Oxford University denies that UKIP candidate Natasha Bolter ever attended Oxford

[claig]

"Natasha Bolter: Oxford University deny sex scandal Ukip candidate ever attended"

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ukip/11285916/Natasha-Bolter-Oxford-University-deny-sex-scandal-Ukip-candidate-ever-attended.html

Roger Bird, who is a PPE, introduced Natasha Bolter as having defected from Labour and being a PPE too.

I saw her interviewed on BBC Newsnight last night, and I did begin to wonder about Oxford and PPEs. I'm not a big fan of PPEs at the best of times, but Gordon Bennett, I thought to myself.

What's going on?

'Because ultimately it all comes down to the economy.'

This is where the media consensus is wrong. It doesn't all come down to the economy or the Tories would be sailing home but they are not because other issues matter too.

UKIP will stop lots of our taxpayer money being wasted by our metropolitan elite with their metropolitan consensus concerns such as their spending of our taxpayer money on their third sector Big Society charidees

"David Cameron’s flagship Big Society Network is being investigated by the Charity Commission over allegations that it misused government funding and made inappropriate payments to its directors – including a Tory donor."

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/exclusive-camerons-big-society-in-tatters-as-charity-watchdog-launches-investigation-into-claims-of-government-funding-misuse-9629848.html

UKIP will end all green taxpayer subsidies and end all taxpayer subsidies to aristocrats to erect wind farms on their estates, as the metropolitan elite were so eager to do.

They will slash the metropolitan elite's quangos and remove well-paid luvvies (often ex-Labour politicians) from their roles.

They will stop funding the Ethiopian Spice Girls and paying for windfarms in Turkey out of our taxpayer money and they wil start spending it on local communities all over the country.

That is how they wil regenerate the economy in the North and elsewhere - by eliminating metropolitan elite waste and reallocating that money to the people.

claig - re referenda.

Our council has around 100,000 inhabitants. It needs to build around 20,000 houses in the next 20 years.

The document detailing potential sites runs to 150 pages. There are around 1000 pages worth of supporting documents covering transport, schools, jobs, SSSIs etc.

You really think the best way to make a decision on this is to ask everyone to read all those documents, and vote on it? That they'd overcome their NIMBY instincts, and carefully consider infrastructure and sustainability?

Claig, I salute your indefatigability.

'Our council has around 100,000 inhabitants. It needs to build around 20,000 houses in the next 20 years. '

If they want to increase the size of the community by 20%, then I think the people should have a say as to whether they agree.

Just as the government is trying to win over communities to fracking by allowing councils to share in some of the profits, then developers etc should factor in some sort of recompense to local communities and local people if they want to change them over a 20 year period.

Only 10% of our country is built on, so they have to make a good argument why it has to be there and not somewhere else and the people should be involved in the decision making.

RedToothBrush Fri 19-Dec-14 12:33:48
And claig you never did really respond to why UKIP ignored its own internal referendum and how that bodes for holding national referendum.

Ahem.

I really hate this 'only x % of our country is built on'. A large % of this country is totally unsuitable for building on. Much if the land that is suitable is not where people actually want to live. hence the ghost towns up North where you could buy a street for £50k - a sum that wouldn't buy you a garage in some other areas.

We need to regenerate the North We need to improve infrastructure in the SW where Cornwall was actually cut off from the fail network last winter when Dawlish collapsed into the sea. We need motorways go extend beyond Exeter. these are all more pressing priorities than getting to another city 20 minutes faster by HS2.

we need to start spreading some of London's success more widely across the UK. this country is more divided than at any time I can remember. we have London thriving while large parts of the UK are dying. many years ago we were told that in this wonderful digital age it wouldn't matter where you actually lived as everything could be done remotely via video conferencing etc etc. Well they lied about that too as the wage shaves are still being herded to their offices for the mandatory 8 hours per day.

And the Govt could have done something about that years ago by relocating its own departments out of Central London

What internal referendum?

'And claig you never did really respond to why UKIP ignored its own internal referendum and how that bodes for holding national referendum.'

