More On Brown's Spending Brownie.

The attached videos from Channel 4 show how big Brown's Brownie during PMQ's etc was.


This second video shows Jon Snow nailing Andy Burnham on the Brownie's.


And finally we have this report from tonight's Question Time

Another guest, Ruth Lea, the former head of policy at the Institute of Directors, criticised Mr Hain's response. "When I hear all this about Tory spending cuts... They are all in Alistair Darling's report," she said.

The audience joined in criticism of the government's position in the spat. A heckler shouted: "Labour is not being honest with people."

The man who posed the initial question told Mr Hain: "Your answer just lost my vote."

Spelman concluded by accusing Gordon Brown of misleading the House of Commons during Prime Minister's questions yesterday.

"He trotted out figures of billions without adjusting for inflation, without costing in the benefits for the people we do need to pay. I want a Prime Minister that will come clean with me," she said.

Both in the media, on the internet and just in general conversations people are now laughing at Brown's lies, He is a figure of fun not just in Parliament but also amongst the general public. How much more does he have to do to convince Labour MP's that he is a millstone round their necks pulling them further and further into the abyss.

FFS Gordon just Go Now

PoliticsHome | News | Spelman and Hain continue spending row

More Brownies on Spending Cuts

Lots more Brownies have been apparent during the past couple of weeks as our idiot Prime Minister lives in fantasy island where there is still no boom and bust. During PMQ's and last weeks press conference we had the huge Brownie that there were no spending cuts. Lets look at the truth and not the Brown fantasy

Here we see that whilst total spending is not cut, all front line services are cut, as most of the "extra" spending is being used to service our huge debts. Factor in that Andy Burnham has explicitly told us there are no NHS cuts and then the total cuts to other services are around 10%, much the same as the proposed Tory figures.

The problem is that Gordon, in his fantasy island, wants us to understand that only Tories do cuts, whilst his true genius allows us, during the worst recession in living memory, to continue to spend, spend spend. This is now revealed as a complete "Brownie". Lets look at what Brown has said

‘Public spending is rising every year; just be absolutely clear about that. Public spending is due to rise every year… The public spending in our country is rising and it’s going to continue to rise’ (Gordon Brown, Number 10 Press Conference, 5 June 2009)

‘The only party that’s proposing a cut in public spending is the Conservative Party.’
(Gordon Brown at PMQs today)

“Public spending this year is 621 million. It rises next year to 672 million, that’s this financial year, then to 702, then to 717, then to 738, then to 758.” (Gordon Brown at PMQs today)

Then have a look at the tables above and see the reality. Listen to the words of your own chancellor Alistair Darling:

‘I have cut overall public spending’ (The Today Programme, 23 April 2009)

BROWN IS LYING yet again. This is the man who says he said in his latest press conference

“To be honest, when I look at this expenses crisis I remember the words of my father and I remember what he told me: always be honest.”

This is the man who wants to "reform" government to be more open and transparent. The only people being honest and transparent are the tories who are telling the public what is likely to happen.

His grip on reality has disappeared, his grip on his cabinet has disappeared, his grip on Government has disappeared, he needs to disappear.

FFS Gordon just Go Now.

The truth about 10% spending cuts - thetorydiary

Lies, Damn Lies and Ainsworth lies

A pointer to an old blog entry This is a typical bit of Ainsworth lying and he is gong to be our Defence Minister. He is not worthy to lick the lowliest of our squaddies boots. As I said then

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

Go now

MicroShaft Blog: Lies, Damn Lies and Labour lies that kill

Labour - No policies, No Apology

The Party Political Broadcast by the Labour party is a shining example of the depths the Labour Party under Gordon Brown has sunk to. No Policies, arrogant with no cause, shallow, deceitful, fearmongering, and certainly no apologies for the expenses humiliations they are undergoing.

After the fearmongering twaddle that was the Lib Dems launch of European Election campaigning you would have thought Labour would have come up with something more direct and an explanation of policies ad how they could help people, but no just an ad hominem attack on David Cameron and no explanations of how they are going to move forward in these troubled times. When your only attack left is personal you know you are going to lose.

Iain Martin writing in the Telegraph had this to say

If it had gone on any longer I suspect the following claims would have been made.

