The UK will be sending more UKIP MEPs to Brussels than any other party.
Will it make any difference to the way the EU is governed? Almost certainly not.
So what is the point?
That is the point!
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Democracy at work in the Chilterns
In my part of the country (rural Buckinghamshire), there are three sets of voting taking place on 5th May.
Elections to the Parish Council were due to take place. There will be no vote in this Parish, because there are fewer valid nominations than there are seats on the council.
Elections to the District Council were due to take place. The current representative of my ward (a hard working and caring individual) is not standing for re-election for family & work related reasons. Another resident of the ward has been found to stand instead of the departing incumbent. There will be no vote because just the one valid nomination has been received. A virtually unknown person will therefore be elected, with no public scrutiny, presumably because nobody could be bothered to do anything else.
The third vote taking place on 5th May is a referendum to decide on the voting system to be used for future parliamentary elections.
I suspect that few round here really care. That's a shame.
Elections to the Parish Council were due to take place. There will be no vote in this Parish, because there are fewer valid nominations than there are seats on the council.
Elections to the District Council were due to take place. The current representative of my ward (a hard working and caring individual) is not standing for re-election for family & work related reasons. Another resident of the ward has been found to stand instead of the departing incumbent. There will be no vote because just the one valid nomination has been received. A virtually unknown person will therefore be elected, with no public scrutiny, presumably because nobody could be bothered to do anything else.
The third vote taking place on 5th May is a referendum to decide on the voting system to be used for future parliamentary elections.
I suspect that few round here really care. That's a shame.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
HS2 at Northolt
On Saturday I travelled Along the Central Line for a short while, from West Ruislip to Northolt. It was fine.This picture is taken from the Eastbound platform at Northolt. It is possible to make out the over-bridge station building, which is also where the main A412 crosses the railway.
Running parallel to the Central Line is a little used single track railway line. It runs from Northolt Junction, has a triangular junction at Greenford and then continues on to the Paddington main lines just East of North Acton station. The line used to be double tracked - I think there is a passing loop somewhere just East of Greenford.
The current plans for High Speed 2 involve the entire stretch of parallel line being part of the route from Euston to Birmingham.
There are all sorts of contentious aspects to the HS2 plans - tunneling underneath grumpy people on the route from Euston and carving up parts of the Chiltern Hills, never mind burning truckloads of money that we don't have.
To give some idea of the work involved, never mind the impact on those living nearby, imagine what will be needed to upgrade this single bridge (and probably the entire underground station building) to allow two high speed (up to 400 kph / 250 mph) tracks to pass through the area highlighted. Simply mind boggling.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
A Quotation
"The difference between a misfortune and a calamity is this: If Gladstone fell into the Thames, it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him out again, that would be a calamity."
Benjamin Disraeli
Saturday, May 08, 2010
2010 General Election - Number Crunching
Following Thursday's General Election in the UK, there will no doubt be an ongoing debate about reform of the 'First Past the Post' voting system.
I have extracted the following two tables which aim to show;
(1) The Number of votes / eligible voters per constituency
and
(2) The number of votes it took for each party to obtain each seat.
Two observations:
For me, even acknowledging the view of the Liberal Democrats is an attempt at partisan rehabilitation.
I have extracted the following two tables which aim to show;
(1) The Number of votes / eligible voters per constituency
and(2) The number of votes it took for each party to obtain each seat.
Two observations:- The number of electors per constituency is just a number - I don't think my table proves anything, as individual seats range from about 22,500 to as much as 105,000. Such discrepancies cannot be right.
- I absolutely understand why Liberal Democrat voters might feel hacked off.
For me, even acknowledging the view of the Liberal Democrats is an attempt at partisan rehabilitation.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
A true story
Two of my neighbours originally came from a country in the southern hemisphere.
While stood at the station this morning, one of them told me that in one local election, his mother did not vote.
The election was a dead heat.
Please don't let the toss of a coin decide who is to be your next Member of Parliament.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Cable
In the current higly politically charged environment surrounding next week's general election, I might be expected to get a bit more political in my observations.
I might be expected to observe how, yesterday, the Lib-Dem Treasury spokesman was pictured on a train from Waterloo. He is obviously a clever man but, caught off-guard, looked to me like a tired old man on his way to a charity board meeting. Maybe if we had more people like him, our politicians would be inclined to do less?
