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January 31, 2005
Negative Campaiging
Well the furore over Labour's poster portraying Michael Howard in a Shylock-esque pose continues to rumble on, with accusations of anti-semitism being bandied about. To be honest I don't think they're bright enough over at Labour HQ to have come up with that angle, and one should never put down to maliciousness that which is more likely to be down to incompetance.However Labour should beware of taking such a personal and negative approach to campaigning, not least because it will most likely just switch off potential voters. And in light of their complaints regarding the Conservative's New Labour, New Danger portrayal of Tony Blair back in 1997, the word hypocrits springs to mind.
So which is worse?
This...
... or this...
How about, just for a change, campaigning on the positive elements of each parties manifesto. I know it's a reckless and radical concept, but it might actually encourage people back to the fold, so to speak.
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Posted by Clive at 5:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Health Warning
Another mobile phone health scare has reared its ugly head. Nothing to do with frying your brains this time though. Instead the new danger is to your thumbs, at least for those of you obsessed with your Blackberries. --------Posted by Clive at 4:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Transport...
...probably won't be an election issue. After the Tories privatisation of the railway in 1994 not only diverted public funds to private purses, but also reduced the quality of service and the standards of safety, one would have hoped that Labour might take the sensible step and re-nationalise. However, in spite of 2 substantial general election victories, the railways have hardly registered with the government, apart from Stephen Byers' bodged winding up of Railtrack, the Ladbroke Grove, Potters Bar and Hatfield disasters and occasional false dawns (such as the introduction of Virgins tilting Bendydildos on the West Coast Main Line).Now we're running up to another election, and by a strange twist of fate some MPs are actually getting a bit shouty about the railways. Only it's not about privatisation, but rather whether or not GNER will retain the East Coast Mainline franchise.
Now GNER are one of the relative successes of railway privatisation. They receive no government subsidy; have increased the numbers of passengers they carry; have reduced fares; are generally popular with their customers; and are progressively upgrading their trains (rather than blowing substantial sums on less that ideal replacements - Virgin are you listening?). Yet in spite of all this, they might lose their franchise simply because they aren't paying enough back to the government.
This government doesn't give a flying f*#k about the customers, if fares have to increase or service levels decrease in order to return more brass to the Treasury then so be it. Of course the actual effect is to reduce the Treasury's take, as customers get pissed off with the declining service and switch back to using road transport.
Now we've had 11 years of railway privatisation, 11 years during which the success stories like GNER's have been more than offset by the failures. Yet in all that time, the only concession towards nationalisation has been a series of half-hearted, almost creeping efforts by the SRA, mainly addressing maintenace issues - unavoidable given the deaths resulting from poor maintenance. The SRA is hardly a paragon of virtue, given some of its more inspired decisions, such as leaving brand new trains parked up in sidings in Derby.
And it gets worse, with the part-privatisation of the London Underground still considered a sensible way forward (see parliamentary discussion from nearly 5 years ago here) in spite of the apparent inability of Metronet to actually run an underground system.
Now, to make you feel better, especially those of you in London who have nearly 30 years of Metronet to look forward to, something to enjoy. The language isn't particularly work-safe, but I suspect your's isn't either, after your treatment by the rail transport system. So, listen to London Underground, then go out and buy the disc. The proceeds go to charity, so you can feely doubly better.
UPDATE - Interesting points coming to light in the trial for manslaughter of 5 people involved in the Hatfield rail crash. If some of the points raised are proven, then serious questions should be asked of the private sector's role in public transport. Whether such questions will be asked by the people that matter remains to be seen.
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Posted by Clive at 9:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 27, 2005
Fun
This game at the BBC should keep the history fans happy. Can you make a better job of the Battle of Hastings than Harold... --------Posted by Clive at 8:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Terror, Crime and Punishment
After three years in Guantanamo, and a day in British Police custody for questioning, the four British men are now free.But not really free.
According to US defence officials, the four still pose a risk. And in response to this, the UK has negotiated a security package with the US and every practical step was being taken by the relevant authorities to maintain national security within the law.
So after three years of detention and questioning by the US, and a further questioning by UK Police, and no charges being brought, in spite of all this they are effectively sentence to live in an open prison, with their civil liberties still restricted.
Still you're probably thinking that it's no big deal. After all, the most draconian excesses of the Anti Terror Legislation doesn't apply to UK citizens.
Well, you're wrong. Or you will be if the latest security measures are made law.
