Maria Miller resigns

[matthewr]

Matthew,

The fact remains that Mull's views are history. Since 1979 people espousing them have not even come close to being in power. This will continue, irrespective of who wins the next election.

Basically, the UK is essentially a centre right nation which likes to whinge a lot. Suck it up.

Chris

And my point was that your views and politics are stuck in 1984 and you have shown no ability to update your understanding or views since then which makes you every bit as anachronistic as someone still fighting the miner's strike.

 

[matthewr]

You don't find it even slightly sinister, that her fate was effectively determined by the press ?

She most likely is a snivelling snout-in-trougher, but she was cleared by a standards committee. She did however, go directly up against the press in the Levenson issue, and this reeks of the press getting their own back.

Should people like Murdoch really have such over-arching influence ?

I'm not sure the Levenson angle stands up:

Miller's only significant public contribution was generally regarded by publishers and editors as helpful to their initiative to set up the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) because she said it was fine for them to go ahead without charter oversight.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/apr/10/maria-miller-press-regulation

 

[Mescalito]

And my point was that your views and politics are stuck in 1984 and you have shown no ability to update your understanding or views since then which makes you every bit as anachronistic as someone still fighting the miner's strike.

Matthew,

My core views have never really wavered since I was 17.
Shrink the state
Return responsibility for peoples destiny back to the individual
Provide bare bones safety net.

Any government which espouses such aims gets my vote.

Chris

 

[Greg]

You don't find it even slightly sinister, that her fate was effectively determined by the press ?

her fate was determined by: 1. her stealing; 2. her obvious bullying tactics making reference to Leverson as an attempt to hush the story from breaking; 3. the committee overruling the decision by the official enquiry - a bit like ex cons deciding sentencing; 4. her quite obvious lack of any remorse - she literally appeared to not really get what the problem was at all; 5. Cameron's hypocritical support of the thief - he quite obviously doesn't really see there's a problem with the theft; 6. the "witch hunt" crap as an attempt to support her.

It stinks from start to finish and she entirely deserves the outcome. The political class is completely out of touch and they need a dose of reality.

 

[Simon Vess]

Still ducking the issue?

I say again. This is not about ideology. It is about integrity v corruption.

If you or the Govt. genuinely believed that Royal Mail was better run by the private sector and was a profitable proposition.. why did they need to get their heads together with prospective purchasers to fix the share price?

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...riority-investors-cash-share-price-spike.html

Mull

It quite obviously IS about idealogy, in your case.

Time alone will tell if the Royal Mail is better run as a private enterprise

Simon

 

[Simon Vess]

her fate was determined by: 1. her stealing; 2. her obvious bullying tactics making reference to Leverson as an attempt to hush the story from breaking; 3. the committee overruling the decision by the official enquiry - a bit like ex cons deciding sentencing; 4. her quite obvious lack of any remorse - she literally appeared to not really get what the problem was at all; 5. Cameron's hypocritical support of the thief - he quite obviously doesn't really see there's a problem with the theft; 6. the "witch hunt" crap as an attempt to support her.

It stinks from start to finish and she entirely deserves the outcome. The political class is completely out of touch and they need a dose of reality.

I agree

Simon

 

[bor]

I'm not sure the Levenson angle stands up:



http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/apr/10/maria-miller-press-regulation

OK, Thanks, understood.

It's just that I'm trying to understand why this happened and I keep adding 2 + 2 and coming up with 5 (a bit like Miller, it has to be said).

 

[Barrymagrec]

Leveson chaps, L E V E S O N

 

[monkfish]

It quite obviously IS about idealogy, in your case.

Time alone will tell if the Royal Mail is better run as a private enterprise

Simon

It is not whether it will be better run that is in question, whether it was sold off far too cheaply into grasping greedy hands is the problem.

 

[Paul R]

You don't find it even slightly sinister, that her fate was effectively determined by the press ?

For that theory to fly Miliband would have to be a despicable hypocrite.

She's gone because she gave her political opponents a repeated opportunity.

Paul

 

[Paul R]

her fate was determined by: 1. her stealing; 2. her obvious bullying tactics making reference to Leverson as an attempt to hush the story from breaking; 3. the committee overruling the decision by the official enquiry - a bit like ex cons deciding sentencing; 4. her quite obvious lack of any remorse - she literally appeared to not really get what the problem was at all; 5. Cameron's hypocritical support of the thief - he quite obviously doesn't really see there's a problem with the theft; 6. the "witch hunt" crap as an attempt to support her.

