Ken or Boris?

by **Ivan** Sun Jan 22, 2012 1:57 pm

First topic message reminder :

May 3 is the date set for the London Mayoral election. The three main candidates are Boris Johnson (Tory), who has been Mayor of London since 2008, Ken Livingstone (Labour), who was Mayor from 2000 until 2008, and Brian Paddick (Lib Dem). As Paddick is currently polling around 7%, I think we can discount him.

From 1986 to 2000, London had been the only major city in the Western world without its own elected authority. That was because when Labour regained control of the Greater London Council (GLC) in 1981, Thatcher, an enemy of democracy, decided to abolish it. She also abolished six metropolitan councils which just happened to be Labour-controlled. It's hardly surprising that she was a personal friend of General Pinochet, a man not noted for his democratic credentials.

Ken Livingstone was born in Streatham in London in 1945 and went to Tulse Hill Comprehensive School. He worked as a cancer research laboratory technician at the Royal Marsden Hospital. In 1971, he became a councillor in Lambeth, and he was the leader of the GLC from 1981 until its abolition in 1986. He was the MP for Brent East from 1987 until 2001.

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, a descendant of an illegitimate child of George II, was born in 1964 and went to Eton and Oxford, where, as a member of the Bullingdon Club (in the company of Cameron and Osborne) he spent a night in a police cell after trashing a restaurant. He became a journalist and was the Tory MP for Henley from 2001 to 2008. Once elected Mayor of London (on a salary of around £150,000 a year), he resumed work as a ‘Daily Telegraph’ columnist on a further £250,000 a year.

Johnson, who has campaigned vigorously against the 50% top rate of tax and has frequently defended bankers, is a serial adulterer, compulsive liar, racist, and even a thief, once being made to return an article which he looted from the home of Tariq Aziz in Baghdad. He has a reputation for running up exorbitant expenses, and in short, he’s thoroughly unsuitable for holding any office.

by oftenwrong Thu Feb 16, 2012 8:11 pm

Expats in a foreign land frequently find that they have no say in the Political affairs of the place where they live, because they are not entitled to vote.
Brits on the Costa del Sol in 1976 found themselves at the mercy of their maids, butlers and gardeners.

Many of the wealthiest London residents are similarly disenfranchised.

by blueturando Fri Feb 17, 2012 1:02 am

Personally I think both are idiots and I cannot understand why London needs a Mayor to make political decisions, when all other cities have a council to do this. Why should one man of what ever party wield so much power over a major UK city

by **Ivan** Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:33 am

blue. London didn't have a council from 1986 until 2000 because your friend Thatcher abolished it, making London the only major city in the Western world without its own council. Now it has the Greater London Authority as well as a mayor.

by Redflag Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:31 am

trevorw2539 wrote:Personally I find it completely unacceptable that so much power should be in the hands of one man, whatever his party. Still, I know nothing about running a city, and I'm slightly potty, so that makes me well qualified. And £144k per year. Will anyone sponsor me? I promise jobs for the boys!

Its a pity I do not live in London trevor2539 because I would vote for you even though you are a bit potty, you would do a better job than thieving Boris.

by **Ivan** Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:26 am

The first hustings of the London mayoral election was organised by Age UK. Dave Hill has written about it in his ‘Guardian’ blog:-

Ken seemed really up for this encounter, and he played some mean cards well. His big reply to Boris's 'waste' line of attack is to depict the Tory mayor as a complacent idler who hasn't stood up for ordinary Londoners: not on transport fares, not on police numbers, not on helping them to insulate their homes and not on London pensioners' prized Freedom Pass.

Ken produced the class war joker too: "Boris has decided to have another job this last four years, working for 'The Daily Telegraph'. He is paid one quarter of a million pounds a year..."

"£140,000 a year for mayor?" Ken went on. "I got by on that. I had no trouble whatsoever. If you can't live on £140,000 a year, you must have a very interesting lifestyle."

Ooohs from the crowd. Perhaps they've been reading ‘The Mail’. Then Ken produced a written pledge, declaring that the mayor should do that job alone. He handed it to Boris, inviting him to sign. This time the crowd went just a little wild.

