tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post8069888606794271027..comments2024-03-04T17:54:32.559+00:00Comments on Iain Dale's Diary: Ken Clarke: Concede It's a Gaffe And Move OnIain Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-18125369177269987202009-03-26T19:23:00.000+00:002009-03-26T19:23:00.000+00:00@ David Lindsay"Inheritance Tax is already paid al...@ David Lindsay<BR/><BR/>"Inheritance Tax is already paid almost exclusively by people who vote Tory anyway, most of them resident in safe Tory seats."<BR/><BR/>Any evidence for this complete bollox? Any IR Stats to back this?Unsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08307116169498533047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-62298059471772586742009-03-24T13:50:00.000+00:002009-03-24T13:50:00.000+00:00reposted it hannibal! appears the original was tak...reposted it hannibal! appears the original was taken down asap by some eagle eyed watcher<BR/><BR/>have to say its an utter pile of excrement but it has the split cast right. <BR/><BR/>cameron will rue the day he brought back the dinosaurs... has he never seen jurassic park!<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9RF-amxnOYAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16995807329245407281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-64598143698634640962009-03-24T12:57:00.000+00:002009-03-24T12:57:00.000+00:00It is a shame that the Cameron/Clarke Downfall vid...It is a shame that the Cameron/Clarke Downfall video has been taken off of you tube...<BR/><BR/>bet it set the tone prefectly for the stand off at the highest levels..Hannibal Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17099567009410281816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-72007200904115599432009-03-24T09:44:00.000+00:002009-03-24T09:44:00.000+00:00Despairing Liberal, you are wrong on every count. ...Despairing Liberal, you are wrong on every count. No doubt "HQ" as you call it would have rather I said nothing at all. No one forced me to write anything. Seeing as they haven't conceded it was a gaffe I also suspect they probably won't like what I have written.<BR/><BR/>Did you read my 45p tax piece last week? If you had, you couldn't possibly have written what you have.<BR/><BR/>Pathetic comment by you. As usual.Iain Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-63223017600278465262009-03-24T09:20:00.000+00:002009-03-24T09:20:00.000+00:00DespairingLiberal said... “Do you remember Ken Cla...DespairingLiberal said... <I>“Do you remember Ken Clarke being brought in as a heavily-trailed and much publicized (by Tory HQ) "big beast" whose merest prognostications would attract national attention? Well, they have. Now you want to shoot the messenger.”</I><BR/><BR/>Exactly so. Ken Clarke is a bigger personality than the rest of the shadow cabinet combined. <B>Of course</B> what he says will be noticed and examined. After all, he was supposed to be a match for the stellar Mandy.<BR/><BR/><I>“Did anyone see the news last night that the Daily Mail's days are numbered?”</I><BR/><BR/>AFAIK this was all about the Mail Group’s <B>local</B> papers only. Local papers all over the country are in serious trouble with the flight of much advertising to specialist sites on the net and the disappearance of most property ads completely for obvious reasons.<BR/><BR/>But note also <A HREF="http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-how-we-can-save-newspapers-1649488.html" REL="nofollow">How we can save newspapers?</A> - <I>Indie</I> March 20. <BR/><BR/>And <A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/21/local-newspapers-under-threat" REL="nofollow">Local newspapers under threat</A> from the <I>Guardian</I> March 21.<BR/><BR/>The <I>Observer</I> Business & Media section [22-3-09] <A HREF="Presses%20to%20grind%20to%20a%20halt%20as%20print%20passes%20its%20sell-by%20date" REL="nofollow">Presses to grind to a halt as print passes its sell-by date</A>.<BR/><BR/>I am on record as predicting <B>ALL</B> serious national papers and very many local newspapers will go under inside 20 years.<BR/><BR/>Clearly we aren’t talking about the <I>Daily</I> “Hoorah for the Blackshirts” <I>Mail</I> here.Simon Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17189501697856123305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-17258550116738406702009-03-24T08:03:00.000+00:002009-03-24T08:03:00.000+00:00Me - do you remember Ken Clarke being brought in a...Me - do you remember Ken Clarke being brought in as a heavily-trailed and much publicized (by Tory HQ) "big beast" whose merest prognostications would attract national attention? Well, they have. Now you want to shoot the messenger.