Dowding - do you think Tony Blair might have cooked his goose this time?

[beet1e]

I'm sure you'll remember how Maggie became too powerful as her third reign wore on, and the Community Charge was railroaded through Parliament.

Now Tony Blair's doing it - not that railroading is new to him or even difficult. He's sitting on what - a 160 majority in the HOC?

But this time he's gone too far. And I think even he knows it. He's banned hunting. Blair had wanted to deploy his usual tactic of delaying any controversial measures until after an election, but the legislation went through too quickly even for him. The Parliament Act was used for only the fourth time since 1949 as a means of circumventing the House of Lords, who would have thrown the bill out. So now Blair can look forward to protests and embarrassment in the run up to May 2005, when we expect him to call an election.

The other forthcoming ban is the ban on smoking in public places. In Britain, smoking is largely a proletarian pastime (oops - I'm sounding like Prince Charles ) so any fallout from this latest ban is going to rumble Blair's own supporters. I wonder if he's thought it through.

Manna from Heaven! Bring it on!! 2005 will be an interesting year.

[1K0N]

Somehow picturing an english pub without the smoky haze just doesn't sound much like an english pub... its a shame the nannies have taken over...

IKON

[Darkish]

The nannies should take note that in England it is not unknown for the master of the house to give them a damn hard rogering.

That time is yet to come, but it is I feel, inevitable.

[Maverick]

Originally posted by Darkish
The nannies should take note that in England it is not unknown for the master of the house to give them a damn hard rogering.

That time is yet to come, but it is I feel, inevitable.

TWWEEEEEET!!!! Call on the play here. Referee throws flag for use of indecipherable Brit terminology! Five yards penalty until translation is rendered.  
 

[Dowding]

Frankly, fox hunting doesn't interest me. What does interest me is that the Reverend T. Blair sees it to be a key issue that needs addressing. What I find disturbing, is that Blair is prepared to push a bill through the House of Lords - something which has been done only 3 times since WW2 - on such a trivial issue. What I find laughable is that smiler seems to find it more important that immigration, education, health and Iraq.

Blair is the super-nanny. He must go or we will get more perversion of the British way of life. It really is as simple as that. More centralisation of the true power, while he pretends that he has de-centralised to the 'regions' with ridiculous assemblies and pseudo-parliaments.

But who will take his/their place? The Tories are leaderless and without a manifesto and the Liberals are a bunch of nappy wearing socialists.

[beet1e]

Originally posted by Dowding
But who will take his/their place? The Tories are leaderless and without a manifesto and the Liberals are a bunch of nappy wearing socialists.

Well, the old adage is that elections are not WON by the opposition party, but are LOST by the incumbent. If only it would come true next time...

[cpxxx]

Originally posted by Maverick
TWWEEEEEET!!!! Call on the play here. Referee throws flag for use of indecipherable Brit terminology! Five yards penalty until translation is rendered.  
 

Maverick, my good man. The meaning is transparently clear.  He is warning all childminders that they are liable to be subject to sexual congress of a forceful nature by the head of the household.

Is that clear?

[Yeager]

hmmm...we have a washed out loser senator from a state quite abit like your uk.  Its a tiney, overcrowded, socialist, once important in the world but insignificant in modern times state.....

The state is Massachusets and the washed out loser senators name is kerry, you guys interested?

I think it would be a perfect fit.....

[Blue2]

Hey Yeager ever been here? Or are you just a t**t?

I've been over to your land and some of its great. met many great people however also met a few with your kind of biggoted views. Try and say something intelligent just for once!

[john9001]

riding a horse, chasing dogs that are chasing a fox is not hunting, it's called riding fast cross country, and you can do it with out fox or dog. tally ho.

after i quite smoking, i had to give up going to bars, too much smoke for my clean lungs. after going to a bar, i smelled, my clothes smelled, my car smelled, never noticed it when i smoked.

[Yeager]

oh lighten up tard

I did not say this, I am not here......

[Tali]

It's that Blair is using the Parliment Act for the 3rd time in his 'rule', and the 4th time EVER, to push through a bill that the Act was never designed to be used with. The Act is a tool where by the Commons can bypass the Lords on an issue of urgent, national importance that the Lords are blocking...banning a hundreds of year old rural tradition is neither of those things, at all. The whole mess is his way of making his own grumpy backbenchers happy after he has been annoying them so much over other issues like Iraq, and he has even managed to annoy them over this issue with his dithering.

As for nannyness, he doesn't even believe in this ban, so nanny says "No! Don't do that, it's bad....well, no it isn't, but I'm going to stop you anyway, cos I can, so there!"

Nanny doesn't like smoking, hunting or fatty foods, but drinking is okayish and boxing is fine....geee nanny, you are strange!

Unfortunatly the very best we can hope for at the moment, is for Blair's large majority in the Commons to get reduced significantly, unless he seriously muffs something important up in the next few months (cross your fingers), it looks most unlikely he will lose his job.....partly why the US elections were such a big deal here, you guys had a genuine close race and could send a message, ours is a one horse race thanks to our First Past the Post system, meh.

[Yeager]

Not that its any of my BUSINESS...but I thought blair was hurt in the last election cycle in the uk.  I was under the impression by the few, the loud, the AH bsb Brits!!! that blairs poodling of bush hurt him politically yet you guys are now saying he has a majority?

Yes, I do not understand...and yes, I am not here...and furthermore I did not say this.

[Tali]

Blair has been hurt both from inside his own party, and in general by his handling and lies about the war (among other things), BUT the size of his current majority and the poor excuse of an opposition means that it would take a landslide of monumental proportions for him to actually lose the election due next year.

[Chortle]

The hunting bans going to be great, watching the  elite ruling classes and their serfs getting stroppy will do the socialists untold good at the polls. Should be good for the next 3 elections and perhaps hasten the apocalypse yeager is so keen on.

Listened to one of them this morning, thinking of denying the power company access to the electricity pylons that run across his inherited 3000 acres in Hampshire. Thats gonna work well.