Author Archives: Diary of a Frustrated Labour Supporter

Labour Party, Politics

Diary of a Frustrated Labour Supporter – Week 8

Saturday 27th June
All quiet on the Labour Party front…it would seem, but also haven’t heard anything from UKIP and Liberal Democrats in the last few weeks either. Have we become a ‘one party nation’?

Sunday 28th June
Our prospective leaders concentrated on Wales today; a good thing because Wales often gets overlooked. I know I want them all to be honest but, Andy, admitting that you knew Wales had got a raw deal in the first and not feeling able to do anything about it, does not demonstrate strong leadership skills. Wales is a place that Labour could really focus on and has to win in; the Welsh people have a history of voting Labour – if we can’t get Wales to vote Labour then we won’t be able to get others to vote for us either.

Just heard banks in Greece will be closed for at least a week. This is significant and will impact on the EU renegotiations and, possibly, the outcome of the Referendum.

The death toll in Tunisia increases, with possibly 30 British dead; a horrific tragedy. ISIS is not diminishing and it not going to go away; the world does not know what to do. It’s an ideology that we do not fully understand and makes many feel powerless. Together, the world needs to find a solution.

Monday 29th June
Register of interests always throws up some interesting info. Looks like Andy and Jeremy both received Union money for their general election campaign; interestingly the women wanting to be leader didn’t get any Union money, but did get funds from particular individuals and business people. Perhaps an indication on who the Unions will be supporting…not a woman!
Greek exit from the Euro looks even more probable. A huge decision for the Greek people and a significant impact on Europe – and that includes the UK.

Tuesday 30th June
The hottest day in the last 10 years and the heat is also building on schools. Nickyhas released her definition of a ‘coasting’ school and even though she’s willing to give schools three years to improve (if they have the right plan in place) we know that many of those plans will be seen as not sufficient and the school will therefore be on ‘fast track’ to Academy status…whether they like it or not! Getting 60% of children to achieve 5 good GCSEs is not an easy task, particularly if those GCSEs have to include a foreign language. Learning a foreign language is tough for many children, there is a shortage of good language teachers and it is often taught badly by in qualified teachers. Not too sure what the Labour Party thinks of the definition and what they would do; not a ‘dickybird’ from Tristram and the team!

And on top of ensuring your school is not ‘ coasting’ they also now responsible for ensuring their children are not radicalised. I know teachers and schools want to ensure their children are educated in a safe environment and are not exposed to potential radicalisation in school, but are they really best placed to identify children who may have the potential to be radicalised and then report them? This is not their job; it should be treated as a safeguarding issue and should be treated in the same way as any other safeguarding issue.

Wednesday 1st July
Today Heathrow was the hottest July day in the UK since records began, 37.6 degrees. And the temperature wasn’t the only thing heating up at Heathrow; today, Heathrow was announced as the best place to build another runway, and not everyone is happy. Many Tory Ministers, Boris and Zac are all against expansion at Heathrow, even Cameron said he would never support it, but that was before the election! And the Labour Party is now supporting Heathrow; although it also looks like Sadiq Khan, London Major hopeful, and other labour MPs was now supporting Gatwick expansion. Cameron kicking it into the long grass until Xmas; huge political arguments ahead. What fun!

And the heat must have got to some people…Norman Lamb decided to discuss the rights and wrongs of Peppa Pig. One way to liven up a leadership contest!

Thursday 2nd July
It looks like the Labour Party are thinking of supporting air attacks on Syria. I understand we need to review the decision from two years ago in the light of the existing situation, but we should ensure we take all the information into account and that we don’t make a bad decision as a reaction to the terrible terrorist attack in Tunisia. We need to be confident that the action we take, if we do, will make a difference and that there is sufficient evidence that it is the best course of action.

Friday 3rd July
So Nicola Sturgeon is top of Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour most powerful ‘influencers’. Congratulations. Her anti-austerity and anti-tax raising agenda has won over many voters and admirers; so why is the Labour Party so worried about Jeremy’s similar agenda?

And as we move into Budget week it also appears there will be more Inheritance Tax breaks for those with family properties up to £1m. Well that’s very nice for those who have parents with properties of that value but I am sure they are doing well enough anyway, so why is this a priority? Oh yes, for all those London voters that didn’t vote Tory.

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Labour Party, Politics

Diary of a Frustrated Labour Supporter – Week 7

Saturday 20th June
Up to 1/4million protested today against austerity. They are angry with the Tory Government and do not agree with the Tory cuts. But sadly it’s a bit too late; they should have gone out on the streets before the election, they should have campaigned against the Tory’s before the election, they could have demonstrated to voters that things could be different and what a conservative MAJORITY could do…but they didn’t and I didn’t!

And it would appear Osborne is going to go for the £12bn working age welfare cuts; cuts to tax credits and cuts to housing benefit is not One Nation Conservative.

Sunday 21st June
Andrew Marr is a fantastic journalist and broadcaster; no notes, informed conversation, he is fabulous.

Monday 22nd June
Even more concerns about the NHS…it appears to be a daily headline. First there weren’t enough nurses, then GPs might go on strike and now it looks like we may lose 1000’s of nurses because they do not earn enough to remain in the UK. I can sympathise with the nurses’ position – many are not paid enough and it is no longer seen as an attractive career for young adults; I agree that the country should invest in training British people, but if they do not have the skills and desire to do these jobs then there will be nursing shortages which will continue to be filled from those from other countries. Making them leave these jobs because they are not able to earn £35k is not right.

But I can’t sympathise with the GPs. When many GPs are earning over £100k and do not have to work at weekends or late evenings (like nurses do), I find it hard to understand what they are striking over. Even when money is tight the Government are going to plough even more money into GP services. Giving money to new GPs to work in unpopular areas is beneficial, but please don’t give it to those GPs who earn enough already just to make them stay; let them retire and take their fantastic pension – giving them even more money is not the answer. If medical student’s don’t want to be GPs anymore then we should ask ourselves whether we need GPs. Perhaps we need to spend the money on specialist nurses, social workers and clinicians who can assess our needs and refer us onto the specialist doctors…that is what many GPs do anyway! That would save the NHS billions!

So those receiving a share of the £30bn tax credits look like they’re going to have their money reduced. £30bn is a lot of money and I am sure it is not all going to those who really need it, but cuts to tax credits can only be achieved at the same time employers are willing to pay higher wages and/or people being able to reduce the amount they can spend…both of which are difficult to do. Many small and medium sized businesses will not be able to substantially increase the wages they pay out of their profits, if they actually make any. Also, as a significant proportion of a person’s spending goes on housing, unless we do something to reduce rents or reduce the price of houses then it’s not really going to happen. What is going to happen is an abrupt cut in income to low paid workers that will force them into debt; so this is what One Nation Britain looks like?!

Even Tory MPs are criticising the Government, saying that stopping payments to benefit claimants leads them to start using food banks. Maybe they’re worried that their constituents will wonder why they thought a Tory might support them, help them. And having just watched Dispatches, it makes me wonder even more about why people voted Tory – it highlighted the real issue of the housing market and seeking housing association accommodation; another policy all about getting headlines and not about helping those who really need help. What a disaster!

Tuesday 23rd June
I love meeting up with old friends and family who share the same politics! Tonight demonstrated the wide range of Labour Party members there are and even wider range of labour voters. The question of the night was ‘do we want a Labour Party that can win an election or do we want a Labour Party that has credibility or can we have both?!’ Answers in comments please.

We didn’t come to any conclusions but hopefully convinced an old, dear friend not to vote for Andy, that Liz could win us an election but would she deliver the kind of labour policies we would want her to, that Jeremy would actually bring labour back to its roots and attract people who are not Labour Party members but loose some current labour party members (which may be a good thing) and Yvette might be the safe, dull choice.