<BR/><BR/>Changing the subject, did anyone see the news last night that the Daily Mail's days are numbered? When that rag finally closes will be the happiest day of many people's lives, particularly all those who see it's mouthing off endlessly repeated by brainless blog contributors.DespairingLiberalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02903904463236135611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-45856462316852520852009-03-24T08:00:00.000+00:002009-03-24T08:00:00.000+00:00Nice bit of spin Iain - "just a minor gaffe" - hoo...Nice bit of spin Iain - "just a minor gaffe" - hoo hoo hoo.<BR/><BR/>Obviously this was raised deliberately as part of a campaign by Cameron to soften expectations. We can expect more in the future - shadow cabinet member (a) will say such and such a tax-cutting policy or spending-increase is not going to work and then the actual shadow cabinet member responsible will deny it. So that when Cameron comes in he can say there was always doubt and these things take time and anyway Ken was right all along.<BR/><BR/>What this piece by Iain does illustrate though beyond any doubt now is that Iain Dale is not the independent-minded "hardly even a proper Tory" character he so frequently claims to be. I am personally quite convinced that this morning's spin by Iain was worked out with HQ and is perfectly in line with their approach.<BR/><BR/>Also note that Iain did not even comment on this until under pressure to do so, as with many of the other "independent" Right-wing bloggers and bloggettes.DespairingLiberalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02903904463236135611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-3137375776298132582009-03-23T21:07:00.000+00:002009-03-23T21:07:00.000+00:00Things will never run smoothly in politics, at lea...Things will never run smoothly in politics, at least not when the BBC is around, but think back a few years these gaffe stories came thick and fast. So we must give credit to the Conservatives.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06810788783886456639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-78909836918643872172009-03-23T20:46:00.000+00:002009-03-23T20:46:00.000+00:00I'm no fan of Clarke but the BBC did their usual i...I'm no fan of Clarke but the BBC did their usual in making the story out to be a lot bigger than it was. They actually led with it on the headlines on Breakfast at 8.30 this morning - anything to make the Tories look bad. The BBC news team is just one large band of Labour supporters. How do they get away with it?!Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08184880363878458929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-84521023890156234042009-03-23T20:34:00.000+00:002009-03-23T20:34:00.000+00:00David Cameron [16-3-09]: “The BBC is one of our mo...David Cameron [16-3-09]: “The BBC is one of our most important institutions. It plays a vital role in bringing us together.”<BR/><BR/>David Cameron [16-3-09]: “The BBC is an important national institution. I want to see it prosper and succeed and be a fantastic cultural asset. I am a supporter of the BBC. I am a supporter of the licence fee. I think the licence fee can go on.”Simon Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17189501697856123305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-90262736258270556402009-03-23T18:06:00.000+00:002009-03-23T18:06:00.000+00:00It's at times like this that the media hacks me of...It's at times like this that the media hacks me off. Whenever anyone says something that is remotely different to the party line, they pick up on it and say there must be a huge rift in the party. It's extremely annoying.<BR/><BR/>So Ken Clarke said it was now an "aspiration". So what? In case the people in Medialand haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a massive recession at the moment. Millions have been made unemployed, the Government is utterly incompetent and hardly anyone seems to have a clue what to do about it. But that's far too difficult to report on, so we'll just take the easy option instead. I can only conclude the press enjoys lazy Sundays.The Grim Reaperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05543130733645367498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-33204623822847356502009-03-23T17:16:00.000+00:002009-03-23T17:16:00.000+00:00The BBC is a parasitical fifth column. It worries ...The BBC is a parasitical fifth column. It worries me that DC doesn't seem to recognise this; or is he just biding his time?Twighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16698620636313191152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-75455437409152043952009-03-23T17:08:00.000+00:002009-03-23T17:08:00.000+00:00Mark