Provocative!

When will the Government follow Richard Branson's lead and tell public sector workers threatening to strike over pay levels that they should get stuffed resign and get a job elsewhere if they want a pay rise!?!

I might even end my self-imposed ban on buying Virgin branded products!

Pork barrel education?

How are the best state schools in middle class areas continuing to improve compared to poorer areas when schools in 'disadvantaged' areas have received the biggest funding increases?

Have the increases been wasted!?!

Is discipline more important than money!?!

University of life?

Will lecturers sacrifice some of their recent pay increases so that English undergraduates don't face tuition fees of upto £7,000 per year!?!

"Around 12,000 staff earn top salaries [ of more than £50,000] compared to just 2,000 a decade ago."

Number Crunching

75,000 - CIPD net forecast for new jobs in 2008.
275,000 - CEBR forecast for jobs taken by migrant workers in 2008.

Good vibrations?

Which "Tory policies are resonating with the public"!?!

'Green coal', a "Progressive Alliance " with the Liberal Democrats or no new Grammar schools!?!

Teenage pregnancy

Would the Government have more success in reducing the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Western Europe if it removed services and welfare benefits that make life easier for teenage mothers and force them to be more of a burden to their own families?

Teenagers need to be responsible and held accountable for their own actions.

Cowboys and Native Americans!

After ten short years in power, some educational common sense from the Government!

"Boys in nursery schools should not be discouraged from playing with toy guns and other weapons".

When will the Government shoot sack the teachers who oppose this!?!

"I think this is a clear example of gender stereotyping." - Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT.

Soar-away super-rich

Is Brendan Barber, the TUC General Secretary, attacking the "soar away super-rich" as they don't have to endure the public services his members 'offer' to the rest of the nation!?!

Cowards afraid of democracy?

The murderers of Benazir Bhutto are "cowards afraid of democracy" - Gordon Brown.

Brown rules out autumn election - October 2007

Pour encourager les autres?

How many schools would improve only if more weak teachers were sacked!?!

"Failing schools improve fastest when they are "twinned" with successful ones [ ] but may first involve removing weak teachers"

250,000 qualified teachers no longer work in England's schools!

"In this country, it is wise to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others" - Voltaire.

EU feeling faint?

How much power has Britain given away following the signing of the Lisbon Treaty just last week!?!

Plans to end health queues in EU
"The European Commission will propose that any EU citizen should be entitled to care elsewhere, if the treatment is allowed in their own state."

BBC - Britain's Benefit Culture?

Is single mum Carol Jackson really below the official poverty line of £265 when her weekly income of £219.63 is topped up by free rent (£50), free council tax (£22.95), free school dinners, free dental costs and "several other expenses"?

Why isn't she able to work 40 hours per week like most people!?!
"At the razorblade factory, they were offering 27 hours' work a week on the minimum wage of £5.52 an hour. This meant Carol's weekly wage would be £149.04."

Would she have had fewer children if the state didn't pay her to raise them? It would be a far more effective way of reducing child poverty!

Despite the BBC profile, does Carol get a discount on her TV licence!?!

Change is in the air?

Good to see that Liberal Democrats are as decisive as ever....

20,988 votes for Nick Clegg.
20,477 votes for Chris Huhne!

"We want to change politics and change Britain" - Nick Clegg.

"I said when I launched my campaign that we needed to change in order to win." - David Cameron.

"Let the work of change begin." - Gordon Brown.

It's dark up north!

Lung cancer 'link to lack of sun'

North West cancer deaths 'higher'

Food for thought?

Will large increases in world food prices lead to large cuts in European food subsidies!?!

Why aren't farmers the greatest beneficiaries of 40% price increases rather than the greatest victims!?!

"Without support for poor farmers and their families in the hardest-hit countries, they will not be able to cope" - FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf.

Mugged by Labour?

If parts of central London are blighted by high crime rates, why do the residents keep voting Labour!?!

"It's a terrible area for crime, the police don't seem to do anything about it. I'm afraid to walk around the streets late at night because you just don't know what will happen." - Resident John Lutchman, 60

National Health Socialism (NHS)

The NHS condemns anyone who dares to improve their chances of surviving breast cancer by buying additional drugs!

Hospital Gourmet?

Would hospital food be better if patients had to pay for it!?!

Restaurants providing poor quality food rapidly go out of business!

No Go4 Hajj!

"I am ashamed to say to my friends that these are Muslims who have taken our money." - Fake visa scam victim Dr Nadim Nayar, £25,000 out of pocket.

Would Dr Nayar have found it more acceptable if Christians had taken his money!?!

Good news for Labour!

Bright poor children 'slip back' - BBC News online

"It's a terrible thing that children from poor backgrounds, who are bright, end up actually not getting a very good start in life.

They end up in schools that aren't very good and end up poor as adults and that's a terrible waste of talent and it's also basically wrong, it's just unfair." - Sutton Trust chairman Sir Peter Lampl.

Poorer adults tend to vote Labour...

Lightsabers to be banned next!?!

Why aren't existing laws enough to prevent the murder of five people with Samurai swords in recent years!?!

"Anyone breaching the ban [on Samurai swords] will face six months in jail and a £5,000 fine."

Number Crunching

£450m - UK "Development funding" for Afghanistan announced today.

£30m - Unaffordable cost of funding Police pay rises agreed through arbitration.

Scotched Police?

If Scottish Police have received the full 2.5% pay rise as agreed through arbitration, why do they need to consider strike action!?!

"Every police officer in the UK is to be balloted over whether they want to lobby for the right to strike."

Straw man statistics

How can Jack Straw be sure that only 1% of the 11,000 early release prisoners have committed a further offence when 2m crimes are never investigated and more than 50% of criminals reoffend overall?

