TalkingPolitics

This blog has now moved

2009-05-06T09:09:00.001+01:00

This blog has now moved. Please now go to:

http://gbcpublicaffairs.wordpress.com/

Thanks

The future is green

2009-01-22T15:48:00.001Z

Sworn into office just two days ago, all eyes are firmly focussed on Obama and what he will do to deliver the change that he has promised throughout his electoral campaign. In the midst of one of the world’s largest economic crisis, President Obama built his campaign on the promise of not only economic stimulus but also support for green technology.

Obama’s plans for a green tech economy are unlike any policies of the Bush administration. Rather than allowing the economy to overshadow and marginalise environmental concerns, the President wants to use environmental principles to help drive economic growth.

“A new energy economy is going to be part of what creates the millions of new jobs that we need," Obama said during a news conference last month.

Recently he selected alternative energy supporter and Nobel-prize winning physicist Steven Chu to head the Department of Energy and has also announced that he will invest $150bn dollars in green technology.

Although, many speculated that the financial crisis would but an end to green initiatives, but initial indications from the White House tell us otherwise.

However, it is not going to be easy to change attitudes and create the economic stimulus that he envisions in his own country. A green tech future, or a new energy economy as some prefer to call it, would certainly need global consensus and is unlikely to be achieved through national measures alone.

At home in the UK, the government assures us of its commitment of investing in a green future and creating a low carbon economy. It does this with measures such as targets to reduce carbon emissions by 80% before 2050, the creation of the new Department of Energy and Climate Change last October and the passing of the Climate Change Act last December. However, on the other hand gives the go ahead to build a new runaway and a sixth terminal at Heathrow Airport.

This decision makes me doubt how serious the government really are about creating a low carbon economy…We’ll have to wait and see if the future is really that green.

By Danielle Thomas

Obama for Change

2009-01-20T17:49:00.000Z

Obama for change!

I’ve just witnessed history as Barak Obama – the US’s first African American leader sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. Two hundred years after the abolition of slavery and around forty years after the Civil Rights moment, this was a day that was that people – including myself a 22 year Black Britain – never thought they’d ever see.

Barack to me is role model, a strong, family man, well educated a lawyer and a diplomat who throughout his campaign has promised change to a country with severe economic and social problems. Many are debating that is change will come about and Barack acknowledges that the challenges are real and that change will not be easily met, however I believe like many others do that change has already come in this the inauguration of the first black president of the United States!

By Danielle Thomas

Rubbish Resolutions

2009-01-06T14:06:00.000Z

It seems that although 2009 is the year of money worries and high street hell, 2009 is also going to be the year of green.

Everywhere you look we are being encouraged snap out of the Christmas blues and recycle our festive rubbish that has been left over from 2008 or ‘swop’ presents to maximize their usefulness. We should do something about the un-eaten food that we eventually throw out, and make sure we recycle our Christmas trees. British households chucked out more than three million tonnes of waste this Christmas, including cards, trees and food waste, according to Recycle Now.

Now I reckon that I am pretty good with recycling cans, bottles, paper etc through the kerbside collection but I thought I would have a quick search online to see what else we can do this year.
Well, for food waste there is the option to start your own compost (See here for tips). Otherwise, when food is sent to landfill doesn't break down into compost but releases harmful greenhouse gases instead - this is because it's buried and doesn't get any air. Composting is definitely something that I am looking to do this year.

Most councils prefer not to take Christmas cards because of the glittery and shiny bits, but a scheme run jointly by the Woodland Trust and Recycle Now means that you can take your cards to WH Smith, Marks & Spencer, Tesco or TK Maxx stores - all you have to do is look out for the special recycling bins. I tend to reuse my cards by cutting them up into funky designs and turning them into Christmas tags for the next year.

A number of people I spoke to got a new mobile phone for Christmas. The best thing to do with the old one is to either give it to someone who wants it or give it to an organisation who will send it to a less economically developed country for reuse www.envirofone.com. Getting rid of your old phone safely helps helps reduce the amount of toxic chemicals (like mercury) and reusable elements (like gold, silver and nickel) being sent to landfill.

And what about other new presents like cameras or gadgets - it is really important to recycle the old ones rather than throw them in the bin. At www.recyclenow.com, you can find out which electricals you can recycle in your postcode, or which retailers near you will take back your old electrical appliances in store. Alternatively, there is Freecycle, an online forum where people give items away for free, in a bid to re-use and recycle unwanted goods.

None of this seems too taxing, maybe going greener would be a good additional New Year resolution for 2009.

My Factory Visits

2008-12-05T16:04:00.001Z

I spent a day last week in the cold and rainy North visiting a numbers of factories involved in the processing of the drinks can. It was a long day, but a great way to see the loop of how a can is made, filled and then recycled, to possibly become a can again.

The first stop was the Novelis recycling plant in Warrington. We saw the huge bales of cans, which were then melted down into a huge vat of molten liquid, that looked like something out of the Lord of the Rings. It was very important that we didn’t touch anything. We then saw how the aluminium was set into huge ingots, which were then transported to Germany by river for rolling.

Next was the Rexam factory, which makes the cans that supply the Coca-Cola Enterprise factory just next door in Wakefield – we actually saw the ‘hole in the wall’ that allows this to happen. The scale of production in both of these factories was immense and it incredible to see the number of cans in production.

All in all, a whistle stop tour, but actually being there made the whole process so much more vivid and easier to comprehend (and the hats and goggles that we had to wear were so attractive!).

Bold and fair

2008-12-05T16:01:00.001Z

There is no escaping or denying the fact that Britain has now entered a recession.

The newspapers report daily about job cuts and repossessions. And strapped for cash we are spending less, forcing high street stores such as Marks and Spencer and Debenhams to hold regular pre-Christmas sales in order to avoid the fate of stores such as Woolworths and MFI.

I attended the Labour Progress Annual Conference on Saturday where I listened to Ed Miliband MP defend the government’s recent economic decisions announced in the Chancellor’s recent pre-budget report. Bold and fair were the key words of his address:

“New Labour was always about a commitment to boldness and fairness”

“Labour showed once again its ability to be bold, to be fair”

“We have shown a sense of boldness and fairness and told a distinctive New Labour Story about how we can solve the economic problems”

At the state opening of Parliament this week, Gordon Brown made ‘fairness’ the theme of the Queen’s Speech.

We are all aware that the government has made bold decisions with its emergency mini-budget to help the effects of the year-long international financial crisis. They include slashing VAT by 2.5%. However, the jury is still out on how fair these measures are.

“My Government is committed to helping families and businesses through difficult times.” announced the Queen.

But can these bold economic reforms ever be fair for all, families and business alike?

By Danielle Thomas

Is PR good for you?

2008-11-19T17:11:00.001Z

This week I attended an event at the University of Westminster entitled ‘Is PR good for you?’ targeted towards PR professionals and students I was intrigued to attend and see if the outcome of this debate could possibly be negative i.e. conclude that PR is bad for society.

The conclusion of the debate was far from a surprise; the verdict was that PR was indeed good for a society. The persuasive industry is a fundamental instrument of democracy and the right to persuade and influence a democratic right. This is the reason therefore in large democracies such as the US and the UK the PR industry is well established, in emerging markets/transitional countries there is a fascination with PR and in totalitarian states PR is absent.

I concluded on leaving the event that the findings were all very obvious for someone like myself and the other attendees who work in the persuasive industry … so what was the need for this event. Then I reflected I had just been PR –ed. This seminar had been an opportunity to PR, plug, promote, call it what you may the speaker’s new book on the discipline.

So is PR Good for you – yes it is. This event demonstrated the true power of PR…the art of influence and persuasion through increasingly more strategic means which brings your cause, concern or product to the public’s attention … no matter how intelligent they consider themselves to be…

By Danielle Thomas

Blog Action Day - E-marginalised

2008-10-15T17:08:00.001+01:00

Today October 15th is Blog Action Day. Bloggers everywhere will unite (from sports blogs and tech blogs, to entertainment and cooking blogs) and publish posts that discuss poverty in some way. So I’ve chosen to raise awareness about an emerging type of poverty - digital exclusion.

Can you imagine life without your computer, blackberry, or iphone? And I’m not talking about just a day or a week, but what if you had never owned a computer, had internet access on your phone or even in your home? However, could you possibly live without this technology now in 2008?

For many of us it’s hard to imagine and life without Facebook, Myspace or even ASOS…however the internet has many more important uses that we take for granted. The internet has become an indispensible tool in looking for jobs online; searching for housing and assisting children in their studies, however 39% are still not online. That’s more than 1,000,000 households with children without the use of the internet.

Some of these people do not use the net out of choice, but the majority are e-marginalised due to poverty.

Digital exclusion is a socio-economic problem and there is a clear link between digital and social exclusion – 75% of people that are socially excluded are also digitally excluded and 64% people living in social housing don’t use the internet. Research has proven that the internet significantly changes the quality of lives. In a project conducted by UK Online Centres shows 97%of families in poverty who were given computers said that their lives had improved after six months.

Connecting people to the internet can connect them to new or better jobs, new forms of social interaction, government services, education, information, consumer power….and much more.

Thankfully, the government has woken up to this as in April we saw Paul Murphy MP, Wales Minister appointed the first ever minister for Digital Inclusion and at Labour Party Conference, Gordon Brown revealed that Ed Balls would announce plans to fund over a million extra families to get online. The Government will publish their first Digital Inclusion Action Plan later this month – hopefully this will be part of the answer to an emerging 21st century problem.

By Danielle Thomas

Down and dirty state side

2008-10-09T12:59:00.001+01:00

We are always being told how closely linked we are to the USA. ‘The special relationship’ is interpreted by some as evidence of all the things we have in common with Uncle Sam. First and foremost we have our history – two World Wars to be precise. And then of course we are speaking the same language - literally. We love sports (albeit different ones), they love our TV and we love theirs and we are both partial to a helping of burger and fries.

At first glance our political systems also appear closely linked. Both are two-party states, one party sitting just to the left and one on the right. However, once politicians either side of the Atlantic hit the campaign trail we tend to go our separate ways. Labour and the Conservatives entire general election budget would be hard pushed to fund two or three weeks of ‘Obama for President’. And in the States when the chips are down the gloves will come off and both candidates will clamber down into the gutter and slug it out. And that is exactly where we find ourselves now as the US Presidential campaign turns for home and heads down the final straight.

McCain being the one who is slipping behind in the polls has now given up all pretence of wanting to talk about the issues. He has worked out that the American people do not trust him with the economy and are increasingly questioning his judgement. Plan B for team McCain/Palin is to label Obama a friend of terrorists, an aid to paedophiles and a liar. And they are just getting warmed up.

However let us not get too ‘holier then thou’ about Obama. A number of blows have been levelled against McCain that would be hard pushed to be stood up in a school debate, let alone in a national political campaign in the UK. And if Obama was to suddenly find himself behind with a week to go he would come under intense pressure to get down and dirty as well. Whether you like this approach or not is down to the individual. What cannot be disputed is that if you like your politics to be more personal than political, head West. Because thankfully, unlike most things American, we have proved resistant to ‘gutter politics’. And long may that continue.

By Harry Watkinson

London 2012 - The 'cosy' games

2008-10-09T11:18:00.001+01:00

This week I attended the first Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee after the Summer recess. As part of the committee’s ongoing inquiry into the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics Games, they called upon Boris Johnson, Mayor of London and Lord Moynihan, Chairman of The British Olympic Association to give oral evidence. The session focused on preparations for the 2012 Games, lessons from the Beijing 2008 and elite sporting performance.

As I predicted, the cost of the London 2012 Olympic Games was a pertinent issue for the committee, especially in light of the current economic climate. In his manifesto, Boris Johnson highlighted the importance of cost control in the planning of the Games; in return the committee asked him if he still believed the cost of the Games could be contained. Boris was adamant that no further money was needed from the taxpayer and he was reluctant to see early spending of the contingency funds. Mr Johnson stressed that 25% of the budget had been spent, while only 2% of the contingency had been used.

The budget for the London 2012 Games is almost half of that of this year’s Olympics in Beijing, so Philip Davies MP rightly asked Boris how we avoid the London Games being considered as a ‘poor man’s Beijing’ and how we compete on a lower budget. Boris answered that we should not expect a carbon copy of the Beijing Games, according to him the London Games would be a more “cosier” affair with a greater sense of intimacy.

As the athletic stadium in Stratford is set to hold 80,000 people only 11,000 less than the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing, I’m not yet convinced how intimate the London 2012 Olympics Games can really be.

By Danielle Thomas

New Energy and Climate Change Department

2008-10-03T15:15:00.000+01:00

So the reshuffle has happened, and there is a new Energy and Climate Change Department, with Ed Miliband as the new Secretary of State, illustrating the importance of climate change now within the Cabinet. The new department has been set up due to power struggles between BERR and DEFRA – hopefully the new department will allow remove the difficulties of conflicting priorities, and allow change to happen.

The new department is going down well with the key green NGOs, and they seem to have high hopes of what is can achieve.

Greenpeace Executive Director John Sauven said: ‘For the last ten years this government has dithered on climate change, offering us inspiring rhetoric but little in the way of real action. Bringing energy and climate together at last reflects the urgency of the threat we face from climate change.’

Director of Campaigns at WWF-UK David Norman, said: 'It shows a clear recognition that the UK's chances of hitting its climate targets are inextricably linked to its energy policies.'

Friends of the Earth Executive Director Andy Atkins said: "The creation of a single department to oversee climate and energy policy is a big step forward. This is a golden opportunity to integrate the UK’s climate and energy policies – something which has been so obviously lacking in the past. We hope to see this new department, with a dynamic Secretary of State at the helm, lift our energy policy out of the dark ages to meet the challenges of the twenty first century.

So it looks like Brown may have increased his popularity with the green voters, but we will wait and see what policy changes happen as this new department progresses.

Cam the man with the plan

2008-10-03T12:47:00.003+01:00

“I am man with a plan” appears most quoted line from David Cameron’s address to the Conservative Party at their conference on Wednesday.

Cameron has made it no secret that he plans to ‘Fix Britain’s broken society’ should he become PM, but yesterday he promised to be as radical in social reform as Thatcher was in economical reform.

In fact this was only one in a series of comments he made which evoked a Thatcherite spirit at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham.

Although I went to school in the generation of ‘Thatcher the milk snatcher’, I can still see how the comparison he has made between himself and the former first lady might entice voters. In his attempt to tackle Labour’s claim that he was a “novice” Cameron told his party that “Experience was the excuse of the incumbent down the ages”.

He spoke of James Callaghan, PM in 1979 who like our own PM had gained plenty of experience in various cabinet positions as home secretary, foreign secretary and chancellor, however was ‘swapped’ by Margaret Thatcher to the delight of many.

So is Cameron right? Does experience suggest you are implicated in the system that failed? If so, is a change of leadership is what we really need?

By Danielle Thomas

Still knocking

2008-09-30T11:43:00.003+01:00

Cameron struck a sombre note at conference today in a speech designed to suggest he, novice or not, is the prime minister in waiting. Promising to work with the government, Cameron committed the Conservatives to collaborations now and recriminations later.

Sombe and considered, it was a good performance with a promise of explanation and an offer of solutions in his speech tomorrow.

The party faithful loved it, but we'll have to wait and see if this talk of political togetherness will really happen.

By Claire Levens

Paralysed or Smug - which are you?

2008-09-29T09:06:00.005+01:00

Birmingham: Sunday night: Just finished my first environmental fringe at Conservative Conference. Like Labour last week, the fringe agenda is dominated by environmental debates. I’ve just been exploring how to create 2020 carbon citizens.

I was reminded of some research that we did about a year ago, which found that consumers were so confused about what it means to live a green lifestyle they took one of two options. Some were paralysed by the confusion, infused with a gloomy fatalism that all is for nothing in the face of impending doom. The second response, equally unhelpful was a misplaced smugness, engendered by the warm glow of a regular recycler, who believes that through recycling all personal environmental responsibilities have been discharged.

I asked the panel how they would solve this problem, created through a morass of messaging. The most interesting answer was that given by Nick Hurd MP exercising his Chairman’s prerogative to answer the question. Nick highlighted a local initiative, funded and promoted by Kirklees council, which cuts through the clutter. Like every other battle of hearts and minds, creating carbon citizens will only result from a personalised invitation. This means a street by street, door to door campaign, providing localised, tailored independent advice about everything from recycling to insulation.

Undoubtedly expensive and utterly time consuming. But, perhaps it is the best use of time any money on the planet.

