Now Civil Servants join bankers in ludicrous bonuses...

"Civil Servants enjoyed a record £130 miillion in taxpayer-funded bonuses last year - and are in line for an even bigger sum this year. More than £350,000 a day went on performance-related pay for Government staff in 2009-9, it has emerged. Some mandarins were given payouts of almost £50,000 - twice the threshold of Chancellor Alistair Darling's 'supertax' on bankers introduced earlier this month. And despite an unprecedented state deficit, several Whitehall departments have set aside even larger sums for 2009-10. While under equipped troops are killed in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence is ready to offer almost £6 million more to increase its bonus pot.

Vince Cable, Liberal Democrat treasury said: 'When the whole bonus culture is being discredited, it's absolutely ridiculous for civil servants to be awarded these kinds of payments. What kind of message does it send when the Government talks tough on bonuses for the City while allowing Whitehall these bonus pots?" Daily Mail 24.12.09

How the great Mr Gladstone rescued our country...

"Gladstone was born 200 years ago next Tuesday. He had a combination of wisdom, scruple, erudition, perspective, integrity and dedication that possibly no statesman in our history has been able to match. What has always struck me most about Gladstone is that he was so utterly right. Three things seem to underpin his genius. The first is his economic policy. It was not just Gladstone's belief in free trade, it was his recognition that if you cut taxes, you raise more revenue, because of the provision of the incentive to work and take risks.

"His second vital policy was the 1870 Education Act. Compulsory education to the age of 12 was a Liberal deed. Gladstone's Act made literacy and numeracy the right of every child, equipped a workforce for a higher degree of sophistication, and kick-stated the growth of the middle-classes. Its contribution to our country can not be overstated. Gladstone's third policy was his scepticism about imperialism of all sorts. Although the British empire expanded much under his rule, he did nothing to encourage it. Nothing would prove this more than Ireland. Had home rule been granted at either attempt by him, in 1886 or 1893, would it have caused Britain such trouble over the following 120 years? Of course it would not. " Eric Heffer, Deputy Editor, Daily Telegraph 23.12.09

 

Arms dealer gives £100,000 to Tories...

"The Tories have received £100,000 from a company controlled by a former arms dealer who was at the centre of one of the party's most notorious scandals. The donations have come from the tiny British arm of Future Pipe Industries, which is controlled by billionaire Lebanese businessman Fouad Makhzoumi. He was a key figure in the furore that topped former Conservative Cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken and which came to typify an era of Tory sleaze.

"The party's decision to re-establish financial links with him is likely to raise serious concerns about its vetting of potentially controversial donations. The firm previously made a £50,000 donation to the Tories one month before the 2005 election. In that year it made a pre-tax profit of just £21,000. " Daily Mail 23.12.09

Big cash cuts to hit teaching at universities...

"Universities will have to make severe cuts after Lord Mandelson abruptly slashed teaching budgets by millions of pounds yesterday.

"Departments are expected to close, degree courses will be scrapped, and students will have to pay higher fees.

"Academics were furious at the plan to claw back £135 million and condemned the timing of the announcement. Universities had already been ordered to find £180 million in savings in the next 18 months. When savage spending cuts were announced in the Pre-Budget Report, schools were given immunity but universities were not.

"The cuts mean that funding per student has fallen in real terms of the first time in ten years. " The Times 23.12.09

Voters say Tories are a party for the rich...

"David Cameron has failed to seal the deal with the British public, who believe the Conservatives would govern for the well-off and are not an attractive alternative to Labour. In a remarkable snapshot of national opinion just months ahead of the general election, a ComRes poll for The Independent found that by 52 to 44 per cent, the public agrees with the statement that 'a Conservative Government would mainly represent the interests of the well-off rather than ordinary people.'

"The survey gives the Tories a nine-point lead over Labour, down one point on last month. If repeated at a general election, the figures would leave the Tories five seats short of an overall majority. According to ComRes, the Tories are on 38 per cent, Labour 29 per cent and the Liberal Democrats 19.

