SCHOOL HOLIDAYS SHOULD BE BANNED

Please try and picture the scene

SCHOOL HOLIDAY/CHILDREN/DOWNLOADING GAMES ON THE INTERNET/ADD ONS/CHANGES TO DIRECTORIES/RESTORE DISKS/PROBLEMS/NO POSTS TODAY/CHILDREN FLOGGED

Hopefully all OK Friday

GOVERNMENT BY CONSENT

Yesterday I highlighted Blair’s contempt for the media and his manipulation of spin to keep him of the front pages. It would appear that his contempt for what served as news also applied to his cabinet colleagues. Lord Butler, Cabinet Secretary under Labour, revealed yesterday at the Guardian Hay Festival that in the first eight months of Tony’s government, the cabinet only made one decision; Blair and his unelected cohorts deciding most things. Since then, things had declined steadily to the point where certain cabinet sub committees did not even meet and full meetings were called merely to rubber stamp decisions that had already been made in other arenas.

A quick perusal of post 1960’s PM’s shows that Blair is the worst offender when it comes to ruling by cabinet consent. Harold Wilson, with the likes of Tony Benn, Michael Foot and Tony Crossland constantly challenging him, had no choice but to listen to his ministries. Ted Heath did the same, some say to much as in the end he took account of to many views and did little in the way of action. Even the countries most talked about modern PM, Margaret Thatcher, had the ability to listen whilst looking at you with disdain.

So what of then of Gordon Brown, government by consent or more of the same? For a man described as a “Stalinist” and who suffers from personality defects, the “more of the same” appears the best bet!

THE BOURN SUPREMACY

Last week I posted about the governments “Sleazebuster”, Sir Alistair Graham, chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, and his trials and tribulations with regards to trying to set standards under Blair. Graham was asked by a commons select committee why John Prescott had escaped punishment for behaving amongst other things like a rampant stag. One reason put forward was a certain Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, who for some reason didn’t seem to keen to take the Deputy PM to task for abusing the gravy train. This weeks Private Eye however, is happy to reveal why. Whilst Prescott was happy to be a passenger on said train, Bourn was driver, conductor, ticket collector and ultimately the “Fat Controller”. Here’s a small snippet of Bourn’s overseas haunts, paid for by the tax payer whilst he was on official visits;

THE ASTORIA HOTEL, ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA’S LEADING HOTEL - £400 PER NIGHT, 3 NIGHTS

SAN REGIS, CHAMPS ELYSEES, PARIS - £300 PER NIGHT

GRESHAM PALACE, BUDAPEST - £240 PER NIGHT, 7 NIGHTS

CULLODEN ESTATE AND SPA, BELFAST - £200 PER NIGHT

BALMORAL, EDINBURGH - £300 PER NIGHT

Whilst other senior civil servants are only allowed to claim between £75 and £82 per night, Bourn obviously considerer himself to have superior requirements, such as delusions of grandeur. How then could a man who was milking and abusing his expenses, tell the Deputy PM to stop milking and abusing his expenses? That’s why Graham’s file on Prescott never left Bourn’s desk. Another indictment of Blair’s abuse of the system, his care free attitude to his minions lining their pockets and his total lack of concern for accountability.

BIRD FLU UPDATE

With Tony Blair at the helm and Alistair Campbell in charge of the office, British politics entered a new era of spin and news manipulation; when Campbell left, the situation didn’t improve, if anything it got worse. When Blair had been questioned by the police earlier this year about the “cash for honours” claims, I remember lying in bed thinking what he needs to take the heat of him is an outbreak of bird flu (yes, I know I should get out more or at least read in bed!) Would you believe it, the next day Bernard Matthews obliged and Tony dropped from the news headlines. For the next ten days, turkeys and bird flu dominated the news headlines, with Tony way down the list. Whilst I don’t think for one moment that Blair arranged the outbreak, his various departments were certainly capable of feeding the media frenzy which developed around Mr “Bootiful” and his farms.

If any further proof on this issue were needed, compare the media reaction to the outbreak of bird flu in Wales. Did you say what outbreak? And well you might, because this time round there has been little scaremongering and virtually no coverage, and why, because Blair doesn’t need it. With the Tamiflu vaccine being administered to 142 people and with at least one person having contracted the H7N2 (less aggressive) virus, the story was only good enough to hit page nine of the “Telegraph”. Clearly Gordon has missed a trick here, he could have “stacked” the story till the CPS have decided who to prosecute from the plethora of Labour bigwigs who are named as selling honours for cash. What better story to knock the scandal of the front page than a threat to the complete population’s wellbeing?

