Iraq equiry

So the Government has won and the motion tabled calling for a new inquiry into the Iraq War has been defeated.

Not that it really matters. Had the motion of passed and an inquiry held, it wouldn’t of criticised the Government. Just look at the Hutton Report.

It's always good however when the Government fears defeat. All kinds of reasons come out to try and convince MPs to vote with the Government. This times came from the Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, who said it was the wrong time for an inquiry as “our words... will be heard a very long way away. They can be heard by our troops who are already in great danger in Iraq".

I know if I was in Iraq I would like to know why 3 years after the war had supposedly ended I was still in danger.

One thing is certain, the issue of Iraq is not going to die down and with this motion being defeated, calls for an inquiry will continue.

Environmental advisors...

Guido makes a very good point regarding the appointment of Al Gore as an Environmental Advisor to the Government.

Plea for gambling sites to relocate to the UK

The Government has said its attempts to encourage gambling sites to register in the UK are not for tax purposes but to protect punters.

The thing is, most of these online gambling sites are based in tax havens such as Gibraltar. So for them to relocated to the UK, we would have to offer them the same sort of incentives. Otherwise why would they want to come here?

Is the Government with this proposal therefore saying it will give concessions to the online gambling industry? We already know the Treasury is in favour of gambling with its new casino licenses.

Do protests make a difference?

Students are marching in London today in protest to the introduction of top-up fees.

Almost every week there is a protest of some sort, against something, taking place. This has led me to think, do these protests actually make a difference?

My current thought is not really, the only protest I can think of in recent years that has led to a change from Government, is over the Poll Tax (and there were many other factors involved) some 16 years ago. There have been numerous protests over the Iraq War, top up fees, the hunting ban, etc. that have failed in their aim.

The reason in my view as to why these protests take place is because the people protesting have lost the ear of Government and as a last resort are taking to the streets. By the time it gets to this stage, it is too late, as those who do have the Government’s ear will be lobbying to keep on track and ignore the protests.

So why do we still see these protests on such a regular basis. I suppose the answer is because people still believe they can make a difference and of course the answer is they can. The problem is people feel Governments just don’t listen, so why bother to turn out? This is the attitude organisers must change to make their protest a success.

However for every protest that takes place, whatever the turn out, it can be spun to favour the Government’s stance. As was the case with the Iraq war, 1 million people march, but 59 million people didn’t. Therefore it can be argued that those who stay at home either support or are indifferent to the Government’s stance.

Therefore it is very difficult for any protest to make a difference, the odds of a success are stacked against them from the start. People power is the most powerful weapon against a Government, if it is possible to unite enough around the same cause. It is the belief that this can be done, that enough people will turn out to make a difference, that means protests will continue to take place.

Environmentally friendly leader...

I’m currently watching The Politics Show on BBC 1. They have just shown the results of their ICM poll which asked “which leader would be kindest to the environment?”

The results were David Cameron 33%, Gordon Brown 20%, Ming Campbell 14% with 33% not knowing.

This must be worrying for Ming Campbell and the Lib Dems who have always been seen as the Greenest of the three main parties, as this poll shows Campbell lagging well behind Cameron when it comes to the environment.

The green tax bandwagon

So the Government looks set to finally put forward its own suggestions for green taxes if the leaked letter published today in the Mail on Sunday is to be believed.

It’s about time considering both the Lib Dems and the Conservatives have been saying for a while that they will introduce green taxes.

The difference between the Government’s, the Lib Dems and (maybe) the Conservative’s proposals is that the Government doesn’t seem to be suggesting any tax cuts to run alongside.

So in true Labour style, the tax burden on the individual looks set to rise still further if the proposals in the letter are implemented.

Efficiency in the NHS

I have not witnessed this myself but I’ve heard that residents in the old people’s home in Saltford (nr Bath) are being taken to their local hospital, some 50 yards away, by ambulance because hospital workers won’t walk the patients across the busy road for health and safety reasons as there is no pedestrian crossing.

