Enter "The Dogfather" of British Politics ?

Those of us who would like to see changes at the top of the British Establishment welcome the prospect of one less Blair, namely London Metropolitan police chief Sir Ian Blair. London Mayor Boris Johnson has described any plot to oust Sir Ian as "Barking", a response which has caused me some reflection.

Now Ken Livingstone's manual of government, as Leader of the Greater London Council, was The Godfather and, indeed, the plot of this book has been the inspiration for contemporary thinking on the darker arts of management.

Not having read The Godfather myself, or managed to stay awake through the film, I was nevertheless entertained recently to find a local canine consultant advertising himself as "The Dogfather". With his reference to "Barking", a canine management style sounds more up the street of Boris Johnson.

Proud to be viewed across 5 Continents !

Yes, it's official : according to Google Analytics, this blog is now viewed across the 5 Continents, and I have genuinely gone global ! A Big Thank You to all my readers out there.

Back To The Basics Of Economy....Again

The debate about Main Street vs Wall Street : whether the proposed United States Government bail-out of the latter is in the best interest of the former is an important one. However, the key issue is not so much whether the Wall Street bail-out is essential for Main Street USA, but whether it is in the best interests of the global economy, by which I mean the banking systems and, consequently, government finances of other major economies, such as our own. Here, the answer is, almost certainly, yes. This high level of co-dependency is the downside (and, yes, it is a downside !) of the most recent wave of globalisation, and, to a very real extent, we are all in this economic boat together.

This is not to say that there is no "real economy" out there in the real world, of which Main Street is a part, which could not survive a major international banking failure. There may well be. However, the consequences of such a failure, not just for private sector corporations but also for public finances would generally be regarded as unacceptable.

My greatest concern is whether the lessons of the current financial crisis will be fully learned, particularly in this country. Our economy has become more and more dependent on a smaller and smaller number of sectors, namely, banking and financial services, property and construction, and retail/distribution. These are especially vulnerable to present problems. We need to develop a more broadly based economy again. This will require action at every level of government : national, regional and local. A good place to start might be London, and I can recommend Mayor Boris Johnson some good reading : The Greater London Council's London Industrial Strategy, published shortly before its abolition by the Thatcher Government in 1986.

See also : http://witchofworcester.wordpress.com & http://janetmackinnon.wordpress.com

Why I want to vote for a People's Party (and not a Piffle Party !)

Piffle = "Foolish or futile talk or ideas; nonsense" (The Free Dictionary)

One of the main reasons we find ourselves in the state we're in has been the over pre-occupation of the main political parties in Britain, most of all the New Labour Government , but also the Conservatives and to a lesser degree the Liberal Democrats, with piffle, to quote London Mayor Boris Johnson. By piffle, I mean a foolish, and frequently futile, pre-occupation with domestic social issues to the exclusion of serious attention to the economy, geopolitics and the environment.

Personally, for instance, I'm fed up with politicians invoking "hard-working families". What on earth does this mean ? A return to 19th century domestic economy where several generations of the same family labour under one roof, and live in fear of the work house perhaps. What people need is economic stability and a sustainable livelihood, including fair incentives to work, whether they choose to live in a conventional family or some other arrangement.

The main function of government, to differing degrees at the local/regional, national and global levels, is to create the conditions for sustainable economic development through good regulation, and other measures, having regard to the need for environmental conservation and protection. As far as possible, avoidance of violent international and civil conflicts is also a key requirement, as is emergency and disaster management.

The provision of health, education and other social services is also an important role of government, but this is not possible in the absence of good economic management, based on a realistic understanding of the main contributors to the economic cycle at any particular time, something the present government has never possessed. Given their own shortcomings, the role of this and, indeed, other governments is not, therefore, to tell people how to run their own lives.
For New Labour, this has been a fatal distraction from the real work of government.

Power at Any Price

The Prime Minister has been keen to emphasise just how "ordinary" he is during the Labour Party Conference, although he also wants to be seen as a "serious man for serious times". Sounds a bit like Iain Duncan-Smith's "quiet man" stuff to me, so I'm hoping Gordon Brown will be off doing something more suited to his "ordinariness" in the not-too-distant future : adviser to the nuclear industry perhaps, like his brother. Yes, whilst the global economy and our own have been playing havoc, British (nuclear !) Energy is being sold off to the company for whom the Prime Minister's brother works, French government-owned EDF. Quelle Surprise ! However, the economic and financial viability of nuclear power - like so much else just now - still remains very much open to question.

World Exclusive : Chancellor's Cat on Economy

The Chancellor of the Exchequer's cat speaks out on the economy to my own moggie. Her comments have been transcribed by me @ http://janetmackinnon.wordpress.com

My Lessons from the Last Recession

I genuinely "feel" for those people who have lost their jobs recently or suspect they are in danger of doing so. Yes, this even applies to some of those in government.

As someone who was made redundant in early 1990 by the property development and investment company for whom I worked, I know how it feels to suddenly lose a well-paid job when you have a large mortgage to pay. Fortunately, the terms of redundancy were better for most people in those days, and I had little or no credit card debt at that time. However, the situation was no less scary : interest rates were escalating and other companies to whom I might have looked for work - like the then owners of Canary Wharf, Olympia and York - were also going under.

Again fortunately, I found new employment within a few months in the Construction and Property Group of accountants and management consultants Coopers & Lybrand Deloitte (now PriceWaterhouse Coopers) where I remained until 1992. Frankly, I was surprised to have "stuck in" here for so long, as new waves of redundancy continued around me.

All this uncertainty fundamentally changed my attitude to life and, most of all, to work. No matter how how hard you have worked and how successful you may feel you are, remember that in the worlds of business - as in other areas of life - things can change suddenly for the worse, and, also, for the better. Although, the "better" may be something very different from what you are doing now, requiring nothing short of a shift in consciouness or mind-set. The last recession was for me a catalyst for what was ultimately a considerable improvement in my life, although not so much for my material success. In short, it fundamentally changed my values.

However, if all this sounds a bit airy-fairy, then you might consider procuring a "power object" or "fetish" to help you on your way. See my blog @ http://janetstone.wordpress.com/

The Business of Government

Update : see http://limits-2-growth.blogspot.com : 1984 as a "Manual for Government" from www.politics.co.uk

WARNING : What follows will almost certainly be regarded as an offence against political correctness, for which I offer no apologies ! Having reflected on the matter over the weekend, I feel it would be beneficial for this country if the Labour Party were to have a leadership election. The other main political parties almost certainly do not want this, which is precisely why it would be a good thing for the rest of us.

A couple of weeks ago, former London Mayor Ken Livingstone appeared on BBC Radio 4's "Any Questions" having just returned from seeing his friend Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Chavez, it seemed, had asked Mr Livingstone to submit proposals for providing "technical assistance" on urban planning and development. Let's hope it's sustainable !

Now it sounded to me as if Ken might have been a little jet-lagged, as he managed at one point to confuse David Cameron and David Miliband - a revealing Freudian slip perhaps - before confiding to the audience that he had been invited to appear on Celebrity Wife Swap, although his partner had apparently put the phone down before Ken could take up the offer.

As an admirer (but not that sort !) of Mr Livingstone, I was actually rather sorry to learn that one of the mighty had fallen on such hard times. For Ken (Lord Livingstone, I presume !) would be my obvious choice for a Labour Deputy Prime Minister, and the natural successor of John Prescott in a newly resurrected Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

Why do I propose this ? Quite simply, Ken Livingstone (warts and all) understands the business of government. His quote from The Godfather in the rather good 1987 memoir "If voting changed anything they'd abolish it" in which he distinguishes the personal from "business" reflects this understanding, even if he has sometimes forgotten his own good sense.

I have yet to be convinced that the leadership of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats really do understand the business of government. For they seem to offer, or so it appears to me, a continuation of the kind of Hello -or GQ - magazine style politics favoured by The Blairs, even if new media channels are their preferred medium of expression.

As for Gordon Brown, his tenure as Prime Minister appears to reflect a classic confusion of the personal and political realms, after the practice of a former Soviet dictator to whom he has been compared. The wave of sackings over the weekend, and the Prime Minister's attempts to undermine the Labour Party constitution regarding the circulation of ballot papers in advance of Conference for a possible leadership contest, only serve to re-inforce such comparisons.

It's the Economy & the Environment, Stupid !

Feeling a little "Do Minimum" today, I've decided to sydicate a post from my Witch of Worcester Blog (see below). In doing this, I'm following the advice of Gerd Gigerenzer in "Gut Feelings -Short Cuts to Better Decision Making" published by Penquin, which I've just picked up in the local library.