By Claire Levens

Political Top Trumps

2008-09-25T10:23:00.000+01:00

This morning my colleagues returned to the office tanked up with stories of their adventures at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester. Sifting through their goodie bags full of promotional leaflets and useful contact details they showed me their most prized freebie; a set of Political Top Trumps. A special edition of the traditional card game Top Trumps, where each card represented some of the UK’s most influential politicians from the Gordon Brown, to David Miliband and Mayor of London Boris Johnson and contained data on marginality, expenses and value of memoirs.

The cards provoked some excitement amongst our team and we can’t wait until we get some free time to play them. However, I started to think in only a week’s time the information on these cards would become out of date as Gordon Brown is set to announce the reshuffle of his cabinet.

In his attempt to regain political momentum it is obvious that Gordon will have to make some significant changes. So who will become Gordon’s new top trumps?

Will Jacqui Smith remain as Home Secretary? Who will replace Ruth Kelly as she has now stepped down from her position as Transport Secretary?

It is speculated that rising stars Caroline Flint, Liam Byrne and Jim Murphy will move up the ranks while Des Browne and Geof Hoon may have their cards marked.

But the most pertinent move will be that of Foreign Secretary David Miliband. Will Brown keep his enemies close and promote Miliband or demote him even though he claims he is not a threat?

When the reshuffle is announced I believe the media will be most occupied with Miliband’s fate, however is hard to predict his new position in the cabinet as many like myself are not quite sure about the status of the relationship between Miliband and Brown.

We’ll have to keep our eyes peeled…

By Danielle Thomas

All about me

2008-09-23T15:52:00.001+01:00

Vintage Brown. Here in Manchester Gordon has said loud and clear that ‘I know who I am and what I am about.’ Just for good measure he also laid out his vision to save the entire world from the global financial system and to care for the nations sick, poor and the elderly. Utterly a conviction politician, his Christian values blazing, Brown’s fight back begins right here, right now.

Perhaps his best sound bite “no time for a novice” was directed at both Davids, Cameron and Miliband. Initial reactions appear to give a thumbs-up for the PM. However, if he wants to see in the spring at Number 10 his actions will still need to speak much louder than his words here today. But at least it is a start.

By Claire Levens

Gordon: Glory or Gonner?

2008-09-23T09:12:00.002+01:00

So, it's the night before the big speech, but if the press are to be believed, Gordon's speech was written months ago and nothing is going to change it. Funny then, to bump into a senior Minister in the bar tonight, who was on the hunt for one of the speech-writing team.... Seems that some third party endorsement had been recieved from a certain South African former elder-statesman, and the writing team were keen to include it.

So, if the speech contains reference to what the UK has done for Africa under a Labour administration we know it was subbed tonight. If not, well, maybe they just missed eachother in the madness of the Malvern bar...

Gordon knows he has a lot to do tomorrow - he needs to impress the party faithful, bruised and battered as they are by the recent events; needs to reassure the parliamentary party that their seats are safe with him. More than that, he needs to convince the cynical media that he has what it takes...and that is a challenge.

I hope he's sleeping well tonight, because tomorrow he earns the right to stay in the job, or start packing... lets see what the media judgement is....

By Claire Levens

Saints and Sinners?

2008-09-22T09:33:00.002+01:00

Saints and Sinners? I really understand the need for certainty, it makes life easy, especially as it permits me to define myself in relationship to you - we are either the same or we are different. On a personal level, it's the way humanity has defined itself for all eternity. On a political level, it's short-sighted, damaging and fundamentally unhelpful.

I've been to two fringe meetings today, one on lottery funding and one on water foot printing. Some of the speakers, and many of the attendees were very quick to define charity and or not for profit as universally good, and anything, and possibly anyone connected with a corporation, or with profit -making as utterly bad. I wonder where this mindset comes from. When did some advocates of the NGO sector, get to determine the organisational morality, and translate that into personal morality.

It would be far more helpful for all parts of society if we each recognised that, even in the current economic climate, profit is the engine of money, that agent of change. Money may change situations for good or for ill. And granted, not all companies are responsible. However most people professionally engaged in the begetting of profit do not do so at the expense of all their principles and scruples. Likewise those engaged in advocacy and campaigning do not have the monopoly on appropriate / right responses.

Perhaps we can agree on this, at least. The social and economic issues we face, as a nation and as a planet will require our best thinking and best policymaking to manage, let alone solve. It's just possible that some solutions might be found from with the business community, and delivered by the NGO community. Perpetuating the myth that profit and business is entirely beyond redemption, and charity above scrutiny, may be comforting in it's clarity. Shame then that clarity alone, especially when mis-guided will hinder rather than help solve the big issues we face as a nation.

By Claire Levens

Party On

2008-09-22T09:23:00.001+01:00

So the political circus has rumbled into Manchester this week. Everyone's here already, and it's only Sunday afternoon. The mood is good too, perhaps the sunshine has something to do with it, or perhaps it's very early in the week... but the coppers are in a good mood, and I've only been told off for going the wrong way twice in four hours! And, none of the food at the lunchtime fringe was deep-fried! Things are looking up.

More importantly, if the quality of the first fringe meeting I went to is anything to go by, we're in for a good conference. The Big Lottery Fund are about to consult on spending priorities for 2009 - 2015. They have some tough questions to think through, covering issues as diverse as whether they should fund the people in most need, or fund a geographical spread of projects throughout the land... Go on, think about it, to me they should fund the people most in need, but then who determines need, and on what basis. Add to this the reality that lottery tickets are disproportionately bought by the poor, but the lottery funding doesn't always reach those areas, and you get into some interesting political turf.

We have a client interest in sports funding, which, because of London 2012, is receiving significant amounts of lottery money at the expense of other arts and community projects. It was a contentious decision, but in my judgement the right one. But, here's the rub, as the glow fades on the British success as BOTH sets of Games this year the real funding challenge for sport, good causes and the arts, is how to secure long-term funding beyond 2012. Failure to do so, will make a mockery of the legacy promise and undermine all the sacrifices the arts community is making now.

We'll be making these, and other points to policymakers throughout the week.

Ahhhhh, Labour conference, where else would you want to be.....?

By Claire Levens

Team Paralympic GB outperform Olympic counterparts

2008-09-19T10:24:00.001+01:00

Paralympic athletes returned home on the 17th September from the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, a month after the close of the Olympic Games.

Team Paralympic GB outstripped expectations in Beijing as they flew home with twice as many medals as their Olympic counterparts, 102 in total placing them second in the leader board for the third Paralympic Games in succession. Team Paralympic GB was behind host nation China and ahead of the USA and Australia.

With four gold medals and one silver, cyclist Darren Kenny was Britain’s most successful individual competitor, while swimmer David Roberts took his overall Paralympic medal haul to 11 with four golds in the Water Cube, and Lee Pearson won three more equestrian golds to take his personal tally to nine.

In my opinion, the Paralympic Games were very reminiscent of the Olympic Games in August. Team Paralympic GB rode to their victory collecting 12 out a possible 16 medals for cycling and excelled in the rowing and equestrian events, rather like their Olympian colleagues.

Furthermore, London Mayor Boris Johnson received the Paralympic flag in the closing ceremony at the Bird’s Nest stadium where we witnessed the reappearance of the red bus which was previously criticised by Chinese in closing ceremony of the Olympic Games.

The Paralympians will join the heroes parade in Central London on 16 October 2008, announced by Mayor Boris Johnson last month.

Boris Johnson was delighted with the performance;

“They have delivered for us – now we must deliver for them, and for all disabled Londoners and visitors. Our team have tremendous heart and ability. It is up to us to provide the infrastructure so that they can excel. I have no doubt we will.”

Both Olympic and Paralympic athletes have set the bar very high for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

By Danielle

The end of the World as we know it

2008-09-12T16:07:00.002+01:00

So I will start off by stating the obvious (as has been stated in dozens of newspapers over the last few days) – it obviously was not the end of the world on the 10th September.

That was the day when at 9.30 am local time, 300 feet below ground near Geneva, the most powerful particle accelerator ever built became operational, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
Concerns were expressed - in particular by the German chemist Professor Otto Rossler - that black holes created by the LHC will grow uncontrollably and "eat the planet from the inside".

These claims were dismissed by Prof Stephen Hawking of Cambridge University who said that the LHC is "feeble compared with what goes on in the universe. If a disaster was going to happen, it would have happened already."

Either way, these worries about the end of the universe seem to be pounced on as a newsworthy hook, but whatever the headline, I think it is great that a science story has been such a big part of the news coverage over the last week.

The £5 billion machine has been described as a 17-mile racetrack around which two streams of protons - building blocks of matter - run in opposite directions before smashing into one another. The protons will reach 99.99% of the speed of light. At the current time, sub atomic particles have just been fired around the tunnel, the first collisions are expected in a month.

I think the machine is absolutely amazing, and really hope that it will actually help to answer some of those remaining mysteries of the universe. Physicists hope to learn more about the origins of mass by learning about the Higgs boson — known as the “God particle” because it is thought to lend mass to matter. The LHC should also answer difficult questions about gravity and dark matter - the "glue" thought to hold the universe together.

I wonder what will happen if we do actually find the answer to all these questions though….

Sweat in the City

2008-09-03T13:38:00.004+01:00

Catching my breath after running for the train home last night, I started to read one of the free London papers and came across an article about a new campaign to get young women like myself fitter, happier and healthier.

Sweat in the City is a new campaign launched by the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF) and Fitness Industry Association (FIA) which offers 3,000 young women in London free 12-week gym membership. The scheme is an excellent start to fulfilling the promises of the London 2012 Olympic Legacy which aims to increase nationwide participation in sport.

I’ve been meaning to sign up at my local gym however was deterred by the £43/month fees, so I couldn’t wait to get on line and sign myself up for some freeness. After visiting the Sweat in the City website I became even more excited as I discovered there were no strings attached to this scheme.

As long as you are aged 16 – 24, live in one of the 33 London boroughs, do little or no exercise and not currently a member of a gym – you are eligible for 12-weeks free gym membership worth £180, fortnightly group sessions and exercise tips and advice. All you have to give in return is weekly online feedback on the scheme and commitment to attending the gym at least 3 times a week.

So I have jumped on boarded, registered and selected my three choices for preferred gym club. All I have to do is wait for an email to confirm there are still places available and all being well I will commence my fitter, happier and healthier life on 29 September 2008 – I’ll keep you all updated on my progress.

By Danielle Thomas

Waste Reduction Report

2008-08-20T16:06:00.002+01:00

The Science and Technology Committee has published a Waste Reduction report today (20th Aug), which calls for efforts on waste reduction to be extended from individuals to reducing the high waste levels of companies. The report explains that that domestic waste is only 9% of Britain's total waste. Of the remainder, 32 per cent comes from demolition and construction, 30 per cent from mining and quarrying, 13 per cent from industry and 11 per cent from the commercial sector.

Joan Ruddock, Waste Minister, said it was wrong to suggest that the Government had focused disproportionately on domestic waste explaining that the landfill tax escalator specifically targets business and commerce as high waste producers.

Nevertheless, there were some particular focus areas within the report, which I thought made a lot of sense.

The report recommended that Government restructure local authority waste targets and costs which currently focus on decreasing the weight of domestic waste sent to landfill and allow them to address commercial and industrial waste by providing support and disposal facilities to businesses. There was disappointment that funding had been reduced to some of the main environmental support bodies that help both large and small businesses reduce their waste, such as Envirowise, NISP and WRAP. The report also said that the Government should be giving a higher priority to the collection of data for non-domestic waste streams.

Another interesting recommendation in the report was that VAT should be reduced or removed from the cost of repairing televisions, vacuum cleaners and fridges to discourage people from throwing them away as soon as they stop working. This does make sense because at the moment, electronic appliances are getting cheaper and labour more expensive, so it is just not worth getting things repaired. Instead, more and more appliances are being dumped into landfill and replaced by newer designs.

According to the Times Online, repairing a vacuum cleaner costs at least £50, roughly the same price as a new model. Repairs for televisions, computers and cameras are often more than £100 and fewer people now take out warranties to guard against breakdown.

The Lords committee recognises that it may not be in manufacturers' interests to build longer-lasting goods, and suggest an incentive to make sustainable goods more economically valuable. The committee argues that variable VAT should be introduced so that goods that use sustainable materials and fewer virgin resources have reduced VAT or none at all. It recommends that DEFRA work with the Treasury to implement this initiative.

I will be interested to see what happens next as a result of this report.

Cycling Britain’s new national sport?

2008-08-19T15:50:00.000+01:00

It’s day 11 of the Olympic Games in Beijing and who would have predicted that cycling would dominate the agenda, with Team GB picking up no less than 19 medals in cycling events both in the velodrome and on the road.

Victoria Pendleton and Chris Hoy have got us hooked on watching a new type of sprint – one on two wheels rather than running spikes.

Forget football and cricket –we should adopt cycling as our new national sport!
It’s something we are actually good at and with the opening of a new £4.5million state of the art Redbridge Cycling Centre today this sport looks set to grow. The Cycling Centre, opened by London Mayor Boris Johnson and Kate Hoey MP, is in the first London borough to benefit from the legacy of the 2012 games, and will be used by the community until the London 2012 Olympic Games when it will become the Olympic Velo Park.

Team GB currently (14.30 GMT) has a total of 32 medals under their belt, the majority gained over the weekend with astounding successes in swimming, rowing, sailing and cycling.

This is a tremendous sporting victory for Great Britain and has been recognised by Mayor Johnson who has announced a heroes parade around London for the Olympians and Paraolympians on 16 October 2008.

However, so far few medals have been gained in athletics. But I am sure this will soon change. As spectators at the Birds Nest Stadium are yet to see great British athletes such 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu, long jumper Jade Johnson, and triple jumper Phillips Idowu compete in the finals of their respective events.

…Go Team GB!!

By Danielle Thomas

50 years of Keep Britain Tidy

2008-08-12T14:32:00.002+01:00

Yesterday, 11th August 2008, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Keep Britain Tidy campaign. In 1954, Lady Elisabeth Brunner addressed the AGM of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes about the growing problem of litter in public places. Four years later, in August 1958, the Litter Act was passed due to the pressure from the Keep Britain Tidy Group founded by Lady Brunner and her WI supporters. Under the Act, despoiling the environment with rubbish was made a criminal offence.

However, fifty years on Lady Brunner may well be turning in her grave as it seems that Britain still needs a good old tidy. From fly tipping and illegal dumping to throwing cigarette butts out of car windows – we are still littering heavily. Fly tipping last year cost the tax payer over £120 million to clear up.

Last night, travel writer Bill Bryson reported on Britain’s litter crisis in a documentary for BBC’s Panorama. According to Bryson our standards are slipping. When he first came to the country, in 1972, he was by his own account ‘smitten’ about our ‘orderly, well-manicured society’ but now the honeymoon period is over.

Although it may be hard to believe, Britain has some of the toughest litter laws in Europe. With the introduction of The Cleaner Neighbourhoods and Environment Act in 2005, local authorities have been granted increased powers to penalise those who litter, fly-tip and otherwise deface and damage the local environment. However, penalties are still somewhat of a postcode lottery, as seventy four local authorities in Britain did not issue any penalty fines last year. Furthermore, due to the nature of littering and tipping, offenders are unlikely to get caught.

So are fixed penalty fines really the solution?

It seems whilst we are keen to recycle in the home, with our recycling boxes overflowing on our front paths, we are unable to get to grips with placing our chewing gum and cigarette butts in litter bins whilst out in the street.

So why don’t we place litter in bins? Could a broad national campaign to remind us to Keep Britain Tidy and drop our litter in bins again be the solution?

By Danielle Thomas

Can we still afford to save the planet during the credit crunch?

2008-08-07T17:32:00.002+01:00

The credit crunch has forced nearly all of us to change our consumer habits one way or another over the last year. Soaring food and petrol prices have left our purses and wallets on the lighter side. Consequently we have given up many of life’s little luxuries – the coffees before work, the second car, eating out and the impulse buys – to name a few. Furthermore, as a result of our quest as consumers to get the best deals and seek cheaper alternatives, budget supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl have attracted increased custom.

An article in The Times on 7 August 2008 states that even the organic food market has been credit-crunched. A sector which boomed from 2002 – 2007 due to the trendy, ‘Yummy Mummy - Jamie Oliver following’ movement has now stalled. The article states that this new organic food store on Kensington High Street is so quiet you can nearly hear the cheese breathe.

The results of a MORI poll carried out this month show we are less concerned about the environment than a year ago. The main reason is because our preoccupations have shifted onto the economy and rising prices. Rising commodity prices mean we are less inclined to spend our money going green.

However, paradoxically, this economic downturn has taught us a valuable lesson – we don’t have to pay to go green.

With fewer pounds in our pockets the country is unconsciously becoming greener.

