Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

The dodgy UK regulation of dodgy investment banks while Labour were in power.

What do the great british public think of the other three?

Labour leader Ed Miliband has been forced to deny any involvement in attempts to smear opponents amid claims that "damaging" emails could have been sent by him to one of the key figures in a plot to attack senior Tories.

The potential link between Mr Miliband and Derek Draper, who was behind a proposed Labour-supporting political gossip website, is among the latest allegations in a memoir from Gordon Brown's former spin doctor.

The drip-feed of claims from Damian McBride threatens to overshadow the Labour Party conference despite Mr Miliband's efforts to seize the initiative by announcing he would scrap the "bedroom tax" if he wins the 2015 general election.

In the latest extracts from Mr McBride's memoir Power Trip, being serialised in the Daily Mail, the former member of the Brown inner circle suggests Mr Miliband could "have problems" if any emails to Mr Draper became public.

Unfortunate pixel problem by BBC

Hays,

Before you rejoice to loudly over Godfrey Bloom's remarks, it may be reasonable to listen to the audience’s response and the "laughs" it produced.

Also, many of the UKIP and BNP will quite happy that "Michael Crick" received a paper whipping, often thinking his "provoking" style "justifies" a more physical response.

The following of both parties (UKIP and BNP) see themselves as outspoken, straight talking good old little Englanders, irritated by Political Correctness restrictions and defending their “rights” to say and “do” what they want.

The crudities or simplicities of Farage and Bloom have a appeal to many of those who see themselves as “Middle Englanders”. A large number of tories, who may denounce publicly the style of Farage and Bloom, but are privately sympathetic to what they think is the underlying messages.

I think Bloom’s remarks were politically stupid and Farage’s response to the bloomer, were maladroit.

It will be interesting to see what the long term effects on the polls over the next few months will be, but I guess very little and more dissenting tories will privately consider voting for UKIP in the next election.

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As far as trusting Cameron or Farage is concerned, the mention of Cameron and Osborne produces a groan when you mention their name in public, while Farage at least produces a smile.

Not sure what they are smiling about.

DC - whatever the alleged intent, NF clearly considered it sufficiently serious - GB's second mega gaffe in a week! - to chuck the guy out of the party .... the media of course are having great fun, as would be (is!) the case when any politician drops a clanger (except "Plebgate" looks to be backfiring spectacularly)

NF is very very unhappy as it was meant to be a keystone of this conference to show that UKIP was not just a bunch of "fruitcakes and loonies" .... however, (effectively) in NF's own words, this has now caused severe structural damage to the party's "new" image, even if it hasn't holed it below the waterline

long-term damage? ..... not this one (or two) incident in itself, but a pretty severe setback nevertheless

I think the Bloom incident was a set up, Im sure Farage wanted it just to get more media recognition.

What Hays is forgetting is that the Euros come up before the general election and that will dictate what happens after.

I dont think UKIP will lose any support in fact I think they will gain support.

Farage is out to get the normal working class vote and all this having a pint in the pub etc etc hes trying to prove hes one of them.

Milliband certainly has to pull out the stops this week.

Should be an interesting week politicaly.

like so many of your comments, totally asinine, but then no surprise there

I think the average man in the street wont give a toss, indeed probably agrees.

What the average woman thinks is another matter, but I suspect they wont be burning their bra's down Whitehall any time soon.

Even the Gruaniad isn't making too much of it.

Yep agreed Max. I think hes trying to divert attention from labours confrence.

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BNP = British Nutters Party
EDL. =English Downright Loonies

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I realised that, but the names escaped me.

Around 130 people contracted a gastroenteritis-type illness on the Fred Olsen-operated Black Watch, so there are plans afoot to re-launch the boat as Black Death

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possibly exchanged for bunches of grapes?

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It is a ship. I was told off by the owner of the biggest ferry company in the world for calling his new ship a boat. He said that a boat might be used to get to a ship. I was invited to a ship launch abroad a few years ago by the ferry company that was a client. I asked him how long they had been in the ship building business as a family. He said it was a long time - about 400 years.