Guest 714- Registered: 14 Apr 2011
- Posts: 2,594
Sums up the state of govt, a constitutional crisis over gay marriage. Haven't these fools got more important things to worry about?
Oh yes, killing badgers
Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
Gay marriage would 'force Queen to break sovereign promise'
Legalising gay marriage could force the Queen to break a sovereign promise, a former senior bishop has said.
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, who was Bishop of Rochester for 15 years, said that the Queen took an oath to
"uphold God's laws" when she was crowned.
But the Bishop claimed that signing into law a Bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry would force
her to break that promise she made upon her Coronation.
Peers will today begin two days of debates on the Government's plans to allow same-sex weddings,
with a vote tomorrow.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
what strikes me as strange is that dave is surrounded by advisers and top civil servants so he would have known of the possible constitutional crisis.
it sometimes seems that he has too much time on his hands.
Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
I think the opposite howard
I think the mouse is running out of time
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howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
23 months to go keith unless the blues have one of their traditional night of the long knives.
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
knives are out howard
as are the betting pundits
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Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
Courtesy Guardian.............
Nursery ratios: Clegg blocks Tory attempt to relax childcare standards
No 10 expresses dismay after deputy PM says there is no evidence that relaxing staff ratios would
save parents money
Nick Clegg says: 'I cannot ask parents to accept such a controversial change with no real guarantee it
will save them money'.
Coalition relations will reach a new low on Thursday when Nick Clegg announces that he is to kill off
plans to relax child-to-staff ratios for childcare in England.
Clegg said he had decided to block the plans by the Conservative children's minister, Liz Truss,
because an extensive consultation had shown that her two key aims would fail. Relaxing child-to-staff
ratios would not necessarily drive down the costs of childcare - and might even increase them - and
would not necessarily improve standards, he said.
In a sign of how coalition policymaking has descended into hand-to-hand combat between the Tories and
the Liberal Democrats, Downing Street appeared to be caught off guard by the Clegg announcement.
Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
Flashman can pick em`
Courtesy Independent.
Tory chairman Grant Shapps told aides to suppress emails that showed he 'misled MPs'
Civil servants believed former housing minister made inaccurate statements about number of affordable
homes being built in Britain
A government department spent thousands of pounds attempting to suppress emails showing that civil
servants believed their minister may have misled MPs.
Officials in the Department for Communities and Local Government battled for nearly a year to prevent
the release of internal correspondence relating to the former Housing minister Grant Shapps.
When they were finally forced to back down by the Information Commissioner and release the emails
they showed that civil servants believed Mr Shapps, who is now Conservative Party chairman, had made
inaccurate statements about the number of affordable homes being built in Britain.
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
And that's what the conservatives call open govt????????????????????????
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Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
The next scandal about to happen........................such insight.............
Courtesy The Guardian....
Lynton Crosby under pressure to reveal clients of lobbying firm
New details emerge of how Tory strategy guru combines role as political adviser with that of commercial
lobbyist
David Cameron is under pressure to force his chief election strategist, Lynton Crosby, to reveal the
identity of his business clients as new details emerge of the way the Australian combines roles
as the Tories' top political adviser with that of a commercial lobbyist. Crosby's position as the
Conservatives' election guru - at the same time as heading his own communications, polling and
lobbying firm, Crosby Textor, whose client list is not made public - is causing growing unease inside
the party and the coalition, as ministers prepare to introduce sweeping new transparency rules on the
role of lobbyists in public life.
Labour and Tory MPs, backed by pressure groups, insisted that Crosby - who is due to address
Conservatives in the House of Commons on party strategy - should have to reveal his clients under
the planned clean-up of lobbying rules triggered by recent scandals.
Since the Australian was appointed by the prime minister last November to mastermind Tory tactics
, having run Boris Johnson's successful campaign for re-election as London mayor last year, the
government has abruptly dropped policies on minimum pricing for alcohol and cigarette packaging.
It had also put on ice plans for a register of lobbyists. While Cameron insists Crosby does not advise
him on policy but only on political strategy, critics have raised questions about the impression of
potential conflicts of interest. Crosby Textor has represented tobacco and alcohol firms and was
involved with British American Tobacco when the company was opposing new rules on packaging in Australia.
Tory MP Dr Sarah Wollaston, who was angered by the dropping of minimum alcohol pricing by the coalition
, said: "I think those lobbyists with roles at the heart of any party should have to reveal their major clients,
and that includes Lynton Crosby."
The extent of Crosby's links with the Tory high command are raising fresh questions. He was recently
invited by Boris Johnson on a five-day trip to the United Arab Emirates, and represented the UK arm of
his company, CTF Partners, as one of a group of entrepreneurs trying to drum up business for the capital.
