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.

Yes Fred...cheers. Take note aldwick, youve been brainwashed and lied to by the Tories.

Doodles may I call you JOCK.......wink.

Not sure who Bugners opponent will be perhaphs lloyd Mayweather, he seems to come out of retirement more times than Osbourne does a U turn..........................and that takes a lot.

Just heard on Talk Sport Red Rum declared as one of the initial runners for the Grand National.

David Moyes - Football Genius!

I hope everyone is reading the BLNX thread, it's very entertaining right now ! We don't even have to pay for this.:-) Just been reading it from post 5484 onwards.

Amazing the effect that television cameras have on politicians. From the moment Sky News descended on Berkshire in force we suddenly have the various pillocks from all the political parties trying to put their tuppensworth in. The real hero is Su Burrows, a volunteeer, who gave Philip Hammond a piece of her mind live on Sky this morning. Lord Smith, Chairman of the Environment Agency, well it's probably his day off, since he only works three days each week and why should he get his feet wet after all - it's really not worth it for only £150,000 a year, or whatever he gets paid.

SOMERSET FLOODS: Why isn’t Farage owning up to the EU’s role in this disaster?

By John Ward February 11, 2014





Interesting read:
http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2014/02/11/somerset-floods-why-isnt-farage-owning-up-to-the-eus-role-in-this-disaster/

Didn't read what Fred posted.

Joe Bugner making a comeback aged 63. It won't be Mayweather , his a welterweight. The oldest World Champion now is Bernard Hopkins aged 48

Bugner was allways underated , went the distance twice with Ali and once with Joe Frazier who he hit with a right hand punch that buckled his legs. He had a good defence and could take a punch.

Be fair aldwick he didn't 'fight' Ali he ran away/covered up in both bouts. Ali was already well past his best too.

One bout Bugner didn't even throw a punch did he ?

Re : floods ... some parts of country been suffering since December.

Thames overflows and everyone suddenly becomes concerned.

Bit like when London has half inch of snow and grinds to a standstill while other parts of UK have more in a morning than London see's in 10 years and carries on.

No wonder the Scots want to leave the Union.

The Scots are prepared for snow and London is not. In London we hardly ever get snow. Because the climate is milder, it melts here and turns to slush quicker. In Scotland the snow stays hard and you can drive on it. There is no point in spending enough to combat snow in London.

It is the same with the floods. You cannot prevent the floods at a reasonable cost. If you live near water, you stand a good chance of being flooded.

Government cuts, it all comes down to government cuts.

Why not someone from Holland, who actually knows what they are doing?



Mary Archer is tipped to take over Environment Agency

Dame Mary Archer is being sounded out to take over from Chris Smith as the new Environment Agency chairman.




Tim Walker

7:30AM GMT 12 Feb 2014



As the waters close in over the mediocre head of Lord Smith, Dame Mary Archer is being discreetly sounded out about taking over at the Environment Agency.


“The feeling is we need a scientist who has specialist knowledge of this subject,” whispers my man in Whitehall. “Mary is seen as being amply qualified.”


Mandrake disclosed last month that Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary, had begun searching for a new chairman of the agency to replace Smith, who has held the post for six years.


The advertisement placed by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs stated that it was looking for an individual to lead it through a “challenging period.” That now seems like an under-statement. After the worst series of winter storms to blight Britain in more than 20 years left many hundreds of homes flooded, the agency confirmed that more than 1,600 of its staff would lose their jobs by October, including 550 who work on flood protection.


Aware, perhaps, that David Cameron was reported to have told aides to “get rid of all the green crap” from energy bills, Defra states that the chairman must have “commercial acumen.” The new boss will be paid £60,632 for working two days a week.



More bollox here:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10631475/Mary-Archer-is-tipped-to-take-over-Environment-Agency.html

Yep good one max LOL.

Should be an interesting PMQs today.

I do hope that the repairs for property are all "Means Tested" similar to the "Bedroom Tax".

Also, that the road repairs are out of Local taxation and not the responsibility to the smaller state.

