Welcome to my blog. I am a former local journalist who now works in PR and a Conservative and community activist in Woking and Horsell. This blog will keep updated on local issues as well as my interests and quirky news stories.
The Horsell Residents Association newsletter The Resident is now online in the form of a WordPress blog and I have added the link to the left hand side.
The current editor Sarah Johns took over from me last year and is doing a great job of making the magazine’s format even more attractive, broadening the scope of the news stories and taking it online. There is also a Twitter feed @HorsellResident.
Well worth a visit or a follow.
It's no good looking down on Woking - people want a dialogue!
I went along to the Community Question Time held at HG Wells on Wednesday night, which promised to allow residents the chance to quiz members of a panel including WBC chief executive Ray Morgan on matters of interest within Woking. It didn’t quite work out that way and by the time I had to leave at 8pm to attend another meeting elsewhere, not a single question had been asked.
Identifying the problem was not difficult. Unfortunately there is a tendency among many organisations to believe that talking to people is the same as communicating with them. They say they’re very keen on communications and what they mean is that they are very keen on talking about themselves. That’s not communciation; what matters is the dialogue and while I know some questions were answered after I left, mine and many others weren’t and the balance of the meeting proved all wrong.
On the plus side, I think that a Community Question Time is a great idea, whether as part of the Tune In process or on its own. I would like to see them held quarterly – or twice a year if take-up isn’t good – and travel around the borough with a panel that varies according to the geography. It could be chaired by the MP for Woking and would be totally devoid of councillors (who should be in the audience asking questions on behalf of residents rather than on the panel batting residents’ questions away on behalf of the council).
There could be a podcast, a Twitter feed and perhaps IT facilities for live blogging. Schools are an obvious venue option and one of the question times each year could be dedicated to engaging young people and feature members of the Woking Youth Council on the panel. It would be a useful exercise for all politicians in the borough to guage opinions on their policy decisions as well as a democratic opportunity for residents and a small step to help re-invigorate politics locally.
Meanwhile, I look forward to an answer to my question appearing on the Woking Borough Council website, which I will duly address once it appears.
I’m really sorry about the lack of activity during the past week or so. I’ve been so busy with wedding preparations, various evening meetings and doing my CIPR diploma that it’s been difficult to find the time in the evening to update. I have a mock Critical Reasoning Test in at the beginning of next week that I’m frantically reading up for at the moment. It’s all interesting stuff about persuasion and the nature of public relations but I’m struggling to fit much else in, especially now the garden is getting going again (our lounge table is covered in seed propagators).
There are a couple of things that are ongoing – notably that I will be involved in a LDF Character Study meeting on March 25 on behalf of Horsell Residents’ Association. Further details will follow.
In addition, on St Patrick’s Day (March 17) I will be splitting my time between the HRA management committee and a Tune In event at HG Wells. My understanding is that’s it’s open to all, so why not come along?
I am trying to keep up with everything on Twitter, which is less time-consuming and can be done throughout the day. Why not follow me if you don’t already?
Time for a decisive, DC - what's it to be?
It all seems as though it could go terribly wrong after a YouGov poll found that the PM was on course to claim another five years in power, something unimaginable even four weeks ago. DC gave his speech on Sunday in Brighton to a generally good reception but couldn’t avoid a look about him that was rather too close to someone living out their nightmares. I thought it was a solid speech and nothing more – designed to steady the ship and motivate the crew rather than inspire a nation through new discovery. But I remain confident that Cameron the performer will outshine either of his rivals whenever he gets the chance.
What he needs to start to do is give people a reason to vote Conservative – something I’ve been telling the party locally for a number of months now. Gordon Brown remains our biggest asset and I have no doubt that whatever the polls say, he will not win the election. But that doesn’t mean a Conservative victory – as the Times put it, it is isn’t that people don’t think DC is capable of being a good PM, it is that they don’t understand why he wants to do the job.