AN ENGLISH APPLE A DAY KEEPS ASDA AWAY

A couple of weeks ago I read a wonderful article on English apples, with ten varieties receiving a “review”, and a staggering further twenty highlighted. With taste buds flowing I toddled of to my local supermarket (my local fruit shop was closed for his holiday) only to find they didn’t have one native apple for sale! (It was Asda Boldon). I was however, amazed at the quantity of foreign fruit and veg which stood piled high in the isles; rocket from Israel, broccoli from Italy, onions from Egypt, but for some reason not one English apple. The other issue which troubled me was the amount of organic fresh food stuffs which had been flown thousands of miles to hit our shelves. Today’s “Telegraph” article on such items then, came as no surprise to me. Here’s a small but telling selections of organic veg sold in two supermarkets;

SAINSBURY’S: MANGETOUT: ZAMBIA: FLOWN 4900 MILES

SAINSBURY’S: DWARF BEANS: EGYPT: FLOWN 2200 MILES

TESCO’S BABY CORN: THAILAND: FLOWN 3900 MILES

TESCO’S GREEN BEANS: EGYPT: FLOWN 2200 MILES

Now I’m no expert on green matters, but the “carbon foot print” of all these flights must be horrific (perhaps Rossinisbird can supply the figures). With the carbon omissions of these flights falling to earth via rainfall, surely we are contributing to more and more polluted land and hence the demise of the organic tag. Anybody who has been to “Brockbushes Farm Shop” outside of Hexham or indeed any local farmers market is well aware that we don’t need to fly our veg half way across the world, we are quite capable of producing the quality and quantity ourselves! Especially apples!

Perhaps David Miliband should stop playing around with coloured rubbish bins and stop paying lip service to corporate business. By insisting that supermarkets buy locally or nationally whenever possible, he can not only protect the environment, but sustain farms and arable land into the bargain.

DOUBLE SPEAK

Today’s “Daily Telegraph” carries a wonderful article under the heading “Phrases that really bug us”, the text being a sweetener for their new book “She Literally Exploded: The Daily Telegraph Infuriating Phrasebook”. Whilst the usual offenders are all highlighted, it does serve as a reminder of the “management” language and culture which has taken root in society, with most of it finding it’s origins in Labour’s tenure (Who can forget Blair and Birt’s “blue sky thinking” and John Reid’s description of himself “not fit for purpose”)

Classic phase’s outlined are;

Brainstorming

Downsize

Thinking outside the box

To die for

Pushing the envelope

Window in my diary

Being a shopkeeper, my own personal hates centre around phrases which imply a degree of familiarity not earned, such as “bro, brother, boss” or any of the other unintelligible mutterings associated with New York and rap music. I also find myself getting a little hot under the collar with the degree to which comedy phrases are creeping into daily conversations; “Am I bovvered”, “I’m a lady” and the awful “yeah but no but”. I also despair when people make the “open quotation mark, close quotation mark” with their hands whilst speaking. Ahhhhhhh!

Whilst I cringe, my kids laugh out loud. Sign of getting old? Definitely, but at least I outlasted Top of the Pops!

JOHN REID, HEAD OF THE GESTAPO

The news that broke yesterday concerning the Home Office plans to increase police stop and search powers has caused the final days of Blair’s rule to spiral into disarray. Never really to happy with the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT) Peter Hain, Northern Ireland Secretary and deputy leader candidate, has come out against the idea, calling it

“the domestic equivalent of Guantanamo Bay”

Also entering into the fray is Hazel Blears, another deputy candidate. In a clear dig at Mr Hain and his department she claimed that the stop and search changes had emerged from his department

“What I understand is that the request has come from the Northern Ireland Office because they want to be able to carry on using them, they find them useful”.

To say that Northern Ireland wishes both to keep and increase his anti terrorist powers is a strange idea. Ireland has enjoyed a period of unprecedented peace over the last seven years; in fact more bombs have gone of on mainland Britain than our overseas neighbour. Perhaps Ms Blears attitude could have more to do with her poor showings in the leadership polls and her closeness to John Reid, a man who should be stopped and searched for his commonsense which appears to have been stolen. Despite the fact that he has announced his resignation from the Home Office, he seems hell bent on leaving a divided Labour Party in his wake. Showing a lack of moral fibre in his decision not to stand against Gordon Brown, he has clearly decided on a “scorched earth” policy for Brown’s usurpation.

For some reason there has developed an element within the Labour Party who have no regard for civil liberties. The threat of a pending but unproven terrorist war within our own domestic borders is being used as a lever to slowly erode personal freedom. The very real scenario will exist that you could under Reid’s rules be arrested for going to the shops for a pint of milk, and that is not an exaggeration. The core element of the new proposal would allow police to “to stop people and ask their names, addresses and movements” regardless of suspicion of crime intended or committed. Failure to answer will mean arrest and/or fine. I have said this before but it’s worth repeating; how can we lecture the likes of Mugabe on his policing policies when our own are slowly matching his.

