Can Gordo the Prime Minister fix the economy? His reply is, just like Bob the Builder’s, “yes I can“:

I can steer this economy through difficult times… I feel that I am in the right position to be able to sort out the problems that we have now… Good economic decisions can help people through difficult times.

But since he has been Chancellor or Prime Minister for the last eleven years, there is no-one except him who is responsible and can be blamed for any downturn or economic problems.

Any economic problems we have, he has caused with his supposedly “good economic decisions” of the last decade. And with Brown determined to stay on until at least the next election, there is no-one to blame but him for any economic problems.

The “nice decade” which existed despite (rather than because of) Gordon Brown is now over. There are 1,200 people expected to lose their job every day over the next 18 months - a time period which takes us very close to the latest that the next general election can be held - it seems increasingly likely that this government will just continue to haemorrage support.

To take your mind off the impending economic disasters, here’s the Bob the Builder song:

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Flexible working is a good thing. It enables people to balance work and life - especially when they have children - and allows firms to keep talent and experience in the workplace.

But this new “right” over flexible working is nothing of the sort:

The right to request flexible working is to be extended to about 4.5 million parents of children aged up to 16.

Under the current rules the opportunity is limited to parents whose children are under six or disabled. (BBC)

“The right to request flexible working is to be extended.” How is this anything new? I already have the right to request flexible working from my employer. I can ask all I like, and they have the right to say “no” to me. Just as they still will be able to say no to these 4.5 million parents included under these proposals.

So it is just a gimmick, designed to grab a few headlines and make Brown look “family friendly”. It’s certainly not a serious proposal, as it does bugger-all.

Of course, had they gone any further and said that anyone has the right to work flexibly that would have been even worse. Though it is undoubtedly how many will read or assume it is meant to be read. Firms must have the ability to say no to requests for flexible working if it will harm them or make it hard for the rest of the team/business to do it’s job.

So this announcement is just a load of hot air - especially when “more than 90% of requests for flexible working were approved by employers last year,” meaning that employers are taking on their responsibilities already, without the government doing anything. So the government should stay out of it.

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Even if we ignore/excuse the massive amounts of lost data already by this government as institutional failings of the system and processes of the Civil Service rather than government ministers, these last two cannot be explained away like that.

Cabinet ministers are certainly directly responsible for these last two lapses - luckily it’s not our secrets that they’re letting out this time, but their own.

Both Caroline Flint and Hazel Blears have had their Cabinet briefing notes revealed through being photographed walking to the door of Number 10:

Caroline Flint’s revealed that government experts believed that “given present trends [house prices] will clearly show sizeable falls in prices later this year - at best down 5-10% year-on-year”. Bad news, and directly contradicts Gordon Brown’s rejection of a potential crash.

Hazel Blear’s briefing notes, however, revealed a less important but more interesting fact - that Gordon Brown has been approached to be a TV show judge on a “Junior PM” show aimed at an “Apprentice meets Maria/Strictly Come Dancing audience”, alongside a plea that “please, please let all concerned know that this is not stunt TV.” Seems very much like stunt TV to me. How this idea could even be contemplated is beyond me. Neither the Prime Minister nor his Cabinet should be paying attention to this sort of gimmick. It should have been ruled out from the start. That is a job from “broadcast” former politicians like Michael Portillo, not the people who are supposedly running the country.

What these stories do show is that they haven’t really got the hang of data privacy or understand the capabilities of technology. You would have thought that they’d at least put their notes in a folder! If a random photographer can get copies of Cabinet briefing notes, what could do determined terrorist get hold of?! Probably anything except MP expenses.

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David Cameron says that Labour have “abandoned” the principles of “New Labour” and have instead returned to the “Denis Healey era” of emergency budget and “class war campaigns”.

That they are going back to a class war footing certainly is true, as evidenced by the Crewe and Nantwich by-election campaign that Labour have been waging.

It is also news to me - and probably to most Labour ministers - that there are were New Labour principles at all!

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I don’t understand why anyone would be attacking Princess Beatrice over her weight and how she looks in a bikini [right]. She’s hardly obese, fat, or even “chubby”. Yes, she’s hardly perfectly slim, but she’s certainly no worse than at least 90-odd per cent of the British population.

Really, ratehr than attacking her, critics should be pointing her out as an example of how women do not have to be stick-insects to be attractive. And, frankly, I think that she is far prettier than the vast majority of so-called “supermodels” who are so thin you couldn’t see them if they walked behind a lamp post.

Beatrice is in the “healthy” range, the range to which we should all aim. She’s not stupidly and disgustingly thin, but she’s not fat or obese either. She’s curvy - and that’s the body shape that most men desire.

So, frankly, I agree with Sarah Ferguson - leave Beatrice alone. In fact, I’m going to go a step further: all those critics can well and truly fuck off. Beatrice is perfectly fine as she is.

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Apparently:

A voluntary code of conduct for bloggers and internet commentators is supported by almost half of all internet users, a survey has claimed.

