Agenda 2019

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/02/nick-clegg-george-osborne-cut-welfare-poorest-boost-tory-popularity Austerity is a myth says Alex Deane. Alex Deane. Meet Alex Dean, a British writer, political commentator and consultant. He served as Chief of Staff to David Cameron and Tim Collins during their respective periods as Shadow Secretary of State for Education . Alex Deane is another of these newspaper "previewers", so favoured by Sky Television News, because presumably they agree with the Sky News version of truth and news. Thus so it was that last night (2nd September) Alex Deane found himself on the sofa of the Sky studio previewing the (following) morning papers. The front page of the Guardian provided the highlight of the programme with its story under the headline "Clegg: Osborne casually cut welfare for poorest to boost Tory popularity". As Cameron's former Chief of Staff, and clearly not an admirer of Nick Clegg,...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/eu-referendum-brexit-would-spark-30bn-in-spending-cuts-and-tax-rises-warn-george-osborne-and-a7082271.html 57 Tory MPs pledge to vote down George Osborne's post-Brexit budget If the "Remain" campaign were determined to destroy their own chances of winning next weeks referendum, they could not have chosen a more appropriate weapon to add to their already substantial armoury of fear and intimidation employed thus far, than to threaten a "punishment budget" should the nation vote "Leave", on the 23rd June. George Osborne is firmly in the "Remain" camp and yet has chosen to threaten retaliation against those people and groups that he  seeks the support of at the polls. Last week, threats to pensioners and others, now threats to the NHS and tax payers. All that Osborne has achieved with this latest tantrum of bile and spite, is to  incur the wrath of at least 60 Conservative MP's who wil...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/03/30/britain-sacrifices-steel-industry-to-curry-favour-with-china/ Britain sacrifices steel industry to curry favour with China "The British are sacrificing an entire European industry to say thank you to China for signing up to the nuclear power project at Hinkley Point, said one official in Brussels bitterly. If we can bail out the banks with £ billions to save a few bankers and hedge fund managers, we can invest in our steel industry to save thousand of jobs and families. T housands of British jobs put at risk at Tata Steel, because this government refuses to intervene in any positive way. Thousands more jobs put at risk in associated and other business reliant on the demand generated by steel workers families. This government should stop the dumping of cheap steel (predominately by their new friends in China) onto our markets, subsidise production of steel to reduc e the costs of our steel, take Tata in...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/mar/21/stephen-crabb-government-u-turns-disability-cuts-leaves-budget-disarray Disability benefits U-turn leaves Cameron with £4.4bn to find The new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Stephen Crabb  The government is in a complete shambles and this budget is descending into meaningless farce. The "one nation government" argument has been exposed as a cynical lie, and Osborne has been  revealed as the incompetent charlatan that many have always considered him to be. Moreover, he has demonstrated a complete contempt for Parliament with his failure to appear in the Commons to face questioning and in sending a substitute in his place. George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer   By this act of cowardice alone, he has demonstrated that he is unfit to hold one of the three great offices of State (or any other office for that matter) and should be sacked from his post.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/hs2-cost-of-london-to-birmingham-leg-of-proposed-new-railway-a-third-higher-than-previously-a6734746.html Cost of London-to-Birmingham leg of proposed new railway a third higher than previously estimated Campaigners against the proposed HS2 railway line This insane waste of tax payers (that's us) money has not even started, and already we are being informed that the cost has increased to an estimated £80 billion. Osborne has promised "austerity" for the next 20 years in order to control government spending and "bear down"on the deficit, and yet the amount to be spent on this lunatic project increases almost monthly. Apparently, vast sums of money can de found for "prestige projects" to satisfy some politician's (and some business men's) ego's, but the country cannot afford to allocate, what in comparison, are modest sums for the provision of care for the elderly, or working tax cre...

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/the-corbyn-quote-at-pmqs-that-silenced-his-critics-once-and-for-all-a6712001.html The Corbyn quote at PMQs that silenced his critics once and for all Not very happy Cameron, he is the Prime Minister one with the snake like tongue, who sits next to Osborne the Chancellor one, who sneers when he is not rolling around in hysterical laughter at the effects of working tax credit cuts on ordinary people,  had the usual (but now well worn) response about “transforming the UK economy”,  and "all would be made clear in the Autumn Statement". I ask him for the 6th time  It is, after all Questions to the Prime Minister. It does not imply that he has to answer any. Except that is, the "planted" questions from those baying snarling morons sitting behind him. Cameron seemed uncomfortable, but Osborne looked very angry and upset. With any luck their subsidised meals in the Parliamentary restaurants will have cau...

