1929 Robin Hood forms a coalition and becomes an outlaw

Saturday 15th May 6.10 am and I am home after an unpleasant journey but six days of rewarding experiences. including what I still hope is going to be a new politics which will transform British Society during a period of considerable economic difficulty and personal financial cut backs. I will write about political developments when I have sorted myself out and organised priorities.

Having joined Twitter I must also begin to learn to think and write in 140 word and space sentences designed to communicate the thoughts and feelings of the moment. Given my objections to the headline culture, I have decided to use in relation to political shows that are being watched.

Instead of recent attempts to write about single subjects at length I am reverting to timed notes as I catch up after two trips in three weeks and where because of what was happening during past the week, I have concentrated on watching events unfold, thinking and reading about their significance as well as attempting to make effective use of the opportunities of being in a different city.

06.15. The computer is slow again but I will return to going on line and printing out emails and news reports from the past week but deal with them on an individual basis rather than collectively. I will get the car out of the garage at 8 and check the plants. It is a bright sunny day but chill. I musty decide whether to use Twitter to explain myself to others or use to comment on others, particularly on live programmes as I watch them. ( Later I worked out that the slowness is caused by the disk filling up and for some reason has not been defragmenter for over a year . I did this on going to bed in the early hours and now seems to have got better).

06.36 I have set up Twitter on the Desktop and found that one of my two followers who joined me yesterday has already departed.(Later the other has left me too)

08.30 It is two hours later and frustrated by the snail pace e of the desk top I have taken the car out of the garage and checked the plants, watering one the hanging baskets as the other baskets and plant containers were also satisfactory. I must remember to use some plant food. I have unpacked the large case and put away my suit, remaking the bed at the same time. I have washed myself and the accumulations from the trip, containers, flasks and such like and then set up the lap top in an interesting new layout, using a small table from front room for the lap top and a key board, together with the usual lower table on which it is usually placed immediately next to the TV for watching the i players including the Met Opera. I am using this table for the mouse and a can of coke. The only limitation to this set up is that there are only three USB points so with one for the mouse, one for the keyboard and one for the printer I can not use the separate sound system although when later I may want to catch up programmes I will not need the printer so can do a switch then. The advantage of this set up is that I cab sit on the sofa with the table right height to work and if wanted work from the large screen TV. The folding chair can be packed in the carrying case again.

I have to laugh at myself many times. Having set everything up I then found that I was unable to print as having pressed print a Microsoft office 2007 install set up menu came into operation and this continued after restarting. I then realised that the printer was set for the Office printing system. Why this is so is a mystery, one of several recently which I shall cover more in a moment but everything is now OK having realised the nature of this particular problem and will set about printing catch up as the next activity before back over aspects of the past week. I have used the laptop to print out before but obviously only when using Firefox as I discover later as the options including one of the two Brother printers. However, for some reason, I cannot use the Brother on Windows Explorer. I must find out why but after the weekend.

14.20 Since last writing I have completed going through the newspapers purchased during the past week, the post delivered while away and finished printing out material identified while away, enjoyed lunch, commenced washing and drying clothes and generally sorted what needs to be done into some order of priorities. The lunch, a bacon roll became a crispy bacon roll as I came back to start writing and forgot the rashers were under the grill. I then had to turn off the smoke alarm. It was good to know that this still works as I have forgotten to test recently.

19.30 Just enjoyed some amazing performances from the five semi finalists in Young Musician 2010. The 16 year old Pianist is extraordinary and a rare talent who apart from her musicianship is powerful, passionate and intense in her playing which is completely self absorbed but also communicates with the audience. The female flute player also young with the same qualities although not so extrovertly while the violinist at 13 may alienate some views with his determination and self confidence but it is also remarkable, regardless of his age. The final is tomorrow with the three performing a concerto with full orchestra and will take precedence over the cricket final if it clashes, which I have checked and it does. What with Andrew Marr and other political and discussion shows in the morning, the Monaco Grand Prix Early afternoon and the cricket at four and Lewis at eight the day is organised for me along with a whole roast chicken for lunch.

Gosh it has become cold again and I will need to put the heating on and finish my evening meal which comprised two pork steaks with tinned tomatoes and beans and rice pudding, forgetting to sprinkle some cinnamon. I have enjoyed my food over the past week,

Last Sunday I had roast chicken with an excellent vegetables followed by a chocolate pudding with chocolate sauce. On Tuesday a gammon steak with egg followed by apple crumble and custard. On Wednesday I had a Baltic chicken curry, with a Naan bread and Papadum, accompanied by a pint of diet coke for just under fiver at the Yates Lodge in Nottingham city, an interesting two story building with arched roof supported by metal girders. On Thursday I enjoy a good plate of large long sausages and onion gravy with mashed potatoes at Clumber Park, where the onions and potatoes were grown in the walled kitchen garden which I also viewed. On Friday it was unlimited salad at Pizza hut also for just under a fiver but the unlimited diet coke was an additional £1.99.

On Friday afternoon I went to see the latest Robin Hood film with the first recorded in 1912 followed by Douglas Fairbanks in 1922 and Errol Flynn in 1938, version still shown on channel TV. Shaun Connery and Audrey Hepburn appeared in 1976 and Kevin Costner in in 1991. There have been animations and comedy versions as well as made for TV. In Britain there were TV series in 1953, and over several years in the 1950’s with Richard Greene, and in 1975, 1980, 1997 and from 2006. This time it is the turn of Director Ridley Scott and actor Russell Crowe , in a version intended to part of two or three films on the alleged events leading to the signing of Magna Cater after the assassination of Robin Loxley on his way back with the Crown of King Richard who has been killed on his way back to the England after the last crusade.

Russell plays Robin Longstride, a mature bowman who has fought the wars to and from the Crusades and after witnessing the death of his king attempts to make his way home across the channel before the rest of the army join in the search for boats. Accompanied by Little John, Will Scarlet and co, he then witness the killing to Robin Loxley, the Knight of Nottingham in the Ambush and swears to return to the man’s father the sword which the son borrowed without permission. The sword bears an inscription which appears familiar to Robin, although his recollection is unclear. He also encounters the assassin played by Mark Strong who in turn notes Robin without either knowing who each other is or should be who are !

Robin and his men assume the identities of the killed knights to return to England on the ship arranged to bring back the King, and on arrival in London he presents the crown to Richard’s mother played by Eileen Atkins who replaced Vanessa Redgrave who withdrew from the part following the death of her daughter Natasha. The mother crowns the weak brother of Richard, John, as the new King. He is about to reward Robin for his service until learning he is of Loxley, whose father owes taxes.

In the meantime we have learnt that Sir Godfrey, played by Strong is not only a close associate of the King pretending to be his friend but is plotting with King of France for an invasion to bring Britain or parts of it under the French. Sir Godfrey also identified Robin as a danger and orders his death and those of his friends.

In Nottingham Baron Loxley is blind and ailing and the estate of several thousand acres is being destroyed by the pressure of taxes from the monarchy for the Crusades and by the corrupt church. The estate is being managed by the wife of Loxley, Marion, who was only briefly married before her husband joined the crusades. On the death of her husband and his father the estate becomes the property of the Crown and will lose her home and means of livelihood. Thus when Robin returns with news of the death of her husband, the ailing Baron, played by Max Von Sydow, proposes that Robin plays the part of her husband to secure her position, and in exchange he promises to tell Robin about his father and background. Once playing the part of the returning knight Robin is taken by his unwilling and celibate new wife around the estate and he finds that the church is now represented in the community by Friar Tuck, a man of independent thinking and means using bees to make Mead which he sells to make an independent income, They join forces and steal back the grain on its way to church at York which they immediately plant in the fields. Robin then learns that his father had drafted the first form of Magna Carter which a number of Baron had agreed, but his father, a stone mason, had perished because of his beliefs and actions.

Meanwhile John’s alleged friend Sir Godfrey had replaced the former chief adviser King Richard and his mother and unknowing to the new King has set about destroying villages, taking taxes and abusing the women and killing anyone who objects on behalf of the King as a means of angering the Barons and causing a civil war. He is aided by 200 French troops secretly landed but the troops have been seen by a agent of the former chief adviser and he arranges a meeting with the Barons yet to be attacked in the Midlands and North.

Marion‘s father in law is killed, she is taken prisoner and the community imprisoned and about to be burnt to death but Robin returns with some forces to save his wife and the community having persuaded the Barons to join forces with the King to repel the French on the promise of Magna Carta. The King has been persuaded that by his wife, persuaded by her mother in law, that Sir Godfrey is a traitor and the King agrees to the demands of the Baron for a Magna Carta if they are to join forces with him against the French.

He then goes off to join the King in a spectacular battle with the French in which he also kills Godfrey the traitor who in turn nearly kills Marion, who has followed with a group of teenage orphans running wild in the Forests of Sherwood after their fathers have not returned from the Crusades. There is a spectacular battle with 1000 archers on the cliff top while the cavalry attacks those already landed from both ends of the beach.

The French King abandons the invasion as troops celebrate the victory recognising the part played by Loxley rather than the King. He outlaws Loxley and anyone who helps him and also reneges on his promise for Magna Carta. Robin and Marion take to the forests of Sherwood with the now merry men and orphans and thus the legend begins.

