a “full time” job where they can skive off for 100 days in the sun, not get the sack and still get paid, expenses, etc. while not doing the job you promised you’d do.

Jim Murphy, another MP with his nose in the trough. OINK OINK

gordoz

Anything to do with slime ball from another era ‘George Galloway’, in any form ; NO THANKS !!!

Giving Goose

Why doesn’t Jim Murphy just join the Tory Party. He can do voices, so his accent won’t be a problem. His policy beliefs are in line with the Tories and he hates the poor. He’s a great fit!

Nana Smith

Firefighters for YES group launched….

link to news-papers.co.uk

CameronB Brodie

ronnie anderson
As in ‘hoaching with midges’, not that the ‘crowd’ were individually multitudinous. (can I claim my book token for word of the day?) 🙂

heedtracker

the USA has spent over $335bn dollars on F35 development so far and it STILL doesn’t meet the design specifications.

But this is billions of US dollars invested in the US economy. TeamGB is only throwing money, borrowed money, at them and maybe why Obama and Clinton say vote no for Westminster.

muttley79

@Giving Goose

Murphy will not join the Tories because he knows how hated they are in Glasgow. He is only interested in self preservation, so he would not risk the chance of losing his status as an MP. He is a Tory in all but name. But then again so is Darling, Lamont, Brown, Alexander and co. They sold out ages ago.

Grouse Beater

BfH says: George Galloway is respectful of Parliament – seeking an office in Westminster

How else does he protect his salary and pension?

What turkey votes for Christmas?

George Galloway – Scourge of Scotland grousebeater

gordoz

Typical –

No matter how clever the camera angle you just can’t make a dozen folk intae a crowd o’ hunners Jimbo!

Kinda the same with No campaign constant negatives. Never quite gets around to sounding anything something like a positive case, or an honourable postition or even the truth.

Anything from Jim will always be self interest, central belt Labour ‘ermine chasing’ bollox, ‘At heart At Heart’ !!

Grouse Beater

No matter how clever the camera angle you just can’t make a dozen folk intae a crowdunnis

The real groundswell of support for self-governance, for taking our place in the world, you can sense, you can feel it in the air, you can perceive it in a new confidence expressed by everybody you meet.

No one has to go out and lecture to test the mood!

Unless, of course, they are uncertain of victory.

Morag

Muttley, I think it’s inevitable Cameron would sweep back into no. 10 as the saviour of the union after a No vote. He’s positioning himself to take the credit for a No, and push blame for a Yes on to Labour.

Discussion of whether or not the Tories will win in 2015 seems to forget that by then the referendum result will be known and the election will be happening in post-referendum politics. These will be very different from current politics whatever happens.

I don’t know what will happen post-Yes in 2015, but post-No I’d say Cameron would be a shoo-in. Some switherers need to think about that.

Seasick Dave

When he agreed to do it?

So it wasn’t even his idea?

He was probably forced up to North Britain against his will.

CameronB Brodie

I suppose even a lecture from Mr Murphy, doesn’t quite make up for the loss of the kid’s play-park.

We’re over a hundred comments, so here’s a fun OT. 🙂

link to buzzfeed.com

gordoz

@Grouse Beater – I hear ya.

Im just amazed that there are idiots in the media and No Camp who still go along with notional polls and trumpet the idea (at every turn) that NO has a 20 point lead ?

Aye very good, and just where are you polling – Aberdeen Cooncil Heedquarters ?

handclapping

@Morag
Let me see if I’ve got this right.
Vote No, Cameron has saved the Union and sweeps into power like Maggie after the Falklands.
Vote Yes, Cameron has lost Scotland, gets hammered and Milliband get No 10.
That sounds like a good argument to put to Labour supporters.

heedtracker

I think what swung it for the SNP in 2011 was sheer terror at the prospect of Gray as FM.

I watched life long Scottish Tories vote SNP in 2011, such was the 2 year “don’t vote for the most unpopular PM ever” media blast. Now they may even vote YES but BBC/press still lost and failed to get the Tories back in after their giant 2 year attack campaign. Even Brown helped out by insulting that “bigoted women.”

Clegg’s liars saved the Tory/BBC day but they’ve learnt from their failures, so we now have that BBC UKIP triumph in Scotland with the BBC carefully coordinate all other national and local media ukok vote no attack and Holyrood non coverage. The tragedy for Scotland’s democracy could well be that the extraordinary power of the BBC exists now merely to protect teamGB elitism and their lackeys like Murphy.

HandandShrimp

I don’t know why Galloway bothers. He is not politically relevant to Scotland and his attempt to gain election to Holyrood in 2011 was one of his worst results in years.

He has made his bed in the internecine politics of the Middle East and that is where he is likely to stay. His attempts to support the status quo of the United Kingdom is just plain weird and simply fodder for the more cynical conspiracy theorists who argue he works for the CIA/MI5.

Giving Goose

George Galloway – Scourge of Scotland grousebeater

Shouldn’t that read Scrounger of Scotland?