Invigorated to get more involved. Feel this could be the time for change and feeling a little bit less frustrated.

Gove has actually said something I agree with.  It is the first, and I am sure it will be the last, but commercial solicitors and the most successful lawyers should contribute more of their time and expertise, voluntarily, to supporting those who cannot afford to access the justice system; it’s payback time!

Wednesday 24th June
The huge immigration crisis in Calais is not being dealt with and people are linking this with leaving the EU. Leaving the EU will not stop migrants travelling across Europe and wanting to settle in the UK. The UK is an attractive place to live for many and, having suffered significantly to get themselves to Calais, the next step across the English Channel is not such a big deal to them. We, and the rest of the world, are not dealing with the reasons why people feel the need to leave their own countries, we only get involved and condemn when they arrive in Calais.

An ‘English Labour Party’ may be a good thing. Still thinking through how this could work, but it could provide a more focussed labour offer to those who live in England. I think that may attract those people who are more interested in their local area, their local communities, their local lives and their own lot; they may be more willing to get involved and to vote for a Labour Party that feels relevant and more local to them; ie. not Westminster. To go one step further, Labour may also want to consider how to make devolution happen more extensively. The Tory’s focus on the Northern Powerhouse could be challenged by Labour offering further devolution to a wide range of communities, not just the big cities. Politics needs to become more localised and then people may start to see the link between their lives and politics.

Child poverty is getting worse so we’ll just change the definition and make it better! That’s going to really impact on those children’s current and future opportunities!!

Thursday 25th June
Cameron off to Europe to commence our renegotiation with Europe, but Europe is more concerned about the huge number of migrants entering Italy and Greece, and many European countries (including the UK) are not keen to help. Surely we’re either in Europe, where we need to help one another, or we’re not. Italy and Greece are not capable and should not be expected to deal with all the immigrants. Each European country should be given their share of the migrants to assess and either accommodate or deport back to their own country if they are not eligible; it is not sensible for just a few countries to take the brunt of this. European countries should stand up and help their fellow countries and provide support to the numbers of people who are seeking humanitarian help.

Friday 26th June
International shock at the terrorist attacks in three different countries in three different continents. The world is far less stable and predictable than the one I was brought up in. Governments don’t really know what to do, so they do nothing; paralysed to make any impact to make a huge difference. Labour would be no different!

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Labour Party, Politics

Diary of a Frustrated Labour Supporter – Week 6

Saturday 13th June

Keep remembering that only 24% of the electorate voted Tory and now we need to live through a Conservative MAJORITY for the next 5 years. All those things they are doing, including £12bn welfare cuts, and they justify it by saying the country voted for it; well, the majority of us didn’t. But they don’t care.

And thankfully Jim Murphy has stayed on for a few weeks to look at plans to modernise the way the Labour Party operates in Scotland; they appear sensible and realistic and hopefully will encourage people to vote labour again, because if they don’t, we will never win another general election.

Sunday 14th June
It really feels like some of Cameron’s backbenchers dislike him as much as I do; his approach, how he runs his government, his views on Europe. This could be good for us!

With one day to go before the nominations close I continue to move more towards supporting Yvette. Her priorities seem to be business, jobs and women…all of which are critical to the success of the country and of individuals. Andy’s coming across as a bit smug and, with support coming from the likes of Luciana Berger; that is a worry! And Liz might as well be a Conservative – supporting ‘free schools’ should not be Labour Party policy.

However, I do like Andy’s suggestion of a UCAS style application process for technical, non-university based apprenticeships; it would raise the profile of apprenticeships, help young adults gain skills and knowledge whilst at work, ensure that apprenticeships are open to all and ensure that those who do not want to go to university have a high quality alternative.

Monday 15th June
Pleased that Jeremy has enough nominations to get him onto the ballot paper. I don’t want him to win, but I do want him to be part of the debate. I want his view of the Labour Party and of Britain to be debated openly and then those who are eligible can vote for whoever they feel is best to run the party and be a potential Prime Minister – although those two things do not always sit comfortably together.  His supporters will get the opportunity to vote for him and the country may understand a little more about the Labour Party; there is a risk to that, but I believe it is worth it. Unless you follow politics or have been brought up with an appreciation of what the Labour Party is about, most people either link it to ‘the unions’ or to ‘Blair’; there is more to supporting the Labour Party than unions and Blair and this is our opportunity for a national debate with all the nominated leaders participating truthfully. I have to admit I’m quite looking forward to it – can’t wait for the first set of televised hustings on Wednesday.

And finally, please don’t start thinking about changing the rules about ‘how to get rid of the leader’. We had the opportunity to change the rules when we changed the rules for picking the leader; this is not the right time.

Tuesday 16th June

The EU debate is being given a significant focus. It’s a critical issue, and when 27 Tory MPs vote against their Government that is always interesting, but Labour should be taking the lead on continuing to focus on other, domestic issues which should not be forgotten. For instance, why isn’t Labour talking about the report from Citizens Advice Bureau that shows spiralling rents for substandard accommodation are causing increasing health problems? The report shows an increase in the number of people the CAB are seeing who are getting into debt due to rent arrears and the initial deposits and rent advances required by many landlords. These are the kind of issues our shadow cabinet should be discussing; they may not yet have all the answers but they can say ‘this is wrong, it should not be happening, the Conservative Government is not helping everyone, it is not a One Nation Government and people’s lives should be better than this’; fundamentally it’s quite an easy message.

Wednesday 17th June
So we now also have our 5 deputy leadership nominations; it’s been a low key campaign to date but one which I think will become quite interesting. I’m glad Stella Creasy has got through; she is the one I’m keen to see if she develops over the next few months into a potential deputy. In fact it’s quite a strong field and might make the leadership campaign appear a bit dull.

Good news about earnings and unemployment…the former is up and the latter down! The huge grin on Osborne’s face whilst he’s eating his muesli this morning is too much to picture. He even got the chance to stand in for Cameron at Prime Minister’s Questions today – part 1 of his interview to be the future leader of the Conservative Party. Osborne’s ‘Bennite’ quip was misplaced and not funny but, other than that, he did well – I quite liked his style; at least he actually answered the questions and did not do ‘a Cameron’ – answering a question with a question! Hilary Benn was very good; his focus on ISIS, terrorism and refugees was clever and demonstrated Osborne’s slight discomfort on non-economic issues; his concise questions, sensible and constructive follow-up comments and calm, knowledgeable manner was refreshing. Why is he not standing as leader?

And even I forgot to watch the leadership debate…which probably means hardly anyone else was watching BBC2 at 7pm tonight. I did get round to watching it later and pleased I did, even though I probably didn’t learn anything new. But it was interesting to see what role they wanted to portray -they reminded me of a family – the passionate, grumpy granddad, the sensible, boring mum, the cheeky, down to earth son (and head boy) and the lucky, smarmy daughter (and head girl). They all responded to type but I did enjoy watching them -Andy was a bit too pushy and had too many stock answers he wanted to get out, Jeremy answered the questions truthfully demonstrating his labour party values, Liz was clear and honest (you get what you see ie. a Tory) and Yvette was dull and a bit too reserved. The audience was interesting though; by picking people who may vote Labour in the future or who have voted Labour in the past then maybe I shouldn’t be surprised about the cheers and claps for Jeremy; they appeared to be an audience of ‘sympathetic socialists’ who they want the party to be more distinctive…setting ourselves apart from the Tories. They certainly weren’t the average person on the street and a typical member of the public – those who do not have any socialist leanings, who have hardly ever voted Labour (although they may have voted for Blair) and those who we really need to understand.

