The sordid squalid deal that can explain the Murdoch empire's support of the Tories

Today the News of the World announced it would be backing the Tories at the next general election.

In the meantime, Ofcom are probing Sky TV and their stranglehold monopoly of the pay TV market with recommendations to force Sky to be more open to competition. You know, the same competition that "free market" thinkers, the ones the Tories claim to represent, say is the cornerstone of this country's business model.

The problem is, as the Robert Peston article makes clear, the Tories don't support Ofcom. Indeed, they may abolish Ofcom and allow Sky TV to maintain their monopoly position.

As Robert Peston writes;

This is what Mr Cameron said last July: "with a Conservative Government, Ofcom as we know it will cease to exist. Its remit will be restricted to its narrow technical and enforcement roles. It will no longer play a role in making policy."

Also, News Corporation's most-widely-read newspaper, the Sun ("wot won it"), has switched allegiance from Labour to the Tories - and is currently heaping opprobrium on the government in its pages with what reads like undisguised relish.

So it is clear to me the the Tories are buying support from the Murdoch empire in return for letting them dominate and have a monopoly position.

Of course, Cameron could prove me wrong by letting the Ofcom investigation in to Sky go ahead but what are the chances of that happening ?

Tory praise for Vince Cable

The Tories don't like Vince Cable. They don't like the fact that he is trusted by people because he speaks common sense, has a dry unplanned humour that seems natural and unrehearsed, and they don't like the fact that he has been proved right so many times and provides a sharp contrast between himself and the Tories George Osborne

It was Vince Cable who said that Northern Rock might have to be nationalised whilst the Tories claimed the plan was ridiculous. In the end Vince was proved right whilst the Tories never ever produced a plan for Northern Rock other than to oppose whatever the government suggested.

It was Vince who talked about more regulation of rogue banks whilst the Tories were moaning about there being too much regulation on the financial sector.

Vince too has real world experience as a someone with real responsibility in one of the world's biggest companies. Vince's knowledge is based on working his way to the top, living in the real world and not having things handed to him on a plate by virtue of his old school tie.

So it is rare but refreshing to see a Tory pointing out that Vince Cable is leading and the Tories following in his wake.

The truth is, if you want Vince Cable, you need to vote Lib Dem.

You don't have to be stupid to be a Labour MP but ...

If evidence is required as to why voting Labout can be a liability, THIS is it.

Who would send an email begging for help in the General Election to their main opponent TWICE !

Hat tip to Andrew Reeves

UKIP and racism

Tory blogger Ellee Seymour has an interesting story about a UKIP poster in Cambridge that has been defaced, which bring to mind the contradictions that UKIP is.

I blogged last year about the UKIP leaflets in the Norwich North by-elections and the fact that, to my mind, they bordered on being the sort of leaflets the BNP would be proud to deliver. The only problem is that whenever I have met UKIP people they are a long way from being racists. Most UKIP people I have met are actually pretty decent people who are polite, thoughtful (unlike the Tory who swore at me at the Broadland Council meeting this week), and genuinely in politics for the best of reasons.

So it does beg the question why their leadership nationally persist in trying to out do the BNP. UKIP needs to become more than a protest vote and if they are to be taken seriously, they need more policies than just immirgation and Europe.

Back in the swing of campaigning

After three years of literally doing nothing in the way of political campaigning haven taken a complete break after standing down from North Norfolk District Council, I am now firmly back in the swing of things.

As many of you will know I gained a council seat from the Tories 10 days ago in Taverham North, and in the process of knocking on doors and speaking to local residents, we found so many issues that affect people locally that we are now rolling the whole campaign out to neighbouring wards and taking the political fight to the Tories on issues where local people feel very let down by the Tory County Council and the Tory run District Council.

So tomorrow we are delivering leaflets in Drayton, with the rest of Taverham due to get leaflets in the next few days.

The fact is though, like anything in life, you can simply do too much of something you enjoy and can start to fall out of love with something that you actually care about deeply. For me politics was so important for so many years, but after nearly 20 years of political campaigning I simply tired of if it and started to hate any involvement in political activities. I never tired of representing local people, but I got fed up with the sniping, the negativity and the constant relentlessness of political campaigning.

Now, however, refreshed and enthusiastic, I have never enjoyed my politics more. There is so much to be done in my ward and in neighboring wards to ensure that people have a voice, and it's like starting in politics all over again.

Lord Dale ?

Is it just me or do I detect a "Pick me ! Pick me !" in THIS posting ?

I know Iain is not one of the options, but I guess if you can't get elected and can't get selected, you could always get appointed ?

The problem is that the Lords loses legitimacy if it is filled with placemen who have failed in their attempts to get in to the House of Commons. Personally, I think the Tories have been crazy not to have selected Iain Dale in one of the many vacancies that have appeared in the wake of the expenses scandal, so perhaps this is a way for him to become a parliamentarian. I think Iain would do a good job and David Cameron could (and almost certainly will) do a lot worse.

Should we be at all surprised ?

So after the budget we are all worse off. Any surprises in that ? I would hope not. The fact is this country's finances are in a mess and more needs to be done about it. The problem we have is that nobody trusts the Labour government to do anything about it and finding anyone who has any real faith in the Tory alternative, George "Gideon" Osborne is like looking for needle in a haystack.

The long and the short of it is that the one person people do trust to tell the truth is Lib Dem shadow chancellor Vince Cable and the only way you will get him in number 11 Downing Street is to vote Lib Dem.

In the meantime, take with a pinch off salt the fake shock from the Tory press that the budget has left people worse off. To deny that the budget would be anything other than one that would make us all poorer in the short term is the very worst kind of politics, but something that the likes of the Daily Mail indulges in every day.

The last reaction I expected at my first full council meeting

I've always viewed it as very important to show respect for people in whatever position they are in, and this is as true for elected representatives as it is for anyone else, whatever party they represent. So I had hoped for the same degree of respect in return when I entered the council chamber on Wednesday night for my first full council meeting. Sadly, this was not entirely the case.

As I walked in I was heckled by one Tory Councillor who then started swearing and ranting at me. Now I know defeat in an election can be difficult to take, but I felt it showed a lack of decency and manners that this councillor could so publicly choose to act in such a way.

I think it is incumbant of all elected representatives to show each other respect and good manners both in the way they deal with issues, but also in the way questions are answered. For all our political differences, the Leader of the Council (Cllr Woodbridge) does this impeccably and also made a point of welcoming me. I have to thank Tory Councillors Mallett, Ward and Carswell for their politeness and warm welcome also.

One issue which seemed very odd from my previous experience on the Lib Dem run North Norfolk District Council was the way the Tories try to cut off debate by moving to go to the vote before all those people who had indicated to speak were given a chance to join the debate. This is something that did not happen in North Norfolk as the ruling Lib Dems would always allow the Tories to have their say. In my view it shows a hollowness to your arguments if you are not prepared to listen and joing in a debate but instead wish to stifle the opposition.

Overall, the meeting did not really discuss much except that the council seems to be adopting eminently sensible plans in the way that kennels, catteries and pet shops are expected to raise and maintain the high standards expected by the law. I actually wanted to make this point to council and give the council a pat on the back for a sensible approach. Sadly, because the Tories wanted to cut the debate short (remember my elections leaflets moaning about the lack of thorough consultation ? - It happens at council too !), I was not allowed to make this point.

Next for me is an official induction and a proper ID card and a new leaflet to my ward. All I need now is be proper PC to be fixed as it packed up on polling day of all days.

First Broadland "Full Council" meeting

It's my first "Full Council" meeting tonight at Broadland and I am rather looking forward to it.

The agenda is not very full and it does not appear to be anything particularly controversial to be discussed, but should anything remotely interesting be said or anything that affects Taverham and Thorpe Marriott be put forward, you can be assured I will write about it and let local residents know.

Council tax income spent in Norfolk in order to fight something the Tories could have killed off in Parliament

Local councils across Norfolk are still up in arms, quite justifiably so, over the government's decision to grant unitary status to Norwich. During the whole process a small fortune has been spent on legal fees and propaganda by councils in Norfolk on both sides of the debate. However, it is the actions of the Tories this week that has come in for much criticism, particularly form the local press in Norfolk in the form of the Eastern Daily Press (EDP) who in a complete about turn for them seem suddenly to hav woken up to the fact that Cameron's Tories are strong on rhetoric, but totally lacking in the courage of their convictions when it comes to making real decisions.

