People's Republic of South Devon

Windpower, a cost-efective energy source?

Giles Chichester — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:21:04 +0000

Wind energy companies have received over £520 million in subsidies

I listened in disbelief to the radio as a Downing Street spokesman described windpower as a cost-effective energy source! If this is true, then why is it necessary for this Government to subsidise the construction and operation of these wind turbines?

In 2009-10, wind energy companies received over £520 million in subsidies, which came not from a special government fund but from a surcharge on our business and domestic electricity bills. This Renewable Obligation Charge currently adds £26 to everyone’s annual electricity bill and this is predicted to increase to £50 by 2016.

There could well be good environmental reasons for supporting windpower development – but in truth I am not able to think of all that many. Let us, however, not kid ourselves that it is a cost-effective source of electrical energy.

There are two major electricity generation projects proposed for the South West which bear comparison – the Atlantic Array offshore wind turbine farm and the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. Each will cost around £5 billion to construct and have the capacity to produce approximately 1,500 megawatts of electrical power. However, Hinkley C has a working life of up to 60 years and capacity for electrical energy output of over 80%, while the Atlantic Array will only have a working life of 25 years and struggle to achieve 20% electricity output.

If we are seeking a cost-effective investment then it is clear that the privately-financed Hinkley C nuclear power station has the edge over the Atlantic Array which will continue to require subsidies from electricity consumers. The answer is still not blowing in the wind even if the Downing Street spokesman is adding a puff!

(image: Some rights reserved by Andre Charland)

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Plymouth MP Oliver Colvile isn’t the only Tory taking tobacco hospitality

PRSD — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:52:03 +0000

'The Government's tobacco plan warns of the dangers of tobacco industry attempts to influence health policy.'

It’s not only Plymouth MP Oliver Colvile who sucks down the fetid air of tobacco firm hospitality – another Tory MP has been under fire for accepting a tobacco firm’s ticket gift.

Lincoln MP Karl McCartney bagged more than £1,300 from Japan Tobacco International for tickets to the Chelsea Flower Show, thisislincolnshire.co.uk reported in January.

Turns out that Karl also tried to find out about how the public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is funded. And he requested details about the number of people associated with ASH who have placements with the Department of Health and other areas of Government.

Meanwhile, Plymouth MP Olly C voted to lessen smoking restrictions.

Quoted on the thisislincolnshire site, Martin Dockrell, director of policy and research at Action on Smoking and Health, said: “The Prime Minister says corporate lobbying goes to the heart of why people are fed up with politics and he is right.

“The Government’s tobacco plan warns of the dangers of tobacco industry attempts to influence health policy.

“MPs don’t always know when they are being lobbied by the big tobacco companies because they often hide behind a smokescreen of lobby firms and front groups.”

In Plymouth a Cough Up Colvile campaign was started for the MP to donate the value of the hospitality he received to cancer charities.

(image: Some rights reserved by Fried Dough)

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Europe outlaws Keynesian economics

Graham Watson — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:38:44 +0000

After 10 years of campaigning, Sir Graham Watson and David Hogg have won a campaign for justice in a teachers' pay dispute

Monday this week saw the heads of state and government of the EU member states meeting in Brussels at an ‘informal’ European Council meeting. They agreed one treaty setting up the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), a ‘bailout fund’ available to countries which sign the second treaty, outlawing Keynesian economics by writing into law a requirement on governments not to run budget deficits.

The European Court of Justice will be able to fine countries who break the latter treaty, paying the fine into the ESM. They also agreed that when items of business exclusively to do with eurozone issues are on the agenda in future, only the countries which have adopted the euro will participate, though this merely formalises a practice which has become the norm.

The national leaders, some just back from the World Economic Forum, agreed on measures to create economic growth and jobs. Having failed to respond to the blandishments of WTO Director General Pascal Lamy in Davos and resolve to agree a new world trade agreement (which would require cutting subsidies to farmers) they agreed to try to boost inter-EU trade by improving the EU’s single market and to use €82 billion in unspent EU structural funds to get young people in to work.