Greannach

Devastated that Tory Rory’s hand-holding away-day in rural northern England isn’t going ahead. Even sorrier that the event’s website has disappeared as I was going to sign up for that Great British event and learn how to Morris dance and waggle a Union Jack for some unclear reason.

muttley79

@Morag

The Tories are going to win because they have created another housing bubble, so the figures for the economy appear better. This is a very short term solution. The UK economy is still far, far too heavily dependent on the financial sector and the City of London. If there is a Yes vote Darling and SLAB will get the blame. Conservative back benchers and their MSM buddies will not care because they think we are subsidy junkies, and there will be no more 40 or so SLAB MPs after every general election. Give it a month or so and Scotland will be forgot about in the metropolitan London bubble (beyond the odd sabre rattling when negotiations begin). We will certainly all but be forgotten about by the time of the general election of next May in the event of a Yes vote.

biggpolmont

M pal works for a glaziers and they have just had a mr Murphy
on the phone asking about free standing mirrors for photographic purposes do you think? naw! even he couldn’t think that would fool us.
O/T just heard that Andy Murray is out of Wimbledon. Truly sorry to hear it. I wonder how Andy will react to the BBC relegating him back to being a Scotsman again.

Horseboy

Headlinss London 1July2014 Indy:
London’s Evening Standard debate about Scottish Independence.

Seems Londoner’s are worried about London, if Scotland goes Independent.

Mony weel kent phisogs.
Many well known faces.

Hardeep Singh Kohli puts boot into London.
He’s big YES.

Good stuff.

link to facebook.com

HandandShrimp

Sorry to see Murray is out. I am not sure how much longer the big four of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray will be around. Coming back after lengthy operation recovery seems to really take it out of tennis players and they are all pretty senior in tennis terms these days. I can see at least two or three of them hanging the racket up over the next couple of years.

muttley79

@handclapping

Vote Yes, Cameron has lost Scotland, gets hammered and Milliband get No 10.
That sounds like a good argument to put to Labour supporters.

Except for the salient point that the Tories will put the blame for a Yes vote squarely on the shoulders of Darling and SLAB. The deal was Tory money in return for SLAB/MSM to do the campaigning. Do you honestly think Tory backbenchers are going to be so angry with Cameron that he will lose the next election? They will not be happy, but they will soon be consoled by the fact that Labour are already effectively down 40 MPs before a single vote is counted. Cameron will say he did all he could because he knows how unpopular the Tories are in Scotland.

Miliband is not going to be the next PM of the UK, whatever the result of the independence referendum.

Luigi

Scottish Labour politicians really ought to try and view the bigger picture here. Having spent the best part of two years, doing the tories’ dirty work for them, do they really think there will be some sort of reward?

Believe me, anything Scottish at Westminster following a NO vote is going to be considered toxic. Murphy and his pals may think they are acting like good little unionists, but they are Scottish and that will not go down well, even if it’s NO in September.

HMG will take no prisoners and if expendable Scottish unionist MPs go down in fiendly fire, so be it.

People of Scotland need to realise that we will be hammered if we vote NO. This can be explained by one simple characteristic of human nature:

HMG has been frightened. When you frighten a bully, you better make sure that you follow through, because if the threat comes to nothing, you end up in a vulnerable position and the bully will inevitably take revenge on you for making him feel scared and make your life hell so that you do not try it on again.

All the people in Scotland will be blamed, including those who voted NO.

Findlay Farquaharson

one can believe the polling companies in london or one can believe the canvassers in scotland. canvassers who actually talk to people.

heedtracker

I don’t know why Galloway bothers

Its great for his profile in England that says Scotland belongs to us, uk mediaBBC grabbing anyone they can for No and some easy cash too. But revenge mostly as he got booted out of Glasgow last time he stood for Holyrood on sectarian hail hail frighteners, which probably hurt a lot. Above all he’s a narcissist.

muttley79

@HandandShrimp

I think Murray will be good for another 5 years or so. He clearly has not fully recovered from his injury yet. Nadal may well retire in the next few years, as his knees are seemingly in a very bad state. Federer will probably retire as well.

muttley79

@Handclapping

Apologies I may have misread what you were saying.

Wellington_Mac

@Big Jock

Agreed, Panelbase 48% Yes, 52% No.

Not sure which of the previous Panelbase polls to compare this with though.

The Times poll (18/05/2014) shows 46% Yes 54% No (Likely to vote only) – although the wording is different.

CameronB Brodie

From Headlinss London.

so what you’re saying is you want to take business out of London and into Scotland?

YES! 🙂 The more the merrier, please.

Who’s the vacuous ‘expert’ touting for the Union? ‘Why are Londoners ignorant of indyref’? It is because of FUD-monger-ers like her and a completely unreliable MSM.

heedtracker

Murray losing Wimbledon means one less sports event that can be draped in union jacks for months. Here in Aberdeen the Press and journal hardly even bothered reporting Murray, until last year which was very odd even for those weirdos. Maybe they didn’t like a Scottish Andy Murray or Scots sports triumph on this magnitude, too good for the yes voting sweaties moral.

willie

Break his salary down to find out how much he earns on a daily basis, multiply this by 100 and this should be considered a donation to the no thanks mob.

