Common courtesy

Current the village I live is flooded.

The Council closed our road yet still people drive through flooding our houses.

What's wrong with people?! Do they think the signs are up for fun? Or that we just felt like putting them up there?

I have to say, we do have a good community spirit here, and all our neighbours are helping each other, making teas, coffees, lagers, wines, and a bit of food.

We are all freezing and wet, yet enjoying each others company despite the on going rain, and stupidity, and plain ignorance of others.

To the people who have kindly turned around and gone the long way, thank you!

The NHS

The NHS has an extremely special place in my heart, as it does in most people

Last year m auntie passed away of cancer, she was only 47, her funeral was the hardest day of my life, and I still cry over her passing.

During her treatment, death and after her death the NHS has been fantastic for my cousins, and were for my aunty.

Her sarcoma nurse has stayed in contact with my cousins, and has even helped one of them get a job within the NHS.

Another friend passed away of cancer when I was 16. Once again the NHS couldn't have been more helpful even if they tried.

Two years ago my nana had a major operation on her back. Her surgeon and nurses who looked after her were marvellous, I cannot fault the NHS for what it has done for my family.

I am extremely grateful for everyone who works at the NHS, I would hate to see it privatised off.

Today, comedian Rufus Hound is going stand to become an MEP for the NHA Party, I've questioned him and the party on what he can bring, and probably in a rude way.

I would like to point he has my full support as he wants what I want, for the NHS to strive, and I don't believe Jeremy Hunt is the man for the job.

No I don't think David Cameron wants our kids to die, but I don't believe they are treating it as well as they could.

Whatever party you vote for, we should all be proud of our NHS, and the people who work in it.

Labour; Still in Deficit Denial!

It was a cringe worthy performance from Mr Balls today.

He claimed to have been proud of Labour's 13 years in office. Well I guess someone's got to be haven't they?

Gap between rich and poor widened, sold gold for next to nothing, started a war we couldn't afford, and on false pretences, got rid of a lot of British industry.

They're plan is, if they win the next election, is to bring back the 50p tax rate.

All I hear is left-wing voices cheering at this piece of news.

I have one question to ask; if it is such a good policy, why didn't it work when they were in office just 4 years ago?

In fact, the country seems to be doing just fine.

When George Osbourne announced his economic plans, Labour cried "Tripled Dip", "Unemployment to grow", "Flat lining" and "Too far, too fast"

It must be embarrassing to be sitting in the Labour front benches at the moment;

Growth up to 2.4% this year from the IMF
Unemployment down
People claiming benefits down
People spending up

All good signs of a recovering economy, well done Mr Osbourne!

The Right To Die

Coronation Street highlights two very important issues; people's right to die, and pancreatic cancer.

Hayley Cropper ended her own life after battle against pancreatic cancer.

The main subject that has opened is 'assisted dying'. Although Hayley is killing herself, the story line has re-opened the case for people who can't take their own lives, and need assistance.

I personally am pro 'assisted dying', but on very strict terms.

If 'assisted dying' was made legal in the UK, I do believe it should be a very strict procedure, and here's how I would propose 'assisted dying' would work:

1. Patient would go to GP, and explain what they wanted.
2. GP would have to inform the police immediately.
3. The patient would be assessed by a psychologist to make sure it was the patients wishes, not that of others.
4. If the psychologist disagree's police and GP are to be notified, especially if the patient then suddenly dies there can be a investigation.
5. If approved, the GP will arrange with patient and family and friends of when, and where.
6. When the time arrises the GP and nurse would be there to do the 'assisting', and pronouncing of the death
7. Police are informed again

It might seem a rather long, and some argue expensive, procedure, however, who is are we to tell someone they are not allowed to die? Especially when they are terminally ill.

We don't know what pain that patient is in, whether it be a physical pain, or mental. How dreadful to be turned down your right to die.

UKIP's Surge, It's Nothing To Worry About

UKIP's surge in support is nothing but hype.

Let's face facts, they are a one trip pony party, they're after one thing, to get out of Europe.

I agree something needs to be done about Europe, but that's their main, and to be honest, only objective.

They're homophobic, and slightly racist.

As a whole, they're nothing to worry about, it just looks like a lot of hype.