I hosted a supper that evening in honour of Lord Steel, who was visiting Brussels as a member of the UK Parliament’s all party Africa Group. At 73 years he is still going strong, despite the slings and arrows of nearly 50 years in politics during which he secured for the UK Liberals their highest share of the vote in any general election since the 1930s.

The European Commission published a working paper on Monday describing as ‘feasible, beneficial and much cheaper than previously thought’ a move to cut carbon emissions by 30% by 2020 rather than 20%. On Tuesday parliament’s environment committee adopted a report by my colleague Chris Davies MEP proposing precisely that. Meanwhile, Chris and Marian Harkin MEP and I used a committee debate about health claims on foodstuffs to fire a shot across the Commission’s bows, since they are not assessing the claims in the way we instructed them to in the legislation.

The UK Liberal Democrat MEPs bid farewell to two of our number – West Midlands MEP Liz Lynne and Yorkshire and the Humber MEP Diana Wallis – who have each chosen the mid point of our current parliamentary mandate to step down after 12-and-a-half years of service.

On Wednesday I addressed a conference on Egypt one year after the revolution. That evening I presented to the House my report on a consistent EU policy towards dictators, which – by denying them the right to launder their money through our banking and property markets and to enjoy leisure activities in the EU – should prevent us helping people like Mubarak and Gaddafi remain in power in future. The report was adopted yesterday on the floor of the House as a Recommendation to the European Council.

Last night I addressed the Chinese Liberal Democrats, an associated body of the party, at their New Year celebration supper in London. I spoke of the growing unrest in China and the likelihood of fire in this Year of the Dragon. Today I entertain constituents to tea in Bournemouth at lunchtime and in Exmouth in the evening before addressing a LibDem supper in Paignton. Tomorrow I address Lib Dem councillors in Trowbridge before attending the party’s western counties regional executive meeting in Freshford.

To end on a happy note: after nearly 10 years of campaigning with constituent David Hogg for justice in a teachers’ pay dispute, the European Court of Justice has found in our favour!

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David Cameron should wear slippers rather than DMs if he treads around the European Court of Human Rights

PRSD — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:47:36 +0000

South West MEP Sir Graham Watson, preparing for the Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement to be before the Euro Parliament

This week brought the great news that Bristol will get a £2.5 million grant from the European Investment Bank to invest in green energy and through setting up of an energy services company.

It is hoped that this may create up to 1,000 jobs. Similarly, an SME financing arrangement in Spain worth €200 million has been announced. The EIB’s long-term, low interest loans are hugely valuable in creating jobs and sustainable wealth. The bank is currently presided over by German Lib Dem Werner Hoyer, a former German government minister.

Back in Brussels on Tuesday I met Steve Bradley, chair of the Green Liberal Democrats from the UK (an associate body of the party). We spoke about the plans of the EU’s current Danish presidency to advance investment on renewables before I went into committee to press Denmark’s EU Affairs minister specifically on this point. Denmark’s government ministers, who chair the meetings of the Council of Ministers for the first half of this year, were much in evidence in Parliament; their agriculture minster spoke of using the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the CAP to reform the policy. If only!

This week I also met representatives of the Health Food Manufacturers Association to discuss the European Food Safety Authority’s policy on licensing food which claims beneficial health effects (eg prunes). The EFSA published on Tuesday its scientific decision making criteria, which I and many MEPs intend to challenge when they are discussed in committee next week.

The controversial Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement governing copyright will shortly come before Parliament since it has now been signed (though not yet ratified) by five EU member states. Since it will apply to internet counterfeiting it has become a matter of interest to netizens, many of whom have written urging me to oppose it, arguing that it breaches EU human rights law. I will study it next week prior to discussion in the Liberal Group on how we will vote. The Commission also published two internet related bills to boost confidence in the internet by establishing a right to erasure of data and better data protection rules and enforcement procedures.

Safety on passenger ships was on our agenda because of the sinking of the Costa Concordia off Italy, with Transport commissioner Siim Kallas (Estonia, LD) outlining EU procedures and legal competences. Victims’ families must seek compensation under Italian law because few countries have ratified the Convention of Athens, an intergovernmental convention governing these things. An EU-wide law is needed.

