Cameron sets out benefit restrictions Newest Article Unknown Thursday, November 28, 2013

In January 2014, Bulgarian and Romanians will gain the same rights to work in the United Kingdom as other European Union citizens. Cameron's already decided to limit their access to benefits, healthcare and housing. 

Public concern over immigration is becoming increasingly high, ministers wish to demonstrate to critics such as UKIP, that Britain is not beholden to Brussels. At the same time, they do not want to deter skilled migrants who can benefit the economy. Cameron claims he wants to make sure people come to the UK "for the right reasons", not just to take advantage of the welfare system.

On Tuesday, Cameron made an effort to ease public concern about a wave of migration from Bulgaria and Romania in January next year when he announced several benefit restrictions on all EU migrant workers. The Liberal Democrats backed Cameron's plans, claiming they were sensible and reasonable. Nick Clegg has said:

These are sensible and reasonable reforms to ensure that the right to work does not automatically mean the right to claim. Other countries in the EU already have similar policies and are considering the case for going further. Unfettered access to benefits across member states simply does not exist.

In the series of restrictions, Cameron announced:

1. No newly arrived EU jobseekers will be able to claim housing benefit 

2. No EU migrant will be entitled to out-of-work benefits for the first three months
3. No EU migrant from January will be able to claim jobseeker's allowance for more than a maximum of six months unless they can prove that they have a genuine prospect of employment
4. A new minimum earnings threshold will be introduced before benefits such as income support can be claimed
5. Any EU national sleeping rough or begging will be deported and barred from re-entry for 12 months

Cameron said the controls were:

Not just aimed at Romanians and Bulgarians, but would apply to anyone in other EU countries thinking of coming to Britain because it is easier to claim benefits. I think it is very important to send out a clear message that this is not the case.

Immediately, Cameron's plans were criticised by Brussels, with the EU Commission saying the freedom of movement rules for people within the bloc were "non-negotiable". Brussels were not the only ones unsatisfied with Cameron's plans. A group of 40 Tory backbenchers are calling for the immigration bill to be toughened up so that the existing transitional controls on Romanians and Bulgarians are retained until 2018.

Meanwhile, Labour has accused David Cameron of panicking over measures to restrict benefits for migrants. The Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper has said the government was "flailing around" as a result of its proposals to limit unemployment and housing benefit for new arrivals. She later added that public confidence in Cameron's ability to handle the situation has collapsed, as he's taken drastic measures before the restrictions are lifted on 1st January 2014. The Prime Minister seems to be acting the way he is as he may potentially face a Christmas nightmare of Conservative backbenchers rebelling. 

In an attempt to exacerbate the blame on Labour, Cameron said it had been a catastrophic failure on Labour's behalf for not imposing transitional controls on new EU members in 2004. Which led to a surge in immigration, one million people from central and Eastern Europe now living in the UK. Cameron writes:

In 2004, the Labour government made the decision that the UK should opt out completely of transitional controls on the new EU member states. They had the right to impose a seven-year ban before new citizens could come and work here, but – almost alone in Europe – Labour refused it. That was a monumental mistake

Labour added:

He is not taking considered and thoughtful measures to deal with immigration, he is just panicking. It is ridiculous and farcical to try to blame Labour when the Tories agreed to the accession treaties. This is not clearing up Labour mess, he is clearing up Conservative problems.

 So... What does Romania and Bulgaria think of Cameron's actions?  Evidently, they reacted with fury and dismay, particularly at media portrayals of their citizens as benefit scroungers or criminals, the Daily Mail sure does a good job at this. Their governments have claimed the majority are hard-working and determined citizens who wish to contribute to British society. They also insisted that the majority of Romanian's and Bulgaria's who want to be in the UK are already here and this so-called "flood" Cameron is panicking over will not happen. 

New law to cap payday loans Unknown Monday, November 25, 2013

For starters, what are payday loans?

