The Week Ahead..

As we are all no doubt aware this week is going to be a very busy week:

Firstly tomorrow, Andrew Mitchell Shadow Secretary of State for International Development is coming for a short Q&A session from 16.30 – 17.00, this is being held in the Mandela Room in the Guild.

We also have the local elections on Thursday and if anyone is available to help campaign or canvass please let us know.

After the polling stations have closed we are hosting a drinks event at 213 Tiverton road 10.30, some drinks and nibbles will be provided but the more the better!!

On Saturday there is also the Primary for the Conservative PPC for Selly Oak, all the details and how to register are found here.

Any questions etc. please let us know at chair@bucf.co.uk

Funny YouTube Video#7

I might be wrong…

         

 

I was right about the first round. When I last blogged about the French Presidential Elections, the sudden increase in support for the centrist candidate, Bayrou, was beginning to tail off. The polls at the time suggested that any dreams Bayrou might have had about the French presidency were probably going to be short lived. Attracted by the idea of a Royal-Sarkozy romp all the way to the steps of the Elysee Palace, 85% of the French electorate turned out to set up one of the most ideological second rounds in French history. This then, I naively thought, was sealed. Sarkozy couldn’t possibly lose against the Socialists.

However, I think I could be horribly wrong. All the French pollsters say it’s a close run thing, and when I think back Sarkozy never recovered his position after his fall from the low thirties, leaving only a few points between him and the Socialists. And now, with Royal and Bayrou all but sealing their political marriage with a French kiss, and the Socialists hastily moving their guns to the centre-ground, Sarkozy might well feel hot under the collar. It is easily conceivable that he could, could, just lose this.

A Royal victory would be a terrible shame, not just for Sarkozy, but for France itself. Royal and the Socialists will increase levels of State spending by upwards of £50 billion to fund yet more unsustainable welfare pledges. Taxes will go up as a result and the French economy will continue to suffer from low growth, low productivity, and high unemployment, thus further increasing the burden on the welfare budget. In short Royal will entrench a cycle of decline which will only offset reform and make it more painful for future generations. Despite her recent move to the centre, at about this time next week the French could go and elect a Socialist President.

Boris Quote #2

  

“It is just flipping unbelievable. He is a mixture of Harry Houdini and a greased piglet. He is barely human in his elusiveness. Nailing Blair is like trying to pin jelly to a wall. “

Daily Telegraph, 29 January 2004

Funny YouTube Video#6

B ritain

L eft

I n

A bsolute

R uins

If anyone can think of a better one, post in the comments

Inept Armed Forces?

I am writing in response to the news that Prince Harry has insisted that he will quit the Army if he is indeed not sent to Iraq. The Ministry of Defence is presently reassessing the situation as to whether allowing the Prince to serve on the front lines in Iraq, after presently intending him to be deployed as a troop leader in the Maysan province. I can understand the ministry of defence’s caution, especially if you consider the possibility of him becoming a high priority target for kidnappings etc. However you have to take into consideration, Prince Harry wants as normal a life as possible and he did not put himself through the full training which the British Public have paid for just so he can be shoved behind a desk. I think that despite the risks he has accepted a role in the army and he wants to fulfil that role, he had his problems when he was younger but the army has provided him with as normal and stable a life as he has probably ever experienced.

Obviously precautions will have to be taken in light of him holding this role, but what with the absolute PR disaster over the Iran captives issue Britain needs to show a strong military force. If Harry isn’t allowed to serve then it makes our forces look even more inept.

QuoteBlog

”If your old enough, your good enough.”

The Socialist Football Manager, Brain Clough

Lib Dems in a mess part 3.

Just to recount your memory first a Lib Dem Councillor signed a nomination form for a BNP candidate. Then yesterday we linked a story from West Brom blog about how a candidate was not only a member of the Lib Dem’s he was also leader of the people’s justice party. Yet the West Midlands Lib Dem’s now are not only signing nominations and leading other parties they also seem to be contradicting massively against their own leader! You really couldn’t make this up. The story was first broken on the West Midlands Conservative Blog.

