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.

Listen Max.

Not in a position to stan.

Perhaps later on the iplayer then.

Slave labour took off during the Labour years with their open door immigration policy, and the government of the day Blair/Brown encouraged it via the tax credit system.
2517

Manuel,

You mentioned Utopia.

Have you read Alan Johnson's book yet?

For him looking at to-day's Britain, from his childhood, the UK must seem a little nearer to Utopia.

The major changes in Social Services, Living accommodation,Education Health Services have been experienced by him and mainly due to society conscious government and not old reactionaries like yourself.

The present tory party leadership is anchored in the past and its false interpretation of Maggie Thatcher policies, many of which fragmented society and communities and were based on personal greed. Setting one group against another.

.

I generally lean towards the Tories but at the same time I do agree with Fred, that it was Maggie who almost completely wrecked our education policies at the time. I also feel she wrecked 'the family' and unhealthy selfishness began to thrive.

Thank you, Gordon Brown, for saving the £32k which I had on deposit with the Icelandic bank, "Icesave".

From what I know about the history of Maggie, Brown and Blair, well, thank goodness they are long gone and aren't coming back.

But I despise Ed Miliband and also Ed Balls and assess them as hypocrits and I definitely don't want them in charge of a government and wrecking things once again.

There is one man only, that I would want to run the government and the country.

I know he would be very good at it and would also put fun back into politics. He is something of an eccentric and has a mop of blond hair on the top of his very clever head. When he does a bit of wrong, it is very easy to forgive him for it. But my goodness, he has tons of charisma, he can run a team and he can also get everyone behind him whilst he's doing it.

It's Boris Becker, sorry Karloff, sorry, Johnson. :-)

Looks like the English Berlusconi !

Good luck to all his supporters.

I think that is how you spell it.

not yet fred, though i have taken delivery of it
am currently enjoying a light read about the women of charles 2nd's court

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

stan - i listened to much of that prog on the way back from the gym ..... a lot of it was to do with domestics being employed and abused by those with diplomatic immunity and thus not possible to prosecute and another section, about which it may be possible to do something, was about trawler crews with "transit work visas"

in the latter instance, it was clear that a goodly section of these crews are well treated, or at least on a par with their british counterparts

2517,

Don't you recall Enoch.

i even remember lloyd george in his pomp :-)

I remember him Fred and his 'Rivers of Blood' speech but I was quite young at the time.
2517

My father knew Lloyd George.

(Something about a paternity case.)

he had several i believe :-)

Ed Miliband's failure to offer EU referendum will cost party votes, major donor says
John Mills, one of Labour's biggest donors, says it is in the party's 'tactical and strategic' interest to hold a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU
By Steven Swinford, Deputy Political Editor2:00PM GMT 19 Feb 2015
One of Labour's biggest donors has suggested that Ed Miliband's failure to offer a referendum on Europe could cost the party the General Election.
John Mills, an entrepreneur, admitted that the decision will 'cost the party votes' and said it was in Labour's 'tactical and strategic' interest to commit to a referendum.
He said at an event in London that the general election will be "very tight" and that he has heard rumours that members of the shadow cabinet want a referendum.
He said: "I'm sure one of the reasons for this is concern about whether refusing to have a referendum is going to lose Labour votes in what is going to be a very tight election.
"I think it certainly will and this is and that is one of the major reasons why, from a tactical and strategic point of view, it is in the Labour Party's interests to have a referendum some time between 2015 and 2020."

He said that the issue is likely to split the Labour party: "I was the national agent in 1975 for the No campaign. The Labour party was very split then. What was agreed was that each side of the Labour party could make speeches and campaign for what they thought was right.
"My guess is that something like that will happen again... My guess is that this is an issue which has split political parties in the past and will go on doing so. The only realistic was of making this felt is to let everyone campaign in the way they want to do so. I think the unions will probably be split as well."
Mr Mills said that while he still thinks it is likely that Labour will win the election, the refusal to offer a referendum is damaging the party's prospects.
He added: "I have heard rumours that there is a majority of people in the shadow cabinet who are in favour of having a referendum. I am sure some of that is concern that the failure to do so is going to lose the party votes."
"I don't think it is impossible that even if there is a Labour government formed in May there won't be a referendum at some time in the next parliament."
He made the comments after Harriet Yeo, a former chairman of Labour's ruling body, quit the party over Mr Miliband's failure to offer a referendum.
She said that over half of the shadow cabinet want a referendum but have been told to "keep quiet".

What surprises me is how much the Labour party got in donations £7,163,988 in the last quarter.

Interesting although a large lump of it came from the UNIONS, a lot more came from the small donors.

It would suggest that there is a much larger overall support of labour than was considered.

UMUMUMUM

Place your bets!

By Peter Dominiczak, Political Editor11:50AM GMT 19 Feb 2015
Labour’s biggest non-union donor has been accused by one of the party’s most senior MPs of being engaged in “tax avoidance” on an industrial scale.
The latest figures from the Electoral Commission show that Labour was given £386,605 by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the last quarter of 2014.
Margaret Hodge, a Labour MP and chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, has previously said that it is “inappropriate” for Ed Miliband’s party to accept donations from the firm.
A report by her committee said that PwC take part in “nothing short of the promotion of tax avoidance on an industrial scale”.
The firm said it disagreed with the Public Accounts Committee report and denied claims by Mrs Hodge that the firm had misled her committee when its executives gave evidence in January 2013.
The Electoral Commission found that Labour raised £7,163,988 in the last quarter of 2014. More than £3.5million of that sum was from union donations.
The Conservatives raised a total of £8,345,687, the commission report found.

Pots and kettles...



Biggest non-union donor to Ed Miliband's party guilty of 'tax avoidance', says Labour MP

Margaret Hodge says PricewaterhouseCoopers takes part in 'tax avoidance on industrial scale' as figures show it was Labour’s biggest non-union donor




Labour was given more than £386,000 by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers in the last quarter of 2014 Photo: PwC



By Peter Dominiczak, Political Editor

11:50AM GMT 19 Feb 2015

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/11422472/PricewaterhouseCoopers-accused-of-tax-avoidance-on-industrial-scale-by-Labour-MP.html



Labour’s biggest non-union donor has been accused by one of the party’s most senior MPs of being engaged in “tax avoidance” on an industrial scale.


The latest figures from the Electoral Commission show that Labour was given £386,605 by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the last quarter of 2014.


Margaret Hodge, a Labour MP and chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, has previously said that it is “inappropriate” for Ed Miliband’s party to accept donations from the firm.


A report by her committee said that PwC take part in “nothing short of the promotion of tax avoidance on an industrial scale”.


The firm said it disagreed with the Public Accounts Committee report and denied claims by Mrs Hodge that the firm had misled her committee when its executives gave evidence in January 2013.



The Electoral Commission found that Labour raised £7,163,988 in the last quarter of 2014. More than £3.5million of that sum was from union donations.

The Conservatives raised a total of £8,345,687, the commission report found.

Great minds think alike Max :0)

I know Chris, but I took too long to post it :-(