Who can you trust in Government?

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As 2015 gets closer and closer I'm starting to look ahead to the election and what the various national parties are planning and offering policy wise.

Ed's Labour party have done well in the polls mostly by saying they would not do what the Coalition would

do (but would not reverse it if they got in.) Considering some of the policies that have come out of CHQ (the things we have had to agree with) it is fairly to score points this way.

However it does seem that Labour have been picking at holes and nitpicking at times over successes and playing games with statistics. No one deserves to gain power by using technicalities, there is no substance to this.

Back in 2010 I watched Germany beat England 4-1 in the South African World Cup whilst in Wales. Whilst driving back to England and listening to the fall out on Radio 5 one of the common themes was that players like Gerrard, Lampard, Terry and Ashley Cole - all of whom had played badly, should be dropped from the squad and younger players could get a chance and the FA would not be fielding "Names"

The same is true of the Labour party front bench. Yes Darling, Brown and Blunkett have been quietly dropped but yet Ed Balls, Keith Vaz (who had some hilariously high expenses), Harriet Harman and even Ed Miliband are still leading the fray. these names are still linked to the failures of the Brown administration and hardly inspire confidence or trust.

The same can be said about Ed Miliband. He makes a fair opposition leader but... he seems to be lacking the qualities that would make him a good Prime minister. He lacks the charisma and personal magnetism.

As for the Conservatives... Despite having some really good MPs (like some of Labour) they are a party divided, especially with UKIP pushing into the normal territory and securing Right wing voters who grudgingly supported Cameron as there was no other choice before. Desperate to keep these staunch Tories the party seems to be lurching right.

Social engineering in the form of Marriage tax relief, anti European dogma, refusing mansion tax and reforms to the House of Lords, doggedly holding onto Trident - it is a party trying to move forward but maintaining footholds in the past.

Though Cameron strikes me as more of a leader than Ed. Maybe it is the brash Etonian accent and cavalier way he responds at PMQs but he is definitely more charismatic.

The LibDems however have brought in policies that have directly benefited my family. We have a pupil premium that is helping our local school, free nursery hours which saves us 15 hours a week on little Sophie's bill allowing my wife to go to work, lifting my wife out of income tax altogether and halving mine.

Yes, there is the ink blot of the tuition fees and other things they have gritted their teeth and voted for and despite his great personable charisma, this is something that will haunt Nick Clegg's political career for many years to come and could and will blight him as a possible leader of the country. However my wife, who is non-partisan and she has told me that on this strength alone she will more than likely vote Liberal Democrat in the future on the strengths of the party actually promising to help the people and actually doing it with in the confines of deficit.

PCS and Unions barking up the wrong tree

On Saturday I saw the protesters forming up for their march through London in the Geraldine Mary Harmsworth park that surrounds my work place, the table of Socialists with their slogan Get the Tories out! and General Strike now! 

I even had to personally evict five young people in the process of disguising themselves as Ninja from Museum property - interesting garb for a peaceful process. 

Within work there were several PCS leaflets scattered around and I got to reading one of them and found I disagreed completely with it but as I hadn't got anything else to read I cracked on and jotted down some notes.

First off...The Government's plans are not working

I admit the results are not orgasmic however the latest figures show employment and apprenticeships are up and may keep rising. Inflation and interest are kept low and the world banks have still got confidence in Britain's economy and business. Times are tough but they aren't Spain of Greece TOUGH.

270,000 Public sector jobs axed in the last year.

In all honesty, and talking as a public sector worker whose future is far from secure and has been living under the shroud of redundancy for sometime, the public sector is bloated. The Labour years saw the bubble expand and expand at the same time as technology such as Internal Emails and greater automation would have replaced some traditional posts. CCTV and sensor alarms in museums mean that you no longer need to stand a person next to the Picasso painting for hours on end and save yourself the man power.

Too many place were running on "What we like" staffing levels rather than "What we need plus."

Now Government has asked its departments to streamline and save costs so that they continue to put money into other things like NHS, care groups, education etc... After all, as the Sun's headline read once; What is more important Hospitals or museums? Seriously ask yourself the same question, would you rather well paid nurses or two people stood guarding the same wing of the art gallery?

