Targetting Benefit Thieves

I am fed up with the journalists swallowing the MPs excuses that it was "within the rules" What rule allows you to claim expenses on a house not in your constituency or in London? As politicalbetting points out:

1971 Guidelines:
The Additional Costs Allowance reimburses “for expenses wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred when staying overnight away from their main UK residence…for the purposes of performing Parliamentary duties. This excludes expenses that have been incurred for purely personal or political purposes.”

The Green Book 2009:
Members are cautioned against instances “where they may appear to be vulnerable to criticism or accusations of impropriety.” It also reminds MPs that their conduct should be placed concepts of “selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership.”

What has gone on is nothing short of benefit fraud. I expect to see MPs fined, imprisoned and generally made and example of. Perhaps a few could appear on the next government benefit fraud hotline campaign with a white circle around them and a finger pointing at them.

Should we be phoning this hotline (0800 854 440) with the evidence coming out and shopping our MPs?

City of God

Friday saw the announcement that the Archbishop of Birmingham, Vincent Nicholls, will replace Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor to become the most senior Catholic in England and Wales as Archbishop of Westminster. It follows a recent tradition of Birmingham being a training ground for seniority in the clergy, after John Sentamu took up the position of Archbishop of York from the Anglican equivalent back in 2005. I guess no-one can say Brum is a godless city.

Many people have commented that Vincent Nicholls is an ambitious man, who made a mistake by making it too clear he wanted the role. I have only met him once, at a Mass for Healthcare workers at St Michael's Church in the city centre, where I got the impression he was a deeply humble and spiritual man. I wish him well in his new role.

The Thatcher-Blair Endgame?

The government owns 58% of RBS, and 100% of Northern Rock, both previously private banks.

Meanwhile, we pay water rates to a private monopoly. Six private energy firms control the market for gas and electricity. The railways are run as essentially private monopoly enterprises. Air Traffic control and defence research is part privatised. There has been increasing privatisation of schools and the NHS, including PFI where money for capital projects is borrowed from the private sector (at rates higher than we would have been able to borrow from the government). The telecommunication industry is completely in private hands, despite BT's dominance stifling competition.

It's a funny old world.

Cameron Right Up My Street

Earlier this week, I mentioned that both the leader of the opposition and the Prime Minister were in Birmingham. Well it appears that David Cameron was actually a little closer to home and ended up in a cafe on the road where I live. It is not every day that a future(?) Prime Minister visits your neck of the woods - unless of course you live in Westminster.

Birmingham and the Brown Country

Birmingham hosted a two-hour cabinet meeting today, the first time the British Government has met outside London or Chequers since 1921.

In fact, according to the Telegraph, the leader of the opposition was also in Birmingham today to make a Panorama programme. It has not been nearly ninety years since the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister were both in Birmingham though; this event last happened earlier this year and appears to be slightly more common than previously thought.

What is the reason for the cabinet meeting being held outside London? I think privately Labour realise just how damaging the Conservatives decision to hold their 2008 Autumn conference in the city could be to them electorally. While Labour will have held two conferences in Manchester, by the time the Conservative party conference takes place later this month, they have yet to visit Brum except for the Spring Conference earlier this year.

I do not think it is a bad thing for the government to get outside the capital. Indeed, one of my biggest complaints about the way the UK is run is the fact that our over centralized country is run by diktat by a Westminster bubble. Will a day trip, or series of day trips, from our ruling elite to the rest of the country really change that? I doubt it; what we need is more decentralization and decisions being made by people who actually live in and understand the area they are responsible for.

A License to Print Money

Unlike public sector pay, but like gas and electricity prices, it appears water bills are on course for an above inflation increase. No problem, if you are unhappy with the price or service, you can simply switch to a different company thanks to the wonder of privatisation.

Hang on a minute, we cannot. Domestic water supplies are provided by monopoly providers accountable to shareholders rather than customers. Another botched Conservative privatisation.

Socialist Choice

Unlike some bloggers, the People's Republic was glad that Northern Rock was taken under state ownership earlier this week. The only criticism would be that it should have happened sooner. The Conservative Party have started bleating that we are back to the nationalisations of the 70's which wrecked the economy. Personally, I am just glad we are not back to the botched privatisations of the 90's in which they sold off the family silver to their rich mates below cost price in terrible deals for the taxpayer and the consumer.