01.30 Having watched Hesling a Gothic blockbuster It is time for bed and I will end this writing with check tomorrow morning and then continue with a piece on the new Politics.

1928 The revolution of Dave and Nick

The Dave and Nick Government

It just before 9am on Friday 14th of May, a week after it became evident that no Political Party in Britain was going to have an overall majority and therefore could settle on a legislative programme for the Queens Speech and in the case of the Conservative Party settle on its first budget within 50 days.

The pace of change and confirmed developments is such that I am breathless rather than speechless as Nick Robinson after attending the first press conference between David Cameron and Nick Clegg.

I have been writing and rewriting this Blog for three days and have decided only to continue until 9.45 published and then go out in the sunshine and to Mansfield to sort out my mobile phone which for some reason functions normally but won’t let me send texts. I am back at the Trowell Travel Lodge on the M1 after three excellent days a Nottingham, Riverside.

6am 12th May 2010 could become as historic a day as was 11th and 10th and marks a fundamental change in British politics. (I wrote this because of the brief information which was emerging overnight that not only had the new Parliamentary Conservative and Liberal Democratic Parties agreed a full coalition but were reported to be intending to make changes to enable the arrangement to last a full five years with Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, and the significance of which only began to dawn on everyone in the Westminster village later). I a now say it was an historic day.
15.30pm My instinct has been rewarded with a press conference by Prime Minister Dave Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in the Rose Garden of Ten Downing Street as the sun shone and the birds were singing and which amazed all the seasoned commentators political commentators in the UK and probably those from Europe and America. The Times subsequently recalled the words of T S Elliot in Burn Norton, Footfalls echo in the memory down the passage we did not take towards the door we never opened into the rose garden. Yesterday, the Times stated in its editorial, David Cameron and Nick Clegg dared to open the door into the rose garden and its front page was headed a very British Revolution.

The jaw dropping experience for most of those present, hard nosed and cynical used to interpreting the code in which politicians, particularly, Ministers and Shadow Minister speak, led some to reflect quietly before making an instant judgement before the camera, some were instantly converted, quickly moving from shock and disbelief to feeling inspired and exhilarated, while some were more cautious but wished the two leaders well in their endeavour to radically change the style and process of politics in the spirit of the 21st century. Expressions of hostility and anger were to follow, with hysterical rants one from the left and one from right on Question Time on Thursday evening.

Earlier there was the spectacle of Nick Clegg walking the last few yards along Downing Street to be greeted at the door of number 10 by the new Prime Minister, a shake of the hands and a pat on the back, each on the other. Later there was also Vince Cable having to be called back by his chauffer to the car used by Peter Mandelson as he was about to walk back out of the gates of Downing Street from whence he had come. You have gotta believe it Vince you are now in charge of business and banks.

I only wished I could have witnessed the expression on the faces of the Daily Mail reports and editorial staff as well as some of the newspapers who had laid into Nick Clegg the previous day for attempting to get a better deal from Labour although this was not true.

7.38 Thursday 13th of May 2010. The first agreement has been published which covers all the major areas of difference between the two Parties and the Civil service is now working on translating these headline notes, detailed headline notes, together with statements about all the other areas on which there was immediate agreement into policy documents which will govern the approach of the individual Ministries and their Civil Service Departments. I will hazard a guess that the Civil service will be thrilled at what has happened will enthusiastically to a man and woman put their backs into the enterprise. This is not to suggest they would not have given one hundred percent to which ever political party or individual set of Ministers appointed to their Ministries but now they will be willingly giving that extra which in fact will be required of them, especially because of the immediate freeze on filling of vacancies which will have been imposed and the immediate plans to slim down government on a permanent basis. A lot of people who thought they had secure jobs will find themselves joining everyone else living in uncertainty, with some facing severance deals.

I begin with the facts of what we know so far. The two leaders, now Prime Minister and Deputy explained that when they first met they quickly realised that to form a loose agreement in which the Lib Dems agreed not to bring down the government on the Queens Speech and Emergency Budget would work but for a limited period, six months to year and so on the basis of what had been immediately agreed between the two sets of negotiating teams, they decided to try and achieve a full coalition which would last five years. This is why I believe the Labour Administration quickly realised a deal with them was out of the question. There was no way, however willing some Ministers were, that the Labour Parliamentary Party and the National Executive Committee would have agreed to making Nick Clegg Deputy Prime Minister and surrendering four other Cabinet positions and 15 other ministerial jobs to the Lib Dems, or to creating new policies and programmes out of the two Manifestoes. This is the old politics of Labour with its traditional authoritarian and paternalistic streak.

Diane Abbott during the Politics This week Show confirmed that that a substantial number of the returning Labour Members appreciated they had lost the election, that the public would not have accepted a Labour led coalition or Gordon Brown continuing as Prime Minister for several months and then the appointment of a Prime Minister from within the Labour Party and who had not agreed to the terms of the coalition realising they had lost the General Election. It was also evident that Mr Brown and those involved in the negotiations would not have been able to have persuaded the Labour Party to then agree to the terms of the coalition.

Friday Morning The dilemma for true liberal socialists like Bill Bragg and me is that the Coalition is going to implement several cherished beliefs on fair votes, on fair income tax and on protecting personal freedoms for example. I have just joined Twitter to respond to what is being said on programmes such as Any Questions and Politics this week and got two followers, amazing, when I suggested if I was younger I would try and form a Democratic Liberal Socialist party to replace the British Labour Party. Bill Bragg was on Politics this week and provided a balanced reaction from someone on the left but also pointed out that the show would have to accommodate the Liberal Democratic view of the alliance. He expressed the right tone of confusion among true democratic liberal socialists.

I have been rewriting this Blog in free moments over the past three days, enjoying the better weather, some walkabouts in Nottingham, some good food, abandoning Durham who appeared destined to lose without in form bowlers or batsmen but I enjoyed England’s win the World Cup semi Final, but most keeping close to the News Channels and Political programmes.

The BBC is going to have to make some major adjustments to how they are going to do things from now on. Question Time was a disgrace with two angry and hysterical participants one from the left and one from the right and with the Labour man also demonstrating the old politics but Michael Heseltine showed great statesmanship and flexibility with also Simon Hughes also showing great understanding of what was happening to British politics. I forecast a major realignment between Political parties.

I bought the Times, Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Independent Newspapers yesterday and found the Times Editorial inspiring for having understood the enormity of the change which commenced with what was communicated in the Rose Garden of Ten Downing Street by the new Prime Minister and his Deputy. Today I bought the Guardian.

I have axed most of what I have written and will stop. Go to Mansfield, have a good lunch, go and see Robin Hood, drive back to South Shields and set to work going through the published agreement, rereading the media and deciding if I am going to stick with Labour and see what they do or ask to join the Lib Dems.

1927 The Prime Minister makes way for a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition

23.00. Monday May 10th 2010 is a day which will go down in the history of Britain. Gordon Brown British Prime Minister has announced that he is standing down as Leader of the Labour Party with the intention that a new Leader will be elected in time for the Party Conference this autumn. It is evident that he had made up his mind to do this once his Party failed to hold even the largest number of seats in the new Parliament, but could not make this announcement until there was an indication of whether the Conservative Party or his is own was likely to be able to form a government with the Liberal Democrats.

He had understood and agreed with Mr Clegg that there was no alternative but to attempt to form a government with the Conservatives who were the largest party with some 50 seats more than Labour but 20 short of an overall majority. When Mr Cameron announced his intention to seek an alliance with the Liberal democrats it was evident to me but not the large section of the media that the only position likely to succeed was for the Conservatives to offer a coalition with some form of voting change plus significant concessions on the proposals in relation to the economy and taxation system and on education. This was also a view taken by former Prime Minister John Major and former leadership contender, and Minister and present political commentator Michael Portillo.

It was also evident from what key members of the Labour Party were saying who were also in favour of a coalition that they were prepared to make offers on all these four matters and on a full coalition and with David Miliband, Deputy Leader Harriet Harman and others also to the fore. Traditional Tories such as Michael Heseltine and Norman Tebbit were expressing opposition as was former Home Secretaries David Blunkett and John Reid.

By Monday evening the Liberal Democrat negotiating team were meeting that of Labour at the House of Commons, to be followed by a meeting at 10pm with the full new Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party. Meanwhile the Conservatives who had held formal talks in the morning and then met their Parliamentary Party at 6pm this evening announced that on the issue of a change in the voting system they were prepared to offer a referendum on a second preference voting system if the first past post candidate did not command 50% of the total votes cast. This falls short of the Labour Party who are said to be offering legislation on this system to take effect from the next General Election, plus a referendum on form of proportional representation, although this was later denied.

The effect of both offers would be to ensure that on the broad present voting of the British electorate there would remain a coalition of the Labour and Liberal Democratic Parties for the foreseeable future, rather than with the Conservatives stretching over more than one Parliament and increasing further if a form of full proportional representation is agreed.

This is worst fears of many people who are party tribal and party fundamentalists. It means that even before the ink is dry on the election manifesto’s the political parties involved will also be preparing separate negotiating positions, covering the legislative programme and the budget for the life of the Parliament. However this will only mean dropping any proposals which the other partners in any coalition cannot agree on and moving forward on all the programmes of the Parties involved subject to the limitations of funding. In the present circumstances funding and achieving financial stability is the principal concern, although it also being used as a scare tactic and to try an bounce the Lib Dems into putting Cameron in Downing Street and to force reducing the debt to levels the market likes within one Parliament rather than two.

