19th August 2012

And when ahr wages they bring,

We are often short of a string,

And while we’re fratchin’ the gaffer for snatchin’,

We know to ’is brass ’e will cling.

Chorus:-

Poverty, poverty knocks,

Me loom it keeps sayin’ all day,

Poverty, poverty knocks,

(The) gaffer’s too skinny ter pay,

Poverty, poverty knocks,

Wi’ allus one eye on the clock,

Ah know Ah can guttle when I ’ear me shuttle (guttle = eat)

Go poverty, poverty knocks.

Traditional song, Tommy Daniel of Batly

Soon the Party Conferences will be underway and, with the exception of Ed Milliband singing the Red Flag, it’s doubtful if there will be much singing in the Conservative and Liberal Conferences and certainly no singing of Poverty Knocks.

The commentariat will of course have a great time explaining the policy differences whilst enjoying the hospitality in the conference hotels.

The differences between the Labour Party and the Tory Party and the politicians who make the headlines is becoming increasingly clear.

An open letter from Alastair Darling to George Osborne sets some of this out, Plan A is not working it is time for a Plan B otherwise there will be long term damage to the economy, poverty is knocking.

Meanwhile the Chancellor is setting out a plan to continue to cut the cost of welfare because the anticipated income from taxation has not materialised and once again poverty is knocking.

How does that work?

It is interesting to reflect on the thinking that underpins the con-dem economic strategy.

The deficit is too high and must be reduced in order to make Britain’s economy sustainable.

However, the economy is not working, it is stagnant, even the Bank of England has given up on growth, poverty is knocking.

So in order to get business investing and working it is necessary to energise the business community and the way to do this is to reduce taxation.

Reducing taxation of course reduces the income to the exchequer and by definition increases the deficit.

But this is not an avoidable accident it is in fact part of the strategy that conservatives have always used and which the Liberals have bought into.

The peculiar logic of the conservative mind-set means that cutting taxes, which is generally seen to be a good thing, actually increases the deficit, this then adds further weight to the conservative approach, providing the necessary justification for deeper and deeper cuts in spending which are almost invariably aimed at welfare so again poverty is knocking.

So with apologies to Tommy Daniel, altogether now:

Regressive taxes we hate

But the Chancellor is stood at the gate

He’s waving his red box, we’re in for some shocks

It seems we can’t rely on the State

16th August 2012

Manchester United lost the Championship last season with a draw at Everton. They won’t win it back in the opening game of this season even if the new players perform exceptionally well.

A known name and two unknown names will be in the side and with the opening whistle the long haul will begin by the end of the season the names will be familiar and on every fans lips as they cheer the team down the final straight.

In a perfect season it should be won well before my birthday, last season’s last minute goal scored after United’s game had ended with the necessary win, was just too much pressure and whilst I can’t speak for old men in general it certainly made this old man weep into his Boddington’s beer.

Hopefully in politics, as in football the new season will mark the beginning of changes that will contribute to improving the lives of people in communities around the country.

Once the Party Conference season is over and the stand-up comedians, who double for politicians these days, have made their speeches then hopefully common sense will prevail.

It is time to take stock.

The feel good effects of Jubilees and Olympics have not had the required effect and the need for a radical long term change of policy is once again clear.

Austerity is not working and can never work when the poor are left in poverty and rich exercise no social responsibility.

The so called quantitive easing strategy has failed, mainly it seems because most of the new money has been used to rebuild bank balances and the rest has gone in bonuses, golden handshakes and golden farewells.

August the 15th is the Feast of the Assumption of our Lady, I was visiting with friends and was invited to attend an evening service with them in their local church on the eve of the feast.

I generally enjoy the culture of the Roman Catholic Church there is a familiarity of usage alongside the reverence shown both to the clergy and the church itself, it is an easy going kind of reverence as the rhythm of the liturgy carries both the Priest and the Congregation along in an unhurried but brisk rehearsal of the sacred words summed up always in the final words:  ita Missa est. The Mass is ended. Go in Peace.

The final words are usually followed by a rush to the door and then off to the pub.

This day was somehow different.

Readers of this blog know that I am an Anglican parson and that generally, now that I am older I try to avoid religion and to maintain a wry view of politics.

But something serious happened on Lady Day this year.

We read the piece of scripture that is sometimes called the Magnificat aka Mary’s Song.

Try this.

The proud scattered in their conceit.

The mighty cast down and the lowly lifted up.

The hungry filled with good things.

The rich sent away empty.

Now there is a manifesto for change.

There is a whole new way forward, but who will have the courage to adopt such a radical programme and implement it?

