Fair comment from The Sun

eublues · 21-04-2008, 12:57 PM

Kavanagh | Local elections | Give Ken a kick in the Ballots | Gordon Brown | The Sun |HomePage|News|Columnists|kavanagh

By TREVOR KAVANAGH

Published: Today

GORDON BROWN left a weird sense of unfinished business when he bottled last year’s General Election.

As each new crisis unfolds, it seems increasingly bizarre that Britain is led by an UNELECTED Prime Minister.

It might not have mattered if the country was being run competently.

But Gordon has botched just about every decision he’s taken since assuming office — from Northern Rock and the EU Constitution to the 10p tax fiasco and Iraq.

Even Chancellor Alistair Darling and Foreign Secretary David Miliband are pleading for him to get his act together.

Yet we must wait two more years before we get a vote.

Or do we?

Next week, we can put a cross on a ballot paper and show what we think of the party in power — at least in councils across England and Wales.

Gordon Brown ... challenge
The juiciest plum is London where voters surely can’t want another four years of tired Ken Livingstone.

Local authorities, more than ever before, dance to the tune of the party in power at Westminster.

But they have room for manoeuvre on big issues such as education, welfare and care of the elderly. How have they handled it?

Back in 1983, Labour leader Neil Kinnock conjured a bleak picture of life in Britain if his party failed to win power.

We would be transported back to the dark ages of ignorance, disease and early death.

“I warn you not to be ordinary, I warn you not to be young, I warn you not to fall ill, and I warn you not to grow old,” he moaned.

It was the sort of overblown rhetoric that landed Kinnock with his Welsh Windbag tag and cost him the election.

But it struck a chord with voters who subsequently swept Tony Blair and Gordon Brown into government in 1997.

So, after 11 years in power, Labour has surely put an end forever to such misery.

Scandal
Well, they certainly haven’t been reluctant to use our money.

Council taxes have DOUBLED in 11 years — rising by more than inflation every single year with precious little improvement in services.

Band D bills have hit £1,374 on average — that’s £26 a week for punters struggling to make ends meet.

So don’t be “ordinary”.

The way we treat poor pensioners is a scandal, with the elderly consigned to hellhole care homes where many are abused and neglected.

In a bombshell report, the Commission For Social Care Inspection says some residents are dragged around by their hair, strapped into wheelchairs, locked in their rooms and sedated.

It blamed staff shortages and poor training.

Advertisement

So don’t grow old.

Labour-dominated local education authorities hold the whip hand over schools.

Yet one in ten teachers are officially deemed incompetent and children are leaving school with abysmal exam grades.

One million children fail to gain even Grade G in five GCSEs. Shockingly, four million fail at Grade C — the minimum employers require before offering a job.

This is just one of the reasons why Britain was deemed by the UN Children’s Fund as the worst place in the industrialised world to grow up.

So don’t be young.

NHS cash chaos has filtered down to local hospitals and health trusts where social care and out-of-hours visits have been cut to the bone.

So don’t fall ill.

Neil Kinnock could have added: Don’t be poor.

Yet the gap between rich and poor has GROWN under Labour.

And the vaunted tax credits are so complex that two million of the poorest don’t even claim them.

Labour has been “investing” like drunken sailors. They spent £1,400BILLION in the last ten years — twice as much as in the previous decade.

Yet our capital city resembles bankrupt New York in the Eighties, with roads like ploughed fields and litter-strewn streets decorated with graffiti.

We deserve better from our politicians — nationally and locally.

So don’t sit at home moaning next week.

Get out and vote. Give the beggars a kick where it hurts.

In the ballot box.

JOHN PRESCOTT’S struggle with bulimia is no laughing matter.

This is a serious psychological condition with potentially dangerous consequences.

But in the Fat Controller’s case, it was surely a wrong diagnosis.

Prezza blames pressures of high office and says he spent every waking hour working or “stuffing my face” (and, occasionally, Tracey’s).

