Bolitics The New Condem Government

[snowychap]

I can't believe he's ever going to bin Ken (well not bury him)

I see there's a considered discussion of Ken's political future here.

The second sentence:

MP Philip Davies led calls for the Justice Secretary's head, saying: "Ken's been living in Laa-Laa Land."

An utter gobshite.

[peterms]

MP Philip Davies led calls for the Justice Secretary's head, saying: "Ken's been living in Laa-Laa Land."

An utter gobshite.

I'd never heard of him, but I've just googled him. Active in the Freedom Association, the Campaign Against Political Correctness, and the Taxdodgers Alliance. Nuff said.

[snowychap]

I'd never heard of him, but I've just googled him. Active in the Freedom Association, the Campaign Against Political Correctness, and the Taxdodgers Alliance. Nuff said.

He's an old schoolfriend of a friend of mine.

[peterms]

I see Bercow called him a troglodyte.

[blandy]

Some people did see it coming, mostly economists who aren't part of the neo-classical consensus....

And this bloke who has another view

He's the mutual fund manager with the best record in the past quarter-century, and he correctly predicted the last two stock market crashes. So why aren't people listening when Bob Rodriguez says another calamity is looming?

You have to see it from Bob Rodriguez's perspective. Twice he has spotted an approaching storm. Twice he has warned the world. Twice he has been pooh-poohed and seen investors abandon the two mutual funds he managed. Twice he has taken steps to shield his clients from the coming crisis.

And twice -- first with Internet stocks in the 1990s, and then with the financial crisis of 2008 -- Rodriguez has been right.......

....So when he was invited to address more than 1,000 mutual fund managers at a conference held by Morningstar in May 2009 -- just when it looked as if the crisis had finally abated -- Rodriguez gave himself only a brief pat on the back. Then he launched into a tirade, ripping into all of the parties involved in the meltdown. Fund managers, he said, had "stunk." The federal stimulus programs were foolish and shortsighted, and regulators had lost all credibility. Worst of all, he said, was the ballooning U.S. debt, which had prompted him to stop buying long-term bonds from the "irresponsible and fiscally inept government.".......to his horror and disgust, almost nothing has changed. Risk taking is back in fashion, and the nation's debt load, which he believes is the single greatest threat facing investors today, has soared. Now, once again, Rodriguez is sounding the alarm.......... in 2005, he began detecting signs of trouble again. Rodriguez and his co-manager at FPA New Income, Tom Atteberry, noticed unusually high quantities of defaults in supposedly safe mortgage pools. They quickly dumped those investments and began improving the credit quality of the portfolio. By 2006, Rodriguez was haunted with anxiety. He sold every Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bond his fund owned not long after a particularly vivid nightmare: He dreamed he was on trial, with a prosecutor grilling him as to why he had invested in a pair of companies that didn't even have their financial statements audited.......Rodriguez argues that the U.S. debt as a percentage of GDP ratio (currently 64%) is massively underreported because it doesn't count off-balance-sheet entitlements such as Medicare, and debt owed by Fannie and Freddie. If you factor in those liabilities, he says, the actual ratio is greater than 500% and growing. The U.S. must reduce that before 2012, Rodriguez says, because it's unlikely to accomplish anything during the election year. If nothing changes, he adds, investors will start to get nervous about the amount of debt on the U.S. balance sheet. As lenders balk at buying Treasuries, rates will spike, causing borrowing costs to skyrocket across the financial system. "The financial system is held together with a very thin filament called confidence," says Rodriguez. "When you clip that, all hell breaks loose."

The situation isn't irreparable; Rodriguez believes the government can keep rates from climbing too high if it starts making cuts of $350 billion to $500 billion per year. But he has little faith in its willingness to do so. If it were up to him, there would be serious tax reform, with all tax deductions (including mortgage interest) on the table. A former Republican, he describes himself as a "fiscal conservative but social moderate" who has grown disgusted with both parties: "I say, 'A pox on both their houses.'"

[snowychap]

Christopher Shale received warning of leaked memo before Glastonbury death

Senior Conservative was 'big rock in my life', says PM, as details emerge of communications surrounding controversial note

Christopher Shale, the close ally of David Cameron's whose body was discovered in a toilet at Glastonbury on Sunday morning, may have died as early as the previous afternoon, according to a family friend who said he was briefed by medical staff.

