Politics – The Tory Party is to Fix Education
The Tory Party is going to Fix Education, Again.
Nicky Morgan, the Tory Education Secretary, has said that they are going to wage ‘war on illiteracy and innumeracy’. So that is good news. Pupils aged 11 should know correct punctuation, spelling and grammar. They should also know their twelve times table.
Who could argue with that? No one, certainly not me. Although it does raise a couple of interesting questions. The first and most obvious is; So, what have they been doing for the last 5 years? Is it only important for children to read, write and do sums just before an election?
The second question is; As the Tory Chancellor, George Osborne avoided answering a 7 year old who asked him what seven times eight is. Just what was he doing at school? OK, so the answer is working hard, the son of a 17th Baronet, poor old Gideon (Gideon Oliver being his given names although he now prefers George) had to slum it at schools for the underprivileged namely; Norland Place (£4,580 per term) , Colet Court ( £5,807 per term) and then St Paul’s School (£7,264 a term for a day boy, £10,880 for a boarder). Even with his education poor old George failed to get a place on The Times trainee scheme. So, luckily for us all, he did manage to squeeze into a place in the Tory Party in the Research Department.
Back to the point (I know I digress all too often) Nicky Morgan, the Tory Education Secretary – whatever Michael Gove still believes – says that “We (The Tory Party) will expect every pupil by the age of 11 to know their times tables off by heart, to perform long division and complex multiplication and to be able to read a novel.”
She also said that funding for education would be largely ring fenced. It would seem that funding for higher education is not included in that promise.
In The Sunday Times she went on to say “They (the children) should be able to write a short story with accurate punctuation, spelling and grammar.
“Some will say this is an old-fashioned view, but I say that giving every child the chance to master the basics and succeed in life is a fundamental duty of any government.”
So, what have they been doing for the last 5 years? The latest Pisa league table, which ranks the test results of 15-year-olds from 65 countries, puts the UK at 26th for maths and 23rd for reading.
Apparently, it is the teachers’ fault. This from a Tory government that is happy to have non qualified teachers teaching our children. Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) described the new tests as a “gimmick” during the election season.
“Apparently head teachers will be sacked should any – yes, any – child fail the new test. We are all for aiming high but, remember, this is a short test taken by a young child,” he said.
“Mistakes happen, children feel under the weather or have a bad evening beforehand. This does not mean that teachers are not working as hard as possible.”
Mistakes like having a Chancellor who can not multiply 8 by 7.
Politics – UKIP From Soap Opera to Farce
UKIP Descends into Farce
A week is a long time in politics,that is what Harold Wilson said, it is even longer for UKIP!
Where to start? The communities spokesman for Ukip has defected to the conservative Party. Amjad Bashir, who represents Yorkshire and the Humber, met with David Cameron on Friday and has defected to The Conservatives. The Boy Cameron is delighted. Farage less so.
UKIP responded by suspending Bashir as soon as the rumours started. They accuse home of financial and employment irregularities. That is a well worn track for UKIP. They did the same to Neil Hamilton. Needless to say, both men deny any wrongdoing.
A spokeman for UKIP said that a file has been forwarded to the police. “The UK Independence Party has a zero-tolerance policy and takes the matters at hand extremely seriously.
“The allegations against Mr Bashir are of a grave nature and we will be forwarding our evidence obtained so far to the police. Ukip will not tolerate anyone abusing their positions in the party, as we have a firm commitment to differing ourselves from the existing political classes. As a result, Mr Bashir’s involvement with the party was suspended today with immediate effect pending further investigations.”
When speaking to a fringe meeting at the Conservative conference Boris Johnson said would-be defectors (Tory to UKIP) were the kind of people who might inflict “barely credible” injuries on themselves by “vacuum cleaner abuse”. I imagine Farage is harbouring similar thoughts about Bashir.
What else s going on in that bizarre world that is UKIP?
Lynton Yates was the PPC for UKIP in Charnwood. Yates defected from the Conservative party to UKIP after being a Conservative councilor for 12 years before defecting. I do not know how close he feels to his vacuum cleaner.
Yates’ offense? he released a leaflet that saying that those on benefits “could really catch a bus” he added that that banning them from driving and owning a car would “likely remove six million cars from the road”.
He also said that cyclists should “go back to the pavements”. (Great news for people in wheelchairs, visually impaired pedestrians, and parents with children and toddlers).
