Number Crunching

5 % - Increase in number of English schools judged to be failing.

10% - Pay rise demanded by National Union of Teachers.

God help us!

Tories 'to carry on Blair reform'

University and College Union

University and college lecturers are being urged to oppose government plans to tackle extremism on campuses.
Academic freedom is something they hold very close to their hearts, it is an absolute key to their profession. [ ] You cannot make it possible for students to explore ideas, if, at the same time, you prescribe how they do that. - Sally Hunt, general secretary of the UCU.

UCU today voiced its concern that Bath University is being manipulated by the British National Party.
Universities are rightly held up as examples to the rest of society because of their diversity and tolerance, and the safe space that campus provides for people to work and study. The BNP has no interest in sharing those values and preaches only hate and fear. [ ] UCU will be organising a protest if this visit does still go ahead. - Sally Hunt, general secretary of the UCU

Robin children!

Children recruited for break-ins - BBC News online - 29th May
A Nottingham policeman claims children as young as 10 are being persuaded to commit crimes by older criminals.

City burglary slur dubbed 'tripe' - BBC News online - 29th May
Nottingham North MP Graham Allen dismisses survey naming Nottingham as the burglary capital of Britain as "a complete load of tripe"

Registered workers?

If two thirds of East European immigrants do not know how to register with a doctor and nearly half have received no information about conditions attached to their immigration status, how many have registered to work in the UK!?!

Little Britain

There will be no such country (as Great Britain at the end of the war) in existence. In its place we shall have Little Britain, a narrow strip of island territory peopled by loutish football-kickers, living on the crumbs that Germany will deign to throw to them. Whatever this war may bring in it's train, certain it is that the laughable and childish military system of Britain will shortly fall to pieces. Then the once mighty Empire, with her naval strength represented by a few old tubs which Germany will have left her, will become the laughing stock of the nations, the scare-crow at which children will point their fingers in disdainful glee. - Koelnische Zeitung, September 1914.

A real education?

Would Diane Abbott support Conservative Party proposals to select pupils for some schools by race in order to improve community relations or just for other peoples' children!?!

I do know the issues around the education of black boys in this borough. [ ] I've seen what happens to black boys who get caught up in the culture of the street. It's hard to pull them back. [ ] It is a race issue because, of all the ethnic groups in London's schools, the only group that is falling behind is black boys. - Diane Abbott MP.

Private teachings

Would private sector schools ever want to borrow teachers from the state sector?

Working wives?

1 - Tessa Jowell didn't breach the Minister's code of conduct as she wasn't aware that her husband received an alleged £344,000 bribe.

2 - Ann Hathaway was too busy "at home cooking, cleaning, washing, looking after the kids" to know that her husband was involved in murder, drug trafficking and extortion.

3 - Beverley Charman was not too busy "at home cooking, cleaning, washing, looking after the kids" for a £48m divorce settlement as her contribution could be seen as being of "equal value to the family as a whole".

Language of the BNP?

If he [a foreign national] abuses our hospitality and threatens us, I feel he should take his chance back in his own home country - Tony Blair.

Rubbish the English!

Environment Secretary David Miliband wants English councils to be able to bring in charges - and to give cash "rewards" for those who recycle. - Will Scottish and Welsh MPs be abstaining again!?!

The Waste Strategy gives examples which suggest "green" homes could get £30 a year back from their council, while non-recyclers pay an extra £30. - What's 50p per week when you already pay £20 per week for "Council services"!?!

Councils would [ ] have to take into account size of households, whether people had young children or whether they were on council tax benefit. - Another benefit of being on benefits then!

Speed Cameras

Should speed cameras be installed on all trains in the UK to protect the travelling public!?!

Outsourcing rubbish collection?

Given five million economically inactive people in the UK and European Union targets to reduce waste, why not employ all those people to sort through domestic rubbish each week sorting out recyclable materials?

Anyone who didn't like it would lose their benefits or they could leave as soon as they got another job!

See no evil?

Is it better for British troops to be targeted by terror suspects in Iraq rather than for them to face possible torture if returned to Algeria?

Would they have been placed under Control orders if they had been threatening to kill British judges!?!