One small step might be to think about quantitive easing and approach it differently rather than giving the money to the discredited bankers, declare 2013 a year of jubilee across the land.

Send every household a £1000 gratis, free and without strings attached other than the proviso that it should be spent.

Imagine the boost to the High Street.

Mary Portas would be delighted.

Imagine all that money flowing into the economy in a fast flowing stream of benefits and bonuses.

Rather than continued recession imagine the boost to the economy and if nothing else the houses and pantries of the lowly and the hungry might be filled with good things.

And then in an ideal world United would be Champions for the twentieth time unless of course Roberto Mancini visits the Shrine of Our Lady at Medjugorje again as he did last year, ‘finding peace’ and unseating the champions!

13th August 2012

Having spent the largest part of the Olympics without a TV or internet access in an isolated part of the Highlands of Scotland under the shadow of Schiehallion in Perthshire I have managed to avoid the worst of the brouhaha surrounding the Olympics.

Of all the sports involved I probably missed missing beach volley ball.

It was only after driving away from our cottage and identifying a spot by the Lochside that I would receive enough of a signal to get some internet connection and read the news.

Whilst finding an internet connection will never become an Olympic sport in and of itself, nevertheless it had a medal winning aspect to it even if it was only bidding for an Olympic Torch on ebay?

Like the sprint relay team I kept dropping the connection and finding myself disqualified.

It was a constant reminder that even though we are living in the 21^st century there are still parts of the UK which are living in internet poverty with broadband still a distant dream.

Nevertheless, if you were determined enough, it was possible to keep up with the central events and keep some kind of a rolling total of the Gold medals won by British athletes and to celebrate the success of other nations notably Jamaica as Usain Bolt won his Gold in the 100 metre sprint.

Nevertheless the peace and quiet of my highland retreat was restful and my breathing had an almost meditative quality to it, as I walked and fished and read in the unseasonal, and unscottish, unbroken sunshine.

Returning to something close to connectivity staying with friends whose Wi-Fi is available I can see that even the most cynical amongst us have been won over by the Olympics.

Success of course is always to be enjoyed and celebrated.

Great Britain has demonstrated that amongst its athletes there are some great Olympians.

Much of the success of the London Olympics can be traced back to the effects of Lottery Funding on ‘good causes’ in general and sport in particular.

But there is a sub-text to most things and it seems that training away from the UK and the role of coaches from outwith the UK continues to be an important part of the secret to winning Olympic Gold.

Now that real news will return with Newscasters reporting the News rather than commentating on the extraordinary spectacle of the closing ceremony with its rash of boy bands, iconic sixties musicians, Russell Brand and Gold Records in the place of medals maybe it will be possible to place the coalition once again under scrutiny.

There have been reports of cracks appearing in the façade of the coalition.

A cabinet reshuffle promoting more right wing MP’s, talk of the Chancellor being replaced, banks and banking remain under scrutiny, Danny Alexander is apparently getting ready to take issue with conservative policy proposals.

All eyes will be on the forthcoming by-election in Corby following Louise Mensch MP's resignation. 

There will be continuing debate about ethical versus capitalist banking as the co-op emerges as the preferred bidder to take over branches from Lloyds TSB making it a larger business operating co-operatively for the benefit of the wider community rather than commercially in pursuit of profits and bonuses.

All these topics need to be placed under scrutiny now that attention is no longer focussed on competition on track and field.

The para-olympics will of course once again placing many young athletes at the forefront of the public’s attention but this time it will perhaps be possible to recognise the underlying political ground which forms and shapes the achievements and disappointments and the different challenges facing disabled sports men and women.

In the middle of the competition it was announced that an even greater acreage of school playing fields is to be sold off, a strange counter intuitive action on the part of Michael Gove to ensuring that in the wake of Olympic Success in 2012 we will do even better in Rio in 2016 when David Beckham might be included in the Team GB football squad?

Meanwhile my money will be on the beach volley ball for the top ticket in Rio in 2016.

6th August 2012

I know where you live!

This was a pretty unveiled threat made to someone who had in some way offended you.

I know where you live!

Was a way of saying that neither you nor your family were safe, even in your own home.

It can be quite a shock, certainly used effectively in films and novels, when someone, anyone whom you are seeking to avoid, turns up unannounced at your front door.

I know where you live!

George Orwell coined the phrase Big Brother in his novel 1984 which described what would happen when totalitarianism replaced democracy.

‘They’, will know where you live!

‘They’ will also be able to monitor everything you are doing, who you are meeting, what you are saying; they will effectively be able to eavesdrop on your life as it is played out.

There will be no secrets.

Now of course we take it for granted, accept it as the norm.