In our bid to conserve money, we are growing our own produce, turning off our central heating, and taking fewer holidays abroad, thus reducing our carbon footprint. Our efforts to become increasingly economical are in fact just as environmentally-friendly. Even I myself have reconsidered the need for a plastic bag in Marks and Spencer since the introduction of their 5 pence charge per carrier.

Well, well, well the credit crunch isn’t such a bad thing after all.

By Danielle Thomas

Pollution and the Beijing Olympics

2008-08-06T12:38:00.000+01:00

There has been a lot of coverage in the news lately about the air pollution in Beijing, and its potential impact on the Olympic Games. I noticed particularly an article in The Sun on the 5th August.

It explained how China has attempted to improve the environment. It has banned cars from the city’s streets, closed local factories and planted trees in an effort to improve the air. However, it just doesn’t seem to have worked that well.

I can’t imagine how athletes from endurance events, such as the Marathon are going to manage. According to the article, the marathon may have to be postponed and many athletes are considering competing in protective masks. If an event is postponed, it will be the first time that it is down to air pollution.

However, we have to be careful about the judgements that we make - a lot of the pollution in China comes from Britain. At a landfill site in Xing Tan, the Sun found Tesco carrier bags and discarded British electrical goods. Experts say that sites like this could responsible for much of Beijing’s smog problems. Under EU Law British waste cannot be dumped abroad, but shipments for recycling are permitted. Recycling is an economically lucrative task in China – the article cites Zhang Guofu, who makes more money as a rubbish dealer than his previous job as a rice farmer. Ironically, the problem is exacerbated because a lot of the products that are sent back for recycling originated in China in the first place. 1.9 million tons of paper, 390,000 tons of metal and 78,000 tons of plastic are sent to China from the UK.

It will be interesting to see what environmental changes will be made in London for 2012, as a result of these problems experienced in China.

Miliband for change

2008-07-31T14:51:00.000+01:00

Yesterday Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon David Miliband urged his party to ‘Stop feeling sorry for itself” and change in a letter to the Guardian newspaper. This came within hours of the Leader of the House, the Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP’s denial of starting a leadership bid and several Labour MP publically calling for a change of leadership.

Miliband started his letter reflecting on the aftermath of Labour’s third successive defeat at the 1959 election and a pamphlet produced shortly after entitled “Must Labour lose?”. According to Mr Miliband “Today, the temptation is similar fatalism”. He accepts that the odds are stacked against a Labour victory at the next general election, and suggests that the party can turn things around to beat the electoral odds and win a 4th term, by offering real change.

“New Labour won three elections by offering real change – not just in policy but in the way we do politics. We must do so again.”

In his letter to the Guardian, David Miliband addresses the problems the government is now facing and calls for change. ‘Change’ is a keyword in Mr Miliband’s letter just as it is Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. However, David Miliband MP is not running for office and insists his letter was written to unite his party rather than for personal gain. Despite his claims there is still much speculation around the intentions of Mr Miliband’s letter. Is this Miliband’s own personal vision for Labour’s future and the start of his leadership bid?

David Miliband viewed as a potential forerunner to succeed Gordon Brown if he resigns, urged Labour to be more humble about their failings but more compelling about their achievements. He mentioned a series of Labour’s shortcomings, things he believes the government should have done in hindsight – such as reforming the NHS sooner and making more efficient plans on winning peace in Iraq. However, could this be interpreted as his own personal manifesto? Is he agenda setting for his own Premiership?

Regardless of his agenda, I believe Mr Miliband has raised some very good points. The Foreign Secretary concludes his letter, “So let’s stop feeling sorry for ourselves, enjoy a break and then find the confidence to make our case afresh”. We’ll have to wait until the autumn to see if his advice is taken on board.

By Danielle Thomas

Collapse of Doha – too many differences?

2008-07-31T12:36:00.000+01:00

Yesterday in Geneva, the Doha Round of trade talks came to an abrupt halt and collapsed after being launched seven years ago. After what has been described to have been nine days of very tough and tense negotiations, an agreement was just not able to be reached.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) called these trade negotiations the ‘Doha’ Round back in 2001, because they were launched in Doha, Qatar. The main objective of these talks was to liberalise global trade in order to make importing and exporting simpler and less expensive, especially for developing countries. A lot of enthusiasm and hope was placed on these multilateral trade talks and the potential of globalization, with the elimination of trade barriers and tariffs seen as something that could benefit both rich and poor. But the breakdown down of talks yesterday was partly due to the inability of developed and developing countries to reach a compromise on opening up their domestic markets to more competition.

The negotiations have taken place between the 35 country members of the WTO, with meetings taking the place around the world, with what seems to be a recurring theme – the pushing back of deadlines. The original deadline was actually set for January 2005. The Doha trade talks have actually collapsed three times over the last seven years, so perhaps the failure of the latest talks in Geneva yesterday comes as no surprise.

Analysts are saying that this time round, negotiations broke down essentially because India, China and the US failed to agree over measures to protect poor farmers. Although there is some blaming that is occurring at the moment, with China pointing the finger at the US and the EU for unwilling to eliminate the large subsidies they pay their farmers, a lot of Ministers are very disappointed by the outcome, and are united in their willingness not to give up yet. For example, India’s envoy to the talks, Ujal Singh Bhatia, said “bottom line is we can’t give up.”

So what does this mean for multilateralism? In an interview with the BBC yesterday, Peter Mandelson, the EU trade Commissioner, dismissed the claim that some are now making that multilateralism is dead. What seems clear is that these difficult global economic conditions we are living under, with petrol and food prices soaring, are making it increasingly challenging for countries to agree on matters of trade. There is still a possibility that talks may resume at later date, but whether or not more time is what these negotiations need to succeed, seems unlikely.

E-petitions: giving people a voice

2008-07-24T16:11:00.000+01:00

Just a day before MPs got ready to enjoy their long summer break, with Parliament now in recess until 6 October, an interesting new announcement came out of the Commons. On Tuesday, 22 July, the Government called on the House to adopt an e-petition system that would allow the public to petition MPs through the internet. Parliamentarians will have to make a decision about this when they return in the fall.

The Rt Hon Harriet Harman, Leader of the House, made the announcement that the Government was behind the recommendations put forward by the Commons Procedure Committee, to create an e-petitions website and office. Hopeful of widening the scope of debate in Parliament, Harman has introduced other initiatives in her efforts to get Parliament more connected and engaged with the public. Last year, she introduced weekly topical debates in the Commons and would like to see this idea continued.

The Prime Minister’s Office already has an e-petitions system in place. Since it was launched back in 2006, more than 29,000 e-petitions have been received at Downing Street, resulting in over 5.8 million signatures. Last February, one million drivers signed a petition against road-charging, becoming the most popular petition on the Downing Street’s website. Despite the fact that the former Transport Secretary, Douglas Alexander, said that he would listen to motorists concern, he said that road-charging was inevitable. This of course raises some doubts about what impact e-petitions actually have.

However, being the optimist that I am, I think that giving people the opportunity to voice their opinion in this way is a great idea and one that would strengthen people’s confidence in our democratic system. Improving public access and engagement with Parliament is certainly a worthy pursuit when people often feel far removed and disengaged from Governmental procedures and processes. I hope that MPs will return from their summer holidays refreshed and reinvigorated, but most importantly, ready to support this new plan.

Looking beyond the cost of the Games

2008-07-18T14:32:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I went to Parliament and attended the Commons cross-party Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee hearing. It was an oral evidence session on the Department’s Annual Report 2008 and responsibilities of the Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP. In front of the Committee’s panel members, including Janet Anderson MP, Alan Keen MP and Chairman John Whittingdale MP, Mr. Burnham had to account for his Department’s actions and achievements.

It was an interesting session overall that covered a wide range of issues. Mr. Burnham answered questions about tourism, ticket touting, the music industry and gambling. And not surprisingly, one of the main issues raised was the London 2012 Olympics. When asked what he thought about the negative press surrounding the British Games, Mr. Burnham answered, ‘Some people are unduly and unnecessarily whingeing about the whole thing’. To be fair, he was not implying that the Government should not be exempt from scrutiny, but rather felt there had been too much energy focused on a single issue: the price tag of the Games.

The Secretary of State talked about the sense of excitement he hopes will be instilled in the country when the Olympic flame is passed onto London Mayor Boris Johnson at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Games. He explained how hosting the Olympics was a tremendous and unique opportunity to breathe new energy into promoting sport, culture and tourism in the UK.

Of course the cost of the Games needs to be controlled and well-managed. But it is shame that so much negativity has already been shed on London 2012. Just now, I did a quick Google news search for ‘London 2012’ and the majority of articles that came up were not very inspiring to say the least. Hosting the Olympics is an opportunity that doesn’t come along every day, and I hope as Mr. Burnham said that the ‘country can become united around sport’. This world-class event can change the way young people view sport and physical activity in general. Now that would be a legacy to be proud of!

Happy Birthday NHS

2008-07-18T09:32:00.001+01:00

You may have heard that it was the 60th Anniversary of the NHS on July 5th. This event has set the think tanks into overdrive. For example, the Fabian Society, a leading Labour think tank, has suggested turning this day into another public holiday to celebrate Britishness. Now I have to say that sounds like a great idea to me, see here for more detail

Another think tank, Reform, polled 201 GPs on their thoughts about NHS funding and regulation (see here for full report). The poll showed that there is little enthusiasm among GPs for the US style of health care, where patients choose whether or not to have health insurance. However, the majority of GPs polled thought that patients should be allowed to pay for additional treatment, without needing to pay for all their treatment.

GPs appear to be disillusioned with the profession. 60% of GPs said that their overall level of satisfaction working in the NHS was either low or very low, and more than 70% said that their satisfaction level had decreased since qualification. Only 5% of GPs think that the current structure of regulation helps them in making decisions in the best interests of patients.

So, as always with the NHS, even at the age of 60, there is still clearly more that needs to be done. But we will wait eagerly to see what happens following Lord Darzi’s review.

David Davis - Principles or political planning?

2008-07-11T11:36:00.003+01:00

I for one am struggling to see the point of David Davis recent resignation and re-election circus. Surely there are other ways to take a stand? But lets have a look at the facts first, and maybe we can then see what is going on in his head! (see here for more details)

Davis resigned last month after Government proposals for detaining terror suspects for up to 42 days without charge were approved by the Commons, and announced he would seek re-election on the issue of civil liberties. On the evening of the 10th July, the former Shadow Home Secretary was returned to Parliament as MP for Haltemprice and Howden with a majority of 15,355. Davis says that expanding the DNA database will be his next battle.

Turnout in the by election was down to just over 34 per cent in yesterday's poll, compared to 70.2 per cent in the 2005 general election, allowing some of Mr Davis's opponents to claim that his resignation and re-election was farsical. Neither Labour nor the Liberal Democrats stood in the by election.

According to one estimate, the by-election process has cost taxpayers more than £200,000. Davis has dismissed criticism over the cost of this forced by-election, saying that he has taken a stand on principle. Davis himself admits his decision to resign has very likely cost his place in cabinet and any place in future cabinet as a result, but still considers the move worthwhile.

So what is the actual reason behind all this? To my mind there are two possibilities. Either it is really a matter of principle, and he views potential political suicide as a reasonable price to pay to bring the matter to the public’s attention. Or it may all be a very sly political move, staking his claim for future political changes. Only time will tell.

Off-target?

2008-07-10T14:32:00.000+01:00

Environmentalists see the G8 Summit’s pledge to fight climate change by cutting carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2050 as ‘meaningless’ without any targets. Without any numerical or medium term targets for 2020, environmental campaigners see this declaration as lacking concrete and serious commitment on behalf of the Group of Eight leaders. Greenpeace described the meeting as a “real diversion from real action on climate change”.

The G8 nations - The United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia – ended their three day summit yesterday, in the Japanese resort of Lake Toya, Japan. Besides the usual protests that normally arise at meetings that bring together the richest nations of the world, several problems arose along the way.

First, despite the fact that the Japanese Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda, hoped that this year’s Summit main agenda and focus would be an environmental one, two pressing global issues were difficult to ignore. The worrying rising price of fuel and rising cost of food have become key issues on all countries’ agendas.

The other main challenge of the Summit was reaching a consensus on what each country should be doing to help minimize the effect of climate change. Whose responsibility is it - everyone’s or just developed countries? The Americans want to see carbon emission reductions from developing countries such as China and India first, before signing up for any drastic cuts. While the Europeans, on the other hand, believe that developed nations need to be the first to commit to signing specific reduction targets.

It is clear then that the outcome the G8 Summit in Japan differs depending on who you are speaking with. The White House’s statement yesterday which applauded this year’s Summit for having achieved a major step forward for the environment is a far cry from environmental groups’ reaction. The biggest divide remains between developed and developing countries, who are still struggling to agree on a uniform target and objective date. Developing countries took part in a meeting of 16 major economies held on the fringes of the G8’s three-day summit in Hokkaido, which revealed that not all countries are ready to sign on to the 2050 goal, including China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.

I believe that developed countries need to set a precedent and lead the way in environmental action as they have the resources and technology at their disposal. The Kyoto Protocol will start to expire in 2012, and I hope that the momentum with be there in December 2009 when a new climate change accord is set to be written in Copenhagen, Denmark. Leadership is desperately needed and I think that the G8 should demonstrate how climate change can be tackled.

Apologies made, can Labour turn it around?

2008-06-27T14:15:00.000+01:00

No more hiding allowed, the Government finally faces up to the fact that they have failed miserably in their management of data handling. In the Commons on Wednesday, Alistair Darling had to apologize for the “serious institutional deficiencies” after four independent reports revealed the extent to which data protection and security have been inadequate across Whitehall.

Fittingly, just the day before, I attended an event at Westminster on the topic of ‘Data Security & Information Assurance’, hosted by the Parliamentary Information Technology Committee (PITCOM). The Chairman of the Cross-Departmental Committee on IT and Information Security, the RT Hon Paul Murphy MP, chaired the meeting and spoke about what he thought needed to be done in order to make data security a priority across all departments. The topic attracted a crowd, with not an empty seat to be had in the committee room.

Many of the points that Mr. Murphy touched upon, such as the importance of mandatory information training, working together across departments, regaining the public’s trust, and implementing stricter security measures, were echoed in the following day’s reports. The Information Commissioner’s Office, the data watchdog, warned that improvements needed to be made without delay, as some departments were even at risk of facing prosecution because of “deplorable failures”.

I strongly welcome the publications of these reports as they have forced the Government and the Civil Service to acknowledge that the issue of data security is a serious one. In an age where we share and give out our personal information almost on a daily basis, the Government must implement the necessary security measures. This matter will only become more serious with time, as data sharing continues to become more widespread.

With today marking the one year anniversary of Gordon Brown in power - the Labour party unfortunately has a lot more than just this one issue at stake. The results of the Henley by-election came out this morning, revealing a disastrous fifth place finish for Labour, winning less than 5% of the vote. So with little to celebrate on this anniversary, the Prime Minister faces pressure from all sides and on all issues. Will he be able to endure another defeat? The Labour party definitely needs a victory, small or large, in order to stop the increasingly popular Conservative train. Why not start with the issue of data security?

Inflation, inflation

2008-06-20T09:02:00.001+01:00

A warning of tough times ahead was made loud and clear last night when the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, spoke to bankers and merchants last night at the Lord Mayor’s dinner. The speeches delivered at this important annual event in the financial calendar, held at Mansion House, left little room for cheer. The headline in the Financial Times today sombrely read, “King and Darling issue bleak forecast”.

King and Darling explained that the country had to brace itself for the harsh realities of below-inflation pay rises, more expense mortgages, as well as rising fuel and food prices. Mr. King did not try to soften his words and clearly stated that Britain was facing “the most difficult economic challenge for two decades.”

In their speeches, they both talked about how families in the UK needed to prepare themselves for a tight squeeze on real income. In fact, getting tough on inflation was the main resounding theme of their discourse. Inflation has jumped to 3.3 % in the UK, its highest level since 1992, and is likely to reach 4% in the coming months. The Governor and the Chancellor warned against excessive pay rises, arguing that inflation pay settlements would have disastrous results, leading to years of economic hardship.

The Government may be right to say that everyone has to ‘tighten their belts’, but they certainly will have a hard time dealing with public sector workers in the coming weeks. Union workers are not happy about the prospect of accepting below-inflation pay rises and believe they are the ones who have been hardest hit. Can the Government cope with the prospect of strikes at this time? Some tough decisions will have to be made about whether some concessions are merited.

Olympic Promises

2008-06-11T14:34:00.000+01:00

Last week, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport published a Legacy Action Plan: ‘Before, during and after: making the most of the London 2012 Games’. This action plan builds upon the five promises made in June 2007, published in Our Promise for 2012, which sets out the overall framework and main priorities for reaching each legacy objective.

