Blue Blood for the NHS

Instead of ranting on about who invented or voted for the NHS Annabel Goldie has done something simple and effective to back the 60th anniversary of the NHS, she has given blood.

This marking of the anniversary, is typical of the understated and very effective way, that Annabel has led the Tories in the past 18 months.

Mind you as one of the comments on the site says

Why not, she gave blood at the opening of the NHS.

Goldie bringing blue blood to ordinary Scotsman(or woman).

Goldie gives NHS something back - Scotsman.com News

GB PLC accounts in Disarray

The Times reports that the National Audit Office is refusing to sign GB Plc's accounts or at least the Treasury versions. What a surprise this is, as the Government attempts to put the 50bn bail out of Northern Rock anywhere but the debit side of the accounts. The Times says

Mr Darling is fighting a bruising battle with the National Audit Office (NAO), which is unhappy at the way that the nationalisation of Northern Rock is being treated in the Treasury’s books. The annual report from No 11 was published yesterday but, in a highly unusual departure from normal procedure, without the department’s resource accounts.

The problem is that if the Northern Rock bail out is put on the debit side the borrowing this government has to do will exceed all expectations by a significant amount.

Michael Fallon, the chairman of the Treasury Scrutiny Committee, said:

“This is a fresh humiliation for Alistair Darling. He has lost control over public finances. Now it looks as if he can’t get his department’s books past the auditors.”

This is just another in the long line of demonstrated incompetencies of this disintegrating government. Whilst Darling and Brown argue about 10p tax, CGT, VED, Fuel Duty etc the accounts and indeed the whole nation is slipping deeper and deeper into an economic quagmire.

Please, Please can we have a General Election and get rid of this shambles.


National Audit Office rejects Treasury accounts - Times Online

Come on England - Scotland 2 England 0

The score is now 2 leaders to nil in terms of Party Leaders between Scotland and England, with the departure of Nicol Stephen, the Liberal Democrat leader in Scotland to "spend more time with his family". Surely England can do better than this and at least get rid of one and make a real game of it. On Saturday we had the departure of the late and unlamented Wendy Alexander.

I'm sure the loss of Nicol will be tremendous blow to the Lib Dems in Scotland. His Leadership and sure footed policies in getting the Lib Dems to their lowly position in Scottish Politics will be sorely missed, well at least by the Tories and SNP.

After today's Brownies at PMQ's how much longer will we need to wait until Gordon does the honourable thing and resigns.

Gordon Brown and his Lists

Nick Clegg told Gordon Brown today at PMQ's that he confused a "list" with answers. It also seems from this article by Irwin Stelzer in the Telegraph that Gordon confuses "lists" with Priorities and Actions.

The problem is that Gordon has lots of "lists" but nothing is in reality generated from them. As Mr Stelzer says

Unfortunately, he knows how to draw up an impressive list of goals, but cannot set priorities or figure out how to get there. He wants to end child poverty, but that can't be accomplished by increasing child benefits and dependency on the state, or raising the minimum wage to price teenagers out of jobs.

He wants to raise the productivity of British firms, but ensnares them in EU regulations that reduce workforce flexibility. He wants to increase the number of workers gainfully employed or on training schemes, but can't seem to grasp that continued payment of benefits makes the couch more attractive than the workplace.

Mr Brown wants the NHS circa 2008 to be as great a boon to Britain as it was at its founding 60 years ago, but can't quite accept that full patient choice and genuine, wide-open competition are a surer route to reform than more and more central directives.....

....Gordon Brown wants a richer, fairer nation, its citizens safe on the streets and in their homes, but insists on micromanaging every twist and turn on the route to that goal.

He understands, or says he does, the power of Adam Smith's invisible hand and the diffusion of power it creates.

But somehow, he can't resist relying instead on the clunking fist. It just seems to him so much more effective to do it alone, rather than to rely on the individual choices of citizens, free to pick their kids' schools, their own healthcare providers, and workplaces in which the rules suit them and their employer, rather than central planners' notions of the proper work/life balance.

As Mr Stelzer says at the end

"Too bad, not only for the Prime Minister, but for Great Britain."

