General Politics Thread

[WaffenThinMint]

On 11/11/2016 at 14:40, Granny Danger said:

BTW I'm surprised you're getting so many bites in the other thread, well done.

 

On 12/11/2016 at 12:39, DeeTillEhDeh said:

Libby in full fishing mode I see.

 

Guys, seriously?

Not long after:

18 hours ago, Ad Lib said:

Sometimes the only honourable thing left to do is to cut your losses and move-on.

As a direct result of the way Parliamentarians mischaracterised the Liberal Scotland in Europe motion, I have intimated my resignation from the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Open to nomination for any P&B party if there is any politician you'd like me to stand behind as they are politically decapitated in an election near you.

Hmmm. Disappointing. Still nothing from the P&B Ministry of Truth telling us that young Cowie's latest diva flouncings are a triumph of dialetic strategy with a dash of sly rapier riposte rather than Eric Cartman writ large.

But still, sure the SaLaDs will get over it.

[Baxter Parp]

 

Bit late but there you go.

[Alan Stubbs]

Quote

There is a risk that significant elements of Scotland’s continuing participation in the European community may no longer be possible for as long as it remains in the United Kingdom, and regretfully recognises that Scotland may eventually be forced to prioritise integration with one of these Unions at the expense of integration with the other.’

How on earth did this snappy number end up being misrepresented? 

Good to see the type of self-indulgent arcane spraff we're used to from Ad Lib causing awkies scenes out in the real world. 

[ayrmad]

8 hours ago, Alan Stubbs said:

How on earth did this snappy number end up being misrepresented? 

Good to see the type of self-indulgent arcane spraff we're used to from Ad Lib causing awkies scenes out in the real world. 

He was rippling about it when he replied to VT the other day.

[bob the tank]

Here is Ad's blog, read what happened in full www.predictableparadox.co.uk

[ayrmad]

39 minutes ago, bob the tank said:

Here is Ad's blog, read what happened in full www.predictableparadox.co.uk

Ach, I feel for the boy, he's well into politics(wish everyone was), he wants to take an active roll in politics and he really believes in liberal values, there's only one party where he can hope to have all three and he's just left it on a very large point of principle, I'll never knock anyone for sticking up for their principles but on this issue I think he'd have been better hanging around and using his tediousness as a strength to continually point out the absurdity of the parties illiberal stance on certain issues until they changed their stance.

The LibDems appear to be doing a Labour and abandoning the core principles their party is founded on, as we can see with Labour, it's a disastrous path to take in the long term.

Edited November 14, 2016 by ayrmad

[welshbairn]

33 minutes ago, bob the tank said:

Here is Ad's blog, read what happened in full www.predictableparadox.co.uk

If we've learnt anything from Trump and Brexit it's that a concise message wins the argument, don't worry too much about the truth. Take note Ad Lib. Though keep worrying about the truth, fuckthe zeitgeist.

[Ad Lib]

9 hours ago, Alan Stubbs said:

How on earth did this snappy number end up being misrepresented? 

Good to see the type of self-indulgent arcane spraff we're used to from Ad Lib causing awkies scenes out in the real world. 

This is a diplomatic statement of the obvious: that being in the EU (or enjoying the rights we do of EU membership) may at one point become mutually exclusive with being part of the UK, and that Scotland will therefore have to choose between them.

It does not say which should be chosen, just that that requirement to choose might emerge.

ETA: and there is context behind having to make that statement of the obvious, and it's the following.

In June at a members meeting of the Lib Dems, Willie Rennie basically denied that those two things would ever be mutually exclusive or that it would ever be necessary to adapt our message and priorities in Scotland because the UK Lib Dems were fighting to keep us in the EU and that's a campaign we should get behind.

I and others thought this was a completely and utterly fanciful notion, whatever the principle of the desire to protect both unions, and wanted the party at least to confront the then possibility, which has since become a very strong probability, that a hard Brexit would in fact force Scotland to make a choice, whether by act or omission.

Edited November 15, 2016 by Ad Lib

[ScotSquid]

I don't think any Scottish party, or anyone, should ever rule out Scottish Independence. That's as stupid a position as the 'Indy at any cost' morons in the SNP.

Ad Lib's contention here seems sensible. Post Brexit the LDs should always consider whether being part of the British union in preference to the EU is preferable for Scotland. That wasn't a consideration before but it obviously is now. 

I think at the moment it quite clearly is the former, but that may change in time. If nothing else having a more neutral stance on independence might allow the LDs to hoover up the disaffected SNP vote once they don't deliver a referendum.

[AUFC90]

Lid Dems will be hoovering up nothing. If the SNP Hibs independence then it's the greens for me and probably a lot of others. No one votes for a party with zero principle or morals who also happened to help David Cameron's government to trample over normal people.