Speaking of cable, overnight some thieving scum-bags have stolen some signalling cable between Banbury and Leamington Spa. This has led to delays and some cancellations to this morning's train services, affecting Chiltern Railways, Cross Country trains and Wrexham & Shropshire.
There are currently masses of people stood on my train (last stop before London - Gerrards Cross). Throw a pebble in the pond and see how far the ripples spread...
Sunday, April 25, 2010
High Speed 2
First things first.
I live in the beautiful Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, to the North West of London. Designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and part of the Green Belt, supposedly safeguarded land.
I like where I live, and moved here for some very specific reasons which include peace & quiet, natural beauty and an abundance of Flora and Fauna. I particularly like the fact that I live in an area that packs in an unbelievable number of Red Kites.
Recently the current government announced its plans for 'High Speed 2', a high speed train line to link London with Birmingham and eventually cities further North. The preferred route will head through West London before diving into a tunnel just before the M25, traveling underground for several miles before emerging to desecrate the landscape somewhere in the Great Missenden area. The line would then continue through the AONB towards Aylesbury and then on towards Birmingham.
The total width of the line and associated workings will be approximately 25 metres wide - the same as the length of a typical municipal swimming pool.
This afternoon I traveled on a Chiltern Railways train from Aylesbury to Amersham - the stretch of line between Wendover, Great Missenden and Amersham passes through some fantastic scenery. The thought of that countryside being forever blighted by a 25 metre wide concrete scar, with electric pylons and express trains passing through every two and a half minutes is not something that fills me with glee. Many people feel the same.
As the proposed route is the preferred choice of the existing Labour government, it is natural that their manifesto has the most specific detail on the proposals. Explicitly it says:
I am not overly keen on the proposed route tearing up and through, as it will, a relatively nice part of the South East of our Green and Pleasant Land. I will admit to breathing a sigh of relief that none of the three preferred routes in the HS2 Report cut through or near the valley where I live. Call me a nimby if you like.
The Conservative Party's election manifesto states:
What worries me about this is the directly stated intention to connect HS2 to Heathrow Airport. The reason this causes me concern is the lack of specifics on the stated route that such a line would follow - one possibility is that from being a reasonably content but unhappy nimby, I would become an "Oh my God you've got to knock my house down" nimby. That is not a good position to be in. A level of ambiguity and uncertainty that leads me to dislike a Conservative manifesto pledge.
The Liberal Democrats' transport policy is exceedingly wishy washy on HS2 simply stating:
So, I have previously been open about my political leanings. I need to cast a vote inside of two weeks. What difference will my single vote make in the context of a relatively safe-seat parliamentary constituency?
I know which political party I believe will be best for the country. I know which party's view is least worst for me on HS2. I know which is potentially the worst for me, and I know which one says nothing to help me form any opinion.
Conundrum, conundrum.
I live in the beautiful Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, to the North West of London. Designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and part of the Green Belt, supposedly safeguarded land.
I like where I live, and moved here for some very specific reasons which include peace & quiet, natural beauty and an abundance of Flora and Fauna. I particularly like the fact that I live in an area that packs in an unbelievable number of Red Kites.
Recently the current government announced its plans for 'High Speed 2', a high speed train line to link London with Birmingham and eventually cities further North. The preferred route will head through West London before diving into a tunnel just before the M25, traveling underground for several miles before emerging to desecrate the landscape somewhere in the Great Missenden area. The line would then continue through the AONB towards Aylesbury and then on towards Birmingham.
The total width of the line and associated workings will be approximately 25 metres wide - the same as the length of a typical municipal swimming pool.
This afternoon I traveled on a Chiltern Railways train from Aylesbury to Amersham - the stretch of line between Wendover, Great Missenden and Amersham passes through some fantastic scenery. The thought of that countryside being forever blighted by a 25 metre wide concrete scar, with electric pylons and express trains passing through every two and a half minutes is not something that fills me with glee. Many people feel the same.