Environmental groups in the UK have accused political parties of letting the environment recede as a priority, so it's time to remind ourselves that in sustainable development & regeneration these issues are inextricably linked. Development which is unsustainable economically is, often as not, environmentally unsustainable as well.

The UK could - if our politicians were minded to make this happen - be a global leader in planning for sustainability. We are a small island, with one of the highest population densities in the worlds. We need to reduce our own environmental bootprint, and set an example to other nations. Sustainable land use and area regeneration policies should be a priority for us.

The British Property Federation and the Planning Inspectorate.
A few years ago, I drew the Planning Inspectorate’s attention to an error on their website. This referred to Liz Peace as Chief Executive of the British Property Foundation (instead of Federation). Ms Peace was identified as an non-executive director of the Planning Inspectorate. At that time - and still - I have mixed feelings about this kind of appointment. No environmental interests, as far I can make out, are represented on the board of the Inspectorate, an Executive Agency of government. However, it has to be said that some of the most sensible work on area regeneration and sustainable development has come from the British Property Federation, and, indeed, some property developers are more advanced in their thinking on these matters than most local councillors and officers in an area like South Worcestershire.

It is fair to say that planning in South Worcestershire is dominated by the mass housebuilding industry. Certain places are positively swarming with house-builder’s “agents” wanting to expand their own or their client’s land banks, with a view to obtaining change of use for housing development and planning consents. This in turn drives local authority designations and planning permissions. The argument being that if change of use and actual consents are withheld, developers will win on Appeal.

This kind of practice is going on all over the country and is a contributing factor to the current parlous state of the mass housebuilding industry, for which, incidentally, I have absolutely zero sympathy, although I am sorry for individuals and small businesses who have lost their jobs. The fact is that too much land has been allocated for housebuilding and too many planning consents granted in places like South Worcestershire. Developers have land-banked excessively and the value of their assets have plummeted as a consequence. There is also no market for much completed development, particularly for apartments, notwithstanding the various government initiatives being promoted to convert these into affordable housing.

Perhaps we do really needs a British Property Foundation (as distinct from Federation) to tackle the underlying problems of the mass housebuilding sector, as no one else - least of all central government - is doing this. It has to be said that none of the other main (or minor) political parties have much to offer either. However, in the short term we need the Planning Inspectorate to demonstrate that it has a real grasp of land economy and property market issues, which has not, by and large, been the case to date

Blogging for Charity : A Call for Help !

As a consequence of listing my voluntary work and charitable interests on another Blog (Bloggers please consider doing this !), I have been contacted by an Animal Shelter in Jamaica who are struggling with damage caused by Hurricane Gustav in the Caribbean and urgently need financial support : http://www.theanimalhousejamaica.org/

I've had enough of all this Balls...

It seems to me that Children's Secretary Ed Balls is pushing for the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer. Stop Pushing, That Boy ! I think it's high time you were excluded from government office. You've been the bully of Gordon's Gang for too long, setting up poor Alistair Darling with no forewarning of the Credit Crunch when - clever boy that you are - you'd been the Chancellor's (ie Gordon's) Representative on Earth for all those years. Of course, perhaps you didn't know the Crunch was coming either, in which case, like your wife, you're not so clever as you make out, and perhaps even a little stupid !

Having got that off my chest, I now want to move back to the subject of gender equality. For it seems to me that Mr & Mrs Balls (Schools Secretary Ed Balls and his wife Yvette Cooper, Chief Secretary to the Treasury) epitomise what the New Labour Elite understand by gender equality in the workplace : having a spouse who has a job about as powerful and well paid as one's own, which also enjoys generous allowances and tax breaks etc. Of course if Ed Balls were to become Chancellor and his wife remained Financial Secretary, I'm not sure how they'd manage !

Now, as it happens, this "Golden Couple" are also New Labour's leading lights on "Class". In short, they don't like "Toffs" like David Cameron and George Osborne, respectively Conservative Party Leader and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. This in turn brings me back to the US Republicans choice of candidate for Vice-President, Sarah Palin or "Rottweiler Mom", as we don't allow ordinary folk to have Pit Bulls (even with lipstick on) in this country. For it seems to me that if any of Ms Palin's offspring were failed, as children over here have been, by Ed's Balls Ups.....the consequences for him might be not only serious, but painful !

Why Class Politics are Important for Them and Us

Whilst I don't believe Sarah Palin represents the future for Feminism, I do recognise that Patrician John McCain's choice of Republican running-mate reflects his appreciation of the importance of class politics in the United States, as in this country. For many people class identification remains as important as other forms of social affiliation, including ethnic origin, and, however much some politicians may talk of a "Classless Society" this is not the reality. Nor is it without irony, therefore, that both the US Democratic and UK New Labour Parties have are faring less well on the "Class Issue" at the present time than there Conservative counterparts.

Over here, the case of Blackpool is a good example of the failure of New Labour to understand Class Politics with the result that the local council has recently, after many years under Labour control, turned Conservative. Now Blackpoool in a "Political Town" in so far as it has been one of the main Party Conference venues, although it has been the preferred host of the Conservatives, Labour preferring Metropolitan and Southern venues in recent years. Moreover, the Super Casino fiasco also left Blackpool (and a few other places for that matter) in the lurch, as the townhad been positioning itself for some time as the Las Vegas of the North of England.

Blackpool sees itself as a the UK Capital of Entertainment (as distinct from Culture), and its appeal is to the more traditional tastes of the Working Classes. This is a town apparently fuelled by the flow of alcohol, the downside of which is that it has some of the highest rates of alcoholism in England; and some of the worse deprivation because traditional working class pleasures, and pleasure grounds like Blackpool - as well as other sea-side towns - have been out-of-favour with their New Labour "Social Worker". I mean by "Her", Liberal Elite "feminists" like Deputy Party Leader Harriet Harman and former Culture Secretary (now Olympics Minister) Tessa Jowell.

Is Neo-Con Mom the Future for Feminism ?

US Republican Vice Presidential hopeful "Mom" (and soon to be Grand Mother) Sarah Palin has been hailed by certain press commentators in the Mail and Financial Times as a "true feminist". Well, some feminists certainly like the personal to be political, and Ms Palin has rapidly achieved this, or rather her pregnant 17 year old daughter has on her mother's behalf. Bristol is also, or so we are led to believe, shortly to have an "arranged", marriage to her baby-father, a spotty youth of 18 whose Bebo entry proclaims that he doesn't "want kids", nor a "forced" marriage I strongly suspect. All this because Mom's teachings seem to have fallen short on sex education and contraception - or perhaps Creationist's don't go in for these - and abortion is an absolute "NO, NO" for "Conservatives Christians", like Sarah Palin.

This is very strange because I thought "Feminism" was all about a Woman's Right to Choose : whether or not to have children, get married etc. In much of the world, if not in Alaska, these are absolutely key issues for Women's Human Rights, as is the issue of contraception both for birth control and to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. As the case of Bristol shows, sexual abstinence may neither be the preferred choice (or even an option !) for the majority of women, most of whom are far less fortunate than Sarah Palin's daughter in their economic circumstances, and those of their unborn children. So as far as I'm concerned this Neo-Con Mom is no more the future for feminism than any of the other regressive religious ideologies, including much of what passes for "christianity".

Another Lady of Letters* Goes Global...

Yes, I've decided to "Go Global" (http://janetsgeopolitics.wordpress.com/). After years of being berated by former friends and colleagues, for my "localism" it's time to take on the world again. Nevertheless, I would still remind all and sundry that it's precisely those "little" local difficulties that also raise serious, and sometimes deeply troubling, questions of our "world view" : please see my provincial blog @ http://witchofworcester.wordpress.com/

* A rather good radio comedy in the modern epistolary style.

Need for UK-wide Regeneration Task Force(s)

Area regeneration (regional, urban, rural) in the UK is not working ! We need a National Regeneration Task Force (which represents the interests of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) as well as regional task forces.

In England, these should be set up by the Regional Development Agencies. However, they should not be quango-led ! Representation should go beyond "the usual suspects" for which regeneration and development "sectors" are somewhat notorious.

As part of my contribution to the much needed regeneration debate, I'm this week re-activating two blogs :

• Smart Limits to Growth (http://smartlimits2growth.wordpress.com/) tomorrow
• & A Manifesto for Regeneration (http://regen-man.blogspot.com) on Friday

Incidentally, the major catalyst for this blog was a train journey from Worcester to Birmingham International Station in March 2006 : the "wastelands" of the West Midlands Conurbation inspiring a post entitled "The End of Birmingham and the Beginning of My Blog" (See Planning 22/9/2006).

