The View From The North

Another year, another education shake-up

2009-05-05T11:44:00.003+01:00

It’s hard to know where to start with Brown’s latest plans for schools.

Giving parents more power in schools has been a constant refrain from Labour, particularly since it fought the last election on choice in public services. Unsurprisingly the reality has never quite matched the rhetoric. The last education shake-up was supposed to make it easier for parents to start schools, trigger inspections etc but there has been no obvious revolution in state education as a result.

Next month another education white paper will be produced – there is no apparent need for one but Labour seems to be taking the same view of education as it does criminal justice – the regular production of white papers and Bills is more important than whether they actually serve any purpose. If today’s reports are to be believed it will include more powers for parents including the absurd idea that a parent can demand action at a school their children don’t even attend (begging the question on what basis they will be judging that school?). This time it will be LEAs responding to parents’ desire for action, rather than Ofsted – marking yet another swing in the pendulum in Labour’s enthusiasm for LEAs. Traditionally, Labour has seen local authorities as essential in the delivery of state education. Then the Blair years saw them become the bogeyman obstacle to progress – independence for schools and direct funding from Whitehall became the mantra. In the last Education Bill they became commissioners of education rather than direct providers but then when Brown took over in Downing Street talk of independent state schools withered and now LEAs are sponsoring city academies – the class of school originally created to bypass LEAs. Now they are once again to be the arbiter of standards.

As for parental influence on education, the last word should go to Boris Johnson who gave this answer in the recent Spectator coverage of his first anniversary as London Mayor.

"As a ‘father’, I don’t want to waste my time at some blooming consultation with the teachers, jostling for attention with a load of sharp-elbowed mums. I don’t want to have ‘control’ over my kids’ education. I want the teachers to have control. They already have the government telling them what they can and can’t do to a degree that is utterly absurd and humiliating, and contrary to their vocation as teachers. The last thing they need is to share their dwindling prerogatives with a load of ghastly and ill-informed parents. If you mean, should parents be more free to choose their kids’ schools, then yes, by all means — but the choice will be pretty meaningless until you bring back academic selection."

Mandy to the rescue of an old New Labour friend

2009-04-30T19:58:00.003+01:00

Bernie Ecclestone's call for government backing for the British Grand Prix has not fallen on deaf ears. The Digger column in yesterday's Guardian sport section suggests Peter Mandelson has offered to meet Bernie and discuss the issue. In particular Mandy has suggested that regional development agency money might be used to support infrastructure improvements that might be to Bernie's liking.

It is hard to contemplate a cash-strapped Government using taxpayers to support a sport run by a billionaire, even indirectly. Ecclestone has always had a special relationship with New Labour though.

Can't polish a turd

2009-04-27T19:18:00.003+01:00

So within a week of Gordon Brown making his weird video message to announce his flawed plans on MPs expenses they look dead in the water.

This attempt at using new media was clearly an attempt to follow the lead of Barack Obama who was so adept at using these methods to talk directly to voters in his election campaign. New Labour was always more about style and substance and while many commentators insist the Budget has marked its end, this episode illustrates that in one aspect - the obsession with presentation - it survives.

The Government still hasn't grasped that, in the end, it's what you're saying rather than how you say it that matters. Obama had a message that appealed to the voters. Brown's proposals on MPs expenses were garbage.

Or to put it another way, you can't polish a turd.

Why the End is Nigh

2009-04-27T12:35:00.003+01:00

Anyone left in the swiftly diminishing group who thinks this Government still has anything left to offer should listen to this contribution from Harriet Harman on Today this morning. Last week Labour delivered a devastatingly bleak budget, this week it is wittering on about some Equality Bill which its main champion struggles to justify. The plot has well and truly been lost.

Cameron Shows The Way - or just more distraction burglary?

2009-04-26T16:35:00.002+01:00

Iain Dale thinks David Cameron's speech today is his most important so far in that it is the clearest signal yet of the direction of a Conservative government.

In some ways i think Dale's right. It certainly is the starkest statement he has made yet of the awful position the Tories will inherit and the challenges that will bring. It even includes some specific areas where cuts would be made which, although limited, is certainly a welcome piece of plain speaking.

His defence of the Tories' position on the 50p tax rate is also pretty good, describing last week's budget as a piece of "distraction burglary" where Darling points to the 50p rate which is largely meaningless to distract attention from the growing disaster in the public finances.