Now I don’t blame the hospital workers. Old people, bless them, aren’t exactly the quickest movers in the world. So you wouldn’t won’t to be stuck in the middle of a busy road with one.

Currently the only solution to this is to take them by ambulance. I don’t know the exact cost of calling in an ambulance each time to make the transfers, but I doubt it is cost effective. At a time when the NHS is facing cutbacks, money being spent like this is ridiculous.

The solution, put a pedestrian crossing in. Surely this would be a much better use of public funds?

Political suicide?

A very brave move was announced today by the Lib Dem led Richmond council which will see huge increases in prices of parking permits for residents with tax polluting cars.

The greenest cars will be exempt, but residents with two high emission cars could pay £750 a year, compared to £200 now.

This decision follows in the lines of the Green Tax Switch campaign that the Lib Dem’s are currently running on a national scale. But this is sure to be a turnoff to the voters. Richmond is one of the country’s most affluent areas, so there are bound to be a number of higher polluting cars, who’s owners won’t be keen on the higher costs of parking.

I would expect this to encourage these voters to support another party at the next election. Time will tell.

Debenhams comes to Bath

Today Debenhams was confirmed as the main store to parter Morley Fund Management in the redevelopment of the Southgate shopping complex in Bath.

The project has been delayed due to the uncertainty over a major store to back the project but now with Debenhams on board the work can start. This is currently rumoured to be in January. Current shops within the Southgate complex have already moved out to allow the development to begin.

I just hope they start with demolishing of Churchill House, I really don’t see what the fuss is about in trying to preserve that building!

Please, could you just stop reporting the truth!

The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman has blamed the media for influencing people’s opinion of the Iraq war through news bulletins that repeatedly report suicide bombings.

Whilst I agree with the spokesman that the media will influence people, they can hardly be blamed for reporting what is happening in Iraq.

The fact that Iraq is effectively in a state of civil war, with suicide bombings occurring on a daily basis, means it's hardly surprising that the media is reporting it. What else are they suppose to report?

I think the Government is lucky that the media is taking the angle it is, rather than reporting the number of innocent Iraqi’s that have been killed. I’m sure if they wanted to, the reports could be a lot worse for the Government.

Stating the obvious...

Cameron will say in a speech to Age Concern that over 50s can contribute millions to the economy.

Well he is hardly going to tell his audience people over 50 are a burden on society and should be disposed of!!

Gordon Brown is giving Cameron a run for his money by saying in reaction to Clare Short's resignation,

"It has been known for some time she wasn't voting with the Labour whip."

Clap, clap Mr Brown

It all depends who it is...

I just wonder, had it of been Hezbollah using phosphorous, whether the reaction would have been the same?

Of course not…

Another Lords reform proposal...

Yet another document proposing reform of the House of Lords has been drawn up by Jack Straw, the Leader of the House of Commons.

This round of proposals suggests an end to life peerages and quotas for ethnic minorities. The number of peers would be cut by a 1/3 and instead of claiming an attendance allowance, would be salaried.

A spokesman for Jack Straw has said the “Document is Jack Straw's attempt to facilitate cross-party discussion and that discussion is continuing. It is not government policy."

The thing is, House of Lords reform has been discussed for many years. In 2003 the discussions collapsed as no agreement could be found, these new proposals are likely to go the same way. The reason this document is not government policy, is because the government itself can’t agree on reforms.

House of Lords reform is of course a difficult topic as there are many views and options to consider. A few I think should be included are:

- Fully appointed. Candidates nominated by parties on grounds of expertise.

- Truly independent panel to decide who is appointed.

- Removal of party groups and party whips.

- Function: to scrutinise government legislation and propose amendments.

Niether a nerd or a chav!

Here's my nerd score....

Overall, you scored as follows:

91% scored higher (more nerdy), and
9% scored lower (less nerdy).

What does this mean? Your nerdiness is:

Definitely not nerdy, you are probably cool.



I wonder though, does doing the test make you more or less nerdy?


Having done that test, I figured I should do the one at the other end of the scale. The Chav test!

At least it seems I'm not a nerd or a Chav.