I am not saying that UKIP are prefect, just far better than the others.
It is politics, they need funding, they make compromises and sometimes turn a blind eye to some of their principles and there are coups and counter-coups and people who agree and disagree, but the most powerful end up getting their way. That's life.

Perfection does not exist, but UKIP come close, that's all I'm trying to say.

WetAugust .... re your wishlist of investment across the country, the SW and North e.g. HS2 which you oppose ..... may I suggest that you look at what has been done since 2010 and what is now budgeted for over the coming years, before making such statements - as it appears you live in a bubble somewhere with no news/events published.

As for 'locating its own departments out of Central London', again that was done under Labour as a major part of their regional job growth plan i.e. The Statistics Office no one wanted to relocate to in Wales and other data holding department staffed by people with few 'ologies LOSING that data/discs.

What internal referendum?

"Ukip fury as Farage forms EU political party to secure £1.5m of taxpayers' cash from Brussels

Funding follows formation of the Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe
The pan-European political party in EU Parliament is dominated by Ukip
Party claims the money would go to 'integrationist organisations' if not
But the decision has sparked a fresh row within the party"
...
Tim Congdom, who ran against Mr Farage for the party's leadership in 2010 and led the internal referendum campaign opposed to forming a Pepp, said: ‘In 2011 Ukip held a big internal debate on the issue.

‘The party membership voted two to one against Ukip's affiliation to a Pepp.’That was the clear and unambiguous democratic verdict of the party membership after a big debate extending over several months.

‘I am much saddened that the leadership should now have decided to ignore and overrule the clearly expressed view of the party membership.’

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2875851/Ukip-fury-Farage-forms-EU-political-party-secure-1-5m-taxpayers-cash-Brussels.html

There you go again ISitmebut, confusing promises with action. How many times have these 'new' roads been announced. Yawn. The Lyons report has never been fully enacted either and that's king back quite a while now.

So they've moved a few jobs whoopee wooo, while making more than that number redundant (including me)

Cameron really diodes think that if he really wishes something hard enough it will happen. Wrong

Claig

I wouldn't be surprised if Nige threw the towel in very soon

'I wouldn't be surprised if Nige threw the towel in very soon'

If he does then it will all be over. The Establishment will breathe a sigh of relief, the climate game will continue and the EU will carry on telling us what to do and we will all line up with the rest to confront Putin over the Donbass.

I don't know to what extent Farage's heart is in it with him saying that he will stand down by 2020 as leader. It is in 2020 that UKIP wil be toppling the Establishment parties' MPs as if they were skittles, so why on earth stand down then?

WetAugust .... new roads might have been planned by the last government over three parliaments, when having a balanced annual budget Brown said that 'he was only borrowing (the annaul £30 to 40 billion deficit spending) to invest' when I can't see a major project built - but until now, until in ONE parliament we got the deficit down, businesses confident and hiring again, it was not possible to commit.

I get you point, but now we are so LACKING in future economic growth infrastucture, it HAS to be afforded, including HS2/3 up to 10 in Iceland. lol

"Moved a few jobs" - you're having a larf, Labour 'created' over 1 million new public sector jobs, and if you took the time to see just how many departments followed the BBC out of the South/London under Labour, it might knock your holy socks off.

bad news Claig. Winston McKenzie's been sacked so it says on the Twittersphere

And a whole branch of UKIP has been suspended according to ITV news

But the good news us that there were protests in Brussels this morning about TTIP. Lots of burning stuff and fire. Not that you'd ever know if you only watch dear old EU funded Auntie

"Winston McKenzie's been sacked so it says on the Twittersphere"

Oh no, I like Winston. What happened?

seems the Lambeth and Croydon branch has been suspended. No other details

Not one of Nige's best days. Must be like herding cats trying to this this rabble under control

"EXCLUSIVE: Ukip candidate Winston McKenzie laughs off claims he's been booted out party

CHARASMATIC Ukip candidate Winston McKenzie has laughed off suggestions he has been booted out of the party, after his local branch was suspended by senior figures."
...
But speaking to the Express, former amateur boxing champion said he was still Ukip's candidate for Croydon North in next year's General Election.

He said: "It's all rubbish.

"The guvnor [Nigel Farage] hasn't told me nothing.

