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.

Scotland may get second indyref - Nicola Sturgeon


SCOTT MACNAB
22:18Tuesday 31 March 2015 00:00Wednesday 01 April 2015
296
HAVE YOUR SAY
NICOLA Sturgeon has refused to rule out the prospect of another Scottish independence referendum before 2020.

The First Minister said yesterday she has still to decide whether to include a commitment to another vote on the constitution in the party’s manifesto for next year’s Holyrood elections.

“I can’t impose a referendum on the Scottish people”
Nicola Sturgeon
But she insisted that independence will not be part of the forthcoming General Election campaign.

“I think we will have another referendum and I think Scotland will become independent,” Ms Sturgeon said.

“But that’s only going to happen when we have a party, presumably the SNP, which puts another referendum in their manifesto for a Scottish Parliament election and the people vote for that.

“I can’t impose a referendum on the Scottish people against their will.

“Will it be in our 2016 manifesto? I will take that decision when we come to write our 2016 manifesto. At the moment I’m concentrating on the 2015 one.”

Recent polls have suggested that the Yes side would win a second vote as support for the SNP and Yes parties surged after the referendum.

But Nationalist leaders, including Ms Sturgeon and Alex Salmond, had suggested that a referendum would be a “once in a generation” event.

Ms Sturgeon also said yesterday that the SNP government could still prop up a Labour minority government on a vote-by- vote basis – even if the Trident nuclear weapons system is renewed by Ed Miliband’s administration.

But she described Trident as a “red line” issue for the SNP, which would rule out a more formal deal like a coalition or “confidence and supply” arrangement with a Labour government.

However, Ms Sturgeon indicated this may not mean voting down a Labour budget, because Westminster “budgets don’t deal with spending, they deal with tax increases”.

Asked if the SNP would bring down a Labour administration over Trident, she added: “You can defeat governments in a minority context; it doesn’t necessarily mean that government falls.”

The First Minister added: “If we were voting on a vote-by- vote basis, we would vote for things we agree with and we wouldn’t vote for things we don’t agree with.

“But under no circumstances would we ever vote for the renewal of Trident or the spending of money on the renewal of Trident.

“The £100 billion that’s going to cost over the next 35 years is better spent on health education and keeping people out of poverty.”

But the First Minister said a working relationship with Labour would be possible.

“I’m sure there are many issues we could work together on,” Ms Sturgeon said.

“We know from past experience that Labour oppositions promise big and then they get into government and they don’t deliver.

“If we want to make sure that Labour firstly delivers on the things that it’s promising to do and we agree with, we need to make sure there are SNP MPs in there holding them to account and making sure that they deliver.”

But it came as David Cameron warned that Labour will not recover in Scotland unless the party rules out any deal with the SNP.

The Prime Minister said that the Tories are the only party recovering north of the Border because they have said they will not deal with the Nationalists.

However, he said he worries that Labour leader Ed Miliband is “not strong enough” to stand up to former SNP leader Mr Salmond and his successor Ms Sturgeon, and their “transitional demands”.

Earlier this month, Mr Miliband ruled out a formal coalition with the SNP following a Tory campaign warning that he was planning to form a government after the election with the help of the party, but he failed to rule out an informal agreement.

Mr Cameron said: “Labour ought to rule out not just coalition but any form of deal with the SNP. They can’t recover in Scotland unless they actually say, ‘We’re not going to deal with these people’.

“While they are saying effectively they’re going to deal with them, that’s giving people in Scotland a green light to vote SNP. They’ve got to have the courage of their convictions.

“The only party that’s actually recovering a little in Scotland is the Conservatives, because we’ve said, ‘We’re not dealing with these people, they want to break up our country, we’re not having anything to do with them. Vote for what you believe in’.

“What is Labour’s message? ‘We don’t like the SNP but we might do a deal with them – they might help us over the threshold’. That’s useless.”

He said the SNP was “just trying to take the Labour Party hostage”.

Polls continue to suggest the SNP is poised to win dozens of Scotland’s 59 seats and could even hold the balance of power at Westminster in the event of a hung parliament.

Yes The Three Stooges!

I suppose the HP is a variety hall of a kind!

Perhaps, Manuel could get a zero hours contract selling ice creams there.

Jim Murphy: Only Labour can get rid of the Tories


11:59Sunday 05 April 2015
3
HAVE YOUR SAY
JIM Murphy will next week urge voters to back Labour so that they are not left to “look back in anger and think what might have been” the day after the General Election.

