This was a Department of Culture press release on Friday...
Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has announced the appointment of the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) board.The board is responsible for overseeing the running of lottery distributor BIG, which replaces two former lottery distributors. The fund awards £600million of lottery money a year to good causes throughout the UK.The BIG board comes into effect today (1 December) and has operated in an interim capacity since June 2004 BIG's board is made up of seven general members and four national chairs, led by an overall chair. The national chairs have the additional responsibility of leading committees supervising the distribution of funds within their countries.
Now let' see if you can spot the common theme here...
Sir Clive Booth (Chair) He is a member of the Labour Party and has canvassedfor the party in his local constituency in the last three General Elections.
Sanjay Dighe Mr Dighe is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is a member of the Labour Party.
Roland Doven MBE Roland has undertaken some canvassing for the Labour Party during local elections.
John Gartside He is no longer a local authority member or an active member of the Labour Party. (Mr Gartside was Labour leader of Warrington Council)
Albert Tucker Mr Tucker is a member of the Labour Party, but has notundertaken any political activity during the last five years.
So of the twelve Board members five are committed Labour Party members, activists or have a record of activity in the Labour Party. The other seven members have no recorded political activity within the last five years. How many Conservatives or Liberal Democrats are members of the Big Lottery Fund Board? That's an easy one. None. Zero. Nada. Keine. As if we should be surprised...
The full information is HERE.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Do MPs Deserve £100,000 a Year?
The papers are full of stories of Labour and Conservative MPs writing to the Senior Salaries Review Body urging that they are given a 65% pay rise, upping their salaries from £60k to £100k. Let's ignore the hysteria and ill informed knee jerk reactions and look at the facts.
There is no doubt that MPs pay has fallen behind that of comparable professions. MPs work extremely long hours, even when the newspapers would have you believe they are on holiday for six months of the year.
If you want to attract the best people into politics you need to pay the going rate - whatever that is. If the salary level is too low, MPs will be more prone to topping it up through outside interests.
Having said all that, those MPs who are demanding £100,000 have very faulty political antenna. They ought to realise that the public will just not wear such a rise. They already think that politicians live a featherbedded life and the vastly inflated allowances they receive go straight into their pockets. That is so obviously false, but in perception terms it doesn't matter.
The public ask, if it's such an appallingly low salary, why do so many people want to do it? Those who actually give it some thought, though, will also eventually ask, if the salary level is low, should we be surprised if, in the long term, politics again becomes the preserve of the rich? I can see a point where only the well off will be able to afford to do the job. This is already the case as many Tory A Listers stare financial hardship in the face as they prepare to fight a campaign lasting three or even four years.
I realise I have just written a piece which could have been headlined 'On the one hand...or on the other'.
My honest view is that MPs do indeed deserve a salary of somewhere between £75k and £100k, but it is politically impossible for it to happen.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Curate's Egg ConservativeHome Poll - Interesting in Parts
I'm not sure about the headline on ConservativeHome's latest opinion poll of Conservative Party Members' views. It reads...
ONE THIRD OF TORY MEMBERS ARE DISSATISFIED WITH DAVID CAMERON'S LEADERSHIP
Of course, this means that two thirds ARE happy, but that's not such a good headline I suppose. The other reason it isn't really very newsworthy is the fact that the result of the leadership election a year ago was David Cameron 67%, David Davis 33%. So you could say that very little has changed.
However the other results of the poll are much more interesting. "A full 43% of members think that the party has gone too far in modernising the party and distancing itself from traditional policies. 47% think the pace and extent of change has been about right. 11% want David Cameron to go further." And when asked which other Party was closest to their views, 43% said UKIP."
The Observer reports on the poll HERE and says: "Twelve per cent agreed that the Tories had 'much to learn' from Toynbee. One-quarter had no opinion. But 63 per cent agreed with the statement that Toynbee 'holds left-wing views that have no place in the Conservative Party'. Montgomerie, a former adviser to Iain Duncan Smith, said: 'The idea that relative poverty is an important issue was something that, in my view, was worth raising. But there is clearly a growing sense among some activists that the party's core identity is being sacrificed for eye-catching efforts to appeal to new supporters.'"
ONE THIRD OF TORY MEMBERS ARE DISSATISFIED WITH DAVID CAMERON'S LEADERSHIP
Of course, this means that two thirds ARE happy, but that's not such a good headline I suppose. The other reason it isn't really very newsworthy is the fact that the result of the leadership election a year ago was David Cameron 67%, David Davis 33%. So you could say that very little has changed.
However the other results of the poll are much more interesting. "A full 43% of members think that the party has gone too far in modernising the party and distancing itself from traditional policies. 47% think the pace and extent of change has been about right. 11% want David Cameron to go further." And when asked which other Party was closest to their views, 43% said UKIP."
The Observer reports on the poll HERE and says: "Twelve per cent agreed that the Tories had 'much to learn' from Toynbee. One-quarter had no opinion. But 63 per cent agreed with the statement that Toynbee 'holds left-wing views that have no place in the Conservative Party'. Montgomerie, a former adviser to Iain Duncan Smith, said: 'The idea that relative poverty is an important issue was something that, in my view, was worth raising. But there is clearly a growing sense among some activists that the party's core identity is being sacrificed for eye-catching efforts to appeal to new supporters.'"
Boris Muses Over Apology
Boris: "I don't know if there's any part of Britain that I have yet to offer a personal apology to, apart from perhaps Birmingham."Student: "There's still time..."
Boris, speaking to Birmingham Conservative Future this week. Class.
Is Michael Brown Talking to the Press from Clink?
Before any LibDem suggests I am raking all the Michael Brown stuff up again, they seem to be doing it quite well themselves. What can THIS all mean?
David Davis Launches Video Podcast on Crime
So after Webcameron we're now treated to WebDD. David Davis has made a ten minute video podcast for a new venture called eParliament.tv, which you can view HERE. It's all about designing out crime on council estates. It's not full of flowery soundbites, it's a hard look at a real problem and looks at how to solve it. The video starts with an outtake, which I guess is an innovative approach! The idea is to get a debate going on a subject which politicians have neglected for far too long. eParliament.tv is a really good idea and I know that its creator, James Fletcher, has got some fantastic videos lined up with other politicians. Another step forward for political interaction via the Internet. David Davis has written an article on Designing out Crime HERE.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Why Tim Montgomerie's Going Red
Well, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Tim Montgomerie should be blushing deep crimson. Having created ConservativeHome, he has now seen very pale imitations created at LabourHome, LibDem Voice and the increasingly obsessed and deluded UKIPHome, but now there's a new kid on the block at LibertarianHome. Created by the Globalisation Institute's Alex Singleton it's a very welcome addition to the blogosphere, and a worthy homage to Mr Montgomerie.
Can Cruddas Come Through?
Jon Cruddas seems to be the only candidate for the Labour Deputy leadership who is actually interested in debating issues. On tomorrow's GMTV Sunday Programme he will voice doubts about replacing Trident and say that if he knew then what he knows now he wouldn't have voted for the Iraq war (didn't Michael Howard do the same thing?). The others won't debate with him until after the May local elections. Being Cabinet colleagues they've UPDATE Wrinkled Weasel informs us that Red Pepper described Jon Cruddas in 2001 as an "Ambitious ultra Blair loyalist -- though that loyalty will seamlessly transfer as soon as it becomes apparent that Blair is on the slide." How prescient.
David Starkey On the Record
I came across this Q&A with David Starkey from the Guardian in 2001. The full text is HERE. Love the Steve Norris quote...Which politician do most respect?
Steve Norris - he once came to a Torch event with a girlfriend with an enormous cleavage. I took the opportunity to ask him why he supported us - he indicated this oceanic cleavage and said "I think everyone's got the right to as good a fuck as I get."
Which politician makes your blood boil?
Ann Widdecombe - I detest bossy Toryism, she makes me want to vomit.
Who would be your fantasy prime minister and what would be your fantasy policy?
Fantasy - myself. I would really roll back the frontiers of the state.
You're Gordon Brown - what would you spend the £17bn budget surplus on?
Taking all those below average income out of the income tax system, as they were until the 1945 Labour Government.
Where were you when Mrs Thatcher resigned?
In a first class compartment travelling back from Manchester, where I was giving a lecture.
Ten Things You Never Knew About This Blog... And Didn't Especially Care...
I'm being forced to watch An Audience with Take That (not that I am complaining - Patience is a superb song), so I have been idly looking at my blog stats. Well, what better way to spend a Saturday night?
I was amazed to discover that today this blog got it's one millionth unique visit this year from a UK reader. And a special prize is winging its way to Mrs Ponsonby-Smythe from 36 Acacia Avenue, Giggleswick. A few factoids for you...
* 86% of this blogs readers are from the UK
* 5% are from the US
* I have had a single reader from Anguilla, Tajikistan and 15 other countries
* 2.2% of people who visit have typed "john prescott" into Google
* 51,000 people have come here via Guido and 34,000 via ConservativeHome
* 24,836 blogs or websites have linked to me this year
* According to Technorati, this is the 2,171st most linked to blog out of 60 million in the world
* 6 July was best day with 11,202 unique visitors
* Sometime next week the blog will experience its two millionth page download
* Thursday is the day with most hits and 1pm-2pm the most popular
There, you can go to bed happy now, can;t you? Or just bored out of your mind...
I was amazed to discover that today this blog got it's one millionth unique visit this year from a UK reader. And a special prize is winging its way to Mrs Ponsonby-Smythe from 36 Acacia Avenue, Giggleswick. A few factoids for you...
* 86% of this blogs readers are from the UK
* 5% are from the US
* I have had a single reader from Anguilla, Tajikistan and 15 other countries
* 2.2% of people who visit have typed "john prescott" into Google
* 51,000 people have come here via Guido and 34,000 via ConservativeHome
* 24,836 blogs or websites have linked to me this year
* According to Technorati, this is the 2,171st most linked to blog out of 60 million in the world
* 6 July was best day with 11,202 unique visitors
* Sometime next week the blog will experience its two millionth page download
* Thursday is the day with most hits and 1pm-2pm the most popular
There, you can go to bed happy now, can;t you? Or just bored out of your mind...
New Polls Show Good News for Cameron - Mostly
A new ICM poll for tomorrow's News of the World shows the Conservatives nine points ahead of Labour on 39% with the LibDems on 20%. This would give a Tory majority of 18 according to Electoral Calculus.
However, it's not all good news. Twenty nine per cent believe Gordon Brown would be a better PM compared to 25% for David Cameron. However, the poll's respondents thought Mr Cameron was more in touch with their concerns by a margin of 44% to 34%. Cameron is also considered the more trustworthy by 38% to 33% and a more amenable dinner companion by 38% to 32%. In contrast, the poll found that voters believed Mr Brown was the more likely to try to get out of buying a round of drinks by 56% to 21%.
The Sunday Telegraph has a focus group poll conducted by Frank Luntz which shows David Cameron's efforts to reclaim the political centre ground are paying off. Luntz said that floating voters overwhelmingly warmed to his message. However he also warned that their support could prove to be fragile and the Tory leader could be "one poorly conceived stunt away from disaster". The Press Association reports...
"When voters compare you to Tony Blair, it's not a compliment," Mr Luntz said in an open letter to Mr Cameron. "You don't need to be cute to be effective. You must be a leader, not a brand. The new voters you are bringing back to the Conservatives see you as a political innovator and change agent, but I can already hear the scepticism creeping in. "Be careful. The electorate has grown cynical about the current government because it puts spin over substance." Mr Luntz found Mr Cameron was most popular among left-leaning voters and among those people who did not vote at the last election, while the strongest criticism came from Conservatives. Members of the focus group said that he reminded them variously of a cat, a Rolls Royce, white wine and Tunbridge Wells. If an actor played him, they said it would be Hugh Grant, Ralph Fiennes or Brad Pitt."
However, it's not all good news. Twenty nine per cent believe Gordon Brown would be a better PM compared to 25% for David Cameron. However, the poll's respondents thought Mr Cameron was more in touch with their concerns by a margin of 44% to 34%. Cameron is also considered the more trustworthy by 38% to 33% and a more amenable dinner companion by 38% to 32%. In contrast, the poll found that voters believed Mr Brown was the more likely to try to get out of buying a round of drinks by 56% to 21%.
