Carry on Communities : Postscript
No Peace for the Wicked Blair Wizard

For the full story of how what follows came about, please read the pantomime in full in this and my other blogs.

Happy New Year...

"It's been a disaster !", said the wicked Blair Wizard as he prepared to conjure up the demon, Peter Mephistopheles. "Frankly, the only good thing is Gordon Brown's expulsion to a remote Scottish island. John Prescott should have gone by now. But worse, by far the worst of all, is that Clare Short is now heading up the new English Parliament in Birmingham : a mother of all parliaments indeed. My dreams of becoming first British President, with Cherie as First Lady - the beginnings of a great political Blair dynasty - are all come to nothing..."

At this instant, Peter Mephistopheles, attired in elegant designer horns and forked tail, appeared in a large puff of smoke.

"....We had a deal, Mephistopheles", said Blair Wizard, " and now my plans are all come to nothing !".

To which Mephistopheles responded : "Well, you should recall the old soviet saying : 'Plan too much and things go wrong". Although in your case, you had the wrong plans, certainly as regards land use planning, and those misnamed Communities Plans. The fact is the British don't like US, anymore than soviet-style planning". He continued : "Anyway Blair, I've enough of my own problems. Gordon "Big Clunking Fist" Brown and John "Falstaff" Prescott have upset all sorts of people in the underworld, including a number of important European friends, and its only my great diplomacy which maintains order down there just now. You, of all people, Blair should know that's there no peace for the wicked !"

With these words, Mephistopheles once again disappeared in a large puff of smoke.

"There he goes up in smoke yet again !", said Blair : "Still, I'm sure there will be a great opportunity for me somewhere in the global media industry, spinning stories around the world. I've still got friends in high places !"

And then a voice spoke, as if from the wilderness : "Yo Blair ! We still gotta whole lotta community-building to do. Wars and environmental disasters are good for the re-construction business".

Some Seasonal Saturnalia

I was reflecting overnight on whether the inclusion of an E-Pantomime in my everyday reality blog might have breached decorum in some way. However, I am reminded that this is the season of the Saturnalia, heralded, according to some accounts, by the Sun's entry into Capricornus, the Saturnalian sign of the Goat (which is today). In the Saturnalia, a Roman Festival, also linked with the coming of the Christmas Fool, the Mystery Plays and with the Cult of Misrule (Shakespeare's Falstaff is the embodiment of the latter). These festivities have in common the casting away of normal social rules and conventions, for a limited period of time, probably until the early New Year. Enjoy !

Carry On Communities
An E-Pantomime in Four Acts
Draft 1

Prologue : The Big Clunking Fist (see blog below)

Act 1 : The Children of Tescograd (see blog below)

Act 2 : The Court of the Red Tar (see : http://www.the-edge-of-town.blogspot.com/ on 20.12.2006)

Act 3 : The Witch of Worcester (see : http://www.jan8stone.blogspot.com/ on 21.12.2006)

Act 4 : The Charter of the Forest (see : http://www.the-green-man-project.blogspot.com/ on 22.12.2006)

Epilogue : Vision of Britain 2107 (see : http://www.the-green-man-project.blogspot.com/ on 22.12.2006)


Summary

"More faults are committed while we are trying to oblige than while we are trying to give offense". Tacitus

England is being terrorised by a Scottish giant known as the Big Clunking Fist, expelled from his home country which now has an independent government. However, the pantomime's action takes place mainly around the City of Worcester (now known as Tescograd), in the West Midlands, and its underworld - think Middle Earth ! - where the Red Tar (Sinbad Prescottt) holds his Court (think dysfunctional Office of the Deputy Prime Minister or ODPM).

The pantomine's hero, Simon Simpleman is a sort of hobbit (the people of Worcestershire provided something of the inspiration for Tolkien's hobbits) in whose heart lives on the true spirit of liberalism (small "l" and nothing to do with the Liberal-Democrats). Simon sets out with his faithful friend, Boris the Cat (formerly a Russian intelligence officer) , to discover the real meaning of regeneration and community, but he must first disarm The Court of the Red Tar.

This task accomplished, the hero seeks counsel from the Witch of Worcester who resides in the centre of the city. Amongst other challenges, she tasks him with regeneration of the ancient forests of Worcestershire, and the creation of a New Charter of the Forest. This Charter will in its turn provide the foundation for the long prophesied "Sustainable Communities", and act as catalyst for the regeneration of the "Great Brownlands", or the Birmingham conurbation.


Prologue : The Big Clunking Fist

Fi Fi Fo Fum
I smell the funds of an Englishman
Be he alive of be he dead
I'll have his money for my bread !

(based upon a well-known English nursery rhyme)

Under the Big Clunking Fist's reign of terror (Traffic Rules OK !), of which deregulation of the land use planning system is a key part, England has become a wasteland of suburbs and supermarkets, epitomised by the recent re-naming of Worcester as Tescograd....


Act 1 : The Children of Tescograd

Let's all work in Tesco's, let's all work in Tescos
Tra La La La, Tra La La
Let's all work in Tesco's, where we all buy our best clothes
Tra La La La, Tra La La

(based upon a song sung by local teenagers in what was Worcester).

The hobbit Simon Simpleman was in conversation with his faithful friend Boris the Cat, when the two heard a loud bang. "Another road traffic accident !", they both said simultaneously.
Sure enough, not far from their humble dwelling was a pile of metal and what appeared to be the remains of several teenagers. "These young people seem to have lost the will to live" said Simon. "I have not met an adult under 25 in recent years whose friends have not been seriously injured or killed in a road traffic accident. Moreover, the situation seems to be getting worse. What are we to do about it Boris ?".

Boris thought long and hard, as was his wont, and with an inscrutable expression said : "We must visit the Court of the Red Tar. My intelligence - old friends in MI5 you know ! - suggests that this can be accessed through an opening to the underworld below Junction 6 of the M5.
One of a number of an ancient oak trees near Junction 6 holds the key to this gateway. We must descend into the underworld and disarm the office of Sinbad Prescott, or the "Red Tar" as he has become known".

Simon smiled : "It all sound very "James Bond" to me Boris, particularly as there are plans for something of a "Casino Royale" nearby, but I feel that we two have been chosen by the ancestral spirits of these parts - ancient Britons, Saxons and all that - for this task. The City of Worcester and her surrounding countryside must somehow be restored to their former glories, and the shadows of Tescograd and all this represents be overturned, once and for all !"

With these words they set off upon a mission which seemed all but impossible.

To be continued @ www.the-edge-of-town.blogspot.com on 20.12.2006

Common Sense Consulting

I am neither particularly accommodating nor tolerant of other people. Therefore it always comes as something of a surprise to me to say that I have never worked with anyone whom I would regard as stupid. Indeed, I have often stood up for people whom others have regarded as incompetent because I knew that with the right supervision - and sometimes training - these individuals could perform well (and often as well if not better than the people who were regarded as good at their jobs). Equally surprising to me is the constant whinging from employers about the problems of younger (and older) ,workers and the lack of people available to do particular jobs, whether skilled or unskilled, amongst UK nationals. As something of a networker (a highly skilled one in fact) I know there are plenty of people around for all manner of work, provided you aren't prejudiced against, for example, people with too few or to many qualifications, and with too little or too much experience, or those who "don't seem to fit" a particular context : something which seems to be more important these days for some reason.

In my professional and working life, I tend to view people objectively. Everyone has their strong and weak points. Equally, people whom I would not seek out as friends make perfectly good work colleagues (and vice versa). This is not to say that I do not have good friends amongst people with whom I also have professional relationships, but one type of relationship need not assume another. In fact, some of my most enduring and successful business relationships are with people I know little of personally. Friendship is inevitably subjective and, lets face it, friends often fall out over subjective things. The good thing about professional and working relationships is that they generally occur within an enterprise (whether commercial, social or some combination of the two) which gives them some objective structure and, indeed, objectives.

As mentioned earlier, I have noticed a growing pre-occupation amongst employers, and also workers, with recruiting people who "fit in" with them. This may have something to do with the New Labour administration which has "cascaded down" into the wider community. The need for people to "fit in" has certainly, from my perspective, gained momentum in recent years, and, I would argue, is a often a more important requirement - for consultants as well as employees - than hard skills and experience. At the higher level of decision-making, I will call it, this "fitting-in" often accompanies a certain requirement for "group think" when major investments with an equally major public interest dimension, for instance, are being embarked upon. On the office or shop floor, "fitting in" often has more to do with shared life circumstances and/or outlook. On balance, there is a strong presumption in favour of family-orientated people (even amongst the young and "gay") of conventional values - which may be one reasons why Polish workers are so well regarded - who attach considerable importance, consciously or unconsciously, to group "equilibrium".

