A Bloody Nose For The Bully At The Polls!

There are few things in life that generate as much pleasure as watching a bully being given a bloody nose.

That's how it felt last Friday as the final results came in from across the UK, following the local elections on Thursday.

The 'Tory knows best party' which listens only to the views of their own members and the self interest of big business, took a well earned, and painful, drubbing.

Their partners in our present coalition government (lib dems) who, like most gang members who follow a bully, stand back and watch while the bully does his work, took more than their fair share of the punishment too.

Of course, there are the usual lame excuses of a 'poor turnout' and it's the 'middle of the parliamentary term' but even allowing for the conveniently forgotten fact there was also a poor turnout at the election two years ago that gave them the chance to govern, the latest result was like a rabbit punch to the body of arrogance that has been lecturing us on the 'error of our ways, for the last couple of years.

Let's not, however, get too carried away by forgetting that the ones who gained most on Thursday (labour) were themselves the bullies of yesteryear. Their own attempts to make us subservient to their attacks on personal freedom and democratic process, were similarly dealt with by facing them down at the polls and removing the bully's threatening posture.

While it seems many eligible voters in our country have fallen into apathy over the inadequacy of our political leaders, there are, thankfully, still many who will not accept the threatening taunts of the bully and not hesitate to deliver him a bloody nose at the polls.

Education may be perceived to be in decline but long live the lessons once learned in our school playgrounds!

To AV Or To AV Not?

With just two weeks to go until we all rush to the polling centres to express our wishes regarding who should be making local decisions and whether we should change the voting system, I am still none the wiser.

For the local part, I don’t see a problem with the present ‘system’ as I have become used to casting my cross against the names of people who only want to listen when it’s time to be voted into office.

As to whether I should be voting in favour of the Alternative Vote I have not, as yet, been sufficiently seduced by the arguments of either side - added to which I just don’t understand the logic for change.

Just like Communism and Capitalism AV is a wonderful theory. But, like all theories, it is dependent on the vagaries of human nature.

The idea that whoever gets elected into office has to hold a majority of 50 percent of the votes is, on paper at least, a good thing. In reality though, it is flawed.

The present first past the post system means the winner is the person with the most votes. With AV we would list the candidates in order of our personal preference, and if no-one gets 50 percent, the one with the least votes gets knocked out of the competition and the others have the loser’s votes distributed between them. If no-one still has the required percentage, the same thing happens again.

Well, my initial problem is that I do not want to have to rate the candidates in order of preference; I don’t want to go into the polling booth with the possibility my vote is already being diluted into a second rate compromise. I want the one candidate who has convinced me of his/her credentials to represent me for the given term.

My second and main problem, is that even with AV working to the theory, the main criticism of the present system is still applicable. The overall winner will still not be representative of the total electorate as most who are eligible to vote are either too apathetic, too lazy or just plain disillusioned by the cupboard love shown by wannabe politicians at election time.

Until politics can be a) interesting b) trusted again, or c) we are legally obliged to make use of our vote (just as when completing the recent census) it is, for me at least, a case of ‘back to the drawing board’.

Is Vince Cable A Fool Or A Mischief Maker?

Is this the face of a fool or the face of a mischief maker?

Business Secretary, Vince Cable, who has long been respected for his forthright views on the economy and his personal reservations about his party’s power sharing coalition with the Conservatives, has been caught in a ‘sting’ by two journalists from the Daily Telegraph posing as single women from his constituency.

During their recorded meeting, Mr Cable is said to have described dealing with his coalition partners as like “fighting a war” and while talking of his options said: ”They know I have nuclear weapons, but I don’t have any conventional weapons. If they push me too far then I can walk out and bring the government down and they know that.”

Mr Cable is widely known to be disillusioned with recent political events, after being embarrassed by his party’s change of policy regarding the rise in university tuition fees and the resistance of the Conservatives to force action against the banks.

His biggest ‘sin’ however, was to boast he was personally at war with the Murdoch publishing empire and he would do everything in his power to make sure it was blocked from taking control of the BskyB satellite network.

The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have now announced that Mr Cable is to be stripped of his responsibilities for any decisions regarding media and broadcasting, although he will still keep his (much reduced) business portfolio. He is said to be feeling ‘foolish’.

A statement from Downing Street stated:

“The Prime Minister is clear that Mr Cable’s comments were totally unacceptable and inappropriate.”

But then he would say that. The PM has a lot to thank Rupert Murdoch for; after all, the publishing magnate’s newspapers backed the Conservatives in the lead up to last May’s elections.

So is Mr Cable a fool?