I say only pretty good because it's a bit cheap for Cameron to accuse Labour of distraction burglary when later in the same speech he uses the same technique. Listing the high salaries of public officials and promising to name and shame them is good knock about stuff but cutting these back will save hundreds of thousands of pounds, not the billions needed.

We need our politicians to get serious about the financial mess we're in. For voters part, that means not reacting in a knee jerk way when a politician talks about making cuts. They're going to come, the argument should be about where. For their part, politicians need to talk in serious terms about where we're going to find billions of pounds in savings, not just try and focus public anger on a few (admittedly overpaid) public servants.

Ecclestone and the NUT - unlikely allies

2009-04-24T19:22:00.003+01:00

Bernie Ecclestone has today said it is a "disgrace" that the Government hasn't offered financial backing to the British Grand Prix. That's millionaire Bernie Ecclestone mind you.

He can join others in the queue making ridiculous demands of a country approaching bankruptcy. Such as the National Union of Teachers who are demanding a 10 per cent pay rise.

Madness.

Why the regional media matters: A case study

2009-04-23T20:30:00.003+01:00

As has been well-documented, the regional media is going through terrible times as the recession accelerates the decline of an industry that already had long term structural problems. This has largely been met with a shrug of the shoulders by the majority outside media circles - of course it has that's why readership figures are so low. If people valued their local newspapers they'd buy them.

Optimists say that when the existing regional media dies it will be replaced by new entrants to the market. I hope so - and this story from the Yorkshire Post illustrates why. Rob Waugh is one of the most talented journalists in the regional press and here he has raised serious questions about the spending practices at Leeds Met University. In the absence of a local journalist plugging away at this story this would probably have slipped under the radar. As it is, its now on the BBC website.

Quality local journalism matters. Let's hope someone finds a way to pay for it.

Why is Brown laughing?

2009-04-23T20:07:00.001+01:00

Gordon Brown was memorably once described as "psychologically flawed". The quote is often attributed to Alastair Campbell which he denies.

Anyway, somebody has clearly told Brown that he needs to seem more human. The result is the scary grin he now uses at every available opportunity. The problem is that while he can tell his face to perform the action he still likes the emotional awareness to use it appropriately.

How else to explain his mysterious gurning during his online video announcing his plans on MPs expenses? He was at it again during Cameron's budget response yesterday.

Stop it Gordon. These are serious times and the people losing their homes and jobs aren't smiling. Take the risk of looking like an emotional retard and stick to glowering. At least it fits the awful mess we're in.

VFTN makes a comeback

2009-04-23T19:49:00.000+01:00

VFTN is making a comeback, more follows.

EU: The politics equivalent to the hokey cokey

2007-06-22T11:09:00.000+01:00

Can't we have a more subtle debate about the EU than being in or out? David Cameron (or whoever wrote it for him) has a go in the Daily Telegraph today. It's not the most coherent article ever written but its broad theme is an important one: that the EU is bogged down in talks about mechanisms when it should be a forum for collective action on the major challenges facing member states.
Rather than having "red-lines" to defend, when will a British PM head to one of these summits with a positive agenda? Why is Britain always on the defensive rather than putting forward its own vision for the future of the EU?

Bernard Manning

2007-06-18T17:41:00.001+01:00

Whenever a public figure dies there is a tendency to play down their failings. This comes from the basic decency most people have that results in a laudable reluctance to speak ill of those who have died.
Bernard Manning's death is undoubtedly a sad event for his friends and family. It would be a terrible error however to ignore the tasteless material he used in acts that was hugely offensive to both ethnic minorities and gay people and portray him as some kind of Northern working class hero.
If we accept it is wrong to criticise those who cannot defend themselves it would perhaps be best for those of us who disliked him to note Mr Manning's death, nothing more. It is certainly misguided for the Manchester Evening News to invite people to pay tribute to him.

Tories back on the attack

2007-06-18T16:16:00.000+01:00

David Cameron's speech in Tooting today and his comments on the Tories being progressive have elicited much comment. VFTN agrees there is much in his remarks to mull over but for now expresses a simple gratitude that DC has finally got past the grammar schools debacle and got back on the front foot before Blair leaves office.

Grammar schools: it just won't go away.