Is this all a good thing ? Not from my perspective, professionally and, for that matter, personally. One of the most worrying trends I have observed is what could be described as "a requirement for the willing suspension of common sense", or put another way, organisations of all types increasingly require a certain aptitude for stupidity. Let me provide an example. Someone recently described to me the "brainwashing" (their words) process which recruits to the call centre operations of a highly reputable company in this country are required to undergo. As it happened, I knew a young man with joint United Kingdom-United States citizenship who had recently been recruited to the organisation in question. A lovely - and by no means stupid - chap, he could perfectly fulfil the requirement for common sense suspension. It came as no surprise to me therefore, that recent callers to a radio phone-in about call centres should complain, almost unanimously, about the "stupidity" of the call handlers at these centres. Personally, I don't use them !

The woman - a very sharp lady in fact - who described the "brain washing" of call centre recruits had, as it happened, just recruited the young man mentioned to the centre described above. Like many people, she possesses a strong aptitude for Orwellian "doublethink" which forms an increasingly important part of the personal and professional tool-set for "getting on" these days. By "doublethink", I mean a recognition that something may be, for wont of a more elegant expression on my part, "a load of old cobblers" but you buy into this nevertheless, particularly if doing so means alot of money could be coming your way, either organisationally, personally or both. Indeed, it is almost certainly the case that the greatest instances of both doublethink and the willing suspension of common sense occur at the higher levels of organisations, decision-making and salary scale (not to say bonuses) which is rather worrying, I feel, both professionally and personally. For herein lies the two of the main conditions for great disasters amongst private sector corporations and public institutions.

Therefore, I'm sticking with common sense consulting, even if some clients won't buy it !

carry-on-communities.gov.uk : an e-pantomine

Please note that my e-panto (sort of) will be online next week.

Seasons Greetings in the meantime !

National Planning Mediation Service

One of the more sensible ideas to be endorsed by the recently published Barker Review of Land Use Planning* is that of a "Planning Mediation Service" which would form part of the Planning Inspectorate. The success of such a service - should the Government decide to precede with one - will depend upon the timing of the meditor's intervention in the planning process. If this comes at the options stage of plan and project development, mediation could work very well.
However, if the service is intended to coerce objectors into supporting policies or schemes where there is a wrongful presumption in favour of development (ie options have not been fully worked through), I anticipate mediation will be viewed with some scepticism, if not outright cynicism.

* I shall be reviewing this review next year.

The Prospect of an Independent Scotland

It is not without irony that the prospect of an independent Scotland should gather momentum under a British New Labour Government dominated by Scots like Chancellor Gordon Brown and Home Secretary John Reid (another possible contender for prime minister ?)

Although I have a Scottish surname, I don't feel a particularly strong connection with Scotland, having been brought up and educated in North Wales, and lived most of my adult life in Southern England. I do, however, consider myself British, with ancestors from all parts of the UK and Ireland, as well as close relatives in Australia.

Nevertheless, I have some sympathy with those who would like to see independence for Scotland and, indeed, for Wales. This is, after all, a regional issue. London-based government has far too strong an influence over the English regions and other countries of Britain. Notwithstanding Scottish and Welsh devolution and the creation of regional government in England, the economic and political power of London has increased under New Labour, largely because of the policies of the Treasury, and the "globalisation ideology" at the heart of the Blair Government which emphasises the role of London.

Therefore, the prospect of an independent Scotland - should the Scottish Nationalist Party come to power - is something I view with interest and sympathy (if that's the right word), but do not necessarily support. This was also my position when I lived in Wales in relation to the prospect of Welsh independence. However, if I lived there now - or indeed in Scotland - I might feel differently.

Ideological or Evidence-based Policy-Making ?

We're regularly told by people who should know (better ?) that evidence-based policy-making has triumphed over ideology-based policy during the New Labour administration of Britain. However, I wonder whether this is true in the case of the UK's current involvement in Iraq. I have my doubts, and not only on this policy issue. Either way, perhaps the law of unintended serious consequences should be consulted in advance of major new policy offensives at home and abroad.

Postscript to My Previous Blog on Housing and Depression

As I was still pondering the housing market last Friday afternoon, another radio item came up which struck me as something of a syncronicity. This time the subject was the Spanish housing market which apparently has some 3 million empty appartments, more "homes" having been constructed there in the last (recent ?) year(s) than in Britain, France and Germany combined.
Meanwhile, there were protests on the streest of Madrid by many ordinary working people for whom home purchase is unaffordable, although 50 year mortgages are on offer (as they are in this country). So much for housing supply being the core problem in providing "affordable" homes ! UK Government take note !

The Housing Market and Psychological Depression

There was an item on the radio recently which reported that the subject of depression (pyschological rather than economic) was replacing house prices as the talking point for Londoners. I far as I'm led to believe the London housing market is buoyant - albeit more bouyant for some people than others - and it was unclear from the item whether it was homeowners or non-homeowners for whom the subject of depression was coming to the fore.

I would suggest (although I am not a psychologist, except like most people in an amateur way)
that psycholiogical depression tends to exist where there are "uncertainties, troubles, doubts" (to use a literary quotation of whose origin I am uncertain), and, possibly, deeper clinical or "structural" problems. There are also some "uncertainties, troubles, doubts" around the UK housing market just now, in London and elsewhere, together with structural concerns.

Those people who have experienced a depressed housing market in the not-so-distant past may tend to wonder whether house price mechanisms are "bi-polar", and having entered a manic phase in recent years may yet plunge again into another depression, particularly in some areas, at some point in the future. "What goes up, must come down" as they say. Yet we are (re-)assured by official sources that the housing market is in a state of unprecedented strength.

There are certainly unprecedented forces bouying up the UK housing market at present, particularly in London, and in parts of London more than in others. One of these is the global growth in the number of people (individuals and organisations) with money to spend on housing and property in general, and for whom London/UK is an attractive destination. Thus it should come as no surprise that the UK is currently the world's Number One destination for inward investment, and that alot of this investment is in property (from mega commercial schemes to small housing portfolios). Aside from "foreigners" buying property, UK national have also invested hugely in "bricks and mortar" in recent years beyond their own immediate accommodation needs. Thus, in retrospect, it is hardly surprising that house prices have risen.

A number of questions arise from the above trends. Are these trends really good for the economy in general, especially in the longer term ? Linked to this question : is the housing market sustainable - economically, environmentally and socially ? My answer to both these questions is probably not, and, therefore, I'm not at all surprised that people, perhaps especially in London, are starting to feel dpressed about it all.

"There's a bit of a recession on at the moment"

This morning I met one of the most entrepreneurial people I've come across in Worcester, having a cigarette outside her business premises. During our short conversation, she expressed the view that : "There's a bit of a recession on the moment". This is certainly my impression too , and I responded that, for me, "the "recession in some sectors had been going on for a long time". The entrepreneurial young woman, an excellent salesperson whose work brings her into contact with a wide range of commerical and not-for-profit organisations, agreed that there is indeed a "problem" with the "real" economy. Therein lies the problem. As far as I can make out, this Government and those with a serious stakeholding in its policiesinhabit a different economic reality from the rest of us : a theme I shall take up in subsequent posts.

There's No Accounting For Taste

I can sympathise with schools encountering problems with their pupils's take-up of the healthy meals inspired by Jamie Oliver's "School Dinners". Last year, a cat decided to relocate from his hard working family's home, where he was the recipient of a top-brand organic catfood, to live with me. He soon displayed a strong preference for one of Tesco's own brand non-organic ready meals, even when given the option of fresh meat. This, or course, raises a number of ethical issues, including an additional requirement to shop at Tescos. Nevertheless, the cat seems quite healthy, engaging in a reasonable amount of exercise : mainly fighting with other cats in the early hours of the morning. He mostly spends the rest of his time sleeping.

Returning to Jamie Oliver, I must be one of the few people not to have a followed his various TV shows, although I understand that his appearance in advertisements for Sainsburys is generally regarded as having helped improve their fortunes. It seems to me that the "Food Issue" has tended to polarise people between those who are obsessed with what they eat, and those who prefer the most convenient option, whether take-away or ready meal. Personally, I find both extremes equally unattractive. People who are fixated with food can be rather tedious. There's nothing like a foodie to make me reach for the salted peanuts, crisps and a few bottles of lager. However, a diet which consisted only of these could be quite limiting, not to say unhealthy.

