POLITICS CORNER

[Tardis]

Figures from UCAS indicating that peeps from 'deprived backgrounds' going to Uni up by 19.5%

[Bruff]

My apologies. I took the mention of 'cheaper' in the post as a reference to a cost comparison.

Richard Broughton

[Stanley]

"childcare is substantially cheaper over there than it is here" So did I.

[Bruff]

Goodness me. At face value that's a remarkable statistic from UCAS. However, I think we're almost certainly talking small numbers here and as we've mentioned a few times on the 'statistics' thread, when you are dealing with small numbers, % increases should be used with caution (if indeed they are used at all).

Transport Select Committee Report suggests Ministers should take some of the blame for the West Coast Mainline fiasco. Most unusually, 3 Conservative members have declined to endorse the report, which rarely happens with Select Committee findings. I hadn't realised one of the civil servants at the heart of the issue and who left was ex-Goldman Sachs. Clearly the absence of a £million bonus at the end of her time meant she didn't pull her socks up, or perhaps its absence meant the civil service simply couldn't attract the right talent as I think the argument goes......................

Richard Broughton

[Tardis]

My apologies. I took the mention of 'cheaper' in the post as a reference to a cost comparison.

Richard Broughton

I mentioned no figures

For comparison in statistics which have no real basis of qualification

UK childcare 46% of average salary
France Childcare 22%

But no one qualifies it with the subsidy

But like all businesses if you reduce staff costs then it should feed through to reduced cost to the end user although again there is no cross comparison about relative salaries, buildiung costs, regulations etc

Again I would question why in France it is alright to be those ratios. but in the UK there is an all mighty whoo haa, plus in school it can be 1/30

[Bruff]

Good question. I would imagine the wealth of research into early-years child development - awareness of self, emotional development, resilience and so - could explain the differences in ratios between crèche/childcare settings and schools. A newborn baby has no sense of self, obviously as it's been literally 'bound' to its mother. In time an infant develops its self-awareness through the faces of attention-giving multiple others. If an infant were competing with 30-odd other infants for this key developmental outcome, then there is the potential for adverse consequences.

This comes naturally to almost all parents - many say they could 'spend all day just looking' at their child. Which is exactly what is needed and what they are 'programmed' to do. In a society where this is increasingly difficult as the stay-at home-parent becomes the preserve of fewer and fewer, there is perhaps an argument for ensuring, so far as we can, this 'looking into the eyes' among those we choose to care for our infants in loco parentis.

None of this tells you the optimum ratio. But it does red flag a potential perverse outcome. If the aim in upping ratios is to reduce cost to users then at some stage there will be a trade off between your cost saving and expected developmental outcomes. The danger is that this trade-off impacts greater on those who cannot bear the cost. 'Twas ever thus, but personally whatever money we have lying around for 'education' I'd chuck a whopping wedge of it at early years not £5B or whatever it is at Academies.

Richard Broughton

[Tardis]

I don't understand the numbers at all, because the first 15 hours of childcare are supposed to be free via a voucher, or claim back

To me they just don't stack up or make sense and I query where the BBC got them from

I would rather see education totally separated from the state because it means that no political party can gerrymander the system and the money will flow with pupils and the quality of the education now that all the assisted places schemes are shut.

Academies are a starting point, not the answer

[Stanley]

Have a look at this LINK for a good article by Paul Krugman on the search for good examples of austerity that have succeeded. Everything he says reinforces my belief that we are on the wrong track and the sooner we see a change the better. The groundswell of opinion against 'austerism' is rising and Ossie looked a bit strained yesterday when he was trotting out the 'steady as you go' message.

