Families let down by lack of coroners reform

I see that the government of Mr Brown has yet again let down the Armed Services and in particular bereaved families of members of the services who have been killed in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This is particularly disappointing considering the verdict in the latest coroners report

Army logistics failings led to the unlawful killing of a Scottish solider, a coroner ruled today.

Gordon Gentle, 19, died when a Land Rover he was patrolling in was hit by a roadside bomb in Basra in Iraq in June 2004.

A coroner's hearing in Oxford had been told how electronic counter-measures (ECMs), designed to disable improvised bombs, were in Iraq at the time but had not been distributed and fitted to vehicles.

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Coroner Selena Lynch said: "The supply chain appeared to be chaotic and lacking in clarity."

The Royal Highland Fusilier, from Pollok, died of blast injuries.

The coroner said the inquest at Oxford had seen that the Army's in-theatre supply chain "appeared chaotic and lacking in clarity". Ms Lynch also branded the Ministry of Defence's policies for disclosure of evidence to her inquest "illogical and based errors of law".

These inquests should be held quickly to ensure there are no more needless deaths and injuries to the members of our Armed Forces fighting abroad.

It was widely expected that the Queen's speech yesterday would include a Coroners Bill that would have strengthened the investigative powers of inquests and reduced delays for the bereaved.

But the legislation was left in limbo after ministers decided other measures were more deserving of Parliamentary time.

The Royal British Legion condemned the move, saying families had been waiting for years for changes:

“The draft Bill was originally published in June 2006. It is extremely disappointing that the Government has not put this forward,”
he said.
“It is particularly disappointing that during this national week of remembrance it comes as a greater blow to bereaved families.”

The Legion has made the Bill a key part of its "Broken Covenant" campaign, calling on the Government to honour obligations to troops in return for their sacrifice.



Families let down by lack of coroners reform - Times Online

Requiem for the Roly-Poly

Not in our house!

A good "duffo" pudding is required at least once a week just to remind you of the good things that we are no longer supposed to eat.

Requiem for the roly-poly as sticky puddings become a sweet memory - Times Online

Brown to Regulate Flexible Working

How can there be a law to require flexibility? It is an oxymoron. Brown had proposed that flexible working is available by law for working parents. This is typical of Brown.

A discussion is ongoing on the Political Betting site on this issue.

Flexible working only really works when everyone can do it. Letting one section of the workforce do it and effectively penalising the rest will only lead to more and greater problems.

The company I work for has had flexible working for a number of years but how it works for individuals is dependent upon type of job and ability to cover so-called “core” hours. There always has to be a bit of give and take between the nature of the job and reality. Some employers would be hard pressed to provide flexible working because of the type of work performed and the actual nature of the business.

Unfortunately most of the people in public sector jobs who are getting smaller rises will be exactly the sort of people whose jobs are difficult to cover with flexible working.Rather than regulation it would be better to push/advertise the benefits of flexible working to all employers with a happier and less stressed workforce.

It doesn’t depend on Union representation, private/public, small/large it just requires common sense from both employers and employees. I repeat how can there be a law to require flexibility?

The main thing about flexible working is it only really works when there is trust between employees and employers. If there is no trust then it will fail at the first hurdle, this would almost certainly be the case if only employees with kids were allowed flexible working. All the other “special” cases like people with elderly parents, invalid partners etc will justifiably feel excluded.

politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Is Gord on to a winner with this?

Scotland and North Sea Oil Taxation

The attached article which appeared in The Press and Journal gives an insight into the reasons why companies are reluctant now to invest in the North Sea despite high oil/gas prices because of constant government tinkering.

It is the lack of coherent change, the tinkering, short-sightedness and the constant changes in tax levels that make both large and small companies disinclined to invest in the region as they require a degree of certainty. As the writer says

The current NSO tax regime creates distortions in the market, a legacy of the many overlapping bits of legislation introduced piecemeal.

The constant tinkering, for example with CGT, this year means that what last week was an opportunity is now longer on the board.

Most North Sea opportunities are now small and rely on good economics to get them investment when ranked against a vast range of similar opportunities throughout the world. If the tick box against consistent taxation cannot be filled in then the opportunity will passed by and the investment directed abroad.

The current system also doesn't cope with new alternatives for the use of the infrastructure in the North Sea such as the application of tax to infrastructure assets that could be used for a purpose other than to extract oil - alternative energy, for example.

At present, if a company were to use (or rely on) NSO infrastructure for purposes other than extracting hydrocarbons from the ground, it would create an adverse tax impact, negating the incentives.

This is stifling an industry which aspires to be as open-minded and creative as possible about making the most of existing asset. We only have to look at the recent cancellation by BP and it's partners of its plans to build the world's first carbon capture and storage (CCS) power plant in Peterhead, Scotland to see the impact this is having.

The unfortunate problem is that whilst the UK government is in charge, revenue from Oil Taxation will always be a minor consideration compared to what it would be if Scotland had control of all its Financial matters.


North Sea Oil Taxation

5 Myths?

According to the Herald in Scotland they have "scotched the myths" about Scotland's financial position in the United Kingdom.



5 Myths?

Military Inquest Disgrace - Scotland to become England

Typically, because of archaic laws and the complete disinterest that this government has in it's armed services and the consequences of being at war, it looks like there is a possibility of Kinloss RAF base becoming part of England. This is because under current law, all military deaths abroad must be examined by an English coroner.

The new proposal would give England jurisdiction over a small part of a Scottish site - such as RAF Kinloss. Under Scottish Law there is no provision for Fatal Accident Inquiries ( The equivalent in Scotland of Inquest) into deaths not occurring in Scotland and it might be difficult to change the law to just cover service personnel.

This would allow inquests on members of the armed forces who have died in Service to take place in Scotland if they arrive back at RAF Kinloss from abroad. Currently inquests have to take place in Wiltshire as all returning flights arrive at RAF Lyneham. This of course means that relatives of Scottish Armed forces personnel who die in service are then faced with long journeys to inquests when they are finally heard.

It might also help the government out of a problem it has long had in that because of it's inertia in dealing with the deaths of members of our armed services in Iraq and Afghanistan we now have a huge backlog of inquests that must be heard. According to reports nearly half of the deaths since the Iraq invasion in 2001 have still to have an inquest completed. Although according to the BBC the Justice ministry reports

The UK Ministry of Justice said hard work by coroners and staff and additional resources provided by the UK government had seen the backlog of inquests handled by the Oxfordshire coroner fall from 86 to two.

A spokesperson said: "To ensure that a backlog of inquests does not develop in Wiltshire, the government has agreed to provide coroner David Masters more additional resources in the form of an additional departmental coroner, a coroner's officer and administrative support.

The reduction from 86 to 2 is a completely misleading figure as inquests now have to be held in Wiltshire as Brize Norton is currently closed and all inquests have to be initiated in Wiltshire after the arrival of the bodies at RAF Lyneham .

Even more misleading is the following

Former Armed Forces minister Adam Ingram MP said he was surprised at the proposal as he had written to the Scottish Government six months ago suggesting a change in the law to allow inquests to be held in Scotland.

He added: "I am a bit stunned by this proposal if this is what they are going to do.