The Scottish Labour leader will launch a pledge card in his East Renfrewshire constituency tomorrow with 10 election promises, including 1,000 extra nurses for Scotland’s NHS, a rise in the minimum wage, an end to zero hour contracts, funding for young people outside education and further powers for the Scottish Parliament over benefits.

Don’t look back in anger and think what might have been the day after the election
Jim Murphy
Mr Murphy believes another Conservative government will “hold back young Scots” and that Scottish Labour has a vision to make “our country the fairest on earth”.

In a speech in Neilston, Mr Murphy will say: “The decision we take on May 7 will decide the future of Scotland for years to come.

“We have a once in a generation opportunity to transform the life chances of Scotland’s young people.

“Let’s grasp it with both hands.

“Don’t look back in anger and think what might have been the day after the election.

“Our pledge to the young people of Scotland is this - we will give you a fair shot at life.

“Under Labour, young working class Scots won’t just get a first chance in life. They will get a second and a third chance to succeed.

“Only a vote for Labour will get rid of this rotten, nasty, opportunity-squandering Tory government once and for all.”

The election pledge card is to be distributed to homes across Scotland and also contains vows to guarantee the Barnett Formula, increase bursaries for students and to create a £175 million fund to tackle the causes of poverty and end the need for foodbanks.




Comments:-


He must be looking forward to Brown retiring so he doesn't look like the branch office master's assistant.


Murphy seems to have abandoned his one-promise-a-day strategy and is switching to bulk promises. Does that really mean we'll be rid of him and his media appearence for 10 consecutive days now ? Marvellous !


Murphy is deluded.

Only the dim witted would believe this snake oil salesman

Andrew Wilson: Sturgeon is ready for power


Andrew Wilson
02:15Sunday 05 April 2015
16
HAVE YOUR SAY
ONE week on Monday marks the 70th anniversary of a by-election where I grew up in Wishaw and Motherwell. Dr Robert McIntyre, a former Labour party member, became the first SNP Westminster MP.

He lost the seat in the general election weeks later. The seat has remained rock-solid Labour ever since.

She has spoken constructively beyond the borders of Scotland to the rest of the UK
At the last election, the redoubtable Frank Roy was returned with a thumping 61 per cent of the vote, with his nearest rival, Marion Fellows of the SNP, on 18 per cent. That left a swing of more than 21 per cent needed for the SNP to take the seat.

Frank Roy is an extremely capable Labour machine politician. I hear that tens of thousands of pounds have already been spent on his campaign. While he lacks volunteer support he doesn’t seem to lack money.

The SNP in return have seen their local membership grow from a few dozen a decade ago to more than 1,000 today. Marion is a grandmother who raised her family near Wishaw Cross and is one of those people who works every day for her community and always has. But can she win with such a mountain to climb?

Recent constituency polling from Lord Ashcroft suggested the SNP could be set to do just that. If borne out in the vote it will be a truly remarkable moment. I doubt I will contain my tears if she pulls it off.

I would urge strong caution at this stage. Any MP tally of more than 11 is still an all-time record for the SNP. But even my cautious heart must confess it feels different this time around.

If it is, that presents a host of new challenges for the SNP, as well as opp­ortunities. The party will need to prepare for yet another transformation in its development and maturity as an organisation and institution.




As the third party at Westminster it would carry new rights and responsibilities few have considered. It would be on every committee, heard at every question time and in every debate.

As the government in Scotland with a large group in Westminster, it would either be supporting a minority Labour government or working to get the best deal for Scotland from whatever constellation appears.

This will present new challenges. One of the most impressive aspects of Nicola Sturgeon’s early leadership and her debate performance last week has been how she has spoken constructively beyond the borders of Scotland to the rest of the UK.

This trend has to grow further still. Scotland voted against independence, so the SNP must now work to ensure the best outcomes for Scotland and our friends across the UK. Until public opinion on independence shifts significantly, the SNP voice will need to take its new leadership role as representing a better way not just for Scotland but for English regions who would love to have Scotland’s voice.

Keep refighting last September’s battle crudely and the SNP’s relevance will diminish. Confidently define their new role as the unifying national party and government of Scotland as well as an example to new possibilities for the rest of the UK and the sky could be the limit. Play the long game cleverly and the goal of properly empowering Scotland could be realised much more quickly. This means openness, transparency and clarity of purpose. They must retain an open ear to the voice of the outsider to ensure all are served. It will mean the SNP growing both its policy thinking and infrastructure in the way it has at Holyrood.

