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

I assume that's not John Bird the satirist, but John Bird the Tory class traitor?

it's not my grandad

You know what really helps young people into work? Offering them jobs.

Works for all ages!

Amazing austerity news:

Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt said: “This is great news. It shows what can be achieved when determination, goodwill and a tremendous amount of generosity come together. I am very pleased that we have been able to play our part by freeing up the National Gallery’s reserves, diverting more money to arts and heritage from the National Lottery and taking practical steps to encourage greater philanthropy. Diana and Callisto is a breathtakingly beautiful work of art and I am immensely grateful to everyone who has helped to keep it and its companion painting Diana and Actaeon in the UK in perpetuity.”

If you can afford it, you can't afford to be without it

Riiiiiight....

Dunno how much if any Treasury money was involved in that Titian deal but I don't really have a problem with an undisputed masterpiece being saved for one of London's big tourist attractions in an environment where it can be viewed by anyone for free.

Yeah, worse things are happening... at sea and elsewhere

Indeed, it seems like pretty terrible things are happening at sea at the moment.

I actually love the painting. Just think that website is vile.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/mar/02/police-privatisation-security-firms-crime?CMP=twt_gu

SHITSTORM INCOMING.

That is fucking insane

If I submit the winning bid, how many free police horses do I get?

as long as somebody builds Robocop i am cool with this

This is the UK, so it'll look like this...
http://i.thisislondon.co.uk/i/pix/2010/09/alansugar415.jpg
"Dead or alive, you're fired!"

no wait, like this...
http://www.hecklerspray.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/alan-sugar.jpg

a Robocop with a Jeremy Kyle face wd be fucking awesome

Mr Johnson said [Livingstone] presided over "a bunch of Trotskyist, car-hating, Hugo Chavez idolising, newt-fancying hypocrites and bendy bus fetishists".

wtf is 'newt-fancying'?

Everyone's favourite fact about Ken when he ran the GLC was that he kept newts.

the monster.

Lib Dems tentatively reaching out to see what remains of their student support

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9125909/Students-should-face-paying-council-tax-Lib-Dems-say.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17275884

Blatantly leaked it himself.

Think this is the thread for this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17260020

pathetic wannabe stand-up comedian with zero political credibility told to stand down by Lembit Opik

Funny that, wonder where they get the impression this is an acceptable way to behave?

It is despicable that in the 21st century so many medieval practices and attitudes remain. And it is appalling that time and again, this is shoved under the carpet. People turn a blind eye and a culture of shame and secrecy is perpetuated.

calm down dear

huff post bloggers getting worse and worse

From next month, 25 million people will have more money in their pocket and over a million low-paid workers will have stopped paying income tax altogether. Just think about that for a moment: a million more workers with no tax bill because of us, because of you.

Becomes even more impressive when you take into account all the people they've helped make unemployed who aren't paying tax now either.

hang on why wasn't i told about this will i be able to afford a new pair of shoes next month?

Paul Staines dressed as a massive cock. And a guy in a chicken suit.

hope he beetborts soon

"This autumn we're not looking at the 50p tax rate. The priority this autumn is to get the housing market going. The priority this autumn is to get infrastructure underway. And of course we're absolutely committed to increasing the personal allowance for many millions of people in this country who have a tough time at the moment. When you look around the world you can see that the tough decisions we've taken on the budget have protected Britain from the worst of the European debt storms. We're not in the position Italy is in, for example. But that doesn't mean we can let up. We've got to be vigilant."

-- George Osbourne, 11 Nov 2011
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financevideo/8884261/George-Osborne-confirms-no-50p-tax-rate-cut.html

"I do not believe that the priority at a time like that is to give a tax cut to a tiny, tiny number of people who are much, much better off than anybody else. Our priority will always remain providing tax cuts and providing support to many millions of people on low and middle incomes and that isn't going to change regardless of what people say in letters to newspapers"

-- Nick Clegg, 11 Nov 2011
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/nick-clegg/8883966/Nick-Clegg-We-will-not-cut-the-50p-tax-rate.html

George Osborne is to defy calls for the removal of the 50p upper rate on income tax and will instead instigate a clampdown on wealthy homeowners in an attempt to demonstrate that the rich cannot avoid Britain’s austerity programme.

...

“The 50p rate isn’t going anywhere any time soon,” said one coalition aide. The Tories and Liberal Democrats both realise that giving a tax break to the richest layer of society – at a time of widespread “austerity” – would be politically toxic.

David Cameron, prime minister, last year insisted that it was “fair” and that the UK’s “broadest backs [should] bear the biggest burden”.

