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noblewilliamw

Listed below are comments made by noblewilliamw between Wednesday, 28th January 2009 and Friday, 13th November 2009.

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Glasgow North East by-election 09:09am on 13 Nov 2009
No surprise really, it is the "I was brought up to vote Labour..." and "I've voted Labour all my days and I'm not going to change..." attitude that is going to do real damage to this country (and it's what Labour counts on because it is all it has got!).
It makes me ashamed to be Glaswegian when I hear such blinkered nonsense.
To quote a gentleman I heard on the radio sometime ago,
"The people round here would vote for a dog if Labour put one up as a candidate..."
QED 1:46pm on 09 Jul 2009 I completely agree with #8.!

I wish I could remember the text book so that readers can come to their own conclusions but if I remember correctly the long term "cost" of money viz the interest rate is around 2.5 to 3%. This figure, at a minimum, is where we need to be soon.
Three extraordinary personal decisions 2:47pm on 05 Jun 2009 #74, This is a bit off topic for this blog however...

I agree with you, England should be no different at all!, that was part of my point. However the opportunity was given and not taken. On considering my post you may be correct. The definition of xenophobia is a fear of strangers. Your comment "It is pretty nonsensical for us English to continue outsourcing our politics to senior professional politicians from these other countries." "Us English...", indeed!, it might actually just be racist instead.

Although there was little chance of it ever having any practical effect "England" and "Scotland" actually ceased to exist post the Act Of Union 1707. They were to be known fetchingly as North Britain and South Britain. Again, perhaps a technicality, but their is only one "country" and that is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

We are in the mess we're in because we've had, and forgive me for repeating myself, pathetic, politically correct career politicians who think that they somehow have a better understanding of what we want than we do ourselves. The problem is everybody in the UK has let them away with it. The result is the self-serving, divisive politics we know have.
"Nationality" has nothing to do with it. Policy has been measured and found wanting. Change will come but it is the responsibility of the voters to ensure this change comes and NOT politicians through reviews and star chambers. Politicians must NEVER be trusted absolutely again!

If you honestly feel you are somehow being ill done to, go and check the expenses claim of your MP. If he's clean, lobby him to get have another referendum for English assemblies. If not then vote for another candidate who will.

Winston Churchill said that democracy is not perfect but it's the best we've got. We are almost in a police state and given the laws that have been past by New Labour we are a heartbeat away from thought crimes. We are almost bankrupt with a wholly rotten and corrupt political class. These are the issues, not whether someone was born in Scotland, England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

People just need to get off of their fat reality TV fed bums and go and vote, what a difference it would make!
Three extraordinary personal decisions 12:41pm on 05 Jun 2009 #27 and #39

This seems like xenophobia which shouldn't really come into this matter.
Yes there is a so called parliament in Scotland and assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland. However the devolved powers that these institutions have were historically dealt with departments such as the Scottish Office in Westminster and English MP's had little interest in the day to day matters of such. Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MP's voting on "English" matters is quite clearly an issue but could be resolved with an English Grand Committee, and John Prescots idea's for regional assemblies was rejected by the same said English voters when they had the chance to take it. So some perspective please.

The issue's now at stake such as the economy, are NOT devolved in any shape or form so Alex Salmond et al, can spout all the rhetoric they like secure in the knowledge that someone else will carry the can, ie Gordon Brown in the British Parliament.

I am not particular fan of Gordon Brown but he probably is a man of intelligence and integrity (I would not like to have the responsibility he has!) and his failing was expecting others in the Cabinet to behave in the same conciliatory way. The unfortunate truth is he tried to and has failed to reconcile two distinct styles, his and Blair's. He was simply not ruthless enough. He would have not been in half the trouble he is had he simply got rid of the Blairites from day one. The likes of Blears should have been sacked (arrested?)immediately when her expense fraud had been revealed and Mandelsson, a genuinely un-elected and un-accountable individual, should not have never been entertained.

The individual decisions of any cabinet minister are of little consequence other than to settle petty grudges. Not only are politicians perceived, probably generally correctly, as liars, thieves, cheats and charlatans but modern gray suited professional politicians are shallow fakes who are so pathetically politically correct they have us all scared of our own shadow

We are in a mess and whilst I want a change too, rushing to satisfy media hype will serve no one. So stick to your guns Mr Brown, at least until you really do have no option.
Indebted Britain 12:35pm on 21 May 2009 How is it that a mere rating agency can affect at countries standing?
Why on earth, after their failings in the very recent past regarding lots of financial institutions and products, are they even being listened to!?
Will he stay or will he go? 12:19pm on 18 May 2009 Whether he stays or goes is of little consequence in the overall scale of this issue. Everyone must be wary of the Speaker being used as a smokescreen or a sacrificial lamb to placate both those MP's who wish to see him go anyway and the public.

I agree with #15 because there are still issues on which evolving positions are occurring.