Small child, sobbing. Standing in front of rabbit's cage: "David Cameron would restrict the supply of carrots. Your pet would die." (cue creepy music and close up of petrified looking rabbit).

Tense looking mother of two. Standing in front of school gates: "David Cameron would close all schools. Apart from Eton." Cut to shot of public school boys beating up comprehensive school pupils in rags.

Elderly war veteran. Sitting on floor: "David Cameron would make chairs expensive. Under a Conservative government only he and George Osborne could afford them."

Look, negative campaigning can work if the ad is well made and the claims don't sound silly and over the top. But the oddest aspect of this is that it did not occur to anyone in Labour that it looks completely inappropriate in the current climate. The Tories have re-shot their PPB, with a straight to camera apology to voters from Cameron for the expenses scandal. Labour's machine is so broken that the idea of doing something similar appears to have passed them by.

Labour are likely to come a distant third or even fourth in these elections, one more nail in the coffin for the Tragedy that is Gordon's "leadership" of the Labour Party

Stapler-hurling Brown launches negative ad against Conservatives - thetorydiary

More Brownies from Gordon on Expenses

Watch this video at about 2:45 mins in when Toenails skewers Brown on when he actually dreamt up his plan.

As the BBC reports this is yet another Brownie by our dear Leader. The BBC report has this to say

Asked if he had been forced into a response by Mr Cameron, Mr Brown told the BBC: "I have been discussing this for days and we have been looking at this matter for some time. We had hoped to make some progress yesterday and now all parties are prepared to accept this."

But two senior MPs told the BBC he was "misrepresenting" what had been agreed by the committee.

They said the committee only agreed to examine the idea of an independent audit, that there was no "firm or final agreement" and would meet again on Wednesday after seeking advice on whether it was possible.

Even on an important point as MP's expenses Gordon just can't stick to the truth. Why should we trust him on anything. This whole interview is yet agian a car-crash as Gordon tries to grab all the kudos for sorting out a problem when in fact he has yet again been the problem.

BBC NEWS | Politics | All MPs' claims to be scrutinised

Zombie Brown - Time for Labour to Act

Today during PMQ's we witnessed yet again the embarrassment that is the current Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He is tottering through the final stages of what, we can only hope, is a short period before he becomes the ex Prime Minister. Watch the video's above to see how he is now held in complete contempt both by his opponents and his own party.

Unless this man goes very soon the UK will be in desperate trouble for decades. We are already in the most serious recession since the 1930's and Gordon is not up to the job of guiding us through this period. Unfortunately Gordon appears to be about the only person in the UK who actually believes he is up to the job. Gordon Brown is now nothing more than a Zombie waiting for a merciful release.

Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg seem to have arrived at the conclusion, probably from the ill-tempered meeting about expenses with Gordon Brown two weeks ago, that Gordon is now beyond any help and that only by working together can they hope to relieve Gordon of his position.

This has been seen on a number of occasions in the past two weeks when Cameron and Clegg have put on a double act to try and demonstrate to the Labour Party what a state this country is in with Gordon at the helm. Working together they have shown the inept and bungling embarrassment that our Prime Minister has become. Hopefully soon Labour will also get the message.

But the biggest problem we face is actually ditching our current Prime Minister. This is virtually impossible without the help of the Labour Party and it's MP's. Unfortunately as Clegg said in PMQ's today the Labour Party is good at speaking behind peoples backs but will not confront the issues head-on. It also has a dearth of talent, most of it's major players having been undermined or smeared by its own Leader in his vain push for glory.

So getting Labour MP's to get Brown out will only happen if they can get past the fact that a new Leader will almost certainly mean a General Election and the loss of many of their jobs. This is the price they will have to pay for supporting Brown to his coronation as Prime Minister rather than having a proper election. Even two years ago it was obvious to many that Brown was totally unsuited to the Prime Ministers job. Now it appears that even his predecessor, Tony Blair, has realised the game is up and is looking to help get rid of him, if only he would stand up and say this outright rather than skulking about behind the scenes.

So what will be the path forward for the UK in this most troubling of times. Zombie Brown leading us on into the Wilderness and Desolation of a Bankrupt and Decaying Britain like that of the 1970's pre-Thatcher or hopefully a brighter future under the Conservatives and David Cameron where we can regain our pride, fiscal stability and our ability to be a player amongst the major nations in the world. Now it is up to the Labour MP's and Party to work together to get rid of the emabarassement that is our Prime Minister. Remove the brain and the Zombie will die.

