It’s that man again, David Cameron I mean, some time Prime Minister and full time evangelist for the ‘big society.’
This week he’s been out and about banging the drum for his pet project telling anyone who would listen and a lot of people who didn’t want to listen that the ‘big society is here to stay’, because it is his .mission in politics. It’s what I want us as a country to build and I’m going to fight for it every day.’
He told the press on Monday that he wanted the story of his government not just to be about ‘an economic recovery;’ fat chance of that Dave given soaring inflation levels and 2.5 million people out of work. He wanted, he said eyes alight with messianic fervour it to be a story about ‘social recovery too’, because as he has told we anyone who dares to doubt him before ‘our society is broken and we need to fix it- and the big society will help us to do that.’
Can NOBODY make this man see sense? Didn’t he even the smallest twinge of doubt when Dame Elizabeth Hoodless with forty years experience with the organisation Community Service Volunteers walked away from the project because she felt it to be fuzzy and lacking in direction?
Seemingly not, if there is a still small voice at the back of Citizen Dave’s mind telling him what he’s saying might just be nonsense it is pretty much drowned out by the bellowing of his ego.
I’d like to have been able to take our esteemed leader to the meeting attended by community campaigners from across my home town I went to one night last week, he might have learnt much that was useful from what they had to say about the ‘big society’ and its ever more deranged contradictions.
I wish he could have heard them talk about the funding on which their groups depend being cut to the bone by the same government that talks breezily about the voluntary sector stepping in to replace public services that are about to be cut. These aren’t wealthy people, most have made significant sacrifices for the good of their community; they’re good Samaritans and any society deserving of the name should applaud and support them, not trip them up as they cross the road to help those less fortunate than themselves.
I’d like David Cameron to have heard what they had to say, but I doubt very much that he would have listened. He shows every sign of being that most dangerous of things, a politician with a ‘mission’, but little or no idea how the other half live.
Nobody could make a realistic case for continuing with the bureaucratic, top down method by which New Labour dealt with local communities, civil servants based in London are notoriously unable to understand or respond to the needs of people in the wider country, but Cameron’s ‘big society’ is a disaster built on foundations of pure nonsense.
A few communities, notably those inhabited by the sort of people Dave and Sam Cam have round to dinner might benefit from the big society because they have the skills and the confidence to take over services threatened with closure. Poorer people living in communities will not be so lucky, they will find themselves at the mercy of the sort of ‘charity’ that predated the welfare state, handed out in an arbitrary fashion by authorities dedicated to keeping people firmly in their place.
I have always supported giving disadvantaged people greater agency in transforming their communities, after all they often know best what is needed to do so, but the ‘big society’ will not deliver on this. It is a dangerously misconceived project led by a vain man; it should be stopped before it does serious harm.
Showing posts with label david-cameron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label david-cameron. Show all posts
Sunday, 20 February 2011
Friday, 8 October 2010
Cameron’s call to arms.
It was never going to be an easy conference for a party that has won an election, but failed to win a majority. The backlash to the announcement by Chancellor George Osborne of a drastic cut to Child Benefit came close to turning it into a disastrous one.
What was needed when David Cameron took to the stage of Birmingham’s Symphony Hall to say that it was an ‘honour and a privilege to stand here, in front of the party I lead, in front of the country I love, as the Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom’, was something special in the way of a leader’s speech. A touch of Harry to strengthen the sinews of the troops for the coming battle, and by and large the party faithful got their wish.
After paying tribute to his predecessors, William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard for, respectively, getting the party ‘back on its feet’, giving it back its ‘heart’ and its ‘confidence’ he launched into a spirited defence of the coalition. On May 7th he had, he said, woken up knowing that what the country needed was ‘leadership not partisanship’, leading him to join with a Liberal Democrat party that had proved to be ‘proper partners’ in the brave political experiment currently being played out and were ‘getting stuck in, making big decisions, shaping what we do and taking responsibility.’
