Eastleigh MP in trouble....

[scotty]

Chris Huhnes taken a battering lately, dont suppose this is going to help.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13404533

[Jonnyboy]

That's nice of his ex-wife to land him in it

[dune]

Good. He's a knob. He acted like a right idiot when he realised that he was going to lose the AV vote.

Edited 15 May, 2011 by dune

[Jonnyboy]

Good. He's a knob. He acted like a right idiot when he realised that he was going to lose the AV vote.

 

Calm down dear.

[Saintandy666]

Good. He's a knob. He acted like a right idiot when he realised that he was going to lose the AV vote.

 

I think he acted fair enough. The Conservative party tactics were dirty and disgusting. You can't fund a campaign that basically says 'Nick Clegg is a ****, so vote no' when you are meant to be in coalition with him.

[dune]

I think he acted fair enough. The Conservative party tactics were dirty and disgusting. You can't fund a campaign that basically says 'Nick Clegg is a ****, so vote no' when you are meant to be in coalition with him.

 

It was a cross party (Labour and Conservative) NO campaign.

[Saintandy666]

It was a cross party (Labour and Conservative) NO campaign.

 

Funded almost entirely by the conservative party. I don't care even if it was joint, the Conservative party resorted to tactics they shouldn't have done for reasons already explained.

[dune]

Funded almost entirely by the conservative party. I don't care even if it was joint, the Conservative party resorted to tactics they shouldn't have done for reasons already explained.

 

Oh well. It's time to move on and accept your defeat as gracifully as those of us in the NO camp have accepted our victory without gloating.

[Saintandy666]

Oh well. It's time to move on and accept your defeat as gracifully as those of us in the NO camp have accepted our victory without gloating.

 

It's not really oh well at all though, is it? It breaches a fundamental trust at the heart of the coalition. I'm sorry, you can't run a campaign sending out the messages the no campaign does and just say oh well, especially on an issue so important.

 

I'm glad you have admitted the Tories played dirty though.

[dune]

It's not really oh well at all though, is it? It breaches a fundamental trust at the heart of the coalition. I'm sorry, you can't run a campaign sending out the messages the no campaign does and just say oh well, especially on an issue so important.

 

I'm glad you have admitted the Tories played dirty though.

 

I couldn't give a toss what went on. We got a NO and that's all that matters. The Lib Dems need to get over themselves. They are a insignificant party that have got far more out of the coalition than their status deserves.

[scotty]

Long before the AV vote, before the general election even, I heard him on the Today programme banging on about lib dem policies. He sounded as plssed as a rat at 8 in the morning, I thought heres the new charlie kennedy....

[1976_Child]

Huhne is one of those typical t0sser Lib Dems that really p!ss me off. The c-u-nt is a MULTI millionaire, ****s around like there is no tomorrow, is arrogant beyond belief, commits an (alleged) crime by asking his missus to take his speeding points and then has the ****ing audacity to lecture the rest of us. Clegg is another multi millionaire. So is Cameron, so is that Uber-***t Milliband. They're are all feckless rich nonces. Where the **** are the real men speaking for real people?

[ThreeSixty]

Huhne is one of those typical t0sser Lib Dems that really p!ss me off. The c-u-nt is a MULTI millionaire, ****s around like there is no tomorrow, is arrogant beyond belief, commits an (alleged) crime by asking his missus to take his speeding points and then has the ****ing audacity to lecture the rest of us. Clegg is another multi millionaire. So is Cameron, so is that Uber-***t Milliband. They're are all feckless rich nonces. Where the **** are the real men speaking for real people?

 

[CB Saint]

Chris huhne is getting a very hard lesson in frontline politics. Don't rock the boat or you are done for. I am willing to bet that it is clegg's allies who have been feeding the media with this story.

[thefunkygibbons]

I am sure he has been stitched up, but that seems to be modern politics

[Wes Tender]

If Huhne's ex-wife has come up with these allegations, then the maxim that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned is one that ought to have been considered by him when he decided to play away.