2007-06-12T15:31:00.000+01:00

Tucked away in the Yorkshire Post today, Francis Maude having his say on the grammar school row. It was all DC's fault it would seem.
Time for all Tories to just take a vow of silence on this one and make setting out a coherent education policy a priority for conference.

Biofuels blarney

2007-06-11T21:40:00.000+01:00

A little while ago, VFTN pointed out Cameron's half-term holiday to Greece was far from environmentally friendly and put the argument as to why off-setting is pointless. That post is here.
In a similar vein, Guido has today set out why the current enthusiasm for biofuels is misplaced. Again, for the purposes of the argument, it does not matter whether one is convinced about global warming or not. The fact is that if you wanted to produce biofuels on a scale necessary to replace oil it would remove so much land from food production as to trigger a food crisis. Those who are trying to push the green agenda are doing nobody any favours by suggesting biofuels and offsetting are somehow magic solutions.

How long will Hilary Armstrong last as a backbench MP?

2007-06-11T15:48:00.000+01:00

VFTN only asks this question because when he lived and worked in the North-East the Durham North-West MP was notable for rarely having anything must to say about life in her own constituency and the issues affecting the people who voted for her. It will be interesting to see whether she does throw herself into the role of constituency MP or finds herself another role to keep busy.

Update: Paul Linford is less sceptical than me and believes she will stay one for one more parliament.

To seek reaction.... update

2007-06-11T15:45:00.001+01:00

Just a note to welcome Iain Dale's comment. As he rightly points out, there are times when the very act of revealing one's evidence for a story might lead to the identification of a source which, whether journalist, opinionated commentator or other, is unforgiveable. In such circumstances it is therefore left to the reader to decide how much they trust the author and what weight to give to those who offer alternative accounts.That is an easier judgement to reach in blogs which offer readers a more personal interaction with their authors. But applying that lesson to the debate over the Melissa Kite story, how is the casual reader expected to tell the difference between a well-sourced story and ill-informed speculation when a piece is written by a journalist who is really just a name on a page? Anyway, Dale's post has undoubtedly kept the lobby on its toes which is no bad thing at all.

To seek reaction, or not seek reaction, that is the question

2007-06-10T14:58:00.000+01:00

Seen as every blogger in the blogosphere has had their say on Iain Dale's spat with several lobby journalists (in the unlikely event you haven't seen it, the original post is here and the latest follow-up is here), VFTN may have well have his say.

There are a number of points to be made:

VFTN is a huge fan of Dale's but it is not right for him to say he writes opinionated comment and has no pretensions towards journalism. When you mark a post exclusive, as he did with the first post on the alleged spin operation on Gordon Brown's anti-terror proposals, and go on to talk about unearthing facts then that is certainly journalism. There is nothing wrong with mixing news and comment, plenty of newspapers do so either explicitly or with their choice of stories and the angle they take with them. Call it journalism, call it opinionated comment, but the original post on the Brown spin operation was presented as fact and put serious question marks against the Sunday lobby.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the Sunday lobby have fought back and with a reasonable unified voice insisted he is wrong. It is therefore up to Dale to prove his point. He does not have to reveal his source but he should be able to provide some kind of evidence that what he is saying is true and the Sunday lobby are covering up. Dale, after all, is not averse to pointing out the poorly sourced journalism of others. Witness his attack on a now infamous article by Melissa Kite.
Having said all that, Dale is right to point out that, whatever conditions were placed on the briefing, if one or two of the lobby had bothered to ring the Tories they would have discovered that Brown had put his foot in it and damaged genuine efforts on all sides to reach a consensus on security.
VFTN has some sympathy with the view expressed by Fraser Nelson that it is unwise for hacks, particularly the Sunday variety, to risk losing stories for the sake of reaction but the lobby must have realised that none of them had it exclusively and, in their shoes, VFTN might have sought reaction in the hope it would move the story on should it appear on telly on the Saturday night.
The conclusion: no-one comes out of this episode looking good. If Brown's machine did put a no-reaction clause on a briefing then they should stop spinning that Brown will mark an end to spin. Bloggers have free reign to comment on what they like but if they want to take responsibility for unearthing facts and publishing them they must be prepared to defend the stories with evidence of truth or they are no better than the mainstream hacks they frequently, and often justifiably, criticise. The lobby also ends up looking stupid for either missing a story by failing to make one call or accepting a briefing with conditions attached.
Finally, rather than complaining about using Sunday papers to float policies the Tories would do well to get better at doing it themselves. Perhaps Mr Coulson will help.