The Sunday Telegraph has a focus group poll conducted by Frank Luntz which shows David Cameron's efforts to reclaim the political centre ground are paying off. Luntz said that floating voters overwhelmingly warmed to his message. However he also warned that their support could prove to be fragile and the Tory leader could be "one poorly conceived stunt away from disaster". The Press Association reports...
"When voters compare you to Tony Blair, it's not a compliment," Mr Luntz said in an open letter to Mr Cameron. "You don't need to be cute to be effective. You must be a leader, not a brand. The new voters you are bringing back to the Conservatives see you as a political innovator and change agent, but I can already hear the scepticism creeping in. "Be careful. The electorate has grown cynical about the current government because it puts spin over substance." Mr Luntz found Mr Cameron was most popular among left-leaning voters and among those people who did not vote at the last election, while the strongest criticism came from Conservatives. Members of the focus group said that he reminded them variously of a cat, a Rolls Royce, white wine and Tunbridge Wells. If an actor played him, they said it would be Hugh Grant, Ralph Fiennes or Brad Pitt."
The Primrose Set Need to Get a Life
There's an interesting interview with Health Minister Andy Burnham in The Spectator this week. He won their Minister to Watch award recently. In the interview he waxes lyrical about a new generation of Ministers which the media have dubbed the Primrose Hill set. They appear to consist of Andy Burnham himself, David & Ed Miliband, James Purnell and Liam Byrne. Now, what do all these have in common? Well, so far as I know not a single one of them has got any experience outside politics. They're all political apparatchiks turned career politicians. They are all likely to be key players in a Brown administration. Obviously there are career politicians in all parties, but the preponderance of former Ministerial advisers and Labour Party or Trade Union officials now inhabiting the Labour benches and Ministerial offices is way in advance of anything we have seen before. Wouldn't it be nice to think we had a majority of Ministers who had actually achieved something in life, or at least lived a life outside politics?
Widders Stars on Have I Got News For You
Did you see HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU last night, with Ann Widdecombe presenting? Ok, Ok, she's a friend of mine, but I thought she was absolutely brilliant at it. She displayed a sense of humour which maybe people hadn't seen before and was quite willing to send herself up. Indeed, Danny Baker, one of the guests, was so impressed, that at the end of the programme he got up and bowed in a "we are not worthy" style. I think she's guaranteed herself a repeat booking. If you didn't see it, watch the repeat, which goes out on Monday night at 10pm on BBC2.
Friday, December 01, 2006
A New Candidate for North Norfolk
It's a bit of an odd feeling to hear that your successor has been chosen, but in North Norfolk it's now a case of Iain who?! Tonight Trevor Ivory was chosen as the man to fight Norman Lamb at the next election. He's a Norwich solicitor and chairman of Norwich South Conservatives. He also has a very good BLOG. I really do wish him the very best of luck. He's a nice guy and I am sure will be very popular.
November Figures for Iain Dale's Diary
November traffic was down 10% on October at 137,302 and page downloads were 229,382. That's two months on a downward trend. Working full time has inevitably meant that the frequency of my posts has declined a little. When I'm at Doughty Street my mind seems to be focussed on that and I very rarely blog from there. Oh well, better try and reverse the trend in December!
Here are my top 35 link sites (ie incoming hits) for November. All these sites referred at least 100 people here. The arrows denote whether a site has moved up or down or stayed static since October.
1. Guido Fawkes 15.89% ↔ 2. ConservativeHome 12.82% ↔ 3. PoliticalBetting 7.45% ↔ 4. Daniel Finkelstein ↑ 5. Biased BBC 1.58% ↔ 6. Paul Linford ↑ 7. Prague Tory ↑ 8. An Englishman's Castle ↑ 9. W4MP ↑ 10. Blairwatch ↑ 11. Witanagemot ↑ 12. Croydonian ↓
13. Web Cameron ↓ 14. Tim Worstall NEW 15. Adam Smith Institute ↑ 16. EU Referendum ↑
17. Ginger & Dynamite NEW 18. Archbishop Cranmer ↓ 19. Cally’s Kitchen ↑ 20. Daily Pundit ↓
21. Mars Hill ↑ 22. Mikey's Tent of Reality ↔ 23. Looking for a Voice ↓ 24. Devil's Kitchen ↑
25. 18DoughtyStreet.com ↑ 26. Dizzy Thinks ↑ 27. Clive Davis ↑ 28. Ellee Seymour ↑ 29. Kerron Cross NEW 30. Drinking from Home NEW 31. The Spine NEW 32. Rightlinks NEW 33.Hoby Cartoons ↓ 34. Liberal England ↓ 35. A Conservative's Blog NEW
Dropping out of my top linkers (ie people who referred more than 100 visitors) are Little Green Footballs, National Review Corner , Recess Monkey, Injured Cyclist, Bob Piper, Mr Eugenides, Campaign for an English Parliament, Public Interest, Antonia Bance , Bryan Appleyard
Here are my top 35 link sites (ie incoming hits) for November. All these sites referred at least 100 people here. The arrows denote whether a site has moved up or down or stayed static since October.
1. Guido Fawkes 15.89% ↔ 2. ConservativeHome 12.82% ↔ 3. PoliticalBetting 7.45% ↔ 4. Daniel Finkelstein ↑ 5. Biased BBC 1.58% ↔ 6. Paul Linford ↑ 7. Prague Tory ↑ 8. An Englishman's Castle ↑ 9. W4MP ↑ 10. Blairwatch ↑ 11. Witanagemot ↑ 12. Croydonian ↓
13. Web Cameron ↓ 14. Tim Worstall NEW 15. Adam Smith Institute ↑ 16. EU Referendum ↑
17. Ginger & Dynamite NEW 18. Archbishop Cranmer ↓ 19. Cally’s Kitchen ↑ 20. Daily Pundit ↓
21. Mars Hill ↑ 22. Mikey's Tent of Reality ↔ 23. Looking for a Voice ↓ 24. Devil's Kitchen ↑
25. 18DoughtyStreet.com ↑ 26. Dizzy Thinks ↑ 27. Clive Davis ↑ 28. Ellee Seymour ↑ 29. Kerron Cross NEW 30. Drinking from Home NEW 31. The Spine NEW 32. Rightlinks NEW 33.Hoby Cartoons ↓ 34. Liberal England ↓ 35. A Conservative's Blog NEW
Dropping out of my top linkers (ie people who referred more than 100 visitors) are Little Green Footballs, National Review Corner , Recess Monkey, Injured Cyclist, Bob Piper, Mr Eugenides, Campaign for an English Parliament, Public Interest, Antonia Bance , Bryan Appleyard
A Day in the Life of an Ordinary Baghdad Resident
Shout Out Liverpool alerts me to the Iraqi Roulette blog, which details every day life in downtown Baghdad. Horrifying reading. Is it really this bad?
I'll Leave Bonkers to the Brute
Next week sees the first anniversary of David Cameron's leadership. No doubt all the Sunday hacks are already hard at wirk writing their features. Sky invited me to take part in a discussion on Sunday with Peter Hitchens on the subject. I said no.
I quite like Peter (contrary to what he thinks) but on the subject of David Cameron and the Tory Party he's a one trick pony. All he ever does is call the Tory Party 'useless'. As a highly paid columnist he really ought to be able to find another word occasionally.
No, I'm sorry, but if you had the choice of a rare Sunday morning lie-in or driving 80 miles to be abused by Peter Hitchens, what would you have done? ISky really need an uber-Cameroon like Bruce Anderson to eulogise about the wonders of David Cameron so I'm happy to leave the slot open for The Brute ... and don't picture that too vividly or you might be sick.
Spreading the Blogging Message
I have spent much of the day at the International Young Democratic Union conference in London. This is a gathering of 250 young politicians from 40 countries around the globe. We had eight of them on 18 Doughty Street last night.
I was at the event to talk to them about how politicians can make best use of new media. I did a similar speech last weekend to thirty young Conservative women and I am delighted that 3 of them have already got in touch to say my talk inspired them to start blogging themselves. I'd be delighted if a similar proportion of today's audience took up the blogging challenge too. Every political activist should have a voice and play their part in spreading the message whether it's through blogging or another medium.
Candidates Selected in Chatham and Basildon
Two friends of mine were selected as PPCs tonight - Tracey Crouch in Chatham and Aylesford and Stephen Metcalfe in Basildon and East Thurrock. Tracey was my predecessor as Chief of Staff to David Davis and will be a formdable opponent for Jonathan Shaw. I'm delighted for her.
Maggie's Last Party
This is a track from the Margaret Thatcher Great Speeches CD (available HERE) mixed by Pete Harman in 1991. Believe it or not, it reached number 10 in the 12" charts at the time!
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Quotes of the Day
"It is unusual to get something useful" - The Duke of Edinburgh on being presented with a silver tankard at the Caledonian Club in London's Belgravia.
"Personally, I would introduce a shoot-to-kill policy" - Best-selling author Bill Bryson on his war against litter louts.
"The press provide the only curb on Government excesses. Democracy does not work with an opposition that rolls over or nowadays seems to agree with everything" - Actress Sheila Hancock, who also praises broadcast inquisitors with the "killer punch".
"If you're alive, you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot. For life is the very opposite of death and you must at the very least think noisily and colourfully, or you're not alive" - Mel Brooks.
"My sense is that the real David Cameron has not stood up, that the real David Cameron is a hardline Thatcherite" - Health Minister Andy Burnham.
"Please do not bathe outside the bathtub" - Notice spotted in a hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
"Don't take life too seriously because nobody gets out of it alive" - Entertainer Joe Pasquale.
"Nigella Lawson dresses in gorgeous scarlet for her Christmas Kitchen on BBC2, surely knowing that not one viewer in a million will bother to cook anything she enthuses about" - Commentator Janet Street-Porter.
"It is unusual to meet a working-class Liverpudlian who dresses for dinner, other than in the sense of putting on a shirt" - Academic Professor Terry Eagleton, of the University of Manchester.
"Britain is going through a bit of a panic about the role of God in society" - Tory MP Boris Johnson.
"Personally, I would introduce a shoot-to-kill policy" - Best-selling author Bill Bryson on his war against litter louts.
"The press provide the only curb on Government excesses. Democracy does not work with an opposition that rolls over or nowadays seems to agree with everything" - Actress Sheila Hancock, who also praises broadcast inquisitors with the "killer punch".
"If you're alive, you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot. For life is the very opposite of death and you must at the very least think noisily and colourfully, or you're not alive" - Mel Brooks.
"My sense is that the real David Cameron has not stood up, that the real David Cameron is a hardline Thatcherite" - Health Minister Andy Burnham.
"Please do not bathe outside the bathtub" - Notice spotted in a hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
"Don't take life too seriously because nobody gets out of it alive" - Entertainer Joe Pasquale.
"Nigella Lawson dresses in gorgeous scarlet for her Christmas Kitchen on BBC2, surely knowing that not one viewer in a million will bother to cook anything she enthuses about" - Commentator Janet Street-Porter.
"It is unusual to meet a working-class Liverpudlian who dresses for dinner, other than in the sense of putting on a shirt" - Academic Professor Terry Eagleton, of the University of Manchester.
"Britain is going through a bit of a panic about the role of God in society" - Tory MP Boris Johnson.
Public Service Broadcasting At Its Best
I've just been listening to Jeremy Vine on Radio 2 talking about cystic fibrosis. He took a call from a lady called Jane whose ten year old daughter has just been diagnosed with the disease. The poor woman was in tears and totally distraught. Vine then brought a lady called Lesley into the conversation. Lesley has CF and is 36 and was at least able to offer Jane some words of comfort. Jeremy Vine handled a very difficult broadcasting situation brilliantly.
Earlier in the piece Nick Robinson recalled Gordon Brown holding a CF fundraiser at No 11 two years ago. A video was shown demonstrating the effects of the disease and the Chancellor was in tears. Robinson asked his film crew to stop their cameras.
This half hour piece on the Jeremy Vine show was a brilliant example of public service broadcasting at its very best. Credit where credit's due.
Channel 4 News Top of the Blogs Podcast: Regulating Blogs?
