Monday 2 August 2010

Staggering Incompetence Revisited

Yesterday I may have given the impression that the government has no fucking idea what they are doing. This, of course, is not the whole picture.

I should have emphasised that the opposition also have no fucking idea what they are doing.

Because, you see, David Miliband has unveiled his 'bold plans to save Britain's pubs'. Just over 750 words ... and not even a passing mention of the smoking ban.

Sigh. Here we go again. Some sobering figures for you, David.

UK Pub Closures 2004-2009
Or ...
2004: 478
2005: 102
2006: 216
2007: 1,409
2008: 1,973
2009: 2,365
Of course, one might argue that he is well aware of the impact of the ban but won't consider any amendment due to the lethal 'danger' of second hand smoke. But then, considering this is the guy who fully believes the sight of alligators basking off the coast of Sweden is only around the corner, one must wonder if there is anything so outlandish that he wouldn't believe in.

This ridiculous fool will most probably be the next leader of Her Maj's opposition - and potentially a future Prime Minister - yet he seemingly struggles to cope with the concept of reality.

Scary, huh?

UPDATE: Just noticed Mr E has had his own excellent rant this morning, too.


11 comments:

Unknown said...

I'd noticed that Mr E had ripped Milibland another anus.

What a prick Miliband really is, he cant see what he and his party did to the hospitality industry with the intro of the smoking ban.

Anonymous said...

Thick as two short planks .
Both Millibands ,that is.

PT Barnum said...

But you must understand something. For Militwit to say otherwise would be to admit he was WRONG. And how could that possibly be the case when he's the next coming of the Messiah with a hotline to the Infallible One?

Either that, or he knows quite well he was wrong but being wrong serves his purposes nicely.

Take your pick.

Anonymous said...

Be fair
Milliband is not ALLOWED to
mention the smoking ban,I would have thought that was apparrent.
He is told what he can say and what he cant say,his unelected mentors decide his agenda
Remember who the political class
doff their caps to,it certainly
aint 11 million smokers or 44 million voters.

Wakey, Wakey

Anonymous said...

Dick - please do you have a link to those pub closure figures? I thought they were from the BBPA, but if that's so they've been somewhat revised. I've been forced into quoting a different set from this source - http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/apr/12/general-election-labour-manifesto-pub-closures. (table bottom of page). I can no longer find any sources that quote your figures from 2005 - 2009.

BTW - those last couple of entries in the closures per week list look a bit questionable, don't you think?.

confused.x

Dick Puddlecote said...

Anon @ 14:26: The figures took quite a bit of tracking down. They are taken from the BBPA Statistical Handbooks, which are not available online unfortunately.

I first used this graph in March, there is a link to the subscription site here

Dick Puddlecote said...

Hahaha. Anon, I didn't have a chance to look at your link earlier but having just done so, it looks a bit confused. It states that 26 pubs per week closed in 2009, and claims the figures come from the BBPA ... yet the link to the BBPA, which they provide, is to a story from 2009 with the headline "Pub closures rise to record 52 a week". The Guardian also appear to have knocked a thousand off the closures for that year.

Obviously good for an article which tries to claim that the Tories have closed as many pubs as Labour.

timbone said...

Imagine for a moment that Labour had won the General Election. Imagine that they had carried through their proposal to extend the ban to doorways and outside areas. Picture for a moment the inevitable devastation of all remaining pubs which do not serve food, and even some which do. Look with disbelief at the smoking ban still being ignored.

timbone said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
timbone said...

Adding to what I have already said, I also realise that they would have gone ahead with banning it in doorways and outside areas. There, in full technicolour, would have been the undeniable facts that the smoking ban and pub closures were linked. It would have been staring them in the face. Yet they would have gone ahead with the extension. More devastation to the pub trade would have followed, and still they would be like a blind man in a spotlight.

Anonymous said...

Thanks.


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