As the proposed route is the preferred choice of the existing Labour government, it is natural that their manifesto has the most specific detail on the proposals. Explicitly it says:
Rebuilding our transport infrastructure
Britain needs to invest in modern, high-capacity and low-carbon transport infrastructure. At the heart of our growth plan is the commitment to a new high-speed rail line, linking North and South. Built in stages, the initial line will link London to Birmingham, Manchester, the East Midlands, Sheffield and Leeds, and then to the North and Scotland. By running through-trains from day one, cities including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Liverpool will also be part of the initial network. Journey times will be slashed – those from the West Midlands to London will be as little as 31 minutes. We will consult fully on legislation to take forward our high-speed rail plans within the next Parliament.
I am not overly keen on the proposed route tearing up and through, as it will, a relatively nice part of the South East of our Green and Pleasant Land. I will admit to breathing a sigh of relief that none of the three preferred routes in the HS2 Report cut through or near the valley where I live. Call me a nimby if you like.
The Conservative Party's election manifesto states:
We will begin work immediately on a high speed rail line connecting London and Heathrow with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, with construction beginning in 2015, as the first step towards our vision of a national network joining up cities across England, Scotland and Wales. Stage two will deliver two new lines bringing the North East, Scotland and Wales into our high speed rail network.
What worries me about this is the directly stated intention to connect HS2 to Heathrow Airport. The reason this causes me concern is the lack of specifics on the stated route that such a line would follow - one possibility is that from being a reasonably content but unhappy nimby, I would become an "Oh my God you've got to knock my house down" nimby. That is not a good position to be in. A level of ambiguity and uncertainty that leads me to dislike a Conservative manifesto pledge.
The Liberal Democrats' transport policy is exceedingly wishy washy on HS2 simply stating:
Only the Liberal Democrats have costed plans to put the passenger first, with plans for a rail renaissance, reopening closed railway lines and new stations and building a High Speed Network to cut journey times to Scotland and the north of England.
So, I have previously been open about my political leanings. I need to cast a vote inside of two weeks. What difference will my single vote make in the context of a relatively safe-seat parliamentary constituency?
I know which political party I believe will be best for the country. I know which party's view is least worst for me on HS2. I know which is potentially the worst for me, and I know which one says nothing to help me form any opinion.
Conundrum, conundrum.
Recycling - But please use your vote!
I am not a particularly erudite blogger. By design, I tend to say things about public transport, occasionally I witter on about other things, and now and then I stray into politics.
For those who may not have noticed, the UK has a general election coming up in 11 days. A rare opportunity for some voters to make a difference.
My politics are fairly obvious to those who know me.
A can't stand Gordon Brown, I don't like the politics of the party that Nick Clegg heads up and I feel uneasy about David Cameron, the leader of the party whose policies trend more towards mine than those of the other main parties.
In September 2006 I wrote a post that I titled "This one is politics". A lot has changed in the last three and a half years, particularly from an economic perspective. Fundamentally though, I still believe in what I wrote and I think my words have stood the test of time.
If you are entitled to vote, please do. Vote for whoever you want. Vote for the party which has a leader you like, or vote on the strengths of a good local candidate. Whatever you do though, please use your vote.
If my personal views are not obvious enough, this video may help it become a little more obvious.
For those who may not have noticed, the UK has a general election coming up in 11 days. A rare opportunity for some voters to make a difference.
My politics are fairly obvious to those who know me.
A can't stand Gordon Brown, I don't like the politics of the party that Nick Clegg heads up and I feel uneasy about David Cameron, the leader of the party whose policies trend more towards mine than those of the other main parties.
In September 2006 I wrote a post that I titled "This one is politics". A lot has changed in the last three and a half years, particularly from an economic perspective. Fundamentally though, I still believe in what I wrote and I think my words have stood the test of time.
If you are entitled to vote, please do. Vote for whoever you want. Vote for the party which has a leader you like, or vote on the strengths of a good local candidate. Whatever you do though, please use your vote.
If my personal views are not obvious enough, this video may help it become a little more obvious.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
How deep can we go?
Over the last few days I've done quite a bit of driving around the bottom half of Buckinghamshire.
The state of the roads is quite shocking. There are potholes everywhere, some of which are quite big. Big as in some are wide, big as in some are deep and big as in some are wide and deep.
The potholes are on busy roads and on quiet roads. They are in the towns and in the countryside.
The potholes will have been caused by the recent long cold weather. Combined with the modern cheap and cheerful way of patching up roads, their really is an epidemic of them.
