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You are in the company of Roger Warren Evans, Welsh socialist lawyer and company director, committed to the
construction of a new socialist order capable of generating equality
and freedom for the world. Nothing less will do.
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Renewing participatory democracy Multiple Differential Uncertainty
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Week 51 My own Conman 
My heart bleeds for Cherie . Her personal reputation is in tatters. Her self-confidence, and that of her husband, will certainly have been undermined. Her reputation as a lawyer is grievously damaged. She was undoubtedly conned by Peter Foster, and his facile and specious "closure statement" last Monday, laying the ground for his "autobiography", to be published in time for next Christmas merely prolongs the con. I know the feeling. Because I was once also conned - taken by a conman, who was later imprisoned for his deceits. He did not steal my money, but he inveigled his way into my household, brought his wife and children to lunch with my family. And he stole my optimism about human nature, my peace of mind, and my self-respect – which took a very long time to recover. 2003 Energy Minister Brian Wilson has given a clear indication that the UK Government does not intend to abandon civil nuclear energy. I agree with that conclusion. Fossil fuels continue to threaten mankind not only with arbitrary expiry, but with awful pollution risks while oil has to be tankered around the world, in decrepit vessels. It makes no sense whatever to abandon the drive to provide unlimited nuclear power for mankind, and to contain and manage its hazards. When I previously pinned my colours to this mast, I provoked antagonistic correspondence.
Education?
Health? I felt guilty when, just after the 2002 Budget, I confessed my doubts to you. Health and Education were worthy causes, I thought, but they were not uppermost in the minds of the electorate. And they would therefore not, on their own, win future elections. This week, the Chief Executive of Stirling Council Keith Yates wrote in the Local Government Chronicle –
I think Keith is right. All my own local Welsh observations, since April, confirm my early worries. The Government has, however worthily and expensively, got hold of the wrong end of the political stick. And the sooner they change focus, the better... City States I believe in cities. I believe in the dynamism of city government, the power of city loyalties, the cogency of city identities. Life would be richer, more diverse, more exciting, more challenging – if we gave our cities their head. Is this diversity? “Diversity” seems to be the new clarion-call for public services. The Government claims to be making the running, in reforming the public services to provide greater “diversity” – for hospitals, for universities, for schools. But while greater local diversity and public participation are fine ideals, I cannot find any examples in practice. Hezza Heseltine was rubbished last week for his attack on Ian Duncan Smith. But his real mistake was to finger the defunct Kenneth Clarke as a potential successor - that would be absurd. Steve Bell captured the moment perfectly, drawing in The Guardian The man whom Labour should really fear is Oliver Letwin. He would quickly conjure up a new, young, libertarian Conservative Party, well-equipped to counter the careless autocracy of the Blair Cabinet. As a committed Labour Party animal, I hope fervently that the Tories do not think of that...What do you think? back to top Mohammed Abu-Zhara I want to keep this name before your gaze for a few moments longer. For his case should be a source of pride to us all. I am proud of the Newcastle Employment Tribunal, who upheld his allegations of racial discrimination, and awarded him £9,000 damages. And he was a working asylum-seeker, waiting for the fateful verdict of the Home Office.
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top Recent topics And read my own Big Theory itself, at Diary 2002 Now up to date! I have re-structured my Diary to give you a day-to-day means of looking back, throughout the year just click through |
Democratic Failures Two subjects overshadow current politics, namely immigration and drugs. Yet our elected politicians, for sheer fear of the electorate, shy away from the reform process. Rational, open debate is impossible on either subject, seemingly because none of our leaders – of any Party – is prepared to take the lead. This represents a serious failing of the democratic process.
Civil Rights Warning If you do fancy a toke, for goodness sake do not tell your GP! A case has recently arisen of a cannabis smoker having his driving-licence taken away because his doctor reported to the DVLC that his patient was smoking cannabis. Doctors have a duty to report conditions which are listed as a "relevant disability" for driving-licence purposes - and since 1997 (a Tory measure it seems, but administered by Labour) the very smoking of cannabis has been so classified. That Regulation is in my opinion unlawful, as a disproportionate State intervention - but nobody has yet challenged the Regulations before the Courts. In the meantime, the only sensible course is for a smoker to remain silent... Dicastocracy New Labour has, in its foxhunting proposals, been accused of ducking responsibility by vesting power in a new "Foxhunting Licensing Tribunal". I detect, however, a growing popular preference for this form of rule by judge, or discastocracy. Such institutions now dominate our industrial and commercial sectors, with Regulators and OFWhat-evers of every kind being entrusted with key political decisions. Is the authority of politicians declining and that of "judges" rising?
January Revolution... The class system will be abolished in January. The tumbrils will roll on Sunday 5 January 2003 - when Chiltern Railways, running commuters into Marylebone Station, will abolish First Class carriages. I am delighted. Chiltern Railways have decided that it is wrong to favour a small number of privileged passengers in luxury, while others only stand and hang on straps - check out the full story. What do you think? back to top “Corporate Social Responsibility” "CSR" is a corrosive new jargon. For it suggests that private “corporations” are themselves to be considered warm and cuddly, generous and community-spirited, socially acceptable organisations. That is dangerous nonsense, and profoundly misleading. These qualities can attach only to natural persons – never to corporations. the power of poverty Internet law may make life much more difficult for the big corporate publishers. As a result of a key Australian Court decision, they are quaking in their corporate boots.
Honesty may not be In these risk-obsessed times, I cannot accept that "honesty", for Governments, means blurting out every adverse prognostication. In the management of public anxiety, Government may in future have to be very secretive indeed...
Our use of imprisonment as a penal sanction is clearly failing. Against a long-run average of some 40,000 prisoners, the UK now locks up 70,000+, and that figure could reach 100,000. Anniversary! Having launched this Weblog on Christmas Day 2002, my first anniversary
rapidly approaches.
The Deal III I have embarked upon a magnum opus, I can see that. This week I re-visit my vision of a new socialism, thrashed out in a new global concordat with the corporate sector, confronting its demons, acknowledging its weaknesses, playing to its strengths. You have had Chapter I, and Chapter 2 -And don't forget to tell me what you think... The chaotic Old Left I
Follow my August 2002 Russian Tour Diary, now unfolding in splendid technicolor - capacity problems have so far limited the scale of how much I can E-publish, but there is still plenty to read - Special Footnote I love the online newspapers, which are my access to the world - share them with me - click through to their Homepages from here -
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