Now I wonder who the the Scottish Government was six months ago, yes it was then Labour, so a different approach from the SNP has been daubed as being cynical because Labour had previously failed to accept proposals when they were in Government.

Cynically I can only imagine the reason for this delay is to keep bad news out of the papers.

Scotsman.com News - Politics - Scottish military base may become part of England

Think Differently

As my Big Bro mentioned this is a cause we both have close to our hearts and families.

Please take time to visit and read the website, take the quiz, sign the petition and view this film.

Maybe next time it will make you think differently.

You might want to read the following article from The Press and Journal a few years ago about our youngest son Ruaridh.

Bollocks from the FCO

Yesterday I highlighted an article on the EU Constitution or what is now disingenuously called a "Treaty".

During my search on the web I turned up the "Official" Supporters club for the Treaty at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website, this was not difficult to find as it is currently an advertised (paid for by us) link on Google.

Now today we find out via the Coffee House blog in the Spectator that the Independent has peddled out some of the Labour spin on the site as original work. The article examines some supposed myths about the "Treaty". Unfortunately most of these myths have now been discovered to be truths.

This is not the worst of the FCO site taking the following on the front page.

Why is the Reform Treaty in the news now?

The mandate for the EU Reform Treaty was agreed by the prime ministers or presidents of all EU countries in the European Council in June.

The final text of the Treaty - which is currently being written - will have to be approved by all EU countries, following their own constitutional procedures, before it can come into effect.

In the UK, all Treaties, including EU Treaties, are submitted to Parliament, which has the right to examine and debate them in detail.

There is currently a lot of speculation in the media about what the Reform Treaty will mean for the UK. Some people believe that the UK should not agree to the Reform Treaty until it has been put to a public vote in this country (a referendum).

Many people who are opposed to the Reform Treaty are also opposed in principle to the UK's membership of the EU; others want a referendum because they believe that the Reform Treaty would transfer too much power from the UK to the EU.

These are serious issues that demand public attention. However, the fact is that many things that have been said and written about the Reform Treaty are simply not factually accurate.

It then links to the EU Treaty myths, the subject of the Independent Front page.

Lets look at the implications here

1) That it is only Eurosceptics who don't want the treaty, it lumps the many People who are opposed in the group of people who don't want Britain in the EU at all. This is simply incorrect. Whilst it will be true that virtually all people who oppose the EU will oppose the treaty, there are many more who support the EU but oppose the Treaty (myself included).

2) That some people believe that the UK should not agree to the Reform. No mention that only 29% would vote for the treaty against 47% who would vote against it.

3) That some people think there should be a referendum, no it's not "some" people it is 66% of people who want Labour to keep their promise of a referendum.

4) Of course it doesn't mention any of the major reasons that it might just be in the news, such as the frailty of the red lines, the manifesto promises that are being broken, the Parliamentary committee who reported that the Treaty was the constitution in all but name, etc, etc.

This is just one example of the crap that the FCO is trying to peddle to the country as the truth on this website. It is a disgrace to the Government and to this country.

EU Reform Treaty Foreign & Commonwealth Office

EU Treaty - A Cynical Stitch-up

Have a quick read of this article on the EU Constitution or rather "Treaty".

Feartie and his sidekick the Millipede are still banging on about red lines and how big and courageous they have been standing up to all those johnny foreigners in the EU and how nothing will change.

This is a complete and utter mockery, all that has happened is that the Constitution has been obfusticated and rewritten as a "Treaty" to sound better. It will now be passed on the nod by Gordon tomorrow night and there will be little we can do about it now or in the near future. The Treaty is the old Constitution in all but name.

Our protection will of course will be the infamous "Red Lines" that have either already been effectively bypassed or can be got round like the infamous Maginot Line.

Even the The cross-party European Scrutiny Committee in its report finds that the new Reform Treaty is “substantially equivalent to the Constitutional Treaty”.

It also notes that the Government’s “red lines” are substantially the same as before, and questions whether the various safeguards for the UK will work.

It notes that the Treaty would

“change the legal relationship between the EU and national Governments”

particularly by giving the European Court of Justice new powers over criminal law and policing.

The key points from the report are

1) The new treaty is the same as the rejected EU Constitution

From Para 45:

* “Taken as a whole, the Reform Treaty produces a general framework which is substantially equivalent to the Constitutional Treaty.”

* “Even with the ‘opt-in’ provisions on police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, and the Protocol on the Charter, we are not convinced that the same conclusion does not apply to the position of the UK under the Reform Treaty. We look to the Government to make it clear where the changes they have sought and gained at the IGC alter this conclusion in relation to the UK.”

The Government has repeatedly insisted that “the constitutional concept has been abandoned – most recently in the Prime Minister’s press conference today. But the Committee’s Report notes that this is “misleading”.

* Para 50: “we do not consider that references to abandoning a ‘constitutional concept’ or ‘constitutional characteristics’ are helpful and consider that they are even likely to be misleading in so far as they might suggest the Reform Treaty is of lesser significance than the Constitutional Treaty. We believe that the Government must offer evidence if it is to assert that the processes are significantly different.”

2) The red lines won’t work

The report also publishes correspondence with ministers. Initially the Government claimed that it had secured an “opt out” from the Charter of Fundamental Rights. In his statement on 25 June Tony Blair said, “It is absolutely clear that we have an opt-out from both the charter and judicial and home affairs.” However, in a letter dated 31 July Europe Minister Jim Murphy admitted:

* “The UK specific protocol which the UK secured is not an ‘opt-out’ from the Charter. Rather, the protocol clarifies the effect that the Charter will have in the UK.”

The Committee warns that the European Court of Justice will simply sidestep attempts to limit the impact of the Charter. The report gives a number of examples:

* Para 58: “To take a possible example, the Working Time Directive contains provisions limiting the weekly hours of work of a worker to 48 hours per week, but with the possibility of agreements to waive those limits. As Article II-91 of the Charter provides that “every worker has the right to limitation of maximum working hours” we have some concern that following a reference to the ECJ from some member state, the Court might find that, in the light of the Charter, the [UK] derogation from the Directive allowing such waivers has to be interpreted more restrictively than before (i.e. before the Charter had legal effect).”

* Para 59: “We would be concerned that, following a reference to the ECJ from some other member states the Court might find that a measure adopted at EU level (such as Council Directive 200/43/EC) had to be given an extended interpretation in light of the wide grounds for prohibiting discrimination under the Charter.”

On criminal justice and policing the report notes that:

* Para 21: “We are concerned that removing the “distinction” between the EU and the EC in relation to matters currently dealt with under the third pillar (with the subsequent increase in the powers of the Commission to bring infraction proceedings and those of the ECJ to interpret and apply Union measures) will change the legal relationship between the EU and national Governments in a way that will increase their powers in relation to UK law. We call on the Government to set out the safeguards which they will expect to gain at the IGC to prevent this happening.”

On future treaty change the report notes that the new “simplified revision procedure”, - which would allow the treaties to be incrementally changed in future with no need for any further treaties - would lead to even less transparency and accountability in the way the EU is run:

* Para 42: “We are concerned that these provisions could allow substantial changes to be made without convening an IGC and so lead to even less transparency in the way the EU is governed, and less accountability of governments to their national parliaments. We ask the Government to outline what safeguards they would put in place to prevent this further erosion of transparency and accountability.”