The "Bombsite Britain Tax"

In recent weeks The Financial Times (FT) has carried articles on :

• The vulnerability of regeneration areas to the economic downturn/recession
• Skepticism about whether the English Regional Development Agencies are "working"
• The financial levy on empty shops, offices and warehouses introduced last April

The article on the empty property levy (or "Bombsite Britain Tax") which appeared in The Weekend FT 23-24 August, opened as follows :

" British Cities are "beginning to look like like broken teeth" , with hundreds of buildings being razed as the result of a damaging tax on empty property, a government regeneration chief said yesterday..."

All this does of course beg the question : where is the joined up government, given that regeneration of brownfield sites is supposedly a priority for this one ?

I will be tackling the subject of "Bombsite Britain" again at a later date. However, just now I would refer readers to my E-Pantomime on the theme of regeneration "Carry On Communities", which opens with these words from The Giant ( an ogre !) known as "The Big Clunking Fist" (aka Gordon Brown) :

" Fee Fi Fo Fum

I smell the Funds of an Englishman.

Be He Alive or be He Dead,

I'll have His Money for My Bread !"

Please see http://eponaland.wordpress.com/ for EPONA News & Updates

The Travails of Transport for London

I sympathise with London Mayor Boris Johnson's problems at Transport for London (TfL). This is indeed an extremely "political" organisation. However, may I remind TfL's new leader that "stakeholders" in the "Re-opened" (?) Thames Gateway Bridge Public Inquiry (like myself) need a clear statement from him on whether this episode in the life of a proposed East London London River Crossing is, as his own comments and press speculation seem to suggest, in fact going to close. I can also offer this advice (based on nearly a quarter century of area regeneration work) that in planning strategy (as no doubt in Geopolitics - see below) all reasonable options need to be considered, including the "Do Minimum".

Please see http://crookbarrow.wordpress.com for Crookbarrow Associates News & Updates.

Trying Times for The Russian Bear (& "Comrade Wolf")

In response to Mr Trying Times criticism of my Geo-political Bestiary ("Don't Goad The Russian Wolf Too Much !) in my post of yesterday, I would draw attention to the following extract from The Guardian of May 2006, which anticipates the G8 Summit in St Petersburg :

"Mr Putin, in his speech, noted that the American military budget was 25 times the size of Russia's and said the US had turned its home into a castle.

"Good for them," the Russian president said, looking up from his notes, directly at his audience, "but this means we must make our own home strong and reliable. Because we see what is happening in the world. We see it."

He added, in what appeared to be a reference to the US-led invasion of Iraq and its approach to Iran: "As they say, 'comrade wolf knows whom to eat. He eats without listening and he is clearly not going to listen to anyone'." He accused the US of hypocrisy over its criticism of Russia's patchy human rights record.

"Where is all this pathos about protecting human rights and democracy when it comes to the need to pursue their own interests?"

In another veiled reference to Washington's approach to Iraq and Iran, he said: "Methods of force rarely give the desired result and often their consequences are even more terrible than the original threat." He added that Russia was "unambiguously" against the spread of nuclear weapons.

In another apparent jibe aimed at the US, he said countries should not use Russia's negotiations over membership of the World Trade Organisation to make unrelated demands".

I hope this puts my reference to the Russian Wolf in the correct Geo-political context !

Don't Goad The Russian Wolf Too Much !

In my latest post @ The Edge of Town (http://the-edge-of-town.blogspot.com/) I've reflected upon the real and potential dangers of Russian oppression for countries of the former Soviet Block, as demonstrated in the current crisis in Georgia. However, foreign politicians must, in my view, be equally careful not to goad the Russian Wolf to much. The West, notably the United States and Britain, does not have an unblemished record on recent interventions in foreign territories, particularly where energy supplies are at stake.

"New" politicians on the international scene, like David Cameron, want to reflect rather more on how they might handle relationships with Russia, should they win the next British General Election, not least because of our important trading links with that country.

Russian treatment of BP (British Petroleum) may have been heavy-handed, but this is, after all, a company which can justly be accused of gross profiteering, and a tarnished record on environmental and safety issues in some parts of the world.

For my own part, I'd like the Russian Government to take a less "macho" stance on domestic and foreign policy. It's a shame all that testosterone hasn't apparently focused itself more on winning medals at the Beijing Olympics, as I thought one of the main functions of "The Games", along with football and other macho sports, was to distract energy and attention away from violent Geo-politics. However, in the case of Russia we may need more "Nudge Politics" (I think they're called) in the future, if we are to avoid real War Games.

Some Background Information from the US Department of Energy (May 2008)
Russia holds the world's largest natural gas reserves, the second largest coal reserves, and the eighth largest oil reserves. Russia is also the world's largest exporter of natural gas, the second largest oil exporter and the third largest energy consumer.

In 2007, Russia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by approximately 8.1 percent, surpassing average growth rates in all other G8 countries, and marking the country’s seventh consecutive year of economic expansion. Russia’s economic growth over the past seven years has been driven primarily by energy exports, given the increase in Russian oil production and relatively high world oil prices during the period. Internally, Russia gets over half of its domestic energy needs from natural gas, up from around 49 percent in 1992. Since then, the share of energy use from coal and nuclear has stayed constant, while energy use from oil has decreased from 27 percent to around 19 percent.

Russia’s economy is heavily dependent on oil and natural gas exports. In order to manage windfall oil receipts, the government established a stabilization fund in 2004. By the end of 2007, the fund was expected to be worth $158 billion, or about 12 percent of the country’s nominal GDP. According to calculations by Alfa Bank, the fuel sector accounts for about 20.5 percent of GDP, down from around 22 percent in 2000. According to IMF and World Bank estimates, the oil and gas sector generated more than 60 percent of Russia’s export revenues (64% in 2007), and accounted for 30 percent of all foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.

Kremlin policy makers continue to exhibit an inclination to advance the state's influence in the energy sector. Taxes on oil exports and extraction are still high, and Russia’s state-influenced oil and gas companies are obtaining controlling stakes in previously foreign-led projects. State-owned export facilities have grown at breakneck pace, while private projects have progressed more slowly or have been met with roadblocks by state-owned companies or by various government agencies.

Why Britain Needs a Labour Government

I awoke this morning from what Carl Jung might have called a "Big Dream", so first let me recount this - it was short ! - and then offer some interpretation.

Entering a glassy office, I ask to speak to "The Tower". "Don't call Him that !" responds the Secretary, who bears a passing resemblance to Yvette Cooper, Chief Financial Secretary to The Treasury. In a further glass office, rather smaller than that of his Secretary, but apparently with an external view, sits a gloomy looking man reading documents : it is Gordon Brown.

At this point, I awake feeling somewhat cheerful. My first thoughts are of "The Tower" card in the Tarot deck.

Students of The Cards will know that The Tower depicts two figures, a man and a woman, being thrown headlong from a tall structure apparently stuck by lightening (or reality !).

Now Ms Cooper and husband Balls remind me of that Northern couple whose husband faked his own death, and who later turned up at a police station in Southern England claiming to have no memory of anything that happened before the year 2000 : a problem incidentally common to New Labour policy makers, until recently anyway.

It also seems that Children's Secretary Mr Balls may have disappeared lately - too many difficult questions to answer ? - or he may just be on "Child Care" leave.

As for the gloomy figure of Mr Brown, he may have realised that Ms Cooper's Secretarial skills are no better than those of her husband; and, of course, she may claim at some later stage that she was bullied by both of them into pursuing the wrong policies. However, my impression is that for Mr Brown, at least, the grim light of reality has (at last) struck home.

So what's to be done ? Well, the first thing is to sack his Secretary. Sorry New Labour Ladies, but we need a change of Administration here ! Mr Brown also needs to sack her husband.

Next, Mr Brown needs to create a Labour Government, and if he is unwilling or unable to do this he needs to stand down as Prime Minister and Leader of his Party.

This Labour Government needs to radically "Cut the Crap !" ie thoroughly "Jargon-Bust" the Corridors of Power, and focus on policies which have real meaning to ordinary people. High amongst these must be measures to target growing wage inequality, including a radical cull of highly-paid (from the public purse) "Jobsworths" in favour of those who represent Real Labour.

Trying Times for Security and Defence Services

Mr "Trying Times", who describes his profession as "Accountancy", has posted this comment on my earlier Blog regarding "Professions Better Suited to Single People". This refers to the case of Max Mosley, who was "outed" by the wife of an ex-employee of MI5 :

"Who said her husband was a former Director of MI5. What's the source of that information? The best I can place him at is earning £23,500/year as a staffer on the middle-east desk working in Circulations. I'm pretty sure that a (former) Director of MI5 wouldn't be living in a two-bed Semi in Chavsville, so what is your source please?"

