| Labour may have fallen into the political abyss, but, fear not, the obscenely-rewarded Marxist attack-dogs at the BBC will continue to carry the torch for the hard left, as it corrodes the fabric of our democracy. The BBC’s glaring political bias and profligate funding of its global news output calls for an urgent root-and-branch review of its activities. In the meantime, Conservative politicians should not subject themselves to aggressive and tendentious interrogation by the BBC on its main news channels. If, as likely, the method of BBC funding remains intact until 2026, it should be a requirement that the Corporation adhere to the terms set out in its Royal Charter, including those of fair and balanced reporting. Although the proposed decriminalisation of non-payment of the licence fee is welcome, it will do nothing to address the question of the over 75s, losing their free TV licence, effectively cutting the connection of many with the outside world. Perhaps this could be avoided if the corporation were to eliminate the waste of taxpayers’ money. Here, the reported £32m spent by BBC Scotland on six new channels no-one watches, may well the tip of an extremely large iceberg. The most appealing part of the Andrew Marr Show this morning was a rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah -which is precisely how I feel about the result of Thursday’s election. Hallelujah! Boris, the Prince Hal of British politics, has delivered |
Sunday, 15 December 2019
Sunday, 2 June 2019
IDENTITY POLITICS AND THE DECLINE OF DEMOCRACY
The deep divide between Brexiteers and Remainers signals the journey to oblivion
for traditional Left/Right party politics. Simultaneously, the growing dissonance
between the political elite and those whom they represent is fragmenting the
electorate into an increasingly disparate array of identity groups, each demanding
amends for a particular injustice or cause in their community.
This does not bode well for the future of democracy and is making the country
ungovernable. Politically radical elements are increasingly manipulating voters to
vent their frustration at being ignored and thereby disenfranchised by career
politicians in the Westminster bubble, not through the ballot-box, but by other
means.
Monday, 21 January 2019
FEMINISM SCREWS IT FOR THE BOYS
hle
agenda. Divorce law, including financial
settlements, child custody and one-sided
anonymity in cases of alleged sexual
impropriety are examples
Endemic since the 1980s, it is a process
that has been given added impetus by
accelerating economic and social
change. It has happened at a time
when Britain has been transformed
to a mainly service economy.
The result has been the greater
empowerment of women in the
workplace over the past fifty years.
They have benefited from improved
educational opportunities and the
ability to control their fertility. It has
meant growing financial independence
from men, not only for those in work,
but also for young, single mothers who
have been prioritised for housing and
receive attractive state benefits.
Along with this has been the changing
perception of what is meant by a
nuclear family. It is a complex and
fluid picture. Marriage continues
to decline with 42% of marriages
ending in divorce.
Serial monogamy and cohabitation
between single-sex couples are
common. Gone is much of the
stability and certainty of family life
in the 1950s.
In its place are more fragmented
environments, often devoid of the
influence of paternal role models,
which are so important in the
development of the male identity.
Feminist opinion-formers in
politics, education, the law and
especially in the media are not
seeking a comapact between the
sexes, but female preferment, in
the form of positive discrimination.
The impact of the corrosive influence
that the feminist lobby has had on
female attitudes to men has been
profound.
In education, where only 12% of
primary school teachers are male,
the predominantly female culture
cannot, nor in many cases would
it seek to, encourage the
development of the male identity
as such.
Female characteristics are seen as
good, male as bad. Many male
graduates are put off teaching
by the threat of being falsely
accused of improper behaviour,
the consequences of which are
often devastating.
Gender bias continues into
secondary education. Some ten
years' ago, Jenny Murray, presenter
of the BBC Woman's Hour, asked
a guest why boys outperformed girls
in GCSEs. She was told that boys
responded better to the pressure of
an examination, whereas girls
preferred coursework.
the system, then change it. It was
and the result of less rigour has
undermined the credibility of the
examination system in schools and
further up the learning process in
higher education.
This creates the backgound for the
the root causes of many of the
chronic social problems relating to
young men. They leave school with
inferior qualifications, poorer job
prospects and face unemployment.