David Cameron was at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, of which the UK currently has the presidency, to talk about reforming the European Court of Human Rights (a Council of Europe, not an EU, institution: the Council of Europe has 47 member states and few legal powers, unlike the tighter-knit EU). If he treads in this area he should wear slippers rather than Doc Martens: ECHR rulings may not be to his liking but the Strasbourg human rights architecture is a monument to good design and careful construction.

The week ended on a good note, with Chancellor Merkel saying – in a newspaper interview and then at Davos – that the Germans will show solidarity with other EU countries and will shore up the euro. On Monday the EU’s heads of state and government meet in Brussels to agree the new budgetary discipline treaty which Germany has insisted on to underpin it.

I have meetings today in Cheltenham, Cirencester, and Yate. Tomorrow my wife and I attend a constituency supper in Taunton. Visit my updated website for my information on my movements.

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The Coalition is creating a political Police Force

Patrick Canavan — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:55:25 +0000

Political tinkering is undermining the independence of the police force

The announcement that Stephen Otter is to stand down as Chief Constable for Devon and Cornwall is sad news. While I wish him well in his new post I can’t help reflecting on the situation regarding his replacement.

It would appear that the Police Authority has been instructed by the Government not to fill the vacancy. The reason for this seems to be that there will be elections for a new Police and Crime Commissioner in November. This could possibly lead to a delay of up to a year in getting a permanent replacement.

This Government directive is just one element in their apparent willingness to interfere in Policing. Their decision over cuts to Police budgets ran roughshod over the discussions that had previously taken place with the Police Federation over streamlining the Force.

The decision by this Government to introduce elected Police and Crime Commissioners was seriously flawed. I simply do not understand how giving one individual so much power is somehow more democratic or makes the Police Force more accountable than the existing Police Authority structure.

There is much discussion about whether these new posts will make Policing political. The reality is that, thanks to this Government, it already is. The Conservatives have form. Not long after the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor of London he intervened to force the resignation of the then Commisioner of the Metropolitan Police for what were purely political reasons. There must therefore be a question mark over whether their candidates for these new roles will want to follow this example.

The legislation to introduce these posts was only possible because of the support of the Liberal Democrats within the Coalition. They have said that they will “not actively contest” these elections because they feel this make the role political. I would have more sympathy with this view had they not supported the legislation in the first place. Whether they will stand a candidate in Devon and Cornwall is not at all clear.

For the sake of completeness I am in a position to confirm that there will definitely be a Labour Party candidate in these elections. Not that those of us who are members support the role but because we are determined to highlight the effect that the policies of this Government are having on our Police Force.

There has traditionally been a very clear distinction between political policy making and the operational independence of professional Police Officers. That independence has already been blurred. We have to stop the distinction disappearing altogether. Voters will have their chance to help us achieve this on November 15 this year.

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European Liberals aim for government austerity and economic growth

Graham Watson — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:33:24 +0000

South West MEP Graham Watson: anyone fancy a car?

As Parliament and the other EU institutions returned to work this week I co-hosted with Nick Clegg a meeting for senior EU Lib Dems (three prime ministers, five deputy prime ministers, one or two other ministers and five EU Commissioners) with UK government cabinet ministers from our party. Though lampooned in the Daily Mail it was a useful meeting and adopted a declaration on the measures needed to ensure that government austerity is accompanied by economic growth and job creation. (For details see www.eldr.eu).

One major concern expressed at the meeting in London also dominated politics in Brussels. If the current economic crisis brings high levels of unemployment, unprincipled governments will play fast and loose with the rules of democracy as is happening in Hungary.

The Liberal Group in the EP decided to call on the European Commission to consider invoking Article 7 of the EU treaties which provides for penalties against member states which flout EU values. The Commission itself promised to use all it’s powers against Hungary if it does not reverse some of the measures currently being taken which affect the independence of the judiciary, the central bank and the media. At stake here, as with Greece, is the credibility of the EU in keeping its members in line.