As far as I can see it there were three choices: leaving Northern Rock to the mercy of the market; a botched privatisation in which the taxpayer would have underwritten the debts while shareholders of the takeover company pocket the profits; or nationalisation. Now, there is a lot to be said for the first one and this would be the choice for anyone who truly believes in laissez-faire capitalism. However, the Conservatives preferred the second option, in which the rich would make money with any mistakes covered by poor old Joe Public through taxation. For them, this is true to form. The privatisation of water under the Conservatives left us with the worst of both worlds, with shareholder profiting from a monopoly industry (just try phoning Severn Trent with a query and timing how long you wait; in proper capitalism, you would close your account and take your business elsewhere). Then they sold of our railways on the cheap in such a way that there was no competition on any given route, thus offering no incentive for lower prices and better services. Gas and electricity almost worked, until you take into account the latest price hikes. With the telephone networks, BT's size and control of the networks leaves them with an unfair advantage; remember how they held back broadband? How anyone who genuinely believes in free markets can support the Conservative position is absolutely beyond me. Unfortunately, botched private/ public partnerships and private protectionism also became the bedrock of New Labour's economic theory; trying to sell off the Tote to their horse-racing mates was just one of the examples that springs, not to mention the many failed PFI ideas.

The reason why I believe in the third option above is that the credit crunch is unprecedented, in recent years at least. The whole market seems to be affected, and the main central banks are so concerned they have come together to try and limit the damage. The first option is an acceptable way of doing things, but would have left many customers anxious as their life savings (although protected by regulation) faced an uncertain future. The third option at least protects the consumer and gives some stability to the banking sector. It is not without its downsides however. After all, will some banks decide to gamble recklessly with other peoples money, safe in the knowledge that if they mess up the government will come in and save the day? I personally do not think banks think like this, but it does raise the precedent of state intervention in such circumstances.

For those of us with a soft spot for socialism however, the best thing about this privatisation is that it allows us to play the free marketeers at their own game. I can choose to bank in a nationalised industry, which at the moment offers some very competitive savings rates, safe in the knowledge that the savings are guaranteed. For once, it is not the shareholders getting the best deal. It is the ordinary man on the street.

I think I will go and open an account in the bank which I own through the Government right away.

Another Declaration of Independence

Europe got its newest nation earlier this week. No, the existence of the People's Republic has not finally been recognised by the UN. Rather Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, ending nearly ten years under the jurisdiction of the UN. The declaration of independence has been backed by most EU countries and the US, while Cyprus, Slovakia and Romania join the Russians in opposing it.

But let's hold on a minute. The US supporting the independence of a predominantly Muslim country from a Christian one? Can this happen in the post 9/11 world? Of course it can; as I pointed out previously, US policy is not anti-Islamic but depends on the situation and the interests in the region the US has. I will not be holding my breath for an Osama Bin Laden video praising the US roll in Kosovo's independence, neither will I be expecting idiots from MPAC to give the US and NATO any credit. It kind of blows there "US is the enemy of Islam" empty rhetoric out of the water".

Kosovo's independence does raise interesting questions however. In the words of one Serbian, how can someone kick you out of your own house?. Should an immigrant community, once settled, be allowed to declare independence from its host community? There is precedent for this of course; Jewish immigration to the Holy Land led to the creation of Israel after the Second World War. It could be argued that America and Australia were among modern nation states founded in a similar way, although these waves of immigration took place without the permission of the natives at the time. How far do we go back? Did the Anglo-Saxons wrong to carve out England over the centuries from the culture of the Celtic Brits? What about before them? And in future, will we see Britain pockmarked by pockets of a new Islamic nation, operating under Sharia Law with the blessing of the Archbishop of Canterbury?

These questions are difficult. I believe immigration is generally a good thing, allowing cultures and ideas to fuse and flourish. I think the problem lies with the concept of the modern nation state, which is all too often based on the restrictive notions of the ethnicity and culture of a certain population (not always the majority) rather than protection of the rights and freedoms of the individual, whose efforts often make a country what it is.

Laptop For Sale

The theft of an MOD Laptop from a car in Birmingham containing the names of 600,000 people who have demonstrated an interest in joining the armed forces was of particular interest to me, mainly because on two occasions while minding my own business I have been offered a laptop for sale by total strangers. Once I was walking down the road and was called over by a woman and a child sitting in a car who spoke to me in such a strong accent I had to get them to repeat their offer twice before I went on my merry way. The other time I was parking my car outside my home when someone knocked on my window and offered me a laptop.