I know that DC feels the desire to reform our country, he is deeply interested in social justice, cares hugely about health and education and wants to address Britain’s copious social problems. He wants to foster an economy that allows people to reach their potential and steer a dignified course on the world stage. Why? Because it’s the British Way – fair play, compassion, reward for the successful and support for the struggling. I think the term “patriotic duty” was taken out of context by the press but it wasn’t the most wise; I know what he meant but I’m not sure it was the best way to express it. He needs to express it how the man on the street would ie the country at the moment is in a mess – unfair and injust after 13 years of Labour failure. DC wants to be the person to put that right.
But we need to spell out in practical terms what the Direction of Travel is and how that’s done. And we need to give people some reasons to vote Conservative as opposed to reasons to vote against Gordon. I think DC’s policy of attacking the PM has reached its optimum effectiveness and has now started to decline. I want to see less barracking and more focus on what a Tory government will deliver. Cllr Richard Lowe, an emminent Tweeter, collated the following:
1. A cut in net immigration of 75%
2. No more early release for convicted criminals
3. A two year freeze in council tax
4. The abolition of inheritance tax for all families except millionaires
5. Cutting politics with 10% cut in the number of MPs and 5% cut in pay
6. Headteachers to be put in charge of school discipline
7. Restoring the link between the basic state pension and earnings
8. New laws that will give householders more rights against burglars
9. The budget deficit cut in half by 2014 so future generations don’t live in debt
10. Abolition of Labour’s expensive ID cards
I’m more comfortable with some things than others on that list but politics isn’t an all-or-nothing craft. These would be 10 reasons that if nothing else explain to a public fed up of waiting what the Conservatives stand for. And most of them represent current policy - not that you’d think it from our reticence in coming forward. So come on DC, let’s hear about them and let’s have a bit of fearlessness. Ignore those who say that we are losing support because we’ve gone to the left and keep to the centre ground. Stop bashing Gordon – tempting though it is – and start selling yourself, selling the party and its promises and selling a Conservative Britain as a place that has voted for change and is fairer for all.
I don’t believe that Labour will win the election, the polling in key marginals is still heavily in our favour. But we must show some mettle, some work ethic and a willingness to let people into our confidence if we are to finally summit the mountain we have struggled for so long to conquer.
I’ve done two things today. Firstly, following a discussion on Twitter with @PaulTwinn, who took issue with my last posts and comments about Nick Robinson, I’ve added Biased BBC to my blogroll because it is a decent blog that has some insight into the very subtle way BBC bias manifests itself.
I accept totally that people within the organisation don’t detect bias or believe that they are on anything other than the middle ground. I’ve never worked for the BBC, but I do have a Master’s Degree in Journalism and Media Theory, five years in the industry and am studying for a Postgraduate diploma in Public Relations after three years in that industry. So I know how the system works. And it isn’t just me claiming there is bias in the corporation – they admit it themselves.
Anyway, enough of the BBC bashing, I think it’s important to remember that the BBC’s coverage of politics is staffed by many good journalists who are earnestly seeking to present the truth to people in the best way that they can. Taking it a stage further, the BBC is also graced with many very courageous and skilled reporters who risk their lives in war zones and undercover investigations to bring the news into people’s front rooms. It is not without reason that the BBC commands respect across the globe.
I am one of the few people I know who believe that the BBC’s investment in BBC3 and BBC4 and digital technology is money well spent – the corporation cannot afford to rest on its channels complacent in the knowledge the licence fee exempts it from having to make progress. It doesn’t and the BBC has been prepared to make risky decisions to stay with its commercial rivals.
So the second thing I am doing today is enforcing a bit of impartiality upon myself by listing 10 reasons why I am happy to pay a licence fee – even if I believe it could be cheaper!
1) The BBC carries British values and standards throughout the world and will remain the most trusted and respected trans-global broadcaster well into the 21st century. Such regard is not built up for no reason.
2) There exists a tradition of quality wildlife and natural world programming at the BBC that the corporation has maintained and even improved (the Planet Earth series was the best recent example). I hope this will continue even when Sir David Attenborough cannot.