What interests me first is that this development does implement what all three political parties were claiming they supported- a fairer and more honest political system in which the outcome of elections reflects the majority of the total number of votes cast and more of negotiation and discussion system instead of ideological, tribal and confrontational politics. The parallel with religion is those who support ecumenical movements and those who what to push more individual fundamentalist and ideological positions.

Already there are indications of horror and panic on the part of the right and the left in British politics within the three main political parties as well as those in other parties on each of the two political wings. Mr Cameron is said to have persuaded his Parliamentary assembly to offer a referendum on the second preference system and on starting income tax after the first £10000 earnings but in doing he will accept the return of David Davies, and former Party leaders Michael Howard and Ian Duncan Smith into his Cabinet. Given that any coalition agreement is a formal contract recorded by the civil service the official ability to change anything agreed is limited only by the availability of funds and external developments. What happens in practice is that individuals within the coalition rebel because of some aspect with which they disagree and this forces an end to the coalition, causing another General Election. However there is evidence that those causing the Election then face the wrath of the majority who favoured compromise. It can lead to some politicians breaking away and forming their own Parties and for other within the coalition to join one of the other parties involved. It can lead to a more unstable situation but equally many democratic countries are able to undergo and complete the process on a regular basis without destabilising the economy.

00.00 I have decided to join the world of Twitter UK and confirmed my membership and made my first Tweet. One appears limited to making brief write bites of 140 characters or less, but one can make a succession of these.

I spent Sunday night at the Trowell Nottingham Service Station Travel Lodge for £9.20, noting as I joined the M1 from the Nottingham Derby Road along the Brian Clough Way that the motorway work in this section has been completed into four lanes. The following morning I discovered that since my last visit last year the bollards have been raised preventing immediate crossing over to the other side of the motorway. This is irritating although to go south only requires an extra journey of a mile north and then a mile south. However to get to the service area from the north does involve a journey of two miles south and then back two miles north. I will take this up with Travel Lodge when they send the Tell us what you think about your stay.

The main purpose of my visit was to watch Durham play Nottinghamshire in the County Cricket Championship. I say was because there was no play until after lunch when only a handful of over were bowled and then a further short spell around tea time. In addition to constant spits of rain and dark clouds it remained freezing cold. Durham were made to bat after Notts won the toss and by close of play had lost three wickets for 76, with Benkenstein and Blackwell adding 33 runs. Later England beat New Zealand by three wickets to head their group with 3 wins from 3 and will progress to the semi finals. On Sunday Durham lost to Warwickshire at Edgbaston, Chelsea became Premier Champions with an 8.0 drubbing of Wigan and Mark Webber followed by Alonso and Vettel won the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix. Jensen still leads the driver’s championship but by only 3 points, Schumacher was 4th in the race followed by Jenson and Massa thus three world champions were in the top six.

I had difficulty finding my way to the Riverside Travel Lodge because of the one way system although it is comparatively a short way from the cricket ground.

I was delighted this morning when the markets demonstrated that some Tory politicians who had warned of market panic and collapses over a hung Parliament, that is where no single Party has a overall majority, were told to shut up as shares soared and the pound rose against other currencies. Tonight some were still hoping that the prospect of a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition would now cause the predicted panic. These people are anti the National Interest and the majority should tell them to shut up or words to the same effect. They are the traitors to democracy.

To fully understand what has been happening it is necessary to go back to the autumn of 2008 when in keeping with tradition, the Prime Minister of the day gave authority to the senior civil service to have contact with the Conservative Party, and possibly the Liberal Democrats as the two accepted official Leaders of the Opposition in Parliament to provide them with information about the processing of forming a government at the next General Election and to offer to assist them with technical aspects of creating a legislative programme should they gain power taking account that the Queen’s speech takes place within three to four weeks of the Election.

At that time the planning assumption would have been for either a Conservative led majority government or for a House of Commons where either the Labour Government or the Conservative Opposition would not be able to guarantee a majority unless they formed an alliance, possibly a temporary one for the agreed life of the Parliament with the Liberal Democrats, and perhaps other political parties. Although it is over 30 years since such a situation existed for the Westminster Parliament there has been minority government in Scotland, and partnership government in Northern Ireland, and local Government has substantial experience of such situations.

In addition civil servants were authorised to make contact with their colleagues in other countries to establish their procedures, given that almost all the countries forming the European Community do not have single party government, and some have not had single party government for decades and their Political Parties, Party politicians and political activists have long since adjusted to the difference between the culture of Political Parties, the Party Political Manifesto, produced for a Parliament and the Legislative Programme, as well as the differences between the power of the executive, of the Parliament and of the judiciary responsible for interpreting political legislation.

As soon as the Party Manifesto’s are published the Civil Service breaks these down according to existing structure of Governments, or any structure which the Opposition Parties, and Government have indicated they wish to change so that on taking office, the Departmental Ministers can be provided with relevant information and technical assistance on the drafting of legislation where this is indicated as being part of the Queen’s speech for the first year of the Parliament. The Minister will also be given information on who does what within their department, what their statutory and other duties and powers and any inherited schedule of meetings and visits. They will have contact with the private office staff and their political advisers.

There are also two aspects of being in government, whether national, regional or local which many people fail to appreciate. First not one penny can be spent by a Minister without Parliamentary approval in advance and then by the Treasury on a day to day basis, followed by auditing to ensure that any allocated funds have been spent as authorised. Secondly the power to take any decision is governed by legislation plus any subsequent definition or alteration because of judicial review. Being in government as a politician or as a senior civil servant or senior local government officer is limited in these ways. There will be areas of discretion and choice but these have been defined in law and procedure in advance. It also not usually understood that even when new legislation has gone through the Parliamentary process, it does not mean that all or part will be implemented or implemented in the way those drafting the legislation or settling on the policy and procedures intended.

I was fortunate to gain knowledge and direct experience of this reality as a young man and then as a young adult after first deciding to study for a local government examination when I was seventeen years and which included local and central government and the British Constitution as subjects together with public finance and basics such as English and History. I then decided to take British Constitution at Advanced Level, General Certificate of Education, going on to study Political and Economic Theory and Political and Economic History at Ruskin College, before switching to the Oxford University, Public and Social Administration Diploma Course and to have as my tutor someone who became a professor of Social Administration. It was one of my memorable moments when she and the head of the Social Work Department at the University, who also became a professor, visited me South Tyneside as members of the Social Welfare Benefits Commission to discuss the impact of the then benefits system on the range of clients covered by local authority social service departments.

I had then had good fortune to be asked to become the Parliamentary officer of the Association of Child Care Officers and to take a lead role in presenting the Association’s views on the proposed 1969 Children’s and Young Person’s Act and this led to my having to contact government and Opposition spokesmen and arranging an all Party gathering at Parliament attended by Ministers and Shadow Ministers as well as representatives of organisations concerned with child care. I have also had the rare opportunity of sitting on the floor of the House of Lords and House of Commons, with direct access to the Ministers and Members, in the first instance by the Government Home Office Minister in the House of Lords and by the Deputy Chief Whip for the Labour Party in the other. I was stared at by Margaret Thatcher who turned to a colleague to ask if he knew who I was as he Deputy Chief Whip came over to talk about the Ministerial statement and questioning and comments which followed.

I mention these things because of reality lessons which they taught. I will first use three aspects of the 1969 Children’s and Young Persons Act as examples, with the most important, the age of criminal responsibility, secondly the position of children and young people in residential establishment with education on the premises, and which covers the power of individuals who represent a recognised interest to make amendments to legislation.

Immediately on becoming a Minister of State at the Home Office, a small group of like similar minded women, one of whom was the Children’s Officer of Oxfordshire for who I had worked for three years and another was a senior juvenile court magistrate decided to try and persuade the Minister to lower the age of criminal responsibility by two years from the still present age of 14. The 1969 Act went through all the stages of any legislation, a White Paper with consultation, a Bill considered in Committee by both Houses of Parliament and given a third reading and Royal Assent. It included lowering the age to twelve years, subject to an implementation order being laid before Parliament. There was then a change of government and the Conservatives announced that the order would not made as well as other parts of the legislation would not be implemented. This has remained the position thirty five years later.

The Act abolished Approved (Residential) Schools where juvenile offenders or children who refused to attend school could be committed under a court order for a period of years followed by a period of after care. The after care was provided by Probation officers. Under the Act Approved Schools became controlled and partly controlled residential establishments with education on the premises, and the young people were not placed on time specifying approved school orders, but were committed to the care of the local authority until they were eighteen years or discharged or placed home on a trial basis and where the supervision was undertaken by a local authority child care officer. The Magistrates Association became concerned about several aspects of the legislation during the Committee stage in the House of Lords which I attended, and took out the Minister of State for meal and persuade her to introduce an amendment which meant that for any young person in one of the designated establishments who did not have anyone other that the child care officer visit within any three month period, there should be appointed an official visitor. When the amendment went through the Lords and was reported to the Commons it was agreed although no one had information on how many young people were affected. When the survey was undertaken after it had become law, it was found there was no child in the former Approved Schools where the amendment applied, but there were a small number in existing Residential Special Schools controlled through the department of the Minister for Education. However when Social Service Departments were first created in 1970 and again following local government in 1974, individual children in care and placed in residential accommodation provided on a regional or national basis became technically lost as although list of children were created along with lists of all other resources when Social Service departments were formed or to be transferred when geographical areas became the responsibility of different local authorities. Unfortunately staff were not always appointed to these children and in some instances files were not transferred, and with some going into closed cases rather than current and where the appointment of a visitor would have been an asset.

