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.

That is not what I meant. They don't need policies to attract people on benefits. Maggie and the present party just need to have policies that they believe in. Miliband is dreaming up slogans and policies to attract people who are on benefits as a cynical ploy. He has no real policies, that's why there will be no detail till after the election.

But Cameroon doesent believe in anything outside his own interests.

Mind you, the other two are the same.



Which leaves ukip, which at least has something to hang it's hat on (norra lot granted) a single policy that would transform the UK.

By Simon Johnson, Scottish Political Editor
5:45PM GMT 11 Dec 2014
The Advocate General for Scotland argues there is no excuse for the Scottish Government refusing to answer Freedom of Information requests about the former First Minister's spending on luxury accommodation.

The Coalition Government’s most senior adviser on Scots law has delivered an outspoken attack on the SNP’s secrecy in government by highlighting their attempts to prevent disclosure of Alex Salmond’s luxury hotel stays.

Lord Wallace of Tankerness, the Advocate General for Scotland, said the watchdog in charge of ensuring public bodies comply with Freedom of Information (FOI) requests had delivered a “pretty damning indictment” of the Nationalists’ behaviour.

The Liberal Democrat former Deputy First Minister referred to a request for details of the hotels in which Mr Salmond stayed while abroad that the Scottish Government had refused despite the trips being funded by taxpayers’ money.

But he told an FOI conference marking the tenth anniversary of the legislation that Nicola Sturgeon, Mr Salmond’s successor, made some “very positive noises” before her appointment about being more open.

The Telegraph disclosed in March how the then-First Minister had argued that making public which five-star hotel he stayed at in Chicago during his trip to the Ryder Cup would jeopardise his safety.

We later discovered that he spent £3,000 on four nights with his wife in a “grand deluxe suite” at the Peninsula Hotel, which covered more than 1,000 sq ft of floor space and a marble bathroom.

In other examples involving this newspaper, Mr Salmond fought a seven – month battle to prevent details being made public of how he used more than £250 of taxpayers' money to buy a pair of tartan trews.

He paid back the money only after this newspaper tabled an FOI request that would have disclosed the purchase.

The former SNP leader also used taxpayers’ money to twice go to Scotland’s highest civil court to prevent disclosure of how much his local income tax would cost families.

Lord Wallace cited a later example of another newspaper that also tabled a request about Mr Salmond’s hotel use, which resulted in the FOI commissioner issuing a highly critical response attacking Scottish ministers’ “unacceptable” failure to respond.

“What is the great secret about which hotel abroad the First Minister stays in on public business and the cost of that accommodation?” Lord Wallace asked.

“Now, Nicola’s predecessor has many qualities, but a shrinking violet he is not. It is hard to imagine that when staying in a hotel, he does so incognito.”

The former Scottish Liberal Democrat leader said it would not have required “any great effort” to find the information as records of Mr Salmond’s travel arrangements and expenditure would have been readily accessible.

But he told the Edinburgh conference he had been “struck” by the number of times the FOI commissioner has ruled that Scottish ministers have failed to reply to a request within the prescribed timescale of 20 working days.

Liam McArthur, a Lib Dem MSP, recently tabled a parliamentary question asking how many times Scottish ministers have failed to reply within that deadline.

But Lord Tankerness said Ms Sturgeon had refused to provide a response on the grounds that it could only be obtained at “disproportionate cost”.

He acknowledged that it can be difficult to honour previous promises of open government “once real power is wielded” but encouraged her to stand by what she has previously said.

My impression is that the Conservatives do believe in their policies. They believe that they are doing what is best for the country. The one person that I am sure that applies to is Ian Duncan Smith. He is dedicated to improving the lives of poorer people.

He started up the Centre for Social Justice when in opposition in 2004.

http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/about-us/history

The centre has done a huge amount of work for people.

http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/about-us/social-breakdown-and-poverty

It is good that Button has signed for McLaren again.

And todays prize for the 2nd longest cut & paste goes to.......... -):

Centre for social justice? don't use words that you don't know the meaning of H/S and that goes for Smuts as well.

Socialists have a different pathway to Social Justice than other groups. Like it or not the world is turning away from socialism as it is a failed paradigm. It has existed nowhere on earth in any successful form. The way to better lives is via capitalism. That is the employment of capital to make profit. The making of that profit involves work and therefore jobs. The taxing of that profit and the payment for the work enables the provision of public services. That much is obvious.

The more successful that businesses become, the more jobs are created. There is no source of money for public spending except that which is produced by private businesses. One of the most important activities of a government is to create a climate where businesses can thrive. Left wing governments have never treated business generation that seriously.

There is a myth that right wing parties don't care about poor and disadvantaged people. Of course this is a convenient myth for the left wing and is total nonsense.

Hays Im being serious now, book yourself in for that £50 quid test at your local GPs to make sure that you are actually sane.

I mean it.

Before its too late and you end up in a white padded cell.

I have met quite a few Conservative politicians, some of them quite senior. They are without exception committed to improving people's lives. I received a Christmas card this morning from a government minister that I know works very hard and much harder than the average person. Their interest is doing the right thing for the public.

Haze,

Did you polish his shoes or something similar?

Mind you do seem to know a lot of people in high places.

Met any angels yet?

Did anyone watch Question Time tonight?


Champaigne socialist and multi millionaire Brand got stuck into Farage, or tried to, made a complete arsehole of himself and probably put a few more bob in his pocket.


But the prize of pig ignorant tosser of the evening goes to imo:




Probably the thickest MP I have ever seen, she had no clue about anything being discussed, could hardly string a sentence together and spent the whole evening blathering on about stuff no one was interested in...tosh.


Haystack probably fancies her.



edit: Another one who's never done a proper job: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Mordaunt

Three cheers for the CIA and the politician's sticking up for them .

Someone remind me how many they beheaded and posted footage of on the internet ?

They are trying to keep us safe ffs ...

MakK ... I'd giver one just to shut her for 30 seconds :-)

30 seconds!!!!!!!!!, you can get pills for that now Dill.

ps, where have you been?

He's been having trouble with his Tan G/F... see footy thread -):

Cheers Stan will do.

Dil - some things should never get in the public domain and that CIA report is one if them. Let them get on with it.

the voice of reason....

DB4,

Especially if your son or daughter are in the armed forces and capture "alive" by the "enemy".

That is the price of wars.

====


Also, what it a wrong with a little bit of mustard gas or could have a nice private use of other chemical weapons.

Why stop when you are big boys and in control.