1st March Drinks Eve…

                      

Tomorrow evening we have Conservative Future drinks at Red Peppers in the Mailbox. Our three local MPs will arrive from 7:30, so all guests are asked to arrive between 7 and half past. Dress code is lounge suit and wine will be served on arrival. The event is downstairs in the restaraunt and has it’s own bar. As well as speeches from the MPs there will be a raffle and photographs. If you have any questions you can email myself at dac560@bham.ac.uk and I’ll respond as soon as I can.

Tomorrow afternoon we also have a visit from Ed Vaizey, details of which should have been sent to you via email. Again for information email either myself or the CF.

An inconvenient truth…

                       

Some smart arse at the Tennessee Centre for Policy Research who, like me, wanted to see Al Gore brought down a peg or two, came up with an idea truely worthy of an oscar. Using federal freedom of information laws, the think tank looked into Mr Gore’s energy bills, only to find that they are 20 times higher than for the average household. Last year the Gore household consumed 222,000 kilowatt-hours (KWh) of electricity. In fact the eco warrior’s monthly consumption rose from 16,200 KWh in 2005 to 18,400 KWh in 2006. The combined cost of his electricity and gas bills totalled almost $30,000 last year.

The details were released hours after Gore was awarded an Oscar for his global warming documentary, proclaiming that this was the first Oscar ceremony to be conducted along “environmentally intelligent” lines. He went on, “We have a long way to go, but all of us can do something in our own lives to make a difference”. Hmm… Some of us clearly have further to go than others.

Apparently Conservative bloggers in the US couldn’t believe their luck as Gore’s energy bills went round the internet like wildfire. I thought we’d do our bit as well.

Daily Bite…

            

There was always support for top-up fees within the student movement though it was drowned out by the official line of the NUS. Ben Ullman, President of Bristol Guild of Students, is one of the dissenting voices. In a blog for the New Statesman magazine, Ullman argues that someone has to foot the bill, and it is only fair that graduates pay a portion of the fees considering they stand to benefit the most.

Some university Vice Chancellors, including our own, want to go futher, arguing for unregulated variable fees to enable British Universities compete internationally. The other option is for the State to increase funding. Personally I don’t find either particularly attractive. Though when it comes to competing with foreign universities, comparisons with the US show that what is needed is a more business led approach. American universities have been far more successful in the past 20 years at razing funds and investing them imaginatively rather than in traditional low yield investments. There needs to be a similar move in Britain, which would remove the need for the State and individual students to pay more.

Sketchblog…

Clarke and Milburn call for ‘Vision’…

                           

In a swipe at Gordon Brown, Charles Clarke and Alan Milburn have called for an open debate on the Party’s future. In a letter the two former cabinet ministers wrote that after 10 years in Government Labour needs to show it has the vision and the policies for Britain’s future. The BBC’s political editor, Nick Robinson, comments that the email suggests that waiting for Gordon Brown isn’t good enough. This reflects wider unease within Labour ranks. The constant stream of bad polls for the Chancellor and concern that he will not be able to retain marginal seats in the south, has opened the way for a Blairite candidate to run for the leadership.

Money flooding in…

                                                            

The BBC tells us that in the last quarter of 2006, the Conservatives received donations totalling some £5.29 million, more than that of Labour and the Lib Dems combined. While donations to Labour were down by £800,000, Conservative donations were up £1.2 million. This reflects a turnaround in Conservative poll results particularly compared to those of a Brown led Labour Party, and will place the Conservatives well to fight the local elections in May. No wonder Brown wants to cap Party spending at the next General Election…

Debating Society

                    

Debates:

Thursday 8th March
Charity Debate, for Breast Cancer Research
This House believes A Woman’s Intelligence Is Proportional To The Length of Her Skirt.
Guild Council Chamber 6:30pm onwards
Prizes for best floor speeches, Selly Oak Social follows.

Thursday 15th March
This House Believes That Animal Testing For Medical Research Is Acceptable.
Guild Council Chamber 6:30pm onwards
Prizes for best floor speeches, Jam House social follows.

The Debating Society has a Facebook group and can be found here.