I can only echo this sentiment on a day when it becomes more and more obvious that we are heading towards a recession that Gordon Brown has no idea how to handle.

Gordon Brown would achieve more by doing less - Telegraph

Honours for 42 day votes?

The Telegraph thinks Keith Vaz was offered honours for his vote in the 42 days detention debacle. This was brought up at PMQ's by David Cameron and Gordon Brown has denied any "bribes" to anyone, including the DUP.

The Telegraph says

Mr Vaz is the Labour chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee. He was previously opposed to the plans but later offered his full backing. He made a major speech during the debate on the proposals which is thought to have won over some backbench MPs. Securing his backing was seen as crucial by the
Government.
Amid rumours of a peerage or knighthood, Mr Vaz was asked in Parliament during the debate the day before the vote whether he had been offered an honour for his support. He said: “No, it was certainly not offered—but I do not know; there is still time.”
In the handwritten letter sent on 12th June 2008 – the day after the key vote - Mr Hoon writes: “Dear Keith…Just a quick note to thank you for all your help during the period leading up to last Wednesday’s vote. I wanted you to know how much I appreciated all your help.”
“I trust that it will be appropriately rewarded!...With thanks and best wishes, Geoff.”

Gosh wouldn't this be a surprise.

Gordon Brown under pressure over 'reward' for Keith Vaz over terror bill - Telegraph

Markies are Struggling

If Markies are struggling it means the UK is in a bad way. If we can't afford to occasionally shop at Markies it means we have little or no spare money. According to the BBC shares are down over 15% today on the back of poor sales figures particularly food.

They are one of life's little rewards when you need a bit of "Feel Good" factor or just want a nice bit of luxury without the hard work.

Another marker in the slow death of Gordon Brown's tenure as Labour Leader.

BBC NEWS | Business | Sales gloom sees M&S shares dive

Barking Mad

Can you see anything wrong with this advert with a nice picture of a cute puppy? Well look here to see who thinks it is "unclean".

PC gone mad. Why have the Tayside Police said sorry. This is ideological stupidity. This highligts the fact that political correctness dominates all publicly funded agencies, and the fact that police forces have to employ diversity advisers rather than on bobbies to tackle crime.

H/T Gabble of Pb.Com
Barking Mad

Goodbye to the NHS

Whenever I hear that the government is about to "do" something to the NHS, I head over to DR Crippen at NHS Blog Doctor to see what the real story is. Dr Crippen is a General Practitioner and has a long experience of seeing the NHS from the frontline

A case in point is the release of the Darzi Master Plan for the NHS. Now I know what the plan is about and how it will help me to a better "quality" life. However I am still stuck as to how Labour will do anything with this report to actually help anyone. As Dr Crippen says

You begin to lose the will to live as you wade through this morass of focus-group soundbites. Is there any meat on the bone? Don’t eat, don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t take drugs, don’t have sex and don’t go mad. All good stuff. You can’t fault it, can you? You can’t criticise motherhood and apple pie. Trouble is, you cannot build a health service on soundbites.

In other words the report is the usual mound of meaningless drivel that Labour calls "Policy" and then uses it as justification to waste our money.

If you want to do a bit of reading on the Farzi committee I suggest you peruse through these articles at the Ferret Fanciers blog.

Meanwhile I will be celebrating my first day with Private Health care courtesy of my company.

NHS Blog Doctor: Lord Darzi : offensively inoffensive

Flying Ruaridh

Ruaridh at tubing In Alford with the Youth Club tonight.

I don't know what it is, Brown, but somehow you piss me off.

The title of this article in the Independent is a more sober, "Gordon Brown thought he could rely on the Scottish vote – now it could bring him down" but I'm sure that Bruce Anderson would have preferred to title it with my version.

His comment below is probably the stand out

When Labour dominated the Scottish executive, there was no equivalent of the prawn cocktail offensive that the Blairites launched to woo the City. Most Holyrood Labour ministers were surly, glottal-stopped, class-hating mediocrities. It was hardly surprising that businessmen who had dealings with them found the process deeply depressing, especially as everyone assumed that they and their ilk would be in power for ever. Now, however, the Nat ministers use the language of free enterprise. There has been a smoked-salmon canapé offensive. This has led a lot of Scots who are natural Tories to conclude that independence might not be too bad after all.