He also launched into the attack on the legacy left by thirteen years of Labour rule, listing spin, attacks of civil liberties and irresponsible borrowing amongst their crimes. Labour were, he said, ‘still in denial’ over the deficit and ‘must never, ever be allowed near our economy again.’
On the benefits that had come close to derailing what should have been a victory parade he said they, and the deeper cuts to come, were based on an understanding of fairness as meaning ‘supporting people out of poverty, not trapping them in dependency,’ for too long action to help the poor had been measured by ‘the size of the cheque we give to people.’
The new style Conservative Party would, now that it was in government would ‘invest in early years care, help put troubled families back on track, use a pupil premium to make sure the kids from the poorest homes go to the best schools not the worst and make sure that work really pays for every single person in our country.’ All that and cut the deficit in time for the next election, big ambitions to match the big society.
On the subject of this pet project he said ‘the old way of doing things; the high spending, all controlling, heavy handed state,’ had been defeated and people power was about to win the day. The age of ‘unchecked individualism’ was over and the age of ‘national unity and purpose’ is about to begin; along with a new age of austerity.
Britain will, on his watch he said become, ‘a nation of go-getters, where people step forward not sit back, where people come together to make life better’, and through tough times in the short term would in the longer term create ‘a life more fulfilled and fulfilling for everyone.’
Government would, Mr Cameron said, play its part in this process but it was up to individuals and communities to pitch in to ‘start those businesses that will take us to growth’ and to ‘step forward and seize’ the opportunities provided by the devolution of power from the centre.
In the tough times to come it was time he said for people to ‘pull together. Let’s come together. Let’s work together in the national interest.’
In what has been a rather muted conference season this was by a long way the most effective speech given by a party leader, although the karaoke statesmanship of Nick Clegg and the pantomime surrounding the Labour leadership contest didn’t set the bar so high.
David Cameron ticked all the right boxes, bashing Labour and the ‘big state’, praising self reliance and playing on the seductive theme of Britain being a country uniquely equipped to cope with hard times due to innate resilience and resourcefulness of its people. That sort of thins always plays well with the Tory grassroots and a large section of the tabloid press, what floating voters made of it isn’t quite so clear.
At the time of the election I wondered which Mr Cameron would govern if he won, Dave the metropolitan liberal or David the rather old fashioned Tory, now we know. Dave has been banished and David has grabbed the crown.
That doesn’t make the cuts his government is about to unleash on the country any less ill advised or the damage they risk doing to the economy any less severe. It does mark him out though as a more formidable opponent that the Labour Party, the trades unions and his opponents within the Conservative Party might have thought.
What was needed when David Cameron took to the stage of Birmingham’s Symphony Hall to say that it was an ‘honour and a privilege to stand here, in front of the party I lead, in front of the country I love, as the Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom’, was something special in the way of a leader’s speech. A touch of Harry to strengthen the sinews of the troops for the coming battle, and by and large the party faithful got their wish.
After paying tribute to his predecessors, William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard for, respectively, getting the party ‘back on its feet’, giving it back its ‘heart’ and its ‘confidence’ he launched into a spirited defence of the coalition. On May 7th he had, he said, woken up knowing that what the country needed was ‘leadership not partisanship’, leading him to join with a Liberal Democrat party that had proved to be ‘proper partners’ in the brave political experiment currently being played out and were ‘getting stuck in, making big decisions, shaping what we do and taking responsibility.’
He also launched into the attack on the legacy left by thirteen years of Labour rule, listing spin, attacks of civil liberties and irresponsible borrowing amongst their crimes. Labour were, he said, ‘still in denial’ over the deficit and ‘must never, ever be allowed near our economy again.’
On the benefits that had come close to derailing what should have been a victory parade he said they, and the deeper cuts to come, were based on an understanding of fairness as meaning ‘supporting people out of poverty, not trapping them in dependency,’ for too long action to help the poor had been measured by ‘the size of the cheque we give to people.’
The new style Conservative Party would, now that it was in government would ‘invest in early years care, help put troubled families back on track, use a pupil premium to make sure the kids from the poorest homes go to the best schools not the worst and make sure that work really pays for every single person in our country.’ All that and cut the deficit in time for the next election, big ambitions to match the big society.