Robert Peffers

@ Vestas says: 2 July, 2014 at 3:14 pm

“Current estimates are £5.35bn per ship + £150m per F35B. Its BAE who are prime contractor so I’d reckon on at least 30% more per ship. The cost of the F35B is only going to rise as the USA have massively cutback orders for the F35A and F35C.”

Seems there may also be a wee, wee, factor that has not, far as I know, yet been thought about. In the entire present UK there was only a single dry dock with the capacity to assemble the carriers. (I just wish they would give me a pound Sterling for every time I climbed that bloody dry dock’s very steep steps).

Now every ship needs periodic time spent in dry dock just for normal scrape/paint maintenance without even considering such things as those wee accidents all ships suffer while in service nor such things as prop shaft gland repacking, prop changing, sonar tranducers and so on.

So, if only one Dry dock in Britain can accommodate them, just what will The newly independent Kingdom of England do when dry docking is required? Will they lease a foreign dry dock? Will they build a new one in the Kingdom of England? Perhaps even site it alongside the new Trident weapon’s bases they will need to provide.

Do you think they may have actually made some contingency plans they haven’t told us about or are they really so bloody stupid?

muttley79

@heedtracker

I have just been on the Guardian’s page on Andy Murray’s defeat. There does not appear to be a lot of sympathy for him to put it mildly.

Morag

Sorry to hear Murray’s out, but look on the bright side. The bitters were trying to claim him as one of theirs. If he’d come out all guns blazing for independence they’d be crowing now.

seanair

Vestas
Thanks for the figures. I thought I’d heard the BBC say that it was £6 billion pounds for the TWO ships but that might have been to play down the costs. Knew the costs of the planes was rising, but not as much as you reveal. BBC also said that there are hangars for 30(?) planes, but will only have 15(?),because of the cost of the planes, so that’s a waste of space too. Crazy figures!

Horseboy

I have a feeling in my bones
Andy Murray could come out for YES, in the runup.
He’s a millionaire, won all the titles, lives in Florida.
He’s untouchable, but would be fiercely attacked by MSM, and repeated by BBC.
Has he got the tennis balls.
It would be great.
Its a sair fecht.

ps. I wouldn’t blame him for keeping shtum. I cr@p it.

pps. Gave up on Aberdeen’s P&J long time ago, great seeing it battered at every opportunity.

Peter

Andy Murray has been the target of more online abuse than every whining labour,tory, UKnazi, libdem, failed comedian and plagiarist combined. Will the MSM in Scotland bother reporting this tidal wave of hate?

They hate him because he is Scottish. They hate him because he dared to become a winner and not a cringer.

See also the reason for the obsession with Braveheart. England lost Scotland won and that can’t be allowed. Not in their World.

indigo

Second attempt to post, last one hasn’t appeared

The economist in that video is Vicky Pryce, ex wife of Chris Huhne link to en.wikipedia.org

Horseboy

Found this on Facebook:
Artist Taxi Driver and Frankie Boyle chatting about the strength & impact of propaganda on Scottish Independence.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=DGe2925wG0I

ps. Come on Frankie. YES need u speak up loud for YES.

fb – Never say no to a “YES Panda”:
link to facebook.com

fb – BBC bias peaceful protest3:
link to facebook.com

CameronB Brodie

indigo
Thanks. IMO, she simply spouted FUD at nineteen to the dozen. I don’t doubt her technical abilities, just her objectivity.

indigo

I agree completely, and her rapid appointment to a government linked job so soon after leaving prison for perverting the course of justice is interesting, I think

Dorothy Devine

According to STV news it should be national mourning all round for the defeat of Andy Murray – seven minutes at the start of their news , followed by the trial of the young man who tortured and murdered his girlfriend.

It transpires that there has been a drop in cases of C- dif and MRSA , one unexplained death and a murder in Maryhill , but we returned to Raman at Wimbledon to listen to the ” tragedy”.

I do wonder where STV priorities lie.

Hardin

I used to stand on the sides of my feet like that, usually when I had been caught telling porkies by mum.

Paula Rose

Did Rory have to do an extra geography lesson?

Alan Mackintosh

Not only is the F35 bloody pricy, its seems to be a bit of a lemon
link to youtube.com

Croompenstein

Whaur’s the pricks Irn Bru crate?

Alisdair

Luigi at 4.09pm

Isn’t that the very scarey truth? Well said Sir, very well said!

starlaw

Aircraft Carriers . . . Carrier website had artists impressions of how the new Carrier would look in the new dry dock being built in Portsmouth.

norrie

anyone from Barra see him?

Croompenstein

Does thrice fuck off have a travel plan or is he just doing it on the hoof?

Diane

Funnily enough I wondered this a few weeks ago. Flipper is my WM constituency MP and I did get to wondering just how much constituency work he has actually done over the last say, 18 months?


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