Redbrick Review…

                             

In the run-up to the Guild elections Redbrick lends a double page spread to the multitude of candidates. The Conservatives running for positions, the Clean Slaters, are mentioned. Now known as the ‘Slates’, the Conservative Future members created a storm in tea cup at the end of last week with their campaign to reach beyond the Guild. There are 17 positions available, some more spurious than others.

In the letters section, a disagreeable student writes in reminding us that Travel West Midlands has invested millions in a fleet of state of the art buses. Unfortunately, the student fails to mention that although the buses look nicer they still attract some of the most unpleasant people in the city. Most car users do not feel safe on buses and would rather the convenience of taking the car. Frankly I don’t blame them.

Syreeta Cumberbatch is going to Barcelona. She concludes that things that happen have probably been going on for some time and do not mean the end of the world. She advises us to keep things in their context, and thinks that it’s all the media’s fault!

We learn also that the University is celebrating ‘Fair Trade fortnight’, where we can all feel very smug while putting a brake on economic development in the third world and protecting our own economic interests.

New Labour’s problem…

                    

Gordon Brown will almost certainly take over from Tony Blair when he steps down this summer. Though increasingly this wont be because of his qualities, but rather the lack of a credible alternative. Michael Meacher and John McDonnell have no chance. John Reid has been damaged by Home Office blunders, so to was Charles Clarke. David Milliband, the next generation candidate, probably hasn’t got what it takes, nor has he indicated he wants to job. So this leaves the bleak prospect of Gordon Brown as leader, particularly bleak for Labour MPs with marginal seats in southern England as The Times reports.

A survey conducted by the newspaper of 100 Labour MPs with the smallest majorities found a marked lack of enthusiasm at the prospect of Brown taking over the leadership. And indicative of the lack of alternatives, there was no agreement on other candidates. David Crausby, MP for Bolton North East, sums the mood up well…

“I don’t see any real serious challenge to Gordon Brown at all. I am not too happy with it but I suppose I will have to vote for him because I don’t really see an alternative.”

Growing Inheritance Tax…

                                                                    

Personally I’d scrap it. After all people pay for their mortgages from the wages they earn which are already taxed. However, I think there is certainly a case for changing the Inheritance tax threshold in line with rises in house prices, so that the tax doesn’t hit those who were never meant to pay it. The Building Society Halifax, has calculated that if this was the case the threshold would now be £460,000, more than double the current rate.

Quoteblog…

                                          

There is absolutely no one, apart from yourself, who can prevent you, in the middle of the night, from sneaking down to tidy up the edges of that hunk of cheese at the back of the fridge.

Brown falls another notch…

                                                                   

While Gordon Brown’s critics have accused him of being media shy, uncooperative, and boring, his economic competence has never really been questioned. Though the Telegraph tells us that even this is slipping away from the Iron Chancellor. In yet another bad poll for Brown this time by YouGov, voters were asked who they trusted to run the economy. Labour polled 27 per cent while the Conservatives, wait for it… polled 30 per cent. This is quite remarkable and shows a complete turn around since the general election. Back then Labour had a commanding 22 point lead over the Conservatives for economic trustworthiness. When this poll is set against the constant stream of bad polls for Brown since David Cameron became leader of the Conservatives, Labour MPs must be in a bleak mood.

City mayor poll: Weak

                                      

For some reason the Birmingham Mail has been lobbying hard for a referendum to test public support for an elected mayor in Birmingham. It’s latest trick was a poll of Birmingham Councillors which resulted in 59% of those polled supporting a referendum. On the back of this poll the newspaper claims that it is “Time to let the people decide”. However, reading through the article you find that the poll was conducted on a narrow basis and is therefore weak. In fact less than half of councillors took part, 54 out of 120, and only 32 out of the 54 supported a referendum. Bare in mind that the vast majority of the 32 councillors supporting a referendum are Labour councillors who’s leader, Albert Bore, supports a referendum. So, when this is considered the Mail’s poll isn’t too convincing really, although this hasn’t stopped Bore jumping on his bandwagon. He responded saying that “the public should decide”. I do wonder whether Bore harbours any mayoral ambitions???

Daily Bite…

                   

When Adam Smith observed the dynamics of the market, he found that consumers acted in their best economic interests by finding the best value for their money, and market players competed against one another to offer the them it. This is true except with State monopolies, where the self interest of both the consumer and the producer is taken out of the equation.