THE SUNDAY ROAST

For the 3.2 people who actually read this blog (thanks Mam, Dad, Uncle George and little Tommy), the next 48 hours are going to be a bit thin on the ground with regards to posts. Family visitors from London mean a lot of entertaining, cooking and general hilarity. However, with a brother up from the Met we may have some juicy “Sweeney” like stories!

Talking of the police, John Reid, that weak and whammy head of the Home Office, intends to give the authorities increased powers to tackle terrorists plots and suspected activists. With measures equivalent to war time Britain or 1980’s Belfast, the stop and search powers will be strengthened to the degree whereby the suspicion of a crime need no longer exist. i.e. you could be stopped to merely ascertain who you were, where you have been and where you are going. If answers aren’t forth coming, you could be taken in for questioning. With the likes of CCTV, Google storing our search records, I.D. cards and now police powers more akin to Stalinist Russia or Hitler’s Germany, society faces the biggest threat ever to its civil liberties. Somewhere in heaven, George Orwell’s saying “I told you so”

A quick scan of the papers reveals the usual list of public funded scroungers! Dole wollers, gypsies, immigrants? No, politicians. Piggy Prescott just can’t keep his nose out of the trough. With holidays abroad on the pretext of anti slave presentations all being covered by the tax payer, big John is filling his boots to the brim before he disappears from the public gaze. He’s not the only one to milk the gravy train however. The Sunday Times carries a rather extensive piece on Derek Conway, a senior Tory MP who has better milking skills than an eighty year old shepherd. Not only does he have his wife on the payroll, but he lists his son as a “parliamentary secretary” to the tune of just under a grand a month. The problem is however, Conway junior is also a full time student at Newcastle University. Now either he is a very clever chip of the old block and he can do two jobs at once, or he’s pulling a flanker and topping up his beer grant. I favour the latter.

Such abuses of the expenses system no longer serve to amaze me, Conway is another name added to a very long list. What is more galling is the degree to which MP’s can recoup thousands of pounds without actually having to justify it. Travel expenses are unlimited, with Conway’s claims indicating he made 1000 trips between the Commons and his constituency. Whilst my geography isn’t degree standard, that’s a lot of time on the road. Where did he find the time to actually sit in Parliament and represent his members? The staggering figure however, is the £650 per month which can be claimed without receipts for food and petty cash. That’s £7800 per year tax free with not one receipt for an M and S Lobster wrap! Blood boiling yet, hair standing on end, veins on the temple starting to protrude? Then look away now, because these are the types of figures that our public elected representatives want to keep hidden from us. If the Freedom of Information amendment is passed, then this information will no longer be in the public domain.

“THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS”

A FRIDAY COLUMN WITH AN ALTERNATIVE TAKE ON THE WEEKS NEWS

The sooner Gordon Brown takes over at No 10 the better, because the fodder that usually fills the “That Was The Week That Was” news cannon is very empty this week. Apart from the hilarious antics of the likes of Patricia Hewitt and Ruth Turner, there’s not a lot to go on. The sad thing however, is that these two ministers were actually being completely serious in their attempts to convince the public (and Gordon when it comes to handing out the jobs at the end of June) that they really do know what they are doing.

Never mind, let’s give it a go!

BIG BROTHER COMES TO TEMPLE PARK

It’s that lovely time of year again, when the sun shines bright, the flowers bloom, the birds sing in the trees and then Channel 4 goes and ruins it all with another “Big Brother” programme. In an attempt to avoid the controversy of the last celebrity broadcast, producers have decided to stage the show at Temple Park Leisure Centre. This year’s attendees will give proceedings a decidedly political edge. The list is as follows;

George Elsom
Lord Paul of Waggsville
His Butler
Lady Linda of Waggott
Her Hairdresser
Tommy the Trumpeter
David Potts
The Crankies
Some peasants

Irene Lucas, Chief Executive of Channel Four and this years voice of Big Brother, said;

“We’ve always wanted to hold the show at Temple park, but in the past it’s been fully booked by the Council for freebie parties. We thought we had a space last year but we were double booked in the diary with a new council scheme to let the public use the facilities for a short time.”

Asked what tasks the contestants would be set this year, Irene became visibly excited. “Some of them are very hard. Were going to lock them in a big room called a “Council Chamber” and get them to try and balance what’s called a “budget”. For those who are left after this terrible ordeal, there will be what’s known as the “Wheel of Freebie” where various free trips and functions (graciously donated by contractors and suppliers) are pinned to George Elsom. We then spin him around and the remaining inmates have to grab what they want.”

