Electoral Fraud

Why does the Government need to "crackdown" on electoral fraud when it had previously dismissed "evidence of electoral fraud that would disgrace a banana republic" by Judge Richard Mawrey QC as "scaremongering"?

The systems already in place to deal with the allegations of electoral fraud are clearly working. - Government statement, April (?) 2005.

Built to Last

David "New Labour" Cameron wants Conservative Party members to agree to a new statement of Conserative "aims and values".

Policies must help the least well-off, not the rich.

Do welfare cuts help the less well-off by further rewarding paid employment and discouraging reliance on the state or reward those already in work by allowing income tax cuts!?!

UK gender pay gap

Why is it assumed that women want to return to the high-stress, high octane jobs after childbirth?

Will men be able to seek quality part-time work or will they, along with childless women, still be expected to work long hours to cover for women with young children?

Reform of the House of Lords

Who will defend the people against the "elected dictatorship" of Tony Blair if the Government is to get reform of the House of Lords back on the political agenda? Presumably because it is too much of a bottle neck for Labour's authoritarian reforms.

The House of Lords needs to be strenghtened, not weakened!

Terror plans suffer Lords defeats
Ministers 'press on' on ID cards
Peers inflict terror bill defeat

Political "meltdown"

Will giving votes to 16 year olds really restore the electorate's faith in the current political system?

Why are there no calls to reduce the number of Quangos, restore Ministerial responsibility and reduce the influence of the European Union in UK decision making? No wonder there is so much apathy!

It would be ironic if 16 year olds are trusted to vote but are prohibited from drinking alcohol until they are 18!

TV Poverty

As an example of "fuel poverty", the BBC highlights the plight of sixty-five-year-old Pam Greenhalgh, a single pensioner who will "skip a meal here or there, or have hot drinks sometimes instead of a meal" to make the savings in order to pay the bills of those monopolistic energy companies. "As long as I have got my cup of tea, I don't care," she adds stoically.

What sacrifices does Pam make to pay the TV licence? Cigarettes, alcohol or the bingo!?!

Tough Love

How will Torbay council's support for a young mother discourage other 13 year olds from having babies?

Have Police arrested the father for having sex with a minor?

Apartheid schooling

Will Tony Blair's destruction of the "two-tier" education system in England simply increase the price differential for parents seeking to move into an area with good schools?

The two-tier system should be encouraged so that more parents no longer have to move house to secure good schooling for their children. Defending the jobs of Labour supporters in Local Education Authorities across the country should not be the primary concern of Labour MPs.

Poor Bankers

Why should banks be expected to subsidise branches in poorer areas? Unlike the Government, they are not charities.

Would the Nottingham University researchers accept banks charging higher fees in poorer areas if that's what is required for the branches to remain profitable?

Good to see the BBC publishing the name, bank account, sort code and signature of someone in the picture to accompanying the report!

The Four Minute 1.6093 Kilometre

Should British road signs be converted to metric in time for the 2012 Olympics?

They contradict the image - and the reality - of our country as a modern, multicultural, dynamic place where the past is valued and respected and the future is approached with creativity and confidence. - Lord Kinnock

It would be another demonstration of how the UK is prepared to sell it's soul to the devil.

BBC Investment Priorities

Why should £100m of TV Licence Fee payers' money be speculatively "invested" in British films when private investors are not prepared to invest their own money as British films tend to be flops?

Language Teaching

How many other schools still teach immigrant children in their native tongue?

For any child to succeed and prosper in the UK, they must be able to read and write in English, anything else condemns them to a life on the margins of society.

Civis Romanus Sum

As the Roman, in days of old, held himself free from indignity when he could say 'Civis Romanus Sum' [I am a Roman citizen], so also a British subject in whatever land he may be, shall feel confident that the watchful eye and the strong arm of England will protect him against injustice and wrong. - Lord Palmerston

Not any more, the United States is extraditing three British citizens on evidence that would be insufficient for Britain to seek the extradition of three US citizens!

Mind the Power Gap

Will David Miliband, Minister of Communities and Local Government, be pressing for an English Parliament as part of his call for communities to be given more control over their lives?

Welfare babies

How far has the welfare state, by rewarding single mothers, contributed to the sharp increase in the number of babies born out of wedlock since 1980?

In a flap

Fearing a bird flu epidemic, the Government is to rush a 'Bird ID card' bill through Parliament. The project will only cost £13bn and take 10 years to implement. The voluntary scheme will only require any birds with feathers to carry them.

Tony Blair says "It's a sensible measure that will work" by preventing illegal bird migration into the UK. A British exclusion zone would also be created should there be an outbreak.

Tony Blair has condemned those objecting to the cost, timescale and practicalities of such a scheme as being "weak on bird flu and the causes of bird flu". Every six months, Charles Clarke will announce how far behind schedule and over budget the scheme is not running.

Liberty has condemned the bill for preventing genuine birds from claiming asylum in the UK as they try to escapee the flu. The Commission for Racial Equality is 'concerned' that foreign birds are being discriminated against.