Suspending him just because he said some strange and unhinged things seems a bit odd for UKIP, after all, most of them say strange and bizarre things none more so than UKIP party secretary Matthew Richardson. At the week end he was reported as saying that Ukip should represent ‘bigots’ and labelling the NHS a ‘waste of money’. Now, Richardson has not been suspended he has been defended by Farage.
Strange party.
Surely There is not More?
But there is!
Farage told the BBC’s Sunday Politics that, if Labour won the election on a non-referendum manifesto and Ukip failed to get any MPs into parliament, he would resign within 12 hours.
“I would have failed,” he said. “I would have spent years trying to achieve this goal. I got into politics not because I wanted a career in politics, far from it, I did it because I genuinely don’t think that this European entanglement is right for our country.”
Now, this is not the first time that Farage has threatened, or promised depending on your point of view, to resign as UKIP’s leader. However, he may be serious this time, although it hard to tell. In the wake of him saying that the possible replacements are beginning to show their heads above the parapets.
One being touted is UKIP’s immigration spokesman, Steven Woolfe, has confirmed that he would be interested in leading the party. Well thought of Woolfe is articulate and his pronouncements on immigration are much less radical than Farage let alone that far, far right wing elements that Richardson said that they should represent. What on earth is he doing in UKIP you may well ask.
Remember that he disagreed with Farage’s defense of the word “chinky” by Kerry Smith saying “We have no room for racists and homophobes in our party.
“All working class people don’t say those sorts of words, that’s absolutely clear,” he said. “One thing to say with Nigel is he tries to see the good in people all the time. On this particular issue, I think we will have a difference of opinion of how we deal with it, Nigel even accepted that he [Smith] couldn’t stand as a candidate.”
Who else wants the mantel? Paul Nuttall (great name) is UKIP deputy leader and he seems up for it. Nuttall, as we all know was NOT Bungle from Rainbow a childrens’ TV programme from the 70s………………..
Politics – The Leaders’ Debates (2)
An unlikely trio try to gang up on Cameron about the Leaders’ Debates
As I posted a few days ago David Cameron has found a wheeze which he hopes will scupper the Leaders’ Debates. He does not want them, as no sitting PM would, as it gives the opposition party leaders to share a platform with him and to look prime ministerial (whatever that means). Some of us doubt if Milliband, Clegg or Farage could ever look like a prime minister in waiting.
The other reason Cameron wants to avoid the Leaders’ Debates is that he knows that he will get a kicking from Farage tempting even more Tory voters to defect to UKIP. The reason Cameron has cited for his reluctance is that it would be unfair for some minor parties to be represented, he mentioned UKIP and the Liberal Democrats and not the Green Party.
The Milliband, Clegg Farage axis has written to Cameron saying that they want to go ahead with the Leaders’ Debates even without him. They wrote identical letters that said;
“I believe it would be a major setback to our democratic processes if these debates were not repeated in 2015 because of one politician’s unwillingness to participate.”
They went on to say: “It would be unacceptable if the political self-interest of one party leader were to deny the public the opportunity to see their leaders debate in public.
“Therefore, if you are unwilling to reconsider, the three party leaders who have committed to participate will ask the broadcasters to press ahead with the debates and provide an empty podium should you have a last-minute change of heart.
“These debates are not the property of the politicians and I do not believe the public will accept lightly the prospect of any politician seeking to block them.”
So what now? My feeling is that Cameron will appear, with or without the Greens. He is already being attacked as being scared of the Leaders’ Debates. He can not afford to be seen as running away from Farage.
More interesting is what the broadcasters would do if he sticks his heals in and refuses to appear. Would they really go ahead with the Leaders’ Debates (lite)? They would be very reluctant but it would be fun to see the empty podium. How much damage would that do to Cameron’s image and would the broadcasters hand such a coup to the terrible trio?
Does anyone remember when Roy Hattersley refused to appear on Have I got News For You and was replaced by a tub of lard? What could they substitute for The Boy David?
Politics – Cameron Declares War on the Unions
Cameron Wants to “Curb” Union Ability to Strike
Cameron, playing to his core constituency (that is the one that lives in the 1950s), has pledged that, should he be PM after May this year, he will curb the power of unions to paralyse important public services.
Under his plan any strike proposal for health, transport, fir or educational services would need the backing of 40% of union members. At the moment all the union needs to call a strike is a simple majority of those that vote. Cameron has also said that there would need to be a minimum of a 50% turn out in a strike ballot. Cameron would also end a ban on using agency staff to cover for striking workers. He would also impose a three-month time limit after a ballot for action to take place and curbs on picketing.
