Birmingham's Kinda Quiet These Days

Survey Results

The evolution of my blog poll during 2008 has been fascinating. At the start of the year - when all the London teen knifings were in the news - violent crime was right up there. I will give you my quick views on the top 3 in more detail



The Economy

Just two weeks on from a PBR that predicted Q4 economic growth of 0.75%, these government predictions have been shown to be massively and palpably wrong. Similarly bad news is that the new US president is no fan of capitalism and shares Gordon Brown's moronic belief (or is that line of least resistance) that massive additional government borrowing, populist bullying of the productive part of the economy and 'global solutions' are the way out of this mess. In the long run, we will only regain our previous position as a significant economic power by rewarding work and enterprise and massively reining in the size of the state. The actual direction of travel is ominous.

Welfare

Just as getting a job gets significantly more difficult becomes Labour has belatedly recognised that welfare dependency is a bad thing and started to reverse the something for nothing culture that they have defended for the last 11 years. Will the government be offering Norman Tebbit an apology?

Europe

In terms of my poll, this has become less prominent as the year has developed. Is that an air of resignation? The newly re-elected 'leadership' of the Conservative Party in Brussels offers nothing that enthuses me. To say that work on a European reform agenda is embryonic is far too polite. I can't see my efforts to assist the West Midlands delegation being too strenuous in the lead up to May 2009.

Alternative Realities

In the wake of the Mumbai atrocities the Indian Home Office Minister, Shivraj Patil, has emphasised the operational independence of India’s police force and security services.

Meanwhile, here in the UK, following the events surrounding the arrest of an opposition politician, Home Office Minister Jacqui Smith has taken full responsibility for the actions of the police and submitted her resignation.