Friday 27 February 2015

Random Thoughts

Natalie with Humza
In an effort to get Glasgow Man back on board, Labour has been whinging about how mean the Government in Edinburgh has been to Scotland's biggest city.

That's the same Labour that only a few years ago, when it was in coalition with the Liberals, managed to give back money to London at the end of the year, presumably because everything was so peachy in Scotland (including Glasgow) that the money was simply not needed. 

I'm not an expert on Glasgow but I'd lay money on it that there will have been some need that could have been fulfilled by that money that went back to London. After all you don;t have life expectancy rates lower than Gaza in a town that is all tickety boo!

Natalie McGarry, the SNP candidate for Glasgow East, Curran's seat, makes a good point .

Labour in Glasgow, she says, need to look to themselves for the perceived underspend in Glasgow.

The Government has had to spend half a £bn making the correct decision to mitigate the bedroom tax and other welfare cuts, but with a budget which has shrunk by 10% because of coalition cuts.

And let's not forget that the Labour Party at Westminster - and yes, that includes Margaret Curran MP - voted with the Tories just a month or so ago to a further £30bn of austerity cuts.

It's the circle of lies which annoys people. Budget cut at Westminster = budget cut at Holyrood = budget cut in councils. It's the inevitability of it which is damning. So if Labour vote with the Tories for increased cuts at Westminster, they are voting for increased cuts at Holyrood which essentially means they voted for cuts at council level. Some of them would like to correct the cuts by making you pay more council tax though. So, bankers cause the banking crisis, but both the Tories and Labour target ordinary folk to pay the price.

Well said, Natalie.
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I may be wrong but I thought that Labour in Scotland wanted
to means test university education?
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Well done, Gordon.
Not bad earnings for a humble son of the manse.
Makes Rifkind and Straw look like the paupers they
claim to be.

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A much younger Murphy in his spiritual home.
I read that Murphy has announced that he will indeed stand as the UK Labour candidate for East Renfrewshire in the UK general election. 

Ruth Wishart wondered on Twitter what his constituents would think of that.

I'd say that they would, if they were thinking rationally, understand that they are being used to provide Murphy with a very generous salary and expenses for the next year and to provide him with the means by which he can continue to lead the Scottish branch office of the UK Labour Party.

In the wake of the scandals over Rifkind and Straw, it seems unlikely that Miliband will allow hiom to be both MP and MSP at the same time.
Munguin's mate Ted, met on line,
 would make a better FM than Spud.!
I'm not sure I'd bother if I were him. I reckon he has about as much chance of being first minister next year as Munguin's mate Ted... and he's not even standing!

15 comments:

  1. They (Labour) think we all button up the back of the head. They vote for cuts at Westminster, then go on to blame the Scottish Government. If it wasn't for their cohorts, in the MSM, they would be dead in the water and Scotland would be well on the way to independen!cle.

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    1. Aye, it's just as well they have the ever faithful Daily Record, Hootsmon, and the BBC at their backs.

      Imagine if real interviewers get hold of them...

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  2. Tris

    There is not much more any of us can say about the lies, contradictions, expenses cheating, useless, self serving, Scottish hating Scottish Labour Party branch of the Labour Party.

    I just hope that people are really waking up to the last 100 years of failure for them and poverty for us. The workers party never ever really existed from the start, it was always a self serving lie. I hope they all rot in hell personally, they are worse than tories and lower than shit.

    Bruce

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    1. I know Bruce. It's sometimes hard to find new stuff to write about. After all it's really just yesterday's story with slightly different characters in slightly different scenarios.

      The opinion polls, of which I am always wary, seem, however, to be fairly constant.

      At long last it may be that they are toast.

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    2. Bruce

      I just hope that people are really waking up to the last 100 years of failure

      ZZzzzzzzzzzz yawn ! wot wuz that sigh well up we get outta bed
      vote like Labor as oor parents did then back to sleep zzzzzzzzzzzzz
      for another 100 years

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    3. Sleep well, Niko...

      zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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  3. Tris .

    Having a good week with the press especially the Rancid record trying to put the boot into Wings. The donations speak volumes. £45,000. target. £75,000 so far , and it's only been 24 hours....only another month to go and no doubt will hit the Ton .

