tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post6930657340175023524..comments2024-03-04T17:54:32.559+00:00Comments on Iain Dale's Diary: Telegraph Column: Jack Straw is Like CaligulaIain Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-71427453086046634542008-06-28T11:32:00.000+01:002008-06-28T11:32:00.000+01:00Just for the record, Caligula never made his horse...Just for the record, Caligula never made his horse a Senator, he merely threatened to, to point out his power to the Senate!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-76834768928099725582008-06-22T13:05:00.000+01:002008-06-22T13:05:00.000+01:00my union actually accepted nil pay incraese in the...my union actually accepted nil pay incraese in the NHS, because of inflation etc<BR/><BR/>praise from The Sun and The Times but little from the Conservatives<BR/><BR/>Our union is working with local Tory Mps and councillors to defend the hospitals<BR/><BR/>thanks for the recognitionAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-54237840434464792462008-06-22T13:01:00.000+01:002008-06-22T13:01:00.000+01:00the trade union "modrnisation" fund was actually u...the trade union "modrnisation" fund was actually used for courses for staff (union and non union)<BR/><BR/>such as in my own union "patient care and dignity" cross public and private and vol sector to improve care standards<BR/><BR/>happy to give more detailsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-51697504366102026042008-06-20T22:37:00.000+01:002008-06-20T22:37:00.000+01:00Excellent post, Iain, and brilliant post newmania!...Excellent post, Iain, and brilliant post newmania! <BR/><BR/>In fact your list of erosions of our democracy is so good, n, that I'm going to nick it, or most of it, if that's ok with you. <BR/><BR/>Just got home - from working late, yet again, on yet another mountain of unnecessary and negligently drafted bureaucracy, solely designed to make grossly overpaid Micky Mouse jobs for nulab's payroll vote. <BR/><BR/>I need an ace list like this and am too knackered to put one together. So if I may, I'll just cut and paste it over to the site of that smug twit Tom Harris<BR/><BR/>How dare Mr smug Harris sit there - on £92k pa plus £156k tax free expenses pa - and have the nerve to lecture us, the ones on the sharp end of the recession he and nulab have so menufactured! <BR/><BR/>"Why are Britons so bl**dy miserable?"<BR/><BR/>asks Mr Champagne Socialist Harris MP. Now he wonders why his site is paralysed with angry responses. <BR/><BR/>Come on you Englanders, this is the Alamo, English style. Join the siege of Tom Harris! <BR/><BR/>http://tomcharris.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/heaven-knows-were-miserable-now/<BR/><BR/><BR/>Hang down your head, Tom Harris,<BR/>Hang down your head and cry,<BR/>Hang down your head, Tom Harris<BR/>Nulabour's gonna die!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-62326854438734607412008-06-20T18:01:00.000+01:002008-06-20T18:01:00.000+01:00if the cap is £1,000 then a union with 100,000 pol...if the cap is £1,000 then a union with 100,000 political levy-payers would be limited to £100m?<BR/><BR/>or a business enterprise like PWC with 148,000 or BA with 48,000 or 380,000 Tesco members worldwide,<BR/>could all fill Conservative or Lib Dem coffers?<BR/><BR/>Ahh, this shoddy "keep the Union Power, cut the Tories funds" , proposal is unraveling.<BR/><BR/>If you need money do what Obama did and go to the people to get it. What's that .. they don't want to know? Too bad.<BR/><BR/>The Union Modernisation was a disgraceful act of shovelling money into the Labour furnace.<BR/>the fact it's denied means nothing.<BR/>Brown denies everything from reading the polls, to bribing MP's To the true rate of inflation or the tax take of the country.<BR/><BR/><BR/>DES: Neigh. Very GoodBill Quango MPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14861116614665461655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-50602357869071438922008-06-20T16:48:00.000+01:002008-06-20T16:48:00.000+01:00Surely Staw is more like Claudius, lurking in the ...Surely Staw is more like Claudius, lurking in the shadows waiting til the rest have murdered each other before making his move.<BR/><BR/>And its working, we just don't notice him any more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-16134670240073955952008-06-20T15:54:00.000+01:002008-06-20T15:54:00.000+01:00I cannot see Brown lasting another 42 days.I agree...I cannot see Brown lasting another 42 days.<BR/><BR/>I agree Mr. Tapestry he has detained us for far too long already.Newmaniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11922161971821380803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-43271312654504465812008-06-20T13:42:00.000+01:002008-06-20T13:42:00.000+01:0010.39 said: Blogsites are places where pyjama-clad...10.39 said: Blogsites are places where pyjama-clad loonies pass their days exchanging inane rubbish, not strange eugenic-style mind cleansers!<BR/><BR/>Mr/Mrs/Ms Anon, May I be the first to welcome you to our illustruious and exclusive club then?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-56143301023570937482008-06-20T12:45:00.000+01:002008-06-20T12:45:00.000+01:00Tapestry, I agree with you. I cannot see this rott...Tapestry, I agree with you. I cannot see this rotten shower lasting the two years to the next general election. I do believe it will be sooner that they and we think.