Finally having established links with one backbench Member of the House of Commons he would put down questions which were framed in consultation with colleagues and in one instance successfully moved an amendment which again I drafted on the basis of the policy of the Association on a matter where I had previously drafted that policy. This confirmed that the right individuals who do things in the right way at the right time can exercise considerable influence over the direction and implementation of policies and legislation but to be effective one needs to understand the system and to know the right people.

Another issue which I quickly learnt as a local authority chief officer is the importance of someone taking detailed notes of all official discussions and then paying attention to how these are written up especially the decision which are taken. It is amazing how the recollection of participants changes over time especially if the decision agreed was different from what an individual participant wanted. I would personally study the draft record rather than delegate and the discuss possible modifications with the responsible officer and by approaching this in an honest and fair way ensured that over the course of time, the record was accurate and reflecting my understanding of what had happened. However this is only the first step as there is always a risk that once the meeting has assed people move on to the next subject and without a system no one ensures that appropriate action is taken, or the outcomes monitored with further amendments undertaken, including new or different resources should the outcome proved different from the legislative intention. People with delegated authority will interpret in their own way.

In the local authority were I worked it was discovered that in accord with our already existing local arrangements, if the Director Housing and myself agreed to sign confirmations of a certain position individual elderly people who were being visited by a local warden could receive a concessionary Television licence for which they paid only 5 pence. As a consequence about half the elderly in the local authority area received the concession which brought the politicians additional popularity and which in turn they communicated to their political colleagues in other parts of the country and led to I and my colleague advising other colleagues so that eventually a vast number of elders in the UK were gaining the concession. This then attracted national and government attention as those ineligible complained. The government through the National TV licence office ruled that the interpretation was questionable subject to a legal challenge. A local authority deputation to the Minister brought about a concession of a phased withdrawal with discussion over mounting a legal challenge. It led to a political party adopting the proposal for a concession to apply to all elderly people, and a study of the Party manifestoes of all three political parties twenty five years later reveals a commitment to keep the concession despite the difficult economic situation. I know of one local politician who became a senior member of a government who still thinks that had a legal challenge been mounted that it would have succeeded.

The British Political system with its strong civil service and local government structure therefore has great strength and flexibility and will survive whatever happens over the rest of this week and its present leaders should not be panicked or dictated to by those without any mandate to take decisions. I remain optimistic that we will see major changes in the conduct of politics and a more fair system as well as move away from confrontational politics in its present form

1926 a Conservative and Liberal Democratic government?

Just sixteen hours ago the Voting ended in the 2010 British Election. At a few seconds after 10pm a study of how over 15000 people in over 100 constituencies voted, commissioned by Sky TV, the BBC and ITV suggested that the Conservative Party would have some 25 seats more than the most optimistic of polls had been forecasting and nearly 100 seats more than in the present Parliament and Labour would have about 100 seats less with the Liberal Democrats having the same and other parties also about the same. This was something of a shock because all the opinion polls since the first Leader’s Television debate, and a surge in the Liberal Democratic vote after the performance of Mr Nicholas Clegg, suggested they would have increased in representation of between 20 and 40 seats, drawn from both Conservative and Labour held seats. Such a break down would have led not just to no one Party having an all round majority but to a change in the electoral voting system.

Sixteen hours later the actual declared result is that the Conservatives have 306 seats an addition of 99 seats, the Labour Party 258 seats - less 91 seats and the Liberal Democrats only 57, 5 less than previously. The Scottish and Welsh Nationalists 9, a gain of 1, Northern Ireland Parties 17, 1 Green Party Member and the House of Commons Speaker. There is one seat where following the death of a candidate voting will take place later.

The Conservatives are therefore 20 seats short of an overall majority and therefore do not have the right to automatically form a new government.

In terms of the popular vote and a turn out which was variable over the country the conservatives only obtained just over 36% of the votes, between 5% and 10% lower than the three Conservative Governments led my Lady Margaret Thatcher and that of Sir John Major. This is less than some opinion polls were forecasting and considerable less that they were getting in the opinion polls over the course of the Gordon Brown government. Labour on the other hand gained 29% of the votes, slightly better than was forecasted but the Liberal Democrats several points less with 23%, up in total and percentage from the 2005 election despite the overall loss of seats.

Before moving on to discuss the implications of this situation there have been only a handful of surprising results. Peter Robinson, the first Minister in Northern Ireland was defeated after a family scandal and issues raised about some transactions and he was replaced by the first representative of a Party called the Alliance of Catholic, Protestant and other voters previously members if the traditional parties in Northern Ireland. The other result of interest in Northern Ireland was the defeat of the official Conservative and Unionist candidate by a former Unionist who left the party because of the tie up with the Conservatives once more and who dramatically increased her majority. This result is significant because it means that in Northern Ireland the Conservatives have no Members and in Scotland they failed to make progress, remaining the fourth party in terms of the total votes cast. Only in Wales did the Conservatives make progress with a gain of a couple of seats. Labour lost two former Home Secretaries, Jacqui Smith and Charles Clark and the Lib Dems their colourful member for Montgomeryshire, a Lib Dem stronghold for 100 years. The Conservatives also failed to gain some important Labour seats in London, the Midlands and the North West.

There were also three important other results on the night. The British National Party did not gain a seat and only obtained just over half a million votes dramatically down on its vote in the European Elections. The Anti European United Kingdom Independence Party also failed to gain a seat with just under 1 million votes but The Green party gained its first ever seat in Brighton. Similarly Respect, George Galloway’s Party lost its only seat as did the only independent sitting member in the Wyre Valley.

Before the election campaign took place when the prospect of no political Party having an overall majority was indicated, the Government, assisted by the Civil service prepared a guide to the constitutional position and procedure. Mr Brown as Prime Minister and his Ministers, unless defeated in the election would remain in office until he or another became confident they could form a government which would enable them to present and pass in Parliament a programme of legislation and policy statements-The Queens speech, covering the first year of office as well as indicating the course of government over the Parliament. Secondly there would have to be confidence that measures to raise and spend public money can be passed and in this respect the Conservatives had announced that an emergency budget will be presented within 50 days of taking office to reduce current expenditure in the present financial year by £6 billion.

The Prime Minister announced that Civil Servants would be prepared and available to facilitate formal meetings between Parties to see if a government could be formed able to pass legislation and raise and spend taxes. During the election when asked what his terms would be for participation a coalition or agreement with another Party, Mr Clegg stated that if the Conservatives were the largest party with the largest number of votes, then it was their right to first attempt to form a government rather than the attempt to do so with the existing Government. On returning to the Liberal Party Headquarters this morning Mr Clegg repeated what he had previously said, that based on the results declared at that time it was for Mr Cameron to see if he could form a government. This was not a surprise to me or to the Government.
Mr Brown returned to Downing Street to continue working as Prime Minister and issued a statement indicating the Civil Services as previously stated was available to facilitate meetings. What happened in 1974 the last occasion is that civil servants can help with the provision of agendas and the taking of minutes. Mr Brown appeared at 12.30 to further explain the situation, in part to calm the financial markets who were already showing volatility following riots in Greece at the terms under which the rest of the ECC involved with the Euro are prepared to financial support the Greek economy. The British Chancellor would be attending a meeting this evening in this respect.

He then added that he understood and accepted that following the result of the election it was right for Mr Clegg to in effect invite Mr Cameron to negotiate with him over a possible agreement or alliance which would provide a stable government, if possible for the life of the Parliament. He added that if this was not possible he was willing to talk to any of the Parties about an alternative solution, highlighting his willingness to give priority to electoral reform through a referendum, and on economic policy to avoid a further recession, including the reform of income taxation and much else in the Liberal Democratic Manifesto, something which I commented on when looking at the two documents.

This was followed by Mr Cameron thanking the British people for their support and his colleagues and Party workers for their effort but then drew attention that they had not obtained an overall majority and on the importance of a strong and stable government. He then indicated in broad terms the areas on which he would find it difficult to compromise and those areas where he felt there was already agreement with the Liberal Democrats and where he was prepared to compromise in negotiations. He accepted that he could attempt to govern as a minority government, as many Tory colleagues and commentators were advocating, but this was not the best way forward in the national interest. He admitted than any deal would upset some colleagues and members of both their parties but the situation was different and he and Mr Clegg had to respond to the mood of the country as demonstrated by the results, given the nature of their improvement and the losses of the Government party. Later a statement was issued that there had been contact between the two Party Leaders and that they had agreed to explore further two issues, the same as mentioned by Mr Brown on electoral reform and taxation. Each Party has announced the four members of their negotiating teams who will meet tonight and tomorrow while the respective leaders take some rest. If it looks as if an agreement is possible this will be discussed with the Parliamentary members of the Party, other Party figures and advisers on Sunday and announced late on Sunday or early on Monday when Mr Brown will tender his resignation and Mr Cameron will move into number 10 and commence to formally create his government and prepared the programme for the Queen’s speech.

