Iain Duncan Smith resigns

[TheKnightWho]

Quite! I mean he's a been a bit quieter recently but back in 2012/13 he was leading the charge on Welfare Reform and a driving force on it. Yet now, suddenly, he's decided they're going too far?

I don't buy it something else is at play here it must be.

IDS is for Brexit. This is designed to make the government look unreasonable and pushy.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Beware the IDS of March...

Your Shakespearean quote would make reference to an event some four days ago, assuming the choice of Julian or Gregorian calendar is made correctly.

 

[DarloRich]

Your Shakespearean quote would make reference to an event some four days ago, assuming the choice of Julian or Gregorian calendar is made correctly.

Julius Caesar: The ids of Smith are come.
Soothsayer: Ay, Caesar; and gone

 

[Mvann]

Your Shakespearean quote would make reference to an event some four days ago, assuming the choice of Julian or Gregorian calendar is made correctly.

Well it is Shakespeare week this week according to our library.

 

[backontrack]

Your Shakespearean quote would make reference to an event some four days ago, assuming the choice of Julian or Gregorian calendar is made correctly.

I know that, but you can't deny that this is March, can you? :roll:

 

[SS4]

Good although I believe it was done to give the press something to talk about instead of the actual effect it will have on some of the most vulnerable people in society.

His hands are red with blood

 

[Butts]

Good although I believe it was done to give the press something to talk about instead of the actual effect it will have on some of the most vulnerable people in society.

His hands are red with blood

What a load of tosh

Should disabled people be excluded from any austerity measures at all ?

If you want good services and healthcare people are going to have to pay for them - and not just the rich !!!

Unfortunately everyone seems to think it is those earning more than them should pay and their altruism is not reflected in the ballot box.

 

[backontrack]

His hands are red with blood

Out, damn'd spot!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

IDS is for Brexit. This is designed to make the government look unreasonable and pushy.

A view of political history shows that 60 year old Members of Parliament whose light has been on the wane for some time do not feel unduly constrained by the long-disappeared hope of future high position (again in the case of IDS) as they have still plenty of time to enjoy life away from Westminster should they decide to make a complete break away from politics.

 

[St Rollox]

Must be civil war inside the Tory party and it will only get worse as it gets nearer the referendum.
Admit i'm enjoying it.
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What a load of tosh

Should disabled people be excluded from any austerity measures at all ?

If you want good services and healthcare people are going to have to pay for them - and not just the rich !!!

Unfortunately everyone seems to think it is those earning more than them should pay and their altruism is not reflected in the ballot box.

Any word on Ruth Davidson's view of IDS and his Road to Damascus conversion.

 

[richw]

If what IDS says and implies is true, are we under a dictatorship???

Reading what he's said implies he was a puppet and someone to take the blame for Cameron and Osborne.

 

[Busaholic]

What a load of tosh

Should disabled people be excluded from any austerity measures at all ?

If you want good services and healthcare people are going to have to pay for them - and not just the rich !!!

Unfortunately everyone seems to think it is those earning more than them should pay and their altruism is not reflected in the ballot box.

I seem to recollect that some people living in Scotland think that those of us who are fortunate/unfortunate enough not to do so should donate a portion of our taxable income to ensure they get free or cheaper services denied to us in England.

 

[St Rollox]

I seem to recollect that some people living in Scotland think that those of us who are fortunate/unfortunate enough not to do so should donate a portion of our taxable income to ensure they get free or cheaper services denied to us in England.

Quite right too, if you don't want bother on your Northern border then cough up the dosh.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Quite right too, if you don't want bother on your Northern border then cough up the dosh.

....an implied threat of the return of the Border Reivers, perchance...

 

[Butts]

....an implied threat of the return of the Border Reivers, perchance...

Indeed, the horses are being saddled as we speak

 

[Senex]

Quite right too, if you don't want bother on your Northern border then cough up the dosh.

It's all Elizabeth I's fault for not producing an English heir and so allowing the Scottish take-over under James VI/I.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Should disabled people be excluded from any austerity measures at all ?

If you want good services and healthcare people are going to have to pay for them - and not just the rich !!!

The problem with the most recent cuts, of course, is that the "savings" were spent on cuts in corporation tax, capital gains tax and and higher rate income tax, as opposed to more useful things like cutting the deficit.

It is this moving money from the poorest and most vulnerable to the richest that IDS says he is so angry about.
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As for IDS' replacement Stephen Crabb, it's good to know that he has strong links with a homophobic fundamentalist Christian organisation that believes in "curing" homosexuality:

The newly appointed Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb has previously been the subject of criticism for appearing to have links to a ‘gay cure’ organisation.

Prime Minister David Cameron announced today that Mr Crabb will replace Iain Duncan Smith in the senior cabinet role. In 2012, claims emerged that Mr Crabb was employing interns through a homophobic religious fundamentalist organisation and had begun his political career through involvement in the same scheme when he was young.

Pink News reported that the MP employed interns in his parliamentary office through a scheme organised and funded by Christian Action Research and Education (CARE). CARE has previously sponsored events which refer to gay and bisexual people as “sexually broken” and advocating that they can become “ex-gay”. The organisation has funded internship places for young people to be placed with MPs as researchers or interns.

Addressing the concerns in 2012, Mr Crabb confirmed that he had received interns from the scheme while an MP. However, despite criticism of CARE, he refused to distance himself from the group when asked, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Mr Crabb also reportedly began his political career while an intern for CARE in the 1990s.

