Friday, October 31, 2008

A watershed or a wash-out?

Next Tuesday the most eagerly anticipated US Presidential election in years will take place and, of course, it could ...and should..provide a historic first, a watershed in American history, a turning point where black Americans can truly feel they have the same standing and respect as whites, the day when America elects a black president for the first time.

Obama is, by most counts, streets ahead in the polls. But there seems to be a very strange atmosphere in the Democratic camp - and it's not simply the necessary modesty that precedes the crowning of their champion. There is genuine fear gripping the gut that the polls are misrepresenting the truth, that the large numbers of 'undecided' voters are not really undecided at all, but in fact cannot bring themselves to vote for a black man, but don't like to admit it.



In the aftermath of the Iraq War and, frankly, one of the most hideous Presidencies in my long lifetime, there has been more interest in this election outside the United States than I can ever remember. The reason is obvious. Americans may not see this, or like it, but the national reputation of the United States as a force for good in the world has been terribly tarnished under George W Bush. Europeans, by a margin of about 10 to 1, are longing for an Obama presidency for Europe sees Obama as someone who can change the image of the United States for the better. Someone who will bring a wise and very different approach to, particularly, foreign affairs.

Of course, as a dear friend in Connecticut once told me, for an American politician to be loved by Europeans does not necessarily enhance his electoral chances in the United States which has different priorities.

John McCain is not a bad man. He is not another Bush. But he has found it very hard to prove to anyone that the same tired Republican policies of Bush will not be continued should he win on Tuesday. He is talking about 'winning in Iraq' and that for a start shows a completely unrealistic assessment of the situation on the ground. He has picked a Vice Presidential nominee in Sarah Palin, who may have done brave things as Governor of Alaska but her attitudes are reactionary and her understanding of world politics naive to the point of absurdity.



So many people who care about politics in Europe are holding their breath - just as are the Democratic Party. Will America do the right thing on Tuesday? Will it cross that line of prejudice and bigotry and usher in a new era where a good, intelligent black man with the middle name of Hussein is elected to the top political job in the world. Or will it fall back on fear, resentment and racial prejudice to, almost furtively, vote for an elderly white man with health problems, and whose campaign has been ragged, disorganised and , at times, down and dirty to a degree which was revolting,- simply because he is not a black man?

McCain does not deserve the Presidency on the basis of performance on the campaign trail or of policies offered. But he might still creep in through the back door thanks to the bigotry and prejudice of enough voters who said one thing but do another. It is an unpleasant prospect but one which, however much it turns the rational stomach, might have to be confronted on Wednesday morning.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Squalid non-news but is it a symptom?

There can be few people in Britain who are not now aware of the row which has developed over two of the nation's best known presenters and 'funny men' (ironic quotes), Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross, making prank phone calls to the answering machine of Andrew Sachs, another former funny man who was 'Manuel' in 'Fawlty Towers'.



For anyone, especially overseas readers, who haven't read the furore, Brand and Ross phoned Sachs, who is now 78 and long retired, on a late night show, found him to be out and left obscene messages on his answering machine, one particularly being a boast by Brand to Sachs that he had 'f***ed your granddaughter'



Sachs was so disgusted when he got the messages that he immediately complained to the BBC and, once the incident received nation-wide press coverage, there have been clamours for the presenters heads to roll and for a full enquiry to be launched. The granddaughter, Georgina Baillie, is not exactly a wilting violet, and has a life as 'Voluptua' in a erotic burlesque group called 'The Satanic Sluts'.



Because the girl was no saint, this presumably was the 'permission-giver' for the two entertainers to do what they did...and amazingly the show content had been approved by BBC light entertainment bosses.

While it seems pretty clear to most people that what happened was way in excess of acceptable banter, I am equally sure that Brand and Ross, on an adult late night show, were sure that their obscene repartee was nothing out of the ordinary for a 'sophisticated' late-night audience.

And that's the point of this little article really. They were probably right in their judgment of their audience..and that's a worry to me. Our society, and its humour, has become much more cruel and indifferent to personal hurt. There are BBC shows like 'Little Britain' which exhibit this trait and they have a fond following. Now they and stunts like that of Brand and Ross may well be aping the times, but I do feel that the TV companies have a responsibility to start looking seriously at the messages they are sending out not just rolling with the flow. I'm not a prude - far from it - but some of the stuff that passes for entertainment is beyond the pale and the company to which we pay our licence fee has a duty to do something about redressing that situation.