Contrast this with the Official Foreign and Commonwealth Website and its pages on the EU Reform Treaty. This is supposed to be an unbiased website, but just try and find anything in it that does not toe the Labour Party Line, The only mention of cross-party European Scrutiny Committee's damning report is as follows

Minister for Europe, Jim Murphy, has responded to the report on the EU Intergovernmental Conference by the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee:

"I welcome the publication of this report, just as I have welcomed opportunities to provide evidence to this Committee, to its House of Lords equivalent, and to the Foreign Affairs Committee. I am pleased to note the Committee's recognition that by defending its 'red lines' the UK has secured a specific deal different to that on offer to the other 26 EU member states."

Which must be one of the most cynical of replies to a report that rubbishes everything the government has said.

So there we have it Gordon Brown will go back on his party's word that we would have a referendum on the EU Constitution, as it is now a Treaty, and as such we don't need to be consulted. Perhaps he should listen to some of his EU buddies

The author of the Constitution, Valery Giscard d’Estaing, says: “All the earlier proposals will be in the new text, but will be hidden and disguised in some way.”

The Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zapatero admits: “We have not let a single substantial point of the Constitutional Treaty go… It is, without a doubt, much more than a treaty. This is a project of foundational character, a treaty for a new Europe.”

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel says simply: “The substance of the Constitution is preserved. That is a fact.”

This is one of the biggest lies that Labour has hoisted on us in recent years and will, I predict, become as infamous as Tony's whoppers about Iraq.

The only obvious solution to this may be to declare Independence in Scotland as soon as possible and hope we are not allowed into/thrown out of the EU, as even getting out of the EU is a tricky business nowadays.

If you want some more forthright and perhaps rather more forcefully reading try Polly the Euro-crazies: A cautionary tale Not for the nervous or easily shocked reader!


We must stand up to this cynical stitch-up | Camilla Cavendish - Times Online

God's own County

Lochnagar from Queens View


Apparently if you want the best quality of life in Scotland you need to go to Aberdeenshire.

Scotland is of course God's own Country.

As a dweller of a deeper part of Aberdeenshire I can only agree. It is truly God's own County.

According to the Herald

"Its residents enjoy high employment, high earnings, good health and long life expectancy rates, while crime and traffic levels are low, "

P.S. I believe everything I read in the Herald.

Want Best Quality Of Life Go To Aberdeenshire If You Can Afford It (from The Herald )

Ming retires to Mongo

Apparently Ming the Merciless has retired back to his home town of Mingo City suffering from severe irritation and some deep scars to his back and leaves Feartie Gordon to battle the "Dave" alone.

At least one in 8 Britain's might possibly have noticed this as they are in the 12% who might vote LibDem at the next election, however most appear to have been alienated Labour or Tory voters who are returning in droves to their home planets.

In reality it will only be the odd Bearded Sandal wearer who has actually noticed that the LibDems have retired yet another leader with some sharp items to the back.

Apparently the likely next leader will be another alien masquerading as a horse fly.

Computer Spooks

Want to use your Data Warehousing/Business Intelligence Skills then why not join Military Intelligence. Use those hard acquired skills to mine for really interesting information.

Apparently you will be responsible for safeguarding the nation's security, enjoy liaising with diverse businesses (Imagination may be required here) and must be calm under pressure.

You must however be British and it may take up to 6 months to process your application in which time you may not mention your application to anyone but your immediate family.

Pay is from £28,000-50,000 (plus benefits) which does not seem to high for someone who can cube us into the good, the bad , the ugly and the nappy wearing rocking horse users.

Job Description

Data Warehousing / Business Intelligence Specialists, Central London, £28,000 - £50,000 + benefits

Responsible for safeguarding the nation's security, the Security Service is significantly expanding due to the continuing terrorist threat in the UK. In alignment with this expansion and continuous improvement, we are committed to developing and maintaining our technical edge using the latest technology.

We are currently recruiting IT professionals with a broad skill-set and specific expertise in Business Intelligence, ETL and Analytics (such as SAS, Business Objects and PL/SQL). Ideally you will have experience in some or all of the following disciplines:

• Large scale production Databases/Data warehouses(Oracle / SQL Server)
• Business Intelligence
• Information Management
• ETL/Data Modelling
• Data Mining
• Statistical Analytical Techniques (EDA, PCA, MDS)
• Kimball/Inmon Techniques
• Using technology in partnership with customers to solve business problems
• Exposure to full project lifecycle

The challenges come thick and fast so resilience, pragmatism and the ability to remain calm under pressure are essential. Utilising your strong technical skills, you will also be client facing and enjoy liaising with a diverse business. Demonstrating knowledge of leadership, project management, and business analysis would be a distinct advantage.

This is a fantastic opportunity to develop and learn new technologies - with excellent career prospects - while knowing that you are part of a team dedicated to safeguarding national security.

To apply you must be a British Citizen. Due to the recruitment and vetting process, your application could take up to 6 months. You must limit those you tell about your application to your partner and/or immediate family. The Security Service is committed to reflecting both equal opportunities and the society we protect. Closing 18/10/07.

For more information on working for MI5 visit http://www.mi5careers.gov.uk/

Data Warehousing / Business Intelligence Specialists Central London, England - Computing Careers MI5

UHT equals Green Milk?

Anybody drunk UHT milk recently, thought not, it is possibly the foulest tasting liquid available purporting to be drinkable.

It ruins Tea and makes Coffee taste awful and yet the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA, which governs policy south of the border, has made the proposal that 90% of milk on sale should not require refrigeration by 2020.

The plan, part of the so-called Milk Road Map, was described in a government paper sent out to the dairy industry last month to help it reduce its carbon footprint. Officials suggest that by reducing chiller capacity in supermarkets and corner shops, carbon emissions could be significantly reduced - though farmers fear this would lead people simply to buy less milk. (The move is not intended to reduce the use of domestic fridges; once UHT milk is open, it has to be stored as fresh milk.)

So after having had the Dairy industry destroyed in many parts of the country we will now have to suffer UHT milk because it is "greener" what a load of cows manure.

UHT is milk that has been heated to at least 135˚C to kill off harmful bacteria. It can then be stored in cupboards for up to five months. It was developed in the 1960s and became popular in Europe, where higher temperatures made storing fresh milk more problematic. In Belgium, UHT accounts for 96.7% of the milk market; in Portugal it is 92.9% and in France 95.5%. It never really took off in Britain, where consumers prefer the taste of proper milk.

So what betting that the EU has got it's sticky little fingers all over this idea to allow EU countries to penetrate the British market for milk.

According to the Herald

This latest proposal for the dairy industry comes in the wake of the recent threat of foot-and-mouth disease and bluetongue - and the ongoing battle to secure a fair price for milk. Over the past six years, one in three Scottish dairy farmers has gone out of business. It is expected that by the end of this year there will be fewer than 1000 dairy farms in Scotland. Twenty years ago there were more than 5000.

A more welcome development might be the greater take up of milk deliveries, driven by recycling-aware shoppers and those intent on supporting their local dairy industry. The website www.findmeamilk man.net has had more than 300,000 hits in eight months as people seek milk in bottles that can be washed out and refilled. The number of milkmen in the UK has fallen from more than 20,000 in the 1980s to the current 9500 because of competition from supermarkets, but it seems the tide may be turning.