Senior - you clearly have a problem understan...Mark Senior - you clearly have a problem understanding the difference between a 'tribal' comment - <BR/><BR/>"the Conservative Party's priority will always be to give hundreds of thousands of pounds to a few thousand rich people including Cameron and Osborne themselves", which you posted and what I posted In an attempt at an analysis. I am not Tory, so how can I be tribal? I am simply totally and utterly fed up with the uselessness of all sides of politics, at the moment. And what I can also be is totally pissed off with comments that add nothing to the debate but just shout nah nah type remarks. Fact is Brown has totally buggered things up. Fact is that the Tories look like getting in. It is therefore going to be necessary for them to do the stuff that creates wealth rather than destroys it - the opposite to what Brown has done. If those policies include tax cuts, which in my view they do, then so be it. And if one of the 'best' taxes to cut is IHT then fine, do so. I really do not give a stuff if a few rich people benefit disproportionately (which they won't) if we all get better off as a result (which we will).<BR/><BR/>So, argue with me, but do not post childish nah nah type comments. It is just pathetic.Lolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04586735342675041312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-21493478327969400442009-03-23T15:42:00.000+00:002009-03-23T15:42:00.000+00:00I think Lester is being very optimistic if he thin...I think Lester is being very optimistic if he thinks that because the budget given to them is £71 million they are likely to hace spent less. Normal experience suggests that government goes over budget a lot more often than they come in under.<BR/><BR/>That means over 25 years it would be, infaltion adjusted, about £2 billion or virtually the whole of the smaller of the 2 aircraft carriers we are building. I'll agree that that is not that good an investment either since they will be obselete before they are finished. Or it would give us a Moonbase. Or 83 km of automated overhead monorail at international prices http://www.swedetrack.com/eflwa14.htm#2 <BR/>though probably nearer 8.3 at UK prices. Or 3 nuclear power stations, again at international prices.<BR/><BR/>Incidentally £70 million is not 0.00007% of our £1 trillion debt it would be 0.00007 or 0.007% but this is mixing the apples of total debt with the oranges of annual debt. It is 0.04% of the £180 billion annual deficit Labour is running up this year. That Labour supporters don't believe in making even such small sacrifices explains exactly why we have that deficit.<BR/><BR/>I wonder if Trevor Philips would have his job if it had been allocated without racial discrimination. (Well OK I don't)neil craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09157898238945726349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-5044624081808432022009-03-23T15:33:00.000+00:002009-03-23T15:33:00.000+00:00Inheritance Tax is already paid almost exclusively...Inheritance Tax is already paid almost exclusively by people who vote Tory anyway, most of them resident in safe Tory seats.<BR/><BR/>So why did the Tories ever go anywhere near it?David Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06839882674758833524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-14775818428558977902009-03-23T15:25:00.000+00:002009-03-23T15:25:00.000+00:00It's a gift. The Conservatives have been shown to ...It's a gift. The Conservatives have been shown to be striving for a balance between fairer taxation than Labour and the need to pay off Labour's enormous debt bubble.<BR/> The Do Nothing Government is striving for a few good headlines while it piles on more debt and fails to take effective action to lessen the effects of the recession.Conandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18028671462205997161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-65604570716794909922009-03-23T14:44:00.000+00:002009-03-23T14:44:00.000+00:00It's a gift. Tory policy is now to raise tax on e...It's a gift. Tory policy is now to raise tax on earned income and simultaneously cut it for unearned income. And just as a bonus the presumptive Chancellor is a trustafarian. The "piling on" hasn't even started. Clarke is the only one capable of grasping this.Jimmyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01542633492362670045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-38747466433520791012009-03-23T14:40:00.000+00:002009-03-23T14:40:00.000+00:00Its a bit of a gaff. But it may serve a useful pur...Its a bit of a gaff. But it may serve a useful purpose. Its suddenly made it very difficult for Darling to try and issue a tax cut in his budget funded by borrowing or supplied by the printing presses.