I want to make the point that although there has been endless talk and debate in the 24 hours news programmes and special election programmes as if what has happened is spontaneous, it will all have been planned long before the election including the areas upon which there could be negotiation and comprise and the areas where there is not. The media had commented that although the public has had their say based on the Manifesto‘s, and TV debates now what actually was to happen would be fixed by deals worked out in secret by a few men although I did spot one female among the Lib Dem Team.

Does this mean that by early next week Mr Cameron will be in Downing Street inviting Conservative colleagues and some Liberal Democrat Members into the government and Cabinet? Possibly. There are three fundamental considerations facing both leaders. First can Mr Clegg and Mr Cameron work together and agree on sufficient aspects of their programmes to achieve agreement? There are arguments for and against this, especially as Mr Brown and members of the Labour Cabinet have stated they are prepared to agree to the two main issues of Liberal Democratic priority.

Secondly can any agreement command the support of the existing senior colleagues in the two political parties as well as their Members in the House of Commons and in the House of Lords. Within the past hour Sir John Major suggested that Mr Cameron and Mr Cable should be given Cabinet seats while former Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine did not think there would be any agreement and Mr Cameron should go it alone, adding that in any event he thought there would be another General Election within the year.

He raised the third issue which is what would a deal or no deal do for the Parties at the subsequent General Election, given that there are always a number of by-elections during a Parliament? He, many other Tories, political commentators and newscasters have spent the past weeks and last 24 hours saying that under no circumstances was the continuation of Mr Brown as Prime Minister acceptable and that any deal with Mr Cameron would be suicide for the Liberal Democratic Party. There is much talk of Mr Brown clinging to office with his finger tips and such like.

I have commented before on the role of the media and the press in the election but the fundamental point is that they did not stand for election and while they are able to exert influence on the public and on politicians, they are not in government and this is a matter for the politicians to resolve in the first instance with the assistance of the Civil Service, including a situation in which Mr Cameron forms a minority Government.

What is evident is that Mr Brown and Mr Clegg could achieve an on going working majority with the support of the Nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales, and presumably the new Green Party Member, in a situation where the elected Sinn Feign Members will not take up their seats. The aggression and sometimes fury which some Tory Politicians and Commentators are addressing this possibility is a cause of concern, as is the situation where it appears that thousands of individuals were prevented from voting by a number of returning officers who had failed to provide adequate staffing to cope with the demand. In some situation there is evidence that people were brought into the polling officers and issued with voting papers before the ballot boxes were collected and some where the stations were kept open to ensure everyone queuing voted. In others where legal advice was taken and the Electoral commission consulted the official rule book was followed. I hope that where the local officers failed to provide adequate staffing or make arrangements for those queuing to attend other centres, individuals will not be allowed to hold such offices again.


Earlier I wrote this: It is just past 10pm on Election Night. The voting has closed and the counting has commenced. All three news channels have used the same exit poll with over 15000 individuals in over 100 constituencies with an astonishing result with the Conservatives 307 seats. Labour 255 the Lib Dems 59 and others 29 which would make the Tories the largest Party without an overall majority but able to form a minority government unless a deal between Labour and the Liberal Democrats is struck. The shock is a forecast in the reduction not an increase in the number of Lib Dem seats. All the politicians and commentators are amazed that with Labour and Lib Dems running with the same percentage of votes over four weeks Labour could end up end up with four times the number of seats.

The second development is extraordinary and outrageous in that voters in several parts of the country have been turned away despite queuing for hours and leading to protests, sit ins and blocking of ballot boxes leaving the area. If the results in any of these situations are close then one can anticipate legal challenges, particularly if it affects the overall position of who governs the country. That it has happened is a national scandal and the returning officer involved should be sacked.

The first three seats declared are in the area of my former home in Sunderland and where in safe Labour seats there has been a swing away from Labour to the Conservatives, the United Kingdom Independence, Party and the National Front but only a marginal swing to the Lib Dems. The other interesting aspect of the Sunderland result is that three women have been elected where there were three men.

It is 4am and the outcome is still uncertain. The past six hours have been fascinating as after the shock of the exit poll and despite wide variations in turnout and swings in voting, the exit poll is beginning to look accurate. The Liberal democrat vote has not held up across the country and where the contest is between the Lib Dems and Conservatives the Conservatives had been holding or on winning back seats. There was great excitement early on when a Conservative won target seat 136 which would mean that Mr Cameron could gain an overall majority and several Conservative spokesmen and commentators forecast this would happen while other were gleeful at the collapse of the Lib Dem vote. I hope tapes of what they said will be played back to them for comment. Labour then also held on to some seats which were expected to fall were being held and what became also evident is that the personalities and reputations of individual candidates was an important factor and that because the number of changes with about half the new House of Commons being new members several Labour candidates were not successful because they were unknown, especially when they were up against known local candidates. However there was also evidence that money was an asset Zac Goldsmith won Richmond Park with a big swing against the well known and popular Susan Kramer of the Lib Dems.

I was impressed with the thank you speech of Gordon Brown and did not share the view of some commentators that his body language revealed that his days as Prime Minister were coming to an end.

David Miliband was one of several successful Labour Ministers interviewed who immediately appeared willing to do a deal with the Liberal Democrats to prevent David Cameron and his policies taking over.

I also thought that Mr Cameron was indicating that in the event of not getting an overall majority he was willing to cut a deal in the National Interest because of the financial situation.

I went to bed around 5 am and was up again around 8 am to learn if there had been any change.

My approach to the evening was to watch two news channels with the BBC on the Laptop and Sky on the television using the desktop to view the BBC information pages. I had planned to also make detailed notes throughout the evening.

I drank a bottle of Asti beforehand and this always makes me sleepy so by about 1 am I was already tired but the events were of such interest that I watched rather than typed, researched or went to sleep. I also stuck with Sky changing over to ITV as I became increasingly irritated with the Andrew Neil party in which he interview celebrities as the wine flowed. This did not give the impression of a serious moment in British political history.

I have had a thought that David may want an alliance with Nick Clegg in order to distance himself from Tory policies and commitments which were included to placate his old guard and similarly Nick Clegg is not wedded to the more radical and almost socialist aspects of his Manifesto. I have commented that I thought the two men were interchangeable and different from the Prime Minister. I was concerned that Vince Cable is not part of his negotiating team but later it appeared that Mr Clegg met up with Mr Cable and Simon Hughes after his team had returned from their first meeting with Mr Cameron’s Team. I was then even more interested by what Michael Portillo had to say on news night when he was emphasise the importance of the opportunity to provide stable government and to change British politics in a fundamental way and that the implication of this would involve major compromises which would result in some voters and activists switching as a consequence. On this basis I believe that a deal is possible although there will be plenty of people speaking out against from all sides.

The big question is can both create a new form of politics which would see them also agreeing on a different form of electoral voting and still remains separate political parties. Could there be a new Conservative and Liberal Party? I think not

1925 Polling Day 2010

It is General Election morning, damp but not cold, No one knows what the outcome will be because people have been refusing to say how they will vote to reporters, canvassers and pollsters.

I decide to spend the day finishing the study of the Labour Government Manifesto and catching up on how the Tory Press attempt top have an impact on how those eligible vote.

Following from Simon Reeve’s Tropic of Cancer visits to Asia I have reread what the Government has said in its 2010 General Election Manifesto and noted the emphasis on the moral duty to contribute to the reduction of poverty and its consequences in the wider world.

I also feel that the right balance has been achieved with concentrating resources the poorest and most excluded and ensuring the funding is correctly used and tackling corruption. A minimum of 5% is to be used for strengthening Parliaments and civil society. Over £1 billion a year is to be contributed to help more children to go to school with 6 billion over the same period on health and 1 billion to in the fights against HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria. 1£ billion is to go on improving water supply and sanitation and 1£ billion on food security and agriculture. To ensure there is progress world wide the Government proposes to work for the reform of International bodies such as the G8, the World Bank concentrating on the Poorest countries and on low carbon developments and the IMF to focus on financial stability. The United Nations comes for special attention with the intention to change the composition of the Security Council.

With human rights and democracy at the forefront of Britain’s foreign policy the issue of the unfairness of the present electoral system in Britain does require examination and it will be interesting to see if Prime Minister Brown does attempt to achieve a working majority over the next five years by making concessions to the Liberal Democrats over the issue of proportional representation.

It is also important that Government continues to participate in the proposed global Treaty on the arms trade having reach agreement that cluster bombs should not be sold or used.

My impression is that government does plan a radical reorganisation of the armed services which should emerged from the proposed Defence Review but my priority is that the Trident Missile system should not be replaced which as with the proposed changes to general taxation is something which I hope the Liberal Democrats will insist on in order to sustain the Labour Government in a hung Parliament. The Manifesto renews commitments to helping the Peace Process in the Middle East, to reaching agreement over the situation in the Sudan and ensuring the move back to democracy in Zimbabwe. There is special mention for the release of the Opposition Leader in Burma, improving the relationships between India and Pakistan and between Greece and Turkey over the future of Cyprus. There is also reference to Sri Lanka. The South Shield’s Member of Parliament and Foreign Secretary has one of the safest Labour seats in Britain and I hope he is able to continue the fine work his department has achieved.