Could Jeremy really end up our leader? If all the conservatives are really joining up to be able to vote for him to be leader and, seeing how well he was received tonight, I am worried. If he did get elected he would have to withdraw or turn it down…wouldn’t he?

Laura K for leader!

Thursday 18th June
Tactics, tactics, tactics!

It was tactical to ensure Jeremy got onto the ballot paper but now so many people are worried about Jeremy getting all the limelight and that voters may realise that some people in the Labour Party support what he is saying! Horror! Is that really a problem? A leader must be authentic and say what they really believe, however, they also need to listen to those they are there to lead. So is the leader of the Labour Party there to lead the party, be a potential leader of the whole country or both? I know it’s both, but if what the Labour Party wants is not what enough of the country wants then the leader either has to shift the party’s thinking or the country’s thinking or bring them together on common ground. I am not convinced that any of the potential leaders are willing to do that. We will have to see.

Also, I hope the tactical voting that appears to have happened in relation to the chairs of the Parliamentary Select Committees doesn’t reduce the quality of their work. They have often been the only place where real scrutiny and accountability has taken place; it certainly doesn’t happen in the main chamber.

And finally, what a clever tactic to get Alan Johnson to head up the Labour Party YES campaign for the EU Referendum. He will be seen as a normal person with normal concerns with clear answers. Hopefully he will attract a broad spectrum of people who will vote YES in 2017 and will hopefully be attracted to vote Labour in 2020.

Friday 19th June
Still waiting for Tristram to comment on the OFSTED inspector ‘sackings’. I assume the Labour Party does have a view? If the quality of inspectors has not been good enough then the quality of their reports may not have been good enough which could mean schools have been wrongly rated, parents and children provided with false information and teaching careers affected. If we don’t have a view on that then what do we have a view on? The Labour Party must speak up and speak out.

He also may want to think about the future of GCSEs…the comments from the CBI has made me think about alternative examination systems so hopefully the Labour Party are doing the same! I’m beginning to think that exams should take place throughout a child’s upper schooling (from 14 years) culminating with focused exams at 18 (not 16) when they leave the secondary education and training system. This system would provide young adults with qualifications in subjects they have been taught in, combined with skills and knowledge in subjects they no longer want to take any further. A range of qualifications would capture what they have learnt, and the skills they have acquired to that level, rather than just allowing them to give up subjects with no demonstration of what they have achieved in their first 10 years of education. As young adults move up towards their exams at 18, they would begin to specialise but maths, English and some type of computing/IT subject would need to be compulsory up to 18 (but not necessarily up to A level). A range of qualifications, reflecting what children have learnt up to 14 and onwards, allowing some specialisation at 17 and 18 is a one possible option. Come on Tristram, put on that creative hat, challenge the status quo if it is not working for all children and come up with a forward looking examination structure that is right for children and their future employers. That is what Labour should be here to do!

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Labour Party, Politics

Diary of a Frustrated Labour Supporter Week 5

Saturday 6th June
With Farage the self proclaimed leader of the NO vote campaign that may be good for us YES voters. However, he does have a knack of whipping up support with his ‘down to earth’ lingo and exaggeration of the problem and his ability to solve it…so I am a bit worried. I think the YES campaign has Mandleson at the moment which, sadly, is no contest. We will have to get some more charismatic leaders to front the YES campaign if we’re going to get over the 50% mark…and not Blair. Hopefully Mandleson will get his Manchester University job and that will keep him busy!

Sunday 7th June
And so we have the first split in the Tory party. I shouldn’t really rejoice, but…YIPEE! It looks like 50 Tories want to vote NO and Cameron won’t want that. Is this the beginning of the end? We’ll see. I wonder how many of them will move over to UKIP.
Could sense Andrew Marr’s frustration with Liz today…she wasn’t keen on answering his specific questions. It’s OK to say we need to focus on the ‘ big issues’ but a potential leader must also have a view on detailed policy. I agree with her that we need welfare reform, we need fiscal credibility and responsibility and we need growth in all parts of the country but she speaks in a disconnected way that does help me warm to her.
It’s interesting that Alistair Campbell thinks the Labour Party may not have yet reached the bottom; even though I don’t want to, I tend to think he may be right. Getting the Labour Party to be a ‘political movement’ again may be one way but it will be a difficult thing to achieve…thinks we can do it and I like her optimism. I think she would do well as our deputy leader, but we have to find a reason for people to want to vote Labour. But do you need to be involved in the political movement to vote for it? I’m not that involved in the party, on a day to day basis, but I am a member and I vote Labour…but I do not feel part of a political movement.

Monday 8th June
Ahhh! We all seemed to have misunderstood what Cameron was saying about his ministers having to agree with the YES vote or otherwise they need to resign from the Government! I don’t think every journalist could be wrong…he’s just running scared! A huge U-turn that Cameron is going to have to deal with in the future.
Jeremy Corbyn speaks so naturally, you feel he actually believes in what he is saying..not like some of the other leadership contenders! I actually agree with a lot of what he is saying…equal society, nobody needing to live in poverty, decent housing for all…but I fear we no longer live in a country that supports his kind of beliefs. People seem to be much more selfish and focused on the individual…ie. themselves!

Tuesday 9th June
Labour Party leadership nominations are open…it’s going to be so exciting! Or not! On the first day Andy has got most MP support so far…not surprised, and at least he is now acknowledging how good the Labour Party 2015 manifesto was, focusing on reducing inequality.
And what a day of the bizarre! Harriet’s comments are bizarre…no real Labour Party supporter was relieved we didn’t win; of course we wanted to win. It would have meant we could have implemented our policies that would have supported those who really need help, those on low wages, those who rent, those who do not want to be on zero hour contracts. Surely that is better than having a Conservative MAJORITY? And Nicola on an American talk-show! She actually came across really well. She doesn’t seem to be afraid of saying or doing anything…which is good to see in a politician…a female Farage; maybe the Labour Party leadership contenders can learn from her!
But it looks like 16 and 17 years olds may not be able to vote in the EU Referendum. Very disappointed. It would be a fantastic opportunity to get young adults engaged in politics and would ensure the debate on both sides was clearly and fully articulated – a real shame. Let’s hope the Lords get an amendment through which the Commons will eventually support.

Wednesday 10th June
So, we’re going to sell off RBS for a loss and this is a good thing! I’m not convinced and don’t really understand the rush to sell it off – apart from the political reasons, i.e. getting the bad stuff done early in the Government. And whether his announcements that all future governments will ‘need to have budget surpluses’ is also the right thing for the economy who knows. All we do know is that he probably wants to be Conservative leader and will say and do anything to get that job.

Thursday 11th June
All parties have their own factions so I’m not surprised that a group of labour MPs want to push forward and create a Pro-European campaign group. Supposedly Harriet is worried but I’m not too sure why; it is in line the party view. We should allow each MP to campaign and vote as they wish to…a true free vote; it is the right thing to do and it would demonstrate to the public that this should not be a party political issue…it is a cross party, country wide issue. There will be labour voters who want to leave the EU and those who want to stay, there will be Tories who want to leave the EU and those who want to stay, ditto SNP voters and Liberal Democrat voters; although that is probably not the case for UKIP voters! The Labour Party should come out and allow a free vote; take the initiative and don’t worry about being seen as being too attached to the Tory agenda. Define our own agenda.
And once again the Tories have forgotten their One Nation mantra. Cutting support greats to students from less well off families does not encourage and support those who really need help to improve their levels of education and get skills for improved their job opportunities. And turning unemployment benefits into loans may save £5bn from the welfare bill but burdens the low paid with debt which have an impact on their ability to pay for food, housing, transport…it doesn’t appear to ‘be on the side of working families!