The NFU Scotland spokeswoman said: "We think Scotland has a dairy industry to be proud of, and it's only just getting back on its feet in the last few months after years of dreadful prices. Offsetting carbon is great, but there are other ways it can be done.

"The industry is key to Scotland, so better to ensure its livelihood rather than try to bring it down. Farmers are under ever more pressure to maintain the highest environmental standards compared to 40 years ago when it was all about optimum production."

I suspect this will be one green issue that will be rightly poured down the sink where it belongs.


Can Drinking Uht Milk Really Save The Planet (from The Herald )

Dr Crippen is back

Good news one of my favourite bloggers Dr Crippen or NHS Blog Doc is back after a too long absence of three months.

NHS Blog Doctor: Crippen redux

Empty "Vision" of the Big Feartie

According to the Sunday Times the Feartie, after a week to forget, is getting even more flack from Blairites of the New Labour variety as he has failed to set out an inspiring "Vision" for new Labour and and an "empty" conference speech.

Apparently Mr. Blair (remember him?) has disclosed that he is "unhappy" with the direction of the party and concerned about what new Labour stands for.

It also appears that is is not just Blair who is complaining a number of quotes appear from Blair allies complaining of a policy vacuum, being policy free, no vision, no coherent narrative and belittling Blair.

Lord Falconer in particular was scathing about Brown. Having left the cabinet in June he has launched a thinly veiled attack on Brown, warning that an inspiring vision needs to be “spelt out”. He said Brown’s experience and management of crises was not enough to win the next general election.

In addition there are reports that three former Blairite Ministers, Stephen Byers, Alan Milburn and Charles Clarke are "itching" to speak out.

Not all is wonderful in 10 Downing Street at the moment. Never mind Gordon can spend his wakeful times during the night phoning even more Newspaper editors to complain of "bad press". Should keep him busy for awhile.

Tony Blair turns on Gordon Brown as ‘empty’ - Times Online

Big Feartie trails Tories by biggest deficit in 15 Years

The big Feartie will be in more trouble now as his Government goes from bad to worse. he is now presiding over a government with the biggest deficit to the Tories in 15 years. The last time the Tory lead was this high was before Black Wednesday, which says much for his leadership and "Vision".

The Poll from October 10/11 will be a bitter pill for Gordon to swallow after a bad bad week for him.

UPDATE: Must correct this entry. This is not the biggest lead for the Tories(they had a bigger lead as recently as March) but the highest level of support they have had in 15 years. This is probably even better than a big lead as I suspect that Labour still has a few points to fall.

Gordon Brown hit by Tory poll surge - Telegraph

Slapping the Uppity Nats down.

When the SNP came into power in "devolved" Scotland in May after the elections and the humiliation of Labour it was really only a matter of time before the London based Labour Government of the UK decided it needed to slap those uppity Nats down. Now they have a ready-made excuse after Alex Salmond revealed details of a draft copy of a statement by Hilary Benn which pledged £8.1 million to Scottish Farmers.

Apparently a senior Whitehall source is quoted as saying

"A line will be going out from the Scotland Office soon telling all departments to conduct a very careful audit of anything that is to be shared with the Scottish Executive, looking for any information that could be used or manipulated for political purposes by the SNP."

This is mainly because they have been embarrassed by the revelations by Alex Salmond and what the real reasons were for the withdrawal of this pledge.

Similar arguments are also going on about what the permanent secretary to the Scottish Government, Sir John Elvidge, meant when he said

"The CSR ... announced by the UK Government today gives details of the level of funding the Scottish Government and UK Departments will receive over the next three years.

"As we expected, this is a tight settlement, with a lower rate of annual growth than we have experienced since devolution."

Both sides are saying it means different things, one that the government figures were correct and the other that they have been manipulated to get the lowest possible increases to Scotland and then to squeeze them even harder.

It remains to see how this tit-for-tat battle goes. Labour are playing a dangerous game here as any thing they do to upset the SNP government will be seen in a bad light by the majority of Scots at the moment.

It is unlikely anyone will be a real winner, but more than likely the loser will be the regular punter in Scotland.


Scotsman.com News - UK - Whitehall papers to be vetted before being seen by Scottish civil servants as row over payments escalates

A Monument to the Servicemen of Modern Times

Good to see that this monument has finally been finished.

It commemorates the more than 16,000 British Servicemen and auxiliary forces members who have lost their lives since 1948 when the Commonwealth War Graves Commission closed its books.

There are memorials around the world to particular regiments, campaigns and even individuals, but there was no national shrine on home soil.

Money was raised by subscription, from the Lottery and even the government chipped in, but the trustees are still short of £1 million to ensure the memorial is properly maintained.

This is a place for memories and a place to honour those friends and relatives who were sadly taken from us. Growing up in a Service family you were exposed to this on a number of occasions.

The saddest part about the memorial though is that, despite there being 16,000 people remembered here who have given their live in the pursuit of freedom and peace, there is a blank space for a further 15,000 names. In this supposedly advanced World this is a sad reflection on Life at the moment.

A monument at last for the fallen of modern times - Times Online

Old Rebel - Billy Idol

Just a quick post for a Friday. It's been a few years since I took my wife to see Billy, she kind of idolised him in a loving way (something about throwing intimate articles to him on stage was mentioned). I enjoyed the concert as well as the backing vocalists were equally easy on the eye.

This version of Sweet Sixteen is just superb.



Watch and enjoy

Election Bribe by Labour?

According to the Scotsman the UK government was last night accused of playing politics with Scottish farmers' livelihoods as it was revealed plans for an £8.1 million compensation payout for foot-and-mouth disease were mysteriously scrapped after Gordon Brown decided not to call an election.

Alex Salmond, the First Minister, revealed Westminster's original foot-and-mouth compensation proposals yesterday. The First Minister issued a draft of Mr Benn's speech which had been given to the Scottish Government on Friday ahead of Mr Benn's statement in the House.

The draft statement contained a paragraph saying Scotland would receive £8.1 million to deal with the foot-and-mouth disaster.

The Environment Secretary was due to say:

"I have also agreed with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury that Scotland should receive £8.1 million and Wales £6.5 million to assist them in countering the impacts of foot-and-mouth on their livestock farmers."

But by Monday, when Mr Benn delivered the statement to MPs, the paragraph had disappeared.

He instead said:

"I am announcing today a package of assistance for the English livestock sector, amounting to £12.5 million. The devolved administrations are proposing to introduce their own schemes."

This looks like a typical piece of Labour sleaze, attempting a bribe for the "non-election" and then dropping it to save a little money, especially if the SNP will look bad.

This is typical of the small minds of Labour who are now seeking their revenge on Scotland for throwing them out of Government. They may see this as a good idea, but in todays climate in Scotland this sort of action will have the opposite effect to what they require to get back in Government.

Scotsman.com News - Politics - Foot-and-mouth payouts for farmers dropped after U-turn on election

Tax rise threat to ‘save as you earn’ schemes

As I expected the Capital Gains Tax change announced in GordonsDarling's first budget will hit Share Option schemes , and yes I do have one!

