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.

Party, Brewery, Organise...

'Tis the season of goodwill to all, and down in government do they mean all.

Firstly the Chancellor loans £24 billion to Northern Rock, more in hope than expectation of seeing the money returned.

Then, should any of the 25 million names of the 'lost' computer discs be defrauded, the government will reimburse their losses. As usual the long-suffering tax payer will pick up the tab.

Just when we thought they couldn't get any worse, Alistair Darling's statement in the Commons today exposed greater levels of negligence and incompetence than I thought possible. Gordon Brown states that a government's first priority is to protect its citizens and then they manage to lose the personal details of 25 million people, including National Insurance numbers and bank account details - exactly the kind of information of use to terrorists.

As always with 'New Labour' the buck will stop at some poor middle or junior ranking civil servant, and the elected Minister will announce an enquiry and cling to his job.

If you ever defined power for its own sake you would see a picture of the Labour cabinet.

Darling said that the van carrying these discs belongs to TNT, who work for the government carrying internal mail. I've seen these vans displaying a sign which reads 'carrying internal mail only' and have assumed this was TNT's own post; I never realised this internal mail was highly confidential information about you, me and our loved ones.

As Eddie Mair said today on Radio 4, would you trust this 'bunch of incompetents' (his words not mine) to run an identity card scheme.

I've said this before elsewhere, but I'll say it again: this lot no longer have the moral authority to govern us, and it's time they gave all of us the ability to vote whether they stay or are replaced.

Welbeck Part 2

Unfortunately the application to extend the opening hours was granted recently.

We can look forward to more rubbish, more vermin, more traffic & more noise.

Thank you Wakefield MDC

Support Your Local Soldier, Sailor & Air Crew

Wakefield MDC was established in 1974 & has always returned a Labour council. In the last 33 years the council has never adopted any policy proposed by the Conservative group, irrespective of its merits.

This suggests to me that the Labour group acts on its own narrow self interests, and doesn't therefore always act for the benefit of Wakefield's population.

A case in point: at the last council meeting a Conservative councillor suggested offering free access to sports facilities throughout the district for serving armed forces personnel & their dependents living in the WMDC area.

This seems to me a way for us to show support for military personnel irrespective of our views on Blair's cavalier wars in Iraq & Afghanistan, and at minimal cost to the council & tax payers.

The ruling Labour group paid lip service to the idea & then put forward several weak objections, which meant that the suggestion was kicked into the long grass, never to be seen again.

Wakefield Youth Conference

On Saturday 24th November a group of young people have organised the 1st Wakefield Youth Conference (www.myspace.com/wakeyyouthconference) taking place at City Limits Young People's Centre on Thornhill Street.

The event is to establish a Youth Council for Wakefield which will then be able to lobby the full council ensuring that young people have an input on decisions made locally that will have an effect on them.

Food and refreshments are provided totally free, and it starts at 10.45am, and there are, amongst others, media, environment and drama activities taking place.

As CJ Cregg said in The West Wing (but probably someone else said first) 'decisions are made by those who show up' so I hope anyone eligible reading this turns up, and encourages others to do the same.

David Who?

During his recent interview with Michael Parkinson, David Cameron told the story of his chat with Kate Moss.

Cameron said he was lost for words as he approached her, so started waffling on about flooding. If only he'd asked me, I could have given him some opening conversational gambits such as: 'Finally dumped the junkie boyfriend then?' or 'Given up cocaine yet?' or even 'What do you actually do?'

I'm not sure who comes out worse from this tale; Cameron with his Blair-like desperation to be 'cool', or Moss demonstrating a lack of awareness of the 'wider world'.

One thing is for certain though; I don't want my Prime Minister to behave like some tongue-tied sycophantic teenager, but rather to act statesman-like with authority and gravitas.