Drafting of the new intergovernmental compact on fiscal discipline in the eurozone, agreed at the December 9 EU Council meeting and due to finish by end January, continues apace. It should be a very limited Treaty, eventually to be absorbed into the EU Treaties. Some already question publicly whether a new treaty is necessary or whether the same goals could not be met through legislation. But Germany wants it, to be sure of having influence over countries with lax budgetary discipline.

At the same time Sarkozy is pressing for the introduction of a Tobin tax on financial transactions. The suspicion that this is mainly to help his campaign for reelection in April was fuelled, however, by the posting on Facebook of film of a press conference he gave just one year ago arguing vehemently against such a tax.

I sat through a depressing debate in the EP’s Foreign Affairs committee about Turkey, where Greek MEPs predicted the modern day equivalent of plagues of locusts and said we give Turkey far too much aid. I suggested, sarcastically, that we limit the aid to no more than 50% of the amount we give to Greece, per capita. Doing so would mean an increase of several hundred percent.

The newspaper European Voice hosted a debate among the candidates for the EP Presidency in advance of next week’s midterm election. Favourite Martin Schulz (German Socialist) is pitted against UK Tory maverick Nirj Deva and our own Diana Wallis. Neither landed a knock-out blow against him, but there is a whiff of jasmine in the air and a feeling that it is time for another woman President, so Diana may be in with a chance.

Yesterday I met a representative of energy company RWE to discuss the possible refurbishment of Ilfracombe harbour to provide for the planned Atlantic Array wind farm in the Bristol Channel.

Last night I hosted, in my new capacity as President of the European Liberal Democrats, a meeting for the leaders of EU level political parties to discuss the legal status of our parties and the proposal to elect a percentage of MEPs from trans national lists at the next euro elections in 2014.

Today I visited Bristol Zoo Gardens to talk about their conservation work and meeting party members at ‘Tea with your MEP’ social events in Clifton and in Bradford on Avon. Tomorrow I address a supper of party members in the Wells constituency which Tessa Munt now represents so ably.

If any of my readers is interested in buying a slightly battered but well functioning Saab 9,5, 5 door with 107,000 miles on the clock (mine since new, full service history) I am open to any reasonable offer.

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10 predictions for the South West in 2012

Luke Pollard — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 09:13:07 +0000

Gazing into the future can be tricky, but Luke Pollard has a track record

Back in 2010 I made ten predictions about what 2011 would have in store. I got eight out of ten right, not bad for a beginner.

So, what has 2012 got in store? Here’s ten predictions from me for the coming year:

1. Plymouth will win medals in the 2012 Olympic Games. Let’s start with some good news. I think we’re going to win some medals at London 2012. We’ve got some great Olympic hopefuls from our city – not just Tom Daley – but many more. The Big Screen in the city centre will likely become a home from home for many Plymouth Olympic fans, and rightly so!

2. Labour will win control of Plymouth City Council in May’s elections. The Tories know that defeat is imminent. Polling is showing Labour, but victory or defeat will be very close. This won’t be a landslide result for either party. Planning for defeat, I suspect the Tories might be considering leaving a budget filled with fiscal traps, legacy projects over-budget and hated planning decisions such as the Incinerator. In a commonly used political tactic, they’re seeking to spike the party that wins in May’s local elections. If it’s Labour if’s going to be a tough first year in office dealing with an appalling legacy from our local Tories… but if it is a Tory win, then they’ll get their own comeuppance!

3. Unemployment will steadily rise especially amongst young people. 2012 is going to be a tough year for our city. 2011 saw unemployment rise under a Government that cared little about the jobless. As harsh cuts bite further in the New Year and Ministers remain clueless about job creation, the numbers signing on will continue to rise. This will be worst felt among young people as we risk creating a lost generation of young people. It’s time for a proper plan B from the Chancellor.

4. Crime will continue to rise. As police numbers are cut and the economy worsens crime will rise across Devon and Cornwall.

5. Interest rates will rise. My prediction of interest rate rises was one of the two that didn’t happen. But interest rates will rise in 2012. Good news for savers; bad news for those with mortgages.