The Lib Dem candidate for the local elections has branded a 21- year -old Conservative candidate as “too young and inexperienced [for] the political cauldron.” Samantha Crawley, the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Dunchurch and Knightlow Ward in Rugby, claims that young people who stand for elections are “ill judged.”

Yet it is Liberal Democrat policy to allow 16 year olds to vote in elections and to buy hard core pornography. Ms Crawley says that 21 year olds are too inexperienced to be elected to “intimidating” councils. (I wonder who is really intimidated by who? Most young candidates are probably fearless).

However, Ming Campbell says his party is under represented in the youth, “However we have not achieved fair representation in our party for women and ethnic minorities, nor indeed for other under-represented groups such as disabled people and young people. We cannot be at ease with ourselves until our Party is reflective of our diverse communities.”

A bigger issue is that it should not be intimidating to go and work for a council they are within their legal right to, she also says they are too in experienced, well how on earth do you get experience? Young candidates can offer a vibrant feel to councils and often connect better with the younger people, particularly in a ward where according to the 2001 census 25.7% peopele are under the age of 24, this could be a crucial advantage.All at BUCF wish Stuart Davenport the Conservative Candiate the best of luck in his campaign!

SketchBlog

JokeBlog 1

Cherie Blaire died and went to heaven. As she stood in front of St. Peter at the Pearly Gates she saw a huge wall of clocks behind him.

She asked, “What are all those clocks?”
St. Peter answered, “Those are Lie-Clocks. Everyone on Earth has a Lie-Clock. Every time you lie the hands on your clock will move.”

“Oh,” said Cherie, “who’s clock is that?
“That’s Mother Teresa’s. The hands have never moved indicating that she never told a lie.”

“Who’s clock is that?”
“That’s Abraham Lincoln’s clock. The hands have only moved twice telling us that Abe only told 2 lies in his entire life.”

“Where’s Tony’s clock?” Cherie asked.
“Tony’s clock is in Jesus’ office. He’s using it as a ceiling fan.”

The alternative? . . . ohdear

Click here to see the David Milliband campaign blog.

Sums it up quite well

Lib Dems

Good post here from West Brom on the complete mess the Lib Dems are in Birmingham, it demonstrates their ‘policy for every street’ perfectly or maybe it should be a ‘party for every policy!’

There’s only TWO David Cameron’s!

Apparently there is an eighteen year old Conservative candidate, he became eighteen just three days before the close for nominations, which in itself is almost worth a mention. He is standing in the local parish elections in Portishead central. His name David Cameron!

He does make it clear on his literature though that ‘Despite the coincidence of names, I must make it clear that I am not (or perhaps I should say not yet!) the leader of the Conservative Party!’

All here at BUCF wish him the best of luck with his campaign in becoming the youngest Parish Copuncillor in the country!

EVENTS

Next Tuesday (May 1st) we have organised a Q & A session with Andrew Mitchell the Shadow Secretary of State for International Development. We will be meeting in the Mandela Room, first floor of the guild at 16.20. This is an open event.

We have also organised a Local Elections Drinks night next Thursday (May 3rd) at 213 Tiverton Road, arrive anytime from 22.30 onwards, some food and drink will be provided but the more the better!! If anyone can help out campaigning before please let me know, we want great results so the more we put in the more we’ll hopefully get out!!!

to RSVP for either or for any enquiries email chair@bucf.org.

BUCF

Diary

           

The Victoria Line, Southbound, brings me to the corner of Green Park. With its rolling grass-scape and mature trees, the park looked beautiful in the spring sun. It’s one of the smaller London parks, but even so, just as tranquil. Civil Servants come here for lunch with their sandwiches neatly wrapped in foil, and Americans stand around with their bum bags around their waists, looking lost. From here it’s a short walk across to the The Mall where I had to dodge my way through an army of Japanese tourists. They looked hugely impressed by their surroundings. Brightly coloured Union Jacks flank The Mall all the way down to Admiralty Arch. Talking of which, there was a time when the navy would at least attempt to protect it’s personal, rather then leave them crying like babies and squawking for their ipods.