I find it hard to believe that someone of his intelligence and experience in politics would be tricked so easily by an audience of two women he did not know and to whom he was to make such unguarded and unwise statements.

Is he a mischief maker?
 
Well, if he had been sacked from his role in government, he would be free to form a splinter group of Lib Dem MPs; they are known to be tired of the way the Conservatives have been using their party to absorb the public’s displeasure following the coalition’s recent policy announcements. Had he been sacked, Cable could have forced an early end to the Coalition.

Whatever he is, he has now demonstrated all is not well amongst those public smiles portrayed by the Cameron Cabinet in the media.

Leader of the Opposition, Ed Miliband has today commented that these revelations prove the coalition is just “a sham”.

Give the man a cigar! That’s something many of us have known since May!

Are Our Students Becoming Our Teachers?

There must be something about the quality of the lectures on a Wednesday afternoon, for only two weeks after the Millbank riots in London, our students are once again …well…revolting.

All over the UK, thousands of young - and presumably intelligent - folk have decided to demonstrate their immense displeasure and opposition to our Coalition Government’s intent to make further education a luxury, rather than a right, through introducing a massive increase in fees and the removal of the Education Maintenance Allowance.

Sadly, though, many are just focusing on the man whom the Tories have set-up to be ‘cannon fodder’ to the students’ ire, Deputy PM Nick Clegg. While this may be understandable, given that he appears to have been economical with the truth while canvassing for them to vote for the Lib Dems back in May, they need to pause for breath and see the bigger picture.

Admittedly, Clegg appears to be a self righteous, pompous, oaf. He is a man who has no hope of defending the indefensible, how ever many times he appears in the media telling us that he now sees things differently from six months ago. He knew then, as did all his colleagues, the state of the nation’s finances. There was, after all, rarely a day when his party’s Vince Cable was not ‘mugging’ the media spotlight telling us all we are on the verge of bankruptcy. Clegg is, therefore, either a fool, or he deliberately misrepresented the truth to gain the maximun student vote.

Sadly, it is not just the students who were hoodwinked by the false promises of the Lib Dem leader. Many of the extremely hard working and loyal members of his party (including those who stood for election) feel betrayed and will now have to face the anger of the people who so willingly gave them their votes. Clegg, meanwhile, will be protected from such front line hostility, by the blanket of security which surrounds a deputy prime minister.

However, Clegg is in reality, just the ‘fall guy’ for the real villains who are the Conservative Party. They aim to destroy the hopes and aspirations of anyone who did not go to a school where 'having a fag' had a totally different meaning to the same expression used to describe smoking by those in a state school.

I sympathise with the students - although not with the violence shown by many - and I hope by their actions they are inspiring other groups, who are similarly under attack from this government’s unfairly targeted cuts, to join the fight against the Tories’ ‘single class’ society.

We are supposed to be a Democracy where opportunity is available to all. Let’s see just how deafening the collective voices of fairness can be!

Lib Dems - What A Difference A May Makes!!

"If we have learnt one thing from the economic crisis, it is that you can’t build a future on debt."

The words of the Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, on 28th April 2010.

So, how come he is now agreeing to anyone who has aspirations for a better education, leading to a better future, to saddle themselves with debts of up to £40,000 before they even start trying to find a job, in a marketplace where jobs are becoming rarer than hen’s teeth?

What a difference the events of the month of May have made to the credibility of the Liberal Democrats!

Milibands - Is Blood Thicker Than Political Water?

'I can best support Ed from the backbenches' says David Miliband about his younger brother, who beat him by a single percentage point to become leader of the Labour party.

Of course, what he really means is if he were to accept a senior position in the shadow cabinet , he will permanently be under the spotlight of a media looking for signs of a fallout caused by the known idealogical differences between the two brothers. He would effectively be gagged.

However, sitting in the shadows as a backbencher , he will be free to influence, choreograph and covertly direct other colleagues who might not be happy with Labour's 'new direction' thereby destabilising the new leadership. Eventually, he will be able to step back into the limelight when the hoped for call is made for a successor to brother Ed.

Seems like a cynical view? In the murky world of politics, water is nearly always thicker than blood!

Leading Labour Into The 'Brotherhood'

Tomorrow, we will finally learn who is to be the new leader of the Labour Party. One things seems certain: whoever it is will have the surname Miliband.

Yes folks, Labour’s Miliband family roadshow has finally parked up, after a leadership campaign lasting longer than the average series of the X Factor. Unlike in that series, however, the contestants in this competition have not been even slightly entertaining.

Who after all will remember there were other auditionees taking part? I know there was a man called Balls and a tokenistic woman called Abbott. There was also another man whose name I can’t remember, but who spoke even bigger balls than the man who had earned that name in the first place!

