DEM not gonna CON dis NATION: Rolling UK politics in the short-lived Cleggeron era

Also Cable's department is facing the biggest cuts of any govt department.

yes, rip science

Govt intervention in the market innit.

p.s. nick clegg's wife still hot

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11359306

Good attempt to pacify the rank and file here ahead of the conference. Can't see the Tories being mad crazy for this idea though.

ashcroft is leaving too, and is zinging cameron re: the campaign et al as he goes.

Likening tax evaders to benefit cheats

In the saw way one might liken the Great Train Robbers to a schoolkid pinching chocolate buttons

Shows how skewed the public debate has become that that's the bit that will resonate with people.

Liberal Democrats vote against free schools and more academies

Can we get a Drudge siren?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/20/tax_detector/

lol at conservatives leaking cranky sounds-like-a-lib-dem policy stuff before the ld conference.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/22/cable-speech-attacked

don't think vinnie cabes said anything controversial at all, here but oh look at all these cunts

im not usually in favour of extreme state violence but can't something be done about these jackals?

Believe Vince's speech had little to do with prospective Government policy and everything to do with making sure he (and a couple of thousand delegates) could sleepier (slightly) easier in their beds of a night

That was the speech of someone who knows he has fuck all influence on government policy if you ask me. There's a reason the Tories have put him in a department that sounds important but that they are planning to eviscerate.

yeah not disputing any of that

"Let the old boy have his fun, what?"

I think it also shows he understands what Clegg doesn't seem to, that there's no sense in banging on about being Cameron's best mate, unless someone high up impresses some kind of distinctive identity then they're completely fucked.

heard clegg responding to it, and to the guy talking about trident (who was appalling): really clueless, evasive, unctious wanker

the trident guy was unbelievable. his argument about what to do next was solely based on making things awkward for labour. he isn't a serious politician. effing lib dems.

Good luck Suffolk.
Suffolk County Council to outsource most services

"im not usually in favour of extreme state violence but can't something be done about these jackals?"

c'mon you know to do a lenin.jpg. Don't fight it!

Vince Cable's serious face always looks like he's smelling shit.

(on QT now btw)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/world/europe/24allies.html

Vince Cable's serious face always looks like he's smelling shit.

Whereas George Osborne's face looks like he's smelling shit

... or poor people (same thing for George)

Ken Livingstone has beaten Oona King to the Labour nomination for London mayor, setting him up for a political rematch in the capital with his old rival Boris Johnson in 2012.

Not in favour of that. Ken's past it.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4IqAMwAGn1w/SCeQW4DTxWI/AAAAAAAACGI/C6jjIBq-Gnc/s400/ken_livingstone_l.jpg

lawl

Marc Loivingstone tbh

had they run out of 'just another female fronted band'?

Ken has a better chance of beating Boris than Oona, whose campaign has been pretty much cringeworthy.

Don't think anyone will beat Boris fwiw.

Prob'ly not. Poor Oona, losing out to Galloway then Livingstone.

Those t-shirts are available at the Fawcett Society website, BTW.

I'd say Ken was a policy feminist but as far as transposing that to his own personal life goes, LOLLLLLLLL.

That Suffolk council thing is something that we're all going to have to get used to in time I suspect.

Lewisham Council seems to be having quite a lot of public consultation and dialogue on how to manage its cuts and where they should and shouldn't fall. Neighbouring Greenwich is just imposing them top-down, I know which one works better for me.

Thing is about outsourcing...

Why should a private enterprise be 'cheaper' than providing and running services 'in-house'?

Because the PrivEnt draws up a 'minimum service' agreement.

Which means, they are at liberty to refuse to collect 'too much' refuse from one house, whereas the council's in-house service are more likely to take it.

Which is blatantly obvious, so I will never understand why the DMail seem to regard it as a sign of 'loonielefties' councils etc...

Anyway why are we not talking about this? Fate of the BBC World Service still undecided, which is worrying.

Radio Times is up for sale too, yes?

Most consultation documents in Camden feel a bit ciphery - 'tell us what you think of our plans, and then after we hear quite sensible arguments as to why the plans are 31 flavours of shite, we'll implement them three months later with no other change save a paragraph of fake-inclusive waffle about how great it was that service users were able to participate in the process.'

"Quango" has become such a weasel word. Was blurrily following this on the radio this morning, and thinking about how you can dismiss whole swathes of important public sector work/employment just by calling it a nasty old quango.

Didn't realise Radio Times was publicly owned? TBF it's the kind of thing that's difficult to make a case for.

Didn't realise Radio Times was still going!

yesyesyes they only hate quangoes until they go to work for one.

My caretaker is local and she has been doing her job well for 15 years, and her manager is also local and has been doing his for 25. The good will and trust they've built up with residents means the old people who live in the block aren't ignored for weeks, and I have no idea how long the dropped and smeared nappy would have lingered in my stairwell last weekend (note: this is a complete one-off) had it been up to some random from Veolia to come deal with it.

i thought it was sold off twenty years ago

Radio Times is owned by BBC Worldwide (commercial arm of the BBC) I thought?

Ah right. TV Times has stopped tho, yeah?

Also laaa la-laaaa la-laaa Look In

feel like in the 80s there was *only* tv times and radio times, and at some point that all changed

could be wrong

wonder what they filled 'em with, in the 2-3-4 channel era

In the 80s there was only TV Times and Radio Times and for a very long while they only carried ITV and BBC listings respectively. Then at some point that was presumably deregulated and we ended up with loads.

As far as I can remember TV Times has never been under public ownership, given it was the ITV mag and all that.

TV Times had a bunch of features about popular shows, interviews and such, fairly extended listings pages, letters etc.

Radio Times kind of the same except not so much popular shows.