Irene was not so forthcoming when asked if she had any “special” contestants who would be “parachuted in” as the programme progressed.

“This isn’t the Boldon Colliery Ward you know” she said sarcastically “but yes, Iets face it, we don’t now how long George Elsom will stay in the house, he could just up and leave at any time. And as for David Potts, we're not even sure if he will turn up. So yes, we have a couple of replacements in line. If I can drag David Slater away from Curlys Blog, I may even put him in.”

MILIBAND LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO TACKLE INCREASING LEVELS OF RUBBISH

David Miliband, Minister for Wheelie Bins, today launched a stinging attack against the levels of rubbish in the country as a whole, something which he thinks has reached unprecedented levels. “The number of programmes which are broadcast on our TV screens that are completely rubbish is astounding” he said while browsing this weeks “TV Quick”. Visibly sick and looking green around the gills, Miliband added “I have never seen such unadulterated sewerage in my life. These programmes are flowing into people’s homes without being treated, polluting their living rooms and leaving a vile odour.” Using East Enders as an example, a programme which should be filmed in grey, the Minister highlighted how after each episode the programme left a massive carbon footprint on his brain. When it was pointed out that this was in fact a boot mark from Grant Mitchell’s Doctor Martins, David quickly changed over channels to watch “Emmerdale” and an episode about manure.

Milibands new eco friendly TV policy involves gathering all the rubbish programmes currently shown on TV, putting them into coloured bins and either burning them to make wind for turbines or send them to the French.

The BBC were quick to defend their production output. Lord Duke Marmalade Huskey, the current Director General, said “Here at the BBC we operate a policy of 100% reusability. All our programmes are recycled, with some of our repeats being over 30 years old. Ideas are constantly reused as well, and we haven’t had an original thought since Fawlty Towers. Thinking leaves a massive carbon foot print don’t you know”.

ITV was also equally defensive. “When no longer needed, all our Coronation Street” scripts are reused as toilet paper. We have even scrapped a plan to revamp Ken Barlow due to the level of carbon points needed to paint strip him down”.

Whilst no viewers could be found, Channel 5 or “Channel Merde” as it is known in eco circles, has all its programmes made from the piles of recyclable rubbish that comes out of Miliband’s Ministry.

ITV2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11, BBC3, BBC4, CBBC, CHARVA CENTRAL, ASBO TONIGHT,MTAS1, HIPS ¾ BEDROOMS AND THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE IN HD etc, were all unavailable for broadcast.

ORIGINAL ARCTICLE: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6685409.stm

VIAGRA FOR AIR TRAVELLERS

Research by the National Academy of Sciences has shown that Viagra can reduce jet lag in hamsters, and whilst the trial was limited, plans are being made to give passengers tablets on cross Atlantic flights. In order to give the hamster’s jet lag, scientists flew a plane load of them to Benidorm for a two week break. A spokesman for the hamsters, a Mr Hammy, who lives on The Riverbank, said “The holiday was great. We just lay around, sunbathed and drank the local beer. Some of the local guinea pigs didn’t like us talking to the local girls, but there was no bother. Mind you, I found the food a bit rich”. After two weeks in the sun, the hamsters were flown home. The flight was delayed for two hours in Bonn when a mass fight broke out over a sun flower seed and the pilot had to make an emergency landing. This was also an eco flight, with the engines been powered by a massive wheel inside the plane. On landing all the hamsters were given a Viagra tablet, and asked to fill in a medical questionnaire. Again Mr Hammy;

“The Viagra seemed to do the trick as I didn’t get jet lag at all. Mind you, I couldn’t walk for a week”

British airways, who have had a terrible year with strikes and fog bound planes, welcomed anything that would get their planes “up”.

ORIGINAL STORY: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn11895&feedId=online-news_rss20

WHAT’S IN IT FOR THEM OR THE “SARNIES FOR CONTRACTS SCANDAL”

When Irene Lucas, Chief Executive South Tyneside Council, replied to my Freedom of Information request (see my post 24.05.07 THE MONKEY AND THE ORGAN GRINDER) she listed 11 companies who had provided financial sponsorship re the Temple Park “Performing Together” extravaganza. This little bit of information inevitably leads to the question what on earth is in it for them to sponsor this event? A quick trawl of the internet gives you the answer. Every one of these companies will no doubt have extensive commercial contracts with the Council, and it is therefore in their best interests to keep South Tyneside executives happy. Below is a list of the companies involved, a description of their interests and why sponsorship could be construed by less scrupulous people than myself as being beneficial to their business interests.

1. THE R AND B GROUP
Suppliers of conference facilities, including stages, video equipment, set design and equipment hire.
www. rbgroup.co.uk
Every conference that the Council organises, every in house training video and every show staged over the summer needs professional services such as those supplied by R and B.