The only party that should be worried is the Liberal Democrats, if they don't get rid of Nick Clegg soon, UKIP may well take them over as third largest party, maybe not in this up and coming general election, but certainly the next.

Why capitalism is here to stay

Once again, the left are fight another losing battle, this time against capitalism.

Russel Brand, Bob Geldof, and Owen Jones are all left-wing hypocrites.

They claim we need a revolution in politics, and in some instances they may be correct.

All of them claim to be against, capitalism, two of them are extremely rich, and Owen is also a brilliant little capitalist as well, his best selling novel CHAVS; The Demonisation of the Working Class

Brand got $10m dollars for his movies, and God know's how much Geldof gets in royalties for his music.

None of these people live by what they preach, none of them prove that left-wing idea's such as socialism, communism and Marxism can actually work.

If they actually want a revolution, why not prove it works, because from where I'm standing they're all mouth, and no action.

This is why capitalism is here to stay, good and strong.

The left's battle against themselves

Following on from my Blog last week, Benefits; Why the left is fighting a losing battle.

Part of the self defeat of the left is the fact that they are going back on their principles.

Firstly, being left wing means you probably embrace some sort of socialism, Marxism, and communism.

All three of these have one major thing in common, to treat everyone equally. Something they are NOT doing. Especially when it comes down to fraud.

As I said before last week, they want to ignore those committing benefits fraud, but don't mind going after those in the banks committing fraud.

Surely under socialism, or whatever they believe, they should go after ALL who are committing fraud, not just the rich ones?

Start practicing what you preach, surely all fraud is bad?

Evading tax isn't done just by the super rich, but also within the working classes, surely we should go after all those who tax evade?

If they want to live in a true socialist state, surely they should adhere to the rules perfectly to prove it works?

Immigration

Immigration is a big cause for concern for some people.

The people, who I only ever see cause for concern, is the left.

Every time I go on Twitter, and read something about immigration, it is always from a left-wing perspective, never right-wing.

Yes papers are writing about it, but people on Twitter who are Conservative I never see discussing the issue of immigration.

Once again, the left are fighting a losing battle. The read the headlines, throw their arms up in their in thinking that people actually believe what they read in the papers, and start writing blogs, and articles galore about how the Tories are anti-immigration.

But when I look, I only ever read left wing hype about how I, as a Conservative voter, feels about immigration!

The left need to calm down, and get their act together, they are starting to look a little boring, and to be honest, old school towards immigration themselves!

Ed Miliband vs Keir Hardie; Why Ed is NOT a true Labour Leader

Keir Hardie, one of Labour’s found members, was born in 1856, Scotland close to Motherwell. He had his first job when he was 7 years old, a message boy for the Anchor Line Steamship Company.

Ed Miliband was born in 1969 London. He is the youngest son of Ralph Miliband. His first job, or internship was 18/ 19 whilst working for family friend and Chesterfield MP Tony Benn.

Keir had to stop schooling at an early age, but his parents taught him to read and write in the evenings, and because of the Great Lockout of the Clydeside ship workers were sent home for six months, forcing Hardie’s father to go out to sea, and he got a job as a ‘trapper’ opening and closing doors so miners had sufficient oxygen, he was only 10.

Miliband attended Corpus Christi College, Oxford after gaining 4 A Levels, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He went on to graduate from London School of Economics with a MSc in Economics.

By the time Hardie was 20 he was a skilled miner, he also joined the Evangelical Union Church, his preaching to his fellow workers gave him the platform for public speaking, eventually his colleagues turning to him as the logical chairman and spokesman for their grievances. However this annoyed mine owners, and got him and his younger siblings blacklisted from working in the local mines.

In 1992, after graduating, Miliband, now 23, became a researcher for Channel 4’s programme A Week In Politics, eventually being poached by Harriet Harman, the then Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, to become her speech writer.

During Hardie’s time as Union Leader, he became a journalist writing for the local newspaper the Cummock News, loyalist to the Liberal Party, which he evidentially joined.

He also started his own union in 1886 called the Ayrshire Miners Union, which he was Organising Secretary, earning just £75 per annum. 

