tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109089242024-03-13T18:44:34.086+00:00Ted FoanThe 13 years of the Blair/Brown era will be remembered for spin, its incompetence with our money on failed social experiments, the "dumbing down" of our society, the scandalous fall in literacy of our younger people and the disastrous erosion of our freedoms. The centre-right consensus has to keep these people out of office for a generation while they rebuild a liberal conservative society.Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comBlogger385125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-20255967338179990922010-05-11T23:21:00.005+01:002010-05-14T01:51:51.670+01:00Labour is dead!And so is this blog. <br /><br />Our work has finished. No need to say any more.... well, until it all goes tits up.<br /><br />No, really it'll be fine. You can trust the LibDems, can't you? Erm.....well, let's see shall we?<br /><br />It's time to do something different. And, hey, I agree with Nick.Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-25376065929279740392010-04-06T01:55:00.004+01:002010-04-06T02:25:00.142+01:00The end of Labour is in sight!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S7qKX7GhdBI/AAAAAAAAA6A/b5TCMfDSnUo/s1600/Ted+Foan+-+blog+photo"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 220px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 147px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456826042119451666" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S7qKX7GhdBI/AAAAAAAAA6A/b5TCMfDSnUo/s320/Ted+Foan+-+blog+photo" /></a><br /><div>For those of you that have been looking on this site for my pearls of wisdom over the last month or so I apologise that I have not been active.</div><br /><div>As we are now entering a general election campaign I will be even less noticeable as a blogger as I will be actively campaigning for the Conservatives in and around the area in which I live. I think this will be a better use of my time.</div><br /><div>I hope you understand and join me in driving out this discredited and failed Labour government so that the Conservatives can begin to rebuild our country.</div>Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-41156740555447547942010-02-27T01:47:00.004+00:002010-02-27T02:05:52.278+00:00Mrs Dromey holds backPhew! No backlash from Harperson about my previous post - yet!<br /><br />But I reckon Donal Blaney may get a tweet or two about <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5pFDuihwUA&feature=player_embedded">THIS</a>. (For some reason I can't embed it.)Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-51123879959141206562010-02-27T01:02:00.005+00:002010-02-27T03:25:21.805+00:00The boy George done good!<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S4h1VKMsJPI/AAAAAAAAA54/0CpzEpj9dFY/s1600-h/George+Osborne.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 293px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442729156052526322" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S4h1VKMsJPI/AAAAAAAAA54/0CpzEpj9dFY/s320/George+Osborne.jpg" /></a><br /><div>I don't know about you but George Osborne has always been a bit of a worry for me. The way he sits next to David Cameron at <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">PMQs</span> with his mouth open and head on one side makes him look like the slightly "challenged" friend we used to have to take the pub at the request of his mum and dad. (That is probably so politically incorrect that I will find Harriet Harman has twittered me even before I have finished this post!)</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>However, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/osborne-finds-favour-in-business-poll-as-darlings-credibility-sinks-1911307.html">THIS</a> piece in The Independent has given me some cause for reassurance. In fact, in the survey they report that 67% of respondents think Osborne would make a better Chancellor than Alistair Darling. And 67% 0f business leaders think Osborne understands business while only 27% say the same about Darling.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Combine all this with the fact that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2010/feb/26/michael-white-in-defence-of-george-osborne">Michael White of The Guardian </a>actually says he likes Osborne then I have had to reassess my view. I am expecting great things from him when he is our next Chancellor. But I just wish he would smile benignly like Darling!</div>Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-65081582464212235592010-02-24T23:58:00.003+00:002010-02-25T00:06:53.073+00:00Spinning into the depths of hell<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S4W_CPggjJI/AAAAAAAAA5w/FTzMmFOshx4/s1600-h/David+and+Samantha+Cameron.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 206px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441965769990638738" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S4W_CPggjJI/AAAAAAAAA5w/FTzMmFOshx4/s320/David+and+Samantha+Cameron.jpg" /></a><br /><div><br /><div>If <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/david-cameron/7308630/Wheels-of-No-10-spin-turn-on-Samantha-Cameron.html">this report in the Daily Telegraph </a>is true then it tells you all you need to know about New (and Old) Labour.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>I can't believe that Brown would allow his wife to be used as an attack dog on the Conservatives. After all, she is not a prop, is she?</div></div>Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-85851848070108070252010-02-20T23:19:00.003+00:002010-02-20T23:46:47.321+00:00"As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly."<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S4Bz0aAkS2I/AAAAAAAAA5Q/Vd5mzr_2-Ho/s1600-h/Dog+vomit.