Things Noticeable this week

[TheBare]

Originally Posted by cicciobuki

Satan? Seriously?

If you honestly believe in a satan, maybe you shouldn't be visiting this forum, you know. For your own good.

If this was the worst of my sins then it would not worry me at all. And if this forum is truly sinful a lot of good people are surely going to hell
A Russian agnostic perhaps?

[beutelwolf]

Originally Posted by tamsmith

Sorry mate but I have to disagree with you again.
The problem with Labour was and is they took Scotland for granted, ( Not the first time ) plus Ed was the weakest Labour leader since Michael Foot.

Scotland made only insofar a difference, as Labour had no chance of getting an absolute majority on its own. Otherwise, the Tories had pretty much no representation in Scotland before the election, and that has not changed one bit; if anything, Scotland went anti-UK-government, because the LibDems lost the seats they held there.

No, the problem was that Labour had net losses to the Tories South of the border, and also failed to feast on the carcass of the LibDems.

Ed was an uncharismatic leader, I grant you that, but call-me-Dave is not exactly a big sympathy magnet either. No, I think, the message of the Tory press that a left-leaning hung parliament would mean Alec Salmond running rings around a Labour government got through, and that made the difference. Michael Foot's incarnation of Labour was feared by the voters, and I don't think the same was true of Ed's not-quite-new-labour in their own right; Alec telling them what to do was though.

Could a better Labour leader have won the election? Probably yes. A better leader could have "won" the polls before the election, making a Labour majority (as opposed to a left-leaning majority) appear likely, and that would have tempered the threat of scary Alec. But would such a leader have avoided the Scottish Labour wipeout? I doubt it.

The biggest mistake Ed made in the final stages of the campaign, was to completely rule out any cooperation with the SNP. At that stage that pledge was unrealistic, and it would appear to voters as an "I won't tell you because I haven't got a clue". It would have been strategically better to stake out some common ground before the election, and present that to the voters. Trouble is: political coalitions are a phenomenon English politicians are generally clueless about (because the voting system requires them so infrequently), which is also one of the reasons they find themselves so often isolated in the EU.

[Tarkus666]

Originally Posted by TheBare

If this was the worst of my sins then it would not worry me at all. And if this forum is truly sinful a lot of good people are surely going to hell
A Russian agnostic perhaps?

I agree. If TheBare is going to hell it will be for posting Go Your Own Way.

[TheBare]

Rocco Galati and the lawsuit against the Bank of Canada

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by tamsmith

Sorry mate but I have to disagree with you again.
The problem with Labour was and is they took Scotland for granted, ( Not the first time ) plus Ed was the weakest Labour leader since Michael Foot. Never connected with his core voters. Those that work for a living.
If the Tory's manage to get the reduction in Parlementary MP's from 650 to 600 then I think they will be well on their way in creating a one party state similar to Scotland.

Labour is no longer a socialist party and from what I saw of the SNP campaign, they positioned themselves as a socialist alternative: but no doubt you saw them campaigning much more than I did. Does Scotland want to be a socialist enclave? The trouble with that is that she can't afford it on her own resources and English (not to mention Welsh and Northern Irish) taxes should not be syphoned off to pay for sweeties in Scotland which are not equally available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. I am absolutely sure that Labour, not to mention the Lib-Dems, are being justly punished at the ballot box for serving their own agenda with no regard for their duty to serve the needs of the electorate. I suspect though that the SNP will do exactly the same. Their agenda is independence for Scotland so they can rule the roost there, so in Westminster they will be as divisive and provocative against the rest of the UK as they can manage to be.

I am already in favour of Scotland going her own way after seeing this election result; I want England to have a vote to separate from Scotland and leave Scotland to it because this is what the people of Scotland have already chosen.

[Wendigo]

Clive James to be honoured at Bafta TV awards
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32654937

I'd often wondered what happened to Clive who was everywhere on TV when I was growing up, sadly he has developed leukaemia. He was clever and naturally funny and although the powers that be gradually side-lined him to late night shows and one off specials on TV I will remember him with far greater affection than I ever will those seemingly omnipresent cardboard cut-outs Ant & Dec

in his heyday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OwQUjQG-es

and a more current interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6crPL5BvkdM

[SanteeFats]

Two cops murdered during a "routine traffic stop" one white and one black. Two suspects in custody both blacks with long records including weapons charges.

[tamsmith]

Originally Posted by scoundrel

I am already in favour of Scotland going her own way after seeing this election result; I want England to have a vote to separate from Scotland and leave Scotland to it because this is what the people of Scotland have already chosen.

Sorry mate but that is not what the "majority of the electorate in Scotland have chosen". Most want a UK that treats everyone equal not to use parts of the UK as testing grounds. I.E Maggie and the Poll Tax. Or a party that takes Scotland for granted, Johann Lamont's resignation speech against the London Labour Party.

That is why Scotland voted for change but the referendum, which is something that only happens in England every 40 years or so, proved that together in the UK is best.

I have been on this Earth a good number of years now and in those years I have always supported Britain's "first passed the post system" of electing MP's. But we no longer have a two party state so it is about time we joined the majority of the World and went for PR. Maybe create a fairer Society?Your guess is as good as mine.

[Greenman]

Originally Posted by Wendigo

I'd often wondered what happened to Clive who was everywhere on TV when I was growing up, sadly he has developed leukaemia. He was clever and naturally funny and although the powers that be gradually side-lined him to late night shows and one off specials on TV I will remember him with far greater affection than I ever will those seemingly omnipresent cardboard cut-outs Ant & Dec

It's about time he was recognized. Oh yes more talent in his little finger than those two Morecambe & Wise wannabes(and NEVER will be) Ant and smegging Dec-why do they keep giving BAFTAs to those clowns?? Give to anyone else except them!

[tamsmith]

Originally Posted by beutelwolf

Could a better Labour leader have won the election? Probably yes. A better leader could have "won" the polls before the election, making a Labour majority (as opposed to a left-leaning majority) appear likely, and that would have tempered the threat of scary Alec. But would such a leader have avoided the Scottish Labour wipeout? I doubt it.

A decent Labour Leader could have avoided a Labour wipeout in Scotland. A country does not change it's political views on a whim. Staunch Labour and Lib Dem voters changed their vote. Not because they wanted to vote SNP but because they were given no alternative.

It will take several generations for Scotland to forget the damage done by Maggie so there is no chance of the Conservatives getting a toehold.

Labour can and will get back but it needs to be a leader that can connect with the people of all classes, not an Oxbridge boy that has never earned a days wage.