More likely, he was just a greedy incompetent who gobbled every tasty treat going.

arden forester · 21-04-2008, 02:32 PM

Sorry to be pedantic, eublues, but Brown is elected (in his constituency), it's just that he has no personal mandate to govern. The Labour Party managed to secure a majority in the House of Commons on only 20% of the total electorate's active support. 80% either voted for other parties or just couldn't be bothered (due to apathy or a plague on all you houses attitude).

It could be that when a Prime Minister resigns or dies in office, his/her successor has to seek a new mandate. That would be possible. I wouldn't favour it, as it supposes the prime minister is some kind of president, which he is definitely not.

As we now have three party plus politics in a two party system, I would favour having either PR or 50% majorities (by sharing out second preference votes) in constituencies. The current system cannot continue, as it could lead to members being elected on 25% of a 40% turnout. Hardly fair or just. But it's how New Labour "won three historic victories"!!!!

The Bear · 21-04-2008, 02:48 PM

In view of what was for decades Cabinet government being overturned by Blair, and it being unlikely for a whole bunch of reasons why it will never be reinstated, not to mention the "cult of the personality" having overtaken the attraction or otherwise of the party, maybe it's time that we bit the bullet and DID elect a PM, much as the US elects a president.

At least that way there is some hope that people would look at the political parties manifesto's and not the front man.

Personally I believe there is need for root and branch reform of the whole electoral system and the introduction of some form of PR (but NOT a transferable vote) and a fully elected second chamber.

I also believe that the postal vote should be scrapped. It’s not only far too open to abuse, it’s actually being abused.

arden forester · 21-04-2008, 04:01 PM

"................and a fully elected second chamber".

Just a carbon copy of the others. No cross-benchers, no bishops, no hereditaries, just people looking over their shoulders.

I think the cry for an elected second chamber would produce nothing but the joy of going to elect another lot of politicians.

Westcountryman · 21-04-2008, 04:05 PM

The second chamber, if elected, should be completely different to the Commons.

I'd like to see something similar to the US Senate, where each County sends an equal number of representatives (eg. 2) and is elected in completely different cycles to the Commons (E.g. Every five years, 2 1/2 years into the Commons term).

The Bear · 22-04-2008, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eurosceptic Atlanticist

The second chamber, if elected, should be completely different to the Commons.

I'd like to see something similar to the US Senate, where each County sends an equal number of representatives (eg. 2) and is elected in completely different cycles to the Commons (E.g. Every five years, 2 1/2 years into the Commons term).

Exactly.

The present arrangement couldn’t be much worse than it is.

The VERY first move should be to get rid of Bishops and Hereditary Peers ASAP and any and all future political appointments should be discontinued and then real power returned to the second chamber once more.

arden forester · 22-04-2008, 10:37 AM

So it's about REAL POWER then! Not about revising proposed legislation in order to get good laws. Just more snouts in the trough seeking REAL POWER!!

Get rid of the bishops! OK, onward secular soldiers! Get rid of the cross-benchers! OK, no more independent thinking. Get rid of the hereditaries. No more of the Earl of Onslow or Countess of Mar, who can both see a spin merchant at 50 yards!

Just more politicians seeking to create more mayhem. Couldn't it just be that their Lordships serve us well in keeping the more contentious legislation in check?

The Bear · 22-04-2008, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arden forester

So it's about REAL POWER then! Not about revising proposed legislation in order to get good laws. Just more snouts in the trough seeking REAL POWER!!

Get rid of the bishops! OK, onward secular soldiers! Get rid of the cross-benchers! OK, no more independent thinking. Get rid of the hereditaries. No more of the Earl of Onslow or Countess of Mar, who can both see a spin merchant at 50 yards!

Just more politicians seeking to create more mayhem. Couldn't it just be that their Lordships serve us well in keeping the more contentious legislation in check?

I really doubt if you understand the real politk at work where "The Other Place" is concerned let alone the very limited power they have since Blair drove a coach and horses through what he didn't like.

arden forester · 22-04-2008, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bear

I really doubt if you understand the real politk at work where "The Other Place" is concerned let alone the very limited power they have since Blair drove a coach and horses through what he didn't like.

