Apologies for the blog delay - electioneering hard......So what should be done with them ? Should there be a General Election - or should just some of them resign ? Should we force them to live in the Olympic Village ? At least then the press could get plenty of lurid stories about who's sleeping with whom ?
Seriously though - is it a storm in a tea-cup engineered cleverly by the Tories to champion in a supposedly new era ? - Many of us remember the hilarious 'back to basics' campiagn in the Major era, which outed most of the cabinet, including Major himself - as having a wide variety of affairs, with a wider variety of people.
Surely MPs should be means tested & only those without an alternative income/ directorship at Rothschilds/ private income (Dave Cameron - after all being married to an Astor can't be bad) allowed to claim expenses.
I spoke to a pensioner today who said he was infuriated that Oliver Letwin, with the Rothschilds income, nevertheless claimed £8,000 for his heating bill last year when he, because his pension was £6 over the threshold, was unable to get help for his heating costs. I believe the word obscene came into it.What would you do with them ? Is this a constitutional crisis or just part of the backlash against anyone who is fiddling the system & manages thus to do better than the rest of us ?
And is it right that the Conservatives, many, many of whom have been living in the standard to which they are accustomed for years, should be gaining credit for disciplining their MPs only NOW, when they should have taken the moral high ground about it years ago...... strange that they only just noticed.
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Friday, 15 May 2009
Friday, 10 April 2009
LABOUR'S FURTHER ED FUNDING FIASCO
How can this have possibly occurred. ?
The LSC is given huge tranches of capital to encourage building projects; Government extends the future compulsory age of attendance from 16 to 19; the new 14-19 curriculum which will require complete restructuring & massive funding is introduced – with targets on how quickly institutions should be responding - & then it’s all taken away again.
Is the LSC to blame for not keeping proper account of the funds promised to institutions or the Government to blame for not keeping proper account of the LSC ?
All I can say is that a sector vastly underfunded since Thatcher moved FE out of local authority control, which has over the years had to contort itself to the point of deformity to fit the critieria of a variety of government funding fads in order to secure the money to survive - & I say this as a lecturer of some 20 years experience in the sector- is now going to be struggling once again to provide against even greater odds an adequate education to post sixteeners struggling to get the right grades to access places at university which since the onset of recession have become more competitive than ever.
What an awful mess - & you can bet that with the pressure on to provide infrastructural funding that will create jobs in the adult labour force, there won’t be many handouts left to undo the damage.
Like the whole Building Schools for the Future & Diploma programmes this has been ill thought out, poorly planned for & even less effectively monitored. What have the ministers concerned been doing ? It’s hard to believe that in some areas education has suffered even more under Labour than it did under the Tories.
The LSC is given huge tranches of capital to encourage building projects; Government extends the future compulsory age of attendance from 16 to 19; the new 14-19 curriculum which will require complete restructuring & massive funding is introduced – with targets on how quickly institutions should be responding - & then it’s all taken away again.
Is the LSC to blame for not keeping proper account of the funds promised to institutions or the Government to blame for not keeping proper account of the LSC ?
All I can say is that a sector vastly underfunded since Thatcher moved FE out of local authority control, which has over the years had to contort itself to the point of deformity to fit the critieria of a variety of government funding fads in order to secure the money to survive - & I say this as a lecturer of some 20 years experience in the sector- is now going to be struggling once again to provide against even greater odds an adequate education to post sixteeners struggling to get the right grades to access places at university which since the onset of recession have become more competitive than ever.
What an awful mess - & you can bet that with the pressure on to provide infrastructural funding that will create jobs in the adult labour force, there won’t be many handouts left to undo the damage.
Like the whole Building Schools for the Future & Diploma programmes this has been ill thought out, poorly planned for & even less effectively monitored. What have the ministers concerned been doing ? It’s hard to believe that in some areas education has suffered even more under Labour than it did under the Tories.
