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Andrew Smith
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Is this a journey in nostalgia for the Conservative Party members? A recollection of the last ever Conservative government. I assume the attempt to rehabilitate him in recent weeks is a prelude to Cameron appointing him to the HoL and some influential quango - perhaps eve to an EU post?
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Nigel may be a conservative but he is no Conservative. Well done that man for speaking out against the consensus. When may we know the earnings and tax arrangements of the media presenters who adopt such high and mighty tones - are they paid through companies? Six or seven digits income? Pension too? Thought so!
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Ah, no I wanted to suggest that local hospital management should have authority and responsibility to manage, whether they are called matrons or staff nurses or anything else. They can recruit, manage and dismiss nurses according to whether they give good care. As in business and in schools, one knows who needs regular attention and who does not and that judgement should be made on the spot not be a PM in need of column inches. However well intentioned, this smacks of more top-down detailed management of a service that ought instead to be freed from political supervision.
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Indeed! he wrote that inflation in the UK had been caused by energy prices (oil prices have come down recently from USD125 to USD108) and import prices (these are mainly a function of the devalued currency, which is a policy consequence of QE). To politicians of a shallow nature, inflation is always caused by foreigners, trades unions (not mentioned yet, but they will be), speculators and anything they can think of. In the case of energy prices the impact of climate change levies has been large and it is growing. The coalition wants more of it. We can put no faith in HMT forecasts. They got it wrong over banking regulation, over GDP growth forecasts, over the impending depression a couple of years ago. The quality of their work has been poor and they continue to fail as does the BoE in delivering their remit. Meanwhile, as Redwood points out, spending is rising in real terms in Whitehall and that is before the costs of supporting the Euro are factored in.
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How silly. Energy costs too much because of the levies and charges added by HMG (of which Mr Cameron is PM). The "green" levies are unjustified, damaging and they are the true cause of UK energy costs well above the rest of the world, including Mr Cameron's favourite countries in the EU.
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Manifestos are not considered "great" unless they either contain policies or lead to a working majority at the following election. As McGough suggested, 40% will not be enough. It would be better to be on (say) 45% with Labour snapping at their heals. 40% simply will not work and a hung or near-hung outcome would be the result. If Cameron becomes PM (especially with a small majority, but even with a bigger one), he needs manifesto commitments to keep his MPs onside (aka stop Europhiles and Sceptics from fighting) and to get the Lords to pass his legislation under the convention. A vacuous manifesto leaves it open to the Lords to throw out his bills with impunity and the pinkos there on all benches will do it. But Cameron's manifesto has to be better than a wish list for other reasons. Labour have smelled that there is no substance behind what we have heard so far. Especially on the economy and EU they will make a convincing case that the opposition have nothing to say. On many areas they cannot say anything because the EU is in charge, as Baroness Ashton has been reminding member states just recently. Meanwhile, on education, transport, agriculture and a host of other issues there is no consensus within the Tory party. There may be among the kitchen cabinet but once you get outside that all I hear is grumbling acquiescence.
Toggle Commented Dec 19, 2009 on Tories 12% ahead in YouGov poll at thetorydiary
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I am not certain David Cameron understands this, Lindsay. While we can expect his background in the spinning industry to inform his choices of words, the impression I get is that he really thinks he can govern Britain on his own. The attempts by TFA and others to get the message across to the Tories that there really is an elephant in the room have not been successful. The pressure on Dave will come from Labour and as a result the press and media might pick it up. If it looks like a Tory landslide (which 40% support does not), then Labour's complaints about Dave's inconsistency onEurope might be side-lined; but I do not see that outcome - I think the Tories are in big big trouble on this and UKIP are in a position to add to it! The only good thing that comes of this is the huge increase in respect in the City for UKIP's point of view. We are now seen as putting forward a relevant and creditable case and we may see financial benefits and support as a result. We are very fortunate to have an MEP who can address the concerns of the City of London. For the first time we have an MEP who can speak to their concerns and Marta Andreasen was one of the best things we did in 2008-9.
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Dec 19, 2009