Reasons to torture?

60 reasons why "water-boarding" should be used in extreme cases?

"These are crimes that targeted innocent people. Students and school children were among the victims. Nothing can justify the crime" - Algerian Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem.

Buying votes with other people's money?

If David Cameron really wants to help householders facing sharp increases in their mortgage payments next year, why not offer the electorate tax cuts!?!

Ball Games here?

Will the Government pay for damaged cars or broken windows when ball games are played in residential areas!?!

"No Ball Games" signs exist for a reason!

Police pay rises please?

Do Police forces in England and Wales deserve higher pay rises when they can track down Welsh rugby international star Gavin Henson and arrest someone who walks into a Police station but ignore 2m other crimes!?!

No Balls games!

When will Ed Balls introduce job centres at schools so that 'disadvantaged' parents can drop their children off at school, collect their benefits and ignore local vacancies each day!?!

"Social services information and welfare support for parents will be located in school buildings, along with counselling and advice for helping with their children's behaviour or health problems."

Conrad Blackened?

Why does the BBC consider that the most important currently in the UK is Conrad Black's six-and-a-half year prison sentence?

Is it because he defrauded shareholders or that he used to own a right-leaning newspaper!?!

Education, Education, Education?

After one decade in power, why aren't schools already "world class" under Labour especially when they now cost the taxpayer £49.5bn per year!?!

Is Labour doomed to failure by encouraging the "disadvantaged" to have more children when they have neither the motivation nor the knowledge to help in education of their own children!?!

Cost in translation?

"Councils urged to translate less" - BBC News online.
"Sometimes translating big annual reports into lots of languages which very few people read isn't the best use of money." - Hazel Blears

"News and audio in 33 languages" - BBC News online language translations!

The Rise and Fall of the House of Threadneedle Street?

Where was the pressure on the Bank of England to curb house price increases by raising interest rates in the last couple of years?

The Bank of England should resist pressure to cut interest rates to protect housing wealth as it is responsible for keeping non-asset inflation at 2%.

Even so, it will be difficult for the MPC to ignore house price declines when the committee all own houses!

Department of no workers or pay?

If Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) staff are unhappy about their pay and conditions, they should resign and get a job elsewhere rather than go on strike.

No one forces them to work at the DWP thanks to Labour's record employment levels. Other employers are bound to recognise their good work ethic, low abseentism and ability to cope with change in an endless bureaucracy!

"29.07 million people were in work in April to June, one of the highest figures on record" - Source: DWP!

Panic, I'm Islamic!

With 1.6m Muslims living in the UK, what were the chances that the BBC would make a programme, "Don't panic, I'm Islamic" featuring Mohammed Hamid who is now accused of Islamic terrorism!?!

"The BBC paid for Mr Hamid and fellow defendants Muhammad al-Figari and Mousa Brown to go on a paintballing trip at the Delta Force centre in Tonbridge, Kent, in February 2005. The men, accused of terrorism training, were filmed for a BBC programme called Don’t Panic, I’m Islamic, screened in June 2005. "

Prison lottery?

Should similar crimes receive similar prison sentences or should the punishment vary depending upon whether there are any prison 'vacancies'!?!

"Lord Carter of Coles will advise jail sentences in certain cases should be given only if there are empty cells - in a bid to balance demand with supply."

Educational nightmare

Would a "growing proportion of middle-class parents" be giving up on a state education if secondary schools were rising up an international league table of reading and maths standards?

How many working class parents would want their children to be educated privately if they could afford it but are condemned to a state education!?!

"In 2000, the UK was placed eighth in maths and seventh in reading - the UK in the latest table is in 24th place for maths and 17th for literacy."

"In 1996 the government spent £27.2bn in the UK on education, by 2006 yearly spending had risen to £49.5bn, the ONS said"

Return of the Do-gooder?

"The Sudanese people I found to be extremely kind and generous and until this happened I only had a good experience. I wouldn't like to put anyone off going to Sudan." - Gillian Gibbons.

Has Gillian learnt nothing about the Darfur region of Sudan!?!

"The United Nations (UN) estimates that the conflict has left as many as 450,000 dead from violence and disease"

"The Sudanese government has suppressed information by jailing and killing witnesses since 2004 and tampered with evidence such as mass graves to eliminate their forensic values"

Unfair?

How many of the 1.92m traffic fines issued in 2005 were not paid as the drivers were unlicenced, unregistered, uninsured and untraceable?

Which group of drivers are the greatest risk to other road users!?!

Number Crunching

64.1% - Vladimir Putin's share of vote in Russia.
35.3% - Tony Blair's share of vote in 2005.
0.0% - Gordon Brown's share of vote in 2007.

"Merging of the state and a political party is an abuse of power and clear violation of international standards." - Goran Lennmarker, head of the OSCE’s Parliamentary Assembly.

Crony row as Labour peers grab lucrative quango posts.

Rewarding illegality?

Are politicians wanting publicly funded political parties to avoid more illegal donations like tax evaders who want to be exempt from paying tax because they've been caught!?!

Parliamentary them and us?

"This is a case which is unfortunate, unintentional, innocent misunderstanding, and as British Muslim parliamentarians we, Baroness Warsi and myself, we feel proud that we've been able to secure Gillian Gibbons's release." - Lord Ahmed on the release of Gillian Gibbons

Why was Lord Ahmed unable to describe himself as a mere British parliamentarian!?!

Child Poverty

Why do people who cannot afford to raise their own children keep producing more!?!

"The [Joseph Rowntree Foundation] report is also concerned that the number of children in working families that need to escape poverty is rising."

Do Government targets to reduce child poverty encourage poorer people to have more if they know the state will pay for their upbringing!?!