The Labour leadership plot is brewing | Coffee House

The Politician with No Ambition!

According to Pravda's Today Programme Labour Deputy Leader Harriet Harperson has no ambition. Or at least all she wants is to be a deputy. On the Today programme she apparently saidlied that

"I don't want to be prime minister and I don't want to be leader of the party."

So here we have a politician who has no ambition or desire to move up to the Top Job. Excuse my derision at the thought that she does not want to move onto being Prime Minister. Perhaps she believes on the 30th Anniversary of Margaret Thatcher's rule that no other woman can do the job.

If you want to see a proper politician becoming Prime Minister then watch BBC Parliament today as Maggie in 1979 becomes Prime Minister. Or have a look here.



BBC NEWS | Politics | Harman: 'I don't want to be PM'

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!

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

Gurkha Justice Campaign

Please sign 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.

Gurkha Justice Campaign

The IMF's damning verdict

Via the Coffee House we have this story about just what the IMF thinks about the state of our economy. So Gordon's story of us being best placed to comeout of this recession is revealed as just more bunkum from this truly awful Prime Minister. From the devastaing story I have this:

The IMF also suggests (p xiii) that a further $250bn of capital will be needed for UK banks. Don't expect to see any of this in the Budget - this is the truth that dare not speak its name. It is airbrushed out, there will be small print in tomorrow's Budget saying "excluding financial interventions". As the IMF makes crystal clear, this is anything but a footnote. The £190 bn figure is for what is described by the IMF report (p45) as "net costs of direct support to banks, expected eventual costs of guarantees; and costs, net of recoveries, of central bank liquidity provision." When all is done and dusted, flogged and floated, the UK banking crisis will go down in history as the biggest fiscal disaster in peacetime history. And the Brown-Balls tripartite bank regulation system will go down as perhaps the biggest single calamity in modern UK economic history

Meanwhile across at the centre of Gordon's nest of trickery what are they doing, no, not working out a way fix all these problem, oh no, they are trying to blow a smokescreen over all the bad news by concentrating on MP's expenses.

Now whilst this is a worthy endeavour, it is really nothing for Gordon Brown to get involved in. This is something that Parliament must sort out itself, and not something that Gordon should be deciding on.

However what we do get out out of this is one of the strangest ever performances by a Politician I have ever seen. The video shown below is just downright strange. As the erstwhile Dr Crippen says:

I have in the past been chided for speculating about the Prime Minister's mental capacity but this odd concatenation of "la belle indifference" bordering on anosodiaphoria with inappropriate smiles, and the odd dyskinetic gesticulations does make one wonder if he is playing from a full deck of cards. Maybe the video was released without his permission.

When I first watched this, I start to laugh, but then I realised this is the person who is supposedly running our country. I didn't laugh for long. Nick "Toenails" Robinson of the BBC has this to say on his blog about Gordon's decision to do this.

At first, Gordon Brown insisted that the question of how to reform MPs' expenses was a matter for Parliament not for him or the government.

Indeed, when proposals very similar to those he's outlined today were defeated in the Commons, he missed the vote and many of his colleagues backed the status quo.

Later, he called for an enquiry to report after the election.

Then, under pressure, he brought forward the timetable but rejected calls for him and other party leaders to lead the way to reform.

The anger generated by the home secretary's claim for the cost of an adult movie watched by her husband seems finally to have convinced Mr Brown that - fairly or not - he was getting the blame for a system that the public regards with anger and contempt.

Proposing reform and getting it agreed is, of course, a very different matter and will require many, many MPs - and not just the prime minister himself - to perform a U-turn.

The IMF's damning verdict | Coffee House

Does Gordon have the courage to Ride in "Snatch" Land Rover.

No, is the simple answer, yet he expects our troops to do it. Despite all his bletherings about how much money he has or will spend, the problem is that at the moment there is no choice. Not enough helicopters and not enough of the new vehicles on the ground.

When Gordon or one of his minions travels to to Iraq or Afghanistan, they seldom travel in anything but planes and helicopters, which are what the soldiers would choose as well if they had enough of them.

