Pensions start at 70 -2

Great - it looks like I’m going to be working for the next 40 years (honest). Of course if I get a job in government there’s a chance I may still get away when I’m 60.

What about the hard working manual worker? He plans the journey of a lifetime with his wife for when they retire. Then he inevitably drops dead 2 days after leaving work. Did working all those extra years take its toll? He should have got away earlier and enjoyed life with the woman he loves. But he couldn’t afford to take early retirement at 65…

Nuclear waste… of money

What is the government up to on this one? Nuclear power stations costs £millions to set up, £millions to run, and then £millions to switch off (and about 100 years). Maybe Gordon has a secret stash of cash. Apart from the obvious risks of running a nuclear power station we also need to worry about the advanced risk of terror attacks on these locations - power station sites will inevitably become targets. Also what about the waste? – will we continue dropping glass encased nuclear waste at the bottom of the sea?

We would all be better off if the government was to put the same amount of money (as they will inevitably squander on nuclear) into other sources of renewable energy.

Met Chief grilled over Menezes

Whilst it’s a tragedy that an innocent life was lost I still think the media coverage has played down a major factor here. If Menezes had been acting lawfully he would not have got shot in the first place, as he wouldn’t have even been in the UK (according to reports his student visa had expired several years earlier). The Met has since made a complete gaff of the situation and Sir Ian Blair’s conduct will now hopefully be scrutinized independently.

Sir Ian has enjoyed a lot of media exposure recently as Labour have been using and abusing him on the PR front to defend their anti-terror bills etc. Should the head of the police force keep giving public appearances for government biased issues? Surely the head of the police force should stay out of the limelight.

By the way I think Sir Ian is appearing in panto’ this Christmas – Pinocchio.

Old Pensioners get nothing with New Labour

The growing pension crisis in the UK holds much deeper problems for Labour.

Gordon Brown’s lack of enthusiasm to give the poor and forgotten a half-decent standard of living will haunt him come the next General Election. Old people are like elephants – they don’t forget - when they’ve been shafted with winter fuel allowances and spin instead of real money - and they are big - a major part of the electorate.

Try this new recipe – add a generous amount of disgruntled pensioners to an assortment of snubbed public sector workers, stir and then simmer for a year, and then spice with jibes from Blair’s enemies (mostly Labour backbenchers). Result? You may get Cameron Prime Ministerial Pie.

UK frozen assets

What on earth is going on with the UK climate? Facing a potential minus ten degrees Celsius at weekend I find myself asking this question.

No doubt all the Green folk will be blaming my big car. But perhaps the truth lies in the fact that this planet has been warming up and cooling down for hundreds of years? I’m not denying that we need to use less fossil fuel - but we cannot keep bullying individual sections of society (such as those evil car users) for environmental changes that would probably have happened anyway.

Land of Hope and Glory - now open 24/7

Round-the-clock drinking has arrived. No matter what you may think of the new laws regarding opening hours there’s one thing you can’t overlook – many Brits just cannot handle their drink.

No doubt Gordon Brown will soon be introducing higher taxes on alcohol to pay for the extra law enforcement required…

Browns 2% rise for UK Public Sector

Gordon Brown has really pushed the boat out on this one. He’s urged restraint for the annual pay increase of millions of Public Sector workers (obviously all ex-Labour voters now). I wonder if he’ll be applying the same restraint on Minister of Parliament’s (MPs) salaries.

Additionally perhaps Brown could cut further overheads such as MPs ‘perks’ – how about the mammoth daily £20 pocket money MPs get in food allowance. In what other job does one get a daily ‘food allowance’? If MPs revolted Brown could always issue them with a daily £5 Tesco voucher instead?

Oxford City Council – a.k.a. the 'Anti-Car Group'?

I parked in Oxford city centre last Sunday for 25 minutes and was stunned when I returned to my car - the ticket machine requested £1.80 of my hard-earned money. Was this a mistake?! The Westgate Centre car park is the city’s main parking area and the charges seem to rise continually. The car park originally charged a flat rate of £1.20 for Sunday parking but hey - why not charge those religious folk for worshiping - they’ve got loads of money (especially those JW’s). Is this the only City in the UK that charges you to worship by the hour?

I guess it’s a good job I didn’t go to watch a movie at one of the city’s cinemas as I may have needed a second mortgage when I returned to the car park.

These high charges may be part of the wider Oxford Transport Strategy (OTS). Local businesses seem to have been complaining about the OTS for ages - see http://www.rox.org.uk/.

I shouldn’t be surprised really as Oxford seems such an anti-car city. BBC Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson may give you a reference!

Cameron in the Lead

The Conservatives will clearly fail again without Cameron. Who really wants a leader such as Davis away? This guy appears to carry out devious tricks like planting his acquaintances in BBC Question Time audiences to attempt to make his opponent look like a twat (see the posts on http://5thnovember.blogspot.com/ Nov 05). If he were capable of doing that NOW then think what he would get up to as Prime Minister?! (No chance!)

A new blog

Hello, this is my new blog.