On the subject of this pet project he said ‘the old way of doing things; the high spending, all controlling, heavy handed state,’ had been defeated and people power was about to win the day. The age of ‘unchecked individualism’ was over and the age of ‘national unity and purpose’ is about to begin; along with a new age of austerity.
Britain will, on his watch he said become, ‘a nation of go-getters, where people step forward not sit back, where people come together to make life better’, and through tough times in the short term would in the longer term create ‘a life more fulfilled and fulfilling for everyone.’
Government would, Mr Cameron said, play its part in this process but it was up to individuals and communities to pitch in to ‘start those businesses that will take us to growth’ and to ‘step forward and seize’ the opportunities provided by the devolution of power from the centre.
In the tough times to come it was time he said for people to ‘pull together. Let’s come together. Let’s work together in the national interest.’
In what has been a rather muted conference season this was by a long way the most effective speech given by a party leader, although the karaoke statesmanship of Nick Clegg and the pantomime surrounding the Labour leadership contest didn’t set the bar so high.
David Cameron ticked all the right boxes, bashing Labour and the ‘big state’, praising self reliance and playing on the seductive theme of Britain being a country uniquely equipped to cope with hard times due to innate resilience and resourcefulness of its people. That sort of thins always plays well with the Tory grassroots and a large section of the tabloid press, what floating voters made of it isn’t quite so clear.
At the time of the election I wondered which Mr Cameron would govern if he won, Dave the metropolitan liberal or David the rather old fashioned Tory, now we know. Dave has been banished and David has grabbed the crown.
That doesn’t make the cuts his government is about to unleash on the country any less ill advised or the damage they risk doing to the economy any less severe. It does mark him out though as a more formidable opponent that the Labour Party, the trades unions and his opponents within the Conservative Party might have thought.
Friday, 13 August 2010
Cool Britannia is dead; or is it?
Cool Britannia is the latest legacy of the New Labour years to bite the dust with David Cameron reading its eulogy at a meeting of tourism industry experts this week, at which he told them to concentrate on celebrating Britain’s heritage rather than trying to make the country look ‘cool.’
The British tourist industry was, he said, ‘not doing enough’ to break into the top five visitor destinations. As speeches go it was fairly bland but he does have a point, the contribution made to the economy by tourism could grow by as much as 60% by 2020.
Among the plans announced to get the tourists flocking to our shores announced by the prime minister was speeding up the process by which visitors from China can get visas to come to the UK. Currently Britain is the twenty second most popular destination for visitors from the world’s fastest growing economy, Germany is the fifth most popular and that, Mr Cameron said, just wasn’t good enough.
‘If we can’t always beat the Germans at football, then we can beat them at tourism.’ We shall fight them on the beaches, probably for the last sunbed.
The prime minister also turned his fire, predictably, on the legacy of the last government criticizing them for appointing eight tourism ministers in thirteen years and said: ‘They just didn’t get our heritage. They raided the lottery, taking money from heritage because it didn’t fit with their image of cool Britannia.’
Up to a point I agree with him, by the end of their tenure Labour didn’t get anything about British life past or present and much of the cool Britannia project was silliness incarnate. That said beneath all the foolishness there was a kernel of truth, you can’t have a reasoned debate about where the country is heading if you spend all your time looking back at an imperial past that will have slipped out of the reach of living memory within a generation.
The thing is though I’m not at all sure Sir David has slain the dragon of cool Britannia, or even much wants to.
By talking about ‘heritage’ David Cameron is playing to the Tory crowd, the more traditional of whom like thinking about ‘heritage Britain’ with its thatched cottages and country churches because it distracts them from the mess the coarser elements of their own party made of the country in the eighties. It’s another way of tipping a wink to the turnip Taliban that says ‘I’m really like you, all that modernisation guff is just put on for the press.’