Coulson is Cameron's choice

2007-06-10T14:38:00.001+01:00

David Davis did remarkably well this morning on Andrew Marr. He clearly hates the grammar school policy but struck a healthy balance between supporting his leader and maintaining his own credibility by admitting that his own preference was for more grammar schools but that he supported the party's policy because he lost the leadership election. However, it was a shame that Davis agreed he and the rest of the Shadow Cabinet had been consulted only for Marr to fail to ask the obvious follow-up which was whether he objected in that meeting has has been widely suggested.
More intriguing was his answer to a question about the appointment of ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson. He confirmed he hadn't been consulted about that one. So the man Cameron extended the hand of solidarity to after beating him in the leadership election did not even have a say on the Coulson appointment.
Clearly Davis and Cameron don't pretend to be big buddies but there seems to be a growing body of evidence the Tory leader isn't really talking to anyone much outside his own circles. Will much was made of the Graham Brady intervention in the grammar schools row it was Dominic Grieve who really forced the embarassing U-turn. Grieve undoubtedly felt able to speak out because he feels no great loyalty to DC. Now the Shadow Home Secretary, who represents a reasonable constituency of opinion in the party, isn't being consulted about major appointments.
Cameron must realise that he can't just bulldoze his ideas through the party and needs to keep these senior figures on board.

Olympic logo or picture of vomit?

2007-06-04T15:08:00.000+01:00

VFTN doesn't want to say much about the new olympic logo, unveiled today. Andy Murray's face says it all here.
Update: It seems VFTN is not alone. Matthew d'Ancona's view is less than favourable.

Cameron not just confused on grammars

2007-06-01T15:55:00.000+01:00

Amid all the problems DC is having with grammar schools it is perhaps not so surprising that few have paid attention to the fact that he his spending his half term holiday in Greece. I am assuming he flew which would have bunged a few tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. Now, I was under the impression DC had made the environment a priority and he is worried about CO2 emissions.
I know, I know, no doubt he has "offset" these carbon emissions. Well, sorry, but that's just pointless. Whether you believe global warming caused by human activity is happening or not you can agree this. Offsetting is pointless.
The idea of offsetting is basically this: you take a flight, feel guilty, cough up a few quid to some organisation who then buys a tree which as it grows will absorb the CO2 you generated. Fine so far. But what happens if the land that tree is on changes ownership and it is chopped down next year and used as firewood? What happens when everyone decides to offset and we create a world where all useful land is covered in trees and so cannot be used for other things like, erm, food production?
If you believe that CO2 causes climate change you have two choices, try and emit less by modifying your lifestyle (ie not taking the family to Greece) or carrying on as normal and stop lecturing to other people. You cannot have it both ways.

McCanns campaign under scrutiny at last

2007-05-31T13:42:00.000+01:00

At last, an element of the mainstream media has broken ranks and actually started posing reasonable questions about the implications of the McCann campaign for the return of their daughter and the media coverage of it.
Newsnight is asking for comments here.
I do hope this kick starts a proper debate and does not get hijacked by those who cannot separate out their sympathy for the McCanns from the wider debate their case raises.

Big Brother blues

2007-05-30T22:03:00.000+01:00

With perfect timing, the day after the outrage over a Dutch 'reality' show offering contestants the chance to win a kidney, Big Brother 28 (it may not be that many, it might just seem like it) starts. While the kidney programme has prompted plenty of (justifiable) outrage the start of another BB hasn't. Alright, so it might not be making entertainment out of the desparation of transplant patients but it does take a whole bunch of people ill-prepared for but desparate to have the public spotlight and exploits them ruthlessly before spitting them out at the other end to become tabloid fodder. I know, no-one forces anyone to take part etc and I'm normally the kind of person who says people like Jade Goody get what they deserve but every year BB becomes a slightly more grotesque spectacle and i think that's just a bit sad. And its crap telly.

Update: Hurrah, i'm not alone. There is a like-minded soul at the Speccy.

The worst press release ever

2007-05-25T17:06:00.000+01:00

Is this the most tedious press release ever issued? (Thanks to the source who provided it).

