Monday, September 24, 2007

Quote of the Day: Ed Balls

"When I was 16 or 17, I would have a small glass of wine at lunch on a Sunday, or a shandy or babycham at Christmas." Sunday Telegraph 23/9/07 page 12

Whatever yoof credibility Ed Balls may have ever had, it has now disappeared. Forever. Who in their right mind would ever admit to drinking babycham?! Sorry, I forgot, this is the kind of joined up government where they now reckon there's a huge drinking problem among young people, which they have tried to solve by introducing 24 hour drinking.

It's a bit like Gordon Brown vowing to open up at weekends and evenings the very surgeries he shut when he failed to fund the new GP contracts properly. It's all very well saying you will address these issues but it's a bit rich not to admit that your own government caused the problems in the first place.

35 comments:

Wrinkled Weasel said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ted Foan said...

I noticed that Wrinkled Weasel asked you to re-write your blog as he felt that he was too tired to understand it - and then he removed his own post.

Ive re-read your blog a couple of times and still find it difficult to get your thread. OK, Balls is a twat - accepted fact. (Babycham was the staple drink of the girls I tried to chat up in the '60s and '70s so ask my wife why she liked it!)

But I don't get the link between 24 hour drinking and GP surgery opening hours. Are you sure you don't have the odd tipple?

Unknown said...

you guys do get your knickers in a twist between social and economic liberalism.

The government changed the law to allow councils do decide the licensing restrictions on the basis of local circumstances. Whats so bad about that? Has there been anarchy on the streets?

Could someone please explain the ethical distinction between buying a drink before 11pm and after 11pm?

If you get elected Iain, will you vote to repeal the so-called 24-hour dinking law?

Anonymous said...

It would be worth buying the rights and relaunching Babycham for its cult potential. Never has a drink been so condemned for an unfathomable reason.

Anonymous said...

I simply cannot understand why people like Cameron, and particularly Marr in his interview yesterday, aren't making much more of precisely this point, that Brown CANNOT represent change, having stood shoulder to shoulder with Blair for 10 years causing the problems that he now makes such a show of "fixing".

Ted said...

Made me laugh when I read it - the 1950's were alive and well in the early 80's Ball's household.

Ned said...

If the electorate are stupid enough to believe New Labour's messages & cannot see/understand what a discredited lot they are ...then we deserve to lose our Country to these dangerous neo communists!

Anonymous said...

What a geek!!

Anonymous said...

Which is precisely the point that Conservatives should have raised everytime that Brown mentioned the NHS. Why haven't they torn him to pieces for months over this?

Anonymous said...

They may be 24 hour binge drinkers to you, Iain, but to Balls & Co this is the bedrock Labour vote!

Gordon's Gofer said...

oh Iain Iain Iain,

do really think Labour started this drinking culture amougst our young people... come off it. Its been going on for decades its just you were too busy milking cows to notice.

Anonymous said...

"We didn't solve all the problems of the world in 10 years in government and this is a party that is planning how it is going to use the next 10 years to go further towards solving them.The second decade of New Labour will deliver a richer, fairer, more confident country than today in the same way Britain is a richer, fairer, confident country than it was 10 years ago."

Someone should take young Miliband to one side and remind him that pride sometimes goes before a fall and that he should NEVER take the electorate for granted. Sometimes they like to push your nose into the proverbial **** just to prove they CAN !

Anonymous said...

Are you saying that "24hrs" drinking (let me know where this happens, I've yet to experience it) is the reason for binge drinking ?

If so, then my fellow English university students were way ahead of their time.

Anonymous said...

Why are you ignoring the real story? The real story being, how Cameron is taking the Tory Party to its fourth election defeat,a defeat which will make '97 look small fry.

Unsworth said...

On balance I think these personal revelations by such as Balls (Cooper, too maybe?) are simply patronising claptrap. I really don't want to know about his early years (and, let's face it, physically he's only just out of them, but intellectually - who can tell?). What would be more interesting is a detailed explanation of how he has spent the last ten years and why people hold him and his ilk in such outraged contempt.

Babycham is best served mixed with about three shots of cooking brandy. After two or three of those one's perceptions do alter.

Maybe that's what Balls uses to help him through his day. It might explain some of his more bizarre utterings...

Anonymous said...

It's not 24-hour drinking!! I wish people would stop using that phrase, at least unless they can point me in the direction of the nearest 24-hour pub.

Kris said...

Iain, that quote is right up there with other gems such as, "we're going to give the hospitals a deep clean".

Shouldn't they be doing that on a regular basis anyway?

These people are a joke. Come on Cameron and sort yourself out! Labour are so bad, this victory is for the taking.

Anonymous said...

Now we know why Balls married Cooper - beer gogoles

Anonymous said...