Look a little closer and you will see that the spirit of cool Britannia is very much alive and well. Take that dig about beating the Germans at tourism even if we can’t beat them at football, Alistair Campbell could have written that for Tony Blair in his salad days.
Look closer still and you will see a trick involving smoke and mirrors being worked on the public that would leave even Peter Mandelson gasping at its cynical audacity.
When David Cameron says ‘We should be proud of our potential because we are proud of our country’ and that he ‘loves going on holiday in Britain’ he has in mind the report being compiled by John Penrose into the possibility of encouraging more Britons to holiday at home. In the process raising the amount they spend doing so from £16billion to £36billion.
Where is the problem with that you might ask? After all Britain is a country to be proud of and a great place to visit; so long as you have a choice. As the budget cuts bite over the next two years more and more people aren’t going to have a choice, they’re going to be luck if they’ve got enough money to afford a holiday at all.
At least way back in the long ago when Tony Blair invited the Gallagher brothers, Damian Hurst et al round to Downing Street to proclaim the new cool Britain had been born he had the grace to suspend his cynicism while they were taking the photographs.
The British tourist industry was, he said, ‘not doing enough’ to break into the top five visitor destinations. As speeches go it was fairly bland but he does have a point, the contribution made to the economy by tourism could grow by as much as 60% by 2020.
Among the plans announced to get the tourists flocking to our shores announced by the prime minister was speeding up the process by which visitors from China can get visas to come to the UK. Currently Britain is the twenty second most popular destination for visitors from the world’s fastest growing economy, Germany is the fifth most popular and that, Mr Cameron said, just wasn’t good enough.
‘If we can’t always beat the Germans at football, then we can beat them at tourism.’ We shall fight them on the beaches, probably for the last sunbed.
The prime minister also turned his fire, predictably, on the legacy of the last government criticizing them for appointing eight tourism ministers in thirteen years and said: ‘They just didn’t get our heritage. They raided the lottery, taking money from heritage because it didn’t fit with their image of cool Britannia.’
Up to a point I agree with him, by the end of their tenure Labour didn’t get anything about British life past or present and much of the cool Britannia project was silliness incarnate. That said beneath all the foolishness there was a kernel of truth, you can’t have a reasoned debate about where the country is heading if you spend all your time looking back at an imperial past that will have slipped out of the reach of living memory within a generation.
The thing is though I’m not at all sure Sir David has slain the dragon of cool Britannia, or even much wants to.
By talking about ‘heritage’ David Cameron is playing to the Tory crowd, the more traditional of whom like thinking about ‘heritage Britain’ with its thatched cottages and country churches because it distracts them from the mess the coarser elements of their own party made of the country in the eighties. It’s another way of tipping a wink to the turnip Taliban that says ‘I’m really like you, all that modernisation guff is just put on for the press.’
Look a little closer and you will see that the spirit of cool Britannia is very much alive and well. Take that dig about beating the Germans at tourism even if we can’t beat them at football, Alistair Campbell could have written that for Tony Blair in his salad days.
Look closer still and you will see a trick involving smoke and mirrors being worked on the public that would leave even Peter Mandelson gasping at its cynical audacity.
When David Cameron says ‘We should be proud of our potential because we are proud of our country’ and that he ‘loves going on holiday in Britain’ he has in mind the report being compiled by John Penrose into the possibility of encouraging more Britons to holiday at home. In the process raising the amount they spend doing so from £16billion to £36billion.
Where is the problem with that you might ask? After all Britain is a country to be proud of and a great place to visit; so long as you have a choice. As the budget cuts bite over the next two years more and more people aren’t going to have a choice, they’re going to be luck if they’ve got enough money to afford a holiday at all.
At least way back in the long ago when Tony Blair invited the Gallagher brothers, Damian Hurst et al round to Downing Street to proclaim the new cool Britain had been born he had the grace to suspend his cynicism while they were taking the photographs.
Friday, 14 May 2010
All change as Britain heads for uncharted waters.