6. Europe bites back. After Cameron’s hubris and blind belief in the City of London forced a veto on the Eurozone’s attempts to stabilise their currency, officials and European Governments will bite back against Britain. Thanks to Mr Cameron’s mishandling we may see British interests in fisheries, common agricultural policy, the rebate and foreign policy all take a battering from Brussels as the UK’s influence takes a further knocking. This won’t be a deliberate punishment of Britain, but with so little influence we won’t be able to stop things we might otherwise have been able to.

7. The Tories will push on with the Devonport incinerator. Few local decisions are so hare-brained as plans to burn all our rubbish in the heart of the city. As other Tory councils across the country reject expensive PFI plans for incinerators, Plymouth’s Tories will press ahead with plans for one of the largest incinerator in Britain with a chimney stack taller than the Tamar Bridge. Crazy.

8. Bus services will be cut further. Since the bonkers sale of CityBus our local bus services have become more expensive and much reduced in terms of frequency and routes. The decline of public transport will continue as private sector bus companies hike prices and cut routes. School bus cuts could be on the cards in 2012 too.

9. Ed Miliband will visit Plymouth. The Labour Leader last visited Plymouth in the Leadership contest of 2010. It’s time for him to make a return to our city and see for himself the effects of the Tory-led Coalition Government on our local communities. I predict a handshake with the new Labour leader of Plymouth City Council might be on the cards…

10. The Lib Dems face electoral wipeout. Having correctly predicted they’d be punished in the 2011 elections, without a major change of approach, they face utter electoral wipeout. In the south west that means the Tories mop up most of the Lib Dem seats. I’m no fan of the Lib Dems but unless their activists inject some sense into their MPs, there may not be enough of them to fill a taxi after the next General Election and that means a Tory majority becomes a bit easier to achieve. 2012 is a make or break year for the south west Lib Dems – will their members assert themselves or will they continue to march inexorably towards annihilation?

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EU gets hard boiled on egg welfare

PRSD — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:33:11 +0000

New EU egg welfare laws will be robustly pursued, according to EU Commissioner John Dalli

EU Commissioner John Dalli has revealed that action has already begun at European level to punish Member States who have made little or no effort to conform to new egg welfare laws.

The Commissioner said that letters have already been sent to Member States informing them they will be taken to court for failing to comply with laws to outlaw battery cages.

He also revealed that his inspection teams are ready to go all out from January 1 2012 to collect the evidence of non compliance to back up the prosecution when it goes to court.

He reinforced the message to those who are breaking the law that there will be no derogations and no escape route for those who have failed to comply

Commenting, Liberal Democrat MEP for South West England Sir Graham Watson said: “European Health Commissioner Dalli has given a cast iron guarantee that there will be no extension of the January 1 deadline for compliance and there will be no derogations offered to those who have failed to comply

“I was pleased to hear that infringement procedures have already been started against Member States that have chosen to flout the law and that EU inspectors are poised ready to gather evidence against them from the start of 2012.

“I hope the tough action the Commissioner is taking will send a message to those countries who think that they can turn a blind eye. They had better think again and get their hen houses in order.

“I hope the Commission is also going to back the coalition government and the many farmers in the South West who are fully complying with this new legislation which has come at a cost of £400 million.

“If that type of action is taken by all countries that are compliant it should hit hard at the pockets of illegal producers and force them to get out or upgrade.”

(from a press release)

(image: Some rights reserved by bgottsab)

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Incontinence or the economy? The UK expresses a preference

Graham Watson — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:51:40 +0000

Sir Graham Watson's Intelligent Energy Europe programme went largely unreported in the UK

Of the three speeches I made in the House this week the two important ones – on the outcome of last week’s European Council (Summit) and on the future of the Intelligent Energy Europe programme – went largely unreported in the UK, while my attack on the European Food Safety Agency for preventing prune sellers claiming prunes have a laxative effect was widely reported and went viral on social networking sites.

At least on the continent (as opposed to the incontinent?) the priorities are different. I found myself in demand from French, German, Italian, Belgian, Polish and Austrian broadcasters for my views on last week’s summit outcome, the repercussions of which have marked this week in Parliament.

