So has Tory HQ given up on Cameron and are now focused on George (Annointed One) Osbourne?

[MuddlingThrew]

Has Dave been denigrated to 'John the Baptist' status and his function is solely to pave the way for a messianic Osbourne to take over come the next election?
No one I've met ever has a positive thing to say about Osbourne and the only good thing he has done has proved the 5:2 diet can work for some people.
However, in light of recent damning allegations and the Tory media department apparent failure to get ahead of the unprecedented memestorm, suddenly, in comparison, Osbourne doesn't seem so bad and the prospect of Osborne as PM might seem less disgusting to the British public.
This man (Osbourne) shed salt tears at Thatchers funeral. If he is going to be PM there's still a lot of work to do assuming they don't give him a personality and decency transplant.
I think next election will be Watson V Osbourne. These two men are as opposite as you can get to each other, so maybe an contest of such total opposites will be good because it will maximise voter participation.

No one I've met ever has a positive thing to say about Osbourne

Well that would be because you either mix in economically ignorant circles, or those who see what they want to see,

Cameron said he'd step down before the last election, they could groom the Downing Street cat and it would do a more economically competent job than Corbyn, Sturgeon or Farage - the Lib Dems however have a better IN GOVERNMENT economic record than the rest of them put together who at best just know how to spend money - so Tiddles (whatever) would have some real challenge there. lol

George is a super Chancellor and I would be happy for him to take over as leader but don't think we can write off Boris yet. I look forward to seeing who wins.

George is not a super chancellor. He is a fucking reptilian scumbag. Every time he is on telly he comes of as a right twat.

Whereas nearly everyone in the Shadow Cabinet was in the last Labour government that left the complete pigs ear of economic/financial/social problems Osborne has had to help sort out - needing to hit the ground running from May 2010.

Any one of the Conservative 'contenders' and their crisis management record, is more competent to lead this country than any three of those in the Shadow Cabinet, that left that crisis.

If looks/mannerisms was the sole determinate of ability, Labour's cross between Old Father Time and Mr Bean would never have been elected to lead the Labour Party, never mind the country.

Just a quick question. If Osbourne's done so well how come the deficit is still rising, the economy stagnating and homelessness at record levels? Just asking.

Fanjango ... If Osbourne's done so well how come the deficit is still rising, the economy stagnating and homelessness at record levels?

The quick answers are;

1. The annual budget deficit is annually falling, not rising e.g. around £70 bil this year versus £153 bil in 2010.

1. The economy is growing, GDP is up around 3%, around twice that of the Eurozone and our unemployment rate is around half that of the Eurozone.

1. Homelessness at record levels in 2010 despite having £trillions to spend fro 1997 to 2007 during a global boom, will continue to rise while we are (currently) building around 140,000 homes a year, while net immigration (mainly EU citizens looking for jobs) is around current levels of 330,000 a year.

In the first parliament of the coalition, they built more council/social homes than Labour did in 15-years - but sooooo much more needs to be done..

www.gov.uk/government/news/extra-borrowing-powers-for-councils-to-build-10000-affordable-homes

Councils building more

The government has untied councils’ hands by reforming the system for council house finance. Councils can now keep their rents and receipts from house or land sales, in return for taking more responsibility for housing in their area.

^Since 2010 170,000 affordable homes have been delivered across the country, while councils have built more council housing in the last 3 years than in the previous 15 years combined.
Today’s move will allow councils to build on this progress and ensure local people have the affordable homes they need.”^

I think it would be remarkable if the Tories acknowledged their long list of failures during conference. In particular IDS- wasnt his reform of benefits service supposed to be up and running by now?
And all the people who have prematurely died because they are 'fit for work'

I think it would be remarkable if the Tories acknowledged their long list of failures during conference.

So would I, as I can't think of many, but wouldn't it have been nice if Labour had tried to address at least ONE government departments problems, before handing it over to the Tories to sort - especially the welfare/benefit/tax credit free-for-all, as there were no reforms/checks for 13-years and is one of the largest items of UK expenditure - useful if have a £153 bil overspend and needing to import labour to cover jobs that might have been taken by those 'not paid enough through work' to make the effort.

I think it would be remarkable if the Tories acknowledged their long list of failures during conference. In particular IDS- wasnt his reform of benefits service supposed to be up and running by now?

They won't do that - but the public will make it be known.

And all the people who have prematurely died because they are 'fit for work'

We may have to wait until the conclusion of the UN investigation of Human Rights Abuses before the Tory psychopaths even consider admitting how many people they have killed.

Disabled man killed himself over benefit cut, coroner rules

A coroner has concluded that a depressed man killed himself as a direct result of being ruled “fit to work” by the Department for Work and Pensions.

-----

Department for Work and Pensions "fit to work" assessment has been found by a coroner to be directly to blame for a person’s suicide.

Mary Hassell of St Pancras Coroners Office concludes that the 60-year-old Michael O’Sullivan, who died in 2013, killed himself because his disability-related benefits were restricted after Work Capability Assessments (WCA) found him “capable” of looking for a job.

The controversial “fit to work” assessments to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) were designed and introduced in 2008 under Labour, and the system has continued to be developed and rolled out by successive governments.

O’Sullivan, a 60-year-old father from north London, hanged himself after his disability benefits were removed. This was in spite of his GP certifying that he was unable to work, and the opinion of three doctors that he was suffering from recurrent depression. At the time of his death, he was receiving antidepressants and talking therapy, according to the Disability News Service.

cont'd

www.newstatesman.com/politics/welfare/2015/09/disabled-man-killed-himself-over-benefit-cut-coroner-rules

George is a super Chancellor and I would be happy for him to take over as leader but don't think we can write off Boris yet. I look forward to seeing who wins.

The public don't think he's up to the job:

Only 15% of voters think the Chancellor is the man for the job, putting him a distant third behind London Mayor Borish Johnson and Theresa May

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/savage-polls-dent-george-osbornes-6557201

As the trusted Daily Mirror sez so, best one of the other two becomes PM - we know the Mirror won't ever throw the Tories 'a curve ball'. Hmmm.

The public don't think he's up to the job:

The public don't think Corbyn is either

Here are some quotes from one 'I prepared much earlier' (over a week ago) in the 'DWP' post on the News board

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9963012/900000-choose-to-come-off-sickness-benefit-ahead-of-tests.html

900,000 claiming sickness benefits under Labour never bothered to turn up to be medically checked, since then !00,000's of assessments a month, 100,000's of thousands found fit to work - while some say 1,000's have died on wrong assessments - but this was the first time a coroner could directly attribute 'the system' for causing a death.

No doubt some ideologically stunted folks out there will be so pleased that they have their first coroner proven death due 'to the Tory system' that they refuse to accept had to replace no checks - and a medical unemployed long term car park while in the 2000's we apparently created 3 million jobs for other people - but we have to remember that this case is not a number, or a precedent, it has a name and remains the O’Sullivan families loss.

As always Labour's record fecking the masses means that it can only look individual cases, we see it at PMQT every week, rather than concentrate on SUSTAINABLE policies/economies for next time (does sign of the cross) - not one built on a financial bubble we never want to see again.