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.

David Cameron will feel a real sense of belonging as he presses the flesh at Davos. Who would have thought it? Had the global power summit been held just a few months ago, he would have undertaken that pilgrimage as acknowledged steward of an ailing, troubled economy. The story he might tell now permits a certain swagger.

There is now a "recovery for all," he declares, as analysts say the earnings of the majority are now increasing by more than inflation. Ministers point to new figures suggesting that all except the richest 10% had their take-home wages increase by at least 2.5% once tax cuts were taken into account.

Add to that the news about unemployment; now down to 7.1%, and rising house prices, and the news that the Bank of England will not soon raise interest rates, and one sees how the prime minister is able to frame a narrative about how the strictures of austerity are beginning to reap the benefits.

Those here who have witnessed the chaos in Whitehall and Westminster these past four years may look askance at the notion that the pieces of the jigsaw are being methodically assembled, but in Davos this will undoubtedly play well.

And what can one conclude from the strategising of recent days? That once again, it's about the economy, stupid! The debates on immigration and welfare may provide unpleasantly discordant mood music, but the real battleground will be about the state of the recovery and who can be relied upon to deliver it.

And therein lies a problem and a decision for Labour. Is it going to spend the next months talking the economy down while the Tories beam optimism? That's a trap best avoided. For all our cynicism, there is still superior force in the politics of hope. Optimism is a much more powerful electoral stimulant than pessimism. Labour cannot allow this to become a contest between Sunny Dave and Jeremiah Ed.

Of course Labour must flag up any deceit over the government's figures if they seem questionable. Already that is happening. The shadow Treasury minister Cathy Jamieson insists the cheery figures on pay have been massaged and draw attention away from matters such as cuts to tax credits and child benefit, both of which have hit working families. She says that in fact real annual wages have fallen by £1,600 since 2010 and cites figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies indicating that "families are on average £891 worse off as a result of tax and benefit changes since 2010".

That is all well and good. But over and above any focus on the coalition's failings, Labour must have a coherent plan about how it will do better. The lack of that narrative is probably why Labour has so far failed to pull away in the polls and is now seeing its poll lead tighten. The latest ICM poll for the Guardian estimated the lead at just 3%.

That said, the determinant will not, in fact be what politicians say, or even what the media say about the state of the economy. People's anger with politicians and the media is such that neither of us are fully believed anyway. The crucial factor will be whether or not people actually feel change for the better in their own lives, and the lives of their families and neighbours. Only then will they pay attention to politicians and the media, and whether what they hear chimes with their real-life experience.

It will be about the economy, but the real economy, and not the picture as drawn in the Westminster village or the high-powered salons of Davos. Seen in those terms, there is all to play for.

Guess which paper the above article has been taken from GF? Three per cent lead eh! Massive, I bet your sat sat there with bated breath waiting with anticipation for the question to be answered :-

"That is all well and good. But over and above any focus on the coalition's failings, Labour must have a coherant plan about how it will do better. The lack of that narrative is probably why Labour has so far failed to pull away in the polls and is now seing its poll lead tighten. The latest ICM poll for the Guardian estimated the lead at just 3%.

OOOpps!

Stan,

You're developing a bit of a reputation as being one of those brave souls cowards who likes to speak ill of the dead. First it was Maggie and, more recently, I noticed it was Ron Noades (who so happens to have been a neighbour of mine and also one of the nicest people you could wish to meet).

Remember, I don't go to boozers for a pie and a pint, and I haven't had to resort to 'playing' walking football because my beer belly encumbers my movement. You should be careful of what you wish for. Statements like yours have been known to come back and bite people on the backside.

But now I know which button to press, maybe I'll allow my finger to slip a bit more often.

But has Hairy one changed her knickers yet!

Typical, the resident Communist has come out to play! :O)

Boris Johnson's father calls for 'popular uprising' against HS2

Stanley Johnson rallies north London residents against high-speed line, which will come 10 metres from his £4m house


Gwyn Topham, transport correspondent


theguardian.com, Friday 24 January 2014 18.20 GMT



Stanley Johnson at his home in Primrose Hill, north London, near the proposed HS2 route. Photograph: Nigel R Barklie/Rex Features



Opponents of HS2 in London's Primrose Hill have been rallied to action by the mayor of London's father, Stanley Johnson, calling for a "popular uprising" in the borough of Camden.

Warning not only of the cost and disruption of the construction, but the project's breaches of human rights and security implications, Johnson demanded that the scheme's architect, Lord Adonis, be stripped of his title of Baron of Camden, for the damage he would wreak on the borough. He asked a 500-strong audience of local residents, council leaders and MPs: "Would you call Bomber Harris Air Vice Marshall of Berlin?"

Johnson, whose £4m house in Park Village East will lie within 10 metres of the new subterranean track, said the proposed anchoring system along the HS2 track at that point was untested. He said: "It's never been tried, except perhaps in Japan, on the sea-wall at Fukushima."

Referring to newspaper stories of British jihadists in Birmingham, he said: "What about terrorism? With HS2 these young girls are going to get down from Birmingham 20 minutes quicker."


More NIMBYSM here:
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/24/boris-johnson-father-popular-uprising-hs2

Fred1new - 25 Jan 2014 09:21 - 35872 of 35874

But has Hairy one changed her knickers yet!

What a stupid childish remark

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25886638

Who rembers this from the start of the Coalition.

It is a convention for outgoing ministers to leave a note for their successors with advice on how to settle into the job. But Byrne's note – which he later said was intended as a private joke – drew attention to Labour's economic record when it was revealed by Laws at a press conference today.

Laws told reporters: "When I arrived at my desk on the very first day as chief secretary, I found a letter from the previous chief secretary to give me some advice, I assumed, on how I conduct myself over the months ahead.