I know the BBC is not the guardian of our morality, nor would I wish it to be. Indeed I have been one of the supporters of more freedom in subject matter, particularly when dealing with sex and adult themes. But what's happening now is not a growing maturity, it's quite the reverse. It's a case of overgrown schoolboys indulging in locker-room humour in the full glare of a mass audience, indifferent to what hurt they cause...and it's a trend which responsible broadcasters need to get a grip on.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

A toast to Swindon Council!!!

Glory be....a council in England has had the guts to publicly acknowledge what most of us motorists have known for years, that speed cameras are simply an easy means of additional taxation and do precious little to curb accidents.

Swindon in Wiltshire has become the first council to discontinue the use of speed cameras on all its roads, saying that the revenue it would have spent keeping them maintained will now be spent on better road lighting, improved junctions and better driving awareness initiatives.

The British government, needless to say, disapproves of this decision, and the Department for Transport has already been critical saying that speed cameras reduce accidents by 42%. Swindon Council has responded that, by the Government's own figures, speed is a significant factor in only 6% of accidents, while tiredness, lack of concentration and sheer carelessness account for 42%.



There is no doubt that people drive slower through a speed camera zone, but I'm not sure that makes them any safer. In fact my experience is I spend more time looking for the next camera and at my speedometer and that is time I would normally have spent watching the road, and particularly the car in front.

I hope this is the beginning of the end for speed cameras. They are a cash cow and little more. They may make people slow for a short time but they don't change habits and people simply look out for them. Swindon's approach in suggesting more driving awareness initiatives, particularly for those caught speeding, is a good one.

So upstanding everyone and please drink a toast to....Swindon Council. And may I ask you, Swindon councillors, when you come to disposing of them, can I come along with a hacksaw and chop the head of the first one please?

PS. My judgment is slightly clouded having just applied for a new European style plastic card driving licence to replace my years old paper one. Part of my reason for paying £17.50 for a new one was to have a new licence clear of speeding endorsements (having been picked up twice by aforementioned damned cameras) Unfortunately, when it arrived, one endorsement was still on it.....and has only 2 weeks to run!!! I had forgotten that endorsements are now on for four years not three.

Lies, damned lies and statistics

Mark Twain once borrowed an extract of a speech by Benjamin Disraeli and uttered the famous phrase, 'There are three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies and statistics'. The truth of this emerges at regular intervals when governments produce figures designed to make themselves look good and to placate fears felt by their electorate.

The latest of these - which will come as no surprise to anyone who lives in the inner cities of Britain - is that the police in some areas have under reported the level of serious crime. To such a degree it would appear that the level of violent crime in the United Kingdom was under reported by a staggering 22%.

It appears clear that this is not crime that was omitted, simply put into the wrong category, but the difference once clarification has been made is quite shocking. Of course the police spend half their time compiling statistics and putting a tick in the right box just so that government ministers like the Home Secretary. Jacqui Smith, can appear on television quoting crime statistics that favour the government.



Most of the problem is caused by the Home Office continually sending out new instructions in the way they want crime reported. As recently as April this year the guidelines were changed again and the police sent another set of instructions on how they account for crime.

This is quite ridiculous and clearly being fine tuned to such degrees that the prime aim is to provide great political ammunition and not assisting in controlling crime. Keith Bristow who is the Chief Constable of Warwickshire supports the recent government changes to reporting statistics but I'm sure he and other police chiefs would now be grateful for a degree of stability in all this chopping and changing.

As far as Ms Smith's government department is concerned it might be well advised to declare a moratorium on further tinkering with the way crime statistics are analysed and spend time ensuring that every police force is singing off the same hymn sheet. I do feel there is a tendency with this government to over complicate in every area - lets face it they have driven the teachers nuts over SATS testing - and this is another example whereby the recording of data enables the government to parcel it in any way that suits their purpose. Lets get back to basics and concentrate on letting the police do their prime job of catching criminals and not filling in tick sheets designed to make the government look good in the media.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Another disgraceful piece of cheese-paring by Britain's armed forces

A coroner's inquest into the RAF Hercules crash in Iraq in 2005 which killed all ten occupants of the aircraft has produced some abrasive comments from the Coroner, David Masters, about the policies of the RAF and Ministry of Defence and of the attitude of the United States authorities in not allowing their forces, who were witness to the crash, give evidence.