And each time it influences positively at Westminster it will have to take ownership of that as it impacts Scotland and the Scottish Government. This makes the challenge to its narrative, campaign and strategy much more complex and nuanced than ever before. The latest farcical Westminster village story on leaked French diplomatic statements, denied by all involved, won’t change a single vote. The sniggered attempt to suggest the SNP would rather see the Tories govern than the SNP itself with influence in a minority Labour government are from a play book decades old that yet again fails to recognise modern reality. It’s also the opposite of what the SNP say clearly on every platform. Risible.

I can only guess what Robert McIntyre would make of it all had he survived to see this day. He died at 84 after a life well lived in public service a matter of months before the Scottish Parliament re-opened. His party has travelled far since the weeks of his lonely position in 1945.

Seventy years on, the SNP is better placed than any party to help navigate the many hard choices that must be faced by all countries and leaders, while taking the people with them.

I don’t doubt they are ready for this challenge and all it entails. But they must keep focused on what it means, as will its vast new membership.

In Nicola Sturgeon the SNP have a new leader leading a new government more ready for the modern era than any other in Europe. She is ready. We will find out soon if her country is, too.

Ed Miliband would be a 'catastrophe' for Britain say 70% of Britain's FTSE 100 business chiefs

Poll of FTSE 100 bosses reveals overwhelming support for the Tories

Seven out of 10 said Ed Miliband fearful of a Labour Government

Seven out of 10 business chiefs at Britain's biggest companies think Ed Miliband would be a 'catastrophe' for Britain, a survey has revealed.

The poll of FTSE 100 chairman has revealed overwhelming support for David Cameron to remain Prime Minister, despite the widespread business concern over his pledge to hold an in-out referendum on Europe.

It comes just days after more than 100 company bosses signed a letter warning against a Labour government. It also echoes controversial remarks by the Boots chief executive Stefano Pessina who sparked fury after claiming it would be a 'catastrophe' for the UK if Labour won the election.

The poll of 35 business chairman, by the headhunters Korn Ferry, is a further blow to Labour which is struggling to repair its relationship with big business after a series of controversial policy announcements.

Mr Miliband last week vowed to ban 90 per cent of zero-hours contracts and unveiled proposals to make it easier for workers to take their bosses to court for unfair dismissal.

He also confirmed plans to raise corporation tax for the first time in 40 years to raise cash for a £400 cut in business rates for smaller firms.

One of the FTSE 100 bosses surveyed, who did not want to be named, said businesses could work with Labour's shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna and its economics chief Ed Balls.

But he said Mr Miliband's 'tone and rhetoric' had proved 'deeply disturbing', adding: 'At times his language is vitriolic and he appears to completely misunderstand business.'

Haze,

Do they give advice on tax avoidance to party donors?

,

instead of being stupid fred, what do you think you should happen .....
a) to help or even prevent people spending all their pension pot prematurely
b) once that pension pot has gone, arguably spent profligately rather than just through unexpected longevity

.

yoo hoo!
when you've finished posting excerpts from the beano, have a look at my post just above and let us know your thoughts

c.

It depends on what the pension pot is spent on (of course)

yeeees, but as far as i can see there's no restriction, albeit that there may be tax implications if your drawdown is too great or in a single lump ...... so the questions i raised still remain

and before you ask, i'm not sure what should happen, as if you run out of money, it will almost always be through lack of proper and prudent planning ...... i guess you'll end up with just your state pension, though not all will be entitled to that - eg if you haven't worked enough years or whatever the rules are

As far as I can tell, how many years you have paid in don't count anymore.

MIG has taken care of that (I think) so the peeps can piss it all up the wall, and fall back on the taxpayer.

mansion tax
all hypothetical and with luck won't come to pass ....
however, if the tax is to be personal, then presumably if your house is jointly owned as is often the case, then presumably the notional £2m threshold should become £4m..... hahaha!

Based on rateable value.

Ha, Ha.

=-=-==

Is it true, as reported, previously tory party members, MPs and councillors flocking in droves to, or doing back room deals with UKIP?

For people with big pension pots, I can see them taking the 25% tax free and leaving the rest where it is for now. They could use that 25% to help children and family members get on the property ladder. There may also be a few who cash in to put the money into property. In either case it may boost the housing market.

property
at present, you can't put pension money into residential
i wonder if that will be varied


mansion tax
rateable values have little reflection on realiseable reality .... and even these can change considerably and not necessarily upwards
in any case, if the tax were to be raised, it was surely a personal tax, and therefore my slightly facetious comment above would still stand

The rules now are that you can spend the money on anything. You can depend it on a holiday, a car or just having a hood time.

Twin peaks might make it back to the screen with some damn good coffee !.....without or without David Lynch.....(his directing is fantastic though)....