Tag Archives: Nicky Morgan

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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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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Politics

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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