SOUTH DORSET CALL FOR PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO POLICING TACTICS THAT LED TO DEATH OF G20 BYSTANDER
Although the last national demo I attended was the Stop the War March in 2003, demonstration was almost a pastime in my teens & twenties & I watch with growing incredulity the increasing number of restrictive measures taken to limit the right to protest since 1997. That’s not just in terms of legislation – removing the right to protest outside Parliament for eg ( heaven forfend that MPs might actually need to know when the public feel strongly about an issue !! ) or removing Walter Wolfgang from the Labour Party Conference on spurious counts – but the range of activities that seem to be being conducted by the Police as part of their treatment of those engaged in the perfectly legal action of non-violent demonstration.
This year’s climate camp produced a plethora of such over zealous techniques - journalists photographed & monitored by the police; close surveillance of demonstrators not breaking the law; over restrictive behaviour such as kettling , apparently considered to be completely justified by the level of injuries suffered by the police, the most serious of which included ‘shutting my own finger in a car door’ & ‘ being stung on the hand by a wasp’.
Those who took part in last week’s G20 demonstrations in the capital were forewarned by their networks – not all of which are anarchist or terrorist by the way ( I myself am on the contact list of Avaarez ,an ethically sound outfit that protests against human rights abuses all over the world, from Mugabe, to Darfur, to Tibet, to the blockade on Palestine & which organised members to demonstrate in London at the G20) –to expect unusual levels of police heavy-handedness. But what actually occurred ( the apparently unmotivated assault on a member of the public returning home from work ) seems more akin to our expectations of military or police behaviour in Tibet, Zimbabwe or Burma.
What is more worrying is the apparent attempt to cover over the facts by the Met.
I’m not implying that the police were angels in the Miners’ Strike, or the Anti Poll Tax Riots, or the CND marches – but where there is complicity by government of such tactics, we all need to be concerned.
We need a Public Inquiry into relevance of the type of tactics being used routinely against protest today. The principle in British law that ‘the end justifies the means’ is clearly being abused: protestors at a climate camp are not the same as Islamic terrorists; demonstrators have as much right to be on the streets as a man walking home from work. Whilst the truncheoning of Mr Tomlinson was totally unmerited, so would the similar truncheoning of any individual engaged in lawful & peaceful demonstration be similarly reprehensible.
Just as an addendum – isn’t it interesting that Boris Johnson has eschewed all responsibility of the death of Mr Tomlinson – whereas he was only too keen to implicate Ken Livingstone in the poor policing that lay behind the equally unnecessary death of Jian Charles de Menezes
This year’s climate camp produced a plethora of such over zealous techniques - journalists photographed & monitored by the police; close surveillance of demonstrators not breaking the law; over restrictive behaviour such as kettling , apparently considered to be completely justified by the level of injuries suffered by the police, the most serious of which included ‘shutting my own finger in a car door’ & ‘ being stung on the hand by a wasp’.
Those who took part in last week’s G20 demonstrations in the capital were forewarned by their networks – not all of which are anarchist or terrorist by the way ( I myself am on the contact list of Avaarez ,an ethically sound outfit that protests against human rights abuses all over the world, from Mugabe, to Darfur, to Tibet, to the blockade on Palestine & which organised members to demonstrate in London at the G20) –to expect unusual levels of police heavy-handedness. But what actually occurred ( the apparently unmotivated assault on a member of the public returning home from work ) seems more akin to our expectations of military or police behaviour in Tibet, Zimbabwe or Burma.
What is more worrying is the apparent attempt to cover over the facts by the Met.
I’m not implying that the police were angels in the Miners’ Strike, or the Anti Poll Tax Riots, or the CND marches – but where there is complicity by government of such tactics, we all need to be concerned.
We need a Public Inquiry into relevance of the type of tactics being used routinely against protest today. The principle in British law that ‘the end justifies the means’ is clearly being abused: protestors at a climate camp are not the same as Islamic terrorists; demonstrators have as much right to be on the streets as a man walking home from work. Whilst the truncheoning of Mr Tomlinson was totally unmerited, so would the similar truncheoning of any individual engaged in lawful & peaceful demonstration be similarly reprehensible.
Just as an addendum – isn’t it interesting that Boris Johnson has eschewed all responsibility of the death of Mr Tomlinson – whereas he was only too keen to implicate Ken Livingstone in the poor policing that lay behind the equally unnecessary death of Jian Charles de Menezes
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Are you concerned ?
