100 Radical Days

It was never going to be easy.  The coalition Government has faced a set of challenges largely without parallel in post war history.

In May the Government was faced with a record deficit; an economy gradually getting back to its knees following the deepest recession since records began; plummeting faith in the political system; widening inequality; stalling social mobility; and seemingly intractable social problems.

100 days is always a slightly arbitrary time to judge a Government’s record.  However, it is actually crucial – the political capital of any Government is at its highest at the beginning.  It marks the perfect time to get things done.

  On May 9^th, I called for a ‘coalition of the progressive centre.’ I argued that:

“With the support of the Liberal Democrats, a Conservative-Liberal coalition of the progressive centre can deliver the radical economic, political and social reform the country needs.”

I believe that the coalition has, so far, lived up to those lofty expectations.  It has governed in a progressive and radical manner.  Already, in 100 breathless days, the coalition has:

• Dealt with one of the biggest fiscal catastrophes the country has faced since the war.  Faced with a choice of setting out a credible plan to pay down a record budget deficit or letting our domestic policies be placed at the whim of global financiers (as Greece, Spain and Portugal have found), we wisely opted for the former;
• Laid the framework for renewed growth and renewed job creation;
• Placed as a priority delivering social justice and enhancing social mobility;
• Created a bonfire of restrictions on civil liberties.  Even after 100 days, this Government has claim to be the most civil libertarian since the war – a welcome change after New Labour’s social authoritarianism;
• Set out the biggest programme of constitutional change for decades.  House of Lords reform is, after a century and more of dithering, set to be achieved.  Governmental transparency looks set to improve both visibility and performance of Government.  Ideas of recall and referenda (albeit slightly too limited at this early stage – as Douglas Carswell argues) have at last been injected into the body politic.  Indeed, the cooperation across party lines in itself is something that most people outside of the political class have welcomed;
• Already decentralised power to local people to an unprecedented extent.  Hopefully more decentralisation will follow;
• Instituted a Great Repeal Bill – with the aim of repealing unnecessary legislation that impinges on freedom;
• Unveiled an evidence based policy on prisons that has more in common with traditional Conservative views than the authoritarianism of recent years.

After thirteen years of small ‘c’ conservative Government, it comes as a breath of fresh air to have a Government prepared to make the brave and radical decisions that are in the national interest.  Despite the heckling from nay sayers, it is the coalition that has made this possible.

The Economist has described the Government as a “radical force.”  I am confident that 100 radical, progressive days will become five radical, progressive years.

This blog was originally posted at www.platform10.org

Is Zoe Williams Gunning For The Jan Moir Award For Idiotic Journalism

On Comment Is Free last night, Zoe Williams has come up with the most ignorant piece of tripe since Jan Moir told us her spectacularly ill informed views about the sad death of Stephen Gately.

According to Williams, "If sex with HIV is a crime, so is swimming with verrucas."

Her article is referring to the trial Nadja Benaissa, of the German pop group No Angels.  Banaissa is on trial for manslaughter after having unprotected  sex with a man and not telling him that she was HIV positive.  She claims that such trials are about sexual morality.  She is speaking idiocy of the worst order.

This is spectacular, utter, grotesque nonsense.  There is still no cure to HIV.  Two million people died from AIDS in 2008.

If somebody knows that he or she has HIV and has sex without informing their sexual partner of their HIV status they are knowingly putting the life of the other person in danger. That is malicious. That is manslaughter.  It is not the same as swimming with veruccas.  Any such comparison is offensive and wrong.  Risking passing on a verucca is in no way comparable to recklessly endangering the life of others.

Improving Social Mobility Must Come Before Tribal Point Scoring

I have already posted both here and on Platform 10 that the appointment of Alan Milburn as social mobility 'czar' is one to be welcomed.  Improving social mobility is one of the biggest challenges facing British society today and it is a good thing that somebody as talented and passionate about the subject as Milburn feels ready to  continue to contribute to the subject.

As Peter Bingle said in his excellent blog earlier on today:

"Politics was the loser when Alan Milburn stood down from the House of Commons at the last election. One of the few genuine stars of the New Labour Project, Alan was the most radical Health Secretary since Aneurin Bevan. 