It’s good to see though that gas, opened up to competition in the 1980s, is competitive and responsive to consumers. The Daily Mail tells us that British Gas lost 1.1 million customers last year to rivals because of high bills, meaning that for the first time the former State owned company supplied less than half the market. During 2006, 900,000 households and 200,000 accounts changed their gas supplier from British Gas to rivals.

In response the company was forced to cut bills from £1,100 to £900 a year, and has indicated that further cuts are on the way. Powergen, npower and Southern Electric have responded by announcing possible cuts in the Spring which could lead to a bloody price war. It just shows that you can’t buck the market, or as British Gas found, it’ll buck you.

“Dithering” Whitby…

                                                          

Mike Whitby, the leader of Birmingham Council’s Conservative/Lib Dem coalition, has been criticised for dithering over calls for a referendum to test public support for an elected mayor. The noisiest proponent of a referendum has been the city’s Labour leader (one former leader of the council) Sir Albert Bore. Yesterday he said “a bandwagon had started rolling in support of a referendum”. If this bandwagon exists outside his own imagination, Cllr Bore has not hesitated to jump on board. Bore must know that voter apathy would ensure a low turnout allowing activists to heavily influence the result and for him to get his way. Perhaps Bore sees himself as Birmingham’s answer to Ken Livingston.

It’s therefore not surprising that Mike Whitby is dithering over a referendum, apparently failing to answer calls from the local press. In the past Cllr Whitby has expressed his concern that an elected mayor would achieve nothing more than what is already in place. Perhaps Whitby should expose Cllr Bore’s self serving opportunism.

Public gives Brown verdict…

Things are certainly going David Cameron’s way. I reported a few days ago that every major poll since October 2005 has favoured a Cameron led Conservative Party over a Brown led Labour Party. The Economist argues, that the misgivings many Labour figures have about Brown’s credentials are now being reflected by the public. While his colleagues argue that he is the most successful Chancellor in modern times, a political and intellectual heavyweight, the Economist explains that this is only half the story…

What increasingly worries ministers, and those Labour MPs in southern seats whose majorities hang by a thread, is that, unless he can reveal a different side to his personality, dour, stiff, slightly odd Mr Brown will struggle to reach those aspiring middle-class voters whom Mr Blair could still just about deliver in 2005.

The other point I have made repeatedly and that the Economist also identifies, is that the public is tired of being apathetic and irritated by a Government that has failed to live up to expectations, and are looking for a change. Gordon Brown can’t disassociate himself with the last ten years, and for all his qualities, change is not something he appears capable of.

Meanwhile two left-wing candidates have launched their campaigns for the leadership. Their radical policies, including widespread renationalisation, are an invite for the Conservatives to take the centre-ground.

Sketchblog…

 

“Hmm, I’m sure that’s a Socialist I can see over there, bloody pests. Thought we’d stamped them out.”

Courtesy of Margaret Thatcher Appreciation Society, Facebook

Daily Bite…

                        

I don’t know what possesses some people. Michael Meacher for instance has decided to mount a bid for the Labour leadership. His manifesto includes the nationalisation of the railways, limits on City bonuses, nuclear disarmament and an increase in the minimum wage to £7 an hour. His bid is ridiculous anyway, but to take Labour to the left when the Conservatives are successfully holding the centre ground would be political suicide. I doubt he’ll get the 44 MPs signatures needed to run in the leadership election, although it would be great for the Conservatives to have all these raving lefties squabble over the leadership. The veteran left wing MP John McDonnell, has also launched a bid for the leadership, supporting widespread nationalisation and extensions to worker’s rights.

Sketchblog…

                                       

The Times

From Iron to Bronze…

                                                                              

It seemed that Lady Thatcher was delighted by the £80,000 bronze 8ft statue of her unveiled last night at the Houses of Parliament. She joins Lloyd George, Winston Chuchill and Clement Atlee, and is directly opposite the entrance to the House of Commons. The statue, by sculptor Antony Dufort, shows her in a typical lively and combative posture, as though she is addressing the Commons, with her right arm outstretched and papers clutched in her left hand. What makes this statue particularly special is that it first to be unveiled while the object is still alive. You can watch the unveiling here.