My source, or so I thought, was BBC Radio when the story first broke in ? March/April this year, but I may be mistaken. Perhaps the Director was sacked for failing to "vet" his staff sufficiently.
However, like Mr "Trying Times", I also interested in remuneration.

Surely the key issue here is money, which I take up in my earlier Blog :"Spooks and the Real Power Inquiry". My guess is that many MI5 staff, like their counterparts in the Armed Services aren't earning enough, and they and their families are easy prey for press payouts. Remember the case of the British marines captured by the Iranians who were then paid for their stories !

30 Years On & Why History Matters

In 1978, I visited the State of New York on family business : although this was a vacation I did not spend much time in the tourist areas. Upstate New York was very beautiful and the traffic moved sedately on the freeway because strict speeds limits were in place to conserve energy. Remember the 1970s Oil Crisis ! Meanwhile, the City of New York teetered on the brink of bankruptcy, but was saved, by amongst other things, its new Mayor. Elsewhere, in the cities of eastern USA, news bulletins showed spates of burnt-out apartment buildings which had either been abandoned by their inhabitants, and/or used for insurance claims because property values were plummeting. Nevertheless, in the midst of all this new shopping malls were springing up in so-called "Edge Cities", accessible only to cars consuming energy the country was trying to save.

I visited the United States again in 1991, this time travelling to California to visit a friend, and my last visit to date. Most of my vacation was spent around the San Francisco Bay area, but I also went to Yosemite and Santa Cruz. On this occasion, I was again struck by some wonderful scenery, but also by overdevelopment, and by the disparities between "good" and "bad" areas. However, the situation seemed much better, for California anyway, than in 1978.

The US economy was in recession during both my visits, so perhaps I'm due another, but this "downturn" (a current euphemism, I feel) seems to be different from previous ones. "The Good Places" seem just as vulnerable as "The Bad", as revealed in the last weekend's business section of The Observer newspaper. This contains a feature on the State of California and home of one the world's largest economies, whose government currently has budgetory problems.... ?on a par with those of New York City in 1978. The State's Standard and Poor Credit Rating has been downgraded because of its so-called "bubble economy" ie one overly vulnerable to a plummeting property market. The Observer article highlights the plight of the Stockton, a commuter city to the north of San Francisco and also now scene of abandoned neighbourhoods.

This sorry story makes for stark reading, but am I in the least surprised ? Nope, not at all. The US City-States have never been models of sustainable development, and nor has the country's wider economy. Let's not forget that North American capitalism is precarious, not so precarious as the capitalism of much of the so-called emerging economies - of South America, India, China etc - but precarious nonetheless. History shows this. UK Government please take note !

PS "A Man in Full" by Tom Wolfe, which I felt was even better than "The Bonfire of the Vanities", deals with the propensity for US property "bubbles", this time in Atlanta.

A New Department for Land Economy

News that Gordon Brown is to host a Cabinet Meeting in the West Midlands on 8 September is to be welcomed. Might I suggest the newly refurbished Council Chamber at Worcestershire County Hall, if this has not already been put forward as a possible venue. I would also like to propose an agenda item for the meeting : a new Department for Land Economy.

For it seems to me that most economists have an inadequate understanding of land economy (planning, property markets etc) and most planners have a poor comprehension of economy.
As a starting point, I think we need a Centre for Land Economy in the West Midlands. Perhaps Vice Chancellor Green of Worcester University, and a Cambridge economics graduate (a University with one of the world's few departments of land economy) could help here.

A Government Department for Land Economy would, of course, need to be thoroughly "joined-up", bringing together regional, urban and rural development, regulation of the property and housing markets, land-based industries, and, of course, planning, for a start. Sustainable development and, particularly, regeneration would be central to the department's mission.

If all this sounds a bit "blue sky" might I suggest the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs's (DEFRA) Foresight Centre look into the proposal. As someone who regular does some "Horizon Scanning" herself (from Crookbarrow Hill next to Junction 7 of the M5), I can tell the boffins that they and their political masters need to come down to earth....and I can think of few more appropriate places than Worcestershire.

"This isn't the Roman Empire"

No, indeed ! Nor is this a reference to the Murdoch Media Empire's relations with the British Security Services, Boris Johnson's address in Latin at the opening of the Emperor Hadrian exhibition, or even London's preparations for the 2012 Olympics. No, this quotation - from yesterday's West Midlands edition of the Metro newspaper - refers to Worcestershire County Council's expenditure of "£850 000 on one room" (!) which provoked these comments from the TaxPayers' Alliance :

"This isn't the Roman Empire - taxpayers don't want glittering prestige buildings, they want their bins collected on time."

Now, as it happens, Worcestershire's bins are collected by the District Councils - Worcester City, Malvern Hills, Wychavon etc - and do not fall under the auspices of the County Council. However, the structure of Worcestershire's local government is pertinent to the underlying issues here : value for money, sustainable development and local democracy. The "room" in question, incidentally, is the Council Chamber in County Hall (built in the 1970s, when it accommodated not only Worcestershire but also Herefordshire County Council).

This annexation of Hereford County Council was subsequently abandoned, and it is a testimony to the rolling forward of the frontiers of the local state that said building - whose (? New Brutalist) structure would have done proud any former Soviet regime - now has difficulty accommodating the one County of Worcestershire's bureaucrats, and, more particularly, their vehicles in the adjoining acres of car-parking. Some may find such expansionism curious in a local authority which is regarded, by and large, as Conservative.

By way of explanation, I would propose that the expansion of this particular "empire" is testimony to the power of the local bureaucrat, many of whom now command salaries higher than their "peers" in higher eschelons of government, and, indeed, in some cases, the Prime Minister. Sadly, such power does not so much cascade, as trickle, down to local communities, as the individuals and groups whose concerns have been "silenced" in the Council Chamber of Worcestershire County Hall can testify, and, this is notwithstanding the current expenditure of :

"...£115 000 ...on electronics ...65 microphones, a sound system, two radio microphones...."

This expenditure, reported in yesterday's Metro, along with "about £631 000...on construction" helpfully brings me back to the subject of "waste", although not bin collections. For it was last year that the protestations of local people went unheard - because they were not allowed to speak - in that "room" now under consideration, when Worcestershire County Council granted planning permission for a major new waste facility on an environmentally sensitive site, served by poor infrastructure, and prone to flooding.

My prediction is that the Council's current "splashing out" of £850k will most certainly not lead to the creation of a Temple of Democracy in County Hall, nor will this facilitate better decision-making on controversial local development projects be they "glittering prestige buildings", waste facilities or the urban extensions much favoured by bureacrats. Real democracy in places like Worcestershire will require, quite simply, fewer empire builders facilitated through the streamlining and re-structuring of local government in the County. Let's get started !

The Next Leader of the Labour Party.....

... should of course be Diane Abbott. Never mind the wimpish Mr Miliband, or one makeover too many Ms Harman, the Labour Party needs a woman of substance to renew its values, and tackle any rogue elements amongst the security services and its spouses, amongst other things...

Professions better suited to single people

In a society increasingly mawkish about marriage and the family, I am sure that some will censure me if I suggest that some professions are best suited to single people. I would include amongst such professions those of spy and purveyor of sado-masochistic services, and, perhaps particularly, where the two roles are combined. The case of "Witness E" in the deliberations of Court 13 regarding "Family Man Max Mosley vs Family Values News International" has of course focused my attention on this matter.

For it seems that Witness E - please correct me if I am wrong -, a married woman with 2 children (? and wife of a- now former - MI5 Director ), was the catalyst for this media furore, playing the role not only of dominatrix, but also, as it were, agent provocateur and "double agent" in accepting payment from both Mr Mosley, for a domination services, and The News of the World (for hosting a secret camera in her cleavage). Unfortunately, one serious consequence of all this was that her husband lost his job, unless this was some Spooks-style sting, of course.

Yesterday, Witness E expressed remorse for her actions. Well, she would, wouldn't she ! She had, apparently, discussed the matter - in what detail she did not confide - with her husband on the day previous to the event. One would have hoped that he had shown the good judgement we expect of spouses and members of the security services, but obviously this was not the case. Perhaps the prospect of £20k (? cash up front) from The News of the World had something to do with it. Maybe he felt he was standing up for family values in helping to expose Mr Mosley.

Witness E described her anticipated activities with Mr Mosley to her husband as in the nature of a "joke", leading me to suspect that her own marital relations, like those of her client, were rather odd. Therefore my message to all those - all be they non-uniformed - relationship and family fascists out there is this (please take note !) : marital/civil partnership and family status is no guarantee of probity etc in professional and public life; there are as many married perverts as unmarried ones, and probably more ; and some professions are better suited to single people.

