Between a Conservative Party chairman who wants us to be [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/sep/20/tory-treasurer-make-uk-tax-havena tax haven, more like the Caymen Islands[/url, and a whip who calls police "plebs" and tells them they'd [url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9557066/Cabinet-minister-Andrew-Mitchell-in-foul-mouthed-tirade-at-police.html"best learn your f**king place"[/url ... the masks are slipping.

All in it together ...

Oh dear Andrew Mitchell is in big trouble now, even the Telegraph tips him for the sack: blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/iainm ... o-his-job/ It's one thing making enemies of doctors, but the police are not good enemies for the Tories. Mrs Thatcher was always careful to keep them onside, but the police hate Theresa May, and now Andrew Mitchell is going to have their backs up, its especially badly timed because its the week where two police officers were killed in action. This is really damaging for Mitchell because the public at large don't know who he is, and this is the first time he's become famous, so he'll always be remembered as that bloke who had a tantrum at the police because they wouldn't open the gate at the House of Commons. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politic ... olice.html Quote A source told the newspaper Mr Mitchell said: “Open this gate, I’m the Chief Whip. I’m telling you - I’m the Chief Whip and I’m coming through these gates.” The officers declined to do as instructed, and warned him he would be arrested under the Public Order Act if he persisted. He then began pushing his bike, before telling a PC: “Best you learn your f------ place. You don’t run this f------- government. “You’re f------- plebs.”'"

Oh dear Andrew Mitchell is in big trouble now, even the Telegraph tips him for the sack: blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/iainm ... o-his-job/ It's one thing making enemies of doctors, but the police are not good enemies for the Tories. Mrs Thatcher was always careful to keep them onside, but the police hate Theresa May, and now Andrew Mitchell is going to have their backs up, its especially badly timed because its the week where two police officers were killed in action. This is really damaging for Mitchell because the public at large don't know who he is, and this is the first time he's become famous, so he'll always be remembered as that bloke who had a tantrum at the police because they wouldn't open the gate at the House of Commons. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politic ... olice.html Quote A source told the newspaper Mr Mitchell said: “Open this gate, I’m the Chief Whip. I’m telling you - I’m the Chief Whip and I’m coming through these gates.” The officers declined to do as instructed, and warned him he would be arrested under the Public Order Act if he persisted. He then began pushing his bike, before telling a PC: “Best you learn your f------ place. You don’t run this f------- government. “You’re f------- plebs.”'"

He can apologise all he wants, what he can't do is erase the glimpse into his head that his elegant oratory allows.

Yeah, it's like with Romney. When he thought he was alone with just a few of his posh chums, he was more than happy to sh*t on the poor and make casually racist comments. Apologising after the fact is basically just saying, "I'm sorry I got caught."

I wonder if there will be a facebook fanclub page starting up for Andrew Mitchell now because he has stood up against the pigs.

It's always easy to criticise Government, but what is the alternative? Having Labour in power now would have finished the UK off.

Indeed.

People forget that, when the coalition took office, employment had stabilised and there was growth.

And those claims that austerity economics would increase the deficit and cause a double dip recession have proved utterly groundless.

What is the alternative to a cabinet minster telling a police officer that he should 'know his fu*king place' and that he's a fu*king pleb'? I'd have thought that was fairly obvious, personally.

Indeed so.

Known as "Thrasher" while a prefect at Rugby School apparently for his strict discipline regime.

Where do they get these f'kin idiots from ?

Public school. These are the "elite" of our nation don't forget.

Another modern-style faux apology. "I did nothing wrong, but I'll apologise anyway". Can everyone just stop apologising? The whole currency of apologies has been devalued and it started with automated apologies on the trains. No, if you were sorry that this service was three days late, you'd say so, not click a switch. And buses that say "Sorry, I'm not in service" on the front. Stop it, stop it, stop it, STOP IT.

What Mitchell should be apologising for is for letting his personality accidentally sneak out in public.




And breathe

When I used to watch Harry Enfields character "Tim Nice-but-Dim" I always thought it was a far-fetched parody, the pupils sat watching at Rugby and Eton at the time obviously took it to be a role model.

We have always had them but I think the difference is these days there are far more of them in parliament and in government. In the past the "ruling class" did on occaision have a social consience. While you can easily disagree with many aspects of their politics and policies they did occaisionally enact polices for the greater good. For example Chruchill introduced a minimum wage for farm labourers via the trade boards act of 1909.

In arguing for this he said:

"It is a national evil that any class of Her Majesty’s subjects should receive less than a living wage in return for their utmost exertions… where you have what we call sweated trades, you have no organisation, no parity of bargaining, the good employer is undercut by the bad and the bad by the worst; the worker, whose whole livelihood depends upon the industry, is undersold by the worker who only takes up the trade as a second string… where these conditions prevail you have not a condition of progress, but a condition of progressive degeneration."

Can you imagine the likes of this idiot ever coming out with something like that?

I must copy and keep that quote, because then I can post it on forums where posters will then have to denounce Churchill as a communist or risk revealing the nonsense of their usual labelling of anything they don't like as the deepest shade of red.



But you're spot on: there was, with some at least, an attitude of paternalism.

Mind, even then, would Nye Bevan consider this lot much different?

Yep, I think that whilst the ruling classes thought themselves "better" than the working classes, there was at least a sense of responsibility toward them. While patronising, it's better than the type of sh|thouses we have today who deliberately target the poor and vulnerable.

That's a cracking quote from Churchill.

I think a load of them would be absolutely appalled by what their political descendants have done, in facilitating the development of what is, in effect, a supranational corporatocracy, which feels absolutely no allegiance to anything other than itself.

One clue might be that, back in the 1980s, the old Tory grandee, Harold Macmillan described the privatisation of utilities as 'selling off the family silver'.

As with that Churchill quote, they knew about national interest. I don't think that this lot do – or rather, I don't think that they care.

Too many career politicians, most of them (on all three sides) have never done a days work in the real world.

Argh! The 'real world' thing!

But yes, I agree with what you're saying.

Although it should be noted that Mitchell was a UN peacekeeper. So probably not much more 'real world' than that.

But there certainly seems to be, with this government (or at least the bulk of the Cabinet) a culture of entitlement: a sense of 'we're born to rule'. And Mitchell's comments (and he has not denied the aspect of telling the policeman to 'know your place') reveal exactly that attitude.

Mind you, when you visit some of these tax havens they are nice. Maybe he has a point?

You think being a UN Peacekeeper gives someone a sense of reality, really?

Paddy Ashdown was a decorated soldier, he is still a halfwhit when it comes to modern life.

Hey! I'm attempting to be fair and non-partisan, here.



It's as much a reality as anything else – the thing about that phrase is that there's actually no such thing as 'non-real life', is there?

There are all sorts of different 'real lives' – teacher, business man, street sweeper, shop assistant, engineer, journalist, soldier – but they're all real. One isn't more real than any of the others.

I do entirely understand what you're saying about people who are career politicians and have never worked in any realm other than politics, and I agree completely.

[url=http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/politics-headlines/andrew-mitchell-ejaculated-into-nurses-handbag-2012092142056That's not all he's been doing...[/url

[url=http://newsthump.com/2012/09/21/andrew-mitchell-apologises-for-letting-his-personality-leak-out-in-public/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+News+%28NewsThump.com%29Many a true word spoken in jest...[/url

What a horrible, horiible, disgusting regime we're living under. This man is a prat, his colleagues are prats, the coalition is full of PRATS!