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.

I hope they don't watch this all day cause TANKER would get banged up !!!

agent cynic is just back from playing golf :-)

tax credit cuts
delighted they have been abandoned, and i care not that it will be deemed a u-turn or whatever
nothing wrong with the concept, but the application of them clearly had no proper forethought

what else was in there as haven't caught up yet?

Nothing much for the masses as usual, "forecasts" that mean little or nothing in the medium to long term.

thanks

The tax credit cuts have just been delayed. They will come back.

Wasn't Corbyn pathetic at PMQs today. With all the problems in the world such as terrorism and bombing Syria and even poverty and benefits, he could only manage to ask 4 questions about the cut in the subsidy on solar panels. He even had a letter from an employee in a solar panel company. Cameron gave him the same answer more or less 4 times. The cost of manufacture of solar panels has plummeted and therefore the susidy falls as well.

Former "Con"servative MP Tim Yeo loses Sunday Times cash claim libel bid.

an additional 3% stamp duty surcharge on buy to let and second homes
sounds a bit of a killer to potential landlords, and doesn't sound very fair
anyone else got an angle on this?

Buy to let became a bit of obsession with the public, especially with TV shows about it. There is little doubt that it fuelled house price rises. If it can be stopped or slweddown then this has to be good for home buyers. Every buy to let is a house out of these buying pool.

There has already been a change where the interest on buy to let mortgages has been disallowed as an expense against profit.

I expect further changes in the future to slow the process even further. The BoE may introduce measure to tighten the flow of buy to let mortgages.

John McDonnell waving Mao’s Little Red Book in the Commons. What could possibly go wrong?

POLITICAL SKETCH: After George Osborne’s Autumn Statement, the shadow chancellor attempts a joke. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite go to plan.



By Michael Deacon, Parliamentary Sketchwriter

4:37PM GMT 25 Nov 2015




What I want to know is: how did it happen? Did John McDonnell dream it up in private by himself? Or was it discussed – and, inexplicably, approved – in a meeting with his advisers?


“Look, John, we’ve been carrying out some research, and what the focus groups are telling us is: the Tories’ smears are working. Voters see you as a far-Left caricature. An ideological extremist. A cartoon ‘Commie’. We need to find a way to dispel this undeserved and inaccurate image. Any thoughts?”


“Hmm. Let me think. Hang on – got it. How about I stand at the dispatch box of the House of Commons, pull out a well-thumbed copy of Chairman Mao’s ‘Little Red Book’, and say, ‘I think you’ll find this invaluable. Let’s quote from Mao’?”


“Sure. That should do the trick.”


No, I appreciate that it sounds an unlikely scenario. Yet, in the Commons this afternoon, this is what the shadow chancellor did. If you weren’t watching, don’t worry – you’ll see the footage. It’ll be in every Conservative Party TV broadcast for the next four and a half years.


What makes it all the more fascinating is, he clearly thought he was being clever. He was responding to George Osborne’s Autumn Statement, and had just made a perfectly reasonable point about the Chancellor sucking up to the Chinese.

But evidently Mr McDonnell felt that the point, as it stood, lacked impact. He wanted to make it memorable. Imaginative. Visual. Was there, perhaps, some sort of satirical prop he could deploy, to win a laugh at the Chancellor’s expense?

He reached into his trouser pocket. “To assist Comrade Osborne in his dealings with his newfound comrades,” he crowed, “I’ve brought along Mao’s ‘Little Red Book’!”



Sitting just along from Mr McDonnell was Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson. Very slowly, Mr Watson’s mouth opened. Then it closed. Then his eyes closed. Then they reopened.

No – they hadn’t deceived him. There was his colleague, flicking casually through the selected musings of the most prolifically murderous Communist dictator in history.

Mr Watson shot a glance at Jeremy Corbyn. The Labour leader appeared entirely unperturbed – even by the delighted gusts of laughter billowing across from the Tory benches. The laughter was so delirious that the Speaker had to appeal for calm.