Make mine a tuna and cucumber - Midland Mainline employees reveal their favourite sandwich
To celebrate the sandwich, train company Midland Mainline, which is part of the National Express Group, has launched momentum Munch, a sandwich design contest for schools in Derby, Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield. The humble sandwich can be either dressed up with cucumber and no crusts, or down as a bacon butty. From palaces to picnics and from the school packed lunch to the chi chi deli they've been the best thing since sliced bread.
Designed as part of Midland Mainline’s education initiative momentum, the competition is searching for a budding entrepreneur to design a new sandwich to sell on Midland Mainline trains this summer.
A survey carried out for the British Sandwich Association to find out the nation’s favourite sandwich filling revealed that cheese was the most popular choice. And during the launch of momentum Munch, Midland Mainline carried out its own survey asking staff to vote for their favourite sandwich.
Tuna and cucumber on white bread reigned supreme as the most popular choice amongst Midland Mainline employees, whilst cheese Ploughman’s and ham and egg jostled for a place in the top three.
When momentum Champion and a member of the competition judging panel, Adrian Allen, Midland Mainline’s Catering Product Manager was asked what his favourite sandwich was, he said: “If I was choosing from our on train range it has to be the chicken and bacon club because the chicken breast and sweetcure smoked bacon form a great flavour combination… if I was making one at home it would be; Yorkshire ham and crumbled mature Cheddar cheese with mixed leaves, creamy mayonnaise and apple chutney; preferably on thick sliced Malted bread lightly spread with butter.” Yum!
With momentum Munch now in full swing kids have until 11th June to get their thinking caps on and create a sandwich with a name set for the tracks. momentum is a bespoke Citizenship and Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) programme that consists of teaching resources, practical activities and visual aids. Sponsored by Midland Mainline and written by educational specialists and teachers, momentum focuses on five key areas of concern and interest not only to students, but to the general public and Midland Mainline itself: Food & Nutrition, Enterprise, Green Transport, Disability and Waste Management.

Rubbish

2007-05-25T10:48:00.000+01:00

It's hard to pick out the most depressing aspect of this story from The Herald. New teams of litter officers are going to patrol the streets of Glasgow telling people to pick up their rubbish or giving them £50 fines. It's sad enough that we are now such a nation of slobs that tax revenue has to be spent employing people to tell us to tidy up but this story has an extra twist. The litter patrol people are going to be wearing stab vests to protect them from knife attack. How have we got to the point where litter patrols need stab vests?

Time to end the farewell tour

2007-05-21T10:49:00.000+01:00

Cameron is apparently making a speech today calling for an end to the Blair farewell tour. The unopposed election/appointment of Brown to the Labour leadership has left Blair's position untenable. In Cameron's own words:
“What is the point in Tony Blair holding meetings and discussing long-term policy - or even short-term problems - with Cabinet ministers who may not keep their jobs in a few weeks time? What is the point of Tony Blair attending international summits in June when everyone there will know that he is leaving office in just a few days time?"
He's right. This is a farce and Labour should call time on it now.

Grammar schools gaff

2007-05-17T17:25:00.000+01:00

Nick Robinson thinks that the row started by David Willetts over grammar schools, or more precisely, academic selection, yesterday was a deliberate effort by the Tories to capitalise on thr sense of "change" being felt in political circles as Gordon Brown finally gets a firm grip on the top job.
It would be nice for those on the Right to think so. But the ham-fisted way Willetts's speech was handled by the Tories which meant his message ended up being "We're ditching selection and following Blair" when the reality was far more interesting rather points against the Robinson theory.
Whenever these questions come up, VFTN is always inclined to believe cock-up rather than conspiracy.

Brown offers McCanns help

2007-05-16T15:29:00.000+01:00

Developments today kick on the debate started by Iain Dale on the way the Madeleine McCann story is developing. From the media convicting Robert Murat in the absence of any concrete evidence we know have our next Prime Minister getting involved with an offer of help to the family.
It is difficult to see exactly what help the Chancellor of the Exchequer in this country can offer in the hunt for a missing girl in Portugal. Assuming the best of intentions on the part of Mr Brown and this wasn't just a shameless stunt to promote his touchy feely side then this incident is a further example of the emotional tyranny there now is around these type of events.
The roots of this can be traced back to when Princess Di died. Few among the public actually knew her but heaven help anyone who admitted that while they were sympathetic in the same way they would be to any family who had lost a loved one they didn't feel any huge loss themselves.
The Madeleine McCann incident is taking on the same properties. There is now huge pressure on everyone, public figures in particular, to not only sympathise from afar but to become emotionally involved.
It is verging on mass hysteria and is a depressing reflection of modern Britain.

