Flatulence causes jet to divert

I know it's been windy lately, but this story as reported on the BBC belongs in the category of: "Only in America..."

What some Tories really think about disabled people...

Just been sent a copy of a letter of resignation by one of David Cameron's General Election candidates which shows how far the grass-roots Conservative Party needs to change if they are ever to be serious about governing this country.

It's not the kind of letter he would have wished to receive on the first anniversary as Tory Leader

Paul Offer has resigned as Tory candidate in the closely fought Westminster seat of Chester which is currently held by Labour.

He says Cameron's "major challenge is to change the attitudes of some of the people running his (local) Associations."

Mr Offer goes on:

I have witnessed sexist bullying, heard racist comments and been told (by an officer of the local Conservative Association) that he didn't support work that I was doing to help families with disabled children because he thought that 'disabled kids shouldn't be fed from the day they are born'.

Mr Offer's words remind me of the comments about children with special needs made by former Councillor Jim Speechley, when he was in Opposition.

He was objecting to Labour's proposals at the time for more money to be spent on children with special needs. Cllr Speechley said that such children had nothing to offer society.

He was later forced to withdraw his comments and apologise.

While ordinary members of the public would have been appalled by his comments, they didn't do his reputation any harm with his mates on Lincolnshire County Council.

They later selected Jim as their Leader, and even gave him a vote of confidence when he was officially named and shamed as a bully who ran the council in a climate of fear.

Even now, some of them still think he was wrongly jailed for abuse of public office!

It doesn't matter how many times the Tories change their leader, the change that's really needed is much deeper.

Media coverage is not cricket...

Watching the TV news coverage of England’s piss poor performance after our team was given a cricket lesson by Shane Warne (right) and the Aussies today, you’d think it was serious.

Channel Four bizarrely compared the English loss of concentration to the Battle of Hastings - complete with hand-to-hand battle-scenes - and talked of the need for the Battle of Britain spirit in the coming games…

…Newsnight went for a full-blown discussion between sports psychologists to examine why the English (and in fairness some other nations) seem so good at grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory.

But both C4 and Newsnight’s Paxo failed to mention that we English do have our moments: a brilliant against-all-odds performance by England won the Ashes last year for example.

And while our national rugby team is admittedly in the doldrums right now, let’s not forget that we (Engerland) are current world rugby champions.

Sometimes, I think our national media would rather us be losers than winners!

Do we want fuel duty to go up...?

Amazed to see Chancellor Gordon Brown under criticism from Greens on Newsnight tonight for getting rid of the Tory fuel escalator some years ago.

The constant cry from the Tories over the past ten years has been that Labour is anti-car and wants to price the ordinary motorist off the road.

But the Greens were moaning that the level of petrol duty has not been raised since Labour came to office. And they were backed up with Newsnight graphs to prove the point.

Oh well, it seems tomorrow’s Budget statement may keep the Greens happy: the Daily Telegraph front page tomorrow reports that Gordon Brown is all set to increase fuel duty.

PS: Other front pages tomorrow report that sales of those ridiculous 4x4 Chelsea tractors are down and that second-hand values have gone through the floor.

That has to be good news - and before any news of an increase in fuel duty!

All in a day's work...

Stormy weather brought a call from my old friend Reg Howard, Mayor of Market Deeping.

A large conifer had blown down and was blocking Towngate East near a bend in the road.

I alerted the Emergency Highways team at Lincolnshire County Council. But with many more trees down across the county, they couldn’t give a time of arrival.

Reg and I were worried that looming darkness would add to the hazard, so I nipped back home for my trusty handsaw.

Sadly, trusty had turned rusty and it didn’t exactly slice the timber like butter.

I did manage to clear most of the debris from the road, and was almost through the main trunk, when the Highways Team transit van arrived from Grantham like the calvery.

A chain-saw in the hands of a skilled operator made swift work of what was left, and within five minutes the team were on their way to the next emergency.

Their day had started at 5am on Sunday and they were still going strong.

Despite the large number of urgent calls they’d dealt with, it was impressive that within an hour of my initial call, they’d arrived, done the job and were on their way!

Stabbed PCSO recovering...UPDATED

Good news that the PCSO from Derbyshire stabbed in the line of duty is showing signs of recovery following two operations last night.

While today's Sun carries the headline

Karate nut stabs PCSO in neck

the BBC now has an interview with the officer’s wife.

Father of four children, PCSO Gary Etchells, of Glossop (pictured right) who was stabbed in the throat, is still in intensive care, but is now breathing without assistance.

He had been helping a housing organisation serve an eviction notice in Manchester when a man came out of the house and lunged at him with a knife.

I’m a great fan of PCSOs. As a member of our parish council, I campaigned to get our own local PCSO - he now presents a monthly report at public meetings. And I've with other members of Lincolnshire Police Authority to get more PCSOs on the streets as part of our Neighbourhood Policing Teams across the county.

So far there are 7,000 PCSOs across the country, with many more to come. They're a great success.

