Politics

[rockfreak]

Another letter in the Grauniad today (11 March) from Freaky under the heading "We need a new language to fight Tory dogma". Harking back to the policies of the old one-nation Conservative party and pointing out that RA Butler, a grandee, wanted to, wait for it...Abolish the public schools in the 1944 Act, only being talked out of it by Churchill. Can you imagine a Labour minister proposing this today? The most that we ever heard was shadow education minister Tristram Hunt rather unconvincingly saying that Labour might think about removing the "independent" schools' tax break if they didn't share their facilities more widely. By the way, did anyone else see a letter in the Observer a few weeks ago from an Old Blue in Cambridge suggesting that the extensive playing fields of Christ's Hospital might be used to house some of the refugees in Calais?

[dsmg]

They should give you your own column!

[Kit Bartlett]

The letter referred to was from R.A.Finch BA 46-53 and appeared in The Daily Telegraph, not The Guardian. One wonders how much the CH site would be worth if sold on the open market today.
The land was I believe purchased from the Aylesbury Dairy Company in the late eighteen nineties for around £5,000 !

[rockfreak]

It was also in the Observer. I'm surprised the "Torygraph" published it. In my days in magazine journalism, whenever I was introduced to reporters from the Mail, Express or Telegraph, especially if they were younger, they would usually look a bit shamefaced and hasten to assure you that not everyone on the paper shared the reactionary opinions of the proprietor and editor. Unless they were off the Sun of course when they wouldn't have known how to look shamefaced. It's nice to know I've got some support from Blues even older than me. Solidarity, comrade Finch!

[Avon]

He is a buffoon if he thinks that anyone with an iota of intelligence will take him seriously.

He doesn't care about anyone with an iota of intelligence. He thinks that they are outnumbered by the followers of sound-bites and clowning. He may be right. Plenty of other politicians share that view.

Sadly he's probably right. I don't trust Boris because the clowning is patently an act - he can't clown as PM. So he will have to metamorphose into something more statesmanlike if he gets the top slot.

He's made the assessment that we will either not care or notice and I think that's cynical and mendacious.

Speaking of cynical and mendacious, in the race to replace Boris, I don't envy Londoners their choice of Khan or Goldsmith.

[HowardH]

Devil/deep blue sea?

[rockfreak]

Which is the greatest U-turn?
IDS presenting himself as bleeding heart liberal? Steve Hilton becoming a Compassionate Conservative? St Paul being blinded on the road to Damascus?

[rockfreak]

Great turnout for today's "Sack Cameron" demo in London. Freaky couldn't make it because some geriatric racer rammed me up the arse last week and wrote off my car. But Mark Thomas flew the flag for the CH contingent (i.e. no-one else, because you're all too busy doing the Daily Mail crossword and whingeing about funding) and made a stirring speech about greed and hypocrisy. Anyway, I followed it on You Tube and it looked well-attended. Before UK Uncut and Occupy, etc, came on the scene five years ago, tax havens were scarcely on the political radar.

[J.R.]

Great turnout for today's "Sack Cameron" demo in London. Freaky couldn't make it because some geriatric racer rammed me up the arse last week and wrote off my car. But Mark Thomas flew the flag for the CH contingent (i.e. no-one else, because you're all too busy doing the Daily Mail crossword and whingeing about funding) and made a stirring speech about greed and hypocrisy. Anyway, I followed it on You Tube and it looked well-attended. Before UK Uncut and Occupy, etc, came on the scene five years ago, tax havens were scarcely on the political radar.

I think Cameron should be called 'Teflon'.

How much longer CAN he survive ?

[rockfreak]

This week's demo in London was even better attended, although you wouldn't have guessed it from the pathetic TV news coverage. Best chant of the day - "David Cameron shame on you, and your dodgy father too."

[J.R.]

I think Messrs Cameron & Osbourne are doing more for the Brexit campaign than they are to 'convince' us to 'stay-in'. And quite right too, IMHO.

My free leaflet from Uncle Dave went straight in the re-cycling bin. I was tempted to return it to him freepost, but in the end, couldn't be @rsed to walk to the post-box.

I made my mind up immediately the referendum was called, and NOTHING will ever change it !

[sejintenej]

I think Messrs Cameron & Osbourne are doing more for the Brexit campaign than they are to 'convince' us to 'stay-in'. And quite right too, IMHO.

I made my mind up immediately the referendum was called, and NOTHING will ever change it !

When it started there was some Labour bloke on the radio explaing exactly why we would not get a horde of refugees if we stayed in. His argument was that they couldn't enter unless they had EU passports. Germany only hands them out after eight years, France after seven years so we have nothing to worry about. What he didn't say is that some of the eastern EU countries are handing out their passports when refugees cross their border.

Ergo even if politicians tell the truth it is what they don't tell you that you must be scared of. Now, about Tony Blair's "expenses" when he was PM.......

[michael scuffil]

I've taken the precaution of getting myself an Irish passport (to which I've been entitled since birth) because obviously my British one will be worth very little in the event of Brexit (bit like the pound, really). I'd rather have a passport that entitles me to live in 30 countries than one that entitles me to live in 2.

In the EU: UK is subject to the regulations of the EU and plays a major part in shaping them; out of the EU: UK is subject to the regulations of the EU (if it wants to trade) and plays no part in shaping them. A future trade deal will probably be conditional on Britain joining Schengen -- mind you, that would be a good thing, so maybe I'll be a Brexiteer after all.

[sejintenej]

I've taken the precaution of getting myself an Irish passport (to which I've been entitled since birth) because obviously my British one will be worth very little in the event of Brexit (bit like the pound, really). I'd rather have a passport that entitles me to live in 30 countries than one that entitles me to live in 2.

I also should do that for that same reason and also for tax reasons.
Under one of the original agreements made upon separation, if Republic citizens work in the UK for less than 6 months a year then all the tax they pay is refunded! I understand that my uncle and family owned a café or restaurant on the front at Blackpool ..'nuff said?
A neighbour (in France) lives in Co Down but was a professor at a uni just over the border. Given that the Uni was owned by the Republic, under EU laws he was not liable for tax on his salary etc. in either the UK or the Republic. (Past tense because he has just retired).

[rockfreak]

Another letter from Freaky in today's Guardian (6 May). "This housing crisis needs solutions that stand up". In it I argue that Old Blues (particularly Banker Brown) are occupying far too much space. Actually I didn't mention Old Blues but I make a point about the need to rejig the council tax bands which haven't been properly touched since the poll tax riots of 1990. This goes for the crumbling mansions in The Bishops Avenue, Hampstead, the three-bedroom semis with one occupier, and indeed the commodious environs of the English public schools.