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.

No Fred, your getting confused Labour are being given the last rites in Scotland by Fifi and Wee Eck! LOL!

An American friend came to visit me in London last week, and after a few days he suddenly announced:

‘Your election is completely insane!’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3047165/PIERS-MORGAN-Meet-dangerous-wee-woman-world-ve-never-heard-of.html#ixzz3XrlmY5G7



Coincidentally, I too have reached the exact same conclusion after spending a few weeks back in my home country and witnessing at first hand the political carnage erupting as Britain prepares for its first General Election in five years on May 7th.

But I was curious as to why he had.

‘I always assumed that you basically have a 2-party system like ours,’ he replied. ‘We have Republican versus Democrat, you have Conservative versus Labour. Yes, you have a few other smaller parties, but they never have any real power.’

‘Well, that’s basically still true,’ I replied.

‘No it’s not!’ he roared. ‘There’s some tiny red-headed lady from Scotland who’s chewing them all up and makes William Wallace look shy! She’s fantastic!’

It was my turn to laugh. More from nervous discomfort than amusement.
For the truth is that Nicola Sturgeon, firebrand leader of the Scottish National Party, is indeed chewing them all up.

This diminutive but sharp-witted woman has rampaged through the UK election campaign like a mini-Godzilla, breathing fire and brimstone in such a passionate manner that even Wallace himself – a Scottish warrior hero immortalized by Mel Gibson in the movie Braveheart, who died trying (and failing..) to wrestle independence from the English in the late 13th Century - might have struggled to emulate it.

Today, Sturgeon unveiled the SNP’s manifesto with a speech of such dynamism that even many English voters were left drooling with admiration.

She’s made every other party leader look tame and lame by contrast and shaken the foundations of the UK’s political machinery to the very core.
But in the process, she is emerging as the world’s most dangerous woman that few outside Britain have ever heard of.

Let me explain.

The pathetic reality of British politics right now is that neither of the two main parties has a hope in hell of winning an overall majority at the general election.

So they will have to take a begging bowl to one of the smaller parties to do a deal that allows them to form a ‘coalition’ government. The biggest ‘smaller’ party will almost certainly be the SNP, who should end up with 40-50 seats in Parliament, having pretty much wiped out the socialist Labour party in that country, which used to be considered its heartland.

And Sturgeon has already made it crystal clear she would rather be mortally impaled on a rusty set of bagpipes than do a deal with current Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party.

So the smart money is now beginning to drift towards a coalition government between Labour and the SNP.

This would instantly propel Nicola Sturgeon into the real corridors of power, as a major player - and who knows what merry hell she may wreak once there?
So no, ‘fantastic’ isn’t quite the way I’d describe Ms Sturgeon.

Try ‘terrifying’.

I don’t use that phrase lightly, nor is my concern based on any kind of misogynist view of female politicians.

Margaret Thatcher was the first person I ever voted for, at the 1983 election a few weeks after I turned 18 – the legal voting age in the UK.

In many ways, Sturgeon reminds me of Thatcher.

She’s a tough, uncompromising woman with a fierce, combative intelligence – she’s a lawyer – and an ever fiercer ambition.

She also shares Thatcher’s withering disdain for the myriad less able men who dare to cross her political patch.

But that’s pretty much where the comparisons end.

Politically, they are about as closely aligned as Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin.

Thatcher was a tremendously patriotic advocate of both the United Kingdom and Great Britain.

(Note: they are not, as many Americans believe, the same thing. The UK is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain comprises only England, Scotland and Wales. Southern Ireland is an independent Republic and part of neither.)

Sturgeon wants Scottish independence, thereby breaking up the UK after more than 300 years.

The SNP narrowly failed to achieve this in a referendum a few months ago, but their hunger to try again remains just as ravenous and if anything their support has increased since then, especially since Scots know they can safely vote for the nationalists in a UK general election without Britain immediately ceasing to exist.