As the EDP headline makes clear, the Tories could have taken action in the House of Lords to deal with the ridiculous decision to grant Norwich Unitary Status, but instead they sat on their hands and put forward a motion with no teeth, no power, and essentially, broke their pledges to "fight the Norwich Unitary bid".

Meanwhile, back in Norfolk, Norfolk County Council are still taking legal action (and no doubt spending a lot of council tax in come as a result) against the Norwich Unitary decision. Now I don't blame Norfolk County Council for doing this, but doesn't it tell us a lot about the Tories nationally that they could have acted in parlaiment to kill this off, but instead they did nothing and let people in Norfolk shell out on legal action thus putting greater pressure on the council tax payer ?

Remember, the invasion of Iraq was NOT about oil

You will remember Tony Blair telling us that the war in Iraq was in no way linked to the fact that Iraq is one of the world's major sources of oil.

Everyone asked the question why it was that a poor impoverished country like Zimbabwe with a despot in charge was being left alone by international forces whilst Iraq faced the wrath of the US and the UK. People wondered back in 2002 and 2003 whether if Zimbabwe had oil, would Mugabe be allowed to get off scot free, but no, Tony Blair said it was definitely NOT about oil.

So we should, I imagine, all be shocked to hear that Tony Blair is now being paid by a foreign oil company with interests in Iraqi oil field. No ? Neither am I.

Are you raising the level of debate Iain ?

Today Iain Dale wrote one of his daily Lib Dem attack stories and sadly (again) totally misses the point.

The story Iain is trying to push is that "Lib Dem MPs are just like the Tories" when it comes to having dodgy MPs. Of course Iain would love this to be true, but with dozens of Tories standing down after expenses allegations involving heli pads, duck houses and numerous other spurious expense claims, Iain somehow wishes to link this to four Lib Dem MPs who took it upon themselves to raise an issue affecting their expenses and claims.

No credit is given by Iain that these Lib Dem MPs reported themselves to the parliamentary ombudsman to see whether their rent arrangements actual conformed to the rules. Likewise, Iain fails to mention that the actual block of flats where these Lib Dems made claims is infact occupied by Tory and Labour MPs who, it appears from the news, have failed to report their circumstances to the parliamentary authorities.

So the question is Iain, why are Tory MPs not being as honest and open as Lib Dem MPs ?

FX - Tumbleweed passes by with the distant sound of a church bell ringing.

Thank you Taverham North and Thorpe Marriott

As many of you will know, I won the Taverham North local council by-election held yesterday by 159 votes.

The result was

Conservative John Griffin 471 - 41%


Green Party Jennifer Parkhouse 54 - 4.5%


Liberal Democrats Nich Starling 630 - 54.5%

I just want to say a massive thank you to all those people who voted for me and all those people who offered kind words verbally, through emails, twitter and on the phone before and since.

People in Taverham North were obviously keen to vote and are enthusiastic about the idea of having a councillor that will be visible and active in the community. This point was made to me more clearly than ever yesterday when person with a lot of local political knowledge asked me outside the polling station "Who is the Tory taking numbers on the door ?". When I explained "That's the other Conservative Councillor for Taverham North", the reply was "But I've never seen him before !" The fact that local people have no idea who their councillor for the last six years is is a shocking indictment of the way Taverham and Thorpe Marriott have been taken for granted for so long.

So what's next ? Lots of local problems to write letters about, lots of issues to get involved with and lots of thank yous to say and write.

More than anything else though, I don't take lightly the responsibility that comes with being a councillor, I've been a councillor before and I know it requires dedication and hard work. Similarly, my pledge to keep residents involved and ruly in touch with what I am doing on the council and the issues I am taking up is one I will definitely be keeping. Residents despair of politicians who turn up one every four years and expect to be re-elected, thats why turnouts keep falling and people have such little trust in politics.

So local people can expect to hear from me regularly whilst I am representing them and I can promise too that whilst being a Lib Dem, my first priority is and will remain Taverham North.

So again, thank you everyone.

It's polling day

Polling day in the Taverham North and Thorpe Marriott by-election is today !

If you want a truly local candidate who actually lives within the ward, then vote for me today.

The polling station is Hinks Meadow Community Centre, Kingswood Avenue, Thorpe Marriott, Taverham.

Polls open from 7am to 10pm.

Campaign almost over

Well its now reached that time that almost every political campaigner enjoys, the preparation has been done, there is nothing more that can be done to persuade voters or issues to campaign about, and it's all down to how many people get out to vote tomorrow.

I have to say I have really enjoyed the campaign. I've met a lot of people, got to know neighbours and people who live in my area so much better and feel that whatever the result, I have benefitted from the campaign in so many ways.

More than anything else though, I am convinced that my area is better off because of this election campaign happening. For too long issues that affect us here have been ignored. Our roads in Thorpe Marriott are a mess, grit bins are empty or broken, decisions are made about gritting roads, streetlight and the NDR, and local people are kept in the dark by our Tory councillors who fail to turn up to meetings or who fail to deliver any leaflets telling voters who they are or what they are doing except at election time.

People in Taverham North and Thorpe Marriott have woken up to the things that are happening locally and they will know, whatever the outcome of the election, that the Tories must continue to be pressed on their decision making.

There will be plenty of oportunities to reflect back on the campaign but I feel we could not do any more and win or lose, I can say that I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. To any local voters looking in at this blog, thank you for taking the time to visit and please use your vote tomorrow at Hinks Meadow Community Centre, Kingswood Avenue, Thorpe Marriott from 7am to 10pm.

Surprise surprise ! The BNP's new anti racists views are still racist

I suppose we all ought to be surprised and shocked to find out that the BNPs new non racists non discriminatory rules are actually still racist.

It doesn't matter how many times the BNP deny it, the very point of the BNP is that they are a racist party, that is the reason for their being and the reason for their support. Trying to deny it is like claiming that Manchester United are not a football team.

Former leader of Euro Conservative joins the Lib Dems

The former leader of the Conservative MEPs in Europe has joined the Lib Dems.

Edward McMillan-Scott fell out with the Conservative Party when he dared to oppose David Cameron's plans to form a new European alliance with a rag tag bunch of nationalists, racists and homophobes.

Mr McMillan-Scott highlights the very real concerns that many have about David Cameron in that he should be judged by the company he keeps and his actions more than his platitudes and talk show appearances.

More information on the defection  HERE.

A hole in the ground and a very big lorry

After I reported a number of potholes in Taverham and Thorpe Marriott in recent weeks, Norfolk County Council finally came along to fill in some of the pot holes. Good news ?

Well, not quite.

What is odd is that holes that I specifically reported have been filled, but my online reporting mentioned "numerous other holes" in the vicinity of the main holes. So what have Norfolk County Council done ? They have filled the biggest holes, but sometimes holes just a few feet away have been left.

Isn't it utterly ridiculous that a team of men come out in a very large lorry to fix one hole but then through procedures and paperwork from the Council they seem to be unable to fill in other holes whilst they are there !

Tesco getting their just desserts in Sheringham

For almost as long as I have been involved in Norfolk politics, Tesco have been trying to bully, buy, threaten and harrass their way in to the town of Sheringham. After numerous failed applications, constant "tweaking" by Tesco so as to constantly resubmit plans and wear North Norfolk's planning department down, the planning committee held their nerve and opposed Tesco's latest plans whislt accepting a rival plan from Waitrose. All I can say is good.

I have been at planning meetinga when Tesco have been there. Their arrogance is shocking. They make sweeping statements, rubbish valid data, sometimes choose choice data from those sources that they choose to rubbish at other meetings, and whilst doing this they constantly like to bandy round threats of legal action, whilst letting it be known they have the most expensive lawyers and can "break" councils.

To Tesco it appears that local planning rules and locally elected officials are secondary to their aims.