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 111px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 128px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440475694035651426" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S4Bz0aAkS2I/AAAAAAAAA5Q/Vd5mzr_2-Ho/s320/Dog+vomit.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Not often that I use a quote from the Bible to title a post but could not resist linking to <a href="http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2010/02/browns-second-look-like-dog-returning.html">this</a> from Iain Dale.</div><br /><div>"Take a second look at Labour"? - yep, OK done that. Still a pile of vomit. Next</div><br /><div></div><br /><p>"A future fair for all"? What, like bumper cars, coconut shies, helter-skelters? No? Oh, you mean a fete worse than death. (Yeah, I know that appeared minutes after the "new" slogan was announced but it's too witty to be lost on Twitter.)</p><br /><p><br /></p><br /><div></div>Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-76062395049041148562010-01-30T23:17:00.007+00:002010-01-31T00:36:13.263+00:00Education, edukashun, ejukajon...oh sod it, I want me fags!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S2TBFdys5vI/AAAAAAAAA5I/u_3NrrNRRkY/s1600-h/pyjamas.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 179px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 251px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432679350156453618" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S2TBFdys5vI/AAAAAAAAA5I/u_3NrrNRRkY/s320/pyjamas.jpg" /></a><br /><div><div><div>The furore over a Tesco store banning people wearing pyjamas seemed a little bit over the top until I heard <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8485559.stm?ls">THIS</a> on the BBC.</div><br /><div>What is happening to this country? Why can't we admit that we have a growing underclass who are going to bleed us dry.</div><div></div><div></div><div>Yes! We do have a "broken society" and the pity is that it will take several generations to change even if we start now.</div></div></div>Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-18167369825762345462010-01-17T00:58:00.004+00:002010-01-18T02:25:13.739+00:00Gordon: you can have your "Operation Cake" - but you can't eat it!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S1Jk-crPYdI/AAAAAAAAA4w/P7O1i2t2Ajw/s1600-h/Gordon+Brown.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 128px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 128px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427511524947091922" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S1Jk-crPYdI/AAAAAAAAA4w/P7O1i2t2Ajw/s320/Gordon+Brown.jpg" /></a><br /><div>The second batch of fascinating insights from Peter Watt - the erstwhile general secretary of the Labour Party - in his book entitled "Inside Out" is now available in the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1243766/Chancellor-Gordon-Brown-screamed-Ill-bring-sleaze-PM-Tony-Blair-night-Donorgate-exploded-public-view.html">Mail on Sunday</a>.</div><br /><div>What a shower of shit! Labour (New or otherwise) is not a political party. It is loose association of rival gangs that are intent on destroying each other.</div><br /><div>You can't trust them. You can't believe a word they say. And you must vote them into oblivion at the general election.</div>Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-2796722997014476332010-01-11T02:23:00.005+00:002010-01-11T03:06:36.566+00:00Dr Who - so what?<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S0qVOOquCyI/AAAAAAAAA4o/9pr7qGrfh1s/s1600-h/Dr+Who+-+David+Tennant.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 102px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 128px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425312772809165602" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S0qVOOquCyI/AAAAAAAAA4o/9pr7qGrfh1s/s320/Dr+Who+-+David+Tennant.jpg" /></a><br /><div>This <a href="http://archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com/2010/01/fisking-dr-who.html">post from Archbishop Cranmer</a> is a <em>tour de force</em> in the way it dissects and refutes the usual load of "Labour luvvie" stuff spewed out by a currently popular television actor.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>It appears that David Tennant thinks his so-called 'political' opinions are important because he has played the leading part of 'Doctor Who' which is, at best, an amusing and diverting Saturday tea-time family fantasy/sci-fi extravangza posing as a moral story of our times. Most people have heard of at least one ardent <a href="http://www.tomharris.org.uk/2010/01/09/yet-another-who-post/">Labour MP blogger </a>who is such a fan that he reverts to references to it whenever things look bad for his Party - which at the moment is quite often!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>But of course the main source of this twaddle is <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2010/01/09/doctor-who-star-tennant-begs-voters-to-snub-cam-or-face-miserable-future-115875-21953690/">The Mirror</a>. What else would you expect?</div>Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-34603473171217610792010-01-10T02:09:00.003+00:002010-01-10T02:20:21.577+00:00"He puts the oaf in dauphin" - another quote that characterises Labour's impending defeat?<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S0k5WCy1EgI/AAAAAAAAA4g/9Tv1OaKIfts/s1600-h/Milliband+walks+out.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 170px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S0k5WCy1EgI/AAAAAAAAA4g/9Tv1OaKIfts/s320/Milliband+walks+out.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424930277014442498" /></a><br />What a terrible thing to say about the current Foreign Secretary! Not!