In this he is quite right, Tories in Scotland are generally seeing there is a better way forward than being ruled by a government in London, that has little relevance for a modern Scotland. In this they have been helped by the way Annabelle Goldie has handled Holyrood since the elections in 2007 gave Labour a bloody nose. She has been the only stand out Tory performer the Scottish Government. The problem with the Tories in Scotland is that they have been to hell and back and attracting really good people back into politics is a long and slow process. The beginnings are there but much work is still required. Bruce Anderson has this to say on this subject

Even if the Scottish Tory party were led by Adam Smith, Henry Dundas and Walter Scott, it would have difficulty in overcoming its countrymen's snivelling resentment. But the current leadership is some way below world-historical class. In the 80s and 90s, the Scots Tories produced Messrs Forsyth, Lang, Rifkind and Younger, plus my Lords Mackay and Strathclyde – as well as a score of able though less eminent figures. Today, most of their successors are dire, and proportional representation creates another obstacle to a Tory revival. Under PR, those at the top of the party's list are virtually guaranteed a seat, however badly the Tories do short of extinction, not yet a danger. In the Scottish Parliament, the Tory leaders enjoy status and income without having to fight for it. They have no incentive to resist genteel decline, and there is a further hazard.

I would disagree with him on his last point. I do see a resurgence in the Scottish Tories, no longer do you only whisper you are a Tory. With this resurgence will come competition for position and this will make for better candidates.

One final point from his article is as follows

It is extraordinary that Mr Brown could not persuade Wendy Alexander to stay on at least until the by-election was over. She has been a hopeless minister, a truculent colleague and a useless leader. She might at least have tried to compensate for this by showing some gratitude to the man who made her political career. (No wonder they were drawn to one another. They are similar personalities.)

This is very much in tune with what I thought over the weekend when I heard about Wendy's "resignation". The two of them were of such similar outlooks that you wonder if the one can exist without the other in the Labour hierarchy. Only time will tell.

Bruce Anderson: Gordon Brown thought he could rely on the Scottish vote – now it could bring him down - Bruce Anderson, Commentators - The Independent

Sounds on Sunday - Tracy Chapman - Fast car

Way back in the distant past in the years B.C. (Before Chris, my wife) I finally bought a CD player and then had to buy a CD to play on it. My first CD, bought more for the fact that it was Digital Recording,and I wanted to see how a CD could perform, was Tracy Chapman. I had heard the odd snipet of Tracy Chapman before this and thought I would like the CD.

How right I was. I cannot number the times I have listened to this CD. When I met my wife she was living in Inveress and I was in Aberdeen so I spent a fair bit of my life driving up and down the A96 (not a pleasant experience) between the two cities. Much of the time I listened to this CD and this track was perhaps my favourite depending upon the mood I was in, good on the way and bad on the way back.

Anyway enjoy.

P.S. And no to my brother she is not a poor man's Joan Armatrading.

You've never had it so Bad

According to the Telegraph and calculations performed by Capital Economics the current tax burden is the worst it has been since 1991.

The household tax burden rose from 34 per cent of income to 34.6 per cent in the first quarter of the year - the highest level since the spring of 1991.

The figures, calculated from official data published on Friday, underline how far taxes have risen since Labour took office in 1997. They come after the scrapping of the 10p tax rate caused an internal Labour mutiny.

Despite the Government's headline tax rates remaining unchanged, a variety of so-called stealth taxes have increased the burden.

So the next time Gordon says taxes are down at PMQ's you can tell him it is yet another of his "Brownies".

Families hit by greatest tax burden since 1991 - Telegraph

Scotland 1 England 0

Well that's the score in Labour leaders the countries have lost so far this year. I say England for Gordon Brown as we are now devolved and, thankfully, he has less and less influence in Scotland now since, the Labour Party was sent into a tail-spin at last years Scottish Elections. For once I am sincerely hoping that England can equalise, and very soon as well.

