‘X’ – How to use it wisely

Today is decision day. Some will already have cast their votes while others, unless they have an unbending party allegiance, still look for inspiration. There is no point in looking to the press, since most of the newspapers serve their paymasters not the readers.

I have generally regarded the BBC as impartial but today the Mail Online runs the story: “For days the BBC has been banging the drum for the Lib Dems. But then we should never underestimate their hatred of the Tories”. ‘Hatred’; that’s a bit strong but we know where the The Mail is coming from. The BBC puts out a lot of information but not many people these days have the patience to listen/watch over an extended period which is one of the reasons I thought the CH 4 programme I blogged on previously so good.

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Prisoner votes for profit

Prison vote vultures: No-win, no-fee lawyers line up thousands of convicts to claim compensation for being denied their polling rights

Bankers' bonuses, obscene football fees and now compensation for convicts. According the the Mail online article highlighted above, "lawyers have set up shop in dozens of prisons, encouraging inmates to claim compensation for not having the right to vote. They have already collected 2,500 clients seeking payouts at the European Court of Human Rights."

People go to prison for breaking the law which is what many Members of Parliament propose we should do. Others suggest we simply defy European Human Rights law. The Prime Minister reportedly felt physically ill at the prospect of giving prisoners the vote, so much so that it has caused impotency leaving MPs on the backbenches to put a motion before the Commons to do something about it.

Voters fed up with the 'ambulance chasing' culture that pollutes our justice system don't want to see it spread to aid convicts rip-off taxpayers. We are constantly told to tighten our belts while others get fat at our expense. Some problems simply can't be left to 'localism', the Big Society or simply laissez faire.

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Cameron's trumpet

Maria Miller leaves the Houses of Parliament after apologising to MPs. Photo Warren Allott/Telegraph

“The bedrock of our society” - Women and Equalities Minister, Maria Miller!!

"Marriage is the bedrock of our society and now irrespective of sexuality everyone in British society can make that commitment. It is a wonderful achievement and whilst this legislation may be about marriage, its impact is so much wider. Making marriage available to all couples demonstrates our society’s respect for all individuals regardless of their sexuality. It demonstrates the importance we attach to being able to live freely. It says so much about the society that we are and the society that we want to live in."

In my mind's eye I can still see her at the dispatch box, brazenly lecturing the Britain people on how we should order our lives when in reality she was pressing the case of an unrepresentative minority for political purposes, creating a law which required numerous subsequent amendments to avoid, for example, a gay King’s ‘husband’ from becoming Queen!

It is now clear why Mrs Miller was so positive about "being able to live freely" in "the society that we want to live in." She had experience of living freely at the expense of the tax-payer.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards found that the Culture Minister had over-claimed by ?45,000 for expenses towards mortgage interest payments and council tax but the Commons Standards Committee ruled that Mrs Miller should repay only ?5,800 and apologise to parliament for her "attitudedanquot;.

The Prime Minister regards that as reasonable for an 'honest mistake'. He said, "It was found she had made mistakes, she accepted that, repaid the money, she apologised unreservedly to the House of Commons, so I think we should leave it there." His comments will make 'the hard working people of this country' wonder why there is one law for the privileged and another for the rest of us. As one MP remarked, "If one of my constituents had claimed £6,000 of taxpayers' money for, say, housing benefit and then tried to claim that it was an oversight, that she hadn't realised that she wasn't entitled to this money, the book would be thrown at my constituent, rightly."

Having made a terse, inadequate 'apology' to the House, Mrs Miller keeps her job despite being regarded as amediocre minister who is "out of her depth".  Perhaps she feels secure as one of the few women in Team Cameron happy to act as his trumpet. A successful grammar school girl keen to make good she has been used by a privileged elite to undermine the institution of marriage in a squalid vote chasing exercise.

The Telegraph suggests that the 'apology' was used as an occasion to bury bad news but that is no surprise these days when everything seems designed to gain votes at any expense. That is evidenced by Dave looking to the Muslim vote by claiming that "halal meat will be protected as long as he Prime Minister". Perhaps that is why he prefers to shop at Waitrose with customers who are "more engaged than those who shop elsewhere". Somewhere he can rely on getting halal meats.

Nothing it seems is too difficult for us to swallow!

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