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.

sticky - go to ftse thread for a minute and read about latest usa employment numbers

Have done saw them at 1.15, leaked always are on twitter.

so why did you not take advantage?

Cant be assed these days.

Dont have same enthusiasm I had 5 years ago.

Getting older now.

bullshit becomes you my dear :-)

No true I dont have the same hunger now that Ive got most of what I really want in fact Id rather help other people and give something back.

if you get a socialist gov't, you'll be able to do that in spades :-)

Very funny.

Better than communists like Camoron and Giddeon.

I hear a load of Rusky kids are now invading our public schools and are potential Oxbridge boys.

Wonder if sanctions will be taken against them........doubt it, moneys involved.

certainly plenty of chinese and indians and the like, as has been the case for a couple of decades ..... if they're bright enough, then good luck to them .... sure as hell you can't buy your way into a decent uni, and even really good sports players no longer get a soft ride - loughborough excepted for obvious reasons

MPs' expenses: Why has the Standards Committee let Maria Miller off the hook?


By Peter Oborne Politics Last updated: April 4th, 2014

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peteroborne/100266391/why-has-the-standards-committee-let-maria-miller-off-the-hook/


One of the most disturbing aspects of the Maria Miller scandal is the refusal of the MPs on the Standards Committee to come out and justify their decision to water down the report of the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.

The Commissioner, Kathryn Hudson, found that Maria Miller claimed more than £40,000 in mortgage payments to which she was not entitled. This was watered down to just £5,800 by the Commons Standards Committee.

We have been here before. The conduct of the Standards Committee recalls events when John Reid, then a rising Labour minister, was investigated for abusing his Commons office cost allowances.

But when Elizabeth Filkin, the newly appointed Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, set about her investigation she met with intense obstruction, with witnesses even being pressurised not to give evidence.

Filkin bravely ploughed on and duly reported that Reid had abused taxpayers’ money. The Standards and Privileges committee then threw out Mrs Filkin’s report in its entirety, while the government then encouraged a venomous campaign of vilification against Mrs Filkin, and then she lost her job.



It was one of the most grotesque and shameful parliamentary spectacles I have witnessed, and there are some echoes of the Filkin affair – both the watering down of the Kathryn Hudson report and also the challenges to the integrity of the Commissioner’s inquiry made by Maria Miller during the course of the investigation.

The involvement of the Conservative Chief Whip Sir George Young, who was marshalling Tory MPs to support Maria Miller in the Commons yesterday, is also problematic.

Sir George was himself chairman of the Standards and Privileges Committee in the years running up to the expenses scandal, a period when he turned a blind eye to abuses. The Prime Minister has been mistaken to seek guidance on issues like these from Sir George. Though personally untainted by expenses allegations, Sir George basically lacks the moral fibre to deal with a serious case like Maria Miller. Meanwhile the Standards Committee badly needs to explain itself.

from the smidgin i've read, she should have been hung out to dry long ago ..... appalling display by the commons committee(s) involved

Did you read the comment section of the torygraph c ?

An eye opener if they are conservatives.

no .... what's the gist?

People are pretty discusted c.


Small sample, and if they are tory leaning readers (big if I know) I would say it's odd's on that the conservative party will not win, or perhaps survive the next election.


.................................................



John Hawkins Totnes • 2 hours ago





We have seen this week that Messrs Cameron, Clegg and Miliband are very much yesterdays men.

BTW where is Elizabeth Filkin now?

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Intercontinental • 2 hours ago





I am convinced Cameron does not wish to win the next general election.
Why should he want to as a self confessed Europhile?
More so as he is not going to win back any powers from Brussels when Ms. Merkel has even told everybody that too.
It is quite astonishing how any leader can continue to ignore the electorate as Cameron has done and continues to do.
It only goes to show how inept Cameron is at reading the public pulse.

We said ages ago that Cameron "IS" the problem for the non conservative Tories and nothing has changed.

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John Hawkins Totnes > Intercontinental • 2 hours ago





Do you mean non tory conservatives?

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Ptolomaeus • 2 hours ago





"MPs' expenses: Why has the Standards Committee let Maria Miller off the hook?"

IF it is just the members of the Standards Committee, (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes), who made a decision to allow Miller to slink off without repaying all the ill-gotten gains, then it will be up to the electorate to note the members of the Standards Committee and vote accordingly at the next general election. However, there is an allegation that No 10 may have played a trump card and warned off the media from investigating the whole sorry, sordid business.

In the meantime, Cameron has shown, yet again, that he is a poor judge of character and that he does not have the cojones to deal with greed and sleaze in the Commons, come to think of it the Palace of Westminster, and grip situations like this by removing those who are clearly guilty of playing the expenses and allowances game and despite the DT addressing this situation a few years back. Roll on the European and General elections, these people need to be put in their place.

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sheppy • 3 hours ago





Because, as Cameron would say "We're all in it together". All on the bending of the rules as far as they can and cosying up to each other as they feather their own nests. Hypocrites and shysters.

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richard williams • 3 hours ago





If a Conservative leadership candidate cannot make headway on the back of this - then there is not a decent alternative candidate out there! it may be that Cameron is the only option the current conservative party have - that is the real wake-up call here!

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lycurgus • 3 hours ago





The pathetic Cameron wants to hold on to Miller because she's one of the only women in the cabinet. I don't care that she's a woman, what I do care about is that she is a venal thief that has stolen from the public. That is all that matters in this disgusting affair.

MPs have shown time and again that they can not be trusted to be honest when it comes to expenses (not to mention anything else!). The only solution is to stop all expenses. Accommodation should be provided for MPs in London in basic living quarters in a secure, central location and all travel, etc should be organised by the civil service.

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richard williams • 3 hours ago





The prime minister could have asked the standards committee to explain itself before this became public but he lacks the moral fibre, ability, courage and strength to do so! He'd rather hide behind it like a little child than take responsibility for his duties. there is nowhere this rests other than with him - he leads the house and he leads the commitees - if he doe not like it he can change it and if he was not satisfied with the behaviour of one of his cabinet he still has the power to remove them. He cannot escape his responsibilities by outsourcing them to in-house quangos. Is he a man or a mouse?

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Pleb > richard williams • 2 hours ago





Slightly bigger than a mouse!

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outofEUnow > richard williams • 3 hours ago





Is he a man or a mouse?

Did you really need to ask that. :)

Or he could be just as corrupt as the rest.

The only people who are about the above are online activists. The average man cares nothing about the type of things that media people get upset about.

It was the same with levisson. Only the media cared about it.

Hazy One,

Bullshit.

If the new tory standard is nick all you can legally, or illegally then this case exemplifies for me, your ethical standards once again.

I can understand your allegiance to the present tory party.

The public is viewing the present tory leadership ie. Cameron and cronies as dishonest and corrupt and unfortunately disillusioned by their political leadership.

However, many are just as sceptical of Fauxpage, another populist, who they see as another barrow boy in the same vein as Cameron!

Just watched The trip to Italy new series , very good program. Funny and informative as well.

I watched it as well. I have eaten at a couple of the places in the series a few years ago, including where they go next week; San Fruttuoso.

39230

Totaly agree with Cynic on Maria Miller post 39230, this isnt a party political points scoring post, its about ALL MPs.

Miller should face a police enquiry.

The fact that she as been so arrogant over the affair pours more hot water on it.

Little wonder as Cynic says people arent turning up at the election booths anymore.

We havent heard the last of this, and that twit Hays can say what he wants, not that anyone takes any notice of what he posts these days.

Sorry forgot you Fred and yes you are right aswel post 39235.

What planet does Hays live on or does he do it to stir us all up.