Saturday 30 April 2016

Referees need respect

Well done, Kadeem Simmonds, for his comments on Leicester City striker, Jamie Vardy, and for his correct criticism of the England manager`s comments (Morning Star, 27/04/16). What on earth did Hodgson mean when he said that "you take what a player brings"? That as long as they can score a few and put in a "decent shift", they can play for their country? Behaviour and attitude clearly don`t matter; racists and rapists, referee abusers and wife beaters are all welcome!
      Of course they are not,any more than tax avoiders, and who better than the England manager to make that very point, rather than supporting a player whose foul-mouthed, verbal abuse of a referee has spoiled a successful season? No referee should be spoken to in that way; it`s bad enough when referees have their split-second decisions repeatedly questioned by so-called "experts" on television, who often cannot agree, even after slow-motion replays from numerous angles, but it`s more disappointing when club and national managers fail to criticise players for their gross misconduct.
Apparently, the referee in question, Jon Moss, according to most reports of the match, "endured a difficult afternoon", but is it any wonder? Thousands of referees do, all over the country, every week? They need to be supported, as without them, the game is unworkable. If this is something that rugby players can accept on a worldwide basis, it should not be beyond the realms of possibility to drum it into footballers` and managers` heads. A start can be made by reporters ending their shilly-shallying, and following the example set by the Star`s Kadeem Simmonds!
 

Friday 29 April 2016

Mann wrong on Green

John Mann is way off the mark (BHS owner moved £1.5m out of business last week, 27/04/16). Why should he be given the choice of repaying the dividends, "or lose his knighthood"? It`s not as though Green gave the BHS workers in the pension fund any choice.
There are no ifs and buts to this matter. Green must be forced to pay back the dividends, and as a result of his continuous greed and corporate chicanery, he should have his knighthood removed; furhermore, an exception should be made to the rule that "secured creditors get paid first", thereby ensuring Green`s Arcada group gets paid nothing from BHS until all the other creditors get what they are owed (BHS suppliers facing £52m blow from unpaid debts,27/04/16)..

     He has cost the Treasury millions, if not more, over the years,in avoided taxes, and is a disgrace, both to the business community and to the country.

Tories and Skodas

Strange how Kevin Maguire ended his Commons Confidential piece with "The guy must be joking...right?", when that is exactly what many readers will have been thinking when deciphering the paragraph about Tory Charles Walker`s attempt to become Speaker (Skoda of conduct,22nd April,2016). This would-be Bercow sneeringly dismisses "Cameron`s £19000 Panama profits" as barely sufficient to purchase a Skoda Octavia, but Maguire`s "joke" is thinking that he thereby lost the support of Labour MPs because a "surprising number" of them own one.
   Firstly, why is it a surprise that there are MPs who wouldn`t dream of buying a flash car to look "cool", and who instead work hard in their constituencies to earn respect? Many of them know that millions in this country work hard and still fall well short of earning, even with the "national living wage", in a year anything like Cameron`s "windfall".  It would be far more becoming of an associate editor (politics) of the Daily Mirror to take maximum advantage of Walker`s arrogance to illustrate how the Tories, since 2010 especially, have taken the public for mugs with their northern powerhouse nonsense and their utter contempt for unions and public sector workers.

  It may be an adept way to end a column, but less so when the real "joke" is on the author!

Thursday 28 April 2016

Arrogance begins with "Look"!

"Selling a pay-rise lie" is only the second instalment of Osborne`s con-trick, as his idea of a "national living wage" was always going to be different from the one most people have, one that enables workers to earn more than is required for rent and food (Morning Star,19/04/16). The facts that under 25s are excluded from the "measly rate", and that it is well below what financial experts reckon is needed, are, presumably, unimportant, especially as young and poor people are deemed least likely to vote.
 Such arrogance from the Tories, and Osborne in particular, is leading to their downfall; the chancellor`s latest scare-mongering figures relating to the country leaving the EU, are so outrageously dubious even his Tory friends, Gove included, resent being treated "like children". Yet Osborne clearly doesn`t understand how such interference from him weakens the "Remain" case; obviously, empathy wasn`t being assessed when Osborne gained his first-class honours degree! 
  He`s not alone; there are so many politicians who, when being interviewed, begin their sentences with "Look", as in "Look, the figure of £4300 is......". What the speaker is not saying, but implying, is "Look you cretin, you can`t understand details so simply accept what I say, the figure of £4300 is .....".
    If Gove can tell school teachers that starting sentences with "However" is wrong, Corbyn should instruct all Labour politicians never to be so arrogant as to begin theirs with "Look"!

