The following two paragraphs are carefully
separated:
“When Labour came to power in 1997, the annual
rate of unauthorised absence was 0.7% - a constant figure
since 1994.”
—
“That means that 1.05% of school sessions were
missed without permission - up from 1.01%.”
David Cameron starts his response to
Alastair Darling’s last budget speech before the
general election at almost exactly 1:00:00, one hour in
on the video [link on headline above]. Cameron’s
response lasts until 1:14:10.
snarling Gordon Brown loses control.
Image:bbc.co.uk
Particularly interesting is Brown the
Clown’s show of temper as he loses control, and
then seeks reassurance from the female on his left.
snarling Gordon Brown loses control.
Image:bbc.co.uk
Can you imagine in what a mess the
Brown the Clown will be if he ever turns up for the TV
debates?
This is generally reasonable
report, with added PC placebos.
[34-page large print .pdf, plentiful white space and charts.]
It seems the Conservative party is
learning that basic lesson of Keynes:
“The important thing for Government is not to
do things which individuals are doing already, and to
do them a little better or a little worse; but to do
those things which at present are not done at all.” Keynes,
1926
“The policy framework should have changed too,
but, in thirteen years of Labour government, ministers
have consistently ducked the task of reform. As a result,
golden opportunities to update Britain’s ageing
energy systems have been missed and the major investments
needed to ensure the security and sustainability of
our energy supplies have yet to be made.
“Deferring decisions until time is running out is more
costly than acting in a planned, timely manner. Thus,
in addition to the burden of financial debt, Labour
has left behind an ‘energy debt’ –
one which consumers will have to pay for in the decades
to come.
“This green paper sets out a Conservative programme
for the long-overdue reform of British energy policy
– together with the actions we will take to mobilise
the investment required to enact those reforms and our
strategy for minimising the cost to consumers.”
“All of these challenges came with ample warning.
Yet because they were comprehensively ignored we face
an energy crisis in which:
“The Government said, last summer, that it
expected electricity power cuts for the first time since
the 1970s.
The energy regulator has warned that Britain is now
vulnerable to disruptions to gas and other energy supplies.
Consumers face higher costs because vital investments
were not made in a planned, timely and, therefore, more
cost-effective way.”
“Gas – By 2018,
at least 70% of our gas needs will be imported (see
above). Other countries that rely on imports make sure
that they have enough storage capacity or long-term
contracts to secure supplies. Yet the UK has, at best,
just 16 days of gas storage capacity, compared with
99 in Germany and 122 in France. This has a negative
effect on energy security. In late February 2010, the
volume of gas in storage in the UK was equal to just
four days of average gas demand.
“Nuclear power –
Although our nuclear power stations are reaching the
end of their working lives, they are doing so on a known
schedule that gave us enough time to build replacement
capacity. However, the Government repeatedly delayed
the decision on nuclear new build until the 2007 Energy
White Paper, when the go-ahead was finally given. It
took another two years to propose vital revisions to
the planning guidance – and then only in draft
form for consultation. That means that with the exception
of Sizewell B every single existing nuclear power station
will have shut down, or be about to shut down, before
their replacements can come online.
“A Conservative Government will sweep away these
limitations by offering every household in Britain a
Green Deal of up to £6,500 worth of energy efficiency
improvements at no upfront cost, with a higher limit
for hard-to-treat homes:
Householders would be entitled to an independent
assessment that would identify the best opportunities
for efficiency improvements to their homes.
These improvements would then be carried out immediately
by a kite-marked installer.
The cost of the work would be repaid over the long-term
from the resulting energy savings and through the energy
bills payable at the property where the work is done.
Ever wonder why a useless face like
Harriet Harm-men is so high in the socialist ‘New’
Labour Party?
“Unite, the union behind the BA strikes which
threaten thousands of families' Easter holidays, was
one of the biggest bankrollers of Labour, giving £880,000.
“It gave £3.5million to Labour overall
last year. Its political officer, Charlie Whelan, is
the foul-mouthed former adviser to Gordon Brown.”
[Quoted from dailymail.co.uk]
In fact, over sixty percent of Labour’s
funding comes from unions (union bosses), and a large proportion
of the rest comes from Lord Sainsbury and a bunch of non-doms.
“Jack Dromey, the deputy general secretary of
Unite, will fight Birmingham Erdington despite controversy
over why the seat did not have one of the all-women
shortlists championed by Harriet Harman, his wife. ”
[Quoted from thelunaticarms.wordpress.com]
“* 59 Labour candidates are members of Unite,
whilst there are eight further PPCs who are current
or former Unite staff. Unite has given Labour £11
million in the last three years;
* 26 candidates belong to the GMB, which has given £6.3
million to Labour since 2005;
* 18 candidates belong to Unison, which has contributed
£8.3 million to Labour coffers.” [Quoted
from conservativehome.blogs.com]
“The surprising thing about the proposed strike
at BA is not that it now looks inevitable, but that
the issue of cabin crew pay hasn’t come to a head
years before now. For more than a decade BA has been
struggling to compete against airlines - like Virgin,
Ryanair and EasyJet - which pay their cabin crew much
less, and operate with far lower costs, and far more
flexibility than it can.” [Quoted from telegraph.co.uk]
“British Airways is paying its cabin crew and
pilots up to twice as much as rival airlines, prompting
the carrier to demand significant cuts from its staff.
“Data from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)
shows for the first time how much higher BA’s
wage costs are than its rivals. The average salary for
BA’s 14,000 cabin crew, including bonuses and
allowances, is £29,900, compared with £14,400
at Virgin Atlantic and £20,200 at easyJet. BA’s
pilots earn an average of £107,600, compared with
£89,500 at Virgin and £71,400 at easyJet.”
[Quoted from timesonline.co.uk]
the web comes to floridian politics - how to block government corruption
The legislature is also soliciting
idea for cutting budgets, and improving the site effectiveness.
I liked the slogan of one of their
pols:
“The main business of government is to
educate, medicate and incarcerate”
and that takes over 90% of the
budget.
“Transparency Florida is designed to provide
a current, continually updated picture of the state’s
operating budget as well as daily expenditures made
by state agencies. The numbers are updated nightly as
funds are released to agencies, transferred between
budget categories, and payments are written for goods
and services.”
—
“ ...Within the Operating Budget tab you can browse
by agency, which enables you to view individual expenditures
within specific program areas, or by bill format to
review proviso or bill text.” [Quoted from transparencyflorida.gov]
“DIGGING DEEPER: Want to discover for yourself
how the Florida Legislature — and state agencies
— are spending your tax dollars? On a daily basis?”
—
“Floridians with a penchant for numbers —
and the persistence to dig below the surface —
now can monitor the state’s finances in a whole
new way.” [Quoted from tcpalm.com]
This is the way to bring governments
under control.
