David Davis resigns

The news that "Basher" Davis has resigned was a bit of a bolt from the blue wasn't it? Amazing to find someone acting on principle over something like this, although those of us who cheered on Davis in the Tory leadership contest are perhaps less surprised than others

What is now needed is for other MPs of principle to do the same thing - this will keep the pressure on the government as high as possible. John Redwood has applauded Davis's actions, and I've left a comment on his blog in which I ask whether he will follow suit. I wonder what the reaction will be? And what about the Labour rebels and the LibDems?

Update:

I've just written to Diane Abbott along the same lines.

Update:

Redwood says no. 

Quote of the day

Good news for those who support ethanol production as a means to reduce greenhouse gasses. You can get a beautiful mahogany table and chairs set, made from rainforest land converted to farmland to grow crops for ethanol.

 Jason Jones at the ASI.

A "close them down" week

Last week it was "failing schools will be taken over". This week, it's "failing schools will be closed".

Almost one in five secondary schools in England are to be given a warning to improve exam results or face closure.

Just keep alternating the headlines Mr Brown, nobody will notice that you're not actually doing either. 

Next week: Failing schools will be taken over

W/C 16 June: Failing schools will be closed

W/C 23 June:  Failing schools will be taken over

W/C 30 June: Failing schools will be closed

...repeat to fade.... 

Turgid bilge

The lady in charge of education in the Numptocracy^TM, Fiona Hyslop, is trumpeting her latest endless outpouring of pointless waffle in a press release posted on the Numptocracy Webpage.

Parents have a crucial role to play in supporting children's learning and the successful implementation of Curriculum for Excellence, Cabinet Secretary for Education Fiona Hyslop said today. 

I've written before about the refusal of my children's school to allow parents to see the curriculum that's being taught, so Ms Hyslop's turgid meanderings ring pretty hollow in these 'ere parts. Having refused me, the school informed the school council (that's the board of governors to you) that a summary of the curriculum would be prepared and released to parents. This was just after Christmas. Now, they have "changed their minds" and we are told to wait until the new term starts in the autumn.

And if you believe that you'll believe anything.

So if you'll excuse me, Ms Hyslop, I think you're not actually telling the truth. I think you don't want parents playing any role in their children's education at all. 

Management by spin

The Times republishes a government press release about failing schools.

Headteachers from grammar schools are to take over the management of failing schools in their area under plans for reform in England.

The author of the piece, Alexandra Frean, who rejoices in the title of education editor, doesn't see fit to ask any questions about this announcement at all, which is surprising because the government has been saying for some time that its intention is to close down failing schools altogether. Reasonable people might wonder whether this is a change in policy or spin, or something else altogether. Ms Frean however is happy just to parrot the government line.

She goes on: 

There are 638 such [failing] schools in the country and the Government hopes to team up a significant proportion of them with grammar and other successful types of state school.

Again, this is a bit strange because there are only around 160 grammar schools in the country, so even if every grammar school head was put in charge of a failing school, the majority of failing schools would still have to be run by the head of another non-failing bog-standard comp. In other words, the headline would be more representative if it said that failing schools are to be taken over by their successful colleagues. Unfortunately, this is a headline which has already been issued umpteen times already.

That's the problem with government by spin doctor: eventually you run out of new things to say. Perhaps they might actually try, you know, doing something about the problems in the education system? 

I've been censored

The Department for Schools, Children and Indoctrination has been spending freely on an ideas tree - a website where people can submit their ideas for how to help support parents in bringing up their children. My contribution was this:

Remove the state completely from any involvement with children or their education. Privatise all schools, and endow them with the proceeds so that they can provide education for the needy. Fire all educational bureaucrats, inspectors, and assorted busybodies and burn down the DSCF.

It's odd but I can't find it on the list of submitted ideas.

SNP politician in gross display of honesty

Take a look at this posting over on the BBC Editors' blog. There's a very funny video of SNP MSP Mike Russell ridiculing the debate he has just had to sit through.

Another day, another story of sleaze

It's remarkable how the story of an elected representative getting their comeuppance can cheer one up. And with this morning's news that Conservative chairman Caroline Spelman has been on the fiddle too, I have a positive spring in my step. That's now four Tories caught out.

The deafening silence from the other parties continues too, and I have no doubt they are as bad, if not worse. If you look at the results of the Open Europe survey of MEPs that started this run of sleaze stories off, it can be seen that Labour and LibDem MEPs were even more evasive about answering questions about their expenses than the Conservatives.

I don't think we've heard the last of this.

Zipedeedoodah, zipedeeay..... 

Is this too small?

One of my readers tells me that my blog's font size is too small. Does anyone else agree with this - should I up the size a bit?

Sleaze in Chichester and Dover

Guido has been doing great things in pushing the Giles Chichester sleaze story to the top of the news agenda, and it looks as though one of GC's colleagues will be following shortly.

There's an almost deafening silence from the other parties, which a cynic like me takes to mean that they're all at it. Gordon Brown did have this to say about his own MEPs though:

He said Labour MEPs had "insisted since 2000 on their being separate validated audits of their own expenses and they have a separate register about family employment".

What we should note about this is that none of these arrangements would have picked up the scam that Giles Chichester seems to have been operating. An audit would have noted valid invoices from a service provider company. Tick. The register of family employment would have correctly shown that he didn't employ any family members (they were employed by the service provider company, right?).

This is a classic case of saying something that looks like a denial, but which on closer inspection, isn't anything of the sort. 

Microgeneration

Climate Resistance crunches the numbers on the Guardian's claim that microgeneration is the future for our energy needs, and discovers, shock horror, that the Graun is once again talking tosh.

This is well worth a read, and lest anyone says that bloggers never produce anything original, includes some proper investigative journalism.

Link. 

In the post...

Eamonn Butler's Best Book on the Market: How to Stop Worrying and Love the Free Economy.

(I always wanted to write that).  

Getting colder....

The satellite data show that May temperatures were chilly - the anomaly was even cooler than the first few months of 2008, which were pretty damn cold to start with.

Lubos has the details. 

Family makes home in ashtray.

Times are hard. The credit crunch has bitten deep and families across the country are finding themselves forced tighten their belts. This story is shocking though. A family has been forced to make its home in an ashtray!

I kid you not.

The family - believed to be two adults and four children, currently reside in a rural area in Central Scotland and, presumably lacking any alternative, have had to risk lung cancer, bronchitis and all manner of other ills, just to keep a roof over their heads. I'm surpised the children haven't been taken into care.

And these are no johnny-come-lately migrants - they're native Brits. What are things coming to in Brown's Britain when we have sunk to this.

Still, look on the bright side. Apparently they at least don't have CCTV watching their every move in their new home.

Full story here. 

Today is....

TAX FREEDOM DAY!!!

(Via the ASI)