<BR/><BR/>What did Macmillan say 'Events, dear boy events' that is what will finish them orft!strapworldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18228784526399929300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-35401589449362312512008-06-20T12:10:00.000+01:002008-06-20T12:10:00.000+01:00I very much agree Iain. The only point with which ...I very much agree Iain. The only point with which I take issue is this:<BR/><BR/> 'A cap of £50,000 on union donations would render the Labour Party virtually bankrupt.'<BR/><BR/> Iain The Labour Party is virtually bankrupt right now.<BR/><BR/> They are certainly intellectually bankrupt. Have you noticed how the Conservative policy of Crime Mapping has become Government Policy?<BR/> I don't mind Ministers nicking our ideas, its just that they are so bad at implementing them. We need to make the Conservative thinkers the doers now! Its time for the Coca-Cola campaign, lets have 'The Real Thing'.<BR/> The Labour government want to destroy our Nation State, they have contempt for the people, our Royal Family, the rule of law and scant regard for the welfare of our armed forces.<BR/> Privy Council Members from all parties and factions should make earnest representations to the crown requesting the holding of a general election.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-56034019876769731642008-06-20T11:58:00.000+01:002008-06-20T11:58:00.000+01:00Tony Hannon at 9.41 - of course candidates should ...Tony Hannon at 9.41 - of course candidates should knock on doors - but be realistic.<BR/><BR/>I have spent 25 years canvassing - in Labour, Lib Dem and Tory constituencies, at a local and national level, routine and By-elections, for others and as a Council candidate for myself.<BR/><BR/>Average constituency = 40 - 45,000 doors. No matter what day or time, half the residents will be out or won't answer - so you may have to recall 3 or 4 times to get to them. Average time per door = 2 mins i.e. max 30 per hour.(Not much time for involved discussion)<BR/><BR/>So if a candidate is selected 2 years in advance of an election, works fulltime (most do - you don't get paid as a candidate) even if they were to go out 5 weekday evenings for 3 hours, and then all Saturday and Sunday, they would not reach even half their voters. <BR/><BR/>Canvassers are few and far between these days. In the recent London election we had out across the entire Tory constituency fewer canvassers then I used to have out with me at a ward level in a Labour constituency 20 years ago.<BR/><BR/>Public Meetings - in my experience the only people who attend are the earnest Christians who organise them, and party activists. Max a hundred people out of an electorate of 70,000.<BR/><BR/>Even if people do not read leaflets, they notice which parties deliver them and which don't. Generally speaking they approve of parties which deliver leaflets and dissaprove those that don't.(By-elections excepted when voters are over delivered).<BR/><BR/>Mind you it is getting difficult to find deliverers these days!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-81873432275056027122008-06-20T11:16:00.000+01:002008-06-20T11:16:00.000+01:00@anonymous @10:39"Blogsites are places where pyjam...@anonymous @10:39<BR/><BR/>"Blogsites are places where pyjama-clad loonies pass their days exchanging inane rubbish"<BR/><BR/>Stripy or patterned?Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13775753218753337766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-85033169596882123862008-06-20T11:13:00.000+01:002008-06-20T11:13:00.000+01:00Caligula brought a horse in as his senator. Ofcour...Caligula brought a horse in as his senator. Ofcourse he was not the yes man everyone expected, whenever Caligula asked if to pass through legislation the horse said neigh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-67798083602315205722008-06-20T11:11:00.000+01:002008-06-20T11:11:00.000+01:00David Boothroyd said... "If it's so odious to appl...David Boothroyd said... <BR/>"If it's so odious to apply spending limits throughout a Parliament and not just at election times, how come this was the law from the 19th century until 2000?"<BR/><BR/>It is not odious <I>per se</I>, because as is well known until 2001 all candidates had to do was to call themselves prospective parliamentary candidates and be formally adopted just before the election, but it is clear that Straw is just trying to wrongfoot all Conservative candidates in marginals who have already been adopted as candidates and have been investing heavily in their pre-election campaigns as they would have been allowed to do under the 2001 legislation.<BR/><BR/>To try to obtain an electoral advantage by amending the legislation to wrongfoot your opponent is poor politics and voters in marginals will recoginise Labour's deceitfulness.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13775753218753337766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-89887963480796818032008-06-20T10:56:00.000+01:002008-06-20T10:56:00.000+01:00Any spending limits are a limit on free speech. I...Any spending limits are a limit on free speech. If people feel strongly enough about an issue or a political position they should be entitled to commit as much resources into expressing their point of view as they like.<BR/><BR/>If you think that puts political parties in the hands of the rish, just reflect on the fact that a £1 donation from every person in the country is more than enough to fund all the election campaigns at a general election. It wouldn't surprise me if more was spent in transport costs getting to the polling station than is spent on campaigning.