Stop Age Discrimination

Why does to BBC have an agenda of promoting the lie that NHS are suffering because of "the ageing population" ? You must know that this is only one amongst a number of significant factors. Persisting in promoting this lie is discriminatory and vilifies older members of the population. Under investment. Immigration Advances in treatable conditions. Drunken behaviour Closure of small local hospitals. Closure of mental illness treatment centres. The list could go on. I intend to start a group to fight this discrimination and victimisation, currently being supported or promoted by BBC. Vincent Hammersley

Stop Subsidising Those who are Damaging Our Roads,

When our utility companies were owned by us, they dug up the roads, made a hash of reinstating them and the cost of repairing them fell on the local authority. This was OK because we were bailing out organisations which we owned.

It is very different today. The local authorities are responsible for repairing the roads after they have been damaged by the shoddy repairs of the privately,and often foreign owned utility companies.

The ulility companies make the profits and we subsidise those profits by stumping up to repair the damage they cause. They have no incentive to do robust repairs after they have excavated and caused delays.

I propose that any utility company requiring to dig up our roads must be made responsible for any repairs required in that section of road surface for the following ten years.

Industry Burns, Mandy fiddles.

The news that 900 jobs are to go at the car parts maker Bosch in Wales arrives at the same time that Dame Peter Mandelson, our oxymoronic Business Secretary, has said some stern words regarding business taking a long term view to their UK operations.

Don't you get it yet Peter? Remember the old rhyme 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.' I am sure that you will always be able to point to what you have either said or not said in your defence but what have you done but fiddle whilst our manufacturing industry dies?

Russia

Have just spent the new year in Moscow and St Petersburg. What a stunning country.

Hands off, Mandy

As higher education is now one of the largest employers and earners of foreign currency in the UK I am not surprised that Dame Peter Mandelson is trying to get his claws into it.He has promised to consult "all who would be affected by any changes in student funding". I think we all know what the outcome will be - but I await his phone call. I wont hold my breath though.

Chinese Take Aways

So, Dame Peter Mandelson has now set his sights on our Universities. He says that the output should reflect the needs of its customers (the students) and business requirements. If our universities were not providing excellent, world class education I do not understand why demand for places from overseas students constantly outstrips supply. UK business schools consistently punch above their weight in the global marketplace. Oxford, Cambridge and UCL have set the benchmark for excellence for centuries and institutions such as Warwick have come from building site to seriously compete with the best in the world in less than fifty years.

Mandelsons interest in our manufacturing sector has resulted in it being 'lifted and shifted' to China. Is this what he wants for our higher education sector?

The cheek of him.

So, Lord Mandelson says that the behaviour of the Phoenix directors should result in them being banned from being directors in the future. This from the man who has been rewarded for being removed from ministerial office twice with a seat in the House of Lords.