My Channel 4 Morning Reports Podcast can be heard HERE, talking about blogging regulation and Matthew Taylor's remarks. Blogs mentioned include Guido, Dizzy, Stephen Tall, Devil's Kitchen and Ellee Seymour.
Best Wishes to the Browns
I was doing my show on 18DoughtyStreet last night when I saw on my laptop that news had emerged that Gordon & Sarah Brown's new baby had been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. I wasn't sure whether to ask my guests about it and have a short discussion on it, but I decided against on the basis that if I didn't know what to say (and I didn't) then I suspected all we would come out with was the usual expressions of sympathy.
The Browns must be shattered, particularly after the death of their daughter. Things like this bring politics into perspective and make some of the silly political games we all indulge in look absolutely pathetic. I am sure every single reader of this blog would want to put political differences aside and express their good wishes to the Brown family.
The Browns must be shattered, particularly after the death of their daughter. Things like this bring politics into perspective and make some of the silly political games we all indulge in look absolutely pathetic. I am sure every single reader of this blog would want to put political differences aside and express their good wishes to the Brown family.
Kirkhope Re-elected Leader of Tory MEPs
According to Conservatives.com Timothy Kirkhope has been re-elected as leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament. See HERE. Sir Robert Atkins was elected his deputy. Anyone got the voting figures? And did they face opposition?
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Blair Says the English Want Their Own Parliament
This is rather interesting from today's Yorkshire Post.
Mr Blair also turned to recent grassroots pressure on the subject of an English Parliament by saying he would be "surprised" if people really did want to break up the Union of England and Scotland: "I think just to break the Union would be completely regressive step, totally wrong and totally contrary to where the modern world is living, which is countries moving closer together," he said. Mr Blair acknowledged that if people in England were asked if they wanted a Parliament like Scotland's they would overwhelmingly agree. But he added: "I think to then take it a step further and say, 'Actually we want to bust up the UK'... no, I don't think people want to bust up the UK."
So the PM agrees that the people of England want a Parliament. In 1997 he said it was what the people of Scotland wanted and so he granted them a referendum. Why won't he grant the same courtesy to the English?
Mr Blair also turned to recent grassroots pressure on the subject of an English Parliament by saying he would be "surprised" if people really did want to break up the Union of England and Scotland: "I think just to break the Union would be completely regressive step, totally wrong and totally contrary to where the modern world is living, which is countries moving closer together," he said. Mr Blair acknowledged that if people in England were asked if they wanted a Parliament like Scotland's they would overwhelmingly agree. But he added: "I think to then take it a step further and say, 'Actually we want to bust up the UK'... no, I don't think people want to bust up the UK."
So the PM agrees that the people of England want a Parliament. In 1997 he said it was what the people of Scotland wanted and so he granted them a referendum. Why won't he grant the same courtesy to the English?
Crime Wave Hits Doughty Street
On Sunday night we had a break in at 18 Doughty Street. Last night I was broadcasting live and was told that my car had been broken into, as had those of YouGov's Stephan Shakespeare and MORI's Bob Worcester and two others cars. Makes you wonder what the MDs of ICM or NOP were doing, doesn't it?! Naturally we rang the Police, but unsurprisingly they didn't want to know. This is a summary of the exchange...
18DS: "So you're not going to come out then."
Police: "No sir, we don't come out for car break ins."
18DS: "Not even when there are 5 cars damaged?"
Police: "No, but you are very welcome to visit any police station and report the crime, sir"
18DS: "How kind."
And there you have it. A prime example of why many people have little confidence in the Metropolitan Police. If they're not willing to investigate 5 car break ins, just what are they willing to do? Needless to say we just haven't bothered reporting it now, because there's nothing they will do about it anyway. And there's a prime example of why the crime figures aren't worth the paper they are written on.
UPDATE: I am kicking myself for omitting to mention that Tim Montgomerie's bicycle was stolen yesterday from outside the office too. Maybe it was used as a getway vehicle...
18DS: "So you're not going to come out then."
Police: "No sir, we don't come out for car break ins."
18DS: "Not even when there are 5 cars damaged?"
Police: "No, but you are very welcome to visit any police station and report the crime, sir"
18DS: "How kind."
And there you have it. A prime example of why many people have little confidence in the Metropolitan Police. If they're not willing to investigate 5 car break ins, just what are they willing to do? Needless to say we just haven't bothered reporting it now, because there's nothing they will do about it anyway. And there's a prime example of why the crime figures aren't worth the paper they are written on.
UPDATE: I am kicking myself for omitting to mention that Tim Montgomerie's bicycle was stolen yesterday from outside the office too. Maybe it was used as a getway vehicle...
Alastair Campbell Doesn't Like Blogs Shock
Anyone would think New Labour didn't like blogs. Last week Downing Street Policy Wonk Matthew Taylor launched an attack on blogs, blaming them for the disconnect between politicians and voters. Yesterday Alastair Campbell was at it, supporting calls for a code of conduct for blogs. You can see the details HERE. It may comes as news to Lord Burnley that most bloggers do have their own codes of conduct. It's just that they don't include the phrase: "We promise to praise the Prime Minister at every opportunity". Dizzy puts it a little, er, more directly HERE.
Huge Shock: Downing Street Website Overtakes This Blog
Adrian McMenamin is just the sort of cocky New Labour apparatchik I can't stand. I've never met him, and I'm sure he's really a very nice guy, but he gives the impression of being an irritating little - well, I'm sure you can complete the sentence. He used to run a tawdry little website called HateMyTory until, realising that no one ever read it, transformed it into something called Transpero. No, I don't know what it means. And judging from the number of comments on his blog no one reads Tempero either.
His latest entry HERE is crowing over the fact that the 10 Downing Street website (he used to work there, you know) gets more hits that Guido, me or ConservativeHome. God, that's a shock, isn;t it? Well, it is actually because until Downing Street launched its petitions gimmick, my blog had a bigger reach than the Downing Street website - as did Guido and ConservativeHome.
Surely it ought to give McMenamin pause for thought that three blogs run by three individuals at no cost get more traffic than the Downing Street website which costs hundreds of thousands per year to run - well, they did until last week anyway.
His latest entry HERE is crowing over the fact that the 10 Downing Street website (he used to work there, you know) gets more hits that Guido, me or ConservativeHome. God, that's a shock, isn;t it? Well, it is actually because until Downing Street launched its petitions gimmick, my blog had a bigger reach than the Downing Street website - as did Guido and ConservativeHome.
Surely it ought to give McMenamin pause for thought that three blogs run by three individuals at no cost get more traffic than the Downing Street website which costs hundreds of thousands per year to run - well, they did until last week anyway.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Conservatives Sweep the Board at PSA Awards
There has been a very welcome trend this year of Conservatives winning all sorts of political awards. This hasn't happened for years and is hopefully a further sign of a revival in Conservative fortunes.
This lunchtime the Political Studies Association (the trade association for political academics, since you ask) is holding its annual awards and I can tell you that the right has swept the board. Tory MP Richard Bacon continues his world domination of awards ceremonies as he collects Parliamentarian of the Year, while David Cameron wins the Politician of the Year. Matthew D'Ancona deservedly collects Journalist of the Year. David Trimble shares the Lifetime Achievement Award with John Hume (the only leftish award winner).
I am delighted that ConservativeHome is the winner of Publication of the Year. Richly deserved. I do hope Mr Montgomerie has an emotional acceptance speech prepared. My Kleenex will be at the ready.
UPDATE: I originally posted this yesterday lunchtime as I was told it had a Monday noon embargo. However, it transpired that I was given the wrong info and the emargo was this lunchtime. I therefore took the post down in the interim.
Who Will Follow Michael Grade?
The news that Michael Grade is defecting to ITV is one of those things that is quite a shock but when you think about it you wonder why no one predicted it. It is all rather obvious really in retrospect. But all those learned people who write for The Guardian's media pages didn't see it coming. I suppose if he can't turn ITV round no one can, but my gut feeling is that ITV is a sinking ship and it's unsalvageable.
I've been trying to think who the frontrunners to succeed him as Chairman of the BBC might be. David Dimbleby has fancied the job in the past, but I am rather stuck for any more obvious names. Suggestions in Comments please!
I've been trying to think who the frontrunners to succeed him as Chairman of the BBC might be. David Dimbleby has fancied the job in the past, but I am rather stuck for any more obvious names. Suggestions in Comments please!
Monday, November 27, 2006
Charles Clarke to Stand Again
I understand from "Norfolk sources" that Charles Clarke will definitely be standing again at the next election. Norwich LibDems had apparently been putting it around that he would be standing down. They only need a 4% swing to unseat him.
UKIP Uses EU Email to Tout for Tory Councillors
UKIP appears to be using European Parliament email facilities to persuade Conservative councillors to defect to them. Oh the deep irony. Nigel Farage is emailing Tory Councillors via Jeffrey Titford MEP's European Parliament email with these words of wisdom...
Dear Councillor,
There does not seem to be very much difference between our three main parties these days. This is hardly surprising as 75% of our laws are now made by the EU with little or no input from Westminster. As you must realise local government is in a poor state too with a new unelected layer of Regional Assemblies and voter disenchantment. In UKIP we believe that it is essential for the UK to become self-governing again and for voters to want to participate. We are developing as a broadly based real party of opposition, the only one saying what most people think. With the local elections in May we intend to build up on local government representation and would welcome a conversation with anyone that might consider working with us or joining us. It is time to stand up and be counted.
We give you an absolute assurance that you can contact us on a completely confidential basis.
Yours sincerely,
N. Farage
Leader of UKIP
I'm told there hasn't exactly been a rush of replies... Well, not ones that I could print.
Dear Councillor,
There does not seem to be very much difference between our three main parties these days. This is hardly surprising as 75% of our laws are now made by the EU with little or no input from Westminster. As you must realise local government is in a poor state too with a new unelected layer of Regional Assemblies and voter disenchantment. In UKIP we believe that it is essential for the UK to become self-governing again and for voters to want to participate. We are developing as a broadly based real party of opposition, the only one saying what most people think. With the local elections in May we intend to build up on local government representation and would welcome a conversation with anyone that might consider working with us or joining us. It is time to stand up and be counted.
We give you an absolute assurance that you can contact us on a completely confidential basis.
Yours sincerely,
N. Farage
Leader of UKIP
I'm told there hasn't exactly been a rush of replies... Well, not ones that I could print.
BBC News Online Reviews 18DoughtyStreet
BBC Online has a review of 18DoughtyStreet HERE. Brian Wheeler, their political correspondent spent an evening flipping between 18DoughtyStreet and BBC1. I must admit I rather gulped when I heard that was what he was doing but overall I think we emerge quite well from it. Cue sigh of relief.
Open Primary Campaigning Gains Momentum
The Open Primary system for selecting Conservative candidates has not been universally popular, but it has changed the way potential candidates have to operate. In days gone by it was seen as a little 'off colour' for a candidate to canvass support during the selection process. Nowadays it seems to be de rigueur in Open Primaries.
Recently I saw a leaflet by Alan Mendoza who had applied for Harrow East, which was delivered to 15,000 houses in the constituency urging Conservatives and non Conservatives alike to attend the final Open Primary meeting. 'A' Lister Vicky Ford has gone one step further and launched a blog to support her candidacy for Basildon & East Thurrock. The final is on Thursday. You can see her blog HERE. It's a very good site but it's a risk for her. It should be seen as 'a good thing' and indicate how she will campaign as a candidate, but she will know that such overt campaigning could count against her with the more traditional elements in the local Party.
Recently I saw a leaflet by Alan Mendoza who had applied for Harrow East, which was delivered to 15,000 houses in the constituency urging Conservatives and non Conservatives alike to attend the final Open Primary meeting. 'A' Lister Vicky Ford has gone one step further and launched a blog to support her candidacy for Basildon & East Thurrock. The final is on Thursday. You can see her blog HERE. It's a very good site but it's a risk for her. It should be seen as 'a good thing' and indicate how she will campaign as a candidate, but she will know that such overt campaigning could count against her with the more traditional elements in the local Party.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
If Diana Had Died Today: What Would Have Been Different?