<BR/><BR/>If political parties want to put a halt to what they term the arms, then they should simply prohibit registered political parties from taking on borrowings, on the principle that they can only spend what has been contributed to them rather than spending money against the prospect of future contributions, which has a whiff of corruption.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13775753218753337766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-3770235750779770272008-06-20T10:39:00.000+01:002008-06-20T10:39:00.000+01:00"This is exactly what we are doing here and in the..."This is exactly what we are doing here and in the blogasphere. Making healthy minds to save the country form its sickness."<BR/><BR/><BR/>You're a loony, nuMania. A complety bonkers looney.<BR/><BR/>Blogsites are places where pyjama-clad loonies pass their days exchanging inane rubbish, not strange eugenic-style mind cleansers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-33046131207130149912008-06-20T10:38:00.000+01:002008-06-20T10:38:00.000+01:00And Gordon wishes/knows? he was Emperor of Rome - ...And Gordon wishes/knows? he was Emperor of Rome - just like the 'Lily the Pink' single of years ago!<BR/><BR/>On RTE, Irish state radio, the Irish electorate are being lambasted for not coming up with the 'correct' vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum. Shades of Mugabe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-65743868016315918492008-06-20T10:36:00.000+01:002008-06-20T10:36:00.000+01:00Labour has already shown just how corrupt a party ...Labour has already shown just how corrupt a party it is - what about the £10 million of taxpayer's given to the Unions for "modrnisation" before the last election. It enabled the Unions to recycle this money in to the Labour election fund. I wonder why they did not spend their own money on modernisation ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-31527016067153383702008-06-20T10:33:00.000+01:002008-06-20T10:33:00.000+01:00Yup, it was a /prospective/ consul and called Inci...Yup, it was a /prospective/ consul and called <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incitatus" REL="nofollow">Incitatus</A>.<BR/><BR/>The <A HREF="http://www.bartleby.com/73/1172.html" REL="nofollow">original</A> is this, from Rep John Randolph referring to an appointment by Quincy Adams: <I>"Never were abilities so much below mediocrity so well rewarded; no, not when Caligula’s horse was made Consul".</I>Croydonianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14670533609622717223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-79516265390942500202008-06-20T10:31:00.000+01:002008-06-20T10:31:00.000+01:00The trade unions could get round any cap on donati...The trade unions could get round any cap on donations by treating each member's political levy as an individual donation channeled through the union.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-53046990490831841862008-06-20T10:22:00.000+01:002008-06-20T10:22:00.000+01:00PS With the advent of a free market in ideas on th...PS With the advent of a free market in ideas on the web and soft funding beyond state control it could well be that the free human spirit ( The Peter Rabbit ) has once again eluded the authoritarian Mr. McGregors<BR/><BR/>Just when they have their flower pot upon us we wriggle free .<BR/><BR/>Ha HANewmaniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11922161971821380803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-72006340734358905082008-06-20T10:18:00.000+01:002008-06-20T10:18:00.000+01:00I've no problem stopping the unions, but does Davi...I've no problem stopping the unions, but does David Cameron really feel that someone who can afford to give 50K to a political party is just an ordinary citizen?<BR/><BR/>Stop all donations. 100% state funding. I know people go ballistic over taxes being spent on posters but it would soon be the norm. In US elections in the <BR/>19th century candidates used to sometime have to provide the ballot paper, and that was regarded as perfectly normal!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-72866592508804602662008-06-20T10:02:00.000+01:002008-06-20T10:02:00.000+01:00I think it was Consul...I think it was Consul...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-65301335920717972462008-06-20T09:44:00.000+01:002008-06-20T09:44:00.000+01:00Boothroyd ...your just so stories are as irreleva...Boothroyd ...your just so stories are as irrelevant as ever.We begin to see that by the phrase "Conservative victory is psephologically impossible " you meant. ..because the Labour Party will cheat. Go back to your Northern Public school and win the Boothroyd prize for Politics awarded in the Boothroyd rooms by Lord sodding Boothroyd for the umpteenth time.<BR/><BR/>On the unions there is nothing to stop any member giving his money to the Labour Party .If there is no unreasonable advantage in tying Labour contributions to Union protection jobs and so on..( as there quite obviously is ) , then why are you not happy with that ?<BR/><BR/>As if we did not knowNewmaniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11922161971821380803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-40336515179095931842008-06-20T09:41:00.000+01:002008-06-20T09:41:00.000+01:00"Straw's plans would make it impossible for new ca..."Straw's plans would make it impossible for new candidates to compete. This will inhibit political dialogue."<BR/><BR/>How can you possibly consider those awful, laughable leaflets from political parties "political dialogue"?<BR/><BR/>Candidates SHOULD be knocking on doors, holding meetings and standing in shopping centres - that's political dialogue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com