New mayor for London

[financeguy]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new.../An-emotional-finale-after-marathon-wait.html

 

[A_Wanderer]

Have I got news for you?

 

[1stepcloser]

can't believe that bumbling fool got voted in. he is quite funny though. i'll give him that.

 

[Vincent Vega]

The German magazine Spiegel recently had an article about the race of the two comedians Livingston and Johnson.
I often got the impression that Livingston wasn't shy to speak his mind, but pissed off many people with some of his remarks. Don't know if that's an accurate picture.

 

[pgv]

can't believe that bumbling fool got voted in. he is quite funny though. i'll give him that.

I'm sure his racist and elitist views will still be funny after four years of running the capital city.

 

[vaz02]

I'm sure his racist and elitist views will still be funny after four years of running the capital city.

He has apologized for those remarks, and im sure 1stepcloser wasnt refering to those statements.

 

[pgv]

He has apologized for those remarks, and im sure 1stepcloser wasnt refering to those statements.

So he apologized for calling black children 'piccaninnies' - that's fine then, he was obviously taken out of context or something!



and no I don't think 1stepcloser was referring to those comments. But I don't think the fact that Boris Johnson is funny gives people any reason to vote for him.

 

[A_Wanderer]

I think that Red Ken allying himself with Hugo Chavez and Yusaf al Quaradawi would be reason enough to at least stay at home.

 

[vaz02]

But I don't think the fact that Boris Johnson is funny gives people any reason to vote for him.

It baffles me too, the guy has never held down office so how people felt fit to vote for him beats me. Ken's arrogance costed him.

 

[financeguy]

I think that Red Ken allying himself with Hugo Chavez and Yusaf al Quaradawi would be reason enough to at least stay at home.

Indeed, not to mention his alliance with IRA/Sinn Fein at a time when they were blowing up kids in supermarket.

 

[pgv]

It baffles me too, the guy has never held down office so how people felt fit to vote for him beats me. Ken's arrogance costed him.

I just don't think Ken ever saw Boris as a threat, given how much of an idiot he is. It seems London preferred the idiot

 

[vaz02]

The local elections of a whole was a vote against labour/ Brown rather than a vote for a conservative government however Cameron wants to portray it as a vote of confidence in his leadership.

The hardcore labour supporter has been disillusioned, we dont want a tory government despite what these results say.

If labour want to win the next General election they must oust Brown and instate either Andrew Johnson or Jack Straw as Labour leader / Prime Minister.
If brown wants to stay in he must hope the economy sorts itself out within the 2 years, cut tax and hope for a war similar to what saved Thatchers premiership, how does Zimbabwe sound ?

I'd rather vote BNP than let those in the old boys club govern this country again.

Labour must change if they want to stay in employment, and they will fight tooth and nail to stay on the gravy chain tax payers have provided.

 

[pgv]

The local elections of a whole was a vote against labour/ Brown rather than a vote for a conservative government however Cameron wants to portray it as a vote of confidence in his leadership.

The hardcore labour supporter has been disillusioned, we dont want a tory government despite what these results say.

If labour want to win the next General election they must oust Brown and instate either Andrew Johnson or Jack Straw as Labour leader / Prime Minister.
If brown wants to stay in he must hope the economy sorts itself out within the 2 years, cut tax and hope for a war similar to what saved Thatchers premiership, how does Zimbabwe sound ?

I'd rather vote BNP than let those in the old boys club govern this country again.

Labour must change if they want to stay in employment, and they will fight tooth and nail to stay on the gravy chain tax payers have provided.

I think it's all completely Brown's fault - especially this with the 10p tax rate. Not even Tony Blair brought the party so low, and they did to get rid of Brown or things are just going to get worse for them.
I don't understand the british public though. They've obviously just forgotten how worse everything was with the tories. I'd sooner leave the country than have a tory government.

But I think I'd sooner die than have a bnp government.

 

[susanp6]

I think it's all completely Brown's fault - especially this with the 10p tax rate. Not even Tony Blair brought the party so low, and they did to get rid of Brown or things are just going to get worse for them.
I don't understand the british public though. They've obviously just forgotten how worse everything was with the tories. I'd sooner leave the country than have a tory government.

But I think I'd sooner die than have a bnp government.

Glad to hear you're anti-tory Emma! i utterly hate them and would NEVER vote for them - some of them seem to think that some of us have short memories! Well not me!!

 

[financeguy]

They've obviously just forgotten how worse everything was with the tories.