I attended a families day recently for the Royal Marines and saw the vehicles they would be using on the ground on their current tour. They still included the "snatch" Land Rovers and Vikings that have caused so many deaths.

According to the Telegraph

The recriminations over the resignation of SAS officer Major Sebastian Morley in protest over the Ministry of Defence's "gross negligence" in forcing his troops into the vulnerable vehicles spilled over into Prime Minster's Questions. Gordon Brown was asked by Gerald Howarth, the shadow defence minister, if he accepted that when Major Morley deployed in Snatch he "had no choice whatsoever contrary to all the assurances given to commanders that they would have whatever equipment they require?"
Mr Brown said the Government had "done our best in recent years to provide the equipment that is necessary" spending £1 billion on 1,200 new armoured vehicles.
Families and opposition MPs rounded on Gordon Brown, criticising his evasive answers in the Commons on the day another British soldier was killed in Afghanistan.

Col Bob Stewart, who used the flimsy Snatch during his time as a commander in Bosnia in the 90s, said the Prime Minister's comments that the Government had "done its best" was not enough to prevent the loss of 34 lives

"The Government certainly has not done it best. If they had done their best they would have found other vehicles that would have saved lives. They might have ordered these better vehicles now but its too late for the 34 people soldiers who have already died in Snatch. This problem has been highlighted for many years now but only now have they came round to the idea of addressing it.

Let us not forget this is not a new problem Have a look at this article from June 2006 nearly 2 1/2 years ago on the exact same problem. The BBC reported then:

Our correspondent says 18 British troops have been killed by
roadside bombs while travelling in Land Rovers. It equates to almost a quarter of British soldiers killed in hostile action, Conservative MP Roger Gale told the Commons. "These vehicles are widely recognised to be inadequately armoured to withstand roadside bombs and in consequence are seen as a soft target for insurgents," he said.

Des Browne the multi-tasking Defence Secretary responded

"This is a serious issue. I've asked for a review into this," he said. "There are medium and long-term plans in relation to vehicles and I will be looking in the short-term at what we can do to respond to the situation."

So 30 months and a further 16 lives later our forces are still being forced to use this vehicle. This is government ineptitude on a gross scale.

As usual this government is doing too little too late. It has done this in almost all its aspects of government be it defence, the economy, foreign policy, policing, environment or the NHS. It is incapable of preventing problems and can only apply a sticking plaster on the gushing wounds it has helped create.

The only good thing is that people are now seeing this and will again give Brown and his minions a bloody nose as they vote in Glenrothes, the constituency next door to his own, and return an SNP MP.


Gordon Brown accused of 'evasive' response over SAS deaths - Telegraph

Sack this Idiot - Quentin Davies

I see Quentin Davies was forced to make an abject apology to the father of one of the soldiers killed in Afghanistan according to the Telegraph:

The defence minister Quentin Davies has been forced to make an "unreserved apology" to the father of the first woman soldier to be killed in Afghanistan following remarks he made about the safety of military vehicles.

Perhaps now he will also apologise to SAS commander Major Sebastian Morley who resigned in disgust at the "gross negligence" of the Government to equip Special Forces troops.

Quentin Davies is not fit to lick the boots of any of our service personnel and should be sacked by his masters.

Tobias Elwood at Conservative Blogs had this to say.

Regimental ties were a plenty at Defence Questions yesterday, with Conservative Members queuing up to demand an apology from the newly appointed Procurement Minster and turncoat Quentin Davies.

The Minister struck a very lonely figure indeed on the Labour Front Bench as no less than six Conservative MPs asked him to apologise to the House of Commons, indeed, to the British Army for suggesting that British military commanders based in Helmand Province were choosing the wrong vehicles to take out on patrol.

As if there was a choice. Dozens of soldiers have been killed or injured using the soft skinned 'snatch landrover', a relic of the Northern Ireland hostilities, so called for its role in plucking undesirables off the streets of Belfast; an asset in Ulster but now a liability in Afghanistan. There have been repeated requests for this vehicle to be replaced and, last year, the Government finally conceded. To avoid a lengthy procurement process the MOD bought the reliable and heavily armoured Mastiff and Jackal vehicles 'off the shelf' and these are now arriving in Helmand.