It seems to be another example of Britain fighting a war on a shoestring budget for the most significant element in the coroner' s damning verdict is that none of the RAF Hercules planes were fitted with the ESF anti explosion foam around the fuel tanks. The plane was shot down by enemy fire but the cause of death was the massive explosion which blew the plane to smithereens once the fuel tanks were pierced.



The Americans, it seems, have had all their Hercules planes protected with ESF for over forty years!!! The RAF and the Ministry of Defence knew about the vulnerability of the fuel tanks in battle conditions and had been told for years to fit the anti explosive foam - but they ignored two or more recommendations.

Why? Money, that's why. The cost of applying ESF to each plane is in the region of £600,000. It makes me sick. For all the pomp and ceremony with which each British serving death is commemorated, the truth of the matter is that these men are treated like cannon fodder. In an arena as fraught as Iraq, no effort should have been spared to provide every protection possible but in the eyes of the MOD these men are expendable. Their lives are not worth a light compared to the cost of providing them with equipment that works.

This is not the first case nor will it be the last. Bulletproof armour shared around and if the guy whose turn was yesterday gets hit , its just his bad luck. Guns that don't fire. Boots not suitable for the desert so that our troops have to borrow from the Americans.

We have some of the finest, most dedicated fighting men in the world, who do a dangerous and unrewarding job with bravery and professionalism - and they are treated like shit! Look at the case the other day too, guys trapped in a minefield and no one had thought to give them maps (in the possession of their superiors) to let them know the minefield was there. Then some complete arsehole gives the order to send in a Chinook helicopter to rescue them, a machine that kicks up such a ground swell of wind and dust that it sets all the mines off, blowing off the limbs of the trapped men and killing one of them.

This is not 1914. No longer can British politicians and generals send cannon fodder into the field on a half arsed, ill-thought out campaign, shrugging their shoulders if half the men are killed because 'that's the risk they joined up for'. Nowadays, whether we are in a state of war or not, thank God the consequences of official actions are examined in detail by coroners and their like.

But who pays for this litany of bad decisions, cheese-paring and shortsightedness. Who holds the people to account who sent our troops into a war zone ill equipped, badly supported and badly advised? Nobody! The Official Secrets Act covers too much investigation into how , what and why and these blunderers will continue to kill our fighting troops by their stupidity and anxiety to prove to their political masters that Britain can fight a war on a pittance.

If we are asking these brave men and women to serve Queen and Country to protect us, there should be an independent review into the financing of the armed forces and whether we are deliberately risking the lives of our troops simply to save money. All we have at the moment are a succession of coroners doing a great job in bringing these issues to public attention. I fear however that it is water off a duck's back for there is no authority in a position to make sure the Ministry of Defence listens....and acts!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Britain's sportsmen and women put a smile on our faces

We might be sinking into the mire politically and economically as the world's financial structure hits the skids but, for the time being at least, we can all stop walking around with that eternally gloomy frown muttering 'why is Britain never any good at anything?'

For years that lament about our sporting prowess seemed to be justified as the nation seemed to be eternal also-rans in just about everything and everyone said, mournfully, '...and to think we invented..etc etc'

But suddenly all our sporting summers seemed to come at once. Perhaps it began with cricket when cheeky chappy Kevin Pietersen took over from Michael Vaughan as England captain and proceeded to lead from the front, imbuing the national side with new confidence and they hammered South Africa in the one day test series.



Then our athletes came back from Beijing with the greatest collection of medals in our modern Olympic history...way more than was anticipated. Then the disabled athletes carried on the good work finishing their games in second place.



The young Lewis Hamilton, began to burn off his Formula One opponents creating anger and friction among those overpaid children known as Formula One racing drivers and, despite a mid term hiccup, yesterday won the Chinese Grand Prix to put himself within an ace of becoming the youngest World Champion ever.