    Munguins is a must. The pics you put out are fantastic and always leave me smiling . They really do leave an impression on folk. can't count how many folk have commented about them.

    Wings, Bella and Munguin etc. What a service you do for us. So big thanks to all here.

    Ted for FM ??? Maybe Nichola could sort something out but i would love munguin himself to play a major role. Maybe minister of Pics and toons. :)

    And the opinion polls showing no drop in indi support must really piss the MSM and Slab off big time.

    Tick tock you self serving hypocrites . Scotland has seen through your disguises and lies. No more Labour. Your party will die in the place it as born.

    Should be an interesting years when the Slab mp's look for work. Most have never done a days work before but no worries there- WORKFARE will help you get started on experience.

    Stacking shelves and sweeping up doesn't require a degree so your ok there Murph.

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    1. LOL Yes. Need to find something for Murphy that requires no qualifications at all.

      Munguin is touched by your kind words, Richy. He's a bit shy though and only wants to be a backroom boy. He enjoys driving from the back seat while quaffing vintage champagne. I laughed at Minister for Pic and Toons!!!

      He wants to know the salary!!!

      They aren't having a good time at the moment. And I don;t think it will get any better unless they start sporting out some proper policies based on ordinary people.

      Murphy was not the man to lead. He's not bright enough; he has no charisma and he even lacks the looks that might buy him some votes. He's got zero going for him.

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  4. Murphy's only standing because of the massive taxpayer funded renumeration package he'll get for losing his seat to the SNP .http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salaries_of_Members_of_the_United_Kingdom_Parliament#Resettlement_Grant_and_Winding-up_Allowance

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    1. Ha ha ha ha... Yes. Not sure why we do that. Oh yes, sorry, I am.

      They make up their own terms of service and needless to say they do a very job for themselves.

      If he gets the boot, he will have to resign as leader of the branch office in North Britain. As Panda Paws pointed out last week, you have to be a parliamentarian to lead.

      If this election is a disaster for him...even if he wins his London seat, he will still have to stand down, in which case he will be glad fo the people of East Renfrewshire.

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    2. Resettlement Grant and Winding-up Allowance[edit]
      On leaving the House of Commons, an MP will be entitled to what is essentially severance pay.

      Resettlement Grant

      The Resettlement Grant is the name given to the MPs severance pay package. It may be claimed to help former MPs with the costs of adjusting to nonparliamentary life. It is payable to any Member who ceases to be an MP at a General Election. The amount is based on age and length of service, and varies between 50% and 100% of the annual salary payable to a Member of Parliament at the time of the Dissolution.[8]

      In the UK the first £30,000 of severance pay is tax free. The amount retiring MPs, or those who lose their seats receive depends on how old they are and how long they have served in the House. Example. An MP who stays in office for one term (say 5 years) and then leaves office will currently receive tax-free severance pay of 50% of his current salary, or £32,383 at current rates - equivalent to an annual salary increment of over £12,000 at current tax rates and pay scales.[9]

      For the 2010-2015 Parliament, only MPs defeated in their attempt to be re-elected will get one month’s salary for each year served, up to a maximum of six months or over £33,000. From the start of the 2015 Parliament, it will be replaced by a "Loss of Office Payment", at double the statutory redundancy payment. "For the 'average' MP, who leaves office with 11 years' service, this may lead to a payment of around £14,850."[10]

      Winding-up Allowance

      There is also up to £42,000 on offer to pay for winding up staff contracts and office rent.[11] An allowance of up to one third of the annual Office Costs Allowance was paid for the reimbursement of the cost of any work on Parliamentary business undertaken on behalf of a deceased, defeated or retiring Member after the date of cessation of Membership. On 5 July 2001 the House agreed to change the allowance to one third of the sum of the staffing provision and Incidental Expenses Allowance in force at the time of cessation of Membership.

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    3. Boothman will find him a job/series at the BBC.

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    4. LOl... the wrong F word in Savile's case.

      I have been wondering if there is anyone in the Labour ranks clever enough to notice that they are campaigning on the Health Service, which the pundits tell them is their strength in England, given that the Tories are giving it away to their mates, who will then sell it to American.

      Does anyone know that the UK government doesn't actually have squat to do with running the heath service in Scotland, so they can promise the moon on a stick, and ....

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