Output of production industries decreased by 1.8% in Q4 2012 compared with Q3 2012.Significantly worse than expected…
George Osborne has been getting it in the neck after the Daily Politics unearthed this old footage of the Chancellor allegedly advocating tax avoidance back when he was a mere MP and Brillo’s “parliamentary doctor”. Not quite, George was actually advising hard-up Bill on personal care, a benefits swindle rather than tax dodging. Once again Labour deliberately confusing benefits and tax. And as for the eyebrows…
Another godless card from our political elite.
Not exactly exciting but at least a fairly festive effort from the Chancellor.
And you can’t go wrong with throwing Freya into the mix…
As a million more middle-earners are dragged screaming into paying the higher rate tax, the government once again hits the core vote. Osborne once again squeezing the rich…
The BBC’s Nick Robinson said he was taken by complete surprise when he learnt that his producer had been poached by the Chancellor George Osborne to beef up his dismal telly image. She was, Guido noted at the time, seen drinking with the Treasury team into the early hours at Tory party conference. Many Tories were rather surprised given that Thea Rogers worked for Labour in 2005.
Things might be a bit tense if Thea has to deal with Transport Minister Mike Penning, he once put in an official complaint about Rogers and former Labour cabinet minister James Purnell. The row even made it into Tory press releases…
See also: Craig Oliver’s Late Night Lobby Briefing
The Osborne train story has been blown out of the water by Mitchell, coincidentally but it’s worth noting that Virgin Trains has come down on Osborne’s side over the train row. The Treasury spokesman claims:
“The Chancellor got a different train than planned due to diary change following a series of meetings in his constituency. As he had no seat reservation on the new train which was crowded, he decided to upgrade – and obviously intended and was happy to pay. An aide sought out the train manager and paid the ticket upgrade.”
And the Virgin Trains statement echoes:
“Rt Hon George Osborne, Chancellor, was travelling on Virgin Trains’ 15:11 Wilmslow to London Euston service this afternoon (19 October).
The Chancellor, who was travelling in First Class accommodation, held a Standard Class ticket. As soon as the train left Wilmslow an aide went to find the Train Manager to explain the situation and arrange to pay for an upgrade. It was agreed that the Chancellor would remain in First Class and an amount of £189.50 was paid by the aide to cover the upgrade for Mr Osborne and his PA. The situation was dealt with amicably between the Train Manager and George Osborne’s aide. At no time was there a disagreement or a refusal to pay for the upgrade. Nor was there any discussion between the Train Manager and Mr Osborne.”
Almost word for word. Can anyone think why the government might be back in favour with Virgin?
When the train with Osborne arrived the rest of us plebs were kept away by police and iron gates.
Guido managed to snap Osborne and his entourage being smuggled out of a side entrance.
Tories were quick to spot last week that there was no mention of the “deficit” word in Ed Miliband’s conference speech. Ed Balls’ political advisor is claiming, similarly, that there is no mention of “growth” in Osborne’s speech.
4,000 word speech & not a single mention of 'growth'. Tells you everything you need to know about this govt #cpc12—
Alex Belardinelli (@abelardinelli) October 08, 2012
Actually there was one fleeting reference, Osborne said he would go on “making the fundamental, deep-rooted changes needed so our country can grow and compete and prosper.” Just the one mind you…
Remember when Vince Cable warned that Quantitative Easing (QE) was “Mugabenomics”? Vince flip-flopped on that even before he joined the coalition. Guido remembers when George Osborne said “Printing money is the last resort of desperate governments when all other policies have failed.” In government Osborne has overseen the printing of more money than any other Chancellor in British history. A quarter of the national debt – all this government’s overspending – has been bought by the Bank of England via QE. Guido warned against this madness in 2008…
So it is not a shock that inflation in Zimbabwe (3.63%) is now lower than inflation in the UK (3.66%, August 2011-July 2012). Gold is good.
Why did George Osborne get booed by 80,000 people? Because that’s the maximum capacity of the Olympic stadium…
If Dave Were President He’d Have Resigned By Now | Alex Wickham
Loongate: What Happened in the Blue Boar Bar | Simon Walters
Feldman’s Tennis Days With Dave | Telegraph
How Geoffrey Howe Has Lost the Debate | Robin Shepherd
Dave Has Lost Control on Europe | Geoffrey Howe
Lib Dems Should Support EU Referendum | LibDemVoice
Feldman’s Denial | Fraser Nelson
Obama’s Presidency is Imploding | Nile Gardiner
Miliband Could Be a Great PM | Thomas Pascoe
What Are You Really Paying in Income Tax? | TPA
Galloway’s Mad Month | The Commentator
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Tom Harris bemoans the public’s attitude to politicians…
“Mr Oborne echoes the lazy, anti-politics whine we hear so often these days, all based on the absurd notion that politicians were once loved and only fell out of public favour during the expenses scandal. He should take a walk to the Strangers’ Bar. But not to sup with the patrons he seems to despise so much, dearie me, no; he should instead look at the paintings on the corridor outside the bar, which depict the devastating fire which consumed most of the Palace in 1834. And he should reflect on the fact that on that dramatic night, as the Commons went up in flames, a crowd gathered on the South Bank to clap and cheer.”
The thing that Dave needs to work out is which group is more likely to vote Conservative. Mad swivel-eyed loons or mad homosexuals wishing to get married.