I believe they are a much-valued addition to the police family and deliver the uniformed visibility needed on our streets.

I'm sure everyone wishes PCSO Gary a speedy and full recovery.

I also hope the courts deal with anyone convicted of wounding a PCSO in exactly the same way as they would if the victim were a fully-trained police officer.

UPDATE: BBC reports that a man has been charged with attempted murder of PCSO Gary Etchells.

Normal service resumes...

Just getting back to normal after minor day-surgery at Peterborough District Hospital yesterday that left me rather woosie today.

Pleased to report that I was given the 'all-clear' and told to come back in three years!

High winds cuts power in Lincs...

Electricity workers are battling today to restore power to 300 homes in the Spalding and Boston areas of South Lincs following overnight storms.

Full story at BBC.

Does your Tory MP sell hospitality in Parliament...?

More bad news for David Cameron: He faces investigation after hosting a series of fundraising events in the House of Commons.

According to the Sunday Times, David Cameron and other senior Conservatives have been hosting events in Parliament which are offered as enticements to donors to become members of exclusive high subscription “Patrons Clubs”.

This would appear to be in direct contravention to Parliamentary rules.

East Midlands Labour MP John Mann (Bassetlaw) who has handed a dossier to the Parliamentary Commissioner says:

“We have presented enough evidence to the parliamentary commissioner to justify a detailed investigation. Cameron should have to repay every penny his party has raised through these illicit events.”

If you have a Tory MP, it's worth asking if they or their Constituency Association run a Patron Club which offers dinners in Parliament.

Nightmare on Cameron Close: Shock, Horror...

A third of rank and file Tories are already dissatisfied with David Cameron’s leadership and almost half think he has gone too far in his first year as Tory Leader.

A growing rebellion within Tory grassroots is revealed in a members panel survey by the ConservativeHome blog and leaked in advance to the Observer. Tim Montgomerie says while there is growing unrest, there is no appetite for a change of leader.

The Observer also reports on the analysis of Cameron’s first year as Tory Leader: American political consultant Frank Luntz warns that Cameron is

“one poorly conceived stunt from disaster…”

Meanwhile, an ICM poll for the News of the World gives the Conservatives a 9% lead over Labour, but suggests that Cameron is focusing on the wrong issues and that Gordon Brown would make a better Prime Minister.

In tune with Cameron's "hug-a-hoodie" and "love-a-lout" initiatives, The News-of-the-World sums it all up in their headline: Nightmare for Cam the Cuddly.

More excuses after social services drubbing but Christine refuses to go...

The Tory councillor responsible for the worst adult social services in the country refuses to accept any blame and has instead offered more excuses.

At yesterday’s council - just 24 hours after the damning inspection report was released - Labour’s John Hough reminded Christine Talbot that this time last year, she promised to resign if this year’s inspection report didn’t show marked improvements.

Last year Lincolnshire social services were graded a lowly one-star. But at least we had “promising” prospects of improvement.

This year we have slipped to the very bottom of the heap. Now we have “uncertain” prospects – the worst performance in the country.

John Hough called on Cllr Talbot to keep at least one promise by resigning.

He pointed out that under the leadership of Jim Speechley - who was jailed for abuse of office – there were 46 councils across the country who performed worse than Lincolnshire’s social services.

Now we are the worst.

Christine blushed and wriggled and wriggled and blushed, but refused to go, saying she was the best person to sort out the mess.

She said the report only covered services provided up to the end of March this year and brazenly claimed that the poor services were “not on my watch”.

In fact, she was appointed as Portfolio Holder in May 2005, so at least nine months of the year being inspected certainly were on Christine’s watch.

Cllr Talbot talked it as if Labour had been in charge prior to her appointment, when in fact she took over social services from fellow Tory, Wing Commander Cllr Edward Bliss.

But the most gobsmacking excuse Cllr Talbot offered for our appalling inspection was “a problem with Data Collection”.

When my chance came, I told Cllr Talbot that no amount of wriggle, spin and lame excuses could deflect from the damning indictment that under the Tories, adult social service delivery in Lincolnshire is officially the worst in the country.

Labour pours more millions into Lincolnshire...

Lincolnshire County Council is to get an increase of 5.9% next year in Government grants next year - that's a whopping £8.2 million EXTRA.

Tories who run the County will predictably hold the begging bowl out for more as they do every year - and then whinge on about "missing millions" as they do every year.

They'll attempt - as they do every year - to divert attention from shocking year-on-year failure to deliver decent services, as highlighted in yesterday's official verdict on social services which showed we are one of the dozen worst performing councils in the country.

But in a briefing note to elected members sent out today, Director of Finance Pete Moore has admitted once again that:

"...Lincolnshire fares significantly better than average".

It means the Labour Government has delivered above inflation increases to Lincolnshire EVERY year since it came to office in 1997 - that's never happened before.

In the three local government finance settlements before the Tory Government was kicked out in 1997, Lincolnshire County Council suffered real CUTS in grants.