Scotland's Andy Murray beat Rafael Nadal in the semi-final of the US Open tennis only to fall to the magnificent Federer in the final - but before that he'd won his first Masters event in America beating both Federer and Novak Dkokovic to win the title. Yesterday Murray reached his second Masters final event again beating Federer. Today he won the final for his second Masters title this year and his 4th tournament victory of the year in total. He will finish the season 4th in the world, the highest place any Briton has reached at end of season since Fred Perry in 1948



And last but not least - maybe the yardstick for most people of our sporting pride - the England football team, which had looked lost, lacklustre and devoid of any clue under Steve McClaren has come alive under the quiet guidance of an Italian, Fabio Capello and has won four world cup qualifying games in a row





- and best of all, Wayne Rooney, who had looked lost, petulant and fed up for so long in an England shirt, looks inspired and enjoying his football once more.



I suppose the only fly in the ointment is the Ryder Cup team which lost to America in a terrific contest. But I reckon we can afford one dark cloud on the sporting horizon - the victorious Yanks had been on the receiving end for the previous three Ryder Cups and, after all, one of the great British traditions is to be charitable to our opponents.

So let the economy and the government go hang! National pride has been restored once more in what really matters!!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

An article on the Presidential campaign I couldn't match.

Usually I try to put my own views on any given subject but, today, I was copied on a newspaper article by Garrison Keillor - he of Lake Woebegone fame - on the election and the choices for the American people and I thought it was so good I will simply reproduce it here.




GARRISON KEILLOR
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST

We are a stalwart and stouthearted people, and never more so than in hard times. People weep in the dark and arise in the morning and go to work. The waves crash on your nest egg and a chunk is swept away and you put your salami sandwich in the brown bag and get on the bus. In Philly, a woman earns $10.30/hour to care for a man brought down by cystic fibrosis. She bathes and dresses him in the morning, brings him meals, puts him to bed at night. It's hard work lifting him and she has suffered a painful hernia that, because she can't afford health insurance, she can't get fixed, but she still goes to work because he'd be helpless without her. There are a lot of people like her. I know because I'm related to some of them.

Low dishonesty and craven cynicism sometimes win the day but not inevitably. The attempt to link Barack Obama to an old radical in his neighborhood has desperation and deceit written all over it. Meanwhile, stunning acts of heroism stand out, such as the fidelity of military lawyers assigned to defend detainees at Guantanamo Bay -- uniformed officers faithful to their lawyerly duty to offer a vigorous defense even though it means exposing the injustice of military justice that is rigged for conviction and the mendacity of a commander in chief who commits war crimes. If your law school is looking for a name for its new library, instead of selling the honor to a fat cat alumnus, you should consider the names of Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift, Lt. Col. Mark Bridges, Col. Steven David, Lt. Col. Sharon Shaffer, Lt. Cmdr. Philip Sundel and Maj. Michael Mori.

It was dishonest, cynical men who put forward a clueless young woman for national office, hoping to juice up the ticket, hoping she could skate through two months of chaperoned campaigning, but the truth emerges: The lady is talking freely about matters she has never thought about. The American people have an ear for B.S. They can tell when someone's mouth is moving and the clutch is not engaged. When she said, 'One thing that Americans do at this time, also, though, is let's commit ourselves just every day, American people, Joe Six-Pack, hockey moms across the nation, I think we need to band together and say never again. Never will we be exploited and taken advantage of again by those who are managing our money and loaning us these dollars,' people smelled gas.

Some Republicans adore her because they are pranksters at heart and love the consternation of grown-ups. The ne'er-do-well son of the old Republican family as president, the idea that you increase government revenue by cutting taxes, the idea that you cut social services and thereby drive the needy into the middle class, the idea that you overthrow a dictator with a show of force and achieve democracy at no cost to yourself -- one stink bomb after another, and now Governor Palin.

She is a chatty sportscaster who lacks the guile to conceal her vacuity, and she was Mr. McCain's first major decision as nominee. This troubles independent voters, and now she is a major drag on his candidacy. She will get a nice book deal from Regnery and a new career making personal appearances for forty grand a pop, and she'll become a trivia question, 'What politician claimed foreign-policy expertise based on being able to see Russia from her house?' And the rest of us will have to pull ourselves out of the swamp of Republican economics.

Your broker kept saying, 'Stay with the portfolio, don't jump ship,' and you felt a strong urge to dump the stocks and get into the money market where at least you're not going to lose your shirt, but you didn't do it and didn't do it, and now you're holding a big bag of brown bananas. Me, too. But at least I know enough not to believe desperate people who are talking trash. Anybody who got whacked last week and still thinks McCain-Palin is going to lead us out of the swamp and not into a war with Iran is beyond persuasion in the English language. They'll need to lose their homes and be out on the street in a cold hard rain before they connect the dots.


