Osborne uses a disabled parking space

But you have not been using his staff at all have you? In fact you made a thread saying Osborne likes to park in disabled bays....

I think we can just stop this, next time you want to pursue a vendetta against Osborne please try to do it with a proper story. Thanks

It's off topic, but there isn't a single supporting piece of evidence for Cameron's recent assertions on this topic. Laughably, the Mail ran a story yesterday with that exact headline (with an extra question mark at the end, haha) which contained not a single reference to the headline or any supporting material in the actual article text.

I don't trust the Daily Mail, (or the mirror for that matter) but it's more important than Osborne using a disabled parking space [Even though it is wrong]

To be fair, I was attempting to see the funny side when I posted the thread and have since become embroiled in a deadly political battle to justify it, haha. The incident sucks because it's typical of what goes on with these things - government drivers, elite passenger, his safety / comfort comes before the rules surrounding disabled bays in their minds, etc. It's elitist behaviour of the worst sort, regardless of who precisely instigated it. I also find it difficult to accept that Osborne wouldn't be fully aware of what his staff consider acceptable conduct in these situations.

There's a difference between using the disabled toilets, when you're generally in there for a couple of minutes at most, and taking up a disabled parking space, when you're there for a couple of hours. I use disabled toilets if the ladies are full, because I have IBS so quite often, waiting just isn't an option for me. However, if we don't have my Dad in the car, we don't park in disabled spaces (unless we've dropped him off somewhere closer so he needs to be able to get back to the car afterwards).

My Dad rarely leaves the house, and on the rare occasions that he does, it's sometimes to come shopping with us. If there are no disabled spaces available, we can't go out as a family - and quite often, the disabled spaces are taken up by people without blue badges. I don't mind when I see someone walking perfectly fine from the space to the shop, because not every disability can be seen, as long as they have a blue badge. People without blue badges parking in disabled spaces are selfish and don't realise the impact of their actions.

To be fair, I was attempting to see the funny side when I posted the thread and have since become embroiled in a deadly political battle to justify it, haha. The incident sucks because it's typical of what goes on with these things - government drivers, elite passenger, his safety / comfort comes before the rules surrounding disabled bays in their minds, etc. It's elitist behaviour of the worst sort, regardless of who precisely instigated it. I also find it difficult to accept that Osborne wouldn't be fully aware of what his staff consider acceptable conduct in these situations.

So your argument is that Osbourne's political support for cutting disabled people's benefits and introducing tax cuts for higher earners caused his staff to think it was acceptable to park in a disabled parking space (and so risk a PR disaster in order to ensure the Chancellor had a slightly shorter walk to his car)?

It was the drivers fault really. It is a knobbish thing to do but loads of people do it. I just hope it didn't mean a disabled person was able to park there at the time. Other than that....meh.

I've been through Magor services quite a few times, there's always plenty of disabled spaces free. To be fair I doubt his driver was parked there long enough for it to be a major problem for anyone.

Surely the big story is Osborne eating at McDonalds, I mean, it's hardly the posh food people would associate with him!

I've been through Magor services quite a few times, there's always plenty of disabled spaces free. To be fair I doubt his driver was parked there long enough for it to be a major problem for anyone.

Surely the big story is Osborne eating at McDonalds, I mean, it's hardly the posh food people would associate with him!

How is this news exactly?

Richard Hawkes, chief executive of the disability charity Scope said that the incident showed how ‘wildly out of touch the Chancellor is with disabled people in the UK’. The use of the bay was ‘rubbing salt in the wounds’ of people suffering under the welfare reforms, Mr Hawkes added.

Well I don't think it matters whether or not he was there for a long time, I certainly disagree with the driver doing it purposely if he did indeed do it on purpose. However I think some people, especially in the media are making a big brouhaha about it because he is George Osbourne's driver.

Dreadful, despicable creature. His car should have been clamped.

Well I don't think it matters whether or not he was there for a long time, I certainly disagree with the driver doing it purposely if he did indeed do it on purpose. However I think some people, especially in the media are making a big brouhaha about it because he is George Osbourne's driver.

No, that's what you say about my argument. My argument is that against a backdrop of the government attacking disabled people's incomes, it's indicative that the government staffers who work for Osborne place his comfort (and maybe their own?) above the need to obey disabled parking bays. The point being that they care so little for the PR aspect that they are willing to behave in this disdainful manner. Actually, they are probably right about the latter, since predictably there is no coverage of this in the Tory press. If this had been Ed Balls, there would have been maximum coverage and they would have dubbed it "Ballsgate" or some such.

Now that Osborne is claiming disability, he should be sent to Atos for assessment.