It begs the question: if I am offered a laptop in the next few weeks is it my patriotic duty to buy it just in case it is the laptop in question. Or would I be foolish to handle what are probably stolen goods? If I did come to be in possession of the laptop I would of course hand it over to the authorities despite almost certainly being under suspicion of being a terrorist; despite recent reports it is not true that everyone in Birmingham is now under the control of the global jihadists.

Two Become One

Birmingham Airport has scrapped plans for a second runway in favour of proposals to extend the existing runway and build a third terminals. Earlier this year business leaders agreed this was the way forward for the airport, as it would open up the West Midlands economy to destinations such as China and the US, and potentially lure business travellers away from the likes of Manchester and Heathrow. The proposals will please local residents and green campaigners who opposed the second runway, and there is even an argument that being able to travel further from Birmingham is actually a "green" proposal because it will save unnecessary journeys by car to airports further away. On the other hand, green campaigners will still point out that this is an expansion of air travel, and according to the Stirrer Friends of the Earth have asked Birmingham Airport if they can make these developments carbon neutral.

The airport hopes that the changes will be in place in time for 2012, when London will be hosting the Olympic Games. A further expansion of the airport should not be necessary for another two decades, at least 2030.

London Loses Monopoly over Board

The new version of monopoly where cities of Britain replace the streets of London certainly caused a bit of a stir at the Independent London Tourist Board, also known as the BBC. BBC Breakfast spent most of the morning sneering that Liverpool, the European Capital of Culture for 2008, had replaced Old Kent Road as the cheapest site. Meanwhile the BBC website took pains to point out that London was valued at less than Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and Birmingham despite house prices being twice as high in London. Helen Martin, global brand director for Monopoly, put London's plight down to "big city apathy".

Big city apathy? I guess that is why the biggest city in Britain, Birmingham, managed to finish in the top 8 (admittedly partly due to a campaign by Metroblogging Birmingham). If London is not as well loved by the BBC as the establishment would like to believe, don't pretend its a big city problem. With a resident population of around 10,000, London is not even a big city.

Voting for the positions on the board certainly was a great publicity stunt, but of course it would have been fairer to assign the plots by population. As a result, Newcastle and Edinburgh did not even make the board.

However, any methodology that puts Brum ahead of the Cock-ney's can't be all that bad.

Unless you work for the Beeb of course.

Remember, it's thanks to the unique way they are funded.

New Street?

Reading up on the long-overdue £128 million investment announced by the Government yesterday, I noticed the following things:

1) It is only £128 million and not £350 asked for the complete redevelopment of the station. It will be spent "underground" on the rail infrastructure and platforms, so this naturally lighted glass structure has not yet been agreed.

2) Most of the money is coming from increased fares. The Government has actually cut funding for the railways so the passenger will be paying 75% of the costs in 2014 rather than 50% now.

3) The Government was interested in the more sensible Grand Central Station idea

4) There will be no decision until 2012 at the earliest whether or not to build a new line between London and Birmingham, despite the fact that the current route is predicted to be full by 2016. There is talk of resurrecting the disused Grand Central route, but this would have the same maximum speed (125mph) as now and there are no plans for a high speed rail link, which has previously been mooted (see link for 2)

All in all, not such a great deal then. It is good that there will be some investment in the station of course, but it is likely in 10 years we will still have a concrete station stuck between a car park and a shopping centre.

A far cry from the station that was once written about in the following manner:

"that station alone is enough to make one proud of being a modern Englishman".

Lies, Damned Lies..?

I was very suspicious of the news this week detailing evidence from one hospital in one month that the liberalization of the drinking laws had led to a three-fold increase in alcohol-related A&E admissions. Very suspicious because i work as an information analyst at a hospital close to Birmingham City Centre and have done two studies into this which suggest there has been absolutely no impact. My colleague looked at the subject again this week as a result of this story breaking and came to the same conclusion. I really suspect there is a hidden agenda behind this story, because it is questionable to present data based only on one month. I looked at a years worth of data, and in one of the reports took into account many conditions that may be related to increased alcohol consumption, but found no significant changes.