 

If the allegations prove to be groundless, then he has nothing to worry about, apart from the potential loss of votes from an electorate that were pursuaded that he was a family man and the additional votes lost because a section of the electorate will conclude that there is no smoke without fire.

 

But if there is found to be substance in the allegations, then an honourable man would resign as MP. A by-election caused by circumstances like these, might be deemed to be as serious a set of circumstances in many ways as those that gained the Lib Dems the seat in the first place in another by-election.

[Dimond Geezer]

I couldn't give a toss what went on. We got a NO and that's all that matters. The Lib Dems need to get over themselves. They are a insignificant party that have got far more out of the coalition than their status deserves.

 

So insignificant that Call-me-Dave was forced into a coalition with them, otherwise he would have been running a lame duck minority government.

[Saintandy666]

I couldn't give a toss what went on. We got a NO and that's all that matters. The Lib Dems need to get over themselves. They are a insignificant party that have got far more out of the coalition than their status deserves.

 

23% of the vote is NOT insignificant. Let's not remember Cameron needed them for power.

[dune]

23% of the vote is NOT insignificant. Let's not remember Cameron needed them for power.

 

57 seats compared to the Conservatives 307 makes the Lib Dems insignificant. They should be grateful that they've got their own way on some many things.

[Wes Tender]

23% of the vote is NOT insignificant. Let's not remember Cameron needed them for power.

 

The significance of the Lib Dem votes has more to do with the fact that they were able to act as power brokers, rather than because slightly more than one only in five of the electorate voted for them.

 

As we are discussing our beloved Eastleigh MP, the same significance can be attached to the UKIP vote in the election which made Huhne an MP. Add the insignificant 3.4% of the UKIP vote to that of the Conservative and Huhne wouldn't have been elected. Therefore, is it more apposite to call that 3.4% significant too? After all, Huhne also needed them to attain power.

[dune]

The significance of the Lib Dem votes has more to do with the fact that they were able to act as power brokers, rather than because slightly more than one only in five of the electorate voted for them.

 

As we are discussing our beloved Eastleigh MP, the same significance can be attached to the UKIP vote in the election which made Huhne an MP. Add the insignificant 3.4% of the UKIP vote to that of the Conservative and Huhne wouldn't have been elected. Therefore, is it more apposite to call that 3.4% significant too? After all, Huhne also needed them to attain power.

 

On a brighter note it's good to see that the SNP are becoming more and more powerful. Labour have created a monster by allowing separatist sentiment to manifest.

[Wes Tender]

On a brighter note it's good to see that the SNP are becoming more and more powerful. Labour have created a monster by allowing separatist sentiment to manifest.

 

Roll on the SNP referendum on whether they wish to stay as part of the Union. The West Lothian question has festered for too long, as English resentment grows year by year.

 

Perhaps simultaneously we could have one on whether we wished to remain in the EU, or whether we wished to revert back to solely a trading agreement, a common market, which was what we voted for in the last referendum. The successive governments certainly never gained a mandate to bring us into a political union with Europe with the resultant loss of sovereignty.

[Lord Duckhunter]

 

Perhaps simultaneously we could have one on whether we wished to remain in the EU, or whether we wished to revert back to solely a trading agreement, a common market, which was what we voted for in the last referendum. The successive governments certainly never gained a mandate to bring us into a political union with Europe with the resultant loss of sovereignty.

 

Spot on, 100% correct.

 

We were stiched up by Grocer Heath and the rest of Euro loons, and have been for far too long. We'll never get a referundum of course, because they're too scared of the result.

[scotty]

Spot on, 100% correct.

 

We were stiched up by Grocer Heath and the rest of Euro loons, and have been for far too long. We'll never get a referundum of course, because they're too scared of the result.

 

Do you remember when blair and co were trying to spin the idea that we could go into the euro without a referendum? That was actually a closer call than we realised, that grinning tw*t nearly dragged us into that sh*tstorm just so he could sit at the big table with the frogs and krauts and feel important.

[Wes Tender]

Spot on, 100% correct.

