POLITICS CORNER

[Nolic]

£100,000 a year is a drop in the ocean compared to some of the salaries paid by Ofsted. Nolic

[Big Kev]

Theresa May announces ASBOs for tourists

[Stanley]

It's true Kev. Instead of bringing any new restrictions they are going to rigorously enforce existing regulation of tourism visas which are often used for educational and other purposes. Some MPs have described them as ASBOs.
Have you noticed how the EU's poor economic performance is being downgraded in terms of news coverage. It could be a serious matter for the UK economy as they are our biggest export market. At one point we were getting daily press releases from the EU but I think they have learned some lessons about news management. This suits Cameron et al as it allows the Coalition to continue to trumpet the UK 'economic miracle' which is more of a mirage than a concrete and stable improvement.

[Whyperion]

Britains-underclass-Half-million-problem-families-cost-taxpayer-30BILLION-year.html Cameron brings in a new rule that all policies have to pass a 'family friendly' test. All right, there are problem families but does anyone really believe that this is the scale of the problem?.

Check out Radio 4's latest More or Less Statistics program] )rpt tonight at 8pm. When Newsnight/The Guardian asked the basis of 500,000 problem families, told by govt sources that this could not be released as was a 'policy in progress' , but would be made avalible when policy finalised. (I suspect number made up ).

[Whyperion]

introduction of a policy of the county council paying a living wage.)

I have not crunched the numbers, but suspect that some wage increases at the marginal end (dependent on an individual's circumstances), could result in loss of tax credits/housing /CT benfits + additonal tax/ and nhi leaving net take home pay little changed(and the excess probably spent on extra VAT attracting items (maybe not if childrens' clothes). Problem is the 'cost' gets borne by the local authority (add on ERS and Pension Contribs), but the 'revenue' goes to the Treasury.

[Stanley]

I watched the first half hour of the Scottish Independence debate on BBC2 last night. One commentator described it as 'two middle aged men shouting at each other'. I agree. This was not a debate but a shouting contest and much of what they said was lost as they talked (or shouted) over each other. More heat than light was generated.
France is in trouble as the economy stagnates. President Hollande dissolves parliament after strong criticisms of austerity from ministers. (LINK).
Worth remembering that Thomas Piketty, the man who recently lobbed a grenade into economic debate is a French economist and his views are having an effect. The tide against austerity and inequality is rising.

[Tripps]

Shocking report from Professor Alexis Jay into Rotherham Council.
The Leader has just resigned within minutes of the report being published. That's unusual.
I wonder if she's available to replace Mrs 'Justice' Butler Sloss.
She has just demonstrated her suitability to do so. It's been a long wait for replacement to be announced.

[Stanley]

Good point David but is she 'A safe pair of hands'? Women like her and Margaret Hodge should be put in charge of everything!

[Nolic]

The Rotherham issues took me by surprise. I never got a whiff of them in my Ofsted days which means either the LA were good at keeping the lid on things or Ofsted as per usual were incompetent in their LA inspections. I was horrified to read of the police referring to an 11 year old having "consensual" sex with an adult......I thought it was only judges who said such things. Nolic

[Stanley]

Comrade, I hope you heard John Humphrys attacking the PCC on Today at 08:10. He did not give him a comfortable ride....

[Stanley]

Funny that the OFSTED 2010 report on the child care services in Rotherham that found them 'Adequate' has vanished from their website.
It transpires that because PCC is an elected post, they are at least as hard to remove as an MP, Wright resigns from Labour Party but continues as PCC.
One thing worries me, the media are flooded with the informant Emma who interviews remarkably well. Is she a natural or could she have been coached? I believe the report and the allegations but Emma worries me.
Something seems to have happened, a dam has broken and we are seeing people coming forward and giving their evidence in ways that we haven't seen before. I can't help looking back to what I said at the time of the expenses scandal when I speculated that the tectonic plates of politics and society might be shifting. Their is a less respectful, almost reverential, attitude to those in power, indeed, it is now cynicism. Add the ease of communication by social media and you might have a 'perfect storm' in respect of the ability of ordinary people to have their say.
I'm not saying that this is definitely the case but the evidence seems to support something like this happening. If so, it's a good thing, disruptive perhaps but an occasional purge is good for the morale!

