The British public backs Francois Hollande

Sat, 2012-10-06 10:18 — Compaq (not verified)

Compaq International is committed to provide the highest quality power cable accessories. The company with it's ShrinkFit trademark stands leader in India and overseas market.

Tue, 2012-06-26 19:33 — Mr Danger

"What on earth are the two Eds waiting for?"

Yes what the UK needs is economic policy that just automatically implements whatever the polls say that day.

Why does the NS let Mehdi write about economic policy?

Sun, 2012-06-03 19:24 — Spleenboy (not verified)

We are such idiots.
Francois Hollande has so far delivered nothing.
He has claimed that by borrowing more, you can end up by borrowing nothing, and we all believe him.
And the majority people agree that this would be preferable: no sh*t Sherlock.
Maybe life is easier is we all stay asleep and ignore the coffee.

Fri, 2012-06-01 12:35 — DavidC (not verified)

so why didn't Labour do all that when it had the chance and had a majority in government?

perhaps because it would cost a lot, and have to be paid for.

money doesn't grow on trees!

time for some to get real

Wed, 2012-05-30 04:30 — vipeakbecky

a national programme of building 500,000 extra stone crusher homes a year, including 150,000 new council houses

Tue, 2012-05-29 17:09 — Andrew NS

Breath of fresh air at last Francois...some balance, perhaps, to what has been, in the public eye, a pretty done Austerity deal. A case of UK TINA; head in the sand.

Tue, 2012-05-29 10:26 — Tomas Breannacht (not verified)

Establishing a Government Investment Bank is the soundest idea that has been put forward for aeons - not that it is new. South Africa in apartheid days had Development Banks to promote industry and small business in the homelands which were remarkably successful in establishing industry and providing jobs and were strongly supported by Taiwanese investors who trained a South African workforce in skills which now stand them in good stead. A Government Investment Bank would set the ground rules for the Banking Industry with which banks in the private sector would have to compete or go out of business. People forget that "the markets" which set excessive rates on countries - Greece, Spain, Ireland - struggling to service international loans are a collection of private banks bleeding countries which are in financial difficulties because of the imprudent lending of these banks in the first place. A Usury Law is also urgently needed to protect individuals from being enslaved by credit card debt : it should stipulate interest rates on overdrawn accounts no higher than those paid by banks on savings or deposit accounts and limit advances of credit to figures demonstrably capable of being repaid by the borrower's circumstances. A flexible Corporation Tax structured in inverse ratio to the number of employees would ensure that corporations create jobs rather than lay off workers - the higher the number of employees the lower the rate of corporation tax. An employee share option scheme as demonstrated by the success of The John Lewis Trust should be a Government target for all corporations. Tax Laws must be changed so that EVERY UK revenue raising activity should pay its taxes to Her Majesty's Receiver of revenue no matter what country is the shareholders' country of residence. The case of Phillip Green whose wife - a Monaco resident - is the main shareholder of profitable UK based businesses whose taxes rightly belonging to the Receiver of Revenue of this country finance Phillip's gigantic yacht in Monaco - adequately highlights how urgently tax laws need changing. The Rupert Murdoch empire - News International - despite its billions of revenue and its browbeating of our national psyche - pays minimal taxes in this country. Profits of UK based international companies earned abroad should also be repatriated to the United Kingdom where the original capital for the foreign investment was sourced rather than to the Cayman Islands. As in Australia people in the United Kingdom must be compelled to vote - how else can we regain our country and implement laws for everyone's general well being and not just for the few.

Tue, 2012-05-29 10:26 — Tomas Breannacht (not verified)