Please see also my earlier blog : "Spooks" and The Real Power Inquiry

You Can't Always Get What You Want....

I recently decided to purchase a new bicycle, and set myself a budget of £250. My old one had served me well for 8 years and I was looking for a similar "work horse". However, having visited 2 local independent (ie the sort I wished to buy from) shops, neither seemed particularly enthusiastic about my custom, and one was positively discouraging.

In the event, I purchased a Universal Mystique from Woolworths for £69.99, and had this assembled by a local cycle maintenance shop (Lewis's). Lewis's, as it happens, is one of the oldest businesses in Worcester and conveniently resides in a railway arch adjacent to the entrance of Worcester City Council's Planning Department. How's that for integrated transport !

I'm not sure the "Mystique" will last as well as my old Phantom, which in turn was assembled from foreign parts (mainly Chinese ?) by Witcombe Cycles of Deptford, South East London, but you never know. The Mystique was "Hand Built" in Sri Lanka, a country which , I realised recently, appears to be the source of most of my hard wearing Marks & Spencer "wardrobe".

Thus I was surprised to read in The Observer Magazine a few weeks ago that Sri Lanka is one of the world's worst "conflict zones", due to fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger militia, increasingly associated with suicide bombers. The escalation of the conflict has obviously impacted upon the country's economy, particularly tourism.

However, Sri Lanka, it would seem, remains an important source of products for British High Street retailers catering for the cost/quality-conscious customer (of whom I count myself one), and, quite possibly, for other sections of the retail market. People like me may well hanker after independent retailers and locally made goods, but you can't always get what you want !

But if you try, sometimes, you can get what you need....and hope that others can too !

"We Dont't Know How Bad It Could Get"

These, or similar, words were apparently captured by press photographers on papers carried by the Housing Minister, Caroline Flint. We've obviously come a long way since the days when things could only get better !

"Spooks" and The Real Power Inquiry

Some may remember the so-called Power Inquiry, chaired by the fragrant (some may also recall this epithet was applied to Mary, wife of Jeffrey, Archer) Helena Kennedy QC. The report of this so-called "inquiry" seems to have sunk without trace, although Baroness Kennedy carries on talking, rarely pausing for breath* when given the opportunity of a media airing.

This brings me naturally enough to the subject of sado-masochism, or S&M, which I somehow also associate with the last recession (early 1990s and all that). It was at this time that Madonna (always a barometer of zeitgeist) published a volume called, straightforwardly enough, "SEX", which was sold in a sealed foil bag, I think, and had strong S&M overtones, which the entertainer later said were heavily laced with irony. Maybe.

It may also have been about this time that proclivities of the former Lord Archer, consort of prostitutes started to emerge. He, like Max Mosley, by all accounts, paid handsomely for his pleasures with Ladies of the Trade, although there was no suggestion that these involved shame and degradation, that came later when he committed, amongst other things, the crime of perjury.

Nor was there any suggestion that one of Jeffrey Archer's consorts was the wife of a senior British Security Services officer, as was a member of Max Mosley's sexual consortium (some might say "orgy"). This lady's husband (a director of either MI5 or 6 ?) had to resign as a consequence. Not even a Howard Brenton penned episode of "Spooks" could have imagined this !


Now, whilst for the likes of Madonna, or Helena Kennedy QC for that matter, 500 knicker (as they used to be called) for a giving someone a good spank might not seem worth getting out of bed for, many of us, like the spook's spouse, would feel empowered by such generous financial reward, even if we had to buy our own work gear.

All this said, I'm naturally concerned that senior public servants (and particularly high level spooks) may not be earning enough money if their spouses feel the need to go on The Game, even if it's a game by another name. Have their earnings not kept pace with those of other senior public officials ?. I'm thinking of local authority chief executives on c£200k pa, for instance.

For my money, these are precisely the sort of issues a Power Inquiry should have examined, and if not, why not ? Perhaps Baroness Kennedy was not, as I strongly suspect, the right woman for the job. Do New Labour lack a dominatrix of suitable clout ? Or could this be a new role for Cherie Booth-Blair ? Not a woman averse to making a good whack, by all accounts !

However, we should be grateful that, in the case of Max Mosley, any extraordinary rendition of "Allo, Allo !" (which German TV has recently procured and is now showing) was confined to role play amongst "friends" in the basement of his London home. Equally reassuring, is that all surveillance (in the best public interest of course !) was conducted by The News of the World, and not by some hostile foreign power, unless of course the Murdoch Empire constitutes one.

"Breath" : a very good contemporary novel by Tim Winton which strikes a serious note on S&M; as does the equally good "Fame & Fortune" by Frederick Raphael about the Thatcher years.

Patronage Politics & Strategic Planning

Yesterday's Financial Times carried an article about plans by the University of Oxford's Said Business School to run a Masters course on strategic programme and project management. A lack of UK (and international ?) skills in these areas was cited as the main catalyst for the course. However, I would argue that these skills do already exist both here and abroad, and that the main constraint upon them is the increasing dominance of so-called patronage politics, or clientalism as it is sometimes called. The latter term also points to another problem. Lack of expertise, and, more importantly, experience amongst the "clients" for (and procurers of) strategic projects and programmes. Administration rather than management is the modus operandi of many of these organisations and groupings, with an over-reliance on often inappropriate and/or inadequately customised IT systems. Sound familiar ?

"A Binge rather than a Boom"

The well-regarded economist Roger Bootle recently commented that the circumstances leading up to the present "credit crunch" reflect a "binge rather than a boom".

When news of the former Deputy Prime Minister's bulimia broke yesterday - incidentally, I did think for a moment that Bremner, Bird and Fortune had hijacked Broadcasting House - my understanding of the New Labour Project was, therefore, profoundly deepened.

The fact that, in a world where there are serious food shortages and many people are starving, just why Mr Prescott should anticipate that the British public might feel sympathy with him is interesting in itself.

Hard working people often say to me that what they particularly dislike ("what I can't stand.."!)about New Labour's time in office is "The Greed" to which it has given rise and then rewarded.

News of Mr Prescott's erstwhile desire to chomp his way through the entire menu at his local Chinese Restaurant, and then spew up, may well make many British people, struggling to pay their rising food bills, feel sick.

However, this kind of thing appeals to the neurotic middle classes, who in my view, have come to make up much of the hard core support of New Labour, and have certainly been the main beneficiaries of its policies, including a "bingeing" economy.

Does Boris have the "Ken" to run London ?

I was recently asked who would have my votes (ie first and second preference) in the elections for London Mayor. This is a hypothetical question because I do not live in London. At the time, I responded the Green and Liberal Democrat candidates. However, on reflection my first choice would be Boris Johnson and my second Sian Berry : who might, incidentally, make a very good team, compensating for one another's weaknesses. Mr Johnson is a tad (or should that be cad ?)too clownish, and Ms Berry a little too serious. My questioner, although a Liberal Democrat who also lives outside London, said he would vote for Ken Livingstone, although I hope Brian Paddick would be his second choice.

My questioner was, I suspect, surprised that current London Mayor Ken Livingstone would not be amongst my voting preferences. The main reason for this is that I believe politicians should be limited to fixed terms of office ie 2 successive terms, and not "go on and on, and on" as Ken's great adversary, Mr Thatcher, threatened to do, but did not succeed, thankfully. Moreover, I have to confess to preferring early vintage Livingstone (as Leader of the Greater London Council) to the later variety. In short, Ken seems to have lost some of his metal, and perhaps like Vladimir Putin needs a sabbatical, if only to attend to his lady friends, as Mr Putin is reputedly engaged in doing.

I also happen to feel that Mayor Livingstone has run out of ideas, something Boris Johnson seems to have, although I'm not quite sure what they are, aside from the return of the Routemaster bus, which I heartily support. Indeed, if BoJo had no other ideas, I might vote for him on these grounds alone, being a great fan of the Routemaster, and occasionally experiencing an all too brief epiphany when I infrequently catch sight of an old one (usually the No 12) around Worcester, unfortunately no longer taking public passengers to Oxford Circus. However, like the Routemaster, old "Red" Ken holds not only a certain nostalgia, but the sense that he could make a comeback at a later stage.

In the meantime, I'll be asking, along with many other people, I'm sure : "Does Boris have the "Ken" to run London ?". Working with a good green woman like Sian Berry, he just might have.