Ho hum.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/02/06/ccjeff106.xml

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/04/09/ccjeff109.xml

Unfortunately, those in charge have left the windows open and the shutters up. At a time when the country needs competent management, the Prime Minister is presiding over unimaginable state-sponsored profligacy.

The scale of lost resources is set out in impressive, albeit depressing, detail by David Craig in his latest book, Squandered - How Gordon Brown is wasting over one trillion pounds of our money*.

Craig is a former management consultant whose previous work, Plundering the Public Sector, lifted the lid on the way private-sector consultants get their teeth into publicly funded projects and suck out billions in fees. His thesis was that Blair's and Brown's New Labour had been "taken in" by greedy, self-serving consultants who bamboozle civil servants with techno-speak.

Though harsh on Labour's gullibility, Plundering, published in 2006, stopped short of accusing Downing Street's most senior residents of defrauding the country.

Their crime, as such, was to allow consultancy parasites to drain about £70bn from public services for precious little in return.

"The disaster is not the result of some kind of conspiracy," Craig concluded. "Behind closed doors, New Labour politicians are probably as uncomprehending and disappointed at what has happened as anyone else."

In Squandered, the author's analysis has moved on. There is no doubt over who's to blame for the mess we are in. Brown is not a victim; he is the culprit.

Not only has money been blown on an eye-popping scale, the Government operates a relentless programme of deception to cover up blunders.

Department by department, Craig unpicks Labour's hoopla to reveal what happens when devious ministers inhale their own exhaust. Readers with heart problems, high blood pressure or a susceptibility to violent headaches should think twice before dipping in to this book. The facts are infuriating.

In 10 years, Labour has spent about £1trillion - that's £1,000,000,000,000 - more than would have been the case, inflation adjusted, if government spending had been held at 1997-98 levels. That's about £50,000 for every household. Education has received an extra £185bn, health an additional £269bn and welfare, ie, social security benefits, £343bn more

 

[vaz02]

At least the BNP are straight in their agenda and what you see is what you get. The tories are so pompus, i just cant stomach their attitude and that old public school boy image.

 

[pgv]

As much as I hate the tories, the BNP make my blood boil. They are really millitant near where I live and have had Polish peoples homes burned down and everything...but because of the Oxford university educated assholes at the top, they've avoided getting caught.
I hate 'Dave' but I can't see him doing that (actually, I don't know...)

 

[financeguy]

.but because of the Oxford university educated assholes at the top, they've avoided getting caught.
I hate 'Dave' but I can't see him doing that (actually, I don't know...)

Sorry, but this just reads like class war drivel to me.

Of the small number of Oxford educated people I have met, I don't consider any of them 'assholes'. Most, incidentally, were from very ordinary lower middle class backgrounds.

 

[indra]

Good to know we aren't the only nation to have "is this the best we can do?" kind of politicians.

 

[deep]

i just cant stomach their attitude and that old public school boy image.

is this an "old school boy" image?

 

[A_Wanderer]

His Wodehousian verbiage says yes

 

[pgv]

Sorry, but this just reads like class war drivel to me.

Of the small number of Oxford educated people I have met, I don't consider any of them 'assholes'. Most, incidentally, were from very ordinary lower middle class backgrounds.

I'm not referring to 'oxford educated' people in general, I'm referring to Nick Griffin and other specific people (..who happen to be very educated and able to get their highly racist party out of tight situations with the law).
Don't label something as 'class war drivel' when you seem to have little understanding of it. The majority of the BNP supporters seem to be misinformed working class people, so this has nothing to do with social status as I would refer to myself as working class too.

 

[vaz02]

is this an "old school boy" image?

My quote was "old public school boy image ", and when you get a bunch of eton boys together expect the fallout of pretentious arrogance and unsympathetic policies of the deluded middle class. They dont know what real issues are, there idea of real issues are clearing their conscious of global warming and raising the inheritance tax threshold only because it effects their interests.
The man on the street couldn't careless about global warming because the big players on the global scene are dragging their heels which would totally undermine are efforts. The man on the streets wants lower taxes, an efficient NHS, safer streets, value for money, control of immigration and a referendum on the EU.

I have no problem with the middle class as long as they stop pretending to know the working classes problems because they simply dont. The phrase daddys gonna pay for your crashed car springs to mind old boy.

 

[vaz02]

Some things you might find of some interest about Cameron.

Three members of his shadow cabinet and 15 members of his front bench are old Etonians. David Cameron has more Etonians around him than any leader since Macmillan, represent Britain from such a narrow base ?