You doubt my understanding? How gracious of you, sir!

Britannist · 23-04-2008, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arden forester

You doubt my understanding? How gracious of you, sir!

No one should doubt your admirable political understanding, Arden.

Europhile 'The Bear' was also being rude to me the other day (breaching forum rules) - and he has only been on this anti-EU forum for five minutes.

As for his own views: this is what he wrote at 10.49 am on 19.4.2008 in the thread titled "The UKs vanishing way of life" (in the Talk About section of the forum):

"I DO want a single united states of europe."

21-04-2008, 12:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
eublues Uber Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 3,122	Fair comment from The Sun Kavanagh \| Local elections \| Give Ken a kick in the Ballots \| Gordon Brown \| The Sun \|HomePage\|News\|Columnists\|kavanagh By TREVOR KAVANAGH Published: Today GORDON BROWN left a weird sense of unfinished business when he bottled last year’s General Election. As each new crisis unfolds, it seems increasingly bizarre that Britain is led by an UNELECTED Prime Minister. It might not have mattered if the country was being run competently. But Gordon has botched just about every decision he’s taken since assuming office — from Northern Rock and the EU Constitution to the 10p tax fiasco and Iraq. Even Chancellor Alistair Darling and Foreign Secretary David Miliband are pleading for him to get his act together. Yet we must wait two more years before we get a vote. Or do we? Next week, we can put a cross on a ballot paper and show what we think of the party in power — at least in councils across England and Wales. Gordon Brown ... challenge The juiciest plum is London where voters surely can’t want another four years of tired Ken Livingstone. Local authorities, more than ever before, dance to the tune of the party in power at Westminster. But they have room for manoeuvre on big issues such as education, welfare and care of the elderly. How have they handled it? Back in 1983, Labour leader Neil Kinnock conjured a bleak picture of life in Britain if his party failed to win power. We would be transported back to the dark ages of ignorance, disease and early death. “I warn you not to be ordinary, I warn you not to be young, I warn you not to fall ill, and I warn you not to grow old,” he moaned. It was the sort of overblown rhetoric that landed Kinnock with his Welsh Windbag tag and cost him the election. But it struck a chord with voters who subsequently swept Tony Blair and Gordon Brown into government in 1997. So, after 11 years in power, Labour has surely put an end forever to such misery. Scandal Well, they certainly haven’t been reluctant to use our money. Council taxes have DOUBLED in 11 years — rising by more than inflation every single year with precious little improvement in services. Band D bills have hit £1,374 on average — that’s £26 a week for punters struggling to make ends meet. So don’t be “ordinary”. The way we treat poor pensioners is a scandal, with the elderly consigned to hellhole care homes where many are abused and neglected. In a bombshell report, the Commission For Social Care Inspection says some residents are dragged around by their hair, strapped into wheelchairs, locked in their rooms and sedated. It blamed staff shortages and poor training. Advertisement So don’t grow old. Labour-dominated local education authorities hold the whip hand over schools. Yet one in ten teachers are officially deemed incompetent and children are leaving school with abysmal exam grades. One million children fail to gain even Grade G in five GCSEs. Shockingly, four million fail at Grade C — the minimum employers require before offering a job. This is just one of the reasons why Britain was deemed by the UN Children’s Fund as the worst place in the industrialised world to grow up. So don’t be young. NHS cash chaos has filtered down to local hospitals and health trusts where social care and out-of-hours visits have been cut to the bone. So don’t fall ill. Neil Kinnock could have added: Don’t be poor. Yet the gap between rich and poor has GROWN under Labour. And the vaunted tax credits are so complex that two million of the poorest don’t even claim them. Labour has been “investing” like drunken sailors. They spent £1,400BILLION in the last ten years — twice as much as in the previous decade. Yet our capital city resembles bankrupt New York in the Eighties, with roads like ploughed fields and litter-strewn streets decorated with graffiti. We deserve better from our politicians — nationally and locally. So don’t sit at home moaning next week. Get out and vote. Give the beggars a kick where it hurts. In the ballot box. JOHN PRESCOTT’S struggle with bulimia is no laughing matter. This is a serious psychological condition with potentially dangerous consequences. But in the Fat Controller’s case, it was surely a wrong diagnosis. Prezza blames pressures of high office and says he spent every waking hour working or “stuffing my face” (and, occasionally, Tracey’s). More likely, he was just a greedy incompetent who gobbled every tasty treat going.