For some inexplicable reason union leaders think that this is an affront on democracy. If 50% of the workers take part in a ballot then 80% of them would have to vote “yes”. What could be fairer?
If the purpose was to truly reflect the members’ feelings then why would the government veto any attempt to introduce secure online voting? This is one measure that would increase participation in ballots. The reason is that this is not about fairness. It is about Cameron playing to his constituency and about curbing union power. It is about being able to skew negotiations between the government and the unions. It is about reducing the unions’ ability to negotiate on a level playing field. Something that Cameron sees as being necessary if he is going to push through the eye watering cuts to public services that he wants in the next 5 years.
I think that Cameron is onto something here. It is only right that there should be a minimum level of support for anyone who can influence the core public services. After all, this is being proposed by a popularly elected government, except it isn’t. Cameron was elected with less than 40% of the popular vote. In fact, only 15 Tory MPs out of 303 secured the level of support that Cameron is demanding of the unions. Cameron had no shame in forming a government in 2010 with less than 40% support from the electorate.
Let’s face it The Boy David has no shame.
Politics – The Leaders’ Debates, Cameron says “No”
Cameron stands up for Democracy and The Greens, Really?
David Cameron has said that he will not take part in the Leaders’ Debates unless The Greens are included. Making a stand for democracy. After all, The Greens out polled the Liberal Democrats at the last European elections. As he said; he could not see how “some minor parties like the Liberal Democrats and UKIP” could take part in the leaders’ debates, but not the Greens. A fair point, even if referring to his partners in crime as a minor party is pretty disrespectful.
But is Cameron really sticking up for democracy? Do not believe it. He does not want to be on the same platform as the other leaders. To do so would enable them to demonstrate how statesmanlike they are. Cameron does not want to give them that potential hand up. He is also afraid that Farage will look to score points off him and will score some hits. Cameron knows that his party is the one that is most at risk from UKIP. His fear is that the debate could become a launch pad for UKIP at his expense.
Expect to see more “he’s running scared tweets from Farage”. For once he is right.
That a Prime Minister does not to take part in Leaders’ Debates is nothing new. They have always been resisted and Brown’s fate in the last lot will weigh heavily in the memory. There is, however, another part to this story. If they do happen (and they will) Cameron wants to share the pain with Clegg and Milliband. He knows that the Conservatory Party is safe from The Greens, but Labour and The Liberal Democrats are not.
Cameron’s thinking is that no one who is thinking of voting Tory would ever swap from them to The Greens. The slogan vote blue and get green last time was a transparent attempt at a nod towards conservationists but the reality has been what we all knew that it would be. However Cameron would love to see voters moving from The Liberal Democrats and Labour to The Greens.
There is no place for altruism in politics for Cameron (or any of the others to be fair). The debates will happen, but Cameron will be seen to be dragged screaming and crying into the studio.
Politics – The boy Cameron Hits Back
Cameron Says that Millibrand is a bit Wrong About the NHS
Time and time again Miliband refused to tell Andrew Marr if he used the word “weaponise” to discuss cynically politicising the NHS. The PM isn’t going to let him forget it:“I heard that Ed Miliband had used this remark about ‘weaponising’ the NHS and that is why I put that to him in the House of Commons because frankly I think it was an appalling thing to say. The NHS is not a weapon… Having watched that exchange on Andrew Marr where he was wriggling like an eel, it is absolutely clear to me that he did say those words and that is why he wouldn’t deny it. And I think in one moment we learned more about Labour’s attitude to the NHS than we’ve learned perhaps for five years. They just see it as a political weapon and frankly I think that is disgraceful.”
Oh come on Dave Cameron, the NHS? you have no reason to attack anyone about it. If Millibrand did not “weaponise” it he would be failing in his duty as the leader of the opposition. The truth is that you need to man up and say just why the NHS is in the mess that it is. Cameron you talk about how much you love the NHS, how much you use it. The truth is that it is failing.
The truth is that it is failing under your watch.
Dave Cameron, forget about the politics, actually DO something!
Politics – Cameron has Blown the Election, on Day 1?
Cameron has scored an own goal
It is always nice when people agree with you, even if it is the Torygraph, Here is what they say about Cameron and his election priorities.
“Just what are the Conservatives’ election priorities? If you go to the Conservatives’ website, you’ll find this list on the homepage:
• Income tax cut for 30m people
• Benefits capped
• An in/out EU referendum in 2017
• Getting immigration under control
• The deficit eliminated
• Strong and stable leadership
Today, David Cameron is giving a speech outlining the central themes for the Conservative election campaign:
• Deficit
• Jobs
• Taxes
• Home ownership
• Education
• Retirement
You will, I’m sure, quickly spot some rather significant differences. The biggest is that neither immigration nor an EU referendum are on the new Conservative list. Labour, meanwhile, is noting that the NHS isn’t there either.”