Friday 12th June
And now there are 4; tonight we say goodbye to Mary Creagh who has withdrawn from the leadership contest. I am not surprised as she seemed unable to get the momentum behind her campaign. It is now critical that Jeremy Corbyn gets his 35 nominations so that members have a real choice in this election…every MP should back someone and there must be some who would like to nominate Jeremy – so have the guts to do so and don’t grumble about the outcome when you don’t get the person you wanted. My heart is sympathetic to Jeremy but my mind seems to be moving towards Yvette…let’s see what the next few weeks bring.

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Politics, Uncategorized

Diary of a Frustrated Labour Supporter – Week 4

Saturday 30th May

Why do we need a Labour Party? By the looks of it we might as well all just join the Conservative party because all the potential leaders, and some deputy leadership candidate, seem to now agree with all their policies!

Andy, are you really going to support £12bn welfare cuts and a reduction in the cap to £23,000? And Ms Flint, even though I do agree that ‘living off benefits’ should not be choice, ‘giving people a kick up the backside’ does not seem to be the best way to achieve this. It may use the language that some UKIP and conservative voters may like to hear, but surely there is a better way of ensuring people rely less on benefits when they have a voice. Have we really thought about what we are saying as a party or are we just now going to go along with everything the Tory’s say because more people voted for them than us? I hope not! Even though for 2013/14 the country’s welfare budget was £251bn and £12bn may not seem a high % (although it is about 5%), over £100bn is spent on pensions so that only leaves about £150bn from which cuts can be made (ie. nearly 10%). So the £12bn welfare cuts are will affect many people especially those that really do need help.

And Liz, I believe all Labour Party members want to ‘love their party’ and ‘want it back in government because it’s the only way we will change people’s minds, and their lives’ but what really does that mean in practice? She really needs to explain what this means.

Sunday 31st May

So Yvette has decided to speak..at last and saying some good things; ‘not swallowing  the Tory manifesto’ is right but she will need to, more clearly and more precisely set out labour ideas for the future which do reflect labour values and are policies for the many and not the few! Also glad she is supporting the 50p income tax band, which is fair and progressive, and she is speaking out against the kind of language some of the candidates have been using which could stigmatise those who need to receive benefits. She talks about ‘radical changes’ to suit 2020, which could be very exciting, but what these are only time will tell.

We can’t ditch everything the Labour Party said just over three weeks ago…although many seem to think we can.
I’ve only just got round to seeing the challenge she gave May and Gove in… which was impressive and demonstrates that she has the potential to hold the government to account.

Monday 1st June

The 1st day of summer and the 1st flagship Conservative Manifesto pledges to turn into a fiasco! 30 hours free childcare for each working person per week…sounds great, and people liked it…but the Government don’t quite know how it’s going to work! Yes, they should have thought this one through before the election, but they hadn’t and non-one seemed bothered to ask them. There were numerous questions to Ed about the mansion tax was going to work but not a ‘dicky bird’ to Dave about how his childcare policy was going to work; one rule for one and one rule for the other…as usual.

No wonder they don’t know how to implement it, because their current 15 hours of free childcare isn’t even working; many childcare providers are not getting the money to pay for the 15 hours and they, and parents, have to provide the rest. It’s so bad that I heard some nurseries had refused a visit from Cameron…good on them.

And … this policy is wrong. It does not help the people who really need it to get back to work or continue to work. Working parents, regardless of what they earn, will get free childcare. I’m sure that most of the money will go to those who are already working and paying for childcare, ie. those who can afford it. Why do they need more free childcare? Wouldn’t it be better giving more childcare to those who need it…maybe those who are on the minimum wage so they can actually work the hours they need to work to earn a decent wage. 30 hours of childcare is only 6 hrs per day and many jobs require you to work at least 7 hours a day and often at weekends or evenings and I am sure childcare will not be available at those times. Labour could provide a better policy that really helps people to go back to work…one that is fair and progressive.

And Nicola, where have you gone? Are you on holiday? I’m so used to you being in the news every day, politics doesn’t seem the same without your coordinated chic suits!

Tuesday 2nd June

Just heard Charles Kennedy has died; I remember him as an authentic politician who spoke about what he believed in and not what he thought he should say. I know he will be missed by many both inside and outside politics.

Have to chuckle about the way Jeremy Hunt is tackling the problem with agency and locus staff costs; hasn’t anyone ever told him about supply and demand? I thought he belonged to a party that believed in the free market and entrepreneurship; don’t now criticise the agencies who may have exploited this position…although I am sure it is only a few agencies not all of them. I agree that the money spent on agency and locus costs should reduce but this needs to be achieved by the NHS directly employing more staff and training more staff to meet the future demand.

And Nicola is back. But she needs to stop threatening the country; it did not help before the election and it is not helpful now. Her threats before the election made many people fearful and therefore did not vote in the way they have wanted to, if she keeps repeating her veiled threats the country may vote NO in the EU Referendum and end up leaving the EU. Be a bit more savvy and political for the sake of the country.

Wednesday 3rd June

The other Nicky is back too…I must be careful not to get the two Nicola’s mixed up.

She is now saying that parents do not know what is best for their children and therefore should not have a say on whether their child’s school becomes an academy but, of course, she still believes parents are always right if they think a Free School is the best one for their child; double standards. I do not support Academies but would be happy to look at the evidence that demonstrated that academies are better for children than an equivalent local authority run school, but I have not seen this evidence. Her agenda continues to be about diminishing the powers of the local authorities and teacher unions not about enabling each child to reach their full potential.

And we should all be asking why MPs need a 10% pay rise. I don’t buy the argument that we have to pay a higher salty in order to attract good people to become an MP. I have never seen a shortage of people wanting to put their name forward to be an MP and I really don’t think the additional £7k is going to make a difference. Considering the average salary is about £26k then the current MP salary is already way above that…and  MPs get considerable expenses in addition to a five year contract (often extended if they perform well), sick pay, holiday pay as well as a nice pension….not bad compared to the pay and conditions most people get). The main costs are incurred by people wanting to be an MP who often have to give up work to focus on campaigning. Oh…and we shouldn’t forget that they can also have a second, third, fourth..or any number of jobs on top of their MP job. Surely if being an MP is a 24/7 job they should not really have the time to do another job; even though I recognise that some MPs may need to undertake a number of hours work to keep their professional registrations this is very different from taking additional jobs which should be banned.

Thursday 4th June

I have to admit I read old papers; in fact I have been known to take month’s old papers on holiday with me in my suitcase to read whilst sitting by a pool. Is that weird? Anyway, I tell you this because I have just got round to reading the rest of the Sunday Times from 10th May and came across the headline ‘With so much choice of leader, surely Labour will get it right this time’…it made me laugh!

Less than 4 weeks ago, even though we had lost on 7th, there was some optimism about the potential for a new leader who would take the Labour Party forward to winning in 2020…or before, if Cameron’s majority disappears over the next few years. Now I look at the list of potential candidates and wonder why the nomination field is so small…no Rachel (although I do realise she is on maternity leave), no Chukka, no Tristram, no Dan…even though I hear that Jeremy Corbyn has thrown his hat into the ring! The Labour Party has many talented people who could be our leader, but most don’t want to be or prefer to go for the deputy post; that is sad. Being leader of the Labour Party used to be an honour…it feels like people don’t think that way anymore.

So I wonder where the first £2.5bn of efficiency savings announced today are going to fall? No detail yet…not surprised, but they’re likely to affect non-school budgets, public health budgets, local government budgets, and justice and defence budgets. They may appear relatively small and not directly impact on the cash people receive, but they will impact on the services we get which will have to be reduced…and those who cannot afford to buy them themselves will have to do without; so that’s what ‘One Nation’ means?

Hopefully we’ll get better value for money from selling off the remainder of the Royal Mail than we did last time. And what are the other assets they plan to sell off? Whatever it is they’ll sell if off cheaply and quickly!

