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.

Not taking any sides Dil, just so sickening for a young child.

Fifty Labour amendments to kill Bill for EU referendum

More than 50 amendments tabled for committee stage of the EU Referendum Bill, including holding a petition of a million voters, posing the questions in Cornish and giving prisoners the vote



By Matthew Holehouse, Political Correspondent

10:23PM GMT 21 Jan 2014



David Cameron's plan to give the public a vote on membership of the European Union could be defeated within weeks after Labour peers tabled dozens of outlandish amendments that could halt its progress in Parliament.


More than 50 amendments were tabled for the committee stage of the EU Referendum Bill, including holding a petition of a million voters, posing the questions in Cornish and giving prisoners the vote, the Telegraph has learnt.


As a private member’s Bill, it has a limited time to pass through Parliament. It can only be debated on Fridays and must be approved by both houses by February 28.


Conservatives said the amendments amounted to a plot conducted on behalf of Ed Miliband to “talk the Bill to death”.


That would save the Labour leader, who has refused to set out a clear position on the EU referendum, from being portrayed as anti-democratic.

The Bill sets in law a commitment to hold an in/out referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU by 2017. It sailed through the Commons before reaching the Lords.

Fifty-six amendments have been tabled so far, and more are expected before Friday’s committee stage. Forty have been tabled by a single Labour peer – Lord Foulkes of Cumnock, who served as a Scotland minister under Tony Blair.

They include requiring a petition of a million people before the referendum can be held, moving the deadline to May this year, inserting a minimum turnout threshold and giving the Scottish First Minister – Europhile Alex Salmond - a veto.

Lord Foulkes also proposes extending the vote to 16-year-olds, prisoners and EU citizens, and asking the questions in Gaelic, Doric (a Scottish dialect) and Cornish.

Lord Foulkes has tabled amendments to insert the word “consultative” in the Bill and change “must” to “may” – making any referendum optional and non-binding.

“It appears to be a blatant attempt to frustrate the progress of the Bill by unelected peers doing the bidding of their masters,” said James Wharton, the MP who has sponsored the Bill through the House of Commons. “It would be unforgivable if, by playing party political games, they denied the British people their say, especially as it passed without difficulty through the House of Commons.”

Lord Dobbs, the author of House of Cards, who is piloting the Bill in the Lords, said: “This Bill has six clauses but already there are dozens and dozens of amendments. The sheer volume suggests only one thing: that Labour intend to filibuster this Bill. I hope to be proven wrong, but Friday’s committee stage will tell.”

Lord Foulkes told The Telegraph he opposes a referendum and admitted he does not support “most” of the amendments.

But he insisted: “I can guarantee you there will be no filibustering. There are serious matters that need to be considered. It’s a classic operation of backbenchers doing their job of testing a Bill.”

The peer is no stranger to intrigue in the Upper House.

In 2009 he was accused of attempting to “smear” Gen Sir Richard Dannatt, the former Chief of the General Staff who criticised Labour defence strategy, by tabling a series of questions in the Lords about the general’s expenses and personal use of military helicopters. Lord Foulkes insisted the questions were legitimate.

Labour insisted Mr Miliband was not behind the operation.

“George is acting for George. He is not doing anything with permission of Ed or the front bench,” a source said.


The amendments are here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/eureferendum/10588539/Fifty-Labour-amendments-to-kill-Bill-for-EU-referendum.html

That is potentially good for the Conservatives as it will show Labour's hand over their EU stance and a referendum. It doesn't prevent a referendum if the Conservatives are elected and it shows how there is only one way for voters to get a referendum.

It will show what Cameroon is made of.


He can override the house of lairds, and if he doesent do so, he's finished.


Just another worthless promise.

Max - i think there is a time issue involved, so it would seem that labour intend to fillibuster the referendum out of time

The problem with private members bills is that there can't be a government motion for a guillotine on the time for amendments. The outcome may depend on how the speaker allows amendments to be grouped as individual items for debate. It was always a long shot as it was just a device to avoid the Libs preventing it from being a government Bill because it wasn't in the coalition agreement. The Bill is not important except that it is an indication of intent. A future government could always repeal the law for the referendum but they might do so at their peril.

Andrew Neil on Daily politics said Camoron was wrong at PMQS the average person is worse off now than when labour were in government by £25 per week, ie £1,300 per year.

Labours outlined figures below.......

Alex Belardinelli ‏@abelardinelli
RT Matt Hancock completely wrong - taking everything into account, people are worse off ......................



Standard Of Living Disaster.

Camoron YET AGAIN caught telling lies

How do you calculate your average?

Ring Andrew Neil up.

I suspect hes used the figures from the table above, ie, Institute For Fiscal Studies that Camoron and his pal Giddeon love to quote as long as it backs their argument up.

NOW who does that remind me of.

Manuel!

gf
If you think the figure is wrong then how do you come to that conclusion?

Update - Labour lead at 4
by YouGov in Politics
Wed January 22, 2014 6 a.m. GMT

Latest YouGov / The Sun results 21st January - Con 34%, Lab 38%, LD 9%, UKIP 13%;

David Blanchflower, Gordon Brown’s favourite former appointee to the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, has come as close as his arrogance allows him to admitting he was totally wrong about everything. Back in 2009 the out-of-luck economist gazed into his faulty crystal ball and predicted that unemployment would top 5 million if the Tories came into power. In 2010 he forecast that unemployment would surge past 3 million to 3.4 million and in 2012 he predicted unemployment would go up the day before it dipped below 8%. So today’s painful admission that UK unemployment is ‘falling surprisingly fast’, which ‘is welcome good news and better than I had expected’, is a bit of an understatement. Better than expected… to the tune of millions of jobs.

hays - for all that, the criticism raised here that a lot of the additional employment is in part-time jobs has some validity .... however, far better that than no job at all and the improving trend is incontrovertible, whatever certain critics like to voice here

Given a choice between a job at lower pay or no job it is clear which wins? Lower pay and part time work are the result of supply side policies. As the economy grows the balance will shift into more permanent and better paid jobs.

Hays cant accept the figures when they are their in black and white right in front of his nose.

And if things are so good please be so kind to explain the continuing growth in trends of the list below............

1.Food Banks (record levels)
2.Pay Day Loans (record levels)
3.Savings accounts at lowest level in history
4.Credit Card Debt at highest level ever
5.Charity Shops, increasing by the day
6.Red Cross having to feed poor families
7.Kids going to school not having had a breakfast
8.Tax credits and housing benefit at historic highs
9. Shopping at cheap supermarkets Lidl and Aldi.

The usual boring crap!