Establishing a Government Investment Bank is the soundest idea that has been put forward for aeons - not that it is new. South Africa in apartheid days had Development Banks to promote industry and small business in the homelands which were remarkably successful in establishing industry and providing jobs and were strongly supported by Taiwanese investors who trained a South African workforce in skills which now stand them in good stead. A Government Investment Bank would set the ground rules for the Banking Industry with which banks in the private sector would have to compete or go out of business. People forget that "the markets" which set excessive rates on countries - Greece, Spain, Ireland - struggling to service international loans are a collection of private banks bleeding countries which are in financial difficulties because of the imprudent lending of these banks in the first place. A Usury Law is also urgently needed to protect individuals from being enslaved by credit card debt : it should stipulate interest rates on overdrawn accounts no higher than those paid by banks on savings or deposit accounts and limit advances of credit to figures demonstrably capable of being repaid by the borrower's circumstances. A flexible Corporation Tax structured in inverse ratio to the number of employees would ensure that corporations create jobs rather than lay off workers - the higher the number of employees the lower the rate of corporation tax. An employee share option scheme as demonstrated by the success of The John Lewis Trust should be a Government target for all corporations. Tax Laws must be changed so that EVERY UK revenue raising activity should pay its taxes to Her Majesty's Receiver of revenue no matter what country is the shareholders' country of residence. The case of Phillip Green whose wife - a Monaco resident - is the main shareholder of profitable UK based businesses whose taxes rightly belonging to the Receiver of Revenue of this country finance Phillip's gigantic yacht in Monaco - adequately highlights how urgently tax laws need changing. The Rupert Murdoch empire - News International - despite its billions of revenue and its browbeating of our national psyche - pays minimal taxes in this country. Profits of UK based international companies earned abroad should also be repatriated to the United Kingdom where the original capital for the foreign investment was sourced rather than to the Cayman Islands. As in Australia people in the United Kingdom must be compelled to vote - how else can we regain our country and implement laws for everyone's general well being and not just for the few.

Tue, 2012-05-29 10:26 — Tomas Breannacht (not verified)

Establishing a Government Investment Bank is the soundest idea that has been put forward for aeons - not that it is new. South Africa in apartheid days had Development Banks to promote industry and small business in the homelands which were remarkably successful in establishing industry and providing jobs and were strongly supported by Taiwanese investors who trained a South African workforce in skills which now stand them in good stead. A Government Investment Bank would set the ground rules for the Banking Industry with which banks in the private sector would have to compete or go out of business. People forget that "the markets" which set excessive rates on countries - Greece, Spain, Ireland - struggling to service international loans are a collection of private banks bleeding countries which are in financial difficulties because of the imprudent lending of these banks in the first place. A Usury Law is also urgently needed to protect individuals from being enslaved by credit card debt : it should stipulate interest rates on overdrawn accounts no higher than those paid by banks on savings or deposit accounts and limit advances of credit to figures demonstrably capable of being repaid by the borrower's circumstances. A flexible Corporation Tax structured in inverse ratio to the number of employees would ensure that corporations create jobs rather than lay off workers - the higher the number of employees the lower the rate of corporation tax. An employee share option scheme as demonstrated by the success of The John Lewis Trust should be a Government target for all corporations. Tax Laws must be changed so that EVERY UK revenue raising activity should pay its taxes to Her Majesty's Receiver of revenue no matter what country is the shareholders' country of residence. The case of Phillip Green whose wife - a Monaco resident - is the main shareholder of profitable UK based businesses whose taxes rightly belonging to the Receiver of Revenue of this country finance Phillip's gigantic yacht in Monaco - adequately highlights how urgently tax laws need changing. The Rupert Murdoch empire - News International - despite its billions of revenue and its browbeating of our national psyche - pays minimal taxes in this country. Profits of UK based international companies earned abroad should also be repatriated to the United Kingdom where the original capital for the foreign investment was sourced rather than to the Cayman Islands. As in Australia people in the United Kingdom must be compelled to vote - how else can we regain our country and implement laws for everyone's general well being and not just for the few.

Tue, 2012-05-29 10:26 — Tomas Breannacht (not verified)