3) The BBC has made a substantial proportion of its back catalogue available to the public first on VHS and then on DVD. Okay, this helps bolster its income but means that people born after Fawlty Towers was originally broadcast are able to enjoy it, along with other classics such as Yes, Minister and The Office.
4) iPlayer – the corporation has displayed a high degree of acumen and foresight by pioneering this technology and making it available on platforms such as Virgin, BT and even the iPhone as it doesn’t require Flash Player.
5) The BBC has one of the most accessed and wide-ranging websites in the UK, not to mention one that is fully customisable and has content from cookery to history. It is certainly a lot better than Sky’s and ITN’s and of the online newspapers, only the Grauniad runs it close.
6) Jeremy Clarkson. It’s fair to say that he is the antithesis of everything that the liberal BBC stands for. It’s not just that he’s there – ITV could have done that – it’s that an organisation with such a loud exponent of its collective political anathema gives him a platform that its instincts tell it should be denied. Long may it continue.
7) BBC Parliament. Hardly anyone can receive it and of those that can, hardly anyone watches it. But as Sir Humphrey said of Radio 3, the countryside, the opera and the universities “It’s vital to know that they’re there!” Televising parliament was a huge turning point in our political culture and the BBC covers it well. It’s not its fault that no-one’s interested.
8 ) Local radio. In many places, it has been marginalised by commercial competitors but it still serves a small but significant part of the population who if it wasn’t there, would have little or no access to local news. Local radio plays a part in helping communities define themselves.
9) The Reith Lectures, which have been commissioned by the BBC since 1948 and most recently broadcast on Radio 4. The 2008 lectures on China were particularly fascinating – it’s a shame that they are not put out on TV; BBC2 is an obvious home for them.
10) Charitable events, notable Comic Relief and Children in Need. The corporation has helped raise more than £1bn since the 1980s with these two charities and that is something to be very satisfied by. Some may think it’s all got a bit too much but in this case I believe the end justifies the means.
So there we are – ten very good things about the BBC. I don’t oppose it, I don’t want to see it privatised, it has an important place in the nation’s fabric. I accept that it will always be an organisation with a culture that prefers a particular way of presenting things. But I won’t just ignore that fact.
Carl Thomson, co-author of the Bow Group pamphlet
There is a very good pamphlet that has just been published by the Bow Group on cutting government spending without impacting on public service delivery. The author is John Redwood, MP for Wokingham who spoke at the Conservative Annual Dinner the other evening along similar lines to some of the themes in the pamphlet. Carl Thomson, our candidate in Mount Hermon East in the Woking Borough Council elections next year (Twitter @carlthomson), has co-authored the report with John Redwood and his clarity of thought is evident in there too.
Mr Redwood has written an article on ConservativeHome about his work and it is definitely worth a read – it is comfortably digested in 20 minutes. The two authors go through each government department and suggest areas where savings could be made. Some of them are themes we are already familiar with such as quangos and staffing and there are one of two others thrown in that you may not have considered.
Particularly interesting are the comments of the introducion and conclusion, which talk about the politics of cutting expenditure, how Labour has tried first to say that all spending is untouchable and automatically equates to sacking doctors and nurses and then changed its mind. Spending cuts are not about cutting services, the pamphlet says, that is a very public sector way of looking at things. They are about delivering everything that you want to deliver – which might be everything you deliver now, or even more – more efficiently, with less waste and providing the taxpayer with better value.
A lot of ConservativeHomers are calling for John Redwood to be installed as Shadow Chancellor on the back of this but personally I think they are living in a dreamworld. Mr Redwood’s problem is not ability – he is among the most able of all MPs – it’s his public image, associated as he is with the cost-cutting, economy-is-everything right wing of the party. This pamphlet has shown another side to him – that he a considerate MP looking to create a better, more financially sustainable future but I had to laugh in the conclusion when he suggested that PR, spin and marketing costs should be cut.
Apart from the fact that everyone says that in opposition but seem to be much keener on PR when it comes to telling the world what they’ve achieved, perhaps if John Redwood had had the benefit of some proper PR and marketing to the general public during the first 10 years of his political career, there’s a chance he might be Shadow Chancellor by now!