After thirteen hectic years the New Labour project came to an end on Tuesday when Gordon Brown bowed to the inevitable and, having failed to form a working partnership with the Liberal Democrats, tendered his resignation ushering in Britain’s first coalition government since the war.
Speaking about the job that at times seemed almost to have broken him he said: ‘only those who have held the office of prime minister can understand the full weight of its responsibilities and its great capacity for good,’ he went on to say that despite facing many ‘challenges’ he had tried to do his best ‘for the interests of Britain, its values and its people.’
New Labour had, Mr Brown said, left behind it a country that was ‘more democratic, more prosperous and more just; a truly greater Britain.’
Gordon Brown’s exit showed much of the dignity that was sadly lacking during his three year tenure as prime minister. As a leader he will be remembered for one truly ‘great’ moment, when he led the world in facing up to the financial crisis of autumn 2008 and a long list of, often self imposed, disasters beginning with the election that never was back in 2007 and ending with the comments about Rochdale pensioner Gillian Duffy that destroyed his chances of winning the one he couldn’t duck.
As a man Gordon Brown will be remembered for his intellect and his doggedness in the face of personal tragedy, he will also be remembered as a scowling political schemer with a volatile temper and a poor understanding of the people he led. A gifted man brought down in the end as much by the flaws contained within his character as the events that characterised his term of office.
Accepting the task of leading a coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats new prime minister David Cameron pledged to ‘help build a more responsible society’ and to support ‘the frail, the elderly, the poorest in out country.’
He also recognised the scale of the economic and social challenged Britain faces in the coming years saying the country would have to ‘face up to out big challenges, to confront our problems, take difficult decisions, so that together we can reach better times.’
The question now is whether the new government will be led by ‘Dave’ the husky cuddling darling of the metropolitan elite or ‘David’ the steely old style, meaning pre Thatcherite, Tory he has portrayed himself as in recent years. Perhaps his best chance of success lies in the combination of the two that emerged so engagingly on the campaign trail, a man capable of understanding the social problems crated by the Conservative governments of the eighties but unafraid of making a case for people working with the state to solve their problems as opposed to sitting back and waiting to be rescued.
Whatever facet of his political character emerges as dominant it is clear that David Cameron will have to be a prime minister like no other Britain has ever known. His first press conference with new deputy Nick Clegg at his side was an amicable affair, the tightrope of leading a government that depends on achieving a consensus between partners rather than using its majority to drive through legislation will be a monumental challenge.
Great challenges though bring with them great opportunities, if the new politics of partnership can be made to work, however unlikely the partners themselves might be this really could be the beginning of a more democratic and progressive settlement. Although it may not seem like it now that might, in time, give hope and opportunity to whatever comes to replace a beaten and discredited Labour Party.
Speaking about the job that at times seemed almost to have broken him he said: ‘only those who have held the office of prime minister can understand the full weight of its responsibilities and its great capacity for good,’ he went on to say that despite facing many ‘challenges’ he had tried to do his best ‘for the interests of Britain, its values and its people.’
New Labour had, Mr Brown said, left behind it a country that was ‘more democratic, more prosperous and more just; a truly greater Britain.’
Gordon Brown’s exit showed much of the dignity that was sadly lacking during his three year tenure as prime minister. As a leader he will be remembered for one truly ‘great’ moment, when he led the world in facing up to the financial crisis of autumn 2008 and a long list of, often self imposed, disasters beginning with the election that never was back in 2007 and ending with the comments about Rochdale pensioner Gillian Duffy that destroyed his chances of winning the one he couldn’t duck.
As a man Gordon Brown will be remembered for his intellect and his doggedness in the face of personal tragedy, he will also be remembered as a scowling political schemer with a volatile temper and a poor understanding of the people he led. A gifted man brought down in the end as much by the flaws contained within his character as the events that characterised his term of office.
Accepting the task of leading a coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats new prime minister David Cameron pledged to ‘help build a more responsible society’ and to support ‘the frail, the elderly, the poorest in out country.’
He also recognised the scale of the economic and social challenged Britain faces in the coming years saying the country would have to ‘face up to out big challenges, to confront our problems, take difficult decisions, so that together we can reach better times.’
