Cam & Ozzy: Stan & Olly

As may be quite obvious, I am a bit of a Tory. I detest everything about the New Labour movement that there is to hate and I do so with a passion. Endless failure and scandal after scandal has marked the government since Blair first stepped into Downing Street and I will be glad to see back of them covered in tomatos or spoiled root veggies when they eventually go.

Their going however is now seeming to be potentially much further away than I was beginning to think and rejoice over. David and George, the fabulous bluo duo are actually doing worse in the polls at the moment than the architect of our financial woes, Gordon Brown and his Darling poodle. How can that be? How is it that everyone trusts Gordon? This is a man who has been in bed with the city as the recipient of good hard fiscal screwing on behalf of the British people since his rise to power with Blair. This is a man who has spent all the money he ever had and then got himself...well...actually us, into serious serious debt. How is it that David and his team can't capitalise properly on this situation and bury the New Labour Abomination once and for all?

I am beginning to think that there is nothing worth-while left in politics or in deed politicians any more if political capital can't be taken against a government who has managed its own and the country's finances and resources in such an appaling way. I can't help but think that perhaps David doesn't have what it takes and that perhaps he couldn't organise an anti-social alcohol fuelled rampage in Croydon, Romford or Wakefield city centre. I am beginning to think that there is a very strong chance that Labour might win a fourth term in office.....and that really really makes me mad!!! Bring on Boris the Giant Killer and lets have done it once and for all.

All I Hear is Radio Ken Ken

Rocky, Rambo, Indiana Jones, they all have something in common. They are all heroes who have made comebacks. They were all popular characters who made millions of dollars around the world. So what does this all have to do with Ken Livingstone? Well in reality nothing. Unlike the afore mentioned characters of the big screen, Ken was defeated by his villain. He was not that popular (he lost after all) and he has wasted millions of pounds across London for years. He is not even making a comeback really, he is just refusing to go.

LBC have given him a job presenting the afternoon phone in show whilst Jeni Barnett is away on holiday. I have to say that I am not surprised. LBC loved Ken and is gagging for Boris to fail. I suppose the LBC is the only propaganda machine left for the old mayor now that Boris is canning his London Paper. I wonder if Ken will be speaking to his listeners in the same way as he did to the London Assembly. I wouldn't think so for a minute but one thing I must insist on is that he at least gets the chance to interview Boris from time to time. I think that would lead to hilarity beyond the norm.

Shame on you LBC but with judgement reserved in lieu of a good old head to head please.

Knife Crime, Boris, Ferrari and Institutional Victims.

It is impossible to escape knife crime at the moment. It seems like young men are dropping like flies and there is no suggestion or indication yet that these crimes will cease to continue. New mayor Boris has taken steps with the police and with the backing of home secretary Jacqui Smith to introduce measures for tackling the problem. Funding has been approved for more metal detectors and teenagers will be stopped and searched on the streets, at train stations and bus stops. I think that all McDonalds restaurants should also be added to the list of targets.

The scheme seems to have widespread support from the communities in which it has been introduced. The communities are largely black communities because the victims are mainly black. There seems to be a positive resolution towards trying to solve the problem at least and that is a great thing. I was listening to LBC yesterday and this was a big part of the show for most of the day. Listening to this show was what made me angry.

The show which I think was presented by Nick Ferrari was awful. Firstly, the presenter in question is obviously itching for an opportunity (probably like the rest of the media) to give Boris a hard time about something, anything. Boris would have to be divine to escape his eventual and inevitable roasting at the hands of people like Ferrari. The presenter was baiting people to call in about the stop and search tactics the police will be using to try to combat the knife problem. He was looking for people who had had racist experiences with the police who he was also quick to remind us are institutionally racist (see Macpherson Report).

I became angry for a couple of reasons. Firstly, was the presenters negativity towards what seems to be a good idea in principle which also seemed to be supported by a number of people who I think are probably a tad (Airplane definition) more intelligent than himself. Secondly was the presenters insistence that pretty much every caller had not had a racist experience but simply a bad experience with the law. Now I know that Ian Blair had accused the media of being institutionally racist and I think that this was a shining example of what he probably meant. Here was a presenter asking inviting what would have been mostly black people with bad experiences to call him and then rubbishing their experiences and refusing to accept that they were anything to do with race. Nice one Ferrari, what a gaff! Hope Boris pulls you up on it.

The thing is though, it did start to make me think a little about the whole thing. After all, Ferrari, wrong as he was to do what he was doing in the way he was doing it, was I think to a certain extent right about things. The incidents did not sound racist. In fact they sounded like incidents that I know have happened to anyone regardless of race or colour. None of the callers could say anything that made me or the presenter think that there was any racism present although that doesn't necessarily mean that there wasn't. I did however start to think that whilst the police force is institutionally racist, there is also a possibility that some members of the black community are institutionally victimised.

Black people have been oppressed in one way or another for centuries, by the imperial Europeans to colonial Americans. They have been enslaved, impoverished, manipulated, segregated, ghettoised, marginalised and exploited as the world has developed. It could probably be argued that without the exploitation of the black man the world would not have developed at quite the rate it has. It seems nearly logical that having a history like this would influence the outlook of a certain number. If black people have been victims for centuries it follows that some will believe that they are still victims today especially if they are generally dissatisfied with life.

Racism for some people seems to become the reason for their frustration and failure to cope in situations which lead to mistreatment or disrespect or any unfavourable outcome. When bad things happen to some people and not just black people but Jews, Muslims etc, the issue of race is produced first as a shield and then as a sword to try to turn a disadvantage into an advantage and I think that there is something intrinsically wrong with that attitude because it induces alienation. People become frightened to say anything in case it can somehow be construed to be offensive and prefer instead to distance themselves and I think that this is part of the problem in the US and part of the developing problem in the UK.