Today's papers report that Princes Harry and William are planning a pop concert to mark the tenth anniversary of their mother's death next year. Stephen Tall has an interesting post HERE on what the reaction would have been if she had died now, rather than ten years ago. He believes that the presence of blogs and internet forums might have given a voice to the 44% of the population who did not react with mass emotional hysteria (as he sees it).I guess I am one of the people Stephen refers to in his article. I remember reacting with complete disbelief when I heard of her death. I happened to be watching Sky News at the time and being stunned. I remember walking from Politico's on the Sunday afternoon to lay some flowers outside Buckingham Palace. People were wandering around in a complete daze. I remember watching her funeral in my flat on the Isle of Dogs almost howling. Even now when I think of her I find it difficult to comprehend what happened. So I guess in Stephen's eyes that makes me some kind of weirdo - an emotional retard. I've been called worse, I suppose.
I never met Diana so why on earth would I and millions of others react in this way? I think it was because she reached out to people in a way few people in public life ever have. She championed causes in a way which people saw as empathetic rather than condescending. Her very public personal problems merely emphasised her vulnerability and struck a chord with millions. Her work on AIDS and landmines were causes she clearly believed in. The world has been a worse place for her passing. One of the great WHAT IFS of her time is what would have happened to her had she lived. Would she have remarried? What effect would she have had on the royal family. Would Charles and Camilla still have got married? One thing is sure. We will never know.
Going back to Stephen Tall's post, would the public reaction today have been different? Again, we will never know because we don't know what her current reputation would have been like. I am not sure that much would have been different. Stephen is right that those who felt the public reaction was out of all proportion would have had more of a voice nowadays, but I doubt whether that would have had much of an effect on the mainstream media coverage.
End of the Road for Press Gazette
A few months ago I took out a subscription to the Press Gazette. It's basically the trade mags for newspaper and broadcast journalists. It was always good for a story for the blog and it was a magazine I always looked forward to reading. Sadly it went out of business on Friday after a long struggle against going into liquidation.
Rob McGibbon has an emotional post on his BLOG about the effect this will have on people like him - freelancers. Rob wrote a weekly interview with a major media personality each week. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that his interviews were the best thing about Press Gazette, as I wrote HERE in October. Read a few of them HERE and you'll see what I mean. If I were features editor on a Sunday newspaper I know whose phone I would be pestering tomorrow. And it ain't mine.
* Rob McGibbon will be appearing on my bloggers panel on 18 DoughtyStreet tomorrow at 9pm alongside Cicero's Songs Brian Micklethwait and Chicken Yoghurt.
Rob McGibbon has an emotional post on his BLOG about the effect this will have on people like him - freelancers. Rob wrote a weekly interview with a major media personality each week. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that his interviews were the best thing about Press Gazette, as I wrote HERE in October. Read a few of them HERE and you'll see what I mean. If I were features editor on a Sunday newspaper I know whose phone I would be pestering tomorrow. And it ain't mine.
* Rob McGibbon will be appearing on my bloggers panel on 18 DoughtyStreet tomorrow at 9pm alongside Cicero's Songs Brian Micklethwait and Chicken Yoghurt.
Election Double Dutch
There's a very good piece on the Dutch election stalemate HERE on ConservativeHome. What a shambles. It's a very good illustration of why we shouldn't have any truck with PR at general elections. In all likelihood the Dutch will still be horsetrading for another three months before a Cabinet can be formed.
Lord Drayson Needs to Get Out More
EU Referendum Blog highlights the issue of equipment shortages in Iraq and Afghanistan HERE. They quote a footnote to a story in The Times yesterday.
I alluded to this recently HERE, but the examples of armed services personnel claiming that they have to beg or borrow equipment from the Americans because theirs is defective, promised but never delivered, or never promised in the first place are too numerous to all be coincidences. I do hope Lord Drayson soon leaves his MoD ivory tower and pays a visit to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan so he can learn the truth of the situation. Does anyone know if he has ever been?
Lord Drayson, the Defence Procurement Minister, said that he was unaware of ammunition shortages or equipment problems in Afghanistan after claims by a Royal Marines sergeant that troops in Helmand province did not have enough grenades, night-vision equipment or armoured vehicles.
I alluded to this recently HERE, but the examples of armed services personnel claiming that they have to beg or borrow equipment from the Americans because theirs is defective, promised but never delivered, or never promised in the first place are too numerous to all be coincidences. I do hope Lord Drayson soon leaves his MoD ivory tower and pays a visit to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan so he can learn the truth of the situation. Does anyone know if he has ever been?
More Blog Links Added
I've just updated my blogroll links and added links to the following blogs who have kindly linked to me. Esther McVey, Brandon Lewis, Paul Bristow, Nicolas Webb, Paul Hayes, Mid & West Wales CF, Birmingham University CF, Tapestry Talks, Out from Under, Cllr Eve Collishaw, Tartan Hero, Appalling Strangeness & Kristofer Wilson.
If you have a link to me on your blog but I don't have one to you, let me know and I'll gladly add one.
UPDATE: To all those people in the Comments section askling for links, you know, it'd be really helpful if you'd actually give your blog address! Doh!
If you have a link to me on your blog but I don't have one to you, let me know and I'll gladly add one.
UPDATE: To all those people in the Comments section askling for links, you know, it'd be really helpful if you'd actually give your blog address! Doh!
68% Want an English Parliament But Cameron Says No
Today's Telegraph poll on Scottish and English devolution makes very interesting reading indeed. Read the full details HERE.Sixty eight per cent of English voters are now in favour of a Parliament for England. This is up from 41% only a few months ago. Fifty two per cent of Scottish voters want full independence and 59% of English voters want them to have it. As we build up to the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union there's going to be a lot more debate on this issue.
I found Gordon Brown's remarks yesterday bizarre. He and Blair seem to be building up the SNP rather than ignoring them. If people believe they are a serious alternative administration to Labour and have a chance of ousting Jack McConnell then they could well get more votes than they might otherwise have had.I find it odd - and very disappointing - that when David Cameron says he wants to make devolution work, he immediately rules out an English Parliament even before Ken Clarke's Democracy Task Force has reported. At least let us have the debate. Cameron told the Telegraph: "The union between England, Scotland and Wales is good for us all and we are stronger together than we are apart. The last thing we need is yet another parliament with separate elections and more politicians spending more money."
This betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the democratic deficit that England is now experiencing. I agree with Cameron that we don't want more bureaucracy, more politicians and more spending but an English Parliament would cause none of those to happen if it is planned and implemented correctly.
It comes to something when SNP leader Alex Salmond sums it up best... "In England, people quite rightly resent Scottish Labour MPs bossing them about on English domestic legislation. England has as much right to self government as Scotland does." Hat-tip to Dizzy for graphic from the Telegraph
UPDATE: Man in a Shed has noticed that the BBC haven't covered thos story ont her politics page. What he hasn't noticed is that they haven't even reported it on ther ENGLAND Page.
How to Destroy Jobs in 35 Hour Easy Lessons
Words fail me. Almost. Read THIS and you'll see why. Apparently John Gummer's Quality of Life Working Group is considering whether the Conservatives should emulate French Socialists and ruin the country's competitiveness by adopting a 35 hour working week. Gummer says: "We have to look at it. This is an issue that we have got to raise." Er, no it isn't actually. If employers wish to introduce a 35 hour week that is up to them . This is not a matter which the State should be intervening on. It would destroy jobs and reduce our competitiveness. I can hardly believe a Conservative could entertain such a proposal.
Stripping Off to Save Danish Bacon
Click HERE to see a Danish Road Safety film. No, really. You'll want to. Well, most of you will.
"This movie was made by the Danish Road Safety Council and aims to draw attention to speed signs and speed limits in Denmark. Despite a decrease in speed violations, 7 out of 10 Danes still exceed the speed limit on a regular basis. Respecting the speed limits is the simplest way to save lives." So says the blurb at www.speedbandits.dk
I can't put my finger on why I think this, but I doubt whether our road traffic minister Stephen Ladyman will approve a similar initiative here... What a shame Steve Norris is no longer in charge of such issues...
PS I promise you this is an official Danish Government road safety film. It is not a YouTube spoof.
"This movie was made by the Danish Road Safety Council and aims to draw attention to speed signs and speed limits in Denmark. Despite a decrease in speed violations, 7 out of 10 Danes still exceed the speed limit on a regular basis. Respecting the speed limits is the simplest way to save lives." So says the blurb at www.speedbandits.dk
I can't put my finger on why I think this, but I doubt whether our road traffic minister Stephen Ladyman will approve a similar initiative here... What a shame Steve Norris is no longer in charge of such issues...
PS I promise you this is an official Danish Government road safety film. It is not a YouTube spoof.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Considerably More Professional Than YOW
Click on the image to enlarge. This is a sure sign that the Conservative Party is taking its campaigning resources much more seriously. I have never seen a job recruitment advert done so professionally, and to recruit three people to campaign in the West Midlands shows what an important region that is for the Party. It's good that they are looking to recruit locals.If you don't 'get' the headline, you obviously didn't see Harry Enfield's black country nouveau riche character who was always 'considerably richer than yow'...
New Poll: Cameron v Brown v Campbell
Tomorrow's ITV Sunday Edition programme will reveal a new NOP poll showing that David Cameron beats Gordon Brown and Ming Campbell hands down when they're put head to head. Asked who would make best Prime Minister Cameron scores 29%, Brown 19% and Ming Campbell a mere 5%.
Interestingly 39% said he had the "freshest ideas" compared to Gordon Brown's 10%. 33% said Cameron was in touch with modern Britain compared to only 17% for Brown. However, worryingly for the Conservatives, Brown outscores Cameron on national security, albeit only by 1% (22-21%)
LibDem voters would rather have Charles Kennedy back as leader by a factor of 40% to only 15% for Sir Ming. Nick Clegg is already more popular than his party leader.
I don't think this poll tells us a lot we didn't already know from other polls, to be honest.
Interestingly 39% said he had the "freshest ideas" compared to Gordon Brown's 10%. 33% said Cameron was in touch with modern Britain compared to only 17% for Brown. However, worryingly for the Conservatives, Brown outscores Cameron on national security, albeit only by 1% (22-21%)
LibDem voters would rather have Charles Kennedy back as leader by a factor of 40% to only 15% for Sir Ming. Nick Clegg is already more popular than his party leader.
I don't think this poll tells us a lot we didn't already know from other polls, to be honest.
Stormont Attack is no Surprise
In 1989 loyalist terrorist Michael Stone was sentenced to 684 years in jail. A mere 11 years later he was freed under the Good Friday Agreement along with hundreds of other dangerous terrorist from both sides of the sectarian divide. People are expressing surprise at yesterday's successfully foiled attack on Stormont. The only surprise is that it hasn't happened before now.
Quotes of the Day
"It is about time those greedy, grasping MPs who, racking up their own salaries, expenses and pensions, never cease whingeing about Prince Charles put a sock in it. In his quiet way he achieves more than the lot of them put together" - Best-selling author Frederick Forsyth.
"There is nothing wrong with having a big bum and wodgy arms - and I would defend to the death anyone's right to be fat" - Victoria Wood.
"John Prescott is a fat git who has done nothing for this country" - TV's Noel Edmonds.
"Football's a difficult business and aren't they prima donnas" - The Queen.
"Dear Dave, Your recruitment efforts for Ukip have been truly exceptional. People are now flocking to join us. Please accept this token of our profound appreciation" - Message on a bouquet sent by Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, to David Cameron over the view expressed that the Tories should ditch the views of Winston Churchill for those of left-wing writer Polly Toynbee.
"There is nothing wrong with having a big bum and wodgy arms - and I would defend to the death anyone's right to be fat" - Victoria Wood.
"John Prescott is a fat git who has done nothing for this country" - TV's Noel Edmonds.
"Football's a difficult business and aren't they prima donnas" - The Queen.
"Dear Dave, Your recruitment efforts for Ukip have been truly exceptional. People are now flocking to join us. Please accept this token of our profound appreciation" - Message on a bouquet sent by Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, to David Cameron over the view expressed that the Tories should ditch the views of Winston Churchill for those of left-wing writer Polly Toynbee.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Something for the Weekend...
