Smoke and Mirrors

Can we believe  any Government published figures ?

For ten years the published crime figures showing serious violent offences had systematically been understated. We were told not to believe the evidence of our own eyes and experience. Now we are told that Public debt is less than 40% of the Gross Domestic Product, but by clever accounting the liabilities of the private finance Initiative projects are kept off the books. Don’t worry for now. Those debts are been saved for the next generation to pay. The Government is hooked on a pay later drug.

How many are really and truly unemployed ? In addition to the published unemployment  figures over 2.7 million now claim invalidity benefit. A few years ago there were about 800,000 invalidity claimants. The Labour Government must have caused 2million of us to develop sicknesses and illnesses to the extent that we cannot work. More and more young people are encouraged to tackle university degrees, many of which have little or no commercial value, and students find they have not added to their post graduation earning capacities. But then, for three years or so, they were kept off the unemployment register..

So, here we are at the beginning of a recession and the real unemployment figure is 3 millions ! Cheer up, we have the Departments for Business, Enterprise, Regulatory reform, Innovation, Universities and Skills to dream up some more half truths.

Paul

A Remembrance Sunday Service

Yesterday I again attended the City’s annual Observance of Remembrance in St. Peter’s Square which was followed with a service in St. Peter’s Church. During the Remembrance service I laid a wreath to remember those who have fallen and those who are still serving on the front line.

Paul

It’s been a long wait!

In electing Barack Obama, America has made history and proved to the world that it is a nation eager for change.  This is a seminal moment for so many reasons and indeed one which has arrived far sooner than I thought it would. I studied Politics at Warwick University and specialised in American politics in my second year. The question of an African-American occupying the Oval office still seemed to be many decades away. Indeed at the time we were still witnessing remnants of the Jim Crow legislation in the deep south and seismic racial tensions in some of the major conurbations. 

At the time we had only had one non WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) President – John Kennedy in 1960, the first Catholic President. Until Barack Obama arrived on the scene I was firmly of the belief that we were many years away from breaking the mould. That mould has also been broken in another significant aspect. In recent years the south has been voting Republican (it had traditionally voted Democrat because of historical ties which stem from the American Civil War – the Democrats were the pro-slavery party). It increasingly looked like the Democrats could only win by selecting a Southerner. Indeed Clinton, Carter and Lyndon Johnson all carried the South in their successful elections in 64, 76, 92 and 96. Barack Obama is the first non southern Democrat to win the Presidency since JFK.

Make no mistake, the USA is still a conservatively inclined country in many areas but also dynamic in its ability to reinvent itself. Sometimes Europe appears to adopt a rather condescending and patronising tone to our cousins across the pond. What you can’t avoid is the fact that In these difficult times, people everywhere are crying out for change. I hear it all the time and feel that the desire for change had developed a huge momentum.  Perhaps Barack Obama’s victory is a portend for all incumbent Governments in Europe and even more so in the UK for our Prime Minister.  His victory will also give people a new opportunity to look at the United States and for the new President to redefine her role. He’ll have a mandate and two favourable houses of congress to work with – a rare opportunity for an American President.

Paul

It’s tough to get a Mortgage these days!

Not so long ago the “Balance of Payments” figures used to make headline news. Nowadays they seem to hidden from public view, and for good reason.  

Month after month “Great Britain” gets further and further into debt. The last monthly figures show a deficit of £9 billion pounds. That is we are pulling in more goods than we export. They have to be paid for in one way or another. The financial institutions in the City of London used to cover some of the deficit – but – foreign traders have to be paid for the rest.

The result is that one third of the British national debt is now held by Middle Eastern investors. Our children and Grand children will pay taxes to pay interest on the debt, for generations to come. But that is not all. Whole swathes of British industry have been acquired by overseas interests. Utilities- water- electricity- followed by glass- plaster board- paints- iron and steel- airports- motor vehicles- and even a couple of leading banks. So the profits in these firms will be remitted overseas for years and years.

How did this come about ? Gordon Brown as Chancellor allowed the money supply to grow at a fast rate. 12% and sometimes 14% per annum. A tsunami of funds washed into the  housing and consumer markets, pulling in imports. We now have to contemplate having to pay for the Blair/Brown years, long after they will have departed. They have mortgaged our future.

Paul

Keep our Post Office open

Under Labour 4,875 post offices have already closed since 1997, almost ten a week. Wolverhampton MP, Pat Mcfadden has announced the future closure of 2,500 Post Offices which includes Upper Penn Post Office on Penn Road. Upper Penn post office is key part of the local community. It has numerous care homes, retirement flats and vulnerable people who rely on the service. It is disgraceful that a Wolverhampton Member of Parliament is responsible for the closure of a key service to Wolverhampton’s residents.

Local residents now have six weeks to have their say in a local public consultation on the closure of Post Offices in their area. I have been collecting signatures for a petition to fight the closure as the Post Office think that local people should travel over half a mile to the alternatives. Many local people who rely on the Post Office for paying their utilities, council tax, collecting their pensions, do not have access to a car. The Post Office has highlighted Jeffcock road as one alternative but in their own consultation literature admit that there is no direct bus service! The Government is again demonstrating its contempt for local people.