Nevertheless, it has come to my attention that some people, young and old, who seem to live quite unhealthy lives in terms of what they eat and drink still stay remarkably healthly, whilst other food fad following folk are always ailing. I've no doubt this can be attributed to other factors such as genetic make-up, predisposition to allergies, and general lifestyle and wellbeing.
Personally, I have quite a fondness for oily and fatty foods. One consequence of this seems to be that I find the British Winter easier to cope with than many people. Indeed I've taken animal fats seriously ever since I heard Clarissa Dickson-Wright (my chef of preference to Jamie Oliver) say that these are an excellent tonic for seasonal adjustment disorder : No SAD for me !

Calm Down, I'm only a Pedestrian & Cyclist !

This morning's chilly wind suggests that the season of the woolly hat may be upon us. In my case, this means a fleecy Russian-looking peaked one with ear muffs, which evokes the same reaction in some people as the sight of hooded youths.

To illustrate this, shortly after the introduction of the "Hunting Ban", and attired in my woolly hat and anorak, I spotted Mr Fox himself, Michael Foster, the New Labour MP for Worcester. The subject on which I wished to speak to Mr Foster was planning, although I'm no fan of the "ban". Perhaps detecting a lack of empathy, Mr Foster, on seeing me approach him attempted to dash into the offices of the Transport and General Workers Union. However, I was too quick for him. No sooner had he disembarked from his "People Mover" than I had accosted him with hand outstretched. On hearing the words "planning", and "pedestrians and cyclists" from me, I noticed an expression of relief pass over Mr Foster's face. Equally, I had the strong impression that this was an MP of which not much useful action could be expected ! However, even on the subject on planning, Mr Foster had cause to be nervous as someone who had a swimming pool constructed in his garden without planning permission (which Worcester City Council, rather supinely in my opinion, granted retrospectively).

The great irony is that if I'm cycling along Worcestershire's country roads, similary attired in my woolly hat, and chance to meet one of the local hunts, the Master is just as likely to look nervous at my approach as Mr Foster. For my appearance no doubt evokes the possibility, if not now of a saboteur, of someone who might still regard people charging around on horses as a reminder of the class war and, therefore, legitimate target for abuse. However, my gripe with the Hunt is altogether different, and concerns the "fitness" of horses which follow hounds . The other day one horse dropped dead on the road, and whilst this was almost certainly a tragic misfortune of the kind that can happen to people out jogging, it was also a reminder of the importance of "fittening" horses in advance of the Hunting Season. In my experience, fitness work happens rather less these days than it should for a variety of reasons, and I have yet to "meet" a horse in Worcestershire myself whom I would regard as fit for hunting, although I'm sure they do exist.

The one group of people who didn't seem intimidated by my appearance were Chinese business executives (from the car industry ?) who greeted me most courteously at Droitwich railway station to inquire after the next train to Worcester. Perhaps they thought me one of few remaining English peasants : perhaps at heart I am.

Continuing the Theme of Sea Change

My previous blog dealt with the use of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), and, more specifically, the failure to use this in a situation where it would seem to be required (by the European Union Directive).

There is currently tremendous hot air (ie talk) around the subject of global warming. It should be said that the earth has been hotter (and colder) in the not so distant past (ie since the Middle Ages), and sea levels considerably higher in the same period.

However, in these earlier times of warmer weather and higher sea levels, Britain had a fraction of the population and "settlement" that it does today. People could move relatively easily to new locations in both this country and abroad, without the problems such migrations would have now

The prospect of global warming (or cooling) and rising sea levels at the present time, and the role of "man-made pollution" in this, carries enormous challenges because of the scale of human population and the technological lifestyles/aspirations of (over)developed/developing nations.

The fact is that despite enormous talk since the late 1980s when the prospect of global warming was acknowledged as a potentially serious threat to world economic stability, with momentous social as well as environmental consequences, "greenhouse emissions" have continued to rise.

In my own areas of work, the problem of rising emissions is both surprising and not. With regard to building and power generation, for instance, we have had the technology (but alas not the will !) since the 1980s to considerably reduce the production of green house gases at source.

Taxation and other fiscal measures to "make the polluter pay" have also received immense attention in the same period, but with some exceptions, the polluter hasn't paid enough in most cases, especially in the area of transport, where people and goods traffic has continued to grow.

Periods, in the UK anyway, when green house gases have gone down or stabilised have co-incided with recessions and post-recessions. This happened between 1990-1996, after which emissions rose again. Many therefore regard economic "growth" as the core problem.

However, this view is anathema to most governments around the world, including our own. For these a "technical fix" must be available to enable economies to continue to grow and greenhouse gases to decline. This would indeed be a "sea change", but can we really "fix" one ?

Proper use of SEA might be one good place to start !

A SEA Change - The Use of Strategic Environmental Assessment

I "launched" this blog on 1 June 2006 with a post entitled "East London/Thames Gateway Road-based River Crossings", promising further blogs on these subjects, so here we go again....

Incidentally, this post is going to provide the basis of correspondence with government departments next week. Re-Use, Re-Cycle if you can and Save Energy in such endeavours !

In my evidence to the Thames Gateway Bridge (TGB) Public Inquiry about this time last year, I argued that Transport for London (TfL) should have provided a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for their proposal in order to demonstrate, amongst other things, that a full "Options Appraisal" (including appropriate public consultations) had been undertaken.

The best explanation that I've found of how the European Union Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive takes effect in member states is in an article in the August 2004 edition of the Journal of Planning Law (JPL). I mention this because, although the British government has produced its own guidance on the implementation of the SEA Directive, it seems that use of SEA to date has been somewhat "optional".

Thus TfL, for instance, have incorporated SEA into their work on behalf of the Mayor of London into the proposed introduction of a "Low Emissions Zone" for the Greater London area (published in July 2006), but not in relation to a road-based river crossing in East London which, on their own evidence, would add significantly to local air pollution.

Returning to the JPL article, this excellent account of "The Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes" by Jonathan Robinson and David Elvin QC states in its opening paragraph that SEA :

"....fills the gap not covered by the environmental impact directive 85/337/EEC in requiring the transparent assessment of the likely environmental effects of the hierarchy of plans and programmes which have a strategic role in directing not only development but other interventions in the environment".

The potential application of SEA is therefore very wide indeed. Moreover, just because SEA has been conducted at one level of plan development, does not preclude its use at a "lower" level of specificity.

With regard to the TGB, SEA is a statutory requirement for the East London Sub-Regional Development Framework, the planning context most relevant to the assessment of options for improving cross-river transport access. However, at the time of the TGB Public Inquiry, progress on the development framework (not yet subject to SEA) lagged behind that of the proposal before the inquiry : one reason for arguing that promotion of the TGB is premature.

In this type of situation, it is usual for the promoter of a particular scheme to argue that this cannot be delayed because the planning context is evolving, and this is what happened. Equally, it could be argued that TfL's case for the TGB was also evolving : one of the main reasons an inquiry predicted to last 4-6 weeks went on for nearly a year.

I understand that the TGB Inquiry Planning Inspectors are to submit their report to the Department for the Communities and Local Government (DCLG) very soon. DCLG is now the "custodian" of planning and, therefore, the use of Strategic Environmental Assessment. My recommendation, which I put to the Inquiry, is that TfL return to the "Options Stage" in considering additional cross-river transport access in East London. In other words, I'm looking for a SEA change from these proceedings !

Left Soft on Solutions

There is rather a good piece in the Comment Section of today's Guardian entitled "A cloistered metropolitan elite is in denial about Britain" by John Harris, whose photograph shows a young man who looks a bit like the singer Paul Weller (later of Red Wedge) during the early 1980s. I'm largely in agreement with what Mr Harris has to say, with one exception, his presumption(?) that only the centre-left is really interested in the subject matter of his article : "inequality".

Whilst organisations like the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), Demos and the Young Foundation will I'm sure be sympathetic to Mr Harris's message (even if "a former editor of a tabloid newpaper" was not), one problem with these manifestations of the centre-left is that they have been soft on real solutions, or at least ones that have taken root in the body politic. Indeed, I would argue that the John Major government was stronger on solutions than this one.

There have been some excellent analyses of inequality by "the soft left", including Professor Robert Macdonald's study of "Disconnected Youth" in Middlesbrough, published last year by Palgrave. However, these analyses have not led to the development of coherent policies by the present government to tackle the sort of problem "indicators" identified in Mr Harris's article , and perhaps most of all that "abiding sense that the good life was happening somewhere else".

So why has the centre-left been soft on solutions to tackle inequality ? This might well provide the subject for another article by Mr Harris. One reason, I would suggest, is the tendency for the soft left, however well intentioned, to inhabit a rather cloistered world of its own, all be this rather less grand that that inhabited by New Labour and its adherents in the media etc.