"The chairman [Steve Crowther] hasn't told me nothing.

"It will take an army to get rid of me."

www.express.co.uk/news/politics/547953/Ukip-candidate-Winston-McKenzie-not-kicked-out-political-party-still-candidate

Keeping fingers crossed for Winston.

Wetaugust, fair play to you for your comments above that UKIP started as a good idea but went downhill.

I think in the current voting system, it's hard to run a single issue party - I think there's a 'Save the NHS' party, for example, which I obviously agree with in principle, but I wouldn't actually vote for them because they'd lose

Also agree with needing to revitalise the regions - it annoys me when charities have their head office in London... all that rent, higher wages; is it really necessary?

I kind of support HS2 in a gritted teeth, 'HOW MUCH?!?!' way.

Oh yeah, wrt housebuilding in my area, we are SE so high growth predictions. 20% over 20 years isn't that much I suppose

There is already some sort of bribe developer's contribution figured in as we need to build at least one school and a motorway junction.

My point remains, though, that it's a ridiculously complex decision with a lot of factors balanced against each other, and a referendum isn't necessarily the way to go.

In fact, the current preferred site is in the green belt of the biggest city in the area; democratically, we could tell them all to fuck off and build it in village Y where there are far fewer voters. But that may not be morally right.

It's always been about a single issue for me I.e. Leaving the EU. It pervades every aspect of our lives and not for the positive. there are many like me who feel disenfranchised by the current mainstream parties.

UKIPs original purpose was to secure a referendum, campaign for OUT and then disband -job done.

Save the NHS is not something that people can fall in behind. Save x/ y/ z specific hospital and you may find that a campaigner is elected, like Peter ?? The doctor who campaigned against the closure of Kidderminster hospital and was a one term elected MP

I want an opposition that OPPOSES. but these days parties have become so bland because our lives are controlled by EU / ECHR / ECJ diktats that there is no Right or Left anyway just a mandated view that originated outside the UK

What worries me is that Ok, today the UK is the place to come, the economy is growing etc etc. What about tomorrow? It may be that India is the happening place , or South America, or the Pacific rim. does the travelling circus just up stakes and move on to the next country that has "the buzz", leaving us with an expensive, redundant infrastructure built for many more people than we now have as the majority have now buggered off to somewhere lose?

the other thing that bothers me is the effect that our greed is having on other EU member States. the Polish are now short of doctors and nurses that they have paid to train and which we have now poached. What life is left for those Poles or whatever other country who are not mobile, who cannot uproot themselves and who are left living an a country that is devoid if it's best talent? Imagine living under those conditions.

I really don't understand why,min this age of global comms, that people have to physically uproot themselves and join the travelling circus.

Indeed. Our region is planning for 20 years down the line, relying on high-tech jobs; but the firm I worked for here pre-DC was already outsourcing highly-skilled jobs to India six years ago.

It's hard to call - not sure if any industrialised western city/region has yet been completely left in the dust as the world moves on? Detroit is the main one that springs to mind.

Detroit definitely. There were some amazing pictures of it in the Mail, just a small oasis of high rise surrounded by acres of derelict buildings and cleared sites. I would hate to see the UK left in that State. But it's been happening throughout history Insustry. Ones and industry goes

It's very weird politics that are around these days though. Definitely the weirdest for a very long time

Whether already here, or looking to relocate, companies plan several years ahead, looking at political stability, the tax regime, infrastucture and if the country has the skilled workers it needs.

“EY: ”Cutting UK tax draws in more multinationals”
www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/10472446/EY-Cutting-UK-tax-draws-in-more-multinationals.html

“The accountancy firm highlights that the UK's competitive tax regime has led to a rise in overseas companies interested in domiciling in the UK”

Also as English Law is seen as the best for business legal, financial and other contracts - that is another attraction.

If the UK remains a business friendly environment, there is no reason for them to leave en mass, but be warned, once the decision is made for them to leave, it can take several years to get them back, if ever.

As an example, Manufacturing, around 22% of our economy fell from 22% in 1997 to 12% in 2010, with 1 million jobs lost before the crash.

Five years later, the last figures I saw was manufacturing was accounting for around 15% of our economy.