Other government departments with giant behemoth bureaucracies needed to thin their numbers and ask serious questions as to who was needed and who was surplus, the same as any business. The simple fact of the matter is that the Coalition inherited an economy that just simply could not longer support all of these jobs however much it may or may not have wanted to.

The Government, like a business had to do one of two things - cut its size down by streamlining and getting rid of sections that were wasteful or increasing its' income by taxation. 

The PCS are, in my opinion barking up the wrong tree. Especially when the TUC got Ed Miliband to speak at the rally. It was he who stated that Labour wouldn't change the cuts if they got into power in 2015, the leader of the party whose dithering and lack of controls on the banks got us in this disaster in the first place, whose own shadow Chancellor stated he would be tough on public sector pay, both of whom were at the treasury as the good ship Economy sailed full speed into this Iceberg. Just reeks of hypocrisy.

Yes these are hard times, I know they are, I feel the tightness of the noose and I worry daily for my family and friends but this is the situation we find ourselves in - lest we forget.

I do agree that cuts need to be done with the deft of a surgeon and not a drunk headsman. Indeed the Liberal Democrats are doing this in Coalition, steadying the hands of the axe and getting the poorest out of income tax, Clegg has promised to safe guard housing benefits, Pupil premium, paid apprenticeships and pressing for a mansion tax on Britain's wealthiest to help pay for those who need it. We are listening and thinking of those in need and not politically grandstanding or point scoring. 

Political leaders our out of touch with reality

Taken on Gillingham High street last week

In his article for Party People last week Councillor Geoff Juby, leader of the Medway Liberal Democrat Council group has rightly indicated that those who run the economy are not seeing the whole picture.

The situation at the bottom is indeed dire. The Medway towns are indeed suffering, in fact the three poorest wards of Chatham central, Gillingham South and Gillingham North have been granted improvement funds to be administered by the CAB due to their poverty.

Across the towns we have empty buildings, both commercial and residential and with people's outgoings far exceeding incomes it is no wonder legal loan sharks and pawnshops are so popular, especially with 17% of houses in the area have no one in work and 174 applicants for 22 jobs at a local Tesco. The people of Medway aren't lazy or looking for handouts they want to be listened to and good economic judgement from those at the top.

Geoff said: Whom can we trust with the economy? Ed Balls presided over the the scandalous greed of the big banks and unfortunately our current leaders live in a world of private schools and high income. It would do them all good to come and live for a week at the level of some of our workers, existing on the minimum wage with families to support - there might be a bit more compassion then!

I think it's a fair comment. After all, of you've never had to scrimp and save in your life time, had to stretch the food budget to its limit, been faced with the balance screen at the cashpoint saying "amount available £0 " whilst having to pay out still, will not appreciate what they have got. I've been that poor before and I regularly review things so that it won't happen again.

I'm not discriminating against George Osborne or David Cameron but lets be honest, they have never known such times, I'd wager neither have the Eds and to be brutally honest I doubt Nick has. It is difficult to empathise with a situation which you are not familiar with.

Although this plan to encourage the building trade will bring welcome relief to areas of the country and to those in the building trade there is also the problem that here in Medway, no one can afford to do the work. What is more important to you? Getting to work? Keeping a much needed car on the road? Extending your conservatory?

Politicians need to think about us, those at the bottom of the ladder, who want to make ends meet, who don't want hand outs, who work hard but still want family life. Yes, the Liberal Democrat influence in Government has helped with the raising of the Income tax threshold, immeasurably so as now my wife won't have to pay it putting money back in our pockets, but we need more action like this rather than sweeping measures.

Morgan Spurlock, the American documentary maker once spent 30 days living on the US minimum wage and he was shocked at how much of a struggle it was. I, like Geoff, would welcome members of the cabinet doing the same thing!

Shuffling out George Osborne

I was thumbing through the paper last Monday and found a couple of comments about whether or not George Osborne should be shuffled out of the Chancellorship in a front bench reshuffle.

The Sun's Trevor Kavanagh was quoted as suggesting that his unseemly bust ups with Ed Balls were distracting and even damaging his credibility as the man for the job and even suggesting that it was causing a lack of credibility and public esteem (and not us!).

Yes, I agree duelling with Ed Balls is unseemly but to be honest it would happen with whomever was Chancellor. Ed Balls is somewhat of a blunt instrument whose boorish manner acts like a battering ram and can easily get a rise from anyone.

