Re: Eton Rifled!
 

Once again I will draw your attention to the fact that I have never publicly stated any widespread support for the government - I have praised and disagreed with their policies in equal measure. What I have done and will continue to do so is support the Labour party in Hyndburn because I believe they stand the best chance of making Hyndburn a better place to live. I will continue to stress the two things are very different and the support of one does not mean a wholesale support of the other.

Also, why does my support or otherwise of one party mean that I can not make comments about another?

Re: Eton Rifled!
 

EXACTLY you have took the words right out of my mouth, i wont be voting for the weirdo either!!!:D

Re: Eton Rifled!
 

If he is trying to emulate Blair. If he is then he is on a hiding to nothing as Blair is starting to look shiftier than Fagan.

Re: Eton Rifled!
 

Right, so you support the Labour party within the precincts of the Hyndburn borough boundary, but outside of that, you don't actually support them. What a curious point of view!

Secondly, you've got every right to make comments about any party you wish. I'm simply pointing out that by accusing the Tories of tacky tactics, you are being somewhat hypocritical, as your own party has indulged in tacky tactics many, many times. But, then again, you don't support the Labour party at national level, do you?...strange...very strange!

Re: Eton Rifled!
 

I'm sorry but I don't find it strange at all. In fact, I think it shows a better awareness of my views on things than most people have and a better understanding of politics.

First of all I'm not saying that I disagree with everything the Labour party at national level is about but neither am I saying that I would blindly follow them. I always believe in the best person for the job. People who always vote one way because that's what they've always done are not necessarily weighing up the pros and cons of their decisions.

I support the local Labour party because I honestly believe that the local area would be better in their hands and I also support our local MP, Greg Pope because I know him to be a sincere politician (honestly) - I trust him to make decisions on my behalf that doesn't necessarily mean that I have to agree with every single one of them. I always vote for the person who I want to represent me, even in general elections, and not for the party or the party leader. So, if you want me to say this just for the record, then no I would not vote for Tony Blair if he were my MP.

Finally, I do not think I'm being hypocritical as I would be quite prepared to accuse the Labour party of tacky tactics if I saw them.

Re: Eton Rifled!
 

you will be very busy then i dont think tony blair has kept one single prommise infact i tink he has done the exact opposite of every prommise he makes

cant wait until the idiot steps down and them maybe just maybe labour can start to run the country and not just this morons ego

Re: Eton Rifled!
 

In some ways it is easy below the border with govenment and politics than up here. The layout is still the same bar a few oddities so you have your Bourgh and County (unless its like Blackpool) and know were and what remits comeunder each. Sadly I have the local council which took all responsibility for the former regional councils and run them themselves. I also have the "House of Tubes" ie Holyrood which can complicate things more as just because the same party is in power on both sides of the border. I need to wiegh up what each party would do for Scotland if in power as well as a representative in the Commons who is there for the sake of Scotland and the none devolved powers issues.

Just because I might vote for one party in Hollyrood dosnt mean I follow the same at Westminster. I believe votes should be used to obtain whats best for your community and therefore do so. What issues ignite in a local area are not the same as national and therefore there can be differences that require a different vote. Sorry but following, as some do, a party because members of their family always did or do is like beeing a sheep and does not help matters in the long term.

It all comes down to what you believe and having the mental toughness to stand by these beliefs. That is reguardless of political campaigns or peer pressure.

Re: Eton Rifled!
 

Been to an opticians lately, Gayle? I reckon you need to if you're telling us that you've not noticed any tacky tactics by the Labour party over the last ten years.

Incidentally, I see you've not come up with any evidence to support your initial proposition that the current furore over Cameron's youthful daliance with the deadly weed is part of a campaign by the Tories to give him street cred. Instead, you've retreated into your usual I don't necessarily support the government at national level stance. A very convenient position to take once you're put on the spot!

Re: Eton Rifled!
 

Re: Eton Rifled!
 

Everything that comes out Cameron's mouth at the moment is part of a campaign to get him elected in a few years time.

But if you insist, then yes, I do think it's to give him street cred. He's deliberately targetting green voters, women voters and younger people. Not a bad tactic as it will probably get him into No. 10.

Re: Eton Rifled!
 

Of course everything that comes out of Cameron's mouth is to get him elected. That's how politics works. Was Blair any different in the 1997 - and all subsequent - campaigns?

However the point is that this latest revelation didn't come out of his mouth and didn't come from anyone in his party, as far as I'm aware. It came from two independent journalists. That's why I'm puzzled over your view that this is some sort of spin by the Tories to increase his "hipness" quotent. Have you got any facts, or even rumours, to back this up?

Re: Eton Rifled!
 

Fact - it's politics - I rest my case! :)

Re: Eton Rifled!
 

Yes, it's politics, but it's certainly far from fact. In fact, I put it to you, members of the jury, that Mrs Knight's assertation that this is a Tory spin is a fanciful theory on her part with no facts whatsoever to back it up and should therefore be treated with a degree of caution, if not outright scepticism. I rest MY case!

Re: Eton Rifled!
 

Hang on a minute, let me have another crack at the defence.

The journalists were independent - so you say - what evidence have you got of that? There is no such thing as an independent journalist because that would be a journalist without an opinion - and that's not going to happen.

Isn't it normally me that lives in a rose coloured world - can you not believe for one minute that some stories might be planted?

Re: Eton Rifled!
 

Of course I can believe it. I wouldn't put anything past the Tory or Labour parties.

However, you began by talking about this almost as if it was an established fact that the Tories had used it as an image-building exercise:

when, in fact, it's simply a theory from yourself - and a theory, I might add, that has not been raised in any other quarter from the senior ranks of the Labour party right through to the left-leaning papers like the Observer, Independent and Mirror.

As for living in a rose-coloured world, you certainly seem to be, as far as the Labour party is concerned. Why else would you wax indignant about tacky tactics by the Tories, when similarly tacky tactics have become the stock-in-trade of your party over the last ten years?