…go back to your constituencies and prepare for victory! So goes the BBC narrative on behalf of the Labour government this morning, with useful fools like the CBI chipping in to try and help the hapless Darling. It’s amazing to listen to the Today programme shill that the UK has “almost certainly” left the worst of the..shall we call it a downturn to save blushes? – behind it. Even Nick Robinson popped up to declare that after an “awful” post G20 period, (Even though everyone agrees the G2O was a great success for the Gordfather, he swiftly added) it was back to business as usual today. But I disagree. EVERY day is business as usual as the State Broadcaster does all it can to big up the pro-Labour narrative – and between now and the end of this week the mission will be to implant the idea in the general population that green shoots are now everywhere and that Darling has thoroughly prepared the Nation for recovery. All delusional, of course, but also all part of why the BBC exists.
THE RECESSION IS OVER…..
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To be fair, SKY seems ‘on board’ too. Though I did wonder if their economics editor had his tongue in his cheek when he shared that no less than two, influential, respected organisations have coincidently released predictions that are ‘near perfect’ to please the Treasury. Good job we all have such faith in the MSM these days then.
Restraining my ongoing frustration with news that tells me what might be news in later days, I will await the actual budget before trying to arrive at any conclusions.
For now, I am simply wondering how it has taken over a decade for massive waste in Whitehall to be addressed only now. Again.
Why it was allowed, encouraged even, and presided over with near zero critique by a complicit MSM, one can but wonder.
Along with why that point seems to remain unasked.
It’s almost too easy.
The Parkinson’s Society is asking for donations of brains.
As such appeals are usually accompanied by a vanguard of pols trying to shift costs away from public finance obligations and TV celebs with a cause to suppo.. er.. book/series/show to sell, one has to ask who might have chipped in already…
“Useful fools” like the CBI?? The CBI is a lobby group for business – they’re not interested in helping the government but they are interested in countering the view that the British economy is a corpse and its all senior management’s fault. Nothing foolish about that, it’s their reason for existing.
The BBC dances to the tune of newlabour, smeargate is ancient history to be forgotten, the budget will save us and green shoots are appearing, spring has sprung and the sunlit uplands beckon eh?
Peter Mandelson the disgraced unelected crook who now flounces around as the unelected leader and elder statesman of newlabour decrees that the smeargate story is over and the BBC obeys like a trained monkey, the sleaze dissapears like magic to replaced with grossly dishonest newlabour propaganda and spin.
Nick Robinson reappears like a jack in the box AFTER the smear stories are removed to bleat on about how fabulous newlabour is and the great challenges it faces.
Robinsons timing is great isnt it? the story is banished and airbrushed from the BBC and Nick reappears like magic to proclaim exactly what newlbour wants to be aired, does he think we dont know whats going on? Does he labour under the illusion that we somehow missed the timing and the convenient disappearance, his blog is still closed and will stay closed untill he has been spoonfed a special story/scoop by his newlabour masters, as soon as this special scoop comes along he has nothing to say but second hand trash dictated by newlabour, he only knows what the newlabour spinners tell him to know!
“…two, influential, respected organisations have coincidently released predictions that are ‘near perfect’ to please the Treasury.”
These organisations: where does their funding come from?
Cockney,
The CBI is a lobby for newlabour, they are the very essence of the term useful fools.
The spineless idiots believe only what they are told to believe, they have been knobbled, the dual appearance outside No10 of mandelson and the CBI head was a picture of the master and slave/toady relationship between the CBI/government of the day, the CBI pretends to follow its rule of ‘staying above petty party politics’ to concetrate on putting the case for industry, in reality they have been played like a cheap banjo by newlabour, used and abused as an alternative mouthpiece, the CBI is ignorant of the political game and newlabour are experts at it.
Sorry but Sky News have Geoff Randall. Whilst parts of the Sky output might fall for the Liebour spin machine, they at least offer a regular slot to someone who certainly has no love for Liebour.
Where can you find such a voice on the BBC?
THank god the recession is over! Im just wondering if that means my job is safe now?
