Big Sticks and Small Carrots

Last month I wrote to Lord Falconer regarding his statements on reform of the voting system.
In essence I wanted to know the government position on this:

“We are committed to a referendum on the voting system for the House of Commons. An independent commission on voting systems will be appointed early to recommend a proportional alternative to the first-past-the-post system.”
Labour Party Manifesto, 1997.

I have received a reply:

24 June 2005

Dear Mr Hamster,

Electoral Reform

Thank you for your letter to the Lord Chancellor dated 24th May 2005, regarding the voting system employed to return members of Parliament to the House of Commons.

I can Confirm that an internal review is currently underway within the Department for Constitutional Affairs, which will review the new electoral system introduved for the devolved administrations, the European Parliament and the Londom Assembly. his review is at an early stage, and decisions regarding any steps for the review will be taken id due course.

The government still maintains that a referendum remains the right way to agree any change for Westminister.

Thank you for writing to Lord Falconer and I hope this is of use to you.

Yours…

It’s not a great deal of use to be honest. First paragraph is polite, no problem, but no information. The second is completely irrelevant to my question. The third is an attempt to answer my question without answereing my question.

Furthermore, it bears a striking resemblance to this reply received by doctorvee:

Regarding Mr Stephen’s first concern [making my vote count], I can confirm that an internal review is currently underway within my Department, which will review the new electoral systems introduced for the devolved administrations, the European Parliament and the London Assembly. This review is at an early stage, and decisions regarding any next steps for the review will be taken in due course.

The government still maintains that a referendum remains the right way to agree any change for Westminster.

And that doctorvee post has a trackback reference to this reply to Murky which also contains exactly the same reply. It’s matching evasive half truths all round. Hurray! OK, I understand that the government has a standard position, but when that standard position contains no information and is repeated word for word to all and sundry, I’m not too pleased.

Right, another letter is what’s needed.

Dear…
Thank you for your reply dated 24th June 2005. Unfortunately, I have not found the information it contains as useful as you had hoped.

Your reply states “The government still maintains that a referendum remains the right way to agree any change for Westminster.”

This is not the position expressed in the 1997 Labour Manifesto:
“We are committed to a referendum on the voting system for the House of Commons. An independent commission on voting systems will be appointed early to recommend a proportional alternative to the first-past-the-post system.”

My understanding of “appointed early” leads me to believe that the government has reneged on this commitment. I would like an explanation as to why this has happened. The only other possibility I can see is that I might have misunderstood “appointed early”. In this case, I would like an outline of the projected timetable for the referendum, in order to better understand the phrase (and the commitment).
Yours…

To the postbox, I say.

Feel free to cut, paste, print and send your own version btw. It’s appears to be a standard and accepted practice.

This must be one of the busiest periods of Tony Blair’s premiership. What with having to deal with the G8 summit, the presidency of the EU, continuing efforts to construct a stable and secure Iraq, listening and responding to the many concerns over ID cards… and lots more besides. The demands on the PMs time must be great indeed. So what is Mr Blair doing this afternoon? Well this afternoon, our great leader, along with Sir Bob, face a grilling on MTV.

*takes a deep breath*
The last post was a rant so I’ll do my best to remain calm.

I don’t mean to disrespect Trevor Nelson or Destiny’s Child or anyone else taking part but please. I imagine Blair will say he’s trying to encourage young people to become more engaged in politics. He’ll say he’s listening to the young Africans in the audience. He’ll say it’s important that he conveys the enormous efforts he’s been making to tackle the issue of global poverty. He’ll probably even wear a “Make Povery History” wristband.

This would all be great except that the Prime Minister is window dressing while Rome burns. There are lots of real problems which need to be addressed. Encouraging a new generation of posturing, delusional, image obsessed, untrustworthy politicians is not something likely to be of great benefit.

More details of the MTV programme.

A Rant

The government won the vote on the Database/ID card bill with a majority of 31. In the end 20 courageous Labour MPs rebelled against the government. Sadly, my MP was not one of them. The good news is that the bill isn’t going to have an easy time in the committee stage. The bad news is that our great leader has decreed on the subject.

“We will have to listen to those concerns and respond to them.”
Tony Blair, PMQs, 29/06/05.

Excuse my language but fuck, that’s really fucked it. It’s safe to assume that “listen” is a code word. Basically, what’s going to happen now is that the government is going to make tiny grudging concessions, like capping the cost (a total nonsense as it’s all our money, so we’ll pay the full costs whatever they are). They’ll do just enough of this to appease just enough MPs to get a slightly fudged version of the bill passed into law. Fuck.

If Blair is going to “listen” these are troubling times indeed.

Regular readers might find something odd about this story from yesterday’s Evening Express (28/06/05).

Aberdonians may be too tight or too cold to buy champagne, it was claimed today. A new survey shows Aberdeen has the lowest Champagne sales in the whole of Britain. The research, by supermarket giant Tesco, saw Birmingham topping the league with the most sales of bubbly.

Claimed today? A new survey? Hmm…
Would that be the same new survey mentioned in this post from 21st June? It does appear to be identical in almost every detail. Well, except the date obviously.