A bad move…

                                                                        

Following the announcement that six Conservative Future members are standing for election in this year’s exec elections, five belonging to the Clean Slate group, there has been a tirade of criticism. The impression seems to be that the Clean Slate group are making a mockery of Guild procedures in light of their speeches at Tuesday’s hustings. In response a group of disgruntled students formed a group on Facebook called ‘RON the Clean Slate Twats’. Now, while they could make a legitimate case that the clean slate candidates are undermining the Guild, it is self defeating to call them twats. Given the hostility between the two camps over the last 48 hours it might be prudent to change the name of the group and let the clean slate candidates run whatever campaign they think best serves their point.

Daily Bite…

                                 

I am one of the 1.79 million people who have signed a Downing Street petition against road charging. Any scheme that could see motorists charged up to £1.30 per mile along busy stretches of road is beyond a joke. This will hit a lot of hard working people to who cars are not a luxury but a necessity.

Anyway, I got an email this morning from Tory Blair explaining to me why I’m wrong. Apparently congestion is a major problem to which there is no easy answer. Well, I contest both of these points. Congestion is not a major problem. Most roads across the country are not jammed. Where they are jammed I bet it’s due to one of the following four reasons; poor road layouts, accidents, haulage, or bad driving. In the case of motorways, which Tony Blair refers to in his email, they flow pretty well unless something upsets the flow like a badly designed junction or an accident.

This brings me on to my second point: the answers are in fact obvious. The most simple answer is to correct imperfections in road layouts and to widen where capacity has been exceeded. Haulage companies could receive tax breaks to drive during off peak hours to ease traffic flow during the rush. More cunning solutions might include reducing VAT on internet shopping so that more people shop from home, reducing stamp duty so that more people move closer to where they work, and offering incentives for LEAs to run school bus services.

My hotmail account must be able to read my emails. This one ended up in the junk mail box

1st March CF drinks…

                                                                         

There are tickets left for Conservative Future drinks at the Mailbox. The date is the 1st of March, that’s a Thursday, 7:00pm for 7:30pm. We have a star-studded guest list; three MPs, five PPCs, and two MEPs, just to name a few. To reserve a place or places please contact the CF Chair Joe Brewer at jxb542@bham.ac.uk promptly. Hope to see you there…

Adam Smith Society Event…

                                                  

It is commonly regarded that the 19th Century belonged to United Kingdom, and the 20th largely dominated by the United States. We might wonder who will dominate the 21st Century? Will it still be United States? Or Will it be China?

To find out more the Adam Smith Society is running an open seminar concerning economic issues in the 21st century and we are very pleased to have Professor Peter Sinclair to give an introductory speech.

                       

The world looking 20 years ahead, from economics perspectives.
TODAY
Learning Centre, UG 06
1: 00 PM 

The session is not limited to members, so you are definitely welcome to come, join in and express your views.

Bands line up in opposition to Trident…

                                     

Snow Patrol, Razorlight, Stone Roses, and Thom Yorke, are among 50 artists who have announced their opposition to the renewal of Trident, the UK’s independent nuclear deterrent. I can’t help thinking these people are doing it for their own interests, namely selling records, rather than for the national interest. However, because of their fame the media tend to give their political views air time. So lets put their views under scrutiny…

1. They argue that the money could be better spent on health and education. Well yes, the money could be spent on health and education, but ‘better spent’ is a matter of opinion. The country will spend a stupendous amount on health and education over the next 30 years, towering any money we spend on nuclear defence. It is estimated that between 15 and £20 billion will be invested in the renewal of trident over the next 30 years. Now compare this to health and education combined which we spend £167 billion on each year, and then multiply that by 30 adding inflation. An extra 15-20 billion will make no impact on the quality of health or education.

2. According to Bloc Party’s front man, Kele, spending billions on “nukes” will bring us closer to “global catastrophe”. Well not really. In fact any renewal of Trident will involve reducing our nuclear capability, as is the case for other nuclear powers including the United States. So in fact we are stepping back from catastrophe, expect for North Korea and possibly Iran, who are pulling the world back.

3. The former lead singer of Stone Roses, Ian Brown, thinks that political leaders are “hypocrites” and “warmongers”. Though I would ask Ian what war we have pursued using nuclear weapons? And why, assuming he is against nuclear proliferation, he would rather countries with aggressive ambitions develop weapons than for us to tell them not to?

I’m pretty sure these points will go unanswered.