The payday loan market is growing rapidly in the United Kingdom. In a nutshell, payday loans are short term loans for small amounts of money. They are available on internet sites and although they are very simple to obtain, the interest rates can be ridiculously high. The typical charge in the UK is £25 per month for every £100 borrowed.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne has recently announced the government will legistlate to introduce a cap on the cost of payday loans. The level of the cap has not yet been disclosed and will be announced by the new industry regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The cap will be formally established through amendments to the Banking Reform Bill which is currently going through Parliament.

Treasury officials have claimed the government have always kept the case for a cap under review as the market evolved over the years. With increasing evidence of the effects in support of a cap from other countries, such as Australia, the government ready to support the move.

George Osborne has said:

We’re going to have a cap on the total cost of credit – we’re looking at the whole package, not just the interest fee, but also the arrangement fees as well as the penalty fees. This is all about having a banking system that works for hardworking people and making sure some of the absolutely outrageous fees and unacceptable practices are dealt with. It’s all about the government being on the side of hardworking people.

How much is George Osborne borrowing? Unknown Monday, November 25, 2013

Britain's debt is currently over £1.2 trillion, and George Osborne's so called wise dealings with the nation's finances have added more to the pile of debt in three years as Chancellor of the Exchequer than Labour did in thirteen years.

Figures gathered from the Office for National Statistics indicate the coalition has borrowed £430,072 billion in three years, whereas Labour managed to borrow £429,975 billion in thirteen years.

Interesting fact, right? As expected, Conservatives have rushed to the scene by blaming Labour, saying: "it takes time to cut Labour's deficit. But we have borrowed a lot less than Labour planned and you have repeatedly demanded."

Our debate in Parliament Unknown Friday, November 22, 2013

Today was without a doubt an exciting day. A bunch of us were invited to participate in a debate in parliament on the issue of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, in total there were eighty students participating from across London. 

We were later invited to watch MP's debate on the same issue as us in the House of Commons. Oh god was I excited, I anticipated on seeing the house full, MP's shouting at each other, Labour stalling the debate as usual, MP's flipping each other off... Instead, I witnessed seven or so MP's peacefully sat down, playing Candy Crush on their iPad's and one fella with his leg on the Table of the House of Commons. Our debate was more stimulating and emotive than the Commons. Nonetheless, I enjoyed myself.

Although I consider myself to be Euro-skeptic, I argued against the UK's withdrawal. Here's an extract from my speech:

EU, two letters that have the ability to stir a considerable amount of hatred or to make you rejoice in happiness…

It’s astounding to hear a minority of nationalists, right-wing politicians and the press are obsessed with trying to remove the UK from what is notable for being the largest single market in the world. The EU is an economic zone larger than that of the USA and Japan combined with a total GDP of around £11 trillion.

People are not well informed on the EU; they rarely hear the benefits and are constantly bombarded by the negatives through the press. Perhaps the most worrying aspect of the EU for Brits is the thought of immigration.

The press, Daily Mail in particular, enjoy painting a negative image of immigration; always providing us with one side of the story to manipulate us into thinking immigration is detrimental to the UK. The accusations they make are false.

 Findings taken from official government data prove that since 1999, immigrants have had a positive impact on the UK, both financially and socially. Immigrants who arrived from 1999 were 45% less likely to receive state benefits than native Brits. You may claim immigrants are costing taxpayers millions each year, however, may I remind you immigrants contribute 34% more in taxes than they received in benefits, and on average pay more taxes than Brits.

Every year we witness British students competing with students across the world, so why is it that the UK has managed to retain its Royal Society, its lead in science, economy and industry, while its next generation are more interesting in watching Big Brother and silly soap operas, why hasn’t the British economy or industry collapsed? That’s because of immigrants who come here to study. The report reveals that migrants are indeed better educated than native Brits. In 2011, 32% of those from the European Economic Area (EEA) and 43% of those from outside the region had a university degree, whereas for native Brits it was less than 21%. Surely it would only be wise for us to benefit from migrants with such qualifications. Our brilliant education system is drawing more and more students and in return, making them the business leaders, doctors, solicitors of tomorrow which contribute to making the UK a prosperous nation.