Last week the Bucks Free Press quoted the Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council as saying that the authority would not be borrowing money to fix the road network stating "Borrow £10million and look for another £1million cut in frontline services".
I totally understand where the Council is coming from, but it doesn't help to fix the roads. If we have another cold snap, some roads will be virtually impassable at anything more than 20 mph.
On a separate but related matter, I was chatting with a fellow commuter last week. I know what he does and where he works, which is in the public sector. Most people would probably want what he does to continue, and to a high standard.
In the upcoming financial year, his department / team / function is facing having its £2.5 million budget cut by over 80%. That means job losses, site closures and significant challenges in the future.
These two examples of public finance problems are what I have heard of in the last few days. Many people simply have no idea of the scale of the economic problem that this country faces.
We are all going to have to face up to a challenging future for public finances. Please do not underestimate the scale of the problem.
The state of the roads is quite shocking. There are potholes everywhere, some of which are quite big. Big as in some are wide, big as in some are deep and big as in some are wide and deep.
The potholes are on busy roads and on quiet roads. They are in the towns and in the countryside.
The potholes will have been caused by the recent long cold weather. Combined with the modern cheap and cheerful way of patching up roads, their really is an epidemic of them.
Last week the Bucks Free Press quoted the Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council as saying that the authority would not be borrowing money to fix the road network stating "Borrow £10million and look for another £1million cut in frontline services".
I totally understand where the Council is coming from, but it doesn't help to fix the roads. If we have another cold snap, some roads will be virtually impassable at anything more than 20 mph.
On a separate but related matter, I was chatting with a fellow commuter last week. I know what he does and where he works, which is in the public sector. Most people would probably want what he does to continue, and to a high standard.
In the upcoming financial year, his department / team / function is facing having its £2.5 million budget cut by over 80%. That means job losses, site closures and significant challenges in the future.
These two examples of public finance problems are what I have heard of in the last few days. Many people simply have no idea of the scale of the economic problem that this country faces.
We are all going to have to face up to a challenging future for public finances. Please do not underestimate the scale of the problem.
Monday, October 05, 2009
Can you imagine?
In the future, you might well be taking to a friend who lives thousands of miles away.
They say to you "So, what's the name of your President?"
"President?", you say. "We don't have a president - we have a Queen and a Prime Minister."
"Oh", they say. "I thought your President was Tony Bl...."
OMG is that what we are about to have dumped on us?
Pickled? Us? Stewed and well and truly skewered more like.
They say to you "So, what's the name of your President?"
"President?", you say. "We don't have a president - we have a Queen and a Prime Minister."
"Oh", they say. "I thought your President was Tony Bl...."
OMG is that what we are about to have dumped on us?
Pickled? Us? Stewed and well and truly skewered more like.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Fraud
I spotted this yesterday on the wall of a railway foot tunnel. (Click image to enlarge.)
Oh, I see - a Fraud? And Hanging Chads weren't?
Friday, January 09, 2009
Gilligan and the Railways
Andrew Gilligan is a columnist with the London Evening Standard. He used to work for the BBC until he resigned over the 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' / David Kelly affair.
Mr Gilligan is certainly opinionated- he is often like a dog with a bone. I don't think that Ken Livingstone likes him very much. I don't much care for many of his views.
Yesterday's Standard saw a piece on the railways. As I was reading it my blood pressure went up and my blood started to boil. The article appeared to be a rant against the entire public transport infrastructure in this country. I was getting cross and was about to spit feathers.
Then I came across this sentence:
Goodness me. At last I have found something on which I agree with Mr Gilligan.
Mr Gilligan is certainly opinionated- he is often like a dog with a bone. I don't think that Ken Livingstone likes him very much. I don't much care for many of his views.
Yesterday's Standard saw a piece on the railways. As I was reading it my blood pressure went up and my blood started to boil. The article appeared to be a rant against the entire public transport infrastructure in this country. I was getting cross and was about to spit feathers.
Then I came across this sentence:
"To avoid Virgin, take the excellent (and cheaper) Chiltern trains from Marylebone to Birmingham, or the even better Wrexham and Shropshire service from the same terminus."
Goodness me. At last I have found something on which I agree with Mr Gilligan.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Anonymous Blogs - Is the writing on the wall?
