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.

We should have got rid of the Scots while we had the chance.

Thankyou Nicola, the best lady to come along since Maggie Thatcher. Death Knell for Labour in Scotland. The biggest incentive in England for anyone with half a brain to avoid voting Labour. LOL!!!!

George Osborne: Life would be hell under Ed Miliband
The Chancellor ridicules the Labour leader’s attempt to position himself as a statesman who is 'tough enough' to represent Britain

By Matthew Holehouse, Political Correspondent6:00PM GMT 28 Mar 2015
George Osborne led an intensely personal Tory assault on Ed Miliband’s fitness to lead Britain, saying life would be “hell” under his premiership.
The Chancellor used the launch of the Conservatives’ election campaign to ridicule the Labour leader’s attempt to position himself as a statesman who is “tough enough” to represent Britain on the world stage.
In a three-pronged attack, Grant Shapps, the Tory chairman, said Ed Miliband is the least prepared Labour leader since Neil Kinnock, while David Cameron said voters must question whether he is strong enough to handle “make or break calls in the middle of the night.”


Mr Cameron asked voters to give him five more years to “finish the job” and said that the “sunlit uplands” are now “in sight” as the economy recovers.
He said the Tories are the only party that care about would-be home owners, retirees and apprentices, adopting a new refrain: “We are with you.”

Addressing party members in Manchester, Mr Osborne ridiculed Mr Miliband’s boasts during Thursday’s leaders’ interviews that he had defied President Obama over airstrikes on Syria with the words: “Hell, yes, I’m tough enough.”
Mr Osborne said: “I was listening to Ed Miliband, with all that legendary statesmanship of his, saying: ‘Hell, yeah, I’ll be a leader!’”
“I’ll tell you where that leads. A return to rising unemployment. A returning to rising debts. A return to economic chaos. Hell? Yes, indeed,” he said.
Grant Shapps said a Labour government would produce a “Britain diminished.”
“This is not a nightmare scenario, because you wake up from a nightmare. This would be a five year sentence. Day after day, it would get worse and worse.”

Mr Cameron, introduced by Mr Obsorne as a “patriot and a leader”, devoted much of his half-hour speech to painting Mr Miliband as a “hypocrite” incapable of “facing down our enemies abroad” .
He denounced the Labour front bench as “Hampstead socialists” who “sneer” at the aspirations of working families and who had betrayed the legacy of Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson and John Smith.
Mr Miliband’s wife, Justine, has spoken of fears of a “nasty” and “brutal” Tory campaign on his character.


But Mr Cameron insisted that in a “high stakes, high risk” election, criticism of Mr Miliband is entirely justified.
“I know what this role needs – and frankly, I don’t think Ed Miliband has it,” Mr Cameron said.
“Some might say ‘don’t make this personal’, but when it comes to who’s Prime Minister, the personal is national.
“The guy who forgot to mention the deficit could be the one in charge of our whole economy.
“The man who is too weak to stand up to the trade unions at home could be the one facing down our enemies abroad.
“The leader who thinks leadership is climbing aboard the latest bandwagon – he could be the one taking the make-or-break calls in the middle of the night,” he said.
The remarks are reminiscent of Hillary Clinton’s famous advert in her 2008 campaign against Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination.
It asked Americans who they wanted “answering the phone” in the White House at 3am during a crisis.


