AAAArrrgggghhhh.
Well haven’t posted for some time, mainly due to domestic situations (divorce etc) but finally my patience has snapped and I feel the need to vent spleen in typing.
What the f**k is happening to this country. The Dear Leader seems intent on destroying what is left of our economy by burying it even further in debt and somehow he’s making gains in the opinion polls. His band of fellow cretins increasingly propose partisan or just plain stupid policy in the vain hope that it’ll distract the public from the fact that the government is a disaster – the tragic thing is it seems to be working. WAKE UP BRITAIN.
Advice for DC et al:
1) Don’t pussy foot around regarding spending cuts; the public need to know that things are going to be rough while the economy is sorted out so best get them used to the idea now.
2) There are no services that can’t be cut. Rather than protect the NHS protect defence spending.
3) Don’t get caught up in Brown’s “dividing lines”. They’re there, but most people will be on your side of them. Accept them and proudly show which side you’re on.
4) Forget about Scotland – once you’ve established English votes for English matters that problem will go away. Also promise to reform the Barnett Formula, that’ll be popular, in England anyway.
5) Brown is scared of confrontation (bullies usually are) so confront him at every opportunity. Make plain to the people the lies he tells. Ask the speaker why the PM hasn’t answered a question if he obfuscates.

There, that’ll do for now.

Off to see some lawyers!

Tax free allowances

Just been thinking about the idea of MP’s getting a £23k tax free expense allowance. What an excellent idea. The company I work for could adopt a similar system. Indeed all companies could, thereby reducing internal administration (no receipts required) and making the company more competitive by reducing the employers NI currently paid on salaries. Also, since the allowance would be tax free there could be a cut in those salaries. (Admittedly there would be no increased competiveness against other UK companies if all adopted this system, but there would still be a gain against foreign competitors.)

I know, I’ll drop the treasury an e-mail asking how such a scheme can be set up. I wonder what the response will be.

Update

I’ve sent the below to the Treasury and No 10 Downing St.

"I understand that there is a proposal that MP’s be given a tax free allowance of £23,000 per annum and that no receipts would be required to justify expenditure to this limit. The company for which I work is interested in setting up a similar scheme. Please could you send me details of how such a scheme would operate. Obviously given the principle of equality under the law such a scheme cannot be restricted to MP's alone."

God seems to approve

Ever since the results of the Mayoral election were announced London has been enjoying decent, sunny even hot weather. Coincidence? I think not. Surely it's God's way of demonstrating his approval.
How good will the weather be if Cameron gets in?

Oh well, must go and buy some shorts!

I was wrong - Hurrah

I was wrong, Boris did get the mayoralty, and by a comfortable margin.
I'm delighted for him and for London.

Can Boris do it?

The opinion polls, well YouGov at least, seem to have Boris ahead by 6%. Other polls seem to show Livingstone ahead. So which is correct?
Watching TV last night I was struck by how little enthusiasm there is for Livingstone amongst his supporters. Most seemed to think that he had been in power for long enough. Contrary wise there is great enthusiasm for Boris.
This suggests that there may well be differential turnout between supporters of the two candidates, with supporters of Boris anxious to vote and supporters of Livingstone more inclined to abstain. So, on the face of it, Boris should win.

Nevertheless, my gut feel is that Boris won’t win. I suspect the Labour machine will drag its members kicking and screaming to the polling booths where they will dutifully hold their noses and vote for the evil that is Livingstone.

Meanwhile the Tory vote – based principally in the “doughnut” around central London will be lower than hoped as the daily commute, showers and the general hassle of getting around will combine to deter many Boris supporters.

No-one will be more delighted than me if I’m wrong.

Well off to vote now – for Boris and the forces of light (of course).



UPDATE
It seems William Hill have noticed a surge in betting on Boris - he's now 2/7 with Satan at 5/2.

EU gravy train continues - now it's a secret

So MEPs have decided that a report on how they are defrauding the people who pay them should remain secret. It beggars belief that any politician could behave with such arrogance and contempt for their electorate. I used to be a supporter of the EU, time has changed that and now with this latest example of EU theft of citizens money I have, belatedly many will say, come to the conclusion that the UK should pull out of what appears to be a sinister and corrupt organisation.

I sent the below to the EU via their website. Should they deign to respond I’ll post their reply.

Please can you explain why the European Parliament has decided to keep secret details of the fraud being perpetrated upon citizens of the European Union by MEP’s misusing their staff wage allowance? Can you further explain why anyone should have any faith whatsoever in the European Parliament if it’s members are prepared to cover up, and by so doing condone, such fraud. If MEP’s are not totally transparent about their wages and expenses this sets the tone for the whole EU. If MEP’s are not prepared to answer to the people who are paying for their luxurious lifestyle where is the accountability? To respond that they are answerable at elections is insufficient – they MUST be accountable at all times. By behaving as they do they will have undermined still further the esteem with which MEP’s and the European project are held, showing themselves to be selfish, self serving, arrogant and contemptuous of their electorate. They have added considerable weight to the argument that Britain would be far far far better off without the corrupt and dishonest organization that is the European Union.

Also, on this St George’s day it transpires that the EU have renamed the English Channel as The Channel Sea. Are they actively trying to get Britain to pull out of the EU? They’re going the right way about it.

UPDATE

They replied, albeit a non reply, stating that they were unauthorised to answer the questions (slighty odd for the Division for Correspondence with Citizens but there you go). They pointed me to a press officer so I've asked the same question of him.

Libdems and The Lisbon Treaty

So the Libdems have been instructed to abstain in the vote on a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. I saw Nick Clegg trying to justify this stance on Newsnight and boy did he fail bigtime.
Looks like my jibe about the Libdems electing another interim leader wasn’t that far off the mark.
The question now is how many of the Libdem MP’s will rebel against this stupid instruction and vote with the Tories and the Labour rebels. Let’s hope it’s enough to force Labour to honour its manifesto promise.