By-elections in England

One of each, Sabot. Rifkind = Tory, Straw = Labour.

bb1 wrote:One of each, Sabot. Rifkind = Tory, Straw = Labour.

Ba Boom. I think I'll go and throw up. Can't imagine why. Nothing to do with me anymore.

NO, ACTUALLY, YOU'RE NOT, the British public replied.

Talk about a sense of entitlement!

Rifkind is absolutely shocking, isn't he - such naked greed.

In fairness, the Dispatches team did write to/email ten MPs posing as the 'Chinese company'. Several didn't bother to answer, and one replied saying No, I'm not for sale. He/she wasn't named, which is rather a pity.

It was the two heavyweights, Straw and Rifkind that took the bait. Straw came over as a boasting idiot, with his talk of being much more helpful when he gets the seat in the Lords he thinks he's entitled to.

It is, IMO, especially bad in Rifkind's case, as he chairs the parliamentary committee which oversees Britain's intelligence agencies. He boasted onscreen about working for some Middle East company - the potential for disaster there is obvious.

I wonder if Straw will get his seat now?

Everything about it is shocking, Bonny. Will they come out of it smelling like roses, do you think?

I will be surprised if they do, Lily. Remember, there's a general election coming up, and Cameron won't want to be seen supporting corrupt MPs. Milliband's another matter; Straw didn't actually swallow the bait and beg for more, he just made a fool of himself. And he's standing down as an MP anyway, though his seat in the Lords may be off now.

In which case he'll have to work for a living, instead of getting £300 a day Lords expenses.

Oh I bet he's kicking himself now. Oh well, too bad so sad.

lily wrote:I wonder if Straw will get his seat now?  

Everything about it is shocking, Bonny.  Will they come out of it smelling like roses, do you think?

Oh Dear. What a pity. So sad. Too bad.

YES!!!!!!!

http://news.sky.com/story/1433201/cash-for-access-rifkind-steps-down-as-mp

Cash For Access: Rifkind Steps Down As MP
Sir Malcolm Rifkind says cash-for-access claims against him are "contemptible" as he announces he will step down as MP.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind has announced he is to step down at the General Election after cash for access revelations.

The Tory MP has also resigned from his role of chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee after pressure over the lobbying scandal intensified.

In a statement Sir Malcolm, who became an MP in 1974, said it was unfair to friends and colleagues in Kensington for him to continue to remain the candidate for the General Election but added the allegations against him were "contemptible".

He said: "This is entirely my personal decision. I have had no such requests from my constituency association but I believe that it is the right and proper action to take.

"As regards the allegations of Channel 4 and the Daily Telegraph I find them contemptible and will not comment further at this time.

"Although I will retire from Parliament I shall continue my public and political life and am much looking forward to doing so over the years to come."

The MP for Kensington had been due at the regular ISC meeting this morning but admitted that the committee could be "distracted or affected by controversy" and that it would be better for him to step down.

Moments before he announced his resignation, Sir Malcolm was involved in a testy exchange with a Sky News reporter during which he told him to "mind his own business" and accused him of being "childish".

TheTory MP tried to laugh off the episode in an exchange with a woman on the other side of the road who shouted back: "You won't be doing that again will you."...more at link.

Many of us north of the border have known for a very long time what a detestable PoS Rifkind is, but didn't think he'd ever actually be caught out.

And the other one:

Labour grandee, Jack Straw, was also caught by the newspaper sting boasting about working "under the radar" in a £60,000 consultancy role for a commodities company for whom he claimed to have altered EU regulation and Ukrainian law.

He has also referred himself to the watchdog, denying wrongdoing, but had already announced he would stand down as MP at the General Election.

The Labour leader Ed Miliband described the incident as "disturbing".

Some had assumed Mr Straw would move into the House of Lords but Labour sources say that could not happen while an investigation is ongoing. The MP agreed to be suspended from the Labour party.

The 'Ukrainian law' had something to do with refining sugar, and wasn't as sinister as it sounds - as far as is known. I think it must have been a previous Ukrainian government, as the present one doesn't seem terribly interested in such mundane matters.

Contemptible? Yep. What he did was contemptible. As for the other one, it was Disturbing.

One might wonder just how thick these people are. Or perhaps how thick they think we are.

Rifkind has always regarded voters as a bunch of peasants, Sabot, but he's got away with it for so long, I decided he must be Teflon-coated.

So he's resigned because they treated him contemptibly? Sounds about right.

Let it be a lesson to others.

I bet there are a couple who are breathing a sigh of relief. Some of them must have been tempted.

You know it, Sabot, and the person who told them no, must be pleased with him/herself.

I guess it will all be forgotten in a few years and it will start again?

I don't know, Lily, maybe not this time. The great British public is seriously p*ssed off with all three mainstream parties; the upcoming election is going to be interesting.

Oh I do so hope that is true. These corrupt politicians need to go from wherever they serve.

Lord protect us from Boris!

I read the main headline and saw Boris saluting. I thought he had signed up......

http://news.sky.com/story/1435132/the-cult-of-farage-heros-welcome-in-us

UKIP may have had a boost with the release of unexpectedly high immigration figures and a new opinion poll suggests it may win the constituency of South Thanet in the election - but its leader wasn't in the UK to make the most of it.

Nigel Farage was among his fans in the US.

"He's awesome and cool," 20-year-old Alain Robert told Sky News.

Political writer Randy Foreman was even more gushing saying the UKIP leader had all the appeal of James Bond.

"He's absolutely a fantastic politician. We just don't have them here like that in the United States."

Awesome? Cool? James Bond?

Oh jeez. Mind you, they said more things in awe of our present guy....

Oh, of course, maybe he does look like a genius and all-round superhero in comparison to Obama, Lily.