It’s Just One Depressing Scandal After Another

July 3, 2012 Leave a comment

There seems to have been an incredible amount going on in the news, politics especially, in the last few months, which has made it difficult for me to keep up blogging wise. Usually because I see a story that I’m interested in, think ‘oh I’ll write about that when I get time’ and by the time I actually have the time another scandal has erupted gloriously across the online media world.

Just recently we have gone from celebrities avoiding tax, to potential O-level re-introduction, children abandoned in pubs, EU referendum talk, Libor scandal, police cuts, people setting themselves on fire outside the Job Centre, the Queen meeting Martin McGuinness, Lords reform, Chloe Smith getting offered up as a human sacrifice, ongoing Leveson enquiry et al

In simple terms, ‘it’s all kicking off’. I can’t help that remember when Brown was PM the lead story for days was that he called a woman a ‘bit bigoted’, actually Gillian Duffy seems to have cropped up in the news too recently, add immigration to the list of recent stories. Whilst we’re on that subject can we just get over that remark? I noted that as Gillian Duffy’s name began trending on Twitter recently several people furiously took to their keyboards to express how the incident was a perfect reminder of how much contempt Brown had for ordinary people and his supporters. Umm.. musing that you think somebody seemed a tad bigoted isn’t that bad, nor is it contemptuous, it’s not like he got in the car and ranted that she was a ‘fucking bitch’ or anything really offensive. He apologised, job done.

What was probably the most entertaining moment, in a depressing batch of news stories and example after example of government incompetence, was when David Cameron went to town on Jimmy Carr over his tax avoidance, practically falling over himself to have a go at the comedian and denounce his actions as ‘morally wrong’. Then promptly shutting up when it emerged that Tory-supporting chums like Gary (Fat Boy) Barlow, Tory-donor Lord Ashcroft and the PM’s own father-in-law Lord Astor had used tax havens. Presumable tax-avoidance is only immoral if you’re not a fully devoted member, supporter or donor of the Conservative Party. Glad we cleared that up. The exceptional mismanagement of the situation only served to make Carr, who apologised and came out to take the flak, look sympathetic and Cameron to look incredibly stupid. He must be paying his PR chaps a fortune…

Right now I’m looking at the political headlines and we’re still on the Libor scandal and Bob Diamond’s resignation, as if we needed reassuring that the bankers were a bad lot, they’ve not exactly done themselves a lot of favours in the last few years. Maybe they’re using the same PR people as Cameron? Good old Tony Robinson has come to the conclusion that bankers are not human, which might explain something, worth a watch here, the best rant I’ve seen in recent times.

Back to the headlines and Ken Clarke seems to be banging on about how we’re ‘losing the war on drugs’. I wasn’t aware that we had declared a war, nor am I really convinced that Ken Clarke has any idea what he is saying on this issue.

Other headlines seem to concern what has become the standard of late: cuts, ‘reforms’, cuts, EU, cuts, banks. All rather depressing really and by the time I hit publish no doubt a new demoralising scandal will have emerged.

Filed under Current Affairs: News, Politics, Issues., My Life In General Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Council in Crisis: but it is the government who are to blame for Leeds Crisis Centre Closure

February 9, 2011 16 Comments

The Tories are nothing if not great PR men when it comes to passing the blame for their ideologically driven cuts and regressive policies. The Liberal Democrats, for example, have borne much of the brunt – taking an exceptional kicking during the tuition fees debacle especially. Whilst the Liberal Dems have taken a huge drop in the opinion polls since the coalition was formed the Tories have only suffered some minor dents and managed to generally hover around the mid-thirties to early forties.

Now they are managing to skillfully avoid the blame for cuts to many local services because the burden has fallen on the local authorities to implement these cuts, but this is all due to the government gouging chunks out of funding for local governments.

In my hometown of Leeds. Council jobs are under threat and libraries, leisure services and health & social care services are all facing immediate closure threats.