 

We were stiched up by Grocer Heath and the rest of Euro loons, and have been for far too long. We'll never get a referundum of course, because they're too scared of the result.

 

Of course, there was an opportunity to have had a referendum regardless of whether the government wanted one or not. Instead of his egotistical posturing as leader of the Referendum Party, all billionaire Sir James Goldsmith had to do, is finance a Referendum himself. Public access to the voting lists is easy attainable, polling stations could have been hired and the Referendum itself overseen by the Electoral Reform Society or something similar. The whole thing wouldn't have cost Goldsmith that much and would have gained the result that he wanted, with much more success than was achieved by his Party. The problem with that, was it a single issue Party and the National Interest of voters was much more important than a single issue.

 

Had the Referendum produced a clear public vote to leave, then the Government would have had to abide by it, or risk the wrath of the electorate.

[scotty]

Of course, there was an opportunity to have had a referendum regardless of whether the government wanted one or not. Instead of his egotistical posturing as leader of the Referendum Party, all billionaire Sir James Goldsmith had to do, is finance a Referendum himself. Public access to the voting lists is easy attainable, polling stations could have been hired and the Referendum itself overseen by the Electoral Reform Society or something similar. The whole thing wouldn't have cost Goldsmith that much and would have gained the result that he wanted, with much more success than was achieved by his Party. The problem with that, was it a single issue Party and the National Interest of voters was much more important than a single issue.

 

Had the Referendum produced a clear public vote to leave, then the Government would have had to abide by it, or risk the wrath of the electorate.

 

That might conceivably be feasible to do, but the result would never have carried enough weight for the government to have to take any notice of the result. Presumably if it was a serious option, Goldsmith would have tried it.

[Joensuu]

57 seats compared to the Conservatives 307 makes the Lib Dems insignificant. They should be grateful that they've got their own way on some many things.

 

So the Torys have c. six times as many MPs as the Lib Dems. Did they get six times as many votes?

 

[Answer: Not a chance! 6.8 million Lib Dem vs 10.7 million Tory. Oh, but I guess it's only fair to ignore the views of those 6.8 million people if you don't agree with them eh Dune?]

[dune]

Do you remember when blair and co were trying to spin the idea that we could go into the euro without a referendum? That was actually a closer call than we realised, that grinning tw*t nearly dragged us into that sh*tstorm just so he could sit at the big table with the frogs and krauts and feel important.

 

During the dieing days of Labour they signed us up to rescuing the Euro as part of their scorched earth tactic of doing as much damage as possible to the country.

[dune]

So the Torys have c. six times as many MPs as the Lib Dems. Did they get six times as many votes?

 

[Answer: Not a chance! 6.8 million Lib Dem vs 10.7 million Tory. Oh, but I guess it's only fair to ignore the views of those 6.8 million people if you don't agree with them eh Dune?]

 

What was the result of the AV referendum?

[Saintandy666]

What was the result of the AV referendum?

 

That point was irrelevant. We rejected a move from one majoritarian system to another. We certainly didn't reject a move to a PR system.

 

Either way, nearly a quarter of the populations views are NOT irrelevant.

[dune]

That point was irrelevant. We rejected a move from one majoritarian system to another. We certainly didn't reject a move to a PR system.

 

Either way, nearly a quarter of the populations views are NOT irrelevant.

 

Who is this "we"?

 

The public spoke in the referendum.

[bridge too far]

Of course, there was an opportunity to have had a referendum regardless of whether the government wanted one or not. Instead of his egotistical posturing as leader of the Referendum Party, all billionaire Sir James Goldsmith had to do, is finance a Referendum himself. Public access to the voting lists is easy attainable, polling stations could have been hired and the Referendum itself overseen by the Electoral Reform Society or something similar. The whole thing wouldn't have cost Goldsmith that much and would have gained the result that he wanted, with much more success than was achieved by his Party. The problem with that, was it a single issue Party and the National Interest of voters was much more important than a single issue.