Approximately two million Brits work, live, study or are retired in other EU countries and over 800,000 of them are estimated to reside in Spain alone. In addition, tens of thousands of Brits own second homes right across the EU. Aren’t they the same as migrants working in the UK? Also, if we drop out of the UK, what would happen to those living or studying abroad?

Both the people and politicians are under a false illusion, immigration is indeed out of control, and many believe the only way to reverse this, is to abandon the EU. 

Conservatives erase archive of speeches Unknown Wednesday, November 13, 2013

In an interesting investigation conducted by Computer Weekly... 

The Conservative party have removed a decade worth of speeches from their website and elsewhere on the internet in what has been described as a “cynical stunt” by Labour MP’s. If you head on over to view their speeches on their website, you’ll notice the oldest speech dates back to January 23rd of this year. The archives included pledges made by Prime Minister David Cameron while he was campaigning for the 2010 general election, “no frontline cuts”, “no top-down NHS reorganisations” and “no VAT increase” were all among the archives.

Archives dating back to the year 2000 and up until Cameron was elected in May 2010 have all been deleted. Any records of their speeches before May 2010 have been removed from Google's search engines. To make matters worse, all official records of their past speeches have been removed from the Internet Archive which is the public record of the net and the largest publicly available digital library.

Sheila Gilmore, who's a Labour MP said today "It will take more than David Cameron pressing delete to make people forget about his broken promises and failures to stand up for anyone beyond a privileged few".

What has Cameron got to hide by erasing these archives?

George Eaton from the New Statesman magazine has concluded some suggestions:

1. No cuts to front-line services

The weekend before the general election, David Cameron informed Andrew Marr that a Conservative government would not cut any front-line services:

What I can tell you is, any cabinet minister, if I win the election, who comes to me and says: "Here are my plans," and they involve front-line reductions, they'll be sent straight back to their department to go away and think again. After 13 years of Labour, there is a lot of wasteful spending, a lot of money that doesn't reach the front line.

Since then, 5,870 NHS nurses, 7,968 hospital beds, a third of ambulance stations, 5,362 firefighters and 6,800 frontline police officers have been cut.

2. Increase in VAT

During an interview with Jeremy Paxman on 23rd April 2010, Cameron said:

 We have absolutely no plans to raise VAT. Our first Budget is all about recognising we need to get spending under control rather than putting up tax.

Subsequently, VAT was raised from 17.5% to 20% in George Osborne's emergency Budget.

3. Child benefit

During a pre-election Cameron Direct event, Cameron stated:

I'm not going to flannel you, I'm going to give it to you straight. I like the child benefit, I wouldn't change child benefit, I wouldn't means-test it, I don't think that is a good idea.

The coalition government didn't remain committed to their pledge and went onto abolish the benefit for higher earners in the Spending Review and froze it for three years.

4. "No more drop top-down reorganisations"

Before the general election, the Conservatives repeatedly reiterated there would be no more "top-down reorganisations" of the NHS.

With the Conservatives there will be no more of the tiresome, meddlesome, top-down re-structures that have dominated the last decade of the NHS.

The coalition launched the biggest top-down reorganisation of the NHS in its history.

5. Education Maintenance Allowances (EMA)

At another Cameron Direct Event in January 2010, Cameron said:

We've looked at educational maintenance allowances and we haven't announced any plan to get rid of them. I said we don't have any plans to get rid of them . . . it's one of those things the Labour Party keep putting out that we are but we're not.

Nine months later, the coalition government announced the abolition of EMA, which used to pay up to £30 a week to 16 to 18 year olds living in households whose income is less than £30,800 a year.

6. Sure Start

Sure Start was the network of children's centres founded by the last Labour government. The day before the general election, Cameron pledged to protect Sure Start.

We back Sure Start. It's a disgrace that Gordon Brown has been trying to frighten people about this. He's the prime minister of this country but he's been scaring people about something that really matters.

Earlier in 2009 during a Conservative conference speech he added:

It’s also about emotional support, particularly in those fraught early years before children go to school. Labour understood this and we should acknowledge that. That’s why Sure Start will stay, and we’ll improve it.

Since they were elected, 566 of the centres have been closed, with over half of those still open no longer provided any onsite childcare.