Regular readers will also know that the local morning newspaper, the Press and Journal, is owned by Northcliffe Newpaper Group which is owned by the Daily Mail Group. The Evening Express is the evening newspaper from the the same organisation.
(I don’t have a link to show that the NNG owns the P&J and the EE. If you click on the Copyright button at the botton of any P&J or EE webpage it’ll show you though.)

The well resourced professional journalist types at the Daily Mail subsidiary are only one week behind some guy sitting at home with a computer and an interest in the news. And I think, for this fine achievement, they should be applauded.

I’m frequently surprised by the statements of the Bush administration. I’ve long struggled to understand why their pronouncements make no sense to me. They seem to be reasonably intelligent people for the most part (politics aside).

But then I remembered the fallout from the release of the Downing Street Memo. Tod Lindberg understood the phrase “the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy” in a way I found odd. This set off a storm in the blogothingy. It seems that “fixed around” is not defined as fixedly as I’d thought. Perhaps this new found knowledge will make it easier to interpret and understand Bush administration policies.

Well, G.W. Bush has delivered his primetime speech on the continuing war in Iraq. What better opportunity could there be to attempt a suitable translation? My efforts are in [square brackets].

“The troops here and across the world are fighting a global war on terror. This war reached our shores on 11 September 2001… After 11 September, I made a commitment to the American people: this nation will not wait to be attacked again. We will take the fight to the enemy. We will defend our freedom. Iraq is the latest battlefield in this war…

[It’s best not to acknowledge that our troops invaded Iraq without provocation. There is no link between the invasion of Iraq and the 11 September attacks.]

Many terrorists who kill innocent men, women, and children on the streets of Baghdad are followers of the same murderous ideology that took the lives of our citizens in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. There is only one course of action against them: to defeat them abroad before they attack us at home…

[Since the invasion, insurgents and terrorists have prospered in Iraq. They are killing innocent men, women and children. Remember, no Iraqis were involved in the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania.]

We see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who exploded car bombs along a busy shopping street in Baghdad - including one outside a mosque. We see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who sent a suicide bomber to a teaching hospital in Mosul. And we see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who behead civilian hostages and broadcast their atrocities for the world to see. These are savage acts of violence - but they have not brought the terrorists any closer to achieving their strategic objectives.

[Violence continues to rise.]

The terrorists - both foreign and Iraqi - failed to stop the transfer of sovereignty. They failed to break our coalition and force a mass withdrawal by our allies. They failed to incite an Iraqi civil war. They failed to prevent free elections. They failed to stop the formation of a democratic Iraqi government that represents all of Iraq’s diverse population. And they failed to stop Iraqis from signing up in large numbers with the police forces and the army to defend their new democracy….

[Many of the proposed solutions to the insurgency have already been implemented and have done nothing to halt this rise. There is no sign of the violence abating.]

The new Iraqi security forces are proving their courage every day. More than 2,000 members of the Iraqi security forces have given their lives in the line of duty. Thousands more have stepped forward, and are now in training to serve their nation. With each engagement, Iraqi soldiers grow more battle-hardened, and their officers grow more experienced. We have learned that Iraqis are courageous and that they need additional skills. That is why a major part of our mission is to train them so they can do the fighting and our troops can come home…

[This didn’t work in Vietnam and it isn’t likely to work in Iraq. With each engagement the enemy also grows more battle-hardened and more experienced. Two years after the invasion, we’re no closer knowing when the US military will withdraw from Iraq.]

This 4 July, I ask you to find a way to thank the men and women defending our freedom - by flying the flag … sending letters to our troops in the field … or helping the military family down the street. The Department of Defence has set up a website - AmericaSupportsYou.mil.

[I am the United States of America. If you criticize me, you criticize the USA.]

…And to those watching tonight who are considering a military career, there is no higher calling than service in our armed forces. We live in freedom because every generation has produced patriots willing to serve a cause greater than themselves. Those who serve today are taking their rightful place among the greatest generations that have worn our nation’s uniform.

[Your country needs you… to replace the growing number of soldiers who’ve been killed and wounded in this unprovoked invasion.]

That’s about it. There’s no mention of WMD (via), no mention of the Downing Street Memo, and no mention of an exit strategy.

You’ll probably feel even more affection for the amazing Google Earth. (via Robin). Outstanding. I couldn’t resist the temptation to zoom in to a photo of my flat. Bet you can’t either (I mean zoom in to a photo of your own residence, obviously).

Hardtalk has an interesting interview this week. It’s on BBC News 24 tonight. Having watched it at 4.30am this morning I can say that it’s definitely worth watching. I’ll need to watch it at a sensible time of day before I can say much more than that though.

Some news on the second reading of the Database IDiot bill. The vote is at 22.00 tonight.

Will MPs remember the words of the Information Commissioner when they go to vote?