Anyway, being Shadow Chancellor is no good if you can’t contribute anything useful and this is a superb contribution to the debate. Particularly congratulations to Carl, whose first pamphlet for the Bow Group this is – it’s a very careful and measured look at an emotive subject and will I’m sure find its way to the Shadow Chancellor before long.
…Twit; I think we’ll settle for that on here. I woke up this morning to a lot of Twitter activity as people messaged me about things I appeared to have sent them on the social networking utility. Unfortunately, at best some of these messages were spam and at worst they were rather unsavoury.
Obviously my account had been hacked and I remember exactly how it happened. I was messaged by a follower with the words “Why are you on here?” followed by a link. In my innocence, I took it to mean why was I on Twitter and clicked the link – which in it’s shortened Twitter version didn’t appear to be problematic.
Er, no. The next thing I know, the good people who follow me were bombarded with unpleasant messages and to all of them, I want to apologise. Most of them, thankfully, will have realised that those weren’t from me and many were good enough to message me and let me know what was going on.
I find blogging and Twitter to be a really enjoyable element of my life and I think that the people who delight in going around and spamming through others’ accounts must lead pretty sad and meaningless lives. Unfortunately, wherever there is a good thing, society will harbour people determined to ruin it for everyone else and use it for their own ends regardless of the inconvenience and embarrassment for others.
What a shame. Anyway, I shall certainly take a bit more care on Twitter in the future. Only a couple of people decided to unfollow me because of it; I’m grateful for those who haven’t for understanding.
It is good news that Nadine Dorries has been paid an undisclosed damages by Damian McBride for the disgusting smears that he tried to perpetrate against her. It’s a bit surprising to me that it hasn’t attracted more media attention but they probably want to give it a wide berth for fear of accidentally repeating the libel.
Nadine, who is great to follow on Twitter as @NadineDorriesMP, has two more cases against McBride, who also resigned as editor of the ever-optimistic LabourList website. It’s also fair to say that other Labour figures, some of them involved in the online world, were “in on the joke” as well and it gives an idea of just how hollow the “no more spin” mantra from the PM was.
The truth is that Labour is spinning more and more heavily as the PM gets more and more desperate. Mandelson, Whelan, Draper, Campbell and Blair are all back on the scene – differences put aside – as the see the end of the tracks up ahead. Privately, all apart from Brown probably believe the situation is hopeless; and that’s fine as they all have plenty of other things to do. But that one last challenge – to keep DC and the Tories out – is irresistable. If they fail, that will only be as expected and if they succeed, they will have pulled off the greatest political escape act in British history.
The process of trying to achieve that goal is going to include some heavy hitting from Labour, backed by the government machine and a compliant BBC that fears being pulled apart by the Conservatives as the price of 15 years cosying up to Labour. There’s going to be a lot of dirt, a lot of scheming and a fight to the end. And that’s before you put the Liberal Democrats into the equation.
Election 2010 will be the most keenly fought, bare-knuckled political slug-out certainly since 1992 and probably ever. Technology has made the process of electioneering as underhand and sly as the art of hacking itself. The disgraceful smearing of Nadine, George Osborne and DC was just the beginning and I hope that Tory high command is ready for the onslaught.
Nadine Dorries - I'm a big fan but she's wrong on AWS
I have had a number of discussions with Conservatives about all women shortlists and I seem to be about the only person welcoming DC’s words yesterday.
Look, I don’t like the idea of AWS. Like everyone else, I think it smacks of discrimination. But people like Nadine Dorries, arguing on ConHome that AWS leads to “two-tier” female MPs and Jonathan Sheppard of Tory Radio, with whom I had a good discussion on Twitter yesterday, are missing the point.
Nadine argues that she got in without the need for AWS and that with only 30% of applications from women, only 30% wanted to be MPs. Not only is this statistically complete nonsense, it is also a judgement she is hardly in a position to make. I’m a big fan of hers but on this one she’s wrong.
Moreover, even if we were happy with 30% of the parliamentary party being female (that would do for a start!) we currently have nine percent and with only around 25% of candidates female we are not even selecting the proportion of those applying.
