No one wants our troupes in Afghanistan longer than they need to be, but what on Earth is sensible about setting such a timetable as Cameron is doing? What sort of a message is that sending to our enimies?

‘The Big Society’ is a handy slogan, isn’t it. But the reality is probably quite different.

For example, here in my own area, the local Conservative council launched a review in its budget earlier this year in to its funding for community transport schemes run by volunteers.

There are several key problems:

First, as highlighted above, these services could just become services that rely on a voluntary basis.

Second, where’s the accountability? The government’s been lecturing Civil Servants, councils, the BBC ETC to become more accountable, yet we’ve had, among other things, a proposal to sign £80 billion over to GPs, we’ve got the proposal to sign the control of our education system over from locally elected authorities ot individuals, ETC. Who is this ‘Big Society’ answerable to?

I believe the ‘Free Schools’ could count as part of this agenda, and there ‘localism’ falls flat on its face; I’m not sure if this is an actual proposal now, but during the Election I believe that Gove was planning to centralize the planning system for these ‘Free Schools’, meaning he would decide, rather than local councils.

BTW, I would just like to say, although I am not involved in the protests against cutting BSF, I am fully supportive of those protests.

Elsewhere, it is nice to see that the Immigration Minister seems to be talking more sense on the issue of the veil than his colleague on the Tory backbenches:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jul/18/burqa-ban-unbritish-immigration-minister

I wonder if anyone who writes for LFF would be prepared to comment on this issue, as it has been in the news again recently?

I also would be interested to see what LFF’s media writer, Joy Jonson, makes of comments in the papers by Jeremy Hunt about the BBC license fee?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/17/bbc-licence-fee-cut-hunt

This is more evidence, as if it were needed, that a backroom deal has been done between Jeremy Hunt and News International, and I fear for our media as a result.

Finally, the Guardian also suggested over the weekend that parts of the Private Sector could rake in money as a result of public service sell-offs. What do you make of this, Shamik?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jul/16/austerity-drive-billions-private-sector

BTW, on a final point on ‘the Big Society’, I remember what happened when Nick Clegg launched that website asking the public what laws they wanted repealed. I remember when people were callung for murder to be allowed ETC, and I remember when the Daily Mail rightly branded it a farce.

I’ll wait and see, like it or not to wards the end of Thatchers period in power my life got better, toward the end of new labour, well no change really I was shit up on.