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....."