[Stanley]

It was not a good day for the Tories yesterday. Mr Carswell tergivisates to UKIP. (Not often we get a chance to slip that one in!) Nigel Farage implies that there are eight other MPs dithering. He may be right but we will not know until the result of the by-election caused by this desertion takes place, probably in October. UKIP topped the poll there in the Euro MEP elections and this could be crucial. However, regardless of what happens then, this bodes ill for the 2015 general election.
There was another small matter, David Cameron has been forced to admit that his policy to reduce net migration into the UK to 100,000 is in tatters. The National Audit office reports that the figure is currently 240,000 and says that this is statistically significant.
Again, we are being bombarded by messages from politicians deploring the ongoing revelations about Rotherham, and by implication other towns as well, the general opinion is that this is the tip of a very large iceberg. These same MPs are members of parties who, while in government, repeatedly ignored the warning signs and cut funding to local councils and social services. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones and though at arm's length, they bear some responsibility as well. This reinforces the point I keep making that cutting funding for social services isn't a zero sum game, there are and will be in future, unforeseen consequences. The pigeons are coming home to roost and even though all three major parties are culpable, the full weight of any repercussions will inevitably fall on the party in power. Have a look at THIS for further revelations about council taxis being used to transport young girls to their abusers. You couldn't make it up!
Meanwhile, further afield, it now seems obvious that Russia has invaded Ukraine, work that one out! No firm policies about the Islamic State incursion and reports that the Syrian refugee crisis is the biggest ever seen. Any good news out there?

[Tizer]

The front page of The Times today reports that senior council officials in Rotherham in 2002 ordered a raid on one of their offices to remove case files and wipe computer records detailing the scale and severity of the town's sex-grooming crisis. It was after senior police and council staff found out what was in a draft report on the sex abuse scandal. The report was to be part of a Home Office project on child exploitation in several English towns and the chapter on Rotherham still isn't published. The researcher was ordered to remove or rewrite sections of the report. Other council staff knew about the raid and what it was for but why didn't they speak out? It's more like life in Russia or China than England!

[Stanley]

I heard that report also Peter and in the account I heard it said the author of the draft was disciplined which makes it even worse. This is the tip of a very big iceberg but thank god people are coming forward and speaking out. However it's noticeable that people sill in council employment are very wary about exposing themselves.
I'm afraid my cynicism will poke through here so make allowances for me. I note the major announcement that 'threat levels' for 'terrorism' have been raised. This has knocked everything else off the headlines and just before weekend. When questioned, officials say that they are only talking about isolated examples and not mass bombings. They also say that we will not notice and practically, it will have very little effect. So my cynicism drives me to ask some questions. What difference will altering the threat level make? Why did we need to be told about it? Has this acted as a diversion and shifted the focus away from more immediate concerns like the plight of the 1400 known victims of abuse in Rotherham and the unknown number in other areas? Add the Carswell defection, the criticism of the government for not pressing on with the enquiry into abuse promised and then stalled when Lady Butler Sloss debarred herself from leading the inquiry due to her involvement in it and questions about the efficiency of government funding and supervision of the police and social services that allowed these things to happen. Add the fact that the 2010 OFSTED report which gave Rotherham an 'adequate' rating has vanished from the official web site.
We have two circumstances, a nebulous threat which can't be proved one way or another and a clear and present danger that is affecting far more people and is known and provable. Which deserves the greater attention?
Later. I'm listening to David Blunkett talking about Rotherham and he has reminded me of Ann Cryer's brave stand in Keighley in 2003 over this very issue and how she was threatened, ignored and eventually buried.

[Tizer]

Making threats seems to be a national pastime these days, thanks to it being made easy through the Internet...I've mentioned before how even climate scientists have received abuse and threats of harm to them and to their families. Muslims and Jews in Britain are receiving more threats.

[PanBiker]

It's not all that long since (only a few months) that they reduced the threat level to "severe".

