UK General Election thread

[Dauphin]

http://www.lbc.co.uk/incredibly-awkward-interview-with-natalie-bennett-105384

Pain-Full.

[C0ckney]

meanwhile malcolm rifkind and jack straw put on a neil hamiliton tribute.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Jack Straw will "cop it" if they have broken parliamentary rules in the "cash-for-access" row, Commons Speaker John Bercow has said.

The two were secretly filmed allegedly offering their services to a private firm for cash. Both deny wrongdoing.

Mr Bercow told Sky News it "may well be errors of judgement have been made".

Meanwhile, two senior Conservative peers have claimed that being an MP is not a full-time job.

Mr Bercow's comments follow Sir Malcolm's resignation as chair of Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee on Tuesday, and his announcement that he will not stand again in the coming general election.

The Conservative party whip has been withdrawn from Sir Malcolm, while Mr Straw - who had said last year that he was retiring as an MP in May - has suspended himself from the Labour Party.

The MPs have referred themselves to Parliament's standards watchdog but deny breaching House of Commons rules.

'Face the music'

The two former foreign secretaries featured in an undercover investigation by the Daily Telegraph and Channel 4's Dispatches programme.

Reporters posed as staff of a fake Chinese firm and held discussions with the MPs about joining the company's "advisory board".

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Bercow said: "I know them both, and they are both highly capable, highly experienced people.

"It may well be errors of judgement have been made, and if that is so then they will cop it. They will face the music, they will suffer a penalty as a result."

He added that his attitude was that MPs should represent their constituents and not use their position to make money from outside interests.

"People should not be in parliament to add to their personal fortune," he said.

Meanwhile, two senior figures in the Conservative Party - Lord Heseltine and Lord Lawson - have entered into the debate about whether MPs should be allowed to have second jobs.

Following the "cash for access" allegations, the Labour leader Ed Miliband called for a ban on MPs being allowed to have two jobs.

But in an interview on BBC Newsnight, former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine said he believed an MP's salary was "not designed to be the total income of all MPs".

He said: "Is an MP expected to be a full-time employee of his or her constituency?

"My own view is that it is not a full-time job, there's a huge commitment in it and you work all hours and all days but there is plenty of time in which you can do do other things providing it's within the rules that are laid down."

He said while many MPs would regard themselves as well-paid, others would feel they had to "forego" an income they were "perfectly capable of earning in combination with a job as a backbench MP".

And the former Chancellor Lord Lawson told Sky News: "Being a constituency MP - although it is an important job - is not a full-time job. Indeed, the proof of that is that ministers are also MPs and they do both jobs.

"When I was Chancellor of the Exchequer I had one of the heaviest workloads in the country and yet I continued as a constituency member and I don't think anybody said I wasn't doing my job there.

"So if you're just a constituency member, you do have time on your hands".

[regexcellent]

Wow. That Green Party manifesto on page 3 of the thread reads like it was shat out by a stoned high schooler.

Negative economic growth

[Hauldren Collider]

http://www.lbc.co.uk/incredibly-awkw...bennett-105384

Pain-Full.

If I didn't know better I'd say she was running for class president

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Someone's doing their best to lose in a safe seat-

Conservative MP David Tredinnick has called for the NHS to use astrology to help treat patients.

Speaking to the Astrological Journal, the Bosworth MP dismissed critics of astrology – such as physicist and TV presenter Professor Brian Cox – saying they had “simply not studied the subject”.

“I do believe that astrology and complementary medicine would help take the huge pressure off doctors. Astrology is a useful diagnostic tool enabling us to see strengths and weaknesses via the birth chart,” he said.

“Astrology offers self-understanding to people. People who oppose what I say are usually bullies who have never studied astrology. They never look at it. They are absolutely dismissive. Astrology may not be capable of passing double-blind tests but it is based on thousands of years of observation.

"Astrology was until modern times part of the tradition of medicine. I think it is a great pity that so many scientists today are dismissive of right-side brain energy, such as intuition. People such as Professor Brian Cox, who called astrology 'rubbish', have simply not studied the subject.”

He noted that the BBC was “quite dismissive of astrology”, saying it “seeks to promote the science perspective”.

Mr Tredinnick, a Capricorn, said opposition to astrology was based on “superstition, ignorance, and prejudice” and claimed it was also “racially prejudiced”.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/tory-mp-calls-for-nhs-to-use-astrology-to-treat-patients-and-take-pressure-off-doctors-10068307.html

So if you don't believe doctors can diagnose illnesses by simply checking your date and place of birth you're a racist? OK. Glad to have you running the country, Nostradamus.