For the full account:-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/davehillblog/2012/feb/21/boris-johnson-ken-livingstone-ageuk-mayoral-hustings?CMP=twt_fd

by Stox 16 Wed Feb 22, 2012 2:48 am

I have to say...Ken is a great Campaigner and far to good at it for Doris....A friend who is in the Tory party has already told me that many inside the London Tory parties believe Doris can pull of a win this time...Many also believe he has his eyes else where? they could be right who knows...

by **Ivan** Wed Feb 22, 2012 3:31 pm

Source: MyDavidCameron.com

by Redflag Wed Feb 22, 2012 6:28 pm

Ivan wrote:The first hustings of the London mayoral election was organised by Age UK. Dave Hill has written about it in his ‘Guardian’ blog:-

Ken seemed really up for this encounter, and he played some mean cards well. His big reply to Boris's 'waste' line of attack is to depict the Tory mayor as a complacent idler who hasn't stood up for ordinary Londoners: not on transport fares, not on police numbers, not on helping them to insulate their homes and not on London pensioners' prized Freedom Pass.

Ken produced the class war joker too: "Boris has decided to have another job this last four years, working for 'The Daily Telegraph'. He is paid one quarter of a million pounds a year..."

"£140,000 a year for mayor?" Ken went on. "I got by on that. I had no trouble whatsoever. If you can't live on £140,000 a year, you must have a very interesting lifestyle."

Ooohs from the crowd. Perhaps they've been reading ‘The Mail’. Then Ken produced a written pledge, declaring that the mayor should do that job alone. He handed it to Boris, inviting him to sign. This time the crowd went just a little wild.

Thanks for that Ivan I wish I had been there to see it live your narrative made me wish I had been there to listen its a pity i do not live nearer I will try and look into your link once again thank you.

For the full account:-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/davehillblog/2012/feb/21/boris-johnson-ken-livingstone-ageuk-mayoral-hustings?CMP=twt_fd

by Stox 16 Thu Feb 23, 2012 3:09 am

Ivan wrote:
Source: MyDavidCameron.com

That is dead funny Ivan...enjoyed that..

by Scarecrow Sat Feb 25, 2012 4:17 am

Assembly Members regularly question the Mayor , to an outsider looking in say , we see the spectacle of Boris in the bear pit , I wish, he has all the smart answers and rhetoric yet cannot shake the public schoolboy buffoon image , he is no buffoon , what he is from a tory PR point is a likable chap , if the tories could clone him the party would take longer to reach the toxic tories label that is happening again now.
Boris underneath is ruthless , a true tory , impregnating females all over the place ha ha . I will leave Ken for now.

by bobby Sat Feb 25, 2012 9:10 am

Why can I not get beyond page one of this topic.

by oftenwrong Sat Feb 25, 2012 10:16 am

People who live there tend to think that London IS the United Kingdom, and vice-versa.

by **Ivan** Mon Feb 27, 2012 10:06 am

"It's chicken feed". So said Tory Mayor of London Boris Johnson when asked about his £250,000 a year salary for his second job as a newspaper columnist:-

http://chickenfeed.org.uk/

Today the hypocrite has used his 'Daily Telegraph' column to explain why the young unemployed should work for no pay.

by Redflag Mon Feb 27, 2012 10:19 am

Ivan wrote:"It's chicken feed". So said Tory Mayor of London Boris Johnson when asked about his £250,000 a year salary for his second job as a newspaper columnist:-

http://chickenfeed.org.uk/

Today the hypocrite has used his 'Daily Telegraph' column to explain why the young unemployed should work for no pay.

Some size of chicken feed plus his salary that the tax payers are paying for his job of Mayor, I wonder how he would feel if he had to work for nothing I would love to give the Tories a taste of there own medicine Ever Heard Pigs Squealing.

by **Ivan** Mon Feb 27, 2012 10:37 am

Ken Livingstone's letter to Cameron

Dear Prime Minister,

The Mayor of London is now such an important post that the time has come that the law should be changed - so that whoever holds that position must be a full-time Mayor.

