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.

The tories have been in "charge" of the NHS for 5 years.

Overpaying their mates, perhaps?


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EL Just leave it to the Hunt to do his worst.

Your lot where in for three terms Fred, have you got an eye/memory problem ?

He must have been looking for Edwina!

Bring back the good old days!

Why is it OK for the UK to leave the EU in order to rule itself, but not for Scotland to leave the UK?

Standaaaard! (as the paper seller used to shout)... double Standards as the lesser crested Tory moans.

Fred.

The jocks were given the chance to rool themselves, and bottled it.

What don't you understand about recent history?

.

if scotland wants to go it alone, then fine, but they should not then interfere in laws and the like that are not their concern

i confess it's the baleful influence of mccluskey and his hard-left militant buddies who should give every bit as much concern

Stan a nerd , as they still shout

Drop dead low life.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3049576/Union-s-sinister-hold-Miliband-Mail-investigation-reveals-half-Labour-candidates-key-seats-sponsored-Unite-militants.html

Union's sinister hold over Miliband: Mail investigation reveals over half of Labour candidates in key seats are sponsored by Unite militants

More than half of Labour candidates in winnable seats sponsored by Unite
Analysis conducted by the Mail lays bare the union's grip on Ed Miliband
Its £14.3million contribution makes it the biggest donor to the Labour party
Many of Unite leader Len McCluskey's demands have become party policy

More than half of Labour candidates in winnable seats are sponsored by just one hard-left trade union.

Fifty-four of the party's contenders for 106 target constituencies are either members of Unite, or are endorsed or partially bankrolled by it.

The analysis by the Mail lays bare the extraordinary stranglehold the union's firebrand leader 'Red' Len McCluskey has on Ed Miliband.

Tories say the general secretary's degree of influence is payback for the huge sums Unite has given to Labour since 2010.

Its £14.3million contribution makes it the biggest donor to the party. Together, the unions have handed £40million to Mr Miliband – two thirds of the Labour leader's funding. The avalanche of cash is reflected in the party's candidate list. Of 410 new faces for the General Election on May 7, one in three – 133 – have links with Unite.

Labour's close ties with the union will be on display on Friday evening when Mr McCluskey will be the special guest at a major rally in Glasgow.

Party leaders hope the intervention of the former supporter of the Trotskyist Militant Tendency will help fend off the threat of the SNP.

Many of the Unite leader's demands have become party policy under Mr Miliband, including the abolition of the spare-room subsidy or bedroom tax.

Labour is also pledging to adopt other Unite-inspired policies such as a ban on zero-hours contracts, a large increase in the minimum wage, scrapping fees for employment tribunals and rent controls.

Mr Miliband has announced plans to part-renationalise the rail network – another policy pushed by Mr McCluskey – and Labour has repeatedly refused to rule out increasing corporation tax, a change the Unite leader has argued for.

Two years ago, Unite was mired in scandal for trying to 'manipulate' Labour's selection of a candidate in Falkirk by stuffing the local membership with its supporters.

Henry Smith, Tory candidate for Crawley, said: 'Labour is nothing more than the political wing of the trade unions, with Ed Miliband an appointed puppet who squeaks whatever Red Len tells him to. The consequences could not be dire: more wasteful spending, more unaffordable borrowing and higher taxes for hardworking families.'

Mr Miliband was elected Labour leader in 2010 thanks to the support of the unions. The frontrunner, his brother David, won more support among Labour MPs and party members. But Ed won more support among the unions, pushing him over the winning line. Trade unions gave £148,000 toward his leadership campaign – including £115,000 from Unite. Mr Miliband was endorsed by Unite, with the then two co-general secretaries, Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley, urging members to vote for him.

After the result was announced, the new Labour leader was observed putting an arm round them and saying: 'Thank you.' Fifty-three of Unite members had voted for him. Since Mr Miliband became leader, the unions have donated £40.4million to the Labour Party, according to the Electoral Commission. Unison has handed over £8.1million while the GMB has donated £6.9million and Usdaw £6.1million.

Another £2.6million has come from the CWU, £730,000 from UCATT and £690,000 from the union Community.

In target seats, 84 per cent of Labour candidates have union links.

Harriet Harman, Andy Burnham and Chuka Umunna are all Unite members.

A spokesman for Labour said: 'We are proud to have selected a wide range of candidates with varying backgrounds including carers, military personnel and business people.

'Trade unions have no undue influence over Labour's candidate selection process, and unlike the Tories who stand up only for a privileged few, Labour is on the side of millions of hardworking people.'

A spokesman for Unite said: 'There is no such thing as a Unite MP or candidate, there are only Labour candidates. We fully support all Labour candidates.'

Scar-mongering alert... Again!

i saw a copy the Mail over breakfast, and no wonder it's held in little esteem
it makes the Telegraph look almost left wing!

nevertheless, i certainly agree with its sentiment re mccluskey and his scary acolytes

i saw a copy the Mail over breakfast, and no wonder it's held in little esteem
it makes the Telegraph look almost left wing!

nevertheless, i certainly agree with its sentiment re mccluskey and his scary acolytes

meanwhile, the market has (at last) caught fright, though that may have something to do with greece
whereas it opened some 20 points to the good, it is now down 40
annoyingly, IG is having problems with its server(s), but at least i already hold a FTSE short

cynic

What did IG say about it , i called them but long wait also you can't get onto the help page

Alf as you and your "Con" Party mates continually quote the propaganda spewed out by the likes of the DM. Etc it's no wonder your all paranoid about alternatives to Right Wing rhetoric.

IG is now up and working again

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stan - today was mere happenstance; DM does not normally cross my eye-line
anyway, whatever the election brings, it brings - something fairly shambolic is my guess - and as always and in the past, i'll just adapt to it