POLITICS CORNER

[Stanley]

Party political news even though the MPs are away for seven weeks... Mostly to do with the coming elections. The one that annoys me most is Cameron going for the NIMBY vote on renewable energy when all the signs are that we need it more than ever. Clegg goes head to head with UKIP and the Tories by reiterating that the Lib Dems are in favour of staying in Europe and Farage pursues his semi-racist harangue against all immigrants.
Labour are in the news for a different reason because they are making moves to get a divorce from the Co-operative Bank. Not surprising but a huge break with party tradition.

[Stanley]

As well as allowing me to publish her lecture on Poverty and Public Health, Martha has sent me Joseph Stigliz's book 'The Price of Inequality'. Apart from liking his attitudes, he is a Nobel Prize winner and deserves attention. "The single most comprehensive counter-argument to both neo-liberalism and laissez faire theories"
Ossie and Cameron should read this.....

[plaques]

Recent reports are suggesting that young Muslims who go to Syria to fight against the Syrian government may be radicalized and pose a threat to British security on their return. At the same time we hear that Tony Blaire is voicing an opinion, however unpalatable, that the only way out of the Syrian mess may be to come to some sort of a deal with the Assad regime. I would think that these young men would not only be radicalized but carry a great sense of betrayal. All this is nothing new to the followers of OG but our politicians should have seen it coming from the start.

[Stanley]

You're right again P! Every time we poke our nose into the Middle East (Going right back to the first Crusades) we make things worse for them and ourselves. The bald truth is that as far as any guidance/help in those areas, the West is a busted flush as far as the majority are concerned and I must say I can't blame them. As for Blair imparting his pearls of wisdom, I wish he'd shut up and go away. (I wonder when they'll publish the Chilcot Report?)
It looks as though the new book on Cyril Smith is having an effect. The LibDems are getting restive and there are calls for an internal party enquiry and a report to try to clear the air. High time, these things always surface eventually.

[PanBiker]

Received our first election leaflet today from the so called Blue Party.The two candidates according to their leaflet are campaigning to make St Georges Day a national holiday. Nowt wrong with that idea really but I don't think their selling point of a few young ladies with their faces painted with the English flag and giving what looks like a Nazi salute is the best way to make the point.

Not surprising though, as looking at the printer and promoter of the leaflet shows that it is produced by the same bloke that does the BNP's leaflets, surprise, surprise! I had a quick look at their policies that are fielded on their website and it's the same old drivel of an easy fix for the country by sending all the foreigners back and you cant come in unless you can speak English. No need to go into further detail, hang em shoot em and flog em, oh and come out of the European Union.

Seen all this before of course under other guises, trouble is, some folk will be taken in.

[Stanley]

I know nothing about them but I'll be looking closely now Ian. Thanks for the post.

[Stanley]

Nigel Farage is getting to be known as the Teflon leader! A lot of people are puzzled how he seems to be keeping poll ratings up even when his own founder seems to think he is dim enough to qualify as a lightweight.
Have a look at this LINK for the latest spat about Councillor Henwood's racial post. I must admit that until today I hadn't realised that the UKIP deputy chairman is Neil Hamilton. I feel as though I want to make a comment but what can I say that you can't guess at!
It says something about the rotten state of politics at the moment that Farage's forecast that there could be a political earthquake on May 23rd may well be right. I said long ago during the expenses scandal that I got the sense that the tectonic plates of politics might be shifting. I think now that I was right but I have to admit I didn't see this one coming.
Here's another long range forecast for you. A different set of tectonic plates is starting to shift. The economic con-trick that has run global finances for the last sixty years and produced levels of disparity in the distribution of incomes not seen since the 19th century is crumbling under the strain of reality. It will not collapse immediately, it may need even harsher economic shocks to convince the capital holders that screwing wages down and making the workers pay more and more interest is not only cruel but bad economics, but it is, in the end, inevitable.