Critics are asking why the London-based firm, which only employs about 15 people, was present when
other of the capital's far bigger employers would have jumped at the chance to pitch for lucrative UAE
contracts and meet some of the Gulf's richest entrepreneurs in the delegation.
The Observer has learned that Crosby hosted and funded a "networking dinner" during the visit to the
Gulf and paid for the mayor to fly back to London in the middle of the trip so Johnson could attend
Margaret Thatcher's funeral. The airline Emirates paid for him on the return leg back to the UAE.
Johnson initially failed to register the flights from Crosby and Emirates within the specified 28-day limit,
but did so later after questions were raised by Labour. . The mayor's office said the delay was an
"administrative error".
The leader of the Labour group on the London assembly, Len Duvall, said Crosby's presence on the
trade mission was a disgrace: "Boris's choice of travelling partner was bizarre. Taking Lynton Crosby
on this trip made no sense at all, it was blatant cronyism."
The mayor's official spokesman said: "All of the delegation paid their own way, each attended some
of the mayor's meetings and engagements and every member of the delegation, including CTF
Partners, was there to help promote trade and investment between London and the Gulf by
showcasing the expertise of London-based businesses, in order to drive jobs and growth in London."
While there is no suggestion that Crosby has broken any rules, his position poses serious problems
for Cameron whose government has, over the past fortnight, been forced to push forward new legislation
for a compulsory register of lobbyists.
Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg vowed to act after two Labour peers were suspended and another
quit the Ulster Unionist whip over claims they breached parliamentary rules on links with lobbyists
. The Tory MP Patrick Mercer also resigned the Tory whip over allegations he agreed to be paid £1,000
a day in return for using his position in parliament to get Fiji readmitted to the Commonwealth.
Last month Cameron defended Crosby's right to keep his clients secret. "He doesn't lobby me. He gives
political advice so his work, his lobbying, the lobbying business is a matter for the lobbying business,"
Cameron told reporters.
Tamasin Cave, director of the campaign group Spinwatch, said: "It's just not tenable that someone who
runs an international commercial lobbying business can be allowed to get so close to the heart of the
British government. Crosby embodies the problem with lobbying: unfettered access combined with
absolute secrecy. As a minimum, he must declare his clients."
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
When will the mouse face up t the problems
going to be conflict between him and cleggy
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Guest 725- Registered: 7 Oct 2011
- Posts: 1,418
Reg, you left out the latest scandal involving Timothy Yeo - He of saving the planet at any price I care to mention fame. Seven grand a day to act as a paid advocate to help a fake solar panel firm save the planet and push for new laws at the same time allegedly..
Seven grand? Seems cheap to me considering the amount these firms earn but in these times of austerity......
An example of big green?
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
If correct that's a scandal
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Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
# 133....Correct PhilipP but I`m back on the job now.............
Top Tory in new Lobbygate row
MP coached client before committee grilling
Tim Yeo is chairman of the parliamentary energy and climate change committee
THE Tory MP in charge of scrutinising new energy laws has been caught boasting about how he can
use his leadership of a powerful Commons committee to push his private business interests.
Tim Yeo told undercover reporters — posing as representatives of a firm offering to hire him — that he was
close to "really all the key players in the UK in government" and could introduce them to "almost everyone
you needed to get hold of in this country".
He said he could not speak out for them publicly in the Commons because "people will say he's saying
this because of his commercial interest". But he assured them:
*********** "What I say to people in private is another matter altogether."**************
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
It realy is a scandal
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Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
This will cause a ruffle in the ranks.............
Courtesy Independent.
David Cameron: We can't run away from Europe
Britain's "bloated welfare state" and "under-performing education system" are the key areas of
national weakness - but the nation's membership of the European Union should be seen as a
strength, the Prime Minister will say on Monday.
David Cameron will warn that the country faces a battle for its economic future, involving major
domestic reforms and greater foreign ambition.
In a speech ahead of next week's G8 meeting of world leaders in Northern Ireland, David Cameron
will warn that the country faces a battle for its economic future, involving major domestic reforms
and greater foreign ambition.
*****He will praise Britain's membership of the EU,********* describing it as part of a "desire to shape
the world" by sitting at the "top table" of major international institutions. And he will urge the country
to nurture a "sense of opportunity" that was "lacking for too long".
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
More battles for his party to tear themselves apart on
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Guest 714- Registered: 14 Apr 2011
- Posts: 2,594
Think positive Keith, it gives you plenty to get excited about.
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
DONT GET EXCITED OVER SUCH THINGS these days
but it wont help the mouse
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Guest 714- Registered: 14 Apr 2011
- Posts: 2,594
You may not get excited but you mention it a dozen times a day
