Sunday 12 June 2016

PROJECT FEAR AND THE TORY LEADERSHIP BATTLE

As we've said before, Munguin's Republic hasn't really got an opinion on the current referendum. 

On balance, if pushed, we think that there would be comedic value in Boris as leader of the Conservative Party. There's a certain je ne sais quoi about the prime minister falling in a river, or being suspended from a high wire waving a rather too colourful flag.

And we reckon too, that there is a possibility a Boris government would hasten the end of the United kingdom, even more quickly than a David Cameron one would. Possibly starting in Northern Ireland and leaving the rest of us to follow.

But, as we say, without detailed economic evidence, or some arguments that have a measure of certainty (or even credibility), we honestly don't know who would make the better prime minister.

It's in a far off land of which we know precious little.

Most of the time, after the second week of the campaign when we were disgusted at the poverty of arguments, we've done our best to avoid reading about or listening to the claptrap from both candidates. 

The general impression has been that the two sides are competing for the position of Project Fear. At least in the Scottish referendum one side was putting forward a positive message.

However, today's pensions story caught our attention on Twitter.

According to Dodgy Dave, if the UK leaves the EU then pensions will be at risk. Yes, the Eton boy has succumbed to the kind of threats that Labour descended to when door knocking around Scotland back in 2014. If you vote to leave the UK, your pension in Scotland will disappear. Clearly it was nonsense, and even the repugnant DWP under IDS admitted it was fabrication, but it scared some older people into changing their minds. Scared them silly!

OK, he hasn't gone so far as to say that the pension will disappear, but he reckons that, if the UK leaves the EU, the triple lock  will be endangered because the country just won't have the money to pay the second  lowest pensions in the developed world. 

If it were true what would THAT say about our united kingdom, Dave? 

Something pretty shabby, we'd say

But, of course it is not true.

The EU has absolutely no say whatsoever in the pensions of UK citizens. We accept that if it did they would undoubtedly be higher. 

But then neighbouring countries outside the EU have HIGHER pensions. 

(Nor does it the EU dictate what benefits there should be for the sick, the disabled or the unemployed. Nor does it set taxation levels. The UK makes its mind up what pensioners are worth. Or rather how little it can get away with paying them.

But Dodgy Dave the Pig Man reckons that the economy will be so badly hit that cuts will have to be made.  This may or may not be true. I've not met anyone who knows one way or the other (although it is fair to say that in the period of change, as there will be when Scotland becomes independent, there will be a measure of uncertainly in financial markets).


Even accepting the possibility that there wouldn't be so much money around, at least for a while, it seems that Dave would choose to cut pensions for the elderly rather than say, cut the amount spent on nuclear weapons, rebuilding Westminster, embassies, royals, the house of lords, baubles for those and such as those, fighting wars all over the middle east, etc, etc. 

It wouldn't occur to him that clamping down on tax avoidance and evasion (well, of course it wouldn't) would be a better way to reduce spending in a potentially smaller economy?

We wonder if it turns out that without all the industrial and commercial regulations that the EU imposes, Britain does, as Bozo the Clown suggest, prosper outside the union, will pensions go up?

Aye right! I'll get my coat.

17 comments:

  1. tris

    This refeferendum is eating Cameron whole ....chomp chomp they are like that
    They have Unknown and unplanned consequences we Labourites have learned
    That one bitterly .

    The big question of the campaign does Bojo die his hair,,,,er ! Obviously he does at his
    Advancing age Bojo say he don't yeah right ,


    If we vote leave although Cameron and Nicola say we shouldn't
    Then the Welfare state will disappear and if we vote to remain
    The welfare state will disappear umm there you have it.

    Just put your your trust in Cameron's lot or Goves lot
    Wot a choice ,,,,

    How did it come to this ....

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    1. Nicola also agrees with Corbyn too, the SNP ain't getting too close to the Tories; SLab made that mistake.

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    2. Well, exactly Niko.

      We're stuffed if we do, and stuffed if we don't.

      Nicola agrees with Cameron, Corbyn, whatever that LiberalDemocrat blokey is called, Ruth, Kezia, Patrick, Wee Willie, Carwyn, Leanne et al. The only party leader that she disagrees with on the mainland at least, is Nigel.

      Seriously, you shouldn't try to make political capital out of that.

      I wasn't aware of the débacle over whether Bojo dies his hair. But as they argue about other inconsequential things, I'm not surprised that that has come to light.

      I expect he does. I should imagine that Nicola, Kez and Ruthie do too.
      Probably Cameron does. Iain Duncan Smith and that other harbinger of death, Grayling, don't though. You could put good money on that.

      The choice is stark. A crock of shit, or the same shit in a different crock.

      That's why I've by and large left it alone.

      How did it come to this? Very simple.

      We elected a Tory government.

      The Tories have been split down the middle since Heath took the UK in to the EU. Thatcher held it together becasue she was a strong domineering woman (and in any case she had the dirt on so many of her party). Major had dreadful problems with "bastards".

      It seemed to go away when they were in opposition. The English wee Willie blokey, Hague was anti Europe, as was IDS. Heaven knows what "something of the night" thought about it. But it seemed to be a smaller issue, or maybe I just didn't hear about it back then.

      But Cameron is a hopeless weak leader. Most of his party dislike him, and they started to drift off to UKIP. He had to promise a referendum to stop UKIP being elected big in the last election. (Vote Tory get a referendum...vote UKIP get sod all because the most they can expect is 20 seats. It worked. They got one, and no one defected.

