Doomed?

No not a Swine flu story but a question about whether or not Labour are doomed. For the past couple of weeks the news has been relentlessly bad for Gordon Brown and Labour, but today we have a number of stories about impending doom.

The Evening Standard has this story, with a number of Labour MP's being rather less than Optimistic.

But the Guardian is, as usual, more guarded but none the less not particularly optimistic. It points out

I remember the last three years of John Major's premiership and stories about his party losing faith in him became – rightly – a regular feature of political news coverage. These stories often featured on-the-record comments from the "usual suspects" because the people who mattered did not want to be quoted. The same thing is happening again now. Brown doesn't need to worry about Marshall-Andrews, Livingstone or Clarke. But he does need to worry that they are getting airtime because the media has decided they have got a point.

So this could be a long slow death but we at least know we have a final date next year when Labour must go to the country. Hopefully with Labour now in the betting to get less than 20% in the upcoming Euro elections the Men in Grey suits may do their job and get rid Gordon.

The final line in the Guardian article is particularly relevant

There's another type of story that crops up when a leader is in trouble and, from the Press Association news wire, I see that we're getting one of these this evening. Harriet Harman "will call for party unity in a speech in Scotland tonight". This is confirmation that things really are pretty bad; politicians don't appeal for unity when it already exists.

This hits the nail on the head. If there is no unity (and Unite!) then Labour will be doomed.


Is Labour now doomed? | Politics | guardian.co.uk

Lest We Forget

Today was apparently the end of UK combat Operations in Iraq. The date is somewhat moot as over 400 "advisers" will remain in Iraq and has apparently been pulled forward a month to suit Gordon Brown.

We should celebrate the fact that we are finally coming out of Iraq after 6 long years but we should not forget the terrible toll that this war has claimed on our forces. Gordon Brown may claim it as a success but many others in the UK will look on it as little short of a Disaster.

Whatever we think we owe much to the efforts of our British troops and the sacrifices they have made for us.

A total of 179 people from the British Forces have died in Iraq. Full details are here. In addition many others have been injured, both in mind and body, and we must help them through the coming years. Help for Heroes would be a good starting place

May they Rest in Peace.

They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

BBC NEWS | UK | UK fatalities in Afghanistan and Iraq: In images

Squirming Brown

Channel 4 have a good? interview with Gordon Brown who seems to be struggling to separate fact from fiction. The man is in Fantasy Land!

Now it's Humiliation for Gordon Brown

Gordon will again be turning into Macavity the Cat this weekend as he retires to his bunker to lick his wounds after a truly appalling week of embarrassments and humiliations.

The latest humiliation is that his grand expenses plan has been dumped without a fight and chaos now reigns over what will happen. Paul Waugh has this in the Evening Standard.

***Harman waves white flag on MPs' exes***

The Commons Leader has just said that she accepts in full the George Young amendment. A real humiliation for the Government whips, it seems. Can Gordon's authority be so low that he can't even get his backbenchers to vote for his resolution?

UPDATE: Total fiasco. Hattie's retreat means she wants to leave the issue of per diem allowance upto Sir Christopher Kelly. But she wants MPs to vote on the remaining issues such as the London allowance etc - pre-empting the Kelly review.

Sir George pointed out the logical inconsistency of her position.

Alan Duncan rightly said Harman's move turns a climbdown into chaos.

I note that there is not a single Cabinet minister on the front bench alongside her.

So Gordon doesn't even turn up to apologise for his plan, just leaves poor old Harperson out to dry. The courage of the ban you would think he was a big feartie.