 

Had the Referendum produced a clear public vote to leave, then the Government would have had to abide by it, or risk the wrath of the electorate.

 

Dangerous territory there, methinks. If billionaires could fund referenda that delivered results the government of the day would, in your words, 'have to abide by' then that would ring the death knell for democracy.

[Joensuu]

What was the result of the AV referendum?

 

I would have thought you'd have found that out by now. At half time the score currently stands at Self interest 1 Democracy 0

[dune]

I would have thought you'd have found that out by now. At half time the score currently stands at Self interest 1 Democracy 0

 

How has democracy lost? I thought the YES campaign lost in a referendum.

[Joensuu]

How has democracy lost? I thought the YES campaign lost in a referendum.

 

Blimey, I'd assumed you understood the debate. Mustn't jump to assumptions eh?

[Wade Garrett]

During the dieing days of Labour they signed us up to rescuing the Euro as part of their scorched earth tactic of doing as much damage as possible to the country.

 

The damage was done when Tory PM John Major signed the Maastricht Treaty.

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

Oh dear Vicky Pryce was nowhere near Essex on the day of the offence. Just have to see whether she received three points in Essex on the day she was addressing an LSE conference miles away.

[eurosaint]

On a brighter note it's good to see that the SNP are becoming more and more powerful. Labour have created a monster by allowing separatist sentiment to manifest.

 

A very true and poignant statement !

They bent over backwards by creating the Scottish parliament and diverting disproportionate funds up north in order to protect votes for themselves, but the whole thing has now backfired and Alec Salmond is basking in unearned glory !!

Ye reap what thee shall sow, eh ??

[scotty]

During the dieing days of Labour they signed us up to rescuing the Euro as part of their scorched earth tactic of doing as much damage as possible to the country.

 

True enough, but I was thinking of the early days of blair & co. They were floating the idea of joining the euro without a referendum for some time in the media. Would have been disastrous imho

[Jonnyboy]

During the dieing days of Labour they signed us up to rescuing the Euro as part of their scorched earth tactic of doing as much damage as possible to the country.

 

 

Edited 16 May, 2011 by Jonnyboy

[solentstars]

Roll on the SNP referendum on whether they wish to stay as part of the Union. The West Lothian question has festered for too long, as English resentment grows year by year.

 

Perhaps simultaneously we could have one on whether we wished to remain in the EU, or whether we wished to revert back to solely a trading agreement, a common market, which was what we voted for in the last referendum. The successive governments certainly never gained a mandate to bring us into a political union with Europe with the resultant loss of sovereignty.

yes lets get rid of that liberal cameron and elect the real face of the tory looney right bill cash and we canlive happily ever after in la la land funny how this anti lib thread has the usual die hard tory tribe drivel.

[Saintandy666]

Who is this "we"?

 

The public spoke in the referendum.

 

We as in the public. Read back what I wrote. In the referendum, the public rejected a move from FPTP to AV, a majoritarian system to another majoritarian system. They did not reject a move to PR or other electoral reform.

A quarter the population's views are not irrelevant.

[dune]

Getting back on topic and ignoring the whingey posts from the defeated YES campaign, events regarding Huhnes future are looking grim.

 

The media have revealed that his wife was in London at a meeting just before the time of the speeding incident and may have gone for a meal after and Huhne was in Strasbourg the day before. They report that many MEPs flew back into Stanstead on the evening of the offence which would mean that if Huhnes wife had an alibi someone else would have driven via the M11.

 

Looking ahead if Essex police do investigate and it's found that his wife wasn't driving and Huhne was then Huhne will in all liklihood face a custodial sentence and that would lead to a by-election.

 

If there was a by election then i'd expect a fairly low turnout (good for the Tories) and the Lib Dems have taken a hammering lately (good for the Tories).

 

I predict we will soon see Eastleigh back as a Conservative seat and another yellow smudge will be wiped off the political map of the south with Winchester and Romsey already back how they should be.

Edited 16 May, 2011 by dune

[Saintandy666]

I wouldn't be so quick to presume he is guilty. Lets await the police investigation rather than jumping to conclusions based on tittle-tattle from the right-wing reactionary black-top tabloid press.