So I say well done to North Norfolk District Council for having the nerve to ignore threats and provide a new shopping experience through Waitrose which will support local businesses thus avoiding the inevitable and well recognised Tesco methods of driving local indepdent butchers, bakers, greengrocers out of business before raising prices.

Idiot commentary over PMQs

I got to hear PMQs on the radio yesterday as I was travelling to go on a PE course at lunchtime. What struck me was how much the listener missed because of the patronising and self indulgent commentary of the BBC presenter talking over the top of it.

Rather than hearing the debate we got a constant interruption from a BBC man who explained that "Asking a question there about Lord Ashcroft" and "Jack Dromey is blah, blah blah" or "By William he means William Hague when he was Conservative Leader" or sometimes just waffle that could be said quickly in four words but was instead turned in to a 20 word sentence.

Why not treat the listener with some intelligence ? What not explain the subtle nuances after the debate has ended ? Why not just let is listen ?

Prime Ministerial Debates will be good for democracy

It is good news for the electors and for democracy that Prime Ministerial debates have been agreed between the Lib Dems, Labour and the Conservatives with the BBC, Sky and ITV. However, I fail to understand why the SNP cannot accept why they will not be taking part.

The SNP is not standing throughout the whole of the UK and their leader could never be Prime Minister. So for them to moan about not being involved is just plain stupid.

I wrote a few months ago how the Cornish Nationalists could similarly moan about being excluded from the Prime Ministerial debates if they wanted to be childish, but unlike the SNP, the Cornish Nationalists seem to have a more mature attitude.

Tories and Labour squabbling like children in the playground - "But he's doing it too !"

When I am dealing with a disagreement between children, when it is clear they are both in the wrong and both behaving in a way that is not acceptable, I let them know that the argument "I'm doing it because he is doing it" or "But he's doing it too", are simply not good enough reasons for doing something.

If it is wrong then it is wrong, whoever is doing it. So whilst I agree with Iain Dale that the Labour Party are showing stunning hypocrisy in criticising Lord Ashcroft's tax status, it is actually no defence for the Tory Party to say that they are doing it because Labour are doing it.

That was the argument many MPs made in making false expenses claims. It didn't wash then and it doesn't wash now.

There is, however, another subtly difference between labour and Tory tax dodgers making donations. The Labour people do not have a hand in the political strategy of the party. They make donations, but do not seek influence within Labour. Compare this to Lord Ashcroft who plays a major role in the Tories target seat strategy. This is a point the Tories choose to ignore when making comparisons.

Rackheath Eco Town and Flooding

There has been much discussion locally about the Eco Town project supported by the Labour government government and local Tory councils in Norfolk, in the face of much local opposition.

One of the main arguments against the project has been based on the concerns about flooding and the problems arising from laying tarmac over scores of acres of agricultural land. I have to say today, from my own experiences of getting to and from Rackheath in terrible rain, that these concerns are very real.

The roads around Rackheath were terrible, with some roads completely under water and other becoming rather dangerous with the edge of the road not cleardue to the depth of the water.

I can only imagine how much worse this will be if all the water that was going on to the fields was allowed to "run off" after new roads, paths and driveways are put in when 4000 houses are built.

How about turning lights off during the day ?

Norfolk Tories want to turn off most street lights at night, in a move which has angered lots of people across Norfolk. Yet whilst door knocking today I was pointed in the direction of a street light that never ever turns off, indeed, according to one residents, it may have been on for several years.

This light has been reported on a number of occasions, but nothing has been done by The Tory run County Council.

Isn't it crazy that they want to turn off lights at night in the face of much local opposition, but they are happy to let street lights stay on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. And as was pointed out in a letter to the EDP yesterday, this is the same County Council who keep their own staff car park lit all night, every night.

Is it any wonder that people despair of politicians ?

When canvassing today in Taverham, I was surprised to hear from local residents that they had been canvassed by the Conservatives who were claiming to oppose a three quarters NDR "Road to nowhere".

The odd thing is I was at a Council meeting on Thursday night when the Tories voted through a new Distrct plan which supported the building of a three quarters Northern Distributor Road (NDR), without making finishing the final link to complete the road.

Is it any wonder that people can despair of politicians when they do one thing at a meeting on a Thursday night yet less than two days later on the Saturday morning they are totally denying that they voted the opposite way.

To be clear, only the Lib Dems have consistently campaigned for a complete Northern Bypass (not NDR) and if this is not possible, the Lib Dems think there should not be an NDR at all. All or nothing because anything else simply sells Taverham and Drayton short.

The fact is the Tories have, for too long, made decisions that impact and affect our area with little consideration for local residents and with a brazen lack of accountability. When we highlight their policies, they try to deny them. Let's hope the electorate send them a message about their duplicity on March 18th.

What the Tories offer Broadland

At last night's meeting at Broadland District Council to vote on the new development plan for Broadland, the council's attitude towards the NDR and the future of the eco town in Rackheath, amazingly more than one third of the Conservative councillors failed to turn up. Does an empty seat vote ?

Despite Tory councillors at the meeting telling us how important the document was that was being voted on, despite being lectured about the vital blueprint this will give Broadland for the next decade, 12 Tories failed to turn up.

If this is the way the Conservatives treat an "important" decision, you have to ask why so few turned up. The people of Broadland deserve more than an empty chair.

As for the plan itself, it was picked apart in great detail by several members of the public and by Lib Dem councillors. Despite this, the Tories argument was simply "If we don't vote this plan through we will have no plan", simply failed to address the issue that they could have promoed a better plan in the first place.

If you want an example of why the plan is flawed it can be given by the represetative of Ringland Parish Council and also the letter sent in by Felthrpe Parish. Both these villages would be badly hit by any plans for a part NDR "road to nowhere" (indeed this was highlighted by the County Council traffic projections), but both villages was classed for the purposes of the report as "non villages", meaning the way they were consulted and their ability to take new developments was not considered alongside other villages. If two villages who want some development were ignored in order for Broadland Tories to justify their need for 4000 new homes in Rackheath, how much of the report can we believe ?

Broadland Council Meeting Tonight - The Eco town and its effect on Taverham

I shall be attending my second Broadland Council meeting in two weeks tonight as an ordinary member of the public (which is ironically the same number of meetings that the former Conservative councillor for Taverham North managed in a whole year) when they discuss the Rackheath "Eco" town tonight.


The whole concept of the Edo Town is flawed on many different levels. Firstly, the standard of ecofriendliness required for building the houses is a lower standard than those standards expect of all new homes by 2016, and by 2016 none of the new houses will be built. So in effect the government has dumped 4000 new homes on prime farmland which will not be built to a higher standard than any other house in Norfolk or the UK.


Then there is the wider issue of the problems this eco town will have on neighbouring villages and those further afield.


Rackheath is to be on the NDR (Northern Distributor Road), which was first mooted as a bypass, but now falls well short of that and will stop at Norwich Airport, leaving Drayton, Taverham, Thorpe Marriott, Costessey and Ringland as the favoured alternative routes to get to the Southern bypass. The proposal to build 4000 extra homes (and further business developments) on this land means thousands of extra vehicle movements which will inevitably affect this part of the world too.


As it is, the Tory Council voted last week to hand executive powers to the Tory controlled cabinet at Broadland to allow them to make decisions affecting the eco town with little or no reference back to the whole council and opposition councillors, effectively writing a blank cheque to do as they please.


With people from the SNUB (Stop Norwich UrBanisation) group who oppose the eco town attending tonight's meeting it may put pressure on the Tories who are seemingly unable to see any problems with the eco town or the NDR.


I will report back on the meeting.

Why does it take an imminent General Election for something like this to happen ?

Is it any wonder that people so distrust central government and the whole circus of Westminster politics when decisions that seem obvious to everyone else suddenly happen with a General Election just weeks away.

The government today announced that the early release of prisoners would cease in the next few weeks, many would argue this is a cynical policy just to appeal to voters in time for the general election campaign.

No wonder so many people have lost patience with this government.

Taverham Community Cafe - What a great idea !

When out delivering leaflet yesterday I was starting to feel a combination of the cold, fatigue (I am approaching the age of 40) and a lack of sugar, so I was pleased to see the sign saying the community Cafe was pen at Hinks Meadow.