7. Future Jobs Fund

In March 2010, Cameron praised the Future Jobs Fund describing it as a "good scheme" and said Conservatives had: 

No plans to change existing Future Jobs Fund commitments.

On 24th May 2010, the coalition announced it's abolition and replaced it with the ineffective Work Programme, later found to be "worse than doing nothing".

8. Green Taxes

Recently, Cameron has pledged to "roll-back" green taxes, Cameron took a different approach during his "hug a husky" campaign. On 29 October 2006, he told the BBC's Politics Show:

I think green taxes as a whole need to go up.

Also told Newsnight on 3 October:

We’ve said publicly, we’ve committed that we think green taxes should take a bigger share of overall taxes.

During a speech at the Tories' local election launch on 17 April 2008, he said:

Our message in this local election campaign is simple: vote blue, go green - and save money. It's been our campaign slogan for the last three elections. Why? Because it goes to the heart of what Conservatives believe. And because that's the kind of change people really want.

9. Bank Bonuses

From an interview with the Guardian published on 14th August 2009, George Osborne said:

It is totally unacceptable for bank bonuses to be paid on the back of taxpayer guarantees. It must stop. 

Osborne has failed to keep his pledge to ban bonuses at state-owned banks, he's also now taking legal action against the EU commission over it's plan to cap payments.

To read more from George Eaton, visit him here.

Sheila Gilmore further added:

The Tories are trying to hide from their own broken promises and failed policy. Rather than owning up to the mess they’re making of the economy and fixing it, they are pretending it hasn't happened.

To consolidate the Conservative's recent actions, a Conservative spokesman has said:

We're making sure our website keeps the Conservative Party at the forefront of political campaigning. These changes allow people to quickly and easily access the most important information we provide - how we are clearing up Labour's economic mess, taking the difficult decisions and standing up for hardworking people.

Cameron faces Tory rebellion & Labour delay EU Bill Unknown Sunday, November 10, 2013

Conservative MP’s spent their Friday at Westminster in a five hour debate on James Wharton’s EU referendum Bill. Labour were accused of “playing silly buggers” after a series of Labour MP’s gave lengthy speeches, intervened numerous times and even put their drama skills to the test by staging delays in the lobby of the House of Commons. Cameron and many Conservative MP’s support a Bill in the Commons aimed at the need for a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union by 2017. However, dozens of Conservative MP’s defied the Prime Minister and have demanded for a referendum to be held before the 2015 election.

Adam Afriyie, who was tipped as a future Conservative Prime Minister and alongside the support of over 30 Tory MP’s, could potentially force a Commons vote to make sure Cameron holds a referendum next year (directly opposing James Wharton’s EU Bill). Afriyie pointed out that the public are “not convinced” Cameron will stick to his pledge to hold a referendum on Europe in 2017. Cameron’s referendum pledge cannot be made law in the form of a coalition government bill because of the Liberal Democrats opposition. Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg has said:

"I think the Conservative Party is wrong to be flirting with exit from the European Union. Hundreds of thousands, millions of jobs depend on our place in what is the world's largest border less single market."

Afriyie said that any delay, such as Labour’s attempts, in holding a referendum posed “significant dangers” and would enable UK Independence Party (UKIP) to build up support. UKIP have urged MP’s to back Afriyie’s proposed referendum next year, Nigel Farage, the leader of UKIP has said “I hope MP’s do what’s right, by voting to give the British people a say on the EU as soon as possible”.

During this exacerbating session, Conservative MP’s had to resort to using Twitter to express their frustration at the lack of progress in the Commons. MP’s must get through four groups of amendments at the Bill’s report stage, after the five hour debate, the House of Commons only agreed on one set of amendments. It looks like Labour MP’s have successfully slowed down the progress of the EU referendum Bill. Although most of voting was done by Conservatives, Labour MP’s did most of the talking in their delaying tactics. Miliband stated:

"The Conservative party talking to itself about Europe when actually what they should be doing is talking to the country about the most important issue that people are facing, which is the cost of living crisis"

The next day for the bill’s debate has been set to Friday 22^nd November, the debate will pick up where it left off, and Afriyie’s amendment may potentially be put to a vote. If Wharton successfully gets his bill through its report stage and the third reading, it will go through to the House of Lords.