I was shown the statue of Margaret Thatcher, recently unveiled in the Member’s Lobby outside the House of Commons. I polished her shoe, as is customary, and looked up. I have to say I felt a tinge of sadness, that this dynamic and striking women is now in stillness, cast in bronze. Stillness doesn’t reflect her very adequately I thought.

Yesterday a senior Tory claimed that in the 1950s Edward Heath was cautioned for asking men for sex. He was warned to curb his behaviour when he became a privy councillor, for fear of the damage it would do to his career. I doubt there is any truth in these accusations, though I do think that Ted Heath was probably gay. Needless to say, I can’t remember Heath as Prime Minister, so I asked a few people who can whether they had their suspicions? They all did. It seems that it was pretty much an open secret. This means that Heath could well take the title of Britain’s first gay Prime Minister. Damn it.

Unmarried divorces are they really needed?

In a landmark case the law lords have decided to allow unmarried couples that own a property jointly equal rights to that property as a rule. This move takes us one step closer to having a situation where unmarried couples have similar rights as those who marry. This is a worrying development. I think this is worrying because a married couple (and I include gay civil partnerships in this category) are generally more secure because they have had to make a public declaration of their love and commitment. This often means they are less likely to split and are more dedicated to each other. Why do we need secure relationships you may ask, well primarily society needs them for the safe and secure raising of children. In a united family unit there is often better discipline and generally more achievement. I say this coming from a divorced home, and single handedly one of my parents brought my brother and me up very well so I do not detract from many of the single parent families who do a very difficult job well. However single parent homes is something I do not want to promote which I feel this development in the law would. Whilst a united family unit is not the be all and end all of bringing up children successfully it has been found to be a key factor and one that I would not want to further undermine. These are my opinions and are not based on any religious morality but on what I feel is what we should be promoting as a society and that is a married family unit. With 40% of children now born out of wedlock and an increasing father absenteeism we need to deal with the lack of male role models in society and the increasing lack of respect and discipline (often characteristics instilled in children from a father) so that we can start to tackle the erosion of these traits in society. I am not so niave to think that if we had 100% marriage success rates we would have a perfect society, but I am advocating a holistic approach to tackling anti social behaviour and lack of resect and I feel a strong family unit would help this. If the government actively promoted safe sex and the virtues of being in a secure relationship before having a child in schools then it may also reduce the teenage pregnancy rate. I think this development would undermine the married family too far.

How Green is your car?

Following on from Earth Action day, I have decided to post this, it may have come out some time ago but I still think it is worth placing up here, for everyone to have a look at.

It can be viewed at www.howgreenisyourcar.com

PMQs Review

Just a snap shot, Cameron asked about information being leaked to media about terror suspects, asking whether it was a civil servant, Minister or Special Adviser?

PM said he did not know, but would not have an independent inquiry!! Then accused Cameron of not having any evidence of the where the lead came from?

 Surely though the fact there has been a leak to the media, is all the evidence we need, it was not a direct accusation by Cameron it was a question has to if he would set up an enquiry, yet the PM refused.

How on earth will we find out if there will not be an independent enquiry?

Boris Quote #1

“My chances of being PM are about as good as the chances of finding Elvis on Mars, or my being reincarnated as an olive.”

“You ask the questions”, The Independent, 17 June 2004

Funny YouTube Video #5

What Good Taste:

Today Cameron was photographed on the London Underground and comments were made about how clean and empty the train was and that he should try using a real tube and not a fixed one. Well I doubt it was fixed so that it was empty for him, but the commentators missed the real issue and that was the book he was holding. Ian McEwan is my favourite author I have read, bar 2 all of his books and I was delighted to see our leader enjoying such a good book. It is so wonderful to see that even David finds the time to indulge in such a great novella.

Quand Ecoutera L’Europe?

