On 11 Aug 2013 at 4:43pm Nevil rook wrote:
Is there an anti-fracking candidate standing against Norman ?
On 11 Aug 2013 at 5:55pm Norman Wisdom wrote:
You lot don't appreciate just what agood job Norman is doing for the country.
Imagine what things would be like in this contry if the Lib dems weren't in the coalition.
Yes Norman supports fracking with all the adequate safety measures put in place.
It is true that certain communities may suffer a little but set against this we have to look at the benefits of cheap unlimited energy,and low energy bills.
Also we have to look at the money for our communities that we all receive, a million pounds,that,s pretty good eh?Imagine how that would benefit Lewes if and when they start extraction here .I'm sure he believes that the national parks should not be sacrosanct.If there is oil and gas under the ground why shouldn,t we drill in the South Downs national park?If they cover it up properly
what,s the problem?If youknow what,s good for you,you'll stick with Norman.He's a top bloke.
On 11 Aug 2013 at 7:23pm For Frack's Sake wrote:
Has Norman said he's in favour of fracking then? Can you point me to where he's said this? Thanks.
On 11 Aug 2013 at 7:47pm Border Control wrote:
He hasn't objected has he ? That's as good a approving in my book.
On 11 Aug 2013 at 7:59pm For Frack's Sake wrote:
OK. It's just that the only thing I've seen is on his website and he seems to be saying he's against it - www.normanbaker.org.uk
"For climate change reasons, I do not think it would be helpful to extend our reliance on fossil fuels any more than necessary, particularly without carbon capture and storage." Sounds like opposition to me. Although it would be helpful if he made a more definitive statement on it!
On 11 Aug 2013 at 9:21pm Dingo wrote:
Baker is a fraud.There is no such thing as effective carbon capture and storage and he knows it.Hell make reaasuring noise to his Lewes constituents but in the end he`ll capitulate like the hollow man he is,Reassurances from Baker are worthless,
On 11 Aug 2013 at 9:35pm Belladonna wrote:
People seem to forget that without the lib dem support for the Tories they couldn't stay in government. If lib dens withdraw their support the government will collapse. They are in the coalition for two reasons - greed and power. I note Norman still (what integrity the man has) hasn't refused a potential 10 per cent pay rise. All in it together eh ?
On 11 Aug 2013 at 10:50pm lewes resident wrote:
all politicians are the same, Norman is no different, can't abide the man. or the Lib Dems.champagne socialists
On 12 Aug 2013 at 7:19am Matt Kent wrote:
I'm still waiting for a public 'for' or 'against' public statement from Norman Baker on the TV. Step up to the plate Mr Baker, your constituents are waiting. Yes or No - are you in favour of fracking Norman?
On 12 Aug 2013 at 7:41am Phfellow2004 wrote:
The LibDems found themselves found themselves in an unusual position after they had about 60 MPs elected in 2010. As the Tories had no overall majority, but a larger share of the vote than Labour, the LibDems suddenly had the ability to keep Gordon Brown in power or place David Cameron in No 10 Downing Street but with their support.
What the electorate too often forgets is that the outcome of the 2010 General Election occurred exactly at the time when the European and World financial markets were in turmoil and several European nations were facing bankruptcy and the UK was not far off going the same way. Immediate political stability was essential and this was not going to be achieved if the LibDems went into Coalition with Brown/Milliband and Balls mainly because Clegg would never have been able to work with Brown (but Cable might!). Most importantly, there would be no sense in handing back the keys to the drivers who parked the car in the ditch! That continues to be the case.
I have respect for the LibDems deciding to go into Coalition with the Tories because it saved the nation but there was a political price to pay for both parties. The LibDems have always been a party of Opposition with no prospect of ever gaining power and so it has been always easy for them to have manifesto policies/promises which they safely knew they would never have to fulfil because gaining power was never a possibility.
Although the LibDems had grave doubts that going into Coalition with the Tories would not work out, the prospect of unexpectedly having a share of power was too mouth watering especially with some juicy ministerial jobs for the taking. Norman Baker took one gratefully and in many ways he has made a reasonable fist of his job for the last 3 years. To the surprise of many pundits, the Coalition has survived far more robustly than expected and, with the support of the LibDems, the economy is gradually getting back on track but it is a very hard grind.