In 2013, Mr Crabb voted against marriage equality legislation in 2013 which extended marriage to same-sex couples.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...sed-for-links-to-gay-cure-group-a6941281.html

 

[furnessvale]

....an implied threat of the return of the Border Reivers, perchance...

I believe "Reiving" worked in both directions.

 

[St Rollox]

Indeed, the horses are being saddled as we speak

Thinking of calling them Ruth and Kezia.

 

[Butts]

Thinking of calling them Ruth and Kezia.

Indeed we are overun with mares on The Scottish Political Scene not forgetting Nicola as well !!!

As for The Stallions - Willie Rennie ?????

And Patrick of The Green Persuasion....no comment

 

[Dave1987]

Wonder what you on the left would be saying if Corbyn & McDonnell were in govt taxing everything they possibly could and handing out benefits left, right and centre because people who work hard for a living and earn a decent wage and pay into the system don't vote Labour. Would you be critical of them for too higher taxation?

 

[St Rollox]

Wonder what you on the left would be saying if Corbyn & McDonnell were in govt taxing everything they possibly could and handing out benefits left, right and centre because people who work hard for a living and earn a decent wage and pay into the system don't vote Labour. Would you be critical of them for too higher taxation?

We might find out soon if the Tories keep fighting their civil war.

 

[AM9]

... because people who work hard for a living and earn a decent wage and pay into the system don't vote Labour.

That's a bold assertion, - maybe you can show how you arrived at that.

 

[ComUtoR]

That's a bold assertion, - maybe you can show how you arrived at that.

Because, just maybe, Conservatives are considered to be white, middle class, Eton educated toffs, white collar workers, 3 up 2 down, wife and two kids.

Labour are seen as unionist blue collar workers, benefit scroungers, comprehensive dropouts, and generally t'up norf.

Tony Blair of course changed that image and Labour are more towards the centre just as everyone else in the homogeneous parliament. Jeremy Corbyn seems to want a more old school labour for t'workin man.

:roll:

 

[Dave1987]

Because, just maybe, Conservatives are considered to be white, middle class, Eton educated toffs, white collar workers, 3 up 2 down, wife and two kids.

Labour are seen as unionist blue collar workers, benefit scroungers, comprehensive dropouts, and generally t'up norf.

Tony Blair of course changed that image and Labour are more towards the centre just as everyone else in the homogeneous parliament. Jeremy Corbyn seems to want a more old school labour for t'workin man.

:roll:

Yeah when Tony Blair won his landslide victory in 97 he targeted "Mondeo man" or middle England. Corbyn is now taking the Labour Party back towards the hardcore left. If Liz Kendall had won the Labour leadership contest I believe Labour would be a real contest for the Tories but she was branded as a "Blairite & Red Tory".
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That's a bold assertion, - maybe you can show how you arrived at that.

Judging by the fact that Labour have lost two GE's in a row.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Judging by the fact that Labour have lost two GE's in a row.

How do you know who voted Conservative and who voted Labour in an anonymous voting process? Genuinely curious.

 

[miami]

The voting patterns in 2015 were way out of whack, with the collapse in the lib dem support and the extremely high support for UKIP, and to a lesser extent Greens.

The UKIP support won't be there in 2020 (or sooner if the tory party falls apart), regardless of the referendum result.

I suspect there were many who didn't realise the safety net the lib dems provided in 2010-2015 who are regretting it. Schadenfreude abound.

 

[Butts]

The voting patterns in 2015 were way out of whack, with the collapse in the lib dem support and the extremely high support for UKIP, and to a lesser extent Greens.

The UKIP support won't be there in 2020 (or sooner if the tory party falls apart), regardless of the referendum result.

I suspect there were many who didn't realise the safety net the lib dems provided in 2010-2015 who are regretting it. Schadenfreude abound.

Have you forgotten to mention the SNP, they are the third biggest party at Westminster now wiping Labour out in Scotland and the Lib Dems as well ?

Surely this had more of an impact than UKIP or the Greens ?

 

[Dave1987]

How do you know who voted Conservative and who voted Labour in an anonymous voting process? Genuinely curious.

Well when you look at the areas the Tories have their seats and the majorities they have it's fair to presumption on who voted for the Tories. The seats that a Labour lost or failed to gain in 2010 & 2015 were crucial in the who was able to form a Govt. Tony Blair won his landslide victories off that back of targeting middle England. The centre ground is where the majority of the votes are won.

 

[miami]

Have you forgotten to mention the SNP, they are the third biggest party at Westminster now wiping Labour out in Scotland and the Lib Dems as well ?

Surely this had more of an impact than UKIP or the Greens ?

Not really, you have to remember the size of parties bares no relation to the number of votes they had.

If every SNP voter had voted Labour, we'd still have a Tory slim majority government with 329 seats, (288 Lab), i.e no change from now
If every UKIP voter had voted Labour, we'd have a Labour minority government with 299 seats (Tory 267), perhaps a strong Lab/SNP coalition with 355.
If every UKIP voter had voted Tory, we'd have a massive Tory majority government (402 seats vs 165 Labour)
If every Green had voted Labour we'd have a Tory minority government (320 seats, vs 244 Labour)
If Every Green, SNP and Plaid vote went to Labour, you'd have a Tory minority (316 seats v 293 seats)
If every LibDem had voted labour, there'd likely be a Labour/SNP coalition, Tory plurality of 298 seats, but unlikely to pick up the needed 27 other seats. Labour on 274, SNP resilient on 54 so a total of 328, just squeaking into a majority.


So I retract my green statement, it's all down to what happens with the UKIP and lib dem votes in the next election.