Wendy was the archtypical over-promoted politician and was really only typical Scottish Labour lobby fodder. She resigned from one ministerial position when it became rather obvious she was ill-equipped for the job.

Her promotion to leader of the Scottish Labour party was another complete farce especially when she managed to muck it up completely by accepting illegal donations and not correctly reporting others. Her punishment for this was very much the tap on the back of the hand.

Now we come to her actual resignation. According to Wendy

My pursuers have sought the prize of political victory with little thought to the standing of the parliament. Some may feel they have achieved a political victory but wiser heads will surely question 'at what price? It is clear that vexatious complaints will continue to dominate the headlines as long as I remain Labour's Scottish Parliamentary Leader. I cannot ask Labour supporters in Scotland for further forbearance.

She later told BBC Scotland that she thought the parliamentary process had been

"cynically abused" by political opponents who had used "investigation as political tactic". Ms Alexander admitted she had made mistakes but said there had also been "politically-motivated" complaints".

Now if she can't accept she has done wrong that's OK. She is, like Gordon Brown, a Son/Daughter of the Manse, who have a strange outlook on the real world, that what they believe is right and what others believe is wrong. This means she can lie about things but still be right just as Gordon can keep coming up with his "Brownies".

Wendy would like us to believe that the SNP have forced her out of her position. In reality much of the leaking and information about her donations and problems has come from inside the Scottish Labour party, the fact that other parties have decided to "help" her out of her position is just not surprising. I suspect, that in reality, Wendy has had a visit from the men in "Grey Kilts" who have quietly suggested that she should resign her position. I suspect she will not be very happy about this and, as such, may resign as an MSP as well at a suitable time.

I for one will not be sorry to her gone, especially as hopefully now I won't have to listen to the wee gobshite anymore!

James Mitchell: Wendy Alexander's resignation ends a leadership which failed to live up to expectations | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

ComRes report record Tory lead

Comres has Tories on 46 Labour on 25% and Libs on 18%. Lead of 21%.

Mike Smithson on PB.Com says

A key element in the detail and one of the reasons why the poll is so good for Cameron’s party is that 74 per cent of Tory supporters say they are “absolutely certain” to vote. This compares with 58 per cent of the Labour supporters and 50 per cent of the LDs. As Andrew Hawkins of ComRes points out: “The Tories are ahead of Labour amongst every age and social group and in every region except Scotland.”

Another wonderful anniversary present for Gordon!

politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » ComRes report record Tory lead

A Simple Manifesto for Freedom

Here is the Manifesto that Davaid Davis will be using for his By-Election in Haltemprice and Howden. It is very straightforward and very clear on its message.

What I Stand For

• British fundamental freedoms – including liberty, free speech and trial by jury.


• British justice - firm but fair.


• Protecting personal privacy from unjustified intrusions by the state.

What I Stand Against

• Draconian terrorism laws that make us less – not more – safe.
  
• The database state – careless officials losing our personal information.


• A surveillance society – council snoopers spying on local residents.


• ‘Thought crimes’ and political correctness stifling free speech and peaceful protest.

10 Policies to Protect British Freedom

1. Reverse 42 days pre-charge detention – a ‘PR coup for Al-Qaeda’.
2. Scrap ID cards – put the £19 billion savings towards a Border Police Force and other security measures.
3. Immediate reversal of the ban on free speech outside Parliament
4. Protect the right to trial by jury.
5. Stop neighbourhood spies using powers that should rest with the police and MI5.
6. Use intercept evidence to prosecute terrorists – but restrict bugging by local councils.
7. Replace 1 million innocent citizens on the DNA database with the serious criminals left off.
8. Make CCTV more effective (80% is unusable) – strengthen punishments for privacy abuse.
9. Slash the 266 separate powers the state has to force its way into the home.
10. Launch an independent inquiry into the government’s serial database failures.
    
    
    Yours faithfully,
    
    
    David Davis for Freedom - News > Manifesto
    

Nimrod families take legal action

BBC News Scotland reports that some of the families of those killed in the crash of the RAF Nimrod XV230 are to sue the government. Demands for legal action have been led by Graham Knight, whose son Ben was among those killed when the aircraft crashed in Afghanistan two years ago.