The five promises include: to make the UK a world-leading sporting nation; to transform the heart of East London; to inspire a generation of young people; to make the Olympic Park a blueprint for sustainable living, and finally to demonstrate the UK is a creative, inclusive and welcoming place to live in, visit and for business.

These five ambitions showcase the impressive legacy the London 2012 Olympics can leave behind if the necessary work and planning begins early and if the level of commitment remains constant throughout the preparation stages. The Minister for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and London, the Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP, reminds us in the foreword to this plan that the Government cannot work alone to ensure that these goals are met. As a result, she calls upon all individuals, communities and regions of the UK to take part in unleashing the great potential that the Olympic Games hold.

Some promises may end up being more challenging to keep than others. Promises are one thing, funding the infrastructure developments for sport are quite another. Having the 2012 Games become a model of sustainable development, for instance, will no doubt prove difficult when budgetary and time issues come into play. Hopefully the environment will not be put on the back burner when crucial construction deadlines start approaching.

If the steps outlined in this action plan are followed though and the various programmes that have been put in place to help realise each goal run smoothly; business, young people, and tourism in the UK, to name but a few, will surely have benefited.

Drowning in the deep end

2008-06-11T14:19:00.000+01:00

The Olympics Minister, Tessa Jowell, announced a new £140 million fund to boost sport and fitness through free swimming for over 60s last week as the centrepiece of the Government’s plan to ensure a lasting sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

If achieved, swimming throughout 1500 pools will be freely available to 10 million people. It is interesting to note that Wales already offers such a service for young people and over-65s. One cynical blogger noted, “we are yet to see if the Welsh have now become the fitter nation.”

It is interesting to see how different newspapers responded to what should be seen as a positive story and to try and assess the value of the Government’s announcement.

The Independent describe it as “one of those practical initiatives that pleases because of its simplicity.”

The Times describe it as a policy “drawn up on the back of a cereal box.”

There is a common theme however, though that does runs through most articles: this announcement is from a Government that has allowed building developers to build over school playing fields (having promised to stop this practice) and from a Government responsible for the closure of 10 per cent of swimming pools a year. Other questions raised query the Government’s ability to fund the initiative, and whether swimming pools face becoming over-crowded.

Grand announcements are always easy to broadcast and the Government has been under pressure to show signs of an Olympic legacy post 2012.

What this announcement highlighted is the lack of adequate swimming facilities currently available to people. Large parts of the country have below average swimming facilities available while Manchester, having hosted the Commonwealth Games, boasts top class swimming facilities.

On the surface this does seem like a decent proposal, but one wonders if the Government has dived into the deep end on this having not given it enough thought.

- Greg

Environmental blues for the aviation industry

2008-06-06T15:24:00.000+01:00

Friends of the Earth issued a press release on Tuesday about how two thirds of FTSE 100 and 250 firms in the UK are united in their disapproval of the government’s decision to leave out of the aviation and shipping industries from the carbon emission reduction targets. But the shipping industry seems to have gotten off lightly, as criticism has been primarily focused on aviation.

Environmentalists have been heavily targeting the airline industry recently, accusing them of being one the main culprits of climate change. Who can forget the infamous protest by 5 members of ‘Plane Stupid’ – a network of groups taking action against airport expansion and aviation’s climate impact – who scaled the Houses of Parliament on 27 February, 2008, in order to draw attention to the planned third runway at Heathrow airport?

But is the industry being unfairly targeted? The aviation industry has begun to fight back, and is trying to convince the public that they are indeed making substantial efforts to improve their green credentials. Actual figures reveal that aviation accounts for just 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Also, new planes such as the Airbus 380 and the Boeing 787 are said to generate 20% less carbon dioxide than similar planes just a decade ago.

However the industry may now be motivated to switch to more fuel-efficient technology because of higher oil prices, than genuine environmental concerns.

In any case, what is certain is that the aviation industry does not deserve special treatment and must abide to the same carbon reduction targets as everyone else. If the UK’s Climate Change law is to help bring about substantial environmental change, all industries need to be held accountable.

Petrol Problems

2008-05-30T16:21:00.002+01:00

It seems the cost of fuel is always in the papers at the moment. We all know that the price of petrol is going up, due to the world price of barrels of oil, and this is having an impact on every economy in the world. In the UK, the problem is exacerbated by the amount of duty we pay at the pump. These high costs are causing problems for car drivers, especially those who drive to work, and may even force vehicle based businesses to close. However, the question is, how might these increasing fuel prices work in environmental terms? Could they force people to use their cars less often and reduce carbon consumption?

Although this is a commendable idea, I think that people will still use their cars for the foreseeable future. Therefore, an additional solution maybe further developing green car technologies so that cars simply do not need to use petrol (or at least use less petrol). For example, Lotus have developed a car that runs on a combination of gasoline, bioethnanol and methanol, and another one that runs on biofuel. Unlike hydrogen, which must be stored at very high pressure, or very low temperatures, methanol is a liquid at room temperature. It can also burn with greater thermal efficiency than diesel. Another example is the Toyota Prius, which uses both petrol and an electric motor.

Surely, the way to maximise the benefit of environmental policies around transport is to combine a number of possible solutions – technical innovations, green taxes and encouraging greener consumer behaviour.

Food Crisis

2008-05-30T14:47:00.002+01:00

Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations and co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, called for “nothing short of a green revolution” in Africa when he spoke at King’s College London yesterday. Mr. Annan was invited to the College to give a lecture on ‘Africa in the World Today’.

In his lecture, Kofi Annan emphasised the causal link between climate change and the global food crisis which is severely affecting Africa. “The most pressing challenge we face is food supply. We need action to tackle the immediate food crisis in Africa and the long-term impact that climate change will have on food supplies and agriculture across the continent", said Annan.

His speech, delivered yesterday, echoed some of the messages he delivered last month at the ‘Toward a Green Revolution in Africa’ conference in Salzburg, Austria. At that conference, Mr. Annan urged for “a uniquely African Green Revolution”. Mr. Annan wants to raise awareness about the importance of implementing a Green Revolution in Africa because of the continent’s “disproportionate exposure to climate risks”. He has called upon governments to help put in place social protection to help the poor of Africa cope with economic and climatic shocks.

The food crisis is being felt around the globe, including here in the UK, with many families struggling to cope with soaring food prices. The cost of basic staples such as milk, bread and rice have increased significantly. According to the Guardian, wheat prices have doubled between May 2007 and February 2008. This is an issue that requires a high level of international cooperation and commitment.

In Africa, however, the food riots that have occurred in countries such as Senegal and Burkina Faso haven’t just been about voicing discontent over higher food prices. Here, the food crisis is a question of life and death. I hope that Kofi Annan’s words will be taken seriously, and that immediate action will be taken to help transform farming and agriculture on the continent in light of the harmful effects of climate change.

The other Olympic Games

2008-05-29T15:51:00.001+01:00

It has been a mixed few weeks for the 2012 Olympics with both some highs and some lows. Work has begun on the stadium three months ahead of schedule, with the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell, all present to see construction begin. It will be early 2009 when the installation of the steel structures that support the Stadium roof begins.

Perhaps to help reach that moment, it was yesterday reported that a £2.2 billion emergency fund is having to be used to plug gaps that exist in the financing of the Games. The fund was previously “untouchable”, but is now required to deal with the effects of the credit crunch and falling house prices, which have impacted on a public private deal between Bovis Lend Lease, a project management and construction company, and the Olympic Authorities.

The road to hosting an Olympic Games is invariably never a smooth one, and that an emergency fund is already being relied upon, arguably, does not bode well for the future. However, other areas point to a more positive outlook: for example, application forms have long been available should you wish to apply to host an Olympic “Relocatable Venue”. Such an initiative could be crucial in establishing an Olympic legacy that reaches those beyond London.

It’s all over for the Billary show…

2008-05-29T12:01:00.001+01:00

So why does Hilary Clinton (and her husband) continue to fight for the Democratic nomination?

Without delving into the complicated system that is the nomination process, Senator Obama’s lead is insurmountable in terms of delegates – pledged and super. While he might not have reached the magic threshold number, Hilary can not catch up.

Senator Clinton, to her credit is still winning primaries. As recently as last week she won Kentucky with a whopping majority. But is this resoluteness a show of defiance or, is the former First Lady playing a tactical game for long-term advantage, ignoring the detrimental effect it is having on her party? Having already loaned her campaign somewhere in the region of £5million, and with a number of her campaign managers moving on, what is her motivation?

One line of thought is that she may well believe that the Democrats should be entitled to a choice. However, with the primary process already stretched over several months and, more importantly, the Republican nomination all but wrapped up, the hurling of insults between two Democrats hardly adds value to their cause.

The other line of thought – the more cynical one – is that by hanging in the campaign, she is intentionally doing as much damage to her opponent so that he loses in November, and she will have another chance in 2012. This is something that she would never admit to and would not go down well with the millions of Democrats.

For the one time front-runner who appeared to have the nomination wrapped up before it even began, she has fought a nasty campaign against a formidable opponent who has managed to fundraise like never before and energise huge numbers of voters.

When in Philadelphia, Clinton compared herself to Rocky. But now is surely the time for her to hang up the gloves.

Greg

Brown's Woes

2008-05-23T13:50:00.000+01:00

It was, I’m afraid, with an air of inevitability that I read the paper this morning and discovered the Tories had won the by-election in Crewe and Nantwich. The swing to from Labour to Conservatives was 17.6%, and this in a seat held by Gwyneth Dunwoody since its creation in 1983.

We’ve not even reached the first year anniversary of Gordon Brown’s leadership, yet his authority, and future as Prime Minister, is repeatedly being questioned. Jack Straw has been cited as a possible “care-taker” Prime Minister, David Miliband as too young for now.

I can’t help but have a certain amount of sympathy for Mr. Brown – kept from the top job for so long, only to be made leader just as the global economic slowdown began, and a number of Labour’s policies implemented under Tony Blair began to falter. Furthermore, it can’t help that neither Mr. Blair, nor for that matter his wife, have not retreated from the spotlight.

However, opportunities exist for Mr. Brown to begin repairing his reputation this summer. The Olympics could yet provide a chance to show solidarity with human-rights advocates over Tibet, especially since he fudged the decision of how best to receive the Dalai Lama this week. Looking beyond the summer, a new American President may offer a breath of fresh air for Transatlantic relations, and fresh thinking on both Iraq and Afghanistan. That is of course assuming Brown still holds the keys to No. 10 come January 20th, when the new President is inaugurated.

Green Government

2008-05-14T11:59:00.001+01:00

I came across an article this week highlighting that both HMRC and the Highways Agency were highlighting their green credentials at the recent Green IT event. The Department for Work and Pensions also had its green credentials promoted, by Government Chief Information Officer John Suffolk, following the Department’s reduction of servers by 2,500, and the subsequent reduction in its CO2.

IBM have recently reviewed the Treasury’s carbon management in IT, and changes such as rationalising datacenters through virtualisation, and installing network cards to remotely control PCs, mean the Department is now on track to meet the Government’s target of reducing CO2 emissions by 12.5 percent by 2010.

The Highways Agency has tackled this challenge by replacing standalone devices, for instance printers and photocopiers, with multi-function devices. Interestingly, the Highways Agency is also in discussion with sat-nav providers, exploring whether to allow drivers to access its latest information on the road network through in-car devices, thus reducing CO2 emissions from motorists.

Such promotion follows the 2007 Sustainable Development in Government Report, which assesses the performance of central government operations against the targets of the Framework for Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate, or (SOGE). In that, HMRC received an overall rating of three stars out of five, and the Highways Agency were not included. However, the HMRC’s performance was not unexceptional - of the 21 government departments, 12 reported poor or no progress on their targets.

Given the significant carbon emissions that an office can produce, looking at the energy consumption of IT systems is a crucial prerequisite of making significant reductions. The reporting and promotion of any green achievements by Government Departments could be one way to encourage this.

Testing

2008-05-14T11:22:00.001+01:00

Jim Knight, MP, the School’s Minister, came to the defence of school testing yesterday, after the Commons Select Committee for Children, Schools and Families released its quite critical report on Testing and Assessment. The Minister supported school testing arguing that it plays a very important role helping to prepare students for critical GCSEs and A-level exams later on.

The Commons Select Committee had a more discerning view on the matter. In their third report, the Committee warned that testing is narrowing students’ educational experience. “We received substantial evidence that teaching to the test, to an extent which narrows the curriculum and puts sustained learning at risk, is widespread," the MPs stated, displaying concern about the current system in place. The published report concludes by recommending that national testing be reformed.

Although I have never been a big fan of standardized testing, I do understand that testing is a useful and necessary way to evaluate students’ performance across the country. I would therefore not argue to eliminate national testing altogether. In my opinion, the problem with school testing is when teaching becomes too heavily focused on students doing well on national exams for school ranking purposes. For this reason, I believe that the reform being proposed by the Select Committee is an appropriate and good one.

Motivating and inspiring students is one of the biggest challenges teachers face. I think that more creativity needs to allowed and promoted in the classroom, and focusing solely on testing certainly diminishes the chances of this from occurring. Testing is an inevitable part of the education evaluation system, but it’s crucial that it doesn’t dominate the learning environment.

Progressive Ideals

2008-05-09T16:36:00.001+01:00

Progressive Ideals?

Tory leader David Cameron is claiming his party are the “champions of progressive ideals”. Cameron argues in the Independent that Labour MPs are awakening to a “painful reality”, recognising that in its longest continuous period in office, “Labour has done little to advance progressive ideals”, which he links to the 10p tax issue. Despite promising both social justice and economic efficiency, Cameron claims the government “has in fact delivered neither”.

In the fight against poverty, and in the pursuit of environmental sustainability, Cameron argues that conservative approaches are driving the intellectual agenda. The article ends with a strong message: “If you care about poverty, if you care about inequality, if you care about the environment – forget about the Labour Party. It has forgotten about you”. Cameron concludes, that if one is to count themselves a “true progressive”, voting Conservative is the answer - “only we can achieve real change”.

Given a recent YouGov/The Sun survey, increasing numbers of people are agreeing with such a message – a gap of 26 points now exists between the Conservatives and Labour, with the Conservatives on 49 per cent, Labour 23 per cent, and the Liberal Democrats on 17 per cent. It is now up to Gordon Brown to convince the British public that Cameron’s sentiments are wrong – and given both this poll and the recent electoral results, the Prime Minister is facing an uphill battle.

The Aftermath

2008-05-09T15:51:00.001+01:00

With the aftermath of Labour’s terrible performance in the local and mayoral elections now fully registered, Labour suffering its worst losses since the 1960s - down 331 seats - and loosing the capital to Boris Johnson, it is now up to the Tories to demonstrate that their party can carry the momentum through to national elections. On May 1, voters sent out a clear message of dissatisfaction with the Government and a desire for change.

The past few weeks, have certainly been an opposition party’s dream. The Conservative party has had countless opportunities to highlight the Government’s problems and failures. For instance, the Conservatives are now using the 10p tax rate issue as the centre of their campaign for the by-elections in Crewe and Nantwich, to show how Labour has failed to protect lower-income citizens in these uncertain and difficult economic times.

I believe it is hard to dismiss the significance and impact of the results from the local elections, the London mayoral election, and the recent headlines and polls emerging showing lows levels of confidence and support in both the Prime Minister and the Labour Party. One of the main headlines in the Times this Wednesday was, “55% of Labour voters want Brown to resign,” demonstrating their desire for change of leadership. And just this morning, a YouGov survey for the Sun revealed that Labour has recorded its worst rating since polling began, with the Conservatives in the lead with 49% and Labour far behind with just 23%. Things are not looking very good for Gordon Brown.

However, the rise in support and popularity of the Conservative party, now also means that it’s time for the Tories to start answering serious and tough questions, instead of simply pointing a finger. There will be growing pressure on the Conservative party to explain what they would do differently if in power, and what solutions they have to offer.

Whether or not we will see a general election as soon as next year or in 2010; the Labour party has a very steep uphill battle to fight. The party will have to make some tough decisions about whether or not it should continue backing the Prime Minister and it will become increasingly difficult for them to ignore unsympathetic public opinion.

Chicken Rescue

2008-05-01T12:12:00.003+01:00

There is no escaping at the moment the idea of the responsible food consumer, both in terms of the environment and animal welfare, and particularly regarding chickens!

Therefore, I thought that I would let you know about a rather interesting trip I went on last weekend. I went with my mum to collect the chickens that she was rescuing and taking back to live in her garden in Greater London. The initiative is all part of the Battery Hen Welfare Trust The charity rescues battery hens from farms, prior to their slaughter, and rehomes them with members of the public.