Privacy campaigners are expressing concern about a planned new tracking device to be fitted to new cars throughout Europe.
Officials claim it will reduce carbon emissions, road accidents & congestion, but the system, which will be more accurate than current Sat Nav technologies, will have profound implications for privacy. British roads are already the most monitored in the world - details from the automatic number plate recognition cameras are stored for up to 5 years.
As with all these systems, the argument is that it’s for our own protection. But I agree with Simon Davies, director of Watchdog International, who says “ The problem is not what the data tells the state, but what happens with interlocking information it already has. If you correlate car tracking data with mobile phone data, which can also track people, there is potential for an almost infallible surveillance system”
Officials claim it will reduce carbon emissions, road accidents & congestion, but the system, which will be more accurate than current Sat Nav technologies, will have profound implications for privacy. British roads are already the most monitored in the world - details from the automatic number plate recognition cameras are stored for up to 5 years.
As with all these systems, the argument is that it’s for our own protection. But I agree with Simon Davies, director of Watchdog International, who says “ The problem is not what the data tells the state, but what happens with interlocking information it already has. If you correlate car tracking data with mobile phone data, which can also track people, there is potential for an almost infallible surveillance system”
Thoughts on the Two Party System
It occured to me last week, when the new rise in unemployment figures was publicised as being the highest since 1997, that this means that even during the boom in the Thatcher years, unemployment was higher than it has been at any time under the Labour government. What a huge indictment of the Tories. If they couldn't do better in the loadsamoney era, how on earth do Cameron & Osbourne plan to improve things with their mish mash of economic ideas.
The other issue is this. Jacqui Smith's embarassing revelations & those of other expense account MPs seem to be opening the floodgates to a new era of sleaze.
Is this being orchestrated ? If so, by whom? From which party the mole that has leaked the recent MPs expenses report for the princely sum of £300,000 ?
Does any of this matter ? I think so. No-one can take the business of democracy seriously when the reasoning behind a change of vote .is based upon mudslinging from whichever side. Decisions should be made on the efficacy of policy ideas, not on attempting to discredit the other side.
The other issue is this. Jacqui Smith's embarassing revelations & those of other expense account MPs seem to be opening the floodgates to a new era of sleaze.
Is this being orchestrated ? If so, by whom? From which party the mole that has leaked the recent MPs expenses report for the princely sum of £300,000 ?
Does any of this matter ? I think so. No-one can take the business of democracy seriously when the reasoning behind a change of vote .is based upon mudslinging from whichever side. Decisions should be made on the efficacy of policy ideas, not on attempting to discredit the other side.
Saturday, 7 March 2009
SOUTH DORSET CRITICISM OF BLACKLISTING TACTICS
SOUTH DORSET PROSPECTIVE MP SLAMS BLACKLISTING OF CONSTRUCTION WORKERS
One of the greatest freedoms we have in this country is the right of protest. That’s why the collection of private details of union members & perceived trouble-makers by a private detective who sold the data to major construction franchises like Mcalpines & Laing is so worrying. Many of these men have had their earning capacities seriously blighted & their lives have suffered accordingly.
We could link this to the police databank containing surveillance details of thousands of political campaigners. Photos, names & video footage of people attenbding demonstrations are stored on an ‘intelligence system’ which also includes their political associations.
One the one hand here what we have is businessmen illegally monitoring their workforce & on the other the police using legislation introduced by Labour to define genuine protestors as potential terrorists.
Many people say they don’t care about the erosion of our freedoms. But if you can’t get a job because you attended a demonstration years ago then this data gathering will affect your life in a very direct way.
Join the Convention on Modern Liberty & the Guardian newspaper in protesting on these issues.
One of the greatest freedoms we have in this country is the right of protest. That’s why the collection of private details of union members & perceived trouble-makers by a private detective who sold the data to major construction franchises like Mcalpines & Laing is so worrying. Many of these men have had their earning capacities seriously blighted & their lives have suffered accordingly.
We could link this to the police databank containing surveillance details of thousands of political campaigners. Photos, names & video footage of people attenbding demonstrations are stored on an ‘intelligence system’ which also includes their political associations.