The question now is whether the new government will be led by ‘Dave’ the husky cuddling darling of the metropolitan elite or ‘David’ the steely old style, meaning pre Thatcherite, Tory he has portrayed himself as in recent years. Perhaps his best chance of success lies in the combination of the two that emerged so engagingly on the campaign trail, a man capable of understanding the social problems crated by the Conservative governments of the eighties but unafraid of making a case for people working with the state to solve their problems as opposed to sitting back and waiting to be rescued.
Whatever facet of his political character emerges as dominant it is clear that David Cameron will have to be a prime minister like no other Britain has ever known. His first press conference with new deputy Nick Clegg at his side was an amicable affair, the tightrope of leading a government that depends on achieving a consensus between partners rather than using its majority to drive through legislation will be a monumental challenge.
Great challenges though bring with them great opportunities, if the new politics of partnership can be made to work, however unlikely the partners themselves might be this really could be the beginning of a more democratic and progressive settlement. Although it may not seem like it now that might, in time, give hope and opportunity to whatever comes to replace a beaten and discredited Labour Party.
Sunday, 2 August 2009
Barbecue summer- don’t make me laugh.
When is a barbecue summer not a barbecue summer? When it’s predicted by the Met Office of course.
As they’ve spent the past week pointing out with a Tour De France style display of back peddling of the sort usually put on by a junior government minister caught in an embarrassing situation, the Met Office didn’t actually say we we’re going to have a good summer. What they said, and you can probably hear the sound of a hair being split lengthways here, was that there was a 65% chance of it being a good summer.
After all we did have a couple of good weeks in early June and a rain free Wimbledon meant that Cliff Richard didn’t end up ‘entertaining’ the crowds on Centre Court. Anyway long range forecasting is jolly difficult and so we shouldn’t grouse when they get things a tad wrong.
As Brian Goulding, a spokesman for the Met Office told the BBC this week ‘seasonal forecasting is a difficult thing to do and this places some limitations on our forecast.’
Tell that to the marines Mr Goulding, actually, no, go tell it to all the families who in these environmentally conscious and recession haunted times opted for a staycation this year and as a result spent two weeks trapped in a caravan listening to the rain drum on the roof as their children wailed ‘we’re bored; there’s nothing to do.’
The British are a patient people, we’ll put up with just about anything from bent MP’s to trains that don’t even try to run on time, never mind customer service that is all but non existent; but having the weather forecast exposed as little more than so much over optimistic spin may well be too much.
You can be honest we don’t mind the rain, moaning about the weather is a national sport, tell it how it is and leave the spin and shifty evasions after the fact to the real experts; the politicians.
Oh David; you are a twit.
Its official, the silly season is well and truly upon us, noting else could explain the acres of newsprint devoted to David Cameron’s slip of the tongue during an interview broadcast on Absolute Radio last week.
He was talking about why he didn’t have any plans to join the growing number of MP’s who broadcast their thoughts to a breathless world via Twitter and said:
‘I think politician do have to think about what we say. And the trouble with Twitter is the instantness of it. Too many twits make a t**t.’
You got that right Dave, to his credit Mr Cameron issued an almost immediate apology saying ‘You always have to be careful what you say. If I’ve caused any offence I obviously regret that.’
As he enjoys a trashy novel on the beach this summer perhaps the Eton educated Mr Cameron might like to ponder a little maxim that was prominently displayed at my much less august alma mater ‘engage brain before opening mouth.’
Not such a nice guy Alan.
A few months ago I wrote an article on another site suggesting that Home Secretary Alan Johnson might make a future leader of the Labour Party. I was wrong.
A point proved this week by his shameful refusal to take action to ensure that Gary McKinnon, a rather sad young man suffering from Asberger’s Syndrome who hacked into the Pentagon’s computer system searching for information about UFO’s, would face trial in the UK rather than being extradited to the US.