Pleased to see Ed back in the Commons. He has taken defeat gracefully and in good humour and shows that he will not shy away from supporting the Labour Party in the future. Well done.

Friday 5th June

So Yvette has got her 35 MPs, I’m pleased. But considering we are nearing the final date for nominations I wonder why others haven’t. Each MP should be required to nominate someone..they must want someone to be their leader? If each MP was required to nominate someone then there could possibly be a wider field to choose from. At this rate it could be a two horse race (Andy had already got his 35), although I am pretty sure Liz will get hers.

And the debacle about MP pay increases goes on…will they, won’t they? I really think they shouldn’t. I am pretty sure a Government does not have to accept a pay review body recommendation…they don’t for other pay review bodies! Why is this so different? Ah yes, it’s their pay and not the pay of the porter or the cleaner or the nurse who works for the local hospital. MPs pay should increase at the same rate as other public sector workers then they would be treated the same. And the excuse about them having to pay more into their ‘gold plated’ pensions…well so are other public sector works and they are only getting 1% not 10% increase!

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Politics, Uncategorized

Diary of a Frustrated Labour Supporter – Week 3

Tuesday 26th May

2 ½ weeks is a long time. Tomorrow will be the Queen’s Speech. 2 ½ weeks ago many thought we may not get to this point. They thought the political parties would be in the midst of trying to form a government that could get a Queens Speech voted for. Little did we know!

We know some of the things it will contain…EU Referendum, devolved power to Scotland, more money for the NHS, more free childcare, reduced welfare cap…but it will also include some more controversial proposals…..the right to buy housing association houses, the ‘snoopers charter’, tighter rules on trade union strikes, the abolition of the Human Rights Act (possibly).

And Nicky’s back on TV saying all the right things for now, and for her future Conservative party leadership challenge that will come around pretty quickly…I feel.

And how did I miss the announcement that Chris Leslie was the Shadow Chancellor? I actually think he’s quite good so I’m keen to see how he responds to the Queens Speech. If I don’t know who’s holding what shadow job then I am sure the public don’t know…could the Labour Party out some ‘comms’ please?

Mary Creagh sounds like she’s being interviewed for a job by Evan Davies. I know she is going for a job…sort of…but she sounds like she has learnt her answers t o the expected questions rather than portraying what she really feels and thinks. I think I prefer what she writes than what she says in person.

Finally…Chukka’s come out to support Liz. That won’t do her any harm and it now looks like it will be a straight battle between the post 2010 and pre 2010 camp…how they will work together after the vote who knows.

Wednesday 27th May

Pleased that Cameron has decided not to go full steam ahead on abolishing the Human Rights Act. It demonstrates that it is the wrong thing to do and that Cameron hasn’t got the guts to go ahead with such a controversial change. It could easily still be his ‘poll tax’ moment but not right now…although it would have been good to see how he handled a backbench revolt and public anger…it may mean he would have to go! Only time will tell.

And from what I can see Cameron hasn’t explained how all this is going to be funded. Where is the money coming from for the NHS, childcare, selling off housing association houses…without raising taxes? Financially incredible.

Making it harder to strike is just going to make the union members more active, more engaged and more likely to vote rather than the inactive, unengaged, uncommitted members so many of them currently are. If they know they need to get a 50% turnout they will work so much harder to achieve it. It may also mean union leaders will need to spend more time communicating with their members rather than trying to influence leadership elections. Good things all round! Probably not want Cameron thought he’d get.

Thursday 28th May

Bribery in FIFA has knocked politics out of the news! At least we don’t have a day of conservatives telling everyone how lovely they are and how much they are on the side of ‘working’ people…I feel we all need to resign from our jobs so there will no one working and they won’t be able to use that phrase again.

Friday 29th May…the day of 3’s!

Has it only been 3 weeks since the election? It feels so much longer. 3 weeks gone 257 weeks to go!

And 3 (out of the 4 labour leader hopefuls) were out and about today. Andy singing the praises of business, Liz talking about how important education is and Yvette’s going on a walkabout around the UK to listen to people…ahhh, how lovely!

Maybe Andy’s strap line should be ’embrace an entrepreneur’. I’m not convinced he spoke so fervently about how brilliant business was when he was in the shadow cabinet, but, like everyone else…in hindsight/now they have listened to what they heard on the doorsteps/looked at where we are…he now realises business contribute a lot to the UK and the economy! They always have and always will do so not too sure what’s changed! Oh yes…we badly lost an election 3 weeks ago!

And Liz, I actually agree with you that education is a key way to improve a person’s life chances and provide people with more opportunities. But she must stop supporting free schools. Last year figures showed that 30% of free schools inspected by OFSTED were marked inadequate or in need of improvement compared to the 20% of state schools. Even Sweden are falling out of love with them and want to tighten the quality controls over them and return control over to their local authorities. Since introducing them Sweden’s educational standards have reduced and now lag behind the UK and the USA. Even our own education select committee is unclear on whether free schools are effective and worth the money…and that committee is lead by a Tory! Are they really the right solution to improving standards when money is scarce? I don’t think so and Liz should not promote them.

And Yvette should carry on listening because I haven’t heard much from her yet,

So the 3 key words for the contest seem to be ‘business, education and listening’.

All very well, but what they must all remember is that people vote based on which party they feel will give them what they want as individuals and how that government will help their own lives; we don’t vote altruistically based on whether the party will help the country as a whole. So, however good or right our policies may be for the country if people don’t think they will help them personally, sadly, they don’t really care.

And, they still need to watch out for UKIP…they haven’t gone away. Whether the Labour Party likes to believe it or not, many potential and previous labour voters in England voted UKIP because UKIP said what they wanted to hear! Labour need to do a lot to ensure they start to say what these people want to hear…which will be hard for the party.

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Diary of a Frustrated Labour Supporter Week 2 1/2

Saturday 16th May

I am frustrated. I am in a dilemma.  One week of a Conservative MAJORITY and I’m finding it hard to reconcile the thoughts in my head. Do I trust the people and voters in this country to make the right decision? I should do. I need to. I want to. But what if they have made the wrong decision? But, what is the wrong decision? One that I don’t think it right? But it may be the right one for them? Who am I to say? People will vote for the person and/or the party they think best suits them and we should respect that and live with the outcomes.

And why don’t people vote? Do they really think politics has no impact on their life? Do they really want politicians to go away and leave them alone? I fear they might.

This is a much bigger problem than I had originally thought. If people don’t understand why we have a government, what their role is, what they do and what would happen if we didn’t have a government we can vote for then no wonder they don’t see a reason to vote. If so many people don’t vote then we don’t live in a democracy; current Conservative MAJORITY voted by less than 25% of the electorate is not democracy in action.

Why is learning about government and politics not part of the school core curriculum? Teenagers should learn the basics (at least) and then they have a choice in the future whether to vote. Don’t think it should be compulsory; people should want to vote, understand why they should vote…give people a reason to vote.  If the turnout in Scotland for the Independence Referendum can be nearly 85% then why can’t that be the case for the general and local elections? That would make it more democratic.

The Labour Party needs to demonstrate how it will enable people to improve their lives, provide them with equal opportunities and support their future aspirations…do not like that word and vow not to use it again…but it does encapsulate the fact that people want to improve their lives as much as they can, however big or small that change may be. People need to stop seeing the Labour Party as a group of people who will stop them from doing the things they want to do, who will limit their ability to improve their lives and who will restrict their choices. They need to support and enable…provide the best environment for people to thrive in, but not do it for them. People want to be in control of their own destinies.

The Labour Party needs to care and be seen to care about the things the people in this country care about; otherwise people will just not vote and that is worse.