Friday, October 10, 2008

Are we right to blame the F.S.A. ?

As the so-called 'credit crunch' disaster, spreads and worsens throughout the globe - Asian markets are now in a downward spiral as I write - so the problem with the casual laissez-faire lending policies of the British banks is being blamed on the Financial Services Authority, which is supposed to oversee all financial dealings in the UK.

I wonder, though, if this is entirely fair, for an organisation can only respond as well as it is allowed to. The FSA is a non governmental body reporting to the Treasury with the brief of policing the way financial institutions operate.



Clearly, in view of the ludicrous dealings which, it is now clear, have been undertaken by British banks this regulation has been proved ineffectual. But in the past, the FSA has incurred the impatience and annoyance of the present Labour Government, Tony Blair expressing the opinion to his officials that the FSA was stifling growth with over regulatory control. So angry were the executives of the FSA that they wrote to Blair demanding an explanation.

Well if you are set up to do a job, and then told discreetly 'Don't exercise TOO much zeal, will you!' what signals do you pick up about what is expected of you ? One of the criticisms of the FSA is that it is staffed with former civil servants who are used to obeying 'His Master's Voice' and therefore dutifully listen to hints and signals from government.

It has been suggested, maybe unkindly, that the FSA is an elephant's graveyard for civil servants who had reached the end of their useful lives in government - second grade staff in other words - who are not going to rock any boats.

It seems to me that, in the light of this world crisis, the FSA has an outstanding opportunity to break free of whatever constraints it was operating under. It has a new Chairman and a new Chief Executive as of last month - a perfect opportunity for new brooms to sweep very clean indeed. Maybe there needs to be a turnover of staff and some people brought in from commerce and industry, but its clear that the FSA - and its relationship to government - needs a good shake up and a much less cosy relationship with the wishes of Ministers.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

The rally where fuel efficiency matters..and boring as hell!

Today in the Midlands of England,a very special form of motor rally took place where speed and finishing first was far from important. It was an economic fuel usage rally where all the drivers had to ease off the speed be careful with the braking, change down perfectly on the gears at the right speed of the engine..and the winner was the one with the highest fuel efficiency.

Great for these economically troubled times. Great for the carbon footprint, climate change consciousness, call it what you like...but Jeez, wouldn't you just sell your car rather than drive like that?

It must be wonderful to get 82mpg by driving at 28 mph for 4 hours to get as far as Manchester from Birmingham but, speaking personally, I'd be combatting severe leg cramps and boredom way before I got there. The joy of owning a car is to drive at speed down an open road, to revel in the power under your control, to handle the potential of a throaty powerful beast with skill and aplomb.

If I had to emulate these guys I'd sell my car and use public transport all the time. Maybe that's the answer. The British car industry is dead, Detroit is struggling with bale-outs from the US government. Maybe the thrill of motoring is a bygone treasure we can no longer afford. Maybe we are all going back to the stone age thanks to the cost of fuel.

But until I'm dragged, kicking and screaming, off the highway, I'm going to get the pleasure from my Mazda sports coupe..and to hell with the cost!!


Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Ridiculous abuse of the sex offences legislation

Yesterday the General Secretary of the Womens Teaching Union, Chris Keates, made some controversial remarks and set the cat among a variety of pigeons. She suggested that teachers who have relationships with pupils over the age of consent are punished excessively by being charged with a criminal offence, sometimes jailed and put on the sex offenders register.



My only complaint about Ms Keates remarks is that they were not forcible enough. I think the situation we have of people being criminalised for something they could legitimately do with anyone they are not in the position of teaching, is ludicrous, crazy and in itself, criminal.

Of course the supporters of the current legislation will argue that the teachers are in a position of responsibility and are in a position to influence the vulnerable etc etc etc. Well I think that is so much bullshit and insults the intelligence of the young people involved.

Now I certainly think that teachers who do breach their position of trust with pupils should be dismissed and maybe not allowed to teach, certainly for a period of time - but criminalised, certainly not!! And as for the use of the sex offenders register for nearly every offence which has the vaguest relationship to anyone under the age of eighteen, well that makes me spit teeth. No such register existed in Britain until 2003 but once it was introduced, the authorities seem to regard it as a wonderful panacea for all ills and it is used to ridiculous excess. Certainly putting teachers on it for loving and consensual relationships with a person over 16 is ludicrous.