[Stanley]

Interesting discussion on 'The week in parliament' last night trying to fathom out what Cameron is up to with the gay marriage debate. Consensus was that he is reinforcing his 2010 promise to modernise the Tory Party but has picked the wrong time and topic. Everyone agreed that one thing that is being clearly demonstrated is his lack of authority in the party. This division, added to the rumblings over the economy and the next election prospects combine to make some wonder what the chances are of a leadership challenge. Things get worse this week as he has to start negotiating on Europe, another divisive element. He isn't going to be able to placate everyone.
The faltering Mediterranean economise have receded in importance and interest rates on bonds are falling. What seems to have happened is that Europe and the markets went to the edge of forcing Greece into repudiation of the debt but then had a rethink. In the case of the markets they realised that they were going to lose more in a debt failure and in the case of the EU they realised that the problems that would be raised by Greece reneging would be terribly damaging to the Europe project. None of this has helped the economic position in these countries or reduced the effects of the cuts but instead of being a keg of gunpowder, they are now a running sore. The basic problems are still there but like so many political decisions these days they have been kicked down the road. Sooner or later they will have to be tackled and meanwhile the cost to Europe as a whole is enormous. The politicians have bought time for the larger Europe federalisation project. Thinking back to Cameron and Europe, what is the basis for any long term decisions when the foundations are so dodgy?
Osborne talks tough to the banks today talking about 'electrifying the ring fence' between retail banks and the investment decisions. But note that there are no deadlines, just openings for even more 'discussions'. We are watching another can being kicked down the road in the hope that the economy will recover and pressure for action will diminish. This is political flim-flam.

[Tardis]

The previously Rt Honourable Member for Eastleigh today admitted that he had lied for 10 years about a legal offence

He resigned, because there is no power in parliament to kick him out because of Misconduct in a Public Office. No way to reclaim all those salaries he has claimed and presumably no way to stop him getting the final pay off for 'losing' his seat.

[Bruff]

He should have adopted what is I think known as the Laws Defence - that he did what he did to ensure his mother didn't find out he was gay. Has a 100% success rate this defence.

He shouldn't be too disappointed though. He is now the incumbent Crown Steward and Bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham, replacing the current incumbent a certain Mr MacShane.

He may well in time find himself a position back at the ratings agency Fitch, where he was MD for a while. There's some as felt he perhaps spun few yarns there in his time.......................

Richard Broughton

[Tripps]

Yes but Laws was only "tried" by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner" not in front of a judge and jury. Even with this lower hurdle to clear, he was found guilty, and punished by being suspended from Parliament for seven days. So his defence was not too effective. His wikipedia entry is surprisingly frank on his crimes.

[PanBiker]

The bloke is a liar and a cheat and what for? A speeding ticket. I don't think there was any suspicion that he was fuelled by drink or drugs so why not just take the hit like any normal person? He would have got a slap on the wrist and some points and maybe the opportunity to go on a speed awareness course. Instead he chose to fabricate a complete lie and defend said same lie to the death for 10 years. The man is a total pratt and should be treated as such. I hope they throw the book at him now for perverting the course of justice. Probably won't happen though and he will come up out of the sh... smelling of roses all because of the "old boys club". Bloody disgrace to any right minded person.

[Bruff]

Sorry, I was being a little facetious.

Suspension from Parliament is an odd punishment for an MP as it really only 'punishes' the MP's constituents who are for that period denied their voice in Parliament.

I also get annoyed when Ministers give what amounts to a non-answer to back-bench questions. It really insults the MP's constituents. The PM refuses as of writing to answer any questions from Mr Bryant as the PM feels Mr Bryant should apologise to him for something or other some time ago. This is not on. Whatever wrong the PM feels is for him and Mr Bryant to sort out; as his constituents' voice, the PM should do the respectful thing and answer any question put by Mr Bryant.

Anyway, new word time. 'Exhuhned': being caught by the emergence of the lie you thought buried 10 years ago. Bum-bum!!

Richard Broughton

[Stanley]

I like 'exhuhned'..... The thing that intrigues me is that the only reason I can think of for his evident belief he could beat the charge even after his wife and family had blown the whistle is that he was relying on 'back channels' to find a way out for him, possibly by influence on the justice system. There is a whole world of intrigue and 'quiet words in private' that we know nothing about and this secret world damages democracy.
So Cameron gets his Bill through but 60% of his backbenchers didn't support him. It may be good political tactics but it's bad party management. Like it or not he's in the run-up to an election and things are not looking good for the Tory Party and the Lib-Dems. The by-election caused by Huhne's disgrace will be interesting......