Warm Welcome from Sweden as Britain Offer Only Cold Comfort Sam Wilson Sunday, November 10, 2013

You have escaped the unspeakable atrocities in your own homeland, braved perilous and terrifying conditions as you fled, but eventually, having lost everything, you reach salvation: the haven of a democratic country and the chance to rebuild your shattered life. Surely, even though it may be contrary to the letter of their immigration laws, this free-thinking, tolerant society will show pity and welcome you.

Forget it.

Instead the only “welcome” you get is “GO HOME” printed large on the side of a van. And this is not some far-right lobby. Oh no. This greeting comes from our very own elected government. Theresa May, in her greatest wisdom, gave the go-ahead to this £10,000 pilot scheme aimed at getting illegal immigrants to pack up and leave. What a fantastic idea; of course the reaction of any law-abiding illegal immigrant reading this sign would be to be overcome with guilt, pack their bags, and return to the hell from whence they came.

No wonder she decided to axe this ridiculous campaign almost as soon as it had been dreamt up. Not only was it a disgustingly insensitive approach to the immigration issue, it was also useless: it reportedly resulted in the departure of a one single immigrant. After this laughable failure, we must face difficult questions about how we deal with immigration issues in this country.

Contrast this approach with that of the Swedes. In line with their excellent reputation for social responsibility, they recently took the enormously generous decision to grant permanent residence to Syrian refugees seeking asylum. Their compassionate understanding of the desperate needs of these displaced people may not be a vote-winning move, but is so clearly what they need most. The permanence of the offer gives immigrants the opportunity to rebuild their lives, and let’s not forget that in most cases people forced to leave their homes due to war will be eager to return as soon as the conflict has ended.  This solution seems to me like the moral and right way of dealing with the issue, and the callous policies of our government are embarrassing by comparison.

And as a final thought, it is amazing how the majority of the time the media only highlights the negative impacts of immigration; it is in fact a mutually beneficial process. We must not forget the good immigrants have done for our country: our health service would collapse without them (despite the popular portrayal of immigrants putting a burden on the NHS), we would not have the “Great British” company that is Marks and Spencer, nor the iconic British Mini – both of course created by immigrants.

Miliband attempts to turn the NHS crisis against Cameron Unknown Friday, November 08, 2013

After Ed Miliband challenged David Cameron on the NHS crisis during yesterdays Prime Ministers Questions, Labour released a new video attacking Cameron (see below) and his so-called commitment to the NHS, containing a very cliché dramatic soundtrack, the video reminds voters how much emphasis Cameron put on protecting the NHS before the 2010 general election. It then goes onto reveal the persistent exacerbating problems within the NHS.

Despite the compelling evidence, Cameron has dismissed Miliband’s claim that the NHS accident and emergency (A&E) services in England are undergoing a crisis. During his election campaign, Cameron pledged that “I refuse to go back to the days when people wait for hours in A&E”, but Miliband accused Cameron of breaking this pledge. Although, Cameron has stated waiting times in England have fallen in recent months and later went onto criticise Labour’s handling of the NHS in Wales.

A senior ward consultant raised concerns over A&E units, warning the UK is facing what may be “our worst winter yet” due to a combination of soaring demand, shortage of doctors and “toxic” overcrowding on hospital wards. Although the Prime Minister insisted the government was reaching its goals with regards to significantly lower waiting times and number of emergency consultants up, Miliband added A&E targets had been “missed for 15 consecutive weeks”, and “what the British people know is the NHS is heading into winter with fewer nurses, a lack of senior A&E doctors and a shortage of beds. You promised you would protect the NHS but it’s now clear the NHS isn’t safe in your hands”.

Miliband attacked the coalition for its poor record on staff management; claiming more than 2,000 NHS staff have been made redundant and rehired since 2010. He added: 2,300 health staff received £100,000+ pay-offs since the last general election.