Finally, Argentina fear harmless birds will be destroyed as they head away from any British exclusion zone.

Poultry lock ups

Would the National Farmers Union advice that poultry should not be locked up in the UK to avoid Bird Flu be any different if that taxpayer was not expected to pay compensation for any cull?

Religious capitalism

Why do Muslims need a financial reward for beheading the Danish cartoonists who depicted Muhammed when praise should be a sufficient reward!?!

Batting for Wales

A prospective Conservative candidate for the Welsh Assembly has been forced to resign for comments allegedly made three years ago that gays have a "medical mental condition".

If Labour and Plaid Cymru consider his views are "odious" and "abhorrent", do they also object to prospective Muslim AMs who may consider gays "not acceptable" in private?

[Sir Iqbal Sacranie, head of the Muslim Council of Britain] said he was guided by the teachings of the Muslim faith.

The right to fine

If 60,000 (18%) of London's Muslims are not on the electoral register, why haven't they been fined £1,000 each?

We are proud of our democracy. But it is not working properly when people are denied the vote because they are not on the register. - Elections Minister Harriet Harman.

Does the Governement need to spend £17m on this problem when it could be self-financing through all those fines? How can the Treasury overlook this revenue raising opportunity?

Free shredders

"Experts advise that all documents containing personal information should be shredded before [] being discarded" to reduce the risk of identity theft.

Would issuing a free shredder to every houshold therefore be more effective and cheaper than national identity cards in reducing identity theft?

Cheese Eating Surrender Police

How many people are needed to make illegal "gestures" inciting racial hatred before Police decide not to intervene for fear of making a dangerous situation worse!?!

Police have charged a man with racially aggravated harassment for making "gestures" towards Paul Ince during a football match whilst they are yet to arrest any of the protestors who were inciting murder outside the Danish embassy.

A Finger in the Private Eye

Should I cancel my subscription to Private Eye?

It has caved in to Dhimmitude and not published the Muhammed cartoons in this week's edition but mere descriptions of them!

Number crunching

£42bn Government revenue raised from motorists in 2004.

£1.9bn Government "massive investment" to reduce congestion on Britain's worst roads.

Congratulations

Can David Cameron's new son expect to attend Eton or the local 'bog standard comprehensive'?

Stone the crows

Will British troops, to be sued for compensation by Iraqi rioters they were filmed beating up, be able to counter-sue for stress caused by the hand-grenades and stones thrown at them?

We started throwing stones at them because we believed that they were behind all our misery. - Bassem Shaker, 27

Why isn't the Pope as concerned about Christians being stoned as Sir Iqbal Sacranie is about Muslims being beaten up by British troops!?!

Lessons in corruption

Would the Kenyan Government have avoided a corruption scandal if it had adopted the European Union's anti-corruption policies and measures earlier?

Sack the whistleblower, not the Minister.

Parental support for Grammar Schools

If Tony Blair recognises that existing Grammar schools have "parental support", why is he not prepared to create more of them that would also have "parental support"?

80% (?) of parents in Northern Ireland support Grammar schools where they are threatened with closure!

Passport uncontrolled

How will the introduction of identity cards reduce illegal immigration when only people applying for passports to legally travel abroad must have one from 2008?

Muslim Defence Council

Why do British Islamic leaders need to comment on the nascent Iraqi abuse scandal?

Incidents like this cause enormous damage to our standing in the Muslim world and also place those British troops who [are] carrying out their duties conscientiously in greater peril. - Sir Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain

Sir Iqbal's intervention implies he is disturbed not because they were Iraqis, but because they were Muslim!

English tuition fees "to rise to £5,000 per year"

Why should English students expect to pay up to £5,000 towards their University fees from 2010 when Welsh and Scottish students won't?

Without more higher education funding, the UK would only have a handful of top-class research institutions.

News of the World Priorities

If the News of the World was unable to publish the Muhammed cartoons for fear of inciting religious hatred, why is it publishing photos of British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners?

This is further proof that British and US soldiers in Iraq have gone too far in offending and humiliating people. - Assistant editor of Al-Hayat newspaper.

Censored protestors

Why did organisers of Saturday's "dignified" protest against Islamophobia in Trafalgar Square feel it necessary to ban home made placards?

Whatever happened to freedom of expression!?!

Dunfermline and West Fife by-election result

Will the new Liberal Democrat MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, Willie Rennie, be voting on England only issues at Westminster? The Scottish flag was prominent on all his promotional material unlike Liberal Democrat material in England that typically excludes the Cross of St. George.

Gordon Brown's chances of becoming the Prime Minister must have been damaged. If he is unable to secure a Labour victory in a neighbouring constituency reaping the benefits of his public spending largesse, what more he can do?

Rewarding Prisoners

Why does Charles Clarke feel it necessary to reward ex-offenders with assistance in finding accommodation and jobs?

The reward of not going back to prison should be a sufficient incentive.

Will the assistance available to ex-offenders be greater than for those on the edge of society who do not offend?

