The British Economic Miracle

So:

British workers work the longest hours of any in Europe
British workers take less holiday than others in Europe
the British government has put as much of the state into private hands as it can to make it more efficient and productive
Gordon Brown abolished boom and bust
Britain is best placed to weather international recession.

A hard-working, high-spending labour force. So why is the economy fucked?

Possibly because:

British workers work longer hours than everyone else in Europe yet their productivity is not as great
British workers often take home shit wages despite working long hours
British workers have higher levels of personal debt than others in Europe
British workers have lower levels of saving than others in Europe
the British economy is dangerously exposed to fluctuations in interest rates because of its dependence on the housing market
the British government has encouraged people to borrow and spend beyond their means
Britain is worst placed to weather international recession
Gordon Brown has not abolished boom and bust.

Fortunately the future is bright, because Gordon Brown, who, as any fule no, has saved the world, has worked out a cunning plan to deliver us from this chaos. Which is that:

British workers should work as many hours as possible
British workers should accept even the worst-paid jobs to avoid unemployment
British workers should borrow as much as possible
British workers should spend as much as possible
British workers shouldn't save
banks should lend more to each other and to the public.

Job done.

And there are people around who think it would be a good idea to vote these grunting fuckwits back into power?

She May Be Nice But She Votes Like A Clone

Gillian Merron is Labour MP for Lincoln. Unlike many MPs she's very active doing what she can for the people she represents.

However, she is typical of the contemporary Labour MP. In other words she's a clone, doing the government's bidding without question.

So, although she campaigns to keep local Post Offices open (despite the fact that her own government's eagerness to embrace EU diktat is a primary cause of their closing) she nevertheless does as she's told in voting for anti-democratic measures that destroy our liberties. These are the things that matter. Unfortunately these are the things that large numbers of voters know nothing about.

The following, from TheyWorkForYou:

How Gillian Merron voted on key issues since 2001:

* Voted very strongly against a transparent Parliament
* Voted moderately for introducing a smoking ban
* Voted strongly for introducing ID cards
* Voted very strongly for introducing foundation hospitals
* Voted strongly for introducing student top-up fees
* Voted very strongly for Labour's anti-terrorism laws
* Voted very strongly for the Iraq war
* Voted very strongly against an investigation into the Iraq war
* Voted very strongly for replacing Trident
* Voted very strongly for the hunting ban
* Voted moderately for equal gay rights
* Voted a mixture of for and against laws to stop climate change

She's all for compelling every inhabitant of Lincoln to have an unnecessary, intrusive and expensive ID card, with all the database surveillance and threats of fines that go with it; she's all for taking us into an unwanted, unnecessary and illegal war and stopping us having an enquiry into it; she's all against allowing us, the voters and taxpayers, access to the doings of the government, who happily make decisions for us about things we have not been asked about, and who spend our money on things we are regularly misinformed about.

She's also for the further privatisation of the Health Service and for driving our young people deeper into debt when they want to better themselves by going to university. She's for having your number plate photographed on every journey you make by main road, for the 3,000 new ways we can all become criminals, for a semi-official snoop force (Community Safety Accreditation) of bouncers and jobsworths who can fine us on the spot for minor misdemeanours, for ContactPoint, a database that will record private details of EVERY child up to the age of 18, including information on family lifestyle and behaviour of neighbours, etc, etc.

And, from 1997, when she was elected, until just recently she was Minister for the East Midlands. This is another imposition by the EU (I've already talked about it) - an unelected layer of administration set eventually to replace our existing system of local government, all driven by our friends in Brussels. I bet she didn't mention that very often to the ordinary folk she encountered as Minister.

A glance at her CV also reveals a career typical of today's political class:

Educated

* Lancaster University, BSc (Hons) Management Sciences (1978-81)
* Wanstead High School

Career (from her own website):

* UNISON, Senior Regional Officer for Lincolnshire (1995-97)
* East Midlands Full Time Official, National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) – and UNISON (1987-95)
* Local Government Officer (1985-87)
* Business Development Advisor (1982-85)

University, a couple of years in something that might be called a real job (but I doubt anything called 'Advisor' is real), local government and union (a favourite breeding ground for politicos) and finally fully-fledged apparatchik.

Having a background in what we outside the Westminster Village laughingly call the real world doesn't necessarily mean an MP is grounded enough to retain any common sense they may have been born with (the ludicrous figure of Prescott, for example, blunders into view) but it would occasionally be reassuring to think our representatives had some notion of what it's like not to be privileged, powerful and well-paid.

When you're well-paid, privileged and powerful it's easy to vote happily for a police state - for other people. But it is unforgivable.

Unions Oppose ID Card Scheme

The TUC has pledged to oppose ID cards and the National Identity database. About time. Probably the first significant move against New Labour's Stasi state, since what's needed is organisation, awareness and action; which is harder to achieve with individuals or disparate groups.

David Cameron, Leader in Waiting, has already pledged his opposition both to the ID cards scheme AND the National Identity database and said he will scrap them. Whether he will in fact do this when he's in power is another thing, of course, so he needs to be aware that there will be trouble if he doesn't keep his word.