At the heart of Britain making a positive contribution to the world is the importance given to combating climate change and the Government commitment to creating a major new area for employment and economic development. As previously mentioned my only objection to the programme is the support for a third runway and London Heathrow airport. What impresses me is the seriousness and depth of the Manifesto section, based on what has been achieved to-date.

There are two other subjects to be covered. All parties are competing to show support for marriage and the family through taxation measures and support services. I understand why the Parties feel under pressure to present issues this way but I would have welcomed a different approach because of the impression given that those who are not part of couples with children are second class citizens

A better approach is to look at the position of children, parents, working adults, those in receipt of state retirement, those who have measurable degrees of disability and ill health. This avoids appearing to discriminate against those who chose or who are unable not have children. I am not in favour the tax position for adults varying as to whether they are marriage or in what is called a civil partnership although I do not understand the difference.

My view is that the tax system should be neutral on sexual choices and behaviour and on whether one, two or more adults chare a dwelling,

I am in favour for increased flexibility and opportunity for the adults who raise a child to be able to share in the care over for the first two years. I am not in favour of children under four years spending too much of their day being cared by those who are not members of the household in which they are being raised. I therefore approve the new Toddler Tax Credit of £4 a week for the parent/parents of all children whether they want to stay at home or go out to work.

Because of the wrong decision to raise the retirement age for receipt of state pension, I also support the proposal to ensure that elders who work can do so with the maximum flexibility. I also like the idea of a cap on care home charges and the provision a free home care service for those in the greatest need, but this should be based on care need not financial need. or at least a mixture of both if financial circumstances are to be the issue. What is important is that those who wish to stay in their own homes are able to do so. I also support the proposed reintroduction of the link between Basic State Pension and earnings.

My final subject is the importance which the Manifesto gives to public funding and legislative support for support for sport, the arts and culture. The Government remains committed to delivery the Olympic games on time and on budget something which no political will renege on. There is also the Rugby League World Cup in 2013, the Commonwealth Games in 2015 and the Rugby Union World Cup in 2015. I was delighted to see the intention begin a programme of free theatre experiences for young people and for continuing to promote special programmes and subsidised programmes to enable continuing attendance at the theatre for those on fixed. There is an interesting proposal to make national museums and galleries independent of government management and continue the policy of free admissions, The intention also enable public institutions to be able to borrow for display art from the national collection. There is emphasis on improving the look of our towns and cities and in protecting community life which covers everything from pubs to post offices and the further development of safe play spaces and adventure facilities. Further measures to ensure local environments are clean and free from litter. There are proposals for more social enterprises and a National Youth Community Service.

The Government also realises the importance of the creative industries in people’s lives as well to the British economy from film which I adore to fashion which I can do without. There is continuing support for the BBC and to Channel Four. The digital switchover will be completed by 2012 and the government recognises the need and value of providing everyone everywhere with access to broadband internet.

The holding of Leader’s debates on Television has given a good jolt to the arrogance of Newspapers owners and their editors in trying to lead public opinion rather than reflecting viewpoints, by distorting facts, misrepresenting statements and generally engaging in behaviour more suitable for some of the anti democratic nations which the papers rightly condemn.

The Tory press has always been led by the Sun in terms of outrageousness. It is interesting that the Sun is the paper publishing a poll out of line with all the others and saying that Cameron is on course to win the election, Their paper is full of wild accusations and lies and as on previous occasions they are a disgrace to the democratic process. A moronic paper for the morons. They remind of a jilted lover. What percentage of the owner’s earning does he pay in British Taxes.

The Daily Mail while giving wholehearted support to the Tories with a series of campaigning articles is honest in reporting what the Opinions Polls are saying. A hung Parliament with the Conservatives having more seats than Labour but Labour coming second in the popular vote and therefore with the prospects of a Labour Lib Dem deal.

Tories 35 35 35 36 37
Labour 29 28 27 28 28
Lib Dems 27 28 26 26 27

The Express stays clear of reporting the polls and argues that Dave is the only hope for saving the country, also a arguing that the Labour and Lib Dem parties are interchangeable. Its coverage is less hysterical but clearly biased.

The Times is the most honest of the papers so far while reporting on a poll which begins to give Cameron the possibility of an overall majority admits that the evidence is that the support for him is a negative one opposed to Labour continuing in office rather than enthusiasm for a Tory Government

The Daily Telegraph is backing Mr Cameron, surprise surprise but admits there are eight different possibilities given what the polls are actually not saying about voting intentions.

The Sunday Observer is one of four papers supporting the Liberal Democratic and proportional representation, given the travesty of the present system where a Party can command over a quarter of the votes but only gain a sixth of the seats. The Guardian Newspaper, the Independent and the Independent on Sunday also supporting the mood for a new political framework and system believing that a vote for the Lib Dems or tactical voting will bring about a more balanced political situation.

The Daily Mirror admits the result is open and pleads with readers to vote Labour and not let David Cameron sneak into 10 Downing Street on the backs of the Liberal Democrats. They agree that the medium term future of the nation is at stake. The have provided a tactical voting guide to stop Cameron which has incensed other newspapers

The Scottish Herald wants a coalition as the most likely outcome to favour Scotland and here in the North East The Journal is sitting on the fence. What struck me is that as with the voting system is that the press does not reflect the present political beliefs and instincts of the British People.

I enjoyed a piece of fish for lunch, with the remainder of the tinned tomatoes and corn followed by the last banana in stock. For the evening accompanied by a bottle of Asti I commenced with crackers dipped in a peppered cream cheese, following by a small prepared bangers and mash and then grapes and coffee. There was half a portion of pawn in shell for tea.

I enjoyed an England win in the next round of the ICC world 20 20 championship in the West Indies against the current champions Pakistan. Paul Collingwood won the toss and elected to bowl first an when two sixes were hit in the first over the doubts commenced. However some excellent fielding and poor batting saw Pakistan struggle in the latter half although a final over for 15 runs made the game competitive. Lumb and Kieswetter gave another good opening without major score and it was left to Kevin Petersen to hit an impressive 70 not out to win the match. However there were a few last palpitations as with the game over with three overs to go it was not until the last over that the winning runs were scored. There was no play today at Durham because of the rain.

The WATCH channel has been showing Yes Prime Minister all day including several episodes where the themes and repartee is as fitting today as when first performed.

An how did I vote. Surprise surprise David Miliband for Labour in the nation election and John Wood for Labour in South Tyneside. My ideal outcome would see Gordon Brown back as Prime Minister with David Miliband continuing as Foreign secretary, but with Nick Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Commons and Vince Cable as Chancellor of the Exchequer, agreement to revise the income tax with a compromise on the level proposed by the Lib Dems, to include Trident in the Defence Review and an over 50% transfer voting system rather than proportional representation with lists. Only a few mins when the special exit poll commission by the BBC, Sky and ITV will be announced

1924 Simon Reeve visits Bangladesh, Burma, Laos, Vietnam and Taiwan.

It looks as if I have missed out on the fourth of Simon Reeve’s six programme circumnavigation of the world along the Tropic of Cancer. The country visited was India about which I know something of its history, people and the challenge of improving the welfare of its way as part of internal capitalism. However Simon Reeve has a unique style which captures the essence of a nation, its people and its problems, concentrating on the gulf between rich and poor, the extent to which the people are free or oppressed, the impact of climate change and the affects of population growth and economic development on the animals, birds and fishes.

Whereas I have a basic knowledge of India and Pakistan, that of Bangladesh was limited, especially that its population is over 160 million, the seventh most populated and one of the most densely populated countries in the world. While successive democratic governments have made progress in reducing the numbers in poverty it remains one of the poorest countries. We think of the British Islands as over populated with concerns that the total could rise to over 70 million, yet in Bangladesh 160 million live in an area smaller than England Wales and where over 50% of the land area floods every year, with 700 rivers including the upper reaches of the Ganges.

Simon went the capital city of Dhaka by boat, a city with 13 million now but expected to double. On the way he stopped to watch a riverside village attempt to stop the erosion of its land, erosion which is making one hundred people homeless every year and which Simon argued was being caused by climate change from the melting of the polar icecaps. It was in the city that he experienced the reality of life for children, with thousands living on the streets searching through waste for discarded tins, plastic and other materials which they can sell to recycling shops in order to buy food.
He was then shown a small recycling furnace in which broken glass was converted in small glass bottles in which the young boys assisted the operation working in 40 C plus temperature in order to earn a small bag of rice for their families a day. The United Nations Children’s organisation UNICEF has had to compromise and instead of insisting that children are not employed, arrange for them to have a few hours off in which to attend a centre where they receive a nourishing midday meal, are able to shower, play games and given simple instructions. Before leaving Simon endeared himself to a local community by joining in the national sport of wrestling.

