By-Election Blues

Yesterday saw the results of the by-elections in Bromley & Chislehurst and Blaenau Gwent. Both the Conservatives and Labour got a bruising, more so Labour. In Blaenau Gwent they still are seen as Fake Labour! The ever-grinning Hazel Blears, now Chairperson of the Blairite Party, said that Labour did not "have time to turn it around" meaning they have no clue how to get voters to support a party that has had the temerity to lie and spin since it was first elected. People are now getting wise to them. Trish Law, the widow of the former MP, said her victory as AM and that of Dai Davies as the new MP were "victory for honesty and integrity".

In Bromley, Bob Neill, the Conservative candidate berated the Liberal Democrats as vindictive and suggested they "look in a mirror". But Bob, they nearly beat you, so you are really having a go at the electorate. Not a good move! In 1966 Brigadier Terence Clarke, on losing his seat in Portsmouth, opined from the balcony of the town hall "you're all bloody fools!" which is not a recommended election night speech.

UKIP came in third but did not do nearly as well as they predicted. 22% was it to be? Possibly too much about Bob and Europe when it could have been about local issues? And spare a thought for Steven Uncles, valiantly carrying the English Democrats banner. He needn't dispair! The Greens started out like this, on low votes, and they have prospered a bit!


Results

Bromley & Chislehurst

Robert (Bob) NEILL - Conservative 11,621 40.00%
Peter ABBOTTS - Liberal Democrat 10,988 37.82%
Nigel FARAGE - UK Independence Party 2,347 8.08%
Rachel REEVES - Labour - 1,925 6.63%
Ann GARRETT - Green Party 811 2.79%
Paul WINNETT - National Front 476 1.64%
John HEMMING-CLARKE - Independent 442 1.52%
Steven UNCLES - English Democrats 212 0.73%
John CARTWRIGHT - Monster Raving Loony Party 132 0.45%
Nicholas HADZIAANIS - Independent 65 0.22%
Anne BELSEY - Money Reform Party 33 0.11%

Conservative Majority - 633

Blaenau Gwent (Westminster)

David (Dai) DAVIES - Independent 12,543 46.17%
Owen SMITH - Labour 10,059 37.03%
Steffan LEWIS - Plaid Cymru 1,755 6.46%
Amy KITCHER - Liberal Democrat 1,477 5.44%
Margrit WILLIAMS - Conservative 1,013 3.73%
Alan HOPE - Monster Raving Loony Party 318 1.17%

Independent Majority 2,484

Blaenau Gwent (Welsh Assembly)

Trish LAW - Independent 13,785 50.33%
John HOPKINS - Labour 9,321 34.03%
Steve BARD - Liberal Democrat 2,054 7.50%
John PRICE - Plaid Cymru 1,109 4.05%
John BURNS - Conservative 816 2.98%
John MATTHEWS - Green Party 302 1.10%

Independent Majority 4,464

Interesting how the voters in Blaenau Gwent didn't quite vote the same in each election. Some voting for two different parties is very evident. Here's by-elections in quotes !

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Proper Charlie or Soothsayer?

Charles Clarke has been grieving since he got sacked by the Spiv-in-Chief. He now thinks that Tony Blair has "lost his sense of purpose and direction". Previously Clarke was a fervent supporter of Blair, but he surely must have had his suspicions as to what Blair was doing in the Labour Party. The only purpose and direction Blair has had is making sure he succeeds by making others feel he is the only one - and causing them to rue the day they crossed his path. It does appear now that his sole purpose was in making the Labour Party electable. That in itself, however, has been debunked as it is now generally agreed that any leader would have won seeing the Tories were in meltdown in 1997!

Channel 4 has done sterling service over the years in "exposing" Blair's political chicanery. Drama-Documentaries such as Why We Went to War and The Deal show how he has traduced much of the heart and soul of the Labour Party. Those that are concerned are dismissed as being "Old Labour" but not everyone who is unsympathetic to the rootless desires of New Labour is a red-under-the-bed!

The BBC too has helped by giving Michael Cockerell time to make excellent programmes such as News From Number 10. In this there is a piece where Blair wanders into his press secretary's office to talk to Alastair Campbell without realising the BBC were filming there. He chats to Cockerell about getting press coverage and carries on by saying "And, as you know, it's not as if these stories don't take a life of their own and then start running away into the far distance. And then the public thinks 'oh, my goodness, why on earth are they doing that?' when you are not doing it at all. So you need to be able to get on top of the news, in so far as it's possible. But what matters to me most are to do the things that are really for the country... that's what I spend my time thinking about." Then he gets rebuked by the spinmeister Campbell, who comments "And that's why you have spent the past seven minutes talking to Michael Cockerell."

That moment showed Blair as being like a moth to the light where political life is concerned. Whatever one thinks of Blair's contribution to British politics it has been the stuff of journalists to question his very existence in the Labour Party, his liking for the trappings of business and his desire to move where money is. Most in the Labour Party accepted his vote-winning charms but were uneasy about his policy ideas. Now they feel he is an electoral liability and would prefer a return to a Labour movement that reflects the change in society but incorporates their political souls. For that to happen Blair has to step down.