A former member of the hard left, Alan had all the conviction and passion of a convert. He embraced the market in a way that no other Labour Cabinet Minister dared to do. In the end he was thwarted by the then Chancellor Gordon Brown and left the government ...

In the dying days of the last government, Alan Milburn was asked to chair a commission into social mobility. It is an issue about which he cares passionately. From a poor background himself he believes (and has said so publicly) that nowadays it would be almost impossible to achieve the social mobility which he has achieved himself.... The commission's recommendations were largely ignored by Gordon Brown to the intense irritation of its chairman ... I was therefore not surprised to learn that Alan had accepted an invitation from the PM to become the Social Mobility Czar. I suspect that his political instincts are much closer to those of this PM than the last one.

Alan is the latest in a long line of senior Labour figures to accept a role advising the coalition. They all deserve our thanks and support for putting country before party."

Like Alan Milburn, I come from a North Eastern working class background and share his passion about the importance improving life chances for people from low income backgrounds.

What followed the announcement was a number of Labour figures abusing Alan Milburn in very personal terms.  This was John Prescott's 'tweet' on the matter: "So after Field & Hutton, Milburn becomes the 3rd collaborator.  They collaborated to get Brown OUT.  Now collaborating to keep Cameron IN."

Now I'm a fan of John Prescott.  One of the reasons that I like John Prescott is that he came from a very humble background to be a great success in politics.  Maybe before throwing the word collaborator about, Lord Prescott should consider that what Alan Milburn is doing is channelling his passion to help more kids from humble beginnings realise their dreams and aspirations.

Andy Burnham also attacked Alan Milburn for his decision.

Maybe people on the left attacking Milburn should consider what is more important - the kind of tribal politics that turns so many people off or ensuring that the life chances of people from lower income backgrounds are improved.  Milburn clearly believes the latter.  Throwing insults about a man who is channelling his talents to helping improve social mobility seems pretty unedifying to me.

And then there was Iain Dale on the right.  He had a blog paraphrasing Martin Niemoller's remarkable poem 'First They Came' and suggesting that the job should have gone to a Tory.  First off, I reckon there are some pieces of poetry that shouldn't be used for partisan slagging and this is certainly one of them.  Secondly, Milburn is a highly talented individual, hugely respected and an expert in the field.  He understands the issues regarding social mobility and cares passionately about them.  He would be, for most people on both sides of the divide, one of the first names that come to mind when you ask who should head up this kind of work on social mobility.

This is simply too important an issue to be reduced to tribal posturing and party political point scoring.  The snipers may think that tribal purity is more important than helping improve social mobility.  They are wrong.  Thank goodness that Milburn has decided to put country and improving life chances of lower income people ahead of tribalism.

The US PGA and The Psychology Of Winning

It was quite a night of golf yesterday for the final round of the US PGA.  I have written before about the massive importance of psychological factors in politics, business and, massively importantly, sport.

This couldn't be seen much more clearly than in the enthralling final day yesterday.  Going into the final round, Nick Watney went into the final round with a three shot lead after a superb third day.



You would have thought, of course, that all he had to do was turn up and he would win.  But that takes away the psychological pressures when sport gets to the 'business end' - when it really starts to matter.  The pressure got to Watney straight away and he tumbled down the leaderboard as the day went on

Towards the end of the round it looked like Dustin Johnson virtually had his hands on the trophy.  He stood on the final tee with a one shot lead and the tournament at his mercy.



Johnson was the man who led at three shot lead in this year's US Open disappear.  And on the final tee, when he needed a straight drive, the pressure got to him and he hit a wild drive way to the right.  An altercation with what might or might not have been a bunker followed and he (following a run in with the rules of golf) didn't even make the play off that followed.

What mattered wasn't just the grounding of the club in the bunker it was the losing of the cool on the final tee.

Yesterday's US PGA showed the importance of the 'pscychology of winning'.  Some players are capable of withstanding the pressure of that big occasion.   Some even revel in it. Think Woods in his pomp, or Taylor in darts, or Federer a few years ago.  They have a winning mentality and a winning psychology.