Miliband further added: "and we know why the NHS is failing - your botched reorganisation, the abolition of NHS Direct, cuts to social care and 6,000 fewer nurses. There's only one person responsible for the A&E crisis and that's you.

Cameron said: "We are saving £4.5 billion by reducing the number of managers in our NHS and for the first time anyone re-employed has to pay back part of the money they were given.
"That never happened under Labour. But we don't have to remember the Labour record of the past, we can look at the Labour record in Wales.
"They have been running the Welsh health service, they cut the budget by 8.5%, they haven't met a cancer target since 2008, they haven't met an A&E target since 2009.
"The fact is, you are too weak to stand up to the poor management of the NHS in Wales, just as you are too weak to sack your health secretary."

Leading A&E doctors have warned of a winter crisis in the NHS as official figures reveal a 43% rise in the numbers waiting more than four hours in A&E departments compared with two years ago. NHS statistics reveal a shocking 89% leap in the number of “trolley waits” of 4 to 12 hours when data for September 2013 is compared with September 2011. Cliff Mann, leader of Britain’s A&E doctors, said this winter is slowly shaping up to be the toughest the NHS had ever faced. “All the worrying indicators are up already. And they seem to indicate that this winter will probably be worse than last winter, which was the worst we ever had, a tipping point for the NHS’s delivery of acute care.”

Most recent data available from the NHS:

• The number waiting longer than four hours in A&E departments in England rose in September this year to 69,268, compared with 48,283 in September 2011, an increase of 43%.
•  The total waiting more than four hours before admission, transfer or discharge between April and October this year was 513,626, compared with 356,056 in the same period in 2011.
•  The number waiting more than four hours during a single week in mid-August was higher, at 17,037, than the total during a week in mid-January 2011 (16,479).
• "Trolley waits" reached 87,186 between April and October, compared with 47,644 over the same period in 2011.
• Days lost because of delayed discharges or "bed blocking" rose to 75,297 in September this year, against 60,316 in September 2010.

Spy chiefs face questioning by MP's Unknown Thursday, November 07, 2013

(Left to right) Mi6 chief Andrew Parker, Mi6 chief Sir John Sawers and GCHQ chief, Sir Iaian Lobban

Today, the three chiefs of the British intelligence agencies have made an unprecedented public televised appearance in front of the intelligence and security committee of MP’s where they will seek to justify the legitimacy of the agencies activities. The public hearing featured the chief of Mi6, Sir John Sawers, chief of Mi5, Andrew Parker and the chief of GCHQ, Sir Iain Lobban.

The hearing comes as a result of former leaks from former NSA contractor, Edward Snowden. Snowden disclosed classified information of not only top secret United States mass surveillance programs to The Guardian, but also programmes conducted by Israeli, French, British and other governments. Snowden has taken up political asylum in Russia, and has been labelled as a fugitive by American authorities who have already charged with him espionage and theft of government property.

Former NSA contractor and whistle blower, Edward Snowden

In close partnership with Britain’s GCHQ intelligence agency, the German, Spanish, French and Swedish intelligence agencies have developed methods of mass surveillance of internet and phone traffic over the past five years. The surveillance is carried out through tapping into fibre optic cables and development of relationships with telecommunications companies. Ironically, phone networks in Europe are awfully easy to tap largely because they were designed on the advice from continental spy agencies. The leaked documents by Snowden reveal that Britain’s GCHQ played a major role in advising its European associates how to work around national laws intended to restrict the surveillance power of intelligence agencies. The UK government was warned by German justice minister, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger that free and democratic societies could not flourish when states shielded their actions in a “veil of secrecy”.

Head of GCHQ, Sir Iain Lobban claimed that mass surveillance programmes did not necessarily mean the intelligence agencies were reading everyone’s emails or listening to their calls, which in some respects is true. Although, NSA’s surveillance program, PRISM has collected and stored information for over 5 years from companies such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo and several more. This means that you have never actually permanently deleted anything from Facebook, it’s all stored somewhere, and the capacity of the storage increases by 21 petabytes of internet data each day. He further added that if you are a threat or you are in contact with someone who is a threat, you will potentially be monitored. Perhaps the biggest lie mentioned during the hearing was when Lobban claimed the agencies did not do anything outside the law. The intelligence gathering agencies have breached basic articles of the EU treaty, such as articles 4.3 on “sincere co-operation” as well as privacy clauses in the EU charter of fundamental values, and in the European charter of fundamental rights.