Perhaps his 10th anniversary as PM would make sense. Then an election for a new leader would take place. Charles Clarke said he "would be very surprised" if an election did not happen. When it does, we will no doubt see a Labour Party embracing a far more corporate ethos and an interventionist role.

Tony Blair will by then be on the lucrative speaking circuit in the USA telling Americans all he knows!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/reviews/3142846.stm

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England Progresses!

However well or badly a team plays, scoring goals is the only thing that really matters in football/soccer. England have been criticised for lacklustre performances, but it's always easier from the touchline! ITV Sport commentators now seem to ressemble a couple of blokes in a bar gazing up at a big screen. "Ee's not razor sharp, Rooney, is he?" "Na! Ee's not!" - and so the bon mots keep coming. A 2-2 draw did not give the fans that much to celebrate. Sweden scored the 2000 goal in World Cup history and England still has not beaten them since 1968. Much was said of all this.

I do think it is having an effect on the viewers. Previously, my neighbours have gone wild with enthusiasm at each goal scored. Last night the street was decidedly quiet! Not a sound was to be heard. The flags are still flying, though.

Maybe the match against Uruguay will do it. Win that and the carping might stop. All I know is that football is a hell of a lot more pressured these days. In between goals, I was musing on what David Beckham might do after football. The fact that he has matured under the pressure over the years could well show he could do almost anything he wanted. And football is much more aggressive. At school I would have been well reprimanded for kicking a man (well, boy) when he was down. Seems if you can get away with it, OK!

Now that England enters the next stage the fun really starts - and we have a good chance to do well!

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Operation Volga! How to be intelligent?

I'm glad I came across the Police Oracle Forums. Wow! It's all here folks!

Steven gives a good post -

MAN with an IQ of just 69 is believed to be the trigger behind the bungled terror raid in Forest Gate, East London. Ex-waiter Mohammed Abu Bakr Mansha, 22, was a childhood pal of the two brothers arrested in the dawn swoop by police two weeks ago. In January he was jailed for six years for terror offences - and even described in court as an "utter incompetent". Soon afterwards, friends of brothers Abul Kahar, 23, and Abul Koyair, 20, visited him at top-security Belmarsh, South-East London.
And, the Sunday Mirror has learned, that meeting sparked a surveillance operation on the men by the security services. According to a friend of the brothers, they laughed at constantly being followed. Our source said: "It was so obvious we treated it as a joke." Then new information came through, said to include detailed drawings of a suicide vest. That led to Operation Volga - the botched police operation to arrest
the brothers, which led to Kahar being shot. After seven days in custody they were released without charge amid claims of incompetence and brutality. Friends of the men believe dim Mansha was the trigger for the extraordinary operation.

Tony Blair ought to meet up with dim Mansha to congratulate him for such outstanding services to the community. After all, our esteemed Prime Minister was 101% behind all this!

Is he still?

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British Bobby under threat?

This is worth reading from the Police Oracle Forum!

"A LEADING Greater Manchester policeman has mounted an astonishing attack on Labour Party chairwoman Hazel Blears, saying she and the government are on the verge of destroying the British Bobby."

Hazel Blears, when she isn't in Cheshire cat mode, is helping to ruin what's left of our County Police Forces. Whilst the hard-working beat bobbies try to solve crime and assist in daily accidents, the Government (in their drive for "regionalisation") are meddling!

John Mortimer quite rightly said, when commenting on interference in the judiciary, that this lot is trying to micro-manage everything. True Government is governing, NOT managing!

Has Blair gone yet?

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What a Mess!!

Schools are failing to keep "even the simplest" records of whether their staff are safe to work with children, a government-commissioned report says. There was a culture of thinking it was "somebody else's job", the English education watchdog Ofsted found. So the BBC reports.

Whatever is happening in this country? Anybody know? We get some bright spark in the Home Office, who claims to be a senior official, admitting to being clueless about immigration statistics. Then we hear of health trusts, with only basic accounting skills, revealing audit trails going nowhere, and now this hopeless state of affairs with the vetting of staff.

Anybody want an ID card from this lot?

The "intelligence" obtained by the police in the Forest Gate raid came from a guy with an IQ from the lower ranges, so what were they thinking of. Does anybody feel safe with the "intelligence" we are being told is of utmost importance and relevance?

From the Sunday Herald in Scotland -

The police informant in east London was, it is understood, not part of any terrorist organisation or identifiable anti-British group. This was “intelligence” off the street that the Met had to defend when the information was shared with MI5 and subsequently with the Home Secretary. The poor relationship between the police and MI5, and the turf war over who ultimately has the ability to keep Britain safe, may lie behind the violent fiasco of Forest Gate.