Apparently the European Union is currently investigating whether to force all bloggers to register their real identities, with a photograph.
Now, I know of many bloggers who would simply stop blogging if they were no longer anonymous. I choose to be anonymous, simply because it suits the style of writing that I seek to achieve.
Personally I think it would be a shame to impose public profiles on people - it would certainly make the Blogosphere a less interesting place.
Thanks to Monday Books for pointing me in the direction of this.
Do please buy some books from them - it might be a bit cheaper to go via Amazon, but Monday Books always post via first class post, don't charge postage and are really nice people to deal with. When I look at the sort of books they publish, it makes me realise how valuable some of our small independent publishers really are.
Now, I know of many bloggers who would simply stop blogging if they were no longer anonymous. I choose to be anonymous, simply because it suits the style of writing that I seek to achieve.
Personally I think it would be a shame to impose public profiles on people - it would certainly make the Blogosphere a less interesting place.
Thanks to Monday Books for pointing me in the direction of this.
Do please buy some books from them - it might be a bit cheaper to go via Amazon, but Monday Books always post via first class post, don't charge postage and are really nice people to deal with. When I look at the sort of books they publish, it makes me realise how valuable some of our small independent publishers really are.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Voyeurism in Reverse
One of the things that I find fascinating about this blog is the nature of the vistors to it and, particularly, how they get here and whereabouts they are.
I had a first this morning - a vistor from Zimbabwe. Specifically their ISP is said to be located in "Mashonaland Central", which apparently is in the North of the country. Whoever you are/ were: Welcome!
Given the current problems in Zimbabwe and the tight control over many aspects of the media, I suspect that one has to take some news items with a pinch of salt. However a quick skim through the headlines of a Google News Search shows the dreadful state that the people are in. Can you imagine living somewhere where you are sentenced to 6 months in prison for organising a political meeting?
What is reassuring is that this morning's vistor was 'normal' enough to be visiting the most popular post on this blog. Quite why an innocuous article about steam trains should be read so much is quite beyond me.
I had a first this morning - a vistor from Zimbabwe. Specifically their ISP is said to be located in "Mashonaland Central", which apparently is in the North of the country. Whoever you are/ were: Welcome!
Given the current problems in Zimbabwe and the tight control over many aspects of the media, I suspect that one has to take some news items with a pinch of salt. However a quick skim through the headlines of a Google News Search shows the dreadful state that the people are in. Can you imagine living somewhere where you are sentenced to 6 months in prison for organising a political meeting?
What is reassuring is that this morning's vistor was 'normal' enough to be visiting the most popular post on this blog. Quite why an innocuous article about steam trains should be read so much is quite beyond me.
Friday, April 27, 2007
I've Just Blown A Gasket
I've just flipped my lid.
There is a news article on the BBC website titled "Call to stop children's drinking".
Immediate reaction... there's nothing wrong with that is there?
Next paragraph: "Parents who give alcohol to children aged under 15 should be prosecuted, a charity has said."
Grrr.
When will people realise that you cannot address a breakdown in the structure of parts of our society by way of an endless cycle of legislation?
Yes, we have a problem with alcohol in this country. Yes, many of our town and city centres are blighted by binge drinkers. Yes, alcohol is a poison (and yes I have the occasional drink).
What do you do with all the criminals created as a result of passing so many laws that we become a nation of criminals?
Answers on a post card please.
There is a news article on the BBC website titled "Call to stop children's drinking".
Immediate reaction... there's nothing wrong with that is there?
Next paragraph: "Parents who give alcohol to children aged under 15 should be prosecuted, a charity has said."
Grrr.
When will people realise that you cannot address a breakdown in the structure of parts of our society by way of an endless cycle of legislation?
Yes, we have a problem with alcohol in this country. Yes, many of our town and city centres are blighted by binge drinkers. Yes, alcohol is a poison (and yes I have the occasional drink).
What do you do with all the criminals created as a result of passing so many laws that we become a nation of criminals?
Answers on a post card please.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Military Hospitals
Totally off topic and politics, but a subject close to my heart.
I see from the BBC News site that US Army Secretary Francis Harvey has resigned amid a row over the treatment of wounded US soldiers. That got me thinking about our own military hospitals.
The hospital I was born at has long since closed. Even the one that replaced that closed in 1999.