Even though Hardie was blacklisted from the coal mines, he quickly moved over to the unions. During 1879 Hardie was appointed as Corresponding Secretary of the miners, three weeks after that he was chosen by the miners as their delegate at the National Conference of Mine. Later on the year Hardie was selected as National Secretary, and during the 1880 strike, Hardie had an on-going soup kitchen to feed the miners families, which his new wife was in charge of.

In 1994, the new Labour leader Tony Blair, moved Harriet Harman from the post of Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, to Shadow Secretary of State for Employment, so Ed Miliband went to work for Gordon Brown who was Shadow Chancellor.

When Labour won their victory landslide win in 1997, Miliband was appointed special adviser to the Chancellor Gordon Brown.

Even though Hardie was a member of the Liberal Party, he started to realise they weren’t going to push through reforms that he thought were needed for the working class, and so in 1888 he stood to become an independent labour candidate. He didn’t win this seat, in fact he came last, but it seemed to push him on, and on the 25^th August 1888, the Scottish Labour Party was born, and Hardie was its first secretary.

Hardie won his first seat in 1892 West Ham South (Greater London), beating the Conservative candidate by 5,268 to 4,036.

When Hardie took his place in parliament, he refused to wear to proper attire, and the press accused him of wearing what the common working man wore - 'cloth cap in Parliament'.

Before Ed Miliband stood for a seat in Parliament, he took an unpaid year off, going Harvard for a year until 2003, when he went back to the the Treasury, until 2005 when Kevin Hughes, then MP for Doncaster North, resigned after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease, Milliband won the Labour safe seat of 12,656, over 50% of the vote.

It was in 2006 that Miliband was put in his very first Ministerial role after Tony Blair's cabinet re-shuffle, he was given Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office.

It was only in 2007, when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister after Tony Blair's resignation, he got his first Cabinet role as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy Lancaster, meaning he and his brother, David Miliband, were the first siblings to serve in the British Cabinet since 1938 Edward and Oliver Stanley.

A year after Hardie won his first seat, he and others formed the Independent Labour Party (ILP), something that did frighten the Liberal Party. However Hardie lost his seat in 1895 when a fatal incident killed 251 miner in Pontypridd, he asked that there be a message of condolence to the victims' families in the birth of the future heir, which was refused, resulting in Hardie damning the Monarchy and causing an uprising in the House of Commons.

For the next five years Hardie worked hard at making the Labour movement, and it was in 1900 when Hardie had organised a meeting between various trade unions and other groups that the LRC (Labour Representation Comittee) was born, thus the beginnings of The Labour Party.

Ed Miliband was later promoted to Secretary of State under Brown's government in 2008, and in 2009, he attended a film premier of The Age of Stupid about climate change, where actor, Pete Postlethwaite, threatened to leave the Labour Party if Kingsnorth Coal-Fire Power Station went ahead. Later on Miliband announce that the plans had been scrapped.

He stayed in this role until Labour lost to a minority Conservative government in coalition with the Liberal Democrats, in the general election of 2010.

In 1900 Hardie was elected as a junior MP for the dual-member constituency of Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare, South Wales, which he represented for the rest of his life. Labour was starting to grow, especially as the Conservatives were in a mess, and thought of as out of touch with the electorate, and Labour had the Liberal's worried, forcing them to form a pact with the Labour Party during the 1906 general election (known as the Lib-Lab pact). It was in 1908 that Hardie resigned as Labour leader, afterwards he spent his time campaigning for votes for women, to end the segregation in South Africa, and self rule for India.

During the First World War in 1914, which Hardie was completely against, he tried to set up an international general strike, but his motives weren't that popular, including within the Labour Party, but a year later died after suffering a number of strokes. He past away in Glasgow on 26th September 1915 aged 59.

2010 saw the beginning of the Labour Leadership contest in which Ed Miliband, his older brother David Miliband, bank bencher Diane Abbot, Andy Burnham, and Ed Balls all contest for the leadership, which was eventually won by Ed Miliband, with 175,519 (just over 50%) of the votes, mainly thanks to Ed's support from the trade unions. His brother David Miliband came in at a close second with 147,220.