-- Financial Times, 1 March 2012
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ffc0bfe4-63bd-11e1-8762-00144feabdc0.html

http://www.threadbombing.com/data/media/51/orly_owl.jpg

George Osborne poised to slash top tax rate from 50p to 40p

Government sources say that from the outset the chancellor has seen a cut in the 50p rate as the headline-grabbing measure of the budget, and views it as the simplest single step he can take to show his commitment to an enterprise economy.

-- The Guardian, 15 March 2012
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/mar/15/george-osborne-top-tax-rate

shorter: how many times can clegg bend over for this coalition

I don't usually rep for Polly Toynbee but I enjoyed her takedown of the LibDems' flagship tax policy and why it isn't what they say it is.

From Mr. Osborne's Amazing Book of Practical Ideas:

The department is not trying to introduce just regional pay, but local or zonal pay that might take account of, for instance, living costs in suburban Manchester as opposed to inner-city Manchester.

The government is to introduce special trading hours across England and Wales for the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, allowing supermarkets and department stores to open for as long as they like at weekends.

Large stores will no longer be forced to restrict their opening times to a maximum of six hours between 10am and 6pm.

The Treasury, which will unveil the measure in this week's budget, estimates that the move will boost retailers' profits by as much as £90m.

The government has indicated that it will look carefully at the results of the change in a clear sign that George Osborne, the chancellor, is considering making it permanent.

The move is likely to be popular with overseas visitors and people who are able to shop only at weekends. But it will dismay church groups who have long argued that Sundays should be kept "special" and will concern Usdaw, the shop workers' trade union, which says its members already face a struggle to balance work and family life.

it's Osborne, turning up at no. 11 and saying "we've found a new way to exploit staff" is probly good enough

Don't be so cynical. It's probably Osborne turning up to No. 11 saying "absolutely none of our economic policies have worked, and in many cases they've probably made things worse, but if we can get a slight uptick for a few months in retail revenues maybe nobody will notice!"

oh i think their economic policies are "working" just fine

It's probably just pretending we're a normal country for the Olympics. 4pm Sunday closing is fucking ridic

some countries don't have 24 hour shopping and it isn't particularly a god-bothering thing?

and i can still buy groceries any time of day or night now, in this backwater

There's 24-hour shopping, and there's "shops over a certain size only open 10-4 on Sundays". You can buy groceries, when I was in Scotland I could do my weekly shop at 8pm on Sunday.

What's the justification for it if not god-bothering? Wtf should Sunday be any different in terms of trading to Saturday?

(it was also a plus when I worked in a shop. Long lazy Sunday shifts were free money, compared to the crap, busy Saturday night shifts when you'd rather be out)

Given that I've walked round Italian cities that close up completely on a Monday and Spanish towns that close for 2-3 hours EVERY DAY, I don't really think that not being able to go into a Sainsbury's at 5pm on a Sunday is that much of a hardship really. Let people have a day that doesn't revolve around working and/or buying shit. It's not like even most Christians are in church late on a Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile here is the single most moronic Olympic proposal ever.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17351164

What are they going to do, shoot a fucking plane down over London or something?

it's not that much of a hardship. it's just really stupid. like i genuinely don't understand why a non-religious person who had done a bit of travelling would care either way, unless they were concern trolling because the present govt happens to be conservative. tighter/more liberal laws elsewhere have absolutely no effect on society other than, well, the fact that you can/can't go to the shops.

That's not a justification, it's a bullshit defence of the status quo. The question is why should Sunday be any different to Saturday for trading, and "I couldn't get a sandwich at lunchtime on holiday" isn't it.

Obviously, I agree that Sunday should only be for warm beer and cricket in England, but what if I run out of beer heaters or wickets at 4.30pm?

xp

What happens in other countries is relevant because the phrases "pretending we're a normal country" was used, I was just pointing out that lots of countries have times when shock horror you can't go to the shops.

The rules are kind of antiquated and stupid given yr average Tesco Metro can open whenever it wants but generally speaking I actually like things being quiet and lazy on Sundays. Late pub openings during the Olympics is way more important for yr average tourist anyway, I suspect.

Spain at least has late-hours trading each day to compensate.

Things are quiet and lazy on Sundays even in places where the shops are open, btw. Labour did a consultation on this, fwiw, and yea, all the small businesses (which can open) were against Tesco getting to open, and the people were all "I like lazy Sunday" and "I think low-paid part-time workers should have a luxury they can't afford enforced upon them" (slightly paraphrased). So frustrating.

i live in bavaria. sunday trading laws here are the biggest load of bullshit.

e.g. did you know ikea and the equivalent of b&q can open 4 sundays per year, but they are not allowed to sell anything. you can just go and look.