Know the Difference between Objectivity and Aspiration

I often wonder why organisations and individuals willingly submit themselves to being mercilessly ripped off. My guess is that their abililty to distinguish objectivity and aspiration is temporarily, and in some cases permanently, suspended. The phrase "willing suspension of disbelief" comes to mind.

To explore my theory, I'm going to use two "case studies" : the Private Finance Initiative (PFI); and horse purchase.

The word "aspirational" first properly entered my psyche when I had an unplanned meeting with a senior army officer - unplanned because he'd planned to be elsewhere but bad weather prevented this - regarding a project in which the army took an interest. This gentleman's use of the word "aspirational" had a particular resonance for me on two counts. Firstly, it was clear that aspiration was a core value for him, personally and professionally, and, secondly, I intimated that my own proposals (and person !) might be insufficiently aspirational.

A few years passed and I had occasion to "revisit" the same army establishment, which in the meantime had recieved substantial investment under a PFI scheme. In my opinion, this scheme had all the hallmarks of a typical PFI project. There had indeed been substantial capital investment ie new construction. However, this had brought with it new and equally substantial operating costs. Various new initiatives were now being contemplated to cover these costs, and additional funds sought for further capital works.

This kind of situation is familiar to (?) the majority of local health trusts who have embarked upon major new hospital (re)construction using the PFI in recent years. The Worcestershire Royal Hospital, a new facility on the outskirts of the city of Worcester, is a classic example of what can go wrong.

PFI is now widely regarded as a "bad deal" for the public sector, and particularly for the National Health Service. It was conceived under the previous Conservative administration to "get around" public spending constraints. However, under New Labour it has been a key component of "the building boom" on which the wider ecomony is now so dependent. We have a construction industry which is hungry for more PFI projects, regardless of whether these are in the best interests of potential "clients" for such projects, or the general tax payer.

Yet PFI has fulfilled the aspirations of the public sector for new infrastructure, and the new hospitals, schools etc that have sprung up, notwithstanding their frequently poor design (for purpose), are hailed as one of the great successes of aspirational New Labour.

The zeitgeist of the present time is aspirational, and there is a Mephistopheles around every corner, or so it seems, with whom to enter into a Faustian pact.

Horse purchase is another case in point. There is nothing new in the tendency for new (or newer) comers to horse purchase to acquire animals which are too energetic and/or big for them, and to find that the ongoing resources (time, money etc) required to maintain a horse are more burdensome than the capital outlay. The horse world, like that of PFI, also has a plentiful supply of professionals to complicate matters, and - although some do provide a genuine good service - many "trade" on the aspirations of their clients, sometimes with serious consequences.

So my message to potential horsebuyers and procurers of other major capital projects is know the difference between objectivity (including objectives) and aspirations, it may save you alot of money (and possibly your life). Also know that - as someone once said - "there are as many certified charlatans as uncertified ones" out there to part fools from their money.

On Being Advised to Set Myself Up in Business as a Witch

When I was a relatively young woman in about 1991, a "mentor" of sorts suggested to me that I set myself up in business as a witch "before anyone does".

I should explain that my mentor was a well-known transport consultant, someone both accomplished in the creative thinking (or "ideas") department, and in the implementation process. He was, in short, a bit of a wizard himself.

Nevertheless, as someone who took herself a bit more seriously then than now, I was not sure how to take his comments, other than with a slightly uneasy laugh.

Like all good mentors, mine had obviously spotted some professional potential of which I was not yet aware, and also an emerging market for a new type of service.

In the meantime, of course, an increasing number of women (and some men) have set themselves up as witches. It should be said that, although this is by no means a new profession,
its public acceptance has grown in recent years, almost to the point of respectability.

But not quite ! Being a witch does still not carry the same "position" of, say, a transport planner, as my mentor well knew.

Now, where's my broomstick ?

The Power of Pissed-off People

From time to time it occurs to me that I haven't had as much to say on "business and management consulting" as on certain other topics, so it's time to rectify this.

One of the world's best known business and management gurus, Tom Peters, wrote in his book "Re-Imagine" (published 2003) : "I happen to believe that all innovation comes, not from market research or carefully-crafted focus groups, but from pissed-off people". I don't agree with everything Tom Peters has to say by any means, but on the role of pissed-off people in innovation I'm largely in agreement with him. Others, of course, may disagree.

It was this feeling of being "pissed-off" that first led me to take a serious interest in "management" in the mid-1980s. The big issue for me then, as now, was the failure of government agencies planning new infrastructure to adopt a process whereby project options, including alternative development scenarios (eg more environmetally appropriate), could be properly assessed.

Fortunately, alot of other people were also very pissed-off about this, and it has been precisely "the power of pissed-off people" which has, I'm pleased to say, led to some improvements in the appraisal process. However, in my experience if those with a vested interest in the construction of a certain project can find a way around having to go through a full options appraisal, including proper public consultation, they will.

So "Power to the Pissed-off People", I say, for without this I beleive it would be very much a permanent "business as usual scenario" for government agencies and consulting companies.

Treasury more User-Friendly than Communities Department ?

As mentioned in my earlier blog "Globalisation and Discontent", the Treasury and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) are conducting parallel reviews broadly covering the areas of regeneration and economic development. The DCLG review was instigated when these matters came under the authority of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and an extension of the review was announced last Summer after the creation of the new department. No report has yet emerged. The Treasury, after one unacknowledged email, have now told me that there is 3 weeks to submit material to their review, with a further opportunity for comment at a later stage. After several unacknowledged emails to the DCLG, I have now received a reply from a human being. I had electronic replies to a couple of my emails to the effect that the intended human recipient was on "Annual Leave", but the alternative email address provided did not respond. However, I have now received a rather snooty reply from DCLG stating that the deadline for submissions to their review passed in May. My understanding is, nevertheless, that the review is still ongoing, and I shall submit "comments" anyway (ie a copy of those I send to the Treasury).

On Keeping Up Appearances and The Tribes of Worcester

During the summer in Worcester I met with two guys from the US on the trail of the British TV sitcom "Keeping up Appearances". I'm usually quite good with accents, both placing and understanding. However, it was a while before I could catch what these two were talking about. They were brothers and looked liked two people from the Cohen Brothers film Fargo. Anyway, it transpired that they were great fans of "Keeping Up Appearances", and as Hyacinth Bucket, the heroine of the show, collected Royal Worcester (or so they told me) they wanted to check some out. They also told me that many American men strongly identified with Hyacinth's husband, Richard. Apparently, "Keeping Up Appearances" was an unexpected succes in the US, and indeed a sequel was brought out for the "market" there.

One reason I took to these brothers was that their rather curious accents and appearance made me feel quite uneccentric myself. There's nothing better than feeling a bit superior to other people, as Hyacinth Bucket would tell us. These sentiments are going to lead me into some reflections on "The Tribes of Worcester", where I may well touch on the politically incorrect and for which I offer no apology. Before this let me put my reflections into context. The "Big People Problems" (which I could count on one hand) that I've experienced in life have always been with other white middle class people. I've had few problems with people of other religions, races, nationalities, or, for that matter, social class. This may well be the case for most people : your own "social group" is probably the most troublesome to you, even if you aren't yet aware of it.

Last week, whilst in the "Ladies" of a major retailer in Worcester, I overheard a young well-spoken woman say : "I don't want to live in England". This was said in a loud voice, with something of a histrionic gesture. I was curious but resisted asking her why. Nevertheless, the opportunity to do so arose when I found myself next to her on the "down" escalator. She seemed very open to giving her reasons (I like this in people) and identified a number of issues which I would describe as "planning-related", but won't deal with these now. The "reason" for which she seemed to have most passion, was "having to dress like a chav" in order to prevent herself from being "beaten up". In other words, she had to "conform" to a certain "popular culture" in order to fit in, and she didn't feel comfortable about this.

Now it did occur to me during our conversation that I might be dressed like a chav. I'm not really sure what a "chav" is, or how they dress, but felt it might have something to do with wearing a kind of leisure outfit (cargo pants etc) which, as a cyclist, I mostly do. However, I also realised from my manner of speech (and possibly because I'm too old) this young woman did not consider me to be a "chav". In response to her analysis of the pressure of "popular culture", I acknowledged my feeling that there does seem to be some"inverted snobbery" in Worcester. Silently, I also acknowledged to myself that, in certain situations, in might be appropriate for a young well-spoke middle class woman to "unveil" herself as a "chav", for instance by wearing trousers well down her bottom cleavage (which I don't).

