Hutton: 48% think Blair lied

[T_i_B]

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/kelly/story/0,13747,1126903,00.html

Tony Blair is losing the battle for public opinion on two key issues - the Hutton inquiry and tuition fees - that will next week determine the fate of his premiership, according to the results of this month's Guardian/ICM opinion poll.

The survey shows that almost half the voters - 48% - believe Mr Blair was lying when he said he had not authorised the leaking of David Kelly's name to the media. And nearly two-thirds of all voters, including 42% of Labour voters, believe he should resign if Lord Hutton's report says he lied over the leaking of Dr Kelly's name.

The results also reveal that the intensive campaign in the past month by Mr Blair and the education secretary, Charles Clarke, to win the backing of the public for their policy on university top-up fees has made little progress, with 60% of voters still instinctively opposed.

The results show that ministers are failing to engage the public on the issue, with 85% believing their proposals will lead to fewer people going to university or not making any difference.

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. So does that mean Tony is quitting?

A few weeks ago he promised to quit if the Hutton report proved he lied. Or was he lying about that too?

[Spentastic]

2. It matters not

Unbelievably people would still vote for him. He'll walk through this week untouched and come out smelling like roses.

The New Labour party are demonstrating the kind of behaviour that makes me actively hate them. The won't vote against a bad policy because it may harm Tony. Fuckers.

[T_i_B]

4. "They won't vote against a bad policy because it may harm Tony"

And that ultimatly is the root of the problem IMHO. The Labour party became so obsessed with power at any cost that it has become everything it was set up to oppose.

And when you mention this to a Blairite all you ever seem to get is "vote for us or it's the tories" ad infitum. An argument which tends to ignore the fact that to all intents & purposes, "new" labour already is the tories in all but name.

[Spentastic]

6. Yeah TIB

I'm utterly despondent at the moment.

There is no viable alternative. I'll vote Lib Dem but they will be creamed at the polls.

Essentially Tony Blair and his corporate buddies have got EVERYTHING sewn up. It's not so much the VRWC in the U.K it's the third way conspiracy. Tony has loaded everything in his favour. The system is now so skewed that he really cannot lose. I watched him on Newsnight last night and was struck by how singleminded he is and not in a good way. Simply unable to comprehend that if 50% of people go to university, the premium paid to graduates due to scarcity value will decrease thereby invalidating the argument that Graduates benefit disproportionately at the tax payers expense. Tony seems to believe that the 50% he will send to University are as able as the 20% that used to be selected on ability. He's wilfully ignorant.

I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that Tony would sent every kid to university so Mr and Mrs working class could proudly proclaim that their little Johhny graduated from a former poly with a third class degree in business studies. Johnny of course will then be in >30k debt and probably working in Burger King.

[gandalf]

7. Blair might prove the most effective tool of the Tories

Kind of subtle infiltration.

Whom shall the voters elect? The Tories? They would have gone to war as well, pursue a neo liberal agenda as well...

[Spentastic]

8. It's perfect infiltration

New Labour is at the very best centre with the odd bone thrown to the left. However, in the main it's more Tory than Tory.

If you look at the policy positions taken by Labour since election a very frightening picture emerges. It amounts to a corporate takeover of the nation to benefit the few.

[Nihil]

10. Some good points there Spentastic

> ... if 50% of people go to university, the premium paid to
> graduates due to scarcity value will decrease thereby invalidating
> the argument that Graduates benefit disproportionately at the tax
> payers expense. Tony seems to believe that the 50% he will send to
> University are as able as the 20% that used to be selected on
> ability. He's wilfully ignorant.

I had this very discussion at the weekend but, sadly, the other party
had totally swallowed Bliar's story - hook, line and sinker.

The tragedy with this (as with past disasters in education) is that
it will effectively destroy the chances of many children before the
truth becomes obvious (even to those fitted with Blair Blinkers) and
a better strategy is adopted.

Nihil

[non sociopath skin]

15. I know where you're comong from, Spentastic

and I sympathise but I wouldn't waste a vote on the Lib Dems. They can afford to be all things to all persons right now but the closer they get to power, the further right they go. I had first hand experience in local government. Most of the Lib Dems in the chamber were right-wing, pro-aggressive business, anti-union and racist.

BTW, I see in today's in today's Guardian that one of the Barclay Brothers, the Tory tax-exiles who are buying the Daily Torygraph, has said that Tony the Tory might be right-wing enough for them to support.

That it should come to this ....

The Skin

[Say_What]

13. Sounds like the Repukes saying "we won't *embarass* the Weasel

in the White House".

[Aidoneus]

3. only 48%?

[veggiemama]

5. Subtext: 52% KNOW he lied . . .nt

...........................

[Briar]

9. We don't need Hutton to tell us he lied

The depressing thing about this is the suggestion that Hutton can "clear" Blair. And of course that is what he has been hired to do: he is an establishment man and will wrap any criticism of Bliar in cotton wool while going for the BBC. But we don't need his suspect judgment to know Bliar is a liar, we have seen and heard his lies for ourselves. However, doubtless once the report is published the spin doctors will be hard at work suggesting that the BBC should be privatised and that Blair has been proved pure as the driven snow, and the media will pad along obediently behind...

[T_i_B]

12. "the media will pad along obediently behind..."

Probbably even more so if this is anything to go by, even if this would be a shift of parties rather than of ideology, so close is Blair to the Torygraph's views anyway.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,7495,1126885,00.html

One of the proprietors-designate of the Daily Telegraph said yesterday that the newspaper could shift its political allegiance and no longer be the house organ of the Conservative party.

David Barclay, one of the Barclay twins who have concluded a dramatic purchase of the controlling shares in the paper, said yesterday that the venerable rightwing publication would no longer automatically support Michael Howard and his team.

The brothers already control several Scottish papers, including the Scotsman. Sir David Barclay told the Guardian in a rare interview: "In the last election, and I think the one before, the Scotsman supported Blair, and we were very happy about that. Where the government are right, we shall support them."

[daleo]

16. Wonder where these guys are vis. PNAC

Will Perle still be on the board? Conrad Black seemed pretty tight with the PNAC set. I wonder about these Barclay fellows.

[veggiemama]

17. It's not PNAC on this side of the Atlantic, it's BAP . . .

the British-American Project:

http://www.tlio.demon.co.uk/bap.htm

http://www.bilderberg.org/bap.htm

[emad]

11. The Hutton enquiry was never under oath.

It's no co-incidence that it's to be published the day after the Commons vote into university fees and the day BEFORE cannabis is downgraded from Category B to C. Tony is so cool, even if it's going to cost his targeted catchment sector of the first-time voters...

[truthisfreedom]

14. in my neighborhood, 90% KNOW bush lied.