Journal
Christopher Woodward's comments on news and current affairs of the day (updated regularly)
ID Cards and Charles Clarke
It is worrying that, according to opinions polls, the British public do not seem to have heeded to the warnings by civil liberties groups about the threat of ID cards. It is also a great shame that, as sonn as David Blunkett MP resigns as Home secretary, that his successor, Charles Clarke jumps on his dictatorial bandwagon. Having said that you wouldn't expect anything else from New Labour, would you?
The introduction of ID cards, accompanied by a citizen's database would mark a big step towards Britain becoming a police state. The amount of data held on the card will probably start off fairly minimal but over time the government will want to add new information and extend the use of ID cards. Politicians are naturally inclinded to want more power. It's all to easy to imagine that once ID cards are introduced, the government will at some point make with a seemingly justified case for adding another element of personal data to be included on the citizen's database. Before long there will be so much personal data on our ID cards that we will all be thinking twice before purchasing a book or video etc, especially one on a sensitive subject, and we will have fallen victim to the thought police.
Incidently Charles Clarke, at the rate he's going could well turn out to be one of the most anti-democratic MPs in history. Three years ago, in late 2001, soon after Labour's second landslide victory, and after Iain Duncan-Smith became Tory leader, Charles Clarke announced that he would support Britain's entry into the euro even if there were no (supposed) economic benefits!
December 20, 2004
Thank You and Well Done, North East
The voters of the North East region have done themselves and the rest of Britain a great favour by voting overwhelmingly against an elected regional assembley, with less than 200,000 (22%) voting Yes, and nearly 700,000 (78%) voting No.
The official No campaign with it's giant white elephant was clearly very effective in mobilising support and votes. With such a massive No vote, it may seem hard to believe that the No campaign had a trump card which they never delt. That trump card was - the fact that the plan to set up regional assemblies is not really Prescot's plan, it's Brussels plan!
Nevertheless, explaining all this to a cynical public may have been too much hassle, too complex and less effective than labelling the whole idea a white elephant. But without realising it, the people of the North East have put a halt to one of the Brussels major tools to turn Britain into a mere province of a single euro-state.
Click here to read by letter to PCS View magazine, which they didn't publish, exposing how the EU is behing regionalistaion.
November 7, 2004
Kilroy-Silk's Place in UKIP?
Robert Kilroy-Silk's Breakfast with Frost interview on October 3rd was in a way, shocking. By openly saying 'I want to be leader of UKIP' and suggesting that the current leader had agreed to hand the job to him following the EU 'Parliament' elections, Kilroy immediately opened a can of worms in just one interview by dividing UKIP largely into two wings - Knapman vs Kilroy-Silk.
Clearly Robert Kilroy-Silk has been an enormous asset to UKIP. Before he joined UKIP, the party had continually suffered from a media blackout, whereby any mention of the UKIP name in the national or local press was a cause for celebration. A week after Kilroy joined, UKIP made the front page of the Daily Telegraph. The UK Independence Party owes much to Kilroy-Silk.
Yet it remains quite arrogant for Kilroy to go and demand the current leader hands his job over to him, especially as there is virtuially no-one in UKIP who has lost confidence in Roger Knapman. Indeed as UKIP has tripled its number of members and quadrupled its tally of MEPs under Roger Knapman 's leadership, how could anyone possibly regard Knapman as a failier for the party?
Kilroy, however, undoubtably has some valid points to make about the future direction of UKIP. However, dispite his charisma, he is not the right person to lead the party. He is too controversial a figure so his leadership may deter a number voters from voting UKIP who take a personal dislike to him. It is also very likely that because of his celebrity status, making Kilroy the leader would alienate other senior figures, both in terms of public appearances and in policy decision-making and the UK Independence Party would effectively turn into a one man show called the Robert Kilroy-Silk party. UKIP would develop new policies under a Kilroy-Silk leadership, but these would all be Kilroy's own ideas and he may attempt to railroad his own policy agenda through in a presidential style, leaving both the rank and file members and senior officials feeling alienated and disgruntled with the direction of the party.