One the one hand here what we have is businessmen illegally monitoring their workforce & on the other the police using legislation introduced by Labour to define genuine protestors as potential terrorists.
Many people say they don’t care about the erosion of our freedoms. But if you can’t get a job because you attended a demonstration years ago then this data gathering will affect your life in a very direct way.
Join the Convention on Modern Liberty & the Guardian newspaper in protesting on these issues.
SOUTH DORSET CANDIDATE BLAMES CONSERVATIVES FOR RECESSION
SOUTH DORSET CANDIDATE BLAMES FREEMARKET CONSERVATIVISM FOR RECESSION
In an interview with the Guardian the party's Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, blamed the Conservatives for the economic downturn and said the current leadership had been caught unawares by the crisis. He said: "They didn't anticipate it. Many of the problems we have originate from the Thatcher years. If you take for example the way in which they demutualised building societies, which became banks, that was a real Thatcher policy and those institutions have been at the heart of the crisis of irresponsible lending."
Cable blamed the Conservatives for arguing "unremittingly" for the lifting of effective banking regulation. He also said that in the US rightwing politicians took a much more straightforward approach. "John McCain is saying just get on and nationalise the banks. You have to do it for pragmatic reasons. The Tories here don't seem to have grasped that.
I can only agree ! The kind of mass consumer culture that we have in this country & all of the evils it brings with it, whether overspending & resultant debt or the emphasis on material goods as the only form of self worth or happiness, is all the result of the massive deregulation brought about by the Conservatives in the 1980s.
This is something I feel really strongly about having worked for 14 years in the NHS as a Counsellor. Again & again I’ve seen families struggling with debt brought about by irresponsible lending & people whose sense of value in life is not about themselves but about what they own. It’s had a huge impact on our children & what they think about themselves & it’s a dangerous legacy for the future
When the Conservatives bemoan the so called ‘broken society’ & criticise the lack of responsibility taken by families for their own, they should look at themselves. The ‘broken society’ is the result of the rampant consumerism unleashed in the 1980s & 90s, where all of the bonds that had held society together were broken apart by Margaret Thatcher & the only thing offered to fill the gap was the pursuit of materialism. We are facing the truth now: the only people who have really benefited from this are the wealthy - & the gap between the richest & the poorest in this country is wider now, even after a Labour government than it was in the 1970s.
In an interview with the Guardian the party's Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, blamed the Conservatives for the economic downturn and said the current leadership had been caught unawares by the crisis. He said: "They didn't anticipate it. Many of the problems we have originate from the Thatcher years. If you take for example the way in which they demutualised building societies, which became banks, that was a real Thatcher policy and those institutions have been at the heart of the crisis of irresponsible lending."
Cable blamed the Conservatives for arguing "unremittingly" for the lifting of effective banking regulation. He also said that in the US rightwing politicians took a much more straightforward approach. "John McCain is saying just get on and nationalise the banks. You have to do it for pragmatic reasons. The Tories here don't seem to have grasped that.
I can only agree ! The kind of mass consumer culture that we have in this country & all of the evils it brings with it, whether overspending & resultant debt or the emphasis on material goods as the only form of self worth or happiness, is all the result of the massive deregulation brought about by the Conservatives in the 1980s.
This is something I feel really strongly about having worked for 14 years in the NHS as a Counsellor. Again & again I’ve seen families struggling with debt brought about by irresponsible lending & people whose sense of value in life is not about themselves but about what they own. It’s had a huge impact on our children & what they think about themselves & it’s a dangerous legacy for the future
When the Conservatives bemoan the so called ‘broken society’ & criticise the lack of responsibility taken by families for their own, they should look at themselves. The ‘broken society’ is the result of the rampant consumerism unleashed in the 1980s & 90s, where all of the bonds that had held society together were broken apart by Margaret Thatcher & the only thing offered to fill the gap was the pursuit of materialism. We are facing the truth now: the only people who have really benefited from this are the wealthy - & the gap between the richest & the poorest in this country is wider now, even after a Labour government than it was in the 1970s.
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