      Now he's split the party in two. About 50 50. I can;t see them recovering... and that's before you consider that 28 of them are up before the headmaster for fiddling expenses.

      Oh what a pity.

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    3. Exactly Jim.

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    4. Just put your your trust in Cameron's lot or Goves lot
      Wot a choice ,,,,

      Yes, as the Danes say .."A choice between bleack death and cholera".

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    5. LOL. Pretty good expression.

      The lesser of two evils... but which is the lesser?

      Can you imagine how smug Cameron will be if he wins a third referendum?

      On the other hand can you imagine how cruel Boris IDS, Grayling Patel and Gove will be in government?

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  2. They the Americans are calling it the Worst mass shooting in US history
    That's a movable headline each time another one kills more than the last,
    One thing is for sure there will be I higher toll each time .

    It's an American tradition ....

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    Replies
    1. It's tragic, they must clamp down on gun ownership.

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    2. Nothing we can do. The NRA is controlled by very rich, very powerful people, who never seem to be on the receiving end of any of these shootings.

      Lunatics happen everywhere. There are unhinged, unhappy, angry people in every country in the world. Even the really sensible ones (Norway?).

      If they have very easy access to weaponry, well, it's pretty obvious what will happen.

      I don't know what people need to have all these guns for. Not something I've ever understood. I'd sooner chew my foot off than kill an animal.

      But not everyone cares.

      I just feel incredibly sorry for the people concerned.

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    3. I doubt if they will, Jim.

      Maybe Danny or Jon will give us an opinion on this...

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  3. I sent away my vote a few days ago. It did however feel as though the vote was really about the leadership of the Conservative Party rather than about staying or going. S, now I'm a Cameronite!

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    Replies
    1. I believe there are pills for it, Douglas.

      I think to be a Govite you need injections though, so you're probably better off... Marginally!

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  4. Reading all the scare stories from both sides then...

    [screams]

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    Replies
    1. There's no pills for that, Marcia. A bottle of gin and very little tonic might do the trick though!

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  5. Tris

    Cameron is finished either way, he might limp home to 2020 then stand down as he has said and go to the Lords or he might be forced out. Overall though I actually think he has played a blinder in some ways, he comes across well to many in England, I don't know why as he is mostly hated up here, but he comes across as honest Dave but underneath he is pulling the strings and he is a nasty piece of crap. I can imagine him burning £50 notes in front of homeless people and camapaiging for Mandella the terrorist to be hung in the 80's, the man is a nasty individual. He has made every decision, all down the line, and he does not give a shit. He has fought two wars, moved privitisation further along, punished the poor for being poor, scared the crap out of old Scottish people, and if he can keep the UK in the EU with TTIP forced through he will be delighted. He will have moved the right wing Tory mantra forward while making the dirty unwashed even poorer and more in fear and servitude to our masters, a glorious period for a PM.

    The pensions scare is the acknowledgement, as in the Scottish Referendum, that remain might be losing and are running out of time. Of course the media will play their part in the latest fear story and they will be hoping it's enough, just for good measure I'm sure next week will be the triple aaa credit rating and savings just to round it all off. There is a part of me that hopes the bastard loses, even though I will probably vote remain.

    Boris is not the clown that many seem to think he is. If, God forgive, he becomes PM in future, and esp outwith the EU, the UK will be the worlds new sweat shop. Just watch as everyones terms and conditions desolve all around us. I dread to think how far he will go with the Tory agenda. I can only live in hope that the soft no's will actually get the wke up call they need and will see that we were telling the truth all the time and vote yes sooner rather than later. of course there will always be those, esp Labour and Liberals, who will starve rather than vote for an independent Scotland but then they don't see Scotland as a country.

    It will be an interesting next 10 days, no doubt the polls will be all over the place and even James Kelly won't be able to call this one. John Curtice will sit on the fence while sounding like he knew all along but it's too cose to call. As I will be a remain, reluctantly, I really hope Scottish votes keep England in the EU, just. Then I will sit back and watch the fun, who knows maybe England will go for it's independence and we can be rump UK with Wales and N.Ireland, I could live with that.

    Bruce

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    1. I've thought from day one that Cameron was a nasty piece of crap.

      He was smarmy way back when he won the leadership from David Davies.

      I loathed him then and I loathe him now.

      Maybe in his own way he's a nice guy. I don't know. Within his set, he may be a jolly good fellow, but I'd rather eat mud than spend an evering with him.

      I said to Dean maybe 6 or 7 years ago that people like him who come from a super privileged background shouldn't be in charge of making decisions about the lives of people (most of us) about whom they haven't the foggiest idea. Our lives and his are so completely different, that he simply can't have a clue what his decisions will mean.

      I've come to the conclusion, as I think I said on your blog, that I'd like Scotland and NI to vote to stay; England to vote to go. I don;t know about Wales. Although it will lose a lot, it seemed the last poll I saw, to be "leave".

      In any case, I hope that it will spell the beginnings of the end of the UK.

      Hopefully NI will want out pretty quick. Once that happens I can only imagine Scotland will follow.

      I can't imagine another 10 years of Tories under Cameron or Osborne, or Boris and his followers, who, remember, are Grayling, Patel, IDS Fox and Gove... Can you imagine anything more horrific?

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