Just endured a nightmare journey round the M25 and up the M11 to speak at a dinner in Andrew Lansley's South Cambridgeshire constituency. I thought they'd sell about 5 tickets, but amazingly more than 50 people have forked out twenty quid to hear my words of wisdom about how the Tories should approach the media.
Tomorrow I'm doing a media training session for Conservative women at Conservative Central Office alongside Esther McVey. Should be fun. And then it's on to Upton Park to see West Ham play Sheffield United and a late night newspaper review on News 24. No rest for the virtuous...
Tory MP to Stand Down
I'm told that Michael Mates is announcing this evening that he will stand down at the next election.
Michael Ashcroft Speaks Out on Party Funding
Michael Ashcroft created a bit of stir yesterday when he made a SPEECH in the House of Lords on party funding. His three messages were that political parties should be made to fund themselves (and that they should not be able to dip their fingers into the taxpayers' pocket for State funding), they should be able to accept donations from wider sources and that there should be no cap on political donations. In this he disagrees with David Cameron who is proposing a £50,000 cap on donations. The BBC reports HERE that CCHQ immediately went into panic mode and distanced themselves from Ashcroft's remarks.
I don't normally quote long chunks of speeches on this blog, but having read the entire speech it is the most corruscating attack on our system of political funding I have read - and you don't often get a major party donor making these sort of points. You can read the whole speech HERE, but here are some thought-provoking excerpts...
I am not a professional politician and perhaps that is why I find the whole debate about the funding of parties depressing. I cannot discern any enthusiasm for the rebuilding of political involvement and engagement in Britain. I observe no passion to encourage the young to take an interest in politics. Instead, there appears to be a wish merely to “tighten” the existing rule on donations and then burden the taxpayer...
...My opposition to substantial state funding does not mean, however, that I take the view that political parties should forever be funded largely by a handful of donors, whether they be individuals or trade unions—I do not. Political parties should strive to broaden their donor base and a sign of failure is a dependence on a few big donors. Political parties must then bear the consequent but inevitable criticisms. It seems to me that those arguing in favour of state funding have been driven to this position by a combination of defeatism about the difficulties of funding a modern political party and dismay at the attitude of the media to anyone who has had the courage to make a major political donation. But the dead hand of the state is no answer; it is entirely unsuited to act as the paymaster of politics. State funding will ossify our parties. The need constantly to refresh support through the financial and membership base is the best possible stimulus to the vitality of any party. How else can one hope for efficiency in one’s operations and accountability to one’s supporters?
Once the requirement to raise funds disappears, so will the need to nurture the membership base and to embrace new ideas and new people. That base will inevitably decline, perhaps terminally, leaving behind it a self-perpetuating oligarchy of career politicians, answerable only to themselves and the National Audit Office. Heaven help us all.
The Conservatives themselves are not without blame. We should have had the courage to resist many of the barmy restrictions on political giving that were introduced following the Neill report. As a party, we were afraid to be seen as standing out against legislation which was presented to the public as part of the battle against sleaze. That was an error. Although the new legislation brought a welcome approach to transparency, it also introduced a ragbag of anomalies and contradictions which are patently absurd, yet which no politician felt able to challenge and which Sir Hayden Phillips does not address.
As is well known, the main prerequisite for permissible giving to a political party is, in the case of an individual, that he or she is registered or entitled to register to vote in the UK and in the case of a company, that it is incorporated in the EU and does business in the UK—whatever that means, and I suspect it will be tested soon at taxpayers’ expense. This means that Canadians who live in Britain are able to donate by virtue of their Commonwealth citizenship. US citizens, however, cannot. As EU citizens living in the UK, Swedes can but Norwegians cannot. Greeks can but Turks cannot. Slovenians can, but Croatians cannot. Even the Swiss, surrounded on all sides by the EU, cannot. A businessman from Mozambique, however, as a member of the Commonwealth if residing in Britain can, yet a Briton posted abroad for over 15 years by his UK employer, even if he intends to retire to the UK, cannot unless he is a diplomat for whom, not surprisingly, an exception is made.
There are more anomalies. Citizens of Gibraltar, whatever their ethnic or cultural background, all get lumped, willy-nilly, into the UK’s south-west region for the purposes of European elections. A special exemption for these people makes them permissible donors to UK political parties for the four months preceding a European election. But there are no restrictions on those parties as to the use of, or the timing of the use of, funds received from Gibraltarians, whoever they might be. Yet British citizens from the Channel Islands never have such a window of opportunity. Northern Ireland’s political parties are exempted entirely, meaning that Sinn Fein, for example, is free to continue to receive moneys raised by NORAID in the United States without restriction.
At the corporate level, a British public company has to have shareholder approval to be able to donate, but a company from elsewhere in the EU which—to use that euphemistic phrase—does business in the UK does not. And what about the 100 per cent foreign-owned but UK-incorporated holding company which has only foreign directors, none of whom has ever been to Britain, let alone speaks English and because it is a holding company is therefore deemed to be doing business in the UK? What about those guys? No problem—it is perfectly permissible.
It is even possible to be British, tax resident and domiciled in the UK, yet unable to donate to a political party as under certain, but unusual, conditions, it is not possible to get on to the electoral register if someone lives in Britain for fewer than six months of the year. On the other hand, a Member of Parliament may have a consultancy with any foreign person, company or Government, yet their party cannot receive donations from the same source. Clearly they have confidence in their own judgment but doubt that of their party bosses. That is an interesting thought.
In our desire to draw a line between Brits and foreigners, in the misguided belief that foreign money is bad and UK money is good, we have devised a scheme which is patently absurd and achieves no logical purpose. We should dump restrictive regulations and replace them with requirements only of openness and transparency. We should instead allow political parties to accept financial support, cash benefits in kind and credit from whomever they chose and without a cap. We should require them only to make public the identity of the donor and full details of the donation. We should also, unlike the current reporting timetable, require prompt notification, especially of bigger donations, of within, say, seven days.
Political parties would then have to make decisions based not on the legal definition of permissibility but on the common sense interpretation of what would be considered acceptable to those whom they expect to vote them into office as Members of Parliament currently have to do with regard to their sources of income. Columbian drugs barons, triads, porn kings and the mob would, I hope, be considered unacceptable donors or benefactors, but if party treasurers and Members of Parliament decided otherwise let us allow the media, their own supporters and the public to judge. They would be speedier, more effective and much more telling arbiters than the courts.
In future, therefore, we should allow parties to take money from any quarter, the only requirement being that they should be entirely open about all support above a certain level. That would place the onus on parties to act reasonably and to exercise sound judgment. It would place an equal duty on the media to report donations responsibly; but in the end it would be down to Mr and Mrs Joe Public to judge. We should trust them—they usually get it right."
And this is me (as Mike Yarwood used to say). Many of us believe that the two big parties are about to cook up a cosy little deal on State funding. I have written elsewhere on this blog that I think that's the inevitable direction we are heading in. I don't like it, but I see the writing on the wall. The only thing which will stop it is a concerted campaign to do two things: to explain why we should emulate the United States and widen the base of political parties' financial support, and secondly to build a cross-party vocal coalition against State funding.
Declaration of interest: My campaign in North Norfolk received financial support from Lord Ashcroft and I have advised him on his books.
I don't normally quote long chunks of speeches on this blog, but having read the entire speech it is the most corruscating attack on our system of political funding I have read - and you don't often get a major party donor making these sort of points. You can read the whole speech HERE, but here are some thought-provoking excerpts...
I am not a professional politician and perhaps that is why I find the whole debate about the funding of parties depressing. I cannot discern any enthusiasm for the rebuilding of political involvement and engagement in Britain. I observe no passion to encourage the young to take an interest in politics. Instead, there appears to be a wish merely to “tighten” the existing rule on donations and then burden the taxpayer...
...My opposition to substantial state funding does not mean, however, that I take the view that political parties should forever be funded largely by a handful of donors, whether they be individuals or trade unions—I do not. Political parties should strive to broaden their donor base and a sign of failure is a dependence on a few big donors. Political parties must then bear the consequent but inevitable criticisms. It seems to me that those arguing in favour of state funding have been driven to this position by a combination of defeatism about the difficulties of funding a modern political party and dismay at the attitude of the media to anyone who has had the courage to make a major political donation. But the dead hand of the state is no answer; it is entirely unsuited to act as the paymaster of politics. State funding will ossify our parties. The need constantly to refresh support through the financial and membership base is the best possible stimulus to the vitality of any party. How else can one hope for efficiency in one’s operations and accountability to one’s supporters?
Once the requirement to raise funds disappears, so will the need to nurture the membership base and to embrace new ideas and new people. That base will inevitably decline, perhaps terminally, leaving behind it a self-perpetuating oligarchy of career politicians, answerable only to themselves and the National Audit Office. Heaven help us all.
The Conservatives themselves are not without blame. We should have had the courage to resist many of the barmy restrictions on political giving that were introduced following the Neill report. As a party, we were afraid to be seen as standing out against legislation which was presented to the public as part of the battle against sleaze. That was an error. Although the new legislation brought a welcome approach to transparency, it also introduced a ragbag of anomalies and contradictions which are patently absurd, yet which no politician felt able to challenge and which Sir Hayden Phillips does not address.
As is well known, the main prerequisite for permissible giving to a political party is, in the case of an individual, that he or she is registered or entitled to register to vote in the UK and in the case of a company, that it is incorporated in the EU and does business in the UK—whatever that means, and I suspect it will be tested soon at taxpayers’ expense. This means that Canadians who live in Britain are able to donate by virtue of their Commonwealth citizenship. US citizens, however, cannot. As EU citizens living in the UK, Swedes can but Norwegians cannot. Greeks can but Turks cannot. Slovenians can, but Croatians cannot. Even the Swiss, surrounded on all sides by the EU, cannot. A businessman from Mozambique, however, as a member of the Commonwealth if residing in Britain can, yet a Briton posted abroad for over 15 years by his UK employer, even if he intends to retire to the UK, cannot unless he is a diplomat for whom, not surprisingly, an exception is made.
There are more anomalies. Citizens of Gibraltar, whatever their ethnic or cultural background, all get lumped, willy-nilly, into the UK’s south-west region for the purposes of European elections. A special exemption for these people makes them permissible donors to UK political parties for the four months preceding a European election. But there are no restrictions on those parties as to the use of, or the timing of the use of, funds received from Gibraltarians, whoever they might be. Yet British citizens from the Channel Islands never have such a window of opportunity. Northern Ireland’s political parties are exempted entirely, meaning that Sinn Fein, for example, is free to continue to receive moneys raised by NORAID in the United States without restriction.
At the corporate level, a British public company has to have shareholder approval to be able to donate, but a company from elsewhere in the EU which—to use that euphemistic phrase—does business in the UK does not. And what about the 100 per cent foreign-owned but UK-incorporated holding company which has only foreign directors, none of whom has ever been to Britain, let alone speaks English and because it is a holding company is therefore deemed to be doing business in the UK? What about those guys? No problem—it is perfectly permissible.
It is even possible to be British, tax resident and domiciled in the UK, yet unable to donate to a political party as under certain, but unusual, conditions, it is not possible to get on to the electoral register if someone lives in Britain for fewer than six months of the year. On the other hand, a Member of Parliament may have a consultancy with any foreign person, company or Government, yet their party cannot receive donations from the same source. Clearly they have confidence in their own judgment but doubt that of their party bosses. That is an interesting thought.
In our desire to draw a line between Brits and foreigners, in the misguided belief that foreign money is bad and UK money is good, we have devised a scheme which is patently absurd and achieves no logical purpose. We should dump restrictive regulations and replace them with requirements only of openness and transparency. We should instead allow political parties to accept financial support, cash benefits in kind and credit from whomever they chose and without a cap. We should require them only to make public the identity of the donor and full details of the donation. We should also, unlike the current reporting timetable, require prompt notification, especially of bigger donations, of within, say, seven days.
Political parties would then have to make decisions based not on the legal definition of permissibility but on the common sense interpretation of what would be considered acceptable to those whom they expect to vote them into office as Members of Parliament currently have to do with regard to their sources of income. Columbian drugs barons, triads, porn kings and the mob would, I hope, be considered unacceptable donors or benefactors, but if party treasurers and Members of Parliament decided otherwise let us allow the media, their own supporters and the public to judge. They would be speedier, more effective and much more telling arbiters than the courts.
