"You think trident is a more pressing concern?"
'Pressing' or actually a 'concern' for voters?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Do we need a GE2015 thread?
(619 posts)-
Posted 9 years ago #
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Great thing Google -
Posted 9 years ago # -
Pete Murray not dead. Incredible. one Day I'll forget my trousers.
Kenny Everett a big tory too.
Posted 9 years ago # -
indeed...
Posted 9 years ago # -
I seem to recall we had a discussion about the Unionist Party during Indyref last year.
Anyway, when Winston was a Liberal I think University constituencies still existed: one for each of the Ancient seats of learning. Apparently a Scottish invention which was then adopted by the UK after 1707. They still exist in Ireland. Should we resurrect those? Give the students more of a voice?
:-)
Posted 9 years ago # -
FFA isn't going to happen. Westminster would not allow it.
More tax collecting responsibility is on the way already but control of all revenue? They can't allow that.
When would NATO use a first strike? Would they use it when Russia invades somewhere?
Oliva d'Haviland is still alive too as is Kirk Douglas. Both 98 I think.
Boys always ask who is dead in old movies. The magician in the Lady Vanishes is 110.
Posted 9 years ago # -
My lovely old neighbour, who sadly passed away in his 80s a couple of years ago, had written to Ms de Haviland when he was in his 30s, and the two became friends who never actually met, or even spoke. He used to send her flowers on her birthday, and she would send him a book for his birthday, every year without fail (we found this out on taking in a book parcel one year and noticing the name and Parisian return address).
Fortunately his executors knew about the raft of letters, so they didn't just get thrown out.
Posted 9 years ago # -
She didn't talk to her sister after their mother's death. As far as I know they never made up and Joan Fontaine died last year so it's too late now.
Boys were watching Errol Flynn's Robin Hood last night. I suspect we will see it again today as number 4 son missed the beginning.
EDIT And WOW on the letters and book exchange. Like many on Facebook I sometimes correspond with the rich and famous but it's usually Rev Richard Coles. He's a good guy.
Posted 9 years ago # -
It seems before winnie was a liberal he was a Tory in Oldham (I bettter Google that - yes a by-election in 1899 for two seats where each constituent was given two votes and two liberals were elected ahead of two Tories).
I am calling him winnie because of the Major going on a date with Marjorie Atwell but the Major calls her winnie because she reminds him of Winnie ( you then need to know who who Winnifred Atwell was to get the punchline, however this strays into the racism in Fawlty towers, with the breathtaking distinctions that the major draws, not really acceptable on a modern bicycle forum in 2015).
Here is a semi-interesting factoid from the British Broadcasting Corporation
there have been 22 different prime ministers since 1900 and 13 of them came to power without an election (brown and major most recently). Alas it is just a visual poster thingy in a sidebar. I imagine as with brown and major an election usually followed within two years??
Posted 9 years ago # -
When or why NATO would use a first strike hardly matters. It is willing.
Similarly, it's wanting FFA, regardless of the consequences, that's interesting.
Posted 9 years ago # -
@gembo
Excellent numbers. (I almost wrote 'statistics', mentally corrected to 'parameters', de-pedanted to 'numbers'.) We elect delegates to the London parliament who then arrange the government and the prime minister amongst themselves? For the first time ever I'm getting annoyed at media references to electing governments and prime ministers. These aren't elected in our current system.
Posted 9 years ago # -
@Instography
Is there a definition of FFA online somewhere that people have agreed on?
Posted 9 years ago # -
I don't think "definition" is the problem - it's about all taxation and spending within the current borders of Scotland but without Independence.
Obviously the details including 'cost of defence and diplomacy' and 'share of deficit' would be subject to 'discussion'.
Current 'issues' are around whether anyone believes the "black hole" predictions - or cares if the 'point' is 'self-determination'.
The current 'wisdom' is that Westminster 'won't allow' FFA in any foreseeable future, so it's (probably) all a bit academic.
Part of the 'black hole' prediction is based on the current oil price - which may or may not rise - depends on world geopolitics not Westminster/Holyrood (irrespective of who is 'in power' there).
Of course in a 'renewables world' - which Scotland ought to be a key player in - the 'price of oil' might not matter.
But -
Who knows??!
Posted 9 years ago # -
@chdot
I do think definition is important.
Posted 9 years ago # -
I think this is a longer version of my 'definition' -
"
Full fiscal autonomy (sometimes referred to as devolution max,[1] devo-max,[2] fiscal federalism,[3] independence lite,[4] or independence-minus,[5]) is a particular form of far-reaching devolution proposed for Scotland. The term has come to describe a constitutional arrangement in which instead of receiving a block grant from the UK Exchequer as at present, the Scottish Parliament would receive all taxation levied in Scotland; it would be responsible for most spending in Scotland, but would make payments to the UK government to cover Scotland's share of the cost of providing certain UK-wide services, including, at a minimum, defence and the conduct of foreign relations. Scottish fiscal autonomy, stopping short of full political independence, is usually promoted by advocates of a federal or confederal constitution for the United Kingdom.
"
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_fiscal_autonomy_for_Scotland
Posted 9 years ago # -
gembo:
> Clearly, there is not going to be agreement but I don't think the
> vote SNP get the Tories line is either a lie or utter, utter, idiocy,
> but then I am not voting SNP.I'm not voting SNP either. Can you explain then how electing SNP MPs (or Green ones) helps the Tories?
