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Post by marksenior on Dec 15, 2012 14:39:59 GMT
I remember describing the. IOW LDs as an evil nest of vipers back ca 1999 Which might explain their loss of the parliamentary seat in 2001 and the collapse in their vote since then? Infortunately for your thesis , the LibDem vote in the I of W has not collapsed since 2001 . 2001 LD vote 22,397 ( with a defending MP ) 2010 LD vote 22,283 ( with a new candidate ) |
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froome
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Post by froome on Dec 15, 2012 15:25:58 GMT
LOL. My contacts with them (my wife's family are on the island) have left me feeling they're a deeply weird bunch; evil is perhaps a bit harsh! There seems to be something about islands (Wight, Anglesey, Man...) that foments odd politics Don't mention Sheppey or else Pimp will be here  I think island politics deserve their own thread. Might start one soon. |
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Post by andrewteale on Dec 15, 2012 15:33:44 GMT
LOL. My contacts with them (my wife's family are on the island) have left me feeling they're a deeply weird bunch; evil is perhaps a bit harsh! There seems to be something about islands (Wight, Anglesey, Man...) that foments odd politics Don't mention Sheppey or else Pimp will be here I think island politics deserve their own thread. Might start one soon. The word 'insular' was invented for islands... |
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The Bishop
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Post by The Bishop on Dec 15, 2012 16:22:27 GMT
As with the likes of Mersea and Hayling, an extension of the mainland really  |
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Post by AdminSTB on Dec 15, 2012 18:37:06 GMT
I think island politics deserve their own thread. Might start one soon. The word 'insular' was invented for islands... I'm moving to Bute for definite in March now. The whole island is one three-member ward, with two SNP councillors and one ex-SNP independent. Will be interesting to see what the local branch are like. ;D |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2012 21:48:03 GMT
The word 'insular' was invented for islands... I'm moving to Bute for definite in March now. The whole island is one three-member ward, with two SNP councillors and one ex-SNP independent. Will be interesting to see what the local branch are like. ;D Drunk and feuding? |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2012 21:56:44 GMT
why somewhere like Bute ??
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Post by AdminSTB on Dec 15, 2012 22:31:39 GMT
It's far enough away from the mainland while still being less than two hours to Glasgow...  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2012 22:39:38 GMT
ah you want the quiet life
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Post by East Anglian Lefty on Dec 15, 2012 23:48:08 GMT
As with the likes of Mersea and Hayling, an extension of the mainland really I'd say that Mersea Island is slightly weirder than the nearby mainland, with the exception of Brightlingsea (which hasn't really come to terms with the fact it's not an island any more.) |
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Feb 1, 2013 16:11:08 GMT
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Post by the_bullies on Feb 11, 2013 21:00:03 GMT
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2013 21:27:20 GMT
The coalition was 2 years old when he was elected.... ....& if you are going to stand in a winnable seat, then going to at least one council meeting before hand would have been a good idea..... |
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Post by marksenior on Feb 11, 2013 21:32:48 GMT
He did not resign this week as LabourList are behind with their news and the story is a month old . |
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Post by oldwarhorse on Feb 11, 2013 23:15:34 GMT
Am possibly posting on this thread principally so that I can see if I like my avatar or not....
But also to say that I am writing a novel currently where one chapter sees a LibDem Councillor resign the whip in December, then come off the council in May at the end of their four year term, having done four months as an Independent. Then join the Labour Party and stand for them as a candidate a year later. Is this feasible do you think? Given that the December in question was when the vote on the Tuition fees was taken and this LibDem councillor had enjoyed campaigning with students in the 2010 General Election.
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Post by anthony on Feb 12, 2013 9:25:38 GMT
But also to say that I am writing a novel currently where one chapter sees a LibDem Councillor resign the whip in December, then come off the council in May at the end of their four year term, having done four months as an Independent. Then join the Labour Party and stand for them as a candidate a year later. Is this feasible do you think? It depends. Is your Lib Dem (and any true Lib Dem would not write it "LibDem" ) supposed to be an opportunist? I think it would be incredibly unlikely that any councillor who left the party over tuition fees would then feel comfortable in the Labour party, who (a) introduced tuition fees, (b) added top up fees and (c) only current pronouncement to "reduce" them to £6000 a year, would only benefit those on salaries of £50K+ who would pay back less than under the current scheme. However, if they were an opportunist I'm sure they'd be absolutely fine doing what you suggest. |
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john07
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Post by john07 on Feb 12, 2013 13:06:01 GMT
I think it would be incredibly unlikely that any councillor who left the party over tuition fees would then feel comfortable in the Labour party, who (a) introduced tuition fees, (b) added top up fees and (c) only current pronouncement to "reduce" them to £6000 a year, would only benefit those on salaries of £50K+ who would pay back less than under the current scheme. Tell me what is the difference between fees and top-up fees since you appear to be blaming Labour for introducing both? You appear to be confused here. Fees have always been there it is just that they were very small and normally paid for by the local authority or sponsor. It was Labour who introduced top-up fees to be paid by the student on top of the fee paid by the local authority or sponsor. Did the Libs Dems advocate removal of the whole top-up fee or were they simply opposed to trebling them? That is before they changed tack and did vote to treble them. |
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Crimson King
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Post by Crimson King on Feb 12, 2013 14:05:17 GMT
Am possibly posting on this thread principally so that I can see if I like my avatar or not.... But also to say that I am writing a novel currently where one chapter sees a LibDem Councillor resign the whip in December, then come off the council in May at the end of their four year term, having done four months as an Independent. Then join the Labour Party and stand for them as a candidate a year later. Is this feasible do you think? Given that the December in question was when the vote on the Tuition fees was taken and this LibDem councillor had enjoyed campaigning with students in the 2010 General Election. It's a novel, you could discover that he was a shape shifting alien in the last chapter if you liked |
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froome
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Post by froome on Feb 12, 2013 15:03:19 GMT
Oh CK, now you've given the ending away...
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Post by anthony on Feb 12, 2013 15:23:39 GMT
Tell me what is the difference between fees and top-up fees since you appear to be blaming Labour for introducing both? You appear to be confused here. Fees have always been there it is just that they were very small and normally paid for by the local authority or sponsor. It was Labour who introduced top-up fees to be paid by the student on top of the fee paid by the local authority or sponsor. Did the Libs Dems advocate removal of the whole top-up fee or were they simply opposed to trebling them? That is before they changed tack and did vote to treble them. John, I think it is you who is confused, but never-mind. The £1000 pa means-tested up front fees introduced by Labour for students starting in 1998 were commonly referred to as "tuition fees" - eg en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuition_fees_in_the_United_KingdomLabour then promised not to introduce variable "top-up fees", but then did in 2004(?) which effectively trebled the fees payable by the student. They did shift the payment of the fees to an income-contingent loan of 9% of salary over £15K - which was an improvement (previously only the maintenance loan was repayable in this way). And Labour now promise to improve the lot of high earning graduates by reducing the cap to £6000. So it seems to me pretty unrealistic that anyone who'd left the LDs over tuition fees would join Labour. The LD manifesto was that a Lib Dem Government would phase out tuition fees over the course of 6 years. Labour and the Conservatives pledged to raise them in line with the recommendation of the Browne review. The Coalition increased the variable cap on fees to £9000, but raised the repayment threshold to £21K and set it so that this threshold would rise each year. The effect of this is actually that some graduates going into lower paid jobs will pay less each month and less overall than under the previous (Labour) scheme - whereas graduates earning more will pay back more of their tuition and maintenance loans. |
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