In future, therefore, we should allow parties to take money from any quarter, the only requirement being that they should be entirely open about all support above a certain level. That would place the onus on parties to act reasonably and to exercise sound judgment. It would place an equal duty on the media to report donations responsibly; but in the end it would be down to Mr and Mrs Joe Public to judge. We should trust them—they usually get it right."
And this is me (as Mike Yarwood used to say). Many of us believe that the two big parties are about to cook up a cosy little deal on State funding. I have written elsewhere on this blog that I think that's the inevitable direction we are heading in. I don't like it, but I see the writing on the wall. The only thing which will stop it is a concerted campaign to do two things: to explain why we should emulate the United States and widen the base of political parties' financial support, and secondly to build a cross-party vocal coalition against State funding.
Declaration of interest: My campaign in North Norfolk received financial support from Lord Ashcroft and I have advised him on his books.
Tebbit Weighs into Tosser Debate
On the use of the word 'Tosser' in the Sort-it campaign by the Conservatives Lord Tebbit said today: "I suppose this is a mark of the permissive society which has been lauded by the Labour Party over many years. There is no foul language nor physical or moral degradation which is not now embraced by the current orthodoxy. Unfortunately, the orthodoxy has reached the Conservative Party."
Lord Tebbit added: "It is not a word I would even use about Polly Toynbee."
Now there's an image best not contemplated...
Lord Tebbit added: "It is not a word I would even use about Polly Toynbee."
Now there's an image best not contemplated...
The Curse of 18 Doughty Street
You know the urban myth that any celebrity who appears in Hello Magazine showing off their gorgeous homes is almost certain to end up divorced within months? Well, it seems 18 Doughty Street has developed a similar curse. Appear on our channel and you end up losing your job, it seems. It happened to Bernard Jenkin and now it's happened to Don Brash, the leader of the National Party in New Zealand - until yesterday, anyway.
If I were Nick Clegg, Francis Maude or Damian Green,I'd be worried, as they're due on soon! I'd be glad to know that appearances on 18 Doughty Street for previous guests have opened new doors and allowed them to go on to conquer entirely new challenges. [is that enough spin?] With thanks to raincoaster
If I were Nick Clegg, Francis Maude or Damian Green,
Coming to Terms With Your Inner Tosser
The new Conservative campaign aimed at young people's debt problems has certainly generated some heat on the net and in today's papers. The LibDems seems particularly upset about it. I suppose they feel they should have a monopoly on the word 'tosser'. Norfolk Blogger and Jonathan Wallace have all suddenly become a little holier than thou.
I looked at the Sort It website yesterday and at first found it all rather bemusing. I took the Tosser Test (I'll leave you to guess the result...) but couldn't quite work out why they had Alan Duncan on the front page!(just my little joke, Alan!). Some of the language baffled me, but then I am not 'down wiv da kids'. I wasn't too sure of the wisdom of insinuating that potential voters are tossers, but what do I know? This is the Press Association report...
David Cameron says the "Sort-It" campaign is an important step forward in tackling the subject of debt and said he hoped young people would see the controversial video that forms part of the initiative. The website contains advice on how to plan, budget and manage your finances. But a short film accompanying the website, entitled The Tosser Inside, has led to criticism from political rivals. The film shows a young man overwhelmed by his "inner tosser" into spending way beyond his means. Mr Cameron told BBC Breakfast the video was made by an advertising company which had "expertise" in reaching young people, and was only available on the internet. "The very fact we are talking about it now shows that it has had an impact. Yes, it is provocative, but don't we need to do something in our society about the problems of debt? Young people, I hope, will watch it and I hope it will make them think about debt." A Conservative Party spokesman said: "Personal debt is a significant problem in the UK and recent figures show that we have higher personal debt levels than any other Western European country. "As well as proposing policies to address this issue, we wanted to encourage British people to take control of their finances and not spend recklessly or beyond their means." LibDem Vince Cable said: "This is the kind of insensitive crass nonsense one might expect from a party led by rich young men, who have never had to balance a budget in their lives." David Buonaguidi, creative director of Karmarama - the advertising agency which created the film - said: "Every Christmas we toss away millions of pounds on things we don't really want or need. We wanted to confront people with this behaviour and help them realise that this kind of spending just isn't very smart. "The Tosser Inside is a wake-up call designed to appeal to an audience that usually screens out this sort of message."
What those of us over thirty have to remember is that this is not aimed at us. It's aimed at what David Davis last year called the iPod Generatioon - Insecure, Pressured, Overtaxed and Debt-ridden. So before we have a knee jerk reaction against the words used in this innovative campaign let's just remember who its target is.
I looked at the Sort It website yesterday and at first found it all rather bemusing. I took the Tosser Test (I'll leave you to guess the result...) but couldn't quite work out why they had Alan Duncan on the front page!(just my little joke, Alan!). Some of the language baffled me, but then I am not 'down wiv da kids'. I wasn't too sure of the wisdom of insinuating that potential voters are tossers, but what do I know? This is the Press Association report...
David Cameron says the "Sort-It" campaign is an important step forward in tackling the subject of debt and said he hoped young people would see the controversial video that forms part of the initiative. The website contains advice on how to plan, budget and manage your finances. But a short film accompanying the website, entitled The Tosser Inside, has led to criticism from political rivals. The film shows a young man overwhelmed by his "inner tosser" into spending way beyond his means. Mr Cameron told BBC Breakfast the video was made by an advertising company which had "expertise" in reaching young people, and was only available on the internet. "The very fact we are talking about it now shows that it has had an impact. Yes, it is provocative, but don't we need to do something in our society about the problems of debt? Young people, I hope, will watch it and I hope it will make them think about debt." A Conservative Party spokesman said: "Personal debt is a significant problem in the UK and recent figures show that we have higher personal debt levels than any other Western European country. "As well as proposing policies to address this issue, we wanted to encourage British people to take control of their finances and not spend recklessly or beyond their means." LibDem Vince Cable said: "This is the kind of insensitive crass nonsense one might expect from a party led by rich young men, who have never had to balance a budget in their lives." David Buonaguidi, creative director of Karmarama - the advertising agency which created the film - said: "Every Christmas we toss away millions of pounds on things we don't really want or need. We wanted to confront people with this behaviour and help them realise that this kind of spending just isn't very smart. "The Tosser Inside is a wake-up call designed to appeal to an audience that usually screens out this sort of message."
What those of us over thirty have to remember is that this is not aimed at us. It's aimed at what David Davis last year called the iPod Generatioon - Insecure, Pressured, Overtaxed and Debt-ridden. So before we have a knee jerk reaction against the words used in this innovative campaign let's just remember who its target is.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Quotes of the Day
"He is not good-looking but he is quite young. He will look terrible in eight years" - Polly Toynbee on David Cameron.
"Why are straight men such poofs?" - Matthew Parris
"Newspapers are to be snoozed beneath or as a basis for cat litter" - Gyles Brandreth, saying he would approve of a society devoted to "People Who Never Read Newspapers Online".
"An airline that spends millions of pounds on improving its corporate image seems intent at the same time on kicking its good name to pieces for the sake of a tiny fragment of metal no larger than a thumbnail" - Michael Dobbs on British Airways' decision to ban staff wearing the Cross.
"Watching Britney Spears and Kevin Federline trying to outsmart each other is like observing monkeys trying to play chess" - TV comic Jay Leno.
"If you were a conspiracy theorist, you might think the Government was hoping to pass on to its successors a humungous millstone of a white elephant that positively dwarfs the Tories' piddling little Millennium Dome" - Will Self on the 2012 Olympics.
"Why are straight men such poofs?" - Matthew Parris
"Newspapers are to be snoozed beneath or as a basis for cat litter" - Gyles Brandreth, saying he would approve of a society devoted to "People Who Never Read Newspapers Online".
"An airline that spends millions of pounds on improving its corporate image seems intent at the same time on kicking its good name to pieces for the sake of a tiny fragment of metal no larger than a thumbnail" - Michael Dobbs on British Airways' decision to ban staff wearing the Cross.
"Watching Britney Spears and Kevin Federline trying to outsmart each other is like observing monkeys trying to play chess" - TV comic Jay Leno.
"If you were a conspiracy theorist, you might think the Government was hoping to pass on to its successors a humungous millstone of a white elephant that positively dwarfs the Tories' piddling little Millennium Dome" - Will Self on the 2012 Olympics.
Crossing British Airways
There's a new website encouraging people to boycott British Airways over the crucifix issue HERE.
Tory MPs Top Private Members Bill Ballot
Conservative MPs secured all the top four places in the ballot for Private Members Bills, which has just taken place. Top of the pile was newcomer Nick Hurd, followed by Tim Yeo, Caroline Spelman and Gary Streeter. No Liberal Democrats were successful, nor were any members of the other minor parties. The list comprises 11 Tories and nine Labour MPs.
The successful 20 are:
Nick Hurd (C Ruislip-Northwood), Tim Yeo (C Suffolk South), Caroline Spelman (C Meriden), Gary Streeter (C Devon South-West), Graham Stringer (Lab Manchester, Blackley), Robert Walter (C Dorset North), Sir John Butterfill (C Bournemouth West), Paul Farrelly (Lab Newcastle-under-Lyme), Martin Caton (Lab Gower), Richard Ottaway (C Croydon South). Roger Godsiff (Lab Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath), Shailesh Vara (C Cambridgeshire North West), Alan Duncan (C Rutland and Melton), John Hayes (C South Holland and The Deepings), Barry Sheerman (Lab Huddersfield), John McDonnell (Lab Hayes and Harlington), Sarah McCarthy-Fry (Lab Portsmouth North), Michael Meacher (Lab Oldham West and Royton), Emily Thornberry (Lab Islington South and Finsbury), and Francis Maude (C Horsham).
Nick Hurd has already announced he will be backing a Bill - which has been published by Tory leader David Cameron - designed to transfer power from central government to local communities.
The successful 20 are:
Nick Hurd (C Ruislip-Northwood), Tim Yeo (C Suffolk South), Caroline Spelman (C Meriden), Gary Streeter (C Devon South-West), Graham Stringer (Lab Manchester, Blackley), Robert Walter (C Dorset North), Sir John Butterfill (C Bournemouth West), Paul Farrelly (Lab Newcastle-under-Lyme), Martin Caton (Lab Gower), Richard Ottaway (C Croydon South). Roger Godsiff (Lab Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath), Shailesh Vara (C Cambridgeshire North West), Alan Duncan (C Rutland and Melton), John Hayes (C South Holland and The Deepings), Barry Sheerman (Lab Huddersfield), John McDonnell (Lab Hayes and Harlington), Sarah McCarthy-Fry (Lab Portsmouth North), Michael Meacher (Lab Oldham West and Royton), Emily Thornberry (Lab Islington South and Finsbury), and Francis Maude (C Horsham).
Nick Hurd has already announced he will be backing a Bill - which has been published by Tory leader David Cameron - designed to transfer power from central government to local communities.
The Top 100 Green Blogs
Remember my Top 100 Bloggers lists? Well, I got taken to task for not including any Green blogs. The Daily (Maybe) blog has now completed the task and created a list of the Top 100 Green Blogs, which you will find HERE.
Hung Like a Cigarette
I have just been listening to a discussion on Jeremy Vine's show on the sexual bullying of teachers by secondary school pupils. It was actually quite worrying and made me very glad that at the age of 22 I reconsidered my original plans to be a German teacher. But one anecdote from the programme did make me laugh.
A 14 year old boy in a class put something down his trousers and thrust his crotch at his female teacher. She looked up and said: "No thanks, I'll have a cigarette later."
That's the way to deal with it - ridicule. Show any sign of weakness and you're finished.
Nick Clarke Has Died
After a long, and very public, battle with cancer, Radio 4's Nick Clarke died this morning. He really was one of Britain's greatest radio broadcasters. I met him a few times and was always struck by his transparent niceness. There was none of the media bravado so prevalent in many of his colleagues - and he treated his interviewees as people who should be listened to and given an opportunity to speak.
He wrote several excellent books and I well remember him being so thankful to me for stocking them at Politico's. He really was a true gentleman and I shall miss him.