Jonathan and others believe the answer is to encourage more women to apply. Agreed. But that still doesn’ t solve the problem of them being selected by association members – male and female - which itself is probably linked to why they don’t apply in the first place. They think the Conservative Party is a male-dominated environment. They think their chances of selection in a winnable seat are small and they think that even if successful, they will have a small number of female colleagues. Look at the evidence – is this an unreasonable view?
So if we want women to apply to the party, we have to show that we are prepared to select them in winnable areas. We have to show that we are looking to provide a more women-friendly environment and we have to show that in parliament, successful candidates will have a proportional mix of people with whom to work. By saying that our paucity of females in Parliament is the fault of women themselves for not applying is a grotesque abdication of the reality.
AWS is the unfortunate consequence of years of inaction on this issue. We can all pull out exceptions to the rule – Baroness Thatcher etc – but I’m surprised that Nadine Dorries believes that pulling up the ladder to others just because she managed to clamber aboard benefits women or the Conservative Party.
Why is it we are bothered about women “only getting the job because they are a woman”? Does it not occur to people that many, many male MPs only got selected because they went to the right school or university, worked at the right companies, were central office wonks, advisors or former leaders of local authorities? We tolerate this discreet favouritism yet condemn positive action. It’s dreadful and sexist.
The fact is that the party needs its talented women in Parliament and if local associations won’t select them their hands need to be forced. As ever, the AWS women in Parliament will need to work twice as hard to prove themselves. But how condescending for us just to assume that they are not up to it.
On his feet
I’ve listened to the speech, heard the reactions – from the breathless enthusiasm of the younger activists to the not-even-faint praise of Barry Sheerman on 5Live earlier, having trashed Gordon yesterday too.
The most telling reaction was that of @BBCLauraK, who tweeted that she wasn’t sure what the big message of the speech would be. The main message is this - I am Gordon, your leader and I have shown in the past what will happen to people within the party who stand up to my authority. I will take your ideas and pass them off as mine, I’ll demote you and brief against you as necessary. I am here to lead you into the next election whatever you may think and the political career of anyone who dares challenge me will be over.
It’s not a message to the country, it’s a message to his party. What the country will see, I think, is a leader whose party has been in power 12 years and who should have done many of the things he is now talking about – addressing anti-social behaviour, finishing Lords reform, looking after the poor and ensuring proper childcare provision – although what low-income households will do with ten free hours a week is a puzzler. The public will give little credit for catching up with them on ID cards and the recalling of MPs is a silly Conservative idea that will lead to abuses. Everything in his speech was tired, rehashed, borrowed – it came from anywhere but him as he lamely looks around for something resembling a “vision”.
The BBC seems to have been keener on the speech than most but that’s not surprising. There were good things in it – a National Care Service isn’t a bad idea on the surface. But where is the money coming from? Brown has already spent and lent the country to breaking point and we cannot even service the debt on borrowing at the moment. Spending cuts and tax rises are inevitable – so how on earth does he expect people to take him seriously with these uncosted ideas?
More likely, they are things that an incoming Conservative government will have to “cancel” – even though they are not started – and opportunities for the Labour opposition to capitalise on. It’s politics, but it’s hardly statesmanship from the Statesman of the Year. Once again, Gordon has delivered a speech for his party rather than his country and as the Labour Party becomes ever more inward-looking, those looking outward – such as Peter Meddlesome – will seem ever more lone voices.
I would prefer a PM who can look beyond themselves and foster real reform. But the only way to do that is to take on the Civil Service (which is letting Brown “cancel” ID cards because they know he won’t be around much longer). The New Labour project looked at one point like it had the better of the Whitehall blockers. But the battle has now been lost and Gordon showed today that he simply doesn’t have the substance to fight on, even if the heart is willing.
I want to hear DC tell everyone what the plan is. Let’s hope he’s got one.
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Simon, many congratulations to you and Laura on getting married. Remember marriage is an institut...
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I'll...
Horsell gardens wanted
Thanks for your reply, Penny.
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