Mailman
Cassandra: Spot on. The CBI are in love with Liebour. It was the CBI that wanted uncontrolled immigration, that gave them access to a cheap timid workforce that also helped to keep British workers in check AND has kept the wages of the lower paid down for over a decade.
The laugh has been the trade unions went along with it as well.
Now they reap what they sowed.
Of course what the BBC can’t hide is the extra millions being made unemployed and those that have either lost their homes or are in negative equity.
The CBI is these days completely unrepresentative of the majority of UK companies – the FSB, Federation of Small Businesses, are a far better indicator of the state of the economy. Their view is that we are deep in the mire and that gordons’ decision to INCREASE paye / NI costs to small businesses, was suicidal.
Good comments here
–mind you, ITV news this morning said the recession would be over this time next year — I know different but the drip drip drip is starting to affect me – because we all want it to end – so what about all those less critical viewers out there?!
They’ll believe it – even though their homes will remain in negative equity for 10 years and they are made redundant today, it will be a few years before there is surplus production to soak up those unemployed.
Alan@Oslo: “…two, influential, respected organisations…”
Good point about funding. We often see the words “influential” and “respected” promoting some controversial piece that just happens to bolster the position and policies of the Liebour Government. Whenever I read that, I always wonder “respected by who exactly?” In almost all cases, it’s safe to conclude they mean “respected by fellow left wing organisations like us”.
It’s all media shilling and manipulation – and BBC are the masters.
Liquid P Gasse: We all want the recession to end but it won’t be down to McSnot and his Scottish mafia.
In fact, not only is the CBI unrepresentative of the vast majority of British SME’s but it has worked to undermine them, instead shilling for its own multinational and large corporate interests against the interests of small to medium sized business. The CBI are useful fools.
I have to say, I like the new ‘Twit this’ button. It sums every post up nicely.
Read this article on bias –http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/20/rupert-murdoch-fox-news – for a laugh and to see what we are up against…..
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/20/rupert-murdoch-fox-news
..I forgot to say what deluded, blinkered, bigoted nutters the Left can be….
The BBC report says
Chancellor Alistair Darling is expected to announce some £15bn of spending cuts over the next few years when he delivers his Budget statement.
He will say the money can be found by making Whitehall more efficient.
The report implies that this reduction in spending is painless, no mention is made of its effects on public sector employment.
Makes one wonder what all the fuss was about when previously proposed by those evil Tories & why it hasn’t already been done by Mcloon.
Martin 9,20 am
You couldn’t have been watching any BBC finance slots last week.
1 million to be in negative equity, it spouted.
But, if you’re not moving, it really doesn’t matter anyway. Just keep paying half your joint salary to keep the Banksters in business and get on with your lives. That was the general thread.
Why does the Beeb call NuLab cuts in expenditure “efficiency savings”, when Tory efficiency savings are smeared as “cuts”?
Twizzle: Actually it does matter if you have negative or no equity in your house. Many people have already been asked to pay back some money on their homes and are often given higher rates of interest than those with positive equity.
“in reality they have been played like a cheap banjo by newlabour, used and abused as an alternative mouthpiece, the CBI is ignorant of the political game and newlabour are experts at it.”
I would’ve said that its probably the other way round. Exactly what have the CBI failed to get out of New Labour for their members?
Cockney,
Very good point, I never looked at it that way.
will2001,
Good point, the Tories always get roasted by the BBC when they mention cuts but newlabour gets a free ride and its glossed over, almost as if the BBC are doing newlabours bidding.
Nasty Tories planning savage cuts and newlabour helping us by making savings.
Excellent points all round – keep it coming folks!
Martin | 20.04.09 – 10:53 am | #
You’re preaching to the converted! Don’t worry. Iwas not trying to say AljaBeeba was right – far from it.
My point was that for 12 years, we’ve had the BBC bang on about the Bad Old Tory days of negative equity and home repossessions. And yet, under their Divine Leadership (PBUH) the current Governments negative equity and home repossessions aren’t nearly as bad.
