OWEN JONES MEETS MHAIRI BLACK

JUST A FEW RANDOM THOUGHTS

Hmmm. Wee change of mind then, Gordo? 

I'd not do the horses if I were you, George.

sooo, we're worse off, but you're a Lord.
I think we see what you were up to.

All that lovely Scottish money being spent in London.
All these top executives with six figure salaries.

Ridiculous organisation.
Should be reduced to one tv station and one radio station.
And a maximum of £10 licence fee.

Don't know which is worse!

Achievements? ...and you've had so many John.
Just look at Jim Murphy's bid to be FM.
Snigger

Dumb and Dumber?

Can't do it. Kez has already spent it on... oh, loads of stuff.

You have to wonder when it wasn't.

Be wary of big charities with big offices and
 eye watering salaries for their executives.
And watch out too for begging letters from charities that don't operate in Scotland. RSPCC; RSPCA, etc.

But we aren't building them for the old or the disabled, becasue they would cost too much money. We'll just need to find a bin for them.

Gross? On no, we couldn't stand 144 of them.

Here stands a proud man. 

One of Munguin's mates, I have no doubt.

Munguin's suggestion for replacing the Tories.

I see George's image consultant who got a 50% pay rise has left him standing pigeon toed or is that "toad"?.

You must run into old Nigel Lawson over there, Jon.
He's running 'Britain Out' from his home in France.

That is how it all works...

Any doubts now?

I GUESS THE TORIES AREN'T TOO INTERESTED IN THE STATE PENSION EQUALITY ISSUE

Fortunately the opposition is. And this is a large improvement. As Mhairi Black pointed out, after 2 hours there were only 5 of them there.

Mhairi Black MP ‏@MhairiBlack  1h1 hour ago

Over two hours into the #WASPI debate and there is only 5 Tories currently in the chamber. How can the Govt. listen if they don't turn up?

THEY'VE DONE IT: PUNCHING ABOVE THEIR WEIGHT TO THE GATES OF HELL

Oh well, it is done... The British Empire is yet again at war.

And how they cheered and they clapped, although clapping used to be, or so we were told, discourteous. Perhaps we misunderstood, and it's only discourteous when second class members of the house of Commons do it. Fine when Eton and Oxford Toffs do it.

So, they voted with their consciences, and that's all you can say. And if or rather when, it all goes wrong, I hope their consciences are strong enough to take it. it's on their shoulders.

As Alex Salmond said (see Wings article), there were many good speeches. I was impressed by people who were asking why, as Salmond and Corbyn did, we weren't trying to deny Daesh their finance, their weapons, their communications systems. People from opposition and government benches alike.

At the end of the debate in scenes that will be broadcast around the world, people saw our Hooray Henrys cheering and shouting for joy because they're off to kill people from the Middle East again. Well not them obviously... the plebs do that for them.

I suspect that this scene may be used in the recruitment material of the Daesh movement. 

Scotland voted 57-2 NOT to go to war, but hey ho...there we are again pooling and sharing the vast financial expense of punching above our weight while our people queue up at food banks and our OAPs have the second worst pension in the developed world, leading to deaths for malnutrition and hypothermia. And now we'll also have to pool and share death and destruction.

I'm not sure at the moment how Wales or Northern Ireland voted, but I know that this is not being done in Scotland's name. Of that much I'm proud. 

Of the rest I am deeply deeply ashamed.

A TALE OF TWO PARLIAMENTS

Today the Scottish parliament voted to allow 16 and 17 year olds a vote in General and Local Elections held in Scotland. Those elections involving other UK countries will retain the UK rules for voting of 18+.

Ironically at the same time the Westminster parliament voted to not allow 16-18 year olds the right to vote in the upcoming EU referendum, despite the enormous effects that the outcome may have on their lives.

Cameron, at one point in the referendum campaign, rather patronisingly told us that whilst a vote in the General Election was only temporary, and that in 5 years’ time we could tell the Tories to “F off”, a YES vote was a decision forever; there would be no going back.

Although, of course, nothing can be said to be forever, at least in the short term he was right.

But, surely a vote to leave or stay in the EU is the same. There will be no going back, at least not in the immediate future, if we decide to leave. And leaving a union, whether the UK or the EU, doesn't happen overnight.

If the UK votes “out”, then by the time that the necessary administration is done, these 16 and 17 year olds will almost undoubtedly be 18 year olds with their university education and working lives ahead of them. It’s surely their business as much as it is ours whether they work in or out of the EU.

The bid to overturn the Tories’ backward looking rules was led by Labour and the SNP, for once working together to try to pull the UK into the 21^st century.

SNP MP Stephen Gethins said that there was overwhelming evidence from the Scottish independence referendum that extending the franchise for 16-year-olds was a good thing for democratic participation.

When you listen to some of the arguments against widening the franchise, you have to wonder what planet the MPs are living on.

One Labour rebel, Barry Sheerman (above), claimed that allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote would make them 'adults' and therefore more vulnerable to sexual abuse.

WHIT?

Clearly the fact that they can leave school, get married and have children, go to work, live separately from their parents …sometimes on the streets… and pay taxes, seems to have escaped his notice. I’m just guessing that this may have more of an influence of their sexual behaviour than the right to vote! For the life of me I can’t work out why he reckons that casting a vote would open them up to sexual abuse. However, who knows about those things when it comes to planet Westminster.