The problem with knives is not new and I have seen programs on the TV for a good few years now about how school children and teenagers are scared because they know their classmates are carrying weapons for aggression or protection. We have also been watching the reemergence of gang culture on our streets for years. The problem is that the current government has refused to tackle the issues and reasons for the breakdown in society and have refused to do so because they are frightened of being shouted at by the small number of people who see themselves as victims. With regards to knife crime, I think part of the reason for the reluctance to act is that it would mean more police on the streets and therefore more money spent which I don't think they would be able to find. However the big reason is that they would have to reintroduce stop and search properly in the communities that are affected most heavily by this type of crime. This is a terrifying prospect for any government because it can only lead to accusations of racism, high profile mistakes in execution of the policies and maybe like the 80s clashes and riots in the streets. In short, this is a potential hornets nest but it is a nest that needs stirring if any progress is to be made. Headlines could be bad for any government making waves in this area, but the government needs to forget the headlines for five minutes and the opinion polls and actually get their hands dirty for a change. If they can do it they might actually leave a legacy other than war and maybe worth talking about.

Similarly, as a society we need to be able to stand up and talk freely and constructively about these problems and without fear of racist accusations otherwise nothing will change and the black man and those around him will be victims forever...and that's a bad thing.

Hubble Bubble, Beware the Witches of Leftwick

I just wanted to wish Boris congratulations on his victory for Mayor of London. I hope he can turn his energy and excitement into something really positive as far as London is concerned.

After years of near hatred, I have to say that I was also a little sad to see Ken Livingstone go (but not a lot). He actually seemed to take it quite well. I had visions of him attacking Gordon Brown, the labour party and the public in the same way as we have seen him attack the London assembly over the years, but he was magnanimous in defeat. I nearly got angry when I was listening to LBC and a listener suggested that he should now look to run for leadership of the labour party and then to become PM. "God, no!!!" I thought to myself before I remembered that half of LBC's listeners are as raving mad and delusional as the people they support, this poor lady being one of them.


I have also been amused over the last couple of days by the Labour hierarchy telling us that the results mean it is time for them to listen and that what we need is strong leadership through hard times or in other words, as a public we don't actually know what we want and the government has to do what they want to do anyway whilst doing it with a sympathetic look on their faces and ruffled brow.


I also think that I have spotted something very interesting as a result of the labour defeat this week. Brown had his big guns out. If you like his rottweilers of war. A trio no less who flew the red standard and charged into battle for the leader....and the interesting thing is that they were all women. I think the chaps in the cabinet were around and about but the main muscle on all of the political commentary shows I was watching on TV were the ladies. Harriet, Tessa and Jacqui were all unfazed and almost maniacal in their belief in what they were trying to say (previous paragraph) and stand for.

They actually did a very good job of taking much of the flack that was flying about and I have to say that if I were married to either of them, the last thing I would be worried about would be whether they would support me in times of trouble. These are the type of women that successful men are made of. They also showed a strength and determination I associate with another lady politician of not too long ago. Yes...the great ginger one, the Iron Lady herself, old Mrs T. Imagine three Margaret Thatchers. It is an absolutely terrifying prospect but the possibility has been brewing in the labour party for years and under our very noses.

Look (as Tony Blair would say), forget about the chaps for New Labour. I mean, seriously, who have they got? The Two Camp Millibands or Ed Balls (John Prescott II). These three women singularly could eat any of the aforementioned for breakfast whilst reciting tracts from the Odyssey in reverse, standing on their heads and gargling Champagne. If they were to unite like Gordon and Tony did, they could be great and when Gordon falls they could inherit the earth (of the UK at least). There is an outside chance that they will all shave their heads, start wearing flowery mini dresses and chanting hippy love songs round the halls of Westminster, however it is more likely that they will be fundamental and vital to the future success of their party. I don't necessarily think that they would plot Gordon's demise themselves because they seem to be too loyal for that, but when he goes, I think that rivals from within and outside new labour will all need to start watching what what these three women will do even if they are unwise enough to be ignoring them today.

Brian, Borris & Ken or Larry, Curly & Mo?

I was watching News Night the other night and for once I am happy and surprised to say that my usual anger at some of the news was turned into laughter when I was treated to the Three Stooges live with Paxman. Livingstone, Johnson and the Lib/Dem guy stood in a row and answered (or in fact didn't answer) Paxman's questions in probably the best example of political farce I have seen for years. At points I was almost expecting to see Boris take a swing a Ken who would duck, the Lib/Dem guy would then take Boris' slap on the face and in turn slap Ken as he rose and turned to face him. The big questions are...who was Larry, who was Curly, who was Mo? I'll let you decide.

The candidates all bumbled over each other for the entire duration and didn't really say a lot. The highlight was when Paxman told Boris he couldn't say anything else until he gave him figures on how much more or less it was going to cost him to scrap bendy buses and replace them with Route Masters. He clearly didn't know or remember them, but Paxman wouldn't let it go and came across like a father at the dinner table saying to his child, "Right, no desert until you tell me what the capital of Turkmenistan is!!!". Is this really what we are expecting of the Mayor of London...second rate politics, argued and presented badly (although amusingly) on issues that quite frankly seem quite banal in comparison to many of the issues facing Londoners today?

I think that we need to draw a line in the sand between comedy and politics and as long as the Mayoral contests fall on the side of comedy we should seriously think about abolishing the position like we did in the 80s to the GLC. I think that we should also be aware that what works well in the US, doesn't necessarily work well in the UK. I always thought that UK politics was a little more refined and subtle than it is in the US and that mud slinging and face off debates were a bit unsophisticated, but then perhaps since the New Labour media machine dropped in, this is what British politics has been reduced to.