[Sava]

This UK election cycle is making me feel so much better about the circus that happens here in America.

[N35t0r]

Someone's doing their best to lose in a safe seat-

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/tory-mp-calls-for-nhs-to-use-astrology-to-treat-patients-and-take-pressure-off-doctors-10068307.html

So if you don't believe doctors can diagnose illnesses by simply checking your date and place of birth you're a racist? OK. Glad to have you running the country, Nostradamus.

Well, he's a Capricorn, so it's understandable that he'd say all that...

[Hauldren Collider]

Someone's doing their best to lose in a safe seat-

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/tory-mp-calls-for-nhs-to-use-astrology-to-treat-patients-and-take-pressure-off-doctors-10068307.html

So if you don't believe doctors can diagnose illnesses by simply checking your date and place of birth you're a racist? OK. Glad to have you running the country, Nostradamus.

Um.

Reminds me of when a Chinese friend of mine said her white boyfriend's mom bragged to her about reading chinese horoscopes. I asked her whether those were better than Western horoscopes. Her: "Yes, it's the mysticism of the orient, don't you know?" Me: "Shut up and take your opium."

[Dauphin]

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

I can see a multitudes on flaws in this-

First-time buyers under the age of 40 in England can now register to buy new homes at a discount of up to 20% off the normal price.

The offer is part of the government's new "starter homes" scheme to encourage home ownership and construction on previously used "brownfield" land.

The government hopes 100,000 new houses will be built specifically for first-time buyers by 2020.

Labour said the plans would ring hollow for those priced out of the market.

The 20% discount is achieved by waiving local authority fees for homebuilders of at least £45,000 per dwelling on brownfield sites.

The government said there would be no compromise on quality or energy efficiency, but first-time buyers would have to repay the 20% price advantage if they sold within five years.

Housing minister Brandon Lewis urged first-time buyers to register on the starter homes website from Saturday.

He said an affordable house-building programme was beginning which had "the fastest build rate in about 20 years".

"And this new starter homes programme is another 100,000 homes on top of everything else that we're doing, allowing those first time buyers, people who want to own that home of their own, to be able to do that - a good design, well-built home, with a 20% discount.

"When you link that with Help to Buy it opens up the ability to own a home to a whole new group of people."

But Labour said the government had presided over the lowest levels of house building since the 1920s and home ownership was at its lowest level for three decades.

The number of houses being built in the UK fell during the final three months of 2014 - the first such decline for almost two years.

The 0.2% drop in new home construction compared with a 6.1% increase in the previous quarter.

Overall, total construction output fell by 2.1% in the quarter, the Office for National Statistics said.

However, the government says 137,000 homes were started in 2014 - a rise of 10% on the previous year.

The government introduced a scheme called Help to Buy in England in April 2013.

It was intended to help those trying to get on the housing ladder who could afford mortgage repayments but were struggling to raise a deposit.

Last March the scheme in England was extended until 2020 rather than December 2016, as had previously been planned.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31668135

I suspect that will just cause the price of these houses to rise further, with first-time buyers just able to outbid others using the discount. If the government really is serious about this issue they need to increase supply significantly beyond the levels proposed (which would lose them votes from existing homeowners as house prices fall) and increase taxation on people buying properties to let out.

[Hauldren Collider]

That's a ridiculous policy.

[Dauphin]

I can see a multitudes on flaws in this-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31668135

I suspect that will just cause the price of these houses to rise further, with first-time buyers just able to outbid others using the discount. If the government really is serious about this issue they need to increase supply significantly beyond the levels proposed (which would lose them votes from existing homeowners as house prices fall) and increase taxation on people buying properties to let out.

Do buy to lets allow mortgage interest to be deducted from tax bills? Would be a good starting point to finish what Lawson started.

[iHateFatPeople]

The effectiveness of foreign aid depends on whether developing countries are being held back by lack of capital or inefficient use of capital. (Solow growth model) If they lack capital, they should attract foreign investors with the promise of high returns. If they use capital inefficiently, foreign aid is a waste of money.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

That'll come as a great comfort to the villagers who just need someone to dig them a proper well to stop their kids dying.

[iHateFatPeople]

I'm sure a school building paid for by foreigners would also provide them great comfort.