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Interesting to note that Milliband doesn't even know how to wear his poppy. At the CBI conference the other day the artificial leaf was pointing due South. Made him look more of a prat than he already is!

Oh for goodness sake, it's not even November yet!

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Once upon a time the word `poppy' meant money as in cash to the London underworld. Now there is no cash left: just credit cards.

LEST WE FORGET

Poppy-wearing-failure is small beer compared to the ruckus and chattering going on behind Dave, as he announced another hero. They no more know how to end the eulogising, than they know how to end the damned war. Sort of apt really. One thing is clear from the implied 'disrespect': they don't really give a damn.

Brings Kipling to mind - again.

I have not bought my poppy yet but this does not mean I disrespect the fallen - let's get real.

poppy fascism

What sort of moron puts on a poppy in OCTOBER?

Remembrance Day is 11 November and is the only day on which a poppy should be worn. I make an exception for the Sunday before if participating in a formal service or parade.

I haven't even seen anyone selling them yet, but although if I have spare money I'll put it in the tin, my giving is not paraded for all to see by wearing charity stickers, or indeed poppies except for an actual act of remembrance.

Another Osborne austerity measure: "share a poppy". Surely the great Gideon can afford a few pence from his meagre income to buy his own. Was the policeman recompensed. There we are then the economic policy of this Government: more to those who have most!

do me a favour, let's get October out the way first, what is it with these people, we are losing squaddies hand over fist in unpopular wars like Afghanistan and hell holes like Iraq and we go on about mad wars where millions dies and for what? We defended plucky little Belgium in 1914 and lost millions of fine young men so a few kings and Emporers wouldn't look shamefaced at an upcoming conference, if anyone can enlighten me as to why the forst world war was necessary, I mean last resort necessary then can you kindly post it. The second world war, I grant you was different, Hitler was at Calais and we were all under the cosh from a madman so we had to defend ourselves but my point is that most wars are unnecessary, it's just that we as a species are a bit looney..

'live TV would have made too much of a story.'

Fortunately, that role is well filled, uniquely and otherwise.

Silly for them to scramble.

So very typical for genetically impartial vultures to be present to feed and crow and preen.

How lucky George had paid staff to sort out the problem for him!

With Gus O'Donnell's announcement today, perhaps next year such Ministers will have to get their attire correct without such aid.

I can't help but wonder if these 'laid off' civil servants will find they go on a "re-deployment" scheme for a fixed period, e.g. 12 weeks and then discover that at the end of the period they are dismissed for "other substantial reason" - i.e. the organisation didn't have any other suitable positions for them to be redeployed to - rather than made redundant.

That's what happens in some parts of the NHS. It's called, by some, a 'no compulsory redundancy policy', though in my humble opinion it sounds more like a 'no redundancy pay-out policy' to me. As far as I can understand, it seems to be based on the notion that lower-paid staff generally can't afford to take the NHS to a Tribunal and risk ending up having to pay legal costs if they lose. (Oh, what glorious public-sector management thinking!)

That may not be a very nice way to treat people, but perhaps the UK public sector just can't actually afford such luxuries as morality, or fair play, any more. After all, isn't it imperative to keep the 'top notch' Managers in jobs? (Or presumably they'll all flock to America for big salaries like the bankers were going to .... or not).

It'll be interesting to see how many of the higher-graded civil servants get laid off and if those get redundany pay-outs.

There's a minor Tory councillor who dressed up as Ed Balls you could be hunting down as we speak for the next 'story'.

Fly, my pretty, fly...!

just don't pay!!!! forget about the warnings of horror from Osborne, he has just given Vodafone a tax free gift of 400 million, yup, written it off, so he's not that strapped for cash and yet he gives us all doomladen predictions, if he can Vodofone off mate, he can let us off....

vodafone write off....source....Johann Harri todays Independent!

" Perhaps he realised that to do so in the chamber on live TV would have made too much of a story."

If you really think that, you should try and get out more. There really are some interesting and important things going on!

I remember a certain Labour leader turning up at the Cenotaph wearing a donkey jacket/duffel coat on remembrance Sunday. Very disrespectful to the fallen was the criticism. However, along with Osbourne, both men will have, or have had, nothing other than sincere feelings of respect and gratitude for their sacrifice.

Grow up.

"There really are some interesting and important things going on!"

Nature reports that the China now produces 90% of the world's rare earth metals. These are vital in the production of the new high tech devices such as wind turbines, mobile phones, i-pads.... Thing is they've just frozen the export of said rare earth metals to the rest of the world!

Still Michael, you just keep worrying about a whether a senior Tory is wearing a poppy or not in the month preceding Remembrance Sunday. Far more important obviously in your(not even parallel)universe than the emergence of Chinese supremacy and dominance over the rest of the world!

I bought a poppy yesterday. I don't care that November isn't even here, or maybe it seemed even more appropriate to all those young men and women who in various wars did not get to see their next November.
I bought the poppy not to honour war, but the victims of war.
I wish that the United Nations prohibited all war, condemned all weapons, and that the world could "Give Peace a Chance"; or, if war could not be outlawed, the elite should do as much suffering and dying as the ordinary grunt.
Money talks; money walks, especially away from wars.

Crumbs, Mr Crick - your blog may be astute and politically inciteful, but not up-to-date perhaps?

Your attendance, like other journalists on NewsNight, is welcome and watched by our family - but your blogs are so last week. Sorry.