Student Tuition Fees : The Investment Algorithym or the art of bolloxology?

The Tory candidate (who lost) for Harrow West, put a rather interesting post on her blog on Thursday. It is the nearest thing to a semi coherent defence of the Tory thinking on tuition fees that I've seen (apart from the fact that she doesn't actually defend the proposals). Now when I say Tory thinking, this is distinct from coalition thinking, which is a completely different beast. This post presumably gives you an idea of what would have happened if David Cameron had achieved a 60 seat majority, without the Lib Dems. I reproduce the blog in it's entirety here
The original is here - http://racheljoyce.blogspot.com/2010/12/tuition-fees-investment-algorithym.html

Tuition Fees - The Investment Algorithym

In my view it is quite simple - tuition fees should be paid by the party that will benefit.

The country will benefit from more engineers, more bio-scientists, more high quality teachers, more computer scientists. We have a shortage in these areas, and they are areas that would benefit our economy - high tech economies are the way forward for densely populated first world countries like ourselves. We don't however need 50% of people to go to university - and we do need more people going to technical colleges after or even instead of GCSE level - as they do in Germany.

The individual would benefit from taking and passing a degree that will make them more employable, and earn them a higher salary than if they hadn't taken the degree.

It's called calculating the value of things, to determine if the time, money and effort is actually worth it.

So responsibility for funding should be:
a. the government should pay for degrees when it is in a subject that will confer a net benefit to the country - as long as the individual then stays in the country for a certain amount of time to work in their chosen area.
b. the individual should pay for all other degrees. It is down to them to calculate if it will end up being a net benefit for them to take this degree or not. Mickey Mouse degrees wouldn't be so popular then, would they? I do however agree with the concept of a loan so they don't have to pay up front if they don't want to.

Also, many degrees are not really degrees. One lecture a week with a few hours of home study for three years is not in my mind a degree. It is a "course", something that could be called a Higher Diploma, or a Certificate or some sort. It is also something that can be done whilst holding down a job, or alternatively compacted into a 6 month or 9 month course. Full stop.

When money is short, we have to understand the value of things - and the party that benefits should pay. The old expression "He knows the cost of everything but the value of none" would be true of Labour (having encouraged all of these Mickey Mouse degrees that will not benefit the individual, society or the economy) - except they didn't even seem to understand the cost of things either!!

As per usual with High Tory thinking, they don't really understand GB PLC 2010. She feels that the only areas which would benefit the country are "bio scientists, high quality teachers and computer scientists". All worthy and useful professions, but singling these out shows how out of touch she is. Let me give you an example. Does she list "3D animators?" - She'd no doubt say what possible benefit could they deliver? Well look at Ardman animations. The creators of Wallace and Gromit. Their films have won all sorts of awards, been shown around the world and brought tens of millions of pounds worth of investment into the country. Tim Burton filmed the film "The Corpse Bride" at Three Mills studios in the East End, bringing jobs and money. Why? because we have great 3D animators who learned their skills on arts degree courses. I know, my nephew is one of them. He got his degree in 3D animation from Westminster University (one of those sometimes described as a crap university or an ex poly). He is one of the top animators in the world and he wouldn't have learned that on a plumbing course.

One of my nieces is one of the countries top VT editors. If you've ever watched any live sport, you will have seen her work (football, wimbledon,etc). Its a stressful job. She did a language degree at Leeds. How did this prepare her for her job? Well she got involved in the University music scene, taking an interest in sound engineering. When she left, she worked at my studios for a while, then moved into VT editing. Her time at University provided her with the opportunities to develop and grow as a person. Her talents and those of her colleagues mean that Great Britain PLC has a huge wealth of successful technicians. She wouldn't have had the opportunity if she'd done a hairdressing course.