David and Samantha Cameron are valaued at £30 mill +.

 

[financeguy]

Some things you might find of some interest about Cameron.

Three members of his shadow cabinet and 15 members of his front bench are old Etonians. David Cameron has more Etonians around him than any leader since Macmillan, represent Britain from such a narrow base ?

David and Samantha Cameron are valaued at £30 mill +.

It's a fair point.

But, mind you, Tony and Cherie Blair are not exactly impoverished, are they?

 

[financeguy]

I have no problem with the middle class as long as they stop pretending to know the working classes problems because they simply dont. The phrase daddys gonna pay for your crashed car springs to mind old boy.

Your second sentence is spot on, if you're referring to Cameron and his elitist friends.

Your first sentence...honestly, what's middle class? What's working class? Thatcher and Major were from the working class....
once again...the class war thing...is it healthy?

 

[the iron horse]

And a conservative methinks

 

[vaz02]

This is how i see the definitions of class.

Middle class: I believe those from a middle class background have to an extend financial independence compared to those from the working class. Your average middle class citizen generally lives in the suburbs of the towns and may be a professional such as a doctor, universicty educator or lawyer or another profession of high responsibility. Those in the middle class socialize within their own circle and largely look down on the lower class blue coloured workers. The middle class like to pretend to listen to classical music and understand the works of shakespear. Many parents often feel the need to ship their children of to boarding school or public school to broaden their childs education. The middle class have have deluded aspirations of grandeur which often portrays them as snobby.

Working class: The working class are often the worst effected by increases in tax as they the lowest paid and have the least economic independence out of the three classes. The working class are your john smiths or joe bloggs who keep the country ticking, they drive your buses, police your streets, file your mail, fight your fires, keep the shelves stacked etc etc. Due to the limitations of wealth it is often hard to brake from this social class but not impossible. The working class like TV and think terry Wogan is one hell of a guy, we dont lie about are overuse of porn and we dont pretend to like books, we enjoy reading.

Its not healthy because like in Russia it sparked a revolution but its a fact of life and this social spectrum still dominates life today as much as it did two centuries ago.

 

[financeguy]

This is how i see the definitions of class.

Middle class: I believe those from a middle class background have to an extend financial independence compared to those from the working class. Your average middle class citizen generally lives in the suburbs of the towns and may be a professional such as a doctor, universicty educator or lawyer or another profession of high responsibility. Those in the middle class socialize within their own circle and largely look down on the lower class blue coloured workers. The middle class like to pretend to listen to classical music and understand the works of shakespear. Many parents often feel the need to ship their children of to boarding school or public school to broaden their childs education. The middle class have have deluded aspirations of grandeur which often portrays them as snobby.

Working class: The working class are often the worst effected by increases in tax as they the lowest paid and have the least economic independence out of the three classes. The working class are your john smiths or joe bloggs who keep the country ticking, they drive your buses, police your streets, file your mail, fight your fires, keep the shelves stacked etc etc. Due to the limitations of wealth it is often hard to brake from this social class but not impossible. The working class like TV and think terry Wogan is one hell of a guy, we dont lie about are overuse of porn and we dont pretend to like books, we enjoy reading.

Its not healthy because like in Russia it sparked a revolution but its a fact of life and this social spectrum still dominates life today as much as it did two centuries ago.

Reading your descriptions, I think that I cannot be middle class, as I don't earn enough to send my kids to private school (in fact, I don't even earn enough to have kids. It would involve too many lifestyle sacrifices).

I also think that Terry Wogan is one hell of a guy, so I must be working class.

But to be serious, from my perspective I genuinely think this distinction that you've painted between the middle and working classes is essentially a false, out-dated, even neo-Marxist distinction. In my opinion, the fundamental distinction is between the super-rich and/or ruling class and the rest of us - comprising middle class, working class and every other class that isn't the ruling class and/or super-rich.

I will state that I don't live in Britain (though I've plenty of relatives that do) so your perspective is very probably more accurate than mine.

 

[financeguy]

I'm not referring to 'oxford educated' people in general, I'm referring to Nick Griffin and other specific people (..who happen to be very educated and able to get their highly racist party out of tight situations with the law).
Don't label something as 'class war drivel' when you seem to have little understanding of it. The majority of the BNP supporters seem to be misinformed working class people, so this has nothing to do with social status as I would refer to myself as working class too.

Can you explain why you think that working class people who support the BNP are misinformed?