The Great Experiment

Sometimes it's not all on the Internets. Since July I've been a subscriber to the New Statesman, an inspired birthday present on the part of my parents. In this week's there is an article on 'Generation Jobless,' and there were some lines which hit right home:

Those young Europeans born in the 1990s, the eldest of whom turned 18 in 2008 and are now aged 23, have been through an experiment that is shared across the continent. It is an experience that young Europeans have not had in common since the austerity and rebuilding of the 1950s, but that was still a time of hope.

In many material ways the young people of Europe are the best-off generation, the first to live all their life with access to the internet, most of them in heated homes with hot running water, well clothed, well fed, and entertained, even many of the poorest. Yet all that means little if you are told repeatedly, having spent a decade and a half in education, that your labour is of no value.

Let us Face the Future

"Quite a number of political parties will be taking part in the coming Election. But by and large Britain is a country of two parties.

And the effective choice of the people in this Election will be between the Conservative Party, standing for the protection of the rights of private economic interest, and the Labour Party, allied with the great Trade Union and co-operative movements, standing for the wise organisation and use of the economic assets of the nation for the public good. Those are the two main parties; and here is the fundamental issue which has to be settled.

The election will produce a Labour Government, a Conservative Government, or no clear majority for either party: this last might well mean parliamentary instability and confusion, or another Election.

In these circumstances we appeal to all men and women of progressive outlook, and who believe in constructive change, to support the Labour Party. We respect the views of those progressive Liberals and others who would wish to support one or other of the smaller parties of their choice. But by so doing they may help the Conservatives, or they may contribute to a situation in which there is no parliamentary majority for any major issue of policy.

In the interests of the nation and of the world, we earnestly urge all progressives to see to it - as they certainly can - that the next Government is not a Conservative Government but a Labour Government"

From the 1945 Labour Party manifesto- on July 26th 1945 Labour was elected in an unprecedented landslide.

My Support for the Muslim Brotherhood

I just want to follow a chain of thoughts through to a conclusion:

1. I voted for the current government (albeit by accident, but that's another story...).

2. I disapprove of the current government's handling of the country.

3. I believe that another government might be able to better run the country.

4. I would like to see the current government removed from office at the earliest possible opportunity.

So far, so good. If opinion polling is to believed (let's not get too carried away with that notion though...) this is what many people in this country think. *HOWEVER*, that doesn't mean that the next step should be:

5. The current government should be removed from power by the army.

I'm quite happy to wait till 2015 to try and get rid of the coalition. I'm also prepared to accept the result of David Cameron still being Prime Minister after 2015, which is fairly likely in my view. To quote John Major:

"There are some times in politics when the ball just rolls in the opposite direction, and there isn't a great deal you can do about it."

For all their enthusiasm for democracy, sections of the Egyptian people, including the army, seem to have missed this key point. Yes, I can see they were frustrated with Mohammed Morsi, who many of them didn't really want in the first place and thought he was doing a terrible job in office. But many people in many countries feel the same about their national leaders. A major part of democracy is accepting the winner has power until the electorate says otherwise. That basic principle has been breached here.

We in the West (whatever that even means) can't apply principles differently by geography. Many in the media and the government in this country seem pleased with Morsi's deposition. Had they been tanks on the streets of France, placing Francois Hollande under house arrest and outlawing the Socialist Party, would we have said "Well, it's a complex situation and we call for all sides to work to reduce tensions?" Like hell would we have.

This country was ruled by soldiers once, nearly 400 years ago. We should be thankful the scars from that experience run so deep it will not happen again. And pity the Muslim Brotherhood. Yes, it made a mess in government. But that doesn't mean it should have had to face down tanks as a result.

The Wit and Wisdom of... Neil Kinnock, Mk II

If Margaret Thatcher is re-elected as prime minister on Thursday, I warn you. I warn you that you will have pain – when healing and relief depend upon payment. I warn you that you will have ignorance – when talents are untended and wits are wasted, when learning is a privilege and not a right. I warn you that you will have poverty – when pensions slip and benefits are whittled away by a government that won’t pay in an economy that can't pay. I warn you that you will be cold – when fuel charges are used as a tax system that the rich don't notice and the poor can't afford.

I warn you that you must not expect work – when many cannot spend, more will not be able to earn. When they don't earn, they don't spend. When they don't spend, work dies. I warn you not to go into the streets alone after dark or into the streets in large crowds of protest in the light. I warn you that you will be quiet – when the curfew of fear and the gibbet of unemployment make you obedient. I warn you that you will have defence of a sort – with a risk and at a price that passes all understanding. I warn you that you will be home-bound – when fares and transport bills kill leisure and lock you up. I warn you that you will borrow less – when credit, loans, mortgages and easy payments are refused to people on your melting income.

If Margaret Thatcher wins on Thursday, I warn you not to be ordinary. I warn you not to be young. I warn you not to fall ill. I warn you not to get old.

Neil Kinnock, Shadow Secretary of State for Education, 7th June 1983. Two days later, Labour slumped to its worst ever election defeat since universal suffrage.

The Best Brians of Our Time

At last, the A-Level exams are nearly over. Soon college can return to normal, with the lower sixth knuckling down to start their A2s, while the upper sixth jet off into the sunset. However, this is where the problems start. They've got to be signed off by all their teachers, and then by us in the library. On the form used, there's a space for what their plans post-college are.

I'm slightly worried for the one planning to study Economics at the University of Exetar...

The Wit and Wisdom of... JFK, Mk II

What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children — not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women — not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.

President John F Kennedy, June 1963

All In This Together

It's been a busy day on the BBC. They've had camera crews up and down the country, examining the "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists" who've either been elected as UKIP councillors or voted for them. Where this will end today is impossible to tell; and trying to guess how this will affect 2015 and beyond is nigh on impossible. However, I did read one comment today on the BBC news website today which made me wonder what people actually know about UKIP:

Although I have never voted UKIP I find them seductive, despite the loony elements, because they are not part of the establishment... did not all go to the same school and frankly know what a loaf of bread costs.

Of course, it would be uncharitable to ask Nigel Farage, with his public school education, career as a City trader and well reimbursed MEP what he thought about this... so no one has.

P.S. As I write this, the county where I voted in yesterday's local elections remains the only southern English county to not have returned a single UKIP councillor. There's hope for us yet...