"The findings will add to the jitters in the Tory high command after the gap between the two main parties closed in recent weeks. Amid fears that the Tory message has been too 'austere' because of the economic crisis, Mr. Cameron will try to paint a more positive vision of life under a Tory government in a new year campaign." Independent 22.12.09

School league tables are here to stay, says Top Tory...

"A pledge to keep controversial tests for 11 year olds and league tables will form a key plank of the Conservatives election manifesto, their schools spokesman Michael Gove reveals today.

'We will make it clear that the tests and league tables will be here to stay if you elect a Conservative government," he says in an interview with The Independent.

"The pledge threatens to plunge a new Conservative government into major conflict with teacher unions. Michael Gove said the Sats tests would be kept as parents need 'robust data' on the performance of schools." The Independent, 21.12.09...so, Conservatives vote with Labour to go to war in Iraq...spin the printing-presses to print record amounts of money with no alternative and no ideas..and no agree with Labour on a key plank of Education Policy which is widely recognised as having failed...

100 peers claim £50,000 each...

"More than 100 peers each claimed in excess of £50,000 in expenses to work in the House of Lords last year, official figures seen by The Daily Telegraph indicate. They included 18 members who claimed more than £30,000 in housing costs - significantly more than the maximum £24,000 that MPs receive to run a second home.

"The figures show that 17 peers claimed more than £60,000, 11 more than £65,000, and the cross-bencher Lord Laird, a total of £730,000. More than 300 claimed in excess of £25,000.

"The second most expensive peer, Baroness Adams of Craigielea, who, as Irene Adams, was a long-serving Labour MP, claimed £67,000, despite having not taken part in a House of Lords debate since making her maiden speech nearly four years ago." Daily Telegraph 21.12.09

Minister in secret slush-fund to sister...

"A Minister secretly paid more than £40,000 in taxpayer funded expenses to his sister, the Daily Telegraph can disclose today. Sion Simon told parliamentary officials that a rented north London property was his "second home" for expenses purposes.

"The flat was owned by the Culture Minister's sister, a management consultant. MPs have been explicity banned since April 2006 from renting properties from family members at taxpayer' expense. However, Mr. Simon continued to make improper claims of £1,000 a month until 2008."

"Attempts by the House of Commons to draws a line under the expense scandal were dealt a blow by 80 MPs yesterday, who defied demands to repay hundreds of thousands of pounds. Around 200 MPs are thought to have been asked to return money, but a third has submitted appeals by the deadline of 3.0pm." Daily Telegraph 18.12.09

"Tories lack clarity"

"Do the Tories enunciate a clear alternative that will benefit not merely their supporters, but also the country?  Not yet.  It's not just that Mr. Osborne seems to have no clear plans to share with the electorate about how he will mastermind our recovery.  He also talks about economics in a way that shows he simply doesn't understand it.  I dread the prospect of someone so economically and financially illiterate as Mr. Osborne assuming responsibility for the nation's money.

"Given what a disaster Labour has created, that the Conservative Party should have any hope of putting up a decent economic argument during an election campaign is stunningly appalling: and the worst indictment of the Tory party. The Tories should be 20 points ahead in the polls, rather than having a single-digit lead that causes, understandingly, talk of a hung parliament.  It is because they lack clarity, and lack appeal to those who are fundamentally conservative, that they struggle.  Rather than worrying about Labour voters, and giving them Labour policies to vote for, the Tories should be getting their own supporters motivated.

"Osborne reminds one of the small child who sits in the front seat of a bus and moves his arms in the motion of a steering wheel, because he thinks he's driving the vehicle."  Simon Heffer in the Daily Telegraph 16.12.09

Huhne forces Tory U-turn on non-dom tax cheats

"Lord Ashcroft may be forced to declare or confirm his tax status before the election after the Conservatives indicated that they were ready to push through changes to prevent non-tax residents sitting in Parliament.  Lord Ashcroft's business empire is based in Belize, where he has said his home is "where my heart is" - and has declined to elaborate on his tax matters.