With the law lords ruling that detention of terror suspect without trial was a breach of human rights, the Government has come up with a new approach. If these measures are enacted, then anyone suspected of being involved in terrorism could be subject to house arrest, curfew or electronic tagging. Victims (for indeed most could very well be innocent victims) will also have their use of telephones and the internet limited, in addition to restrictions on their movements.
Now, a prison is still a prison regardless. It doesn't really matter fundamentally whether you're being held in Guantanamo or No. 2 Acacia Avenue. Detention without trial is still an anathema to our concepts of civil liberties.
I've heard plenty of bleating from people who claim that I am exaggerating the risk. These same people belittled my fears when the Act was originally implemented. And the same people scorned the outrage at the detention without trial of those currently held in Belmarsh prison. They'll probably mock me for my concerns now.
But, little by little our civil liberties are being eroded. And those who belittle the concerns of others would do well to heed the words of Martin Niemoller:
They came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I said nothing. Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social Democrat, so I did nothing. Then came the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist. And then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did little. Then when they came for me, there was no one left to stand up for me.
Martin Niemoller was a Protestant pastor in the Berlin suburb of Dahlem. In 1933 he formed the Pastor's Emergency League which, amongst other activities fought against discrimination against Christian's who had a Jewish background. He was arrested by the Gestapo in 1937, and between then and his freeing by the Allies in 1945 he spent time imprisoned in Sachsenhausen and Dachau.
If we don't speak out now, if we don't try to stop the erosion of our freedoms, then who will stand by us when our turn comes. Because believe me, it will come. If not under this Government then under some future administration.
History has shown that regardless of the original intentions, subsequent governments will use existing legislation to achieve their ends. Could any of those who voted in support of the 1911 Parliament Act, introduced with the noblest of intentions to ensure that state pensions were adequately funded, have believed that the Act would subsequently be used as profligately and, in some cases for such trivial matters, as this New Labour Government has?
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. - Santayana
History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives. - Abba Eban
We have an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the past here. And maybe that's why the teaching of history has been devalued so much over recent years. After all, without visibility of the causes of some of the worst excesses of recent history how could we recognise their parallels today?
All of which makes the Conservatives desires to make compulsory the teaching history a little odd. After all, knowledge of the behaviour of past Tories going back to the Glorious Revolution would hardly make them any more endearing.
Now we've an election coming, so get shouty. Hold these people to account; they are after all your elected representatives. Make them represent you. Especially the constituents of Sedgefield.
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Posted by Clive at 3:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 25, 2005
Apologies
Let me start with an apology for the paucity of blogging lately. With a general election announcement due any day now - most likely after the elections in Iraq - I've been trying to a) clear the decks of other commitments (tricky when you're running a business) in order to dedicate as much time and effort as possible to the election; and b) working on other things in the background, things that will become clear over the next week or so.So that's the grovelling out of the way. Now for a request directed primarily at members of the following constituencies:
Barnsley Central (MP Eric Illsley)
Barnsley East and Mexborough (MP Jeff Ennis)
I'm going to be closely tracking Mick Clapham's campaign to be re-elected as MP for Barnsley West and Penistone, and I'm also commited to spending some time in Sedgefield, but will try to follow the campaigns of the other two Barnsley MPs. So I'm going to need some help. Anyone reading who can provide links, stories, inside info, etc on the campaigns, could you please get in contact by email.
That's the begging bit out of the way.
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Posted by Clive at 5:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 12, 2005
Nothing to shout about
Inspite of the Millenium Dome being a dismal failure, the fact that the tax payer may at last see some money from it will probably be spun as a another triumph for Blairism. In fact it could be argued that John Prescott has already started with this quote...Delivery of the many benefits secured through this deal will continue the substantial progress already made at the Millennium Village and elsewhere on the peninsula.
Thank heavens then, for the chairman of the Commons public accounts committee, Edward Leigh, for bringing a solid dose of reality to proceedings...
Four years after the Millennium Exhibition closed, the Government finally has a deal to find a use for what has been a white elephant since it closed in a deal that, incredible as it may seem, should bring in some money and provide a benefit for the local area and the country as whole.
However, it was more a question of luck that a strong bid turned up after the first abortive attempt.
Maybe another topic for the FoI act?