Update - Labour lead at 5
by YouGov in Politics
Wed February 12, 2014 6 a.m. GMT

Latest YouGov / The Sun results 11th February - Con 34%, Lab 39%, LD 10%, UKIP 11%;

Finally! Exposed! The Deficit Myth! So, David Cameron When Are You Going to Apologise?
Posted: 24/10/2012 07:33


"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on"
- Winston Churchill

As a Conservative I have no pleasure in exposing David Cameron's deficit claims. However, as long as the party continues to talk down the economy via the blame game, confidence will not be given an opportunity to return. For it is an undeniable and inescapable economic fact: without confidence and certainty there can be no real growth.

Below are the three deficit claims - the mess. The evidence comes from the IMF, OECD, OBR, HM Treasury, ONS and even George Osborne. The claims put into context are:

CLAIM 1
The last government left the biggest debt in the developed world.

After continuously stating the UK had the biggest debt in the world George Osborne admits to the Treasury Select Committee that he did not know the UK had the lowest debt in the G7? Watch: Also, confirmed by the OECD Those who use cash terms (instead of percentages) do so to scare, mislead and give half the story.

Its common sense, in cash terms a millionaire's debt would be greater than most people. Therefore, the UK would have a higher debt and deficit than most countries because, we are the sixth largest economy. Hence, its laughable to compare UK's debt and deficit with Tuvalu's who only have a GDP/Income of £24 million whilst, the UK's income is £1.7 Trillion.

Finally, Labour in 1997 inherited a debt of 42% of GDP. By the start of the global banking crises 2008 the debt had fallen to 35% - a near 22% reduction page 6 ONS Surprisingly, a debt of 42% was not seen as a major problem and yet at 35% the sky was falling down?

CLAIM 2
Labour created the biggest deficit in the developed world by overspending.

Firstly, the much banded about 2010 deficit of over 11% is false. This is the PSNB (total borrowings) and not the actual budget deficit which was -7.7% - OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook March 2012 page 19 table 1.2

Secondly, in 1997 Labour inherited a deficit of 3.9% of GDP (not a balanced budget ) and by 2008 it had fallen to 2.1% - a reduction of a near 50% - Impressive! Hence, it's implausible and ludicrous to claim there was overspending. The deficit was then exacerbated by the global banking crises after 2008. See HM Treasury. Note, the 1994 deficit of near 8% haaaaaah!

Thirdly, the IMF have also concluded the same. They reveal the UK experienced an increase in the deficit as result of a large loss in output/GDP caused by the global banking crisis and not even as result of the bank bailouts, fiscal stimulus and bringing forward of capital spending. It's basic economics: when output falls the deficit increases.

Finally, the large loss in output occurred because the UK like the US have the biggest financial centres and as this was a global banking crises we suffered the most. Hence, the UK had the 2nd highest deficit in the G7 (Not The World) after the US and not as a result of overspending prior to and after 2008- as the IMF concur.

CLAIM 3
Our borrowing costs are low because the markets have confidence in George Osborne's austerity plan and without it the UK will end up like Greece.

Yes, the markets have confidence in our austerity plan and that's why PIMCO the worlds largest bond holder have been warning against buying UK debt.

The real reason why our borrowing costs have fallen and remained low since 2008 is because, savings have increased. As a result, the demand and price for bonds have increased and as there is inverse relationship between the price of bonds and its yield (interest rate) the rates have fallen. Also, the markets expect the economy to remain stagnate. Which means the price for bonds will remain high and hence, our borrowing costs will also remain low.

Secondly, the UK is considered a safe heaven because, investors are reassured the Bank of England will buy up bonds in an event of any sell off - which increases the price of bonds and reduces the effective rate. Note, how rates fell across the EU recently when the ECB announced its bond buying program. Thirdly, because, we are not in the Euro we can devalue our currency to increase exports. Moreover, UK bonds are attractive because, we haven't defaulted on its debt for over 300 years.

David Cameron would like people to believe the markets lend in the same way as retail banks lend to you and I.

Overall, when the facts and figures are put into context these juvenile deficit narratives and sound bites ("mere words and no evidence") simply fail to stand up to the actual facts. The deficit myth is the grosses lie ever enforced upon the people and it has been sold by exploiting people's economic illiteracy.

