It is often said that New Labour are just Tories. I'm disappointed in the government for not showing its left-wing policies. Furthermore, they too often make right-wing noises on welfare, taxation, the uber-rich, prisons and immigration.

But if you want a more accurate defenition of this government, I suggest to you what I've done: don't listen to anything the government SAYS. Ever. Look at what they do.

There is an older group in our party, who can maintain Campaign group style scepticism of American foreign policy, or Europe, but who have firm anti-fascist credentials. People like Harry Barnes, Ann Cryer and Dave Anderson can maintain scepticism of our foreign policy, but do not pretend that even when a repugnant Republican administration is in power, that the United States is the enemy. They do not fail to criticise both sides, and understand that Islamic jihadism is a form of modern day Naziism. They understand that sectarian warfare wouldn't just be solved with a United Ireland, or giving Bin Laden "what he wants" (does that include Spain? Will a misogynist, gay hating anti-semite who says that the worst act commited in the West is Clinton's affair with Lewinsky suddenly declare peace if we withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan?). They seek to make sure that we defeat Islamic fundamentalism with aggression in our hearts, rather than through weapons. They care more deeply about rebuilding Iraq, and defeatin World Bank neo-liberalism than saying "See? Told you."

It seems to me, that because of our foreign policy, the left will not endorse any left-wing domestic policy (or they endorse it quietly, or worse, ignore it). It perhaps gives a justification to the government, to continue with triangulation. But let us run through why this government, while it can be more left-wing in many areas, is still on the left.

Ray Lewis, Deputy Mayor of LONDON has resigned with immediate effect due to allegations of serious corruption.

24 hours earlier, Boris - the clown-mayor of london stood side by side with Mr Lewis and expressed FULL CONFIDENCE in his sleazy deputy. The allegations included sexual impropriety. (the tories favoured form of sleaze)

 

 

I have always been sceptical of affirmative action. I do however, support Barack Obama's policy on affirmative action, on the basis of economic background.

In the UK, when UCAS forms have to be filled in, the detail of your parents' education has to be mentioned. The right-wing media immedietly denounced this. Consider this. One student who went to an expensive nursery, then a private primary school, followed by an Eton education, enjoying one-on-one tuition, and then further private tuition and gets 3 A's, is compared with a student who gets 3 B's, lives on a council estate, and went to a comp with 25 people per class, having to work every night in a fast food restaurant to bring in money for their family. Isn't it probable, that in equal circumstances, the second student would do much better than the first?

Nonetheless, I was sceptical of this current bill. My worry was that affirmative action would just cream off richer women and minorities.

But I read in the papers (which I still maintain I loathe), of an encounter in Westminster:

David Heathcote-Amory, saw a black woman walking on the member's terrace and demanded to know if she was an MP. "Yes, I am actually. Are you?" Dawn Butler, the former adviser to Ken Livingstone replied. He snapped to his colleagues: "They're letting anybody in nowadays."

The same slanders against this bill, were said of one of the best acts of the Wilson administration, the Equal Pay act.

Harriet Harman has consistantly maintained loyalty to the government, but fought hard for progressive policies against people like John Hutton (why doesn't he just defect to the opposition?).

She reminded me in dark times, why I was a Labour voter. The pay gap between full-time workers is 17%, and between part-time workers, a shocking 40%. She said: "Do we think she is 40 per cent less hard-working, less intelligent, less qualified?"

It is a major factor in low pay that 70% of those on the minimum wage are women, and 40% of part-time workers are on the minimum wage. Feminism isn't some metropolital liberal worry about not enough female FTSE 100 directors, it is at our red beating heart of social justice.

Apparently though, not all agree. The Daily Mail has suprisingly been against this, normally being a much more wise and thoughtful paper. They say that women "choose less well-paid jobs" because they want "more time with their families". The Mail would have to imagine that every woman had a family, and that they had them in teenage years for this to be true (oh, wait, they DO think that every teenager is pregnant). The pay gap sets in long before women decide to have children (and contrary to the Mail's warnings, women are having children much later).

The Women and Work commission found that after just 5 years, the pay gap between those who have earned first-class degrees is 15%.

Indeed, the bill doesn't go far enough. Harman had to compromise with Hutton (who I just want to deport) on pay audits. Also, it was the Tories who not long ago, were mocking the government for not supporting pay audits.

Why do many conservatives like to pretend that there is no ideology in between cut-throat, tough luck, lassez-faire Thatcherism, and throw-you-in-the-gulag communism? These particular conservatives are more politically ignorant than I thought.

Pay audits, whereby private firms who underpay female workers can be named and shamed, enhance economic competition. It strengthens our economy, and social justice at the same time.