"Unfortunately, when I opened it, it was a one-sentence letter which simply said: 'Dear chief secretary, I'm afraid to tell you there's no money left,' which was honest but slightly less helpful advice than I had been expecting."

Labour will clear £86bn deficit by 2020, Ed Balls says

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls makes "binding fiscal commitment" if the Labour Party wins next year’s general election







Ed Balls, the shadow Chancellor, will unveil a 'binding fiscal commitment' to balance the books as soon as possible after 2015 and by May 2020 at the latest. Photo: BLOOMBERG




Watch the FA Cup 4th Round on BT Sport this weekend. Arsenal v Coventry City, from 7pm Friday. Stevenage v Everton, from 4.45pm Saturday and Sheffield Utd v Fulham, from 12pm Sunday.

Advertisement









By Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent

10:00PM GMT 24 Jan 2014







Labour has given a deadline on when it would eliminate Britain’s budget deficit.


Ed Balls will say in a speech on Saturday that the party will clear the £86  billion deficit in current budget spending by 2020 if it wins the next general election.


The shadow chancellor will make a “binding fiscal commitment” that a Labour government will balance the books as soon as possible after 2015 and by May 2020 at the latest.


It is the first time that Mr Balls has given a deadline on eliminating the deficit, which is forecast to be £51.4 billion at next year’s election.


George Osborne, the Chancellor, has committed by 2017-18 to eliminating the current account deficit, the shortfall between government tax revenue and spending on services. Labour is carrying out a “zero-based review of public spending” to root out waste and inefficiency “by examining every pound spent by government from the bottom up”.



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The party will hit its target by measures including removing the winter fuel allowance from pensioners who pay the higher rate of tax. It will also use proceeds from the sales of government stakes in Lloyds TSB and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Mr Balls’s commitment will apply to current government spending and not capital spending, potentially allowing a Labour administration to borrow more.

Mr Balls will tell the Fabian Society: “The next Labour government will balance the books and deliver a surplus on the current budget and falling national debt in the next parliament.”

He will say that “where this government has failed, we will finish the job. We will abolish the discredited idea of rolling five-year targets and legislate for our tough fiscal rules within 12 months of the general election”.

He will add: “We will get the current budget into surplus as soon as possible in the next Parliament. How fast we can go will depend on the state of the economy and public finances we inherit.”

The commitment will allow the Conservatives to stoke fears ahead of the election that Labour wants to increase taxes and spending.

Mr Balls will also say that he has asked the Office for Budget Responsibility to “audit the costing of every individual spending and tax measure in Labour’s manifesto”. He called on Mr Osborne to agree to a similar commitment “to restore public trust in politics and improve the nature of the political debate”.

Mr Balls will say: “Without fiscal discipline and a credible commitment to eliminate the deficit, we cannot achieve the stability we need.”

The above is nearly as hilarious as watching Man Utd's penalty shootout against Sunderland on Tuesday night :O)

Yep remember that, since then Labour (Balls-up) have continued to promote their borrow, tax and spend policy, decrying G. O's austerity measures. Low and behold it appears G. O's pulling us (slowly) out of the s--t Labour left us in, so Balls-up has changed his mind and promises more austerity. Wouldn't trust him to run a raffle.
2517

Hays.

Stop being a prat.

The message left was in a similar vein as when Reggie Maudling left office.
=

It is called Black humour or even Gallows humour.

215 are you related to Georgie boy?

The present incumbent (a damp squib) of the purse has been in "power" for almost 4 years.

Look at his success.

Look at the GDP and other economic figures even if many think Cameron and his henchmen are falsifying them..

====================

Lots of success. We are growing faster than other developed countries. We were one of the first to come out of recession in the Eurozone and start growing. Osborne has done a brilliant job.

DC/GO are accident prone but surely the EM/EB combo take the trophy for plain stupidity

let's re-raise the top rate of tax to 50% says EB.... and we'll borrow lots more too

what a real dumbarse, for though that may appeal to a few on the left fringe, the reality of it is that raising top-rate tax will contribute very little more revenue and assuredly alienate an awful lot of potential voters

even more alienating will be the spectre of a labour gov't reverting once more to the party of more and more borrowing and ever higher taxes

==============

at this juncture, i'm sure fossy will start jumping up and down on his soapbox to try to convince us that this policy really is simply spiffing and should have been followed years ago

fossy may believe it, questionable in itself, but i doubt anyone else will

For those interested in photography, I just picked up a lens for my wife's camera.

It is a 70-300 Canon EF IS zoom. It has image stabilisation by using a gyro to spot the slightest movement in any plane. The onboard computer then moves one of the 15 internal internal lenses to realign the light path to hit the focal plane as intended. It is so good that it gives you three stops improvement in camera shake. You can hand hold it zoomed out at 300mm at 1/45 sec. Some people can manage to hand hold it at up to 1/2 sec at 300mm. Nice toy.

You can trust the torrid party after 4 years of broken promises and a broken fragmented country.

Suggest that Manuel should look at the various future independent projections as well as below.

The Nasty party is a party of PR agents playing to the the tunes of Bing Crosby.

I belonging to the past. Yesterday's men and women.


Current UK National Debt Numbers
Gross National Debt
FY 2013* £1.16 trillion
FY 2012* £1.04 trillion
FY 2011 £0.91 trillion
FY 2010 £0.76 trillion
FY 2009 £0.62 trillion
FY 2008 £0.53 trillion
Note:
* Future National Debt is estimated by HM Treasury.


-----------

These lefties don't like the fact that the Tories are (despite many mistakes) turning the UK around. No mention of Balls-up's U-turn from red1, given his propensity to highlight Tory U-turns.
2517