So much seems to have happened since my last post and I haven't managed to keep up with fresh posts in time so here is a synopsis of my takes on a number of events past. Without dwelling too much here given some are quite stale but I couldn't resist throwing in my 2 cents or pence....
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House of Lords voted down the coalition proposal to monetarily penalise residents of council estates who have a spare rooms
The proposal makes perfect sense to me. I don't understand why this was voted down. The soppy arguments some appear to make such as in the Guardian are baseless "
...millions of social housing tenants will be forced to make an agonising decision: stay put and live in hardship, or move home and attempt to find a cheaper place to live, away from family, support networks and their children's school. With so few smaller homes available, many will not even have that choice....s it really a luxury to have a room for your foster child to sleep in, who for benefit purposes does not count as part of the household? Is it extravagant for your two teenage daughters to have their own rooms for privacy and study? Or a separated parent who has a room to share the care of their child – is that an unnecessary indulgence?"
Families that don't live on benefits suffer from the safe fate if they are not able to afford the payment on their homes so they move or downsize, etc. Why are tax payers supposed to pay for others to have a more cushy lifestyle when we ourselves can't afford one? I'm all for the "Manhattinisation of London" with more accountability at a local council level. Those who receive support ought to give back and expect to live at the same standard and subject to the same fluctuations as self-sufficient people.
And I can't understand why someone living on benefits is has foster children - raising kids is a huge responsibility that requires a significant financial commitment. While I respect their desire to give such children a new beginning, why is the taxpayer having to support them in this decision? So yes Guardian, the harsh reality is that it is "
really a luxury to have a room for your foster child to sleep in".
Cameron's veto
The Tory backbenchers would have exploded if a UK referendum came about and the coalition govt would have been ripped down the middle. If Cameron signed up to the policies at the EU summit, a UK referendum would have been raised. To avoid this, he played the veto. A good thing is doing so, is that it demonstrated that we will use it for things we care about and the City is something we do care about. Does it alienate us and reduce our ability to shape regulation going forward? not certain. The veto on tax reforms still holds and we can shape that if and when it comes about. We always had to work hard to negotiate and build support for our position - we will have to continue to do so now too.
Jeremy Clarkson's call for execution
A man paid to be comically obnoxious on tv was comically obnoxious on TV - why this boo-hoo about it? If he was the government's negotiator with unions and then he made such statements, fine, let's consider if it was appropriate or not. Also listening to his conversation in its entirety, the statement in question was clearly pulled out of context. If unions have the time and money to engage lawyers over this then hell, they are making too much money.
Sepp Blatter...
For once, I support him. Words are meaningless with no consequence...unless action follows. I don't care if someone (known or unknown to me) calls me a paki. Does it change my life in any way? No. Does it change my assessment of myself? No - and it shouldn't do so to anyone else either.
If I got passed on for a job or got stopped by the police because they thought I was a paki and assigned negative characteristics to that - then yes, I have a problem with it. But only if actions support the words should we bother, otherwise, move on and forget about it. Sticks and stones...
Heathslow...
It is plain stupid to deny that the UK needs more capacity to handle passengers at Heathrow. Frankfurt has more than London! Either build a new airport or expand the old one. Its quite simple. The only people fighting this are near sighted residents and their vote seeking MPs.
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