I love the BBC website. I use the iPlayer to catch up with programmes I’ve missed (occupational hazard of being out campaigning most nights). And I use the news site every day (sometimes on my phone). Now the website has become the news, for having gone colossally over budget.
I don’t begrudge the BBC the licence fee if it’s being spent on good quality media; that’s the point. But given the state of the economy, it’s the worst possible time for public bodies to let their budgets get out of control.
After all, the poor families in Islington who struggle to pay their TV license are not the ones, by and large, benefitting from these exciting new media.
Archive for May, 2008
BBC website goes over budget
Essex under pressure
I spent bank holiday Monday out in rural Essex with friends, supporting the local team fighting a council byelection.
Great Dunmow managed to look pretty despite the downpour. I’m not sure the same could be said of us. At one point, battered by wind, blinded by rain, canvass card, map and leaflets all disintegrating, and boots filling with water, the absurdity of it all set us laughing out loud. We squelched back to the HQ to find that there had been a power cut -a foretaste of the Sizewell shutdown? – but our host was cheerfully boiling water on his gas hob to make us tea. There was something very British about the whole thing.
But for all its traditional charms, this area of Essex is under great pressure. Vast housing developments overshadow their parent villages, with concerns about whether the slowdown in the housing market will create ghost towns. A new ecotown – a housing development with greenwash – is proposed for Elsenham. And the threat of Stansted Airport expansion is still the dominant local issue.
Giving people the chance to speak out on major developments is crucial to local democracy. The government’s new planning bill could change that. It will take major developments out of the current planning inquiry system, which gives communities a chance to speak. Instead it will pass them to a new quango, the Infrastructure Planning Commission, who will have the final say on airports, power stations, and the like.
The bill reaches report stage next week, with amendments tabled to restore the public’s right to be heard. Like wet bank holidays, that’s also something very British. It’s not just Essex that needs MPs to wake up and get this law right.
Greener gaming
Green consumer campaigns are often unfairly pigeonholed as being a bit hair shirt, about giving up popular amenities rather than buying smarter. So I was interested to see Greenpeace’s campaign on games consoles. Instead of ignoring or condemning games machines, Greenpeace are working to get the big manufacturers to make them from safer, greener materials, and more energy efficient. That’s got to be good news given rising energy prices; consoles aren’t exactly something you’re only going to use for five minutes a day.
Animal matters
In this week’s post, I’ve had a local couple contact me about the Animals Matter to Me Campaign. It’s an international movement to support developing a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare. The draft Declaration recognises that animals are sentient beings and can suffer, commits signatories to respect animal welfare, and to work to end animal cruelty.
I’m happy to sign up to these aims, and not just as a non-meat-eating cat lover. After all, Liberal Democrat party policy is wholly in agreement with the aim of this campaign. Of course we believe that animal cruelty should be ended, and as a party we lead the way on animal welfare issues. Lobby group PAD says “compared to the Conservatives and New Labour, the Lib Dems appear to have stronger and more detailed animal protection policies“.
Lib Dem policy is to give UK animal welfare issues a high priority by establishing an autonomous Animal Protection Commission. Such a Commission will bring all animal welfare related matters under the responsibility of a dedicated, expert body; it will be able to regulate or advise as appropriate, and will bring together issues that are spread across several departments at present, improving efficiency as well as raising the profile of animal welfare.
The Animals Matter to Me campaign is very focused on building a consensus for the declaration. So it talks about animal welfare, not animal rights; it acknowledges that we are part of an interdependent ecosystem where the humane use of animals can have major benefits for humans; instead of piling straight into the difficult areas of hunting, farming and vivisection. That may frustrate some, but it should give the campaign the best chance of success.
Thinking of Mark
David Tibbs recently reported that our mutual friend (and former Chair of Islington Lib Dems) Mark Thatcher is seriously ill. Now Paul Walter has posted a helpful link to Mark’s friends & supporters’ website. Mark is a genuinely nice and decent man, & I am so sorry to hear of his illness; Mark’s many friends in Islington are thinking of him, Steph and family.