And what about the people I know who work in IT? A field Rachel highlights as "useful". The majority of people I know, didn't study Computer Science. Many actually did TOPS courses (short, intensive Government sponsored) in the 1980's. You'd get paid £40 a week to do a full time short course. These people are the backbone of the UK IT industry. I'd estimate that at least 50% of the people who did TOPS courses had degrees in unrelated subjects. Whilst the degree didn't help them to work in IT, it enhances the CV. Are they better programmers? Probably not, but often they can sell their talents. And as for the people my age who studied Computer Science? Well they learned COBOL,FORTRAN and mainframe computing. Skills now deemed legacy. They learned about punch cards and paper tape - long since. IT is moving so fast that often by the time people finish degrees the syllabus is out of date. To thrive in the modern world of IT, you need to think creatively. Apple are currently the most succesful It company in the world. Is this down to their nerdy techies? Nope, it's down to the brilliant product designers that make their products look hip & chic and the great marketing skills. Does Rachel mention designers and marketing as vital skills? Nope, but she should because these are areas where the UK leads the world.

Recently there was much hilarity in the Daily Mail about a "degree in Lady GaGa". This was used as an example of a crap degree. I've been involved in the music industry for 31 and if I wanted to do a case study in marketing of  a product, I can't think of  a better example IN ANY SPHERE OF INDUSTRY. The music industry has brought billions of pounds into the UK. Our artists still lead the world. Our formats for shows are copied across the globe, bringing in huge royalties. LIVE AID saved hundreds of thousands of people. How can such things not be deemed "good for the country". Despite the benefits of this huge industry, the Daily Mail derides people who want to have a professional understanding of it. I have many friends in succesful bands. Planning a tour or an album launch is a huge logistical operation. I recently saw the Steve Miller Band at the Albert Hall. Their stage cost $2 million. It was high tech and had a huge team of people to support it. I suppose a degree in stage design is "crap" as well to our Tory thinkers.

In short, I totally refute Rachel Joyce's logic. The purpose of University is to train people to think. It is to train them to deal with problems. It is to put them into a creative social environment. Whether they have a great time and get pissed every night or burn the midnight oil studying, is neither here nor their to me. The main benefit to the country is the fact that they are growing as people. Rachel criticises Labour for understanding "the cost of nothing". As she clearly doesn't understand the value of anything, maybe she should get her own house in order first. It is an undisputed fact that during their career, Graduates earn more and pay more taxes than non gradtuates. That should be the begining and end of the argument. I really wish people would engage their brains before indulging in the art of bolloxology.

Desperate Tory Update : How sad is this !

Former Tory A-List Candidate Rachel Joyce (Harrow West - Lab Hold) is pimping her blog.

http://racheljoyce.blogspot.com/2010/07/vote-for-my-blog-deadline-is-midnight.html

James Cleverly - Tory GLA member is also pimping his blog


http://jamescleverly.blogspot.com/2010/07/vote-for-me.html

My message to you. Don't bother voting for me, just sign the petition in the sidebar against troughing. For some of us it's not about having anyone give us an award. It's just about doing the right thing. Sometimes I look at the stats and see how many people visit the blog and it astounds me. Sadly I don't think it's because I'm a great literary talent or even a great blogger. I just think it's because we've an extrordinarily bad local Council in Barnet and the press coverage of this generally leaves something to be desired. When I started blogging on the Hendon Times, I asked the editor what he thought would be considered a "successful blog". He said 30-50 hits per week. On a good day this blog gets that every half hour. That's enough for me.

Say "Harrow" to a blog war !!!!!!!!

I thought we'd take a little holiday from the knockabout politics of Barnet and take a nice little holiday on the 114 bus to Harrow.

So you thought the blogs of Barnet were a rough old mob? We are a bunch of pussies compared to the bunfight which is going on in the London Borough of Harrow. In the Blue corner we have Conservative PPC for Harrow West Dr Rachel Joyce. Rachel is a former Lib Dem supporter, and she's been writing a blog for some time. She's actually one of my favourite Tories (if I have such a thing), as she's a GP so she clearly does a bit of good for the community. She also dislikes the BNP almost as much as I do, and says so regularly on her blog, which to me means she's OK.