On the most contraversial part of the bill, it doesn't ban white men from getting jobs, as spun by the Express. It gives employers a legal right to balance skewed workforces, whether largely female/male or white/thnic minority. They are under no legal requirement. I have been to primary schools where the workforce was largely female, as have been the secondary schools I've been to. Employers would have the right to balance the workforce with more males. That's it. This is what the controversy has been about.

Now we return to another fine Labour woman, Barbera Castle. The same arguments were shot at her, word for word. We apparently can't afford gender equality in a time of 'recession'. This argument is potent, as most low-paid are women, so the wages of the low-paid would rise.

It is the same principle as tax cuts for the rich during times of recession. A recession used to be when a factory owner had to close his fourth factory. If you give tax cuts to the rich, he will open a fifth, failing factory, and spend the rest on boats and cars. If you give tax cuts to the bottom half, they will go out and spend the money in the local economy, allowing the factory owner to re-open the fourth factory. Everybody wins.

A feminist agenda would do wonders for the economy. The estimated NPV of universal childcare, on a neutral estimate in 2003 would have been £40 billion over 65 years. The top estimate, was £93 billion. Wasting women's education and skills costs us £23 billion a year.
Don't believe me? In Norway, they mandated that 40% on corporate boards had to be female, and business growth soared. Mckinsey found that stock growth went up by 53%, when there were more women in senior positions.


Never fall for David Cameron. He defines himself as a 'progressive'. That doesn't mean anything. Would anyone call themselves 'regressive'? George Osbourne says there is "much to learn" from George W. Bush's 'compassionate conservatism'.

This is what Boris Johnson ran on. His first act? Slashing half-price bus fares for poor Londoners. Would he be bewildered to know that many can't afford 4x4's? Apparently not. About driving these Chelsea tractors he says:

"Tee hee, I said to myself ... out of my way, small car driven by ordinary person on modest income. Make way for the Nissan Murano."

It isn't that the Tories are toffs (they are). It's that some can go to private schools, which allows them to be shocked by low pay, and poverty. Harriet Harman follows in the tradition of people like Attlee who have done so. Most of the Tories don't know any other world though.

This bill defines what Labour is for, and I hope it starts the process of bringing back soul to the party.

Were they tried to evade EU data protection rules?

It's just been reported that the Conservatives in Crewe & Nantwich sent data to several media outlets which contained private and confidential data on voters within the constituency. The voting intentions, MOSAIC (socio-economic profiles), names, addresses and telephone numbers of more than 8000 voters contained in three Excel spreadsheets was sent to Manx Radio.

This looks to be a major breach of data protection laws. The Tories have admitted to this, but many questions still remain unanswered. We still do not know which part of the constituency the data related to, nor do we know if it was intentionally released.

It is still unclear if David Cameron will be making an apology to the people of Crewe & Nantwich.

The The BBC learned that the files were e-mailed around lunchtime on Wednesday (today). The Information Commissioner has launched an investigation, saying that the mishandling of data by the Tories was an issue that raised "serious concern."

I have recently banned a couple of Tory trolls from this site, a process that entails deleting every contribution they have ever made.

One of those is "Letter from a Tory", who has made his frustration clear here.

Tories are suffered on these pages for as long as they are polite and constructive and I'd be grateful if readers would alert me if they feel contributors are exceeding their welcome.

Many thanks

Alex Hilton, Editor
alexhilton@gmail.com

So David Cameron today claims that the Tories are the true progressive party in the UK - but why then is Tory education spokeman today blaming progressive education policies for letting down British children?

Do you think the Tories even talk to each other any more?

There is Mad, there is Bad, and then there is Nad.

Another day another bizarre rant and ramble from Nadine Dorries:

The Tories are failing to win over the electorate on the crucial issue of the economy says Will Parbury

The Tories have apparently reported Jacqui Smith for her annoucement of extra Polcie to fight terror today, saying that it break electoral rules.

Why are there so many tories commenting on everything here?

Two great videos from the Daily Mirror in recent days. One of Gordon Brown giving a great short speech to open the Black Britannia exhibition. And another of David Cameron cycling wrong-way up a one way street and thru red traffic lights on his way to the House!

Iain Dale will be verbally duelling with me on Question Time Extra this Thursday (BBC News 24 11.35pm)

If you're watching QT anyway, please do email the show amusing questions that will give me the opportunity to remind Iain that Tories are evil!

The link to submit questions is here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/question_time/6994949.stm

In gratitude for your support, I shall organise a Karaoke night in April.

Thanks

Alex Hilton
07985 384 859
alexhilton@gmail.com

I've reported that the BBC misunderstand and misreported Alistair Darling's commons answer on Northern Rock nationalisation, and had to make an apology of sorts on Today. It now turns out a Tory press release with this truncated Hansard quote was issued 2.5 hours before Nick Robinson used a similar quote on Sunday night on Radio 5. The following morning Today ran with it heavily as well, as did The Daily Politics. Could Nick Robinson have followed the Tory press release without proper independent research?