Having covered "inverted snobbery", I now want to deal with snobbery of the good-old fashioned sort. Walking along a Worcester street just now, I noticed a lawyer of my acquaintance coming towards me. The people with him looked like local farmers, and I vaguely recognised one man. I could see that the lawyer did not want to speak to me, and he attempted to pass me with the barest of acknowledgement, although there seemed no great urgency about his business, given the manner of his converstion. Its fair to say that I've had some past and prospective horse business with this man, and was I somewhat annoyed by his attitude so I seized the moment. As the "gentleman" passed me I asked him how his horse was, and, when he tried to snub me, asked him whether he'd sold him yet.

The response was negative and by now the man was trying to escape, so in my good loud horsey voice I shouted after him that I'd like to have a look at the horse again, and that I'd give him a call (which I might do). From my perspective, whilst this man thinks of himself as a "horseman", I think of him as a "competitor" (see my earlier blog "On the Importance of Being a Good Punter"). Thus whilst I like the look, and temperament, of the horse he has for sale (which has also won some major show classes), I'm not convinced that this has the robustness of the "worker" for which I'm currently looking. Incidentally, the saying goes that there are three kinds of horses : working horses, show horses, and horses's arses. The other thing is that this man is a lawyer, and I have some acquired prejudice for his "tribe".

Why Cycling 4 me Beats Driving a 4x4 (or "On Yer Bikes Ladies" !)

I've noticed an increasing tendency, which seems to me to be particularly strong in Worcester/shire, for people to "judge" others on fairly superficial criteria. For instance, I do not own or have access to a car, something which has been the case for most of my adult life, yet this does not greatly inhibit my enjoyment of outdoor pursuits, including horse riding, in the semi-rural parts of the County. However, I am aware that others regard my carlessness as "odd".

To illustrate this, last year I travelled regularly to "Archers Country" near Hanbury in North Worcestershire. This involved a short train journey with my bicyle from Worcester to Droitwich, followed by a cycle ride of 6-7 miles, and back, of course. No big deal ! I managed this trip, which involved crossing a ford using a footbridge, on a twice weekly basis throughout the winter months. The purpose of my journey was to ride a horse, which I enjoyed very much.

Yet I knew that my bike marked me out as "different", at best a fitness fanatic (certainly not !) but more probably eccentric (possibly !). It was difficult to establish much rapport with people at the yard where I rode. Experience has taught me that when such rapport cannot be built up, it is best to withdraw from the situation. Otherwise, a small incident or disagreement can become a a very big deal. So I stopped visiting "Archers Country" on a regular basis.

Some while later, whilst cyling along a semi-rural road in South East Worcestershire from another yard, I saw ahead of me a woman on a horse who had been at the other livery yard. She and her friend had now moved into the area. We had quite a long roadside conversation, although I still felt my bike marked me out for her as someone "different". The funny thing is, one of the reasons she had moved from the other yard was the ford, which could be fast flowing in the winter, even for her 4x4 (which she had been worried about). Ho ! Ho !

& Putting this Blog in the Context of My Othe Blogs

Given this increasing preference, which I suspect goes much wider than Worcester/shire, to use fairly superficial criteria to "get the measure" of other people, I want to "give some context" to my "Janet Mackinnon" blog. In fact, I am in the process of developing a number of blogs, 3 of which I'll mention now :

• The Edge of Town
• Janet Stone &
• The Green Man Project

Here's a little more detail :

The Edge of Town
The psychiatrist and metaphysician Carl Jung identified a "shadow" side of the human psyche. "The Edge of Town" explores the transferrence of this shadow into our environments, whether in the form of pollution, destruction of the countryside and rural communities, or the darker side of urban life and human existence. "The Edge of Town" is, therefore, a physical, psychological and, perhaps, metaphysical "place".

Janet Stone
Reflections on "New Paradigm" (including so-called "New Age") themes and trends in science, health, education, spirituality, and thinking on "human potential". Janet "Stone" is the alias of Janet Mackinnon in her quest for "the Philosopher's Stone".

The Green Man Project
Exploration of the links between local history and wildlife, landscape, archaeology, craft industry and folk culture, including animal husbandry and equestrian heritage. References to good practice in local conservation from around the world, and to other practical, creative and therapeutic initiatives which evoke the spirit of The Green Man and Woman.

Another way of looking at these blogs is as follows :

• Janet Mackinnon (my real world/everyday concerns)
• The Edge of Town (in which I confront the "shadow" of everyday things)
• Janet Stone (the potential for human development with "paradigm shift")
• The Green Man Project (integrating the everyday, the "dark" and the "light")

I hope no one will find all this strange or threatening. It will be an interesting ride.

The Difference between "Alright" and "All Right"

As a child when asked how I was my reply of choice was "Alright", meaning "OK", although I was encouraged to say "Very well, thank you" by some people. However, "Alright" suited me better. I think most people would describe their general state of being as "OK". Some things in life may be good or even great, but other things are generally less so. "Alright" covers this centre ground between the good and the less good, or bad.

"All Right" has differtent connotations altogether. "He's doing All Right" is generally taken to mean he's doing very well indeed. However, this expression can be taken to extremes. Wasn't there an aspirant US presidential candidate in the last elections who chanted "All Right" in a rather embarrassing fashion, only to get knocked out of the race. He had been doing "Alright" before, and then things went "pear-shaped" (an expression I'll cover in the future).

In the context of "I'm All Right Jack" (my previous blog), there is a further play on words. Not only is the hero of that film apt to do "All Right" for himself. His views are also "All Right", or he is always right (in his own opinion). The word play is highly relevant to the mores of "The Ruling Classes" just now. There is a strong tendency to view people who do "All Right" for themselves, (ie make alot of money) as somehow "All Right" in other respects.

This is a great mistake, particularly for political parties in receipt of large loans and donations.

"I'm All Right Jack" (and John)

Yesterday, on on BBC Radio 4's "Broadcasting House" the male presenter asked a woman journalist from an Asian newspaper, who was a guest on the programme, a question in words to the effect of : "Have Moslems become the new Fox Hunting ?". The woman was rather taken aback - and so was I - but she replied "No, we haven't". This was rather a surreal question I thought - these may be rather surreal times - but the point the presenter was raising is : Why has a "minority issue" like wearing a veil become such a major distraction for politicians and media, when there are many and much more important matters for both to cover ?

One of these impostant issues - which affects a great many people in Britain - is the ongoing relationship between labour and capital, or New Labour and the Trade Unions. Incidentally, I am not a Marxist, but do think that Marx has some interesting and even relevant ideas. However, the relationship between labour and capital seems rather overlooked, or at least not given the attention it deserves, by politicians and the media today, so I'm going to deal with it here.

There is a brilliant "study" of this theme in the 1959 classic British comedy "I'm All Right Jack". In this, the great actor Peter Sellars plays a canny trade unionist, Fred Kite, and is the "hero" of the show. The film has been interpreted as primarily a swipe at the union movement in post-war Britain, but is in fact a much broader satire of the machinations of management, government, the media, trade unions and the class system. On the latter theme, Fred Kite memorably "converts" the engaging "toff" Stanley Windrush to his class war, something which finally leaves Stanley disillusioned, and he retreats to a nudist colony at the end of the film.

Incidentally, I am toying with the idea of re-writing "I'm Alright Jack" as "I'm All Right John".
John Prescott would play the Fred Kite character, and David Cameron, Stanley. Although on reflection, the latter role might be better suited to Jack Straw : no problems with veiled women in a nudist colony after all. If anyone would like to commission this "work", please do get in touch and I'll send them my synopsis (written under the veil of a pseudonym of course !).

Now, to return to New Labour and the modern British trade unions. Some people will have been following the cash for peerages "story". I haven't really, but I vaguely remember that near the beginning of this the Labour Party Treasurer (Jack somebody or other, a Union boss of which one I dont' know, and husband of Ms Harriet Harman MP, Government Minister for something of other) announced that he had only just become aware (? via the media) of certain loans being made to the Party, and of these possibly having links to the granting of peerages. All I can hope is that Gordon Brown's management of the Treasury is a bit better. Time will tell.

Although Mrs Thatcher has been widely blamed for the decline in the role of trade unions, with "live wires" (I'm being ironic) like "Jack", as I'm going to call him, in charge, it comes as no surprise at all that many, if not most, British people now regard the unions as irrelevent, something which is actually a great shame ! For in other European countries, such as Germany, and even in the United States, they continue to play an important role in their country's commerce and industry, influencing government policy on the impact of globalisation, for instance (see my previous blog "Globalisation and Discontent"), and, in the case of Europe, playing an effective role in the continued development of high quality public services.