It should also be noted that it is not very easy, at my hospital at least, to produce this information, as the data from A&E is pretty difficult to interrogate. I doubt it is very different at St. Thomas' hospital because of the nature of A&E data. I would put this down to an increased awareness and recording of alcohol problems by the medical staff in A&E, as opposed to a genuine increase.

The Perfect Role

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair took up his role as Middle-East envoy today. Many people have criticised his appointment due to his perceived bias towards Israel during the war on Lebanon, but I believe he has exactly the right experience for the job.

In the Middle-East, talk is cheap and no-one delivers on their promises.

We Shall Never Surrender

The recent terror attack attempts in London and Glasgow are sickening, seemingly designed to corner the new British administration into a more antagonistic position.

It is refreshing to see no links to Birmingham in this one though.

I have added a terror alert status to my sidebar, but I will not be taking down my links to Taking Liberties.

After all, maintaining civil liberties and fighting terrorism are not mutually exclusive.

Three is the Magic Number

Fascinating. With Brown's new cabinet grabbing the attention of all the media, you would have had to look very carefully to notice this interesting piece of news. It has previously been alleged that Blair threatened to resign if he was question under caution by police as Prime Minister. I can't find any evidence that this was under caution, but it would make sense.

Perhaps Blair is still writing his legacy from beyond Number 10.

Fast Cars & Women

The title of this post is what supposedly every red-blooded male lusts after. So how does Birmingham measure up in these two departments?

According to the news, not too well in the female department. A model from Stoke-on-Trent was chosen to represent Brum because beauty contest officials claim there was no-one gorgeous enough to represent us from the City itself. Surely nonsense. I think it is well known that Brummie women are amongst the best in Britain for their looks. Come on girls; if anyone thinks they could represent Brum why don't you send some photos to me and I will, ahem, promote you on my website. Can't fault a guy for trying, eh?

Not doing as badly in the fast cars stakes however. MG restarted production today under its new owner Nanjing Automotive. It is great to see car production restarted at Longbridge again. Wouldn't it be great if 10 years from now Longbridge was famed for its efficient production of competitive cars rather than the redundancies and union versus management battles that have plagued the factory for the last 30 years.

The Rise of Social Mobility

Current affairs seemed to come to me this week. First of all in the terror swoops on Wednesday, along with the widow of one of the July 7th bombers, two people were arrested in Birmingham, one in Lozells and one in Victoria Halls on Grange Road, just around the corner from Birmingham University. I myself used to have a couple of friends living in these halls of residents and was surprised to here it was being searched in connection with terrorism. The rooms are not cheap, all being on-suite and tend to attract the richer students in the University, hardly the kind of clientele associated with terrorism.

Meanwhile, David Cameron has moved in with a Muslim family for a couple of days in Balsall Heath, where I have recently bought a house. I hope he does not stay too long.

I don't want the property prices to drop.

Update 13/05: An excellent post by the West Brom Blogger notes that Cameron's visit was not exactly all that it appeared to be.

Death of a Legend

When the right-wing talk about the West's victory over communism, they usually credit the victory to those three great heroes of the right in the 1980's - Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. Yesterday, the man who was actually responsible for the collapse of communism died; Boris Yeltsin (1931-2007).

The West loved to portray him as a mad Russian drunk, but the reality is he defeated communism when the West did not have a clue where to start. How did Ronald Reagan defeat communism? By bullying governments of small islands in his own backyard who had the audacity to look after the poor? Did Thatcher bring down communism by defeating Arthur Scargill? Did Pope John Paul's repression of liberation theology strike fear into the hearts of Marxists across the world? More likely, it depressed us Catholics who see support for it in nearly every book in the Bible, and perhaps moved some into the arms of the atheist leftists.

Boris Yeltsin famously stood on a tank to defy a coup by communists trying to overthrow another man who was pivotal in overthrowing communism, Mikhail Gorbachev. Unlike Reagan, Thatcher and Pope John Paul II there was a real chance he could have paid with his life. He could have looked the other way. He didn't, and as a result millions of people are freer than they used to be.

The West never defeated communism. Just like the Chinese adopting privatisation, in Russia it was an inside job.

Final Resting Place

The best news story last week was Keith Richards claim that he snorted his dad's ashes with some blow.

Why couldn't he just sprinkle it over his cappuccino like a normal person?