In my estimation, the worst is yet to come. Much worse.
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2009/04/the_economy_wor.html#comments
The truth will out!
15 billion? Peanuts. Have a look on the Bruges Group website (sorry I don’t have the exact link)where you will find a very careful analysis which shows that we shelled out 55 billion to the EU in 2008. Something else which Nuliebur and the BBC won’t wish the great unwashed to know. Money down a black hole.
Ah but the EU gives us SO much back, right?
Peter | Homepage | 20.04.09 – 8:39 am | #
Jeremy Paxman, the television presenter, has pledged to donate his brain to charity when he dies to help scientists find a cure for Parkinson’s disease.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5182592/People-urged-to-donate-brains-for-medical-research-into-Parkinsons.html
Must…. bite… lip….
Ohhh… only ‘when they die’! Sorry:)
i cannot bring myself to watch/listen to BBC – so somebody tell me what the take is on this..
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/budget/5186844/Britain-overcoming-problems-of-the-recession-says-Gordon-Brown.html
DV 1140 – nope.
The problem of being “fair”.
In his blog Nick Robinson takes a long time saying nothing. He is dodging the raindrops, tiptoeing around the truth that he (and the BBC) are too scared to face: Brown is toast.
But the broader question is this. Blogs are opinion. The BBC is supposed to be balanced. So how can a BBC commentator have a blog? Isn’t this a contradiction?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/
A couple of weeks ago the BBC bugled
The government’s much-criticised cut in VAT is working and has led to a big boost in consumer spending, according to a leading economics consultancy.
That’s The Centre for Economics and Business Research which is only “leading”, but not “renowned”
The boss of Next, a man close to the coal face says in The Times “The £15billion VAT giveaway was helpful in containing prices but did nothing to boost spending.”
We will see how successful it is in restraining prices when the inflation figures come out tomorrow (figures which predate the last increase in petrol costs, which will be added to on Wednesday, along with booze’n’fags)
John Bosworth | 20.04.09 – 1:50 pm | #
Mrs. Pandora… your views?
From quangos to committees to enquiries, to curiously frequently invited guests – ‘Kevin, love, could you pop over? We need a pithy put down for the latest nonsense from those we don’t approve of’ – we now have an impenetrable wall of deniable implausibility across the entire public sector, with all depending on each other to ensure salaries and pensions are kept high, and accountability has lines drawn underneath it at the earliest opportunity.
ps: Anyone else been savouring Mr. Robinson’s welcome back party on his blog?
ps: After a glorious few minutes in the sun having got past the moderators, my posting – in reply the the title, and another poster – on Mr. Robinson’s blog has been removed. Maybe I should not have quoted his own words?
Ah, perfidious Albion and your national broadcasting minion…
Unfortunately we’ve had to remove your content…
Your posting appears to be off-topic, in that it does not appear to relate to the subject of this blog.
Subject:
Back to work
Posting:
52. At 11:31am on 20 Apr 2009, 27feet
I was thinking the same thing.
The Trillion Dollar Man? – Update 14:23: He’s done it.
Chancellor of the World – The Chancellor of the World Exchequer. That is how Gordon Brown appeared today
Au revoir
To…
Back to work
Well, maybe some of us, and mainly those not on jobs for life, no accountability, index-linked, gold-plated, market rate, chauffered compo who did have a lovely 4 days over Easter. And who might still have some cause for concern:
‘…the biggest rise in borrowing in peace time and, perhaps, the fastest rise in unemployment.’
I know ‘Call me Lord’ M did say he wasn’t going to stand for all this negativity, though the words did suggest rather worrying connotations. Who is that nice bobby with the balaclava and taped over number suggesting mods policy from Ms. Smith and the nanny branch of the GOAT sisterhood ?
But when the official mantra went out about ‘drawing a line’, I hadn’t imagined it meant the great and good of the Village sitting in the sun on the HoC balcony doodling the majority of the country snaking out of the unemployment office like… some poster I seem to recall. What was the headline again?
pps: As this one will be toast even if it gets through, I thought I’d share..
