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.

You mean Johnson Minimus or JoJo or BroJo. He's #8.

Both brothers are alumni of my son's college.

Spot on Hilary. 10 out of 10.

Anyone still think Call Me Dave will be the next prime minister?



Douglas Carswell's defection to Ukip is a seismic shock to the British political system


By Peter Oborne Politics Last updated: August 28th, 2014

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peteroborne/100284247/douglas-carswells-defection-is-a-seismic-shock-to-the-british-political-system/



Douglas Carswell has defected from the Conservatives to Ukip



There are very few MPs I admire more than Douglas Carswell. He is principled, decent, and has gone into politics for all the right reasons. He believes in all the things to which ordinary politicians pay lip service, but in reality frighten them to death. Above all, Mr Carswell is an advocate of popular democracy: that is, that politics is an activity which concerns ordinary voters and not the views of the Westminster elite. He is a fountain of original ideas, many of which are to be found in his very important book The Plan: Twelve months to renew Britain. It is very interesting to note that the book was co-written with the brilliant conservative MEP (and fellow Telegraph blogger) Daniel Hannan.

But Mr Carswell cannot be dismissed as a naive or out of touch intellectual. Let us remember that it was five years ago that it was Carswell who set in motion the movement which swept Speaker Martin from office in the wake of the expenses scandal.

This is why I believe that Mr Carswell’s decision to quit the Tory party and join Nigel Farage’s Ukip is a seismic political event. He cannot be compared to the ordinary self-interested political defections, for instance Shaun Woodward or Quentin Davies’ departure from the Conservatives to New Labour, in 2001 and 2007 respectively. Mr Carswell, and this is completely terrifying for David Cameron, is acting out of conviction rather than self-interest. It is greatly to the credit of Mr Carswell that, in striking contrast to Woodward or Davies, he has called a by-election to fight his Essex constituency, where he may even stand a chance of success. If he wins, he will have broken every known rule of politics. It has always been assumed that the individual vote which an incumbent MP can attract is a fraction of that commanded by the party which he represents. If Mr Carswell carries Clacton, a political convulsion will have taken place.

There are many disgruntled Right-wing Conservative politicians who must have pondered the course which Mr Carswell has taken: Liam Fox, David Davis, John Redwood, and others. But Mr Carswell has shown superlative daring. David Cameron will not thank him for it, but Mr Carswell has done a service to everybody in Britain who believes in parliamentary democracy.

The defection is pointless. If UKIP get seats the Labour will get in and there will be no EU referendum. If UKIP don't get any seats then they may split the vote and Labour will get in and there will be no EU referendum. I amazed that he cannot see the logic of what he has done and wants. He is not a eurosceptic, he just wants to leave the EU period. He won't get that by going to UKIP.

He might get it with a referendum, although the signs are that the public will vote to stay in. The problem is that UKIP supporters don't want to accept the will of the majority. They want to leave no matter if there is a majority to stay in.

I think his real reason for leaving is that he didn't get promoted in the cabinet reshuffle. The reason that he was not promoted is that he has always been a loose canon who cannot be relied on. One reaction that I have heard is, "good riddance".

Removing extremists from either of the main two political parties merely makes it easier for that party to move closer to the middle ground where the real battle will be fought.

You are deluding yourselves if you think Cameroon will deliver a referendum.

Ditto with Millibandus.

Clegg at least makes his position clear.


If you want a referendum, and I do, there is but one course.

Well Cameron certainly won't deliver a referendum if he doesn't get re-elected with a majority. And Farage will never be able to deliver a referendum.

So, if you really want a referendum as you state, you'd better stop prattling on and vote Conservative. Otherwise you'll only have yourself to blame when you don't get what you want.

MaxK
Why don't you think Cameron will have a referendum? Is there any specific reason why?

Yep because Labour are now dead certs to win.

YouGov/Sun – CON 33, LAB 37, LD 8, UKIP 13
28 AUG 2014

Hays Ive never seen you sweating so much.

What a mess the Tories are in.

Teresa Mays in trouble not only with immigration but because she hasnt found anybody instead of Lady Slosh.

Voting for any of the main three is akin to this:


Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.


Albert Einstein

Another one:



We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.


Albert Einstein

MaxK

As I asked above, is there any specific reason why you don't believe there will be a referendum?

There is no will to have a referendum within the (edit) present tory leadership.

I certainly believe there will be a referendum. It is difficult to see how it could be avoided by Cameron. In the event of refusing one, the revolt of the back benches would be so great that it would bring the government down. To make such a promise and reneg on it would be impossible.

One right wing large employer pressure group mob against another right wing large employer pressure group mob... long may it continue.

That's capitalism for you. Good isn't it.

Only in your world.

More Tories lined up to defect to UKIP, the papers full of it in the morning.

Ohhhhhh this is so exciting Hays.