My wonderful next door neighbours (the sort of neighbours who you would pay to live next door to) help there, and at the cafe they do the usual tea, coffee and biscuits, but they also sell the most wonderful homemade cakes. So having sat down, got my breath, and bought a large bag full of cakes to take home to my wife and son, I was left to reflect on what  great idea the community cafe is.

The cafe is run by St Edmunds church, they run it every morning on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, they put on art activities, things for parents and young children, and basically do a great job of getting people in the community together.

It's one of the great things about Taverham and Thorpe Marriott that there is such a vibrant community of clubs, societies and voluntary groups who provide so many activities for people to get together.

In short, if you are at a loose end and want something to do or need a bit of a chat on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, I would heartily recommend the community cafe at Hinks Meadow.

The EDP and my name

As a friend of mine texted me this evening "Why can't Archant (publishers of the EDP) get your name right ?"

Yes, it might seem odd to some people for me to shorten my name to Nich with an "h", but I've never seen the point in shortening my name and then adding a letter "k" that isn't part of my name.

You'd imagine that after all the letters I have had printed in the EDP over the years, all time they reported on things I was doing when on North Norfolk District Council, they'd be able to get my name right by now.

I am standing for election !

Some people may have picked up on this already, but I am the official Liberal Democrat candidate in the Taverham North Ward by-election to be held on 18th March 2010.

Many people will know that I used to be a District Councillor in North Norfolk and I have taken what has been something of a break from front line politics for nearly three years. This has allowed me to properly recharge my batteries as well as spend more time with my family.

I was approached by the Lib Dems a couple of weeks ago, apparently more in hope than expectation, but given that I have never received anything outside of election times from any of the Tories Councillors who are supposed to represent me, and there are so many important issue affecting this area, I really felt it was time to make a political comeback because actually what this area needs is a strong and visible voice to represent them.

If one good thing can come of this election it will be that whoever wins is truly committed to this area. The previous councillor had, according to Broadland District Council's records, attended 37% of full council meetings and last attended a meeting last July.

So this afternoon, I start my first canvassing session since 2006. Wish me luck !

Being recognised

I went to get some petrol today in Taverham, and as I was sorting out my PIN number when paying, the chap behind the counter said "You still teaching then ?" Now most teacher will know that feeling when an ex pupil from many years ago recognises you but you cannot remember them. The odd thing was that this chap had been in a class I had only taught for one lesson a week ten years ago.

Now I do have a peculiarly good memory for names and events and I could recall his class and many people he knew. Although old classes tend to blur together, it was my first teaching job so I do remember a lot from my time at Drayton Middle School. The fact that it is such a good school and was such an enjoyable place to work was one of the reasons for me moving back to this part of the world. It is the sort of school I'd like my son to go to one day.

One nice thing was that according to the ex pupil in the garage I have not changed. That made me feel a little better as I found another grey hair when I glanced in the mirror earlier.

Grit Bins in Taverham

Given that Norfolk County Council are threatening to stop gritting roads where I live in Thorpe Marriott (Taverham), you would imagine that they would do everything they can to at least make sure that local grit bins are full of grit so that locals can use them.

Well imagine our surprise the the other day when looking at the state of some of the damaged and empty grit bins in our area with our excellent PPC Dan Roper, we opened one bin and found it absolutely full, not of grit, but with dirty water.

Only Norfolk Conservatives, who run Norfolk County Council, could think that is is sensible to stop gritting bus routes and provide us with grit bins that contain no grit, only dirty water. 

Journalist thrown out of BNP meeting for "telling lies" - Oh the hypocrisy !

You can't help but marvel at the irony and hypocrisy of the BNP throwing a journalist out of their recent meeting because, they claim, he told lies about them.

I wonder if every person had been judged by the same rules whether the BNP leader Nick Griffin could put his hands up and say he has never told a lie ?  I think we all know the answer to that question.

Gordon Brown after Piers Morgan - I like him more, but I couldn't vote for him

I can see why Labour's spin doctors encouraged Gordon Brown to be interviewed by his friend Piers Morgan after watching the interview this evening. I found the show quite entertaining and I am sure it will make a few people like him a little more (or hate him a little less). The problem for Labour spin doctors is that it's more complicated than that.

People are turned off voting for Labour not simply because of Gordon Brown. There are dozens of other facts, not the least of which was the Labour Party's support for the war in Iraq, the underfunding of our effort in Afghanistan, the state of the economy, the way that our legal system seems to side with the criminal and not with victims, the failure of the NHS to provide life saving drugs for cancer patients and a growing sense that this government has done little to reform parliament and British politics in general.

So whilst lots of people might think better of Gordon Brown, let's not forget what happened to the Tories in 1997. John Major was identified as an electoral asset. People didn't like the Tory party but they liked John Major. Did it make people vote for John Major ? Of course not.

I cannot in any way think tonight's show will have in any way harmed Gordon Brown, despite some rather desperate and often deeply unpleasant comments I read from well known Tory bloggers on Twitter, but I don't for one moment think this it is going to make people have a sudden enthusiasm for the Labour Party.

Is it time for Norfolk County Council to change their road contractors ?

Less than a year ago a mini roundabout was completely resurfaced near where I live. This was several days work, caused a lot of disruption, but was accepted by local people in Thorpe Marrott as necessary in order to prevent the roundabout deteriorating.

So what's the problem ? It already has a pothole ! Now I understand how pot holes happen. The BBC gave a helpful if slightly patronising explanation half way down THIS story, but for this to happen on a newly resurfaced and rebuilt piece of road smacks of some very bad workmanship. I have reported the pothole, but given that previous potholes reported weeks ago have not been fixed, their pledge to do the work within seven days seems innaccurate.

This wouldn't be so bad if it were a one off, but last year I tore my tyre very badly on a pothole on a newly resurfaced and rebult piece of road between Drayton and Costessey when my tyre tore of a lothole almost a yard in length. Of course, Norfolk County Council said they were not liable because they had not been previously notified of the fault. My question to them at the time was why on earth was their such sever damage to a new piece of road that had only been re-opened a month earlier ?

Given that it appears to be a running theme of work done by Norfolk County Council or their contractors, are Norfolk County Council really spending our money wisely ?

Norfolk calling Met Office. Norfolk calling Met Office

I've just seen the weather forecast live on BBC1. They make absolutely no mention of snow over Norfolk this morning. In fact, they state we will have some sleet and snow later this afternoon.

The BBC website shows the weather forecast as being like this

So my problem ? It's been snowing here for an hour and there seems little chance of respite.

Yet, again, and I tire of saying this about the Met Office, if they are unable to accurately tell us what the weather is like now, then why should we be at all surprised that they are unable to predict the weather ?

Greek economic mess highlights everything that is wrong with Europe

Lets manke one thing clear, I am not a great fan of the EU, the way it works, its institutions, its parliament or most of its policies. Like communism, the idea of the EU makes a lot of sense, but just like Communism, in practise it simply does not stand up to scrutiny.

The EU is a club whereby members are expected to follow rules, show honesty and respect for each other and work for the greater good. the problem is, it fails on all these counts.

Take Greece and her financial travails today. Each country that joined the Euro was supposed to sign up to a stability pact. It means that each country had to follow strict financial rules. The fact is that Greece never ever met the criteria, but because the rest of the EU wanted as many countries as possible to be in the Euro, the EU bent the rules, in effect tore up the rules book in order to shoe horn Greece in.

Is it any wonder that a few years later we find that the Greek national accounts are a fabrication with billions of Euros unaccounted for as the Greeks simply borrowed more and more money in order to avoid the obvious need to make cuts. The Greeks knew that they were not going to be forced to trim spending because the  EU knew that the Greeks never had the financial stabilty to be in the Euro.Let's not just blame the Greeks though. Germany, the authors of the stability pact also broke the rules, not as badly as the Greeks, but they did all the same.

So what does this tell us ? Essenially it says that the foundations on which the EU is built are works of fiction.

It'd not just the Euro though. The problems with countries across the EU is that they all break EU rules, and are allowed to get away with it.