Relative Poverty Isn't An Absolute
The fuss over Greg Clark's invocation of Polly Toynbee's name is a typical example of a media firestorm on an extremely slow news day. As I listened to various news bulletins I could scarcely believe my ears. You could be forgiven for thinking that Greg Clark was suggesting slaughtering the first-born from the reaction of some people, and this is reflected in some of the comments on the previous post and on Conservative Home. It makes me wonder if people ever actually bother to read what he said before they are ready to denounce him. Well, here's a short YouTube video Greg recorded yesterday evening for 18DoughtyStreet. I would have thought his views would resonate with most thinking Conservatives. The only bone of contention in what he says is how you define poverty, so, as Connie would say, let's start from the very beginning...
Poverty is defined in an Online Dictionary thus: the condition of being extremely poor. If you are in poverty, you are probably unable to pay your bills, are struggling to have a roof over your head and are finding it difficult to feed yourself and your family. Indeed, that is how I have always thought of it. However, lingua-fascists have now redefined the word to include anyone who is earning less that 60% of the median wage. Quite when this happened, no one's quite sure, but I trace it back to the 1980s when the Child Poverty Action Group tried to tell us that three million children in this country were living in poverty. It was rubbish then, and it's rubbish now.
Of course there are children, and indeed many adults, who are impoverished. No one denies that, and everyone would agree that it is a prime duty of the State to lift those people out of poverty, but to pretend that someone who is earning between £12,000 and £15,000 a year is living in poverty is a joke.
So the argument has moved on to a debate about whether we should be talking about absolute poverty (as per Churchill) or relative poverty (as per Polly Toynbee). The answer is that they are not necessarily mutually exclusive. In Churchill's day there was a huge amount of absolute poverty in the country but this has almost totally gone. Sure, there are still pockets of poverty, especially in big cities and certain rural areas (this reminds me of a great quote from John Gummer - "poverty is consdidered quaint in rural areas, because it comes thatched") and the State has by and large failed to lift people in those areas out of poverty. The task is now falling to social entrepreneurs, outside the State machinery, to do this. So as the level of absolute poverty has declined to a small fraction of what it was half a century ago, it is only natural that politicians from all sides start to examine relative inequalities - note that I decline to use the phrase 'relative poverty'.
Polly Toynbee's analogy of a long train of caravans trekking through a desert, one behind the other is a good one. She is worried about what happens if the caravans at the back become detached from the rest of the group - for 'group', read 'society'.
I am not someone who believes that everybody must be equal. Like Boris Johnson in today's Telegraph, I believe that society needs winners and losers. Winners must be rewarded, but society cannot function properly if we forget about the losers. But I actually regard it as a triumph of our society that we can even talk in terms of losers being people who earn 40% of the media wage.
As Pascal says in the comments to the previous post... "Maybe I am confused, but doesn't the concept of relative poverty means that there ALWAYS will be poverty, no matter how much you raise the lower incomes? At least not until everybody earns the same amount."
I don't think even Polly Toynbee is suggesting the latter, but Pascal's point is a valid one, and perhaps one which Greg Clark ought to address. I don't know what the media wage is in Liechtenstein, but I suspect that under the current definition of 'relative poverty' a large number of very wealthy people would be caught in the poverty trap there. We Conservatives must not be defined by the language of the left and if Greg Clark made an error, it was possibly falling into that trap.
I have absolutely no problem at all in agreeing with the Polly Toynbee Caravan anecdote, and I totally agree with Greg Clark that the concept of 'no one left behind' is something that all Tories should adhere to. After all, Greg and I both supported a leadership candidate last year who said this...
The just society, for Conservatives, is one in which no one is deprived of opportunity, and no one is excluded. It is, indeed, the fulfilment of Churchill's dream of a Britain, in which "there is a limit beneath which no man may fall, but no limit to which any man might rise"... Tories in recent years have become too timid about saying how we want to improve society. We sometimes behave as if the Left, with their vocabulary and their policies, had acquired a freehold on social policy... The test of any Conservative policy is how it affects the poorest in society.
Amen to that. Perhaps we now need a real debate on what poverty actually means in the 21st century. Can we really equate poverty in this country with poverty in places like Darfur or Rwanda? Perhaps someone needs to invent a new word. Best that we do it before Polly Toynbee does.
What Greg Clark Actually Said
If you want to know what Greg Clark really said about Polly Toynbee read THIS. I'll have more to say about this when I am awakzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Happy Birthday To Women2Win
Today is the first birthday of Women2Win. It's undeniable that they have made quite an impact on Conservative selections.
At the last General Election just 19% of target and Conservative held seats (where the former MP was retiring) had women candidates. Just 11% of the 2005 intake were women.
FACTS
Proportion of women selected of all candidates (29 of 80): 36.25%
Proportion of women selected since A-list (24 of 58): 41.4%
Proportion of women selected before A-list (7 of 22): 31.8%
And finally..... 11 out of 20 in Tory held or notionally Tory (post boundary changes) have selected women. I'll be interviewing Anne Jenkin from Women2Win and two selected female PPCs, along with Pam Giddy of the Power Commission on 18DoughtyStreet tonight at 9pm.
At the last General Election just 19% of target and Conservative held seats (where the former MP was retiring) had women candidates. Just 11% of the 2005 intake were women.
FACTS
Proportion of women selected of all candidates (29 of 80): 36.25%
Proportion of women selected since A-list (24 of 58): 41.4%
Proportion of women selected before A-list (7 of 22): 31.8%
And finally..... 11 out of 20 in Tory held or notionally Tory (post boundary changes) have selected women. I'll be interviewing Anne Jenkin from Women2Win and two selected female PPCs, along with Pam Giddy of the Power Commission on 18DoughtyStreet tonight at 9pm.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Top Ten Things I Would Never Do...
The Telegraph has had a lot of letters lately suggesting clubs its readers would never join. Today they even have a page 3 feature on it. So I thought I'd compile my Top Ten Things I Would Never Do...
10. Join the Carlton Club until they admit full women members
9. Take advice on social policy from Polly Toynbee (gasp...)
8. Take any notice of anonymous blog posters
7. Ever go to White Hart Lane again
6. Grow a beard (I tried once. Too ginger...)
5. Get a tattoo or a metal 'appendage' of any description
4. Vote to join the Euro
3. Take any soft or hard drug
2. Shout 'Pardew Out'
1. Run for Mayor of London
And to start a Blog Meme, I'm now going to tag the following 10 bloggers to repeat the exercise! Rachel North, Dave Hill, Paul Linford, Tim Worstall, Kerron Cross, Stephen Tall, Jonathan Calder, Nich Starling, Dizzy, Danny Finkelstein.
10. Join the Carlton Club until they admit full women members
9. Take advice on social policy from Polly Toynbee (gasp...)
8. Take any notice of anonymous blog posters
7. Ever go to White Hart Lane again
6. Grow a beard (I tried once. Too ginger...)
5. Get a tattoo or a metal 'appendage' of any description
4. Vote to join the Euro
3. Take any soft or hard drug
2. Shout 'Pardew Out'
1. Run for Mayor of London
And to start a Blog Meme, I'm now going to tag the following 10 bloggers to repeat the exercise! Rachel North, Dave Hill, Paul Linford, Tim Worstall, Kerron Cross, Stephen Tall, Jonathan Calder, Nich Starling, Dizzy, Danny Finkelstein.
Why the Tories Need to Find the Common Ground
I've written an article for COMMENT IS FREE on Lord Saatchi's lecture titled IN PRAISE OF IDEOLOGY. In the lecture he asserts that you don't win elections from the centre ground - you only do so if you have a core ideology, which you stick to.
Lord Saatchi is without doubt a man with an enormous creative mind. His pamphlets for the Centre for Policy Studies are invariably well-written, entertaining and provocative. The latest one, published this week, asserts that a political party needs to retain a sense of ideology if it is to prevail in the polls. This is a self-evident truth. Any party needs to remain true to its core roots and traditions, but that in itself does not mean that it should not embrace modernity and move with the times. Reading Lord Saatchi's lecture one gets the impression that life stopped in 1979, that no political advertising since then has been quite so on the metal.
In his lecture, Saatchi challenges what he call's today's "new myth" that "you can only win elections from the centre ground". He might want to challenge this so-called myth, but I can think of few elections that were won from anywhere else. Margaret Thatcher won the 1979 election from the centre ground, not from the hard right. Anyone who thinks otherwise is deluding themselves and has never read the 1979 Conservative manifesto.
I suspect that Lord Saatchi is playing fast and loose with semantics and has created an entirely new definition of the centre ground. In his world, the centre ground is anywhere to the left of where he finds himself on the political spectrum. He is mistaken. In reality the centre ground is the common ground - the place where the majority of the British people find themselves at any particular time. It's not a fixed position and can change with the political seasons.
But wherever that common ground is, David Cameron is right to pitch his tent on it. And as I have written before, he needs to build his tent into a huge, billowing marquee. Without big tents, as Bill Clinton was keen to demonstrate, elections cannot be won. You cannot win purely with the support of your own core voters. Instead you have to appeal to a wider body. This is the lesson of the last 10 years in which the Conservatives have languished in opposition. Continually banging on about the same old message in the same old way is not going to appeal to those who find themselves disillusioned with politics and politicians.
To break out of the stranglehold of opposition the Conservatives have had to start not just a rebranding exercise, but a root and branch process of redefining Conservatism for the modern age. Labour took 15 years to realise they had to do this in the 1980s and early 1990s. I suppose we can be thankful the Conservatives have taken just over half that time.
Lord Saatchi says in his pamphlet: "Without a vision, the people perish". He concludes: "People in politics should stand for something greater than the desire to be in power." Never a truer word spoken, but to get power and achieve great things, you have to be in touch with the common ground. And judging from his pamphlet, Lord Saatchi isn't.
Lord Saatchi is without doubt a man with an enormous creative mind. His pamphlets for the Centre for Policy Studies are invariably well-written, entertaining and provocative. The latest one, published this week, asserts that a political party needs to retain a sense of ideology if it is to prevail in the polls. This is a self-evident truth. Any party needs to remain true to its core roots and traditions, but that in itself does not mean that it should not embrace modernity and move with the times. Reading Lord Saatchi's lecture one gets the impression that life stopped in 1979, that no political advertising since then has been quite so on the metal.
In his lecture, Saatchi challenges what he call's today's "new myth" that "you can only win elections from the centre ground". He might want to challenge this so-called myth, but I can think of few elections that were won from anywhere else. Margaret Thatcher won the 1979 election from the centre ground, not from the hard right. Anyone who thinks otherwise is deluding themselves and has never read the 1979 Conservative manifesto.
I suspect that Lord Saatchi is playing fast and loose with semantics and has created an entirely new definition of the centre ground. In his world, the centre ground is anywhere to the left of where he finds himself on the political spectrum. He is mistaken. In reality the centre ground is the common ground - the place where the majority of the British people find themselves at any particular time. It's not a fixed position and can change with the political seasons.
But wherever that common ground is, David Cameron is right to pitch his tent on it. And as I have written before, he needs to build his tent into a huge, billowing marquee. Without big tents, as Bill Clinton was keen to demonstrate, elections cannot be won. You cannot win purely with the support of your own core voters. Instead you have to appeal to a wider body. This is the lesson of the last 10 years in which the Conservatives have languished in opposition. Continually banging on about the same old message in the same old way is not going to appeal to those who find themselves disillusioned with politics and politicians.
To break out of the stranglehold of opposition the Conservatives have had to start not just a rebranding exercise, but a root and branch process of redefining Conservatism for the modern age. Labour took 15 years to realise they had to do this in the 1980s and early 1990s. I suppose we can be thankful the Conservatives have taken just over half that time.
Lord Saatchi says in his pamphlet: "Without a vision, the people perish". He concludes: "People in politics should stand for something greater than the desire to be in power." Never a truer word spoken, but to get power and achieve great things, you have to be in touch with the common ground. And judging from his pamphlet, Lord Saatchi isn't.
EXCLUSIVE: Sandi Toksvig to Stand in Meon Valley?