In the Red Corner, we have PCS Will, who also writes a blog. Will is a Labour Party member and regular commenter on Rachels blog. He doesn't agree with Rachel on very much and has posted hundreds of comments on Rachels blog, explaining to her the error of her ways. Will is involved as a Trades unionist. Strangely enough, I vaguely know him as he used to work in a music shop at Apex Corner in Mill Hill and we share a good few mutual friends. Will is a good guy who tries to do his bit. He rather cheekily plagerised Don't Call Me Dave's "Not The Barnet Times" blogname, calling his blog "Not The Harrow Times".

It all started when Rachel posted this blog - http://racheljoyce.blogspot.com/2010/01/labour-faked-airbrushing.html - explaining how Labour had airbrushed a picture of David Cameron, criticising the Tories for Airbrushing David Cameron (I hope you got that).  Next up there was a blog on PCS Will's blog saying Rachel had banned him - http://nottheharrowtimes.blogspot.com/2010/01/so-much-for-freedom-of-speech.html - Rachel took exception to PCS Will calling a local Tory bigwig a "Bully Boy". I had a look through PCS Wills blog and there was a rather telling blog that triggered the tussle - http://nottheharrowtimes.blogspot.com/2010/01/ashton-resigns-council-in-crisis.html -what is most intersting here is the quality of the comments (presumably left by irate Harrow Tories) - Here is a good example of one:-

Anonymous said..

PCS Limp Willy - why did labour adopt the extra-airbrushed pic of David? Tell us how proud you are of the last labour mal-administration in Harrow (remember the 21% tax hike and the £9 million black hole?)

16 January 2010 17:38 

So just to summarise. It started with a blog about Labour being "The Nasty Party". Then a Labour supporter was rather nasty about a local Tory. A few local Tories the were rather nasty about a Labour supporter, then the Tory blogger banned the Labour blogger for being nasty, then the Labour Blogger says he will allow any comments on his blog, but the Tory blogger responds by saying he's banned her comments. Then rather bizarrely  the Labour blogger posts a blog saying that Boris Johnson is an example of a Sensible Tory  - http://nottheharrowtimes.blogspot.com/2010/01/sensible-tory-shock-horror.html - Then the Tory Blogger posts a blog saying the Labour blogger will be allowed back so long as he's nice about Tories and doesn't make stuff up  - http://racheljoyce.blogspot.com/2010/01/lies-on-blog.html

Got that? I've a little advice to my fellow bloggers in Harrow, both red and blue. Both of you seem to me to be decent types. Both of you are trying to get your message across as best you can. Just for a second remember that these blogs are read by the wider world. What on Earth would a casual voter think if they stumbled across this particular spat? You can put what you like on your blogs, it all adds to lifes rich tapestry, but it all looks rather silly to me. What has the world come to if The Barnet Eye is having to tell other bloggers to be sensible !!!!!

There's Nothing British About the BNP

Hat Tip to Dr Rachel Joyce, The Tory PPC for Harrow West for the link to this.



This video says many of the things that I feel about the BNP. These guys have made a whole series of videos like this. All high quality and all well worth watching.

A local Tory talking sense

I hate being ripped off. One of the biggest rip offs, which seems to be perfectly legal, is the dodgy practice of Banks/building societies who set up accounts with sky high rates to attract deposits, only to then close the accounts and cut the rate to nothing. The first building society account I ever had was an Abbey National 90 day account. They pulled this stunt on me. When I realised and complained, they said "switch it to a Five Star account, that's got a great rate of interest". I did this. A while later they "closed" this account and pulled the same stunt. I went in again and they said "we've got this great account....." I said "No thanks, once bitten, twice shy". They lost my business for ever.

Local Tory PPC for Harrow West, Dr Rachel Joyce talks in her blog about how the Post Office pulled this stunt on her mother, in her blog. I completely agree with her views. The elderly, who unlike more savvy "rate tart's" like me, are the group most likely to suffer from this scam. They are also the group who rely most on their savings.