The researchers said 46 per cent of web users believe bloggers should agree to a set of guidelines which reflected the laws on defamation, intellectual property rights and incitement. (The Telegraph)

First of all: Define an “internet user”. Do you mean anyone who uses the internet, someone who uses the internet a lot, or what? An “internet user” could mean a granny who spends a couple of minutes several hours sending an email on occasion, all the way through to the geek who spends every waking hour online.

This survery also has no numbers for bloggers/blog readers who support a code. So, basically pointless.

Whilst lots of people who use the internet on any basis might support the idea, no-one who understands the dynamic of the medium would.

Let me show you my response from the last time this idea was raised. It is just as applicable now.

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Why would anyone do this?

Office workers who sit at a desk for eight hours a day and spend more than three hours without stretching double their risk of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT), scientists have warned…

All workers who commonly sit at their computer for most of the day should do the same leg and foot exercises, such as flexing the ankles, that are recommended during long-haul flights, it was advised. (The Telegraph)

Why - and how - can people spend so long just sitting at their desk? I get up every hour or so at least in order to either (a) walk to the printer; (b) go and get a cup of tea; (c) go to the toilet; (d) talk to a colleague; (e) any of the above in order to stretch my legs.

I also make a point of physically leaving the office building and walking in to town every single lunchtime. Partly because I need to stretch my legs and partly because I just need new scenery. And I cycle to and from work.

I fidget too much to sit in one place for so long. I have to move every now and then. Quite how anyone can spend that length of time sitting in one position without getting up on a regular basis is beyond me.

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Yeah, right. Somehow, I don’t think so. Frank Field’s attack on Gordon Brown is devastating:

The awful fact that is coming across is that he seems so unhappy in himself. And I think everybody in the country who has ever watched a news clip of the Prime Minister realises that, and it’s a mega problem for him and the government…

That is clearly part of the tragedy on a personal level, as well as on a party, government and country level, that someone whose real aim in life was to be Prime Minister now has the task and seems to be so lacking in enjoyment in trying to try it out.

But Brown isn’t going anywhere. There is no chance of him ever resigning without being forced to since he simply could never bring hismelf to give up the position he fought for so long to get. And there is absolutely no chance of the Labour Party as a whole growing balls and forcing him out.

After all, after saying that Brown was the only person with the skills to be the party leader and Prime Minister just a few months ago, to then force him out and replace him with someone who they considered just a few months ago to be of a lower class would show an utter lack of intelligence and consistency - and immediately cast doubts over the new leader’s ability to govern Britain.

Since Field’s outspoken attack on Brown, ministers - including Brown’s acolyte, Balls - have been sent out to attack Field in return. It appears that they have had at least some effect, sicne Field has now apologised for allowing his campaign over the scrapping of the 10p tax rate to “become personal”. But why should he, when it certainly is a personal issue to all those millions who have been financially punished by Labour!

Brown will certainly still be leader of the Labour Party at the next election - but not for long afterwards, even if by some miracle he manages to scrape a majority.

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This May has seen the highest temperature that meterologists have ever measured, reaching a high of 27.5 C last weekend:

The average temperature from May 1 to 10 was the highest ever noted since meteorologists first started gathering precise daily data in 1772.

Evidence of Global Warming!!!

The bad news, however, is that the heat wave will not last with showers expected to arrive by Thursday when daytime temperatures drop to highs of between 59 F and 63 F (15-17 C).

Or, maybe not. Especilly when you also consider that:

According to Central England Temperature, which is the world’s longest available instrumental record of temperature, the average maximum and minimum temperature for the first ten days of the month was 58 F (14.7 C).

The temperature was appreciably above the long term average of 50.5 F (10.3 C). The previous highest average for the first few days of May was 57.7 F (14.3 C), which was experienced in 1804. (The Telegraph)

So, a rise of 0.3 C in204 years. We’re obviously all doomed.

I just fidn it amusing that people complain about the cold all winter… and then insist on turning the air-con up so it’s freezing in the office!

Please note: This is not a “climate change denier” post. It is poking fun at the idiots who jump on every little statistic as demonstrating that we’re all going to die from massive global warming and melting of the ice poles. If you want my views on climate change, then they can be summed up in three words [read the post it links to before commenting]: I don’t care.

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John Prescott is emerging as the diplomat of New Labour. Certainly not something one would have expected. In his memoirs, he says that he hosted “hundreds” of reconcilitaory meetings and phone calls between Blair and Brown in order to prevent the breakout of outright hostility between the two most powerful men in the Cabinet.

Eventually, however, even the paragon of patience that is John Prescott lost his cool with the pair of them and threw a gauntlet down in front of both of them:

He urged Blair to sack Brown as Chancellor.

And told Brown to resign and fight a leadership campaign from the backbenches.

But, of course, neither happened - because at heart both Blair and Brown are cowards. Blair wouldn’t dare sack, or even move Brown sideways. And Brown wouldn’t dare risk his six-figure salary and perks for the chance to take Blair on in a leadership battle.

They should have listened to Preza. For the good of the country, one of these things should have happened if Prescott’s tale of life at the top of Labour government is anywhere near correct. As New Lbour was always about power rather than principles, that was never gonna happen.

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