My mum’s new chickens are currently somewhat feather bare, have some difficulty in walking and their combs look a bit worse for wear. Nevertheless, it will apparently not take too long for the hens to get back to full fitness, and they will still lay eggs. The most poignant thing is that, as they are used to being incarcerated in such small cages, they currently huddle together, but again this will change in time, and they clearly seem happier in their new home.

I think this scheme really works – it is a way to help improve animal welfare and bring environmental benefits (the hens are still laying eggs and therefore saving on transport costs to supermarkets) into the increasingly urbanised areas in which we live.

The long term aim of the charity is to diminish consumer demand for battery eggs whilst at the same time promoting British farmers using welfare friendly systems. This pro-industry policy is a vital element in ensuring the future is free range, with the consumer themselves taking responsibility for hen welfare. However, there is still only so much that the consumer can do, they can buy free range eggs, but what about all the other foods that contain egg products, such as mayonnaise and cakes? The food industry needs to make a stand in providing free range versions of their food products, giving consumers the choice to influence producer supply based on the products they purchase.

2012 - the next lap

2008-04-30T12:55:00.000+01:00

This week saw the publication of the latest report by the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee on the London 2012 Games. In and amongst the 81 pages of the report, a number of interesting points were made.

While there has been some positive feedback from the report, there has been a large amount of criticism present.

For instance, the report criticised the Government for awarding a further £5.9 billion in funds without clarifying with the DCMS what will be delivered in return for the expenditure. Similarly, the DCMS came into criticism for having no way to evaluate the Olympic legacy from the Games, despite having highlighted this as one of the main benefits of hosting the Games. In relation to this, the report claimed that there was no clear strategy in place specifying exactly how sporting participation will be increased.

As equally damaging was the committee’s recognition that the budget increase (the original budget was £3.4 billion, the final figure £9.325 billion) has been damaging to confidence in the management of the programme. The phrase “spending money like water” has been doing the rounds.

More positively, the report did highlight that achievements thus far are to be commended, and that there were signs the organisers were working to a realistic timetable. This is welcome news, as once the Beijing Games are finished, public attention, and scrutiny will only intensify on the organisers of 2012.

The 10p Question

2008-04-24T17:22:00.001+01:00

Watching PMQs yesterday it crossed my mind – would it have been worse for Gordon Brown not to have backed down, and continued on his mad dash towards the abolition of the 10p tax rate? Or is there honour in making a U-turn, recognising that success is not a viable option, and beating a hasty retreat before any more damage is done to one’s leadership.

In this case I believe Mr. Brown made the right choice – yes, it supplied the Conservatives, and David Cameron, with plenty of ammunition for yesterday’s session, but the damage could have been significantly worse if he’d risked further fracturing his party over this issue.

Furthermore, a rebellion over the 10p tax band would arguably have affected another contentious policy issue that Labour is pushing ahead with - the extended period of detention for terror suspects. Mr. Brown already gives the impression of being an embattled Prime Minister to some, and countering that would be difficult if another row, similar to the one we have seen this week, erupts over an equally high-charged issue.

This affair is far from over, and it will be interesting to see whether Brown can move beyond this matter – questions are already emerging over the feasibility of the concessions he plans to make for those most affected by the 10p tax rate.

Questioning the value of Vitamins

2008-04-24T15:39:00.002+01:00

I read an interesting, if somewhat worrying, article on BBC online last week that got me thinking. The review suggested that some vitamins, far from being good for you, may actually shorten your life. Is it time to throw out those dusty jars of multi-vitamins in the cupboard?

The review, of 67 studies, found ‘no convincing evidence’ that antioxidant supplements cut the risk of dying.

The trials involved 233,000 people who were either sick, or healthy and taking supplements for disease prevention. The scientists, at Copenhagen University, said that Vitamins A and E could interfere with the bodies natural defences. Vitamin A supplements were linked to a 16% increased risk of dying, beta carotene to a 7% increased risk, and Vitamin E to a 4% increased risk. It is as yet unclear why these vitamins may be having this negative effect, but the team speculates that beta-carotene may interfere with how the body uses fat. Vitamin C, occupant of oranges all over the world, did not seem to have any effect either way, but the scientists reckon that more work needs to be done in this vitamin.

This is not just an important matter for people’s health; the supplement market is worth over £330 million in the UK.

The Department of Health has said that people should try to get the vitamins they need from their diet and avoid taking large amounts of supplements. However, the Health Supplements Information Service, funded by the association which represents those that sell supplements, responded that people are not able to get everything they need from their diet.

As with many scientific reviews, these findings probably need to be looked at in more detail. Nevertheless, I still think that this highlights the more general issues around health and well being in this country – we should concentrate on eating well and exercising as much as possible – we used to survive without supplements, surely we still can now?

What renewables obligation?

2008-04-24T15:16:00.001+01:00

According to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, one of the main objectives of the Climate Change Bill - currently under review in the House of Commons - is “investment in low-carbon fuels and technologies, such as carbon capture and storage, wind, wave and solar power.”

So when I read the story in Saturday’s Guardian, Solar so good for our house, of how the Government cut the maximum grant for low-carbon microgeneration household schemes to £2,500 last year because of the popularity of the scheme, I was disappointed and believe this sends a worrying message about the Government’s commitment to low-carbon initiatives. Rather than decreasing the amount of money going to support low-carbon technologies, the government should be supporting such schemes as much as they can, certainly if they intend on meeting the 15% EU-set target of energy coming from renewable sources by 2020.

The Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP), which is managed for the Department of Business, Enterprise, and Regulatory Reform by the Energy Saving Trust, provides grants for installing microgeneration schemes. These grants, aimed to encourage the use of solar, wind turbine and small hydro technologies, are made available to households, businesses, community organizations, public, private and the non-profit sectors.

All of this sounds promising on the surface, but what the Guardian article revealed is that the UK government has helped less than 300 households install such technologies. Furthermore, the effect of the grant cut has led to demand falling sharply and small companies supplying and installing the necessary equipment going out of business. Germany however has strongly supported low-carbon technologies by helping 130,000 homes get fitted with photovoltaic (PV) solar installations. The price of installing solar panels has now lowered there as a result of high demand. Why the discrepancy?

In the end the article showcased how one family has been able to produce 92% of their electricity usage through solar power. I think this is quite an impressive story and an example of how low-carbon technologies work. All we need now is for the Government to follow through on its renewables obligation.

Morale boost from America

2008-04-18T14:59:00.003+01:00

It hasn’t been an easy past couple weeks for Gordon Brown. As the Prime Minister tries to reassure the population that the economic crisis in the UK is under control, he has also had to contend with growing internal criticism. Most noteworthy were the comments made by Labour peer Lord Desai, an economic professor, who accused Brown of looking "weak and indecisive" and suggested David Miliband would make a better leader. The abolition of the 10p tax rate has also created a lot of anger amongst Labour MPs, particularly with MP Angela Smith for Sheffield Hillsborough, who threatened to resign over the issue.

So with the Prime Minister’s leadership skills being called into question and with the May elections just around the corner, I suspect Gordon Brown’s three-day visit to the United States may have come with a big sigh of relief – a chance to escape national scrutiny. The Prime Minister’s second visit to the US included a stop off in New York to address the United Nations, a visit to Wall Street, and of course a visit to Washington to meet with President George Bush. Issues discussed between the two leaders included the global economic crisis, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, climate change and calls to reform the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Although the media proclaim that Gordon Brown’s trip was overshadowed by Pope Benedict’s first visit to America, I think that this visit may have helped boost the Prime Minister’s morale. Mr. Bush called Gordon Brown a “good friend” and applauded the Prime Minister on his excellent handling of the terrorist attack in Glasgow and in fighting terrorism in general. The Prime Minister also had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with the three presidential candidates, a unique chance to see how UK-US relations might evolve in the future, depending on the outcome of the race.

With Obama stating that "The Prime Minister has been a critically important partner for the United States” and expressing how much he was looking forward to working with Gordon Brown in the years ahead, I think the Prime Minister would have been happy to stay overseas even longer, knowing what awaits him at home.

The London Mayoral Elections

2008-04-15T17:04:00.000+01:00

There was much excitement around the offices of GBC last week, as both Boris Johnson and David Cameroon visited Richmond Upon Thames to promote the former’s Mayoral Election Candidacy.

To political novices who only know Mr. Johnson for his hilarious turns hosting panel shows, his candidacy might have come as something of a surprise. Instead, alongside his primary challengers Ken Livingstone and Brian Paddick, Boris has played his part in a tight and up until this point, difficult to predict, contest.

One of the areas Ken Livingstone’s tenure will be remembered for centres on the environment – in particular his introduction of the congestion charge. Should he win again on May 1st, he pledges to improve the environment further by introducing a £25 charge on the worst vehicles in the central London congestion charging zone, and a zero charge for the least polluting cars. In response, Boris pledges to scrap the proposed £25 charge and make the current system ‘fairer and more flexible’.

It is areas such as this, which are crucial to the everyday life of Londoners, where the election will be won and lost. Bookmakers recently have had Ken at 4-7, Boris and 5-4, and interestingly Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrats candidate, at 16-1. It is Mr. Paddick, now considered a long-shot by most observers, who might surprise come the end of April – his background, experience, and the aversion of the electorate to either Ken or Boris may all come to count at the crucial hour.

Carbon Labelling

2008-04-11T16:04:00.001+01:00

Tesco is getting in on the act with its carbon labelling scheme, which it will launch on the 30th April. It has developed the scheme with brands including Procter and Gamble, and Unilever. The scheme was announced at the Carton conference, organised by BPIF Cartons, on the 8th April.

Tesco has tackled 30 products so far, including orange juice, light bulbs, laundry, potatoes and tomatoes.

The question is though, whether people really understand these labelling schemes – is there not a call for a universal scheme across all products? So people can get used to looking at the carbon information just at they look at nutrition information now.

Consumers have a responsibility to help combat climate change, but they need the right information to enable them to do this.

Access to Higher Education

2008-04-10T10:58:00.001+01:00

John Denham, Universities Secretary, announced on Tuesday that all universities will be forced to reveal their admissions policies. This comes amid recent accusations of there being unfair practices in place, claiming that some universities are favouring applicants from privileged backgrounds, while others are said to be engaged in what is being called ‘social engineering’, granting easier access to students from state schools coming from the poorest backgrounds.

The Universities Secretary hopes to restore confidence in the system and has given the Office of Fair Access (Offa) the authority to scrutinise the admissions policies currently in place. There is a possibility that financial penalties will be imposed on those found guilty of unfair practice. I believe that it is very important to guarantee that transparency and accountability exist in the admissions process. Students should be able to feel confident that their application will be looked at in the same manner as all other applications, with the same standards being applied across the board.

However, one thing is to ensure that admissions procedures are fair and another is dealing with the issue of how tuition fees are becoming a significant obstacle for students wishing to attend. An article published by the Guardian on the 14^th of February entitled “Tuition fees favour the rich”, revealed how many students are deciding not to attend because of anxiety over money. Many young people fear the high amount of debt that they will end up accumulating in order to finance their years pursuing higher education.

If the government is really serious about widening university participation, it needs to find a way to support and reach out to those who meet academic requirements but who are staying away because of money. Not only does there need to be more bursaries and scholarships, the already existing ones need to be made more accessible, clear and straightforward. Going into debt shouldn’t be the only the option, even though borrowing money can certainly be seen as a smart investment.

4.4 million Apples a day...

2008-04-09T10:18:00.001+01:00

I came across a frightening article on the WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) site this week that said a phenomenal 4.4 million whole apples are being thrown away every day in the UK.

The figures came from the WRAP’s ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ campaign, aimed at tackling food waste in homes across the UK. The figures also show that we throw away nearly £3 billion worth of perfectly good fruit and vegetables in a single year.

The reason for such profligacy? WRAP teamed up with Sainsbury’s to find out, and discovered the primary reason behind such waste was people were not eating food before it went off. Interestingly, the problem is exacerbated because people were not storing the fresh produce in the best place once they got it home.

Waste on such a scale is pretty staggering. Given the emphasis placed on not only eating and living healthily, but reducing one’s carbon footprint in a variety of ways, purchasing produce that no doubt racked up the air miles to reach our plates and then throwing it away is extremely worrying. This is before thought is given to the number of people world-wide who go hungry everyday.

In response to these findings, the Love Food Hate Waste Campaign is trialling new storage guidance to customers Sainsbury’s stores and online. The guidance centres on the following advice – showing how shoppers can keep their food fresh for longer, and inspiring them to use the food in a variety of ways. Should people heed the advice, it will be to the benefit of their health, and the planet’s.

Closing the loopholes

2008-04-03T12:08:00.001+01:00

It may be easy to look at the economic growth that has occurred in the UK since the 1970s as a remarkable feat. The UK can be seen as a globalization and capitalist success story. But what the impressive numbers fail to tell is the simultaneous story of the growing gap between rich and poor, and the creation of an increasingly unequal society. Last summer, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation announced that the wealth gap in Britain was the widest it had been in 40 years. As the rich continue to see their salaries rise, the average UK citizen struggles to make do.

In Budget 2008, Alistair Darling committed to taxing non-doms (foreign national living in the UK claiming non-domicile status) £30,000 a year. Although the government did cut £100m off the total revenue it originally promised to collect from non-doms in the Pre-Budget Report, I think that this measure was an important one. Despite the threats from the City saying that this would cause wealthy investors and hedge fund owners to leave the country, the government did not give in to their demands. The presence of foreign investment bankers and entrepreneurs do make a valuable contribution to the economy, but I think it is only fair that they contribute to the country they work in by paying an appropriate and fair amount of taxes. At a time when citizens feel that only the ultra-rich (which include a large percentage of non-domiciles) are benefiting from the current tax system, I think that this move at the very least shows that the government is working towards minimizing the loopholes.

So, Who runs Britain then? Robert Preston, award-winning British journalist, author and broadcaster has written a book entitled exactly that, in which he explores the influence the wealthy are having in shaping British society. Having London as the financial capital is a great asset and is something to be proud of, but what is even more important is to make sure that the majority start reaping the benefits too.

Plastic Planet

2008-04-03T10:16:00.002+01:00

Plastic seems to be in the news all the time at the moment, whether for good or bad. Just take the huge supplement that was in the Times on the 1st April, talking about Innovations in Plastics, and the endless news pieces about the evil that is plastic bags.

Indeed, we have all heard the bad stories about plastics disposal. Although paper accounts for most of the trash in landfills by volume, plastics account for 25% of all waste in landfills when buried. To make it worse, a significant amount of plastic is not even properly disposed in landfills and makes its way into the environment, where it takes a very long time to biodegrade. Plastic ends up in the sea from waste discarded by ships, offshore dumping, litter on beaches and waste washed to sea by rivers. Therefore, ingestion of plastic material by seabirds is another horrific problem that we have heard in the news. Plastic is impossible to digest and takes up space in the seabird’s stomach that should be used for food, or can cause an obstruction that starves the bird directly. This plastic is sometimes regurgitated and fed to chicks. A particular example is the albatrosses eating all the plastic toys, lighters and golf balls that end up in the sea. What is more, albatrosses also end up feeding their chicks this plastic material, and they only lay a single egg in a breeding system. This plastic causes physiological stress to chicks and causes the chick to feel full during feedings, reducing its food intake and the chances of survival.

But is also important to remember that plastics have some benefits for the environment too. For example, the use of plastic materials in cars and airplanes reduces their weight and therefore increases their fuel efficiency. Insulating plastics such as styrofoam reduce the amount of energy required to heat and cool homes. To read more about plastic go here

Therefore, as with any material, there appears to be both positive and negative aspects to the environmental impact of plastic. It seems the most important thing is to use the material that is most fit for purpose, and to see plastic as a resource. Hopefully we can then look at the whole lifecycle of plastic, and consumers can take responsibility for the plastic they use, recycling and re-using where possible. This should ensure that the end of a plastic product’s life does not involve rotting in a sea birds stomach.

Bad IDea?

2008-04-03T09:14:00.001+01:00

I recently came across the Conservative Party’s online campaigns section. One such campaign is entitled ‘Bad IDea’, setting out a range of arguments against the Government’s phased introduction of identity cards. In the place of the proposed scheme, it is suggested the money is spent on more prison places, more prisoner drug rehabilitation, and a Border Police Force.

Such a campaign is no doubt popular, and reflective of the sense of concern that exists in the UK around ID cards. However, such is the strength of the anti-ID cards campaign that biometric technologies, an essential component of an ID cards system, are being tarred with the same brush.

One argument against ID cards is that once somebody’s card is lost, and with it their biometric identity, it cannot be replaced. Certainly, we are all born with only one set of fingerprints. However, an ID card need not store all the data of a fingerprint. The Treasury recently commissioned a review of the potential private sector uses of the ID card procurement scheme, in which it quite sensibly recommended the amount of data stored should be minimised. For example, only-non unique digital representations of biometric images should be stored.

