The party of law & order? You 'aving a laugh?

Back during the Election, I was told I was 'scaremongering' when I warned that Cameron would take his lead from Johnson in London, where there are now 455 fewer Police officers than in 2008. The traditional party of law & order wouldn't do that to our nation, some even tried to tell me on the doorstep that Labour were 'soft' on criminals and yet the news was all about our prisons bursting at the seams with no room to spare. Not exactly leaving the ordinary citizen to the mercy of criminals there then. Well now this, no less than the President of ACPO Sir Hugh Orde is warning of fewer officers on our streets. The truth is the Tories and the FibDems have no idea what our streets are like for the majority of us. Why should they? They only venture out onto them once every 5 years!


nick

The last time playing on these shores?

When I was younger, the end of a Test series especially Australia always meant not seeing the old enemy again for a very long time. Fortunately times have changed and there's a lot of cricket on our screens all year round.

However this explosion of cricket also means that after last year's Ashes tour, the Aussies are back already playing a series of one dayers, including the game we're going to on Sunday at Old Trafford. Most importantly for me, I reckon it will be my last chance to see one of my favourite players live, Ricky Ponting. More often than not, he's the man we love to give stick to. Well he is Captain of the Aussies, but it's inescapable that Ricky plays the game as it's meant to be played, to win it. He's a doggedly brave and talented opponent with a never say die attitude. When he does retire from the game Australia will miss him. More to the point, we'll miss him as fans.


nick

Nick Clegg - Why you can't trust him or his party!

A suggestion for the Discovery channel. After the success of Bear Grylls, Born Survivor how about Nick Clegg, Born Liar?


nick

What The Sun would like us to forget

After opting to support the Tories, I feel it's only right to remind ourselves of this other spectacularly misplaced piece of arrogance from Wapping's least finest!


nick

For Fabio

nick

The new dirty 'F' word

Not so long ago and in a land very close by, there was a dirty 'F' word. It lived in docklands and on football terraces. Broadcasters went into meltdown if it appeared on our screens. But the dirty 'F' word grew old and tired and had to retire to Hollywood for the sunshine. Sadly another dirty 'F' word saw it's opportunity to take centre stage. A much nastier 'F' word that truly did damage our communities and society in general. Worse still, the new 'F' word had influential friends in very high places who nurtured it and even encouraged it to spread it's venom.

That new ogre is of course 'Funding'. I've attended three meetings of third sector organisations in the last week. Each one revolved entirely around the perilous state of the economy and how it affects funding. For all of Cameron's rhetoric about valuing the Third Sector, "should be called first sector" and "Funders are not treating third sector organisations as partners" for just two examples, the truth is the overwhelming majority fear a funding Armageddon. And why shouldn't they? They've had absolutely no indication from this new ragtail ensemble that the future is going to be anything but bleak. The corollary of which will be those citizens who give up their time and efforts to make our communities better places to live, are getting squeezed out of the opportunity to do so. More contemptible because this government is made up of 'career politicians' who simply can't fathom out why someone would do something for nothing because altruism never crosses their radar.

When this administration falls apart, albeit in the not too distant future, it will still be too late for many worthy causes who will have simply run out of money. That will be Cameron's legacy to our nation together with a new dirty 'F' word, 'fallow'.


nick

The Heart of a Lion

Poor Mabida, how much heartache can one man endure?

When we visited Robben Island, it was distressing to be shown the Duty Officer's desk and our guide recalling how the poor man was marched out in front of it to be callously told "You think you're son is coming to visit you today, well think again, he's been killed in a car crash. Now back to your cell".

He truly has the Heart of a Lion! I pray it can overcome this latest crushing event.


nick

The blot on Old Trafford's landscape

We went to Old Trafford yesterday for the first day of the 2nd Test against Bangladesh. It was my first sighting of the new media centre and I am astounded at its sheer size and worse, its ugliness!

In the world of architecture there are some very strange ideas indeed, but how this gargantuan also made it through the planning stages escapes me.


nick