[plaques]

HS2 bill clears a second reading. 40 Tory MP's vote against it. Mainly where the line passes through their constituencies. Boris Johnson accuses them of being Nimby's. The Rebels are upset that Labour didn't back them up. So its Labour's fault not their own party that's to blame. Labour, meanwhile are quite content to watch them squirm knowing full well that sometime in the future they will probably be able to hit it on the head and stop it on cost grounds.
Talk about baby house politics, no wonder that people have no faith in this so called peoples democracy.

[Bruff]

I heard Boris say that and I'm not sure 'NIMBY' is quite right with this issue. The NIMBY as I understand it is the person who clearly benefits from a particular development but not in their backyard thank you very much. Thus for example, the NIMBY agrees, as we all generally do, that we need prisons to house the serious wrong 'uns and so benefit from their incarceration. Except that the prison should not be in 'my' backyard, better it's in 'yours'. Rather more distasteful examples on NIMBYism include the siting of accomodation for those with significant learning and/or physical disabilities.

Plenty of the good denizens of the Chilterns will not benefit from HS2 (if we accept that the primary benefit to them is hugely increased commuter/leisure space on the current West Coast Line to ferry them to London etc). They are not therefore NIMBYs as I understand them - simply, they are concerned for the beauty of the area and such like. Quite legitimate.

I have to say they are a polite lot there though. I have very good friends up in the hill above Wendover (HS2 central). I was there for their daughter's, my god daughter's, 21st last year. One sign outside a drive Wendover-way ran very much like: '1500 house on the Green Belt! An extension to the sewage treatment at Crendon! The windfarm at The Lee! Now this! It cannot go on! This really is enough!!'

Labour voted for it didn't they? If so, it will go ahead whatever. Now lets get some electrification for the Welsh - the only place in Europe other than Moldova that has no electrified railway I gather. Fine company for sure, makes you proud to be British...

Richard Broughton

[plaques]

Bruff, I agree. I can’t see any economic sense in HS2, except, that is, for London. London is of course one point in the golden triangle of the European Union. Ensuring that it has a good feeder supply line into London from the rest of the industrialized UK will maintain its strategic importance. Notice I said to London. Trade like house prices may show some ripple effect but not enough to justify the enormous cost.
If these benefits where equal to everyone why not start at Manchester and gradually work down to London. Sad to say that maintaining a beautiful countryside takes a back seat to making money. The North West has already paid the price of industrialization and is now being left to rot. We should learn the lesson and improve what we have got not spoiling something that is worth keeping.

[PanBiker]

Its only a couple of months since the transport executive were pinching carriages from one of the most profitable lines in the country run by Northern Rail to redeploy down South. The answer to the imposed shortfall then for Northern Rail was promise of carriages from the West Coast Line. With planning and administration like this it's no wonder it's a shambles.

As the post by Plaques it's always a one way drain of resources from North to South. Mind you we do get to reprocess everyone else's nuclear crap so maybe we shouldn't complain. If HS2 ever goes ahead they will be able to send more up here and a lot faster too. If that's not bad enough, most of the stuff originates in France cos they don't have any other source of energy production. The futures bright, we'll probably end up glowing in the dark!

[Stanley]

I agree with all of the above and P's point about London reminds me that there is a lot of similarity between the now discredited theory of 'trickle down economics' and assurances that 'What's good for London is good for the rest of the country'. For centuries the 'Home Counties' have run the rest of the UK like part of the empire, exploit and utilise with little thought for the citizens. Bruff's point about Wales is spot on. Another example is in the field of digital coverage, Wales is well down the list. Solution? Give them a devolved parliament and then they are responsible for any shortcomings.
08:30. Today on R4. Nigel Farage announces he won't be standing in the Newark by-election as "it would be a distraction from the main event, the European election". Seems like a sensible decision to me but he was immediately attacked by John Humphrys for being 'frit'. I thought he did rather well actually....
By the way. I received a simple monochrome flyer yesterday delivered by a volunteer (who closed the gate after him) and I have no doubt that no taxpayer's money was involved. I shall, as usual, be voting for the candidate in question, not on party lines but on the grounds that we should vote for those who do most for the community.