This whole scam could be stopped in an instant. The government should compel all institutions, who close accounts or change the rates on closed accounts to send a flyer to all account holders with the following text "We are ripping you off by paying you a completely uncompetetive rate of interest, if you switch to these accounts (a list of similar products provided by other banks), you will be much better off" I'd have a prepaid return slip, which would simply instruct the bank to move the account to a competitor. That would end the scam. Thats the point of regulation - to stop sharp practice.

We expect the institutions who look after our money to be honest, decent and trustworthy. I agree with Dr Joyce that this practice is anything but. Any organisation which deliberately takes advantage of it's elderly and less savvy customers should face a rather harsh regime of regulation. I've heard a few bankers over the years seeking to justify this practice. What do I think of these arguments - see the picture at the top of this blog.

A chilling threat from the BNP

One of my favourite hobbies at the moment is being rather horrible to the Tory PPC for Harrow, Dr Rachel Joyce. Rachel writes a blog and being quite an honest and worthy type, she often says things which a compulsive wind up merchant of the left such as myself rather enjoys having a genial poke at. Now I've never met Rachel, although I suspect that if I did I'd probably quite like her as a person, even if I disagree with her politics. I suspect that when she reads my comments, she doesn't think "Oh marvellous, Rog T is winding me up again". What's all this got to do with the BNP you may ask? Well both myself and Rachel are in the political arena, in our own way. She's contesting a marginal seat and it is not beyond the realms of possibility that people may conclude from what I've said that she could lose a few votes. This could be the difference between her being a politician for the next few years or carrying on her old career. How does she deal with it? She responds to my comments in a polite manner. Do I lie awake at night worrying that the Tory party will come round and duff me up? Of course not. The Tory party, for all it's faults are a genuine democratic party. They win arguements by logic and reason.

Which brings us nicely to the BNP. I was looking at the blog run by the deputy Leader Simon Darby. Every so often Mr Darby's friendly mask slips and we get an insight into what the BNP are really like. Mr Darby posted this comment there yesterday about his opponents

Well if these people do want to step into the political arena they shouldn't complain too much if just occasionally they get a taste of their own medicine. They will learn, as others have in the past, that the BNP bites back.

I've been rather horrible over the years to such people as Andrew Dismore, Matthew Offord, Mike Freer, Brian Coleman and Peter Mandleson. The biggest threat any of them have ever issued is Brian Coleman at his Mayoral inauguration. He said he was going to "Take on the bloggers". Did I quake in my boots?

During the Mayoral elections last year, I made some disparaging comments on the Times website about the BNP. The Times was immediately innundated with comments about me and my business, giving the address and telephone number of my company. Although I wasn't personally worried about this little bit of "biting back", I was concerned that my staff may be threatened. In the event, quite the oposite happened. Two people bought guitars as a result and about 10 people I didn't know rang me up to warn me about what was going on. As a result of my conversations with the Times newspaper, they then gave me a blog.

There are two schools of thought about the BNP. Some people think we should ignore them and hope they go away. Some people think we should lift up the stone and shine a light on them, so people know what they are like and how they operate. I believe the latter. That's why I posted the Link to Mr Darby's rantings.

Ahoy Matey's - Pirates to the Starboard, Captain Useless to the rescue !

One of my favourite tasks at the Barnet Eye is keeping an eye on what the competition is up to. Until quite recently, I was under the impression that to become a Tory Councillor, you had to have a lobotomy which made writing interesting blogs impossible. I suspected that Mike Freer and Richard Cornelius had a little room at the back of North London Business Park where the surgery was performed (I must admit that in the days of the sadly missed BARNETSTHIRDEYE blog, written by one of our young whippersnapper Tories, I thought they'd missed with the black and decker and sent the poor young man into overdrive).