Do you remember the French banning British beef ? They were supposedly being fined every day that they persisted in banning British beef. And what happened when several years later than the rest of the EU the French lifted the ban ? The EU let the French off ! What is the point of rules, fines and agreements if the EU ignores it respinsibility to other nations.

In truth almost everyone knows that the EU does not really work. If it disappeared tomorrow, nobody would really notice. The old story that the EU has kept European nations from fighting wars against each other is ridiculous. There are so many things that link European nations, most notably mutual trade, that claiming that without the EU we would have had a war devalues and belittles the fact that European countries have matured and grown up.

So what of Greece ? What of Europe ? In the short term, it appears the Euro will lose value and so holidays to Europe will be cheaper this year. That's at least some good news for us in the UK.

Norfolk County Council to stop gritting side roads ?

According to BBC Look East this evening, Conservative run Norfolk County Council are giving serious consideration to stopping the gritting of all side roads, with just main roads to be gritted in future. This will effectively cut off large parts of Norfolk, with roads becoming impossible to drive on and people being left unable to get off side roads on to main roads.

Where I live in Thorpe Marriott is not the flattest part of Norfolk. Marriotts way runs through the middle of Thorpe Marriott and and this whole valley will become a no go zone for buses and cars, meaning that Thorpe Marriott will be split in half because the ungritted hill will not be manageable without regular gritting. There are many other parts of Norfolk too that will suffer if Norfolk Tories have their way.

Norfolk County Council complain that some of the grit orders have been commandeered by other councils. I would ask simply why it is that Norfolk waits until January or February to order its salt and grit, presumably at sky high prices when there is peak demand, when they could have order received the grit in the summer when prices would be cheaper and delivery would be guaranteed.

Broadland saved, but Norwich to go Unitary

After a leak last week giving away the government's position on the proposals for unitary councils in Norfolk, the government today officially announced that Norwich City Council is to be turned in to a unitary authority, with no change for the rest of Norfolk. Whilst this is in many ways a good thing, particularly as we retain our local councils and will not be swallowed up by some "super council" as was first proposed, there are some consequenes for all of us, even those living outside of Norwich.

In giving Norwich Unitary status, and its schools becoming separate from Norfolk Schools, there will now need to be some duplication of resources, and many of the economies of scale which Norfolk Education Authority has will be gone as 20% of the schools budget was spent in Norwich. Teacher training centres, managers, and a whole host of other expenses will now be split amongst the remaining 80% of the county. inevitably this will put up costs for all of us.

Then there are the issues to do with children in Broadland going to Norwich schools. Many children in Broadland go to schools in Norwich like The Open Academy, Sewell Park College, Hewett, and others, and these schools will now be in a different education authority. This will cause all sorts of problems too in social services, bit this is all stuff the government know and chose to ignore.

The ironic thing is about the whole process is that the re-organisation of local government was supposed to cut costs, not increase them. According to the government's own rules, Norwich going unitary could not pass the threshold for making savings and it therefore should have been turned down. So the Labour government have managed to botch one of their final ever decisions. No change there then , they've botched up a lot since 1997 !

Why are Tory councils paying fat cat wages to so many people ?

A few months ago it was widely reported that Tory run Suffolk County Council was offering a salary greater than that earned by the Prime Minsiter in order to recruit a new chief executive. Indeed they were offering their new chief executive £70,000 more than her predecessor !

Today, I read that Hertfordshire Council, another Tory Council, has more than double the number of top earners and increased the amount the council spends on top earners salaries from £5.5 million to £13.5 million in just four years !

The truth is, if you want a lower council tax, don't let the Tories run your lcoal council.

How can we trust Labour to make laws when the break them so easily ?

The Labour Party has had an enforcement notice served on it after using obtrusive autodialer phone systems to make unsolicited calls to voters using a Coronation Street actress as the computerised voice.

The Labour party used the autodialer again in the 2009 Euro elections after already being told to stop using the system after the 2007 local elections.

In a statement the Labour Party said "it would examine the ruling and always tried to meet guidelines."

It does make you question the intelligence and morals of the Labour Party that there are two possible reasons for their failure to comply with the original legal ruling.

Either ;

1) They do not seem to be able to understand a ruling the expressly forbids them to use the autodialler system.

or

2) They deliberately and cynically chose to break the law.

If we can't trust Labour to follow laws, how can we trust them to make laws ?

Cameron's speech - Seeing through the spin

David Cameron spoke today in an attempt to blame Gordon Brown for the expenses scandal. The press seem to have allowed Cameron to be quoted, but not put any of his quotes in context.

Cameron said

"Last week we had the latest revelations from Parliament. The details might be new but the feelings they provoke are all too familiar. Disappointment. Despair. Even disgust. But as I argued in my speech at the Open University in May last year, anger at the expenses scandal is just the most forceful expression of a deep frustration people feel with our whole political system."

Indeed David Cameron might have said this, but the last time expense reform went before the house of Commons it was blocked with the great help of 21 Conservatives MPs, many of whom are members of David Cameron's front bench. If he really felt that strongly about reform, should these parliamentary expense reform "blockers" really be in his shadow cabinet ?

"It’s a system in which too much power is concentrated in the hands of the elite and denied to the man and woman on the street. We’ve been seeing the symptoms of that for years. Decisions made behind closed doors. The Houses of Parliament bypassed and undermined."

The ironic thing is, as Michael Brown, the respected journalist and former Tory MP said on Newsnight tonight, David Cameron has been the most controlling centralising leader the Conservative Party has had. He has introduced systems in to the Tory party that have manipulated who gets selected for safe Tory seats, and his words do not match his actions. and that leads us on to ...

"Money buying influence. Too often just an elite few choosing the people who become MPs for many years. We can’t go on like this."

Don't mention Lord Ashcroft to Mr Cameron. A multi millionaire who over nine years after receiving a Tory peerage, has yet to confirm if he pays full UK tax. Money, it seems clearly to me, can buy influence within the Tory Party.

"We’re just weeks away from an election. This should be the highest point in our democratic life – but never has the reputation of politics sunk so low. We’ve got to fix our broken politics and we’ve got to start fixing it now. The question is: who’s going to do it, and how are they going to do it?"

And one wonders why Mr Cameron when you make such a duplicitous speech, decrying the Labour Party but then replicating and in many cases doing exactly the same things within your own party.

"We are a new generation, come of age in the modern world of openness and accountability. And when we say we will take power from the political elite and give it to the man and woman in the street - it's not just because we believe it will help fix broken politics. It's what we believe, full stop.

We don't believe that an arrogant, all-controlling government sitting in London passing endless laws and regulations actually makes things better. In fact, on many occasions it makes things worse."

But again Mr Cameron, this does not equate or add up with your own party policies announced this week. Only yesterday the Tories were announcing plans to remove powers from local government to scrutinise and make planning decisions on new schools. Instead of locally elected local councillors making these decisions, and being locally accountable for them, the Tories propose that a minister in Westminster would make the decision. This flies in the face of your comments in your speech.

"As well as cleaning up Parliament, we’ve got to empower it. There was a time when Parliament used to stand tall, a beacon of democracy leading national debate. But people look at it now and see a place they feel little connection to, play little part in, and don’t feel proud to represent them. It all adds up to a weak Parliament – and we’ve got to get its strength back.

That must start by making people feel connected to it. They don’t right now, because they don’t feel connected to the politicians in it. To restore that link we need to restore proper accountability – we need to give people the feeling that they are the ones pulling the strings and that they hire and fire their representative in parliament."

The best way to get people to engage with politics would be to get rid of safe seats, have a system of fair votes and ensure that people's votes actually count. Of course, it is only the Conservative Party that actually opposes these plans. Hypocrisy ?

"And one of the biggest constitutional changes in our history - our membership of the European Union - has practically passed Parliament by. We are hopeless, totally hopeless, at scrutinising the European legislation, regulation and spending that affects our country."

Indeed Mr Cameron, we have given away lots of powers to the EU. too many in my opinion (as a Euro sceptical Lib Dem). But the biggest give aways in recent years were the Single European Act (signed by Mrs Thatcher without any referendum) and the Maastricht Treaty, signed by John Major without a referendum. We really should take no lessons on the EU from the Tory Party.