This was an interlude before embarking on his most dangerous visit of both series. His contact was a young Burmese woman living in India because at home she had a price on head from the military junta. Burma was a British colony from 1886 after Rangoon, the capital, and Southern Burma had been incorporated in 1853. Burma was granted self government in 1937 and then became independent from the UK in 1948. In 1962 nearly 50 years ago there was a military coup d’etat and aspects of society- business, media and production were nationalised and brought under government control using a Revolutionary Council. In order to try and legitimise their power an attempt was made in 1942 to create a single party political system in which the military resigned and stood as civilian candidates. Some 300000 Burmese Indians were forced to leave the country and this was followed by hundreds of thousands of Burmese Muslims. There was a further military coup in 1988 in which thousands of people were killed and the country changed its name to Myanmar, not recognised by the UK the USA, France, Australia and Canada.

The main concern remains the lack of basic human rights with the large army using sections of the population as slave labour, estimated at 800000 by the International Labour Office and with reports of major brutality, including rape and forced prostitution. Resistance from Buddhist monks in 2007 was ruthlessly put down and the leader of the opposition to the military has been under House arrest for the greater part of the last decade and subsequently charged with politically motivated offences. Britain and the USA have led pressure for tighter sanctions on Burma but other countries, particularly India have resisted and it is known that India has been selling arms to the Burmese dictatorship. This I find extraordinary.

Because of isolation and mismanagement the country remains one of the poorest in Asia with life based around the village outside of the capital city. Simon Reeve made his way through northern India crossing a river into the country when he walked along tracks to reach an isolated village where a community help organisation was bringing health checks and medicines. There is no road structure in the area. He had to leave during the night following reports of approaching interest by the military who it has to be presumed have established a net work of informants to gain information about indications of opposition or the presence of outsiders.

The last Programme proved just as moving and challenging. The Tropic of Cancer cuts through Southern China but Simon and team were refused admission and forced to travel through Northern Laos. This was a smart move by the Chinese Government as it enabled Simon to reveal that the United States of America had dropped millions of tons of bombs including the infamous cluster bombs which cover a 30 metre radius and which given the population meant each individual had to avoid hundreds of tons of explosives. If this was not bad enough hundreds of thousands of the bombs and other munitions now lay unexploded killing several hundred men, women and children every year. An international organisation does defuse the bombs when they are detected several decades after they were dropped, but why the USA did not set about demonstrating its peaceful attentions by sending teams to make the ground safe should be beyond comprehension. Alas it is not.

At the end of the film on a deserted Hawaiian Island beach to which Simon had been taken by helicopter we were shown the extent to which the sand was becoming colourful plastic. The spot was miles from human habitation and the islands are thousands of miles from mainland’s on either side the biggest ocean on the Earth planet. Given that the plastic is primarily a twentieth century product, the series ended on a pessimistic note.(Cellulite products were developed from 1855, Bakelite pre second World War, Polystyrene and PVC and then the various developments of recent times including recyclable and biodegradable material). A major theme of the series is the extent to which humans in the economically developed nations have created the problem through pollution and climate change and making other changes to the natural habitat

In the programme Simon visited the independent island people of Taiwan about a third of the size of the Britain in terms of area and population but which now has one of the best standards of living in the world having effectively cornered the High Tech production industry with the production of lap top computers the best known example. It also boasts one of the best education systems with an emphasis on maths and sciences according to Mr Reeve. I must admit that I had no understanding of the position until seeing the programme and undertaking some research. It is a country head and shoulders from all the others visited along the Tropic and which as Mr Reeve pointed out usually comprise undernourished peasants and slum dwellers, many illiterate and in ill health, the subject of corrupt and ruthless governments and criminal gangs. He claimed that the ordinary people of Taiwan were richer and freer than and everyone looked happy as they went about their business with his visit to the Tropic of Cancer school a great delight.

The marrying of communist and capitalist enterprise was also evident in Laos where along the Mekong River there are a growing number of Chinese traders following the role of the 19th century British merchant adventurer. Simon was taken to a new hotel and casino complex costing £80 million as the first part of the development of a one hundred square kilometre site by a group of Chinese entrepreneurs. The Las Vegas of the Jungle!

I was disappointed with the visit to Vietnam and Hanoi although the two examples of life he picked out may represent what the country is becoming. He was taken along by his guide to one of the many new golf courses where membership could be bought for $18000 dollars for twenty five years and then to a street in Hanoi full of those keeping bears in small cages in order to farm their intestine bile which is used as part of natural medicines. He then went to a rescue centre where the animals are being given medical treatment before being helped to live more naturally in a protected environment.

The theme of series has been the plight of the ordinary people, of wildlife and the environment. In Laos known as the land of a million elephants the number is rapidly diminishing with some 700 to 1000 in the wild and 500 harnessed into working as slave labourers in logging where they are worn out and unable to build up their strength and allowed to have the time to produce offspring. On Hawaii Simon visited a bird sanctuary which is attempting protect a number of endangered species and where the laying of an egg was treated with acclaim and is followed by night and day after care when the egg is hatched. If only all humans could be given such attention in most of he countries which Simon visited. It is good that so far all the three major political parties have been given commitments to keep present public expenditure on international Aid. Well done Simon Reeve and the BBC. Hopefully his previous series will be repeated and a new venture planned.

There wide variation in political polls continued to puzzle with one showing Labour and Conservatives likely to have the same number of seats and another widening the gap between Labour and Conservatives to 100 seats. Both the BBC and Sky News average the combined result of individual polls into a poll of polls cautioning that the margin of error can be as great as 3% to 4% and which means that all results are possible although the evidence is against an overall Labour win. It is all meaningless because of the electoral system where only one in six seats are likely to change hands, My impression is that several of the polls and the newspapers who have paid for them have attempted to try and collapse the Labour and Liberal vote to enable an overall Tory victory. Usually the TV station covering the election rush to give a forecast based on the exit polls conducted during the day when in key seats they ask voters to name the party they have voted for. Sunderland was also the first constituency to declare a result at the last General Election. This time I anticipate greater caution unless there has been a last minute swing in any direction towards or away from the Conservative Party.

I had planned to attend the first day of the Durham County cricket game at the university riverside ground in the City but decided against because my trip to watch Durham play at Nottingham begins sooner than I had anticipated. The weather forecasts was also unpromising although while there was a spell of heavy rain and couple of showers early on the day brightened and the temperature was reasonable. There appears to have been a full day’s play with Durham starting well with opener Stoneman 117 and Will Smith 57 but in order to work for a result in this three day match the rest were only able to contribute about 150 runs with the innings closing at 324. Durham University made an excellent start with 46 without loss at the close of play. England managed to get through to the last eights of the ICC International cricket competition in which Afghanistan is participating for the first time. They were restricted to a low score by Ireland who took the first four weeks for a handful of runs but then the rain prevent a result with Ireland only able to bat for just over three overs. This makes a mockery of the competition to-date. Spurs scored the only goal of the vital game at Man City on Wednesday tonight in the closing minutes thus securing their place in next year’s Champions League.

I completed plantings in the patio garage buying Impatiens from Wilkinson’s and also found some strong and advanced hanging lobelia in a deep blue and also white. I removed about twenty of the existing trailing plants from five of the hanging baskets and replaced with the eight new ones and then used the removed ones in the table and side wall planters. I estimate that I have spent about £50 on the plants this year and planted out about a month earlier than last year.

Over 10000 visits have been made to the MySpace Profile and 17000 reads of individual Blogs all of which reminds that I must up date the profile and that I must consider whether to continue the Blogs after the target of a second series of 1000 is achieved later this year.

1923 Voting with head not the heart and the Labour Manifesto

Before returning to the Government Election Manifesto there was an amusing report on Five Live about a Public Toilet being converted in to a domestic dwelling. The former toilets are located at North Bay Scarborough and cost £50000 to covert and from the interview are all or part under ground with skylights . Along with the building they were given a garden area and pay the lowest band Council Tax. I heard the broadcast while having another go at replacing the bathroom toilet seat. I eventually managed to unscrew the second bolt and from then was able to install the replacement within five of minutes

With only two days of General Election campaigning to go the latest predictions are that no Party political leader will be able to immediately expect to be invited to Buckingham Palace to be asked by Queen Elizabeth to form the next Government and become Prime Minister. The right wing are temping to scare voters with a letter from a couple of former security chiefs saying the Liberal democrats are suspect about nationals security. Obviously if the Lib Dems gain the power over the direction of policy they will push for the re-establishment of civil rights and less freedom to the security services, something which it has to be said the Tory Party is also suggesting it will further by the abolition of plans to extend identity cards. The Tory press is in a desperate panic and is trying every possible stunt to influence voters to go with Cameron

Three key Ministers in the Labour government, including Ed Balls, tipped as a Brown successor are argued for tactical voting in seats which the Liberals are contesting with the Conservatives and Labour are expected to come third in the poll anyway. This could be said as a putting a gloss on what they know will be the result anyway, that is coming a poor third, although the value of saying in advance is that it could tip some Labour supporters to vote Lib Dem to gain the seat or keep the seat from the Tory Party. This is more likely that expecting Tory voters to go for the Lib Dems in seats where the battle is between the Labour and the Lib Dem seat. However the action could reflect a collapse of the Labour vote to the Liberal Dems in seats there the Conservatives had limited chance of taking from Labour beforehand. This does smack of panic and desperation and is likely to have a counter productive reaction.