It seems that Cameron and his aides have decide to play to their strengths, but to my (albeit biased eye) they are few. They lag behind UKIP on immigration, better to ignore it. They lag behind Labour on the NHS, much better to ignore it.
The really interesting thing is Europe. He knows that he can not deliver on a re-negotiated treaty. There is no appetite for it anywhere else other than Cameron’s fevered imagination. The dilemma for Cameron is whether to fight UKIP on immigration, or not. The truth is that UKIP are peddling dangerous lies. The immigrants from Europe enjoy a much lower unemployment rate in the UK than indigenous UK citizens. In other words, they work harder, for less, that the average Brit. In politics the truth matters little. The Tories, and Cameron lose on this issue.
Cameron can afford to lose on the NHS. After all the people who care about the NHS, above all, are likely to be Labour leaning voters. The problem is those pesky UKIP transfer voters. If they are going to vote Labour anyway then do not expend any energy on them. But, Tory to UKIP voters. Surely Cameron has to fight to save them?
The problem is that anything that the Boy Cameron has to say about immigration will come across as UKIP-lite. Being out of power, and a party made up of one issue nutters, UKIP can make outrageous promises, and they do. – But they don’t talk about legalising guns too much – why should they?
Cameron is on a hiding to nothing. He vowed to reduce immigration to “tens of thousands” it stands at more than 200,000. It is like the deficit. It is a stubborn problem that will not go away, no matter how he dresses it up. Cameron is just so lucky that he up against the UN-photogenic Milliband
In any event some of his “loyal friends” are beginning (beginning?) to position themselves for the inevitable blood-letting should/when Cameron loses the election. (Perhaps we should think about what “loses” means, no majority, no majority and forced into another coalition?) The usual suspects are there Boris, Theresa, but how about Owen Paterson? (Who he? More to follow)
That traditional friend of Cameron and the Tories the Sun is particularly hostile today: “If he won’t address the issue of immigration, you have to wonder if he really wants to win.”
With friends like that………………
Politics – Has Cameron Blown the Election?
David Cameron Spells Out his Top 6 Priorities, and Upsets Everyone!
The election campaign has begun, Cameron has spelt out his top 6 Priorities. Obviously Europe is there, he has to head off UKIP. Immigration is there, again to deal with UKIP and expose Labour. The last obvious subject has to be the NHS, he has to spike Labour’s guns.
The strange thing is, none of these are in his top 6 priorities! What is going on?
Surely Cameron is not running scared on immigration? Perhaps he is. There was an absolute promise to reduce immigration to “tens of thousands” in the life of this parliament. Failed, abysmally.
How about Europe? There is Cameron’s pledge to renegotiate the treaty and have an in and out referendum in 2017. So, why, if he is on solid ground here is he risking the wrath of UKIP, the voters, and his right wingers? Perhaps he is facing up the reality that he can not deliver. Our 20 odd (the right wingers say very odd) European partners do not want to renegotiate anything. He can not deliver a referendum that he can win. Better to run away David, oh, you are.
How about the NHS? Cameron uses the NHS, believes in the NHS. However, it is failing. After 5 years of Cameron’s tender loving care it is in intensive care. A&E is a nightmare. The problem is that people insist on getting ill. Worse still, they want to be made better. Just how unreasonable is that? Although he did not set it up, the first hospital to be privatised has just failed. The NHS is a poisoned pill for Cameron.
So, what is on Cameron’s list? The deficit. (Cameron has seen it grow, not shrink) Jobs. (All those zero hour contracts) Taxes. (He has made good progress here, as long as you are one of his millionaire friends) Education. (We are still slipping down the league tables) Housing. (Does even Cameron believe that the bedroom tax was a good idea?) And retirement (Hang on a second, was it just today when it was announced that the much vaunted level state pension was exposed to be a sham? Yes it would).
Sometimes you almost need to feel sorry for the Boy Cameron, almost.
Politics – UKIP _It’s That Man Again
UKIP now reduced to an old comedy programme?
Readers of a certain age will be aware of an old, (very old) radio comedy programme called ITMA (It’s That Man Again) starring Tommy Handley. UKIP have their very own version starring Kerry Smith one time candidate for South Basildon and east Thurrock. You may remember that he was the official candidate before Neil Hamilton became it. He was it again after Hamilton was forced to resign after his expenses were called into question.
