More Balls From Labour

Ed Balls becomes shadow Chancellor. Yes, that's right, the former chief economic adviser to Gordon Brown.

So, the co-author of the economic crisis will be attempting to hold the government to task as it clears up after him; oh, the irony!

It was interesting to read Jack Straw's comments yesterday about the possible grooming of young white girls by men of Pakistani origin.

I wonder if he held these opinions as Home Secretary, when he could actually have done something about the issue??

Vince Cable, Where Are You?

Less than 2 years ago we, the UK taxpayer bailed out the failed RBS to the tune of £20 billion. You, me and every other British taxpayer owns 83% of the bank.

Less than one month ago, RBS announced profits of £1.1 billion - some turnaround.

Today, RBS announced it would cut 3500 jobs in the UK as it continued to rationalise its back office operations, whilst at the same time saying it would create 500 jobs in India & the Far East

So, once more, a British company (and one nationalised in all but name) throws aside its trained British workforce to replace it with cheaper, off shore labour, and the taxpayer will again have to pick up the tab for people no longer useful to RBS.

I think it's nothing short of scandalous that this is allowed to happen. If I had an RBS account it would be closed tomorrow.

Perhaps the board of RBS would think again if they were forced to use the recent profits to pay for the unemployment benefits of these 500 for the next 5 years.

Vince Cable, where are you & why don't you stop it?

Hot News from The Front Line Of The Economic Recovery

In 2 separate surveys released today, research groups Plimsoll & Euler Hermes have underlined the perilous state of the UK haulage industry, one of the bellwethers of the country's economic wellbeing.

Despite these, and many, many other indicators, the dying government will increase fuel duty by 2p per litre from midnight tonight, thus threatening the livelihoods of thousands of people employed, both directly and indirectly, in the transport sector.

Still, what else can we expect from this shower who, having mortgaged the country to the hilt to try to jumpstart the economy, are now desperate for tax revenue to meet their repayment obligations.

Throw Another Sausage On The Barbie

In one of today's most welcome stories a British tourist had his genitals burned in a Greek bar, having waved them at several Greek women & then allegedly groped the woman, who then responded by throwing her glass of Sambuca over the offending part, before setting light to it.

At last, a British yob gets his just desserts. The only down side is that she didn't have a bottle of Sambuca to hand.

The woman is, understandably, seen as a heroine in Greece, although she has been arrested for assault. Let's hope he's prosecuted too, and then deported.

Meanwhile In The Downing Street Bunker...

In the last few weeks, in populist moves bordering on the pathetic, the unelected Prime Minister has expressed his concern about the health of Susan Boyle & his spokesman said on Friday that Brown's thoughts were with Michael Jackson's family.

A Sunday Times/YouGov poll, published on 14th June shows that 74% think Brown is doing badly as Prime Minister, 80% think the economy is in a bad way and 43% fear that a close member of their family will lose their job. Personally, I have never known the country to be so angry and fearful of the future yet the Prime Minister can find time to issue statements about American citizens.

Perhaps the country wouldn't be in such a state if Brown turned his thoughts to rebuilding this country instead of trying to appear to be a man with his finger on the pulse of pop culture.

Money, Money, Money

Recently the five West Yorkshire councils revealed how they spent their windfall cash benefits from the sale of Leeds Bradford Airport.

Leeds is spending some of its cash on its new concert arena, better swimming facilities and refurbishment of landmark theatres; Bradford spent its funds in city regeneration, improved health facilities and allocated £33000 to each of its wards to spend on smaller community projects; Kirklees spent its cash to provide free cavity and loft insulation to homes across the district; Calderdale modernised a waste recycling facility and built new swimming pools.

Wakefield's money, on the other hand, disappeared into general funds. The Labour run council chose not to spend its windfall on a project to improve the district, such as a swimming pool, nor did it use the cash to reduce the council tax burden on each of us.

As well as their foresight and desire to improve the lot of their citizens, these other councils have something else in common; not one of them, unlike Wakefield, is controlled by Labour.

