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Reluctant Hero · Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 9:17 pm Post subject: EU Elections

The EU elections are 3 weeks away and today saw the launch of the Lib Dem campaign in Scotland. I wonder how much of a hammering the Labour vote will take and given the furore over MP expenses, I wonder if this will have any effect on turnout?

Here are the Scottish candidates.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8040047.stm

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Alasdair · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 11:58 am Post subject:

I think we should be spoiling our ballots come this election, a wee note perhaps:

"MP's? Not at my expense"
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Stevie · Independentist Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Posts: 1179

The curious thing is, the Tories have 15% of the vote. That's an increase. Surprising, a possible renewal of Tory fortunes?

What do you guys think - I say guys because on the various politics sites I visit, hardly any women contribute... maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you lot are sitting at home in cotton dresses doing your knitting(probably are anyway).
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agentmancuso · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 4:58 pm Post subject: Re: EU Elections

agentmancuso · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 5:00 pm Post subject:

Dave Coull · Independentista Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 2809

Our postie today delivered leaflets from UKIP and the BNP.

The BNP leaflet headlines a NEW Battle of Britain and has a photo of a Spitfire. Ironic considering many of their Nazi supporters would either have been on the other side or interned as enemy sympathisers during the original Battle of Britain.

Their leaflet comes from an address in London and makes no mention of Scotland at all.

The UKIP leaflet does at least say it is from "UKIP Scotland" and gives an address in Fife, but apart from that it appears to have little relevance to Scotland. UKIP also chooses to hark back to the Second World War, with a big photo of Winston Churchill giving the V for Victory sign. There is an irony about their leaflet also, one of which they probably aren't aware. During the dark days of the Second World War, Churchill came up with a plan for a complete Union of Britain and France. Of course this plan would have to wait for its completion until after the war, but he wanted to start the ball rolling. General de Gaulle, leader of the Free French forces with headquarters in London, said NON to Churchill's plan for a total Union of Britain and France.

Stevie · Independentist Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Posts: 1179

Rinty · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 9:01 am Post subject:

If the tories have 15% and got 17.8% last time, how is that "gaining"?

Alasdair · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 12:24 pm Post subject:

agentmancuso · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 4:19 pm Post subject:

Stevie · Independentist Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Posts: 1179

I'm afraid the depth of my knowledge is I heard it somewhere. So clearly unreliable. Evidently then the Tories are on the rise and which party then will benefit and which will lose?

Funny old place Scotland for backing a winner.
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Every man dies, not every man really lives.

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Reluctant Hero · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 6:30 pm Post subject:

agentmancuso · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 8:01 pm Post subject:

The Lithgae Jambo · Helping with the Count Joined: 05 Jul 2006 Posts: 362

I was rather amused to read in the UKIP leaflet the praise it was giving to that most un-British feature of the EP electoral system, proportional representation.

The Lithgae Jambo · Helping with the Count Joined: 05 Jul 2006 Posts: 362

Stevie · Independentist Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Posts: 1179

Rinty · Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 3:17 pm Post subject:

Every poll I have seen suggests that the Lib Dems will be the big beneficiaries of the expenses fiasco, I still dont see any polling evidence to suggest that the tories share of the vote will rise in Scoland.

Dave Coull · Independentista Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 2809

Stevie · Independentist Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Posts: 1179

Thanks Am, Rinty and DC. Still have one of my 'feelings' that the Tories are on a marked rise. My feelings have the curious nature of often being not far off. Anyway, I would like to hear what you guys think people you know in general think about the question posed.
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Every man dies, not every man really lives.

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magister ludi · Gaining a Reputation Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Posts: 225

I believe once the dust settles a little over the Westminster expenses and the media turn their attention to the European elections then the question of how much MEPs get paid and how generous their expenses are will surface. Any MEPs looking to be re-elected may have some questions to answer about what they do with their allowances.

The Tax Payers Alliance and the Times both tried taking up the story in Feb this year, but it didn't really seem to go anywhere. However with the current taste for the blood of politicians the story may well get a new lease of life.

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Euro_MP_expenses_%27can_reach_%C2%A31m%27

"Euro MPs' expenses and pensions are so lavish that they can earn as much as £1m (1.13m euros) on top of their salaries over their five-year term in parliament, a British campaign group says.

The TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) said its research also showed that British MEPs would get a 47% increase in their take-home pay after June's European elections.

The TPA has published an internal report - the Galvin Report - on abuse of MEPs' expenses, which had been kept secret by the European Parliament but was partially leaked last year.

Every member could "easily" save more than £1m from their expenses and pension benefits over a five-year term at the European Parliament, according to the TPA.

This includes a subsistence allowance of 117,000 euros (£104,000), staff allowance of 489,840 euros, office expenses of 243,120 euros, travel expenses of 60,000 euros and an accrued pension of 394,000 euros.

This does not include the MEP salary. This varies between countries but amounts to £63,291 for a British MEP, which is set to increase to £73,584 after the European Parliament elections in June 2009. "

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Secret_report_reveals_how_MEPs_make_millions

"A LEAKED internal report has revealed systematic abuses by Euro MPs of parliamentary allowances that enable them to pocket more than £1m in profits from a single five-year term.....

The auditor’s confidential report, suppressed by the Brussels parliament, discloses the extraordinary frauds used by MEPs to siphon off staff allowances funded by taxpayers.

It shows that some claimed for paying assistants of whom no record exists, awarded them bonuses of up to 1½ times annual salary and diverted public money into front companies.

An investigation into the abuses of staff allowances worth up to £182,000 a year — many of which are paid by MEPs to members of their family — was delivered in January last year but was not published. "

note: my emphasis