A more balanced argument, highlighting such safeguards, may be to the benefit of everyone. At the very least, it should move the debate forward.

Writing Wrongs?

2008-03-31T11:50:00.001+01:00

I was interested in the Today Programme’s discussion this morning on whether all opinions of bloggers are equal. They set up a debate between an academic literary critic and a blogger to debate this. As a piece of radio, it didn’t quite work as the blogger was actually a professional librarian who had qualifications and experience to rival the academics. However the question is an interesting one, how do we access the value of academic versus amateur opinion?

Well, one way has to be the quality of the written word. I understand and accept that language is an evolutionary process and that most of us no longer write with quill pens, nor think in Chaucer’s terminology. Whilst some may mourn that as a loss of quality, I see it as an outcome of mass literacy, which has to be a social good. Moreover, new words and phrases come into parlance all the time, as this lovely book on the impact of the environmental lexicon on English indicates:
http://www.askoxford.com/worldofwords/wordfrom/greening/?view=uk

So, it is inevitable that language changes. On balance, this is probably a good thing. What is completely unacceptable however, is an acceptance of a loss of standards in the written word. Formal written documents, be they essays, commercial documents or contracts, should be grammatically accurate, and if not interesting to read, at least intelligible. We have a diverse and beautiful language which should be a joy to read and write, not a chore.

This matters, not because I’m a language snob (I was state school educated all the way!), but because it’s how we communicate with each other. How can I expect clients to trust my advice, if they can’t understand my recommendations because they are so poorly written? Language is currency – let’s not cheapen it.

The Arsenal Summit

2008-03-28T11:45:00.000Z

Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to the UK certainly did not go unnoticed. Mr. Sarkozy has created nothing short of a media frenzy since becoming President of France. With his glamorous lifestyle and of course high-profile marriage to ex-model Carla Bruni, some believe that President Sarkozy has been distracted from his work.

During his two-day state visit to the UK however, Sarkozy had a lot on his agenda, including the issue of nuclear energy. Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy discussed the possibility of a nuclear energy partnership between the two nations. The meeting took place at the Emirates football stadium in North London for the appropriately named ‘Arsenal Summit’ in an attempt to reach an agreement about the export of nuclear technology and the construction of new power stations.

While only 18% of electricity in the UK is generated from nuclear power, in comparison to more than 75% in the case of France, change is under way in Britain. In January, the government published an Energy Bill and a White Paper on Nuclear Power, ‘Meeting the Energy Challenge’, essentially giving the green light for the development and expansion of the nuclear energy sector. The government has taken the position that nuclear energy is a clean, safe and affordable way of providing energy to the population. In the White Paper, Gordon Brown stated how he was “confident that nuclear power can and will make a real contribution to meeting our commitments to limit damaging climate change”.

In his address to Parliament on Wednesday, Sarkozy passionately endorsed a new ‘Franco-British brotherhood’. I believe that this new relationship presents a great opportunity for the UK to take advantage of the nuclear expertise of the French. With the cost of oil still rising, the pressure to secure energy sources becoming bigger every day, and with the renewable power sector failing to deliver, the future of nuclear energy in the UK looks bright.

Zero Waste Scotland

2008-03-26T15:11:00.001Z

This week, the Scottish Government has bin thinking.

Today, the Zero Waste Think Tank will meet for the first time in Edinburgh. The Think Tank brings together a number of experts to discuss the best ways in which Scotland can move towards a zero waste society.

Yesterday, the Government launched the 2008 Composting at Home Campaign in Fife. Composting of household and garden waste plays a vital part in a zero waste Scotland. The composting campaign has been running for the previous four years, distributing over 160,000 compost bins to Scottish households, with more bins planned for distribution this year. In Fife, where this year’s campaign was launched, recycling and composting levels are well ahead of the overall Scottish figure, at 36.2 per cent. Fife is also the first council in Scotland to commit to the principle of sending zero waste to landfill, by 2020.

I think that the idea of zero waste is an important one. With so many of the world’s future problems attributable to climate change, sometimes this hard line, no messing, approach really works. And at the end of the day, with recycling and composting capabilities as they are, this is something that is hopefully achievable. Still, we will wait to see, whether the zero waste target in 2020 is actually hit, and look out for the rest of the UK getting in on the act as well.

Anti-social behaviour orders, tough love or too far?

2008-03-20T11:11:00.000Z

The government’s latest plan to tackle the issue of youth violence is to identify, target, and work with 1,000 children who are at risk of turning to crime later in life. This move is part of a £218m 3-year package to prevent youth and children as young as 10 from developing criminal behaviour.

The opposition parties have criticised the government for applying sticking-plaster solutions to a widespread and deeply-rooted problem. But with such staggering figure as ‘95% of children have been the victim of a crime, including 72% who have been assaulted’, according to a survey by the Howard League for Penal Reform last year, it is no wonder that the government is turning to tough measures, or what can be interpreted as ‘tough love’.

While I do agree with the Children’s Minister, Beverly Hughes, who said yesterday that “We know that the best form of cure is prevention”, I do not consider directly singling out and tagging a small number of youth as ‘future criminals’ as preventative action. Rather, I think that the government’s decision to invest £23m in a youth capital fund that will help provide better arts and sports facilities to youth in disadvantaged areas, is the type of action that will have a lasting effect. We want to present young people with alternatives to crime. Investing in such things as community centres, extracurricular activities, as well as support and mentorship programmes, is a good way to start. But most importantly, what first needs to be done is to focus on the wider social issues behind this growing problem. Poverty, broken homes, drug and alcohol abuse are just a few factors that come to mind.

Ensuring that young people feel they are being supported, motivated and guided by their families, schools and communities is fundamental. I don’t believe that threatening youth with anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) and forcing them to sign a good behaviour contract will change much. Reaching out to all children before they begin to consider the idea of resorting to crime is definitely appropriate, but maybe this latest scheme is just a little too ‘tough’.

The three T's - Tibet, Taiwan, and Tiananmen Square

2008-03-19T17:55:00.001Z

The decision to award China the Olympics has been placed under an even closer microscope this week as events develop in Tibet. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, while not calling for a boycott, called for a symbolic absence from the opening ceremony. The response of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao? That the principles of the Olympics and the Olympic Charter should be respected. The Games, he said, should not be politicised.

It is not unknown for sport and politics to collide – in recent times the England and Wales Cricket Board’s tour of Zimbabwe springs to mind – but it is the status of the Olympics in the world’s consciousness that makes these developments unique in recent times. Prior to the awarding of the Games to Beijing, they had been hosted by Greece, Australia, and the U.S.

Going further back, it is interesting to note that China itself has boycotted two Olympic Games – the 1976 Montreal Olympics, following a row over the recognition of Taiwan, and the 1980 Moscow Games, where China was among a number of countries who did not attend following the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan.

There are plenty of reasons that these games should be the subject of similar boycotts - Darfur, or one of the three T’s (Tibet, Taiwan, and Tiananmen Square) would serve as sufficient justification. Similarly, arguments exist that engagement, and not isolation are key. However, I would argue that sporting events are an opportunity to make a statement, and such a statement needs to be made given the suppression of human rights that is currently occurring.

Ice Hockey, Skipping, and even Korfball..

2008-03-17T16:49:00.003Z

Gerry Sutcliffe, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport was recently asked in Parliament to provide details regarding what funding Sport England provided for each sport in the last three years. These figures, combined with those I blogged on previously regarding sporting participation, offer another further insight into today’s domestic sport environment.

Among males the most popular sport was football by a considerable margin. Yet in 2007-2008, Football will receive a similar amount from the national lottery as Equestrianism. Basketball will receive double that amount, and Canoeing almost three times as much. Despite the participation figures this is probably a smart policy move – the professional game of Football is not starved of funds, and it is important that people are offered a variety of sports to participate in. Perhaps in recognition of this, 2007-2008 will also be the first time that Ice Hockey, Skipping, and even Korfball (an introduction to which can be found here) receive funds from the lottery. Conversely, American Football, Taekwondo, and the Modern Pentathlon will see their funding end.

Clearly, a very finely tuned balancing act is taking place here, which is why we see one American sport - American Football, losing out on funding, but another - Ice Hockey, gaining it. These figures also illustrate the difficult job Sport England has in distributing funding, but the recent balance seems largely to be the right one.

The 2008 Budget – an environmental assessment

2008-03-14T17:35:00.001Z

The daily news tells us that climate change will be the principal source of many of the world’s problems in the future. It will be the cause of future international conflicts because of competition over energy sources and natural resources. It will lead to mass migration movements resulting in ‘millions of environmental migrants’. It will also contribute to growing tension between North and South over the issue of environmental responsibility.

Bearing these issues in mind and the increasing pressure for the UK to catch up with the rest of Europe in terms of reaching environmental targets, I hoped that the 2008 Budget would be the ‘greenest’ ever. Even though Mr. Darling did mention the environment and climate change 15 times in his speech, I share the disappointment of many environmentalists and believe that the green levies and taxes that were included in this year’s budget, though steps in the right direction, will only bring about small changes.

And even though there were some significant green tax rises in this year’s budget, there were also a few contradictions. For instance, while government put forward a new vehicle excise duty that will raise £735 m in 2010, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the government also delayed a 2p increase in fuel duty. And while the Chancellor also pledged to raise green airline taxes, the government continues to back the expansion of Heathrow. So is the government sending out mixed messages?

To be fair, Mr. Darling did had little room to manoeuvre, as this was one of the most difficult budgets to deliver because of the economic slowdown and the grim prospect for economic growth facing the UK. However, others are not as forgiving. Phil Thornhill, national co-ordinator for the Campaign Against Climate Change, said the Chancellor had failed to "bite the bullet". So if climate change is indeed leading to the consequences I mentioned earlier, it would seem to me that there isn’t much room for compromise.

Universal changes

2008-03-14T11:22:00.001Z

Universities have been in the news quite a lot this month, and surprisingly, the news is generally good.

An article in Guardian online on the 6th March talked about how HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) has decided that universities in England will get an above inflation rise - 3.3% - in funding for teaching, research and widening participation next year. The settlement is higher than any allocated to other public sectors for next year.

Total funds of around £7.6bn have been allocated for the 131 universities and 128 colleges for 2008-09. In particular, the research funding includes £62m for business-related research, £185m for charity-funded research and £199m for postgraduate research.

I think it is encouraging that these funds have been allocated for universities, particularly for research. Through technology transfer to businesses, university research can greatly contribute to UK industry development, and therefore ultimately boost the UK economy – maybe there will be a good ROI for the generous spending!

While on the 2nd March, an article in The Observer described plans for up to 20 new university towns to be created across Britain, at a total cost of £150m over 6 years. Towns will be invited to enter a 'university challenge', bidding for the right to have a new campus or college in their area. The new campuses could be linked to existing universities or could be entirely new bodies.

Regardless of the critics who might argue that such new town universities would dilute the strength of the intellectual tradition, I think there are definite good points to this plan. New universities could regenerate areas that have high unemployment - the higher-education sector contributes around £50bn to the economy and sustains around 600,000 jobs. Graduates also have a much lower rate of unemployment, with 2.9 per cent without a job, compared to 6 per cent among the population who don't have a degree. Thirdly, it will give adults more chance to gain a degree and therefore contribute to the skills base in the UK. People who are put off going to universities because of money worries may find it easier and more convenient if there is more choice of universities, closer to where they live.

Participation in Sport

2008-03-03T10:40:00.000Z

Gerry Sutcliffe, Minister of State for Sport was recently asked what, exactly, were the top ten sports in terms of active participation in the UK? Mr Sutcliffe’s answer, split into both gender and nine different age brackets, gave an interesting insight into the sporting habits of Britain.

Not everything about Mr. Sutcliffe’s answer to surprising – for males aged from 17-31 football was the undisputed leader. Among males aged 17-21 years, it is three time more popular than its nearest rival. However, once males reach 31-35 years old, going to the gym, previously always second among males, overtakes football. By the time males reach the 36-40 age bracket gym has been overtaken by swimming. Perhaps unsurprisingly, by the time males are 56 and beyond, golf has become the favoured participation sport. Among females, swimming remains the most popular sport throughout – from 17 to 65+. Similarly, gym remains second throughout the age brackets.

What is interesting to note in the data is that among football, swimming and tennis, gym, running road (their phrasing not mine), jogging and weight training also feature. By the age of 56-59 among males, exercise bikes feature. Yoga, pilates, and even ‘keeping fit’, become prominent among females as they age.

Such inclusion is surely of benefit to everyone – although some may raise an eyebrow at the suggestion yoga is likely to result in the same physical exertion as rugby union, including such activities should allow all disciplines to benefit from the commitment made by Sport England and the Olympic Delivery Authority to increase participation in the UK.

The data, from Sport England’s Active People Survey (2005-2006) can be found here, along with Mr. Sutcliffe’s full answer.

Setting the stage for talks on immigration

2008-02-29T17:28:00.001Z

Immigration is once again making headlines in the UK with Gordon Brown calling last week for new British citizenship tests and David Cameron launching an attack this week against what he calls ‘state multiculturalism’. Cameron is urging the Conservative party instead to support a model of integration as he believes multiculturalism is leading to ethnic segregation.

The UK is not alone in engaging in national debates about immigration and citizenship. The majority of Western liberal democracies are facing similar challenges today, each trying to figure out the best strategy to manage ethnic diversity within their borders, often aiming to strike the right balance between national cohesion and identity on the one hand, and the celebration of cultural diversity, on the other.

As a Canadian, I am quite familiar with the subject of multiculturalism. Multiculturalism is seen as part of Canadian values and of our national identity. That is not to say however that there are no critics or opponents to multiculturalism in Canada - there certainly are. However, as the first country in the world to adopt a policy of multiculturalism in 1971, Canada has evolved with and backed this policy over the past 36 years. The policy of multiculturalism became institutionalized when it was incorporated into the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 and then entrenched in law with the Canadian Multiculturalism Act in 1988.

Examining Canada’s policy of multiculturalism over these years is revealing as it shows how the policy has transformed and modified itself over time. Beginning with a primary focus on celebrating differences in the 70s, to managing differences in the 80s, and to an emphasis on inclusive citizenship in the 2000s, the policy has reinvented and adapted itself to the shifting changes in the national landscape. Just recently, in a United Nations conference, Canada’s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, firmly stood by Canada’s policy and described Canada’s cultural diversity as “its greatest strength”.

What will be the fate of multiculturalism in the UK? Will the backlash against multiculturalism that has been growing since 2005 result in its demise?

What I see as being truly fundamental in order to engage in a constructive and fruitful national debate over immigration and citizenship is for the proper groundwork - extensive research, perhaps in the form of a commission - and framework to be laid. Members of Parliament need to provide more information and greater clarity around the meanings and implications of the multiculturalism and integration models. The pubic has the right to understand the terms of the debate so that they can express their views and opinions on these issues.

Missing the Mark?

2008-02-29T10:41:00.003Z

You have to stand back and admire the latest PR coup from M&S. Their announcement about reducing the use of plastic bags for food secured huge publicity yesterday, and again today as the PM has endorsed their leadership position. It's fantastic PR, similar to their coup last year, when a few days after they announced their great financial figures they launched Plan A.

The real question though, is aside from the PR - is there any substance to the plastic bag ban? Don't get me wrong - great PR is worth it's weight in gold - it's part of how corporate reputations are made and retained. But, it has to have substance and has to stand up to scrutiny. And I don't think the plastic bag ban does - in fact I think it's a dangerous distraction from the real issue.

What we need to understand in the UK is that environmental responsibility - whether by individuals or corporations is a complex and multi-layered series of actions or abstentions. Carrier bags are a great invention - they are light, but have immense carrying capacity - so they score high on public convenience. Alternatives to plastic bags, such as the reinforced paper bags introduced in Ireland, are reputed to have a higher carbon footprint than the now demonised plastic bag. Additionally, they are not as flexible so you need more bags to carry the same volume of food.

Unsurprisingly, none of this complexity - and there's more once transportation is factored in - gets reported. It seems to me that unless and until we can have a more subtle and even sophisticated debate about the environmental impacts of our convenience laden lifestyles, PR stunts will continue to lead and shape our green behaviour. And that is immensely dangerous, for corporations who may find their packaging the focus of the next trophy target, and for the public who are lulled into a false sense of having 'done their bit'.

Does this mean we should wait till we know everything before we do anything? Of course not, but doing incomplete and / or inappropriate things may, in the long term be worse for the environment. What is does mean is that we should reject simplistic solutions that make us feel better, but are ultimately meaningless.

