According to the BBC there might be cuts to the defence budget, depite the NATO committment to spend 2% of GDP on it – because GDP is likely to fall by two or three percent after the referendum. If that is the case I do hope the priority stays on things like Chinooks, Bushmasters, decent […]
Entries Tagged as 'Politics'
Double hats
May 24th, 2016 · Comments Off on Double hats · Politics
I have been meaning to moan about this for a long time now, and tonight I am going to do it. It is the topic of councillors who serve on both a borough/district and a county council.
Tags: Elections·Local Government
Painting the town red
May 9th, 2016 · Comments Off on Painting the town red · Politics
The recent election campaign was one I think I will remember for a long time. With Crawley council having a Labour majority of just one seat it was always going to be a fight to keep control. Of the thirteen seats involved, eight were seats we were defending. Two of them were wards where there […]
Tags: Crawley Council·Elections
Ethical investment
December 16th, 2015 · Comments Off on Ethical investment · Politics
It is all likely to kick off a bit in tomorrow’s council meeting because the Tories seem to be unhappy about the council’s proposed ethical investment policy. The proposal is that, when we invest in corporate bonds (which we don’t very often. Most investment is with banks or lending to other councils) we don’t invest […]
Tags: Crawley Council·Tories
Under new management
September 16th, 2015 · Comments Off on Under new management · Life, Politics
At work today… Colleague: So what do you make of your new leader then? Me: Brilliant! He seems to be delivering the goods. I wanted him in charge years ago, but he was all tied up with the Croatian national team… hang on. You mean Jeremy Corbyn don’t you? I may not be the political […]
Even Tories are human
July 30th, 2015 · 1 Comment · Politics
The television news for the last few days has been full of reports about the situation in Calais. What is really disconcerting about it all is the way the reporters, commentators and anchors manage to avoid using a certain word: people. They always talk about ‘migrants’ doing this, and ‘migrants’ doing that. At no point […]
Tags: Tories
Feeling at home
June 11th, 2015 · Comments Off on Feeling at home · Life, Politics
You know how it is when you walk into a place for the first time and it immediately feels comfortable? You just feel at home there for some reason. Well I have had that sort of feeling twice in the last week with council matters. The first time was when I went down to see […]
Tags: Crawley Council·Nostalgia
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends
June 3rd, 2015 · Comments Off on Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends · Politics
It is now about a month since the elections, when I re-joined Crawley council. I left the council (involuntarily) about ten years ago and it has been a little strange being back in the town hall for two main reasons: All the things that have changed All the things that haven’t Both are lists too […]
Tags: Crawley Council
In the McThick of it
May 31st, 2015 · Comments Off on In the McThick of it · Politics
Since they had their spectacular success in the recent general election, the SNP have supplied two very potent images. One was when they all turned up for the Queen’s speech wearing matching floral buttonholes and the other was the debate where theygreatly outnumbered all the other parties. That second one was strange because the chamber […]
Electile dysfunction
May 9th, 2015 · Comments Off on Electile dysfunction · Politics
The last day or so went by in a bit of a blur, with frantic last-minute campaigning, the election day stuff itself and then the two election counts and a disrupted sleep cycle. As I am not any sort of political expert, there is zero chance of me composing a reasoned and erudite essay about […]
Tags: Elections