We waited in vain for a proper apology. When the Minister makes his first trip to Afghanistan he will quickly learn about the limitations commanders have in relation to mobility and protection. Until then the Defence Secretary might want to keep him on a tighter leash...

The cry for a tighter leash would be better said as letting him off the leash to wander aimlessly like the turncoat he is.

Who would want this man on their side in any battle.

Minister forced to apologise for Army family insult - Telegraph

Mandy - Try Try Try Again

Mandy's and Labours attempts to catch George Osborne in their sticky, sleazy web have failed yet again. Their prompting to Rothschild to stir it up again, possibly via the Bliar person have come unstuck as Osborne details his contacts, both with Deripaska and of course Mandy who seems the common linkage in the whole story. I would suggest that it is Mandy that the media should be turning their spotlight on. Notice how Mandy appears at almost all the meetings.

In his statement to the press and in particular the biased duo at the BBC (Yes, you Robinson and Peston) he has this to say. I'll put it in full because it such a good rebuttal of all the sleazy things that Labour has become now with added Campbell and Mandy trying to direct the media

George Osborne has met Oleg Deripaska on five occasions, four of which happened over a weekend in Corfu in August.

On January 26, at the Davos World Economic Forum, Mr Osborne was introduced to Mr Deripaska in the company of others including Peter Mandelson.

They had a brief group conversation about the world economy.

On August 22, while on a family holiday in Corfu, Mr Osborne and his wife were invited onto Mr Deripaska's yacht by Mr Rothschild.

Others present again included Peter Mandelson. The conversation involved Russian and British politics. There was no conversation of any kind about political donations.

That evening Mr Osborne attended a party at the Rothschild villa and sat on the same table as Mr Rothschild, Mr Deripaska and Mr Mandelson. Again, there was no conversation about party funding.

The following evening, August 23, Mr Osborne attended a dinner at a local taverna.

Mr Deripaska did not attend but both Mr Rothschild and Peter Mandelson did. The conversation involved the state of British politics.

The next day, Mr Osborne, who had been staying in a rented house but was now staying at the Rothschild villa with his family, mentioned to Mr Rothschild that Andrew Feldman - who Mr Rothschild had met once before - was holidaying half an hour away with his family and friends.

Mr Rothschild then invited Mr Feldman to join them for an early evening drink at the villa.

This was a social invitation and at no point previously had Mr Osborne and Mr Rothschild discussed the possibility of a donation to the Conservative Party from Mr Deripaska.

Mr Feldman, Mr Osborne, Mr Rothschild and two other house guests gathered on the villa terrace.

There was a discussion about British and American politics and, in the course of which, Mr Rothschild suggested to Mr Feldman that his friend Mr Deripaska could be interested in making a party donation.

Mr Feldman had not met Mr Deripaska previously and was not aware who he was.

Mr Feldman made clear that there are very strict rules on donations to political parties in the UK.

He explained that there are only two ways of giving a political donation. Firstly, if you appear as an individual on the UK electoral roll. Secondly, if the donation comes from a legitimate UK trading company.

This is an explanation Mr Feldman gives regularly when asked about donations both privately and publicly.

At this point, Mr Rothschild said that Mr Deripaska owned UK trading companies including Leyland Daf.

There was no discussion about how a donation by Mr Deripaska could be concealed or channelled.

At no point did Mr Osborne or Mr Feldman solicit or ask for a donation, suggest ways of channelling a donation or express any wish to meet with Mr Deripaska to discuss donations.

The conversation moved on to the US elections. Some time later Mr Rothschild - having phoned Mr Deripaska - invited Mr Osborne, Mr Feldman and one other house guest for a further drink on Mr Deripaska's yacht which was moored nearby.

Mr Osborne and Mr Feldman agreed to meet with Mr Deripaska and his wife and family.

They stayed on the boat for about an hour and drank tea. There was a discussion about British and Russian politics, education and Russian history.

There was no conversation or mention of party funding or the possibility of Mr Deripaska making a donation to the Conservative Party.

After the group left the boat. Mr Feldman did not see Mr Deripaska or Mr Rothschild again and had no further conversations with Mr Deripaska.

Mr Osborne met Mr Deripaska again briefly the following lunchtime when both Mr Deripaska and Mr Mandelson visited the Rothschild villa.