Alistair Campbell Breaks Down on Andrew Marr show

There was a uite astonishing moment on TV earlier.
Andrew Marr has Alistair Campbell on his show, with Campbell promoting a fictional book he has written. But under questioning from Marr about the Iraq War, and Andrew Marr making a somewhat flippant but completely understandable comment equating his fictitious book with the dodgy dossier, Alistair Campbell paused, tears welled up in his eyes, and I though he was going to sob.

Now I don't want to be seen in any way as criticising him for being emotional, indeed it shows a very human side to Mr Campbell, but for Mr Campbell to keep insisting that it is unfair for people to criticise the war in Iraq and get upset about being asked questions about it leads me to two conclusions.

Firstly, try not to start any news wars.

Secondly, if you don't like being questioned about Iraq, don't try to seek publicity for your book during the Iraq enquiry when you are bound to be asked questions about Iraq.

Accused MPs to get "Golden Payoffs"

Ludicrous as it may seem, the three Labour MPs who face criminal charges over their expense claims, are entitled to "Golden Payoffs" when standing down from parlimanent this year.

These payments which could total £65,000 are paid to MPs, depending on the length of their service, when standing down at an election, but since Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine will not have gone to court, there are no powers to stop them getting the money.

It does seem absolultey ridiculous that MPs get so many benefits when so many hard working honest people are losing their jobs with minimal payments.

Why don't the Conservatives trust local democracy ?

According to reports today, the Conservatives, if elected to power this year, would stop local councils having the right to make planning decisions about new schools, with this power being taken by central government and a minister in London making decisions instead of locally elected councillors.

This harks back to the days of Thatcher when powers were routinely taken from councils and centralised in Westminster.

Whilst local councils might not always make the decisions that the government wants, local councillors are much more accountable than a Tory minister in London who may have a safe seat in a different part of the country and is therefore wholly unaccountable for the decisions he might be making about schools. Why should an MP for Surrey East be allowed to make planning decisions about things in Norwich ? This should be left to Norwich Councillors because at least the electorate have the ability to get rid of those councilors if they don't like the decisions they make.

Why does Cameron stand by someone accused of using figures "likely to mislead he public"

It is unsurprising that the Tory press and media have tried not to mention Chris Graylings rather disturbing misuse of statistics in order to make a political attack on the government.

This government is poor enough to be criticised on its real record. Quite why Chris Grayling has to go to such lengths to make inconsistent comparisons between data is really poor, highlights his unsuitablility for high office and must make people question why it is that David Cameron is standing by him.

Are front bench spokesmen for the Tories encouraged to lie ?

Anyway, the Independent has a full listing of Grayling's gaffes for people to check out.

Update Although it is a shame that the Independent do not know that the headline "Lies damn (sic) Lies and Tory statistics" should really read "damn(ed)", from the Mark Twain/Benjamin Disraeli quote. I recall the Labour Party using the incorrect quote in a leaflet they put out to slag of the Lib Dems in 1997 saying our bar chart statistics were wrong. Actually they turned out to be only one half of one percent out from the final result.

Which Norfolk MPs will have to repay the taxpayer their expenses ?

The list of those MPs who have to repay expenses was published yesterday (Thursday), and it brought good news for some MPs, but not for others.

Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb has nothing to repay, having made no false claims, and he is joined by Richard Bacon (Tory MP for South Norfolk), Henry Bellingham (Tory MP for NW Norfolk), and Tony Wright (Labour MP for Great Yarmouth). Charles Clarke (Labour MP for Norwich South) won an appeal so will not now be asked for a repayment of any monies after initially being told to repay £743.

Those MPs investigated who have money to repay include Ian Gibson (who already stood down as MP for Norwich North), Christopher Fraser (Tory MP for SW Norfolk) and would be MP for my part of the world, Keith Simpson (Conservative MP for Mid Norfolk and Tory candidate for Broadland).

One now only wonders what the voters will make of these MPs. No doubt those MPs who ahve done nothing wrong will also have to put up with voter derision despite their innocence. Voters have every right to be angry, but lets aim our anger at the right targets.

A Unitary Norwich plus Norfolk to keep its District Councils ? - Let's hope it is true

The EDP reports that government minister John Denham, who has responsibility for making the decision about the bids for unitary status in Norfolk, may decide to keep the present council system, but allow Norwich City Council to become a Unitary Authority on its existing boundaries.

Firstly, can I say how pleased I am if this is the decision. Not because I particularly want to change education authorities (as I work in Norwich), but because I have long been an advocate of keeping the existing district councils which are more in touch and often more relevent to local people in our village and small town communities across Norfolk.

When I was a North Norfolk District Councillor I was applauded loudly by the Tory Councillors for my passionate speech in defence of District Councils and in opposition of plans by Norwich City council to take over vast areas of Broadland District Council, leaving the rest of Broadland to be scattered amongst neighbouring authorities. The Tory who was due to speak after me merely stated "I agree 100% with councillor Starling and have nothing else to add". Indeed my position and arguments against the unitary authority demands made by the Labour run Norwich City Council was praised by a local Tory Parliamentary candidate in comments sent to this blog.

We are not to know yet whether the rumours are true, but I know that people here in Taverham have no wish to be taken over by Norwich City Council. I am sure that people in the West of the County in places like Clenchwarton (where I lived as a child) and those in Diss, Bacton and Gorleston, all feared that their local councils with local offices would be abolished in favour of a remote Norfolk County Council based in Norwich.

An announcement is expected next week. Fingers crossed that we stay here in Taverham as part of Broadland District Council (despite the rather odd decisions and money wasted by the Tories locally). Given the was the Tories have mismanaged the County Council, being taken over by that body would have been an unmitigated disaster !

The lights go out in Taverham (and Norfolk)

Are your streetlights going off in Taverham ? If Norfolk County Council have their way then 665 streetlights in Taverham (where I live) will be turned off from midnight each night.

What amazes me in this is that there are so many more options that Tory run Norfolk County Council have failed to consider but so little consultation with parishes and local people.

1) Why not turn them off from 2am ? People are still returning from pubs, friends, etc at midnight, so why the arbitrary 12pm turn off ?

2) Why not turn every other light off ? It would still cut costs but would provide at least a limited amount of light for pedestrians and make people feel safer.

3) Why are they turning lights off near pedestrian crossings ? I know that in parts of Norwich and in nearby Horsford they are planning to do this, so what is the logic in this ?


If you want to know if your lights are going to be turned off, check out the list of roads in Taverham below.


ACRES WAY, ALDER WAY, ARGYLL CRESCENT, ASHGROVE, BADGERS BROOK ROAD , BARBERRY CLOSE , BARDOLPHS COURT, BECKS FUR, BELL CLOSE , BILL TODD WAY, BISHOP RISE, BRAMBLE CLOSE, BROADGATE , BROOM CLOSE, BUCKTHORN CLOSE , CAMERON GREEN, CASTLE RISE,COLEMAN CLOSE,COOPERS CLOSE, COWDEWELL, CRICKET CLOSE, FIRETHORN CLOSE, FOREGATE CLOSE, FOXWOOD CLOSE, FREELAND CLOSE,FRESHWATER WAY, GANNERS HILL, GARDYN CROFT, GRACE EDWARDS CLOSE, HAREWOOD DRIVE, HARROLD CLOSE, HAVERSCROFT CLOSE, HAZEL CLOSE, HEDGEMERE, HINKS CLOSE, ISBETS DALE, JORDAN CLOSE, JUDGES GARDENS, JUNIPER WAY, KINGSWOOD AVENUE, KINGSWOOD COURT, LIMETREE COURT, MANOR CHASE, MAPLE DRIVE, MARLAND ROAD, MARRIOTT CHASE, MELTON DRIVE, MOKYLL CROFT, MONT CROSS, MULBERRY COURT, NABER FURLONG, NORGATE WAY, NUTWOOD CLOSE, OAKLANDS, OLD WARREN, PEAKWELL CLOSE, PEDDARS WAY, PRIORSWOOD, PYEHURN MEWS, RADCLIFFE ROAD, RIVERDENE MEWS, ROOK DRIVE, SEAFORTH DRIVE, SEGO VALE, SHAKESPEARE WAY, SHEPHERD WAY, SHILLGATE WAY , SNOWBERRY CLOSE, SPRINGWOOD, STEEPLE CHASE, SUTERS DRIVE, SYLVAN WAY , THE CAINS, THE COVEY, THE DROVE, THE FALLOWS, THE MOORS, THE SEATES, THE SHIRES, THE THICKET, TRIMMING WALK, UPHALLE, WALNUT CLOSE , WALSINGHAM DRIVE , WENSUM WALK, WHEATFIELDS, WINNERS WALK, WITHY WAY, WOODLANDS , WYLDE CROFT

Has the official list of Tory "Spin" Blogs been revealed ?