Rehearsing this little skit, Mr McDonnell probably imagined that the laughter would come from the MPs sitting behind him, rather than those sitting opposite.

But it was too late now. He battled on.

“I think you’ll find this invaluable,” he continued. “Let’s quote from Mao…”

The quote, in the end, didn’t sound much of a zinger, but it certainly found an appreciative audience. “MOOOOOORRRRE!” bellowed Tory MPs.

Mr Osborne rose, and picked up the Little Red Book, which Mr McDonnell had tossed in his direction. “Oh look!” he cried. “It’s his personal signed copy!”

David Cameron looked as if he might burst.

Afterwards, a helpful Labour Party staffer visited the parliamentary press corridor to inform each office in turn that “obviously John was just joking”.

Indeed he was. And the joke went down very well. Albeit with the wrong people.



comments
"Oh look! It's his personal signed copy."

Osborne's response was a Gem .... instant Flash Message right across The Web

..... The House curled up in laughter, including Labour Back-Benchers (surprise!). The sooner Labour get rid of these two clowns, and step on its rebellious Far Left the better. They have become a joke ... even Folk overseas are starting to notice :)



I thought even a donkey wearing a Labour rosette could win Oldham, given its demographics, but now I'm not so sure.


Don't forget Diane Abbott! She's so bad that even Corbyn has apparently given her a dressing down for her awful performances at the dispatch box! I bet all those more 'centrist' (for Labour MPs anyway) MPs who decided to accept Shadow Cabinet positions (presumably in the hope they'd get noticed for the inevitable leadership election that will follow at some point) are now thinking - "what HAVE I done?!" Being associated with these nut-jobs will surely end any chances of their hopes at the leadership, some even will lose their seats if Corbyn isn't ousted by 2020.

I would laugh more if it weren't for the fact that there's no-one properly scrutinising Osborne's NuLab-style, Brownian budget trickery. No decent opposition to keep him and the rest of the Tories honest

"agent cynic is just back from playing golf :-)"


I am glad to hear you have at last learnt to play something!

Mind you should be working, you lazy bbbasbsbb!

0-0-0-0-0-0

Nothing but another Osborne u-bend.

At least he is learning what his real position in life should be.

Good to see Hunt and the Conners have done another u-bend turn.

Prepared to go for negotiations with doctors.

A bunch of overgrown schools boys stunted by their childhood experiences.

What a party..


Quick haze, down to PHQ for Lynton's next mantra.

A very unsubtle criticism of Germany avoiding the problem of IS.

France's Hollande: would be "very good signal" if Germany went further in fight against IS

The Fatherland is busy...importing IS, what more can they do?

Tim Yeo, South Suffolk MP from 1983 to 2015, claimed his reputation had been "trashed" by three articles in 2013.

The newspaper alleged he breached parliamentary codes of conduct by telling reporters he could "promote business concerns in return for cash", the High Court heard.

cynic Send an email to cynic View cynic's profile - 25 Nov 2015 17:57 - 65291 of 65298

an additional 3% stamp duty surcharge on buy to let and second homes
sounds a bit of a killer to potential landlords, and doesn't sound very fair
anyone else got an angle on this?.
----------------
I didn't see that today cynic , i think it's good for buy to let landlords ,cool this ridiculous market down . young people can get their first 2 up 2 down instead of paying stupid rents and never being able to buy .

How are they going to know what is, or what is not a BTL?

Buy to let and second homes

Band. Old. New
Up to £125,000 0% 3%
£125 - £250,000 2% 5%
£250 - £925,000 5% 8%
£925 - £1.5m. 10% 13%
over £1.5m. 12% 15%

It suggested Mr Yeo, 70, would approach ministers for a daily fee of £7,000.

Representing Mr Yeo at a week-long trial, Desmond Browne QC said his client was quite unjustifiably tarred with the same brush as another MP who had been exposed a week before.

But in Wednesday's High Court ruling, Judge Mr Justice Warby said he found some of Mr Yeo's evidence "utterly implausible" and, overall, he did not present "convincingly".