<br /><br />Loved this quote from Matthew D'Ancona's article in the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/matthewd_ancona/6957785/Labours-incompetence-its-clear-what-historys-verdict-will-be.html">Sunday Telegraph</a>:<br /><br />"Other than Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt, who called on Wednesday for a leadership ballot, the chosen fall guy for last week's failed regicide has been David Miliband. "He puts the oaf in dauphin," as one of his Cabinet colleagues put it. And it was to Miliband that the Labour MP Eric Joyce was clearly referring on Thursday's Today programme when he said – devastatingly – that "there are one or two aristocrats at the top end of the Labour Party who think if they act coy, they may inherit the leadership of the party".<br /><br />More please!Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-61303134951936892952010-01-10T00:34:00.003+00:002010-01-10T00:54:06.304+00:00Labour: "This is not so much a government in crisis as a crisis pretending to be a government."<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S0klJcXd8WI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/XQvVEwmYvvk/s1600-h/Peter+Watt.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 90px; height: 128px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/S0klJcXd8WI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/XQvVEwmYvvk/s320/Peter+Watt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424908070308147554" /></a><br />This must surely be the phrase that will epitomise the last days of this discredited Labour government.<br /><br />Peter Watt, the ex-General Secretary of the Labour Party, who was sacked after the 'Donorgate' scandal a couple of years ago which involved dodgy financial transactions by the Labour Party (nothing new there) has written a book about his experiences in the job. Already he is being described as a man with a grudge just trying to get revenge on those who kicked him out. Maybe so.<br /><br />However, the Mail on Sunday's serialisation is likely to make for very interesting reading. Read the first part <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1241978/Browns-election-shambles-Man-ran-Labour-Party-reveals-chaos-No-10-devastating-new-book.html">HERE</a>.Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-980015512797889782010-01-02T01:24:00.002+00:002010-01-02T01:28:54.053+00:00Our children's legacyI last posted this in February 2009 and it is still relevant today.<br /><br /><embed src="http://blip.tv/play/Ad3iNAI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="390" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed>Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-50477851928038775872010-01-01T22:54:00.003+00:002010-01-01T23:02:46.754+00:00The real Gordon Brown revealed by Marr's incisive interviewing techniqueJust have to have this in my collection:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QGr71ThP2Jc&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_GB&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QGr71ThP2Jc&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_GB&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />And this too!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9pbt3RchDyg&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_GB&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9pbt3RchDyg&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_GB&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-80394013725193004822010-01-01T02:21:00.003+00:002010-01-01T02:41:33.961+00:00Are you prepared to upset people?<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/Sz1gzXZXwII/AAAAAAAAA4Q/aZ5Fv2cz7c4/s1600-h/stomach.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 97px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/Sz1gzXZXwII/AAAAAAAAA4Q/aZ5Fv2cz7c4/s320/stomach.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421595961993969794" /></a><br />If you haven't got the stomach for it, turn away now.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/6918324/Why-politics-must-leave-the-Noughties-behind.html">THIS</a> article by Neil O'Brien of Policy Exchange contains some brutal language which might upset those of you with a delicate disposition. For example,<em>'..we need to end "nice to have" items of spending. Would you notice much if the Department for Culture, Media and Sport had its budget halved?"</em><br /><br />OK, that was a rather mild example. Try this instead<em>:.."the next government is still going to have to upset a lot of people. It will have to raise taxes a little at first and cut spending a lot."</em><br /><br />Read the rest of the article and learn why tough love will be the <em>motif</em> for the next five years.Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-65454900509376729552009-12-29T01:12:00.003+00:002009-12-29T02:41:19.000+00:00Read, inwardly digest and then vote Conservative!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/SzlZYsW0pFI/AAAAAAAAA4I/xqla76dCC_4/s1600-h/Gordon+Brown+at+Conference.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 202px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/SzlZYsW0pFI/AAAAAAAAA4I/xqla76dCC_4/s320/Gordon+Brown+at+Conference.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420461907275719762" /></a><br />Who can dispute that Brown is the <a href="http://thewrongman.typepad.com/">Wrong Man</a> to lead this country for another five years?<br /><br />Just read this to remind yourself why he has been an unmitigated disaster and why he and his discredited Labour Party should be cast into oblivion at the General Election.<br /><br />They have done more damage to this country than Adolf Hitler ever achieved.Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-31875789393554469392009-12-22T22:52:00.005+00:002009-12-22T23:08:25.605+00:00Enough is enough!According to the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/6858048/Cost-of-Government-scheme-to-avoid-repossession-is-165000-per-household.html">Telegraph</a> the Government scheme to help protect householders who can't pay their mortgages from repossession has cost £2.5 million. Doesn't sound much, does it?<br /><br />Except that only 15 households were saved. That's a massive £165,000 per case!<br /><br />As Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps said: “These figures will be a slap in the face for the 1,000 families who are being repossessed every week. It’s unbelievable that during the deepest recession since records began the Government is spending millions on a scheme that has been mired in uncertainty and helped just 15 families" <br /><br />Surely, no one has the stomach for another five years of this singularly incompetent Labour government?<br /><br />Just remember that it's yours, your children's and your grandchildren's money that they have been wasting for the last 13 years. Don't be fooled by their class-based attacks on the Conservatives or their desperately pathetic attempts to pretend they are competent to run the economy. They are not. Vote them into oblivion.Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-50765445825008137192009-12-19T00:04:00.002+00:002009-12-19T00:07:25.129+00:00Politics - New Zealand styleThis is the way it should be done.<br /><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jlcjNufms10&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jlcjNufms10&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed>Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-70930398149898270642009-12-15T22:57:00.003+00:002009-12-15T23:01:58.621+00:00Trafigura Newsnight film that Carter Ruck has tried to banWhen <a href="http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2009/12/bbc-caves-in-to-carter-ruck-threats.html">Ian Dale </a>asks you to do something, you do it, don't you? If you give a "Carter Ruck" you do!<br /><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kQTvusawf0E&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_GB&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kQTvusawf0E&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_GB&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed>Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-16288503855482841502009-12-11T03:06:00.002+00:002009-12-11T03:10:27.519+00:00The Thick of It? Who gives a f**k?<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LugJd6uGJqI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LugJd6uGJqI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed>Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-29083217809882968102009-12-11T01:21:00.003+00:002009-12-11T01:54:16.394+00:00So, what has Labour really done to help business?<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/SyGmAwZ2-4I/AAAAAAAAA4A/KwMJl3ituno/s1600-h/Mandelson.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 187px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/SyGmAwZ2-4I/AAAAAAAAA4A/KwMJl3ituno/s320/Mandelson.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413790758999620482" /></a><br />We are all used to hearing the Great Lord Protector of All-of-Us announcing schemes to save British business from the effects of US sub-prime bank lending-induced recession. And we are used to hearing how successful these have been in reducing the numbers of people that would have become unemployed if they had not been introduced.<br /><br />But have they really been effective?<br /><br /><a href="http://lobbydog.thisisnottingham.co.uk/2009/12/labour-has-not-done-business.html">Lobbydog</a> has been passed some interesting information by the Conservative Party which sheds some interesting light on what has really happened.<br /><br /><strong>Capital for Enterprise Fund</strong><br />A £75 million fund to invest in small businesses needing equity, announced on January 14th 2009. Only seven businesses have received money from the fund in its eleven months of operation.<br /><br /><strong>BIS Working Capital Scheme</strong><br />A scheme pledging £10 billion in guarantees to cover credit to businesses with a turnover of up to £500 million a year, announced January 14th 2009. The Government provides banks with guarantees covering 50% of the risk on existing and capital projects worth up to £20 billion. It was delayed for months, and then agreements were only signed with three banks (RBS, Natwest and Lloyds) for £2 billion, a fifth of the scheme’s original allocation. Rosie Winterton recently announced that the remaining funding for this has been reallocated.<br /><br /><strong>UK Innovation Investment Fund</strong><br />A £1 billion scheme to invest in innovative business, announced 6 months ago. No investments yet made. It has not appointed a fund manager.<br /><br /><strong>BIS Trade Credit Insurance Scheme</strong><br />The scheme allows suppliers which have seen trade credit reduced to buy taxpayer-guaranteed ‘top-ups’ worth up to £2 million, announced in April. Some £5 billion in insurance was pledged, but only 72 firms have benefited. Only £13 million – or 0.4% of the £5 billion allocated to the scheme – has been handed out.<br /><br /><strong>BIS Automotive Assistance Programme</strong><br />The programme involves two forms of help for car manufacturers. One involves guarantees to unlock loans of up to £1.3 billion. The other involves loans or loan guarantees to support up to £1 billion of lending. No loans have been made. A loan was offered to one car firm, but the company rejected because it thought it could get a better deal elsewhere.<br /><br />So, how credible is it for Brown & Co to claim that they have done more than any previous government to help business ride out this recession? Remember that this a recession that they told us we were in a better position than other countries to survive because of their brilliant management of the economy.