And the rest of us can’t rely on our Queen to have her hanged, drawn and quartered to stop this mission in its tracks, in the way her predecessor King Edward 1 eventually dealt with Mr Wallace.

But why does this matter to anyone outside of poor old Britain?

Well, an independent Scotland, by common rational consent, would be an economic and military disaster for the rest of the UK and, by default, its allies - notably America.

Scottish armed forces have played a consistently key role in the UK’s military actions. Without their guaranteed involvement, Britain’s capacity and effectiveness would be severely diminished which is bad news for an America which knows that, even if their actual numbers are relatively small, having British forces on the ground in places like Afghanistan and Iraq is very valuable politically.

But that’s not even the biggest threat Ms Sturgeon poses to national and international security.

She’s also made it very clear that she would not renew the UK’s “Trident” nuclear subamarine programme if it was her decision.

And she may make kicking it out of its Scottish naval base a deal-breaker for her support.

The $150 billion cost for the American nuke built-system is ‘unjustified’, she insists.

Instead, she would rely on conventional weaponry.

This is where she moves from ‘Scottish agent provocateur’ to ‘Most Dangerous Woman in Britain’ territory.

For the UK to remove its nuclear deterrent at such a dangerously unstable global time is, as my serving British Army officer brother put it, ‘utter madness.’

The world has never needed stable nuclear powers more than today, as terror groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda seek to join despotic regimes like North Korea in acquiring them, and old enemies like Russia grow ever-more aggressive,
Yet if Sturgeon had her way, America would lose its most reliable nuclear ally at a stroke.

Britain would not only be defenceless to a nuclear attack from this kind of enemy.

If our army, air-force and navy are broken up it would also inevitably weaken NATO.

And England on its own would very possiblylose Britain’s full-time seat on the United Nations Security Council which again, is a key vote the US can almost always rely upon.

America politicians must be freaking out at the prospect of such an alarming shift in the UK’s military spending, thinking and influence.
No wonder President Obama made an 11th hour plea to Scots to stay united when the referendum took place.

We now face the prospect of having our Government being dictated to by a woman who wants to smash up the UK, abandon the nuclear deterrent and defiantly cry ‘No chance, laddie’ next time the White House asks for our help.

Like I said, terrifying.

I still have a letter from Maggie Thatcher adorning my London office, congratulating me on winning a nuclear debate at my high school.
I argued passionately then about the insanity of disarming ourselves at a time of considerable global tension.

The situation is now undeniably even more unstable and worrying.

So the SNP’s surging power couldn’t come at a worse time.

Before the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, William Wallace declared: ‘We come here with no peaceful intent, but ready for battle, determined to avenge our wrongs and set our country free. Let your masters come and attack us; we are ready to meet them beard to beard.’

The only difference between Nicola Sturgeon and William Wallace is she doesn’t have a beard.

Piers Morgan

What's the latest polls........

Populus have voting intentions of CON 32%, LAB 34%, LDEM 9%, UKIP 15%, GRN 4%.

ICM have topline figures of CON 34%, LAB 32%, LDEM 10%, UKIP 11%, GRN 5%

In other words, nobody knows whats going to happen.

Piers Morgan that dreadful thing I despise him . a truly awful individual.

whatever the various opinions expessed here, the odds must surely favour a coalition of labour and snp + perhaps a few of the also-rans
this scarcely fills one with confidence , but then nor do the tories

one way or another, the current bunch of political leaders and their henchmen make the much scorned WW1 generals look like a collection of super-heroes

let's at least hope for another GE within just a few months ...... a bit like chucking in one's hand at scrabble and hoping for a better selection of letters next time around

The cut back Kippers at it again:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32390436

Just a bunch of ex "Con" artist voters in the main.

Sir John Major: A Labour and SNP deal will cause 'mayhem'




By Peter Dominiczak, Political Editor

10:30PM BST 20 Apr 2015

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An Ed Miliband government propped up by the SNP will lead to “mayhem” as Labour faces a “daily dose of political blackmail” that will lead to higher taxes and job losses, Sir John Major is to warn.


