Ed Milliband and the Daily Mail
We all have skeletons in our families. Mine is my uncle, who was one for the ladies and was always in trouble. During the Second World War, he actually had a bigamous marriage, from which there were children.
My father’s political leanings were very much Tory, but to the left of the party. He would probably have views like Kenneth Clarke today. But my father was a passionate anti-fascist, probably because of his partly Jewish ancestry. He was also one of the most non-racist men I have met of his generation. I can’t remember too well, but I don’t think he liked dictators and as he had names for them all in his Cockney poetry.
A couple of weeks ago, I met a man of my age, who said that his father was a died in the wool communist, who never condemned Stalin till the day he died. He joked about it, but I suspect that was because he was rather embarrassed by his father supporting Stalin. Alexei Sayle joked about his parents hard-line communism on The One Show last night.
I would suspect that the Milliband brothers, are in some ways embarrassed by some of the views of their father. Most of us have a similar view about our own father, although, I don’t think I ever heard mine, pontificate on anything controversial in a way, that we would find politically incorrect. Some of my mother’s views were not so acceptable?
All politicians live in glass houses, with everything they do, don’t do or have done under the greatest scrutiny. And all of their ancestors come under close scrutiny.
Just as the political views of Denis Thatcher, Alfred Roberts, Tony Booth and other related to previous Prime Ministers, have been important to the Press and the scandal-loving British public, Ralph Milliband‘s political views would come under scrutiny from a paper like the Mail, the Express or the Sun. Especially, as some on the left have hard left views very unacceptable to those in the Labour Party, who want to bring it into the twenty-first century.
So in my view the Milliband brothers should have clean about the more unacceptable views of their father years ago, and perhaps joked about it in a more sympathetic medium, as Alexei Sayle and others have done. I don’t have this problem with my father, but anyway, I’m not a politician and my father wasn’t either, so it’s not important.
Now that the Daily Mail has attacked Ed Milliband for his father’s views, the story is out in the open. The Mail’s behaviour since has been unacceptable, but Ed Milliband’s keeping it going is in many ways making it worse. I haven’t seen any comments from his brother. But then David’s in the United States, where communist connections bring a different reaction.
After all, everybody in the country now knows the full story of Ralph Milliband and it will play a large part in the next General Election. Those to the right will play the Reds under the bed card and those on the hard left will play their Class War one.
In my view though, Ed Milliband has shown a lack of judgement in how he handled his father’s views. Compare it with the way Tony Blair handled those of his father.
Today there is this report on the BBC entitled Ed Miliband urges Daily Mail owner to examine ‘culture’.
It’s not the culture of the Press that needs examining, it’s the culture of the country, where most people seem to value celebrity tittle-tattle well above real issues. Just look at the sales of celebrity magazines!
Ed Milliband is now on BBC Breakfast going on about it again.
Does he not know, when it is time to stop fanning the flames of an out-of-control fire?
Dealing With The Long Term Unemployed
Over the last few days, there has been a lot of talk about how you deal with the long-term unemployed.
In the 1980s, I interviewed a guy called Jim for a management job in Metier. He was at the time, a senior guy in the Department of Employment and told how a lot of the long-term unemployed were not in the obvious places. One thing he did say was that in London, many wouldn’t travel a few miles to get a job, especially if it meant crossing the Thames.
But one thing he said, was that if you call the long-term unemployed in regularly, a lot seem to disappear from the register and stop claiming benefits.
I suspect that some of the Coalition’s policies might have the same effect.
At about the same time, an economist from Lloyds Bank told me, that their predictions for the economy were different from the Government, as they took account of the Black Economy and the Government didn’t. I wonder how models and predictions differ these days?
I do think though, we’ll see a drop in unemployment over the next few years, as the rules get tighter and people find it much less of a hassle to work, as history repeats itself.
Labour Promises To Turn The Lights Out
Ed Milliban’s promise yesterday on energy prices is the sort of vote-grabbing bribe. that is typical of third-rate politicians. Judging by the response from the energy companies, If Red Ed gets power we’ll all be in for a hard time. It’s all here on the BBC. Even Britain’s worst Prime Minister of recent years; Gordon Brown, wouldn’t have issued such a cheap promise.
I think that this pledge could have serious effects.
Suppose you were in charge of planning at a large energy company. Would you be prepared to invest in an expensive new power station in the UK, until after the election of 2015?, I suspect that other countries with more certain energy policies and prices, would be a better place for the investment!
So the lights might go out, even if Labour doesn’t win the election!
I’ve just listened to the start of the phone-in on Radio 5.
They’ve started appealing for anyone in favour of Red Ed’s idea.
Labour Plays Their Scrap HS2 Card
Ed Balls has said that Labour could scrap HS2, if it wins power in 2015. It’s reported here in the Independent.
Is it just a bribe to all those Tory voters in Middle England, who will pay much higher taxes under a Labour government?