Olympic Politics

2008-02-22T16:05:00.000Z

China has definitely been faced with quite a PR challenge, or some would say, nightmare, trying to uphold a clean and positive image to the rest of the world, as it is faced with what seems to be an incessant series of controversies and criticism. Whether it is the concern over human rights abuses at home, the controversy over China’s involvement in Sudan, or the latest drug fears over human growth hormone (HGH) production, China seems to have a lot more on its plate than simply preparing for and running the Olympic games.

These issues are important and should not be dismissed or diluted, but finding the most effective and appropriate way to address them is what needs to be considered. I would agree with the Foreign Secretary, David Milliband’s statement on Wednesday “that boycotts are not a right way” to address these matters. For real change to take place other strategies should be adopted.

All this raises the debate of whether we can continue viewing the Olympics as strictly a sporting event? And if not, where do we draw the line? Whether or not China should be hosting the games is perhaps something that should have been on the discussion table back in the summer of 2001 when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) selected China and the city of Beijing - in the first round, let it not be forgotten - to host the summer Games. Media and world attention should maybe start looking into the criteria used in the selection and nomination process. In 1999, an independent Ethics Commission was created, but little to nothing is known about this entity. This clearly calls for a more open debate around the IOC in general, which is well known to be manipulated by money and power.

Rather than boycott the Olympics in China, it seems to me that a more effective strategy lies in working in cooperation with China on these issues, and strengthening its international ties. Resorting to isolation and shaming tactics is often ineffective.

Moreover, one cannot dismiss the positive changes that have been occurring in China recently. Any country would agree that foreign and national policy cannot be changed overnight. Being in the international spotlight for 17 days might help bring about the legacy of change that the world would like to see.

Joining up school services

2008-02-21T15:18:00.001Z

On the 19th of February, I attended the Launch of the Progress School Governors Network in Westminster, with the Rt Hon Ed Balls as the speaker. He spoke a lot about issues that we have heard before, but that didn’t make them any less poignant.

His focus was on the role of schools in the wider community, and the need for schools to be better linked with children services and health services. The thinking is that the schools should be the early warning indicator, and then schools need to be able to engage with Social Services and the Housing Association. I totally agree with this idea in principle, but understand that it may be difficult to work in practice.

He believed that this emphasis on joining up these support services is fundamental to tackling barriers to children reaching their potential. The Governing bodies, therefore, need to ensure that the school is equipped for this to happen.

His other key point was about raising the education age to 18 – either through school, college, apprenticeships or work based training, in order to break the link between poverty and opportunity. He explained that vocational schemes should give an opportunity to everyone, and remove the 2 tier system that currently operates.

I agree that both joining up schools with other local services, and creating better educational opportunities for all children through different vocational schemes, is really important to improve lives of children in this country. And I really hope that the DCSF can achieve these goals, not only to help every individual child to reach their potential, but because more skilled young people entering the workforce will ultimately contribute immensely to the success of the UK economy.

Comparing strategies – learning from ‘star recyclers’

2008-02-15T16:57:00.002Z

The Scottish Government’s 2008 International Review of Recycling Policies that provides an overview of policy levers that have led to high levels of recycling and composting of municipal waste across a range of international jurisdictions shows us just how much can be learnt from observing our neighbours; especially those that have met and surpassed EU targets.

What stands out for me in this review is the success that large-scale schemes such as the introduction of a landfill tax or variable charging for household waste has had. Research conducted in Bavaria, Netherlands, Flanders and Austria shows that these countries have the highest rates for recycling and composting municipal waste, each of them reaching above 60%.

The challenge however seems to lie in striking the right balance. There is the risk that some schemes may be perceived as being too demanding on customers. Even though Sweden and Switzerland are among the recycling ‘role model list’, the review reveals that household ‘sort and bring’ systems in these countries have received criticism for this very reason.

Nevertheless, what does seem to be clear is that having the right infrastructure and incentives in place is indispensable if one is to achieve their desired targets. In Ireland, where there is a lack of processing facilities, this has resulted in 30% of municipal waste being exported and higher treatment costs. As for incentives, they help to encourage stronger partnerships between government, municipalities and industries.

In the UK, according the Materials Recycling Week 2008 State of the Nation Report, most local authorities would like to see improvements in the provision of recycling and waste collection services. Their intentions are indeed in the right place, but with local authorities expecting their recycling rate to be around 45% on average in 2010/11, these targets fail to meet national and EU objectives.

What does the UK plan on doing about this? The Stern Report clearly demonstrated to the nation the economic cost of failing to address environmental issues. If the UK is to improve its standing – whether it be in recycling and waste management, or in another area - more leadership is required from the government. Someone needs to set the pace for change.

The Global Game

2008-02-15T16:06:00.001Z

The Premier League and its Chief Executive Richard Scudamore have announced than an extra round of competitive league games could to be staged abroad in the 2010-2011 season. Reaction to this has been mixed – and rightly so. UK-based supporters are strongly opposed, as is the majority of the media. Furthermore, those countries that may host the match appear lukewarm to the idea, along with the governing bodies. The new Culture Secretary, Andy Burnham, has been mindful not to endorse the scheme.

Such a round of extra fixtures are expected to strengthen the league’s hand when discussing its next TV deal. Michael Platini, UEFA President, argued in an Economist ‘World in 2008’ article that a fascination of sport should prevail over a fascination for money, yet his advice does not seem to have been heeded by Scudamore et al.

It is not just that such an extra round of matches seems to have been concocted for fiscal reasons that makes this proposal unsettling, it is the lack of thought being given as to the implications of such matches.

Taking matches abroad means dealing with the social and cultural issues that can be found there. Manchester United recently made a mid-season visit to Saudi Arabia, a trip organised in all likelihood to help lessen the financial burden the Glazer’s have given the club. Yet, as the Guardian’s Richard Williams correctly highlighted, no consideration was given to the fact Manchester United were playing in front of 80,000 men as women were not allowed to attend. No consideration was given to the fact that having Manchester United playing such a match may been seen by some as the club, at best appearing ignorant to the issue of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, and at worst endorsing that status.

If the Premier League and English teams really must chase global money, and competitive fixtures abroad are to become a reality, they should be better prepared to deal with global issues.

The aftermath of Super Duper Tuesday

2008-02-07T12:31:00.000Z

So – the Democrats can’t decide between Obama and Clinton. I can no longer decide between them either – although until recently I’ve been backing Obama and his message of change, a brief scan of his book, ‘The Audacity of Hope’, reveals his belief in unilateral action and that the UN should not have a veto over America’s actions. From the perspective of international relations, an Obama Presidency may not result all that much change in America’s behaviour abroad.

Regardless, Super Tuesday ended with Clinton winning the more delegates, but Obama securing the most states. While the Republicans seem to be heading towards clarity, the Democrats still cannot seem to believe their luck – two electable candidates after years in the political wilderness.

The party needs to be mindful that should competition become too bitter within the party, it will be to the detriment of all Democrats – a divided party will not appeal to voters, and John McCain is the Republican candidate most likely to appeal to independent and undecided voters in a Presidential election.

Once a candidate has been selected, it has been suggested that Clinton or Obama should offer the other the position of running mate. While some may view this as a dream ticket, I believe it is far more likely to be a nightmare ticket. If parts of Middle America are not ready for a Black President, or a Female President, having a running pair of Obama and Clinton could turn out to be electoral suicide – especially against a white male who served in Vietnam.

The primary season now moves onto Obama-friendly states such as Maryland, Washington, and Virginia. Clinton may have to wait until early March before her campaign regains momentum. Attention should not, however, remain just on forthcoming states. The third placed, and recently retired candidate John Edwards is still sitting on 64 delegates – and has yet to indicate when they will be released and allowed to re-select their candidates. It could be these 64 delegates that tip the balance conclusively.

Dynastic Politics

2008-02-04T17:14:00.000Z

As the American Presidential primaries continue, the field of contenders continues to narrow. On the Democratic side of events, with the announcement of John Edwards’ retirement from the race, the remaining two candidates are involved in an increasingly tense battle. Both Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama can rightfully fancy their chances of reaching the White House – the Republicans are unlikely to recover from the disaster that was the Bush Presidency in time for this election.

Consequently, a new Democratic President looks likely – but which of the candidates will be victorious?

The Clintons appear to believe in Hilary’s unquestionable right to become America’s 44th President. This can be partly blamed on the dynastic politics that has emerged in America in the last few decades, with Bushes and Clintons each taking their turn in the White House. However, such rotation between two families does little for the democratic process. The argument for such rotation might be stronger were it not for America’s sorry state both at home and abroad. America needs a new President, with a new surname.

Passing the problem along

2008-01-29T09:42:00.000Z

WRAP has accepted its voluntary producer responsibility agreement with the grocery sector - the "Courtauld Commitment" - must broaden its focus, according to an article on LetsRecycle.com

Giants like ASDA, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Coca-Cola are all signed up to the Courtauld commitment and are "cautiously optimistic" about hitting the first of their major targets.
This target is to halt the growth in packaging used by those who have signed the Commitment by the end of 2008.

However, the producer responsibility organisation Valpak has warned that work to reduce retail packaging waste currently focusses too much on primary packaging - the packaging that ends up on supermarket shelves. This sometimes means that producer members are having to use more packaging in the distribution of products to supermarkets, known as secondary packaging.

To widen the remit to focus more on secondary packaging will doubtless make the whole process more complicated, and the ever present targets that much harder to reach, but I see this as a good thing.

I feel that the Courtauld Commitment is reflective of the wider environmental targets set in today's society. Targets are important, but not if they mean simply pushing the problem along to the next step in the supply chain, in a desperate attempt to attain those goals. The issues need to be addressed from all angles, even if, unfortunately, this means more work for everyone involved.

On the plus side, WRAP is already starting this process, by aiming to expand the Commitment into the DIY sector. This makes a lot of sense considering the amount of packaging I received along with my wrench, the last time I entered a DIY store to do some home improvement.

A legacy of Olympic proportions? Continued.

2008-01-25T17:00:00.000Z

Late last year I wrote of the potential legacy the 2012 Olympic Games may leave behind. Despite the numerous blunders that were being publicised at the time, a potential legacy of increased sporting activity among the youth of Britain nonetheless shone through.

Several months on I find myself attending the latest meeting of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport Committee on the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. A wide-ranging discussion on a number of sporting issues took place, and I found myself once again thinking back to the anticipated legacy of these Olympic Games.

Some concern was voiced as to whether too much was being expected of the Games, and what they could deliver. After all, it was mentioned that there is little evidence the motivational factor attributed to the Games stays for long after the event has finished.

It seems to me, having attended this committee, that the momentum the London Games has given British sport could last well beyond 2012. A legacy needs to be worked for, and schemes such as the attention being paid to raising adult participation across the UK, is one such example. The thinking goes that increasing adult participation will in turn increase the amount of volunteers working in sport. Such an increase may also help the momentum of the London Olympics continue past 2012.

Lets hope the new Secretary of State for Sport, Andy Burnham MP, can continue the passion for sporting excellence and an Olympic legacy that characterised Purnell’s brief tenure.

Social Mobility?

2008-01-11T16:34:00.000Z

I recently went to an event at Westminster entitled ‘The Inclusive Society? Social Mobility in the 21st Century’. Held to coincide with the publication of Progress,Community and Rt. Hon David Blunkett’s research of the same title, it was an extremely well-attended conference and question and answer session.

The extremely laudable goal of the Messrs Blunkett et al is to find ways of helping youngsters to do what their family, neighbours, and peers couldn’t achieve. That is, to train for and take skills-based jobs. Research suggests there is a permanent underclass of people in the UK who can’t escape the circumstances into which they’re born. As Mr. Blunkett put it ‘It is not about getting people into any job, it’s about getting them into the right job.'

That more progress is not made in this area may, in part, be a result of electoral politics. Those that the Inclusive Society research focuses on are not the same people who vote in their droves during a general election. Consequently the parties tend to focus on the issues that matter to the middle classes, such as hospitals. A further problem may lay in the fact that Members of Parliament are not representative of those without aspirations. For those who make up the focus of this research, it should come as some comfort that Mr. Blunkett is an exception to this.

The problem with large schools...

2008-01-07T12:57:00.000Z

It is often said that small close knit schools are better for children to attend, not least because of the better discipline they offer.

However, an article in BBC News, recently showed Government Ministers rejecting this claim. When we say big schools, we are referring to around 1500-2000 pupils. Nearly one in every seven pupils - 488,900 - goes to a school of more than 1,500, according to government figures highlighted by the Conservatives. A government spokesman for DCFS said UK evidence indicated achievement could increase with school size up to a certain point. The idea is that large schools can be split into smaller units, while still benefiting from the enhanced facilities that many larger schools have. "The assertion that larger schools mean lower standards of behaviour is not supported by Ofsted inspection evidence."

The Conservatives, on the other hand, still hold that the worst discipline problems are found in larger schools. Shadow children's secretary Michael Gove said: "In America, cities like New York and Chicago have significantly improved behaviour and standards by encouraging smaller schools where it is easier to foster respect and the head teacher is able to know the name of every pupil. "

Schools Minister Lord Adonis maintains that schools have increased in size because parents and children want to go to them. He thinks that the Conservatives would face a backlash if they tried to reduce school sizes, stopping children from attending the schools they want to.

An interesting dilemma because although the automatic reaction would probably be to assume small schools would be best. Research in the UK seems to show that this may not always be the case, as larger schools can still be split into smaller units while retaining the sporting and technology facilities of a large school.

Multi-purpose recycling

2007-12-14T11:21:00.000Z

Recycling. A (hopefully) regular activity that has a none too insignificant impact on the way we dispose of our waste, occasionally influences the products we purchase, and is a cornerstone of ‘greener living’. But what if recycling could also help some of the most vulnerable people in society simultaneously? In many of the most densely-populated mega-cities some of the world’s poorest urban inhabitants collect recyclable materials to aid their livelihoods.

During a meeting of the Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group this week, a presentation was made by the Manager of the locally-based Appliance Re-use Centre (ARC). ARC is an organisation which takes recycling and converts it into a process with multiple benefits. Having collected unwanted electrical goods and repairing them, ARC then re-sells these products to lower-income families in the local area, a clear second benefit to the process of recycling with important socio-economic connotations. The process of repair is, in part, undertaken by the long-term unemployed. Some are trained to NVQ2 level, while work experience and training is also available for the disabled.

A scheme such as the one ARC operates can be applauded for a variety of reasons. That some of the largest dealers in white goods have, in the past, attempted to charge ARC to take unwanted, used products of their hands is morally reprehensible. That ARC nonetheless continues with its work should be applauded.

A legacy of Olympic proportions?

2007-12-06T17:16:00.000Z

Since the decision was announced in 2005 that London would be the successful candidate to host the 2012 Olympic Games (that’s the Games of the XXX Olympiad to any purists out there), a casual observer will have noticed a steady stream of negative press surrounding the Games. Issues of budget miscalculations on a grand scale, of the legacy that the Games will leave, if British athletes will actually compete for medals, and even the issue of a ‘Mega Mosque’ on a nearby site have all done the rounds. This is to say nothing of the epilepsy-inducing 2012 logo…

Such coverage could even raise the question – were we right to get excited in the first place? Perhaps the money could’ve been spent on something more necessary such as effective training for Junior Officials at HM Revenue and Customs in the do’s and don’ts of posting sensitive data. Are any sporting events in this country merely a distraction while the English football team continue their never-ending rebuilding project?

Such doubts should never be allowed to dominate or over-rule the notion that the Olympic Games are themselves an inspirational institution. Anyone who has ever been to a sporting event can attest to the awe and excitement that can be stirred while a spectator. Similarly, a visit to the IOC Museum in Lausanne can stir a similarly passionate response. Such a motivational force and its potential must not be wasted by Seb Coe and company.

The effect that the 2012 Games could have on British children of all ages, and the sporting aspiration it could instil, would be enormously beneficial for British society as a whole. While increasing the hours the children spend exercising at school is one thing, increasing the hours they actually want to spend exercising is the key. Healthy kids, goes the logic, are happier kids. Consequently, the 2012 Games may indeed leave a legacy of Olympic proportions.

A long way North

2007-12-04T11:15:00.000Z

At the end of last week we ran some focus groups for a client in Newcastle – and believe me, it’s a long way North. We got on the 12.30 from Kings Cross, and from the moment we boarded the train it was like stepping back into the 1970’s. The interior of the train was beige, the trolley cart bounced from seat to seat as the nice lady struggled to wheel it up the carriage. But aside from the 70’s décor and the risk of losing the odd finger as the cart juddered by, it was a really easy journey to the beautiful city of Newcastle.

In talking to some of locals their pride in the city really shone through. We were told tales of great shopping opportunities with the flagship Fennicks store being a ‘miss it, miss out’ destination. We were treated like alien beings when we confessed to being from London…but once we had passed the visual examination to confirm we were not, in fact, from Mars, conversation resumed as normal.