I am writing today to inform you that if I am elected Mayor, I will promote Parliamentary legislation to amend the Greater London Authority Act so that the Mayor has no other employer and takes no other paid work.

In 2009, ahead of the general election, you said that members of your Shadow Cabinet would have to give up their outside interests, in order to concentrate on politics.

It ought to the case that as that principle applies to your senior Parliamentary team, it should also apply to the Conservative Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Even without you prevailing upon him to do so, I believe that Boris Johnson should have responded in keeping with the mood of the times and clear direction of travel, and ditched his second job.

The Mayor’s role is now so significant that he or she can affect the quality of life of millions of people, from fares to policing and crime. Those who are affected by those decisions should have full confidence that the person making them is fully committed to the job.

Yet Boris Johnson not only earns more as Mayor of London than you do as Prime Minister, he also holds a second job that pays him even more. He is paid £250,000 a year for his column for the Daily Telegraph, an amount of money that he has described as ‘chicken feed.’ This at a time when he has raised fares and cut police numbers.

The global economic crisis, the arguments over bankers’ bonuses, and the scandals over MPs’ expenses, all mean the public now expect much higher standards about the accountability of people in public life than ever before. Boris Johnson has not responded to that new mood.

In such times it is particularly important to take clear steps so that the public understand that politicians are fighting their corner and doing everything they can to remain in touch with peoples’ concerns.

One clear way to restore faith in politics in London is to tighten up the framework for the Mayor’s role so that it is clear that the Mayor only ever has one employer. In that way we can ensure the Mayor is doing the job full-time.

If I am elected Mayor, my commitment is that Londoners will be my only employer throughout my term of office. I will take no other paid work for the full four years of my mayoralty.

I am writing to you today to ask for an early meeting with the relevant ministers, if I am elected, to discuss my proposal for an amendment to the GLA Act so that the Mayor is limited to one salary.

Yours sincerely,

Ken Livingstone

by blueturando Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:12 pm

Seems like poor old Ken has trouble getting any other job because no one wants him. Is this why he's trying to get his old job back?

Maybe some unpaid work at Tesco will give him the skills he needs to return back to the work place

by oftenwrong Mon Feb 27, 2012 2:32 pm

These two are rank amateurs in comparison with a handful of elected mayors in the USA. Once in, they cement themselves in.

"The nation's third-largest city has been ruled by a "Mayor Daley" for 42 of the last 55 years, beginning with Richard J. Daley, who ran Chicago and its Democratic machine for two decades until his death while in office."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/07/chicago-mayor-daley-seek-election/#ixzz1naoT9Ner

by Redflag Mon Feb 27, 2012 6:01 pm

blueturando wrote:Seems like poor old Ken has trouble getting any other job because no one wants him. Is this why he's trying to get his old job back?

Maybe some unpaid work at Tesco will give him the skills he needs to return back to the work place

Why do you not recommend the Tory front bench for some unpaid shelve stacking at Tesco I sure they could manage too do that it would not tax there brainless heads too much if its fit for the unemployed its good enough for them also, After all there making a right ROYAL COCK UP of running the country, and if you think about what your asking the 16 to 24 year olds to do Mind Numbing repetition work I wonder how you would enjoy doing such work? Rolling Eyes

by blueturando Mon Feb 27, 2012 6:08 pm

Redflag....you say that like it's a sin to work, but ok to just sit around taking the free money paid for by the reast of us...No wonder Labour always got it wrong and many of a youth today can't even tie their shoelaces......and you wonder why so many working class core Labour voters deserted you

by Redflag Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:13 pm

blueturando wrote:Redflag....you say that like it's a sin to work, but ok to just sit around taking the free money paid for by the reast of us...No wonder Labour always got it wrong and many of a youth today can't even tie their shoelaces......and you wonder why so many working class core Labour voters deserted you

You are misrepresenting what I have said, I am not against Work Experience if it is REAL experience in a decent company and they would be learning something USEFUL that they could use on there CVs and would help them when they get lucky and get a Real job, so blue do not try and put words in my mouth even work in there own community would be better than MIOND NUMBING shelf stacking.

by **Phil Hornby** Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:15 pm

Quote : " You are misrepresenting what I have said..."