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Posted by Clive at 5:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Game over
I expect to see Tony Blair once again haunted by the 45 minute WMD allegations now that the US has called off the search. It will be interesting (one day) to use the FOI to try and find out just what Blair did or didn't know when making the WMD justification for war in Iraq (assuming the great arse-covering shredder hasn't already cut in). --------Posted by Clive at 5:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 11, 2005
Corporate censorship
Just read this article over at Charlie Stross' blog about Waterstones sacking an employee for comments made on his personal blog, written in his own time and at his own expense. This is definitely a case to keep an eye on as a victory for Waterstones could have significant impact on any bloggers who are not self-employed. --------Posted by Clive at 2:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Mobile phones
Mobile phones are back in the news, this time regarding excessive use of the bloody things by children.Some good points on the subject can be found here, at Mabinogogiblog
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Posted by Clive at 10:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
How to win friends
Geoff Hoon seems to be going out of his way to endear himself to the people of Scotland, with special attention being given to those with some connection to the armed services.As the government continues with its proposed scrapping of some Scottish regiments, Geoff just can't resist sending another one out to Iraq, again. This time it is the Royal Highland Fusiliers, from which 400 soldiers will be sent to Iraq in the run up to the elections on 30th Jan 2005 (and if you believe they'll be free and fair elections, then I've a bridge to sell you). Thus the Fusiliers join the Black Watch (also in line to be scrapped) in having served 2 tours in Iraq. It is also rumoured that a third regiment, the Royal Scots, may also be deployed prior to the elections.
Hoon's policy of endearing himself to the Scots has worked so well that a group called Save the Scottish Regiments is fielding 13 candidates in the upcoming general election, and even made partial bed-fellows of the Conservatives and the SNP!
And the poor sap didn't do himself any favours by trying to sneak out the announcement of the deployment during ministerial questions rather than making a formal announcement which would have resulted in a debate of the matter in parliament.
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Posted by Clive at 9:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The War on Terror
After being detained without trial at Guantanamo for more than 2 years, 4 Britons could be returned to the UK within days. After 2 years of detention and interrogation, the 4 can expect further grilling by British Police, which implies that either HM Constabulary don't trust the American intelligence services ability to obtain meaningful information, or else the US doesn't trust us enough to let us have any intelligence material gained.Expect to see this one spun as a victory for British diplomatic efforts, especially in light of the Foreign Office statement:
We have been in regular contact with the US over the four British detainees.
We have made clear that either the detainees should be tried in accordance with international standards or returned home.
We have been seeking to address the security concerns of the US over the possible return of the four detainees.
However, it can hardly be considered a great success for diplomacy when it has taken 2 years to get the men involved to possibly be returned. After all, last July Tony Blair was quoted as saying:
I do not think the US is being unreasonable in saying we need to make sure there is security in place for these people," he said.
There is an issue about these particular people in respect of the United States that is not just about their status as detainees and we need to be very clear - I actually need to be very clear in respect of our own country - that we are not putting anyone at risk.
We all know that we are faced with a significant terrorism threat. These people were picked up in circumstances where we believe at the very least there are issues that need to be resolved, let us say, in respect of those individuals.
So once again the terrorist threat was used as justification. Anything rather than be seen to be discagreeing with US policy.
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Posted by Clive at 9:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 10, 2005
Right man for the job?
Once again the media is full of the Blair-Brown rift. A quick scoot around the news sites throws up the following:Blair to face Brown rift questions - BBC
Brown in appeal for Labour unity - BBC
Brown Warned Over Feud With Blair - Daily Express
Reid warns Blair-Brown book collaborators - The Guardian
New claims over leadership force Brown to call for truce - The Independant
Blair heads for second Chancellor clash - Daily Mail
Brown: Time for a truce - The Sun
The one unspoken assumption in all these stories is that Gordon Brown is a suitable alternative to Tony Blair as both Party Leader and Prime Minister. But is he?
The first point to look at is how this situation arose. If the stories about the Granita deal are correct, then Brown agreed not to stand against Blair in exchange for total autonomy at the Treasury and Blair handing over to Brown at some point in the future. Subsequent rows have all resulted from Blair saying he'd stand down and then not doing so. Now what does this say about Gordon Brown. To me it smacks of a man who, to be brutally honest, has no stomach for a fight. Worse still, Brown comes across as a man who claims to have a great vision for the country and strong principles upon which his vision is built, yet who is not prepared to fight for them. Instead Brown seems to prefer a devious, almost Machiavellian approach to getting his own way. This apparent lack of commitment or backbone does not make for an endearing trait in a future leader of this country.