On the other hand, this statement may just have killed the project, as will Parliament now pass the HS2 legislation? I think they won’t, as Parliament is a body, that doesn’t do big thinking well!
Do We Need A Charge For Plastic Bags?
I think this is a very difficult one, and although many claim, it has good green credentials, it is a measure that might annoy lots of people.
Take myself!
I generally go to a food store every day or so, as I don’t like food waste and buy just what I need. So I perhaps get one or two bags every day I go shopping. It should only be one per day, but because I can’t buy everything I need at one shop near me, I’ll often make a double trip.
I do have a reusable bag, but because of the useless self-service tills in the Waitrose at the Angel, I don’t use it as often as I should. My bag won’t stand on the tills, and one day something breakable will fall on the floor.
I also do a lot of shopping on my way home from say a football match, or a visit somewhere, so carrying a large bag just in case I need to buy something, is a silly strategy for me.
In fact, the charge will make little difference to me, as it’ll probably cost me about thirty pence a week.
All of the plastic bags I collect are used in my waste bin, which is just a big IKEA plant pot.
I have a feeling, that this could be one of the things, that will drive floating voters away from the Lib Dems.
I do hope that some of the excessive bags, I’ve received from up-market shops will be discouraged. I got one last month, that is a large tough and strong one, that will need to be shredded with a pair of scissors to put in my green recycling bags.
Yesterday, I bought a new rucksac in Selfridges. I was offered a bag to carry it home. I declined and put the bag on my back, with my briefcase and another small purchase inside. I suppose though, I walked out of the shop, without giving them any advertising.
A better way would be to have a packaging tax, so shops found better and cheaper ways for shoppers to get goods home.
Taking the Waitrose self-service tills, I’m certain an origami expert could design a better and bigger version of the ubiquitous British Rail paper carrier bags, used to carry drinks and snacks from the train buffet to your seat. It would stand up wonderfully on the weigher of the self service till. It would probably be quicker as Waitrose’s bags are a nightmare for my hands. I don’t think I’m the only one!
A British Rail Carrier Bag
I took this picture today and I noticed thast the lady in the buffet had them all neatly stacked and ready to use. It’s a classic design!
As in everything, the problem of too many plastic bags is something that we should design and innovate ourselves away from.
After all, if a shop came up with the perfect system, they would be the winners in the shopping wars.
Goodbye And Farewell
Sadly, David Frost has passed away. I was surprised he was only eight years older than me, as I thought he was older than that.
I posted here my memories of That Was The Week That Was. Frost must have been in his early twenties, when he starred in that program.
How many comedians and performers are successful at that age now? And they say, it’s a young person’s world.
Incidentally, when I talk to my peers today, I find very few others, who at fourteen used to watch TW3. I think it shows the sort of attitude that my parents, and especially my father, had to life.
Another Letter In The Times
I had a letter published in The Times on Tuesday about the cricket, under a title of Spin Bowling.
Sir, If the Daylight Saving Bill had been passed into law, the farce of the fifth Test at the Oval would have been avoided (Aug 26). The match would have been coming to a conclusion at effectively 6pm, when the light was certainly good enough, as events showed, for nearly an hour of play.
Those MPs who opposed the Bill should hang their head in shame.
On Monday, I did talk to someone, who’d been at the Test, that I’d met at Welling. He said that the light at six, wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough to play cricket, as they in fact did.
The Two Faces Of Ed Milliband
Ed Milliband has just stated on BBC Television, that whatever we do in Syria must be totally legal.
So where was he, when Blair decided to go into Iraq as Bush’s poodle? Answers on a properly creosoted fence please!
Sibling Confusion
I don’t know much history or details about politicians’ families!
But I seem to think, that Ed Milliband is one of the few party leaders, who has had a brother or sister, actively involved in politics in recent years. I have always confused the two Millibands and I just wonder if this is a serious disadvantage to both of them, as I can’t be the only person to do this. The only other high profile pair of political siblings is Boris Johnson and his brother. Would this harm their chances of leading the Tory party?
Can We Delay Fracking?
Or any other new means of energy creation for that matter?
There has just been a very heated debate about fracking on BBC Radio 5 Live and the amount of hot air produced could power the whole of Sussex without doubt.
Most of the arguments on both sides were fact-free and full of emotion, with accusations of lying and wrong facts from both sides.
The most significant energy news of the day is this story from the Guardian. It says that domestic energy use has dropped by a quarter since 2005.
More work in this field could actually delay the crunch, when we need to build lots of new power stations, be they powered by whatever.
That delay is the time to use to research every method of obtaining energy fully.
The trouble is this would probably give engineers and scientists enough time, to find a solution that ended all the arguments, so a lot of protesters and believers in uneconomic technologies would be kicked soundly into the long grass.
If I’d had a pound for every scientifically incorrect argument about energy I’d heard, I’d be a very rich man.
The Anonymous Widower 