Planning, Growth and Regeneration in England

Planning in England, and particularly in Southern England (an area stretching from the South East to Cheshire, albeit that some places in between are excluded !) is particularly problematic at the present time. This Government labours under some fallacious assumptions about the relationship between planning, growth and competitiveness which have proved remarkably resilient thus far to reality check. These assumptions have, by and large, been imported from the United States, and are based on the belief that the domestic economy can be continually grown through increased access to mortgage and other forms of consumer credit. The current crisis in the world's financial markets, itself largely brought about by the implosion of the US sub-prime home loans sector, is evidence that this is not a prudent fiscal strategy. However, our government's plans to increase housebuilding in the South of England are substantially founded on it. Another assumption imported from the US is that economic competitiveness is the beneficiary of a planning system which accommodates high vacancy levels, especially in the commercial property sector. Although again, over-supply of commercial, and residential, property in this country and the United States were important contributors to the previous global recession of the early 1990s.

In the above context, the current predicament of the West Midlands Regionals Spatial Strategy (WMRSS) Revision Preferred Option, which has in fact been hi-jacked by Central Government, provides an interesting point of reference. The Government believes that the West Midlands Regional Assembly's (incidentally WMRA is due to be abolished) plans for house-building in the period 2006-2026 are too low. Although, WMRA's risk assessment for its own proposals suggest that over-supply is more likely to be a problem than under provision. Moreover, the Government's intervention is not restricted to housing. The WMRSS Revision also covers employment land, transport and distribution and waste provision, all of which will have to reflect the increased numbers of housing proposed for the region. The outcome of all this is that the WMRSS Revision Preferred Option is unlikely to be sustainable in either economic or environmental terms. Furthermore, the WMRSS core strategy of "Urban Renaissance" (ie the regeneration of the 2 major conurbations in the West Midlands) is likely to undermined through excessive release of greenfield sites in counties such as Worcestershire, and even here greenfield sites may increasingly be developed before brownfield. In this scenario, the region would revert to the dispersal of economic activity and people away from the older urban areas. Isn't this also happening in the United States by a not-so-funny co-incidence ? So much for evidence-based policy making.

Please see also my blogs @

• http://limits-2-growth.blogspot.com (subtitled : Deconstructing the New Labout Project)
• http://smartlimits2growth.wordpress.com

One the Benefits of Health, Marriage and Family etc

In an interview with Channel 4 News's John Snow, an Islamic Cleric, since deported although his large family remain here, had the candour to say that he had enjoyed the benefits of living in Britain, including state benefits. Let's face it, at least he was being honest !

Now the Conservative Party have become very vociferous on the benefits of marriage and the family recently. I seem to remember that Ian Duncan Smith had to resign, in part, for employing his wife's administrative services, and, more recently, Derek Conway MP for paying his two sons (handsomely) as research assistants, although it wasn't clear that they had done any work.

Let's face it, Britain is a nation on the make where "state benefits" are concerned, whatever form these may take. Those in high office are just as culpable as those they regard as "the underclass", and so is just about every class in between.

I, for one, have become increasingly sympathetic to those claiming incapacity benefit, although I've never been a claimant myself, not yet anyway. However, I've found it so difficult to see an NHS doctor in recent years, that I'm seriously considering asking for a state medical, if such things exist these days. There might be some benefit in it for me after all !

We Are Not Being Served !

There has been a flurry (or should that be storm ?) of correspondence in my local paper recently about the wages of local government officers. Many feel these to be too high, and the upmarket vehicles on display in the council's car park are a particular gripe. My own view is that this is a difficult issue. Some council work does need to be well rewarded, to attract and retain high quality staff. However, the remuneration "package" for the new chief executive of said local authority was reported by a local councillor to be approaching £200K, which seemed rather steep, even by the standards of overpaid and under worked GPs.

I have to say that I was particularly unimpressed by a recent encounter with another new director (bearing the name "communities" in her job title) of the same council. A"stakeholder group" meeting for a major PFI project was in danger of being cancelled because of low attendance, so I thought I'd better go (in a voluntary capacity I hasten to add). The meeting was packed with paid staff from other local institutions, with rather fewer people, like myself, attending in the public interest. Needless to say, there was a great deal of waffle by the public sector cronies, and a few probing questions and points made from those attending in their own unpaid time.

At the end of it all, the new local authority director, a busty woman, bearing a passing resemblance to the character of Mrs Slocum in that classic British comedy series "Are You Being Served ?" - who'd spent a good deal of time fiddling with her earrings during the meeting (I'm sure you know the type !) - approached me to ask how I came to be in attendance (incidentally I was invited !) She clearly hadn't liked my contributions - obviously a reality check too far - and was obviously hoping to exclude me from future sessions, something I wouldn't mind, having only attended out of a sense of public service....and local authorities wonder why they can't attract high calibre councillors !

As for Mrs "Director" Slocum, I'm afraid she lacked both customer service skills and any sense of humour : both core competences for her position, I should think. Therefore, dock her pay, I say !

The Nationalisation of Northern Rock

News that Northern Rock is to be nationalised does not come as a surprise. There was a certain inevitability about yesterday's announcement. The prospect of an increasing number of "uncommercial" ventures having to be bailed out by the UK Government also looms. This Government's own over-optimistic faith in the god of economic growth, together with poor regulation of the economy, are the root causes of the present predicament. But would a change of government save the situation ? As one yet to be convinced by the "substance", as distinct from "spin", of the other political parties, I doubt it.

PS The following article pretty much sums up my take on Northern Rock :

"Life on Mars: Brown and Darling go back to the 70s
Richard Hunter, head of UK equities, Hargreaves Lansdown
February 18 2008

It seems the retro-fashion for all things 1970s has now extended to the corridors of Whitehall.

The decision to nationalise (albeit temporarily) Northern Rock is one that will not have been taken lightly and it may yet prove - although by no means guaranteed - to have been the "least worst" option, to use what has become Northern Rock's catchphrase.

In the 1970s, a number of faltering British companies were taken back into public ownership in an effort to revive their fortunes. Rolls-Royce in 1971 (subsequent privatisation did not take place until 1987), British Leyland and British Aerospace were among those nationalised, with the likes of the banking arm of Johnson Matthey following on in the 1980s.

In the mid to late 1980s, the trend was reversed with the Conservative government's decision to privatise a number of businesses in an attempt to promote wider share ownership, which saw the likes of British Telecom, British Gas and British Airways becoming quoted companies".

A Non-Elected Chancellor of the Exchequer ?

There were murmurings on the radio this morning about the prospect of a Cabinet re-shuffle. I thought we'd just had one (see below). Of course this may have gone unnoticed by some !

The current Chancellor of the Exchequer was identified as someone on the transfer list, with Ed ("I've got the") Balls named as a possible successor. I won't repeat my views on Balls.

Personally, I might favour a Non-Elected Chancellor, following the precedent of Lord Digby de B'rm. Now let me think....Richard Branson and Virgin Treasury Services perhaps. Ho, Ho, Ho !

Core Incompetences have Serious Consequences

Today's resignation of Peter Hain MP may have come as a surprise to his colleagues. The holder of two offices of state, Work and Pensions together with Wales, the career of Mr Hain seemed on upward spiral. No doubt he'll be back, but let his immediate fate be a reminder to holders of high office, that core incompetences have serious consequences !

Ken's Kitchen Cabinet : A Case of Pot & Kettle ?*

* In an old saying, the pot stands accused of calling the kettle black.

I'm going to continue with the culinary theme in this reflection on the politics of Ken Livingstone's "Kitchen Cabinet". Ken was, of course, once a restaurant critic for his now hated London Standard.

Unfortunately I missed Channel 4's "Dispatches" programme the other evening about "The Court of Ken". However, the Radio 4 Today show has covered some of the issues raised by Dispatches, and this morning The Mayor of London was on air to answer some of these.

Quite a lot of attention, it seems, has fallen on the activities of one Lee Jasper, whom I seem to remember (from my London days) advises the Mayor on race relations and police matters.

It also seems that Mr Jasper has had a major falling out with former journalist Trevor Phillips, previously head of the Commission for Race Equality (CRE) and now Chair of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.

I should say, incidentally, that, like many people, I feel that Britain is a less equal place than it was, say, during the days of Ken Livingstone's earlier incarnation as Leader of the Greater London Council, and the status of human rights may also have declined during the same period.

It may also be the case that the "Race Relations Industry", as many people call it, has acquired something of the daftness and general excesses of the Old Labour trade unions, with deep simmering enmities, which occasionally boil over.

Now not so long ago, probably during the latter days of the CRE, Trevor Phillips was also on the Radio 4 Today Programme, responding to charges of media manipulation on race (? and religious) issues by, I think, Mr Jasper.