Such a tactic is second nature for a Tory and is the result of decades of practice. It is commonplace from amongst the most common or garden Conservative lapdog ,right up ( or is it down?) to the most senior Cabinet Minister.

Smear, propaganda and misrepresentation is their one real skill. Well, that and feeling so undeniably superior.... Rolling Eyes

by **Ivan** Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:34 pm

Boris Johnson’s brand new £1.4m “vanity bus” has broken down on its first trip. The pricey new addition to London’s transport network suffered from a host of problems — including computer software issues — before finally arriving at its destination 30 minutes late.

The troubled bus stalled in Islington, struggled to shut its doors, sounded an annoying alarm every time it moved, and ended up having to be followed by a TFL Incident Response Vehicle to attend to its further problems. The rear platform, one of the buses’ most striking new features, had to be closed because the brakes were sticking.

As well as facing trouble on the roads, the bus has also received criticism for its hefty price tag. Each bus costs over £1.4 million, coming to £11.37 million for just eight buses. That's 736% more than a standard London doubledecker.

To add insult to injury, the contraption was followed on its route by a (fully functional) doubledecker hired by 'Sack Boris' campaigners, which overtook it when it broke down.

http://politicalscrapbook.net/

by bobby Mon Feb 27, 2012 11:20 pm

blueturando wrote:

"Seems like poor old Ken has trouble getting any other job because no one wants him. Is this why he's trying to get his old job back?

Maybe some unpaid work at Tesco will give him the skills he needs to return back to the work place"

Ken Livingstone doesn’t need to stack shelves at Tesco’s. He is at present running his own company, yet unlike Doris Johnson, he has said he will give up all other interests should he win the mayoral election, and has challenged Doris to do the same, thereby enabling him to treat being the Mayor of London as a full time job, as Ken did and will do again. It can be nothing other than stealing cash, when you are paid to be the Full Time Mayor of England’s Greatest City, then spend time Londoners are paying for to line his own pockets even further.

There is absolutely no comparison between Ken Livingston and Boris Johnson.

Ken will not please everyone, but what does anyone expect with a city as diverse as London, but what you will get is value for money, unlike the wastage of Johnson with his myriad of assistants, I mean even his assistants have assistants.

by blueturando Tue Feb 28, 2012 1:00 am

Ahhh yes Bobby I see how Ken is earning his money these days......should practice what he preaches though hey?

Ken Livingstone used a loophole to avoid £50,000 in tax, despite having attacked tax avoiders in the past as ‘rich b******s.’

Companies House documents show that Labour’s London mayoral candidate earned £232,000 in 2009, the first year after his defeat to Boris Johnson.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2106979/How-Livingstone-used-loophole-avoid-paying-50-000-tax.html#ixzz1ndLqsPBt

by Stox 16 Wed Feb 29, 2012 3:24 am

blueturando wrote:Ahhh yes Bobby I see how Ken is earning his money these days......should practice what he preaches though hey?

Ken Livingstone used a loophole to avoid £50,000 in tax, despite having attacked tax avoiders in the past as ‘rich b******s.’

Companies House documents show that Labour’s London mayoral candidate earned £232,000 in 2009, the first year after his defeat to Boris Johnson.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2106979/How-Livingstone-used-loophole-avoid-paying-50-000-tax.html#ixzz1ndLqsPBt

Well make up your mind Blue..as first of all you said....because no one wants him..then you say .....earned £232,000 in 2009....so which one is it? as for what he earned...what has that got to do with anything at all?....plus if its in the Daily mail its more than likely wrong anyway...

by Stox 16 Wed Feb 29, 2012 3:27 am

bobby wrote:blueturando wrote:

"Seems like poor old Ken has trouble getting any other job because no one wants him. Is this why he's trying to get his old job back?