This was supposed to simplify CGT and hit Private Equity Chiefs, however it looks like it will also hit, not only entrepreneurs and the like, but also savers who at the moment appear to be a dying breed as is normal when it looks like we are going into a recession.

As noted in the depths of the CSR (p146 apparently) the savings ratio in the UK is the lowest it has ever been as noted here.

So what has the Chancellor done he has changed the rules and now the 1.7m savers in share-save schemes will face increased CGT taxes up from 5% to 18% for basic rate Tax Payers and from 10% to 18% for Higher rate tax payers.

According to Labour they are trying to encourage Long Term savings and wider share ownership. Either they are lying about this or they are just incompetent. They just can't work out joined up government.

As normal with one of Gordon'sLabour's tax changes it is the poorest who are hit hardest.

According to ifs ProShare, whose members include many FTSE-100 companies, the CGT changes were ill considered and would hit some savers hard.

“While the Treasury may have sound reasons for simplifying CGT, it would appear the consequences for employees saving through employee share plans had not been fully assessed. These apparently unintended consequences contradict the government’s stated commitment to encouraging long-term saving and to its support for wider share ownership,” it said.

So another "hidden" tax from Gordon. As they said it's all in the Detail.

FT.com / In depth - Tax rise threat to ‘save as you earn’ schemes

Don't Kick A dying Dog - End the Phoney War

Brown drops his Bottle

Perhaps now is the time to lay off the kicking of the Feartie. He is obviously in his death throes as a politician and we should be merciful to him in his remaining days as Prime Minister.

Whatever else happens it is likely that Gordon will now just be a spent force as Leader of the Labour party and Britain. He has been made to look like a fool in Parliament and to millions of people around the world. I suspect he will quietly say he will be going before the next election and then do a Macavity.

The problem for Gordon is that he will not be respected here or in the rest of the World. I can just see him at the next EU meeting taking out his red pen when they are discussing the EU "treaty". He will be challenged by all and sundry and they will know that he will back down as he does not have courage of his convictions. Even worse will happen when/if we are in conflict with other countries like Iran, who would you like standing up for you, it certainly wouldn't be Brown.

It is unlikely that anyone in the Labour party will have the guts to challenge Brown at the moment but they should realise that the longer he is around the worse it will get for them. Perhaps Maggie should pop round and speak to him again about what happens when you lose the support/respect of your colleagues.

So I wonder how long this phoney war will last, Labour are a dying force with Gordon at the helm, they have to look at the options ahead, which after recent events, are pretty thin and come up with someone who still retains the remnants of respect in Britain. Until they do this the battle to be the next Prime Minister will not start.

Mind you I could always be wrong because it's well known that It taks a lang spune ti sup wi a Fifer.

Cheap and Nasty knock-offs.

The Telegraph has an article entitled "Darling's tax hike demolishes business builders" and starts out with a joke about Aberdeen which I was surprised they knew about as it's north of Watford.

The joke is

In Aberdeen you can tell when it's freezing: lawyers resort to sticking their hands in their own pockets.

It continues

No need for that, in Westminster, where Alistair Darling, the Aberdeen-educated lawyer, stuck his hands in the Tories' pockets, pulled out some policies, and claimed them for himself.

Do I need to say much more! I do hear the Sun has headline tomorrow of "Stop Thief"

Darling's tax hike demolishes business builders - Telegraph

Another Feartie cock-up

It appears the Tax Credit system is causing unnecessary distress and hardship to the poorest families it was designed to help.

That's probably an understatement, I know of more than a few families who no longer claim for Tax Credit' because of the number of problems they have had with the system. Maybe this was Broon's idea of saving money for the government, another part of his "Vision" for Britain.

In case you had forgotten Tax Creditswere introduced in 2003 as part of a drive by then-Chancellor Brown to reduce poverty, but has been dogged with problems, not least because of its built-in requirement to claim back many of its payments.

As well as this it has cost the Tax Payer about 2bn because of poor administration and overpayment of some 6bn.

According to the Parliamentary Ombudsman more than a quarter of all complaints received from the public were about the tax credit system, run by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - UK - Watchdog attacks "harsh" tax credit system

EU treaty same as Constitution

This article in the Scotsman will not leave Feartie Broon much room to move after his answer to questions about why there would not be a Referendum on the "new" EU Treaty yesterday.

The Parliament's all-party European Scrutiny Committee concluded in a report that the effect of the entire new treaty was "substantially equivalent" to that of the Constitution.

The Conservatives' Europe spokesman Mark Francois said in view of the committee's conclusions, Brown was "morally bound" to offer Britons a referendum.

But Europe Minister Jim Murphy insisted that the new treaty was "significantly different to the old constitutional treaty in intent, form and substance" and that the version Britain would sign up to was even further from the old Constitution.

So when Gordon takes out his "red pen" to compare them he will find his work has already been done for him and they are virtually the same. He will then have to as a "conviction" politician honour the Labour Party manifesto which, in 2005, promised the voters a Referendum.

I have no doubt though that Gordon using his own special "moral compass" will find a new direction to move that will not allow us to have the promised Referendum.

Never mind perhaps it was just a "Vision" when Blair promised us the Referendum.

Just in case you wondered 9 out of the 16 members of the Committee were LAbour MP's.

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - UK - UK report says new EU treaty same as Constitution

Football-mad drivers bid for "WE57 HAM" plate

I wonder if the esteemed Blogger and West Ham supporter Iain Dale will be bidding for this registration plate for his nice Audi Convertible. I suspect it may go for around 40,000 pounds, cheap to any fervent supporter.

However Iain may be more interested in the following after West Ham losing their last two games Lot 835: "LOS 3R", which has a reserve price of 900 pounds.

Apparently the top 10 prices for Football related registrations sold by the DVLA is as follows:

1 - AR53 NAL (36,000 pounds)

2 - V1 LLA (35,000 pounds)

3 - ALB 10N (19,000 pounds)

4 - DER 8Y (14,500 pounds)

5 - S41 NTS (11,500 pounds)

6 - PRE 570N (9,400 pounds)

7 - 1 WBA (8,400 pounds)

8 - W1 GAN (7,700 pounds)

9 - EVR 70N (6,400 pounds)

10 - S9 URS (4,600 pounds)

Why this item should be in the Scotsman I have no idea.

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Odd - Football-mad drivers bid for "WE57 HAM" plate

A Senior Moment

A group of young students were on a bus discussing the burden placed on society by the older generation of pensioners. One of the pensioners took great exception to some of the comments and stated that he thought it was impossible for some of the older generation to understand todays younger generation and vice-versa. Things had changed so much during the years between their ages. As he was explaining the student interrupted him.

"You grew up in a different world, actually an almost primitive one," the student said, loud enough for all his friends and most of the other passengers to hear.

"The young people of today grew up with colour high definition digital television, high quality music on CD's and MP3 players, jet travel, space travel, trains that have never travelled faster, man walking on the moon, our spaceships have visited Mars. We have nuclear energy, electric and hydrogen cars, computers with light-speed processing and ..."

The pensioner interrupted him and said "You're right, son. We didn't have those things to enjoy and marvel at when we were young.......so we invented them. What are you doing for the next generation?"

The applause was resounding...