Murat mauling

2007-05-15T15:42:00.000+01:00

Iain Dale is absolutely right to question the media coverage of the questioning of Robert Murat. The most worrying part of this is the sense that a growing part of the press pack are beginning to see themselves as the investigators rather than the police.
VFTN has seen comments carried today by at least one normally respectable news gatherer from a neighbour of Murat's estranged wife in Norfolk suggesting the missing girl and Murat's daughter look so alike they could be twins. The only purpose of publishing such comments is to encourage the reader to come to conclusions about Mr Murat which are unsupported by any evidence.
When Portuguese police came in for heavy criticism at the start of the investigation VFTN suspected that this was largely as a result of the police's refusal to feed the 24/7 media machine by holding daily press conferences rather than because of some clear evidence they were not doing their jobs properly.
Everyone wants this story to have a happy ending and if it does not for the people responsible to be brought to justice. What is happening at the moment is literally trial by media.

A lame effort from Lammy

2007-05-15T11:12:00.000+01:00

Is David Lammy really trying to suggest that the Cultural Olympiad, the series of events held around the Olympic Games, will be enough to offset the damage caused by the diversion of £28m of lottery funding away from the arts every year to pay for the games? That's what he seems to be suggesting in his article for the New Statesmen. So what is Mr Lammy's vision for the Cultural Olympiad..... Big screens for people to watch the games and a bigger version of Proms in the Park.
With such a breathtaking artistic vision how can people suggest this Government is behaving like a bunch of cultural philistines?

Olympic lunacy

2007-05-14T11:16:00.000+01:00

VFTN is pleased to see that the Olympics organisers have listed to the nationwide concerns about the spiralling cost and.... completely ignored them. Lord Coe has ruled out holding cycling events in Manchester where there is an existing world class velododrome based on a narrow interpretation of IOC rules on holding events outside the host city. Meanwhile millions of pounds are diverted away from the arts and grassroot sports to build a whole bunch of new venues which will get used for a few weeks in 2012.

Was Brown hiding?

2007-05-11T16:03:00.000+01:00

I know Gordon Brown's campaign is supposed to be about stressing the importance of substance over presentation but this morning was ridiculous. Surely even Brown wants people to actually be able to see him when he speaks but most were struggling today because of some badly placed autocues. See here.
At least they distracted from his hideously stilted speech. Now, whatever happened to that bloke Labour had who could give a decent speech? Oh..........

The best blog entry ever

2007-05-10T21:30:00.000+01:00

After a day watching News 24 padding out with hours and hours of Blair it was refreshing to read this post from Arsembly. Sometimes there just isn't anything to say. News 24 and Sky News would do well to take note.

Burying bad news

2007-05-10T15:59:00.000+01:00

There is a remarkable amount of burying of bad news happening today, and not all on the part of the Government.
Having said that the opposition are right to try and highlight how details of the soaring cost of ID cards have been pushed out today.
But the Home Office is not alone in this shenanigans. Not to be outdone The Department for Work and Pensions chose today to announce the closure of three offices and the loss of 380 jobs.
I'm sure its purely a coincidence too that Barclays also decide that today would be good to announce the loss of more than 1,000 jobs in Britain.

Prepare to be dazzled

2007-05-09T15:23:00.000+01:00

Word reaches VFTN from friends in the media that many newspapers are not going to wait for the formal announcement tomorrow and instead are going to subject their readers to acre upon acre of "Blair years" stuff with their cornflakes tomorrow. Let's hope for their sake that the speculation from Guido last week doesn't turn out to be true.

Angry northern Tories

2007-05-09T10:29:00.000+01:00

VFTN understands there is a growing schism between Tory HQ and its northern activists. There is a sense that the creation of the Northern Board has done little to address the party's real difficulties in building momentum in the north of England. While Cameron has been telling anyone who will listen that the local elections saw a breakthrough in the North for the Conservatives the truth is on many northern urban councils their representation went backwards. Northern activists are beginning to wonder whether the party is either willing or even able to devote resources to winning in the north or whether the strategy is actually just to pick off seats where possible and hope it is enough for a majority.