We have voluntarily entered into a collusion with ourselves, our friends and the social networks we use.

The first time I saw an ipad my friend suggested that I looked at google earth.

What did I look for?

My own address and postcode.

I then zoomed in on my front door, identified my car and marvelled at the technology.

After I had bought one I tweeted (I know!) that I was enjoying a Gin and Tonic, seconds later my daughter contacted me to say that I had better get some more glasses and ice cubes because I had just invited the world to my house.

Location services, don’t switch them off and wherever you are, whoever you are with, whatever you are doing, someone will know.

Some people dismiss this as paranoia others recognise that quite voluntarily and enthusiastically we have embraced the future envisaged by George Orwell, we do now have a big brother, whether it is facebook, twitter, Linkedin, or any other social network someone, somewhere will be following us.

Yes our friends of course, that is the point.

But who else will know when we are away from home?

Where we are on holiday?

Whether we are with our partner or someone else?

What our plans are?

How will that information be of value to them?

It is unsurprising just how targeted web based advertising is, either on this blog site, on facebook or through other channels advertising is directed my way that reflects my interests, my searches, my words in the blog I write.

But of course it is not just my networks and the sites and organisations they sell my data to.

There are other agencies watching and monitoring ………………

And they know where you live …………….

1st August 2012

Mitt Romney is that very dangerous thing,  a loose canon.

And he was here.

Now he is in Israel.

So far he has not done justice either to his Mormon forbears or his country’s foreign policy.

Strange really because his form of neo-liberalism should sit very well with David Cameron’s and George Osborne’s neo liberalism, in as much as they should be natural allies.

So much pain and humour on facebook and in the blogosphere makes it clear that the public is aware of what is going on and remarkably unable to challenge or change it.

The con-dems are not pursuing an economic policy they are pursuing a political strategy.

As Margaret Thatcher claimed in the 80’s they want to see an end to socialism.

Austerity is not an economic response to either the Euro Crisis or the indebted British economy if it was they would focus their attentions on the rich, the carpet baggers, the bankers and the ex- patriots who live their sun downer lives in the tax exiles of the world.

No, it is welfare that attracts all the con-demnation the con-dems can muster.

As if an individual receiving £50’s a week in benefits or tax credits can result in the nation running up huge debts?

And Mr Cameron is committed to giving business what it wants.

Buying a double espresso in Pitlochry today I commented to the Barrista how quiet the town was compared with our previous visits, she agreed, she added and there are more foreign tourists this year than ever.

It takes some thinking through.

Maybe the stay-cation is a myth?

Perhaps the British tourists are relaxing in the euro zone Sunshine?

Perhaps they simply cannot afford to holiday at all?

It could be the price of fuel, it cost me over a £100 to fill my tank with diesel before I left home, but neither I nor the barrista or I could easily identify what has changed over the past two years.

And it is this that makes the Lib-Dems position so unsatisfactory, does Mr Clegg understand, what some of his party seem to understand, that this Neo-Liberal agenda is being actively promoted by his con-dem allies.

Ed Milliband and Ed Balls do understand this, which is why they seek to pursue a policy that constantly holds in front of the population at large just what damage is being done to our economy by the austerity which is being pursued by the con-dems and which is self defeating

So on we go, as Bob Dylan sang in another context, ninety miles an hour down a dead end street.

The end game is waiting to be played out.

It is hard to imagine whether it will all result in political change, the restoration of common sense in the body politic, a government of national interest and the end of the neo liberal agenda, banks being run for the public interest, profits rather than losses socialised and a focus on public welfare in the best and widest sense of a word the neo liberals constantly seek to discredit, when it is above all a sign of a civilised society at its best.

We have no influence over whether Mitt Romney will win the Presidency and the legislature will in its remarkably organic way, seek to minimise the worst effects of his policies, with the possible exception of health care.

We do however have an influence over the out turn of our own political future.

Britain is not and never has been a neo-liberal country, from one nation Tories to the post war Labour Party, various governments have sought a middle way in social planning and politics.

Once the Jubilee and Olympic hoo haa has died down perhaps we can concentrate on unpacking the legerdemain implicit in the con-dem narrative.

26th July 2012

Grey, overcast, a vague threat of rain.

Apparently in the South it is now summer but here in the far North summer still has to arrive.

The North - South divide is with is for some time yet.

Soon we are heading even further North into another country altogether.

We are heading up to Scotland into big tree country, aka Perthshire.

There is, in our experience, a very real difference in the quality of life in Scotland, Samuel Johnson notwithstanding, it is both more human in scale and more cultured.

Politically of course it is pretty much always ahead of the English game with only one Conservative MP.