These three men were the subject of solid intelligence that they intended, not to cause damage in the UK, but that they intended to damage our national security by going as insurgents to kill British and other allied troops abroad, in Iraq for example.

So it was decided in accordance with human rights laws to have the lightest controls that seemed compatible with the necessity of the occasion. - Lord Carlile.

Scottish Road Pricing

Salmond plans to end bridge tolls

How they must laugh at the English!

Hip Hip Hooray?

Will anyone, apart from Home Information Pack (HIP) inspectors, be upset that the introduction of HIPs have been delayed until August 1st?

If home buyers valued them, the market would already offer them rather than being a legal obligation!

Increasing child poverty?

If poorer families receive an extra £20 for their third and all subsequent children, will this reduce child poverty or encourage poorer families to have larger families!?!

These effects can last a lifetime - children growing up in poverty have worse health, worse exam results and, very frequently, will end their adult lives still in poverty. - Barnardo's chief executive Martin Narey.

The best way to reduce child poverty is to make children more expensive for poorer families!

Council snooping

Should I admit to my dustman that I will never have a satellite tracker in my car!?!

English road pricing

Will Scottish MPs be abstaining from today's Parliamentary debate on allowing English councils to introduce road pricing?

If they claim that the Local Council Bill also includes Scottish items so they can vote, then the Bill should have been split nationally!

House of Hain

Why should either the NHS or housing be allocated on any basis other than residence and / or national insurance contributions?

Will Peter Hain's constituents be happy he would rather let economic migrants jump to the top of housing lists!?!

Immigration Checks

What reasons are there for immigration checks apart from race and colour?

Ministers say colour or race can never be the reason for an immigration check.

Reluctant Pushy Parent!

Let's hope the "reluctant pushy parent" who turned her back on London's education system for Grammar Schools in leafy Buckinghamshire is not some middle class Liberal Democrat or Labour supporter!

PS Why don't state primary schools teach pupils how to tackle the 11+ examination so they are not at a disadvantage to private pupils?

Bulls!

If officials have "no timetable" to slaughter of a so-called sacred bullock which tested positive for TB, can other farmers claim racial discrimination if their herds are threatened with slaughter due to TB?

Selective Grammars?

Are Grammar schools dominated by middle class families because there are so few of them across the UK!?!

Are the Conservatives now following the Labour Party in abandoning the middle class vote?

The willingness of ambitious middle-class parents to put time and money into extra tuition for their children means that it is impossible to create a fair test to select children at the age of 11, Mr Willetts will say.

It's another reason to stop supporting the Conservative Party...

Driven to distraction?

Child lap motorist spared prison

At least he wasn't smoking!

Property price crash!

Will community groups be able to sell unused council properties for more than £1 after a couple of years?

How much council tax will community groups have to pay on their newly acquired buildings each year?

Happy and you know it!?!

Lessons on how to be happy - Manchester Evening News.

EDUCATION bosses in Manchester are spending £25,000 sending 25 teaching staff to America - to train them in giving children lessons in happiness.

Teachers learn to teach toughness - BBC News website.

Teachers from England are going to the United States for coaching in teaching youngsters to be more resilient.

Council services

What council services are required for migrants arriving in the UK apart from rubbish collection every other week!?!

Racial stereotyping?

"The migrants that come to Slough are hard working and bring great benefit to the local economy but the council remains severely under-funded because of these poor statistics." - Cllr Richard Stokes, leader of Slough Borough Council.

Is such blatant racial stereotyping allowed!?!

Tragically, not all migrants are hard working and bring great benefit to Slough!

Read my lips, no new taxes!?!

Does Gordon Brown only want to create a "home-owning, asset-owning, wealth-owning democracy" so it can be taxed to the hilt!?!

Summer learning

If summer schools will help gifted and talented pupils in England to "meet their potential", why do most of them have to pay fees for the courses!?!

Grammar schools would help "gifted and talented pupils" "meet their potential" throughout the rest of the year regardless of where they live, their background or their parental income!

Legacies

UK 'worst' on cancer drug access

ID card cost rises above £5bn

NHS 'failing on mixed-sex wards'

UK trade deficit widens to £4.5bn

UK interest rates raised to 5.5%

"Tony Blair's achievements are unique, unprecedented and enduring." - Gordon Brown.

