Another one for Miliband's collection of cock-ups

Chris lancashire

Milliband as leader? I do hope so. In his own way he would be as bad as Brown.

IM

Definitely not leadership material - he looks the part which is about all he has in his favour - even though it pains me to say it I think I would rather have Balls, just to hear him stutter when he gets a bit flustered - magic!

strapworld

Remember David Owen!

The foreign office appears to be the pits for young labour foreign secretaries!!

Perhaps Milliband will help start a new political party?

FergusMac

I know Ministers are having to go easy on expenses, now, but I would happily contribute the price of a razor to help this youngster remove the bum fluff from his upper lip.

He is supposed to be representing us abroad - Heaven help us!

Chris M

Why not cut aid to India? The number of IT and call centre jobs UK PLC has lost to India more than compensates for any aid.

India has plenty of money but the higher classes hold onto it for themselves

Julian

Great Labour newspeak - twice in one week. Not only do we have "investment" rises of 0%, we now have aid cuts of -0.2%

Don't we feel safe and warm under this most trustworthy of Governments?

Milliband is even more dangerous that Brown, a coplete upper class twit, promoted way beyond his station and ability time after time after time, thanks to insider connections.

Andrew

Sad, because Milly's original line - we should stop subsidising a nuclear power with its own space programme (and enough spare cash to buy up big chunks of African resources and British manufacturing) - was entirely reasonable.

Wee Master Alexander, on the other hand, seems to be determined to hose the Third World with taxpayers' loot, regardless.

David Ossitt

Talking of cock-ups.

We are all witness to the monumental shenanigans over the use of expenses; and massive and constant skulduggery in both of the Houses of Parliament.

Most of the expense fiddles have been within the dreadfully lax; nonsensical and totally discredited rules and therefore must be accepted but far too many have been dishonest, fraudulent, and criminal.

We see a damaged; disbelieved, and possibly deranged non-elected prime minister handing out peerages willy-nilly to all and sundry in order to fill a cabinet with disgraced and non-elected third and fourth rate cronies and hangers on.

Inadequate members of cabinet spout and spread falsehoods in a never ending stream of verbiage and lies, they pervert truth and facts with every utterance, if challenged they spew out a veritable torrent of double-speak and not one, would appear to feel any shame.

We were promised swift action by Gordon Brown.

What did we get?

Other than the usual smokescreen of; announcing enquiries, initiatives, changes to the constitution, electoral reform, lessons will be learnt, we must now draw a line in the sand and move on, banal platitudes ad nauseam.

We got.

The four or five peers who wanted cash for influence; have been told to be good little placemen and not to misbehave in future.

A Baroness is being investigated for alleged housing scams; as are two MP’s who claimed for non existent mortgages, but one doubts whether any of these will be prosecuted for fraud or theft.

Not one other thieving miscreant has been charged, and I will wager, non will ever be.

The very worst Speaker of The House of Commons in living memory; the man who tried his very best to cover up the expenses fiasco, has been forced to resign but our dim-witted prime minister has decided in his lack of wisdom to reward this bumbling fool with a peerage.

This honour to be bestowed in private; behind closed doors, out of public view, this, because they possibly sense how disgraceful their actions are, the one for offering the honour, the other for accepting it.

What do we want?

Justice; at the very least scores need to be expelled from both houses, dozens must be prosecuted and if found guilty imprisoned.

We want clean honest politics; we want honest and truly honourable politicians.

To say; that they take us the public for granted and treat us like foolish children is an understatement.

They have been treating us with utter contempt, the House of Commons is now a public disgrace, the House of Lords has become a dirty squalid joke, the government has ceased to govern honourably and should be put down.

David Ossitt

IM

"he looks the part which is about all he has in his favour"

No he does not; he looks like what he is, a plonker, a nincompoop, a silly billy, a boy pretending to be a grown up.

You would not put him; in charge of a corner shop, let alone be The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

He; his brother, Balls and his wife, are prime examples of the rot at the very heart of british politics, non of these should hold high office.

Sarah

There are billionaire businessmen in India who are taking money all the taxpayers here.

It is a total disgrace,

Steve.W

Why does the UK give aid to India? An Indian company has bought Jaguar cars. If India can contemplate owning luxury car factories in far off places it can pay for all sorts of things.

Hysteria

I see no reason for continuing to provide aid to India - I just don't get it!

john miller

They have become used to winning elections. they wouldn't know a bad leader if they elected him.

Ooops, they did didn't they?

Philip Walker

Wait a minute, though: he *is* cutting aid to India, isn't he? The figures are falling slightly, and if they are nominal, then the aid budget is getting a serious haircut.

mac

How on Earth could the Foreign Secretary make a statement in the Commons on overseas aid without his departmental brief writer clearing the details with Wee Dougie's crew? Either Miliband ignored his prepared brief - which indicates crassness or arrogance - or someone in his office team should be fired for incompetence.

And, as others have said, Miliband's original line makes sense: why are we subsidising India? DfID ought to to be re-absorbed by the FCO, becoming the ODA again with a minister subordinate to the Foreign Secretary.

Rainer Unsinn

Taking the rest of ZaNu Labour into consideration, Milipede IS leader ship material

David Ossitt

john miller.

"Ooops, they did didn't they?"

No John they did not; he was elevated to office unopposed, not you, not me, nor did the parliamentary labour party have any say in the matter.

He is by definition a dictator but the sad fact is that he is bloody useless at it.

Jonathan Cook

India should no longer need our aid.

We on the other hand might need theirs if Gordon continues his car crash towards national bankruptcy.

paul holdstock

i would have thought it self-apparent that any country who possessed nuclear weapons would have no place on any list of nations that we would even consider giving aid to.
where next, north korea?

Alan Douglas

I have to disagree. Mill-boy would make an excellent leader of the Labour Party ...

compared to the present incumbent.

Alan Douglas

Jeremy

Pathetic, patronising and weak - all in one go. Ideal leadership material for the Labour Party.

No wonder the rest of the world takes us for mugs.

The Bellman

He's not even draught excluder material.

logdon

So, if possessing nukes is a barrier to aid, how about Pakistan?

How many times do we hear the message, stay out of our business, yet they still take the money?

And if the Taliban have their way, which looks like an ever increasing possibility what then?

Feeding the hand that kills us?

Free Thomist

Continuing to give aid to a country that is planning a space shot whilst we're planning cuts to defence etc. is lunacy.

davidke

we also give bucketfulls of aid money to China.