The only time I saw all of them together, on an edition of BBC’s Question Time......I fell asleep!

It is seeming very likely that younger brother Ed will pip his older and arguably more politically experienced sibling to the throne. I have no doubt that brother David will quickly recover from both his disappointment and bruised ego and quickly accept a senior position in the shadow cabinet, where he will spend his time plotting to destabilise the new regime - much as he did with his previous leaders.

It seems in our new modern age of politics, the only choice for the floating voter is no choice.

No wonder the, as yet, unformed Apathetic Party is likely to become the fastest growing political party of them all!!

Vince Cable Is Doing The Right Business!

Yesterday’s speech, (full text here) by veteran politician Vince Cable, at the Liberal Democrat Conference in Liverpool, has been derided by many as being an attack on the very heart of British business, the banks and the basic freedoms of capitalism. ‘How dare he attack the very organisations he is supposed to be promoting in his role as business secretary in the coalition government?’ they have bleated loudly.

Well of course, journalists love nothing more than to cherry pick the juiciest words from a much broader message so they can get an easy headline, on this occasion, shocking readers with hints of Marxism etc. However, if you read the full transcript of the speech, the message could not have been further from the truth.

Mr Cable has never pulled his punches when giving his personal view of the state of the nation. Whether you like him, or not, he has become a refreshing change to the groomed and polished walking ‘soundbites’ that are our younger, over produced politicians.

What he has done in his speech, though, is outline the very things that have been going wrong in our society over the last couple of decades and spell out the harsh reality we are all going to be facing.

He has not attacked capitalism as a concept but has highlighted the abuse of the system by a growing number of greedy and arrogant individuals; free markets are a good thing but not when they are manipulated and abused to such an extent the chosen few dominate the majority.

He has not attacked the banks in any other way than they deserve to be attacked. No-one can deny their responsibility for the financial mess we are all experiencing and bankers should not be able to walk away and carry on as if nothing had ever happened. The rest of us have invested our hard earned tax billions saving their swaggering skins. It is plainly wrong when small businesses (the engine room of any recovery) should be starved of funding because of ridiculously high charges while the base rate is still at an all time low - there can be no acceptable excuses for the banks’ profiteering ways.

Students should not be leaving universities with the wrong degrees combined with an overwhelming student debt when our industry is crying out for the very best but cannot find them because our education system has been so dumbed down. We need the right kind of graduates for the growth and innovation that our industries require. We should not need to import that expertise from other countries.

After the public debates preceding May’s election, I had high hopes for the Lib Dems as a credible party of opposition. Once the coalition had been formed with the Tories, I found I had disappointment and doubts.

My belief in Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg’s arguments and motives started to fade, as like many others, I began to despair at what was increasingly looking like a sell out of sensible social policies just to gain a taste of power. That view didn’t change after Mr Clegg’s speech at the weekend attacking tax avoiders and benefits cheats - headline grabbing rhetoric with very little substance.

Just as I thought all had been lost, along comes good old Vince, looking more like an eccentric school teacher than a designer made politician.

The man spoke the truth, upset just about everyone, made me laugh and above all shared totally understandable, plain clear sense.

I think Nick Clegg must be envious of what was probably Vince’s best line of all:

“I must be doing something right”

Well, you certainly restored some hope in me!

Has Clegg Entered A Bum Deal?

If politics were to be compared with a meal, we have been served more courses over the last week than we could possibly digest but somehow I am still feeling unsatisfied.

When the news was announced on Tuesday evening of our new coalition government I was at first relieved but then after a short while started to feel uneasy. I could not work out exactly the reason. By Wednesday morning, I think my worries were starting to take shape.

The deal between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives seemed at first glance to be a major achievement. It had brought two parties together - albeit for the sake of convenience - that historically, had many opposing views. On the surface, it meant that both sides got at least some of what they had been wanting; David Cameron got to be PM and form a government and Nick Clegg would be able to claim his party was an almost equal member in that government by being awarded several senior posts and seats at the Cabinet table. So far, so good.

In reality, though, I started to wonder if the whole thing was as it seems. Nick Clegg has become Deputy Prime Minister but what exactly does that title mean? Does he hold any power in the real world or is he just a tokenistic gesture to the process.

Similarly, his own deputy, Vince Cable, has been given responsibility for banking and business which seemed to be a good move. He has, after all, gained a huge amount of respect over the last few years by speaking out against the handling of the economy and had warned of the abuse of a profligate banking system and the true depth of the recession we have experienced. But, he has much different ideas on how to solve those problems than the inexperienced government in which he now serves.