"The Tories have shifted position after criticism from Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, of the failure of the Conservatives to support an amendment three times in the past which would have changed legislation. "Mr Huhne said: "We and the Conservatives have a majority in the Lords so we could have actually got that through...on three occasions the Tories filibustered that Bill."  He told the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Philip Hammond: "I am delighted that you have now seen the error of your ways."  The Times 15.12.09

Cameron taxes our trust in him

"It's all about trust.  Many people quite like Mr. Cameron, but they are not sure whether he is genuine - focus groups always mention the car that followed him with his shoes as he cycled to work.  The only reason why he has not sealed the deal is that he has not persuaded the electorate that he is the real deal. "In a recent poll, only 26 per cent of voters said they thought George Osborne was honest.  Party strategists know that nothing matters more than credibility.  That is why the Tory leader's behaviour over Lord Ashcroft is so bizarre.  "If home is where the heart is, then Belize is my home" says Lord Ashcroft, who has given over £10 millions to the Conservative campaign and is masterminding the crucial operation in marginal seats, but still refuses to say whether he currently lives in this country. "This is not about one man and his tax status.  It is about leadership.  Mr Cameron clearly thinks the tax status of parliamentarians matters, or he wouldn't want to change the law.  And yet he will not say whether a peer who is one of his party's biggest donors has a financial stake in the country he wants to run. "The questions about his tax status play into the wider issue of trust.  Voters are still unsure whether Mr. Cameron really calls the shots with his rightwingers.  If he can't even force his own vice-chairman to say where he lives for tax purposes, then it is fair to wonder whether he could assert himself on things that really matter."  Rachel Syvester column in the Times, 15.12.09

Brown urged to free locked up asylum children

"Gordon Brown was last night accused of 'moral cowardice' fore failing to scrap a controversial asylum policy that will see hundreds of innocent children spent Christmas behind bars. "In an open letter to the Prime Minister, the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg urged him to bring an immediate end to the policy of locking up the children of families who are facing possible deportation. "Nick Clegg said the policy 'shamed Britain' and did nothing to tackle the problem of illegal asylum seekers.  He added: 'It is morally repugnant that as a country we are locking up hundreds, possibly thousands of children, most of them below the age of five, and causing them absolute fear and confusion.  This is a dark secret that needs to be brought into the light."  Daily Mail, 15.12.09

Lib Dem hits out at Bishop

" The new Bishop to the Armed Forces apologised last night for claiming that the Taliban could be admired for "conviction to their faith and their sense of loyalty", after the Liberal Democrat MP for the garrison town of Colchester, Bob Russell, said: 'What you never do is give comfort to the enemy.  It is one thing to have respect for the enemy, but there is a world of difference here.  The Bishop should concentrate on boosting the moral of our Armed Forces rather than boosting the morale of our enemy."  Daily Telegraph, 15.12.09

Outrage at 2,000% Loans

" Greedy lenders are exploiting families by offering Christmas loans with crippling annual interest rates of 2,350 per cent.  Families hit by the credit crunch are turning to so-called payday loans because they cannot access extra money from high street banks. " National TV adverts for one loan firm hit screens last week just as the Office of Fair Trading research revealed a worrying increase in expensive short-term borrowing.  And last night there were calls for the Government to clamp down on the loan firms amid fears that thousands of families could be plunged into spiralling debt. "Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said: "At a time when official interest rates are close to zero and inflation is very low or negative, it is unbelievable that people are being charged thousands or hundreds of per cent in interest. "Much of this can be attributed to the withdrawal of credit from struggling households who can no longer use banks and are being driven into these extreme and extortionate forms of credit," Vince Cable said.  "These findings underline the need for the Government to match its rhetoric with firm action to regulate these extortionate credit markets," added the Liberal Democrat spokesman.  Daily Express front-page 14.12.09