Sir John Sawers, head of Mi6 has stated that national security has been so badly damaged by Snowden’s leaks that those who wish to do harm to Britain have been “rubbing their hands with glee” and al-Qaeda is “lapping it up”. Terrorist groups in the Middle East and Afghanistan have the upper hand and the leaks could help paedophiles avoid detection; the three chiefs were unwilling to provide anymore examples of the damage caused by the leaks.

After being asked why the public were not informed of the mass surveillance before discovering them via Snowden’s leaks to The Guardian, Lobban claimed some things were “necessarily secret” and “should remain secret”. He added to his bold statement, secrets did not mean sinister.  He’s correct, secrets don’t necessarily mean sinister, but I’m certain we’ve all heard the saying “if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear”.

Sawers continued to deny Mi6 spied on everyone, claiming there were only a few countries where covert operations were conducted. To defend the mass surveillance programmes, Parker stated there were some terrorist plots during the London 2012 Olympics, but they were disrupted by intelligence agencies. He added, in total there have been 330 prosecutions for international terrorism since the events on 9/11 and 34 terrorist plots have been foiled since the London 7/7 bombings, Parker reiterated UK intelligence work defends freedom. Arguably, the reckless mass surveillance undermines freedom and democracy.

Lobban said the types of people employed by GCHQ were concerned about combating terrorism and criminals, and if they were asked to spy on innocent citizens, they would “walk out”. Parker said “the work we did is addressing directly threats to this country, to our way of life and to the people who live here”, Sawers was quizzed by the committee about why, despite this effort put into mass surveillance, did security services fail to predict the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, events of 9/11 in 2001, 7/7 2005 bombings and the Arab Spring. His response was it’s not his responsibility.

The tragedy of Britain’s forgotten pensioners Sam Wilson Wednesday, November 06, 2013

In the past few weeks, a crisis in our society has been exposed: the shocking way we neglect the growing number of elderly fellow human beings living among us. It has emerged that a disgracefully large number of Britain’s pensioners will have to make the decision between eating and heating this winter. This is as a result of the recent announcement of a 10% hike in gas prices from several of the country’s major providers. Surely these basic human needs should be available to everyone in this country. It is a disgrace that the most vulnerable of us are being cruelly deprived.

As if things for our pensioners weren't bad enough, in another report announced a few days ago it was revealed that many of our elderly people are desperately lonely and isolated. Up to a million people are being consigned to a life of loneliness and ill health, going for weeks on end without speaking to another person, because of society’s shameful failure to take responsibility for older relatives. Research also showed that there are now 800,000 people in England who are chronically lonely.

Yet this is a problem that we can solve ourselves. I first met Vi, 95, about 18 months ago, as part of the volunteering section of my Duke of Edinburgh award. It’s so easy for me to do the odd jobs for her like picking up a few things from the shop, running the hoover around, or working out the TV, but for her these things are a constant worry. Every couple of weeks I call round to see if there’s anything she needs doing and just to talk to her. This is a relationship that works both ways; not only does she benefit but I also learn a lot from and enjoy having interesting chats with her, and it feels good to be doing my bit.

In the last few days, the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt accused society of collectively ignoring what he calls the "national shame" of the "forgotten million" older people isolated at home or in care with no one to talk to, and claimed that “each and every lonely person has someone who could visit them and offer companionship”.

Is it really too difficult to give up an hour of your time every few weeks? If we all did so, the impact we would make could change lives. These chronically lonely people are everywhere; there are almost certainly several living down your street. Can you really walk on by, knowing how easily you could make a difference?