[Gordon EF]

All Lib Dem MPs and MSPs combined couldn't put out a football team with a full bench (even in the old days of three subs).

Who gives a f**k about them?

[AUFC90]

All Lib Dem MPs and MSPs combined couldn't put out a football team with a full bench (even in the old days of three subs).

Who gives a f**k about them?

Absolutely no one. I'm waiting with anticipation at the Lib Dems hoovering up the pissed off yes vote [emoji23]
Yet another laughable claim form Anthony C Pick.

[Alan Stubbs]

15 hours ago, Ad Lib said:

This is a diplomatic statement of the obvious: that being in the EU (or enjoying the rights we do of EU membership) may at one point become mutually exclusive with being part of the UK, and that Scotland will therefore have to choose between them.

It does not say which should be chosen, just that that requirement to choose might emerge.

ETA: and there is context behind having to make that statement of the obvious, and it's the following.

In June at a members meeting of the Lib Dems, Willie Rennie basically denied that those two things would ever be mutually exclusive or that it would ever be necessary to adapt our message and priorities in Scotland because the UK Lib Dems were fighting to keep us in the EU and that's a campaign we should get behind.

I and others thought this was a completely and utterly fanciful notion, whatever the principle of the desire to protect both unions, and wanted the party at least to confront the then possibility, which has since become a very strong probability, that a hard Brexit would in fact force Scotland to make a choice, whether by act or omission.

What was obvious, was that the ambiguity in your statement would be used to misrepresent the message.

8 hours ago, ScotSquid said:

I don't think any Scottish party, or anyone, should ever rule out Scottish Independence. That's as stupid a position as the 'Indy at any cost' morons in the SNP.

Ad Lib's contention here seems sensible. Post Brexit the LDs should always consider whether being part of the British union in preference to the EU is preferable for Scotland. That wasn't a consideration before but it obviously is now. 

I think at the moment it quite clearly is the former, but that may change in time. If nothing else having a more neutral stance on independence might allow the LDs to hoover up the disaffected SNP vote once they don't deliver a referendum.

I'd hold off on the disaffected SNP vote precictions HB, until everyone has forgotten about the SNP being obliterated in the 2015 elections chat.

[DI Bruce Robertson]

I wonder what AD Libs new user name will be?
I'll put money on Ad Con.

[doulikefish]

Todays vote shows libby snppppyyy was 100 % correct to resign

[Ad Lib]

Lib Dem MSPs would say no to the SNP buying them lunch if they didn't rule-out independence.

[WaffenThinMint]

8 hours ago, AUFC90 said:

Lid Dems will be hoovering up nothing. If the SNP Hibs independence then it's the greens for me and probably a lot of others. No one votes for a party with zero principle or morals who also happened to help David Cameron's government to trample over normal people.

This.

I've been reading Matthew Goodwin and Caitlin Milazzo's excellent "UKIP" by the Oxford University Press. It touches on other parties as well, & the one main conclusion the writers came across before the 2015 general election was that nothing short of a miracle was going to save the Lib Dems, & indeed had it not been for the laughably amateurish organisation of UKIP and the Greens (who squandered a lot of resources on lost causes & 'party friends' at the expense of promising targets) they would have been wiped off the map as both would have done enough damage to their disillusioned core vote (on top of their fickle protest vote) to lose them all bar one or two seats.

[Silvio Tattiescone]

Don't usually visit this thread but this headline caught my eye today -

 

Transport Minister Humza Yousef to witness ScotRail commute

 

Quote

Transport Minister Humza Yousef is due to visit some of Scotland's busiest railway stations to see the issues passengers using the network face.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-38023512

Well that's fuckin big of him. Why is this even news, far less headline news? Surely to f**k a Transport Minister should be checking out the transport infrastructure on a daily basis?

[doulikefish]

Don't usually visit this thread but this headline caught my eye today -

 

Transport Minister Humza Yousef to witness ScotRail commute

 

Transport Minister Humza Yousef is due to visit some of Scotland's busiest railway stations to see the issues passengers using the network face.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-38023512

Well that's fuckin big of him. Why is this even news, far less headline news? Surely to f**k a Transport Minister should be checking out the transport infrastructure on a daily basis?


Its news today because a train broke down yesterday and social media reckons the transport minister should have fixed it himself

[Baxter Parp]

https://waitingfortax.com/2016/05/18/welfare-for-the-wealthy/

This year we’ll spend £2.6bn per annum encouraging saving in ISAs. But the average ISA holder with annual earnings of more than £150,000 will get – through higher savings relieved from income tax at higher rates – well over 6 times as much tax relief as her equivalent earning between £20,000 and £30,000 per annum.

Good read on tax anomalies.