Rural petrol stations beg for help

"The body that represents the UK's 6,000 rural and independent filling stations has written to the EU Competition Commissioner urging her to investigate a potentially devastating hike in business rates that could lead to hundreds of local garages closing down. "Sue Robinson, a director of the RMI Independent Petrol Retailers Association, wrote to Neelie Kroes this month urging her to investigate next April's planned increase, and 'raise it with HM Treasury as a matter of urgency.'  Hundreds of rural petrol stations face closure if the increase is pushed through on April l, owners have warned."  Daily Telegraph 14.12.09

Blair accused by Nick Clegg of "twisting facts"

"Tony Blair was last night accused of "breathtaking cynicism' after he claimed that he would have invaded Iraq even if he had known it had no weapons of mass destruction. "Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg launched a scathing assault on Mr. Blair for saying that he would simple have used different arguments to justify the 2003 invasion. "Nick Clegg said: 'For Tony Blair to declare that he would have come up with any old reason to justify the illegal invasion of Iraq shows quite how far he was prepared to twist the facts to suit his determination to invade Iraq alongside George Bush. "It is both troubling and offensive that Blair felt able simply to pull the wool over people's eyes to suit his own ends.  This revelation underlines that the Liberal Democrats were right to stand along against the drive by both Labour and Conservative parties to go to war in Iraq,' said Clegg."  Mail on Sunday, 13.09.12

Tory women revolt on marital tax break

"David Cameron is facing a rebellion from women within his own party against his decision to reward marriage through tax breaks.  Senior Tory figures fear their leader's move could alienate single mothers, as well as millions of cohabiting couples. "MPs and parliamentary candidates say Cameron risks moralising about people's personal relationship."  Sunday Times 13.12.09

Iran demands freedom of suspected arms dealer

"The Government is considering the release of a senior former Iranian diplomat held in the UK accused of supplying weapons for terrorists. "Tehran is demanding the tit-for-tat release in response to its decision to free a group of British yachtsmen who strayed into Iranian waters last month. "But the extraordinary move has been greeted with anger in America, where the diplomat, Nostratollah Tajik, Iran's former Ambassador to Jordan, is wanted on an extradition charge to the US for trying to sell military equipment."  Mail on Sunday 13.12.09

Boris's brother is Orpington Toryman

"Boris Johnson's family has extended its grip on British political life after his blond look-alike brother successfully fought off 180 applicants to be the Conservative candidate for Orpington, where he will defend a majority over the Liberals of nearly 5,000. "The appointment of Jo Johnson has angered many local people who are upset that no local person made it to the final shortlist of six."  Mail on Sunday 13.09.12

Peter Hitchin's column

"Patrolling Kabul in his suit, and picking his way round Helmand in body armour, David Cameron mouths the standard-issue pieties of all three front benches, namely that military "success" is possible in Afghanistan. "A proper patriot would tell the Americans that they can keep their idiotic war, and that we will be leaving as soon as practicable.  But the Tories aren't really patriots.  Hence their need to pretend to be, by posing in flak-jackets and going Army barmy with lots of macho solider-talk.  If this cost no lives and no money, it would merely be pathetic.  As it actually costs heavily in both, it is wicked and cowardly."  Sunday Express, 13.12.09

Paddy's Whack

"The BBC's Question Time from Wootton Bassett was a triumph.  After a couple of sub-standard episodes recently, the latest programme offered a superb level of debate.  The exchanges between Paddy Ashdown and former army chief Sir Richard Dannett over his premature defection to the Tories was electrifying.  Proper public service broadcasting.  More like this please."  Daily Express, Patrick O'Flynn column 12.12.09

Secret 4% rise in council tax

"Hard-pressed families face a four per cent rise in council tax next year, it emerged yesterday.  The crippling increase of £1 billion was revealed in the small print of Alistair Darling's pre-Budget report.  Householders were also warned to brace themselves for further cuts in services, including the end of weekly bin collections."  Daily Express 12.12.09

PLUS.......