2. TERBERG
Waste handling and recycling facilities and advisors.
www.terberg.co.uk
With recycling issues and waste management problems dominating politics and shaping future governmental policy, Terberg are ideally placed as consultants to advice the Council.

3. KPMG
Auditors, tax advice, risk advice etc
www.kpmg.co.uk
Councils always need auditors, risk assessment etc. Who better placed than KPMG?

4. EVERSHEDS
Business lawyers
www.eversheds.com
The same rationale used above applies to legal advice.

5. GLENDALE COUNTRYSIDE
Estate management, agricultural surveys, tree maintenance etc.
www.glendale-services.co.uk
South Tyneside is a leafy area, who better then to look after our trees and parks.

6. ISS WATERERS
Landscape facilities
www.isswaterers.co.uk
With all this building work going on, the improvements to Jarrow and Hebburn etc, what you need is a good landscape company….

7. DELOITTE
Services to local government, auditors, departmental down sizing etc
www.deloitte.com
The internal workings of a borough council the size of South Tyneside constantly need reviewing. Who better then? Perhaps Doiltte were the consultants who charged £300,000 for PFI lighting advice?

8. DELL
Computer and lap top suppliers
www.dell.co.uk
I bet every single PC and laptop in the Borough comes from Dell

9. 3COM
Computer technology, hardware, networking etc
www.3com.com
The same rationale applies to 3com

10. SSI SCHAEFFER
Waste management systems, including provision of wheelie bins of all colours.
www.schaeffer.co.uk
With Miliband planning a different bin for different rubbish, what the Council needs is a company that can supply them by the thousand. And in pretty colours. Welcome Schaeffer.

11. WALKER PROFILES
Suppliers of PVC windows
No site details available
All these new houses need PVC windows and the decent homes programme calls for existing stock to be upgraded. No wonder they don’t have a web site, they don’t need to advertise.

You can see therefore, that when the accuser asks “what’s in it for them?” he arrives at one answer only; contracts. A little pat on the back for the council’s executive and a little reminder that when tenders are being awarded, please remember who supplied the corporate freebie at Temple Park.

What’s even more worrying however, is that council executives are willing to compromise themselves and be placed in the position whereby the integrity of any future contract awards will now be questioned. They are also open to the accusation of accepting corporate hospitality which could be linked to the awarding of contracts, showing dreadful business and political judgement. As already highlighted, how would it look if Deloitte were the consultants who received £300,000 in PFI advice fess, and they also helped council officials wine and dine for free?

I have a feeling that this issue is going to pick up some momentum; I have already placed the matter in front of a couple of good regional journalists and all three want to give it full front page treatment. With the backing of a newspapers infrastructure, what other things will they find out? Perhaps it’s a case of “watch this space”. For me however, it’s off to Temple Park. With all the publicity and web site listings I’ve highlighted for the above companies, I’m going for my free plate of nosh and a knees up. The freebies are on me!!!!!!!!

THE MONKEY AND THE ORGAN GRINDER

This is going to be a long post, but its worth sticking with it as it’s quite interesting. Many of you will recall that some time ago “Curly” aka http://curly15.wordpress.com rocked the South Tyneside Borough Council boat somewhat when he highlighted the fact that council officials had a jolly good freebie at Temple Park where everybody slapped each others backs for a job well done (his post 20.04.07). If that wasn’t bad enough David Slater, Executive Director Regeneration and Resources, posted a comment on said site which has resounding implications re who actually runs this Borough; elected councillors or paid officials. Going by Slater’s text, they did. Curly quickly emailed Council leader Paul Waggott for clarification, who suspiciously has yet to reply (perhaps he’s waiting for Mr Slater to tell him what to say). Moving on and with a desire to get involved in a potentially entertaining political ruck, I sent a Freedom of Information enquiry to Chief Executive Irene Lucas. Here’s the text;

COUNCIL FUNCTION, TEMPLE PARK LEISURE CENTRE 20TH APRIL 2007

I write with regards to the above Council function.

Perhaps you would supply me with the following information:

1. The nature and rational behind the event

2. Who was invited?

3. The full cost, including the use of the Centre, travel expenses and time off for attendees, to the Council.

4. Whether any sponsors were involved.

5. The names of any sponsors and the nature of their sponsorship.

These requests are made under the auspices of the Freedom of Information Act. Further, it is not considered that this request involves any degree of disproportionate effort or commercial sensitivity.

I am further perturbed by a comment which has been placed by a Mr David Slater on the South Tyneside cultural blog “Curlys Corner Shop” http://curly15.wordpress.com on the 20^th April at 9.16 p.m. Mr Slater states that;

“Last Friday was great at Temple Park. yes, we do it every year, because every year we set direction for the council, and reflect what has gone well (and not so well).”