It was a real double whammy as we were suffering painfully high inflation rates and a boom and bust economy.

In contrast, over the past decade Gordon Brown has delivered economic stability and unprecedented growth.

Worst social services in the country: Five years of Tory failure...

The same Tories who trebled home-care charges a month ago have been slammed in a damning official report which shows they deliver some of the worst social services in the country.

Despite repeated lame excuses and the same tired old promises trotted out by the Tories year-after-year, the official report out today shows social services for older people and their carers in Lincolnshire have now slipped even further behind.

Last December, Lincolnshire social services was officially named a one-star authority showing signs of improvement. The Tories blamed a change of leadership, said the report was out of date, claimed improvements were in hand and promised that this year's report would be much better.

A year on, today's report brands our social services worse than ever: one-star, but now with with uncertain prospects of improvement. Lincolnshire is now in the bottom dozen of all authorities across the country.

No council is the country gets less than one star. Every authority in the East Midlands - except Lincolnshire - gets at least two-stars.

The Portfolio Holder responsible at County Hall - Councillor Christine Talbot - had the brass neck to go on BBC Radio Lincolnshire today with the same script as last year. She blamed a change of leadership, claimed the report was out of date, said improvements were in hand and promised a better report next year.

No wonder the headline on the front page of tonight's Lincolnshire Echo is "Haven't we heard all this before?"

Assistant Chief Constable ‘Crusher’ Davies destroys 1,000th illegal vehicle in a year…

Lincolnshire Police have wasted no time using tough new laws which allow them to seize uninsured vehicles.

In just 12 months since the new laws came into force as part of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, Lincolnshire Police have taken 1,500 vehicles off local roads which were either not insured or being driven by someone who was not properly licenced.

And this week, the 1,000th vehicle to be crushed under the new legislation was personally destroyed by Assistant Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police Peter Davies.

He worked the machinery to operate the crusher at a scrapyard in Sleaford - and is pictured standing on top of his handiwork!

When a vehicle is seized, the driver or registered keeper is given a fortnight to obtain a valid certificate of insurance or produce a driving licence before they can reclaim the vehicle. They also have to pay the police towing costs and all storage charges…

Then they are prosecuted for having no licence or insurance.

Inspector Les Parker of the Roads Policing Unit said,

"The UK has one of the worst records in Western Europe for uninsured driving with an estimated one in every twenty cars on the road being driven without proper insurance cover.

“This results in every honest motorist in the UK paying £15 - £30 of their insurance premium to compensate the innocent victims of these cheats... and the problem is growing at a dramatic rate".

"Police Officers have always dealt with motorists who are driving without the required documents but have often been powerless to prevent them from continuing to do so as soon as our backs were turned. Now, not only will offenders be prosecuted for the offences but we have the power to remove their vehicles from the road.

"The police treat this offence as a very serious matter and if you are caught then do not expect to be treated sympathetically.

“You will be prosecuted, we will seize your vehicle and, if you want to get it back, you will have to pay all recovery and storage charges and you will have to have obtained insurance. Therefore using a vehicle without insurance simply isn't worth the risk."

I reckon it's a fair cop.

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: Chancellor's baby has cystic fibrosis...

Chancellor Gordon Brown has tonight revealed that his four-month-old son James Fraser has cystic fibrosis.

The Sun are claiming a world exclusive saying it's another family tragedy for Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah, following the loss of their first daughter Jennifer five years ago.

The Sun carries a beautiful informal family picture on their website and comments:

The awful tragedy means that the next general election could be fought by two leaders with physically handicapped children.

Tory leader David Cameron's four-year-old son Ivan has cerebral palsy.

Cystic Fibrosis is the UK's most common life-threatening, inherited disease and affects more than 7,500 babies, children and young adults.

Average life expectancy is currently just 31.

The Press Association are tonight quoting a spokesman for the Chancellor and his wife, who went through personal tragedy in 2000 when their first daughter Jennifer died within days of her birth. A trust was set up in her memory.

The spokesman said tonight:

"While Gordon and Sarah's younger son, Fraser, has been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, he is fit, healthy and making all the progress that you would expect any little boy to make.

"They were told in late July that Fraser may have cystic fibrosis. Tests since then have confirmed this.

"Thousands of other parents are in the same position. They are confident that the advice and treatments available, including proper exercise and, later, sporting activity will keep him fit and healthy.

"The NHS is doing a great job, and Gordon and Sarah are very optimistic that the advances being made in medicine will help him and many others, and they hope to be able to play their part in doing what they can to help others."

UPDATE: BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson tells how Gordon Brown was visibly moved a couple of years ago when he hosted a fundraising event for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust at 11 Downing Street.

Robinson says he stopped filming to give the Chancellor privacy after he was visibly moved at meeting a beautiful charismatic young woman ill with cystic fibrosis who was waiting for a lung transplant "because time is running out".

Robinson says there is real hope that a gene therapy cure will be developed. He points pout that not long ago cystic fibrosis was a disease only children had. Now half its sufferers are adults, he says.