But lets be honest;  Ed Balls can protest all he likes but he was buried in the treasury when all this rubbish with the banks happened in the first place.

The Newstatesman's George Eaton played down the talk of a reshuffle but suggested that the fact that it is being talked about and considered shows how much his stock has fallen.

However Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF has criticised the Treasury saying that the outlook is not great and that Osborne has until next year to see if "Plan A" can come to fruition, if not its time for "Plan B." The IMF points to the deep downturn in the economy, deeper than the Eurozone and indeed the USA, recovery has been weak and austerity has knocked 2.5% off the GDP. To cap it off Government borrowing is also up.

This may be why George Osborne is being asked to give up his position as Conservative planner and mastermind for strategy in 2015 by former Chancellor and well respected Conservative Lord Lawson in a Radio 4 interview;


I do think it might be sensible to give up the formal (strategy) role and focus exclusively on his job as Chancellor of the Exchequer which is a tremendously important job.
I think his last budget was not his biggest success but I think he should continue in that job,. But I do think... that it would be sensible for him to set aside his second job. 


So could George's time be up?

I don't think so yet. The pressure is mounting though, after all the strength of this government was always going to be on tackling the deficit and at the moment it has hit a bit of a pothole. Although replacing the Chancellor is not the solution (unless it is with David Lawes) at this time, serious thought needs to be directed to the situation and further to that 100% concentration on the matter so I agree with Lord Lawson on this.

The Economy and its recovery should be his priority and if it gets back on track the Conservatives won't need a strategy to win the next election but should it fail...

Crouch vs. Balls & Labour's five point plan.

Now, those who know me know that I'm no Mathematician and I loathe Economics which is why so few of my Blog Posts talk about it. However I was sent a Link to Labour's Five step plan

The Basics of the plan are;

1.A £2bn tax on bank bonuses to fund 100,000 jobs for young people.


2. Bringing forward long term investment projects such as schools, roads and transport to get people back to work and strengthen the economy for the future.

3. Reversing the VAT rise giving a couple with children a £450 boost - immediate help for our high streets and for struggling families and pensioners.

4. A one year cut in VAT to 5% on home improvements -Repairs and maintenance to help homeowners and small businesses.

5. A one year National insurance tax break for every small firm which takes on extra workers - helping small businesses to grow and create jobs.

Now I agree with taxing bankers and the extra £w billion would be a definite boost to the country's coffers and could be used to dull cuts in other sectors.
I get hazy around the extra 100,00 new jobs for young people though. Where and how are they created? I am genuinely interested.
It seems to me, a layman, a bit like trying to win votes rather than a policy - after all we all dislike bankers and we all like young people - the next generation.
Also 100,000- only 100,000? And why only young people? I'm 30 (31 on Friday) so will I count?

I also agree with the investment in roads, education etc but I don't know where the money for this is coming from. Surely Mr Balls is not suggesting we Increase the deficit?

A VAT cut would be good, companies and families are struggling and losing money on the 20% rate and the drop would get people spending again although from my family's point of view - Luxuries are a rarity and only food and clothing comes out of the Sams purse.

A VAT cut to home improvements would mean I could look at all the jobs that and doing such as double glazing, central heating, a real conservatory rather than corrugated plastic... Still this is still going to cost money I really don't have and apparently our family income of around £30k is one of the middle.

I do fully support the NI cut for small businesses though. It will do wonders for failing family business and shops.

Last week Mr Balls came to Chatham to see young people and to discuss issues they were facing. This,
 is a move that neither George Osborne or Dr Cable have made and he won't be the last (nor the first) Labour Politician scouting around the marginal seats in Medway trying to recapture confidence.This may have been because Youth unemployment in Medway has doubled to 740 in the Medway towns and nationally to one million.
Here in Chatham the rise is terrible, and if it carries on it's going to be very damaging long-term for this part of the world.
The government choked off the recovery, they tried to cut the deficit too fast. you would think we had learned from the mistakes of the 1980s.
It is very hard for employers when the economy is not growing, unemployment's rising and their own finances are under pressure. Says Mr Balls.

Youth Unemployment didn't start to rise after the general election. We have inherited 97% of this figure. Tracey Crouch returns fire.


Tracey Crouch Vs Ed Balls



This hits the nail on the head.