Smith was then forced to resign after he made some choice remarks. He made offensive remarks about gay people, other UKIP members and Chigwell in Essex. You may ask what those remarks were? The Maiil on Sunday says that he mocked gays as ‘pooftahs’ and referred to a woman as a ‘chinky bird’ in phone calls. Just what did he say about Chigwell? I have yet to find out but for it to be on a par with homophobic and racist comments it must have been quite something.
That is all getting away from my point, if I have one. Mr Smith says that he may have been the victim of “black arts” within the party, however that does not seem to ring true if you read The Mail Online. That says that Smith was protected by Farage. It says; A leaked email shows the lengths Mr Farage was prepared to go to help him be selected for the seat. When Ukip members in Basildon met 11 days ago to pick a candidate, Mr Smith was not on the list, having been banned weeks earlier. But hours before they met, Mr Farage emailed Ukip’s national executive urging them to give him another chance.
He wrote: ‘As leader of Ukip I have never involved myself in candidate selections. But in the case of Basildon South, I have received many objections to the removal of Kerry Smith from the local branch. The reason for his exclusion is he is a bit rough and ready, and there were several rumours which have not been substantiated.
‘We have been too cautious so I recommend we reverse our earlier decision.’
It may well be that Farage’s main concern was to block Neil Hamilton, not that I would blame him if that was the case. Hamilton is seen as a toxic candidate given his past, and obnoxious wife. His candidacy would taint the rest of the party although not everyone agrees with me. (Also from the Mail Online) A senior Ukip source said: ‘Nigel has shown a lack of judgment over Kerry Smith. In the eyes of some he abused his power in trying to get him a Parliamentary seat. We can’t understand why he appears so keen to speak up for Smith. It looks as though he was so desperate to stop Hamilton, whom he dislikes and sees as a rival, he lost all sense of proportion.’
Ukip leaders also revealed a tape of Mr Smith’s remarks was sent to them months ago.
A party insider said: ‘Farage’s team knew about Smith’s disgraceful remarks. That is why he was fired in the first place. They thought the tape recording would never see the light of day so they put him back on the list. Others thought the public should know the truth.’
The most amazing thing about this whole story is not that Farage wanted to stop Hamilton. It is not that Smith used racist and homophobic terms. It is his excuses for his language;
After apologising “unreservedly” he added: “My language, for the record, was no worse than watching an old episode of Fools and Horses to be fair. I come from the East End, the word was never offensive and if you talked politically correct where I grew up you were battered for being a boffin.”
Sorry, he still watches Fools and Horses? That is just the forward thinking MP that we need. Also what does it say for where he grew up that not using racist language makes you “a boffin”?
Mr Smith said the UKIP constituency had “become a real farce as far as the national party’s concerned”.
At least the former UKIP candidate has that right.
Can a Privatised NHS Work?
The first NHS Hospital to be taken over by a Private Company Fails.
Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire was privatised in 2012 although the process started in 2009 under the last Labour government. The agreement was that Circle would take over the hospital from the NHS and any profits above £5m would be returned to the NHS. The trouble is that that there were no profits, just losses.
Admittedly, the Losses started at £10m in 2012 and fell to £1.5m in March 2013. However, the NHS is not something that can be made to comply to “the market”. People get sick at odd times, mainly during the winter. Just because more people are ill does not mean that prices go up. The laws of capitalism do not apply.
As a capitalist you can cut costs, reduce wages, reduce the number of jobs etc. but that does not help when the CQC ( Care Quality Commission) are on your back and the numbers going to A&E are going through the roof. All you can do is to suck it up – or ditch the whole thing, as Circle has decided to do.
As much as I hated the idea of any company running a hospital I can not but feel a bit of sympathy, not much but some, for Circle. They take on a proposition that looks like it will make a profit only to find that the Tories, their natural partners in crime (it’s an expression, not a judgement!) start cutting the funding…. On top of that the impending CQC report would have criticised the standard of health care demanding better service levels.
That is so unfair. Circle says that its funding has been cut by 10%. It is unreasonable to expect any organisation faced with increased demand to be able to cope with reduced funding at this level. Unless it is the NHS, of course. Circle can hand back the keys. The NHS is just told to do more with less by this heartless and BUPA insured government. (You don’t really think that the boy Cameron uses the NHS, unless it makes a good story n the press do you?
So, when can the private sector run the NHS successfully? It is quite simple, Never.
Phil’s British Heart Foundation Donation – you know it makes sense