[Stanley]

It looks like news management to me. Nothing new about the use of threats and fear to manage the population of course. History is littered with examples. During WW2 there was no need for artificial threats, we all knew about the danger. As soon as the war was over a conscious decision was made in the US to maintain the fear level in order to slow down the rate at which people reclaimed money invested in War Bonds, Communism was used and the Cold War ensued, plenty of reasons for maintaining expenditure on arms and keep the economy going. We all followed suit.
In September 2003 when the Twin Towers and the Pentagon were attacked the 'War on Terror' was immediately invoked as a knee jerk reaction. I still believe this was a massive mistake and was instigated mainly to divert questions about why, with the biggest intelligence expenditure in the world, the US government had been caught napping.
I remember when the threat of a small IRA bomb [which never exploded] was used as a reason for closing most of the M6. I reflected at the time that during the war when bombs were raining down on us we took the risk and carried on. There is no comparison between the possible damage from a 'terrorist incident' and the actual damage going on as I write connected with organised sexual abuse of thousands of children. We must get our priorities right!

[Stanley]

Quite a fundamental change in government policy has quietly slipped into effect. See this LINK for news about what is effectively the nationalisation of Network Rail. The unions are elated because they see this as opening the door to re-nationalisation of the railways but observers see it as more like the government responding to criticisms from the National Audit Office about the management of the agency, particularly senior executive's pay scales. In effect Network Rail is now a fully fledged government department and the MOT has a direct influence on such things as pay scales.
However, this could be the thin end of the wedge and if it was decided in future to take the railways back into public ownership it would be far easier.
The major announcement about the terrorist threat looks even more superfluous as politicians and lawyers argue about what can legally be done. It looks as though all that will ensue is tweaking of existing regulations. Still, it's keeping the really serious things off the news.....

[Stanley]

Cameron walking to Parliament with his aides against the advice of his security officers.
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Russia seems to be emulating Hitler in the 1930s. All the available evidence seems to indicate that Russia is doing exactly what Hitler did in the Sudentenland in 1938, first foment ethic conflict and then invade on the grounds that Ukrainians of Russian ethnic origin are being oppressed. Meanwhile governments protest and debate what can be done and the world markets completely ignore what is happening as they profit from the boom stimulated by low interest rates and injection of capital into the markets under 'quantitative easing'. Very puzzling.....

[Stanley]

I can't help wondering if things could have been any different in Iraq etc if we had gone about things differently. In 2003 I argued that we should be spending the money on financial aid to Iraq instead of on bombs. Look where we are now and ask the same question again.

[Pluggy]

I'm coming to the opinion that hard-line dictators are possibly/probably the lesser of two evils in some places. I hold up Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Libya as justification for this heretical thinking.

[Stanley]

You're not alone Pluggy. Aid wins hearts and minds and in the end that's what stops dictators. We have been screwing the Middle East one way or another for over 1000 years, about time we stopped.
A Jewish charity reports a big rise (300 in July compared to 59 the year before) in attacks on synagogues and violent personal assault following the Israeli action in Gaza. A worrying sign.....

[Stanley]

Cameron lectures NATO on the necessity to bring defence spending up to 2% of GDP. Only problem is that if more money isn't put into the MOD we will miss our own target this year. Did he not know this?

[Stanley]

Referendum polls are looking bad for anyone in favour of keeping the Union. (LINK)
See THIS for news that Fiona Woolf, City of London Lord Mayor, is to lead the enquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. Yet another selection from inside the London Establishment bubble. Why oh why can't they see beyond their own environment if they want someone who can be trusted to be truly independent?
See THIS for news that despite the economic savagery being imposed by the Public Service Cuts the man in charge of MP remuneration is determined to press ahead with a 9% rise in pay next year.

[Tizer]

Improvement in the public's education, health and wealth is what defeats dictators. When you're poor, ill-fed and uneducated you'll follow anyone who promises to works wonders. Once you're healthy, have money to spend, and can better understand the world around you, then you've got a lot to lose and you take more care over who governs your country.