Hat tip to WhichEndBites

Whichendbites: A SENIOR MOMENT

Third of RAF bomber squadrons 'to be culled'

Dad in his Bomber Days

Stunning isn't it when our Services are as stretched as they have ever been since the Korean war here we are seeing the Labour Government of the Man of Courage, being savaged due to their inadequate financial management.

According to the Telegraph and a number of other papers a third of Britain's frontline RAF bomber squadrons could be disbanded under proposals to save money in the defence budget. This is despite a month ago the Chief of the Air Staff Sir Glenn Torpy saying the RAF

was as lean as it can get.

The Telegraph continues

But Air Force chiefs have been told the priority now is to divert all resources into the current conflicts, leading to cuts elsewhere.

Under the Comprehensive Spending Review proposals, plans are also in place to keep the ageing Tornado F3 fighters in service for another seven years because the Saudi Arabian purchase of 75 brand new Eurofighter Typhoons will mean the RAF will not get any new fighters for an estimated two years.

Much defence funding has also been tied up in major projects such as the two new aircraft carriers, leading to less money being available elsewhere.

So it also seems we are not to get Eurofighter Typhoons as they have all been promised to Saudi Arabia, this is just sheer lunacy.

In addition the Navy will not miss out in swingeing cuts as it could lose all four of its Type 22 frigates and a destroyer.

After Gordon's cheap Political Trick last week when visiting Iraq, this is just what our Armed forces need to hear as they fight on our behalf.

One of the bases which will be affected will probably be Lossiemouth where my father served his final years in the RAF. The loss of anymore squadrons from this area may bring even further problems to this area that has relied on the RAF as a major employment generator for many years.


Third of RAF bomber squadrons 'to be culled' - Telegraph

Warm glow spreads through Scotch Whisky

Great to see the resurgence of Whisky that is going on in Scotland. This is due to the greater demand for our products in countries such as China, India and Brazil, with exports up to over 2.5bn last year setting a record high.

This is not only good news to the distillers but also good news to many of the supporting industries. Scottish Farmers are benefiting from doubled prices for Malting Barley, Coopersmiths are doing better, packaging firms are getting a slice of the increase and even CalMac are benefiting from increased demand for capacity.

In addition we also have a "Consultation" by the UK Government for tighter definitions of Scotch Whisky in UK Law. This would then lead onto possible use of the names in international trade agreements, Islay and Speyside would be in the same category as Champagne, Parma ham, Rioja and Roquefort cheese with protection from European trade law.

Scotch whisky has been defined for many years and is protected by law, but the new laws, which could be in place by spring 2008, will prevent foreign spirits using geographic areas in Scotland.

FT.com / Companies / Consumer industries - Warm glow spreads through Scotch whisky

Scotland’s nationalists can afford to relax

An interesting article in the Financial Times, from Harry Reid former editor of the Herald, saying that Scotland's nationalists can afford to Relax.

I have to agree with his starting paragraph when he says:

Serenity is not a word often associated with politics, particularly nationalist politics. But since the Scottish National party won its dramatic victory in the Scottish parliamentary elections five months ago, Scotland has been a serene place. Less fractious, more relaxed.

Scotland seems to be happy to be ruled by a party that genuinely has Scotland foremost in it's mind rather than always having to look to London for oversight. It has also been helped by a good degree of consensual help by most of the parties during the start of what could have been a difficult time for the Scottish Parliament, in this they have been helped by the fact that the Scottish Labour party is in disarray and disbelief that Scots should have turned their back on them. Happily this has meant them not being much of a force in Parliament during the first, possibly rocky, months.

Harry also continues with what has undoubtedly been the strongest part of the SNP government, that they have realised that we need no more legislation. He says:

The secret of the governing party’s success so far is that it has concentrated on effective administration rather than legislation. Scotland, like the UK as a whole, had suffered a surfeit of legislation from Labour, some of it ill thought-out and ill drafted. This was a particular problem in Scotland, where there is no second chamber to refine and improve poorly considered and rushed legislation. Even the SNP’s enemies concede that the loss of the imperative to legislate has had a benign effect.

The one blot on the landscape, is that which is at the heart of the SNP, Independence, I don't think that Scotland is quite ready for it. It needs a few more years of decent government from all parties before the country as a whole has the confidence to go it alone. It needs confidence that it has the people, the energy (in more ways than one) , the Businesses and in addition the belief that we will not lose out if we go it alone.

There are also a few rumblings that things may not be so easy for the SNP over the next few months. These have culminated in the vote against the SNP's record on implementing its manifesto. By 70 votes to 48, MSPs voted to recognise that the SNP was elected on the basis of promises it failed to keep and called on ministers to make a statement on why its pre-election promises are no longer government policy. It will also likely have to deal with receiving much less of a rise in spending from the Labour Government when the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) is announced next week, a rise of less than 2% is expected contrasted with rises of above 5% in the past 3 years. This may be balanced against the gaining of 900m pounds not spent in previous years that will be released to Scotland.

These will be problems that the SNP has to face over the Winter, but if they continue as they have started then they will probably rise over these setbacks. There is also the point that none of the other major parties are really ready to force the point at Holyrood at the moment as they are unlikely to achieve anything by forcing setbacks on the SNP apart from a backlash from the public who voted for a change of government.

You might wonder why a Conservative voter is looking at the SNP and saying your doing well and bring on Independence. I do as well, sometimes, but I am foremost Scottish and then Conservative, I believe that Scotland is strong enough to run itself. It has unique challenges and options that are not now best served by a Central Government in London. What the SNP has shown is that different parties and people can work together to get what is best for Scotland and this must remain the most important thing that a Scottish Government must do.


FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - Scotland’s nationalists can afford to relax

Marr Bottles the Big Feartie interview

Just watched Andrew Marr and the full interview with the Big Feartie Brown. Atrocious journalism, he never challenged him properly once and let him blather on about change and competency rather than attacking the issue. Brown himself was just as poor, faltering and nervous and full of what HE had done. Truly the politics of I.

Now wonder the Big Feartie chose him to do this interview. Any serious journalist given this chance would have forgotten his own prejudices and been on the attack from the word go.

Anyhow that will be the last we will see of Brown for a while, he will be doing his "Macavity" the cat act again until as late as possible next week. Maybe he even won't turn up for some of those important announcements in Parliament that he was due to make next week. The ones like Iraq and the CSR that were so important next week, Flunkies can do these for him and take the flack. I have a feeling PMQ's on Wednesday might be slightly interesting and embarrassing for him.

Worst Blow in 25 years to a Prime Minister

Over at the Coffeehouse Fraser Nelson is reporting that Adam Boulton has thrown his dummy out the window at Brown as follows.

One of the worst blows to a serving prime minister that I can remember in quarter of a century of covering politics."

He blames the debacle on Brown's advisers. "

If I was giving him any advice tonight it would be ‘sack the lot of them’”.

And he's hiding away while Ming and Cameron are taking questions.

"It's not leadership as most people will understand it."

As Fraser Nelson says

This is just a nuclear bomb.

The Big Feartie - Wee Sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie

Wee Sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie

To a Mouse


WEE, sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous beastie,
O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi’ bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee,
Wi’ murd’ring pattle!

I’m truly sorry man’s dominion,
Has broken nature’s social union,
An’ justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An’ fellow-mortal!