Planet Westminster

Today on the Jeremy Vine Show the unelected Prime Minister waxed lyrical about how some banks, including HBOS & RBS (the ones we own!) were being forced to increase the amount of their lending to UK businesses, and that the cost of crude oil was falling, both events being of benefit to the country during this recession.

I'd like to suggest to him that he briefly descends from Planet Westminster and talks to real people in real businesses. Very good companies are failing on a daily basis because banks won't lend to help with tight cash flow, and the price of diesel has crept well above £1.00 per litre.

The reality is that lending is not happening, and fuel costs continue to rise.

Cowardy Custard

Under the headline The Moment That Cheered Up Britain the Daily Mail published a photo of Lord Mandelson being doused in green custard.

Although I detest this deceitful and useless government I could not disagree more with the Daily Mail's opinion.

What actually happened was a government minister was the victim of an assault, and the assailant got away without arrest. She later tried to justify her assault by saying When democracy is failing you have to resort to any means necessary as long as it is peaceful and does not harm other human beings. Her actions were neither peaceful nor harmless, and our democratically elected leaders can be influenced in other ways, like through the ballot box.

The assailant, Leila Deen, has actually put back her cause by several years, and she will have made it more difficult for the sensible majority to have such easy access to those in power.

Midnight Blue...

Usually, my infrequent posts have been about political injustice, but tonight I feel the need to write about something different.

Growing up in the 1970s & 80s my favourite band was ELO, and I was therefore saddened to read today of Kelly Groucutt's death at only 63. Although the band had several bass players throughout their existence, Kelly was in the group during their most successful years. I remember seeing them for the first (and as ELO) only time in December 1991 on a very snowy night at the NEC in Birmingham. Kelly actually walked through the auditorium before the concert started, only feet from me!

In later years I also had the pleasure of seeing Kelly as part of ELO Part II, in smaller venues as their audience dwindled.

Kelly is, I think, the first ELO member from the glory years to pass away, and it makes me feel a little sadder tonight.

RIP Kelly

Andrew Sachs & Jonathan Ross

One is a well respected and admired comic performer, loved by the nation for his good humour and triumphs over adversity, and is an integral part of one of our country's favourite programmes, which is enjoyed by millions.

The other is Jonathan Ross.

After his crude, puerile & offensive radio piece (together with his chum Russell Bland) it is now time that the BBC board sacked him without ceremony and saved us all a small fortune.

I've thought long and hard about both individuals, and come to the conclusion that it's a sad reflection on our society that anyone watches or listens to either of them, and that we all, as owners of the BBC, don't demand that they be taken off the airwaves.

Harold MacMillan He Ain't

Tom Harris, the Transport Minister, has questioned why Britons are 'so bloody miserable', in yet another example of why Brown's government is the worst in living memory.

Harris states that we're all buying huge numbers of HDTVs and loads of new clothes; so bloody what!

Could it be that over 50% of our earnings goes in direct or indirect taxation?
Could be that of the little that's left over we're spending more and more on our basic human needs of shelter, heating, food, clothing?
Could it be crime and anti-social behaviour, or the ever increasing amounts of petty bureaucracy that we have to suffer on a daily basis?
Could it be that his government measures everything but improves nothing?
Could it be that, apart from isolated pockets, our DVDs & satellite televisions have managed to help to destroy society?

As a Transport Minister he should be aware of the damage that rising fuel costs are having on the haulage industry.

I have some advice for Mr Harris; nations usually feel happier when they win football matches or wars. Oh sorry, I forgot, we can't do that either.

Ireland 1-0 EU

The people of Ireland have voted not to accept the EU Constitution (sorry, Treaty of Lisbon), and, apparantly, the eurocrats have given the Irish government 4 months to resolve the situation.

This, in a nutshell, is why the ordinary people, don't like or trust the EU: for its leaders no only means no when we want it to.

Naomi Campbell - A Role Model For Saturday Nights

How many young women in towns across the land will tonight assault police officers, spit at them, behave in a disorderly way and use threatening words and behaviour towards them?

Having been arrested and convicted of this behaviour I wonder how many will then be given a custodial sentence. If they are they can count themselves very unlucky, given that Campbell escaped with community service despite having been arrested and convicted of assault on several previous occasions, and having attended anger management classes after one such conviction.