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/28/house-of-lords-democracy-accountability-reform#_=_  The Lords is a ludicrous affront to democracy and accountability.  says John Harris The House of Lords vote to kill off cuts to working tax credits  Another glaring "affront to democracy and accountability" is the notoriously unfair "First Past the Post" electoral system. You do not hear many MP's bleating about that. Increasingly arrogant and autocratic Only when the Lords (and I am no fan of that unelected and unaccountable chamber either), defeat a pernicious Conservative government plan, a conservative plan mind you, not a Commons policy (only 26% of the electorate and all that), which will make 3 million families up to £3,000 per year worse off does the government bench, Cameron, Osborne and Johnson in particular, erupt into fits of mock outrage, threatening all sorts of dire "consequences" to the House of Lords and...

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/oct/26/tax-credit-cuts-halted-as-lords-vote-to-protect-low-income-earners Tax credits vote: PM accuses Lords of breaking constitutional convention      Exposed as liars   Osborne states that "the government was elected to deliver welfare cuts" Elected, yes that is true, but to extrapolate from that simple fact that the government somehow has a mandate to "deliver cuts" stretches the limits of credibility. The House of Lords exposed Cameron's pre election statements as predominately lies particularly in respect of welfare cuts and specifically in the cuts to Working tax credits. When only 24 people in every 100 eligible voters actually support and vote for the Conservative party, the resultant government do not have a "mandate from the people" to implement a programme of cuts. particularly when the pre election promises made by Cameron, Osborne and the rest are revealed to be deliberate fabrications t...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/17/tory-mps-at-risk-tax-credits Tory MPs in 71 marginal seats at risk from cuts to tax credits Always see the funny side Working Tax Credits are a subsidy paid by the tax payer for business to pay low wages. The government bleat that the cost of this "benefit" has increased substantially over recent years and has to be cut. The only way to reduce the level of these tax credits, is to force employers to pay wages and salaries which are adequate to meet today's living costs. The "minimum wage" or "living wage" call it what you will, is a government confidence trick designed to indicate that the g overnment is "doing something" to assist lower paid workers where in fact it does nothing of the sort. In April of next year, hundreds of thousands of families in this country will be up to £3000 per year worse off due exclusively to a combination of government fiscal policies...

https://www.minds.com/blog/view/456455953705865216/iceland-recovering-fastest-in-europe-after-jailing-bankers-instead-of-bailing-them-out Iceland Recovering Fastest in Europe After Jailing Bankers Instead of Bailing them Out George Osborne's bargain basement sale has left taxpayers with a £1.1billion loss The British tax payer (you and I that is) poured £45billion of our money into RSB as a "State Bailout". Consequently, it seems to me that we own the bank. Gideon is now selling off our shares (and he didn't even ask our permission) in RSB at knock down prices to friends in the city and at a loss to us, the taxpayers. There is a small bribe for the taxpayer however, that the government will allow us to buy a tiny percentage of the available shares, and with a minute discount o n the price! As with other privatisations, Gas, Water, Electricity, Railways etc, the government Alchemists manage to persuade sections of the public to purchase that whi...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/25/john-mcdonnell-labour-will-match-osborne-and-live-within-our-means  Shadow chancellor says party will vote in favour of Tories’ fiscal charter( but will take radically different approach on cutting deficit) Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell Interesting to note how the Guardian and many people in this "comments" section of this article, leap onto the words "Labour will match Osborne" and yet ignore the remainder. It is like being transported back a few weeks when this "newspaper" together with most of the media and television, would grasp a few words, take them completely out of context then invent their own story in an attempt to discredit and smear Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters. Today, the Guardian continues this smear and discredit campaign, but this time the target of their distortion is John McDonnell. The paper screams the headline, but conspicuously omits the "but will take radica...

  http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/sep/24/hs2-bidding-process-opened-up-chinese-companies HS2 bidding process to be opened up to Chinese companies I am not asupporter of HS2. Having said that, I appreciate that the contract will be very attractive to elements within the conservative party not least of all to Cameron and Osborne who no doubt see substantial opportunities for they and their business and city "friends " to make vast sums of money for themselves and by various backdoor avenues, for the coffers of the Conservative party. As usual for prjoects of this size and nature, the British tax payers, that is you and me, will fork out huge sums, at the latest guesstimate somewhere in excess of £43billion, on the promise of hundreds of jobs for the UK economy and being "good for Britain and British travellers". This may sound all very well, but is of course complete nonsense. The reality is that sometime soon, some currently obscure Chinee...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/31/jeremy-corbyn-poses-national-security-threat-george-osborne Jeremy Corbyn poses national security threat, says George Osborne       Gideon Oliver Osborne (changed his name to George when he was 13) Gideon is an idiot.There are hundreds of thousands (if not more) people in this country who are opposed to the renewal of Trident. Are we all a "national security threat"?  If we are, we should all be arrested under the "Anti terrorism" acts and held in prison (usually without charge or trial) to protect the public. The flaw in this of course, is that Gideon and his wretched colleagues in this government (and the one preceding this lot), are careering along the "austerity" road and have inflicted so many cuts that they do not have enough prison spaces to hold us all. As someone once said "Osborne you are a plonker"