Next take a look at his performance as Chancellor. He may well have had a major hand in breaking the boom/bust cycle, but at lot of the credit must go to his decision to hand control of interest rates to the MPC. A decision made nearly 8 years ago, during Labour's first term in government. Conversely, look at Brown's role in the Pensions crisis, in which he helped damage one of the best private pension systems in Europe through two poorly considered measures: the tax on dividend payements to pension funds which rob them of over £5 billion per year; and the change in financial reporting requirements which effectively bankrupted company final salary schemes.
And pensions wasn't the only occasion when he took his eye off the ball. There was the corporation tax zero rate band which resulted in hundreds of thousands of self-employed people taking advantage of his change to pay themselves an extra £10,000 per year tax free. Once again an ill-considered move which had a net effect of damaging the country, and one that he had been warned about in advance. In fact close examination of Gordon Brown's handling of the tax system should provide a warning to us all, an illustration of how he appears to prefer overly complicated, academic solutions to more practical, real-world approaches.
And we shouldn't foget his ill-judged sale of a substantial portion of the British gold reserves which actually lost the country money. Money, I may add, that could have been spent on improving public services. Or how about his 1% increase in national insurance contributions to help fund the NHS? A measure which actually cost the NHS money in increased NI payments. And all the time the public's debt was heading towards £1 trillion. Yet he still claims prudence to be his watch-word.
And don't even start on PFI, a method of mortgaging the nation's future in exchange for an apparent cheap result today. Brown seems even more committed to this flawed approach to developing public services than the totally discredited Major government.
On the global stage, Brown claims to have been opposed to the War in Iraq. Yet he managed to keep pretty quiet in public, towing the party line when others were more outspoken in their condemnation. One can only assume that Brown was hoping to give Blair enough rope to hang himself. I can imagine Brown's disgust when he realised that Blair had survived. Still, credit where credit is due, Gordon Brown has been working towards the eradication of Third World debt, and his backing of a call on the G8 countries to waive interest payments for countries affected by the tsunami is creditable.
Like many Labour supporters, I fervently believe that Labour and, indeed, the country needs leadership change. Blair is now so far beyond his best by: date that his leadership is positively festering in Downing St, mired in narccistic acts, sound-bite policies and petty squabbles. Yet at no time has Gordon Brown made a clear and convincing case for his leadership, his vision for the country. It isn't enough for Brown to stand up and base his case on not being Tony Blair. And demanding to be handed the reins of power without challenge is doing himself, the Party and the country as a whole a great disservice. No one deserves to be handed such authority without condition, and without giving the electorate an opportunity to voice their opinion. Boris Johnson hits the nail on the head when he states If it's a case of vote Blair, get Brown, then they need to be honest enough to say so NOW.
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Posted by Clive at 3:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 5, 2005
Labour Needs Leadership Change
Step forward Jonathan Cockburn of the Blair Must Go Party. Jonathon intends contesting Tony Blair's Sedgefield seat, standing as an Independant candidate. While a Labour victory at the next election must be seen as almost inevitable, we still have an opportunity to unseat Tony Blair and bring about leadership change both for the Country and the Labour Party.There are other groups and individuals considering a similar approach. Could you please contact me.
The UK Today will try to act as a clearing house, and a point of contact between the various groups working towards unseating Blair.
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Posted by Clive at 1:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Something not quite right
As this post at Bloggerheads points out, there's something not quite right about the Tsunami victims getting 3 minutes silence, whilst the millions from the First World War get 1, 11th Sep victims got 2 minutes and victims of the War in Iraq get zilch. --------Posted by Clive at 10:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 4, 2005
Taxing Times
Taxman has sights set on eBay traders - The Times. In an effort to boost revenues, the Inland Revenue is now taking a look at eBay, and more specifically at those traders making significant profits.And it's not just eBayers that need to look out. Supply teachers, entertainers and cleaners are all in line for a hearty going over by the Inland Revenue, as highlighted in the Revenue's December Tax Bulletin. If you want to know what this is going to feel like, just go up to any IT contractor and ask them for their views and feelings on IR35, Section 660a and IR5.91, though you might think you're talking to someone with Tourettes rather than an IT professional.
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Posted by Clive at 2:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Not good for democracy
10 of the 30 most rebellious Labour backbenchers are not expected to contest their seats at the next general election.The 10, who have rebelled a total of 423 times since 2001, include the veteran campaigner Mr Dalyell, who is Father of the House of Commons, and Alice Mahon, the stalwart of the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs who acts as an informal "shop steward" for the Labour left.