Govt Watchdog Slams ID Cards:
“The measures go well beyond a secure, reliable and trustworthy ID card. Measures in relation to the National Identity Register and data trail of identity checks risk unnecessary and disproportionate intrusion into individuals’ privacy.”
Richard Thomas, Information Commissioner, 27/06/05

What about our great leader? Are you listening, Mr Blair?

Nosemonkey has more.

Updates (and an edit):
Rhetorically Speaking highlights the astonishing record of government IT projects.
Chicken Yoghurt points out the absurdity of Charles Clarkes’ vacuous statements.
Tim Worstall thinks the whole thing is a waste of space… time, and money.

In conclusion, let’s look at this equation:
Database & ID Card Bill + Labour MPs not listening
= long spell in opposition for Labour Party

There you have it. Conclusive scientific proof (as if more were needed) that this bill is IDiocy.

The Vote
First vote: Aye 314, No 287.
Second vote: Aye 313, No 286.*

So that’s a government majority of 31. The details are not available yet, but given that the DUP apparently voted with the government, I make that around 10 voting against and another 35 - 40 abstaining or not managing to vote (very roughly). There’s still a long way to go before this bill becomes law.

Yesterday, new Deputy First Minister (and my MSP), Nicol Stephen, announced his changes the Scottish cabinet. As such, it seems only right to focus on a Scottish Parliament story today.

What about this one in the P&J? Yes, everyone’s favourite parliament building urgently needs over £15,000 worth of new furniture. For the members bar. Apparently this is because the atmosphere in the bar needs improving. Well, there are often difficult and controversial decisions to be made when spending other people’s money, but this one seems straightforward enough.

SNP MSP Fergus Ewing gets to the root of the problem:

“The immediate problem was that the corporate body imposed a ban on journalists [Tuesday to Thursday, now overturned] which resulted in the boycott… That removed at a stroke a very large group of high-spending customers.”

Yes, they really did try to ban journalists from the only bar at Holyrood. Talk about a self imposed bullet-foot interface.

Not content with that, this story also came from the Scottish Parliament today. I believe “you couldn’t make it up” might be a suitable conclusion.

There’s been more not unexpected trouble for the National Database and ID Card nonsense with the publication of the London School of Economics report. The report contains a lot of concerns over the governments proposals. The LSE report’s best case scenario is that ID cards will cost £170 each.

In Blair’s monthly press conference he discussed the Database/ID bill in detail.

“People recognise the benefits of a scheme that will allow us to tackle identity fraud more effectively, bear down on illegal working, illegal immigration, abuse of our public services and help in the fight against organised crime and terrorism, and these are all strong arguments for moving forward with identity cards.”

All completely unfounded arguments (that’s a polite way of saying he’s talking out of his…). The NO2ID campaign has already debunked these fictional benefits. The LSE report (via the Guardian) continues in the same vein.
On identity theft: “preventing identity theft may be better addressed by giving
individuals greater control over the disclosure of their own personal information..”
On terrorism: “prevention of terrorism may be more effectively managed through strengthened border patrols and increased presence at borders, or allocating adequate resources for conventional police intelligence work.
(Both quoted from summary of conclusions.)

Considering the flimsiness of the government position, it is perhaps understandable that Mr Blair wanted to focus on an additional argument (yes, another one) in his press conference.

“There is now the technology to move to a biometric passport, that is a document with fingerprint and facial recognition of the holder, and to move to that biometric passport will require an interview and then obviously getting the facial and fingerprint biometrics… In a time also of intense global insecurity, there is now an unstoppable political momentum across the developed world for countries to use the opportunity of the new technology to make their borders more secure… So the impact of all this - and this is the essential first step in this argument - is that we are going to be in a position where we have to make our passports here in the UK biometric if UK citizens are to continue to enjoy the right to travel freely around the world… In short, as we start issuing biometric passports for the first time, we will develop a sophisticated identity register. 80% of the population have passports which will all need replacing over the next 10 years. Now the whole point about this is that it is for a relatively small additional cost to the biometric cost, and the additional cost is estimated at under £30, not £300, never mind £100 - under £30…”

To summarize: it’s inevitable, everyone else in the world is doing it, it won’t be expensive, and we if we don’t do it the great British public will have their annual two week holiday in Florida ruined in the arrival halls of Orlando International Airport.

In an almost uncanny way, the LSE report responds to Mr Blair’s new “most important part” of the argument in the very report he’s trying to dismiss.

The Government seems intent on pointing to international obligations and precedents to justify the introduction of a national identity card. Our research indicates that a national identity card need not resemble the one that the Government is proposing, nor is any nation under an obligation to create such a card. Indeed, no other country has done so with such a pretext.
(Section 2, Overview.)

To summerize: it’s not inevitable, we’re the only country in the world doing it this way, all the evidence shows that it will be expensive, and no-one’s holidays are going to be ruined if this bill doesn’t become law.

The pledge has achived more than half the target already. Nice one. The NO2ID campaign are lobbying in Parliament Square starting at 11.30am, Tuesday. I’d love to come but my geography’s been playing up a bit recently. People with more amenable geography might want to get themselves down there though.

Elsewhere, Anne and Frank continue their campaign to save the Aberdeen Met Office.