Sunday 17th May

What is it about Nicky Morgan than makes me really dislike her? She often talks a lot of sense; parents do not want failing schools, they want their child to fulfil their potential and do their best but, I always think she has a hidden agenda (or not so hidden) – getting rid of Local Authority controlled schools seems to be the only real agenda she has!

The way she talks about ‘average results’ annoys me so much. ‘Average results’ (whatever they may be) may be fantastic results for some children who should be praised and celebrated. Nicky…we don’t all get A*s! Children in your world may do so, but that is not the real world. In the real world children want to do their best, fulfil their potential; they want to be provided with the education and taught the skills to help them get the best results they can and enables them to get the knowledge, skills and qualifications to provide them with choices for the future.

With 32% of all MPs and half of Cameron’s new cabinet having been privately educated are they really the best people to fully understand how a state sector education system should provide the best education for all children? I have my doubts!

Setting up free schools and academies does not necessarily mean better education for children; providing more choice where choice is not needed and schools where schools are not needed is not necessarily the answer. Taking schools out of local authority control does not improve schools or the education of children….although you seem to think it does. Heads, Governors and teachers run schools regardless of whether they are overseen by LAs or the Government! Local Authorities do need to do more to ensure they take action, quickly and decisively, when a school is not doing the best for children, and not left to drift. I realise this is more difficult for them to do when their funding has been so radically reduced but this is the challenge they must cope with otherwise people will lose faith in their ability to be responsible for education.

And where is Tristram Hunt? He should be putting forward the opposition’s view…supporting what is right, providing better alternatives…that is what the opposition does, or at least should do? I know he has MPs to sign up but he will have to learn to multi-task!

Time to stand up to the Union bosses – they are there to represent their members not to run the Labour Party. They have a role to play in supporting people in the workplace (like they do for me and my colleagues) but their relationship with the party is out of date. They cannot hold the party to ransom.

But I must remain optimistic even if Cruddas appears downhearted…but is he right? Are we really in a crisis from which we may never return? We do need to rethink what the party is for, who it represents and what the party is meant to be about. Surely we represent people who want to be given the same opportunities to make the most of their lives as anyone else regardless of who they are, where they live and what their background is. We have not been good at communicating a clear message but the Party is not over and done with. We lost badly, but I will not admit long term defeat. Although with Farage staying on for another 20 years, labour does have something to worry about!

Monday 18th May

Another day, another ‘headline grabbing’ policy announcement from our new Conservative MAJORITY government……a 7 day NHS…even though we already have a 24/7 NHS….I think someone needs to tell them.

The NHS doesn’t actually close down at 5pm on a Friday…although looking at the number of people working in our hospitals, GP and community services patients may think that is the case…we just allow Consultants and other clinicians not to work at the weekends (unless we pay them a lot of extra money) and therefore they choose not to…wouldn’t you? Goodness knows where the money will come from to pay for a 7 day NHS; it won’t be cheap.  If we are truly going to have our NHS providing the same service to people on a Sunday as it does on a Tuesday, then more people will have to work at the weekend. But we will need to continue needing people to work during the week and at nights so we will need more people which will need more money.  And we’ll need more social care services and home care staff available and not too sure who is going to pay for that. If there is not enough money for this the other option is to have fewer hospitals and services but open for more hours…but that will mean reducing the number of hospitals, GP surgeries and I don’t think the government want that to happen …the public will hate it and no political party will support it! So what do they really mean by 7 day NHS or is it just a headline to grab the attention and to make people think the NHS is safe with the Tory’s? I suspect the latter.

Oh, and by the way Andy, why aren’t you responding to Cameron’s announcement. Yes, I know you’re out (everywhere) talking about being the change leader, but you have a shadow job to do too! Yes, you did perform well on the Andrew Marr show (I did go to mass but watched it on iPlayer) but don’t get too cocky. A few lessons from watching how Alan Johnston presents himself on TV as ‘the man for all people’ is welcomed but you will need to have some substance too. However, he does have Rachel Reeves on his side and she’s brilliant, so I’m beginning to warm to him!

Hooray to Harriet. Opening up the Labour leadership vote to the voting public is a clever idea. It’s risky but it is a way of reaching out to the public, getting them involved and counter-balancing the internally focused discussions Labour Party MPs and members are so good at!

Tuesday 19th May

And yet another labour supporter tries to distance themselves from Ed…Yvette, did you really have to? I so want you to do well in this election but this is not the way to go about it. It wasn’t all bad, a lot of it was good and you should say so.

Conservatives putting positive spin on deflation announcement. It may be good now, and I’m sure we’ll enjoy the lower prices, but don’t think we’ll be smiling in a few months and years.

Experiencing withdrawal symptoms from not being able to watch Daily Politics…life doesn’t seem to be the same without a daily dose of Andrew and Jo.

And I know I should not relish in other party’s misfortunes and in particular to Farage’s predicament, but I do like to hear that those around him seem to be waking up to his true self and quitting whilst ahead.

 Wednesday 20th May

Disappointed Tristram has decided to pull out for the leadership election; I really thought he would have gone down well with the public. Looks like MPs are not taking Harriet’s comments into account…that the party should elect someone that the public would vote for, not just someone the MPs like…will we ever learn? Also, nothing comes from potential or actual leadership contenders slagging each other off; we and they will need to work together post 12th September 2015. Also now calling for the party to be able to get rid of its leader more easily BEFORE we have even selected the leader doesn’t provoke an atmosphere of support; I understand what Tristram means but his timing is not helpful.

Fantastic meeting a friend today who was still keen to chat about the election…not many of them around. I had been thinking everyone had forgotten we are only on Day 12 into the Conservative MAJORITY; in the last few days no one wants to talk about it and it looks like the country has moved on. I know we have to accept the outcome of the election but it doesn’t mean we need to forget why it happened and what we can do to change the result in the future.

Brilliant to hear business supporting membership of the EU, but where is the Labour Party? Again, they can’t ignore the fact that life and political debate will take place and they need to be part of it.

Thursday 21st May

So what bit of compassionate Conservatism didn’t Teresa May hear or understand? If people are here illegally and work illegally then that should be against the law and action should be taken against them and their employees. But the tone of the announcement is wrong and is only there to hit the headlines. Of the 300,000 new immigrants I would imagine only a small % are illegally working here; this problem does needs to be tackled with greater focus and resources, but most of the new immigrants will be here legally and working legally.

School presentation tonight to parents has reminded me how Gove wanted to turn the clocks back and how Morgan seems to be continuing the ‘backwards way forward’ – O-level type exams, A levels examined at the end of two years , no coursework, no continuous assessment. I believe there need to be some improvements to the exam system but we need one that is able to demonstrate what each child can do…what knowledge they have AND what skills they have; stretching the most able is the right thing to do but not giving all children the opportunity to get qualifications which demonstrate what they can do is not the right thing to do….and I fear that these changes will not achieve it. And what is the Labour Party view on this? Who knows? They’re all off smoozing with the MPs and union leaders to get support for their (and their friends’) leadership campaign rather than putting discussing what they think is the best way of delivering en education system for all.

Friday 22nd May

Do 40% of the country really want to leave the EU? That is a scarily high figure and too close to the 50% required to take us out of the EU in the referendum. I hope the YES camp make the case to stay in the EU clearly and convincingly because I fear people’s gut feeling is to leave because they equate the EU (wrongly) to immigration, lack of control, waste and inefficiency.

Justine Greening is the face of compassionate conservatism. I know her job makes it easier for her to show her humanity, but she does seem to be a nice person too!

Is Liz Kendal for real? Really, supporting free schools? Does she not realise that free schools are established by those who are able to do so…not everyone has the knowledge, ability and capability to create a free school that suits their child? Those that create free schools are not thinking about the wider community…if they were they would work with their local authority to improve the existing schools not just build a new one and let the old ones wither?

