Politics

[Gullscorer]

1. Nicola Sturgeon earns £135,605 per year as a Scottish politician, better paid than the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Foreign Secretary, and the Welsh and Northern Irish First Ministers. Her Scottish First Minister's salary alone is £4784 higher than the £75440 sum David Cameron receives for being Prime Minister.

Can anyone justify this?

2. The Barnett formula is a mechanism used by the Treasury to automatically adjust the amounts of public expenditure allocated to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, to reflect changes in spending levels allocated to public services in England, England and Wales or Great Britain, as appropriate.

This formula was first used a quarter of a century ago and intended as a short-term measure, but it has no basis in law and is undemocratic. It overwhelmingly favours Scotland over the other UK regions, and England and its regions are disadvantaged most of all. There may once have been good reasons for this formula, but it is still in use, and is insidiously serving to break up the UK and bring about inequity and arbitrary discrimination in public services throughout the entire nation.

[Gullscorer]

I heard yesterday, the Labour Party is planning to abolish condoms..

Just checked; it's non-doms..

[Gullscorer]

I love sausage rolls.. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... paign=1490

[Gullscorer]

Before you vote Labour, Lib Dem, Green, SNP or Plaid Cymru, read this article: http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/01 ... ens-lives/
And read their manifestos: They've all swallowed the feminist lies about the mythical gender pay gap, and about domestic violence, which is perpetrated equally by women.

[Gullscorer]

I've been watching the Leader Interviews. Tonight it was Nigel Farage's turn.

As usual the BBC researchers have been quote mining, and they cherry picked one by Farage about Muslim ghettos and no-go zones, in an attempt to demonise him and discredit UKIP. Farage said he had been talking about France, the interviewer insisted he had been talking about the UK.

Well, I found the actual interview on Fox News. Surprise, surprise! Farage was correct; the BBC got it wrong:
http://videoo.mobi/video/W5K3ELHk6CU/Ni ... urope.html

Unsurprisingly, the interviewer avoided discussion of the EU and UKIP policies and focussed on immigration and related controversial topics, which Farage handled with aplomb. As a leader and potential Prime Minister, Farage most definitely has what it takes; only Cameron could get anywhere near to challenging him. Miliband, Clegg, and Bennett come nowhere near to possessing the requisite prime ministerial qualities.

[happytorq]

Before you vote Labour, Lib Dem, Green, SNP or Plaid Cymru, read this article: [link removed because Breitbart sucks]
And read their manifestos: They've all swallowed the feminist lies about the mythical gender pay gap, and about domestic violence, which is perpetrated equally by women.

So you're basically saying "Vote Tory or UKIP".

This is totally not a surprise.

[Orange Gull]

I have been watching these interviews too, I agree with parts of your post but fundamentally disagree with others.

The interview was too focused on things that Farage or other Ukip members have said in the last year or so, the question on the last manifesto was also irrelevant in my opinion, as it is this one that counts. Indeed it was a good twenty minutes before we actually got to a question on policy. This was not unique to Farage however, the Clegg interview bordered on the absurd when Davies insinuated that because the Lib Dem leader could speak other languages, it meant that he could not understand the problems of others.

But back to Farage, I disagree that he handled the questions on policy with ease. Quite the reverse, the seemed unsure of costings and appeared flustered. This is something I've noticed in Farage's media appearances since the beginning of the year. He looks exhausted, and doesn't look as though he is enjoying himself as much as in months gone by. I think he is very much looking forward to election day as the pressure seems to be getting to him. He has also overplayed the topic of immigration recently, he is right that it is an important issue but he goes on about it too much. By linking it to almost every topic in debates and interviews he only reinforces the image of Ukip as a single issue party.

[Gullscorer]

But back to Farage, I disagree that he handled the questions on policy with ease. Quite the reverse, the seemed unsure of costings and appeared flustered. This is something I've noticed in Farage's media appearances since the beginning of the year. He looks exhausted, and doesn't look as though he is enjoying himself as much as in months gone by. I think he is very much looking forward to election day as the pressure seems to be getting to him. He has also overplayed the topic of immigration recently, he is right that it is an important issue but he goes on about it too much. By linking it to almost every topic in debates and interviews he only reinforces the image of Ukip as a single issue party.

I think you're right OG. Farage admitted he had been overdoing things, but it appears he was suffering from a flare-up of the spinal injury incurred in the plane crash five years ago, and he still looks below par.

But I think the reason immigration has featured so much is due to the media, rather than UKIP, focussing on the topic. I think UKIP should now be focussing on the disastrous project that is the EU. As for its other policies and their costings, UKIP seems to be a step ahead of the other parties: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32424739

So you're basically saying "Vote Tory or UKIP".
This is totally not a surprise.

UKIP for me.. :~D

New Survation Poll tonight:
South Thanet. Fieldwork April 22
Farage/UKIP 39%
Mackinlay/CON 30%
Scobie/LAB 26%
Driver/GRE 2%
Timpson/LD 2%
Others 1%

[Gullscorer]

Tonight (30 April) there's the Leaders' Debate on BBC1, with Cameron, Miliband, and Clegg.

And nobody else.

I wondered if this is a cynical attempt by the BBC to marginalise other leaders and deny them a voice.

Then I found, hidden out of the way on the BBC Parliament and regional channels, leaders' questions for UKIP, SNP, and Plaid Cymru: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05tzv9l/episodes/guide

But not the Green Party. No mention of the Green Party anywhere here.

All the focus in this election is on the long-established political class. The Establishment clones. The ruling political elite against which Nigel Farage declared his party is opposed. And against which I presume the other smaller parties are also opposed.

To be fair, I suppose it was always a difficult job for the BBC, but it seems they have long ago given up on any pretence of balance, evenhandedness, impartiality and objectivity, whether it be in Europe, national or world politics, Israel and Palestine, or feminism and political correctness.

And so UKIP (with twice as much popular support as the LIb Dems) and the other smaller parties are most definitely marginalised.

How undemocratic is that..

[Southampton Gull]

Errr, you seem surprised.................

[Scott Brehaut]

This was agreed by ALL parties a couple of months ago:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 24924.html

[Gullscorer]

Very unlikely that any 'agreement' was complete and unanimous, nor that the smaller parties had very much leverage, and so had little choice but to accept what was probably imposed upon them.

[happytorq]

Very unlikely that any 'agreement' was complete and unanimous, nor that the smaller parties had very much leverage, and so had little choice but to accept what was probably imposed upon them.

So you've seen where it says that this was all agreed to by the respective parties, and yet you choose to ignore it and fit it into you distorted world view?

Tell me, when are *you* running for political office?

[Scott Brehaut]

Very unlikely that any 'agreement' was complete and unanimous, nor that the smaller parties had very much leverage, and so had little choice but to accept what was probably imposed upon them.

Why is everything a conspiracy with you?

[Gullscorer]

The Independent report is evidence of nothing, and where did I mention conspiracy? Some reports said the broadcasters succumbed to pressure from Downing Street, others said that Cameron was under pressure from other parties, Miliband himself said the final decision lies with the broadcasters. It doesn't need a conspiracy for the BBC or any other broadcaster to be biased and lacking impartiality, just a lack of vigilance and a growing culture of fear.