I assume that as Mr Slater refers to “we”, then it is Mr David Slater, Executive Director
Regeneration & Resources. You will therefore no doubt understand my concern when Mr Slater comments “every year we set direction for the council”. I have always been under the impression that councillors set direction for the authority, and as employees you implement that direction, not the other way round. Perhaps you could clarify this position and comment on Mr Slater’s post.

This morning I received an interesting reply from Ms Lucas. I’ve chopped of the usual formalities that start and end the letter, and quoted direct the responses to the points I raised;

1. The nature and rationale behind the event.

A. Performing Together is the Councils Corporate Plan. It is agreed by the full Council. A copy is available on our website (www.southtynesideinfo). The event is staged annually to communicate the priorities for staff, partners and stakeholders.

The event is also used to acknowledge staff efforts as part of our performance management culture.

2. Who was invited?

A. A cross section of colleagues from the Council, partners, external guests, suppliers and trade union colleagues.

3. The full cost, including the use of the Centre, travel expenses and time off for attendees, to the Council.

A. The cost of the use of the Centre, refreshments and Temple Park staff set up costs was £2111.

The event is a fundamental part of communicating the priorities for the next 12-36 months. Colleagues responsible for delivering these priorities attend as part of their normal work. There is therefore no “time off”.

4. Whether any sponsors were involved.

A. Yes – 17 attendees from 11 companies that work in partnership with the Council.

5. The names of any sponsors and the nature of their sponsorship.

A. The following provided financial sponsorship;

The R and B Group

Terberg

KPMG

Eversheds

Glendale Countryside

ISS Waterers

Deloitte

Dell

3Com

SSI Schaeffer

Walker Profiles

You also asked whether the comment meant that officers set direction for the Council. They do not, they make recommendations to Members, who decide direction agreed by our Cabinet and/or Council. However, in South Tyneside, Members and officers work closely together with our partners as one team. That is the reference to the word “we”.

Yours sincerely

Irene Lucas

Well, well, well, no wonder Labour want to dilute the FoI Act! Let’s look at points 1 to 5 before we get to the real issue.

POINT 1

What a load of management twaddle, with the justification that the council agreed to it.

POINT 2

No mention of any councillors being invited. Surely it’s rather bad mannered not ask them, especially when they had the goodness to actually rubber stamp the freebie. I am sure the public will feel slightly offended as well. After all, are we not also “stakeholders”? When it comes to council staff, were there any bin men in attendance, or the workers who keep the streets clean or drive the lorries collecting the rubbish which people dump on side streets and green areas? I suspect not. And why trade union representatives? With all the problems over equal pay claims, surely union officials would have the decency and respect for their members to stay away from management and its back slapping. “Noses in troughs” comes to mind!

POINT 3

By normal council standards, £2111 is not a lot. But what about lost revenue to Temple Park due to restrictions on the public using certain areas? Travel expenses for staff? When it comes to communicating, what’s wrong with memos, presentations, departmental meetings etc? All these established ways of communicating are a lot cheaper than £2111.

POINT 4

With 17 attendees from 11 companies, somebody felt this freebie was so good they sent along more than one representative. Surely the sarnies weren’t that good!

POINT FIVE

This is very bad judgement on the Council’s behalf. Some people less restrained than myself might substitute the words “financial sponsorship” with either “bung” or “bribe”, based on the scenario that “we’ll pay for your little back slapping junket as long as you keep putting contracts and business our way”. What really is in it for these companies to pay for this restricted group to have a jolly good time? Council officials should not accept corporate gratuities from companies who work for them. This is a conflict of interest and as such the practise is open to abuse and manipulation.

THE COMMENT ON DAVID SLATER’S POST

Well, well, well, it’s finally official; at last confirmation from the Chief Executive that Councillors and full time officials enjoy a very cosy relationship, something which many of us have been saying for a very long time! “Members and officers work closely together with our partners as one team. That is the reference to the word “we”. What a lame excuse for the loose cannon postings of a senior local government executive! Slater should have been carpeted for only showing bad judgement re his wording, but for also assuming the position of council spokesman when clearly he is not. I suspect however, the only “carpet” he will see is a new one for his office!

And so to Council leader Paul Waggott. No wonder he has not replied to Curly’s email, he’s finally been rumbled and he knows it.

I will be returning to this matter in the next few days, but please just take the time to think about the issues which have been raised by this affair.

SLEAZEBUSTER

I’m not a great believer in posting complete texts from articles contained in papers and magazines etc as it seems a bit pointless; the best thing to do is highlight the offending item and let you read it yourselves. I’m going to make an exception however with an article which is in this weeks “Private Eye” (No 1185). Under the title “Called to Ordure”, the commentary encapsulates the very essence of Blair’s tenure as PM.