Anyway, since he was liberated from the shackles of Deputy Leadership, Councillor Matthew Offord has actually been writing a rather good blog on sailing. The latest entry about pirates is actually well worth the effort. I'd not given any thought to the issues and challenges of actually paying these Somalian pirates a ransome till I read Matthews blog. Anyway, if you have a spare 5 minutes, check it out. If he keeps this up, I'll have to give him a new nickname as Captain Useless seems to be a tad tired (any suggestions - leave a comment).

Also blogging in the Times is a new face - Kim Chechetto - Kim seems to have a keen interest in Childrens issues. I'm glad that the Times have reprised the "community bloggers". I find Kim's postings to be quite interesting. I've no idea at allwho she is or what her background is because unlike my old blog, they haven't bothered to put up a byline, but hopefully they'll rectify that.

An interesting development at Not The Barnet Times. It seems that Don't call me Dave has an apprentice. A couple of blogs have been posted there by Hijacker.

One other interesting blog that has sprung up is Colemansgottago. This is a fan website dedicated to the life and times of the effusive Mayor of Barnet, Brian Coleman. Unlike the Barneteye, which is always fair and objective, this hagiographic site is dedicated solely to telling us all about Mr Coleman, how hard working he is, what books he reads and what a good job he's doing. Anyway, it's good to see some balance.

Probably the most bizarre local blog is Tory Harrow PPC Rachel Joyce. She complains that someone in Stanmore has written to the press compaining that she's running a campaign against the sitting MP. Note to bloke in Stanmore. It's her job to run a campaign against the Labour MP. Note to Rachel. If you get upset about this, you are probably in the wrong job.

Harrow Tory Candidate has crabs !!!!

For once I can say that maybe Brian Coleman is right. Do you remember when he said "Twitter is for Twits"?

Well I just checked the website for Harrow West Tory PPC Dr Rachel Joyce and she proudly announces the following :-

caught a few crabs in padstow bay. brilliant!

Well, it made me snigger. Now come on Rachel, you're a doctor, surely you must have thought about how us nasty lefties would twist it, you of all people should have spotted this coming? Thanks for the laugh though.

I'm off to bed now. After a great Morrissey gig, that rounded off the evening perfectly.

Mill Hill - The best place in the world to live (on a day like today)

This is the blog I nearly didn't write. I sort of thought about it, then decided that it didn't need saying. Then I read this entry on Rachel Joyce's blog. She's the Tory candidate for West Harrow. I realised that sometimes you HAVE TO say things. Rachel read THIS ARTICLE on the Daily Mail website and for someone who is quite sensible, got her knickers in a real twist.

Now I firmly believe that the Mail writes articles for people who like to draw the curtains, have their tea and biscuits and tut about what a terrible place this is. If they actually got out a bit more, they would realise that, sure there are faults, but we live in a fantastic country and we've never had a better standard of living. This isn't a party political broadcast, this would probably be true, whether Tory, Lib-Dem's or Labour had run the show. There is a recession, some people are struggling, but unlike the 1930's people are not on the breadline. Children do not die because they can't afford medical care. There is a great "5 minute interview" with Tony Benn - he says that the national health service is the biggest positive change that this country ever introduced. I agree.

So what inspired me so much? Well, firstly I had a lie in till 9.30. That is always pleasant. Our local church had arranged an outdoor mass, followed by a picnic, fancy dress parade and football tournament at a local Primary school - St Vincents.

This was really well attended. There were contributions from the Nigerian and Phillipino communities, who have a strong local presence. Whilst researching my blog, I read many nasty things concerning the Nigerian community, often on far right websites. When was the last time you read what a great bunch of people they are? Well as I watched the sea of colourful clothes bopping around as they sang various hymns, I thought to myself "You know what, this is great". One of the most promenant Nigerian members of our parish was the lady who's son died in the 7/7 bombing and who made such a moving and emotional statement on the news. Mrs Marie Fatayi-Williams is an inspiration to everyone with a heart and soul. Read This Guardian report with her words. As we relaxed in the sun, viewing the panoramic vista of London as a backdrop, I thought to myself, "Where else in the world does this happen?" there was no stress, tension or suspicion. Just people who want to be part of a community getting together.