So, David Cameron when are you going to apologise?

Cameron is playing the blame game to depress confidence and growth to justify austerity. Secondly, to use austerity as justification for a smaller state to gain lower taxes. Thirdly, to paint Labour as a party that can not be trusted with the country's finances again. Therefore, we Conservatives will win a second term because, people vote out of fear. The latter strategy worked the last time in office (18 years) and will work again because, in the end, elections are won and lost on economic credibility. Hence, as people believe Labour created the mess they won't be trusted again.

Finally, as the truth is the greatest enemy of the a lie I urge you to share this on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, text and email etc etc. So the truth can be discovered by all. Finally, have no doubt, people have been mislead by the use of the following strategy:

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it" Joseph Goebbels

EM is not married to the militant unions
when in power, Labour has a wonderful track record right across the board
when in power, Labour does not raise taxes

EM is not married to the militant unions
when in power, Labour has a wonderful track record right across the board
when in power, Labour does not raise taxes

EM is not married to the militant unions
when in power, Labour has a wonderful track record right across the board
when in power, Labour does not raise taxes

EM is not married to the militant unions
when in power, Labour has a wonderful track record right across the board
when in power, Labour does not raise taxes

EM is not married to the militant unions
when in power, Labour has a wonderful track record right across the board
when in power, Labour does not raise taxes

to be repeated 10,000 times until someone starts to believe :-)

Also repeat
Labour does not bankrupt the country every time in power
Labour does not borrow more than it can pay back
Labour has not flooded the UK with immigrants
Labour will not repeat its mistakes in the future

Labour really must refute constant Tory canard that Labour’s profligate spending caused the recession
February 2nd, 2014

Once more in this last week Cameron and Osborne have been at it again saying all Britain’s current troubles come from ‘profligate’ expenditure by the last Labour government. It is a straightforward lie. In Labour’s years in office before the financial crash in 2008 the highest deficit in real terms was 3.3% of GDP in 2004-5. If this is supposed to be a mark of ‘profligate expenditure’, why on earth doesn’t Labour point out every time this is raised that by that measure Tory governments have been much more profligate than the Labour government ever was. During the Thatcher/Major Tory years the deficit actually exceeded 3.3% of GDP in 10 out of those 18 years! If this is the measure of economic competence, then Labour comes out incomparably better than the Tories. Moreover, whilst Thatcher/Major ran deficits in 16 years out of their 18 and produced minor surpluses in only 2 years, Blair/Brown produced 4 years of surpluses. Nor are these facts just an academic matter. The Tory lies, ignoring these facts, are part of a relentless propaganda campaign to persuade the electorate that Labour wrecked the economy and is therefore ultimately responsible for all the austerity being imposed on the British people. It is not too much to say that if this enormous canard isn’t forcefully refuted, Labour could lose the election on a lie.

So if Labour didn’t wreck the economy, what did? It is too readily assumed it was the bankers’ bailout. In fact the buying of stakes in the banks (to the tune of £68bn) did not directly have an impact on the revenue budget and the deficit. What did have a huge impact on these was the dramatic drop in public tax revenues which was a direct result of the global financial crash and the consequent recession. In the 5-6 years leading up to 2007-8 there was a remarkably consistent straight line trend in public revenues of about 6% a year, i.e. real growth plus inflation. That public income in 2007-8 was £549bn. Based on this trend, any reasonable forecast would have predicted further increases in income in the next 2 years, leading to a predicted income of about £620bn in 2009-10. But as a direct result of the global financial crash and the consequent recession, actual public income was only £512bn in 2009-10.

That massive loss of public tax revenues of around £110bn was the key cause of the deficit, not excessive expenditure. The Tory sound-bites about ‘profligate expenditure’ before the crash are just fanciful inventions designed to undermine Labour’e economic credibility. A simple examination of the deficit figures each year in the decade to 2007-8 exposes them for what they are – a Goebbels-sized lie which needs to be stamped on and eradicated by every Labour spokesman, especially Ed Balls.