Kicking up a rumpus
Compass seem to think Labour are losing the plot. The centre-left group of Labour MPs have attacked the doomed Crewe & Nantwich campaign as ‘inept, negative and poisonous‘. They’re also criticising the illiberal stance on young people, migrants and ID cards, although the latter is hardly news from new Labour. Meanwhile, Compass concludes, ‘the problem with New Labour is not just that it is not Labour enough, but that it’s not new enough either‘.
Dr Who?
Russell T Davies may be quitting (boo), but delicious David Tennant is staying on as Dr Who for now (hooray). But just in case, handbag.com has come up with some suggestions of alternative castings. I’m not convinced. Here’s my shortlist: scary, posh, ginger and, er, ginger….
A chance to hear Nick Clegg on education
I’ve received the following invitation to a speaker meeting – Nick Clegg on Education & Social Mobility – coming up, er, somewhere in London. I think it’s interesting for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, because it’s the IPPR. They were set up to be, basically, a new Labour think tank. They push some very new Labour ideas, like directly-elected Mayors, although they’ve also made some gentle criticisms of government policy eg on aviation (a soft target). So it’s a less than obvious platform for Nick.
Secondly, because education, rightly or wrongly, has not been so high profile in policy of late. When I chaired Nick’s public meeting in Islington last month, one of the questions was about his (political!) passions. Nick acknowledged the crucial importance of civil liberties, the environment and internationalism to liberal thinking, and the urgent topicality of housing, health and the economy; but his passion is education. Music to my ears! Along with the environment, education is my policy passion; nothing else has the same ability to empower individuals, and transform lives and life chances. So this is a great chance to hear our leader on what he believes is the top topic.
And that’s another reason why the IPPR is an interesting choice. Their recent work on education has been controversial, criticising bad teaching rather than anything more structural; Lib Dem education policy has traditionally been very teacher-friendly. Sadly I’ll be at work, so unable to attend, but if you can go along, do: it could be something special.
Education and Social Mobility: Challenges and Opportunities
Keynote speech: Rt. Hon Nick Clegg MP
Thursday 5th June 2008 from 10:00– 12:00, central London
The Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) is pleased to invite you to attend a keynote speech by Rt. Hon Nick Clegg MP, Leader, Liberal Democrats.
The last few years have witnessed important shifts in the political agenda on schools in England. Politicians have returned to the idea that schools have a wider role to fulfil than simply delivering on narrow measures of attainment – in equipping young people with the skills they need to progress in society in a changing economic context.
This event takes this shift as its starting point, asking what schools need to do to support social mobility and equal life chances for all young people in today’s economy. In a context of concern about the performance of English schools in international surveys, Nick Clegg will look to the future of educational reform, considering the changing needs, goals and objectives of schools and will set out his ideas to address the barriers that prevent our school system from being world-class.
The event will take place on Thursday 5th June 2008 from 10:00 to 12:00 in central London. Please confirm your attendance by replying to events@ippr.org or calling us on 020 7470 6105.
We look forward to receiving your response
Eurovision part deux
The contestants in the second semi-final are profiled here, thanks to Liberal Revolution. Why is Wendy Alexander singing for Macedonia?
Iraq: time to go
I wasn’t planning to blog just now, but news is coming in of another tragedy in Iraq. Eight civilians, including two children, have been killed in a strike by US military helicopters north of Baghdad.
The cost in terms of lives and resources of the illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq continues to climb.
And it’s not welcomed by Iraqis on the ground. An MOD survey from late 2005 found 8 in 10 Iraqis strongly opposed the presence of coalition forces. Other polls have shown that on average half of Iraqis supported attacks on coalition troops and that 70-90% of Iraqis, regardless of ethnicity, want to see a timeline for the withdrawal of coalition troops.
That’s something Gordon Brown promised but has failed to deliver. Time’s up, Gordon.
