Everything you ever wanted to know about British politics but were afraid to ask...

[Cyclefrance]

Must have pressed the wrong button on the old calculator...

Seems that the Home Office has underestimated the number of leagl migrant workers coming to England 30-fold.

Much loved local borough of Slough (it's a town near Heathrow Airport) was shown by government figures to have recd 300 migrant workers in 2004 - but some 9000 new national insurance numbers have been issued there over the past 18 months, of which only 150 went to British nationals.

That certainly helps with planning of resources....

Cyclefrance, I am oddly cheered by your postings of the UK's political mishaps. I mean, you guys are our ancestors or cousins or something. The current mess in the US is not the American People's fault! Its sort of an inherited disorder or whatever. We're all just one huge dysfunctional family. Best wishes from across the pond!

[Cyclefrance]

Over a month has gone by, wow! - still, I have been busy with the Somme cycling and website. And I was sort of hoping that political life in the UK might have improved - fat chance! Anyway, you deserved a break from all the negative vibes material for a while - but now that's all over!

Hot off the press (leaving aside our strong stand (I don't think) on the Israel/Lebanon situation at the moment...!) - we're gonna have another 150,000 East European immigrants arriving next year. Government's finally woken up (or at least admitted) that instead of being the economic work-force that creates wealth for Britain, they are more likely going to add to the increasing burden on our services - social benefits, free-health, subsidised housing and education.

Guess I'd better prepare for another tax increase then, along with the rest of the decreasing horde of Brits that actually work and support themselves, and constitute the only true source of tax revenue that pays for all this...

[tw]

So how many times is Tony Blair going to the White House to support George Jr - and come back empty handed. When does he learn the concept of 'give and take'?

[glatt]

Originally Posted by tw

So how many times is Tony Blair going to the White House to support George Jr - and come back empty handed. When does he learn the concept of 'give and take'?

Oh, he's taking it alright.

[Cyclefrance]

Originally Posted by tw

So how many times is Tony Blair going to the White House to support George Jr - and come back empty handed. When does he learn the concept of 'give and take'?

I used to think that Tony's main agenda was to secure a 4 year EU presidency, and that his 'relationship' with GWB was a part of his game-plan to show that he was the best person equipped to deal with the US super-power.

Now I'm not so sure about that and think it more a case of wanting George to like him, and also believing that provided he achieves this then a softly softly approach will be the way to gain concessions from him.

It's strange because he shows himself to be stubborn and intransigent when he gets his teeth into anything over here. At the end of the day a lot of this is down to his inability to see deep into the consequences of his idea solutions. Too many of his grand-scale initiatives have failed to deliver yet still he goes on repeating the same mistakes. He has no real depth and that's the real problem.

[Cyclefrance]

Sums up Blair's interests:

[Cyclefrance]

It's more or less a case of 'crisis, what crisis?' so far as the Israel/Lebanon situation is concerned. Loads of rhetoric and promised of urgency when everyone knows that a solution is about as close as Christmas 2007 - at the earliest.

Blair proclaims he expects an immediate ceasefire within the next few days to be forthcoming via a UN resolution and then like GWB, proceeds with the more urgent business of packing his holiday suitcase and leaving our wonderful country in the clumsy hands of John Prescott.

Still, Blair assures us that he will be in close touch by phone. Wonderful.

If ever anything stinks of a behind the scenes agreement to let the Israelis get on with it unabated then this does. I am sure that's the way the Israelis must read it. And if they read it that way it's for sure that the Arab countries do also.

If anything makes you want to scream this does. Such pitiful inaction will surely come home to haunt - probably sooner than later.

And these people were voted in to protect our country and global interests - those that put their cross in the appropriate place to cause this must be feeling pretty embarassed by now. The sooner we get the opportunity to kick this lot out the better. I'm ashamed to be British.

[Cyclefrance]

Blair is finally buckling under the pressure - there are news reports today that he is delaying the start of his holiday by at least 3 days in order to progress a UN resolution for a cease-fire, coupled with a second for an international force that France leads.

Doesn't sound like the sort of thing that can be accomplished within a few days - so we will have to wait and see how this one progresses in the short-term timescale being advocated

[Cyclefrance]

So Tone's on his way to the Caribbean for his hols (well, almost - he's still trying to revise the UN resolution that didn't work), having done his bit to cobble together a UN resolution that satisfied the French and USA but not those that really mattered.

John Prescott has been left in charge with strict instructions not to meddle with the Middle East situation while TB's away - one has to ask on this occasion, could he do any worse...?

Meanwhile, Tony still insists that the UN resolution route is the way ahead to solve the present crisis - this in spite of the fact that there are countless preceding UN resolutions that have been ignored across the years...., so why should the next one make any difference?

[Cyclefrance]

Immigration is still out of control and now we are warned that with the growing number of immigrants, the increased demand for services (benefits) to which they are entitled will cause local taxes (council tax) to rise for those that work and pay their tax bills.

That should help promote good race relations...

[Cyclefrance]

Government targets for hospital stays and high bed occupancy are causing patients to be sent home earlier than might be best for their condition. Result: hospital stats look good, but patients are having to be re-admitted to ensure that they have the right amount of time to recover properly.

Re-admissions have risen nearly 30% 2006 last quarter, compared to 2005 last quarter.

Still, the occupancy stats look good....

[Cyclefrance]

We're used to bad political news being 'buried' when there is something more ey-catching grabbing the headlines, but yesterday the 'burial' syndrome got a little bit too much of a reality check.

Seems one female labour MP, Ms Rosie Cooper, questioned whether Margaret Thatcher deserved a state funeral. I mean, come on, dear, she's still alive and kicking!

They'll be writing her obituary for consideration next....

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by Cyclefrance

Seems one female labour MP, Ms Rosie Cooper, questioned whether Margaret Thatcher deserved a state funeral. I mean, come on, dear, she's still alive and kicking!

They'll be writing her obituary for consideration next....

The first I saw of this story was a headline in the Telegraph which read something like "No State Funeral for Thatcher" - I thought, blimey, the old witch is dead and I missed the chance for a party! Had to scurry into work to check t'internet & was most disappointed.

[Cyclefrance]

Not really Blair's day (again)...

Having delayed his holiday departure to deal with the UN Resolution for an Israel/Lebanon ceasefire (bit of a waste of time there!), it seems that Tony was in contact with George Bush on Sunday about the current crisis over the terrorist plot to bomb aircraft in flight.

With the country even now on its highest terror alert ever, his own MPs are now questionning why he still went on holiday when there was such a potentially catastrophic terror plot about to be exposed.

Let alone that he was prepared to leave the country in the charge of John Prescott in charge at such an extremely dangerous time.