Is Ed Balls the most annoying politician ever?

[mercGLowner]

Discuss......

He was just on Sky News, the usual denigrating of the Tories and George Osborne - I expect this from the opposition but coming from the mouth of Balls, it is rank hypocrisy. "Those Tories who gave a tax cut to their rich friends...." ...... Er excuse me the additional rate of tax is currently 45% - lowered from 50% in 2013, which was introduced by Alastair Darling weeks before the 2010 election as a temporary measure. I believe the higher rate of tax was 40% for the 13 years of the last Labour government. WTF is this guy on?

If he is Chancellor in May 2015, this country is totally fked.....

[mercGLowner]

The Don of Croy said:

Not the most annoying. Yet (he's still young).

What I find surprising, and depressing, is his mien - the 'man of the people' who understands the man in the street etc. and interviews with false bonhomie until he gets properly under stress, whereby he reverts to bully boy tactics.
...

I agree with this. It's clearly the Labour spin machine policy to get 'cost of living crisis' in at least three times a sentence. No interviewer has yet said....... of course there is/has been a cost of living crisis, this country was almost bought to its knees by the policies of the last Labour Government there was no way we could just continue as we had done....there has been some payback and some pain, the fact we are out the other side should be cause for cautious optimism.

Balls may be intelligent, but being intelligent does not make you always right. Collective wisdom says that Labour have been wide of the mark on economics and the Tories have for it right - not perfect but right.

[mercGLowner]

legzr1 said:

"Labour make a mess, Tories/coalition use this excuse for X years, those at the bottom pay the real price."

Please expand on this statement, I genuinely would like to know what you mean when you say "those at the bottom pay the real price"?

[mercGLowner]

Just a thought, if we are including second tier politicians/ local councillors, I'll add Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon... They are both annoying and very irritating political distorters of the truth......

[mercGLowner]

andymadmak said:

legzr1 said:

- what concerns me is the deliberate and malicious attack on the disabled and the infirm.

Miss that point if you like

I do not miss that point. Can you substantiate it? Deliberate and malicious are extremely emotive words. They also suggest that a detailed plan that sets out to attack the people you describe exists. Can you show me this plan? Do you have a copy? If the plan is as widespread as you hint, there would surely be a copy of it available on line? Somebody in the civil service would certainly have leaked a copy? No?


Or is it just so much emotive nonsense and hyperbole conjured up by you to attack a government that has turned the economy around in pretty spectacular fashion but who probably wear the wrong colour rosettes for your liking?

If I could comment as the father of a significantly disabled 23 year old son. I do not recognise the description of 'deliberate and malicious attack on the disabled.....' My son receives a number of benefits; DLA and ESA and has a care package, which he/we control, allocated by the county council for £26k with which he buys in support for when he is out and about and at home whilst my wife and I work. He has a motability wheelchair accessible car, had a grant to convert part of our house into a disabled accessible suite and is happy and contented as far as he is able. Everything is not perfect but on the whole the system works and has not substantially changed.

I recognise that my experience is one of many but, although my wife and I have had to advocate strongly on his behalf for everything he needs, over the last 15 years or so the overall package of benefits has been unquestionably good and has not changed for the worse over the last 5 years. I fully accept that some disabled people may have a different view.

I will also add that my son's biggest wish would be to be able to work.

[mercGLowner]

threespires said:

I'm a big fan of Labour. I want lower energy bills, lower train fares, higher minimum wage and huge taxes for fatcats. Only Labour can deliver on these promises.
Cameroon and his bunch of public school incompetents have ruined the fabric of this once great nation with cuts and more cuts.

What?? Is this humour?

If not, please tell me what has been cut? The rate of increase has been slowed in most departmental budgets, very few have actually been cut.