[Tardis]

I note no spokesperson for the NHS on Today this morning, no resignations of staff, no prosecutions

What do people in the NHS have to do to actually accept that they did do things wrong? Where is any kind of accountability

[Tripps]

Just announced by the BBC, that self employment has risen by an amazing 60%. Well that's hardly surprising - only a couple of days ago it was revealed that the latest scam from Government funded lob finding agencies was to get the applicants to pretend to be self employed, and work say, 16 hours as an Avon person, which the made them eligible for top-up Income Support benefit. Another reason might just possibly be that people from Romania and Bulgaria are only allowed to settle here ahead of the 2014 deadline if they are self employed.

[Tardis]

Leading on the "bedroom tax" at PMQ's seems a little bizarre when it isn't a tax

[Stanley]

See yesterday's PE for interesting and frightening stuff as usual but good piece on the employment scam. I have no confidence at all in the statistics....
That bloke Nicholson says he is best placed to put into effect Francis report recommendations. So that's all right then......
Michael Gove coming under attack in PE yesterday for allowing his SPADS to run attacks on opponents of his policies via social networking sites. Of course he denies that it's happening. So sue PE for libel?

[Tardis]

Can not understand how no one is accountable for the Staffs debacle. Whilst it shatters the NHS myth for many, it is rife for all chronic patients

[Tardis]

Appears the former Rt Hon Member for Eastleigh has taken over £70k in severance for losing his seat

[Stanley]

Now we know why Gove's SPADS were so active. Attempting to rubbish opposition to the ill-thought out reforms of the examination system. Mr Gove may begin to realise that back of the envelope 'improvements' based on dogma are no substitute for changes made after consultation with the people who have to run the system. Remember the twenty minute 'sofa meeting' that initiated the ill-fated NHS IT programme under New Labour? How much time and money is wasted in these solo decisions?

As for the NHS. Considering it is the largest and most economic free delivery health system in the world there are bound to be mistakes and complaints. Balance these against the totally satisfactory experience of the vast majority of clients. A bit of balance needed I think. Is any health delivery system perfect? The NHS is the most wonderful social service in the world and we should be grateful we have it. Read the history books and look round the world.

[Tardis]

Now we know why Gove's SPADS were so active. Attempting to rubbish opposition to the ill-thought out reforms of the examination system. Mr Gove may begin to realise that back of the envelope 'improvements' based on dogma are no substitute for changes made after consultation with the people who have to run the system?

I think it is some of the best politicing ever. He reached too far and got the Unions to agree to some major changes and then rowed back from a unilateral approach. Masterful management of expectations really. No wonder he was smiling.

As for the NHS. Considering it is the largest and most economic free delivery health system in the world there are bound to be mistakes and complaints. Balance these against the totally satisfactory experience of the vast majority of clients. A bit of balance needed I think. Is any health delivery system perfect? The NHS is the most wonderful social service in the world and we should be grateful we have it. Read the history books and look round the world.

1200 people are dead needlessly in one hospital Stanley and no one seems to care or is accountable, but then their opinion no longer appears to count in your rhetoric because no one can ask them anymore. No prosecutions, no one struck off, no one even seems to have lost their job and is left to carry on in position, and that head of the trust would have been on more than 100k in salary, so he's a top 1%er in the earnings league.

[Stanley]

David Cameron evidently hit the right strategy in the EU budget negotiations. I'm glad, an automatic increase in the budget was a silly strategy given the fact that everyone is cutting back. Interesting to note that he is claiming credit for a policy decision that was widely mooted by other countries. The credit is that he judged the general mood correctly and made his pitch in line with the others.

[Tardis]

Not convinced by this care legislation

Either it is part of the NHS and thus funded out of taxation, or it should remain completely private.

Where is the incentive to save money or buy property if you know that you won't have to fund your care if you're profligate?