Banging his fist with the smack of firm government, Cameron warned the energy companies yesterday that those who engaged in oil price-fixing will face the “full force of the law”. Oh yeah? They must be quaking in their boots. Just 4 months ago when there was a huge public outcry at the surge in petrol [...]
Posts under ‘Conservatives’
The recession is a really good time to increase profits?
May 16th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.Lord Young, one of Thatcher’s Business ministers, got himself sacked 10 years ago when he made a deeply callous and insensitive remark. He has obviously not lost the knack because he’s just been reported making comments again of similar ilk. Reminiscent of Jo Moore sending round an email on the day of 9/11 which said [...]
Tory grandee bans people saying “Vote Tory”
May 15th, 2013 by Jon Lansman.The Tories may be having a hissy fit over Europe and UKIP, but it comes to something when a Tory grandee bans people from saying “Vote Tory” in comments on their website. But such is the nature of the consternation about UKIP within the Tories, and the triumphalism of the UKIPers, that the debate is [...]
EU Referendum is really about divisions within Tory/UKIP camp
May 14th, 2013 by Andy Newman.The issue of Europe certainly makes stange bedfellows, and the cockles of Nigel Farage’s heart will have been warmed by Bob Crow’s statement yesterday: RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said: RMT’s position is clear, not only should there be an early in/out referendum but also we are calling unequivocally for British withdrawal. Across Europe, and [...]
The Osborne-Crosby election beckons, and it’s going to be rough and nasty
May 11th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.The tilt towards blocking immigration as the main theme of an otherwise colourless Queen’s Speech, plus Cameron’s speech immediately afterwards rubbishing Labour as the scroungers’ party, clearly sets the tone for the next two years. The Tories have clearly decided, now that Osborne’s stubbornness has clearly poisoned austerity even beyond what the IMF can bear, [...]
The government are keener to catch whistleblowers than tax avoiders
May 7th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.The treatment of Osita Mba, the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) solicitor, is a public scandal. It was he who revealed that Dave Hartnett, former head of HMRC, had made a private deal with Goldman Sachs, sealed with a handshake, that let them off payment of interest amounting to at least £10m. This issue of [...]
HMRC let Goldman Sachs off tax to avoid “major embarrassment” to Osborne
May 2nd, 2013 by Newsdesk.In the legal case against HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) over the ‘sweetheart’ tax deal with Goldman Sachs, details have emerged of a controversial cover up to avoid political embarrassment at the heart of government. It came to light in the High Court that the former tax chief, Dave Hartnett, chose to waive the £20 [...]
The Barclay brothers’ cuckoo in Labour’s nest
Apr 23rd, 2013 by Mark Seddon.Walking in the Northamptonshire woods over the weekend, I heard that harbinger of spring, the cuckoo, calling for the first time. It is an unmistakeable sound to be sure, but one that very quickly becomes quite repetitive. There are other traits associated with cuckoos that don’t exactly endear them to many, most notably the propensity [...]
Thatcher’s legacy on debt: cut spending, destroy earning capacity
Apr 20th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.Mrs. Thatcher was once asked: What is Thatcherism? She replied “living within our means”. So what is her legacy in this regard? In the two decades from the mid 1980s private household debt rose to the level of total national income (£1.5 trillion), financial debt following her deregulation of the banks rose to 5 times [...]
Is Cameron the least accountable PM ever?
Apr 17th, 2013 by Jon Lansman.Is Cameron the least accountable PM ever? At least in terms of answering the questions asked by MPs. I’m not just talking about the way he evades so many questions, but the number of times he even faces Ed Miliband. The last PMQs were on 20 March before the budget. There have been none since [...]