That's not to say that Kilroy has no good ideas for UKIP. To resolve the current dispute, the two wings of UKIP should make a compromise. Roger Knapman should consult with Kilroy-Silk - who currently is little more than a PR spokesman for UKIP as well as an MEP - on what specifically he wants to see change in UKIP. Kilroy should be offered a position on the NEC and offered control of an area of policy or strategy whereby he would be given the final say. In effect he would have the chance to air his views and at times have his own ideas implemented, under the leadership of Roger Knapman.
October 22, 2004
Weak will lose out in competitive school sport proposals
If the government's puts in place their proposals to introduce more competitive sport into schools, this must be solely as extra-curricular, and must not be made compulsory for all pupils. Some school pupils, including many with special needs, will be seriously disadvantaged in competitive sport, not only by being phyisically weaker but also because the pupils which are weaker socially will lose out to an extent on the benefits of the physical exersize that is part of PE lessons, because in the context of team games, the players who are actively involved in the game will naturally be excersizing harder than those who struggle follow to engage, and do their best by 'tagging along'.
Physical education in schools should be based on teaching pupils how to excersize, with teaching based around the skills of different games and athletics, and not about competitive team matches. This way, everyone benefits equally from the exercize and on a level playing field. That's not to say that schools should be able to offer more advanced and competitive sports for those who wish to learn more, but any seriously competitive sports should strictly be for extra-curricular activities only, whether in or out of school. No-one needs competitive sports to get by their daily lives.
August 26, 2004
Journal Archieve
Compensation for National Service victims
This Thursday saw the start of the ITV1 reality series Bad Lad's Army, which takes 30 young men and puts them through 1950s-style National Service training. Needles to say I didn't watch it.
This TV series is a disgrace! Why? Because it demonstrates how National Service is viewed by the general public today - as nothing but a part of history. National Service should be regarded today as one of Britain's major wrongdoings of the 20th century. It is terrifying to think that less than 50 years ago, every man to was forced to leave home, and be sent into an institution where there is virtually no freedom and by which you must obey your officer's orders to the letter, are subject to military laws and punishments and be potentially put in a life-threatening situation. And people see this as a bit of nostalga? Conscription is akin to slavery, and it is now time that British politicians publically denounced the idea Nation Service - and offered financial compensation to those men who were put through it.
Bads Lads Army is produced by Twenty Twenty Television. If Twenty Twenty TV or any other production company produced a reality TV show whereby Jewish volunteers were sent to nazi concentration camps, or ask Afro-Caribbean's to be slaves, it would cause a public outrage, because those historical events are now internationally condemned. So should the whole idea of conpulsory military service.
Click here to see my letter of complaint I have written to Twenty Twenty TV.
July 10, 2004
Music Manifesto a waste of money and resources
While most of us enjoy music in one way or another, individuals musical abilities vary enormously, and only the most talented will make a career out of music. Some school children have great enthusiasm for music, others hate it. Therefore, it is both silly and dictatorial to make music a compulsory subject at school. Silly because it's wasting taxpayer's money and pupil's time. Dictatorial because it's forcing pupils to learn a subject that they neither wish to learn about nor will be necessary for them to function as adults.
Of course, it would be great if every school offered the opportunities to teach each pupil an instrument for free, should they wish to. However, whether it not it takes place in or out of the school, music education should become extra-curricular. There are many pupils who would have great enthusiasm for learning to play an instrument and for music in general, and they won't need compulsory music lessons to find out if they have a musical instinct.
So, abolish music from the national curriculum and shift the focus towards free extra-curriculur musical activities. Such lessons available would of course include private instrumental tuition, but there should also be more general music lessons available, like the type currently taught in schools but probably at a more advanced level.
This would mean that those who aren't interetsed in music wouldn't have to do it, but those with an instinct and enthusiasm for music could learn more effectively, at their own level.
July 7, 2004