Mr McKinnon’s guilt isn’t in question, rather whether a fragile man liable to self harm were he to be thrown into the bear pit of the US prison system wouldn’t be better served by being tried and punished on home soil.
The first duty of any leader is to protect the vulnerable; Alan Johnson has failed in that duty as has the government in which he serves; shame on him and on them.
Farewell Sir Bobby
On Friday the death of Sir Bobby Robson the former England football manager was announced and, for once, the tributes that followed from the great and the good of the game to dozens of ordinary fans were utterly genuine.
In the silly, self regarding world of professional football he was, despite filling his trophy cabinet with silverware over a fifty year career and later facing a horrific illness, a true original; a quiet and humble hero; a true gentleman of a type we may never see again.
As they’ve spent the past week pointing out with a Tour De France style display of back peddling of the sort usually put on by a junior government minister caught in an embarrassing situation, the Met Office didn’t actually say we we’re going to have a good summer. What they said, and you can probably hear the sound of a hair being split lengthways here, was that there was a 65% chance of it being a good summer.
After all we did have a couple of good weeks in early June and a rain free Wimbledon meant that Cliff Richard didn’t end up ‘entertaining’ the crowds on Centre Court. Anyway long range forecasting is jolly difficult and so we shouldn’t grouse when they get things a tad wrong.
As Brian Goulding, a spokesman for the Met Office told the BBC this week ‘seasonal forecasting is a difficult thing to do and this places some limitations on our forecast.’
Tell that to the marines Mr Goulding, actually, no, go tell it to all the families who in these environmentally conscious and recession haunted times opted for a staycation this year and as a result spent two weeks trapped in a caravan listening to the rain drum on the roof as their children wailed ‘we’re bored; there’s nothing to do.’
The British are a patient people, we’ll put up with just about anything from bent MP’s to trains that don’t even try to run on time, never mind customer service that is all but non existent; but having the weather forecast exposed as little more than so much over optimistic spin may well be too much.
You can be honest we don’t mind the rain, moaning about the weather is a national sport, tell it how it is and leave the spin and shifty evasions after the fact to the real experts; the politicians.
Oh David; you are a twit.
Its official, the silly season is well and truly upon us, noting else could explain the acres of newsprint devoted to David Cameron’s slip of the tongue during an interview broadcast on Absolute Radio last week.
He was talking about why he didn’t have any plans to join the growing number of MP’s who broadcast their thoughts to a breathless world via Twitter and said:
‘I think politician do have to think about what we say. And the trouble with Twitter is the instantness of it. Too many twits make a t**t.’
You got that right Dave, to his credit Mr Cameron issued an almost immediate apology saying ‘You always have to be careful what you say. If I’ve caused any offence I obviously regret that.’
As he enjoys a trashy novel on the beach this summer perhaps the Eton educated Mr Cameron might like to ponder a little maxim that was prominently displayed at my much less august alma mater ‘engage brain before opening mouth.’
Not such a nice guy Alan.
A few months ago I wrote an article on another site suggesting that Home Secretary Alan Johnson might make a future leader of the Labour Party. I was wrong.
A point proved this week by his shameful refusal to take action to ensure that Gary McKinnon, a rather sad young man suffering from Asberger’s Syndrome who hacked into the Pentagon’s computer system searching for information about UFO’s, would face trial in the UK rather than being extradited to the US.
Mr McKinnon’s guilt isn’t in question, rather whether a fragile man liable to self harm were he to be thrown into the bear pit of the US prison system wouldn’t be better served by being tried and punished on home soil.
The first duty of any leader is to protect the vulnerable; Alan Johnson has failed in that duty as has the government in which he serves; shame on him and on them.
Farewell Sir Bobby
On Friday the death of Sir Bobby Robson the former England football manager was announced and, for once, the tributes that followed from the great and the good of the game to dozens of ordinary fans were utterly genuine.
In the silly, self regarding world of professional football he was, despite filling his trophy cabinet with silverware over a fifty year career and later facing a horrific illness, a true original; a quiet and humble hero; a true gentleman of a type we may never see again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)