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There are actually advantages to this. Peers are less likely to be careerist and think in short term, 5 year parliamentary cycles. I worked with a Lib Dem peer on an energy working group on a white paper and saw this first hand. I think the system works. Hereditary peers should go though With...

Aye, and there seems to be a lot going over tomorrow who don't usually bother (based on the conversations I've had), should be over 8K.

Not funny anymore. How have we not scored?

This is not that uncommon. Most planning decisions are delegated. They only tend to go to committee if it's a contentious application that has received more than 5 objections, or if the fire, police or somebody like English Heritage raises concerns. It still stinks though.

Which I never said. I said they are not always full, but of course they often are.

Well it isn't, and nor would this be, no hotel runs at 100% occupancy every night, they don't need to. That said, it is well known that there is a shortage of hotel beds in Coventry, particularly Monday-Friday, it is why 3 new hotels are being built in the city centre. This hotel was never...

Of course, but that's always the case and we have a tough run too. The point being, we about where we were at this stage last season, which is frustrating as we are clearly a better side this term. Shows we're probably 5 or 6 points short of where we really ought to be. Those points in the bag...

Looking at the table after 18 games last season, we are slightly better off, by 2 points and are 9 points off the top rather than 10. We had won more games at this stage last season though. Next few fixtures are crucial you feel, could easily fall to mid-table with a bad run. Get to Jan in the...

No away wins, no back to back wins, won by more than a single goal only once. Yet we're somehow hanging in there (although we will be out of the top 6 once the games in hand are played out). That's why these dropped points are so frustrating, if we could just stay in touch until Jan you feel we...

Yep, good point, I won't be putting any money on the outcome. My gut says sizable Tory majority though, the polls don't look good for Labour it has to be said.

My wife goes into a rage whenever she sees Gove on the TV! I think the key thing in the last statement, was the 'for Corbyn'. He just doesn't appeal. They'll be many people voting through gritted-teeth for the Tories I feel. Corbyn just has too many reasons for people not to vote for him...

The great deceit at the heart of debate about public spending is that for the years following the 2010 election it would have been any different under Labour. Ahead of that election, Alistair Darling said "Labour's planned cuts in public spending will be "deeper and tougher" than Margaret...

Because I take personal responsibility. The failure of the business was entirely my fault, made a bad investment. You move on. In the end, I just about managed to pay everyone off so didn't owe anybody, I managed to get new jobs for my two employees and can now sleep at night. And, what I...

The public sector has been under massive strain, but there are clear signs that we are emerging from a period of economic strife and that the corner has been turned. The key question in this I guess. Tax revenues are up, unemployment is at record lows, foreign investment is high, especially in...

No, of course there was a public-sector pay freeze, that's documented fact. What there isn't yet in any indication that below inflation pay rises are planned during the next parliament, which is what you're suggesting with the comparison with military spending, where the budget has been...

Oh come on, you're better than that. High school debating society stuff. They're proposing to increase expenditure faster than inflation across many departments, not just defence. Military spending as a proportion of GDP has fallen under this government from 2.5% to 2.1%, it's lowest in...

Is that a serious comment, surely not? If so, that's incredibly condescending. Are you suggesting that people from ethnic minorities should all subscribe to the same world view and not think for themselves? If an Asian small business owner votes Conservative because, rightly or wrongly, they...

Tony Benn was of his time, it is very crude to try to place him politically by modern standards and sensibilities. The world is a different place, the division between right and left is blurred and increasingly meaningless. The world has never been smaller. Money flows across borders...

I don't need educating on anything. The arguments for and against private schools are older than you or I and are well understood. Of course they bestow an advantage on those who attend, who would argue that point? But, to abolish them would make no sense and would be motivated by ideology and...

On the issue of tuition fees, you mention participation. Surely that is a laudable aim, and it is somewhat cynical to suggest this is largely about reducing youth unemployment, even if that is an inevitable (and not undesirable) consequence. Since tuition fees were introduced, participation...