However, I have to admit I do agree with ‘Lizzie’ that ‘ public services should revolve around the person and not the other way round’. Too many of our services…the NHS, social care, education…seem to be built around the people who work for them not the people they provide services to. I appreciate that those providing those services should have good pay, training and appropriate holidays and time off, but these should not be the main drivers and can be given whilst providing a service the people need. Many public services, particularly the NHS, need to be reformed…start having outpatient clinics and GPs open when people need them and are able to attend, not when doctors want to make themselves available.

Maybe Justine and Liz should switch parties.

Saturday 23rd May

Thought of the Day: Where I live contains a real mix of people….those who work and those who don’t…those who can afford to buy good food and those who can’t…those who send their children to state schools and those who don’t…those who own property and those who don’t…those that can afford holidays and those who can’t…those who have qualifications and those who don’t…those who have a pension and those who don’t…those who get a regular wage and those who don’t…those who are ill and those who aren’t……..But I am confident that, whoever you are and whatever our circumstances, we all want a government that treats us all as equals and enables us to have the same choices and opportunities as anyone else in the country.

The labour party has the opportunity to represent the 76% of the electorate who did not vote Tory just over two weeks ago in the election. This government wants to create divisions between people and nations…we need to find a way to ensure this does not happen.

Sunday 24th May

So she does exist and talks sense; she may well get my vote; at last Mary Creagh has came out of her hiding place. For all our sakes let’s hope she gets 35 MPs to support her, she should do as I believe she may be the public’s favourite and a person they may vote for.

And Cameron is so kind to give his ministers a pay freeze for the next five years. Does he not realise that nearly everyone in the public sector has had to do this for the last five years. If he thinks this equates to ‘we’re all in it together’ try telling that to the families who will feel e real impact of the reducing the benefits cap by nearly 10% or to those who are going to get their child benefit squeezed in the next five years. Headline gestures don’t fool me…but they do seem to fool a lot of people; that is worrying.

Monday 25th May

Young adults aged 16-18 must be able to vote in the EU referendum. The decision that will be made will impact on their lives, their opportunities and their country. It will be a great opportunity to explain the pros and cons to our young adults so they understand the full range of arguments and to get them involved in democratic decision making. I am sure it would also help young people get involved in politics in a more proactive manner, which may rub off on a few of the older adults in the country! If Scotland can do it then the UK can too.

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Politics

Diary of a Frustrated Labour Supporter Week 1

Thursday 7th May 2015 10pm

It can’t be true. Exit Poll shows Conservative will have most seats…by a long shot! Just a few hours ago I was saying the exit polls are always right. Now I don’t want them to be….although, secretly, I know they are and cannot bear to think about the consequences. I’ll still stay up to watch the results come in; it can ‘only get better’!

Friday 8th May 2015

7am. OMG…it got worse…not better. Conservatives are due to have a MAJORITY…yes, a MAJORITY!!! What are we going to do? What have people done? Do they realise what they’ve done? They will when they take away peoples’ child benefit, withdraw from Europe, increase University fees, etc., etc., etc. Well that’s democracy for you! All very well but when it does not produce the result I want I start to wonder whether we’ve got it quite right.

I blame everyone; the voters for not voting Labour , Nicola Sturgeon  for backing Ed into a corner rather than just being more political and keeping quiet, the Conservative campaign for encouraging fear, Nick Park (whoever he is) for creating Wallace, the pollsters for getting their stats wrong, Nick Clegg for….being Nick Clegg!!!

My 14 year old daughter has become politically interested. Continuous questions about how many seats each party has got and what it would mean for the country. I am proud of her knowledge and interest…she probably knows more than the 33% of the country who didn’t bother to vote. She asks me to message her during the day and keep her updated on progress.

9am Time to do something enjoyable and try and forget about what is happening…went off for big, high-fat, fry-up with hubby. Farage did not get his seat…the best news I’ve had so far…I text friends and family as I need to send some good news to them.

Home in time to see the leader resignation speeches. Have messaged daughter to let her know; she says she already knows as she is sitting in her geography lesson also watching the continuous media coverage. Love Clegg’s speech. Do not much love Miliband’s speech…there is more to winning that just fighting on! We need to understand why we didn’t get enough votes, what we need to do, what we need to change, we need to listen, we need to give people a reason to vote for Labour.

I now feel more numb and dumbfounded!

David Cameron’s acceptance speech makes me cringe…One Nation…my a**. He sounds conciliatory but we know it was his ‘sweetest success’…a real ‘career defining’ moment. He appoints his top team…no change…continuity was his pledge. Oh, aren’t we all so lucky!

Fortunately we’re due for dinner at some friends’ house tonight. It will provide a chance to really rant, express my views and offload my anger…they are all Labour supporters. Although, having now returned home, I wonder whether one of them may be a ‘shy Tory’ or a ‘quiet Lib Dem supporter’ …he was unusually quiet and didn’t seem to support my points of view!!! So some people really did vote Tory….I didn’t really want to believe it.

Saturday 9th May

I wake up sad….with a bit of a sore head…and very tired.  Two late nights is too much for me. The papers are full of the election. I can’t bring myself to read the detailed seat by seat results…I love looking at the stats but I fear it will be too upsetting, reinforcing the size of the losses across the country…except in Hove and London.

They are really putting the boot into Ed…and Nick; I must stop buying The Telegraph on a Saturday! But I love their magazine, the weekend section, the review…hubbie likes the sport section…and perversely, I enjoy reading the articles written from a different perspective. It’s infuriating at times, sometimes funny, usually informative, – always worrying!

And it’s not just the Tory press who are having a field day…labour supporters seem to be appearing from everywhere with harsh words about Ed, our policies and the campaign. However, I am impressed by Tristram Hunt’s words of wisdom…they are sensible, loyal, measured….I’m sure he’s going to go for the leadership.

I feel for Ed. I voted for him as Leader; I wanted a non-Blairite, I wanted someone more to the left, I wanted someone who would think of others before himself, I thought his brother was too smarmy! Was I wrong? I am not sure? I’m puzzled. I am disappointed with him; why did he wait to get Russell Brand to support him AFTER the date to register to vote had gone?

Where was the tough opposition in the last 4 and half years? Why did we not listen to the voter? Why were we unable to put our message across?

Can’t even be bothered to get out of my pyjamas but do so in order to go for an early Thai supper before settling down to watch Mockingjay Part 1. It’s a good film, not as good as the first ones, but my mind is wondering…I keep thinking about the reality of a Conservative majority…I keep nodding off!

Sunday 10th May

What joy…reading the papers and watching political programmes…hoping they support my point of view, seeking out alternative analysis and getting even more irritated and worried about the future of the country…is no one else worried?

A rare opportunity to watch The Andrew Marr Show….Mass will have to be missed this week. And it was well worth it. Mandleson was as anti-Ed as ever; does he not realise we can learn from the past but we cannot go ‘back to Blair’? Blair moved on to earn millions of pounds and left us to pick up the anger over the invasion of Iraq. Chuka Umanna was slick! He is charming, intelligent, answers questions well, dresses well, handsome….Andrew seems to warm to him and encourages him to say he is going to go for the leadership, but he declines with a small smile and twinkling eyes.

And now for Andrew No2 (aka Andrew Neil). He is actually my No1…the best political interviewer on TV. He has the job of interviewing Liz Kendall; who? you may ask. She is the Shadow Health Minister and, although I have heard of her I am sure many haven’t. I am worried about how she is going to perform, Andrew is no soft touch; but he is kind to her. In fact, she stumps him by asking him why he thinks he succeeds in life. His reply consists of being paid a lot of money by the BBC and living in London…well, he is a lucky boy! I feel he knows he has said the wrong thing and quickly shifts the focus back to Liz. She does better than I had thought but I don’t see her as a leader…but, I may be wrong…I will not write her off, just yet!