Is it her ability to buy herself out of trouble that has kept her out of prison, or (like that other waste of space Pete Doherty) is it her fame that helps guarantee her liberty?

Perhaps the next time Ms Campbell is in a public place needing protection from the paparazzi, the police should decline to assist, citing the likelihood of their safety being compromised.

From Afghanistan To Zimbabwe

At long last Gordon Brown has said some harsh words about the evil Robert Mugabe, referring to his government as a 'cabal of criminals', suggesting that these elections 'make a mockery of free and fair elections' and that the current levels of violence are 'unacceptable' !!!

As Dennis Healey said of Geoffrey Howe, it's 'like being savaged by a dead sheep'.

I would imagine that Brown's forceful words have made Mugabe reconsider his approach to democracy.

Why doesn't Brown intervene and send troops, as he seems to do so readily elsewhere. Is it that Zimbabwe has no oil reserves, or that George Bush hasn't told him to yet?

Wakefield Is Changing...

Thursday 1st May 2008 might be regarded as the day that heralded a seismic change in local government in Wakefield.

Labour, which has governed the city since the forming of the MDC in 1974 (?), came within 33 votes of losing overall control.

Given that any dominant political party of whatever colour, will rule in its own interests, it must be a good thing for local residents that this domination has nearly ended, as decisions will now be made in their interests, as councillors will rely on their support for re-election. Or am I being incredibly naive???

By the way, I'm now one of those councillors!

Cutting Edge Journalism...Or Not

It's often said that everyone wants to write one book. Well, nowadays it seems that every govenment agency wants to publish at least one pointless newspaper, full only of positive propaganda!

My local authority, Wakefield MDC, publishes something called 'The Citizen', costing tens of thousands of pounds every year & funded in part by increased council tax.

And last week 'Your Wakefield', the West Yorkshire Police Newspaper for the People of West Yorkshire (it says here!), landed on my doormat. It's packed with pretty pictures of police officers posing with mobile phones or head cameras, and interesting articles including one telling me that I can benefit from 'a dramatically improved neighbourhood policing team website' - very useful should I be lying in a gutter having been mugged, I can look them up on my 3G mobile!

Call me old-fashioned, but I'd much rather learn West Yorkshire Police's message from my local copper & not from some marketing led organisation, as this seems to be.

Will They See The Light?

There are reports this weekend from various medical sources that low energy light bulbs can, amongst other conditions, worsen certain types of skin complaint, increase the risk of migraines, and increase the risk of seizures in some epilepsy sufferers.

Oh, and should you break a bulb, don't vacuum up the dust, or even breathe in its vicinity, as it will contain mercury! You can't therefore put a spent long-life bulb in your dustbin either, as the mercury it contains could be released into the atmosphere.

Wow.

It seems that, in its headlong rush towards being 'green', the government is sponsoring initiatives that can potentially cause more damage to the environment but also increase the health risks of its citizens.

Happy New Year!

Compare & Contrast

Gordon Brown said that government's first responsibility is to protect its citizens.

However, as more and more details are revealed following the missing CD-Rom affair I don't see how this can be true.

For example: the package containing the CDs could have been lost by one of three carriers, not TNT as originally stated; six weeks ago another package of CDs was lost in the post, this one containing records of phone conversations to an HMRC helpline; the Scottish government has also lost the pension information of another 200 people; since 1997 various government departments have lost approximately 1987 laptops, containing who knows what volume of personal data.

And all this information has to be teased out of the government, as if they were some naughty schoolboy, rather than the body responsible for protecting the country.

It really is difficult to understand the levels of incompetence shown by them

Another Waste of Taxpayers' Money

You would need to have been living in a cave over the last week for you not to be aware that the personal details of 25 million people have been 'misplaced' by HMRC.

Why then, at a conservative estimate of several million pounds, was it deemed necessary to write to every recipient of child benefit to apologise?

I'd much prefer that my tax money was spend on slightly better security (such as recorded delivery!) to ensure this didn't happen again.