Blair not the only one looking for a legacy

2007-05-08T15:54:00.000+01:00

VFTN apologises for his long absence but is back with news of this pamphlet from David Blunkett and Unison trying to encourage people to put a new context on the New Labour record by encouraging people to remember how terrible life was before 1997.
The "analysis" in this pamphlet involves the collation of a bunch of negative headlines about public services before 1997 and then DB's analysis of how New Labour put them right.
It is hard to know what is more nauseating. The fact that Blunkett is still fighting the battles of a decade ago or that, despite its protestations, New Labour is still more interested in newspaper headlines than what real people actually think.

Lunatics in charge of the Welsh and Scottish Asylums

2007-04-27T08:04:00.000+01:00

VFTN's concerns about the cost and constitutional questions posed by devolution for Scotland and Wales has always been tempered by a belief that too much power is concentrated in Westminster and the devolved institutions may reinvigorate politics by putting power closer to the people.
How wrong can you be?
Those of us who spend most of our lives in England rarely hear about the workings of the Scottish Parliament or Welsh Assembly and have seen only brief overviews of the current election campaigns. I recent visit to Wales, therefore, was eye-opening to say the least.
In the course of his career, VFTN has had the misfortune to spend a lot of time in council meetings across the North of England and has frequently despaired at the quality of people holding public office and the paucity of debate. Depressingly, most of them would wipe the floor with the characters taking part in devolved Government.
The Welsh Assembly candidates VFTN saw interviewed were often incoherent and could not even produce a decent soundbite. In one exchange, Rhodri Morgan was asked about how the campaign was going. His reply was that the candidates were in danger of getting sun stroke because of the weather. No policies then Rhodri?
A Lib Dem election broadcast opened with the memorable line "We all love Wales". Vacuous tosh. The main policy aired in this broadcast was that the answer to the shortage of dentists in Wales is mobile dentists. Now, as it happens, VFTN knows a few dentists. Their considered view is that mobile facilities are fine for doing a quick check-up but pretty useless for doing any significant treatment. One told VFTN: "All a mobile dentist will often do is confirm that the patient is right, that they do need dental treatment and that they should find a dentist."
As a hack, VFTN is ashamed to say the coverage of the elections was less than inspiring either. BBC Wales employs a goon called Vaughan Roderick. In a two-way last week he was asked by a presenter about the nature of the election campaign. Roderick's observation was that politicians were having to get "down and dirty" with the voters. No, VFTN does not know what that means either.
To be honest, better analysis was provided by the Machynlleth butcher who, asked about his local contest, said: "Well round here it's a two horse race. It's hard to say who will win but it will certainly be one of them."
Last night's Newsnight feature on the Scottish elections suggested it is much the same north of the border. A bunch of men in cheap suits looking like shifty used car salesmen and women power dressing Dynasty style.
All of a sudden, VFTN has new respect for the Westminster brigade.

Incidentally, check out the excellent Arsembly blog for more on the workings of Welsh politics.

Local news at its worst

2007-04-17T17:23:00.000+01:00

So, you're in charge at a regional news programme yesterday and you learn that a student from your local area may have been caught up in the Virginia Tech shooting. You dispatch a film crew to his family home but it later turns out he was nowhere near what was going on. Do you a) scrap the item and use the time to tell viewers some real news or b) show it anyway as the top item on the bulletin?
Needless to say Look North chose b last night. Journalism it ain't. Having said that, VFTN can't even bring himself to watch Calendar these days with its diet of sick kids and animal features and barely a news story in sight.

Congestion charging, Manchester says no?

2007-04-16T20:58:00.000+01:00

This story from the Manchester Evening News,which hasn't had much notice, suggests Manchester might be about to perform a U-turn and not introduce congestion charging after all. The city was expected to be one of the first outside London to do so as a way of getting more money for public transport. In fact, many in the North think it was the positive noises Manchester made about congestion charging which meant they got money to extend the Metrolink tram system whereas Leeds was told its proposed Supertram system had become too expensive.
If Manchester City Council (which is very cosy with New Labour) cannot deliver the support of surrounding councils for the scheme then the Government will be faced with a difficult question. If the country's second/third city won't adopt congestion charging, who will and how big a bribe with DfT have to produce to sway them?