  

Friday 22 April 2016

More Tory contempt

One might have thought that, having been caught with their fingers in the Panama pie, Tories would have learned the important lesson that they cannot continue to threaten the existence of the "social contract", by treating the British public with contempt. There is little evidence, however, to illustrate that they understand "the impetus for the public outrage" over their tax affairs, and plenty to suggest that hiding their wealth from the taxman`s prying eyes on an industrial scale is deemed as their right (The Panama fallout,15th April,2016).
       Cameron clearly thinks setting up an inquiry headed by Edward Troup, who apparently regards tax as "legalised extortion", will appease the masses into thinking he is serious in his intent to end tax avoidance. Similarly, as your Leader implied,  his repeated use of emotive language to defend the financial chicanery of his "wonderful and hardworking dad", continues the trend of treating us like mugs, unable to grasp the purpose of a "tax minimising vehicle" like Blairmore.  
     Of course, the past-master at this is George Osborne, who obviously feels that the creation of a tunnel here, and a road-widening there, will convince the populace that the Tories are creating a "northern powerhouse". We are not expected to understand that news such as 83% of the government`s £300m relief fund will go to Tory-run councils, mostly in the south, is proof of the ridiculous bias this administration shows for southern England, whilst the £3 and £694 earned from interest, according to tax returns by Osborne and Johnson respectively, are figures which can only be politely described as "mickey-taking".
  Then there`s Sir Alan Duncan and his view that tax transparency will deprive Parliament of high "achievers"? My case rests! 

   

Monday 18 April 2016

Still taking us for mugs

Sam Fairbairn is absolutely right to say that the main issue revealed in the Panama Papers is the secrecy which sees the "super-rich hiding their wealth in tax havens on an industrial scale", but the consequent fallout of the scandal has emphasise the contempt the rich, and their Tory allies in government, have for the people (Morning Star,16/04/16). Cameron clearly thinks setting up an inquiry headed by Edward Troup, who according to Tory ex-chancellor, Kenneth Clark, has such "a feel for tax", that he regards it as "legalised extortion", will appease the masses into thinking he is serious in his intent to end tax avoidance. Similarly, his repeated use of emotive language to defend the financial chicanery of his father, with descriptions of his "wonderful and hardworking dad", continues the trend of treating us like mugs, aiming at the feeble-minded listeners` hearts rather than the brains which recognise such obvious tax avoidance.
  Of course, the past-master at revealing such scant regard for our thought capacity is George Osborne, who clearly thinks that the creation of a tunnel here, and a road-widening there, will convince the populace that the Tories are creating a "northern powerhouse"; we are not expected to understand that news such as 83% of the government`s £300m relief fund will  go to Tory-run councils, mostly in the south, is proof of the ridiculous bias this administration shows for southern England.

 As for Sir Alan Duncan and his view that tax transparency will deprive Parliament of high "achievers"? My case rests! His casual dismissal of the wonderful work done by the likes of teachers, nurses and carers may not be typical of the views of the Tory party, but I wouldn`t put money on it!