In less than 2 years time, the General Election will take place. The polls seem to suggest that the LibDems have lost considerable ground since 2010 possibly to Labour/Greens and UKIP (to a degree) and the Tories have lost ground to UKIP. It is difficult to understand why anyone in their right mind could consider voting for Labour at the moment! Although the size of the UKIP vote at the GE will probably diminish after the recent local election and future EU elections, UKIP will continue to be a reservoir for the Protest vote about everything and anything and remain totally unfit for Government.
It is quite possible that another Coalition Government might be necessary in 2015 and, even if the LibDems end up with fewer MPs, another spell of power sharing with the Tories does not bother me. The alternative would be a nightmare!
On 12 Aug 2013 at 8:16am Nevil rook wrote:
That was a party political broadcast on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Party
On 12 Aug 2013 at 8:42am Phfellow2004 wrote:
Nevil rook..............
As it happens, I have never voted LibDem and never intend to !
On 12 Aug 2013 at 9:22am Nevil Rook wrote:
"never" under any circumstances ?
"It is quite possible that another Coalition Government might be necessary in 2015 and, even if the LibDems end up with fewer MPs, another spell of power sharing with the Tories does not bother me".
Well it certainly "bothers" Me !
On 12 Aug 2013 at 1:55pm Former Labour supporter. wrote:
I,m a natural Labour party supporter.I have I admit voted lib dem in the past when it seemed to me, mistakenly as it turned out ,that their political instincts were further to the left of Blairite New Labour which I detested.
It is pretty obvious to anyone with half a brain that G.Brown was not directly responsible for the financial crisis and the subsequent recession.He is how ever guilty of swallowing the prevailing myth of unregulated markets. A philosophy let us not forget espoused by Consevatives the world over.
As my experience has broadened and hopefully deepened over the years I have come to the conclusion that unregulated markets, reliance on ever greater economic growth and the variations of
the "trickle down effect" which all the major parties espouse, is leading us to not only greater inequalities but to the ultimate degradation of the environment ,mass extinction of species and terrible suffering and death for very large numbers of our fellow humans.
I am as I told you a natural Labour voter, alas no more.
This whole fracking debate is indicative that we need a new way of doing business on good old planet Earth. Any future Labour government will I am sure embrace Fracking as enthusiastically as the ToryLibs.
This new way of doing things is not the same old same old capitalism espoused by all the major parties but something closer to the ideas of an earlier tradition of British socialism espoused by William Morris and the like.Ideas which came to be seen as old fashioned but whose time I believe will come again.
The only party which which comes an where near my political philosophy of social justice and is firmly opposed to Fracking is the Green Party.Some of them are pretty wooly minded
and leave themselves open to the charge of impractical idealism, I also suspect that a fair number of them think we can change the present system and challenge the ruthless commercial /political elite with bunches of flowers an cups of Keemun tea,bless em!
They are believe though, except in the unlikely event that the Labour metamorphosises Into a truly Socialist party ,the only choice for Lewes and the rest of the U.K.
On 12 Aug 2013 at 3:56pm Knoxon Cutts wrote:
Like you FLS I thought I was a natural Labour supporter,but really I was just against the Tories.Then I learned about the Dialectic-two opposed forces to bring about the result you want.That's the way our rulers think,not the way we are taught.If God's Holy Angels won the next election they would still have to borrow money to carry out their plans and if the lenders didn't like them they wouldn't lend it.Unless some party promises on pain of death that they will introduce a currency of mutual credit minted by the nation they are not worth voting for because they have no power whatsoever.
On 12 Aug 2013 at 4:11pm Knoxon Cutts wrote:
One thing that puzzles me;is Normans Wisdom a satirist with a very dry sense of humour?
On 12 Aug 2013 at 7:58pm Belladonna wrote:
Me too FLS.
On 13 Aug 2013 at 8:54am Sylvia wrote:
Think you'll find Norman won't respond soon, if you ask his office, he's away on hols for the first time in 3 years, back September.
On 13 Aug 2013 at 10:28am Matt Kent wrote:
There's always Skype Sylvia.
On 13 Aug 2013 at 11:21am The old mayor wrote:
I thought an MPs job was 24/7. And yes it's the 21st century, we have means of communication around the world. Even from a bicycle !!
On 13 Aug 2013 at 12:24pm Snitch wrote:
Hes back now only went away for a week !