More later I'm sure

Paul Waugh | Blogs | Evening Standard

Stench of death

The Times has these Stories

Now for the longest assisted suicide in history

Anatole Kaletsky writes:

In 1983, when Michael Foot's Labour Party tried to bring Britain back to the true path of socialism after what it believed was a brief and misguided detour into capitalist economics under Margaret Thatcher, its election manifesto was described as “the longest suicide note in history”. In the same spirit, the death throes of the Labour Government that started with Gordon Brown's arrival in No10 and reached its terminal phase in last week's Budget, could be called the longest assisted suicide in history.

and

Stench of death reminiscent of John Major’s last days in office

Peter Riddell writes:

Gordon Brown’s premiership faces a lingering death as painful as that experienced by John Major in 1996-97 unless he gets a grip quickly. Long-serving MPs were drawing parallels last night between the two: the willingness of government backbenchers to defy their leader, a loss of prime ministerial authority and open fatalism about the party’s electoral prospects.

That's just one paper and one day!

I'm sure there will be many more days like this after the defeat on a Liberal Democrat motion, A car crash of PMQ's and another embarrassing slip by Gordon Brown.

He must go, and go soon, before he destroys our country.

More Embarrassment for Gordon - Kukried in the back

Great News:

The government has lost a Commons vote on its policy of restricting the right of former Gurkhas to settle in the UK.

MPs voted by 267 to 246 in favour of a Lib Dem motion that the government should extend an equal right of residence to all Gurkhas.

Earlier Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said the current policy, announced by the government last week, was "shameful".

Gordon Brown said earlier he wanted justice for the Gurkhas but any policy change had to be affordable.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Ministers defeated in Gurkha vote

More Embarrassment for Jonah Brown

Gordon Brown tries to do exit stage left from the chambers after a hard PMQ's forgetting he has a statement to do. What an embarrassment this man is to the UK.

Watch the Dickhead

Boulton & Co. - Political gossip blog from the Sky News team | Sky News Blogs

Gurkha Justice Campaign - Fighting and Dying for our Country

Nick Clegg on the Gurkhas

Mr Clegg said that there was an obligation to allow Gurkhas who have fought for Britain to settle there, and warned that the Prime Minister must find his moral compass soon if he is to avoid defeat in a vote this afternoon on last week's residency ruling.

He said the basic principle is that, “if people are prepared to fight and die for our country, they have the right to settle here”.

He added this afternoon’s debate and vote “is an opportunity for all MPs…this is a Prime Minister who once said he had a moral compass - he’s got to find it quickly”.

He went on to say the government is “in truly despicable fashion are trying to scare people” with the use of "totally fictional numbers" regarding the number of former Gurkhas who could settle in Britain under more relaxed rules.

“This ruling would mean Gurkha’s who fought in the Falklands war would have no right to settle here”.

Gurkhas are fighting for Justice. They want the same terms and conditions as their UK and Commonwealth counterparts.

Britain has had no greater friends than the Gurkhas. They have served all across the world in the defence of our Country for nearly 200 years. Over 45,000 died in the two World Wars as part of the British Army. They are still fighting in the British Army today.

You may have seen in the media that the Gurkhas have been fighting in Parliament and the Courts. Step by step, things are getting better - but there is a long way to go.

The Government decision of 25th April 2009 on Gurkha settlement rights is yet another huge betrayal of the Gurkhas who have served our country.

Only a tiny fraction of the Gurkhas who retired before 1997 will win settlement rights under the new policy. A Gurkha will have to have served 20 years or more or won one of a handful of medals: the big majority of Gurkhas served for 15 years under standard army policy.

You can read the full details of the Government's decision online.

The campaign for full Gurkha Justice will now be taken back into Parliament and the courts. The Government needs to know they will have a huge campaign against them who will commit to righting this wrong.

Please sign up to the campaign below. We will keep in touch with you about how you can help: there is now much that needs to be done.

Join me in the campaign: together, we can finally right this wrong.

PoliticsHome

Progress with Autism - Gene Variations

Ruaridh

Good to read this story that gene variations have been identified that may be a cause for Autism. Five years ago my family were DNA tested and the whole story was printed in our local paper the Press and Journal. You can read it here.

From Ruaridh P and J

You may need to magnify to see the whole story.