Friday 15 April 2016

New Statesman letter on tax reforms

Your leader rightly says that the "government cannot eliminate multinational tax avoidance on its own", but if this administration wants to ensure more of us do not "lose faith in the fairness of Britain", it can take some obvious and simple steps (Tax and the social contract,8th April,2016). Publication of tax returns of all government employees, from PM to judges and magistrates, from BBC presenters to athletes and footballers representing our country, will help; as some American revolutionaries nearly said,"no representation without taxation"! The government could also, following the example of FDR back in the New Deal era, with his award of Blue Eagles for economy-supportive companies, announce its full support for the Fair Tax Mark. Tax avoiding businesses, with their fiscal chicanery, run the risk of alienating the public, which is why the Fair Tax Mark is so useful as a guide for consumers. The award can be used in advertising, and on company logos, by the firms to encourage custom, winning public support by their commitment to playing a part in revitalising the country`s economy. Such companies can, at least, give the impression that they are aware of the importance of taxation, in that it pays for the workforce`s education, the transport facilities available, and the security every business needs to prosper. 
    There are other simple devices to alter the current culture too, such as changing the honours system to ensure no future knighthoods and suchlike are awarded to individuals, and CEOs of companies, involved in avoidance and evasion scams. Government contracts should only be given to companies paying the correct amounts of tax, representatives from the "big 4" accounting firms should be banned from government committees on tax, and anti-avoidance "tax harmonisation" policies with the EU should be adopted.

It`s hardly "rocket science", but it`s miles better than meaningless Tory rhetoric!

Monday 11 April 2016

Anti-Morgan letter

The Education Secretary`s failure to "build a bridge with the teaching profession", as Chris Keates said, was hardly unexpected (Morning Star,28/03/16). The "business-like approach", which privately-educated, ex-corporate lawyer, Nicky Morgan, brings to education, is exactly the opposite of what schools need, if the current and very serious teacher recruitment problems are to be solved. How dare she state that teachers should "project a more positive image to aid recruitment", when Tory-dominated governments since 2010 have treated the profession with scant regard, ignoring their expertise and experience, whilst making changes to curricula and assessment, which have led to teachers having to work up to sixty hours a week, and having their pay frozen?
     Morgan`s arrogance, typical of this government, means she is prepared to ignore the wishes of parents, too, claiming in an interview with teh Guardian newspaper, to know that they do not have "strong feelings about changes to school governance", when the evidence of parents` petitions and protests against individual school`s academisation suggests the exact opposite. Disingenuity abounds when she denies parents the right to representation on schools` boards of governors, whilst admitting "they have lots and lots to say" about teaching and leadership.
      Schools` minister, Nick Gibb, was similarly confused, on the radio recently, about the reasons for academisation being made compulsory, when he said having one system was essential, apparently forgetting the existence of the private, state, religious and free sectors!
     Sadly, as with the country`s economy, education policy is being guided by politicians keen to show their leadership qualities, which, in Tory eyes, appear to include the ability to make so-called "tough" decisions, which contravene the wishes of the majority of the people. 

 

Tuesday 5 April 2016

Scrapping Ofsted

Scrapping Ofsted, as suggested at the NUT Conference, and supporting "action for alternative models of school accountability", have to be seen by the Labour party as essential policies for the next election manifesto, which might well be needed before 2020 (Morning Star,29/03/16).
     Constant criticism of teachers and teaching, which has been the norm ever since the first Ofsted reports were published in 1992, does nothing to rejuvenate already overworked staff, or to encourage new entrants into the profession, at a time when teacher recruitment is approaching crisis proportions. Is it surprising that so many qualified teachers leave before completing five years in the classroom?

       Apparently, Ofsted has dropped its ludicrous ideas about marking being done in different coloured pens, but the suggestion is symptomatic of the inspectors` lack of understanding of the real world of education, and their unrealistic expectations.  If the Education Secretary really wants to show off  her leadership credentials to her Tory colleagues, she should start by telling heads and parents that it is not essential for every piece of work to be corrected and given five line comments on how improvement can be attained; sixty hour weeks for teachers are simply counter-productive!
      An inspection regime worth its salt would, after an "unsatisfactory" verdict of a school, hold Training days for the staff, with the same inspection team giving not only advice on how lessons could be improved, but also, of course, demonstrations! If standards have indeed, "stalled" in some secondary schools, Ofsted should surely be calling for smaller class sizes, more classroom assistants, more units for the badly behaved and more hi-tech facilities? Not every school can simply appoint a new "superhead" to come in and immediately expel sixty or so pupils as a method of improvement; indeed, some may regard such action as simply "passing the buck".
     Despite the Tories` abysmal treatment of teachers, Labour cannot be guaranteed to receive their electoral support; a pledge to change the inspection system in schools is essential.