Establishing a Government Investment Bank is the soundest idea that has been put forward for aeons - not that it is new. South Africa in apartheid days had Development Banks to promote industry and small business in the homelands which were remarkably successful in establishing industry and providing jobs and were strongly supported by Taiwanese investors who trained a South African workforce in skills which now stand them in good stead. A Government Investment Bank would set the ground rules for the Banking Industry with which banks in the private sector would have to compete or go out of business. People forget that "the markets" which set excessive rates on countries - Greece, Spain, Ireland - struggling to service international loans are a collection of private banks bleeding countries which are in financial difficulties because of the imprudent lending of these banks in the first place. A Usury Law is also urgently needed to protect individuals from being enslaved by credit card debt : it should stipulate interest rates on overdrawn accounts no higher than those paid by banks on savings or deposit accounts and limit advances of credit to figures demonstrably capable of being repaid by the borrower's circumstances. A flexible Corporation Tax structured in inverse ratio to the number of employees would ensure that corporations create jobs rather than lay off workers - the higher the number of employees the lower the rate of corporation tax. An employee share option scheme as demonstrated by the success of The John Lewis Trust should be a Government target for all corporations. Tax Laws must be changed so that EVERY UK revenue raising activity should pay its taxes to Her Majesty's Receiver of revenue no matter what country is the shareholders' country of residence. The case of Phillip Green whose wife - a Monaco resident - is the main shareholder of profitable UK based businesses whose taxes rightly belonging to the Receiver of Revenue of this country finance Phillip's gigantic yacht in Monaco - adequately highlights how urgently tax laws need changing. The Rupert Murdoch empire - News International - despite its billions of revenue and its browbeating of our national psyche - pays minimal taxes in this country. Profits of UK based international companies earned abroad should also be repatriated to the United Kingdom where the original capital for the foreign investment was sourced rather than to the Cayman Islands. As in Australia people in the United Kingdom must be compelled to vote - how else can we regain our country and implement laws for everyone's general well being and not just for the few.

Tue, 2012-05-29 10:26 — Tomas Breannacht (not verified)

Establishing a Government Investment Bank is the soundest idea that has been put forward for aeons - not that it is new. South Africa in apartheid days had Development Banks to promote industry and small business in the homelands which were remarkably successful in establishing industry and providing jobs and were strongly supported by Taiwanese investors who trained a South African workforce in skills which now stand them in good stead. A Government Investment Bank would set the ground rules for the Banking Industry with which banks in the private sector would have to compete or go out of business. People forget that "the markets" which set excessive rates on countries - Greece, Spain, Ireland - struggling to service international loans are a collection of private banks bleeding countries which are in financial difficulties because of the imprudent lending of these banks in the first place. A Usury Law is also urgently needed to protect individuals from being enslaved by credit card debt : it should stipulate interest rates on overdrawn accounts no higher than those paid by banks on savings or deposit accounts and limit advances of credit to figures demonstrably capable of being repaid by the borrower's circumstances. A flexible Corporation Tax structured in inverse ratio to the number of employees would ensure that corporations create jobs rather than lay off workers - the higher the number of employees the lower the rate of corporation tax. An employee share option scheme as demonstrated by the success of The John Lewis Trust should be a Government target for all corporations. Tax Laws must be changed so that EVERY UK revenue raising activity should pay its taxes to Her Majesty's Receiver of revenue no matter what country is the shareholders' country of residence. The case of Phillip Green whose wife - a Monaco resident - is the main shareholder of profitable UK based businesses whose taxes rightly belonging to the Receiver of Revenue of this country finance Phillip's gigantic yacht in Monaco - adequately highlights how urgently tax laws need changing. The Rupert Murdoch empire - News International - despite its billions of revenue and its browbeating of our national psyche - pays minimal taxes in this country. Profits of UK based international companies earned abroad should also be repatriated to the United Kingdom where the original capital for the foreign investment was sourced rather than to the Cayman Islands. As in Australia people in the United Kingdom must be compelled to vote - how else can we regain our country and implement laws for everyone's general well being and not just for the few.

Fri, 2012-05-25 17:00 — rain (not verified)

"A new poll by YouGov contains some pretty bad news for the austerity junkies" Hasn't the governments already tried over borrowing and spending and that didn't work. How is it possible then to believe that adding even more public sector debt, most of which is printed, can fix the problem?

Fri, 2012-05-25 14:48 — Des Demona (not verified)

Don't we technically already own several banks? But they are still doing nothing except protect their own bonuses and don't give two hoots about the man in the street? Obviously ownership and control are very different things.

Fri, 2012-05-25 14:22 — Anon3 (not verified)

Hey, I like the publicly owned bank thing. See, whilst the right always aims to provide choice but choice to feather fat cat pockets, and the left is often statist to a suffocating degree, we never get to choose the state.

Fri, 2012-05-25 14:16 — Spleenboy (not verified)

More tribal, party political, jingoistic nonsense.
Try writing something for a change with a critique of the left. You could learn a lot from Peter Oborne's writing. He writes from the right, but regularly attacks it to further thinking and debate. You're just another dull, party political drone.