It emerged that Downing Street had contacted the senior Conservative on Saturday to warn him that a controversial note he had written describing parts of his party as crass and grasping had been leaked to a Sunday newspaper.

One official contacted him by text just after 12.30pm to advise him not to speak to reporters; another suggested he get in touch with Conservative headquarters.

Shale, chairman of West Oxfordshire Conservative Association and a prominent Eurosceptic, appears to have suffered a massive heart attack as early as lunchtime on Saturday.

The prime minister said the death had left him and his wife, Samantha, "devastated", adding "a big rock in my life has suddenly been rolled away".

Cameron had been aware of the note's existence and there is deep concern inside Downing Street that its contents, known only to a small number of people, had been disclosed.

The paper was essentially a strategy document setting out how to recruit members. It said the local party appeared "graceless, voracious, crass, always on the take" and needed to radically change.

Judging by its blunt language, the memo was clearly not written for wide circulation in his local party.

Shale's family is said to have a history of heart failure. Earlier reports, including one from the Glastonbury festival organiser, Michael Eavis, suggesting Shale had killed himself, were dismissed.

Avon and Somerset police said that the death was not being treated as suspicious.

Party officials had earlier said that there was no suggestion from Shale's behaviour that he was overly concerned about the leak of parts of his memo to the Mail on Sunday.

Shale's contacts with Downing Street officials were seen as routine and polite, and he is not believed to have taken up the advice to speak to the party headquarters. One senior party source said the heart attack was "just a dreadful coincidence", adding: "The story in the Mail on Sunday did not concern us that much."

After receiving the texts, Shale did contact the Witney constituency agent Barry Norton, a West Oxfordshsire councillor.

Norton said: "He was absolutely in good health, we understand that his death has been as the result of a heart attack, that is the information we have. There is a history of that in his family and anything to the contrary, at the moment, is totally scurrilous." Asked if Shale was aware of the Mail article which used information he had gathered, he said: "Yes he was. He was very aware of that article.

"He was very circumspect with it and was quite confident that this was something that was not really an issue and he was looking forward to increasing our membership and was working on a pilot to try and do that."

It was pointed out that Shale, 56, who worked in public relations, management consultancy and marketing, was a robust character who would not be fazed by the interplay of media and politics.

He had been staying in one of the luxury caravans behind the Pyramid Stage.

His wife raised the alarm early in the morning, but his body was not found until 9am. But Shale may have died in the early afternoon of the previous day, according to the family friend.

Rupert Soames, a businessman and friend of Shale who was at Glastonbury and has been helping co-ordinate arrangements following his death, said through a spokesman that medics had told him and Shale's family that they believe he died of a massive heart attack "around lunchtime" on Saturday.

The prime minister, who has been MP for Witney in Oxfordshire for 10 years, said Shale had been "a huge support over the last decade".

Cameron said: "Christopher was one of the most truly generous people I've ever met – he was always giving to others, his time, his help, his enthusiasm and above all his love of life.

"It was in that spirit that he made a massive contribution to the Conservative party. Our love and prayers are with Nikki and the family. They've lost an amazing dad, west Oxfordshire has lost a big and wonderful man and like so many others, Sam and I have lost a close and valued friend."

In a statement, Michael Eavis said: "I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the man whose body was found on the site early on Sunday morning."

[mjmooney]

Tories? "Graceless, voracious, crass, always on the take"? Surely not?

[peterms]

How fascinating that his death so quickly follows his too-frank comments about what the tories are really like. And how quickly the details of his family's history of heart disease has been circulated.

I expect the police are enquiring about consumption of illicit substances, while novelists are tapping away at their keyboards about a plot.

Or maybe the bloke just died.

[Awol]

Politicians? "Graceless, voracious, crass, always on the take"? Surely not?

Fixed.

[mjmooney]

Politicians? "Graceless, voracious, crass, always on the take"? Surely not?

Fixed.

But he wasn't talking about "politicians". He was quite explicitly talking about his own party.