Liberal Conspiracy has a list of all those Tory blogs who will, if the Tory Party has its way,be offering less in the way of objectivity and more in the way of Tory "spin" during the forthcoming general election campaign.

I myself was a regular poster on events during the Norwich North by-election, but at no point did the Lib Dems ask me to post a story on their behalf, rebut a story or become part of any online campaign.

I guess those Tory bloggers identified need to question why they blog. I am sure some of them would have no truck with being organs of the Tory Party's spin machine if the story reported by Liberal Conspiracy is true. But if they blog to offer their opinions and views on politics and the world, one would wonder why any of them would be told what to print.

If they anyone were to turn their blog in to the official spin machine of the party they support they might just put a link straight through to their official party website and cut out the blogging completely. And thris aplies to every party.

Update 22.02 - Comments to me suggest that the story and the list may not be correct. If that is the case I would genuinely be pleased as many of those Tory blogs are amongst my daily reads.

Short changed

Clare Short's testimony today to the Iraq inquiry drew applause from the onlookers, but to my mind and In know that of many others, hearing Ms Short justifying her support of Mr Blair and her mistakes in doing so only served to highlight what a fool she was and remains. But more than that, it really does make you wish that Robin Cook, the one cabinet member who did resign over Iraq, was still alive to given evidence.

Clearly Robin Cook was cleverer that Ms Short because she failed to see what the rest of us and he could see, and that was the plain fact that the war was wrong. Ms Short's excuse that she supported the war because the Attorney General said it was legal simply does not stack up with her criticism of Blair today. She complained that he made decisions and expected them to be rubber stamped. The problem was, she was one of those people doing the rubber stamping. Had she followed Robin Cook out of the cabinet, it would have increased the pressure on Blair and perhaps encouraged more ministers to speak up, develop a back bone or grow a pair !

Sadly, we'll never know what difference Ms Short having some common sense in March 2003 might have had on the government. What we do know now is that she wants to blame Blair without, in my opinion, taking any real blame on her own shoulders.

Dumbing down the business news

I've just seen one of the dumbest film clips ever on The One Show regarding the Kraft takeover of Cadburys.

Now I know The One Show does very much aim its fire at the lowest common denominator, but I had hoped for something a bit higher than The Sun business pages level of coverage from Adam Shaw, one of the presenters of Working Lunch. But no, instead we got the tripe that I just saw.

In comparing the possible loss of jobs in the Kraft takeover with other takeovers of UK forms, Adam Shaw sought to show how some takeovers can be good for UK jobs. his example of this ? Asda and the takeover by Walmart. Confused ? I should say. Mr Shaw seemed to think that comparing a shop with a manufacturing business was a good comparison. The basic fact that a manufacturer can increase UK market share by producing more overseas  whilst a retailer has to increase its UK workforce if it is to get a larger share of the retail market was lost on Mr Shaw.

Which party is wrecking election night ?

Of the Norfolk constituencies who say that are still intending to do their general election count on the Thursday night, only two appear to be doing what Iain Dale wants.

So far North Norfolk and Norwich South appear to be the only two that will not be held over until Friday.

Looking at who runs the councils, it really is very interesting.

North Norfolk Count - Conducted by Lib Dem run NNDC.

Norwich South Count - Conducted by Labour run Norwich CC.

Norwich North/Broadland Count - Conducted by Tory run Broadland DC


Mid Norfolk/South West Norfolk - Conducted by Tory run Breckland


N/W Norfolk - Conducted by Tory Run Kings Lynn and West Norfolk BC


Great Yarmouth Count - Conducted by Tory Run Great Yarmouth Borough Council


South Norfolk Count - Conducted by Tory run South Norfolk BC.

So which party is wrecking election night ?

Are police radios safe ?

THIS report about the use of the TETRA police radio system comes as no surprise to me, having sat through numerous meetings in my time as a District Councillor when we discussed the siting of the police TETRA masts across North Norfolk five years ago.

I was told by a police officer in North Norfolk that the rates of illness went up very quickly after the new masts and radios were introduced. Similarly I was told of headaches, nausea and other problems suffered by residents living near to the mast in one North Norfolk town.

My understanding is that the frequency the TETRA masts work on is different to that used by mobile phones and that the frequency is very close to that which has been known to cause tumors in rats. Similarly, whilst mobile phones only transmit a signal whilst being used, a TETRA radio works differently by being connected for long periods even when not actually in use.

I am not one to start campaigns against phone masts as I am not convinced that the evidence is there to suggest that phone masts are any more dangerous than having a wireless router in your home, but there are genuine concerns about the safety of TETRA masts and the radios that use this system. THIS WEBSITE set up to take reports from police officers who use the TETRA system is evidence of that.

Double speak from Tory MEPs ?

According to THIS posting, Conservative MEPs think that it is not the role of MEPs speak out on issues in Africa.

However, THIS posting makes clear that Conservative MEPs do think it is the role of MEPs to speak out on issues in Africa.

I'm confused.

Is it because the Tories don't actually care about gay rights or am I reading too much in to this ?

P.S. And for the record, I agree 100% with Robert Sturdy. It's a shame his South West colleagues do not use their role and influence to speak out similarly against wrongs and injustices.

Six stories that won't make Iain Dale's Daily Dozen

1) Iain fails to report the selection of a Lib Dem candidate in Broadland (the seat which comprises part of North Norfolk where Iain has stood and part of Mid Norfolk where is friend Keith Simpson is the Tory MP.)
Iain was very keen to write of Lib Dem chanches here in his EDP column when no Lib Dem MP candidate was selected, but has been strangely silent since the selection of a well knwn local campaigner. Iain claims never to have heard of Dan Roper, which is odd as he really is not that unknown (unless you really are out of touch with Norfolk politics).

2) Southport Tories in meltdown.
Not the "We're going to win and Cameron is great" sort of stuff that Iain usually likes to highlight.

3) Tories below 40% in the polls
Errm, again, not realy good Tory spin.

4) Iain's PPC chances gone ?
Some of the comments are really insightful and explain why he is "being played" and unlikely to ever be selected for a winnable seat (which in my view would be a shame).

5) Another Cameron gaffe ?
Oh no, not again. Once, twice, three times a gaffer ...

6) The not so Rainbow Tories
Tories are all talk but no action on gay issues.

Despair over Blair

Watching Blair today just serves to highlight what it is that people so dislike about politics. After everything that has happened, despite the weight of evidence, in spite of all the facts, he still does not get it.

Like an MP justifying his excessive expenses claim, Blair stood out as being slick, but ultimately so intransigent that whilst he may go away from today feeling that he gave a good account of himself, I think his performance will ultimately come to haunt him.

The line, which I paraphrase here that "I'ts not about a deceit or a lie or misleading, it's about a decision", makes clear his lies.

Blair had already made a decision, no doubt when he met Bush, that Britain would invade Iraq no matter what. So Blair did mislead, he did deceive, he did lie, and all of those were just to get parliament and the British people to back his decision, made on the basis of flawed evidence.

Blair might be the consumate politician, but his legacy will be that of a Prime Minister who wasted some of the best economic conditions in years, missed an opportunity for parliamentary and electoral reform, who failed to take action to fix those parts of broken Britain all in the name of having his war.

Yet again, what is the point of the Met Office ?

When the Met Office's own satellite cannnot distinguish between rain and snow, you really have to wonder if theiy know what they are doing.

Forget the forecast for rain, its been snowing here for several hours and despite what the Met Office are predicting (more rain) I suspect we are in for several inches of snow.