Yes, Ms Keates is spot on and I hope she is listened to but I have little hope that such will be the case. Britain, you see, is in the grip of child protection zealots who see terrible threats to our children everywhere they turn. And anyone, like Ms Keates, who dares to suggest that measures in place are something of an over reaction are howled down by the mob. You see its only the rights of children that matter - to hell with the rest of us.

Let's remember we are not talking about 11 or 12 year old here, but boys and girls of 16 and 17 who are old enough, and, in many cases, bright enough, to be studying for University. To suggest that they cannot wittingly participate in a loving relationship is plain barmy.

It is great that we have sensible steps in place to protect the children who desperately need it - and there are a lot of those. But the legislation goes way beyond the sensible to a degree where a person's life is ruined for an action which is treated with a degree of ludicrous disproportion.

Someday, I hope a sensible government sits down and looks at the current legislation and its fairness, takes a deep breath and decides to redress the balance a little. It means taking on the zealots who don't have to make a sensible case. They just have to talk about 'betraying our children' and all opposition collapses in a heap. Let's make sure our vulnerable children are protected as they should be but lets strip away some of this stuff that seems to have been added on in a fit of reckless self righteousness.

Teachers are human beings with emotions and feelings like the rest of us. Yes there should be work penalties for giving in to those emotions in a position of responsibility but, provided the partner in all this is above the age of consent, criminal proceedings should not be an option. We seem to have gone slightly stark staring mad on this issue and it's about time our society got dragged back to a position of balanced common sense which used to be our trademark

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Should it be a crime to deny the holocaust?

Let me, if I need to, put my cards firmly on the table. I despise the Nazis, hate and detest the policies which killed 6 million Jews and enslaved half of Europe. I think the people who deny such things are complete assholes. But does that make them criminals?

I am concerned that our obsession to rid the world of Nazi ideology and its apologists is leading to a form of tyranny on the other side of the spectrum.

Britain has been placed in the embarrassing position of being asked to hand over to Germany Dr Gerald Toben, who was detained at Heathrow Airport yesterday en route from the United States to Dubai. Britain, which does not recognise 'holocaust denial' as a crime, has been asked to commit Toben, born in Germany but a naturalised Australian, to German custody for publishing tracts which suggest the holocaust did not happen, a serious offence punishable by 5 years imprisonment in Germany. The problem Britain has is, that under European Union law, a member state is expected to automatically respect the wish of another in handing over wanted criminals.



There is considerable unease among all political parties here about the 'holocaust denial' offence and, although no one will say so publicly, there is a feeling that German sensitivity with regard to the Hitler years has led to legislation which breaches human rights, even if some of those right are considered obnoxious. The same can be said of Austria who recently locked up Dr David Irving, the Nazi sympathising historian, but who later released him back to Britain after considerable diplomatic pressure.



There is a point at which freedom of speech becomes incitement - and this has been argued here with regard to some of the actions by Muslim clerics, and, in the past, by some right wing fascist party sympathisers. But it is important to distinguish between someone inciting violence against a group or culture and someone who simply pours scorn and disbelief on accepted history. The genocide of the Jews is probably the single blackest stain on the 20th century and people who deny that it happened are deserving of the most severe condemnation and criticism.

But it seems to me that you defeat them by contempt, by proof, by argument - not by locking them up. By prosecuting and jailing them you create martyrs and give the impression you have something to fear and you lose, to some extent, the moral high ground. I say we let the likes of Toben and Irving free to preach their zany opinions and destroy what they say with irrefutable fact. That's the way a free society should prove its worth.

Friday, October 03, 2008

An embarrassing hiccup in the chain of responsibility

Yesterday Sir Ian Blair, Chief Constable of the Metropolitan Police, was effectively dismissed by Boris Johnson, the elected Mayor of London. Now I'm not going into whether it was right for Sir Ian to lose his job, but more what does this action herald for the future?



Chief Constables of the Met are appointed by the Home Secretary, after consultation with appropriate bodies to sound out views, but clearly the job is the Home Secretary's. Yesterday, the first thing the Home Secretary knew of Sir Ian's departure was when he told her, 'I have been effectively dismissed by the Mayor'.