[dune]

I wouldn't be so quick to presume he is guilty. Lets await the police investigation rather than jumping to conclusions based on tittle-tattle from the right-wing reactionary black-top tabloid press.

 

It was his ex wife that made the alegation. Not tittle tattle from the Tory press. The political commentator on Newsnight said things looked pretty grim for Huhne...

[Saintandy666]

It was his ex wife that made the alegation. Not tittle tattle from the Tory press. The political commentator on Newsnight said things looked pretty grim for Huhne...

 

An angry ex-wife is hardly a good source for unbiased facts, as is the press I already mentioned.

 

If the allegations are entirely true, then yes it does look grim, but it would be silly to start proclaiming his guilt before it has been investigated.

[dune]

On the day in question, March 12, 2003, Mr Huhne was still an MEP. He could have taken one of two flights from Strasbourg in France to Stansted airport in Essex.

 

One landed at 9.58am and the other, which he is believed to have taken, at 10.23pm. It is not clear at what time his car was clocked exceeding a temporary 30mph limit on the M11.

 

Crucially that evening, Miss Pryce – then chief economic adviser and director of general economics at the Department of Trade and Industry – was finishing a meal at the London School of Economics, where she had been speaking on a panel.

 

This was confirmed yesterday by the LSE. A spokesman said: ‘Danny Quah, who is a professor of economics here, chaired the event and says he remembered that she was there. There was a dinner afterwards and Vicky Pryce is recorded as having attended.

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1387789/Chris-Huhnes-estranged-wife-testify-asked-speeding-points.html#ixzz1MYfvwjkk

[Wes Tender]

That might conceivably be feasible to do, but the result would never have carried enough weight for the government to have to take any notice of the result. Presumably if it was a serious option, Goldsmith would have tried it.

 

Why ever not? If the whole exercise was run properly and a clear majority favoured us forcing the EU to either allow us to draw back to purely a trading agreement or else we would leave altogether, then the Government would be forced to listen to the will of the people and act. Granted that "enough weight" would have to mean a considerable majority against the current European model, or else they would be able to say that the decision was not clear cut enough. Had Goldsmith proposed that he would fund a referendum himself because he had felt that the Government had reneged on promises to do so, then the Government IMO would have had no alternative but to run it themselves so that they could attempt to debate against it in the media. Distancing themselves from it would be shooting themselves in the foot. So why did Goldsmith not go ahead with it? I see no reason why it could not have been done, but IMO he was a bit of a charlatan and thought that his ego would be massaged better by being the leader of his own Party.

 

Bridge too Far: Dangerous territory there, methinks. If billionaires could fund referenda that delivered results the government of the day would, in your words, 'have to abide by' then that would ring the death knell for democracy.

 

I'm really quite surprised that you do not consider referenda to be democratic. Surely it is the purest form of democracy. Undoubtedly most MPs believe they know better than their electorate and it suits them that they believe they have a mandate to govern, when they present a manifesto that covers a massive array of policy proposals. A voter must be a rare individual if he supports every policy proposal of the party he votes for. Most normal people vote for the party that comes closest to satisfying them on most issues. Anyway, the situation would only arise in precisely the sort of rare situations like the European question, where successive Governments signed treaties tying us to political union with Europe , reducing the sovereignty of our own Parliament, without gaining the agreement of the people. The other pressing question is the West Lothian situation where the electorates of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been granted their own assemblies whereas England has not. Surely these situations are far more undemocratic than what I have proposed?

[tony13579]

Both he and his accuser could face jail time for this. Essex police coils employ RSS. A company formed by ACPO to prosecute motorists. ACPO also is a private limited company operating outside of government creating our police policy. You cannot serve a freedom of information act request on ACPO or RSS. These jobs are all filled by ex or serving coppers paid for out of public money.

[thefunkygibbons]

It will probably be dropped as whilst the ex wife will want to stitch him up, she will not wish to drop herself in it