I have blogged on this a number of times and I am not surprised by this turn of events. The government see it as an embarrassment and try to put their heads in the sand and ignore the problem hoping it will just disappear. The coroner has already ruled that the planes are "not airworthy" and should be grounded.

Apparently lawyers will argue the basis of the case would be in relation to Article 2 of the Human Rights Act the thrust will be that the airmen were sent into the theatre of war ill-equiped.

Mr Knight told BBC Scotland:

"Fourteen men died on that plane and apart from apologies nothing has really been done about it and although the planes have been deemed un-airworthy, they're still flying. Had it been a bus company and it had been an un-roadworthy bus, legal action would have been taken against the bus company. I feel that something needs to be done as nobody has been brought to task."

Let us only hope that by doing this it will keep in the minds of the current government that they cannot keep cutting back defence expenditure and still send our soldiers into action ill-equipped. The Nimrod is just the toip o f the iceberg.

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Nimrod families take legal action

1066 and all that

Anyone else notice the strange fact that Labour managed to only amass 1066 votes in the Henley by-election last night. Will this be the arrow in "King" Gordon's reign or will the NHS come to the rescue again?

H.T. Woody on Pb.com and my wife for noticing it.

Battle of Hastings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The sound of music for Glenbuchat

Ryntaing in Glenbuchat

The BBC report the following

The songs and history of a remote Aberdeenshire community are being brought back to life after lying undiscovered for generations. The "Glenbuchat ballads" are being performed in the local village hall. Sometime in the early 19th Century, the Reverend Robert Scott, minister of the parish, compiled a collection of traditional ballads. The minister did not give the precise locations of where he collected his ballads, or name the performers, but the texts are unique and appear to have been drawn from oral sources. As such, the ballads revealed a great deal about the nature of traditional music at the time they were collected. The collection included one of the best-known ballads, "The Bonnie Lass O' Fyvie", and provided an invaluable insight into the culture and history of the area.

Many years ago my Great-great Grandfather, William Mcrobbie, left Glenbuchat to go to the Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen. His family had lived in Glenbuchat for the previous 100 years and some of my direct family finally left the Glen in the 1920's with some more distant relatives living there until the 1950's. My Great-Great-Great Grandfather, Harry Mcrobbie, died in 1881 at his farm at the far far end of Glenbuchat and the above picture shows where his farm was.

The BBC add

One of the performers, Marc Ellington, said: "Aberdeenshire has been 'mission control' for our ballad resource for a couple of hundred years." He added: "Versions of some ballads have been recorded by people as wide-ranging as Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead. "They are a cornerstone of major cultural influences globally and we haven't, I don't think in Scotland, embraced these ballads enough. "They are an amazing resource."

Strange to think that my relations might have helped sing these ballads almost 200 years ago and have helped them stay alive.

Harry Mcrobbie and families gravestone in Strathdon churchyard

MEP's Huge snouts in Huge Trough alert

Please watch this Video investigation about MEP's pay and allowances. It needs no explanation!


H/T The Brussels Journal.

Red Faces for Labour - beaten by Greens and BNP

On the first anniversary of the disaster of making Gordon Brown their Leader, Labour has another disaster as they come 5th in the Henley by-election, beaten by the Greens and the BNP. The coffers of Labour will also be a bit shorter as they have lost their deposit as well. Mustn't chortle., well not too loudly.

Now playing: Norah Jones - Broken
via FoxyTunes
Result

John Howell: Conservative 19,796

Stephen Kearney: Lib Dems 9,680

Mark Stevenson: Green 1,321

Timothy Rait: BNP 1,243

Richard McKenzie: Labour 1,066

Chris Adams: UKIP 843

Tories outpolled Lib Dems more than 2:1

C 56.95% (+3.46)
LD 27.85% (+1.84)
Grn 3.80% (+0.54)
BNP 3.58% (dns)
Lab 3.07% (-11.68)
UKIP 2.43% (-0.07)

BBC NEWS | Politics | Conservatives hold on to Henley