Since then Ruaridh our youngest has progressed really well and starts at Aboyne Academy after the summer. A combination of pure stubbornness and a thirst for knowledge has brought him from a youngster who had little language and poor social skills up to a confident and bright young child who has achieved more than we ever believed possible when he started Primary School. He has just had his last Primary School report which was excellent and was in his school quiz team where his knowledge of History is tremendous.

Let us hope that these new advances lead to insights into the condition’s underlying biology that could eventually lead to new treatments. There will be no miracle "cure" just hopefully a better understanding of how we can help.

If you want to learn more about Autism please go to the NAS website.

More of my stories on Autism.

My brothers stories on autism.


Biggest autism study identifies gene variations behind condition - Times Online

Disaster, Catastrophe, Calamity

An article from the Asian Times looking at the UK economy and Gordon Brown. Nicely describes us at the end as

To paraphrase Churchill, the UK economy is now a disaster, wrapped in a catastrophe inside a calamity. And someone just flushed the key down the proverbial.

Meanwhile Poland tells Gordon Brown how he should have been running our Economy. The Polish Premier Donald Tusk said

"The Polish government at a time of financial crisis has behaved with full responsibility in terms of its public finances and the budget deficit.

"After a few months, our government made the assumption that the method to deal with the financial crisis was not to increase expenditure but (to ensure) the availability of public finances."

He added that Poland's success was down to "efficient supervision of banks and sticking to the rules."

With Mr Brown beside him, the premier went on to say that his administration's approach was based on "not exaggerating with living on credit. These are the most certain ways of avoiding ... financial crisis."

OK yet another embarrassment for Gordon and the UK. How many more do we need.

Asia Times Online :: Asian news and current affairs

Guido Catches up - Jonah Brown jinxes Mexico

Guido has caught up with the fact that Jonah has jinxed Mexcio.

Jonah Brown’s Mexican Wave of Tragedy - Guy Fawkes' blog

Letter from Joanna Lumley - Gurkha Justice campaign

Dear Fitaloon

Thank you so much for your support of the Gurkha Justice campaign. We are overwhelmed by the support the campaign is receiving.

As you may know, on Friday, the Government badly let down the Gurkhas. The new rules they have announced will exclude the huge majority of ex-Gurkhas who retired before 1997 from claiming citizenship in this country. They've given five bullet points that virtually cannot be met by the ordinary Gurkha soldier.

It is so obvious that the treatment of the Gurkhas has been a great injustice. To treat them like this is despicable.

The strong reaction by the public and press should show the Government that they simply cannot get away with this outrage.

I'm ashamed of our adminstration. We will be challenging this decision in the courts and in Parliament. We will not stop now.

This is not a party political campaign: it's simply one for justice. I am so grateful though for immediate support from MPs from all Parties, including amongst others Conservative leader David Cameron and Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg.

Nick Clegg has agreed to put a vote to Parliament this Wednesday calling for a fair deal for Gurkhas. This vote on its own won't change the Government's ruling, but would be an overwhelming signal to the Government that they need to think again.

We need all MPs that support the Gurkha justice cause to turn up and vote for a proper deal for Gurkhas on Wednesday. Can I ask that you take a couple of minutes right now to ask your MP to do so?

You can send a message to your MP directly at www.theyworkforyou.com - please ask them to support the Gurkha Justice motion on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, there will also be a Gurkha Justice rally and protest against the Government's decision, starting at noon in Old Palace Yard, Westminster. Many MPs have already committed to support the vote and join me and others at the rally. I know it's awfully short notice, but if you can, please do come along as well to add your support.

If you can pass on this message to others as well that would be fabulous - and if they sign up to www.gurkhajustice.org.uk we can keep in touch with them directly in future.

Lastly, again, thank you so much for your support. It means so much to us. I spoke today to Lt Madan Kumar Gurung, who has been at the forefront of the campaign since it began. He said to me that he has no fear for the Gurkhas any more, as he knows the loving hearts of the British people will not let them down. With your support we won't.