You've hit the nail on the head Iain. How often has this government admitted that any of its policies are wrong, and they've made mistakes? When Brown says he will clean up hospitals, did he say why? What has his government been doing for 10 years? When he says he wil provide British jobs for British workers, did he explain how? Is he going to curb immigration? Of course not (his hands are tied by the EU anyway)! They will never admit to their mistakes, because the majority of their policies are based on discredited ideology (comprehensive education for example) and the results are plain to see. They would have to admit to the ideolgy being wrong too. But of course, it was all the fault of the Tories...

Anonymous said...

When I was 16 or 17, I would have a small glass of wine at lunch on a Sunday, or a shandy or babycham at Christmas."

Sounds very much like when I was growing up. Don't know what you have against Babycham - it was the cool drinks for girls trying to look 18

Tristan said...

Relaxing licensing hours is one of the few good things Labour have done (they of course balance this out with increased regulations).
The relaxed drinking hours have actually had a positive effect on binge drinking.

Iain again shows why the Tories are not a party for libertarians any more than any other party.

Anonymous said...

What a nob. Most 16 year olds of his age group were already on the 14 pints routine. All this revelation shows is how abnoraml so many of the present day politicians are. You can know understand their surprise at the effect of 24 hour drinking on the proletariat.They might represent working class constituencies but they haven't got a clue what life is really like. I suppose Gordon's favourite teenage tipple was a snowball!

Madasafish said...

who cares?
Not like Billy Hague's 8 or was it 10 (or 250?) pints a night?

NuLab can't drink like the Conservatives you know....

Other than that, it's irrelevant (which is what DC is trying/succeeeding in making teh Opposition look like?:-((

Anonymous said...

Babycham, Balls' endorsement will probably kill the brand off.

NuLab haven't exactly 'discouraged' drinking, lets face it, Broon receives revenues on each sale of beer, lager, spirits, and babycham.

In any case is this a crude attempt to avoid silly questions about the Balls' domestic arrangements?

The Half-Blood Welshman said...

"Who in their right mind would admit to drinking babycham?"

It's Ed Balls. Since when has he had a mind? An ego, possibly...

Anonymous said...

There has been an increase in serious crime around pubs with increased opening hours, and it sends a signal that constant boozing is ok. Councils have a tough time arguing against permitting these increases when the legislation is in favour.

Does Balls really think issuing 'guidelines' is going to stop teenagers binge-drinking?

And the link with GP surgery hours is obvious:

an utter discrepancy between the sanctimonious prattling of this Govt and its actions.

Anonymous said...

Babycham always leads on to harder drinks. It is as dangerous as cannabis and should be a controlled substance.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, it does suck a bit, doesn't it.

Can you also remeber William Hague banging on about how he used to drink 29 Pints a day!!

Was he wearing his cap when he said that?

NB. William Hague was a former Leader of the Tory Party that was once the most powerful Party in the world.

NNBB. It is now dead, as is Williams career and a further cull is coming soon to a constituency near you.

Be there, or be square!

Gary

Anonymous said...

But hasn't Brown said that the 24 hour drinking bill was a mistake, and that the Government may reverse it, as they did with the 'Super-Casino' ?

Anonymous said...

How can they say Britain is a better, more confident country than it was 10 years ago when they have destroyed the whole concept of Britain and as a result we are experiencing the highest level of emigration ever. Over the duration of tony blair's governance (aka dictatorship), more than three million British emigrated.

Anonymous said...

Anyone who is forced to share a bed with Yvette Cooper needs at least sixty double babychams - and that's just for starters.

The thought of Alison Seabeck and Nick Raynsford requires a padded cell, a straight jacket and dim lights. And that is beforw the ECT.

Chris Paul said...

What are you on about Iain? In 1980 Balls has some unfashionable - even then - drink at Christmas. Under the Tories I might add. But I won't. This is responsible for binge drinkery AND for GPs offering similar hours to many other non emergency service providers and businesses.

Meanwhile at the same age the saviour of the Lib Dems was getting so rat-arsed, or whatever, that he professionally torched two greenhouses full of ridiculously rare specimen cacti?

Sneering at Lower middle class made good is surely not the right thing on the eve of the Tory conference and Eton Dave's outreach to the people of our fair land ... just 16 months before the next general election.

Anonymous said...

Not quite, Verity.

The figures are 5.5 Million have emigrated.

10% of the UK population.

The Tories remain out of sync when it comes to movements of peoples. Tories pay and serve lip service to Nationalist gung ho tendancies that wish to portray a beleagured ENGLAND!! overwhelmed by nasty foreigners.

Truth is, we are better at it than them.

Freedom of travel-long live the EU.

Bring on any referendum says Maggie and me.

Gary.

Anonymous said...

Has no-one been told about Yvette's 'little problem' ?

No - really?

Her closest relationship is with a Gordon's - and no, Sarah, not to worry. Gin, not Brown...

Why the hell has this not got out?

Sir-C4' said...

Being your husband's 'beard' is enough to drive anyone to alcoholism.