Council President Hermann van Rompuy and Commission President Barroso made statements about the summit to the House on Tuesday. In the ensuing debate most MEPs regretted the UK’s decision; a few said ‘good riddance’. I expressed the hope that the UK will yet decide to come back to the table. Britain may be a rock surrounded by water but it is not an island.

Parliament voted this week inter alia to approve a directive giving greater legal rights (effectively the same social protections as EU citizens) to third country nationals working in the EU. We also approved a directive allowing victims of harassment (including sexual harassment) who enjoy restraining orders to benefit from similar protection wherever they travel in the EU. And we threw out a proposal to prolong the EU’s fisheries agreement with Morocco for legal and environmental reasons.

Justice and Home Affairs ministers met in Brussels and approved the renegotiated EU-USA agreement on transfer of data on airline passengers. This is likely to come to Parliament in January and will probably secure approval since our concerns about privacy have largely been accommodated (thanks in large measure to chief committee clerk Emilio de Capitani, an unsung hero of citizens’ rights protection, who retires this week). Transport ministers reached a first-reading agreement on a directive opening up the market in rail travel. The Commission proposed a new draft directive on the rights of EU citizens to consular protection by the embassies of other member states in crisis situations.

On Monday environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik (LD, Slovenia) proposed the allocation of EUR 3.2bn to the LIFE programme for the period 2014-2020, of which EUR 800m would be available to fund climate projects. LIFE, the EU’s financial instrument for the environment, has been a great success.

On Tuesday morning I joined other MEPs in a meeting with energy commissioner Gunter Oettinger (EPP, Germany) about his spending priorities. He is still too focused on fossil fuels. We all welcomed the outcome of the UN climate conference in Durban, which snatched some success from the jaws of defeat, though the decision of Canada’s Conservative government to pull out is a blow.

On Tuesday the new regulations on member states total debt and annual deficits came into force. Countries which fail to bring total debt to below 60% of GDP and fail to keep deficits below 3% of GDP may now face financial penalties. Agreeing these measures, designed to prevent future financial meltdowns, has taken two years of work in Council and Parliament and thinned the hair of economic affairs commissioner Olli Rehn (LD, Finland), who I met on Tuesday.

I was pleased to welcome to Strasbourg a group of sixth-formers from Cheltenham College. I tried to explain to them how Cameron’s ham-fisted actions last week may eventually take the UK out of all the areas of EU co-operation mentioned above.

Today I meet those trying to restore Devon’s Poltimore House to its former glory. I also tackle a massive pile of constituents’ correspondence and take my constituency staff for a Christmas lunch. Next week I’ll be back in Brussels for committee meetings.

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Striking teachers are the shame of Britain, says Torbay Tory student

Nick Bonstow — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:08:50 +0000

The NUT on strike on November 30, 2011, over changes to their pension, which would see them pay more, work longer and receive less

Life’s difficult. The real learning difficulty in the striking teachers’ minds is simply the requirement to get over it. In an age where debt, deficits and general disasters populate our news agenda; an age where child poverty is rising; where one in five young people are unemployed and violent crime is up 77% since 1997, Britain is facing two crises – a broken society and a broken economy.

It is a time to come together in the national interest, and to the take the pain. In fact the number of strikes in the private sector has fallen from 135 in the year 2000, when the economy was sailing smoothly, to just 61 in the rocky year of 2009.

What was happening to our teachers at the time? In 2009, while the private sector was being strangled by a credit crunch, business was positively booming for our public sector teachers. In fact, with Ed Balls at the helm, education spending rose by £5bn. Meanwhile for builders in the private sector house prices fell by 20%, the index of manufacturing fell by 14% and GDP was in sharp decline. Did we hear the cries for strikes, purposeful chaos and mass disruption like we’ve heard from the loony left of the trade union movement? No. These hard-working British men and women wouldn’t dream of it.

Most of Britain, faced with these tough times put its head down and got to work. Struggling through hard times, accepting less business and lower living standards. The public sectors workers, of which our teachers belong, took the very low road.