Campaigning, Lib Dem style

2007-04-16T11:07:00.000+01:00

Making an early bid for VFTN's 'Misleading Leaflet of the Campaign' competition is that of Altaf Hussein, Lib Dem candidate hoping to represent the north Leeds district of Roundhay. In his leaflet he attacks the "mindless vandals" who have ruined the recently refurbished cafe in Roundhay Park. The Government, he says "should fund more police community support officers to patrol at night."
Perfectly reasonable sentiments of course. Hard to see though what that has to do with the cafe being destroyed by...... erm..... fire. And the fire wasn't caused by vandals but...... erm..... an electrical fault if the Yorkshire Post ("Power fault confirmed as cause of cafe blaze) and the Yorkshire Evening Post are to be believed.
Mr Hussein also has strong views on Iraq, not something Leeds Council has much say over last time anyone looked. Oh, and he thinks post offices shouldn't shut and quotes two national newspapers over PO closure plans. He doesn't produce any evidence of plans to shut the Oakwood post office which rather begs the question why he is pictured outside it?
More examples please to theviewfromthenorth@hotmail.co.uk

Iain Dale On Devolution

2007-04-13T09:02:00.000+01:00

Iain Dale has made a fresh effort to kickstart the debate on how to solve the constitutional problems created by devolved government. You can read it here.
Sadly, while Dale is right to say that "English Votes for English Measures" could only be a temporary solution he does not offer a clear long term way out of this mess.
While there is clearly a problem which needs a solution here i wonder whether it is the kind of issue the Tories should get too involved with now. I pity the poor candidate who has to stand on the doorstep explaining how the Conservatives want to create an English Parliament which would have many of the same people in as UK Parliament but not all of them and they would vote on different things.
The campaigns for the elections to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly will fuel this debate and it will flare up again when Brown inevitably relies on Scottish votes to get some future measure through the Commons. But I wonder whether, come the next General Election, it will really compete with health, education, crime and the economy as an issue which will sway votes.
Cameron should focus on the issues that will get him into power. Sorting out constitutional anomalies can wait until then.

Bad Day For Bush

2007-04-13T07:51:00.000+01:00

Was it only me who thought George Bush's reaction to the bombing of the Iraqi parliament had the look of a man who knows he is fighting a lost battle. Just at the moment he is fighting with Democrats to secure long term funding for the "troop surge" the green zone is struck and a bridge destroyed. This can only strengthen the Democrats' hands.
It is also hugely unfortunate for presedential hopeful Sen John McCain who only this week was insisting that Baghdad was much safer than widely portrayed after touring a market in the city.

Teaching conferences: Easter's answer to the silly season

2007-04-12T14:48:00.000+01:00

I am indebted to Chris Keates for ensuring the 2007 teaching conference season didn't pass without producing at least one absurd story. Apparently she believes the (rightly) successful BBC drama Life On Mars might be responsible for an outbreak of homophobic bullying.
Having seen one or two teaching conferences in action I can assure you that every year well meaning delegates from across the country gather at these events hoping to discuss matters important to their members, things like pay and workload. Sadly, someone invariably comes out with a random statement and the media, in the midst of an Easter lull (and education correspondents desparate to justify their expenses), laps it up. Its usually from some left-wing activist from London but in this case the normally sensible Ms Keates has fallen into the trap.
How many teachers actually go to bed thinking "I hope my kids didn't see Life on Mars, if they did they'll be hell in the playground tomorrow"? And how many NASUWT members will groan when they read this tripe?

Unethical Man

2007-04-12T08:34:00.000+01:00

So Newsnight's "Ethical Man" has hung up his trademark suit after a year of efforts to cut his carbon footprint..... and promptly announced he is taking his family of five on a plane to South America. As someone who has recently vowed to forego flights to try and help save the world I had to resist the urge to throw things at the telly. Having said that, his decision shows the political issue flying is to become. When a man who has spent a year worrying about the planet cannot resist the urge to fly, what hope for the politicians to persuade people who don't really care about the planet that there one pound trip to Prague is not really necessary?

....incidentally there is a poll on flying on Tory Radio.