After we had our picnic, we had the football tournament. First up it was the boys. It was played in a great atmosphere. This was followed by the dads, but as there were quite a few boys who wanted to play as well, we stretched the rules to over 12. It was a real fun game, final scoreline 3-3 with yours truly scoring with a fine shot. I spent much of the game marking and extremely skillfull mum! When football is played for fun, as it was, it is the greatest game in the world. My son's best friend won the raffle and we brought home a crate of wine for his folks to collect along with their boy.

In what seems to be an ever more regular occurance a few people approached me to tell me how much they loved their blog. One regular reader told me that a car driven by someone with a very strong resemblence to a certain well known politician, usually spotted in taxi's had nearly run him over on a pelican crossing. Apparently the naughty chap was talking on his mobile at the time. I assured him that as he used to be responsible for Community Safety it simply must have been a case of mistaken identity. We know that he's very into ensuring the safety of pedestrians.

Anyway, I digress. Having finished the game, I realised that I didn't have my wallet. I'd left it unattended on a rug whilst I'd played football for an hour. I scampered back. There it was. We had been sitting next to the main steps, so probably 200 people had walked past it. I've never lost faith in my fellow man and this reaffirmed my trust in the ordinary citizens of Mill Hill.

At this point we came home and settled down to watch the Mens final at Wimbledon. This is surely the greatest of the Tennis tournaments. It was a truly epic battle which Federer battle through to win. Say what you like, but there are some things we still do best and the mens final is one of them. I sat back to enjoy my cup of tea, thought shall I write a blog about what a great day I've had and how I love my home town? I thought "No, what's the point". Then I noticed the Rachel Joyce/Daily Mail story as I had a quick browse.

This litany of gloom and doom enraged me. Why do these people never, ever have a good word to say. Why do they always bang on about what a terrible place we live in? I've been all around the world - USA, USSR, China, all over Europe, Africa, Asia & Australia. I've loved them all, but nowhere beats a hot sunny day in Mill Hill playing football against the United Nations of the Sacred Heart parish.

You may think I bang on about Mike Freer, Brian Coleman, Barnet Council et all because I'm a left wing looney. I do it because I love this town and I care passionately about it. It's the best place in the world, with the green belt and the great transport links. I want it to stay like that.

The horrible truth about Tories !!!!!!

They say that the most awful thing about Absynth is that if you drink enough of it you see the world as it really is and that is a horrible thing. Well I haven't been drinking Absynthe, but I've had a glass too many of red wine and an awful truth has dawned on me. Let me explain. I've left many messages on the Leader of Barnet Council, Mike Freer's blog - Leader Listens. He virtually never publishes them. He hides them so nobody can see them. He hopes that by doing this, everyone will think that he's popular. It isn't only my message either. Other people tell the same tale. As he's the highest profile Tory in Barnet, I've assumed that this is how all Tory politicians behave and there is a "central blogging control" which keeps all Tory bloggers on side.

Only one other local Tory councillor locally had a blog, Richard Weider, who recently emigrated. Now I left messages on Richards blog and up they popped. I thought "That Richard Weider is OK. He's brave enough to publish nasty comments". Then I left some comments on Roger Evans blog - Tory GLA leader. Roger put them up & I thought "He's OK, he puts comments up". Then I put some on his GLA colleague, James Cleverly's blog. James put them up "He must be OK as well". Then I left one on Tory West Harrow PPC Rachel Joyce's blog. She put it up and I thought "Rachel is OK". Today I posted a message mercilessly ribbing Bedford Tory MP, Nadine Dorries. Nadine put the comment up. I thought "Good old Nadine, she must be OK as well". Then I thought "Hang on I've also left messages on Iain Dale's blog, Don't call me Dave's blog, Guido's blog......." They are all Tories. They all posted the message. Then I thought "who doesn't post messages who is a Tory? It's back to that list of one - Mike Freer.