n a pitch to lower-middle class families, Mr Cameron said the Tories’ economic plans are not “dry and dusty words on a page” but would “make a difference to people’s lives”.
“We’re saying to the young couple who are saving each month – we are with you.
“To the teenager who wants an apprenticeship – we are with you. To the pensioner who put money aside for decades – we are with you.
“This is the point, the purpose, the whole reason for the Conservative party."
By contrast, he said, the Labour Party had lost sight of its founding purpose.
He said: “What is Labour’s message? Who are they with? What are they for?
“What is the point of them? To be honest, it's increasingly hard to tell.
“They're not the party of Clement Attlee, who built the NHS. They’re the party that wants to ‘weaponise’ the NHS.
“They’re not the party of Wilson and his ‘white heat of technology’. They’re the party with not a single idea about Britain’s industrial future.
“Just last week they were threatening to rip up the plans for high speed rail between Manchester and Birmingham. What’s more, they don’t have a single good thing to say about wealth creators. In fact – the party that cannot remember the name of a single businessman.
“They’re not even the party of John Smith either – who believed so passionately in the dignity of work. They’re the party who have opposed everything we have done to get nearly a million people off welfare and into a better life.
“No longer the Labour party but the welfare party, the party whose shining city on a hill, whose new Jerusalem is a load of dead-end lives and poverty handed down through the generations. “What a betrayal of everything that party once stood for.
He continued: “There must be Labour supporters up and down this country who work hard, pay their taxes, see the abuse of the welfare system and Labour’s defence of it and think: ‘how did it come to this?’”
The Tories are the “party of the hardworking low paid once more,” he said.
Labour’s opposition to Right to Buy and tax cuts shows it is the “about telling you what to do - the same old condescending, bossy, interfering, we-know-best attitude of the Hampstead socialist down the ages.”
He said: “This isn’t the party of working people. It’s the same old party of hypocrisy, the party of two faces, the party of two Jags, and now – yes – the party of two kitchens.”
In a rare breach of the slick presentation that characterises Conservative events, Mr Cameron was heckled by a party member of 35 years who was angered by the scant mention of Europe and immigration in the speech.
Mike Howson, 59, from Staffordshire Morelands, shouted that Mr Cameron had “betrayed the country” by failing to cut immigration. He voted Ukip at the last election.

Nicola Sturgeon: We’ll be Labour’s backbone & guts

TOM PETERKIN
20:29Saturday 28 March 2015
17
HAVE YOUR SAY
NICOLA Sturgeon yesterday promised that SNP MPs would give a Labour government “backbone and guts” as she spelt out the demands she would make of Ed Miliband ­after the general election.

The SNP leader called on Labour to join her in “locking out” David Cameron from Downing Street, as she unveiled a list that included the abolition of the House of Lords and a £2 rise in the minimum wage.

Ramping up the pressure on Labour and predicting her party would hold the balance of power in a hung parliament, Sturgeon claimed an SNP vote was the only way to shake-up a discredited Westminster es­tablishment, as she gave a speech to SNP spring conference which was rapturously ­received.


The last gathering of the party faithful before the general election saw around 3,000 delegates at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow.

Sturgeon challenged Labour to work with the SNP to form an anti-Conservative alliance at Westminster, even if Cameron’s party emerges with the most seats in May.

“As long as there are more anti-Tory MPs – Labour or SNP – than there are Tory MPs in the House of Commons, we can keep them out of Government,” said Sturgeon.

“If there are more anti-Tory than Tory MPs after the election, the only way the Tories get back into power is if Labour lets them back in.

“I call on Labour today to match that pledge to make clear that if Labour and the SNP combined have more seats than the Tories, they will join forces with us in a vote of confidence to lock David Cameron out of Downing Street.



“If Labour fails to make that commitment, the only conclusion people will draw is that Labour would rather have the Tories back in power than work with the SNP.”

She added: “That will be the final nail in the political coffin of Scottish Labour. It really will be time to lock the doors of the branch office once and for all.”

Sturgeon’s attempt to out-manoeuvre Labour’s claim that voting for SNP will let in the Conservatives was accompanied by her claim that the SNP would represent all Scots, regardless of how they voted in last year’s referendum.

Attempting to portray the SNP as a party that would stand up for the whole country, the First Minister said: “We will fight Scotland’s corner with passion, principle and conviction.”

She pleaded with Scottish voters to put the “normal divisions of politics” to one side and come together as “one country” at the general election. “We will represent you – to the best of our abilities – no matter your politics, your point of view and regardless of how you voted in the referendum last year.”

Packed into an enormous conference hall and having endured long queues to get in, delegates let out a deafening cheer as Sturgeon described the House of Lords as a “democratic outrage”, pointing out that it had tried to stop 16 and 17-year-olds voting in the ­referendum.

“Its members are paid £300 a day for just showing up and it is totally tax free. That’s got to stop,” Sturgeon said.

“People with no democratic mandate should not be writing the laws of the land. It is now time to abolish the House of Lords.”

With the party buoyed by a massive influx of supporters which has seen membership swell to 102,143, Sturgeon received a six-minute standing ovation from delegates, many of whom were attending conference for the first time.

Despite polls indicating the SNP will win most of Scotland’s 59 Westminster seats, the SNP leader said there was still a mountain to climb but with “hard graft and humility” no constituency was “off ­limits”.

Looking ahead to post-election negotiations with Labour, Sturgeon said she would stand firm against cash being spent on the “obscene status symbol” of a new generation of Trident weapons.