The conversation between them lasted no more than five minutes and again there was no discussion about political donations.

Indeed Mr Osborne, has had no further discussions with Mr Deripaska. Nor has he had a further conversation with Mr Rothschild about donations.

On September 18, Mr Feldman and Mr Rothschild had a phone conversation about the possibility of Mr Rothschild hosting a fundraising dinner for the Conservative Party - something the Rothschild family have done before.

At the end of that conversation Mr Rothschild mentioned that Leyland Daf, a UK trading company owned by Mr Deripaska, was interested in making a donation to the party.

Leyland Daf is well known to be a company recently purchased and owned by Mr Deripaska.

Mr Feldman said that he was not sure if such a donation was appropriate. He told Mr Rothschild that he would have to seek advice on the matter.

Later that day it was decided after consultation with senior party officials that it would not be appropriate to accept such a donation.

There was no further contact from Mr Rothschild or Mr Deripaska and the matter was considered to be at an end.

For clarity, neither Mr Feldman nor Mr Osborne have ever discussed with Oleg Deripaska the possibility of him making a political donation.

At no point in any of these meetings and discussions did either Mr Osborne or Mr Feldman solicit or attempt to solicit a donation from Mr Deripaska. Nor did they at any stage suggest any way that a donation could be channelled or concealed through a British company.

This statement constitutes a full and detailed explanation of Mr Osborne and Mr Feldman's dealings with Mr Deripaska. We would now urge Lord Mandelson to provide the same.

Over to you Mandy. Explain ALL your dealings with Deripaska.

The Mystery of Northern Rock and the other 1.2 trillion

A while ago Fraser Nelson writing in the Coffee House Blog wondered if a certain Gordon Brown, our erstwhile PM, might try to hide the nationalisation of the Northern Rock away so it didn't count against the National Debt. He wrote this thinking it might not be possible.

Well lo and behold we now hear that he has done just this. With a sleight of hand Gordon has made 7% of our supposed National Debt just disappear. That's 82 billion according to my calculations from the ONS website. This means that the figures quoted by Gordon Brown in parliament yesterday for a national debt percentage of 37.9% of GDP were entirely bogus. They are now at 43.4% of GDP. Of course Gordon has redefined debt now so he can use some "doublespeak" to make it sound good.

Gordon has basically hidden the debt. It's like me saying I have no debts, oh, apart from my mortgage which doesn't count as it's really an asset. The problem with this is that I have to pay it off which of course leaves me less money to deal with my other spending.

Now of course Gordon and Alistair Darling think they can spend, spend spend in an orgy of Keynesian economic theory to sort out their earlier problems. Of course these problem are not of their own making, they are the devil's spawn sent from America to destroy us.

Of course the figures shown above are entirely bogus as described below. Gordon, who wants banks to be transparent, has hidden away much of the true national debt. His creative accounting with the public pensions and PFI has left true debt at a level vastly above that which he purports is within EEC guidelines. The true figure may be as much as 1,854 billion, 3 times as much as Gordon wants to admit and makes our National Debt over 120% of GDP, a truly remarkable figure, which eclipses that of even Italy. These figure were calculated by Conservative MP, Brooks Newmark, he

says the true level of government borrowing is much higher. He calculates – including the cost of projects financed through the PFI, unfunded public sector pension liabilities, the debt incurred by Network Rail and the recent nationalisation of Bradford and Bingley – the true figure is at £1,854 billion – three times greater than the official figures, equivalent to 126.9 per cent of GDP, or £75,984 for every household in the country. "The true figures for government debt are the result of this government's loose fiscal policies and excessive spending,"

Writing in the Guardian Brooks has the following to say

The British government often congratulates itself on its efforts to keep public finances on a stable and sustainable level. Yesterday Gordon Brown even claimed:

"Debt is considerably lower than a decade ago".

However, Britain's public debt is actually £1,866 billion, equivalent to 125.5% of GDP, nearly three times larger than the government's published figure of £645 billion and 43.4% of GDP. This measures out as a debt of £76,475 per British household.
While figures recently released on the scale of the government's public spending bonanza point to government borrowing leaping to a record £8.1 billion in September, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Opaque off-balance sheet measures have, until
revealed in The Price of Irresponsibility published by the Centre for Policy Studies, kept hidden the full cost of projects financed through the Private Finance Initiative, the extent of unfunded public sector pension liabilities, the debt incurred by Network Rail and the recent nationalisation of Bradford &Bingley. Yet, the figure may be much worse. While the exact impact on the public finances of the government's recent bail-out of the banking sector is as yet unknown, it could imply an addition of as much as £500 billion to the balance sheet. This would increase public debt to a massive £2,366 billion, which is 159.1% of GDP, or over £96,967 per British household.