[Stanley]

Just heard the ya boo of PMQ's. Cameron insisting that the Royal Mail sale was a good deal and ignoring the question of Ossie's best man being one of the main beneficiaries and any mention of inequality in the distribution of wealth. This is not only bad politics but bad management, he doesn't realise that eventually the repressive economic policies are going to rebound on him, his party and the country. Austerity massages the high end temporarily and destroys lower end capital permanently.
Thanks to Private Eye for alerting me to the activities of Angela Leadsom. (LINK) Apart from the fact she and her husband are doing very nicely thank you from the stimulus of 'buy to let' but her track record at Invesco Perpetual when she was in charge during a period when the firm pursued policies which led to their £18.5 million fine this week makes one wonder how strong she really is on curbing questionable financial operations.

[Bruff]

If the implication from my post was that I was not in favour of HS2, then this was in error. I am a supporter. Largely because in about 5 years time and perhaps earlier the West Coast Mainline - arguably the country's primary rail artery - will in effect be full. And this after spending billions about a decade or so ago on 'line improvements' to try and improve capacity. The building of a new dedicted high speed line will free up the existing line to very many more trains and so free up enormous amounts of capacity. My comments about the people of say Bucks who do not benefit was in reference to those who either to not currently commute or use the existing line for leisure - these people have quite legitimate concerns around, for want of a better word, the disruption to them and the area in which they live and so far as is possible their concerns should be managed. By contrast there will be very many people who will benefit.

I think the shortening of the time of travel between London to all-points-north has I would argue distracted us from the primary issue. HS2 is a solution to a capacity problem that has been brewing for a long time and is well recognised. The alternatives are platform extensions, upgrades and the like to what is essentially a Victorian network asked to accomodate late-20th and 21st-century technology. Which all costs, and which then must be set alongside the HS2 solution to make a decision. No decision is perfect, and holes can be picked in the evidence and analysis for as long as the sun still shines. But that is why we elect politicians and the decison has been made.

I would note that I say this whilst agreeing entirely with comments about the current imbalance between the regions.

Richard Broughton

[Bruff]

One matter Mr Farage might have been mindful of in his decision not to contest Newark was that in contrast to the Euro elections where he can simply state 'he don't like them there Eurocrats' as his party's policy, in a bye-election for Parliament he will have to explain his policies on a rather broader range of issues. UKIP of course do not have any policies at the moment apparently as their last manifesto has in effect been disowned by their leader on the hoof, who contended he hadn't read it anyway, even though he signed it off.

But as a flavour from what is still available, on education they want to bring back secondary moderns. On culture, they want to return to the days of appropriate dress codes for our theatres. The leisure policy would see similar dress codes for our better hotels. On transport, there would be a dress code for taxi drivers. They seem obsessed by what you wear and readers may wish to think of other countries where standards of dress are policed.

On defense, they would increase defense spending by 30% and the armed forces in uniform would be a more visible presence in public spaces. On law and order, prison capacity would be doubled. Total public spending would be reduced to 1997 actuals. All public servants would have to swear an oath to the Monarch, and there would be more general shows of appreciation to the Monarch in public life. A flat rate tax would be introduced as the sole means of generating income for the public coffers (worth noting that the US Tea Party had this policy, but have dropped it as being too idiotic).

By all means vote UKIP, but bear in mind what else they have planned in addition to an exit from Europe.

Richard Broughton

[Stanley]

Richard, I've never read the UKIP manifesto but have seen enough reports of it to recognise that it is beyond flawed, it's rubbish! I broke the rule of a lifetime last night and watched the UKIP Party Political Broadcast on the TV. There wasn't a single 'statement' in it that I didn't want to rip to pieces and do a forensic analysis on. It was the worst kind of specious sound bite broadcasting I have ever seen.
If Farage is right and there is going to be an earthquake, it will be a very damaging one.

[Stanley]

I got my Blue Party election leaflet yesterday and took the trouble to read it. Ian was right, it's the usual lowest common denominator ragbag of impossible promises and dodgy statistics. Funny thing is it's promoted by James Jackman of the BNP..... The sad thing is that some people will read it without understanding and think it is a fine thing. It's an indicator of the parlous condition of politics these days when trust in the main parties has been destroyed by the politicians themselves.