It has to be said that there are a few trade unionists and unions in Britain who still play a highly effective role their areas of operation. However, these are in a minority, and one of the main reasons for this - aside from people like "Jack" - is that senior politicians and the media are less interested these days in serious issues like the future of manufacturing in this country, than they are in "minority issues" like the wearing of veils. I'm not sure why this is the case. It may have something to do with the obsession of New Labour and wider society with "appearance", and with who controls the media (ie the likes of the Murdoch Dynasty). It may be that one of the few places where these serious issues can be tackled is in the "unsensored" and "dramatic" form available to the satirist.

Alright Jack/John !

On the Importance of Being a Good Punter

I want to continue the theme of instruction and training in this post, but this time with reference to equestrianism.

It's probably fair to say that the horse people of Middle England include individuals whose views, attitudes and behaviours are every bit as daft as some adherents of New Labour. Indeed, when I had a dispute with the owners of an upmarket livery yard a few years ago and recounted the names and other details of the persons involved to a Liberal Democrat friend, and former Labour local councillor, his response was something to the effect of : "This all sounds very New Labour to me".

I have been a horse rider for about forty years, and in that time I've probably ridden in excess of 100 horses. With one or two exceptions, these creatures have caused me very few difficulities and brought me great pleasure and "instruction". The same can not always be said of people who profess to be horsewomen and men , and who call themselves "trainers". There is a tendency to value appearance over substance in present day equitation. No doubt this tendency is ever present but I would suggest that it is stronger today than in the more recent past.

A few weeks ago, I was given a new insight into why this is so. I had just had what can only be described as an excellent jumping lesson. Believe me good jumping instruction for the amateur rider is hard to come by ! The instructor clearly identified my strengths and weaknesses to me, and gave a lesson which was at once challenging and enjoyable, for both rider and horse. Afterwards, he distinguished the "horseman" from the "competitor" : the latter being mainly concerned with "winning", and with finding a horse who can facilitate this; and the "horseman" being someone with a deep understanding of horses, the strengths, weaknesses and aptitudes of different animals, and the ability to get the best from each individual.

However, we live in a very competitive age (in some respects ridiculously so). The U S economist and management guru Michael Porter ("The Competitive Advantage of Nations", "On Competition" etc) has usefully distinguised healthy competition from "mutually destructive rivalry". Understanding the difference between these is very important in horse and other sports, as it is in business and management.

Some years ago, I had the benefit of riding with a talented woman (who was a very good competitor, but perhaps not such a good horsewoman). Nevertheless, from my perspective the relationship was beneficial. I noted some of her techniques, and her competitive spirit re-galvanised the competitive person in me. One outcome of this was that I helped organise 2 teams of horses and riders to attend a "British Riding Clubs" (think adult "Pony Club") competition at the Hickstead All England Show Jumping Ground. Unfortunately, some "mutually destructive rivalry" broke out amongst some potential team members. This made the organisers's job more difficult than anticipated, and our trainer's "values" didn't help matters.

The trainer in question made the mistake of valueing appearance over substance. He singled out the talented lady mentioned above who chose to ride a fine looking horse, the darling of many a lady rider, and quite a few gentleman. This "partnership" could do no wrong in the training sessions. Meanwhile, the horse I had chosen to ride, and particularly myself, could do very little right. Not since primary school had I been singled out for such admonishment. By the end of the sessions, I felt like dismounting and punching the trainer, who incidentally bore some resemblence to James Hewitt (when he was younger), but with a manner more like John Reid's.

Nevertheless, I still felt very much "fit for purpose", and I knew that my horse would be too on the day of the competition. This day duly arrived. The talented lady and her fine looking horse were amongst the first to enter the arena and were promptly eliminated at the second or third fence, after three refusals, causing the rider to have a major tantrum. This and the elimination had some negative impact on other people. However, with the exception of another rider whose pony (smaller than a horse) left the arena midway through the course (I shall come on to him later), everyone else "got round". Barring a small mistake, my round went very well and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, as did most other people who came as competitors and supporters.

The only real downside of the day was the major tantrum. I felt slightly bad about all this. The horse that had caused the outburst had a reputation for being somewhat capricious, not least in his tendency to buck people off, something that had happened on a previous occasion even to the talented lady in the middle of a show ring. "Handsome is as homesome does" as the saying goes, and, personally, I was surprised that she "stuck with him". My feeling was that the trainer had relied too much on his impressions "on the day", paying little regard to what other people told him of the horse's previous form, and re-inforcing the rider's tendency to be "over-confident".

With horses, as with many things in life, it is important to develop the skills of the a good punter. By this I mean, seek out professional advice but don't rely on it overmuch. Develop your own judgement based upon knowledge and experience. Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses. Above all, know when to take risks and when to go for a safe bet.

At the "Riding Clubs" competition I had gone for a horse I knew to be a "safe bet". However, on another occasion, I decided to "take a risk". I was a late entrant to something called "Top Score Jumping", meaning that the most difficult fences carry the most points and the winner has the "top score". The only horse available for me to ride was the pony I mentioned earlier. I should say that I am quite tall but not very heavy, and also that I am good at adjusting my riding to different types of horse, or pony. This time, the talented lady rode the "safe bet" horse. As it happened, she and I were joint second on this occasion.

I was therefore rather annoyed when the judge (a colleague of the trainer previously mentioned) disqualified me for being incorrectly attired. Although, as far as could make out the Show Rules did not specify "correct attire" beyond the requirements which I had fulfilled. However, I did not quarrel with the decision, for in my experience, the chance to give a "Harvey Smith" to this kind of "bureaucracy" always comes around.

Jungian Psychology, Surrealist Art and Transport Planning

Writing in Christie's (the international auction house) Magazine last Summer, Robert Brown recounts :

"In 1926 the Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Jung had a troubling but ultimately instructive dream about the Great War which awoke in him the realisation that 'the war, which in the outer world had taken place some years before, was not yet over, but was continuing to be fought within the
psyche'".

Brown continues :

"Such a revelation would not have been news to Max Ernst whose art throughout the 1920s is about as clear a manifestation of Jung's psychological discovery as one could wish for. 'La Horde' is one of the finest examples from a small series of strange and powerful paintings made with the newly-discovered grattage technique in which a band of nightmarish and violent struggling creatures emerge, as if in a dream, from a forest-like backgound of painted form and texture".

Jung's dream and Ernst's art may also be very "instructive" to the wars of our present time.

However, I want to focus here on the relevance of Jung's ideas and "La Horde" to the subject of planning, and in particular to transport planning.

I began my professional career in area development and regeneration in the mid-1980s when I was employed to co-ordinate the involvement of a coalition of community-based organisations at a planning inquiry, of nearly 18 months duration, into proposals for what could only be described as a potentially devastating - to built and natural environment - road scheme.

The scheme was never built, although a further planning inquiry took place in the early 1990s. This, and the threat of High Court action by some objectors, eventually led to the suspension of draft compulsory purchase orders for the most destructive stretch of the road proposal. However, the story was not yet over. A "war... was continuing to be fought within the psyche".

For nearly a year between June 2005 and May 2006, a truncated version of the road scheme again went through a planning inquiry. As I submitted evidence and attended this inquiry, I could not fail to be aware of the powerful psychic forces at work, as it were, behind the scenes. For "La Horde" in this case, I would argue, is modern "civilisation's" potentially catastrophic requirement for personal mobility, regardless of cost to the environment and society.

However, there is a further message in all this. Another psyhologist (whose name escapes me just now) spoke of "the dangers of conscious planning without unconscious process". Failure to recognise this is a core shortcoming of many, if not most, planning and planning-related professions. Let me therefore suggest that rather more human psycholgy and "cultural instruction" be included in their training and continuing professional development.

Mrs Satan - Biographical Information

I'm just going to add some biographical details for the "Mrs Satan" I mentioned earlier. As I don't have "that book" to hand, I'm taking the information from a very good guide to Bredon Hill, where the lady lived in later life :

"The beautiful manor (in Bredon's Norton) dates from 1585 and in the first two decades of the 21st century housed a very notable woman called Victoria Biddulph Martin, renowned for being the only woman to have run for president of the United States. She ran a newspaper in which she promoted her suffragette views, which must have taken some courage. Her surprisingly modern philosophies on free love, contraception, vegetarianism, magnetic healing, legalised prostitution, and easier devorce laws won her little popular appeal in the USA and eventually led to her being requested to leave the country, which is why she moved to England. She subsequently married John Biddulph Martin. Although she did lecture in Britain about her beliefs, she generally kept a lower profile while she was married to John and living in London. When he died in 1901 she moved to his country home, here on the slopes of Bredon Hill. It is alleged that she performed seances at the manor, an activity which had won her the interest of Cornelius Vanderbilt when she held them in the USA. Her esoteric spiritual beliefs did not in any way affect her ability to improve conditions for her fellow women - she was able to turn her political beliefs into tangible benefits. It is said that she lent out part of the manor so that young women could learn farming techniques, and it is also said that she turned her tithe barn into a village hall...."

