Nothing Nice To Say

I was so hopeful I had something nice to say about Gordon Brown and his darling Darling. I almost did a post yesterday saying they were taking a principled stand and nationalizing Northern Rock. At least that way the taxpayer's money wasn't just cheap finance to some fat cat.

Instead he was on a plane to China along with Richard Branson. Today the BBC website says that Branson is confident he will get his hands on Northern Rock. Doesn't even need smoky rooms now, just a champagne junket to China.

Wouldn't it be good if instead of helping the likes of Branson it was the nurses who got the money. One of the boy Milibands says to the Fabian Society that Labour needs to show it's excited about a serving a fourth term in order to get elected. Well it might take a bit socialism to do that.

Has the Labour Party become too broad a church?

A great Scot and Labour Party leader, Keir Hardie, formed the Independent Labour party because he felt that the Liberal Party would not represent the working class although it relied on their votes.

Gordon Brown, also a Labour Party leader, calls for 'a government of all the talents' and invites strange people like Shirley Williams into it. Now we have more sleaze with Peter Hain's deputy leader campaign money. Now Peter calls himself a 'libertarian socialist', whatever that means. I'm sure he thinks he is, but all I remember is, he was the leader of the Young Liberals, not the Young Socialists. Must be something to do with him becoming Welsh.

There must be a base to the Labour Party's socialism. Sure we don't need another clause four, but we do need more than the wishy-washy liberalism the leadership gives us today. They are talking about nationalizing Northern Rock, but only because they know the public is watching and won't accept an old friends deal with likes of Richard Branson. There's just too much tax-payers money already in the kitty.

I do fail to understand how campaigning for the deputy leader's post can cost so much. It's an internal party election so a candidate just needs to get his views out to the party faithful in the branches, parliament and the unions. So you build a website, travel to branch meetings, produce a few thousand pamphlets, and spend £10,000. The money Peter Hain forgot to declare was £103,000 and that was just part of what he spent. What did he spend the money on? Were the candidates buying TV spots? I just don't see it.

Charlton Athletic 4-1 Blackpool

Might be Charlton back on the winning way now. For me out here promotion to the Premier League means getting to see them on the TV next season. For the club it means a lot of money - from Murdoch's TV company of course. It does seem all is not well with the finances although that could be said for any team that isn't owned by an American or some sort of foreign mafioso.

JPMorgan buys mortgages from Northern Rock

From the BBC website - Rock sells off £2.2bn mortgages.

So JPMorgan starts to buy the assets of Northern Rock which is in debt to the government. No, surely not anything to do with Tony getting the bank clerk's job there?

The Evolution of Corruption

When I first arrived in this country it was very common to give small gifts to low level government officials to get things done. A bag of apples for the girls at the driving license office, a small amount for the upcountry policeman who pulled you over on an empty road for some sort of infringement or a New Year bottle of whiskey to the local municipal office.

I didn't really mind as I could afford it and these workers were on low wages. I had seen it all before in many third world countries. Now, as the country becomes wealthier, petty corruption at this level has almost disappeared. We even get number queuing tickets in government offices.

But corruption hasn't gone away. In fact there is probably more money involved than ever before but it is done mainly at the very top level of politicians and civil servants. It is done on payment for government contracts and people on both sides of the transactions become very wealthy. Word leaks out and we all know it is going on.

We will eventually reach the level where corruption becomes almost invisible; where all top government deals are done between friends, and friends of friends; where the old school tie rules; in fact we will become like the UK, but this will make the corruption even more costly to the country.

Shame, but at least Tony Blair can't legally start lobbying the government on behalf of JPMorgan for another six months, and he wouldn't break the law would he? And that Young Liberal, Peter Hain, wasn't promising any favours for that money he collected in the Labour deputy leader's election was he?

J. P. Morgan or is it JPMorgan?

Today on the BBC website they tell us that Tony Blair is joining that citadel of laissez-faire capitalism, JPMorgan. Why doesn't that come as a surprise?

Meanwhile I have just started Gordon Brown's biography of James Maxton, the Glasgow socialist and leader of the Independent Labour Party. I suspect Brown's move to Thatcherism must have been harder than Tony's because he at least must have believed a little bit in socialism as a young man. So what bank gets Gordon?

James Maxton

The Real King of Britain

Rupert Murdoch's first royal visit to the UK

The problem with monarchs is we don't get to elect them and changing them can be quite a bloody business. I do think that as a majority in the UK would keep the monarchy, a compromise with republican sentiments would be to elect a monarch with some sort of recall if the enough signed a petition. Surely there must be better than Charles and Diana's two boys to come.

In the 15th. Century Wikipedia refers to the real ruler of England being Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick, also know as the Kingmaker. Today's Kingmaker must be Rupert Murdoch. UK politicians beg his support. His power over the media is overwhelming. In 1992, using the Sun newspaper, he kept the Tories in power. Blair considered he had to make deals with Murdoch to win his election. Gordon Brown's spin doctors must live in fear of him backing Cameron.

But Murdoch is not even British. He was born Australian but because US laws forbid non-US nationals owning the media he became American. He is credited, and credits himself I suspect, in keeping Britain out of the Euro. How can we let this un-elected man have so much power.

Of course there is a long history of foreign press barons in the UK, from Beaverbrook to Conrad Black. Brown's people must be worried what way the Sun will lean. In a close election it will make the difference and like a poor maid who has given up her virginity what else has Gordon got to offer Murdoch.

Might be time to look back in history. The Earl of Warwick finally got his on the battlefield. Maybe Gordon Brown can take on Rupert Murdoch before he gets to pick another king. Push some US style laws through parliament and limit how much media a man or company can own. Take away his newspapers or television companies. Send his son packing. Get in first Gordon because Rupert is probably planning on doing it to you.