The LibDems have been courting comedian Sandi Toksvig to stand for Parliament for ages. I now understand that they might have been successful. If what I hear is right she is considering taking a tilt at the Meon Vally constituency, where the Conservatives have just selected George Hollingbery. Meon Valley has a very small notional Tory majority and much of the constituency is made up of Mark Oaten's current seat. The LibDems seem to have made a calculation that the only way they can win it is with a star name like Sandi Toksvig. There's no doubt she would be quite a catch for them. Her LibDem roots go back some way and she can certainly be considered to be on the left of the Party - not an Orange Booker by any means! She also lives close to the constituency in Guildford.I got to know Sandi quite well when I used to be a regular on her LBC lunchtime radio talk show. I can't remember a single thing that we agreed on apart from a mutual love of radio. If she did enter full time politics she would certainly make it more entertaining and interesting. However, I still think she'd hate it. And in the end that may be what holds her back.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Sayeeda Warsi Has a New Website
Sayeeda Warsi has a new website HERE. She's a Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party and is on the A List. She was Conservative Candidate in Dewsbury at the last election.It's a well designed site with lots of photos (even more than mine!) as well as a whole host of YouTube style videos of Sayeeda in action. Pity there isn't a proper blog on it, but I'm sure that will come in time.
Labour Is Right: The BBC Is Wrong
Labour has every right to complain to the BBC tonight. I can hardly believe that the BBC would offer its journalists a bonus of £100 if they got a fresh angle on the Cash for Peerages scandal, but it seems it's true. Remember, £100 is two thirds of a BBC licence fee. This is the Press Association report...
The [Labour] Party's general secretary, Peter Watt, wrote to BBC director general Mark Thompson warning that the offer could distort reporters' news judgments and called into question the impartiality of the corporation's coverage. The scheme was withdrawn by the BBC soon after its existence was reported in London's Evening Standard today. A spokeswoman tonight said no bounty payments had been made. An email to BBC political staff and producers from the head of the BBC's political news operation, Gary Smith, promised £100 for a fresh angle on the cash-for-honours affair, the Standard reported.
Can you imagine the outcry within the BBC if Sky News had been caught doing such a thing?
The [Labour] Party's general secretary, Peter Watt, wrote to BBC director general Mark Thompson warning that the offer could distort reporters' news judgments and called into question the impartiality of the corporation's coverage. The scheme was withdrawn by the BBC soon after its existence was reported in London's Evening Standard today. A spokeswoman tonight said no bounty payments had been made. An email to BBC political staff and producers from the head of the BBC's political news operation, Gary Smith, promised £100 for a fresh angle on the cash-for-honours affair, the Standard reported.
Can you imagine the outcry within the BBC if Sky News had been caught doing such a thing?
Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid
The most popular name in Nigeria for a baby boy is Osama. Be afraid.
*According to In Praise of Ideology by Lord Saatchi, published by the CPS
UPDATE: This post has caused a number of outraged comments accusing me of all sorts of things, not least making it up and of being a bigot. Click HERE and make up your own minds if I have made it up.
*According to In Praise of Ideology by Lord Saatchi, published by the CPS
UPDATE: This post has caused a number of outraged comments accusing me of all sorts of things, not least making it up and of being a bigot. Click HERE and make up your own minds if I have made it up.
How to Label a Goat
Last night I attended the launch of a new book called HOW TO LABEL A GOAT. It's by Spectator columnist Ross Clark and it's a marvellous compendium of silly rules and regulations that are, as he puts it, strangling Britain. You can buy it HERE.
In this new book, Ross Clark exposes some of the most petty and bizarre rules and regulations which are blighting the lives of Britons today. From the 45 pages of instructions on how to correctly label a goat (or sheep) to the impact that being a deep-sea diver might have on your tax return. Among his other discoveries are:
- That there are 279 different tax forms for businesses alone, asking a total of 6,614 questions.
- The notes explaining the Treasury's 'simplified' pensions' regime ran to 1,369 pages.
- The law allows you to kill or give away a bullfinch - but not to sell or barter it.
- A woman from Kilbride was given an ASBO forbidding her from answering the door in her underwear.
- A council spent £5,000 planting yew trees to screen a new children's play area. It then dug them up again after health and safety experts advised children could fall ill if they gobbled 'several handfuls' of leaves.
In this new book, Ross Clark exposes some of the most petty and bizarre rules and regulations which are blighting the lives of Britons today. From the 45 pages of instructions on how to correctly label a goat (or sheep) to the impact that being a deep-sea diver might have on your tax return. Among his other discoveries are:
- That there are 279 different tax forms for businesses alone, asking a total of 6,614 questions.
- The notes explaining the Treasury's 'simplified' pensions' regime ran to 1,369 pages.
- The law allows you to kill or give away a bullfinch - but not to sell or barter it.
- A woman from Kilbride was given an ASBO forbidding her from answering the door in her underwear.
- A council spent £5,000 planting yew trees to screen a new children's play area. It then dug them up again after health and safety experts advised children could fall ill if they gobbled 'several handfuls' of leaves.
The Bloated Cost of John Prescott's 'Vanity Politics'
No one really knows what John Prescott does anymore. He may be called the Deputy Prime Minister, but it's difficult to see what he's actually for. However, despite that, figures out today reveal that he's costing you, the British taxpayer close on £2 million a year. It funds the worst kind of 'vanity politics'. Why do I call it 'vanity politics'? Well, if you pay for a book to be published yourself it's called vanity publishing. Creating your own government department merely to cling on to the last remnants of an abused patronage is its political equivalent. The tyragedy is, that Prescott should have been remaindered months ago.
A Priti Picture
Tim Montgomerie has a good piece HERE titled CAN WE PLEASE STOP STEREO-TYPING THE TORY GRASSROOTS?
By the way, I look forward to the long pieces on Sky, the BBC and ITN today hailing Priti Patel's selection. After all, they devoted hours of broadcasting to Ali Miraj's comments about Witham being not likely to select an Asian candidate. It would only be fair to redress the balance, wouldn't it? Indeed, I just took a call for Sky News asking me to go on to comment on.... Prince Charles's equivalent of Webcameron (I declined). I'm sure the call will come to talk about Priti Patel. Not.
By the way, I look forward to the long pieces on Sky, the BBC and ITN today hailing Priti Patel's selection. After all, they devoted hours of broadcasting to Ali Miraj's comments about Witham being not likely to select an Asian candidate. It would only be fair to redress the balance, wouldn't it? Indeed, I just took a call for Sky News asking me to go on to comment on.... Prince Charles's equivalent of Webcameron (I declined). I'm sure the call will come to talk about Priti Patel. Not.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Watching France 24, en Anglais, naturellement
Well, who'd jhave thought it, a French TV channel in, er, English. France 24 (pronounced France vingt-quatre, natch) will be launching in December giving a French pespective on news, culture and sport. Click HERE to watch its very unFrench trailer. I assumed it would be a French language channel, mais non. Ils parlent la language de notre Reine. Ausgezeichnet.
STOP PRESS: Witham Candidate Chosen
Priti Patel has just been selected as Conservative Candidate for Witham. This seat has a notional majority of more than 7,000 and 250 people attended the selection meeting tonight. Her opponents were Charles Elphicke, James Brokenshire MP and Geoffrey van Orden MEP. Elphicke went out in the first ballot. Brokenshire and van Orden tied for second place n the second ballot so there was a runoff. But the good thing for Pritti Patel was that she was ahead on every single round of voting.Perhaps this will finally put to rest the myth that Conservative selection committees in safe Tory seats won't select women or ethnic minority candidates. Four of the 18 shortlisted candidates for this seat (of which I was one) were from ethnic minorities. Five were women. I kept being told that Essex Man and Essex Woman would not choose a woman let alone an ethnic minority. How wrong those people were. The very best of luck to Priti Patel.
Another Day, Another Talk
This morning I gave a talk to 30 journalsim students at West Kent College, which is near where I live in Tonbridge. To be honest I often don't look forward to these sort of things amd do them because I think I ought to rather than because I want to. However, I really enjoyed this morning, mainly because the questioning was intelligent, entertaining and plentiful. There was much scepticism about the future of blogs but quite a bit of interest in internet TV. In fact I'm hoping a couple of students there will appear on my show before too long. Most of the students there hope for a career in the local and regional media. If their enthusiasm is anything to go by, they should have great success.
Maybe We Should Boycott British Airways
The news that British Airways check-in worker Nadia Eweida has lost her appeal against her employer who banned her from wearing a crucifix the size of a five pence piece may well rebound on them. Peter Hain has described BA's stance as 'loopy' and Ann Widdecombe has already said she will no longer fly with British Airways. I know a number of Christian groups in the States who have said the same thing. In the end the only way to persuade big companies like this that they are wrong is to hit them where it hurts and withdraw custom from them.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Remembering Milton Friedman
Iain Murray has a superb tribute to the late great Milton Friedman HERE.
Universities Seek to Ban Christian Unions
I am not a religious person, but I like to think my beliefs are broadly Christian. This is, after all, still a predominantly Christian country. But I find it appalling that Christians are starting to be persecuted like some weired religious sect, while other religions are deemed to be 'untouchable' both in law and satire. The latest manifestation of this worrying trend is that some universities are, unbelievably, starting to ban Christian Unions. These small minded universities are supporting a politically-correct agenda where 'equality and inclusion' must mean that Christians are viewed as bigots. Christian Union meetings are banned, bank accounts frozen, and their advocacy of Christian orthodox belief is considered too offensive for expression on university premises. Funny, I always thought universities were places of freedom of expression and free speech. I wonder if the same thing is happening to Islamic Societies. Somehow, I doubt it. They just wouldn't dare.
Cranmer has more HERE.
Cranmer has more HERE.
Victoria Cross Heroes on Channel 5 at 8pm Tonight
If you're at home this evening at 8pm you might want to tune into the first episode in a new three part series on Channel 5 looking at the history of the Victoria Cross. It accompanies the BOOK by Michael Ashcroft which was published a couple of weeks ago, which I had a small hand in helping with.
Chirac Wants to Run Again Says Telegraph
It seems scarcely believeable but the Sunday Telegraph carries a report today suggesting that Jacques Chirac is considering running for a third term as President de la Republique. He's 73 but seriously believes that his country still needs him. I am by no means an expert on French politics but I find it hard to think of a single thing he could rightly call an achievement during his tenure.
The press is getting carried away by Sego-mania following the selection of Segolene Royal as the Socialist Party candidate. Most commentators are relishing a Sego-Sarko contest on the assumption that Nicolas Sarkozy becomes the UMP candidate. Indeed, it is the antipathy towards Sarkozy by many centrists within the UMP that is the main driving force behind a further Chirac candidacy. None of the other putative candidates (de Villepinnor Michele Alliot-Marie) are strong enough to beat Sarkozy.
Royal and Sarkozy are each at 50% in the polls, so this could be one of the most gripping Presidential elections in any country for years.
The press is getting carried away by Sego-mania following the selection of Segolene Royal as the Socialist Party candidate. Most commentators are relishing a Sego-Sarko contest on the assumption that Nicolas Sarkozy becomes the UMP candidate. Indeed, it is the antipathy towards Sarkozy by many centrists within the UMP that is the main driving force behind a further Chirac candidacy. None of the other putative candidates (de Villepinnor Michele Alliot-Marie) are strong enough to beat Sarkozy.
Royal and Sarkozy are each at 50% in the polls, so this could be one of the most gripping Presidential elections in any country for years.
Who's the Chopper on the Left?
If it's possible to have an enjoyable afternoon watching your team lose, I suppose I did today. Michael Hintze invited me to join him and his family to watch Chelsea v West Ham in his box at Stamford Bridge. The last time I went to Chelsea was about 8 or 9 years ago and the Hammers won 2-1. I must admit I did not expect a similar result this afternoon, but in the end West Ham put in a very good performance and were possibly unlucky not to get a draw. Etherington and Spector were outstanding.Before the match started two ex Chelsea players came into the box, Kerry Dixon and Ron 'Chper' Harris, pictured above. Chopper was probably the
I had to make a quick getaway to get to Bishop's Stortford to host another Evening with Ann Widdecombe and just about got there on time. It was held at the Rhodes Arts Centre, a truly fabulous new building, which houses the Cecil Rhodes Museum. Apparently he was born on the site.
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