Billy Hayes to PM: 'Get your facts right'

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.cwu.org/news/archive/billy-h ... right.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Billy Hayes was quoted by Prime Minister David Cameron during heated exchanges in the House of Commons yesterday.

Answering questions from Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband on the controversial sale of Royal Mail, Mr Cameron read out a three-year-old statement from our general secretary explaining the union's opposition to privatisation.

"It was flattering to be mentioned in dispatches by the Prime Minister," said Billy, "but I wish he would get his facts right.

"The quote he read out was accurate, but Mr Cameron's claim that privatisation was in the Labour Party's manifesto was demonstrably false."

In response to Mr Miliband's argument that the sell-off had been "a sale nobody wanted and nobody voted for", the flustered PM retorted: "It was in his manifesto. It was a commitment of the last government."

At this comment, both Mr Miliband and Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls vigorously shook their heads, denying both claims - a denial that was proven in the BBC's lunchtime Daily Politics Show by presenter Andrew Neil and by Sky News's Joey Jones on their "postmatch" analysis. Both read out the Royal Mail-related parts of Labour's 2010 general election manifesto, with Neil confronting red-faced Conservative Minister, David Willetts.

Billy explained: "It was disappointing to hear our Prime Minister saying something so transparently inaccurate. If he knew it was wrong then he was being misleading, but if he didn't know something as important as that then that's worrying too."

With the two party leaders trading colourful comments such as "muppets" and "dunces" across the debating chamber floor, yesterday's was one of the livelier "PMQs" of recent months and Billy said: "It's always good to see a lively and vigorous debate - that's what democracy is all about."

Watch PMQs >here<. http://www.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hous ... s-26852751" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[hans solo]

BUT do we live in a democracy

[k979aaa]

BUT do we live in a democracy

Maybe but an ill-informed one at best as for the CWU and the recommendation of the agreement of our last dispute ballot DITTO

[Chelseablue]

Destroyed our public owned institution Royal Mail and helped themselves and mates to millions. What a fantastic country we live in . Well just shake our heads and get on with it tho eh .

[pinstripe]

Let's not forget that Labour were hell bent on privatising us. Remember Brown, Blair and Mandelson. I'm not defending Cameron, but I'm not defending those liars in the Labour Party either.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

BUT do we live in a democracy

In which since 1945 NO goverment has had an ouright majority when counting just the number of votes placed. Until that changes we will always have a Blue/Light Blue 1 Party state.

[pop it in pete]

Don't stop the fact that even if Labour had got in we would have been privatised one way or the other. All liars the whole bloody lot of them Labour, Tory, Lib, ukip.

[Lounge Lizard]

This was welcomed by Billy: "This union has been an ardent campaigner against FGM and we support any move by the Government to eradicate this atrocity from our society." is in the latest CWU announcement, a sentiment we probably all agree with but how much of Billy's time and effort should be spent on issues that have nothing to do with his member's pay and employment terms and conditions ?