Practical Thoughts

Is it just me that sees a world where those that are undergoing the most difficulty are being seen virtually as an economic detail? There used to be concern purely about the "Third World" and how those poor aboriginals needed help to generate their own economies and be supported through their growing pains. The reality, however, has been that the West has succeeded in supporting mostly non-viable governments and, in any case, it's China that has taken over as the main source of aid in mid-Africa. While the West was trying to be seen as 'the good guys', it was also quietly supporting the Shah of Iran and then Saddam Hussein - and we have seen what has since developed in both countries. That the West has been such a friend of Israel has further provided confusion and antipathy in the Middle East countries. Western policy has to a large extent been the cause of the rise of the Islamist in my view. It's all very well to brand them as "evil", but w...

Howard Jacobson's Saturday article in the i newspaper "Narratives will not stop terrorism" receives an A1 rating from me. I am not short of knowledge about Islam and Muslims and I love their religion and what their prophet stood for - as did Thomas Carlyle and George Bernard Shaw - and I believe there has grown an enormous resentment amongst many in the larger Muslim community about Western policy in the Middle East this last near-100 years. Therefore, Howard Jacobson is so right in asserting that we in Britain and the larger Western world need to offer more than platitudes as an alternative to the perverse Daesh (aka ISIS or ISIL) line. What we should offer is a genuine and heartfelt sense of being brothers with Muslims in their aspiration to be recognised for what they truly stand for, and not expect them to 'fit in' to ou...

Our Chancellor of the Exchequer has spoken! Amongst other things he has declared: Britain is home to 1 per cent of the world’s population; generates 4 per cent of the world’s economy; and yet pays out 7 per cent of all the welfare spending. This is not sustainable - so we have set out a package to save £12 billion from welfare so we better protect spending on public services.  Since when did a proportionately higher rate of welfare spending than anyone else mean that (simply according to its size) it has to be cut back? How about testing the need for it instead, by fair means? Admittedly it does need careful control (where possible) as we know there are abuses of 'the system', but in time of a severe cut-back, many - primarily children and young people - will suffer in the change-over. We are supposed to be an advanced nation but it seems we would prefer to vote in a government that would exert its power over the vulnerable instead of making the taxation system more...

The controversy about Heathrow and HS2 trundles on. But the matter must not reside simply according to the preferences of the MPs sitting in seats surrounding the airport. Boris Johnson was brave enough to look for an alternative on the east side, but perhaps there's another alternative. Not necessarily a total answer, but one that could partially solve this issue and also be an alternative answer to HS2. The (partial) answer I propose is in VTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing technology). It's a little known fact that Britain was ahead of the world in the 1950s in this area of technology in relation to civilian use. Please look up Wiki for a description of the Fairey Rotodyne, which came close to success. Maybe now - 60 years on - the idea should be re-visited - there have been so many advances made in this time that I feel certain a concerted effort (and investment) should return results, at least for domestic and Europea...

My articles these days may seem to indicate that I've become merely anti-Tory minded; the reader might also think that I've lost my sense of balance and reasonableness. But that's not really the case - I'm simply out for what's fair for all, and while the P.M. spouts about wanting a 'One Nation' approach, there is precious little policy emerging that seems to reflect that ideal. Perhaps Cameron is busy watching what's going on in respect of G7 partying, ISIL and Greece and hasn't got time to look after domestic matters of importance? Whilst Cameron is looking east, perhaps his underlings are trying to capitalise on the space he's leaving them? For example, the Energy Secretary (Amber Rudd) appeared on the BBC's Question Time last week and got away with saying that her party had been elected to effect their unchecked policies. I can recall that once upon a time a government with so low a majority and gaining only 24% of the vote would be ...

They say you can't get a quart into a pint pot. Sorry - I must go metric: you can't squeeze a litre into a 50ml bottle. The UK, we are told today, is now close to 65 million inhabitants. That compares to around 50 million when I was 7 years old after the 1951 census. And for some 30 or 40 years after that there wasn't  a big change: the population change has really escalated since the 1990s and particularly since 2004 when the European Zone was greatly expanded and a great number of people came to work here from the eastern bloc. Promises of reducing the flow have been made, particularly by the Tories, but there is no sign that the flow is abating. Meanwhile there are people who (rightly I believe) feel that we should take in more people from the flood of refugees crossing the Med. However ... and it's a practical issue: how can so many people come into a country that already has escalating problems in: severe home shortages (and threats of rapidly increasing ...

A government elected by  just 24% of the electorate continues to create diabolical conditions for those seriously in need, despite the protestations of Calamity Cameron. In this case it relates to the number of deaths that have arisen directly as a result of the imposition of draconian measures against the disabled. The Daily Mirror has stated: The last figures were released by the DWP in 2012 after a Freedom of Information campaign by the Mirror's investigative team.  They showed 1,300 ESA claimants died within six weeks of being placed in a 'work-related activity' group between January and November 2011.  The figures prompted outrage and since then the DWP has released no more, insisted it's 'irresponsible' to suggest stopping benefits can kill someone.  The DWP appeal letter claims the data released in 2012 'concerned somewhat different information and was produced in different circumstances'.  A string of families have come forwa...

Well, the matter is clear.  I think most of us in the UK were anticipating a coalition of some kind, but the Tories instead have an overall 15-seat majority (with the IRA not being present in Parliament). People are asking "what happened at the last minute?" Well, I suspect that the fear and smear campaign that was perpetrated by the Tories had its desired effect. Enough people were basically scared into voting blue as they were afraid that Cameron might be right - and neither did they trust the other party leaders. "They" meaning non-Scotland voters as the Scots were clearly happy with their leader! Max Hastings (in the Daily Mail ) said words to the effect: "Thank God for the good sense of the British people". Well, I am sure "good sense" didn't come into the equation in the way he meant! Apart from that, the Mail had a good gloat about the result. Well, let them. The fact is that if Proportional Representation had been in effect, t...

If I'm not mistaken, this election is a lot more important than we think it to be. Hugely important, in fact, because of these issues: We now seem to be in a permanent need for cooperation between all parties as the conventional major two parties do not look capable of achieving an overall majority; It may be time for implementing Proportional Representation; The NHS looks as though it radically needs saving by the injection of funds - and quick. The Tories do not look as though they're prepared to do that and - also - Cameron has been sitting on a report he commissioned that details a future NHS, post-election: he his hiding it from the electorate; All parties can be accused of being disingenuous, but the Tories take the biscuit! They accuse Labour of being held to ransom by the SNP if they (Labour) are the majority party, yet theTories would also have the SNP hanging round their necks if they (the Tories) are the majority party; The Tories still try to kid people tha...

No, that's not my headline but that of Mark Steel, columnist of the year, in the i newspaper. He was in reality pointing to inferences by the Tory-leader-elect, Boris Johnson, who stated that Labour's policies to stop landlords raising rents "would destroy a city [London] faster than a bomb". It's interesting (Steel points out) that New York have already successfully introduced the measures put forward by Labour. But then, Johnson lives on another planet. Further, in response to Labour's plans to build new housing on disused land, Johnson referred to it as: "Miliband, the land-grabber's Stalinist plan". Such hysteria being raised by Tories and 50 years ago, in the days of One Nation politics, they would have been shouted down. Today too many people have forgotten their spiritual instincts and vote for what suits their pocket, scared stiff that those nasty socialists will take away the possibility of a happy life. But those people who a...