I doubt na, whiles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave
’S a sma’ request;
I’ll get a blessin wi’ the lave,
An’ never miss’t!

Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin!
It’s silly wa’s the win’s are strewin!
An’ naething, now, to big a new ane,
O’ foggage green!
An’ bleak December’s winds ensuin,
Baith snell an’ keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste,
An’ weary winter comin fast,
An’ cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell—
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro’ thy cell.

That wee bit heap o’ leaves an’ stibble,
Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble,
But house or hald,
To thole the winter’s sleety dribble,
An’ cranreuch cauld!

But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft agley,
An’lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!

Still thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e’e.
On prospects drear!
An’ forward, tho’ I canna see,
I guess an’ fear!

The first two verses just seem so appropriate. Apologies to Robert Burns for tarring his name with Gordon Brown

£200 extra on council taxpayers to fund NHS

According to the Telegraph Mr Brown will try and do another trick like his 10p tax rate mess from the last budget where he gives a little with one hand and sneaks more away with the other but tries to hide it in the fine print.

The Chancellor will apparently announce above inflation rises in spending for the NHS and Education.

The big BUT is that as there is no money in the coffers and growth rates are down, that the money will instead be found by raising the take on Council taxes. Reaction to this from various groups below is unlikely to help Brown if he goes for an early election.

The planned council tax rises - expected to be buried in the small-print of the CSR - will anger many voters.

Town hall chiefs reacted angrily, accusing Mr Brown of plotting a back-door tax rise to

"raise as much locally as legally possible"

to fund a generous health and education giveaway.

Nick Skellett, the leader of Surrey county council said:

"It is an appalling and dishonest strategy to keep income tax at fixed levels and raise huge sums through council tax."

Eric Pickles, the Tory local government spokesman, said:

"Council tax is starting to become unbearable. Gordon Brown is using smoke and mirrors which is shameful. But, I think people will recognise what is going on. Mr Brown has already fooled them before in this way."

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said:

"Council tax is a particularly regressive and hated tax which has already put a massive squeeze on household incomes."

The assumed council tax increases in the CSR determine how much central government gives to local authorities in terms of an annual financial grant.

The higher the rise in council tax, the lower the central grant.

The problem is that Brown has emptied the coffers, not just for the now but for the foreseeable future.

£200 on council tax to pay for NHS - Telegraph

No Honours Blair

Apparently Tony Blair is giving up his right to a resignation honours list, the first former Prime Minister to do so.


No wonder, almost all the people who paid for one with a backhander, have now got one, and Tony (Who) Blair has slipped right off the celebrity list, so no-one is toadying up to him any longer to get a reward.

There is also the two other points

1. The honours would have had to have been vetted by an Independent Body, the House of Lords Appointments Commission. What fun they would have had rejecting a few of the more suspect honourees!
2. The fact that receiving an honour now from Tony Blair would be more like getting a formal acknowledgment that you were toadying briber of the lowest sort.

Tony Blair refuses to produce an honours list - Telegraph

Old Age Bankruptcy

The story in the Independent that

Pensioners have become so laden with debt that the number filing for bankruptcy has increased eight-fold in five years. Campaigners are blaming the worrying rise on a combination of cheap credit, soaring living costs and the complicated benefits system.

Nearly 8,000 people aged 65 or over took the ultimate financial sanction last year and sought bankruptcy – up from 900 in 2002. The figure is just one of a series of statistics this week showing the growing financial burden and consequences of an ageing population.

is a shocking reflection on todays society.

According to Joe Harris, the leader of the National Pensioners Convention.

"Many older people feel the whole process of having to parade their poverty in order to get a little bit extra to live on is demeaning."

This is a sad state of affairs.

Number of pensioners going bankrupt rises by 700% in five years - Independent Online Edition > This Britain

A Declining Institution

I continue to be in the declining and unfashionable relationship called marriage. Roughly since Labour came in 4% less people are married.

Contrast that with the rise in unmarried couples living together which is the fastest-growing family unit in the UK. In the same 10 years that marriages declined 4%, cohabitation by unmarried couple increased by 65%. In addition lone parents have increased by 8% in the same period.

Now this may just reflect changing ideas on marriage but apparently it also has had another effect on the children of cohabiting families. It was found that 17-year-olds were most likely to be in education if their parents were married and they were not in step-families. A total of 69 per cent of boys and 78 per cent of girls at that age would be in education if they were in a traditional family unit.

So why don't people get married. The obvious answer is that changing ideas have changed our society, but also we have the stupidity of being penalised by the government for being married by an unjust Tax system.

The Tories have proposed bringing back the transferable married couples tax allowance, worth around £20-a-week, this would be aimed at making it easier for one parent to stay at home to look after children or elderly relatives. If applied to all married couples, it would cost £3.2bn a year.

This would be money well spent if the traditional family unit does help ensure everyone gets a good education and redresses an unfair penalty on married couples.

Number of unmarried couples rises by 65% - Independent Online Edition > This Britain

Programming Balls

Over at the Devils Kitchen ( A right good Sweary Fest in case you didn't already know), The Devil had delivered his idea of the best Quote of the Day from the Tory Conference via Caroline Hunt

Quote of the Day from Dizzy.

"Sometimes I have to adjust my balls because they hang to the left and I worry they might be ideologically unsound."

But being Dizzy, he doesn't have to do it himself, he has written a script to do it; it'll be something like this, I imagine.

1. IF {balls}=[align: left] GOTO 3 ELSE GOTO 2


2. IF TIME ELAPSED=30 GOTO 1


3. MOVE {right_hand} TO {balls} GOTO 4


4. CUP {balls} WITH {right_hand} GOTO 5


5. MOVE {balls} + SHIFT {right_leg [surrepticiously]} GOTO 6


6. LOCK {balls}=[align: right] GOTO 7


7. SOUND={"GRUNT" [contentedly]} GOTO 8


8. IF TIME ELAPSED=30 GOTO 1

There then follows a number of examples of Ball Programming in a number of languages until my attempt as follows:

Meanwhile, self-confessed "old-timer" Fitaloon decided that what was really needed was a Cobol programme.

IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. ConservativeBalls.
AUTHOR. Fitaloon

DATA DIVISION.
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 BallsPosition.
03 BallSide PIC X(5).
88 Balls-correct value "Right".
88 Balls-Incorrect Value "Left"
01 Ballstoright
03 Ballsright pic x(5) value "Right".


PROCEDURE DIVISION.
Begin.
DISPLAY "Enter Balls Position Left or Right".
ACCEPT BallsPosition.
If Balls-incorrect
move Ballstoright to Ballsposition.
Display "Balls in correct Position".
STOP RUN.

Ah, geek humour...

First Cobol programme I have attempted in some years (too many to remember).

I have a feeling my older attempts may have been rather better as they kept me gainfully employed for about 15 years.

The Devil's Kitchen: Tory Conference Quote To End All Quotes

Inheritance Tax takes blame

The Conservaties have bounced back to level with Brown according to an ICM poll in the Guardian which gives each party 38% of the poll.

According to Brown's spinners this is entirely due to the Tory announcement on inheritance tax and the promise that only millionaires would have to pay death duties.

Now if only life was this easy, you offer someone a tax cut and they immediately are your bosom buddy for life. If this was the case Gordon would have everyone voting for him as he has handed out so many (empty) promises over the years.