Mr Phillips responded with reference to the case of "the pot and the kettle" (using these or similar words), meaning that the Mayor of London's Office (capable of, in my view, more spin than the spin cycle on a washing machine) was hardly "white" itself on matters of media manipulation.

Funny how old sayings strike a cord missing
In these contemporary storms in a teacup...
I could go on.... but hear the kettle hissing !

New ! Political Celebrity Kitchen Sink Drama

Has that onetime demi-god of New Labour become its unholy fool ? Yes, I'm talking about the Schools/Children's Secretary Ed Balls again. Whilst the world's financial kitchens (or should that be markets) were in turmoil, the one time Chief Secretary to the Treasury was in the news talking about the spaghetti sauce, stir fries and simple curries that every English school child should know how to cook. However, when pressed about the state of the British economy, he seemed to have gone off the boil, answering without the sauce (or should that be balls ?) we've come to expect of Ed. My guess is that that he's preparing for one of those reality TV shows which keep politicians past their sell-buy date going. I'm looking forward to Ed's double act with his missus, Housing Minister Yvette Cooper. Now that would be a real Kitchen Sink Drama. Perhaps I'll do a treatment for the show.

The Balls of St Trinians ?

I see that the well-known educational institution of St Trinians has received a cinematic revamp. In the light of recent government announcements, perhaps a sequel called "The Balls of St Trinians" is called for. It's time these New Labour types were treated with the laughter and derision they merit. Do I feel another seasonal e-pantomime approaching ?

We Don't Need No Education Secretary.....

Just as the performance of Britain's school education system is looking rather shaky : ie no better, and on some indicators worse than it was pre-1997, the supposed Schools (Education) Secretary seems to have disappeared. Ed Balls is now, it seems, Secretary of State for Children and Families, with a portfolio majoring on "play" and especially ball games. Santa, please bring me some of Ed's new sparkling balls, so that I can stick them on my seasonal tree ! Oh yes, and if the BBC don't get more critical of all this bollocks, I'll start to think that the Panamanians are running British public media.

People who can't remember anything before 2000

The present case of a man who claims not to remember anything that happened to him before the year 2000 comes as no surprise to me whatsoever. It seems that many people involved in economic management, planning, and housing have this problem. Personally, I'm looking forward to the day Yvette Cooper buys a house in Panama, and husband Ed Balls disappears only to return with feigned memory loss of anything he did before 2000 (or more recently perhaps). I'm sure, however, that both will have some difficult questions to answer at some point in their lives.

Planning, Propaganda and the Politics of Meltdown

Back in 1999 I became aware that there was a certain Stalinist tendency within the "New Labour Project" with aspirations to demolish and re-construct the planning system. Since then, a large number of announcements to this effect have ensued, and, fortunately, rather less action. Yes, there is indeed a certain ineptitude about "The Project" which can usually be relied upon.
The question then arises as to whether the latest set of proposals for the planning system, new power generation and transport infrastructure etc will be subject to the same sort of systemic problems. My guess is yes, they will. Moreover, I suggest something of a meltdown may now be on the cards, and I'm not talking about nuclear power, but perhaps something more akin to the bathos of recent references to Mr Bean.

Carry on Darling, This is Ed's Balls Up !

I find myself in the rare position of offering my support to the Chancellor of the Exchequer today. There may be systemic failures in the way this Government manages the economy and their internal communications, but neither the Chancellor nor the former head of HM Revenues and Customs should have to fall on their swords over these. If any heads should roll, they should be those of "teflon types" like the awful Ed Balls. As former Chancellor Brown's "Representative on Earth" Balls was, after all, instrumental in paving the way for the present debacle.It is,therefore, ironic/appropriate (depending upon your point of view !) that the current crisis should involve child benefit payment records, when Balls like to style himself "The Children's Secretary" (and, yes, he does look like a big fat school boy !).

Some Personal Reflections on Long (& Short) Haul Travel

I've made 2 visits to the United States : the first to New York State in 1978; and the second to California in 1991. Both were of a short duration (ie a fortnight or so), and involved family business and visits to friends, rather than pure tourism. My visit to New York also extended to a further few weeks in the Caribbean, taking in short stays on Grand Bahama and Aruba. Between 1984-5, I took a rather longer "working holiday" to Australia, incorporating a "stop-over" in the Philippines on the way out, and an unintended (but nevertheless interesting and enjoyable) stay in Papua New Guinea. These, other than some back-backing in Israel and Egypt, are the sum total of my adolescent/adult long-haul travel. Although, it should be said that I also visited Australia and the Far East in the mid 1960s, as an infant, travelling mainly by ship. With regard to short-haul travel in Europe, I've done a fair amount of this, roughly half for "holidays" and the rest work-related. Quite a lot of this used, incidentally, rail, bus and ferry services. So I've done a fair amount of travelling in my time, but have made only 4 short-haul trips to Europe since the mid 1990s, and none since early 2001. It is now nearly 7 years since I visited another European country. So why have I become not only very grounded, but very little travelled at all in recent, and, indeed, not so recent, years.

The truthful answer is that I'm really not quite sure why I've become so grounded. Other activities and commitments have taken not only a time precedence to travel, but also a financial one. I've never been a big holiday person, although I've enjoyed work-related travel, and visiting people I know who live abroad. Environmental concerns have played their part, particularly after I visited California (the San Francisco/Berkeley/Santa Cruz and Yosemite areas), but these are by no means the exclusive reasons for my non-travelling, although a convenient excuse these days. I should also say that I now have an extremely low carbon footprint (by over-developed country standards), neither having a car nor, except very infrequently, travelling in other peoples : something I do naturally point out to other people from time to time. However, whilst there are undoubted environmental benefits to my lifestyle, and also personal health and fitness advantages as well, these may not be the main reason for my increasing groundedness. Indeed, I sometimes feel that some spiritual or more deep ecological force may be at work, for the interest and enjoyment I derive from my more local focus has been immense : at least commensurate with the pleasure and stimulation I used to derive from travel. Moreover, I meet lots of people from foreign lands these days in my everyday life, so feel less of a need to visit their countries.

All this said, I do feel the occasional desire to spread my wings again, but then I remember my last budget flight to Ibiza in 1997, or even my business-class return trip from Geneva in 2001, and still seem stubbornly unmotivated to return to the air. Am I just sad ? I really don't know. All this recalls a conversation with London Mayor Ken Livingstone in 2000 (Purple Ken as he was then) who seemed really chuffed to have travelled by helicopter from Brighton to London, when there was some problem on the railways, whilst he criticised me for using a car in the Capital, although on that occasion I actually needed a vehicle for various reasons. So perhaps, unconsciously, in my groundedness I'm a victim of other people's piety, and have unwittingly internalised this somewhere a long the line, losing my will to travel to some voodoo-like force. Interesting thought. Could this be the long and and the short of it all ?

Crisis, What Crisis ? : The Economy, Stupid !

I very much hope that the relocation of Sybil the Cat from Edinburgh to Downing Street heralds a more robust approach to government policy. The fact is that much of the economy has been poorly regulated for too long. Indeed a decline in the standards of economic regulation probably co-incided with the departure of Humphrey the Cat from No 10 early on in the New Labour regime. Now that things have really hit a rocky patch - yes, I'm talking about the finances of Northern Rock - we need rather more substance in the work of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and other government departments. After all, this is the first time a British financial institution has needed to be rescued by the Bank of England since the 1970s. As for those politicians and commentators who maintain "Crisis, What Crisis ?", the response must surely be : "The Economy, Stupid !".

On the Numinosity of "Stalin's Russia"

For once, I can sympathise with Jeremy Paxman, sometimes a rather bullying interviewer of recalcitrant politicians, as he likens the increasing "management" of British television media - Paxman works as a presenter for BBC television - to "life in Stalin's Russia".

The metaphor of "Stalinism", generally used humorously - Stalin may have appreciated this as he apparently had a sense of humour, albeit a rather dark one - has been used increasingly widely to highlight certain tendencies in British politics and the administration of the "public interest".

An article by Professor Robert Service, an Oxford academic and Russian specialist, in The New Statesman a couple of years ago, in which then Prime Minister Tony Blair was likened to Stalin, seems to have fired a wide range of imaginations, for instance that of a former Cabinet Secretary (this time with reference Gordon Brown) and now Jeremy Paxman.

Paxton notes certain Stalinist tendencies in British TV, notably the BBC, including an obsession with new technology, with the Media increasingly technology rather than content driven, and ultra-sensitivity to the opinion/reactions of Jo Public. However, what he really seems to be annoyed about is the heavy-handed administration of the BBC.

Now it seems to me that whilst the BBC, and British broadcast media generally, still has many great things going for it, there are certain issues which are now rarely covered, or acknowledged as having a important role in other social trends which have a very high profile coverage indeed.