I've been under the impression that all Tories are a bunch of cowardly yellowbellies who don't post critical messages, when the evidence is actually quite the opposite. It just happens that the one Tory I first left comments on is completely unrepresentative. You see the horrible truth about Tories is that they are all rather keen on free speech and a bit of banter.

Well all except Mike Freer !

Tory disdain for their core vote

No wonder David Cameron is looking rather pensive, I've seen a few rather strange quotes from local Conservative candidates this week. Here's a round up of some of the best howlers from our local candidates.

I posted a comment on the blog of Dr Rachel Joyce, Tory PPC for West Harrow. In her response she said the following :-

2. Remember the quote "Too bad the only people who know how to run the country properly are hairdressers and cab drivers". Don't you think it is a bit arrogant to say such things? If you have all the answers to the world's problems, Rog T, why don't you stand for parliament and then for PM?

Click here for the full exchange. Now I posted a response and waited a couple of days for her to reply before raising it on my blog, but she clearly hasn't got much of an answer. I'd raised the point that in my opinion, the Tories had neglected small businessmen. This is traditionally a sector where the Tories have a strong core of support. I feel they've taken this sector for granted and have no helpful policies. It struck me as bizarre that rather than take on board or rebut my comment, she attacks hairdressers and taxi drivers, implying that they are opinionated and ignorant. Both trades are stuffed full of hard working, self employed people. I found her comments to be rather arrogant (again rather ironically what she was accusing me of) and very insulting. I cannot fathom why she'd insult hard working people just to try and win an argument with me. Given that the London taxi drivers won the election for Boris (at least thats what they tell me), it is nice to see that the candidate for West Harrow appreciates their efforts. As to hairdressers, all I can say is that in my mum's last couple of years, the only thing she really enjoyed was a trip to the hairdresser. Sue who did her hair (and most of the other old dears in Mill Hill) is one of the nicest, sweetest people I know. She doesn't deserve to be insulted in this way.

Next on to the PPC for Finchley, Barnet Council Leader Mike Freer. On the Hendon Conservatives website, he has a dig at owners of second homes. Like Dr Rachel Joyce, Freer is trying to win an argument by insulting the Tory core vote in the crossfire.

Cllr Mike Freer said: “What Andrew Dismore fails to mention is his own government is pursuing the independent living agenda. Instead of bandwagon chasing he should act like a MP. Perhaps when he is next visiting his second home in Hendon he could pop in and find out the facts.”

Click here for full text. So Mike Freer clearly has a problem with people who own second homes? The comment makes no sense at all. Surely Freer realises that wardens help people to live indepedently?

In the past, Mike Freer has attacked people who have inherited money from their parents, calling them "armchair critics cosseted by family money". Another rather strange comment for someone standing for the Conservatives. He has also referred to bloggers who criticise him as "One handed bloggers", with a rather childish reference to what we do with our other hand when we blog. I thought it was only totalitarian regimes which discouraged debate (and I don't mean of the mass type).

Finally on to Hendon PPC and Tory Deputy Leader of Barnet, Matthew Offord. Now I was under the impression that Tories liked to pride themselves on their management skills for large projects. Offord says about the Aerodrome Road Bridge project :-

Despite the current Labour MP doubting the possibility of this project, I am pleased that thank to my decision, this important project has been completed ahead of schedule, through the Council and private sector working closely together.

The new Aerodrome Road access is also visible proof that I am committed to getting on with the job of improving transport around Hendon and Colindale to the benefit of both residents and business.

Click here for full text. Couldn't agree more Matthew, but for one thing. The project costs have escalated out of control and already one sacrificial lamb at the Council has walked the plank. He was so proud of the project when it was going well that he put two press releases out. Here's the other. When asked recently at a council meeting about why it had gone wrong, he upset another Tory core voter - Councillor Andrew Harper who he now blames for the fiasco.