She would demand an alternative to austerity as well as a £2 increase in the minimum wage to take it up to £8.70 by 2020.

At Westminster, the SNP would vote on health issues even though the Scottish NHS is controlled by Holyrood.

She said the SNP would use its votes to halt the privatisation of the English NHS, because that would threaten Scotland’s health budget.

“Make no mistake, the continued privatisation of the NHS in England threatens the budget of the Scottish Government,” she said. “SNP MPs – in order to protect Scotland’s budget – will vote at Westminster to halt the tide of NHS privatisation in England. We will use our voices and our votes to keep the NHS, north and south of the Border, firmly in public hands.”

Telling delegates that previous Labour governments had reneged on promises, Sturgeon remarked: “If you want a Labour government to have backbone and guts, you need to elect SNP MPs to provide it for them. If you want a Labour government that won’t just be a carbon copy of the Tories, but will instead deliver the real change Scotland needs, then you must elect SNP MPs to force Labour’s hand and keep them honest.”

Sturgeon stopped short of describing her demands as red-line issues, preferring to concentrate on championing the SNP as the party of Scotland.

“Over the next few weeks there will continue to be talk of the deals that might be done after the election,” she said. “But from now until 7 May, there is only one deal I am interested in. There is only one deal this party will seek to do, and that is with you, the people of Scotland. If you place your trust in us to be your advocates at Westminster, we will fight Scotland’s corner with passion, principle and conviction.”

Before she stood up to speak, Sturgeon had attempted to reassert her authority over Westminster talks in an interview with Holyrood magazine.

Sturgeon responded to a series of interventions by Alex Salmond which have seen the former First Minister outline his views on post-election negotiations.

She said she would decide SNP strategy in a hung parliament while her predecessor would do the day-to-day work in the Commons.

Her speech to conference included a number of policy announcements including a pledge to get 500 companies paying the Living Wage to their workers.

She said a £100 million Scottish Attainment Fund had been established to keep young people in education.

On the eve of a crucial party vote to introduce all-female candidate shortlists for the first time, Sturgeon underlined her commitment to gender equality while announcing that £20 million would be set aside to tackle domestic abuse.

Last night Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy said: “There was no mention today of the austerity max that would be inflicted on Scotland if the SNP were to follow through on their policy of full fiscal autonomy. The First Minister knows, but won’t admit, that SNP sums don’t add up and her economic plans would lead to a £7.6 billon black hole in tax revenues.

“Despite all the cheering and backslapping the facts remain only Labour or the Tories can form the next UK government. Any seat taken from Labour by the SNP or anyone else simply helps David Cameron to stay in power. The only way to get a Labour government is to vote Labour.”


Comments:-
She is certainly proving to be a much more than able successor. After today I think Ed and Dave will be wishing Alex did not resign.

Ah, here we go, the nasty smell of politics, the smell of piss, This is the SNP plan.

SNP rout SLAB, the English work out that they don't want 40% of 5 million running the other 60Million people, (after all we had 13 years of it and what a bollox they made of it) so England and NI vote in a Tory/UKIP/Ulster coalition, who subsequently walk from the EU.

Sturgeon, Slamond and co say "well the people of Scotland want to be in the EU, so we want another referendum, betrayal, English baasa's etc" and hey presto indy full, delivered

Win win for the SNP, either join with Labour and run the UK or in the event of another tory government a trigger for indyref/2 ;))


great marketing campaign for the tories eh !!

Unionistas greetin again, full of negative hopes and bile. Put the crayons down and open your eyes , this is democracy working, isn't it great.

We are living in momentous times. For the first time SNP MPs are going to benefit at the forthcoming GE from at least the level of support their party achieve at the Holyrood election. This means the demise of the Scottish Labour party. The SNP is already Scotland's leading party, the GE will give it the seal of voter approval. We only have to take in the hundreds of posts this article has received in a few hours to understand how popular Nicola and the party are.

There is a handful of Union 'holdouts' on here frantically posting..well, frankly irrelevant, sometimes just bad mannered posts. No policies, no ideas, no counter arguments..well none that should be given the time of day..just sour grapes on the whole. Once they see how well the SNP do for Scotland and the spinn off benefit for the folks south of the border - saving the English NHS from privatisation, some will stop being 'holdouts' and after a bit o' shuffling their feet they'll probably come round.. The thing is after the GE a lot of the really empty posters will just disappear.