Imagine our surprise then, when we saw hundreds of people in a queue in the cold and dark of a November evening. After a few minutes one woman made her way up and down the long line of workers….it was obviously pay-day, and she was the wages clerk, giving cash to each and every worker. This is one of the main cities of the North.

It was then that the culture gap really began to sink in…and it’s felt both ways. One of the key outcomes from the focus group – England doesn’t end at Leeds! There’s much more of England to engage with. This was reinforced the next morning when listening to the Today Programme – where the party funding row seemed remote to the point of irrelevance. It neither touches nor interests many of the people we spoke to. The challenge for us, as politicos and communicators, is to make the issues and opportunities at Westminster relevant to the whole nation, not merely the London chattering classes.

The Journal of Unlikely Science

2007-12-03T09:50:00.000Z

For some bitesize chunks of science, you should check out Null Hypothesis, the Journal of Unlikely Science. But I am reserving judgement as to how 'scientific' it actually is. I don't think that all science needs to be made funny or faintly ridiculous to be engaging.

For example, one section is about little known and unusual science journals - the most recently featured is the Electronic Journal of Combinatorics. It describes the logo and the impressiveness of the formulae, but unfortunately give no clue as to what combinatorics actually are.

The site is also full of random useful facts - did you know that an average olive tree can live up to 1500 years, and make over 10,000 olives. So you can see the site is useful for trivia at dinner parties, but beware if anyone asks you about more of the detail. However, as a light hearted look at the quirky side of science, it is definitely worth a look.

The news section is probably the more useful part of the site. A recent story describes a solution to global carbon emissions which involves transforming carbon dioxide into bicarbonate of soda. An American firm claims it can capture 90 percent of the CO2 emitted from a coal-burning power station and turn it into the harmless baking ingredient. Bicarbonate can also be used for cleaning products, and if there is too much, it can simply be buried in mines. But I would like to hear more about this claim, before I decide that cake is the way of the future.

The Green List

2007-11-26T15:44:00.000Z

A green supplement in the Guardian recently, The Green List, gave an interesting round up of global environmental developments this year. I thought it would be good to talk about this now, as we near the end of the year, to see how much more needs to be done in 2008.

Here are some of the highlights. In March, the UK Government published its draft climate change bill. In June, the G8 summit was hosted by Germany. The US finally agreed to "seriously consider" a 50 % cut in carbon emissions by 2050, but with the caveat that their involvement relies on India and China also joining the party. In July, the House of Commons, environmental audit report for 2006-07 said that the UK 2050 target is incoherent, as a cut in UK carbon emissions by 60% by 2050 is unlikely to achieve the Governments other goal, of limiting global warming to a rise of 2C. In August, the Government awarded more than £1million to projects approved by the carbon trust. At the Labour Party Conference in September, Brown said that Britain will become the first country in the world to write binding limits on carbon emissions into law. In October, Al Gore and the IPCC shared a Nobel Peace Prize. And in December, the UN Climate Change Conference will be hosted by the Government of Indonesia in the island of Bali.

What is clear in all of the legislation and discussions this year, is that although progress is being made, it needs to be done more quickly and more radically - because unfortunately the risks poised by global climate change itself, will not wait for all the bureaucracy to be straightened out.

Brown's First Environment Speech

2007-11-19T16:25:00.000Z

Today Brown gave his first major environmental speech since he became Prime Minister See here for more info

A major announcement was that the independent climate change committee (established in the Climate Change Bill published earlier this month) will be asked to consider new evidence suggesting that developed countries need to aim for an 80% cut in carbon emissions by 2050. The ambitious targets seem to be pushing the nation to the forefront of global efforts to tackle climate change. A very welcome part of the speech was that Brown would encourage allies such as the US to make similar pledges (although we wait with bated breath to see what actually happens). He said any successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol must pledge to hold the rise in global average temperatures to no more than 2 C.

Brown said tackling the problem would require a "fourth technological revolution" on the scale of the development of the steam engine, the combustion engine or the microprocessor. He said: "The climate change crisis is the product of many generations, but overcoming it must be the great project of this generation." He said up to one million British people could be employed in the environmental industries in the next two decades.

But the important question is what would the Government actually do to achieve this revolution? Here are a few points that he spoke about:

Brown said the government hoped to build in Britain one of the world's first carbon capture facilities — a process that involves collecting carbon dioxide and pumping it in liquid form into porous rock layers underground, where it cannot contribute to warming the atmosphere.

On a smaller scale, Brown was convinced that the UK could eliminate free carrier bags - or "single-use disposable bags".

Decade of Sport

2007-11-16T10:55:00.000Z

It was interesting to hear James Purnell's ambitious vision for sport outlined in his speech to a Progress seminar this week. He was clear that the argument about the power of sport to deliver against Health, Education and Home Office objectives is well recognised.

I hope so - because from what we're hearing all is still to play for in the allocation of priorities for the current CSR round. There are testimonies after testimonies of how sport, and good role models - coaches, teachers, personal trainers etc have transformed the lives, and life chances of millions of people.

So, if the Secretary of State is right, perhaps the power of the Department of Health's budget could, in part, be re-focused towards sports participation, and the ensuing requirement for qualified coaches, and the DCSF's towards meeting the 5 hour promise for our kids. Who knows, maybe even the Home Office could prioritise team sports - especially in the high-risk, hard to reach population - because surely - every kid needs a chance and a role model.

It's not all about money - but if we are to get the participation agenda right - as we promised in the 2012 bid - getting the nation active will require significant central funding. It will probably need to be allocated locally, but it will require money from central Government. The Secretary of State is right - this could be the decade of sport - where the UK does achieve his vision of world class excellence in participation and performance. But this will not happen by accident - it will require deliberate investment and strategic oversight. And that's the real challenge for the SofS - will he provide the leadership, focus and energy that sport and the nation needs?

Minister for Fun

2007-11-06T16:18:00.000Z

Rt Hon James Purnell MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, gave a Keynote address at the Progress Annual Conference this Saturday. He was introduced as the Minister for Fun, which I suppose makes sense, as he described his most recent duties had including attending the World Cup and visiting the theatre! Seriously though, Culture, Media and Sport is a really important for the health and well being of the nation, and so it was interesting to hear what he had to say.

He said that the way to win the next election would be by making progress, with the power tranferred, wherever possible, to the people. He said we need to personalise the public services, and that cannot be done centrally.

James was asked a number of questions following his speech. One of the questions was based on the media accusation that Brown is more socially conservative (small c!) than Blair with regards to issues such as booze, gambling and the internet. James took the middle ground in his response, saying that there is always a balance to be struck between freedom and responsibilty. Another question was from a representative from Labourhome.org. He asked how James proposes to really let people become engaged with politics through new media. James said that new media is changing the way politics works. James made a really pertinent point about how new media needs to be used for effective communications and not just to show (or pretend) that politicans are leading edge.

Capturing that elusive successful green agenda

2007-11-06T10:33:00.000Z

Every political party at the moment seems to be looking at environment as a way to consolidate their position for the next general election, and Labour is no exception. I attended an environment seminar at the Progress Annual Conference, and some very controversial issues were discussed.

The first point to note is that, of the 30 or so people at the seminar, almost all of them were men (as were the 3 panellists, and chair), interesting as I wouldn't have considered this as a particularly male dominated area. But I suppose that calls for a whole other blog entry!

The first panellist to speak was Paul Flatters, Managing Director of Opinion Leader, a polling organisation. He has been researching the public mood on green issues for over 20 years. Surprisingly, he said there is a strong argument that green issues will not have a big impact on the next election (as opposed to 56% of those polled who think that crime will shape their voting behaviour). He said that an impact on voting is more likely in a negative way - a lot of anti climate change proposals are vote losers. He thinks that the main way environment will be important is in its repositioning of the Conservatives, as it can be used as a way to make voting Conservative more credible again, and seen as more outward looking. It is interesting then, that even with the Conservative's big push on envionmental issues, Labour and Conservatives are pretty equal in the polls on this issue - it is the Liberal Democrats who are considered to have the best environmental policies.

Martyn Williams, from Friend of the Earth, said that it is not just down to Cameron that Labour has lost the lead on environmental issues, he thinks Labour are just not performing well enough. He thinks it is important to focus on the fact that we can cut greenhouse gas emissions by spending government money, not just taxing, for example by providing people with grants to insulate their homes. Where Cameron has been successful with environmental issues, it is important to note that many Conservative councils are opposing wind farms, which obviously slightly diffuses the message.

Phil Woolas MP, Minister for (or against!) Climate Change, said that we have to create more of an understanding about the economics of climate change. He spoke of how the UK is leading the global debate in the area, and will be one of the few countries in the world that meets their Kyoto target.

A conclusion from the debate was that there needs to be some upside about environmental changes, it can't just be about stopping people doing things, after all it would be very difficult to win an election that way.

Ed Balls MP - Keynote Speech at Progress Annual Conference

2007-11-06T10:10:00.000Z

On Saturday, I attended the Progress Annual Conference. Progress 'seek to promote open debate and discussion of progressive ideas and policies.' The overall subject of the conference was 'Towards the General Election: How can Labour win?'

The first speech of the day was by Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families.

His speech covered the NHS, reiterating the idea of a clear remit not just to treat ill health, but to prevent it. He spoke of an NHS that is more personalised and more focussed on the needs of individuals.

Of education, he had both good news and bad news. There were the best ever results at KS2, GCSE, A-Level this year, but the UK is still one of the lowest developed countries for children staying on post 16. Part of his solutions was that for 14-19 year olds, we need to break out of vocational qualifications being seen as second to academic qualifications.

One of the questions he was asked was a concern about whether the break of up of the previous Department for Education and Skills, had led to a weakening of education policy. He responded that we now actually have 2 education secretaries - John Denham for Adult Skills and Universities, and Ed Balls for education up to 19.

Motivation

2007-11-01T13:54:00.001Z

Gordon's right, you can't educate those you can't motivate. Interesting then to see Gordon explicit in his support for the Independent Schools Sector. Not necessarily a natural area for Labour, it's good to see support from the Front Bench.

What then of the motivations of those who seek to dismantle the independent school sector?

Why would you want to eradicate world class education from the UK? Clearly, not everyone is independently educated - I wasn't - but I don't begrudge those (like my brother) who were.
Surely the key is to find to right school for every child - and that will differ from family to family. By ruling out options and choices on principle we risk sacrificing our children's education to an out-dated and in my view erroneous point of view.

What could be the motivation for that?

Talking Politics

2007-10-31T09:37:00.000Z

Buried as item 5 or 6 on yesterday’s news was the story about the collapse of talks on the future of party funding. Stemming from the cash for honours scandal and the ever increasing costs of electioneering, the talks were designed to increase transparency and accountability. Both great virtues, both lacking from the public perception of politics.

It is a real shame that the parties have (again) put short-term gain before the public interest, and the talks have collapsed. How refreshing would it have been to have had a good news political story where transparency and accountability triumphed over party political interest. All the parties are now spinning their way out of the problem, and the blame game has begun.

Whatever the truth about whose responsibility the break-down in communications was, the victim is democracy, and the costs - financial and democratic - will be borne by the electorate. Whether they know it, or indeed care, is a whole other issue.

Education, Education, Education

2007-10-31T09:22:00.000Z

Gordon Brown delivered a speech on education today, at Greenwich university. Brown said that 670 schools in England were failing to provide an acceptable level of education. One in five secondary schools will be closed or taken over unless examination results improve. This could involve transforming the schools into privately sponsored academies. Brown also urged parents to take a bigger role in their children's school lives.

It is interesting that this speech comes at a time when indpendent schools are also coming under the spotlight for their charity status.

Lib Dems Leadership Race

2007-10-25T15:42:00.000+01:00

So it is time to say goodbye to Sir Menzies Campbell as leader of the Liberal Democrats. Menzies said questions about his leadership were "getting in the way of further progress by the party". This has raised questions as to how much pressure, if any, he was put under to resign. Since he became leader Sir Menzies, 66, has repeatedly had to defend himself against accusations that he was too old to lead the party.

Simon Hughes said the party owed Sir Menzies "a huge debt of gratitude". Gordon Brown paid tribute to Sir Menzies as a "man of great stature and integrity who has served his party and country with distinction". David Cameron said he was a "fine public servant".

The important thing for the Lib Dems now is to look the future, and the new leader they will elect. Mr Hughes, who has twice stood for the leadership, will not stand again. 2 confirmed candidates are environment spokesman Chris Huhne and bookies' favourite, home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg. Mr Huhne, who was runner up to Sir Menzies in last year's leadership election, said he had decided to run after consulting friends and family. Huhne said that he would be campaigning for a "fairer, greener society where we put people in charge''.

Nick Clegg has promised to bring "ambition, verve and self-confidence" to the party. He said third place in the next general election would be "not good enough". He has called for a national anti-terror police force and annual government targets on carbon emissions.

Birmingham Yardley MP John Hemming is also considering a run as a potential "dark horse'' candidate.

Nominations for Lib Dem leader close on 31 October, with ballot papers being sent to the party's 68,000 members on 21 November. The result will be announced during the week starting on 17 December.

Sir Menzies Campbell resigned after only 19 months in the job. It is clear that the party need to think very carefully about who they appoint as their next leader, we will let you know what we think as the race continues!

Ofcom Discussions

2007-10-22T10:28:00.000+01:00

In the Ofcom Annual Lecture, delivered last week, Ofcom Chief Executive Ed Richards said: “In terms of the DDR [Digital Dividend Review], we have yet to reach a conclusion, although, to date, we have not been persuaded of the argument that the best way to maximise the social and economic benefit of the released spectrum is simply to gift some or all of the released spectrum to broadcasters.”

Richards stressed that Ofcom was continuing to work with broadcasters to ensure that the spectrum was used in the most efficient manner possible. He talked of the possibility of HD services on Freeview, using existing capacity, towards the end of 2009. (for more see here)

We will keep an eye out for more information on the DDR and let you know what we think!

Big Fat Politics Blog

2007-10-11T16:10:00.000+01:00

We have recently been reading Newsnight’s online offering, especially their Big Fat Politics Blog.

Some of the recent topics people have been discussing on this blog have included the Prime Minister and his rugby prowess, and comments on the election fever.

According to their ‘Guide to Posting Comments’, Talk about Newsnight is a blog which aims to bring the programme team closer to its audience by providing an insight into the production process and offering a platform for review, analysis and debate of the subjects Newsnight covers.

Olympics and Inclusion

2007-10-05T15:22:00.000+01:00

This year’s Labour Party Conference had many interesting fringe events and a couple I found particularly interesting.

I agree totally with Tessa Jowell who spoke at the fringe event on the 2012 Olympics. She said that she was tired of hearing people criticizing how it is being handled, instead, she felt that Britain should be proud and be praising this phenomenal event, the preparation for which we have never seen the like before. It is going to change the landscape of the East End forever, most likely for the better providing housing, jobs and facilities that will bring long-term benefits certainly to London, but hopefully to the whole of Britain. So come on let’s stop being ‘glass half- empty’ and let’s start ‘celebrating’ the fact that we’ve won the right to hold the next Olympics here and the phenomenal opportunities it will bring both immediately and for the long-term.

The future of digital inclusion

On another note, I attended another interesting fringe, hosted by EDS, on digital inclusion and the information gap. Working with MPs Sarah Hamilton-Fairley and Alun Michael, they have developed a product, StartHere, designed specifically for those who are not currently digitally included. How great it is to see technology being used to benefit people who are not IT literate but who have day-to-day life problems and needs that IT can help with. My understanding from the fringe is that it provides easy access to valuable resources in Britain that people otherwise wouldn’t know anything about. A simple solution that with one press of a button can provide information and access to the police, legal support, education, medical information, the list goes on. All of which will be accessed on a system supplied in the middle of our high streets, local libraries or cinemas.

Sue Grant

Conservatives Fight Back

2007-10-02T09:58:00.000+01:00

At the Conservative Party Conference, Cameron has been trying to persuade Britain that his party represented "the real change" (see here for more), and environment, as usual, is a key issue. An article in the Financial Times (1st October) discusses the environmental plans in the draft manifesto. The article states that manifesto policies have been accelerated due to the prospect of a snap Autumn election. A key theme that the tories would use to fight the election is making Britain safer from the threat of climate change. New green taxes would include a new aviation tax which would help to fund the removal of stamp duty for first time house buyers, and provide extra help through the tax system for couples. So it seems that these green taxes are not being used for environmental purposes, such as investing in green technology, but rather to allow tax benefits elsewhere.

Also, the more radical proposals from the Quality of Life Document, such as a tax on out-of-town supermarket shopping have been ditched.

This all leaves us wondering how much environmental change can we really expect?