With warmest good wishes,

Joanna
www.gurkhajustice.org.uk

The Embarrassment Dance

Gordon Brown shows how to embarrass your whole country. Please just resign.



The original is here




YouTube - Gordon Brown - the dance of the comedian

Shocking ComRes Poll for Labour

A ComRes poll in tomorrows Independent will show the following

CON 45(+5) LAB 26(-2) LD 17(-1)

What more is there really to say. Labour are falling apart at the seams. The Lib Dems who you think would manage something better are also dropping. The Tories are looking forward to a massive majority based on these polls. It cannot come soon enough.



politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Tories move up 5 with ComRes

Jonah Brown curse hits Mexico

Less than a month ago Our Jonah met the Mexican President and infected him with his own form of illness, the Jonah Jinx. Gordon Brown is surely not the man that any President or World Leader wants to meet these days. The Pakistani president even pulled out of Press Conference with Jonah.

Now we have Swine Fever and an Earthquake in Mexico. What more can this man do to the world.

Please sign the petition to rid us of this man who is making the world fall apart at the seams.

Hat Tip Habib Butt on PB.Com

Labour Lords a'Lying

Just another routine story of Labour destroying our Democracy. Two Labour lords are set to be suspended for a year after being caught out by the Sunday Times. If anyone in business was found out taking what were essentially bribes they would be thrown out without any thought.

As Lord Taylor put it

"rules are meant to be bent sometimes".

It just seems that with Labour they are meant to be bent, distorted and just plain broken all the time.

Two Labour peers face suspension from Parliament over 'cash for amendments' - Telegraph

Lies, Damn Lies and Labour lies that kill

I have noted on a few occasions the problems with the RAF Nimrod and the problems it has experienced culminating in the crash of Nmrod XV230 that cost the lives of 14 servicemen over Afghanistan. We have litany of issues that this crash has brought to our notice but the most applaing is that basically this type of Nimrod has not been airworthy since it was built and in particular changes to allow air refueling caused the Nimrod to be an explosion waiting to happen.

Now The Independent tells us that Bob Ainsworth lied about a report on the Nimrod. Bereaved relatives were not told of 26 faults which inspection found could threaten aircraft's safety

A report into the safety of Britain's ageing fleet of Nimrod spy planes, which a defence minister claimed did not reveal "any significant airworthiness issues", exposed almost 1,500 faults – 26 of which threatened the aircraft's safety.

Eight of the faults posed risks of fire and explosion, the cause of the catastrophic loss in September 2006 of a Nimrod in Afghanistan. Fourteen servicemen died after leaking fuel was ignited by a hot air pipe, causing the aircraft to explode...

... It found that the initial general condition survey – a visual inspection of the plane – revealed 1,495 "observations", 26 of which had "potential airworthiness implications".

These included chafed wiring, damage to an oil pipe and chafed fuel pipes, all of which could have led to a "fire and explosion". A further nine observations were categorised as "serious engineering issues requiring immediate action".

The MoD ordered the rapid rectification of all the problems on the ageing Nimrod fleet. However, 12 of the 18-strong fleet remain grounded while aircrews fix the problem that resulted in the explosion in Afghanistan.

So whilst these repairs were going on Bob Ainsworth the Defence Minister wrote to families of those servicemen killed, stating that the

"report by QinetiQ on the Nimrod has been received and it does not identify any significant airworthiness issues".

This was an utter and complete fabrication. The letter from Mr Ainsworth also made no mention of the fact that the MoD had ordered a thorough strip-down of the Nimrod to see whether there were any deeper, less visible problems.

This is just yet further news of the deep and dirty corruption that stains this government. Bob Ainsworth should resign immediatlely and Gordon will need to issue yet another apology for his stinking corrupt Government.

Defence minister glossed over Nimrod safety fears - Home News, UK - The Independent