Finally we got to thank Alec Salmond for pulling the brilliant stroke some two years ago when he set the timetable for the referendum! You see Alec knew, from the devolution experience, that Independence was unlikely to be won the first time round and that's the reason he scheduled the referendum date for some 7 months before the 2015 general election! You see Alec just knew that SNP support would be at it's max., and would be primed to vote SNP seven months after the Sept., referendum. The polls indicate Alec was right and now after 7 May the rest as they say will be history, and we're alive to witness it! Alec Salmond youre a master tactician.

Definitely a landslide for the Tories in England now.

The English will not tolerate the sweaties pulling their strings.

Tory Laurel and Hardy van mocks Salmond, Miliband

15:31Saturday 28 March 2015
7
HAVE YOUR SAY
THE advertising van featuring Alex Salmond and Ed Miliband dressed as Laurel and Hardy has been dispatched by the Conservative Party.

The vehicle, which has the words “a fine mess” written across it, will visit the SNP conference in Glasgow.

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said: “This ad-van makes clear the choice facing voters in Scotland this May.


“It is a choice between a chaotic mess under Ed Miliband being propped up by a power-hungry Alex Salmond, and a strong Conservative party looking after both the UK and the economy.

“Voting for either the SNP or Labour will achieve the same thing, and it will spell disaster not just for Scotland, but the whole UK.

“The SNP has made its feelings perfectly clear on sharing power with Labour, and Ed Miliband will need that if he’s to be prime minister.

“Anyone who passionately believes in the United Kingdom should vote for the Scottish Conservatives

Did Oliver Hardy not have a wee moustache? Or was that another historical figure?


I thought the SNP were using a van to do a promotion of Salmonds book until it got closer and I saw it was a michelin tyre van with the michelin man on the roof


England are waking up to the potential nightmare of Messers Miliband and Salmond trying to run the UK.

JC has been offered a job in...Russia....apparently it's a Tsar in an ordinary car....

I think London needs a dose of Salmond and Sturgeon, good to see them doing well!

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But who would believe Dodgy Dave?

Not a bad lead:


Labour lead at 4

YouGov

Latest YouGov / Sunday Times results 28th March - Con 32%, Lab 36%, LD 8%, UKIP 13%, GRN 6%; APP -16

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You can see why Cameron is chickening out of debates with Ed.

Cluck, cluck, cluck!

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Bring out Berlusconi Boris and his handmaiden Theresa to lead them further into the wilderness.

Fred The Red ..... "I think London needs a dose of Salmond and Sturgeon, good to see them doing so well!"

Win Win for Scotland, for the rest of us A DOSE of either would be suicide!!! LOL!

Perhaps if ED had some policies then a debate may be worthwhile, no point trying to have a debate with an empty head.
2517

The problem with Ed debating with Calamity Cameron is that the latter has often done a U-bend or U-turn before the end of a sentence.

When he has been kicked out he should be able to make a living writing Fairy stories!

Well Charlie Broker is classified as a humourist.

Slight bias I thought.

He does write for the lefty rag; the Guardian.

my honest view was that EM was dreadful on the paxo show, but clearly others thought differently

IG still show tories with 12 more seats than labour
however, as i have always said, i'ld rather have a "proper" gov't of any hue than one which is intrinsically hamstrung and thus made incapable of putting through unpopular measures that are deemed necessary

should EM end up in Number 10, and of course that is far from certain, then SNP will continue to have a ball and pull the strings .... that can't be good for anyone

I thought Charlie gave a fairly accurate summary of the present torrid party and can see why the party appeal to the Hazyone.

Theresa's description the blue rinse brigade as the Nasty Party is how the general public think of it.

What are the saying a party HQ about the labour 4% lead in the polls?

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Do I see a Boris creeping up on Dave!

Have you forgotten that Ed used some very vague rules to avoid paying property taxes?

A true socialist and man of the people eh Fred?

i don't know why fred cares, but it's patently not enough to make him want to get off his bum and vote

Perhaps, a coalition government would be able to present and pass more central and moderate policies aiding more cohesion as the consider the needs of majority of society which they are supposed to represent.

It is obvious that Scotland feel that they have been neglected by Labour, Lib/Dems and tories, whether it is true, or not, is difficult to judge.

The present torids are seen as representing themselves and their own at the expense of the most defenceless in society.

A greedy bunch who will probably get paid what they are worth.

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Mind it is only one poll and only 4%!