What then happened was surprising in a way. Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary who appointed Sir Ian, rather than becoming righteously indignant and swearing to come to his aid, tamely said 'Ah all right then - sorry to lose you' and let him go. Now it could be that she saw a major row between London's elected Conservative Mayor and a Labour Government as being more damaging than simply to allow Sir Ian to leave - but that would be somewhat cowardly, I think. An alternative option is that she silently heaved a sigh of relief because Johnson had done the dirty work for her - and that would be very cynical.



It is true that in the light of the Menezes shooting in 2005, the swirling accusations of racism around Sir Ian's head in his dealings with a senior Asian policeman and rumours of his planting contracts with friends, the Chief Constable was becoming something of a liability, even distrusted by his own senior officers.

But constitutionally, what has happened is rather disturbing. I am no friend of the Tories but I don't believe Johnson took the action simply to prove his own machismo. I do believe he thought the decision was the right one for the people of London. However he has highlighted a big hole in the area of appropriate responsibility. This situation could get worse if more elected Mayors become a feature of British towns and cities and there is a growing demand for local accountability.



Johnson has demanded that the actions of the Chief Constable should be the responsibility of the elected politicians of London, not the national politicians in Whitehall. Whether this will come to pass or not, a series of urgent steps needs to be taken to prevent a repetition of this. The role of Metropolitan Police chief is too important to be a political football and, in the short term at least, Government ministers and the London Mayor need to get together and agree a plan of action in the event of unhappiness by either party. These unilateral actions cannot continue or else good policemen, well qualified for the post, will have serious concerns about accepting it if the ability to do their job is handicapped by angry differences between Westminster and City Hall

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Amid chaos maybe some old-fashioned lessons need to be learned

This week the western economic system is in a state of shock after the failure of the US Congress to sell the $700 billion rescue package for the US banks. What happens now is anybodies guess but the melt-down in America has been quite frightening.

The finger of blame can be pointed at the American banks which seem to have had precious little regulation to stop them behaving like a bunch of demented, very badly managed, casinos. The ridiculous gambles which have been taken in the 'sub prime' market make you blink with disbelief. But now the chickens have come home to roost and, after this, surely the world's financial institutions will be in for a giant shake up and lots more global regulation.



We have been encouraged, over the years, to live above our means - the 'live now, pay later' society - which surely has to be at the grass root of this current problem, fed by the avaricious greed of bankers who see the way to a fast buck in high interest repayments, but which sadly for them and for the worlds financial stability, have never come to fruition.

The British, though the minor partners in all this, have as part of the international banking community been part and parcel of all this mess. Packages of debt bought from American banks have turned into a poisoned chalice and banks here have either been bought up by others or nationalised..and there is no guarantee that the bottom has yet been reached.

It's a sobering thought that, less than twenty years ago, we had Building Societies in this country who had operated with great fiscal responsibility for over 100 years. Then, under the Conservatives, they were given the opportunity to 'de-mutualise', go private as banks and be quoted on the stock exchange. Amid popping champagne corks and smoked salmon lunches, most of the building societies took the thirty pieces of silver, cock-a-hoop that now they could do wonderful things with our money and get rich in the process. Well I've no doubt that a number of top executives did exactly that. But what happened to the former Building Societies. There are none of them left now. All failed, went under, were bought up by bigger banks. It was a disaster.

But there are Building Societies, like the Nationwide and the West Bromwich who decided not to take the attractive bait and are still in business, paying investors a reasonable, though not spectacular return, and selling houses to those who prove they have the ability to pay the loans back. Sensible, modest financial dealing.

The safest place in Europe to have a bank account at the moment is France. The French government has a strong tradition of bank regulation and their banks are not allowed to speculate more than a fraction of the banks assets on high risk ventures. Consequently, although they have been bitten like the rest of us, France has withstood the credit crunch much better than the US or UK and is reasonably sound. If you obtain a credit card from a French bank, it is simply an easy way of avoiding carrying cash. If you go overdrawn on it, your card is stopped. You don't spend what you haven't got in the bank. No air miles or gifts encouraging you to go thousands overdrawn on that dream holiday...just pure, down to earth, spend it only if you've got it.

It's a rule my old grandmother lived by for years and it makes a lot of sense. It's a dose of reality which seriously needs to be infused into our collective psyche and into the operation of the world's financial community...let's hope it's not too late!