Qualified majority voting!

If voters are unable to complete a ballot paper correctly, how can they be expected to assess the pros and cons of different political parties!?!

Safer than Iraq?

One of the prime minister's sons, Nicky Blair, is to try his hand at teaching after graduating from Oxford this year. He will be joining the Teach First programme which puts "high calibre" graduates into challenging English secondary schools for two years.

Ministry of Injustice

If the new Ministry of Justice is serious about reducing prison over-crowding, it should work hard to make prisons more like prisons and less like hotels.

Hat tip: Laban Tall.

Tax credit not where it's due

How would the Conservative Party reform Gordon Brown's disastrous tax credits scheme?

The government has introduced a new rule from the start of this tax year. This means that the threshold for notifying HMRC of any increase during the financial year has risen to £25,000.
"Once these measures are fully implemented they are expected to reduce overpayments by a further third," the HMRC said.

It should never be acceptable for HM Revenue & Customs to reduce overpayments merely by moving the goalposts further away. Tragically, it seems to be a typical public sector response to failure on a grand scale.

Honeymoon

Traditionally, incoming Prime Ministers have a honeymoon period as they settle into their new role and mistakes are generously forgiven by the media.

How long will Gordon Brown's honeymoon period last!?!

Strangers into citizens

How many illegal immigrants were protesting at Trafalgar Square for an amnesty on their status today?

Did Police check everyone's right to be in the UK as they left the protest!?!

Vive la difference!

When will the UK electorate be offered a right wing leader promising to cut taxes, crime, immigration and welfare whilst shouting "work more to earn more"!?!

By contrast, Britons are offered an inert choice, no wonder turnout never reaches the French 85%!

Home sour home!

What has John Reid done or failed to do that means he intends to resign at the end of June as Home Secretary!?!

Free money!

When will people in authority realise that as soon as money is 'given away' by any organisation without thorough checks, fraudsters will soon discover and exploit it!?!

One fraudster enrolled himself on five different degree courses at the same university and had 17 fake identities. He collected student loans worth £65,595.

Any bets on whether Adeleke Adebayo is an illegal immigrant too!?!

Not alone!

Pride in Britain has fallen sharply over a generation, researchers said yesterday.

The percentage of people declaring themselves "very proud" of the nation fell from 55 per cent in 1981 to 45 per cent now.

The shift is attributed to younger people being less likely to have the "strong attachment" of older generations, the study by the National Centre for Social Research found. - The Daily Telegraph.

Police Priorities

1) A shopkeeper has been warned by police to remove gollywogs from her window display or risk breaching race hate laws following a single complaint.

2) Avon and Somerset Police were criticised earlier this week for failing to arrest a group of vandals who spray-painted a huge 30ft mural at the site. Using ladders and 15ft rollers, the gang spent two days daubing a giant deformed child's head and lizard across a rooftop wall.

None of the above!

All my postal votes in today's local elections will be for "None of the above"!

Exam factories

If schools have been reduced to "exam factories", why are so few teenagers achieving five or more GCSEs at grade C or above including English and Maths!?!

The proportion whose results included English and maths - ministers' new benchmark - was 44.3%, up from 42.6%

Importing trouble?

Could the Metropolitan Police be any more racist!?!

There is an indication from both police intelligence and the voluntary sector addressing gang criminality, that there is an increase in young people with significant post-traumatic stress resulting from witnessing and being involved in significant violent situations prior to arrival in the UK.

The document states that half of gangs identified by police intelligence are based in the African-Caribbean community.

How do Politicians propose to deal with the problems highlighted? More social workers or stricter immigration controls!?!

Postal votes

Will Labour Politicians be more concerned that voter turnout will be down 20,000 across a number of Birmingham wards rather than having more confidence in in the final result!?!

Will there now be fraud probes in Middlesbrough, Fife and Lanarkshire, Flintshire, Luton and Somerset?

Caught in the headlights!

Is the Labour leadership "united" in knowing that Gordon Brown will cost Labour the next General Election yet are too scared to do anything else!?!