I just wish I could make my mortgage disappear like Gordon does.

Making Northern Rock disappear Coffee House

Brown in La La Land - He's just making it up now

Fraser Nelson writing in the Spectator's Coffee House blog has this to say.

Another breathtaking Brownie at the Prime Minister’s press conference today:

“I have to say we face this situation with relatively low national debt because of the steps we have taken since 1997, where we wiped off perhaps more than around £100 billion of debt by reducing the proportion of debt in our national income.”

Huh? The ONS is unequivocal: net debt was £351bn in May 1997 and £632bn in August – or £545bn if you exclude Northern Rock. So where is his “wiping out” of £100 billion? Normally with a Brownie you can see how he cooked up the fake figure. But this time, it really does look like he just made it up.

Consider this for a moment. As Brown chastises bankers for dishonest off balance sheet accounting, he is concocting figures live on national television. There has never been a greater need for honesty but Brown remains unable to level with the public about the amount of debt his government has saddled us with. A reminder that the malaise Brown so piously diagnoses in the City – creative accounting – remains at the heart of his own treatment of government accounting.

On live television has yet again lied to us all. This fantasy land he lives in where he quotes out tractor statistics which are patently untrue is just amazing. Why don't the big TV networks take him up on his lying. I understand they are unlikely to get repeat interviews if they do this but that's what real journalism should be about.

He's just making it up now | Coffee House

More La-La from Gordon

According to Gordon who was speaking from his home in La-La land

... he was working internationally to reduce the price of oil, and that he'd like to see the winter fuel allowance higher, were it not for the need to balance expenditure.“I’d like the winter allowance, frankly, to be higher, but we’ve got to balance off the need to do other things such as increase expenditure on the health service and meet all our targets on the health service.

“I’m trying to get the oil price down, and get the fall passed on directly to people at the petrol pumps and then on to gas and electricity bills. “We are determined that just as people pass on the rise, they pass on the fall when the oil price falls.“We want to see more stability – I’m talking to OPEC members and telling them that they must not cut oil production now…they must act in a statesman like way to help the rest of the world by having a stable reduction in the oil price.

Translation. I'm about to try and bribe the voters but I've just found out I left my wallet at home so you'll have to wait a few days. After Saving the world from Financial Meltdown, I am now sorting out the final problem of Oil Prices over which I have no control, I think God consults me and my Beatification is now complete.

Men in white coats are now talking to the Prime Minister to explain to him he is no longer in control of the future of the UK.

Update: Spectator has this as Gordon's Canute moment

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What's a Mandelson

According to David Cameron the definition of a Mandelson in Conservative circles is the time it takes between meeting Mandelson and him being rude about Gordon Brown.

Clear - Secure Data?

Secure data is just a dream until companies and governments work out just what they are dealing with. The basic problem is that processes to access and store data are inadequate. This is why until proper processes and procedures are in place we need to accept that "secure" data is just not possible particularly in large scale systems, such as the NHS Spine, which transport data to and from many smaller systems or access points.

The simple example shown in this article where supposedly highly secure data on verified travellers show just how dangerous this problem could be. The company operating the system, FlyClear, is now not accepting new customers as they "upgrade" their systems. Interestingly as late as July 2008 they were still extolling their privacy and how they were secure, including details of an audit performed by Ernst and Young. Their parent company is intriguingly called Verified Identity Pass Inc.

It may also find out the hard way that one error in this type of market can lead to the end of the business. Significantly the system causing the problem was called "Clear" and obviously this is how they liked to view their data.

The Times today also has another example, not new, of how the supposed "Fakeproof" E-Passport can be cloned in minutes.

What this shows is that anything claimed as "uncrackable" or "unbreakable" just isn't at the moment so don't believe it.

Slashdot | "Clear" Air-Travel Pass Data Stolen From SFO