Further reading:
The Independent

Shipbuilding in Portsmouth comes to a stop, axing 1,800 jobs Unknown Wednesday, November 06, 2013

Well renowned shipyards in Portsmouth with over 500 years of shipbuilding history will be closing by the end of 2015 under the orders of BAE Systems, Portsmouth and regions in Scotland, mostly Glasgow, will experience heavy job losses. The job cuts, totally almost 1,800 were announced by BAE Systems, the UK’s largest defence contractor, but the decision was taken in consultation with the Ministry of Defence, and defence secretary, Phillip Hammond, provided details of the events in the House of Commons. Downing Street sources have stated that the decision will be reversed if the Scottish electorate votes for independence in the referendum held next year in autumn.

In his statement at the Commons, Philip Hammond stated that no longer enough defence work exists to keep shipbuilding going in both Glasgow and Portsmouth, and that it only seemed logical to consolidate the work in one location. In addition to his announcement, the remaining aircraft carrier work will not be halted and will be completed in Glasgow. Hammond described the loss of nearly 1,800 jobs as regrettable but inevitable and a “harsh blow”, but it represented the best decision in the national interest. Hammond told MP’s:

Consolidation of the ship-building industry is not a single event. It has been a process that's been going on for decades ... I'm afraid the logic of the size of the Royal Navy and the budget that we have for building new ships, the inexorable logical is that we can only support one naval shipbuilding location in the United Kingdom. Anything else, I'm afraid, is fantasy economics.

Phillip Hammond, Defence Secretary speaking at the House of Commons 06/11/13

BAE Systems experienced shipbuilding whilst it was at its highest zenith since the Second World War, however, since aircraft carrier work ended, there has been a shortfall of work with significantly too many staff for its next order, type 26 ships. The Type 26 warships are to be built in Glasgow, although Hammond hinted that Glasgow could potentially lose the Type 26 contract if Scotland votes for independence. Hammond’s response to what would happen if Scotland voted to break away from the UK:

The UK has always built complex warship in the United Kingdom so that it has sovereign control over the operation of those contracts. If we changed our position at some point in the future and decided that we wanted to compete contracts for complex warships in the open market, with countries outside the UK being able to bid, then that would open up the market to all sorts of competitors. What I have said, and I will say again today, is I see no reason to expect that the UK would want to change from the position that we will build complex warships in the UK for reasons of maintaining sovereign capability in the future.

The promised ships are expected to replace the current, smaller River Class vessels which have been sailing the UK’s waters since 2003. Hammond further added “this is an investment not only in three ships but in this country’s warship building industry. It prevents workers standing idle and sustains the vital skills needed to build the planned Type 26 frigate in the future. The Ministry of Defence announced that more than £100m will be invested into Portsmouth’s naval yards expansion in order to ensure it fully prepared for the arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Prince of Wales and Type 45 destroyers which are already based in Portsmouth.

During Prime Minister’s questions in the House of Commons, David Cameron said his thoughts were with the workers and families affected by these “extremely difficult decisions”. He added “We will go on building warships on the Clyde, we will be announcing three new offshore patrol vessels, keeping the yard busy rather than paying for it to remain idle as the last government proposed”

Caroline Dinenage, the Conservative MP for Gosport, complained that jobs in Portsmouth were “sacrificed” in order to protect Scottish people. Mike Hancock, an independent MP for Portsmouth South, stated ending shipbuilding at Portsmouth would be a difficult decision to reverse. He added: The expertise is very, very much dedicated to shipbuilding. And once they disperse the workforce in various parts of the south of England, I don’t think it’s going to be easy to put that back together.” He strongly believes “the government are making a big mistake for the future of shipbuilding in the UK, particularly military shipbuilding”.

Workers at BAE’s Scotsoun and Govan yards in Glasgow have been sent home for the day after being told the disappointing news, apart from being told about 800 jobs will be lost in Scotland, no breakdown was given. Workers who were sent home from the yards said they were worried and disappointed and that the announcement was not unexpected. A 63 year old plater, Alex Taylor at Govan said “We've known for a while that the workload isn't there to carry the amount of people that we had building the carriers, but hopefully voluntary redundancies will take up the slack." He added that those affected at Portsmouth were "working class guys the same as ourselves, they're just shipbuilders.”