• "At a time like this, it's madness to ring-fence any budget at the expense of the rest. Even sacred cows can be hugely overweight. Since 1977, billions have been poured into health and education, without the improvements in standards we'd expect.  "How can Mr. Darling claim there's no scope for cuts in the NHS, on the day we learn it is spending £1 million a day paying agency nurses up to £128 an hour, and that a doctor has been paid £7,000 for sleeping through a three-day shift?  "Everywhere you look in the public sector, the waste is horrific - from the middle ranging Border Agency IT worker paid almost twice as much as the Prime Minister to the offer of £35,469 a year for a researcher to study lap-dancing clubs.  "This week's black hole of a Pre-Budget Report has left a political and moral vacuum, to be filled by any party with the guts to treat the British people like adults and spell out the painful measures that alone can save our shattered economy.  "We're still waiting, Mr. Cameron." Daily Mail, leader-column, 12.12.09:

• "At a charity gathering this week, David Cameron said his party was determined to support marriage - but was in no way critical of single mothers. Sorry, but he can't have it both ways.  "Let's be clear: there are many, many single mothers who are on their own because they have been widowed, or abandoned by selfish husbands. They do a wonderful job of raising children in very difficult circumstances. My issue is not with them but with the countless young women who seek out single parenthood as a lifestyle choice and who sponge off a benefits system that actively encourages them to avoid living with a regular partner.

"Yet Mr. Cameron still refuses to criticise the mothers who are to blame. Instead, we get his wishy-washy pledge that he is pro-traditional families but not against single parenting. The result? He ends up standing for nothing.  "It was the same over City bonuses: one minute the Sunshine Kid was telling the world's most powerful bankers that he was on their side; the next he was supporting Gordon Brown's tax on banker's bonuses.  "Or how about Green issues? Dave believes in caring for the environment so passionately that he cycles to work - het has a gas-guzzling car to follow behind with his shoes.  "Europe? He gave a 'cast iron' promise to Eurosceptics that he would hold a vote on the Lisbon Treaty - then ducked out at the last minute.  "Time and again, David Cameron seems to lack the conviction to stand up for anything. "All that matters to him is causing the minimal possible offence, for fear that it might cost him a few votes at the election. This is the politics of appeasement. "With our country's social future deteriorating, the economy facing meltdown, and a pathologically dishonest government clinging to power, now is the time for strong leadership, providing consistency, conviction, and courage. If Mr. Flip-flop is our best hope, we really are in trouble." Daily Mail, Platell's People 12.12.09

• "Smiling cheerfully, this is Azad Ootam, a mid-ranking civil servant working for the border security force. He has every reason to look pleased after being paid more than £310,000 of public money last year - more than double the pay of Gordon Brown.  "Mr. Ootam joined the UK Border Agency in June 2006. He was supposed to stay as an interim consultant for only five weeks, but ended up working at the Government agency in charge of enforcing immigration rules for three years. During this time he was paid £750 a day, giving him an annual salary of £180,000. He also received an extra £128,000 for four months consultant services work last year, and also successfully claimed £13,856 in expenses for five months. "Lib Dem shadow Home Secretary Chris Huhne said: 'Even for the UKBA, which has been a byword for mismanagement, this is an extreme waste of taxpayers hard earned cash.  "Given that the agency has just paid bonuses for senior staff, this carelessness with public money should make them ashamed."  Mr. Ootam drives a Porsche sports car and now runs his own consultancy from his £1.3 million house in Ealing. Daily Mail 12.12.09

• Local opinion polls show that the BNP leader, Nick Griffin, stands an excellent chance of unseating veteran Labour MP Margaret Hodge in the East London constituency of Barking at the General Election. Shouldn't David Cameron help see off his odious challenge by ordering the Tory candidate to step aside in Barking - and make common cause with Labour against the BNP? Daily Mail Peter Oborne column 12.12.09