With the role of the EU in and out of the news I thought I would explain what I feel the EU’s role should be in an enlarged 21t century. First and foremost the role of the EU should be to promote better trading links between Europe, to allow easy movement of goods and labour. This the EU does relatively well and with sound fiscal management by the native governments the EU has aided prosperity. The EU becomes a very useful institution for tackling environmental issues too; the drive to reduce carbon emissions can only be done on a Europe wide scale. Finally the EU can be very useful in tackling the wider sphere of crime such as drugs and people trafficking. It is only with our European counter parts can we launch a truly effective campaign against organised crime. This is what I see the EU being most useful for. I will now move on to suggest why any other direction for the EU takes too much power away from democratically elected and accountable politicians. The most dangerous move that Brussels seems to be obsessed with at the moment is the increasing political wants of the EU. These are quite obvious with the revival of the European Constitution. It is essential that we the British people remain in control of our legislature because it affects laws that govern us. We have already signed over many sovereign powers such as the supremacy of British Law in our own courts, which now is subservient to European law. The main problem I have with the EU is that it can never truly represent the will of the people and no matter how hard it tries it will never be a valid political democratic institution. Each MEP represents a massive constituency but once in the EU’s parliament is a tiny unheard voice. There is no way that people feel engaged or able to hold Europe to account in the same way you can you local MP. Many people see the need to create a counter weight (particularly the French) to America. This is not needed we have developed uniquely as a nation for a thousand years, we have built our own institutions which represent our own people who choose how they wish to be governed. I see no need for this to change. Greater co-operation on economic (though not a single currency for Britain), environmental and security issue are the role for the enlarged EU. This is what the people of Europe want the profound NON! Results of national referendums on the continent support this. When will the unelected bureaucrats realise that the people have spoken and it is not a case of them voting for the wrong answer it is they who are trying to dictate to us a system that no one wants.

Just an aside: it is worth remembering that a united Europe would have one single foreign policy, therefore these unelected unaccountable bureaucrats would have control over our armed forces, taking away further royal sovereignty and what is technically our last defence against a tyrannical government (the loyalty of the armed forces to Her Majesty). Furthermore Europe showed us no support in the Iran issue demonstrating what a new Europe would be like, British people as second class citizens in an old style dominated Europe.

Caught on Camera.

John Reid Announced yesterday that he would not extend the 28 day detainment period without cross-party agreement. Frankly I find the idea of being able to be picked up, questioned and detained for 28 days and not charged or even told what I’ve supposedly done very chilling, let alone extending it!! Terrorism is a worrying issue, but surely if we react too drastically in a way they have won, as they have resulted in changing our lives. But why stop at anti-terrorism legislation, Britain now has more CCTV cameras per-head than any other country in the world, not only that but the CCTV cameras on our roads read off car registrations recording where you have been and cameras are being installed with loudspeakers to tell people off for littering and vandalising in a child’s voice!!

The image of cameras with speakers brings to mind images of some surreal dictatorship where we’re being watched 24/7 but the truth is, more and more this kind of state is coming about. Everything from credit cards to mobile phones track follow and record our habits locations lives, all of which are available to a variety of bodies including the government.

I am a firm believer in a smaller non-interventionist state, which defends its people’s freedoms, but worryingly the road we’re taking seems to be diverging from this. So much money is being put in to watching us, but who’s watching for abuse. The NHS patients record system has been a disaster costing a fortune and its online nature highlights worrying security flaws and vulnerabilities of misuse, the total cost of which is being put between £18.6bn and £31bn. On top of this the government wants to go and waste a few more billion on a national identity card, which is supposed to fight crime, I’m sure the police would rather have that money to turn some of their Community Support Officers into real police and into setting up a secure border force.

One by one this government has tried to enter monitor and record every part of our lives, forgetting that we put them where they are, and hopefully at the next election we’ll take that away!

No quote this time: just a picture

Picture from the BBC

Everything about him just looks so un natural I think, it all looks fixed! So first he admits ‘he is not any good at maths’ and then when he walks around we see not only is maths a weak point, it would seem that dressing himself is! As he has a trouser leg stuck tucked into his sock.

 Prime Minister material?