Sir Alistair Graham, chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, has not been offered a second term in his post. The reason? Well, according to the Eye, “he was far too good at his job first time around”. Whilst being grilled by a committee of MP’s, the following interesting item emerged;

1. Graham did not get the chance to meet his boss, who in fact was Tony Blair. The PM, who promised to bring in the novel concept of sleaze free government, never once invited Sir Alistair into the Downing Street den, always sending the Cabinet Secretary as a liaison.

2. When Blairite Tony Wright (Lab, Cannock Castle) put it to Graham that in truth British public life was pretty darn squeaky clean, he was faced with the retort;

“Well, we still haven’t completed a long running police investigation into loans for peerages. I don’t know if that’s a hallmark of the cleanest system in the world”

Suitably smacked, Wright retreated from what was obviously going to be a tirade against Sir Alistair’s committee.

3. Obviously on a roll, Graham couldn’t resist a dig at the governments over the BAE affair.

“There’s a danger we’ve prided ourselves for too long on having a clean system but the reputation doesn’t look quite so good.”

Stating the he was “personally affronted” by No 10’s interference, he dealt a killer blow by stating that he was often sent abroad by Blair’s cohorts to “lecture foreigners on Britain’s anti corruption measures. We really are damaging our international position”

4. Gordon Prentice (Lab, Pendle) tried to attack Sir Alistair on the perceived refusal to punish John Prescott and Tessa Jowell over the various tribulations. Wrong again, the Committee had made recommendations, but they couldn’t get them past Blair’s chum and Comptroller General, Sir John Bourn. With recent revelations about Bourn’s own freeloading, no wonder he didn’t feel he could let Graham punish Blair’s close allies.

5. The final swipe was directed against the Scottish election and the Electoral Commission, who with the knowledge that 9% of votes had been deemed spoilt, had done nothing. Graham said “if that had happened in England there would have been a scandal”. Why had there not been such an outcry about the Scottish results? Because the blame lay at Labour’s door.

The Eye finished the article with the all too true comment;

“No wonder Sir Alistair wasn’t offered a second term”

So there you have it, a good man removed from his post because he challenged the system. What is even more worrying however, is that his job was to make sure that politicians stayed on the straight and narrow but wasn’t allowed to fulfil his remit, with Blair himself having a hand in this restriction. So when people talk about the legacy of the last ten years, they should perhaps pay more attention to the arrogance and sleaze which corrupted his leadership from virtually the first day.

PRISONER NO 10

The BBC has just announced that Lord Levy is to stand down as Blair's middle eastern envoy in June. I wonder why? Could it have anything to do with being fitted up for a prison uniform by any chance?

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE 0 JUDGES UNITED 1

If you don’t like football, you might as well go to bed now, because from about 4pm onwards, that’s all you’re going to get. Even Labour ministers have been rather silent today, with nothing of much note emerging from the various Whitehall departments.

However, there is always something rumbling on, and today it’s the Ministry of Justice which is still causing the judiciary great concerns. Lord Philips, who sits at the top of the pile when it comes to those who like white wigs, is quoted in the Guardian today as saying that not only did John Reid create this department purely as a means of waging war on terrorism, but he didn’t even have the decency to tell Lord Falconer, the current Lord Chancellor, of the plans to split the Home Office in two; poor old Falconer had to read about it in the Sunday Telegraph. With the judiciary and Whitehall mandarins being poles apart on this new department, and with senior judges never being so angry or worried over their independence, this political spat has all the ingredients to emerge as a major constitutional crisis. Whilst Blair and Reid couldn’t care less, it will be up to poor old Gordon to piece it all back together again. For a man not known for his negotiating skills, the outcome looks less than happy!

AND REPRESENTING SCOTLAND WE HAVE.............

Talking of constitutional issues, when Gordon Brown walk’s into the hall way of No 10 and takes in all those pictures of previous PM’s, will he consider himself one of the most undemocratic leaders ever to have held office? Stay with me for one moment; but unopposed within his own party, unelected by his own larger membership, not elected as an MP by the voters in the country his represents, sitting in a constituency which this country has no control over, taking over as PM without an endorsement from the electorate and finally secure in the fact that English voters cannot remove him as an MP, Gordon will no doubt lecture certain foreign countries in future on the principals of democracy. I wonder if Mugabe will impose sanctions against England for supporting a dictatorship?

THE "BAD NEWS" FILING CABINET

Has anybody else noticed how Blair’s impending departure has resulted in a massive spring cleaning programme within Whitehall departments with the “bad news” sweeping brush being more active than Mr Sheen’s elbow.