Dismissed as potential husbands,
fathers and providers by young
women who are supported by the
state, they feel unwanted and
express growing anger.
Greater tolerance in society for
generalised 'men are useless'
statements, jokes, advertisements
and so on, than would be used to
refer to any other group, reflects a
situation for which there is an
increasing human and economic
cost.
Tuesday, 24 July 2018
Nothing less than fundamental change is needed in order to bring NHS spending
under control. The results of your poll showing that the public is willing to pay
higher taxes in support of further funding is well intentioned, but merely a
re-statement of Gresham's Law: Good money after bad. The NHS does a superlative
job attempting to do the manifestly impossible: providing a world-class health
service to all, on demand, from taxation and borrowed money. It is against the
background of an ageing population and those who believe that there is an off-the-shelf solution to every medical problem, cost of increasingly sophisticated treatments and a large and complex organisation, employing over 1.25m which, as previous
re-organisations have shown, is extremely resistant to change.
Sixteen million patients began NHS treatment last year, up over 5.1% on the previous
12 months. When Beveridge set up the NHS in 1948, his assumption was that it
would pay for itself by improving the health of the nation.This Panglossian notion
is now far removed from reality, as never before. An alternative model must be
developed, perhaps based on more successful healthcare systems in other countries,
such as a combination of public and private provision. The sacred cow's days are
clearly numbered, especially when it appears that, in terms of process, the UK is
an international leader in healthcare, while outcomes - the number of patients kept
alive - reveals a more pessimistic picture.
Tuesday, 20 June 2017
Corbyn's Fools' Paradise
Welcome to the weird world of Jeremy Corbyn and his intended reincarnation of 1950s'- style Soviet Russia. Go ahead and smile dismissively if you will, but consider the economic illiteracy of the politics he espouses. Without exception, it is a history of false promises built on a sea of debt. An example is his promise to cancel all student loans running at £100bn. How would this money be found? From investors in the international bond market? With the national debt running at £1.9 trillion, more than the total value of the goods and services we produce, I think not.
Or, perhaps, he would simply print more money, producing
the kind of hyperinflation experienced in Germany's Weimar Republic where the value of money halved every few hours.
Corbyn's fools' paradise could be just a vote away at an early general election, as could the kind of soup-kitchen queues at government food distribution centres shown in the photograph.
Or, perhaps, he would simply print more money, producing
the kind of hyperinflation experienced in Germany's Weimar Republic where the value of money halved every few hours.
Corbyn's fools' paradise could be just a vote away at an early general election, as could the kind of soup-kitchen queues at government food distribution centres shown in the photograph.
Wednesday, 17 May 2017
ROBOTIC THERESA
The accelerating impact of robots on our way of life is there for all to see. Why we
even have one running the country. Developed using the latest driverless-car
technology, it is, of course, female with a nervous laugh and lifelike facial
expressions. Theresa's computer-activated voice is wowing voters up and down
the country with such spellbinding phrases as "strength and stability" and strong
stable family" and "we'll build a better Britain, not just for the privileged few".
You can bet that the Tory manifesto will contain further evidence of Lynton
Crosby's creative genius, in order to convince voters that a landslide is needed
to implement Labour's left-wing manifesto.
Saturday, 13 May 2017
Never give a sucker an even break
Vote May with a big majority and you get Corbyn. In this election growth
and wealth creation will be barely mentioned. What will feature will be how the government plans to introduce a death tax on the family home to
fund healthcare for the world and his wife and to maintain Britain's
position as a global superpower for distributing rising levels of foreign aid,
paid for on borrowed money. We live in a socialist country and the choice on June 8 is between paying much higher taxes and much higher taxes. Some will think why bother to work hard and contemplate living abroad. Others will say what is the point of risking starting a business, do as
millions both here and abroad do and live off benefit and the
forebearance of our creditors. The national debt is running at £1.6 trillion,
equal to our GDP, on which the annual interest is £50-odd billion, more than we spend on defence and education.
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