<BR/><BR/>It may have made the economy that we inherit just a little less of a train wreck than it would otherwise be.<BR/><BR/>Clarke needs to get with the program, but equally at least he seems to understand the scale of the disaster Labour have dropped us into.<BR/><BR/>PS As noted elsewhere - the BBC is yet again shown in its true colours.Man in a Shedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00990902055642035293noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-7553724515525469752009-03-23T14:31:00.000+00:002009-03-23T14:31:00.000+00:00'I can’t imagine it. He’s too much of a pro.' Such...'I can’t imagine it. He’s too much of a pro.'<BR/><BR/> Such a pro he got sacked from the government twice and then shunted to that eternal home for failed European ministers: the European Commission.Conandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18028671462205997161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-81361214928612088032009-03-23T14:20:00.000+00:002009-03-23T14:20:00.000+00:00Lola , I can't help laughing at your post , You ac...Lola , I can't help laughing at your post , You accuse me of a tribal comment which does not help the debate and follow it with a long screed of tribal comments . You say you are not a Tory - well what are you then rearrange the letters of the word aril .Mark Seniorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06482009878893889107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-6297382196164336472009-03-23T14:15:00.000+00:002009-03-23T14:15:00.000+00:00Cut inheritance tax.Raise income tax.Right.So for ...Cut inheritance tax.<BR/>Raise income tax.<BR/><BR/>Right.<BR/>So for someone like me who is a reasonably high earner from a modest background - how is that an incentive to vote Tory??ChrisChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11721124234514506973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-49594103226697555982009-03-23T14:02:00.000+00:002009-03-23T14:02:00.000+00:00It may be a non story to all the Tory boys, but as...It may be a non story to all the Tory boys, but ask yourselves this: if the Tories are not the party of lower taxes what are they?<BR/><BR/>What is the party policy on the 45% (or higher) tax for high earners?<BR/><BR/>What is the Tory policy on Europe. You cannot have a stop on further integration, Europe does not work like that. Cameron knows this as do most of his MP's. So what is the policy? Go with the flow? Get us out of Europe? Say nothing and hope the electorate won't mention Europe?<BR/><BR/>What is the policy on the Public Sector when the Private sector is being crucified by tax and job losses? Is it right that private sector taxes will pay for gold plated public sector pensions? Private sector wages are dropping whilst Public sector wages continue to increase.<BR/><BR/>If the Conservative do not start to address these and other public concerns soon and communicate with the electorate what will be the point of voting for them?<BR/><BR/>I voted for UKIP at the last Euro election. It might be BNP at the next. On the basis of what we hear from the Conservatives now it will not be Conservative at the next General Election and I live in a Labour marginal.<BR/><BR/>I will vote Conservative when Cameron gives me reason to support them.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12146467728776928724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-66420227990738816832009-03-23T13:59:00.000+00:002009-03-23T13:59:00.000+00:00Underscore said... “Can we imagine... ...Mandelson...Underscore said... <I>“Can we imagine... ...Mandelson did something similar?”</I><BR/><BR/>I can’t imagine it. He’s too much of a pro.Simon Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17189501697856123305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-30588355692830496902009-03-23T13:34:00.000+00:002009-03-23T13:34:00.000+00:00Excuse me, just point out where I have said that i...Excuse me, just point out where I have said that it was unfair or Labour to pile in on this. Of course they did. it's what politicians do.Iain Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-80002252787890311892009-03-23T13:33:00.000+00:002009-03-23T13:33:00.000+00:00Can we imagine for a moment that the tables were t...Can we imagine for a moment that the tables were turned and Mandelson did something similar? <BR/><BR/>You wouldn't be calling for everyone to calm down and get over it then, you hypocrite.Andy Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01340947209421740470noreply@blogger.com