Ring of Fire

Bath and North East Somerset Council held their “Ring of Fire” event tonight. This saw £80’000’s of fireworks being set off from 6 locations around the hills of Bath in 3 minutes.

The evening went well and was quite impressive. 3 minutes doesn’t sound a lot but when there’s 6 lots of fireworks going off all around you, it’s quite something.

The event was to celebrate the success the Bath Spa has enjoyed since its opening a couple of months ago and to launch Heritage Open Week.

A single firework was fired from the roof of the Bath Spa to launch the event. This was quite a disappointing firework though, I thought it was someone having a laugh and launching their own! But once the main event started you didn’t know which direction to look, there were fireworks everywhere.

Short resigns...

Clare Short has resigned as a Labour MP and will continue to sit as an independent for the remainder of this parliament.

This is hardly surprising news, although somewhat belated. I think resigning now, will make very little difference to anything.

Clare Short missed her big chance to worry the Government she has come to see as “arrogant and error prone” when she should of resigned in the build up to the Iraq war. Then she could of really done something with other Labour backbenchers who felt likewise.

Will be interesting to see if she chooses to stand as an independent at the next election.

A good thing

David Cameron has met with US rapper Rhymefest, who requested the meeting after Cameron said on Radio 1 a few months ago that hip-hop "encourages people to carry guns and knives.”

The meeting has led some to criticize Cameron, accusing him of taking his effort to reach the younger generation too far and branding the meeting as a media stunt.

I totally disagree. I think these kind of meetings with people from varying backgrounds are a good thing. Ok, so Rhymefest is from the US and not the UK, which would be more appropriate, but that doesn’t mean you can’t listen.

Politicians are often accused of being out of touch with the people, so any engagement with them should be encouraged and not criticised.

US claims space

Details of the US’s new space policy was released today.

To quote directly from the BBC:

“US President George W Bush has signed an order which asserts the US right to block access to space to any country or group deemed hostile to its interests.

The document says the US is determined to protect its interests in outer space and will defeat any adversary who threatens them.”

Now surely to control access to something and other users right to it, you have to own it.

So tax cuts it is...

…£21 billion pounds worth of them.

That is what the Conservative Tax Commission will report tomorrow. This is hardly surprising as it has been known for some time that the commission was going to recommend tax cuts.

There are a number of tax reforms proposed covering a variety of taxes. I’m not going to dictate them, you can read them here.

However I’m most disappointed that there appears to be no explanation as to how the tax cuts will be funded. ConservativeHome’s ToryDiary is saying they will “apparently to be funded by growth.” I’m very sceptical that this will balance the books.

So for me, as nice as any reduction in taxation is, I wouldn’t support the Conservative’s proposals until details of funding are put forward.

Europe and 18 Doughty Street

I’m currently watching Up Front on 18 Doughty Street. They are discussing the poll today that showed businesses are in favour of a new deal for membership of Europe and a reform of the EU.

I’m quite disappointed that the two guests on the show are Euro sceptics. It appears to me, that my fear of a clear political bias is already showing through. The channel said it would "challenge the biases of big media." Funny way of doing this, by being bias themselves.

I stand to be corrected people at 18 Doughty Street.

A note on the poll: It is hardly surprising that a poll commissioned by Open Europe who “believes that the EU must now embrace radical reform” found exactly that.

Good old Somerton and Frome

Annunziata Rees-Mogg, the sister of Jacob, (who I have previously commented on) has been elected to fight the Somerton and Frome seat at the next election.

Somerton and Frome is currently held by Liberal Democrat MP David Heath who has a tiny majority of just 812. It is also the seat I happen to be registered to vote in, so is of particular interest to me, not just because it is a marginal.

Therefore Somerton and Frome is sure to be a Tory target at the next election. Interesting then that the “A-list” has once again been ignored and the constituency has chosen its own candidate.

