Dalai Lama locked out of Downing Street

Another fine display of courageous indecision from Gordon!

Just like Lisbon, he’ll hide away behind closed doors at Lambeth Palace (after all we don’t want to upset the world’s most prolific executioner)

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Labour MP with a Stalinist streak

Can you imagine Cllr. Jimmy Foreman announcing to South Tyneside parents that they cannot have a school place for their infants unless they have all had the MMR jabs and can provide a certificate to prove it?

No, neither can I.

Yet a Labour MP, Mary Creagh (Wakefield) has proposed just such a Stalinist measure, somehow thinking that compulsion is so much better than coercion and persuasion. What sort of warped thinking is this? It’s hardly the way to get parents on your side is it?

My view is that there are many benefits to be gained from these inoculations but they are counterbalanced by some small risks that I, as a parent, was willing to take. Others are not, and see the risks as much greater than I do, I respect their views and have no objections to them exercising their choice. There are many who prefer to have separate inoculations rather than the combined dose, and some GPs still harbour doubts about the risks attached to the combined vaccination.

Creagh wants to influence debate within the party as it begins to prepare its next general election manifesto. She chairs a group of Labour MPs which will make public health proposals that can feed into the party’s policy forums, but stressed yesterday her idea was in its infancy.

As far as ideas go, this one should be denied a place in the nursery of educational thinking, compelling people and removing choice is unlikely to lead to a greater uptake of these important vaccinations. The state should never be elevated to a position of principled morality assuming that individuals are incapable of making reasoned decisions.

Nanny needs to be ignored from time to time!

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EU Commissioner target of opposition to treaty in Eire

The face of the European Commissioner for Trade now adorns thousands of placards and “Stop Mandelson” posters as Irish opposition to the EU treaty grows ahead of a referendum next month.

Oh, to be Irish on June 12th as they become the only European state to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. It seems odd to be lauding one of Europe’s smallest nations for having the largest heart and the greatest amount of courage in enabling and empowering it’s people, by allowing them to have a say over the Constitution enabling reform treaty that the rest of us have been forced to accept by it’s client governments. It’s unfortunate that Mandelson has become embroiled in an argument about ‘protectionism’ but at least they are willing to have that debate in Ireland.

Mandelson’s bete noir Gordon Brown did a nice body swerve to ensure that we in the UK wouldn’t even get the chance to be involved!

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Why?

Because by Tuesday evening South Tyneside will be known as the Council Of All Talents!

(Does this mean, if you don’t have the talent you won’t be wearing a coat?)

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Miliband does not look convincing

Political leadership these days demands great presentation skills and a feel for the camera knowing that you are putting your face into millions of living rooms, Tony Blair had a natural ability to communicate, Gordon Brown has a natural ability to switch me off, but what of David Miliband and David Cameron?

It’s possible that the two could be facing each other after the end of Brown’s ill fated government.

Take a look at these two videos, first we see South Shields MP and Foreign Secretary David Miliband campaigning in Crewe and Nantwich, then we see Conservative Leader David Cameron talking to the Institute of Directors.

Who looks the more natural to you? (I have to be open and admit that I think our own MP always appears to be comfortable within himself when I watch him on the television, but that does not necessarily mean I am comfortable with his communicative ability - a bit wooden at times, or has he just convinced himself of the futility of this particular exercise?)

David Miliband in Crewe

David Cameron at the Royal Albert Hall

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42 day detention plan should be dropped

It now seems that senior figures in the Metropolitan Police are not quite so eager to fully press for an extension to the current 28 day limit for suspects to be held without charge, this leaves Home Secretary Jacqui Smith facing a dilemna.

Does she press ahead with the plans to increase the limit to 42 days cobbled together with Gordon Brown, and thus provoke a major fight within the Labour Party and with the DPP and civil liberty campaigners, or does she concede in the hope that people will see this as one fight not worth taking on?

A little political expediency should ensure that the plan is dropped like a hot rivet.

With the polls as they are…….

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Worse than Cameron in all key areas

As the Prime Minister begins his fightback with new proposals entitling mothers to more flexible working hours, the research shows that only one in five voters thinks he is doing a good job. He is rated worse than David Cameron on every key leadership quality, including competence, decisiveness, fairness, likeability, trustworthiness and strength.

A unique opinion tracker using a panel of 5,000 voters, much larger than conventional opinion polls, reveals that he is floundering in his attempt to campaign for public respect after Labour’s large losses in the council elections. Three-quarters think he is doing a bad job, and nearly half of them believe he is doing a very bad job, according to the first results from the survey, which was published on the website PoliticsHome.com.

And as Guido reported yesterday, with senior ministers and MPs making their way to campaign in Crewe and Nantwich, the Prime Minister instead made a trip to the opposite end of the country, just what is the matter, don’t they want the PM showing his face in Dunwoody’s former constituency?

Perhaps he’s too ‘annoying, bewildering and prickly’ for the voters in the north-west.

The popularity in John Major’s government collapsed after a series of sleazy leaks, Brown’s problems are are related to sheer incompetence and the inability to be decisive on major issues, the public have have noticed and have given notice of their intent.

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Premiership and Prezza

I don’t seem to be able to get away from news about “two jags” and his book, but I suppose that’s what good marketing is all about, making sure it’s being talked about in every newspaper. I’m probably not the only one wary of looking at the Sunday papers this morning Gordon Brown is probably livid and throwing another mobile phone at the wall, another one who is seeing his name mentioned possibly too often is South Shields MP David Miliband, Heffer is chalking up his odds again, although how much of it is spin remains to be seen. Too much and perhaps he loses out in the next reshuffle!

I wonder what the consequences might have been if Blair had taken Prezza’s advice and sacked Brown? Would Miliband now be Prime Minister? Would the Labour Party be in such the mess it is today?

Anyway the other big talking points today will be Manchester United or Chelsea, and will Sunderland get an improbable win against Arsenal? Then after meeting a few pals at the match we can begin to think about all of the transfer rumours over the summer.

I suppose Cabinet ministers will be talking about similar transfers once the Crewe and Nantwich election is out of the way.

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More names pencilled in

News has arrived at the Corner Shop from unattributed sources of more names pencilled in to serve in Labour’s administration in South Tyneside.

I understand that Cllr. Audrey MacMillan will be chair of Human Resources and Cllr. Ernest Gibson will be chair of Childrens Scrutiny, and that Cllr. Jim Perry will be Labour’s new Chief Whip taking over from Cllr. Ed Malcolm who will get a cabinet portfolio.

There appears to be no place for Clllr. jim Sewell.

What do you think, will the new team make a huge big difference with Labour’s fortunes in the doldrums?

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Modern new look to sea front

In the relamping and revitalising programme for our street lights in South Tyneside, Balfour Beatty and South Tyneside Council have introduced a very modernising look to the sea front in South Shields. As part of the £63m contract new lamp standards with eco friendly energy saving bulbs are replacing the older ones. Take a look at the new look that has been introduced in the stretch from the Sea Hotel to Ghandi’s Temple, the design is really great, I love it. The lamp standards have a pronounced tapered curve to them with a much smaller lamp holder at the top, a very modernistic design indeed.

I didn’t have a camera with me when I passed by earlier this morning but I’ll produce a picture later in the day, I think you will like the look of the area, it’s very imaginative, should look great when both sides of the roads are finished.

Click the thumbnail to enlarge

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