Scooter Nik's political premonition of the day:


In about two years time, when the elections start coming round again, and we've still got this massive budget deficit and are still in recession, the Conservatives will turn round an point at these abandonments of Treasury policy, and will blame the public not willing to pay their taxes for the state of affairs.

Nothing in politics is done without an ulterior motive.

Victor Chandler offering 15/2 on Cameron not being PM by Christmas Day 2012


[i5m Victor Chandler Victor Chandler ‏@VictorChandler

@johnprescott Not a massive price John but 15/2 for Cameron not to be PM on 25/12/2012
Retweeted by John Prescott
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Should be re-branded the Cumurun's Cunsurvutuve U-turn Purty.

Personally I think they should rebrand to:
[size=200C[/sizeameron's [size=200U[/sizenited [size=200N[/sizeew [size=200T[/sizeory [size=200S[/sizeociety

Jim Callaghan & clowns circa 1979 maybe ?

He managed to avoid a costly (in human and monetary terms) war with Argentina by using intelligence he received wisely, rather than using it to boost his poll rating.

Maybe he should have done a Thatcher and used a war as a means to win in 1979.

NOTHING and I mean NOTHING would have boosted his ratings after the 'Winter of Discontent' - it gets to fine state of affairs when even the gravediggers go on strike FFS !!!

it was a terrible time to be living through, especially with the coldest winter since '63 - the UK needed change

the saddest thing of all was that Lord Jim somehow refused to go to the polls in the autumn of 1978 when he would have won hands down and Thatcherism and all the evils that went with it, including the terrible waste of life in the South Atlantic wouldn't have happened - just imagine he , single handedly could have prevented Thatcherism ? What a useless welsh git he was !

Welsh?
Was Portsmouth in Wales back then?

sorry, the ex Rt Hon Member for Cardiff South East who became Lord Callaghan of Cardiff KG PC was a useless [upompey[/u git !

And another government u-turn www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18262300

And another government u-turn www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18262300

I think it's a bit cheeky to blame Labour for inventing spin, it was Maggie and her henchmen, Saatchi, Bell and Ingham who invented the system. It just wasn't called spin.
I think a lot of the policies that the Tories have reneged on were decided upon in the halcyon days of opposition when they "knew" they'd be the next government. They (and the Lib-Dems in particular) were so full of hubris at once again having access to red boxes and minsterial cars, they failed to think through the effects of these policies until the s h i t hit the fan. They then pannicked and u turned. Nothing wrong with that of course - it could be sold as doing the right thing - only problem is the cost. This government spends every waking moment telling us there's no money, but apparently there is some money for repairing cock-ups. And despite Hammond brazening it out his (and Fox's) aircraft cock-up cost £100m.
Blair certainly got it right when he told the Levenson enquiry "when you come into office you're at your least competent and most popular, when you leave the opposite is true" Perhaps the next government of whatever colour will learn from Tony.

Being 55, I lived through it. I found Thatchers era a damn site worse.

Callaghan was not Welsh. He was born in Portsmouth.

I think I remember Ingham being described as a 'spin doctor' at the time though - first time i'd heard the phrase. If memory serves, 'n all.

me too and I quite agree but all this Thatcherism thingy would have been avoided if Lord Jim had had the guts to go to the polls in the autumn of '78 to get a further mandate...

I wonder what life would have been like without Maggie ? no, seriously ?

I refer the honourable Mintball to the answer I gave earlier...

Nail on head. Inflation was down, (temporarliy perhaps but down just the same) the Unions appeared to be playing ball, and there was a window of oppotunity. If they'd lost so what? They lost anyway in the end. Had they won they'd have had a brand new mandate and there'd have been no
"winter of discontent" And probably no Maggie. The Tories would have reverted to being a right of centre party instead of the right wing loonies they became under her. Callaghan has a lot to answer for - including fouling up Healey's chance at the leadership and lumbering Labour with Worzell Gummidge! Splitting the party and ensuring they were out for effectively a generation.

Mercee bowcoop, Monsewer.

It's very easy to say things in hindsight, but I don't think anyone had a clue what a government under Margaret Thatcher would bring. They didn't widely advertise that they were going to take the neo-liberal path and dump entire communities on the scrap heap, for instance.

Which, indeed, brings us back to spin: for instance, think of how privatisation of utilities was spun to the public: 'more choice'.

Something that seemed comparatively minor at the time – the changes to Sunday trading laws – were spun as removing silly things such as being able to buy porn on a Sunday but not a [iBible[/i; not that big retail wanted to be able to open more and more, as we moved from a manufacturing base to an economy based primarily on the service sectors (including retail). Think of how the cult of home ownership was spun too.

I am of a similar vintage and also remember living through the 3 day week with regular power cuts under Ted Heath's Conservatives government. Tory governments never been immune from incompetence.

Having lived through several Tory terms of office I would say when they are finally booted out it is down to some monumental screw ups with people saying "never again" only to forget just how bad they were after a few years. Well Cameron and Co are doing a damn fine job of reminding everyone just why the Tories were booted out with a Labour landslide in 1997.

Quite.
It is my belief that the electorate is largely of a negative frame of mind and tend to vote against something rather than for the alternative.
So, a government gets kicked out because people are fed up with it rather than because they approve of the other party.
This allows the "other party" to exploit this and get into office by criticising the previous lot rather than spelling out what they will really do.

Anyone see Newsnight last night? Paul Krugman was brilliant. Why can't we have people of hisw calibre in Briitish politics. The calm, polite way that he dealt with the idiot Tory and the vested interest venture capitalist was marvellous. No one in this country's public life has the wit to intellectuallise and express arguments to counteract the dogmatic Tory / vested interest arguments. PK for PM.

As predicted: [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18278253Osborne drops plans for charity donation cap[/url

Trying to divert attention away from Hunt at Leveson perhaps?

So when do we get the u-turns on the things that really matter - 50p tax rate, rebuilding schools, closing libraries, recouping the vast quantities of money hosed on a financial system that hasn't been reformed in any way at all? I mean, I like a pasty as much as the next man, but really...

If you like eating your pasty hot and in your static home, you will still get shafted