There was also anger in Westminster that EU nationals will be banned from voting. This time the government had Labour’s support. Strangely there is an exception made for Republic of Ireland nationals. I’m not sure how they are allowed to pick and choose like that, but apparently they can. But then why Irish? Why not Lithuanians, or Maltese?

Unlike in the Scottish referendum, ex patriots will be allowed to vote.  So, even people who have lived here for 20 years, and are married to Brits, won’t be allowed a say in their future. And people who were born here but live in America, or Hong Kong will.  Once again this contrasts with the Scottish referendum which allowed people who lived in Scotland the vote, but those who had chosen to make their lives elsewhere were excluded.

Scotland 21^st century; UK 19^th.

IT'S MONDAY MONTAGE

You wouldn't want to make it up, 
unless you were writing a horror story.

Still, it's true to say that they seem to be doing a job of work on things that matter to people

And it the Queen can bother to turn up and read the drivel she did, the least that the MPs could do was turn up to the debates about it.

But don't let the truth get in the way of a bit of Jock bashing

Oh look, there they are again showing the place disrespect by turning up to work instead of sitting in the bars.

Well said. They will sink to any depths to make a hit show.

Here's a suggestion.
I noticed Airmiles was sporting one of these watches
 that cost something in the order of £12,000

But soon they will have got rid of the problems of the sick scrounger.
They can speed up the death rate now that the Liberals won't whine about it.

The difference is that he has class and knows the right people,
 and she...well... doesn't. Lovely country

A vast amount of the benefits in this country go straight to landlords in housing benefits...and indirectly to employers, who can get away with paying less in wages than the average rent in the area.

If you though McVile was a bitch,
I suspect you may be in for a surprise.
The Priti one looks like she is shaping up to
take home prizes in foulness.

Good old Professor Stephenson.
Thicker than a thick thing that has been covered in 190 coats of thickening paint.

The question is, who the hell would want that worm addressing their conference.  I'm proud to say that I once refused the opportunity to meet him, most insistently too.

At least thank goodness, he has resigned from the Middle East job Bush gave him for being a totally faithful little puppet
and plunging the region into utter chaos. Actually as peace envoy he kept at it and achieved much the same result but more of it.
 I hope he never has another night's sleep for all the blood he has on his hands.

Nope, he doesn't look any more sensible or statesmanlike standing on his head. I think they have chosen badly.
 Mundell maybe would make a reasonable councillor,
or even a back bench MP, but a Cabinet Minister he is not.
But then...who else was there? Oh yeah, no one!

I truly hope he bursts. Loudly.

They were always a loving lot, the Tories, although he may have been a Liberal when he said that. Who knows? He put himself about a bit.

This one was a Liberal.. or rather, a Whig.

Can't argue that.

What a pleasant man. Has he met IDS? They'd probably get on.

IT WOULD SEEM THAT YOU CAN CLAP IN THE COMMONS...

...AS LONG AS YOU ARE AN ESTABLISHMENT LONDON PARTY

(Of course it helps if you are clapping in support of the Speaker)

SO, TODAY, A BIG CONTINGENT OF SCOTS MPS ARRIVED IN LONDON, ENGLAND

WHAT A LOVELY WELCOME

JIM PLAYS KEEPY-UPPY WHILE SCOTLAND GETS FRACKED.

So, all weekend Jim has been pointing out that when he is first minister (a big question mark over that given that he's not even an MSP), he will not allow fracking in this country. (OK, you could split hairs and point out that the first minister can only propose policy, not insist on it, but in fairness to Jim, he knows that the Liberal(s), Greens, SNP would vote with him, as would the SSP should they have any MSPs by that time.) 

Given then, that commitment to a frack free Scotland, why did he fail to turn up to vote for the power to stop fracking to be devolved? 

At present, as I understand the situation, the Scottish government has powers over planning consent, and withholding that from fracking companies might mean delays to their plans. But any planning refusals could be, and might well be, overturned by the Westminster government on the basis that they were being maliciously employed in an attempt to circumvent UK law reserved to Westminster.  

In short this power must be devolved to Scotland.  If not Jim can huff and puff, but he won't be blowing any houses down if the power stays at Westminster. (This might be convenient to him of course ... I'd do it if I had the power!)

Jim controls all Scottish Labour MPs ... They are nothing to do with Miliband, because Jim is NOT a branch office supervisor like Jola was. Oh no, Sir. He's the real deal. Miliband's equal.

Of course we know that Jim was too busy today to bother turning up at his place of work to do his job and vote for a policy proposed by one of his own minions, that would give the power over fracking to the Scottish parliament. But why did he not instruct his own MPs, the ones who report directly to him remember, to vote in favour?

Jim incidentally was too busy to go to London and vote because he was engaged in a game of Keepy-Uppy whilst attired once again in shorts. (I feel it might be appropriate at this point to bring to the attention of the press office at Scottish Labour, that whilst some politicians half dressed and showing off their legs, might well be considered to be an asset to their party, Jim is not among their number. I've seen better legs on a chicken.

As one lady I overheard today (a Labour supporter too) said :"LESS ...LESS!"

This of course is another possibility.
While Jim was away maybe Miliband got his whips out.
Don't want to go upsetting big money like that.

You have to ask yourself what they are for these Labour politicians.

See what I mean?
 Seriously he's no bonny with his clothes on, but
half naked? Jeeeeeeez.

Well, our policy will be one of the above... whichever one will
buy us the most votes at the time.
Fracking isn't the only thing they get mixed up about.

Oh no, his pants are on fire.
Maybe that's why he's always showing up in shorts.