89. s At 12:59pm on 20 Apr 2009, JunkkMale
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Good job I took a screen grab. Helps with the licence fee discussions.
The moderators only found it broke the rules after they’d approved it? Novel. Must be great to have such a well coordinated committee at work.
Here’s an idea. Why not ban all comment and then just submit those that might be acceptable to the hierachical, multi-layered (ta whoever first OK’d it; I am sure you’ll enjoy your next job much more) vetting committee to censor and/or enhance, and then post the few % that pass muster up. Might be more credible:)
Nick Robinson sweeps aside “Smeargate” with one sentence, revealing his true opinion on the matter:
It will mark a return to the people’s priorities rather than Westminster’s sordid dealings.
He knew about the whole thing, including at least the content of the smeary emails if he hadn’t actually seen them. To Robinson, it’s just business as usual in Westminster. He’s probably just like so many others who see no difference between an independent Guido Fawkes revealing rumors on his blog, and a government employee, working out of a government office, actually making stuff up and creating a front organization (registered to the House of Commons, I believe) to spread it around.
Nick Robinson sees no difference between the two.
But he has to tread lightly around the budget cuts in Labour’s new budget, because he didn’t see them coming. Something else his contacts at No. 10 misled him about, probably.
Robinson was pretty negative towards Mr. Brown last month, more so than in a long while. It’s possible he’s fed up with being burned by Labour spin, and is going back to being skeptical, as he should be.
Robert Peston, on the other hand, has hit the ground running, also talking about the budget, with an old chestnut from Gordon Brown’s mission statement:
So some would say it’s a bit rum that for every £5,000 put into a pension pot by a top-rate taxpayer there’s a refund of £2,000, whereas the refund on the same contribution would be just £1,000 for a basic-rate taxpayer.
Is that fair – especially when there are more than 23m basic-rate taxpayers and less than 4m paying the top rate of 40%?
Typical Gordon Brown spin. “Fairness” has long been one of his buzzwords, and Peston has long been one of his champions, and has used Mr. Brown’s terminology all too frequently. This time is no different.
Mr. Robinson’s face-saving bloghounds have gone beyond parody.
I have tried a few experiments, and it seems that Newsnight, Andrew Neill and even Michael Crick’s guys seem to have a different view on what consitutes ‘on topic’.
And I do declare that a few seem to have noticed… and are not best impressed. I trust the phone is ringing in the jacuzzi of the DG’s stretch limo as he tries to beat the rush hour home after a hard few hours at work.
I also tried an experiment on the site… 3rd time lucky:
160. At 3:34pm on 20 Apr 2009,
Can’t help but feel one needs to tread, Er, write carefully, but Nothing ventured, nothing gained as So Often can be said. Really the Sense of Humour now Impossible with Parliamentary commentary is telling.
Seems that was ‘ON’ topic. Maybe I should have reformatted it:
Can’t help but feel one needs to tread,
Er, write carefully, but
Nothing ventured, nothing gained as
So
Often can be said.
Really the
Sense of
Humour now
Impossible with
Parliamentary commentary is telling.
Having ‘fessed up, let’s see how quickly the public servants we pay to survey us here connect with yet more to blot out inconvenient opinions there. Again.
I’ll give it a while and share on Guido too, who I suspect has a whole room devoted to his readership.
David Preiser (USA):
Peston is right about pension contribution tax relief. As I’ve said before, my alter-ego is Genghis Khan but higher rate tax relief on pension contributions is an abomination.
How can anyone possibly defend a system that means a guy, aged 30 next birthday, retiring at 60 on £100,000 a year putting £5,000 a year into a pension is actually better off to the tune £30,000 than a guy of the same age, retiring at the same time on £10,000 a year?
And that doesn’t take into account 30 years of growth! It is completely and utterly insane to provide additional tax breaks to the relatively well off to fund their lifestyle in retirement.