One of these trends, for instance, is increasing gang-related violence amongst young people, which has recently led to a number of tragic deaths amongst teenagers, and even children, in the major urban areas of England.

This gang-related violence is typically ascribed to one major cause : the breakdown of the traditional family. This may be a important factor, but another issue - the fact that many young people have no expectation of ever securing work sufficiently rewarding to enable them to live a normal life - is another factor which receives virtually no media coverage at all.

For the "labour dimension" of the British economy is virtually a no-go area for the Media today, notwithstanding that we have, in name at least, a Labour Government in England (but no longer in Scotland, Wales - except in coalition - and Northern Ireland).

The increasing political "dis-integration" of the United Kingdom is also an issue which is under-reported in the broadcast media, which remains London, and to a lesser extent South East England, focussed in the extreme : something noted by the present government of Scotland.

This brings me to what Josef Stalin would have regarded as one of his greatest successes : the creation of a largely artificial reality in the former Soviet Union, which the public bought (and were coerced) in to, and which was administered by the professional classes, with frequent (Stalin-instigated) resort to largescale gang violence, and occasional foreign military escapades.

Stalin's Soviet Union was the ultimate shadow reality. He understood profoundly the darker side of human nature (perhaps even the human soul) and manipulated this masterfully for many years. He was, himself, the ultimate gang leader.

Perhaps it is the case that "gang culture" has infiltrated wider English society to such an extent that it is now running our country. All Hail, Gordon's Gang ! The professional classes do indeed seem to have rallyed to its ranks, at least until they are safely (or perhaps not so safely unless they work in the public sector) drawing their pensions.

And, yes, every now and then someone, like Jeremy Paxman, from The Establishment raises their head above the parapet. I wonder what Stalin would have made of that particular "Cloud-Dweller"* ! Of course, I'm just referring to Mr Paxman's physical stature.

* A term which Stalin might have used for media types whom he didn't regard as "dangerous" to his regime.

London : Avoiding Apocalypse through Timely Action

I've just caught the Internet trailer for a new British disaster movie called Flood, which opens on 24 August. This film appears to offer a fairly apocalyptic vision of the impact of major flooding on London. Let's hope that is doesn't herald some catastropic event in 2012 (no I'm not referring to the London Olympics !), which is widely predicted to be a year of profound global transformation or "The Great Change". This "Change" sounds fairly apocalyptic in some accounts, but forecasting the end of the world has proved unpredictable to date. Nevertheless, there would seem to be a real probability of a major tidal surge in the direction of London by 2030. So instead of faffing around with projects like the Thames Gateway Bridge (if the project still goes by this name), I would suggest that organisations with a key role in the future of London look to better flood risk management in the Thames Gateway.....and get a move on !

Planners and Politicians Please Read "Why New Orleans Still Isn't Safe" in Time

The cover story in this month's Time magazine revisits New Orleans 2 years after Hurricane Katrina where "...big money, inept engineering and environmental ignorance are...", according to article author Michael Grunwald, "...combining to to lay the groundwork for another catastrophe".

UK politicians and planners, particularly in areas like the Thames Gateway, please read this article !

On Gender and Other Re-Assignments

By chance, I found myself listening to an episode of BBC Radio 4's very good programme "Hecklers" the other evening. This programme seems to replace "The Moral Maze", about which I'm somewhat luke warm, during the off-peak summer season.

The subject of last week's programme was "Gender Re-Assignment" and a female journalist from The Guardian was advocating that this, when major surgery is increasingly involved, reflects an equally major social dysfunction around the rigid assignment of gender roles.

Some "Trans-People" who had received sex-change operations strongly disagreed with the journalist's argument, whilst others supported her contention and regretted having embarked upon surgery.

One issue which seemed to be absent from the discussion was the fact that some people welcome major surgery (which may or may not reflect wider social dysfunction), whether this is medical or cosmetic.

Speaking personally, I like to avoid any form of hospitalisation and when I was offered a hysterectomy several years ago, and having no symptoms to warrant such an operation, politely turned down the charming young doctor who made the offer.

Nevertheless, I can see a case for "gender-reassignment", whether or not this involves major surgery. I also acknowledge that there are very real social pressures around gender roles, and this may be one reason people choose to be single (even it they have children).

Now children's comprehension of gender tends to be conservative. So when I temporarily re-assigned the gender of the gentlemen's toilet at Cheltenham railway station the other day - the "Ladies" being "Out-of-Order" - one small boy looked most perplexed.

The subject of railway stations logically leads me on to the wider one of transport, where social dysfunction, amongst other reasons, encourages many people into excessive car dependence, both physical and psychological.

I'm still surprised by the simplistic way in which most people, including professional planners, perceive transport problems. Recommending major new road infrastructure comes all too easily, never mind that this will re-assign large amounts of traffic where it isn't wanted.

Much better that more of these people used the train more often. However, for people to re-assign their journeys to rail and other forms of public transport, some major surgery, and in some cases new infrastructure, will inevitably be required.

Finally, changes in social attitudes (to gender roles and transport) will be equally important.

Government Decision on Thames Gateway Bridge

or "No Woman should be judge of her own cause" !

Last Friday, I received a large brown package from DCLG (the Department for Communities and Local Government) : the Secretaries of State for Communities and Transport decision letters following the Thames Gateway Bridge Public Inquiry (June 2005 to May 2006) and the Conclusions of the Planning Inspectors's report. The Inspectors recommend outright that planning permission for this proposed Transport for London scheme be refused, on the grounds that it does not comply with sustainable planning and transport policy, and that the purported economic regeneration case for the project is inadequate, whilst its environmental impact would be unacceptable. Well done Planning Inspectorate ! However, the inquiry is now proposed to re-open because there has obviously been immense lobbying from scheme promoter TfL, and their supporters (which include DCLG and DfT).

This Blog is Resuming

As of 30 July 2007, and technology allowing, this blog is now resuming normal service...

This Blog is Relocating

Due to Gremlins (of a technical or censorship nature, possibly both !) this and my other blogs (see below) are relocating for a time to www.witchofworcester.wordpress.com.

The Old Economies, Stupid !

My thanks for the comments on transport from the gentleman in Sheffield, a city of which I have fond memories from the mid-1990s when I spent a rather uplifting time surveying small and medium-sized engineering companies on industrial estates in South Yorkshire.

I've just recently done some work on an industrial estate in the West Midlands and how times are changed ! In the mid-1990s, it looked like UK plc was creating a more balanced business portfolio wherein manufacturing still had a key role to play.

Now there are fewer people employed in manufacturing in the West Midlands than before the Industrial Revolution. The UK Land Economy has won the day once again for reasons linked to the global investment market in property.

Denied Access to Blogger : Conspiracy or Cock-up ?

I do not think of myself as a conspiracy theorist and seem to be one of the few people who believe that Diana Princess of Wales met her tragic death in a road accident : albeit that there were a cocktail of contributory factors to this, notably a drunk driver speeding, on the instruction of his employer, to escape a posse of paparazzi. For most of use, I'm afraid, the car is more dangerous than the gun, and "the cult of the car" more a threat to global civilisation than other forms of religious extremism, and even certain parts of the western media.

Nevertheless, I was surprised to be told in one of my local libraries this week that access to "Blogger" was going to be increasingly denied to me. The young woman in question, a librarian, with a confident, if rather prim, manner (a bit New Labour in fact), suggested that "Blogger" was effectively being censored, because of content issues, by an increasingly number of public access points such as libraries and Internet cafes. I must say that this warning came as rather a shock, and I suggested in response that Iranian-style censorship may have arrived in Britain.

I hope I'm wrong, but just in case this is what we should expect under the premiership of Gordon "I'm A Dinner Jacket"* Brown and the Ayatollahs of New Labour, here's a list of those of my blogs without a link to this one for any would be censors to scrutinise :

• www.regen-man.blogspot.com (A Manifesto for Regeneration)
• www.horse-work.blogspot.com (Horse Management through Appropriate Work)
• www.crookbarrow.blogspot.com ("The Modern Gothic" - Articles, Reviews, Stories)
• www.janetrocco.blogspot.com ("Satyrical Creations from Two Political Animals" etc)

Of the above, "regen-man" and "horse-work" have very little content at all, as they are in a "start-up" phase. "Crookbarrow" in a literary blog, and "Janet Rocco" is something - I dare say a little risque - that my cat channels through me from time to time.

* "I'm A Dinner Jacket" : A mnemonic provided by Ann Widdicombe in radio interview which might be used to remember the name of a certain middle eastern leader, much in the news.