In effect, we as a nation have lost a genuine voice of opposition. Cameron has managed to ‘buy’ the compliance of what could have been the respected voice of a 'party of doubt'. From outside government, the Libs could have checked some of the draconian measures of recovery being mooted by the Conservatives - instead they chose not to.

Labour, who are now the only effective alternative voice sitting on the benches of opposition, are still in disarray from losing their majority. They have no leader and therefore no credible voice to be heard - at least for the foreseeable future. Cameron has, ultimately, engineered a free corridor through which to introduce new measures with little resistance.

So, I wonder, did Clegg make the right decision for the country as a whole, or did his personal ambition and ego take over at a time he should have been thinking calmly and with the bigger picture in mind?

When it comes to the crunch, will he and his ‘ministers’ have a true vote in the process, or will they be silenced by their Conservative ‘colleagues’?

If Clegg has got it wrong, his party will never be a credible force in UK politics again. The irony could be that he could have gained more by playing the long term game in opposition, than he will by such a flimsy and precarious deal in government.

The British public have long memories and are not known for their forgiveness of such a folly!

All Change On The Number Ten...!

Finally, after the usual long wait, it's all change on the No.10 bus.

Gordon Brown, the previous driver, has been forced to retire prematurely following several careless accidents. Meanwhile, David Cameron has replaced him at the wheel and is now in the driver's seat of a slick, shiny, new hybrid vehicle comprised from the parts of two different manufacturers.

What we all want to know is: are the parts going to last the full length of the warranty? Are fares going to rise to a level that will cause immense hardship to the passengers? Who will become Cameron's conductor and do the owners of the bus have a clear route mapped out for the whole of the journey?

Hopefully, the ride will be smooth and uneventful, but there is always the danger the driver will be caught out by that seemingly obvious low bridge!

Fares please!!

A Labour MP's Summary Of His Party's Version Of Democracy!

"In the last two days the Conservative party has had two meetings, the Lib Dems three and continuous email contact. Labour has had none,"

"We are to have one Wednesday 2.30pm by which time it will probably be all over. No need to consult us when all the decisions can be taken by Mandy and Campbell. They know things so much better than the peasants and workers."

Just in case you ever had doubts about how Labour kept its own MPs away from the decision making process during its 13 years in government, Austin Mitchell sums it all up in his blog.

One can only wonder whether the Cameron regime will be any better.

Lack Of Government And The Financial Plughole.

According to a respected economist on the BBC this morning, the amount our dying government is spending per day is £550m more than we are collecting in taxes etc. That means in the 4 days of dithering to decide who is going to lead the country after the election, we are a whopping £2bn further into the red.

If we don’t get an agreement soon, the only party left willing to make a deal will be the bailiff!


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Four Days On - Still No Leadership!

Four days after we found out the not so surprising news we have a hung parliament and with both the Conservatives and Labour offering concessions and deals to the Lib Dems for their support to govern, we are still none the wiser who will gain power.

It seems almost unbelievable that plans were not discussed for this possibility before the polls opened last Thursday and it does not bode well for any alliance holding up once a decision is made.

What it does demonstrate is just how out of touch all the parties have shown themselves to be with the general mood of the electorate in recent months.

Perhaps, when we have another go at polling within the next year - for that is the likely outcome of a coalition government - they might focus their efforts on producing policies and not on presenting personalities.

Don't hold your breath!

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Who Will Win The Last Dance At The Political Ball?

So, who really are the winners and the losers after Thursday's election? The answer must be that the three main parties have all won and lost.

David Cameron can claim his party has gained the highest level of support for probably the last eighty years, and should therefore be allowed to govern, but he has failed to convince us all he is the man for the job by winning the required overall majority.

He flunked the shot when presented with the perception of an open goal. It should have been an easy task after the increasing criticism of prime minister, Gordon Brown and the political shenanigans of the last 18 months but he misread the public barometer.

Gordon Brown can claim a personal moral victory by the fact his party did not lose in the spectacular fashion predicted by the many who mounted a personal campaign against him. It's true, his party lost a large number of seats to the Conservatives but he still clings on to power, under the electoral rules, until a viable alternative can be presented for the Queen's approval. David Cameron has so far failed to demonstrate that alternative.

Nick Clegg, who had gained an enormous amount of credibility for himself and the Liberal Democrats during the election campaign, failed to capitalise on that momentum and lost several seats when the final count was announced. It seems that, at the crucial moment, the voters were not convinced enough to take the chance.

In that respect he was a net loser but in reality he has gained more real power for his party than it has held for many a year, by becoming the power broker between Labour and the Conservatives; suddenly he is the most attractive person at the political ball.