Universal benefits, prescriptions, free travel for the elderly, no fishing licence and in most place free fishing for seniors make Scotland an easier place to be an old fisherman.

Free University Education for both Scottish and European Union students leave the English University system exposed and aspiring graduates indebted although if English students choose to study in Scotland fees will be charged.

The social, economic and political success of the Scottish National Party offers clues to a political way for wards for politics in Britain as a whole.

As smaller nations have emerged in Europe, think Czech Republic and Slovenia, their is increasing evidence that the desperate holding onto power evidenced by the coalition government is equally a clinging to an imperial past.

Regionalism and a more federal structure did not start with New Labour who simply appropriated and built onto ideas that had been around since before the First World war.

There is a lot more to be gained than lost by regionalising into a federal structure would offer more autonomy and independence to the regions created.

It would be easier for those elected to respond to the aspirations of their electorate than is possible with the current London centric system, inward investment, think Hitachi and Nissan in the North East, would benefit the regions proportionately.

A smaller State, with a smaller legislature, would offer co-ordination of regional activity without legislating in ways that benefit some parts of the UK and especially London to a greater degree.

The greatest benefit would be to see local economies and local communities developing in different ways and sharing their local accents that much more positively.

London, of course, is a separate thing altogether, either it becomes an exception which proves the rule or it has to be challenged politically and economically.

Why build the Olympic Park in London? Why the massive investment in Cross Rail? Why Hi Speed Rail Links with London? Why a new or expanded National Airport?

I always wondered why when I lived in Milton Keynes if I wanted to fly to Edinburgh or into Europe I had to fly from London Luton?

The effect of the London focus is to skew National development, investment and infrastructure.

At a recent meeting in Newcastle a participant in the meeting, who had travelled up from London, commented that s/he needed to 'get back to reality', although what is 'real' about the price of everything from Beer, to Commuting to Restaurant Prices in London I am not sure, especially given that wages and housing costs are generally disproportionate.

I have always been proud to be a Northerner, my accent, my heritage, my culture, the environment I grew up and the City in which I was born.

Now I live even further North and everything apart from the weather is fine and no amount of regionalising, legislating or praying will ever change that ...........

24th July 2012

I was a cyclist.

I rode my bike, read cycling news and rode out with two cycling clubs.

Thought nothing of riding up to forty miles on a summer evening. Usually rode out to see the Tour of Britain, the Milk Race, pass through Derbyshire near to Stoke on Trent where I lived.

I always rode my bike with a fixed gear, 70" and 100" either side of the back wheel so that I could change them round according to the terrain.

Some evenings I would ride down to the local track in Newcastle under Lyme, strip the bike of everything that added weight and time trial round the track.

At school I wasn't desperately interested in rugby, football or field events and when I mentioned cycling the PE Teacher told me that it wasn't a sport.

Now after Bradley Wiggins' success in the Tour de France I guess no-one is in doubt and at the 2012 Olympics our hopes are up for total world domination in Cycling, pity Sir Steve Redgrave wasn't a cyclist!

As well as field and track and pool (as in swimming pool not numbered balls on a green baize cloth) will add a few more I am sure.

So all well and good.

No Beckham but there will be Giggs and a GB Team in the running for a Gold in football is not beyond the bounds of possibility and we should cycle and row and sail and shoot our way to a few medals.

First there is the show, AKA the opening ceremony, whether it will be Danny Boyle in 28 Days mode or Slumdog Millionaire mode is not yet clear, then there is wall to wall television coverage of sports with extra close ups of beach volleyball? (I could possibly be persuaded by my PE Teacher that beach volley ball is many things but possibly not a sport as we might understand it) and then Boris and Dave competing for honours in the closing ceremony doubtless with Tony and Cherie looking for photo opportunities alongside.

Being a grumpy kind of chap, and as my PE teacher observe completely unsporting and with a poor attitude, despite sharing a name with the winner of the Boston Marathon, I shall spend most of the Olympics on a river bank in Scotland with no TV.

If fish come by, lured by my Black Spiders, Black Pennels, Soldier Palmers, Invictas or Kate McLarens, then that will be a bonus and if they don't I will still be having a great time.

I guess I will keep up with the news and from time to time the medal count, but most of the time I will be looking to see if Ed Milliband can win a Gold at Prime Minsters question time and force a vote of no confidence in the coalition austerity strategy which is failing all the 'little' folk who actually pay taxes.

That the other Ed will win a Silver for rebooting the economy and turning a sprint into recession into a marathon for recovery.

I will be hoping also to hear that Mr Osborne has retired and now has time to earn himself a nice Bronze tan whilst cruising the Med in his friends yacht.