A bit of judicious searching this morning has revealed that, to my surprise, the only remaining British Military Hospital in the UK is the Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport Hampshire. It is due to close in 2009.
On every level this is wrong, wrong, wrong. Don't expect me to rationalise it, it is just wrong.
For the reasons (or some of them) please see this article from www.portsmouthtoday.co.uk.
On a lighter note, I forgot to mention that my Grandma and I went to a concert last Sunday evening. The concert was given by the The Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band from Catterick Garrison. It was just what the doctor ordered- even a deaf 90 year old could hear the music - outstanding!
I see from the BBC News site that US Army Secretary Francis Harvey has resigned amid a row over the treatment of wounded US soldiers. That got me thinking about our own military hospitals.
The hospital I was born at has long since closed. Even the one that replaced that closed in 1999.
A bit of judicious searching this morning has revealed that, to my surprise, the only remaining British Military Hospital in the UK is the Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport Hampshire. It is due to close in 2009.
On every level this is wrong, wrong, wrong. Don't expect me to rationalise it, it is just wrong.
For the reasons (or some of them) please see this article from www.portsmouthtoday.co.uk.
On a lighter note, I forgot to mention that my Grandma and I went to a concert last Sunday evening. The concert was given by the The Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band from Catterick Garrison. It was just what the doctor ordered- even a deaf 90 year old could hear the music - outstanding!
Sunday, September 24, 2006
This one is politics
My blood pressure started to increase when I read the headline "Brown in pledge to devolve power" on the BBC News site this morning.
Until that nice Mr Brown came along, we had a private pensions system in the UK that was the envy of the world. Gone.
Until that nice Mr Brown came along, most people took responsibility for themselves, with Society helping those who couldn't. Now, through the tools of tax credits and means testing, we are in a position where more and more people rely on hand outs in some form or other to pay for life and its many luxuries. A fundamental relationship change.
Until that nice Mr Brown came along, we were beginning to get a grip on public sector costs. The proportion (%) of all workers employed in the public sector has gone up slightly since 1997 (Source: Office of National Statistics), but as the total number of people in employment has significantly increased. This increasing proportion is a sign of how inefficient the public sector is and how wasteful it is with our money.
Until that nice Mr Brown came along (and his mate next door, Tony), we had a governmental system in place that worked. Responsibilities were clear and extra layers of government (ie cost) were kept to a minimum. We are now in a position where devolution has occurred for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland [See: The West Lothian Question], and there has been pressure placed to have locally elected mayors, though thankfully the population seem to have seen through the sham.
Why does all this matter? Well, with Power comes responsibility.
(Now, I'll get off my soapbox and back to writing about trains and stuff)
Until that nice Mr Brown came along, we had a private pensions system in the UK that was the envy of the world. Gone.
Until that nice Mr Brown came along, most people took responsibility for themselves, with Society helping those who couldn't. Now, through the tools of tax credits and means testing, we are in a position where more and more people rely on hand outs in some form or other to pay for life and its many luxuries. A fundamental relationship change.
Until that nice Mr Brown came along, we were beginning to get a grip on public sector costs. The proportion (%) of all workers employed in the public sector has gone up slightly since 1997 (Source: Office of National Statistics), but as the total number of people in employment has significantly increased. This increasing proportion is a sign of how inefficient the public sector is and how wasteful it is with our money.
Until that nice Mr Brown came along (and his mate next door, Tony), we had a governmental system in place that worked. Responsibilities were clear and extra layers of government (ie cost) were kept to a minimum. We are now in a position where devolution has occurred for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland [See: The West Lothian Question], and there has been pressure placed to have locally elected mayors, though thankfully the population seem to have seen through the sham.
Why does all this matter? Well, with Power comes responsibility.
- If you destroy the future hopes and aspirations of millions, you must take responsibility.
- If you increase peoples' reliance on state handouts you must be doing something wrong and must take responsibility.
- If you increase the number of people YOU employ in the public sector, but choose to forget that everyone else has to pay for them, you must take responsibility.
- If you crave power but pretend to devolve responsibility while retaining control of the purse strings, you are not only being irresponsible but you are hoaxing the British people. For this you must take responsibility.
(Now, I'll get off my soapbox and back to writing about trains and stuff)
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