One current contentious issue is the closure of the Leeds Crises Centre in Headingley, a counselling service providing help to vulnerable individuals. The media have taken up the story enthusiastically and the public have joined in – even some celebrities, like Stephen Fry and Coronation Street’s Steve Huison, have joined the campaign. This is all good of course but many people involved in campaigning to keep the centre open seem to be apportioning blame to the wrong people. I think it is great that people are campaigning to save mental health facilities but let’s keep in mind who is at the real heart of these cuts.

Councillor Lucinda Yeadon, who has the unfortunate task of having to oversee the closure of such facilities, is facing a huge amount of attack, abuse and targeted internet ‘hate’ campaigning. This is wrong. Councillor Yeadon is not closing down the Crisis Centre with a huge cheerful smile for the sake of it. She has made it clear in several interviews that this is not something that she wants to do, this is not what she is in politics for, and she should not be subjected to some of the horrible abuse that she is getting. The closures are inevitable due to the £90million black hole in the council’s budget.

 

 

 

 

If people want to blame somebody then the real people to blame are David Cameron, George Osborne and Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary who has implemented the biggest cuts to council budgets in recent times. These closures are not something the local Councillors in Leeds want to be doing.

Greg Mulholland MP seems to have conveniently forgotten that it is his government that are behind these cuts as he enthusiastically gets behind the campaign and tables an EDM. Let’s face it, that’s a good piece of political opportunism. He knows that it is his government that are causing these cuts, the coalition which his Party are a willing participant in.

If people want to set up abusive web pages, send hate mail or write into the local press about this issue they should be attacking the unneccessary Tory-led government cuts to local governments. Not the individual Councillors who find themselves as the public face of cuts that are not their fault.

Yet again it is the poorest and most vulnerable in society who are bearing the brunt of the governments cuts agenda, whilst those who are most responsible for the financial crises, the banks, are not made to take on their share of the burden and the government are passing the buck on to local council’s and are getting away with it because many are mistakenly blaming those who are not behind these cuts. We ned to be telling the government that this is unacceptable. They have caused this.

Update: just spotted this. Obviously many Liberal Democrats at local level are also unhappy with the scale of the governments cuts to local governments. 

Update 2: Lib Dem councillors have no faith in the Tory-Led government – Caroline Flint MP

Filed under Current Affairs: News, Politics, Issues. Tagged with , , , ,

Child Benefit: Bad maths.

October 4, 2010 9 Comments

Don’t get me wrong I don’t really have a problem with somebody on a high income having their Child Benefit cut. They can easily afford to live without it and I don’t know why people on these high incomes were claiming it anyway when it was unnecessary and the money could have been better spent. There are, however, problems. First of all, the ridiculous way in which this benefit will now be worked out. A couple who both earn up to £44k, £88k in total, can claim but a single person earning over £44k wouldn’t be able to. Not that I believe somebody earning £44k a year is going to be badly off without Child Benefit, it’s a decent salary and if I had grown up in a household with a £44k salary I would have thought we were fantastically rich. What is ludicrous, and frankly dangerous, is the cavalier attitude that George Osborne and the government seem to have towards single parent families. The sums on this one just don’t add up at all. Why should an £88k household be allowed to claim but not a £45k household? Complete madness. George Osborne says this is the most “simple” way to do things. Yes, Gideon, “simple” sounds about right.

Administration costs aside, what is also worrying is that this could just be the start. Yes, the change is fine at the moment, I don’t think anyone would argue that a family on £44k desperately need child benefit, but we’ve now begun attacking the previously universal benefits. It does not seem like a good start. If a ‘universal’ benefit is not safe then what else is not safe?

Still no confirmation on if they will be cutting Child Benefit for older teenagers, as was rumoured, if that one turns out to be true I will lose all hope.

Filed under Current Affairs: News, Politics, Issues. Tagged with , , , , ,

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