[snowychap]

Living wage MP Lyn Brown criticised over unpaid job

Campaigners say it is "unacceptable" that an MP who has campaigned for the living wage is recruiting an unpaid worker for her House of Commons office.

Lyn Brown, Labour MP for West Ham, is seeking a "voluntary Westminster worker" for duties including policy research and dealing with constituents.

Gus Baker, from Intern Aware, said she was guilty of "hypocrisy".

Ms Brown said she "would like to pay everyone" in her office, but "did not have the resources to do so".

The Labour Party said staffing decisions were a matter for individual MPs.

Ms Brown's official website states: "Since her election in 2005, Lyn has campaigned tirelessly for a living wage for all."

The living wage is an hourly salary rate - higher than the minimum wage - that campaigners say is necessary to allow a family to meet their basic needs.

In London - including Ms Brown's constituency - it is currently £8.30.

'Exploitation'

The job advertisement, posted on 15 June, seeks "an intelligent and enthusiastic volunteer" to work in "a busy Westminster office".

Tasks include "answering the telephone, dealing with constituent enquiries and provision of additional clerical support".

The recruit will also be "involved in policy research and the drafting of letter and press releases", and must have "excellent written and IT skills".

While the advert states that hours are "flexible", there is no time limit placed on the post and no expenses offered to cover food or travel.

A Westminster source told the BBC News website that the volunteer - who has already been recruited - will be a direct replacement for an existing, salaried staff member who is leaving for another job elsewhere.

The volunteer is already shadowing the departing member of staff so as to be able to take on all of their existing duties, the source said.

Mr Baker told the BBC it was clear from the list of requirements in the advert that Ms Brown was looking for a proper member of staff.

"It's absolutely unacceptable for MPs to replace full time, salaried workers with unpaid staff. That's the top and bottom line," he said.

"But that Lyn Brown campaigns for the living wage - and has campaigned for the minimum wage in the past - makes this a double hypocrisy.

"What I want to ask her is - how would someone in her constituency from a low income background be able to take up that opportunity?

"The answer is they couldn't, so how can she possibly justify that? It is manifestly unfair."

Ms Brown said it was not true that she was replacing a salaried staff member with an intern.

"I would like to pay everyone who volunteers for me and who is ultimately seeking a wage. The reality is that I do not have the resources to do so," she said in a statement.

"Those who come to me without a wage and seeking paid employment receive expenses and experience and invariably go on to either work in my office or find paid work elsewhere, within a six month period."

Poorer backgrounds

The issue of interns in Westminster has come to the fore recently after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he wanted to ban all informal and unpaid placements.

He said the practice rewarded those with wealth and personal connections and excluded potential applicants from poorer backgrounds or from outside London.

The w4MP website currently lists several unpaid internships of varying lengths.

Among them is Conservative David Burrowes MP, who is looking for someone prepared to work full time for him for 10 months in return for food and travel expenses.

Liberal Democrat Roger Williams is looking for someone for at least three months, again expenses only.

Former Labour minister Hazel Blears has set up the Speaker's Parliamentary Placements scheme, which from September, will offer paid internships with MPs to applicants from poorer backgrounds from across the UK.

Labour leader Ed Miliband attended the launch party for the scheme, telling guests that he fully supported efforts to open up Westminster to the less well-off.

During the Labour Leadership contest, Mr Miliband also signed Intern Aware's pledge promising that if elected, he would campaign for the Minimum Wage Act to be fully enforced to cover interns.

He said he had not personally taken on any unpaid staff and had encouraged other colleagues within his party to do the same. He added that Labour would "look closely at this issue in our policy review".

[peterms]

Living wage MP Lyn Brown criticised over unpaid job

That's an interesting one. The payment to MPs to cover staff like this hasn't gone down, as far as I know. So is she doing more research, more casework, or just moving money from other people's bank accounts into her own?

On the other hand, doing something like this even for a few months is very clearly a stepping stone to a good job, as a quick check of the cvs of PR folk, think tank staff etc will show. And volunteering is generally a good thing.

The suspicion here is that it's using the cloak of volunteering to disguise a pretty transparent form of exploitation, getting someone to do for nothing what you previously paid £16k a year or similar for.