So to summarise, what can we deduce about the local Tory candidates?

One has disdain for small businesspeople such as cabbies & hairdressers

One dislikes children of wealthy parents, people who own more than one property and anyone who criticises him.

One knifes his colleagues in the back as soon as the going gets tough.

I must say that I'm glad I'm not a Tory, because if I was I'd really have a problem voting of any of this mob with comments like these.

Some practical advice for Mike Freer PPC for Finchley

Now as those of you who follow my blog might know, Mike Freer has hijacked the Finchley Conservatives website and turned it into his own personal site. Unlike other association sites such as Chipping Barnet, the history of the constituency is hardly mentioned. This is rather surprising as the most successful Conservative of modern times, Lady Margaret Thatcher, was the MP for many years. She warrants one rather grammatically poor sentence.

Just out of interest, I decided to check out what was happening in the seat where Mike Freer was PPC at the last election. They've selected Dr Rachel Joyce as their PPC. Like Mike Freer she has a site for her candidacy and a blog. There are a few big differences. Let's look at her blog first. Now I don't agree with Rachel on some of the stuff she writes. I left a comment telling her so. Unlike Mike, she posted my comments and gave me a completely reasonable response. Not only that but her blog is a freebee from Blogspot, unlike Freer's leader Listens site, which we pay for. She's also rather busy, with over 20 posts since Mike's last effort on 5th March. Seems like old Lazybones Mike could learn something here.

Now lets look at her "Official" website. If you look at Mike Freer's "News" you get "No items found". Rachel Joyce has letters to the press, practical advice for home owners, News about the police. On local campaigns Joyce has 6 items with pictures of her out on the streets. Real local campaigns for hospitals, transport and the environment, all strongly local. Mike has four soggily rehashed National campaigns with no evidence of any work at all. Most interestingly, rather than trying to hijack the local association, the website bears her name.

In response to previous criticisms of the Finchley Conservatives site, Mike said (through a spokesman of the FOF's) that it was done like this because it is a marginal. He said Chipping Barnet could have a normal constituency site because it was a safe seat? Looking at Dr Rachel Joyce's site, it is clear to me why they didn't ask Mike back and picked her instead.

Don't get me wrong, I hope they both lose, but ask yourself this. Which of these two appears :-

a) More hard working
b) More civil
c) More intelligent
d) Less egotistical

If I was Mike I'd get on to Rachel and ask for some help sorting my website out. That will do him far more good than making offensive podcasts.

God Bless the Pope - a local Tory talks sense

It is always refreshing to hear some common sense. When it comes from an unexpected quarter, it is even better. We live in a democracy. We cherish our freedom, yet today in 2009, we still have state sponsored religious bigotary. This is totally unacceptable. We have a sexist constitution. Do you think Queen Elizabeth 1st & 2nd & Queen Victoria were/are successful Monarchs? If any of them had a younger brother or had married a Roman Catholic they would be barred from the job. Now I disagree with the principle of Monarchy, but if we have to have it, lets at least make it non sexist & non secretarian.

In years gone by, the Northern Irish situation would have been resolved by Prince William marrying a nice Irish girl. Now I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but if he wanted to, why shouldn't he. We have an established Church. I have no problem with the Church of England. I'm a Roman Catholic, but I think all religion is a personal issue. It is completely wrong to let any religion get it's fingers into the wheels of political power. In actual fact, I think it diminishes the message of faith. St Pauls Cathedral is one of my favourite buildings in London. Wren was a genius, but all the dead soldiers tombs make it very hard for me personally to talk to God in such an environment. Wren himself didn't want tombs there.

Anyway, I'd just like to say that I agree with the views of the Tory Candidate for West Harrow, Dr Rachel Joyce on this. Don't agree with her on too much else, but credit where credit is due. We need dragging into the 21st Century and her idea of a referendum on the role of the Church of England is a good one.