GORDON BROWN – BIGOT

Gordon Brown forgot he still had a mic on and called a woman he had just visited a bigot because she said, amongst other things “she used to be labour” (people seem not to have heard this comment- or chosen to ignore it) .

I think you’ll find Gordon, what she meant is she is still Labour but you and your cronies are not.

SETTING THE SCENE FOR MASSIVE CUTS

William Hague is accusing the New Labour government of deliberately failing in its economic strategy so that an incoming Tory government will be handed a 'poisoned chalice' of massive debt. Now to be fair, he does say 'an incoming government'. But we all know what he means.

I think that from my other posts you will see I am no lover of New Labour. But this claim is ridiculous in the extreme. First, this presupposes the Conservatives will win. Yes, I know it is looking likely. But surely the basis of this pronouncement is that the Tories intend whatever the condition of British finances to introduce massive public spending cuts to fund massive tax breaks for their wealthy pals. And this sets the scene, putting the public's mind in 'service cutting' mode.

And he forgets that New Labour might actually win. Would they want to return to power to face their own 'poisoned chalice'? It smacks of playground name-calling, hoping that if enough muck is thrown, some of it will stick.

I suggest you ignore the tactics of the gutter and take a close look at policies, not just of the big two or even the big three. But see who is saying what you believe. Forget a tactical vote to keep New Labour or the Tories out. Vote with your conscience and maybe we will see a surprise result. Maybe more people are thinking like you than you give credit.

Harriet Harman – Don’t Sack Spouses

Harriet Harman has said that MP's who pay family members to work for them should not be forced to sack them.

Parents are not allowed to pay family members to help with childcare because such a system would be open to abuse. Why should MPs employ their families when they have shown they cannot be trusted to apply allowances legally, let alone fairly?

Sorry, Mrs. Harman. MPs have had it too good for too long, taken advantage of generous allowances and now comes the time to pay the piper. You'll find little public sympathy and your comment only serves to underline how out of touch you really are.

It proves to me my belief that the Labour Party has ceased to exist, along with morality and integrity in politics. Clawing at each and every straw to try to retain as much as you can when the honourable thing would be as a minimum accept the recommendations with what grace can be mustered in light of the abysmal and flagrant abuse of taxpayers funding.

Call to end middle class benefits

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8319646.stm

I have to say I totally agree. While I am not sure I am in agreement with where the cut-off point should be, I do think benefits should be targeted at the most needy. I don't believe a millionaire should be able to claim child benefit. I don't believe a rich pensioner should get a heating allowance purely on the basis they are old.

The problem I have with this suggestion is that the money saved will not benefit the genuinely needy. I think the money saved will be used to reduce borrowing so the government looks good or will be used for tax breaks for the wealthy.

Even if these two scenarios do not arise and the money is used to help the needy, I think we will find the hangers-on, who already give genuine claimants a bad name, who already know how to play the system will get the money. The genuinely needy will get the blame.

Truancy at Record Level

According to this report, truancy is at record levels. Not really surprising when I know of at least three local children who have not attended school since they were 14 and are not in any other educational program as they are regularly seen walking the streets. Nothing, it seems is being done.

This despite the report 'Truancy jailing every two weeks' because it certainly is not happening round here. Or if it is happening, it isn't having any effect.

When I see three girls from the same street leave education at 13/14 because they are pregnant, I have to wonder at the society our de-regulation and liberalism is creating. And of those three, only one prosecution. Then it was only the father, despite him being invited to stay in the family home by the parents.

We should bring back the 'wagman' who instilled fear in children and parents alike when I was at school. With today's digital connectivity an unauthorized absence report from each school could be sent to the LEA or a local communication point who can then send Mr. 'Wagman' to the house to question the parents and assess whether the child is legitimately off school or 'wagging it', with or without the parents consent. Appropriate action should then be taken.

Or is this, together with student loans, tuition fees etc. another part of the educational 'dumbing down' plan to keep us in our place?

Let's face it. If we don't enforce the law and educate the children, they won't grow up to be a thorn in the government's side.

That could be New Labours election cry. 'You'll never miss what you never had. And if you had it, you shouldn't have.'

The Postal Strike

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson told the BBC the union's decision to strike "amounts to a death wish".

Well, Lord Mandelson, if the postal workers were on just a half of an MP's salary maybe they wouldn't want to strike. Maybe if they felt their jobs were secure they wouldn't want to strike.

It is an argument as old, if not older, than the industrial revolution. What's the point of striking if your jobs are already at risk? Of course, the reverse argument is rarely considered by the right-wing media or the rich factory owner or MP's that might consider their roots and the roots of their party. (Are you listening New Labour?) The argument that we have little to lose, yet much to gain.

 

 

£16m Rover Report

An independent report into the collapse of MG-Rover has been handed to the government. It cost £16m and took four years.

In 2005 Andrew Johnson and Steve Bloomfield for The Independent asked MG Rover Closure: 'What happened to all that money?'

The cost of support packages had £171m allocated and a projected likely spend was £146m. (Figures are from the National Audit Office. (Download Links in PDF format.)

It seems while the workforce were working overtime, seven days a week to try to make the plant and the company profitable and save their jobs, the 'Phoenix Four' were busy lining their pockets as quickly as possible in advance of the collapse.

When you look at the amount of money spent on closing the plant with the loss of 6,000 jobs, at least £187m (not counting the extra costs to the NHS treating depression and related problems, neither the lost revenue from 6,000 taxpayers or the impact on local communities, both financial and social.) it really doesn't seem to make economic, political or social sense. Even if they all got a job at Tesco's (suggested by Margaret Hodge, work and pensions minister at the time) the difference in wages, and therefore the tax they would pay would be considerable.

It seems to be just another case of the workforce making all the effort, the bosses taking all the credit and profit and the workforce paying the price. Oh yes, while the government stand back, with their gold-plated unassailable wages, expenses and pensions doing nothing but spout rhetoric and commission expensive 'independent' reports that give their pals a 'raison d'être'.

And I ask, what good will the report be? Will it highlight how things might have been done better, perhaps saving jobs? Probably not, but too late if it does. Will it highlight the failings of the Phoenix Four? Maybe, but will anything be done? Doubtful. Will it change government attitudes or produce a different strategy to save jobs in future? Well, ignoring the fact that this was the last big employer, certainly in the car industry, definitely in the West Midlands and so a similar situation is unlikely it won't change government attitudes until there is a change in political, social and economic thinking. The recent closure of LDV with a refusal to help from New Labour proves this. The banks got billions, changed little though this was a requirement of the funding and are now shedding staff. Yet the relative pittance LDV asked for as a bridging loan while takeover negotiations continued was refused.

This country was once great because of the industrial revolution; because of its strong manufacturing base and because of engineering skills this manufacturing base produced. This country is now collapsing socially, economically and politically because we are allowing these strengths to fail Lack of investment has led a decline (often blamed on unions and the workforce). In the 1970's I was milling cylinder heads on pre-war milling machines, drilling sumps on pre-war radial drills. We need to reverse this trend by injecting money into engineering and manufacturing alongside new technologies. It will be expensive and painful. But we might once again lead the world and make a better future for our children and our children's children.