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IT’S THE UNIONS WOT WON IT

By Editor
May 9th, 2015 at 10:40 am | Comments Off on IT’S THE UNIONS WOT WON IT | Posted in Labour

The news channels today are full of speculation about who will be the next leader of the Labour party. It’s a bit of shame that the trade unions won’t get quite the same sway this time around.

After all, had the Unions not defied the will of Labour MPs and the Labour party membership in the last leadership election in 2010, (both groups showing a strong preference for Ed’s brother to lead the party) we could well have seen David Miliband lead the party over the last 5 years – and a Labour Prime Minister sitting down to breakfast in Number 10 today. So the nation’s thanks must go out to every Trade Union that backed Red Ed.

Sadly this time around the Labour Leadership election system will be different. The voting system has been changed (though yet to be implemented) moving to a “one member one vote” system (assuming it actually get’s implemented).  Will that lead to a more sane choice of Labour leader? Well with trade union darling (and health secretary at the time of the Mid Staffs excess deaths scandal) Andy Burnham the current front runner, and millionaire Champagne socialist Chuka Umunna (who views working class people as “trash“) apparently hot on his heals  – ermm maybe not.

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Government lecturing is ruining my weekends

By Angela Harbutt
January 25th, 2010 at 1:02 pm | 9 Comments | Posted in UK Politics

coi-adsAs is quite common these days, my much-loved weekend of sport was once again intermittantly interrupted with Government messages attempting make me a better citizen, protect me from my own stupidity, or both. I am not sure if this is a reflection of the fact that football fans have been profiled as well below par on the intelligence scale, or if its that something approaching 90% of my TV consumption is either sport or news and such ads can be found in equal abundance elsewhere.  

I know that I have moaned about this before – but the sheer volume of these ads – and the absurdity of the content seems to be getting worse. And frankly they are beginning to spoil my weekends. This weekend I was informed by those that know better, that if I kill a 5 year old whilst driving my car it will haunt me for the rest of my life; leaving my valuables in plain sight of burglars in my home is asking for trouble; taking the battery out of my smoke alarm means it doesn’t work as well (ok doesnt work at all); that I should take a clamidya test; learn new skills; visit Gov.co.uk; join the navy, or the marines;  and that I can save the planet if I will only drive my car 5 miles less each week. And I am sure I have missed some……

Television shares must surely be set to take a  tumble as it slowly dawns on people that we cant actually afford to subsidise broadcasters in this fashion any longer (just last Spring it was reported that the Government was bombarding us with 10,000 ads a day and was set to become Britains single biggest advertiser.)  I thought that I had read that Government was set to slash spending on this nonsense, but when I ask you. When?

It’s hard to say which of these many ads is most annoying. But the one that strikes me as easily the most hypocritical is the last of these – the one about driving 5 miles less each week.

Take the Foreign Secretary David Milliband. Up until May last year ceratinly this was the man seeking to hire his own private jet for overseas visits rather than catch a charter flight like the rest of us. This weekend I read that the same minister – and avowed atheist – is now sending his first born to a Church of England School some 2 miles away.  In making his selection , he has spurned a top notch (secular) state primary school just 80 yards from his home with an “outstanding” OFSTEAD report (and presumably within easy walking reach) in favour of a  faith school some 2 miles away (which I very much doubt will be reached a la foot).

The choices that parents make for their children’s education is a private matter of course. But I for one an getting a bit tired of being lectured to consistently that I should do MY bit for the environment and then witness ministers swishing around in their black limosines, put out tenders for private jets and ignore perfectly good – genuinely local – schools in favour of some school some 2 miles away with slightly better results.

More generally I am just tired of all of them. The ads I mean. They are variously partonising, tiresome, threatening or meaningless (and in some cases all of the above). Give me the Meerkats, the Evian roller babies, or Cadbury’s gorilla any day of the week.

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+++breaking news+++

By Angela Harbutt
June 12th, 2009 at 10:32 pm | Comments Off on +++breaking news+++ | Posted in UK Politics

Front page of Guardian newspaper Saturday

David Miliband says that he nearly resigned last week.

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