From "Bredon Hill - A Guide to its Archaeology, History, Folklore and Villages" by Brian Hoggard and published by the Logaston Press

The Avante Garde Society of Worcester and John Reid

Last week in a local bookshop, I noticed a poster inviting people to a performance by "The Avante Garde Society of Worcester".

For a moment I was phased. The juxtaposition of "Avante Garde" and "Worcester" created the kind of reaction in me that would have accompanied John Reid's announcement to the Labour Party Conference that he was going to stand for the leadership and convert to Islam at the same time. Please note this is intended as a joke ! Incidentally, if Mr Reid is considering the latter spiritual option - and even if he isn't - might I suggest a relaxing turn on the "hubble-bubble" from time to time. He might ask Roy Hattersly to accompany him (given the latter's threat to shoot himself if Mr Reid became Labout Party Leader).

Returning to "The Avante Garde Society of Worcester", this offered an interesting programme, and now that I've overcome my own prejudices, I may go along to the next performance.

"Mrs Satans" of the Western World

I'm now going to deal with the global and the local, the historical and the present, and to demonstrate how these are extricably linked.

In my local history centre is a black book which in gold lettering bears the title "Mrs Satan". This is not some antiquarian occult treatise, but the true story of a lady who in her earlier life stood for President of the United States on something of a "free love" platform, and in middle age (when things had also got a bit too "hot" back home"), married, and moved to rural Worcestershire. Here, in the first part of the last century, she led the relatively quiet life of an English country lady, punctuated, by all accounts, with regular seances.

I was reminded of "Mrs Satan" by Hilary Clinton's current campaign to become the Democrat candidate for the next United States Presidency. A member of the US "Christian Right" was on BBC Radio 4 a few days ago, with the message - and I paraphrase - that if Mrs Clinton is succesful in standing for president this would galvanise his colleagues as much as if the devil himself had won the nomination. Although in my earlier blog I expressed some scepticism about the affairs of her husband, on this occasion I wish Mrs Clinton every success.

The subject of Hilary Clinton brings me to another Democrat supporter and "Mrs Satan" who also now enjoys the life of an English Country lady, albeit in Wiltshire. I'm thinking of Madonna, whose most recent concert tour, by all acounts, upset quite a number of Christian clerics, notwithstanding that the pop singer and performance artist has herself taken on quite a spiritual turn in recent years. Could it be that she too was a US presidential candidate in a previous incarnation ? One never knows.

For anyone intrigued by the life of the "original Mrs Satan", fear not I shall return to her, and other "Wicked Witches of the West" in future blogs.

A Modest Proposal to Re-organise Government Departments

It has struck me for some time that one of the obtacles to government is the structure of the present administration, so I am going to propose some changes in those areas I feel I have some knowledge and experience to offer. Incidentally, if anyone wishes to pay me alot of money to expand upon my "modest proposal", I'd be be delighted. However, I do advise any male politician who likes to surround himself with a harim of yeswoman, that I wouldn't fit in at all.

My proposal covers 3 departments : the Department of (or for) the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) ; the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG); and,
the Home Office (HO). In their stead, I recommend :

DEFRA - A Department for the Environment, Sustainability and Planning : (DESP)
DCLG - A Department for Regional, Urban and Rural Development : (DeRURD)
HO - A Department for Community and Homeland Affairs/Security, or, even Wellbeing (DCHA)

Briefly, the rational for this re-organisation is as follows :

DESP : Experience shows what issues like environmental sustainability tend to be compromised by governments (of all persuasions) because these often involve long-term planning. As a major - if not the major- mechanism of environmental protection, the planning system itself can also be compromised by policy-making which does not respect its full importance. These responsibilities therefore need to come under one Secretary of State who can champion them.

DeRURD : The message here is again : "Tough on Qangos, Tough on the Causes of Qangos." Regeneration of local democracy is what is what is required. Also this Government's habit of saying one thing when it means precisely the opposite (as in the case of Communities) needs to be tackled. Many "real" community-based organisations have lost financial support from local authorities in recent years, in favour of "loads of money" qangos (national, regional and local).

DCHA : There has been alot of attention on the Home Office in recent years and it seems widely accepted that some fundamental re-organisation is in order. Personally, I like the idea of a Department for Community (as in Society) and Homeland Wellbeing (which if achieved could be "exported" to other countries"). However, this is probably a bit too "David Cameron" just now. "Security", on the other hand, sounds too "George Bush". So "Affairs" will have to do.

At least no one can accuse me of not putting forward positive proposals. Incidentally, I'm not proposing that any minister should be re-shuffled (or excluded to the back benches)

Globalisation and Discontent

I've been wanting to do a blog called "Globalisation and Discontent" for some time, and some overnight doubts about whether I'd been totally fair to the Deputy Prime Minister in my previous post have helped crystalise my thoughts on this theme.

It seems to me that a fundamental problem of the "New Labour Project" is an overenthusiastic and undiscriminating embrace of the "New" (or what it perceives to be "new"). Ill-advised government IT projects are a good example of this; and so is the Government's response to globalisation.

A "positive" attitude to globalisation is at the heart of Tony Blair's premiership; and this is one area where he and the Chancellor seem to be in step (although I may well be wrong here, but I'll pass that by). This is because, or so it seems to me, "New Labour" isn't really a "labour" party at all, but rather modelled more on the "Democrats" of Ex US President Bill Clinton.

I'm not such a great fan of Bill Clinton, and so could not help enjoying the irony when his appearance at the Labour Party Conference took second place in the media (tabloid and "quality") to the triangular personal affairs of two British immigration judges and their Brazilian cleaning lady, an illegal immigrant. So much for The Clinton Global Initiative !

I seem to remember that a senior figure in the Clinton administration - who too may have been some kind of judge - was also "undone" by her employment of a domestic worker who was an illegal immigrant. This case led to something of a furore in the US media, as I recall, on the grounds that rich americans were beneficiaries of the labour of poorly paid migrant workers.

Many people have argued passionately that one of the main dynamics of the most recent wave of globalisation (which isn't so new in itself) is the exploitation of poorer people and nations by richer people and nations. Not only are migrant workers - illegal or legal - open to exploitation, but their willingness to accept lower wages than local people may undermine the labour market.

For many of its citizens Britain is now a low wage country. Moreover the "wage" disparity between those on high incomes and those on low is growing. Immigration is widely credited with keeping wages down, which is precisely why employers organisations like the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) are enthusiastic about it, and why people in poorer areas often less so.

There are also other pressures linked to mass immigration, including those associated with housing provision and public services. These issues take me back to Mr Prescott, the former Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), and present Department for Communities and Local Government.

Government policy on planning and regional development underwent a major transformation between 1997 and the early part of the new millennium. Planning has increasingly been held up as an impediment to economic growth; and regional regeneration to tackle the North-South Divide" has taken second place to planning for development in the South of England.

In all this the Deputy Prime Minister and his various offices have undoubtedly been victims of forces greater than themselves : the Prime Minister and No 10 Policy Unit, and the Chancellor and his Treasury, with their globalisation-related agenda (not to to say ideology). Attached to this "agenda" one can also find various (?) "interns" of the former Bill Clinton administration.

One of these is Ed Balls, a former advisor to the Chancellor and how a junior minster (?) at the Treasury. Mr Balls is widely credited with being one of the authors of New Labour's economic policy and has gone by the title of "The Chancellor's Representative on Earth." The other is Yvette Cooper (Mr Ball's wife), and Minister for Housing and Planning.

The couple hold neighbouring parliamentary constituencies in the North of England, although, as I understand one of these (?Mr Ball's ) will disappear when boundary changes are introduced in a few year's time.

Ms Cooper is responsible for some of the daft planning and regeneration policies inherited by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). These are now subject to a departmental "Housing and Regeneration Review" (which began under the ODPM), and a separate economic review of local and regional policy which is being conducted by the Treasury.

The challenge for these reviews, I would propose, is the adoption of policies which suport the positive aspects of globalisation (of which I acknowledge there are some) and the growth of labour markets linked, for instance, to expansion of the European Union, and which are in their turn compatible with sustainable economic regeneration and environental conservation.

We are some way from this situation at the present time, and if I have attributed undue responsibility for this state of affairs to the Deputy Prime Minister, I offer him my most sincere apologies.

On the Buses with the (Ex) Deputy Prime Minister

Before moving on to the North of England, I would like to mention the (the soon to be ex) Deputy Prime Minister's performance at the conclusion of the Labour Party Conference.