Maybe some unpaid work at Tesco will give him the skills he needs to return back to the work place"

Ken Livingstone doesn’t need to stack shelves at Tesco’s. He is at present running his own company, yet unlike Doris Johnson, he has said he will give up all other interests should he win the mayoral election, and has challenged Doris to do the same, thereby enabling him to treat being the Mayor of London as a full time job, as Ken did and will do again. It can be nothing other than stealing cash, when you are paid to be the Full Time Mayor of England’s Greatest City, then spend time Londoners are paying for to line his own pockets even further.

There is absolutely no comparison between Ken Livingston and Boris Johnson.

Ken will not please everyone, but what does anyone expect with a city as diverse as London, but what you will get is value for money, unlike the wastage of Johnson with his myriad of assistants, I mean even his assistants have assistants.

Good reply Bobby...I understand his company is going well....something Doris has never done...he only feeds of others....

by Redflag Wed Feb 29, 2012 2:34 pm

Stox 16 wrote:
bobby wrote:blueturando wrote:

"Seems like poor old Ken has trouble getting any other job because no one wants him. Is this why he's trying to get his old job back?

Maybe some unpaid work at Tesco will give him the skills he needs to return back to the work place"

Ken Livingstone doesn’t need to stack shelves at Tesco’s. He is at present running his own company, yet unlike Doris Johnson, he has said he will give up all other interests should he win the mayoral election, and has challenged Doris to do the same, thereby enabling him to treat being the Mayor of London as a full time job, as Ken did and will do again. It can be nothing other than stealing cash, when you are paid to be the Full Time Mayor of England’s Greatest City, then spend time Londoners are paying for to line his own pockets even further.

There is absolutely no comparison between Ken Livingston and Boris Johnson.

Ken will not please everyone, but what does anyone expect with a city as diverse as London, but what you will get is value for money, unlike the wastage of Johnson with his myriad of assistants, I mean even his assistants have assistants.

Good reply Bobby...I understand his company is going well....something Doris has never done...he only feeds of others....

It will be up to the voters who wins and who looses IMHO the people of London are sick and tired of Boris the Buffoon and during the clean up after the riots he tried to stop the normal people of the area from trying to clean up there area "I WONDER WHY".

by **astradt1** Wed Feb 29, 2012 4:00 pm

It was funny listening to PMQ's with Camoron going on about the fact that Ken seems to owe £50k in unpaid taxes but never mentioned the Tory lord Ashcroft and his 'promise' to Silly Billy Vague to pay all due taxes if he was GIVEN a peerage........

And I wonder what Camoron thinks about his other high level 'advisor' P Green and his tax status?

by bobby Wed Feb 29, 2012 4:57 pm

astradt. Herr Cameron also seemed to forget that his Chancellor and that goofy geezer a few seats down "Phill Hammond" are fiddling like mad, and god knows how much they owe the Taxman. I must give Herr Cameron 10/10 for his Brass neck.

by atv Wed Feb 29, 2012 5:18 pm

blueturando wrote:Ahhh yes Bobby I see how Ken is earning his money these days......should practice what he preaches though hey?

Ken Livingstone used a loophole to avoid £50,000 in tax, despite having attacked tax avoiders in the past as ‘rich b******s.’

Companies House documents show that Labour’s London mayoral candidate earned £232,000 in 2009, the first year after his defeat to Boris Johnson.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2106979/How-Livingstone-used-loophole-avoid-paying-50-000-tax.html#ixzz1ndLqsPBt

To be precise Ken Livingstone attacked tax avoiders as “rich b------- who should “not be allowed to vote”. He avoided at least £50,000 in tax by having himself paid through a personal company. The same also applies to David Miliband, his non-parliamentary earnings however, are paid into a company called The Office Of David Miliband Limited, which is subject to corporation tax of between 20 per cent and 27.5 per cent – substantially less than the 50 per cent rate of income tax for those earning more than £150,000.
Does the word hypocrite come to mind, but no suprise really, typical socialist, "Don't do as I do, do as I say.
When Ken and Dave's supporters respond to this I can only think that their excuse will be that good ol' classic: "they haven't done anything illegal so there", but the Left have always considered that argument invalid (and rightly so) whenever Tory MP's got caught (legally) taking advantage of the system and make the same excuse.
So it will be interesting to see how they’ll spin this for Red Ken and D Miliband.

by **astradt1** Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:16 pm

I agree that the practice of having money paid you through other means than direct taxable wages should be made illegal........