Ed became the youngest Labour Leader ever, however his current popularity against the government isn't as high, as what was expected when first elected. While Tony Blair enjoyed a 29 point lead in opinion polls in 1995, two years before their victorious landslide, Ed Miliband only has a 5 point lead on the Tory lead government.

There's one massive factor dividing the two men; Miliband is a career politician and never done a hard days work in his life; Hardie knew first hand what the working classes as he was working class, and he wanted better conditions for his fellow man.

This is what let's down Labour's leadership nowadays, the haven't had a genuine working class leader for a long time, and maybe they need to find themselves one again.

Benefits; Why the left is fighting a losing battle

The subject of benefits is a tricky one.

People on the left side of politics vs people on the right.

Neither of them are backing down, and neither of them are painting the correct picture.

Firstly, the right paint a picture of everyone who is on benefits, is committing fraud, are feckless, rough and common.

This obviously is not true.

People on the left paint a picture of community spirit, people who get up everyday and search for a job, hardship and struggle.

This, also, is obviously not true.

The true picture is somewhere in between, yes there are people who are feckless, have never worked a day in their life, and lived off of benefits.

But there are also those who have striven to find a job daily, who want to work, and have a community spirit.

Sadly, there is less and less of community spirit these days. When I think of community spirit I think of small villages in the countryside where everyone know's each other, not towns, or councils estates or cities.

This image I have is wrong, I'm sure there are towns with community spirit, I know for a fact there are council estates with community spirit, but still doesn't get rid of the image in my head.

The lefts problem is a massive one, it doesn't just cover benefits, it covers most of their policies. They like to ignore fraudsters, including rich ones. Just look at the banking crisis which happened under a Labour government. (One which Ed Miliband, and Balls were part of!)

They like to sweep the feckless, and the fraudsters under the carpet, they don't want to deal with them, just left them be.

This is what fuels the right, and many floating voters, and this is something the left should look at, as many people are equally annoyed by those who commit benefit fraud, or have never worked a day in their life, and think they are owed their benefits because they are British, and trust me these people do exist.

So lets deal with the Bankers, and lets deal with the Benefit Fraudsters, because if we don't deal with both, we will never get out of debt, the left will keep fueling the right, which will never change the public's opinion.

How the Tories could gain the Public's Trust!

The Tories are obviously doing something right with the economy.

But there are still a few things they could do to get the public's trust.


Firstly, getting rid of Michael Gove, and Jeremy Hunt. Both are pretty pathetic, and two of the biggest U-Turner's in government.

Neither of them hold conviction, nor do they come across as competent.

Secondly, if you are going to use the Bedroom Subsidy, then use correctly. There are people who have offered to move to they don't have to pay it, yet some Council's have refused to move them, so they are being charged, which is unfair.

Thirdly, for David Cameron, during Prime Ministers Questions please, please don't let Ed Miliband rile you so easily, it's embarrassing, and to be honest boring. Have some conviction in your answers, be proud of what you have achieved in Government, and make sure the whole country knows what you've achieved!
As my dad once told me, the minute you lose your temper, you've lost the argument. (If only I could remember that all the time!)

Fourth little thing they could change is separating from the Liberal Democrats, the General Election is just under 18 months away, lets branch out on our own again, lets prove the country we don't need yellow Nick to back us up.

Fifth, build the third runway. It creates jobs, AND housing, what's there to lose? Also, just start building more housing. There is enough brown belt land to be used, lets start using it! Give Labour a taste of their own medicine!

Sixth on the list is, either nationalise things like the Railway lines, and Untilities, or make a living wage. There are people out there who work 60 hour weeks, and still have hardly enough money to pay for food. (Although a lot of people have to manage their money better).

My seventh piece of advice is, stop going after small to medium companies, and make the huge companies, such as Google, Amazon, and Starbucks pay their tax correctly, not just offer a random sum of money as a good gesture.

My last point is, don't do a Blair and want a 'Thatcher victory' moment. What's happening in Syria and other Middle Eastern countries is disgusting, and inhumane, however, these countries are not asking for Western intervention, and we Britons don't want to pay for it, in either our taxes, nor our loved ones. (It's a lot easier to start than what it is to finish).

So there's my little bit of advice to David Cameron, get a bit more backbone, and just do it, don't talk about it, DO IT!!!