Friends over for supper this evening so keen to get their view on the election. We talk a little about it, but I think we are exhausted from it all and find talking about holidays, moving house, jobs, school, education, exams, children’s eating habits, good and bad music teachers much  more relaxing……ahhhhh back to normal, at least for one evening.

Monday 11th May

I can’t even get away from the election at my pilates lesson. A brief comment to a fellow pilates friend about how disappointed I was with the outcome of the election ended up in a full conversation with another fellow pilates attendee whom I had never spoken to before. I think it’s not good that I have never spoken to this guy before (even though we have been attending the same pilates class every Monday for over a year. Anyway, he also blames Nicola Sturgeon for helping to allow the Cameron to create fear in the electorate. I agree with him but deep down I know there is more to our loss.

Post-pilates coffee chat leads to further post election analysis….what more is there to say? I walk home the long way and buy a pair of shoes on the way…I deserve a post election treat!

Cameron announces his cabinet. One notable absentee is Boris. Having used him to get his majority he is not even rewarded with a proper job…it’s a tough life. I’m pretty sure Boris is quite happy; keep a low profile and then…bang…when it all starts going wrong, he can truly say that he had not been part of the collective cabinet decision making. Clever?!

Cameron may call it ‘blue collar conservatism’ but actions speak louder than words.’  They announce they are going to do away with the Human Rights Act…it didn’t take them to show their true colours. It will be a disaster for people in this country but, as the meaning of it and reality of this is badly explained on TV, in the papers and on the radio, many will not truly understand what the impact will be until it’s too late. There must be better ways of helping people to make informed decisions…or do they not really care?

Andrew Pierce relishes in taking the p*** out of Labour’s loss with Kevin Maguire. For once, Kevin lets him have his moment of glory. We know it won’t last for long…at least it had better not!

Farage is not allowed to stand-down as leader. His party will not accept his resignation letter…really? I laugh out loud…this is a farce. Another politician you can’t trust.

Tuesday 12th May

Surprise Surprise. Chuka Umanna says he’s going to put his name forward for the Leader of the Labour Party. You could tell he was going to…it was obvious. I need to stop singing ‘Chaka Khan I Feel For You’ every time I say his name. It’s a great song but must stop singing the song in my head and dancing whenever I hear his name.

David Cameron allows the TV cameras into the Cabinet Meeting. He’s not as pumped up as he was in the election campaign but he waves his manifesto around telling his followers that they now the party of the working people; he may say it but I don’t think those working people on a zero hours contract and working for minimum pay would think he was on their side. Or do they? I begin to worry again.

Get a message from a friend who is a Conservative SPAD (special adviser). He’s back at his desk…happy for him and his family…..he is such a nice guy, not like the other Tories.

Wednesday 13th May

All Conservative ministers have been told they must repeat the phrase ‘One Nation’ 100 times a day within every sentence. Just heard Teresa May on Good Morning Britain and she repeated it so many times. I am already irritated by the phrase and we’re only 5 days into a Conservative MAJORITY. She is one to watch…fear that fast tracking her ‘extremist’, ‘anti-democratic’ plans could lead to erosion of freedom of speech and not make any of us safer….very worrying.

Andy Burnham has also thrown his hat in the ring to become Leader of the Labour Party. I really like him…an ex NHS manager, an Everton supporter, a nice guy…he was my second preference last time but I don’t think I’ll be voting for him this time; he’s been around too long (even though I definitely not ageist) and I think he is not the right person to inspire and lead Labour to our next victory. His announcement doesn’t even get a headline on Channel 4 news, they mention it 45 minutes into their schedule; well, they don’t think he’s going to be leader either. I like Channel 4 news!

However, we do have 4 months to choose a leader; I think it’s too long. I mean, what are we really going to do during that time? People will vote for the leader they want based on their personality, their values, their beliefs and …what they look like; it does not take 4 months to show us that! In the meantime, the Conservatives and SNP will fill the vacuum.

Better job figures announced…George Osborne is ecstatic. I know this is a good thing for many people, but still don’t believe the story they are trying to tell; many people who work are still on low pay and still can’t afford to pay their rent and bills and buy god food. Headline figures only tell you part of the picture.  Did these people really vote Tory or did they not care enough to vote?

Or why don’t we just let Prince Charles run the country? Evidence now shows he has views on many topics and is keen for the government to listen and implement his wishes. He is meant to be impartial; if he wants his views known he should write an article in a publicly available newspaper, not privately to Prime Ministers and ministers.

UKIP having problems….hooray! UKIP (Farage) wants Mr Carswell to take the taxpayers money he is entitled to to run his office, but he doesn’t want to; he says he doesn’t need 15 people working for him…quite right too! I respect him for that and for standing up against the ‘Farage Followers’ but I’m sure Nigel thinks he’s just being awkward as he is their only MP. This relationship is going to get interesting.

Thursday 14th May

Osborne’s travelled north to offer cities the opportunity to be part of the ‘Powerhouse’….it may work for Manchester, but not yet convinced it’s a model that can work for people living in less fortunate areas. People living in those cities need good jobs, good quality housing, good schools, good healthcare, good transport…is this really the best way of achieving this or is it just a gimmick?

Caught up with sisters tonight for a celebratory pre-birthday dinner. We are all Labour supporters but it clearly demonstrates how different each supporter can be. Labour supporters are not a homogenous group. The new leader and the party will have to have very wide appeal if my sisters’ views are anything to go by.

Other party’s leadership discussions continue…Farage getting flack from his Euro MEP and Mr Fallon pitches for those who are interested in music, poetry and art….all very well but he’ll need to offer more than that to get elected..or will he?

Glad to see Mark Carney, Bank of England Governor, acknowledging the big advantage the UK economy has from being able to access the European Market. Hopefully more people will start to outline the benefits of being in the EU so the voter will be making an informed choice when it comes to saying YES or NO.

Friday 15th May…Happy Birthday H

It’s interesting how the news that the welfare cap is having on people being evicted from their homes and out of their communities has come out a week after the election….did Shelter and the rest of them really not have this information last week? I think not! And it’s only going to get worse as the £12bn welfare cuts start to hit people.

And who is this new bod throwing their hat in the ring for labour leader? I do not know but have been told it is a woman….Mary Creagh, the shadow international development secretary. I know nothing about her! And at last….Tristram has come out of his hiding place to try and enter the ring, but he is still seeking more MPs to support him. I’m surprised he would have been the last to get picked for the team (I’m sure that wasn’t the case when they were picking sports teams at his independent school), but maybe he’s finding it difficult to get support….particularly amongst the trade union supporters; I wish he hadn’t crossed that picket line because otherwise I think he would have been a good leader. There you go! Your actions do come back to haunt you! And, oh yes, Yvette is also in the running. Haven’t seen or heard much from her yet, but I do think she should smile more and not look so serious all the time. I know politics is a serious issue, but she is definitely a glass half empty person rather than a glass half full person. Cheer up…it’s not that bad…well it is, but we must remain positive, we have to survive 5 more years.

It’s getting worse for Farage….’snarling, thin-skinned, aggressive’…..I always knew that was the case, but 14% of voters voted for him (well, his party), but I’m sure they were voting more for the one man band, rather than the party; do they really know what UKIP stands for?

What a lovely photo of David and Nicola having a little chat about how best to break up the Union…they look so good together! I bet the electorate didn’t think they were going to get this…deals being done between Tory and the SNP!

As I post this weeks’ diart I have just heard Chuka Umanna has withdrawn from the leadership race! OMG!!!!

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