  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/think-tank-whose-work-george-osborne-based-new-living-wage-on-accuse-him-of-pushing-low-income-families-further-into-poverty-10379015.html   George Osborne pushing low income families further into poverty Chancellor George Osborne   What a difference a day makes. Yesterday morning, the television news and the media generally, were full of reports with headlines such as "Hooray! Its pay rises all round", "From welfare to work", "The well, fair state" and other equally meaningless nonsense, trying to convince the public what a great guy George Osborne was in producing a winning budget. Now, less than 24 hours later,Osborne's sleight of hand, has been exposed as nothing but an exercise in the use of smoke and mirrors to conceal the fact that this budget has made millions of people worse off, particularly those at the lower end of the income structure. No wonder that Iain Duncan-Smith ...

  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/george-osbornes-family-struck-a-6m-property-deal-with-firm-based-in-tax-haven--reports-10373416.html   George Osborne's family 'struck a £6m property deal' with firm based in tax haven        Chancellor George Osborne     Today, (Wednesday 8th July), George Gideon Oliver Osborne, will delivery the first fully Conservative budget in almost 20 years. The already leaked details of the budget, (which until recently were the best kept secrets in the country)have already indicated cuts to child tax credits, housing benefits and tax credits on low incomes, together with £13billion cuts to welfare spending.These cuts, forming part of the governments drive for even more austerity in the United Kingdom, will effect the majority of people in the country reducing living standards even further and, it has been suggested increase child poverty, (even using the new government fiddled d...

  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/budget-2015-george-osborne-to-axe-subsidies-for-higher-income-earners-in-social-housing-10366555.html George Osborne to axe subsidies for higher income earners in social housing      Rent benefits to be scrapped for those on more than £30,000 It is not really clear from this article whether the £40k in London and the £30k elsewhere, is a "household income" (dad,mum,working children living at home) or an individual, (presumably the person in who's name the tenancy stands), income. In either case, will the "savings" from this measure be sufficient to cover the costs of the bureaucracy needed to manage the new measures and to monitor the ongoing "means testing" necessary to implement it? Again a knee jerk and ill tho ught out proposal from this wretched government, designed to be popular with some parts of society rather than to resolve an extremely complex problem of which hou...

  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/chancellor-george-osborne-sets-date-for-summer-budget-to-keep-election-pledges-10254658.html Chancellor George Osbornewill unveil the first Budget of Conservative government on 8 July.   With a Conservative overall majority, no one should be surprised at the severity of the cuts and the continuing drive for welfare "savings". With the resentment of ordinary people towards more even more austerity the Conservative government and those who support them, should not be surprised at the protests and anti government demonstrations that will follow and grow over coming months.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/06/nick-clegg-george-osborne-is-a-very-dangerous-man Nick Clegg: George Osborne is a very dangerous man Clegg sees the light?   It is not a case of Clegg seeing the light, because he always knew that this was the reality. He just wanted the ministerial car, the additional salary, the personal kudos, the seat at the cabinet table and all the other perks of a "coalition honey pot". The real reason for this sudden revelation is that Clegg wants everyone to forget what a lying, duplicitous hypocrite he actually is, who prostituted himself and the party he leads in exchange for the "privileges" of office. Two words sum up Clegg and should be his epitaph. Tuition fees.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/apr/02/britons-held-in-turkey-for-trying-to-enter-syria-could-be-deported-immediately Rochdale councillor's son among Britons held near Turkish-Syrian border      Waheed Ahmed held on border The hypocrites of the media, this time the Guardian, make great headlines about a "Labour Councillors son" being one of nine British people arrested trying to cross the border into Syria and going on to repeat the now usual rhetoric about Muslim radicalisation, Islamic extremism and the now obligatory fear mongering nonsense so popular with politicians and those with a hidden agenda. It is as if we are being subjected to preparation for some sort of crusade against the whole Muslim world and any story which promotes those ends will be used as justification for measures which meet the objective. How strange it is then, that a story which I published only last week reporting on the activities of Dr. Adam Osborne, young...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/millions-of-britons-struggling-to-feed-themselves-and-facing-malnourishment-9946627.html     Millions of Britons struggling to feed themselves and facing malnourishment   Foodbanks relying on donations of food.   On December 20th, I blogged on the bigoted generalisations, unfortunately, all too common in today's greedy, selfish and prejudiced society, in respect of attitudes towards the poor, foodbanks, child poverty and the general demonisation of large sections of our society, by those all too ready to accept and believe the propaganda trotted out from the pages of the Daily Mail, Telegraph and other such rags, and the completely biased reporting of Wilcox and others on the BBC with Brazier and Boulton on the British version of Fox News. The “success” of divisive social policies maintained by successive governments, have now become the “flagship” of this current ConDem coalition and have been...