For this reason it is thought that the Met would prefer to conduct its own investigation into what happened and to keep any public intrusion to a minimum. Equally, while MI5 will not want their institutional secrecy compromised, the department might relish the prospect of showing Forest Gate was a mess created by the police.

So they will act like spoilt brats to get their way! Now James Bond was far better! Lessons in proper intelligence gathering must be a priority with these clowns.

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Well Done England!!

England 2 Trinidad and Tobago 0

Better late than never is an English phrase that seems to have come into its own in this World Cup! Judging by the roars of approval from the neighbours, people were beginning to think it may not happen - but it did!

England moves on, Beckham is smiling, Sven is thinking, and Rooney is winking!

Trinidad and Tobago were worthy opponents.

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Brace of By-Elections

Today the candidates have been announced for the Blaenau Gwent and Bromley & Chislehurst by-elections. Don't we just have a variety of parties to vote for! Talk about exporting democracy - let the Baghdad regime loose in Bromley and they won't starve for ideas there!

Bromley & Chislehurst

ABBOTTS, Benjamin Peter - Liberal Democrat
BELSEY, Anne Emily Jane - Money Reform Party
CARTWRIGHT, John Sydney - Official Monster Raving Loony Party
FARAGE, Nigel Paul - UK Independence Party
GARRETT, Ann Christine - Green Party
HADZIANNIS, Nicholas Alexandros (commonly known as Nick) - Independent
HEMMING - CLARKE, John Stanley Charles David - Independent
NEILL, Robert James MacGillivray - The Conservative Party Candidate
REEVES, Rachel Jane - The Labour Party Candidate
UNCLES, Steven - English Democrats - Putting England First
WINNETT, Paul - National Front Britain for The British


Blaenau Gwent

DAVIES, David Clifford (commonly known as Dai) - Independent
HOPE, Alan (commonly known as Howling Laud) - Official Monster Raving Loony Party
KITCHER, Amy Elizabeth - Liberal Democrats
LEWIS, Steffan - Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales
SMITH, Owen - Labour Party
WILLIAMS, Margrit Anna - Conservative Party

It'll be a tight race in Blaenau Gwent with Dai Davies the slight favourite at the moment. In Bromley the Conservatives have it to lose. Currently they look to be the favourite but that was the case in Romsey by-election six years ago!

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Please Don't Take My Baby!

Tonight the BBC broadcast on the Real Story further developments in the case of Norfolk Social Services versus the Hardingham family. This is a very tragic case indeed! In fact it made me quite angry. Whatever the need for intervention by the social services, they have come across as self-serving zealots with little or no caring for human feelings. The Hardingham's solicitor was excluded from meetings and he declared this to be "against natural justice".

I think the face of Harriet Harman, the minister in charge of any change in the family law and who appeared on the programme, showed how troubling this has become. Those who work in social services seem to be stuck on a path of "we know best because we know best" and rely far too heavily on the voices from experts! Well, these experts, such as Professor Roy Meadow, are hidebound in their thinking and have been proved to be quite fallible.

When social services get it wrong and abuse results in death as with Victoria Climbie, we have an "inquiry" after which they say they will put in changes. Lord Laming said "I remain amazed that nobody in any of the key agencies had the presence of mind to follow what are relatively straightforward procedures". Precisely the problem in real abuse cases!

With the Hardinghams they have accused them on the advice of doctors who seem convinced that a family of brittle bone sufferers could not have a child receive a spontaneous bone-break if the child's mother was not a sufferer! So they sought the full weight of a judgement in the Family Court and had the three children compulsorily adopted. The Hardinghams have been short-changed big time!

I wonder if the head of Norfolk Social Services was a person whose family suffered from brittle bone disease whether they would be so keen to take the path of zealotry over that of considered caution? And are these social service officials involved here because the Hardinghams are not exactly straight A student types so have been stereotyped by people who should know better?


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/real_story/5064960.stm
The Brittle Bone Society
Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation
False Allegations Support Organisation

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Blair meets Pope

Tony Blair had an audience with the Pope today. Apparently they discussed how "moderate voices" from the world's main religions need to work together to tackle extremism and reduce the risk of terrorism. I'm perplexed whether the Pope is currently wondering if "immoderate voices" in Christianity are at work steaming along with terrorist ideas. Probably not. It all seems like a wheeze on Blair's part to bring "the world's main religions" into some common bond where they all admit that they have a loony fringe! Then he can say to the Muslim world that they are not alone.

I'd also like to know how Blair guages a "moderate voice". His cabinet colleague Ruth Kelly has been attacked for being a member of Opus Dei, as some think this is inappropriate for her.

I'm not for one minute suggesting that all Christians are unblemished saints, but I do not think any are plotting a subversive attack using aeroplanes, cars, or trains to further a cause against those they believe to be infidels! A conference of world religions to help combat terrorism is one thing, but suggesting that "moderate voices in all the world's major religions need to stand up to religious extremism in all its forms" is blurring the facts indeed.

I hope the Pope smiled as sweetly as his guest!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5043182.stm

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