Now I don’t know anything about Annunziata besides her being related to Jacob. I just hope for her sake that she is nothing like her brother. Otherwise I may just have the chance to vote for a “potted plant”

Boundary change judicial review rejected

Ed Balls and three other Labour MPs have had their application for a judicial review of the Boundary Commission’s decision to scrap Balls’ Normanton seat under the Commission’s boundary changes rejected in the High Court.

The four MPs who brought the case all represent the district of Wakefield and were trying to prevent the district’s current four seats being reduced to three, claiming residents strongly oppose the reduction in their representation in Parliament.

Well that of course is the reason the MPs are giving for the challenge. I’d be willing to bet that if this was four Tory seats being cut to three, they wouldn’t be arguing for better representation of residents.

There is of course the small issue of a possible General Election next year. The new boundaries will reduce the bias Labour currently enjoys from the electoral system. Therefore there is a real incentive for Labour to delay the boundary changes until the General Election has taken place.

Had the judicial review of been given the go ahead, it would of delayed the implementation of the new boundaries, giving more weight to Gordon Brown to call a snap election. As it is the new boundaries look set to be introduced on time.

"Anyone got a spare £2.4m?"

That is what the Lib Dems will no doubt soon be saying!

As reported by The Times the business that donated £2.4m to the Lib Dems has been found by a High Court Judge to be fraudulent. Following this ruling the Electoral Commission has said it will study the decision in detail.

So what does this mean for the Lib Dems? Well the Electoral Commission will study the report and then look at whether the Lib Dems broke the rules when agreeing to receive the donation. The Lib Dems are claiming they received the donation in good faith and therefore have done nothing wrong.

Should the Commission find against the Lib Dems, they could be forced to pay the money back. Money which they clearly haven’t got, having spent it on the 2005 General Election campaign. Now this shouldn’t prove to much of an initial problem as I would expect the Lib Dems can raise the money if they need to.

However should there be a General Election next year, the party could find themselves with a small campaign budget having already asked for donations to repay the £2.4m. Especially as any investigation will take many months, meaning the gap between the two could be quite small.

The 1st night...

So last night saw the launch of 18 Doughty Street. I've only just managed to catch up with the show, so I'm glad they have a 'stream again' function.

I have to say I think it went well and I enjoyed it. Of course it had its teething problems but what doesn’t? The presenters did well and I’m sure they will settle into their roles the more practice they get. I liked the format, the guests were good and at last the possibility for in depth debates to take place is here.

On a technical note, I had no problems accessing the stream again and it played right the way through.

I’m looking forward to tonight’s debate on PMQs.

Parish Councillor

Tonight I was co-opted onto my Parish Council.

There were three of us who stood for the vacancy and it was a close vote. The first round was 2-2-1, with the second being 3-2 in my favour.

My being elected will have had a dramatic effect on the average age of the council. (No offence to my fellow councillors!)

2007 General Election? Update

I was at a meeting today which was also attended by a number of Lib Dem organisers. After talking with them it was clear they all believed there would be a General Election next October and the Lib Dems were preparing for such an event. Now based on my previous post this would tie in with Blair leaving around next May and Brown winning the leadership election. Both these scenarios I can believe becoming a reality.

One further piece of evidence that I was told today, is that the BBC is preparing its exit poll. This is a lengthy and costly process, so the BBC wouldn’t start unless they believed there was some chance.

Still means a year to go though, anything can happen during that time in politics.

North Korea joins the club

By club I of course mean the nuclear club. North Korea announced today the successful test of a nuclear weapon. It is yet to be confirmed but if true they would of joined the US, Russia, Britain, France, India, Pakistan and China (Israel is also believed to have nuclear weapons).

The test has met worldwide condemnation with only Iran voicing support for North Korea.

Assuming the test is genuine, the question is now, what to do about it? There are of course many options, which in my view, should be discussed and acted out through the UN. I of course am against the use of any military action (I think if it is considered, that proves whoever proposes it doesn’t believe NK will ever launch a missile, totally undermining the “deterrent” argument.) I’m also not keen on sanctions as I believe they only hurt the people living in the country. In NK they can hardly vote out there Government like we can here!