Let’s look first at the Ministry of Justice. Condemned by the head of the judiciary, Lord Philips, as “a serious constitutional problem”, the Ministry was launched only last week. The benefit of this date? Brown won’t get the blame because he was not in charge.

Then we have Patricia Hewitt. With departmental catastrophes such as NHS deficits, shortages of staff and post code drug supply, I actually wonder whether she goes to work on a daily basis. Last week she was forced to withdraw the MTAS job allocation system and forgot to tell parliament in person. The benefit of the cancellation being announced now? Brown won’t get the blame because he was not in charge.

Only yesterday Ruth Kelly was forced to withdraw the Home Information Packs (HIP’s) because of a legal review and the fact that not enough people are qualified to administrate them. Despite the fact that this housing reform has been criticised for years, delayed for months and is deeply unpopular with prospective buyers and sellers, Turner chose to with draw the scheme this week. What was the benefit of this date? Brown won’t get the blame……. Do I really need to finish the sentence?

With all the bad news out of the way, Gordon has a clean slate to work from, with Blair being held to account for any previously instigated catastrophes. Personally, I think Brown has cleared the decks so that he has plenty of room to make create his own cock ups!

ANOTHER WASTE OF MONEY

Apparently vets up and down the country are amazed at how thick skinned Patricia Hewitt is. Despite presiding over the collapse of the MTAS programme, despite not bothering to let the Commons know it was being with drawn, despite trying to cover up the evidence that she knew about the problems even when she was denying they existed, despite the fact that the head of the BMA has had the decency to resign over his handling of the issue and finally despite the fact that her Department of Health has been found guilty of breaking the Data Protection Act i.e. the law, over it’s refusal to tell doctors their assessment results, Hewitt continues to have the audacity to head her department. Do these people not have an ounce of political honour or dignity?

A quick message to Hewitt’s detractors; don’t bother getting the knives out for her, with a hide like an elephant you’re wasting your time!

CAMERON'S SCHOOL REPORT LEAKED: MUST TRY HARDER

With Brown having a clear run at the Labour leadership and already in possession of the keys to No 10, news today is a bit thin on the ground. David Cameron’s political blooper over the grammar school system draws substantial column inch coverage, and whilst his problems are pretty bad, it’s his judgement which should draw the most derision. Why David, when the media is sitting in a political void till Gordon takes over, did you pick a subject such as this to have a little bit of a political knock about? Surely either you or somebody in your inner circle should have known that the quickest way to rouse the Tory heartland into a rabid anger would be to attack grammar schools! What next Mr Cameron, Margaret Thatcher was “over rated” and that “nationalisation” isn’t such a bad concept?

THE PRINCE CHARLES GUIDE TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Talking of bloopers, the son of “King Blooper” (that’s The Duke of Edinburgh to the rest of us) has got his journals back. With seven of his travel diaries leaked to the press, it looked like Prince Charles was in for a pretty rocky future when it came to international relations. However, Justice Blackburne has ordered that no further details can be published by the press and that all entries must be returned to the roving monarch. With such descriptions as the “Great Chinese Takeaway” (the hand over of Hong Kong to China) and his derision of club class travel (the only affordable mode of flight transport for the majority of people) the public have missed out on some rib tickling howlers. If Charles is as open with the pen as his dad is with his mouth, I suspect it would be better if the journals were actually burnt rather than hidden away from the prying public eye.

HONEST, IT'S IN THE POST!

Whilst the dust has virtually settled on the local election front, South Tyneside seems unwilling to let matters rest. The Shields Gazette has a front page story about Ahmed Khan, the Independent candidate who lost out in the Beacon and Bents ward by a meagre 33 votes. However, with 90 postal returns deemed “unverified”, Mr Khan intends to seek a High Court appeal to have the votes either re examined or the election restaged. With corresponding signatures and dates of birth being essential to postal return verification, the actual voting paper remains sealed until the process is satisfactorily completed. Is this then a case of sour grapes or the application of an important democratic principal? Khan has always conducted himself well in his involvement in Borough politics and he ran an honest and sincere campaign in the ward this time round. I personally favour the latter view and see him as a man of principal. What then are his chances of success? To be honest, none. Whilst all the spoilt votes may have been in his favour, if they didn’t pass the verification process then their invalid, end of story. Adversely, they could all be weighted in favour of the ward’s Labour victor, Audrey McMillan. A split or 34+ number in Ahmed’s favour however, would be very interesting; whilst the moral victory would be his, history and precedent indicate there is unlikely to be any return to the hustings until next years official run off. Regardless of the outcome it shows that whilst on paper the postal vote is a good option for encouraging a better turn out, it still has many flaws which require fine tuning.