21-04-2008, 02:32 PM	#2 (permalink)
arden forester Uber Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Solihull, in The Forest of Arden, Warwickshire! Posts: 2,680 Party: None	Gordon Brown - the part-time MP job-sharing with an MSP! Sorry to be pedantic, eublues, but Brown is elected (in his constituency), it's just that he has no personal mandate to govern. The Labour Party managed to secure a majority in the House of Commons on only 20% of the total electorate's active support. 80% either voted for other parties or just couldn't be bothered (due to apathy or a plague on all you houses attitude). It could be that when a Prime Minister resigns or dies in office, his/her successor has to seek a new mandate. That would be possible. I wouldn't favour it, as it supposes the prime minister is some kind of president, which he is definitely not. As we now have three party plus politics in a two party system, I would favour having either PR or 50% majorities (by sharing out second preference votes) in constituencies. The current system cannot continue, as it could lead to members being elected on 25% of a 40% turnout. Hardly fair or just. But it's how New Labour "won three historic victories"!!!! __________________ www.ardenforester.blogspot.com www.westminster-whispers.blogspot.com

21-04-2008, 02:48 PM	#3 (permalink)
The Bear Uber Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: East Anglia Posts: 2,178	In view of what was for decades Cabinet government being overturned by Blair, and it being unlikely for a whole bunch of reasons why it will never be reinstated, not to mention the "cult of the personality" having overtaken the attraction or otherwise of the party, maybe it's time that we bit the bullet and DID elect a PM, much as the US elects a president. At least that way there is some hope that people would look at the political parties manifesto's and not the front man. Personally I believe there is need for root and branch reform of the whole electoral system and the introduction of some form of PR (but NOT a transferable vote) and a fully elected second chamber. I also believe that the postal vote should be scrapped. It’s not only far too open to abuse, it’s actually being abused. __________________ I am an old man. I have eaten much salt.

21-04-2008, 04:01 PM	#4 (permalink)
arden forester Uber Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Solihull, in The Forest of Arden, Warwickshire! Posts: 2,680 Party: None	"................and a fully elected second chamber". Just a carbon copy of the others. No cross-benchers, no bishops, no hereditaries, just people looking over their shoulders. I think the cry for an elected second chamber would produce nothing but the joy of going to elect another lot of politicians. __________________ www.ardenforester.blogspot.com www.westminster-whispers.blogspot.com

21-04-2008, 04:05 PM	#5 (permalink)
Westcountryman Uber Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: The Westcountry. Posts: 5,922 Party: None	The second chamber, if elected, should be completely different to the Commons. I'd like to see something similar to the US Senate, where each County sends an equal number of representatives (eg. 2) and is elected in completely different cycles to the Commons (E.g. Every five years, 2 1/2 years into the Commons term). __________________ Manus haec inimica tyrannis ense petit placidam sub libertate quietam - "This hand of mine, which is hostile to tyrants, seeks by the sword quiet peace under liberty."

22-04-2008, 10:37 AM	#7 (permalink)
arden forester Uber Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Solihull, in The Forest of Arden, Warwickshire! Posts: 2,680 Party: None	So it's about REAL POWER then! Not about revising proposed legislation in order to get good laws. Just more snouts in the trough seeking REAL POWER!! Get rid of the bishops! OK, onward secular soldiers! Get rid of the cross-benchers! OK, no more independent thinking. Get rid of the hereditaries. No more of the Earl of Onslow or Countess of Mar, who can both see a spin merchant at 50 yards! Just more politicians seeking to create more mayhem. Couldn't it just be that their Lordships serve us well in keeping the more contentious legislation in check? __________________ www.ardenforester.blogspot.com www.westminster-whispers.blogspot.com

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