If they cannot even accurately report what the weather is doing now, how can we believe their forecasts ?

Stating the bleeding obvious

The National Audit Office has reported that the BBC does not always provide best value for money when covering large events. This should be little surprise to anyone.

Some of the big events justify a large staff and big costs. The Olympics instantly spring to mind. But more than sic months ago it was reported that the BBC sent almost as many staff to Glastonbury as they did to China to cover the Olympics.

As I wrote at the time, I am not fan of the BBC devoting itself so entirely to a niche event like Glastonbury, and I hope the report today make the BBC come to grips with the fact that events like the Olympics and World Cup are not the equivalent of an annual music festival.

British overseas aid - Money well spent ?

A few years ago I asked why it was that we are giving £825 million in aid to India.

Today we read that India is to spend more double the amount we give them in aid on a space programme to put Indian astronauts in to space.

Is it really a good use of our money in these hard times to gives British taxpayers money to fund projects in India when the Indian government seem to think that a space programme is more important ?

How many children have been hurt by this disgraceful GP ?

It has been announced that a hearing in to the GP who claimed links between the MMR jab and autism has found him to have been guilty of misconduct.

The report on the hearing is HERE.

The one question that has not been answered yet though is how many children did not get the MMR jab and as a result, hat was the increase in children getting measles, mumps and rubella. These illnesses, very serious to people of different ages, can leave permanant damage.

You still occasionally hear people quiting MMR as a reason not to get a flu jab or the HPV jab, so this idiot doctor really does have a lot to answer for.

The iPad review Apple fans won't want to read

A great summary of the iPad HERE.

The are many millions who will buy it because it is an Apple product. Those people would also buy a dog turn if it was prefixed with the letter "i" and was carrying an Apple badge.

And before people ask, I do own 4th generation ipod Nano, so I know Apple do make some good stuff.

Fed up with government ads filling ad breaks

Watching the last ad break in Celebrity Big Brother tonight I am totally fed up with the amount of adverts from the government filling each break.

Firstly I had to watch the ridiculous advert telling me to drive five miles less each week. Given the price of petrol these days the times when I used to go out simply for a drive are long gone, so I find the adverts patronising and silly. Then I had to watch an avert about apprenticeships, again paid for by the government.

It's even worse if you listen to commercial radio with whole ad breaks sometimes being 90% made up of government funded ads.

It seems in this recession the only source of advertising income for ITV, Channel Four and commercial radio is the UK government. I know the banks received a bail our, sadly I know the reasons why. But is commercial radio and TV really in need of such subsidy ?

Someone try and justify concurrent sentences for horrible crimes

A child rapist repeats his horrific crimes over and over again and is given "concurrent" sentences for each of his further crimes. How can that be justified ?

If criminals at any level are allowed to believe that repeating their crimes does not result in a suitably larger punishments, what is the point of our justice system ?

Damned if they do and damned if they don't

We are always being told by those who hate the BBC that the corporation should act like other commercial companies in the real world. So why is it when the BBC does this it is attacked for it ?

The BBC has very successfully expanded BBC worldwide in to a profitable business which provides income to the BBC. Yet a parliamentary committee feels that the BBC should be forced to dilute its stake in the business which sell BBC shows and intellectual property to another company. Why ? Apparently to allow the BBC to make more money from the venture. This would not be so laughable were it not for the fact that the BBC has been criticised for growing Worldwide too quickly and aggressively.

The fact is that there are many people who will seek to criticise the BBC whenever it is successful because they so hate to see the BBC do anything well. I am not saying the BBC is perfect, far from it, but when it generates income which could be used to reduce the license fee then making it sell off these profitable parts serves no purpose other than to ensure that the BBC stands a better chance of failing. And that is what these people want at the end of the day.

Not another hypcrite Tory ?

I await the first Tory to step forward and defend the leader of the Scottish Tories for THIS.*

*With thanks to Stephen Glenn.

Brown and Cameron both trying to weasel out of the election debates

As Dizzy comments HERE, it seems increasingly likely that any election debates will be rather sterile affairs due to the rather stupid and deliberately unreasonalbe requests of both David Cameron and Gordon Brown. So what are they scared of ?

The only person not being accused of making silly demands is Nick Clegg, which makes sense, because Nick is neither scared of public scrutiny of himself or his policies, and he also knows that such debates provide the Lib Dems with an amazing opportunity to break the current two party stranglehold on politics.

Perhaps this answers my first questions as to what the Tories and Labour fear. If Nick Clegg were to come across as the more reasonable, the more human of the leaders, and his party suddenly got a 5% bump in the polls, the would be a real danger to the old parties of the Lib Dems suddenly gaining traction with the electorate, and that is the last thing the Tories and Labour want. The old parties want the Lib Dems to be a think tank from which they can steal the best ideas, but neither of the old parties are liberal, and the lack a real understanding of democracy.

So whilst the broadcasters mght be hoping that the debates go ahead, my fear is that they won't.

Another good reason to vote Lib Dem in Hull North

Andrew Allison highlights on his blog just how useless the Labour MP for Hull North is. Of course, with the Lib Dems in a clear second place, it gives people even more reason to try and get her out of Westminster at the enxt election.

It's a shame that there is no decent opposition to Nadine Dorries who, according to people I follow on Twitter, is also adept at blocking anyone from her Twitter feed if they don't agree with what she says.

Norfolk Tories make swinging cuts to funding for schools in deprived areas

The EDP writes today

Norfolk's neediest youngsters could miss out on lifeline support because of a £1.9m cut in funding to more than one-third of the county's schools, many in the most deprived areas.

The county council is set to slice the sum out of the grants it makes to schools to help them boost results among vulnerable children.

In all 167 schools will get less money than they were promised - with cuts ranging from a few hundred pounds to almost £93,000 for the biggest loser, Great Yarmouth High.

Interesting to note that despite Cameron's pledge to defend eduction and the NHS, when it comes to what Tories are doing, on the ground, cuts to education are one of the first things they do.

No doubt Norfolk County Council will be asking the schools they are cutting significant funding to why their results are not as good as they hoped. Appalling.

Norfolk's nutty Greens show just how nutty they are

The Green candidate in Great Yarmouth is standing down in order to support and help the Tory candidate.

You really couldn't make it up, but it sums up what many of us find about the Greens here in Norfolk. The oppose things they support, the offer no solutions, only criticism, and they even support other parties which are widely acknowledged as being the most sceptical when it comes to climate change and have the poorest eco credentials.

People in Norwich South ought to take note.

More ammunition for the Taliban

It's this sort of religious nuttiness which makes Celebrity Big Brother contestant look slightly norman in an American context, although still very odd by usual British standards.

Dan Roper chosen as Broadland Lib Dem candidate

Dan Roper has been seleted as the Lib Dem prespective parliamentary candidate for the new Broadland constituency.

I attended the selection meeeing and was genuinely impressed by the passion Dan showed, his previous and recent campaign experience and his commitment to work hard at winning the seat for all the right reasons, for as long as it takes.

Dan, spoke of his previous membership of the Labour Party and the shameful way they have betrayed this country and all those people who once believed in their message. It was quite amusing then to hear so many members at the meeting then state there was nothing wrong with being a member of another politcal party in the past, with various people owning up to having been members of the Labour and Conservative parties in the past. And, of course, that is the point of being a Lib Dem campaigner. You have to change people's views from being Labour or Tory to being Lib Dem.

All in all, I am so pleased that my local Lib Dem candidate is genuinely the sort of person I would be proud to go out and campaign for. I wish him luck and will do whatever I can to help him.

The simple statement that shows the stupidity of Cameron's marriage tax break

The Tories are proposing a tax break for married couples. This statement from Nick Clegg on the issue says it all.

"What does is mean for the poor woman who has been left by some philandering husband who goes on to another marriage and gets the tax break and she doesn't?"

And news just in, the Pope is a Catholic

Whilst it would be ludicrous to say all Tories are anti gay, it is true that the Tories party clearly has a record of its MPs being the least friendly towards gay people of all the political parties. And if any proof were needed, the facts, figures and voting records are listed HERE.