Others, without this mentality, are adept at plucking defeat from the jaws of victory.  Most weeks on the PGA  or European Tour, at least one player proves himself unable of handling the final day pressure.

Yesterday's US PGA was a wonderful example of players lacking that winning mentality and the psychological steel needed for the big occasion.

Social Mobility Matters And Alan Milburn's Appointment Should Be Welcomed

In the short term, the Government will be judged by successfully dealing with the catastrophic financial situation left behind by its predecessor.  In the long term, the Government will be judged on making Britain a more socially mobile and open society.

Social mobility matters.

It matters that so many people are not fulfilling their potential or aspirations.

It matters that life chances are more likely to be decided at birth than at any time since the 1920s.

It matters that, although only 7% of children go to private school, such schools account for almost 80% of judges, 70% of finance directors and barristers; 55% of Tory MPs; and over 50% of top journalists.

That is why the appointment of Alan Milburn as social mobility ‘czar’ is to be welcomed.  At the moment, after 13 years of a Government that promised so much but delivered so little, Britain one of the least socially mobile countries in the world and less mobile than at any time since the war.

The report of the cross party commission (which I praised at the time) headed up by Alan Milburn for the last Government was a devastating indictment of the previous Government’s failure to act on the issue.  It said that, “access to the professions is becoming the preserve of a smaller and smaller part of the social spectrum.”  

This is something that a highly talented man such as Alan Milburn feels strongly about and it is only to be applauded that he will be avoiding the tribal taunts of members of the opposition about the fact he wants to do all that he can to help improve the life chances of the poorest.

Social mobility is also something I care deeply about.  I went to a North Eastern comprehensive school (probably of the kind that Tony Blair would have derided as ‘bog standard’).  I saw so many exceptional people who were let down by the system and didn’t always achieve their potential.

There are some people who suggest that an attachment to enhancing social mobility is ‘un-Conservative’.  They couldn’t be more wrong.  It wasn’t un-Conservative when Churchill talked of creating a floor below which none could fall and a sky through which all could rise.

What is more Conservative than ensuring that each and every human being is able to fulfil their potential.    What can be more Conservative than raising people’s aspirations? A modern economy needs highly skilled people to prosper.  What can be more wasteful than seeing so many people not fulfilling their potential?

Congratulations To the Evening Standard On Their Campaign To Raise Awareness Of Poverty In London

The Evening Standard in London has been running a great campaign over the past few weeks in which it has been raising the issue of poverty in London.  In only 18 days, it has raised £1,000,000 to go to charities helping the poor in London.



The campaign has highlighted what it calls "the dispossessed" - the low wage workers struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living has outstripped the growth in wages.  It has highlighted the 650,000 children in London living in poverty and the pockets of deprivation in the shadow of London's centres of wealth.

Such a campaign is a very good thing and the cause is a noble one and one that deserves more attention.  Hopefully the national press and regional newspapers nationwide will highlight the issues of poverty and extreme inequality that exist nationwide.  Hopefully, the Evening Standard will be able to continue raising money to go towards this cause.

However, it shouldn't be forgotten that policy makers, as well as charities and philanthropists, have a crucial role to play in tackling poverty and alienation.  Government needs to deliver high quality education to provide opportunity for all.  It needs to continue lifting the poor out of tax altogether and continue considering the merits of a Living Wage.

You can find out more about the campaign at: www.standard.co.uk/dispossessed

Day One Of The Football Season - Hope Springs Eternal

Here we go again.  It seem like only yesterday that the Spanish were lifting the World Cup and tomorrow the domestic stuff starts all over again.

The first day of the season is the only day of the season when every football fan is equal.  The Blackpool fan can be as optimistic as the Man Utd fan.  There is no league table to tell fans the cruel truth.  Experiences on the pitch haven't deflated hopes and expectations.

It is the one day of the season when every football fan can think that this season just might be their season.  It might be the season when everything clicks into place, when all the luck goes your team's way.

As a Sunderland fan, I know that nothing is ever predictable but I would like to think that we would make a top 10 finish this year.  Of course, the first day of the season optimist in me is still thinking that the top 6 isn't totally unrealistic.

The first day of the season is, after all, the only day of the season when ungrounded optimism is expected.