Public sector workers on the whole are over-paid and over-pensioned. But, arguments as to whether or not teachers deserve maintained pension arrangements are different. Private sector workers do not deserve lower living standards and declining employment prospects. Young people do not deserve very high youth unemployment. Householders do not deserve to see house prices falling away. Public sector workers do not deserve to work in an organisation of which Labour trashed the finances of.

The question is not whether or not teachers, or anyone deserves lower living standards, lower pensions or tough times. It is how do you deal with it.

Teachers are horribly misled for going on strike. Why didn’t the vast majority of Britain make use of the attention seeking, disruptive and petulant behaviour teachers did? Simply because they aren’t led by loony left-wing union bosses. Whipping them into an unpatriotic, silly fervour with ridiculous arguments that somehow by walking out, causing widespread chaos and following their far-left wing rhetoric the Coalition government is going to embark upon a quick U-turn. We all know that to be false – if only the teachers realised that the only positive effect their strike has had is upon the egos of the mini-Chairman Maos heading up the trade unions.

Quite simply, while the rest of Britain deals with tough times gracefully, our teachers following their insane union leaders turned themselves into the shame of Britain. The only ones who have genuinely benefited are the union leaders like Bob Crow, Dave Prentis and Christine Blower who now find themselves not only maintaining huge pay packets but with even bigger far-left egos.

It’s time the teachers manned up, broke free from this disgraceful behaviour and joined the rest of us on planet Earth.

(image: Some rights reserved by DulcieLee)

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Centre-right establishment lets Europe down, says South West MEP

PRSD — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:40:58 +0000

"While many of the things agreed at the EU Council were necessary to save the Euro, the way in which it has been done stores up problems for the future," said Graham Watson

David Cameron isn’t the only person to blame for the outcome his forays into European diplomacy. South West MEP Sir Graham Watson (head honcho of the European Liberals), has said it’s the centre right establishment which has let Europe down.

“Just as national leaders within the centre-right European People’s Party have played fast and loose with constitutional niceties, so now Europe’s establishment – predominantly from the EPP – has re-written EU rules in a dangerous way,” said Graham.

“While many of the things agreed at the EU Council were necessary to save the Euro, the way in which it has been done stores up problems for the future.”

“For the sake of Sarkozy’s standing in the polls, the European Council President Van Rompuy has been sidelined, the Community method has been undone and the Lisbon architecture dismantled. The introduction of a ‘super’ qualified majority of 85% leaves large member states with a veto but not their smaller counterparts.

“It appears that the French and German leaders came into this summit with one outcome in mind and no one was going to scupper that. Sarkozy could have done more to accommodate British concerns.

“This threatens the single market. The European centre-right establishment is responsible for this mess.”

( Some rights reserved by alex.ch)

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Activists restart Plymstock Party as Labour targets local elections

PRSD — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:50:34 +0000

Shirley Smith will be standing for the Plymstock Radford ward in the May 2012 local elections

Labour members in Plymstock have re-established their local party and elected a new chair with a mandate to win seats at the local elections in May 2012.

Retired social worker Shirley Smith, who doubled the Labour vote when she contested the Plymstock Radford ward in the local elections this year, was elected unanimously by local party members.

Shirley said: “Labour is making a come back in Plymstock. We know from our doorstep canvassing that people are struggling to find work locally, that our roads are getting worse and the council is supporting a lot of inappropriate development in Plymstock.

“Restarting the Plymstock Labour Party is just the start of a new effort by Labour to win in the local elections in May. Over the next few months we will be launching a big membership drive and will be campaigning against local police cuts.”

After many years of decline of local parties the national Labour Party has been encouraging branches to be set up again. Plymstock is the only part of Plymouth not to have a fully functioning Labour party until now.

Luke Pollard, Labour’s last Parliamentary Candidate for the South West Devon constituency that includes Plymstock welcomed Shirley Smith’s election as chair of Plymstock Labour Party.

Luke said: “Labour is making a come back in Plymstock. People angry at the way the Lib Dems have sold out the Tories are joining Labour at the fastest rate since 1997. Shirley doubled the Labour vote in the recent local elections and we have firmly set our sights on winning more support in the crucial 2012 elections where the Tories could be kicked out of the Civic Centre.”

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