For example what I've heard little of is that the expenses of MP's are also ostensibly TAX FREE. Why is this?, Even those MP's who come forward to defend the other "honest and hard working MP's...." are basically getting a hand out in the form of not having to pay tax on the expenses they do claim.

The whole lot are rotten, the usual test can be applied, if I or anyone else other than an MP were not to pay tax then WE would be under investigation.

This is THE classic example of one rule for themselves and a different rule for the rest of us.

So please Nick, go and ask what will be done in future about their tax status.
Bonus culture lives 11:51am on 15 May 2009 It seems to me that a solution for the bonus culture is for the institutions, whatever they may be, to take some basic responsibility.
It appears that by using the usual excuse of attracting talent etc we have arrived at the rather perverse position where the employee makes the demands not the institution. Along the lines of "give me this or I'll go elsewhere because I'm so super..."

Would it not be a simple matter to make it a point of any contract that bonuses are simply not available for, say 5 years. If any given individual doesn't like that then tough!

It should be a matter of policy not a subject for negotiation.
That might focus the mind to ensure that, whoever, sticks around and acts more appropriately.

If these high flyers continue to believe that they are somehow more worthy than the public at large then we will go nowhere fast.

However for those at the very top this probably wouldn't work because of some many vested interests.
This is a significant part of the problem, the old boys network, an arrogant contempt for the public at large. I often feel that it is not a case of naivete of the public but a deliberate policy of if not outright lying then at best being economical with the truth.
As with MP's who seem to be making an awful lot of "mistakes" recently, what I believe to be the only thing that will calm public anger is criminal investigations into the activities of bankers (and MP's!).
Otherwise we will see nothing more than crocodile tears and we will be back here in short order.
My shirt's hairier than yours 09:14am on 14 May 2009 There are indeed many valid points and comments here. However it is a great pity that this whole fiasco did not break a few months before a general election.
We all now face months and months of this "hairier shirt syndrome" with bleating contrition. If thy system is so wrong and all these "mistakes" have been made does this just not scream that there are politicians who are nothing more than lying charlatans. If there have been so many "mistakes" can any of us trust the MP's competence, let alone their integrity?
The real solution is actually very straightforward. It is the DUTY of every voter to go out and actually vote! Not only that, they must NOT vote for any of the mainstream parties. This is a supposed democracy and the current system can simply be swept away is we wish.
Does anyone really think that a more broad mix of smaller parties would make any less of a go of it than the current lot!?
The moral of that position was eloquently portrayed in the Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin, when in an attempt to undermine his company Reggie hires a stereotypical down and out Irish drunk who turns out to be an excellent manager. Joe Bloggs would do just as good a job as any of the current so called elected representatives.
To echo many of the sentiments already here, if you or I copied these MPs' practices we'd be sacked or under police/HMRC investigation....
The pathetic, gray suited, career politician fears nothing more than a high turn out because of the very threat is poses to their scams.
These scams have now been unveiled, spectacularly!
I would be prepared to bet that because of this we will hear more and more of the usual scaremongering that by not voting for the main parties this will somehow be a wasted vote. This is nonsense! Or more of what is already creeping out that MP's salaries have to be high enough to attract the "best" candidates, again nonsense. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding the desire to represent an electorate but if it boils down to money we're right back to where we are now.
I only hope the voters remember the power they actually yield at the next general election.
Should the Bank of England buy shares? 2:59pm on 13 Mar 2009 NO!
Refuelling the motor industry 12:45pm on 28 Jan 2009 Having browsed through the postings so far I am surprised that only #263 has raised what I think is one of the most important issues afflicting the car industry and it's problems.

This is the retail price of cars. We have all probably seen the vast fields of vehicles. Therefore why can't a medium family saloon be bought for, say £500-£1000 now?

Ignoring the political fear of losing such a large number of jobs and the impact such job losses would have on their respective communities, there is absolutely no practical reason to churn out cars priced at a level that no one apparently wants to buy them at.

The main issue is not, I think as #263 puts it as recovering costs, although there is undoubtedly will be an element of that, but the manner in which large multi-nationals conduct inter group pricing of parts to maximise profits and ship this profit offshore as many of these transactions are conducted inter country.

For a more detailed exposition of this tactic I recommend the book Offshore by William Brittain Catlin.

These are quite obscene market manipulations and the end product is that these huge companies can hold governments to ransom with the threat of job losses and the following political fall out. Just as is happening.

If you actually read this blog Mr Peston, please ask Mr Mandleson (who is unelected, unaccountable and should NOT be in government anyway) how much of these loan guarantees will actually result in money being siphoned off by the parent companies to "protect jobs" The claim of developing low carbon technologies is nothing more than a smoke screen. The basic idea is to extract as much money from the many and direct it to the very very few!

The ongoing issue of privatise the profit, socialise the risk. It will continue to be so, make no mistake!

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