Newsnight

Abernathy · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 12:16 am

Kudos to Paxo tonight when, faced with a hopelessly dissembling Vince Cable, he made the extremely pertinent point that when it comes to determining financial values, the government is shamefully vague about defining disproportionate executive remuneration, but enthusiastically precise when it comes to taking money away from the poorest.

Bastards.

Malcolm Armsteen · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 12:18 am

Just seen a local Tory councillor Tweet that he put 3 jobs in the Job Centre today and had 65 applications in 3 hours, so that he sees that people 'do want to work'. So how does he support a government that is destroying jobs? What is it with Tories and the cognitive disconnect?

Tubby Isaacs · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 12:26 am

I don't think that's necessarily absurd on his behalf. He might think the debt is the key issue, perhaps.

Credit to him for making public what happened. IDS wouldn't.

Malcolm Armsteen · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 12:46 am

I think that in slightly different circumstances he'd be one of us.

bluebellnutter · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 12:52 am

Malcolm Armsteen wrote:

Just seen a local Tory councillor Tweet that he put 3 jobs in the Job Centre today and had 65 applications in 3 hours, so that he sees that people 'do want to work'. So how does he support a government that is destroying jobs? What is it with Tories and the cognitive disconnect?

They cut it.

Kreuzberger · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 6:56 pm

Isn't this is more about prejudice and dogma rather than policy?

One negative story in the mail (or whatever their vade mecum of choice might be) can reinforce the deep-seated prejudice that drives these people despite personal and very real experiences to the contrary.

Tubby Isaacs · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 11:55 pm

Why is Nicola Horlick on?

Anyone could say what's she saying. The markets, blah, blah. Apparently we talk our way to confidence and growth.

Surely you could have no interest in talking up the economy (without any tax rises for you, obviously)?

Tubby Isaacs · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 11:58 pm

Next item, and comment from Policy Exchange- set up by Michael Gove, Nick Boles and Francis Maude.

mattomac · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 12:35 am

Tubby Isaacs wrote:

Why is Nicola Horlick on?

Anyone could say what's she saying. The markets, blah, blah. Apparently we talk our way to confidence and growth.

Surely you could have no interest in talking up the economy (without any tax rises for you, obviously)?

She was talking absolute dog toss, you could tell the contempt the economist who kept mentioning Keynes had for her.

Did like the sarky tone Paxman had when Salmond mentioned that "Gordon Brown had sold off the gold"

Tubby Isaacs · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 1:42 am

Innit.

She reminded me of Kirsty Alsop or Anneka Rice. "Come on, everyone! That's not the attitude!"

She didn't cite any evidence or anything. Maybe she didn't want to give her investment tips away or something.

mattomac · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 1:51 am

Totally on message with the government to, not that any of the infrascture they are to invest in was their idea, usually watered down from the previous government.

Nice to see the message about the economy from the coalition is only now "partly Labour's fault", Reeves should have followed it up by calling it a downgrade like the coalition's growth figures, seeing as the rodent's joke was about as funny as camel piss.

Tubby Isaacs · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 2:02 am

Indeed. Peerage heading her way. They might as well have had Lord Simon Wolfson or any of the other Tory peers on.

The government were so stuck for infrastructure to announce in the Autumn Statement that they mentioned the Northern Line extension to Battersea:

http://www.christianwolmar.co.uk/2011/1 ... questions/

Quote:

First, the scheme is supposed to be funded entirely by the private sector and therefore in a sense is nothing to do with Osborne’s statement. However, in fact, the developers have never promised to make up the whole cost – variously estimated at £500m (without optimism bias) to £900m – and the source of the remaining money seems to require legislative changes.

Quote:

Secondly, the developers, Treasury Holdings, went bust barely a week after the Autumn Statement. It was widely known they were in trouble. So how come Osborne was still so keen on putting the scheme into his statement. Either he was remarkably badly informed or it was just pure cynicism.

This was the top rail announcement.

satnav · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 11:45 pm

With the shit hitting the fan over poor economic growth the government have put Danny Alexander forward to defend economic policy. Danny is so scared of Paxo he won't even venture into the Newsnight studio.

Abernathy · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 11:49 pm

And by gum didn't he look sweaty and worried - as he fucking should.

Tubby Isaacs · **Posted:** Thu Jan 26, 2012 12:20 am

Did he mention the million he saved from top pay in the civil service? He's right to claim that was a good thing. Doesn't quite undo the recession, does it? And at least those public sector fat cats might have spend some of that cash in the economy.

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