Paul

Wolverhampton Marathon – 2

Having had a break over the last few weeks it was time to get back on the political running track. I decided to ease myself gently back into things by running again in the Carver Wolverhampton City Marathon ! Still not brave enough to enter myself in the full marathon I opted to run the half marathon course.  I managed to complete the course in a time of one hour and fifty minutes which was half an hour quicker than last year. A big thank you to all the runners and helpers who helped create a wonderful and memorable day. Most importantly I’ve managed to raise money for a local football team again this year and burned off some calories in the process.

Paul

Maisie’s 100th

On Friday evening I attended the 100th birthday party for our association’s inspirational Maisie Wills.  

Kashmir and I presented her with a letter from David Cameron which she added to her cards from the Queen and William Hague. It was a wonderful opportunity to thank her for the huge amount of help and support she has given to the Conservative party, including her work as president of Tettenhall Wightwick ward. The foundation for everything we do would not be possible without people like Maisie.

Paul.

A visit to Compton Hospice

Yesterday I visited Compton Hospice and met with Ron Middleton (Chief Executive) and Gerard Paris (financial Trustee). The Hospice comprises a purpose built in-patient unit, day centre and education unit. It also provides a multi-disciplinary team approach to palliative care to help patients, relatives and carers. The vast majority of the patients never come to the Hospice but receive care at home.

After spending most of the morning at the hospice we then went over to the  lymphoedema unit. The lymphoedema service sees many children and adults who suffer from this condition and does a wonderful job.

I can sincerely say that I got a fantastic insight into the workings of Compton Hospice and an appreciation of the phenomenal work done by all members of staff.  The most poignant moment of the day related to a conversation I had with a patient called Mary. When I walked into the room she smiled broadly at me and said “ what a wonderful day, I’ve just been given the all clear on my cancer”. I won’t go into the finer details of our subsequent ten minute chat, but it’s conservations like these which make you value the really important things in life and help to put our priorities in perspective. 

 

Paul

Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas !

Having been a prospective parliamentary candidate for just under one and half years now I felt compelled, after the recent vote by MPs to retain their allowances for a second home, to offer my two pence worth. Wolverhampton currently has three labour MPs and I’ve watched and listened to them as they’ve attended various functions over the last eighteen months. The standard responses are handed out carefully tailored to the nuance of each audience. It’s particularly acute with the Labour MP I’m up against because he’s sitting on such a small majority. The result is that I see him deliver a speech at a Hindu Temple shamefully chastising British imperialism for raping India of her wealth yet at the same time portraying himself as patriotic, proud of Britain’s heritage and almost jingoistic at a Tettenhall coffee morning. Left wing or right wing he’ll put on the appropriate political coat to suit the weather. Having seen these Parliamentarians in action I am convinced that we need to drastically reduce the number of MPs at Westminster.

The vast majority of the surgery work can be covered by local government representatives and you end with absurd situation of many MPs carrying on as super councillors, postal redirection providers or amateur social workers. It’s often said to me as I turn up to various events “The MP will be along in a minute, I know that because he’ll turn up at the opening of an envelope”. So much for the grand idea of the constituency being represented at Westminster and our elected representatives debating the big ideas of the day. It’s more a case of an over powerful executive utilising the voting fodder in the legislature to meet it’s own needs. You can just imagine our previous Prime Minister, buoyed by his large majorities, instructing his backbenchers (via the whips office, of course) to turn up if anything serious needed voting on, but to otherwise nurse the marginal seat along. Coupled with this of course is the fact that so many MPs have little experience of real life and are in fact career politicians.

The vote on MPs allowances and expenses illustrates the problem pertinently and compounds the discontent many now express towards the body politic. By reducing the number of MPs you would reduce the power of the executive, as you lessen the prospect of untouchable majorities, and save the taxpayer money in the process. One hundred forty labour MPs voted to keep the allowances and expenses system as it is (including the member for Wolverhampton South west) which displays an arrogance and contempt towards ordinary voters who are struggling to make ends meet. After eighteen months and from my current perspective I can only conclude that there are too many of these characters happily maintaining the status quo, claiming expenses and pampering their egos. If I were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to represent the public at Westminster, even if it meant me losing my own seat we need to revisit this issue, and yes this turkey would vote for Christmas.

Paul

A visit to Smestow School and Sports College

A few weeks ago I attended a Tenants and Residents meeting in Castlecroft. During the visit Paul Stoddart (deputy headteacher) invited me to spend an afternoon at Smestow school and last week I took him up on his kind offer.  Paul had arranged for me to meet with about a dozen students to discuss issues relating to the curriculum, school discipline and the support they receive from their families. 

The school has a wonderful ethos and I was struck by the candidness and confidence expressed by all the children I spoke to. At a time of increasing concern about knife crime, with relations between differing age groups appearing to be more fractious, it’s vital to maintain a dialogue between teenagers, teachers and parents. Special thanks to Paul and all the staff for allowing me to gain an insight into the school’s workings.

Paul