[Stanley]

From an article in the Mirror this morning: "since being nationalised in 2009, East Coast Trains has achieved greater punctuality, provided a better service and given more than £800million back to the taxpayer. Compare that to the private train companies who last year handed out £200million to their shareholders from the £4billion subsidy we give them to run our railways. The best value line was... yes, the nationalised East Coast Trains. That’s a good example of private bad, public good". A group of Labour candidates has come out in favour of renationalisation of the failed railways and at the risk of being seen as 'Left Wing' they have a point. Every time a network has been taken in hand during re-franchising, it has performed better than under the private owners. Do we listen to the right wing rhetoric or take notice of the facts? Even M Thatcher described it as a privatisation too far.

[PanBiker]

I got the Blue Party leaflet as well Stanley and noticed that they have the effrontery to use a well known line from the Gettysburg address as their byline. Abe will be spinning in his grave. James Jackman is standing as their Earby candidate. Who do they think they are fooling?

[Stanley]

The gullible and those who have entrenched ideas about race, patriotism and 'national pride'. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together will see right through them.
Ed Milliband expresses quite legitimate concerns about the bid to take over Astra Zeneca and Grant Shapps immediately accuses him of being anti-business. Difficult to see how Mr Shapps arrives at this conclusion. Surely a desire to ensure that a British company isn't damaged by a hostile take-over is pro-business. I don't like the idea of another global giant in such an important area. Their track record is open to suspicion.

[Thomo]

Does this mean that such people as myself who are basically patriotic, and proud of their country, and whilst having concerns about the levels of immigration, try to get on with life without creating too much fuss, are all stupid morons? I had to smile the other night when an interviewer asked members of an "ethnic" group in Bradford what they thought about immigration. Does their response of more control is needed make them racists?

[Stanley]

My post was about the Blue Party leaflet and was not aimed at you. They are abusing what can be legitimate fears and it's the people who fall from their claims that are deficient in the analysis department.

[Bruff]

There is a difference between patriotism and nationalism. Most of us have a degree of patriotism even if its only expressed by a generally contented feeling when the football team does well at the World Cup or an athlete romps to a medal at some event. Nationalists are in my opinion best avoided not least as they tend to be the least attractive (I'm tempted to say deficient) examples of the 'nation' they get all 'nationalist' about.

It's worth repeating the old line that todays 'immigrants' are the prospective parents of British people, as they have been for generations. My wife always 'laughs' at the likes of this Jackman character, and the wilder fringes of UKIP, as three generations ago she 'was' the Lithuanian Jew fleeing the pogroms and pitching up in East London (on her mother's side; further back her dad 'was' the Flemish person who pitched up in Norfolk). They would deny her the pension based on this as she's not 'pure' British, which I think is defined as two generations or more.

I'm not quite sure why the cut-off is here for the likes on the BNP etc, but at the risk of being somewhat indelicate it might be to ensure you get most of the darkies, if you get my drift.

Richard Broughton

[Stanley]

Speaking as a man who is the son of an illegal immigrant and an army deserter (as well as having an Aborigine in my ancestry along with Neapolitans, Scots, Danes, Germans and English) I don't know what all the fuss is about! We are all mongrels and ultimately our furthest ancestors were black people from Africa. It makes phrases like 'ethnic purity' completely meaningless. So I am 100% with your wife Richard. Give her my regards as one mongrel to another!
When a politician wraps him or her self in a flag, avoid them like the plague!

[Stanley]

Cameron has stopped insulting UKIP and started to cosy up to them. No doubt the May 22 elections and the fact that it is now less than a year to the General Election is concentrating his mind! What strikes me is that none of the parties is mentioning any policy for the long term, they're all concentrating on current issues, no thought provoking policies. One wonder whether they even recognise 'long term' or 'principle'. They should read Stiglitz and Piketty and get some clues as to what is actually happening to the national and global economy, then alert the public. Dodgy economic statistics and ambiguous statements of intent don't cut it. The more I enquire, the more I realise that we are probably the luckiest generations ever from all points of view. There are big global trends in motion that are going to radically affect the UK in the next thirty years.... Very little vision in evidence.