Therefore I’m much more in favour of the carrot approach and working with NK, demonstrating there is no need for a nuclear weapon. The best way to do this – to give up our own nuclear weapons. If the desire to be part of this “club” was taken away, there would be no desire to gain nuclear weapons. Although, even though I don’t believe we need nuclear weapons I also except the US, Russia, etc. will never give up theirs. So for now my argument is flawed!

18 Doughty Street

18 Doughty Street will be the UK’s first political internet TV channel. This means it will not be subject to the restrictions terrestrial TV and radio have to abide by. The aim of the channel is to provide “a mix of opinionated and controversial programming,” essentially a TV reproduction of the world of blogging.

I’m looking forward to the launch of the channel on the 10^th October. It has the potential to provide the level of debate that is missing in the world of politics at the moment, over issues that really matter, all in a world that isn’t restricted on its content.

Tim Montgomerie one of the presenters for the channel describes it as…

“an anti-establishment, insurgent channel standing up for the little guy against big media, big business, big politics and big and undemocratic international institutions.

“From our little house in London's Doughty Street we want to challenge the biases of big media, the tendency of some big businesses to act against the public interest, the consensual nature of too much contemporary politics and the unaccountability of institutions like the EU and UN.”

I just hope this turns out to be the case. My main concern over the channel is the people behind it. Iain Dale and Tim Montgomerie are both from the right side of politics and the Conservative Party. So will this just be a tool to promote the Conservatives and right sided views? I certainly hope not. If the controllers of the channel encourage debate from all sides of the political spectrum rather than trying to direct it and their guests don’t all think along the same lines as Ian and Tim, then this channel will be required viewing.

Here is the trailer for 18 Doughty Street courtesy of YouTube…

In agreement with Portillo

Micheal Portillo’s column in today’s Sunday Times has much that I actually agree with!!

There are three paragraphs in particular though that are worth picking up on.

“Gordon Brown said he relishes taking on Cameron, which gave his opponent more status than he might have intended. But Labour has the difficulty that the Tories have always had with Blair. What is the “narrative”? Is it that Cameron has not really changed? That gets harder to argue as time goes by. Is it that he has changed but will change back? Or perhaps that while he may have changed, his party has not? Tories tried those lines against Blair but their attacks were ineffective.

“After the party conference season we return now to the unfinished business of Blair’s departure. Brown must measure whether he is losing support among the party, media and public. Some Blairites believe, much more firmly than any Tory does, that Brown is unelectable against Cameron. They are cheerfully spreading despondency. They may succeed in undermining Brown but it could backfire. If the chancellor’s support begins to haemorrhage he will have to tip the prime minister out of office before next summer.

“While those struggles continue, Cameron can bide his time. The Labour party supplies the country with both its government and its opposition.”

This may seem as stating the obvious but it is exactly to the point and in my view absolutely spot on with what we will see happening until Blair goes.

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Surely an elitist solution...

Have picked this Times article up from ConservativeHome.

The Tories are suggesting charging for the use of express lanes to help ease traffic congestion by ensuring these lanes remain congestion free. They already have these lanes in America so the idea is not new and as far as I know the lanes are successful in achieving their purpose.

What interests me about this idea is the claim the lanes are not elitist. Any charge that you can chose to pay if you want to or avoid if you don’t surely means the rich will pay the charge as they can afford it and the poor will not. Essentially giving us a two tier system on our roads.

Now I fully support the reduction of congestion on our roads, I just don’t see how this is going to do it. There is no incentive to stop using your car with this proposal, just a way of making some extra money and providing the rich with a quick way to work.

I would much rather see the money being spent on express lanes spent on public transport and incentives to stop people using their car.

The Tories or a potted plant?

Now there's a question!!

As reported by the Bristol Evening Post, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Conservative candidate to fight the new North East Somerset constituency at the next General Election has classified everyone who did not attend Oxford or Cambridge University as a "potted plant" and stated there is no need for parliamentary candidates to reflect the make up of society.

Jacob’s statement completely contradicts the new image Cameron has attempted to give the Conservatives and shows his total disregard for state education, women and ethnic minorities.