The Coalition has only been in power for eighteen months. The recovery of the nation's finances will take more than that, after all the original problems started back in 2008-9 whilst Labour were in power, in fact it was their mismanagement of the situation that lost them power in Westminster.

Local Labour politicians (and their National counterparts) have been quick to shout that the Coalition's policies, which I do not necessarily agree with all the time, for not reversing the economic crisis. If you look at history though, no new Economic policy has miraculously reversed a nation's fortunes in such a small period of time.
Economic policy is like agriculture; it takes time. You cannot plant seeds and expect fruit bearing plants straight away. It requires time and nurturing to grow. Quick fixes will not work here.
Further more, like agriculture, the growth is dependent on on external pressures and our economy has been hit by the collapse of the Eurozone and several banks in Europe. All of these are beyond the control of the Coalition Government.

Tracey makes a good point as well that unemployment and economic trends are on going. The nation did not wake up to completely new circumstances on 12th May 2010, in the same way they didn't in May 1997. The unemployment figures, and indeed this whole crisis began under Labour's watch and is why they lost the election in the first place!
It seems rather dishonest for any party to blame or take credit for occurrences. It is nothing short of political point scoring for votes with no substance behind it. It makes me think of the tag line from Alien Vs. Predator;
Who ever wins, we lose.

Mr Balls also commented on the use of unpaid interns by Politicians- something that Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems have worked against earlier this year.
Even if your family can afford to subsidise you, working with no pay is not good enough. Very true Nick - I mean Ed...

Lets take a brief look at our local MPs. Well predictably Rehman Chishti;
Did not answer requests for comment (see end note reference.)

Mark Reckless has no interns but offers one month work experience students. This actually is fairly vital as employers always want experience so in a way it is worth more than money.

Finally, Tracey Crouch also takes short term work experience staff and has one intern on minimum wage.

Mr Balls has three interns on minimum wage.

I make that 2-0?

Reference: Balls clashes with MP over Youth Unemployment Crisis, D. Bloom, Medway Messenger, 18-11-2011

Ed Balls should be a Gillingham FC fan.

As I read Ed Balls' interview in yesterday's I the more I thought of my beloved local team. Every season the doom mongers predict a rough season, only but a few hopefuls talk of automatic promotion and the majority of us take each game as it comes, there are NO guaranteed victories for Gillingham, its the way we play and its what the fans love I guess. Predictions are usually negative and the outcome bleak, every now and then we are surprised by a victory and jubilant when the team does well but there is always the nagging doubt of;

"It won't last."

and;

"We'll screw it up as we always do, we'll be mid table again."

Which brings me to Ed Balls.

He has been, eventually, proven sort of right. There does appear to be another, more frightening recession about to be all us and the Eurozone looks set to break. The Coalition is cutting too far and too deep, austerity alone is not a good enough measure we need a plan B... Suddenly I'm back at the end of the 09/10 season after our brief spell in League One listening to the nay sayers;

"We knew we'd never stay up. We've not got the quality."

The same critics were there after the beginning of 10/11 season who blamed the new manager, Andy Hessanthaler for early failings and squad problems.
"He hasn't got the quality and his squad are useless what is he doing?"
Without admitting that a manager who had been in post for a couple of months cannot change a squad in that time and that the mistakes were from the former Management (Mark Stinson) and clearly not his fault. Much like the economic crisis in the country. Its not the Coalition's fault that the economy was in such a state when they took over, granted it wasn't solely Labour's fault either - however Labour (indeed the Coalition) should, unlike Mr Balls, take responsibility for their role.

Of course I may be being too harsh on Ed Balls. After all he is actually an economist and I am not by a long way. His predictions are probably based on experience, knowledge and forecasts, he saw from the very beginning what the Bank of England and the Chancellor failed to, he had the foresight to put up red warning flags that no one heeded, he called for a plan B or C and begged the coalition to think again, all the while not providing suggestions as to what these plans should be. He has called the Coalition's cuts wrong and too deep but has ruled out any of his colleagues in the Shadow cabinet saying they would reverse them should they get into power. I'm a little confused by all this.

But Ed, if you want to admit your true colours and follow Stan Ternet's journey from Burnley to Preistfield you're always welcome in the Medway stand. I'm sure you'll fit right in with us, that's if you can bear to wear a blue shirt!