Politics as Buffoonery

[David Johnson]

It seems to me that British politics is beyond satire. All you need to do is produce a regular 30 minutes of snippets from politics and you could save the production costs of "the Thick of It".

First we had a bloke called Gove who did loads as Education Secretary who has now been replaced with Nicky Morgan whose main claim to fame was that she is a woman and was the Equalities Minister who voted against gay marriage. Expect to see her claiming that education is overrated in the brave new world of Cameron's Britain. Or maybe the introduction of shelf stacking courses as part of the national curriculum. One thing that you can probably guarantee is that she will want to make her mark and will therefore do loads of more stuff at Education.

And Esther McVey is tipped for Tory political stardom having been asked to join the Cabinet. Her main claim to fame seems to be that she is good on the tele, having been a presenter on GMTV and can spew out misleading employment figures in a user friendly way. Anyway she must be the first Scouser in political history who praises Cameron's government for creating all these marvellous jobs for young people.

Mind I did notice that McVey lost her health and safety responsibilities last year after a demolition company of which she was a director got served with two prohibition notices

I await news that Miliband has brought in the entire presenting team from GMTV to take up Cabinet positions. In addition, expect an important announcement about Brad Pitt becoming Shadow Culture Secretary.

There's no hope is there?

[b217bravo]

Esther McVey, the woman is pure evil.
b217bravo (geoff)

[cockneygeezer2009]

Bit harsh. 'Cameron's Cuties' have been selected to sex up his cabinet to appeal to er... female voters. The Conservatives cannot break through the 35% barrier in polls so the cabinet reorganisation is one of the last throws of the dice to stave off an election defeat. In the future expect tax cuts (for millionaires only) and free sex on the NHS. It's mainly about presentation and image nowdays to win elections. The policies are optional once you have been voted into power by the electorate.

[David Johnson]

I got my doctor to refer me for free sex on the NHS. Cue: "we are not surprised" posts from some forumites!!!!

Apparently there's a lengthy waiting list....

[dave756]

I can't believe while this reshuffle bullshit was big news even bigger news was missed, this being one report from the Department for Work and Pensions on Iain Duncan Smith's failed policy of charging extra money for an empty bedroom, right from the start this has never worked, but has pushed poor working people into debt and failed to achieve anything useful.

This from the report:

"Paying the shortfall
Landlords reported that, five months into the RSRS, 41 per cent of tenants have paid the full RSRS shortfall, 39 per cent have paid some and 20 per cent have paid none.
There was widespread concern that those who were paying were making cuts to other household essentials or incurring other debts in order to pay the rent. 57 per cent of claimants reported cutting back on what they deemed household essentials and 35 per cent on non-essentials in order to pay their shortfall. A quarter of claimants (26 per cent) said they had borrowed money, mostly from family and friends (21 per cent of all claimants); three per cent had borrowed on a credit card and three per cent taken payday loans, although we do not know whether they have a history for borrowing for other purposes. In addition, ten per cent had used savings and nine per cent been given money from family."

It just hasn't worked!

Why was this story so missed it is a major story that effected real people the cabinet shuffle brings nothing of interest to most of us!

[cockneygeezer2009]

"Why was this story so missed it is a major story that effected real people the cabinet shuffle brings nothing of interest to most of us!"

Because the Tory press doesn't like to print that kind of stuff. Doesn't fit with their ethos that all people on benefits are lazy scroungers with huge plasma TV's. There has been programmes about the bedroom tax on terrestrial TV.

"The cabinet shuffle brings nothing of interest to most of us!"

The media loved the fact that they could put Tory totty on TV. BBC showed some of these womens legs. Would never do that with the men.

[Essex Lad]

Esther McVey has not been asked to join the Cabinet. She will attend Cabinet, which is totally different.

[Essex Lad]

cockneygeezer2009 wrote:


> Because the Tory press doesn't like to print that kind of
> stuff. Doesn't fit with their ethos that all people on benefits
> are lazy scroungers with huge plasma TVs.

Well judging by that documentary by Margaret Mountford and Nick Hewer last night, they are!

[David Johnson]

Asked to join the Cabinet for meetings.

If I wanted to describe her as a Cabinet Minister, I wouldn't have used the verb "ask" because it is a given that having accepted a Cabinet Minister role which she has not been offered in her case, she would automatically attend Cabinet.

[David Johnson]

One of the things I find gobsmacking is that only 4.5% of tenants affected by the bedroom tax have been able to downsize. So in terms of meeting its original objectives of freeing up spare rooms for bigger families has failed almost completely.

On top of that take universal credit which, according to that Marxist rag, the Economist, will not cover all 5.3 million working-age welfare recipients until 2614 if it keeps going at the current rate.

Then there?s the shift from disability living allowance to the personal independence payment, which last month the public accounts committee savaged as a ?fiasco?, leaving many facing six-months delays ? and the dying having to wait for weeks for support.

And what ties all these together, Iain Duncan Smith, the man who makes Forrest Gump look like Einstein.

And yet he is still in post. Unfucking believable.