Tag Archives: George Osborne

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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