The Conservatives have already started wooing him in an attempt to form some sort of political marriage of convenience, thereby enabling Cameron to evict Brown and move into Number10.

Meanwhile, Gordon Brown is, eagerly, watching from the side of the dance floor hoping the smooching will not be good enough to convince Clegg and providing the opportunity for him to step in and court him on the re-bound.

If Clegg is savvy enough to flutter his eyelashes at both of them, he will be showered with 'policy' gifts for months to come. They will be putty in his hands - not because he is the most attractive person at the ball but because he is the key to having the final dance dedicated to them.

Whether any such marriage of convenience will become lasting remains to be seen.

Don't rush out to buy the wedding gifts just yet!

Is Local Politics Dying A Slow Death?

With all the hype generated by the national electioneering of the past few weeks, it has been easy to forget that we are also voting to elect our local councils in today's polling.

Borrowing a theatrical analogy, local politics has become the fringe event at the national festival.

But is that really right? Local issues and the management of its infrastructure affects people just as much - and often more - than national issues. We need strong representation from our locally elected politicians to make certain that the environment surrounding our everyday lives is protected.

I was shocked and more than a little disappointed, today, to discover that there were only four candidates up for election in my local area and they came from only two parties - yes, you have guessed it.....Conservative and Labour.

What sort of choice is that? Why have they been left without competition? Have the other parties that used to take part now just given up the fight or is it that no-one can be bothered to stand as a candidate and try to close the gap against the two heavyweights?

Whatever the reason, it is a sad day for both local politics and democracy as a whole, when we are left with such a lack of alternatives.

A two party political world makes for a very boring world indeed!

Every Vote Sends A Message - Use The Power!

At last, the big day has arrived and the sun is shining - for the moment at least!

From media reports last night, it looks like it will be a race to the end of polling before we can get a hint of a winner and even then, it might not be with a workable majority.

This is the one day we can all make a difference and claim some responsibility for how we live our everyday lives.

It does not matter whether the party we vote for wins or loses, it is our opportunity to send all politicians a message.

If their majorities are slim, they are going to have to work harder to keep their seats and listen to their constituents. It will give a voice back to us, the people.

In a democracy, governments and politicians are supposed to be servants of us all; now is the time to send them a reminder of that simple premise and restore our faith in a system that has been allowed to slide.

Apathy, is our biggest enemy so please, please, go out and vote - for if you don't, you cannot really criticise the way things turn out.

Should I Vote To Swim With Piranhas Or Sharks?

Less than twelve hours to go and I'm still not sure who is going to get my endorsement in this election. It seems I am not alone, however, as opinion polls show that up to 30 percent of those of us eligible to vote, are also still undecided.

To me, it appears to be a choice of no choice: Would I prefer to swim in a pool full of sharks or a pool full of piranhas? Both options are guaranteed be extremely painful but one will leave the skeleton intact while the other leaves it in pieces.

That seems to be the main difference between the Conservatives and Labour. The Conservatives want to remove a big chunk of Britain's skeleton, while Labour want to nibble away at the edges, leaving as much as possible in place for the future.

In reality, the aims of both are so close, you can hardly place a feeler gauge between their policies. Both campaigns have been more about the personal attacks by their leaders than about the way they intend to run the country. Neither provides a recognisable alternative choice.

Personally, I am hoping for a hung parliament where neither Conservatives nor Labourites are able to claim a true majority. We have had far too many years of large majority governments who claim they have been given a mandate to introduce almost any change they want, without debate, close scrutiny or amendment.

Having to rely on the agreement of a third party, like the Liberal Democrats, would introduce a safety net for democracy and bring some new and original thinking to the Cabinet table.

To achieve that, though, we still have to decide where to place our cross.

Oh well.....back to the drawing board!

Conservative's David Cameron - Suicide or Murder?

Results from several studies of the sleeping habits of over 1.5m people, released by Sleep journal, show that those getting less than six hours sleep a night are at serious risk of a premature death.

David Cameron is said to have been campaigning through the night in an attempt to claim every available floating voter he can find before tomorrow's election.

Could this mean he is committing political suicide? Or, is he guilty of attempted murder in trying to keep us all awake?

The jury is still out!

My Election Letterboxometer 3

With just one day of eIectioneering left before the polling stations open on Thursday, the only piece of literature to try to seduce my letterbox this week has come from UKIP - the party that thinks immigration is out of control and our being part of Europe is akin to swimming in a sea of floating faecal matter.

I was hoping for more but it seems all the other parties think they have educated me enough while our forests can breathe a quick sigh of relief knowing they are not going to be chopped to a pulp!

Unless......well there is always tomorrow!

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