Gordon will now be faced with the quandary of how to back out of an election that he has been spinning and preparing for with the least damage.

He will have to settle for the remainder of the 2 1/2 years that Labour have and face the polls in 2010, possibly even resigning before the next election, if the polls look bad, stating he has finished the job he started, and wants to pass the reins to younger blood.

His problem is that his courage has failed him again like after the loss of John Smith and during the "phoney" war with Tony Blair.

If he had had some courage he would have announced the election today before the polls came out that make it obvious he will lose much or all of his majority in Parliament. Having had his courage fail him again all excuses will be null and void apart from the fact he might lose his majority.

Cameron bounces back | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics

Free Burma

Free Burma! - International Bloggers' Day for Burma on the 4th of October 2007

Free Burma

Benedict says No Election

Benedict Brogan in the Daily Mail says there will be no election this year. He has spoken to the Labour spinners and they are indicating:

• Brown Central is convinced that George Osborne has given them all the ammunition they need for a protracted demolition campaign centred on the "fantasy" costings behind his tax cut proposals. Some are even seeing it as a Black Wednesday moment that will prove to be as disastrous for the credibility of the Cameron/Osborne generation as 1992 was for John Major and his lot.(Hmm from the figures seen so far anyone could be right, but it will not be a major factor)
  
• Labour polling in its key marginals has produced mixed results, and not the clear evidence of a big win some MPs suggested last week. (This will be key)
  
• I understand the CSR has been decoupled from an election announcement. Alistair Darling has been told he can go ahead, probably Monday, regardless of what Mr Brown does. The CSR no longer means there will automatically be an election. (Who Cares)
  
• Mr Brown's advisers believe that there is not enough time between now and November1/8 to persuade the public that Mr Osborne's inheritance tax giveaway is not what it's cracked up to be.(If they can't do it now no-one will believe them)
  
• They also believe that once they get past the initial "he's bottled out" jeering, politics will return to normal and within months the public will have forgotten the excitement we have been living through in Bournemouth and Blackpool. (They may be right but people will be reminded, whenever he has another Macavity Moment)
  
• Mr Brown has been keeping a keen eye on events elsewhere, no least the spread of foot and mouth, the political situation in Scotland, and the evidence that suggests the public is not clamouring for a contest. (Grasping at straws here, though the Scotland situation will be worrying Brown)
  

Reading through this we get the message, Brown has bottled it, the polls are against him, he knows he will struggle in a straight fight against Cameron for top billing and fears a top three entry in the charts for shortest reign as a Prime Minister or a loss of Prestige as Blair's majority is lost. Courage is not his middle name.

Brown will choose the easy option and wait as long as possible, he has already had to wait ten years to finally get where he wanted, why lose it all now.


Benedict Brogan's political blog

We or I

That is the choice you may face in a few weeks time if Cyclops (I) can make a decision to go to the country, I still believe he won't as his "courage" will fail him.

We or I, the belief of whether it us, the public, who have the major role in a democracy or we want to be ruled by someone who believes he knows what is best for us and ploughs on regardless of anyone else. Democracy versus Totalitarianism

We just have to look at the party conferences over the past fortnight, The Labour Conference was all about I, There was only person who mattered and only one speech that was worth reporting on. Brown was centre stage and no-one was going to share it with him. he was the Lord and Master and woe betide anyone who thought different or who might upstage him. Then came the speech, all about how he had made the world good and he would make it better for all of us, as he knew best. He was the star and there was no one else in the firmament.

Contrast that with the Tory conference where there were any number of good speeches from David Cameron's cabinet with IDS particularly playing a blinder and Hague, as always, standing out. Then we had Cameron's speech that promised that we would be involved, that the government needed our help and that we mattered to it. Promises would be kept and Covenant's
Honoured

What a difference!

We just had to see Brown's response to the speech. He had not listened to it, He was apparently to busy governing us to bother with anything so unimportant, but he thought we would like to know.

So when or if the decision comes, think about it, who do you want to govern, We or I?

Dear Cyclops

Image from Getty Images.

Lost Moral Compass

Brown loses grip

Lost Moral Compass, no reward for finding. Please return to Gordon Brown, last seen heading Middle-Eastwards. Courage is also reported as ready to desert as well. Conviction has well and truly been squashed.

Promises forgotten and Covenants broken a specialty.

Bob Ainsworth Stuffed by Paxo

Bob Ainworth, Labour MP for Coventry North East and Minister for State (Armed Forces) Ministry of Defence has just been Paxoed on Newsnight, asked some simple addition questions on how many soldiers were returning from Iraq he had no answers apart from fudging the issue.

It was painful and embarrassing to watch this poor man squirm for his leaders who have left him out to dry whilst Des Browne his boss fights the SNP instead of doing his proper job, and Gordon spins his way cynically towards an election.

It now appears that of the 1000 troops due back from Iraq, 500 have never got there, 270 were already back before Cyclops arrived and so only 230 will actually be returning.

These are the approx figures but may have to be changed as it all becomes as clear as the muddied waters of the Labour Cesspit of lies.

Update: Just trying to remember if Mr Ainsworth said that the 500 who will not go to Iraq will be "redeployed". In these days that means they will not be in Blighty(or Germany where they are apparently based) for Xmas but will be going to Afghanistan. This is quite likely as 500 troops ready to go to Iraq are the ideal candidates for deployment to Afghanistan. Waiting for the Newsnight report to be available online.

Brown spins in for Baghdad visit

I see not satisfied with leaking details of possible planned troop cuts in Iraq, Mr (I don't spin Brown) has arrived in Iraq to deflect good news from the Tory conference.

Amazing coincidence he should have planned such a visit during this time.

Using our armed forces in this way is as low as it gets. After all the cuts and the shoddy treatment he has forced on the armed forces let us hope that the soldiers on the ground welcome him in a suitable manner.

THIS IS A DISGRACE. He should be hung as a traitor to this country.

As you might note I am a tad angry!

BBC NEWS | UK | Brown flies in for Baghdad visit

Plan to cut Basra troops by 2,000

I see Mr Brown's tame poodle, Nick Robinson has been given the nod by him to release news that he is considering cutting the number of British Troops in Southern Iraq by 2000 just in time for the 10 o'clock news tonight.

Apparently the BBC reveals that a final decision has not been made yet, though it may be part of an announcement on Iraq expected to MP's next week.

Amazing this news should come out today while the Tory Conference is ongoing, particularly as some good reviews of speeches today have caught the government off-guard.

This sort of leaking of information on Troop Movements and Strengths would have been considered as Treason in many times of war. It is certainly not democracy in action.

BBC NEWS | UK | Plan to cut Basra troops by 2,000

Higher tobacco age limit in force

Amazing a piece of Government legislation I am fully behind!

The new law making the sales of cigarettes to under 18's illegal is now in force and seems to have already started to work.

According to my 14 year old this law has had an immediate effect as there were only about 10 pupils in the "smokie" (down bog alley in my old school) at his school today rather than the normal 30-40. Seems like this has had an immediate impact on sales. It also make it easier for shopkeepers to say no to school kids who claimed they were 16.

BBC NEWS | UK | Higher tobacco age limit in force