(And don’t bring up inheritance – pensions aren’t included in your estate on death),
Twizzle – Because, you numbskull, we have a progressive tax system and therefore should have progressive tax rebates too – it’s a REBATE, not a gift! If you were really as right wing as you claim, you would support a flat tax (as I do) then all rebates would be the same. If, however, you believe in redistribution through the tax system, then abolishing higher rate tax relief would make some sense.
Twizzle | 20.04.09 – 5:07 pm |
It doesn’t matter if he’s right or wrong on “fairness”. He’s using Gordon Brown’s buzzword, and he’s advocating for a particular policy. He hides it slightly with his usual Jeremy Clarkson-style “some say”, but it’s still taking the Brown line. He’s also
He’s also protecting the Labour line when he says that “It’s moot whether right now the consensus would be that the hole in the public finances should be filled predominantly by shrinking the state or by finding ways to increase tax revenues.”
Darling has already announced a plan for limited (IMHO) spending cuts, and everyone knows there will be increased borrowing, despite Mervyn King’s warning. So Peston is trying to play down any objections to that. Unless he’s saying that the “consensus” is moot because the decisions have already been made, and Labour wants to stifle debate. Instead, he goes after low-hanging, class-warfare fruit, using one of Mr. Brown’s favorite words.
I’ll give it a while and share on Guido too, who I suspect has a whole room devoted to his readership.
Peter | Homepage | 20.04.09 – 5:02 pm | #
Yay! Now 3 for 3 removed for being ‘off topic’. Now, which blog led them to it?
So where is toenails Robinson then? The jock bird is still doing the political stuff.
I heard that prat from the CBI this morning, an office yes boy who has not a clue as to what is actually happening:
Bankruptcy: the hardships behind the headlines
“Up to 35,000 firms could go bust this year, and each bankruptcy is a tale of personal misery and human hardship. Olga Craig hears some of the stories behind the statistics
The latest figures from the Insolvency Service indicates that Britain is facing a bankruptcy timebomb,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/5178876/Bankrupt.html
.
Well if we`re coming out of recession the high unemployment must be due to the high immigration levels into this country.Has the Beeb asked if that is the case ?
“New Labour has been an eager partner in this process of buying up political influence. Brown has even fast-tracked the whole process, bringing private equity bosses directly into government and making a former head of the bosses’ CBI organisation a trade minister.
The push for more privatisation has also strengthened the links between government and business. Over 24 former Labour ministers and senior civil servants are involved in the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) industry.
These include former Labour health minister Alan Milburn. He is a director of Covidien, which describes itself as “a $10 billion global healthcare products leader”.
Milburn is also a member of Lloyds Pharmacy’s healthcare advisory panel, and an advisor to leading private equity firm Bridgepoint, which specialises in healthcare investments. He gets £75,000 a year from these companies.
Former education and home secretary Charles Clarke is a non-executive director of the LJ Group, which supplies training services, teaching materials and equipment to schools.
Clarke is a also consultant to accountancy firm KPMG on public sector reform. He advises Charles Street Securities, an investment banking and private equity fund management firm. On top of all that, he is a consultant to Beachcroft, a legal firm specialising in PFI deals.
Patricia Hewitt was health secretary from 2005 to 2007. She is now paid over £55,000 a year to be a senior advisor to Cinven, a private hospitals and healthcare group that is backed by private equity. Hewitt also gets a further £45,000 a year for being a special consultant to Alliance Boots, which is owned by private equity firm KKR.
And it’s not just ministers. Some of the government’s most senior officials also have extremely close ties to some of the biggest banks • and vice versa.”
http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:BCalK7d3HTUJ:www.ukwatch.net/article/new_labour%E2%80%99s_affair_with_the_super_rich+CBI+New+Labour+supporters&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk
New infiltrated every organisation you can think of. Not only the above but the numerous Quangos.
Anybody catch the Tory “toffs” story on The One Show earlier? By Toby Young, whose father is a Labour peer (but of course we weren’t told that).
If I hadn’t known better I would have thought it was a party political broadcast on behalf of the Labour party