It stinks from start to finish and she entirely deserves the outcome. The political class is completely out of touch and they need a dose of reality.

I realise it is unlikely to matter, or to concern you, but the above is clearly libellous.

Paul

 

[amazement]

I realise it is unlikely to matter, or to concern you, but the above is clearly libellous.

Paul

I can see your point, but I agree with Greg on this.

 

[Simon Vess]

How long have you got?


http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...riority-investors-cash-share-price-spike.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25660555

http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/nhs-contracts-going-to-private-firms/5067114.article#.U0ZjVKKgwvk

http://nhsforsale.info/database/latest-developments/february-2014.html

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/mar/14/dwp-meltdown-welfare-projects-margaret-hodge

Plenty more where that lot came from.

Mull

These are mostly press allegations..............

I hope you include all the PFI contracts for hospitals and schools implemented by Gordon Brown and his cronies that we will all be paying through the nose for- for many years hence...... (These are facts)

These are universally acknowledged to have been really bad deals for the taxpayer...pretty much in line with Gordon Brown`s decision to offload a big chunk of our gold reserves at a knockdown price

Simon

 

[Paul R]

I can see your point, but I agree with Greg on this.

So you don't see my point?

I don't see how her behaviour is defensible, either at the time or subsequently. But then I don't see how John Mann or Ed Miliband's behaviour is defensible either. Or that of the press who hounded her parents. It's very grubby politics all round.

Paul

 

[Mullardman]

It quite obviously IS about idealogy, in your case.

Time alone will tell if the Royal Mail is better run as a private enterprise

Simon

Jeez!

You don't 'get' it any more than Chris does. Do you?

For the purposes of this discussion it doesn't matter whether it is likely to be better or worse in private ownership.

What matters is whether the sale was conducted honestly and without any hint of corruption/insider dealing etc. All the available evidence points to it being not just ineptly, but dishonestly handled.

That is the point the right do not seem able to grasp.

Mull

 

[Mescalito]

Jeez!

You don't 'get' it any more than Chris does. Do you?

For the purposes of this discussion it doesn't matter whether it is likely to be better or worse in private ownership.

What matters is whether the sale was conducted honestly and without any hint of corruption/insider dealing etc. All the available evidence points to it being not just ineptly, but dishonestly handled.

That is the point the right do not seem able to grasp.

Mull

No, Mull, it is you who are missing the point. The govt. wanted shot of the bloody thing. In order to make sure they got rid of it, they followed the advice of their advisers. They succeeded in getting rid of it. Job well done.

Chris

 

[amazement]

So you don't see my point?

I don't see how her behaviour is defensible, either at the time or subsequently. But then I don't see how John Mann or Ed Miliband's behaviour is defensible either. Or that of the press who hounded her parents. It's very grubby politics all round.

Paul

I do.

 

[richardg]

I don`t have all the detailed facts to hand, but I believe that the majority of Parliamentary expense - fiddlers who have actually been convicted of fraud have been Labour MP`s ..... Is this not the case?

I would also suggest that Gordon Brown must rank as one of the biggest robbers in British political history

Simon

I got the spreadsheet from somewhere once, The Telegraph i think, and counted all those that had been asked to make a repayment. I quoted it on PFM somewhere and my memory tells me 71% of labour MPs were asked to, 45% of Lib dems and 41% of conservatives. This makes Labour the least trustworthy party in my opinion.

 

[auric]

I got the spreadsheet from somewhere once, The Telegraph i think, and counted all those that had been asked to make a repayment. I quoted it on PFM somewhere and my memory tells me 71% of labour MPs were asked to, 45% of Lib dems and 41% of conservatives. This makes Labour the least trustworthy party in my opinion.

IIRC

Many valuable lessons can be learned from history, but extrapolating historical returns into the future is difficult and complicated.

 

[Tony L]

I hope you include all the PFI contracts for hospitals and schools implemented by Gordon Brown and his cronies that we will all be paying through the nose for- for many years hence...... (These are facts)

'Labour' and 'Conservative' is just a choice of packaging - beneath the skin both are the exact same ugly failed neoliberalism of a rather authoritarian nature. Both parties are corrupt, both are responsible for the misappropriation of tax revenue given in good faith for public services and national infrastructure. Same trough, same type of self-serving and corrupt sociopath feasting at it, voting just gets you the choice of the colour of the tie. PFI and sham parasitic companies like A4E, G4S etc etc belong to them both equally. They both dug the same hole and both shat in it.