[snowychap]

The suspicion here is that it's using the cloak of volunteering to disguise a pretty transparent form of exploitation

Sounds like the Cameron 'big society' vision in a nutshell. (She ought to be crossing the floor)

[leviramsey]

Living wage MP Lyn Brown criticised over unpaid job

On the other hand, doing something like this even for a few months is very clearly a stepping stone to a good job, as a quick check of the cvs of PR folk, think tank staff etc will show. And volunteering is generally a good thing.

The suspicion here is that it's using the cloak of volunteering to disguise a pretty transparent form of exploitation, getting someone to do for nothing what you previously paid £16k a year or similar for.

Is it exploitation if the intern willingly accepts it (knowing, as you point out, that it certainly helps the CV for future lucrative/powerful employment), though?

[drat01]

There are so many things wrong now with this Gvmt it's difficult to see how anyone can actually support their actions.

Their attempts at deficit reduction, is screwed with more and more evidence of what opponents predicted happening coming true. They followed this massive attack on elements of society with little regard to what would happen, but now we see evidence of companies going bust, consumer confidence at all time lows, disposable incomes at record lows etc etc. As said Gideon, Cameron and their cronies had no plan B and were only interested in looking after their own people, and surprise surprise while evidence is shown that the rich are massively richer, the majority of the poor and those on lower incomes are being hit the hardest.

Every policy they announce is followed by a U turn, its as though Cameron is being led by a dodgy TomTom rather than any sort of realistic and visionary set of ideas. It's interesting that Clegg is hiding now and this whole one-party coalition thing is screwed.

Attacks on the NHS continue, attacks on public services, cuts in front line services, increased taxes, it could be Thatcher all over again.

[villaajax]

I have some Glastonbury inside knowledge about this...

Heart attack? Its certainly the story the papers are going with...

[Jon]

it could be Thatcher all over again.

let's hope not.

The evil one was in power for 11 years ....

[peterms]

Living wage MP Lyn Brown criticised over unpaid job

On the other hand, doing something like this even for a few months is very clearly a stepping stone to a good job, as a quick check of the cvs of PR folk, think tank staff etc will show. And volunteering is generally a good thing.

The suspicion here is that it's using the cloak of volunteering to disguise a pretty transparent form of exploitation, getting someone to do for nothing what you previously paid £16k a year or similar for.

Is it exploitation if the intern willingly accepts it (knowing, as you point out, that it certainly helps the CV for future lucrative/powerful employment), though?

I would say it is, partly because the idea of them "willingly" accepting it is a bit misleading, when the reality is less a free choice than a simple lack of alternatives. Some people do accept unpaid roles as researchers, campaigners and the like because it's interesting and rewarding. I've known people do that alongside paid work, and it's very obviously a free choice for them.

I think what's happening here is blurring the boundaries between that kind of volunteering, and setting up a hurdle to paid employment. The exploitation lies in using that lack of real effective choice to replace formerly paid roles with unpaid labour.

Of course the idea is quickly spreading, so we see organisations which are less of a stepping stone jumping on the bandwagon, with people doing "internships" mainly consisting of low grade labour, not living up to the promises made, and leading nowhere. But if they tire of doing unpaid photocopying after a few weeks, well, there's plenty more where they came from.

[tonyh29]

Their attempts at deficit reduction, is screwed with more and more evidence of what opponents predicted happening coming true.

but not enough for you to post any of it :winkold:

PS , Are they like the same prediction you made about interest rate rises in 2010 :winkold:

is shown that the rich are massively richer, the majority of the poor and those on lower incomes are being hit the hardest.

apart from the Daily Mirror and Socialist worker do you have any credible sources for this claim ..

it could be Thatcher all over again.

here's hoping , after all a repeat of one of Britians greatest ever PM's is hardly a bad thing is it ... tbh I don't see Cameron strong enough to beat the Unions the way Thatcher did but then Thatcher wasn't being held back by a weak Liberal party

[Gringo]

This is what 32 years of thatcherism does to a country

He pointed out that the UK's savings culture has all but disappeared, with the Office for National Statistics stating that Britons are saving less money each month than at any time since 1959 and disposable income is at its lowest in the UK since 1921.