Posted 9 years ago # -
@chdot
Aye, but tax law is byzantine. 'the Scottish Parliament would receive all taxation levied in Scotland' could mean all sorts of things.
Posted 9 years ago # -
That's true...
Posted 9 years ago # -
Wonder how many Non Doms there are in Scotland!
Posted 9 years ago # -
NATO able but probably not wanting to. I had a look at NATO history. Formed as a defensive alliance and doesn't seem to have done much since. It did give a job to George Robertson.
FFA possibly wanting but not getting.
The black hole always annoys me because they are full of stuff.
Posted 9 years ago # -
I'm confused about the Milli/Murphy pensions story.
Apparently FFA, which isn't going to happen, would mean smaller pensions. We would still be in the EU. Would UK pensioners in Spain get their pension cut too?
Is the FFA story a way to get us ready for the Vow not being fulfilled because we are too wee/poor/stupid as usual?
Posted 9 years ago # -
@bdellar, I don't think I can explain that to you as it looks to me like you have already decided it can't.
I am not saying it is a straight one for one, that is not correct.
there are however various Arithmetical possibilities, if you want to cruise on up stream to where wee folding bike and my bad self went around this circuit. Various assumptions regards coalitions or minority govts or if the 1992 scenario pans out the Tories having an overall majority. (Though this last scenario is clearly one where avoting SNP has had no impact as labour has not taken England and Wales)
The Boy then raising the relevant point that the working majority is less than the actual as the Sinn Fein MPs do not attend westminster.
Another semi-interesting factoid is that only ten per cent of seats change hands at elections ( again from same British Broadcasting Corp poster sidebar) but if polls to be believed this one
Will see more seats changing hands as approx fifty seats might go to SNp? Not as bad as going from labour to Tories but still might let the Tories in? (Again assumptions about coalitions etc)I also said up stream a green vote is the only vote for change, but I guess what skeletor from castle grey skull is saying is that voting anything but labour will get Tories (n.b. So could voting labour).
I am not jim Murphy's nom de plume hilariously to me anyway, this is my leftist acAdemic friend Big Davie Whyte in his new book How Corrupt Is Britain, according to cybernats commenters on bella Caledonia.
I agree that Jimbo is doing the line vote SNP get tory to death but it is not a lie, just a line and it is not utter, utter tosh, just a possibility.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Maybe this is the moment to ask the most philosophically qualified bicyclist present to extemporise on the subject of causation and correlation?
Scots' votes always correlate with a national outcome, but only always cause the outcome at constituency level?
Posted 9 years ago # -
Mark Mardell (R4 NOW) went to Balerno Farmers' Market yesterday.
Doesn't seem to have got Gembo's view!
Posted 9 years ago # -
Of course it could all go like this -
http://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/snp-faces-irrelevance-as-lib-lab-deal-looms-1-3743115
Posted 9 years ago # -
MM says 'Labour had a stall but packed up early because of the cold'!
Posted 9 years ago # -
I suspect the LibDems have nothing to lose by saying they will go into a pact with Labour. They could have done that last time.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Mark mardell, when did he get out of his bed? The poor wee labour supporters were already frozen by 9am. They had been put beyond the pale outside the entrance to the market. Probably quite a good spot on a balmy summer's day but like a wind tunnel yesterday. They had big stones holding their leaflets down.
I wanted to buy their cookbook because I thought it's name was funny - Labour Saving Recipes. I went for a coffee and a chat with the Darby and Joan and fair trade folk who stáff the cafe. When I came back to the market the Tories had arrived. So now I have met three of the candidates. Labour chap has the most human presentation. SNP very stiff, and the tory is more of a typical tory rather than your avuncular tory running a charity shop without a licence.
I then proceeded about my business At the post office, picked up the cut price seed potatoes
etc. Back up the road, then back down to the library with the hooks. Still no sign of Mark Mardell and he is not that hard to spot. I must click on the link. / catchup on the iplayerAgain, to be balanced, I quite like the SNP councillor, he is helpful local man and has a sense of humour. Supports our cinema etc. I nearly put my foot in it when he introduced me to the prospective MP as he used her first name (this was the second time I had met him with her). I was going to ask if they were married. Oh that would have been funny.
@IWRATS I am loving your desire for causation. Causation is very heavily correlated with facts and data. Opinion is of course free.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Labour must be getting rattled. My father-in-law had a knock on the door from Wee Dougie Alexander. First time he's ever seen Alexander going door-to-door in Paisley - normally Labour votes are weighed rather than counted there.
Edinburgh West constituency could become a very interesting fight. I've had claims and counter-claims on leaflets through my door, some quite personal. LibDem incumbent and SNP challenger have a history: he worked for her at Standard Life. They say it's all amicable, but I wouldn't be surprised if it got nasty.
Interesting times.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Gembo, I had a look upstream, and can't see any explanation of how electing SNP or Green MPs helps the Tories.
It's not so much that I've made my mind up, as the fact that I just don't see any evidence for the argument.
If anyone can tell me how electing SNP or Green MPs helps the Tories, I'll happily accept it.
Posted 9 years ago #
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