That includes the practice of putting your company in the wifes name and then having her live in a tax haven.......just to aviod paying tax.....

Atv nice to see you have a lot to say about the £50K that Ken seems to owe but ignore/keep quiet about the vast sums that Ashcroft and Green et.al are likely to have 'avioded'.............

I wonder when VAT is going to be a REAL VALE ADDED TAX.....i.e. expensive items such a meals at the top restaurants, bottles of champagine and the like are taxed at a higher % rate than a Big Mac and Fries.........

by astra Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:32 pm

G. Brown esq. put VAT on ice cream

Barosso, you know, José Manuel Barroso the Portuguese Lawyer wants the UK government to put VAT on food and baby clothes/children's clothes!

So how long before EVERY item bought/transaction done, is taxed?

by **Ivan** Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:46 pm

G. Brown esq. put VAT on ice cream

astra. Wrong thread, but never mind - Gordon Brown did not put VAT on ice cream, Ken Clarke did with the VAT Act of 1994. Remember those days? When lying Tories got themselves re-elected in 1992 on the promise that they would "cut taxes year on year", only to increase taxes more than any previous government in peace time?

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000118&propertyType=document#P263_13648

by atv Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:56 pm

astradt1 wrote:I agree that the practice of having money paid you through other means than direct taxable wages should be made illegal........

That includes the practice of putting your company in the wifes name and then having her live in a tax haven.......just to aviod paying tax.....

Atv nice to see you have a lot to say about the £50K that Ken seems to owe but ignore/keep quiet about the vast sums that Ashcroft and Green et.al are likely to have 'avioded'.............

I wonder when VAT is going to be a REAL VALE ADDED TAX.....i.e. expensive items such a meals at the top restaurants, bottles of champagine and the like are taxed at a higher % rate than a Big Mac and Fries.........

It's not a case of ignoring or keeping quiet about Ashcroft and Green, I agree with you that the practice of having money paid you through other means than direct taxable wages should be made illegal. But this has been going on for many years now, and to infer that only Torys are dishonest and not the honest socialists and Labour MPs who are doing it, is a tad hypocritical to say the least.
As for VAT to be increased on expensive items such as meals and Bottles of champagne, thats not going to happen, there are too many MPs and union officials who would be affected, and that might create civil unrest.

by astra Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:00 pm

Whoops sorry Ivan! Embarassed

there are too many MPs and union officials who would be affected,

More like - the human body will not usually hurt itself!

by blueturando Wed Feb 29, 2012 11:54 pm

I agree that the practice of having money paid you through other means than direct taxable wages should be made illegal........

That includes the practice of putting your company in the wifes name and then having her live in a tax haven.......just to aviod paying tax.....

I agree with you there Astradt....There is an office 2 down from my office that has been empty for 3 years apart from a desk, chair and printer. I know someone pays rent on it, but my gues is it is just a registered address to save paying their taxes

by Stox 16 Thu Mar 01, 2012 3:05 am

astra wrote:Whoops sorry Ivan!

there are too many MPs and union officials who would be affected,

More like - the human body will not usually hurt itself!

what did big bob say now? are this is it?

Bob Diamond of Barclays said this in a BBC lecture last year:

Soon after the financial crisis of 2008 I was at a meeting in Washington with a group of US senators. They had invited me to provide a point of view on new regulation; regulation aimed at ensuring we never have to go through the events of 2008 ever again.

I had recently attended similar discussions with regulators and policy makers here in the UK and in Europe. While I was there, a senior economic adviser at the White House put a question to me.

“Do you think banks can be good citizens?” he said.

I wanted to answer yes, but before I could reply he said: “If the answer is “yes”, think about the fact that no-one will believe you.”

I did think about that – I have thought about it quite a bit over the past three years.

I want to use this opportunity tonight to share with you my views on why the answer to that question must be “yes”; it’s because the single most important thing for banks and for businesses now is to focus on helping to create jobs and economic growth; and being able to do that requires us – banks in particular – to rebuild the trust that has been decimated by events of the past three years; and that rebuilding trust requires banks to be better citizens.