Making his first intervention of the general election campaign, the former Conservative prime minister will use a speech to warn that all voters in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will "all pay the price" if there is a deal between Mr Miliband and Miss Sturgeon.


The SNP will be in a position to "bring down the government at any time" if its demands for increased spending in Scotland are not met, Sir John will say.


It came as two of Labour’s most senior figures on Monday opened the doors to talks with the SNP in the event of another hung Parliament.




Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, and Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, both suggested that Mr Miliband could look to do a deal with Miss Sturgeon after the May 7 vote.

It represents a significant shift in Labour’s rhetoric over a deal with the SNP. Mr Balls last week said that any deal with the Scottish nationalists would be a “betrayal” of English voters.

Mr Miliband has repeatedly refused to rule out a deal with the SNP after the election, despite insisting that he would never form a coalition with Miss Sturgeon.




In a sign of the growing confusion in the Labour Party over Scotland, Mr Miliband on Monday repeatedly said “that ain’t gonna happen” when asked if the SNP would be “calling the shots” after the election, but again did not conclusively rule out a deal.

Miss Sturgeon on Monday unveiled her election manifesto and pledged to force a UK government into £140billion of extra spending.

Her plans would mean around £5,200 more borrowing per household in the UK, raising the prospect of significant tax hikes worth thousands for families across the country.

Laying the groundwork for a post-election deal with Mr Miliband, the SNP prospectus also supported a series of flagship Labour pledges including the reintroduction of the 50p top rate of tax, reversing the NHS reforms as well as a cut in tuition fees to £6,000.




On the prospect of a Labour government requiring SNP support, Sir John will say: “This is a recipe for mayhem. At the very moment our country needs a strong and stable government, we risk a weak and unstable one - pushed to the Left by its allies, and open to a daily dose of political blackmail.

"In 16 days' time, the people of the United Kingdom will elect our next Government. There is a simple choice to make: do you vote for the Party that presided over economic chaos: or the Party that has led us out of it?"

While Cameron and Farage alienate 5.3 million Scots.

No wonder the Scots wish to leave the UK!


Well done!

Rubbish, you can't blame the Cons for Labour's demise in Scotland. Not called canny for nowt, branch office ring any bells?

I hear when Sturgeon wins the election she is going to transfer the Clyde Side Trident bases to the Thames embankment, suggesting as London is the heart of the nation it should be better protected!

It could be the next London tourist attraction with Boris as the tourist guide!

Only sensible...What a good idea.

Just a reminder, that the BBC have a web site with ALL the polls on it:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/poll-tracker

OddsChecker is a very good web site to see what the bookies are saying about the General Election and there are some extremely interesting bets in the British Politics section:

http://www.oddschecker.com/politics/british-politics/next-uk-general-election/most-seats

Suggestion: Place bookmarks to these pages in your browser's BookMarks Bar.

Here is a good suggestion.

Election 2015: Nick Clegg's tax rise vow on second homes
21 April 2015
From the section Election 2015
Liberal Democrat leader and deputy PM Nick Clegg
Prices are "beyond reach" of many young people, Nick Clegg says
Nick Clegg has said owners of second homes in rural beauty spots could face paying double the rate of council tax under Liberal Democrat plans.

-=-=

Launching the party's Countryside Charter, he said the plans would ensure local residents were not priced out of the property market.

They would allow local authorities to charge 200% council tax in some areas.
The Lib Dem leader also wants to create 300,000 jobs in rural areas if the party has power after the election.

Mr Clegg said the proposed second home levy was aimed at ensuring there was "fairness in the housing market".

it wouldn't achieve it's aim, but it's not a bad idea for all that
quite how it would be enforced is another matter, for surely it is quite easily circumvented

Will MP's be charged double for their second homes?

Do pig's fly??

rent one, own one .... or you own one and your other half the other ..... lots of variations possible

in any case, though it will help funding for local councils, it won't reduce the price of these "holiday homes" by much if at all