Jacobs’s comments were in response to the A-list of Conservative candidates of which Jacob was not one. His outburst, in my view, demonstrates exactly why the A-list is needed, to avoid narrow minded people like Jacob from ever becoming an MP.

Not that I think it matters. North East Somerset’s decision to ignore the A list and select Jacob has probably handed Dan Norris, the current Labour MP in the Wansdyke constituency which North East Somerset will replace, victory at the next election.

I’m no fan of Dan Norris either, so if there are people like me living in the North East Somerset constituency and the Lib Dem’s put up a good candidate, they should gain a lot of votes. If not, then a potted plant will do just fine.

Update (Sun 8th): Have just seen Rees-Mogg make his comment on the Politics Show. He says that "it should not be made differcult for intellectual people to enter politics." Judging by the fact his "pottted plant" comment was not very "intellectual" he clearly thinks it should be differcult for him to enter politics. Something I feel he has made sure is the case.

Conservative conference

The Conservative Party conference was all really about one thing. The rebranding of the Conservative Party under Cameron. I seem to be one of few outside of the Conservative’s who think the lack of policies isn’t a problem, at least at the moment. I would much rather time is taken over policies rather than just rushing out something that will look good as a headline.

This was essentially what Cameron tried to put across in his speech(s). I have to say though I was somewhat disappointed with his performance’s on the platform. It may be because I was so impressed with his speech last year that I was expecting similar this year. However this year I felt it lacked that drive that made you listen to what he was saying, unless of course that was the plan?

I still think Cameron has a long way to go before his party fully believe in what he is doing. You could see it during his speech, as the crowd didn’t look overly enthusiastic. Perhaps they were spending more time trying to work out what dessert island the back ground setting was from? The real question will be, how long the party is willing to follow what Cameron is doing? I personally think he’s doing a good job and politics will be far more interesting if the party allows him to do it his way. I’m not so sure that will happen though. I'm not saying they will replace him as leader, but force him to deviate from his plans and declare policies sooner.

The real star of the conference however was not Cameron but good old Boris Johnson. First came his dig at Jamie Oliver, which he denies claiming he was misquoted. Then came his backing of mums who were selling pies through school gates. I have to say Boris wouldn’t be Boris without these sort of statements. I don’t think he’s caused any harm saying (or allegedly saying) what he has. I know for sure that if I lived in Boris’ constituency, I would vote for him every time.

Overall I think the Conservatives have had a good conference. Ok so elements of the party are pushing for a tax cutting agenda and there’s criticisms over the lack of policy but I think Cameron is doing the right thing. He has the ability now to play the long game and gradually put out policies when he needs to, keeping him ahead in the polls. It’s all about the votes and gaining that middle ground from Labour and I think Cameron knows his game.

Conference score 7/10

Update (Sun 8th): The ICM poll in today's Suday Telegraph shows the Conservatives have increased their lead over Labour to 6%. This is clearly down the the party conference and shows the effect they should have on the poll ratings. So it was only the Lib Dem conference that made no difference to their poll rating.

Letwin gaffe?

I’m currently watching Oliver Letwin being interviewed on The Politics Show. Jon Sopel is asking him about his interview by Isabel Oakeshott who claims Letwin told her there would be “no limits” to private sector involvement in the NHS.

Having read the transcript released by Conservative HQ on Ian Dale’s blog there clearly if no sign of “no limits” being mentioned. However Jon Sopel claims having listened to the recording Letwin can clearly be heard saying “no limits, no.”

When this was put to Letwin he looked incredibly uncomfortable and dodged the question. I sense a cover up!

What's the point of Norman Tebbit?

As far as I can make out he is only there to prove the Tories can’t get along and will always argue and bicker amongst themselves. In an interview with the Mail on Sunday he is quoted attacking Cameron on almost every front.

It’s these kind of remarks that play exactly into Labour’s hands, providing them with the ammunition to claim “Cameron can’t take his party with him.”

I wonder if Norman Tebbit will ever realise he’s only helping Labour? I somehow doubt it.