I could argue that spending today studying the Labour manifesto is academic, and only an act of fairness, having covered the manifesto’s of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. My reason for doing so is much more basic in that this could be the last General Election that I experience and therefore I want to be able to say to myself at that moment when the whole of ones life is said to flash before you, and was able to complete some things and did them to the best of my abilities, at the end of my life as well as before and thus try and balance some successes against all that failure.

I am not showing my prejudices by saying that the Labour Manifesto has the best opening of the other two who understandably put the emphasise on change and suggesting that we should trust them to a better job that Labour Politicians who have had the experience of experience of governing after three General Election successes. The Labour Manifesto is full of the best bits of the Party’s achievements in Government and arguing for the opportunity to progress further from what has been achieved.

The Labour Manifesto begins with the next stage of national renewal.

The first step is to secure the economic recovery and avoid action which could led to a second downturn aftershock rather like what happens with earthquakes and this means major cut backs this year but continuing steps to aid business and jobs.

The Government is the only Party that is being honest that taxes will have to rise choosing to raise National Insurance next financial year and admitting that VAT will not be raised in the next Parliament only on some goods and services,

The two other Parties are backing reducing the deficit by savings in public expenditure with the Tories the most hard hitting cuts commencing this year with a crisis budget within 50 days.

The Government proposes to concentrate a further £4 billion this year on providing new capital for business.

As a measure to stop more foreign buying of businesses and then exporting the work out of the UK, there is to be tightening of Take Over requirements with shareholders required to give a two thirds majority instead of the simple majority at present. This may seem like closing the stable door after the take over Cadbury Schweppes and the closure of the Bristol area factory, but it should heralds a hands off in the future if Labour retains power with or without Lib Dem support.

The future focus of the Government will be in the creation of high tech jobs with the development of High Speed Rail and extending broadband to all areas as well as in Green technology with the creation of a Green Investment Bank. There is also priority to realising the public investment in saving the banks, the reorganisation of banking and taking further measures to control their successes and to prevent a repetition of their mismanagement

The Government then spells out the action they believe required. This includes £15 billion of reductions this financial year and a further £11 billion 2012 2013

There is to be only a 1% increase overall in public sector pay for the present and two coming years and a reduction in the contributions which central and local government make to employee pension funds. This will have repercussion as to what can be paid out in the future. I am opposed to this approach without corresponding action on wages and pensions in the private sector.

The Government is planning to bring in some measure of parity in the private sector by concentrating on those at the top with a new 50% tax rate on earnings more than £150000, plus the bonus tax and a reduction in the present tax relief on pensions for the better off. They are proposing a 1% increase in National Insurance Contributions and which will apply to Employers as well as employees.

This therefore is the divide between the three political parties. The Tories want to make the budget reductions immediately and which realistically means job losses which will have to go beyond freezes on filling of vacancies. While the Lib Dems want to take a radical approach by stopping major investment new capital and revenue developments and reform of the tax system which has personal and mass appeal.

However if you read the small pint there is only a commitment not to extend VAT to food, clothes books, newspapers and public transport fares, which means an increase on all other goods including petrol will be inevitable.

Having expressed concern about the extent to which British jobs are being lost overseas we remain the sixth biggest manufacturing country in the world. I failed to find who the other five are with I assume China, India and the USA ahead also perhaps Japan and then France Germany.

I have mentioned the proposals for the new High Speed Train Lines and my concern that if the start is made which excludes the North East and Scotland, circumstances will prevent completion. I am also opposed to the proposal to create a third runway at London Airport which makes a mockery of all the talk of the support for the environment and creating a green based economy.

All three parties appear to be concentrating on getting more of the underclass off benefits and into accepting the lower paid menial jobs. The Labour Party continues to put great emphasis on the National Minimum Wage although there is evidence of employers still managing to find ways to avoid doing so and I raised the practice at the Cafe Rouge of using the tip system to make up the difference until this was revealed. Now the company say they will return the tips to employees after deducting a 10% administration charge although how much the waiters and waitresses receive compared to the senior staff in the organisation has not been made clear. There is also the e issue holidays, sickness and other employee statutory benefits. The Government does say it will address the problem of the lack of differential between living on benefits and being in work with a £40 a week more guarantee, but my experience and knowledge of social history suggests that any measure will only have a marginal effect, making some people at the bottom end poorer while the rich get richer. £100 a week more subsidy would be realistic.

There are some good ideas such as giving those buying properties under £250000 a stamp duty freeze for two years while raising the tax to 5% on all properties costing £1million, that is £50000. I bet the 5% rate is kept after the two year freeze ends. I would be in favour of a People’s bank at the post office if there had been no closures of services with concentrations resulting in long queues.

The Government is attempting to ensure fairness and opportunity in the workplace and to continue provide support for children through the tax credit system and provision for care for those wishing to take paid occupations. The government says it will encourage home ownership although the number of supported through government action only amounts to just over 10000 a year. However it did take effective action to stop repossessions due to loss of jobs from the bankers betrayal. There is to be further protection for those renting from private landlords after a decade of appearing to encourage people to buy or rent out which was part of the credit crunch. As with the other two Parties there will be new measures in relation to protecting people from financial exploitation.

I have been impressed by the Government emphasis on the provision of child care resources, preschool education, the replacement of schools and the provision of more contemporary education system equipping young people to live in the society of today and tomorrow. I have an open mind about the extend to which A Level and University degrees have been dumbed down to accommodate the policy of getting all young people to stay in education or apprenticeships until they are 18 and for then 75 to enter University, apprenticeships or other forms of further education. While literacy levels have improved there is still some way to go and the Manifesto states that while the number of teachers and teaching assistants will be increased the economic situation will prevent further increases at the same rate as previously.

This is where there used to be a great [political divide between Labour and Conservatives with the Tory party favouring elitism via Grammar schools and private education, restricting University places and unscrambling the apprenticeship system because employers found it too expensive. Labour has concentrated on expanding provision as well as improving standards and furthering the interests of those with special needs both of special abilities as well as disabilities. However the failure has been to bridge the gulf between the tremendous work achieved and the continuation of a substantial underclass as well as what appears to be an overall less responsible and socially concerned younger generation where change and improvement rests first within the family and then within schools. I find the section on education commendable, following a number of reservations about the Tory Manifesto, The problem, and this applies to the satisfactory Lib Dem wish list, is the extent to which any Party will be able to proceed beyond what has already been achieved until the economic problems have been dealt with.

In relation to Health, the Government again had made fundamental improvements to the National Health Services although it bought the pressure from hospital administrators that big is cost effective in the long run which led to the alarming escalation in the number of deaths from secondary hospital infection once responsibility for personal care became part of the role of the cleaners. However one cannot underestimate the impact of the improvements that have been made. There has been a serious attempt to break down the two class system of Doctors and Consultants living in their world of power and position and, nursing and the paramedical services in another, with financial managements inhabiting their own planet.

There has also been considerable improvement in the buildings providing GP and community health services although until recently the provision of out of hours services deteriorated as a consequences of the horrendous new contract which the government negotiated on doctor’s salaries and conditions of service. There is much to commend in the Manifesto section on health.

This afternoon I listened to the Andrew Neil chaired debate between the three main parties and UKIP on immigration. I am sympathetic to the Lib Democratic proposal for an amnesty for those who have lived in the UK for 10 years have not committed offences, speak English and accept a two year probationary period in which they also agree to participate in voluntary community service. I am unhappy that this is to be only a one off event because of the unfairness in relation to all those who have survived for up to ten years. I accept that there have been problems when this kind of amnesty has been tried in other countries with evidence that it attracted more not less illegal immigrants to come forward when the amnesty was offered again. I also think the addition of a geographical permit on top for the tests which the government have now introduced for new work permits from outside Europe is a good idea but the reality is that we are talking small numbers which also applied the Conservative unspecified cap. At present their are only around 120000 work permits issued each year.

None of the proposals address the problem created by the enlargement of the EEC and the figures are that around a quarter of million Brits are working in Europe and close on 2 million Europeans working in the UK, although a substantial number are undertaking temporary seasonal work. It is the combination of the visible West Indian Black African, Indian and Pakistan immigrant, the illegal immigrants, the immigrants from the rest of the world and then those able to work and settle here and participate in the full state system of taxes and benefits from any EEC country that has created the sense of being overrun by foreigners with its impact not just on jobs and education but an already changed way of life. Even UKIP had to admit that its proposal for a freeze related to settlement and not to work. The government made two major mistakes. The first was not to insist on a transition period in relation to the right to work for new admissions to the EEC and the second was to fail to establish an effective exist system at the borders to establish that those coming to Britain on holiday for example left when they said they would and which applies to many Australians and North Americans overstaying and then getting jobs

In relation to crime the evidence is the situation has got better with less crimes of violence and a stronger approach in relation to child life protection. I question the value of increasing the numbers of people in prison, because of the evidence that far from acting as a deterrent an increasing percentage of those incarcerated commit further offences within three years of release. This is expensive and unproductive. There are an estimated 50000 dysfunctional families in the UK who cause those near where to they live constant and often serious problems as well as being the source of more generations of such families as only intensive and prolonged working with the parents and their children will break the cycle of generation upon generations. However government action to break the cycle is limited to supporting organisations which can provide intensive and prolonged assistance as part of a organised approached involving all the various agencies likely to be involved. This was the situation when I first entered social work nearly 50 years ago.