This is good news for Blair, regardless of how his majority is reduced at the next election, but not so good for democracy in this country. Regardless of their failure to prevent certain items of legislation from being passed, the volume of rebels has at least acted as a reminder to Blair that there are members of the parliamentary party that would hold him accountable. With a reduction in the number of rebels after the next election, it is likely that we will see a continued growth in Blair's presidential style of government, rather than a return to a concensus approach. Assuming the worst, then we should all do as much as we can to get our MPs to act in a more responsible manner, rather than dogmatically following the Party line.
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War on Terror
Hemant Lakhani, a 69 year British businessman, goes on trial in the US, accused of trying to sell 50 shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, along with the procurement of tanks, C-4 explosives and even a radioactive dirty bomb.I have no real idea whether Lakhani is indeed a terrorist or merely a stupid and greedy man, though from reading the background detail I tend more towards the latter position. The real question is whether or not he has any chance of a fair trial, or indeed whether the charges he faces are justified.
He was caught in a sting involving FBI agents posing as Muslim extremists, a Russian arms factory which provided a dummy missile with the approval of the US security services, and the US Customs service which allowed the shipment through in full knowledge that it contained a real anti-aircraft missile. So it seems pretty obvious that the US security services were determined to catch someone for dealing in anti-aircraft missiles, especially after the attack on an Israeli charter flight at Mobasa.
The laywers will undoubtedly argue over the legality of the sting operation, though my understanding is that this sort of exercise is fairly common in the US. So, barring acts of complete incompetance from the security services (not unheard of), I doubt that any such challenge will be successful.
But the real issue is whether or not Lakhani will be able to get a fair trial in a country that a) continues to hold people in Guantanamo, b) just re-elected George Bush and c) still seems in many cases to consider the War on Terror to be justified and sensible.
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Posted by Clive at 1:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Compare and Contrast
Prime Minister Tony Blair, as the sheer scale of the Asian tsunami became known, decided to stay in the luxurious surroundings of Sharm el-Sheikh, rather than returning immediately to Downing St. Now supporters of the Prime Minister claim that he was in contact with John Prescott twice a day, and had been directly involved in decisions and in regular contact. One has to question just how easy it would have been for Blair to focus on decision making when enjoying the delights of his Egyptian holiday venue. And it shows a certain lack of empathy with victims and their families. Whether or not he could have done more from Downing St the bottom line is that he should have been there.Gordon Brown is actively working towards getting the G8 countries to freeze the debts of all countries affected by the Asian tsunami. This is an excellent idea, as there is no point in giving vast sums of financial aid and relief packages if the recipients are still expected to pay billions in interest payments. For a change it seems that some joined-up thinking is going on, at least in the Treasury.
Considering the above, I find it worrying that the Chancellor is being marginalised in Labour's election planning, his position being usurped by sycophantic Blairites. This does not bode well.
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Posted by Clive at 9:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 1, 2005
And so it begins
Welcome to 2005, and let's hope things get better, especially for those tsunami victims in desperate need of our aid. And the government's initial response was one of many inauspicious acts that saw out 2004, along with Blunkett's departure; the increasing spat between the Blair and Brown camps; the revelation of just how much Alan Milburn is costing the tax payer in his role as Labour's election supremo; and the awarding of New Years Honours to three flawed and undeserving public servants. That's right, I'm talking about you three, Richard Bowker (Strategic Rail Authority), John Grieve (Home Office) and Douglas Smith (Child Support Agency). Not to mention Blair's desire to see Blunkett back in Cabinet as soon as possible.Still, a good illustration of the calibre of our illustrious leader decision-making skills. Which is something to bear in mind as we brace ourselves for a February/April/May General Election (delete as appropriate). Yet this election should present a profound dilemma for the electorate; how they should vote to retain a government with a degree of social responsibility, yet at the same time rid themselves of a inept post-Thatcherite Prime Minister with proven poor judgement. The simplest solution would be for the good people of Sedgefield to do us all a favour and not vote for their incumbent MP. The alternative is to....
... well, more about the alternative shortly. Meanwhile, enjoy the aftermath of your hangovers and what remains of the holiday season. Hopefully we can together avoid a national hangover in March/May/June.
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Posted by Clive at 7:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack