Cuts that will hurt

The independent examination of the political parties’ spending plans by the Institute for Fiscal Studies confirms that the Conservatives will need to make £30 BILLION worth of cuts to unprotected areas of government expenditure. That means 30% cuts in real terms to defence, transport, law and order and social care. These are huge cuts with unknown, but potentially very dire, consequences. No wonder the Conservatives don’t want to talk about it.

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Days gone by

Spent a very enjoyable day yesterday at Beamish Open Air Museum in County Durham. It’s an incredible social record with a whole range of buildings lovingly restored to reflect life a century or so ago. The trams and town street scene really are evocative of a world that is now lost, and a pint and freshly cooked pork pie in The Sun pub were added treats.

Visiting the colliery and the drift mine, together with the pit village, brought home just how hard life was. Eight hours down the mine everyday must have been a gruelling and unimaginably hard existence. It all puts the current election debate in to perspective. We take so many things for granted and forget just how hard our ancestors had to work to build the society that we enjoy today.

Daylight Robbery

In what looks like an increasingly desperate election campaign, David Cameron and the Conservatives seem to be giving away things they don’t own and incurring costs on behalf of organisations that are already facing significant financial challenges.

The Conservative plan to give employees the right to three days volunteering will cause major problems for the NHS and for schools, both of which will have to cope with huge additional costs to cover for staff when they are absent.

The plan to extend the right to buy to Housing Association properties goes even further: The Conservatives want to sell off things they don’t own! It is a bizarre twist for a political party that is supposed to stand for less government and less interference in how organisations are run. David Cameron seems to be adopting an approach to other peoples’ assets that Stalin would be proud of.

Light not shining at the National Theatre?

Hope all is well at one of my favourite institutions, the National Theatre, following the resignation of their Chief Executive. It is a great national asset producing many great plays and exploring subjects and issues that are relevant to society today.

Have to admit to being disappointed by “Light Shining in Buckinghamshire” this week, although perhaps allowance needs to made for the fact it was the first preview. The opening scene and staging were outstanding, but the first act was bogged down at the end by lengthy speeches from the Putney Debates during which the cast seemed to be concentrating more on remembering their lines than delivering them.

The second act lost me. One or two funny moments but some odd points being made by characters coming on in modern dress (I assume this was deliberate and not just because their costumes were still being finished backstage!). If the point was to link the common people then and now, then it didn’t really work for me, which is unusual for a NT production. Perhaps it will improve over time.

Education, education, education!

When Tony Blair first became Prime Minister, his mantra was “education, education, education.” Strangely, until today education has hardly featured in the General Election campaign. All of us involved in the sector, be it as teachers, support staff or governors,  are aware that a financial crisis is looming. Post-16 funding hasn’t been protected and sneaky increases in employer National Insurance payments haven’t been matched by increased funding. Pupil numbers are growing and if funding doesn’t increase to match then schools and colleges will be in real difficulty.

So it’s good news to hear the Liberal Democrats making education a priority and stating that they will protect the early years, school, sixth form and college budgets. This is a very significant and welcome commitment. If they stick to it and can wield influence through a future coalition then the outlook for our schools, sixth forms and colleges has just become significantly brighter.

Austerity? It doesn’t seem so!

It is impossible to reconcile the Conservative’s claim that we need further cuts in public expenditure with their commitment of ever increasing sums of money in their attempts to woo the voters.

The latest example is the Right to Buy.

The extension of the Right to Buy to Housing Association properties would see some people being able to buy their own home with help from the taxpayer. but these are people already living in good secure homes on some of the country’s cheapest rents.

Meanwhile the policy won’t help the millions of people in private rented homes who are desperate to buy but have no hope of doing so, nor the three million adult children living with their parents because they can’t afford to rent or buy.

Housing associations are private social enterprises that exist for the benefit of the community. They already build homes for sale, private and social rent and shared ownership. As well as depriving future generations of decent affordable housing, the Conservative Party are planning to raise £17.5 billion from the sale of high value properties to fund the discount – a huge sum in times of austerity that could grow into tens of billions as more tenants  become eligible. This £17.5 billion is enough to finance nearly one million new shared ownership homes open to everyone, not just the lucky few already well housed in secure social homes.

Transpolitical crosspolicying

Sorry, the title is a bit contrived, but it sums up for me where we are with the latest round of policy declarations from the main political parties.

The Labour Party are now presenting themselves as the financially responsible, economically competent party, making a strong contrast to the Conservatives who are distributing largesse as though money is about to go out of fashion.

Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats (traditionally accused of being light on detail) have produced some of the most detailed financial analysis of all the political parties.

It’s fascinating to watch how, in order to counter their perceived weaknesses, the parties appear to be doing the political equivalent of cross dressing. It will be interesting to see how the Conservatives try to attack the other parties on financial competence given their own inability to explain how they will fund their promises.

A Cameron Essay Crisis too far?

David Cameron has often been called “The Essay Crisis” Prime Minister. Like a student who can’t really be bothered, he ends up desperately trying to meet the deadline for his essays by doing everything at the last minute. The Scottish Independence referendum was a clear example, when it only occurred to him at the last minute that Scotland might actually vote yes. Cue: Panic and an almost too late effort that saved the Union (probably more down to Gordon Brown than Cameron).

But has he left it too late to come up with the goods for the General election? Having previously lectured us about not making unfunded promises to support the NHS, he’s now done exactly that. £8billion conjured up from nowhere (is it growing on the money tree in the rose garden at No.10 ?). This looks like one essay crisis too far.

At least Nick Clegg has done his homework on time and can explain where the Liberal Democrats would find the money to support the NHS. He deserves credit for being open and honest about raising taxes and pruning expenditure.

An election testament

Just watched the film of Vera Brittain’s book “A Testament of Youth” at my ever reliable community cinema, Saffron Screen. Aside from the fact it is a very moving film and a very effective commentary on the dreadful loss of so many young lives during the First World War, two things struck me:

Firstly, although it was coincidental that I was watching it at Easter the timing was somehow very appropriate. I was left feeling that the harrowing loss of so many demands something in response from those of us who have never known such carnage. Surely we must hope for a better world, where life has greater value and in which we are able to reach across, as Vera Brittain tried to do, to those who may be seen as the enemy.

Secondly it made the current election campaign, leaders’ debate and the cheap point scoring seem utterly trivial. How I long to see something meaningful debated and politicians putting forward a vision for the future of the United Kingdom, rather than just using scare tactics to panic everybody into supporting them.

Kitchen sink politics

After the taunting of Ed Miliband over his two (or is it three?) kitchens, you’d have thought “Dave” Cameron would approach giving an interview in his own (only?) kitchen with extreme caution. But no, there he goes, foot in mouth, not thinking properly and lets slip that he doesn’t intend to go for a third term. The campaign chiefs in the Tory party must be having apoplexy – how did they let that happen, driving a coach and horses through their carefully constructed election strategy?

It’s supposed to be Miliband who doesn’t have what it takes to govern, not Cameron. But Cameron has always been a bit superficial, never quite focussing his mind properly on the job: the “essay crisis” Prime Minister who almost broke up the Union because he didn’t put a proper strategy in place for the Scottish referendum. Left it all to the last minute.

Does he really want to be Prime Minister? I get the feeling he finds the whole thing a bit of a bore.