It occured to me yesterday (although I may have had a subliminal awareness of this for some time), and I'm sure others have noted the likeness, that Mr Prescott bears more than a passing resemblence to the late Les Dawson. Apparently, the Prime Minister's (rather flat, in my view) joke about not having to worry about his wife running off with the man next door was based on a Dawson gag, and came from a recently published anthology (can't the Government come up with its own jokes ?), recommended by Alastair Campbell (all this according to Channel 4 News).

At the beginning of his speech, Mr Prescott apologised to the conference for personal misbehaviour (which I won't go into). However, I would suggest to the Deputy Prime Minister that the real apology was due to the millions of ordinary people affected by the daft area planning and regeneration policies to emerge from the former office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and now "housed" in the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). (See my previous blogs : Government Regeneration isn't Working; and The Demise of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister).

Whilst some urban areas in London, the Midlands and the North of England are threatened with wholescale demolition (notwithstanding that many people like living in them) , other areas of countryside (mainly, but not exclusively in the South East/Midlands) are threatened with massive housebuilding programmes. The failing of Mr Prescott and his ministerial colleagues has been to let the qango called English Partnerships (itself strongly associated with the mass housebuilding sector) to trample over local government and communities, and even other qangos, like the regional development agencies.

Perhaps when Mr Prescott has relinquished his ministerial jag, and is employing his senior citizens bus pass, he will see the error of his ways. As for his performace at conference, I would remind him (now that the festive season is but a few months away), that the late Les Dawson also did a very good pantomime dame. A future blog is already stirring in me !

I would also like to add that as a person I warm to the character of the Deputy Prime Minister, it's his policies I've had a problem with.

"Things Can Only Get Better....."

Government Regeneration isn’t Working for Communities and Individuals

A High Court judge earlier this week ruled that a compulsory purchase order issued by Ministers to English Partnerships, the Government’s National Regeneration Agency, breached the human rights of Elizabeth Pascoe, who faced being moved out of her home in Liverpool’s Edge Lane West area so that new housing and roads leading to the city centre could be constructed. Mrs Pascoe had set up a campaign group called “Better Environmental Vision for Edge Lane”, and this week’s ruling puts on hold the demolition of 500 homes. The demolition programme forms part of the Government’s controversial Pathfinder house building initiative, and regeneration schemes affecting 30 towns and cities, and covering 700 000 homes and 2.5 million people, may be affected by the outcome of yesterday’s judgement. According to human rights lawyers, the ruling could freeze plans to bulldoze thousands of homes across the Midlands and the North of England under the Pathfinder Scheme.

Elizabeth Pascoe said she and her neighbours wanted to keep their homes, but also see the Edge Lane area of Liverpool “truly regenerated”. However, whilst there is now “great relief” amongst residents of the area, Mrs Pascoe said she was “nervous about the longer term effects (of the High Court judgement). They (regeneration agencies) could just leave us to rot”. This concern may also be shared by communities in the other Pathfinder areas.

(Above information obtained from Metro newspaper 28.9.2006)

In a separate development, a report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation published last week found that the Pathfinder Scheme undercompensated homeowners whose properties were due to be demolished, making it difficult for them to purchase another house.

Sleeping Giants of the Thames Gateway (and other places)

Some years ago I was working with an Asian business network in London who were asked by the Mayor of London's Office to organise some consultation meetings on regeneration issues for the Thames Gateway area. The Mayor's Office later withdrew their support.

My client and I duly met in a Woolwich café to discuss these meetings. Our conversation was overheard by a youngish man who obviously had strong feelings about some of the things going on locally under in the name of “regeneration”. He called the situation “a sleeping giant”. By this he meant that when local people understood that regeneration might not be in their best interests, there would be trouble.

Opposition by communities and individuals to compulsory purchase orders to facilitate larges scale demolition programmes (involving homes and businesses) and the construction of road schemes, is now being felt throughout the country. In London, these programmes are substantially linked to the 2012 Olympics, and elsewhere to initiatives like the Pathfinder Scheme.

More effective public consultation by the likes of the London Development Agency and English Partnerships (of whom I shall have a lot more to say), may well have alerted politicians and officials to the problems inherent in a “comprehensive re-development” approach to area regeneration.

Once again, and as my next blog shows, it seems Liverpool is a city that has dared to fight nationally imposed policy, albeit at the community rather than local government level. Moreover, on this occasion the community has won, and set a precedent for other areas.

What (and Who) Not to Wear

Not so long ago the Conservative MP Anne Widdicombe was interviewed on Radio 4 concerning a poll amongst young people which had rated her as a more influential figure than Madonna.

Yesteday a new series of BBC1's "What not to Wear" (with new presenters) brought together a group of women, some similar in appearance to Ms Widdicombe, who had much younger male partners or husbands (as does Madonna).

Two of these women were duly selected for a "makeover". One emerged with what could only be described as "the New Labour look" for middle aged women, and might have progressed to "Faking It" (? Channel 4 Series) as a female cabinet minister.

It seems to me that life is as much about "who" as "what not to "wear". If partners, friends and colleagues make you feel uncomfortable about yourself , or your values, then it may well be time to say "Good Bye".

For this I admire Clare Short, who recently announced her decision to stand down as a Labour MP. Amongst the reasons for this were not only major policy differences with colleagues, but the "inefficiency" of the present administration.

This is a government which, after all, likes "dressing up". The prime minister's wife is now famous for her interest in (and expenditure on) "Fashion and Beauty". However, it is for a multitude of "policy makeovers" that New Labour will be remembered.

Ground Hog Days for Pedestrians and Cyclists - Email to British Waterways Board

I refer to previous email correspondence on the matter of the Diglis Development. To my surprise, the situation did seem to improve for a while ! However, it has now worsened again.

The problem is almost certainly the joint responsibility of BWB and Worcester City Council as it concerns the repeated (we seem to have a "Gound Hog Day" situation here) digging up and reconstruction of the road and pavement on Diglis Road adjoining the Canal Basin, and the junction with Diglis Lane. There is also the added problem of a 10 week closure of the riverside walk between the Diglis Hotel and the Basin area.

However, I draw the Diglis Road/Lane issues to your particular attention because some of the more elderly/less physically able people who need to pass through the area to access local services are really struggling just now !

Politics is not Strictly Come Dancing

I am a great fan of "Bremmer, Bird and Fortune", and particularly enjoyed a sketch in which the Labour leadership issue is transformed into a "Strictly Come Dancing" contest. Tony and Cherie, together with Gordon and Sarah, are, of course, the finalists. Gordon manages some particularly fancy foot work, tripping Tony up, and leaving Cherie to wonder whether "Peter" (Mandelson)might make a better dancing partner.

Cherie Blair certainly tripped up Gordon Brown's flow yesterday at the Labour Party Conference, whether she said "Can I pass" (her own version of events), or "That's a lie", her words in response to Gordon's expression of admiration for her husband, according to a female journalist.

One message to be drawn from the above episodes is that partners can be liabilities as well as assets, and this lesson is particularly pertinent to New Labour.

Several years ago when I had occasion to do quite alot of work around the London local (then mainly Labour) government "scene", it sometimes occured to me that virtually everyone was
someone else's partner. Indeed, I also wondered whether being thus partnered was an unwritten condition for certain consultancy contracts.

The fact is that in the politics of "New Labour" who your partner is really is really matters. After all, we wouldn't even be thinking about the prospect of Gordon Brown becoming leader of the Labour Party and the next prime minister if he wasn't married to Sarah.

Personally, I don't think this state of affairs is particularly good. The last single person to be leader of a major UK political party (the Greens are more progressive in this respect) was Edward Heath in the 1970s. Sir Edward's premiership may not have been spectacular. However, on the international scene his major achievement was membership of the E C, in my view a more positive contribution to British Foreign policy than the legacy of the Blair government.

Moreover, Heath's contemporary, the trade unionist Jack Jones described him as a greater friend of British working people (including those "hard working families" invoked by New Labour), than the Labour prime ministers who preceded and followed him : Harold Wilson (married but childless) and Jim Callaghan (a "family man").

As far as I can make out, the later Sir Edward was a cultured man who knew how to enjoy to enjoy himself. During the years of the Thatcher Government, he was also widely regarded as the most effective member of her majesty's opposition (whilst the Labour Party fought amongst itself). In more recent times, Sir Edward too seems to have enjoyed a dance : for instance, at the opening of an exhibition by the painters Gilbert and George.

The fact is that you don't have to be a family person, married or have a partner to be a good politician. Even if I have to wait a long time, I look forward to the kind of British politics which will again allow a single person - be they straight, gay or, for that matter, bisexual - to be prime minister.

Now, where's my pogo stick....