• "Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth let slip two opportunities to rescue a British couple kidnapped by Somali pirates. Elite Royal Marine commandoes were twice ready to launch a critical assault on the gang who had captured Paul Chandler, 59, and his wife Rachel, 55. "But each time Mr. Ainsworth did not order the Royal Marines to move in. Nearly seven weeks later, the couple are still being held for a £4 million ransom by the pirates.  "The Royal Navy has been heavily criticised over its failure to come to the aid of the Chandlers. Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Willie Rennie said: "Bob Ainsworth must make a statement to Parliament explaining his role in this escapade. It would be unfair and morally unjust for the Royal Navy to take the rap for something that is a political decision, especially when there were specialist troops on hand ready to go into action, just waiting for the order." Daily Mail 12.12.09

• "Feeding the debt monster is driving Britain to the brink of ruin. It is gobbling up unimaginable sums. In the pre-Budget report, Mr. Darling told us of his plan to borrow another £707 billion of the next five years. This will be piled on top of the state's existing debt, so that we will end up owing about £1.5 trillion. Million, billions, squillions, how much is that?  "Well, £1.5 trillion is more than Britain's total current annual output. Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat MP, has calculated that one trillion pounds in £10 notes, placed end to end, would stretch to the moon and back... 18 times over. " Daily Telegraph the Jeff Randall Column 11.12.09

• "MPs went on a multi-million pound spending spree last year in the run up to a clampdown on parliamentary expenses. Dozens "flipped" their designated second home while others spent thousands of pounds renovating properties and remodelling their gardens at a time when calls for reform of the system were increasing. Sixty claimed the maximum £24,000 allowance, with more than 230 claiming more than £20,000. John Maples, the deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, has made an estimated £1 million pound profit by selling a house which he bought with the help of taxpayers money." Daily Telegraph 11.12.09

• "George Osborne got his sums wrong by demanding more than the maximum allowable of expenses. The Shadow Chancellor - who hopes to be in charge of the nation's finances next year - was rebuffed by the Fees Office when he claimed more than £24,006 last year.  "Having already claimed up to £1,794 a month on mortgage interest, £225 for jet- washing the side of his house, and £3.20 for a brass lamp holder, Mr. Osborne's request that the taxpayer foot his £654.91 home insurance bill pushed him over the limit.  "David Cameron slashed the amount he was claiming from £1,500 a month to just over £3,000 for the first three months of this year. He submitted a mortgage interest claim just two days after publicly stating such claims as 'wrong'. " Daily Mail 11.12.09

• Royal Mail profits are soaring despite strikes, shrinking postbags and a growing pensions black hole. The company made a £184 million profit in the six months to September, up four per cent on the same time last year - and despite customers posting seven million fewer letters a day.  Modernisation has allowed 80 per cent of all mail to be sorted automatically. The company shed 5,000 jobs, mainly in its letters division, as part on an efficiency drive, but was forced to pump £300 million into its pension fund during the first half of the financial year to try to plug a deficit expected to top £10 billion - up from £3.4 billion three years ago.  Liberal Democrat business spokesman John Thurso said: Any improvement in profitability is welcome, but Royal Mail still faces many structural problems, including a decline in its core business and a worrying pension deficit." Daily Express 11.12.09

• Promised rises in child and disability benefits will be cancelled out after the general election, it has emerged. Alistair Darling announced an inflation-beating increase in the pre-Budget report with a 1.5 per cent rise in child benefit and disability benefits. It is due to come into effect next April, just weeks before the expected date of the general election. However, he made no announcement about whether the rise could be sustained after April 2011.  "Steve Webb, the Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman, said: 'Alistair Darling appears to have hoodwinked those listening to his report about what this could mean for people with disabilities and families in the long run. But, incredibly, he also seems to have misled his own colleagues. All Ministers must take responsibility for this." Daily Telegraph 11.12.09