I believe in this passionately.

And let’s be quite clear about this Bob: I and 99% of the people in this country don’t believe you. Not for one minute did we believe you when you said it. Now we know as it’s been widely reported that when you did say it your bank was planning to claim £500 million from the UK government that it was not owed.

I think it’s time you retracted your comments Bob.

And maybe this year the BBC will permit a lecturer who balances your PR of last year: someone who maybe tells the story as it really is.

by blueturando Thu Mar 01, 2012 1:23 pm

To be precise Ken Livingstone attacked tax avoiders as “rich b------- who should “not be allowed to vote”. He avoided at least £50,000 in tax by having himself paid through a personal company. The same also applies to David Miliband, his non-parliamentary earnings however, are paid into a company called The Office Of David Miliband Limited, which is subject to corporation tax of between 20 per cent and 27.5 per cent – substantially less than the 50 per cent rate of income tax for those earning more than £150,000.
Does the word hypocrite come to mind, but no suprise really, typical socialist, "Don't do as I do, do as I say.
When Ken and Dave's supporters respond to this I can only think that their excuse will be that good ol' classic: "they haven't done anything illegal so there", but the Left have always considered that argument invalid (and rightly so) whenever Tory MP's got caught (legally) taking advantage of the system and make the same excuse.
So it will be interesting to see how they’ll spin this for Red Ken and D Miliband.

And there you have it ATV.....I've given it a day to see how the party faithful would respond to your post and apart from Astradt's par for the course response....Absolutely nothing!!!!
How can these people expect to be taken seriously when they go hammer and tong at Tories who avoid tax, but find it acceptable for Red Ken and Millaband to do just that.
It's as I always expected....It not what politicians do that matters to them, but who does it and what colour tie they are wearing. Power is everything, principles mean nothing!!!!

Now I am expecting a response or two going on about Ashcroft, Green etc and yes I agree they should not be able to avoid paying their taxes...it's totally wrong, but the same must then go for Ken and David, especially Ken who is so vocal in his 'pretend' hatred of the rich....more than a bit hypocritical wouldn't you agree?

So come on Labourites, where is your backbone, where have your principles disappeared to?

by Scarecrow Thu Mar 01, 2012 1:34 pm

blueturando, spot on , no double standards whatever the party , I am no tory lover but had no problem highlighting the fact that Dennis Skinner MP,
On taking his seat, he undertook publicly to stand down from Parliament at the age of 65 (therefore in 1997), just as he would have retired had he remained as a miner; this was so that he would not be 'taking another man's job'. He has, however, since stood and been re-elected in four General Elections.

Integrity figures big in my world , whatever party , keep your integrity intact if possible............oh a utopian dream ha ha ha .

by blueturando Thu Mar 01, 2012 1:58 pm

Thank you Scarecrow.....I will always admire a person who has principles and stick by them...not just when it suits.

We may be on different pages when it comes to our politics, but I will always respect someone who sticks by what they believe and this is why it can get so frustrating on here sometimes with the double standards that seem to be acceptable to some.

I've always liked Dennis Skinner....now there's a man who has integrity, strong beliefs and the courage of his convictions and I repect that.....Ok somethimes much to the annoyance of his own Party, but then again he is old School Labour, when Labour was the Labour party and not a watered down version of the Tories

by Stox 16 Fri Mar 02, 2012 2:04 am

blueturando wrote:Thank you Scarecrow.....I will always admire a person who has principles and stick by them...not just when it suits.

We may be on different pages when it comes to our politics, but I will always respect someone who sticks by what they believe and this is why it can get so frustrating on here sometimes with the double standards that seem to be acceptable to some.

I've always liked Dennis Skinner....now there's a man who has integrity, strong beliefs and the courage of his convictions and I repect that.....Ok somethimes much to the annoyance of his own Party, but then again he is old School Labour, when Labour was the Labour party and not a watered down version of the Tories

Blue
your coming over as very bitter...as when it comes to real principles the Tory party has very few indeed...

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