<br /><br /><strong>Never trust a Labour Government with your money! </strong>Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-22966669987590181222009-12-06T23:11:00.003+00:002009-12-06T23:22:07.021+00:00Brown's tax policy has been formed "on the playing fields of Eton" since 1997<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/Sxw8G12-3OI/AAAAAAAAA34/98Y1aFGDYlE/s1600-h/Gordon+Brown+-+head+down.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/Sxw8G12-3OI/AAAAAAAAA34/98Y1aFGDYlE/s320/Gordon+Brown+-+head+down.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412266940427066594" /></a><br />The unmissable <a href="http://prodicus.blogspot.com/2009/12/bloody-toffs.html">Prodicus's blog</a> has made a brilliant point that Gordon Brown seems to have forgotten.<br /><br />The current Permanent Secretary at the Treasury is Sir Nicholas Macpherson who is an old Etonian. In fact, he has been in this post since Brown appointed him when he became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1997.<br /><br />You'd think that Brown would keep his head down instead of making a complete twat of himself about "Tory toffs". But he won't....Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-23737274991029216162009-12-05T00:59:00.007+00:002009-12-05T02:22:13.774+00:00The best a man can get?<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/Sxm4ju7I0dI/AAAAAAAAA3w/kgExxxEB4wk/s1600-h/Tiger+Woods+and+wife.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 85px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/Sxm4ju7I0dI/AAAAAAAAA3w/kgExxxEB4wk/s320/Tiger+Woods+and+wife.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411559351293366738" /></a><br />I have a small confession to make. (Maybe it's a bit bigger than I care to admit.)<br /><br />I test Gillette razors. There, I've said it. I've done this for the last 15 years quietly, surreptitiously and out of the public eye. Every two weeks I have been sent a new razor and have reported back faithfully to Gillette's Product Research Testing Department on various aspects of its performance while I shave my (admittedly) sparse beard.<br /><br />As a faithful tester, I have today received my usual Christmas card from the Department and I am pleased to note that Roy is still there along with his highly efficient 15-strong team. I have the utmost respect for Roy and his people. They have never let me down - I have not had to buy a razor blade in all this time.<br /><br />However, in the light of recently reported events, I have begun to wonder if I have been missing out on the perks that Roy and his team seem to be able to dish out to some people who are associated with the Gillette brand.<br /><br />Do you think it could be because I'm useless at golf? Or that I prefer to play handball rather than football? Who knows - but a bit of wonga would be nice!Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-1231998493033739622009-12-04T22:41:00.005+00:002009-12-04T22:52:28.937+00:00One in five Scots unable to read and write<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/SxmR2zZzKoI/AAAAAAAAA3o/XCdMPgHALpI/s1600-h/Gordon+Brown.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 128px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/SxmR2zZzKoI/AAAAAAAAA3o/XCdMPgHALpI/s320/Gordon+Brown.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411516797959744130" /></a><br />According to this report in the <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6943751.ece">Times</a>, 20% of the adult Scots population do not have the basic literacy skills they need for their daily lives.<br /><br />What it failed to mention is that at least one Scot does not have any skills in basic arithmetic.Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-24108581411662471722009-11-19T23:39:00.001+00:002009-11-20T01:46:50.093+00:00These are truly sad people!Is this all they can offer? Poor deluded souls. They need to be put out of their misery - very soon.<br /><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cJYLNCFCfo4&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_GB&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cJYLNCFCfo4&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_GB&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed>Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908924.post-5498537649411086412009-11-09T01:01:00.004+00:002009-11-09T01:15:50.803+00:00Oh joy! No more Labour!<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/SvdtHM7BMbI/AAAAAAAAA3g/oPWmKz2i92c/s1600-h/road+kill.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 211px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BKPQeFTrb40/SvdtHM7BMbI/AAAAAAAAA3g/oPWmKz2i92c/s320/road+kill.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401906248549478834" /></a><br />This link from <a href="http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/2009/11/labours-private-polling-says-it-could-lose-220-of-its-mps.html">Tim Montgomerie at ConservativeHome </a> is music to my ears.<br /><br />Apparently Jackie Ashley (Andy Marr's missus) has written in today's Guardian the following:<br /><br /><em>"Some Labour people may think I'm sounding too gloomy, but those who have been privy to recent private polling are a lot more than gloomy. This suggests that Labour could return to the Commons with just 120 MPs or thereabouts, taking the party back to 1930s territory. As ministers look for jobs to keep themselves going after politics, a Miliband move to Europe looks sensible."</em><br /><br />If it's true then all that will be left of the Labour Party after the General Election is some rather unpleasant road kill!Ted Foanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04497077127882545545noreply@blogger.com