Negotiating Skills Agency

Who would announce having a £30m budget to spend outsourcing debt-collection before finding any suppliers to do the work?

The Child Support Agency!

English "sorts of problems"

What "sorts of problems" is Tony Blair referring to when he states that Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland MPs should not be ruled out from voting on England-only issues? Have the Scots and Welsh had problems defining what legislation they can vote on? They want more legislation, not less!

Tragically, Oliver Heald, the Shadow Secretary of State for constitutional affairs, has his own "sorts of problems".

"In ruling out English votes for English laws, he is thinking of the Labour Party's interests rather than the interests of the United Kingdom."

Did Oliver really mean the "interests of England"?

Taxed up

The Inland Revenue is to sieze assets held by an anti-war campaigner who withheld 10% of his income tax in protest at the Iraq campaign following court action.

Chief magistrate Malcolm Sharp told Mr Barker: "Were we all not to pay our tax or deduct from our tax because of something we disagreed with that the government has done or not done, there would be a very serious effect on the economy."

Some of those "very serious effects":

People on welfare would lose their benefits and have to work.
Public sector workers would have to fund their own pensions.
Scotland would have to pay for itself.
Wales would have to pay for itself.
The EU would need a new source of funding.
Public sector graduate salaries could not grow by 9.5%

Political Correctness

Which elements of political correctness do not censor the freedom of expression?

The newspaper editors who have republished the cartoons say they are defending the right to free speech and acting in solidarity with the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten.

There is a growing list of politically correct prescribed subjects.

Provisional Fathers for Justice

If Fathers for Justice has disbanded and an egg has hit Ruth Kelly thrown by a member of the "Real Fathers for Justice", how long before the Provisional FFJ hit the streets?

Catherine Zeta Jones

Q. How has Catherine Zeta Jones (worth £170m) paid tribute to a Swansea street collector who has raised £1m for charity over fifty years "whatever the weather [and] wearing her trademark orange sombrero and matching shorts"?

A. By sending her a signed photo and a letter of appreciation.

PS You can obtain a signed photo of Catherine from just £7.99 on eBay!

Unpoliceable (2)

Will Police charge Friday's protestors with inciting murder now that the Muslim Council of Britain has said that they should!?!

Unpoliceable!

Why did Police not arrest any of the Muslim protestors carrying extremely offensive placards in central London?

Many of the placards must now be illegal under the provisions of the new Religious hatred Bill and incite murder. The Police were quick to apply anti-terrorism charges against an 82 year old heckler at the Labour conference!

"UK you must pray, 7/7 is on its way."
"Fantastic four are on their way."
"Behead those who insult Islam."
"Butcher those who mock Islam."
"Exterminate those who insult Islam."
"Jihad against European Crusaders."
"Europe, you'll come crawling when the Mujihadeen come roaring."
"Europe, your 9/11 will come."
"Europe, remember 9/11."
"Liberalism go to hell."

They even attacked the much maligned BBC who have dared to show glimpses of the cartoons!
"BBC = British Blasphemic Crusaders."
"BBC go to hell." (Admittedly I agree with this one:|)

Did the Police consider the protestors to be too angry to be arrested? They had no such qualms about May Day protests in Oxford Street in 2001.

Laban Tall has more here.

Not taking Liberties

What is Liberty's view on the freedom of the press to reproduce cartoons in the UK even if they offend Muslims globally?

Burning issues

Should the burning of the Union Flag be considered as incitement to racial hatred!?!

Ye Olde Soir

The owner of 'Ye Olde Soir' has sacked it's editor for publishing a cartoon mocking Christians throughout the known worlde.

'Ye Olde Soir' published a woodcut portraying the Earth as a sphere orbiting the sun when we all know that God placed our flat Earth at the very centre of his Universe. Outraged Christian groups are now calling for the ex-editor to be hung, drawn and quartered for mocking this fundamental tenet of the Christian faith.

His Holiness Pope Benedict the Pious IV has graciously ex-communicated the former Editor and condemned him to burn in hell for all eternity to teach him a lesson and as a warning to others.

PS Does this post comply with the Government's new Religious Hatred Bill? I've got no idea!

Institutionally Racist Media?

When will the UK's institutionally racist media reprint the now infamous Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that have now been published across Europe?

The owner of France Soir has surrendered in the face of Muslim criticism and sacked his editor for publishing a cartoon also featuring the Prophet Mohammed.

Christian extremists have a lot to learn from Islam.

Home Office DIY accounts

Will the BBC report that the National Audit Office is unable to approve the "flawed financial records" of the Home Office?

"In my opinion the Home Office has failed to maintain proper books and records in 2004-05."

It is the first time in modern history that the nation’s Auditor General has delivered such an indictment on the financial records of a key government department.

What is the Treasury doing about this? How very European!

Saving taxpayers' wealth

Would more than £9.3m of taxpayers property be saved each year if offenders were imprisoned rather than tagged?

The Times recently highlighted how much more money could be saved by not tagging offenders who breach their curfews!