The Banks Are Lending Again- Hurrah

Er, no, not to you.....don't be daft!

The Times on-line is reporting that RBS, which is 68 per cent owned by taxpayers after a £20 billion government bailout, is offering its staff loans against the bonuses that they are owed but which have been deferred until 2010 under a deal with the Government.

Remember how you cheered when you heard that Gordon Brown was going to stop taxpayers money being used for cash bonuses?

Indeed it is not; it is being used for loans, just like Gordie wanted........to bank staff who should have got a cash bonus.....

H/T Anna Raccoon

How Much did Somerset County Council lose in Iceland ?

30/04/08 PRESS RELEASE

Somerset County Council Praised by Auditors

Somerset County Council’s process for setting up Southwest One, a Joint Venture Company between Somerset County Council, Taunton Deane Borough Council, IBM, and more recently, the Avon and Somerset Police Authority, has been praised by Auditors this week.

Somerset County Council Resources Scrutiny Sub-Committee heard on Monday that the partnership arrangement has been one of the most scrutinised processes that the Audit Commission’s specialist had witnessed.

In presentations made by the Audit Commission and Grant Thornton, the Audit Commission specifically commended the County Council for the arrangements it had established to secure value for money with the partnership, the robustness of their client arrangements and the thoroughness of their procurement process.

Councillor Jill Shortland, Leader of Somerset County Council and Councillor Ross Henley, Leader of Taunton Deane Borough Council, said: “We are proud of what we have achieved here. We’ve created a way forward with authority partners and the private sector towards delivering services for residents which will be improved and more cost-efficient. This brings a final confirmation from the Audit Commission of the commendable work that Somerset County Council and Taunton Deane Borough Council, both excellent authorities, have done to secure this work in Somerset and to bring in a global company to boost the Somerset Economy.”

The Audit Commission and Grant Thornton gave presentations as part of their routine audit work over the arrangements of Southwest One.


THE ANSWER IS £25,000,000 OF YOUR MONEY

ASK THE AUDIT COMMISSION HOW MUCH THEY LOST

THE ANSWER IS £10,000,000 OF YOUR MONEY

AUDITS WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR,ABSOLUTELY NOTHING

1st Meet of South West Libertarians

We are proposing to meet the 2nd week in March, currently looking for a suitable venue (Pub) in central Bristol. Any suggestions welcome.

Visitors welcome

London, United Kingdom
Houses Of Parliament (194.60.38.10) [Label IP Address]
swlibertarians.blogspot.com/2009/02/time-to-drop-word-liberal-chris.html
swlibertarians.blogspot.com/2009/02/time-to-drop-word-liberal-chris.html
http://blogsearch.google.co.uk/blogsearch?q=liberal democrats&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&start=10

The South West's own ACPO

The Sundays have woken up to the fact that A.C.P.O. has a trading arm and is largely funded by the government. Lord preserve us from more Jim Stalker style adverts. Great that it’s all out in the open. It all looks a bit Stasi but if you really want a really scary take on Coppering plc take a look at Avon & Somerset and the wonder that is Southwest One Ltd. Avon & Somerset have basically sold off the civilian back office to a limited company. Reading the quotes from the great and the good about this, I see the unimaginable scenario of a privatised Police Service is getting another step closer. It shouldn’t be too hard to shuffle PCSO’s and all the rest of the extended police family off into Southwest One, Northeast Four or Ruralshire Seven or whatever. After that……….

Colin Port, chief constable of Avon and Somerset Police since Jan 2005, said: “This is a great opportunity for us to ( save stacks of money) change, improve and transform policing….It is imperative that we (save a stack of cash) deliver services that represent value for money for council tax-payers locally and this joint venture gives us the chance to( get me that knighthood and a QPM) re-invest in frontline policing and secure the employment of our dedicated police staff.”

The local MP raised concerns in the House of Commons about the whole thing in general and the close involvement of Mrs Fort in particular.


Dr Moira Hamlin, chair of the Avon and Somerset Police Authority, said: “This is far reaching and significant decision as it is the first time any UK police service has joined such a strategic venture. (I am told all will be well but I am just not sure) We are taking this innovative step as we believe it can deliver demonstrable benefits and improvements in police services for local people.(We are really, really not sure but we are desparate not to have to up the council tax for more cops) This Police authority has vowed to explore wider options and drive out efficiencies (sic) without losing valued employees.”

Richard Jones, chief executive of Southwest One, said: “I am delighted at this opportunity to trouser a small fortune to welcome the Avon and Somerset Police Authority as a founding member to the Southwest One joint venture. We are very much looking forward to (ripping the arse out of those straw chewing suckers) working together with the Police to improve the already excellent services that they provide. This is a unique opportunity to( maximise shareholder value) share best practice and world class expertise between the police, Somerset County Council, Taunton Deane Council and IBM to deliver (cheaper) world class services to our customers in the Southwest over the next 10 years.”

Courtesy of Nightjack

Close ACPO Down

Finally the political establishment,Liberty and the MSM have woken up to the fact that ACPO is is fact a private limited company at the heart of counter insurgency,policing and security. A fact that this site and parties like the LPUK have been highlighting for months.

The utter incompetence of this Government to have 'privatised' policing and security to a bunch of Policemen out to make a buck is a national scandal and only possible with the general acceptance of a Police State.

Liberty have called for ACPO to 'be stopped in their tracks'. My letter to Liam Fox of a few weeks ago outlining ACPO's central role in security, anti insurgency and policing has been passed to Jackboot Jacqui to answer. (If she lasts that long)

Liberty seemed to have been fooled into thinking ACPO was a legitimate State Organisation, just because it has got an official looking badge, with a Crown and the Police service flash on it Shami, does not stop it being another money grabbing QUANGO.

ACPO A Dynamic Third Sector Organisation ?

Therefore, as members of the Labour Party, we should support dynamic Third Sector organisations which deliver our values. We must be loud and clear in stating that these organisations are not in opposition to the state but represent the Labour Government’s continuing commitment to investment and reform to create Twenty First Century public services.

Joe Coward- Labour Party

I have had a response from Liam Fox MP, who has passed my letter requesting an explanation as to the central role that the private company ACPO has in the counter insurgency,security and policing to the Home Secretary for a reply.

Not only have we a bloated State, we have fake charities and Quango's like ACPO to add to the bill that we all pay for, but we are not alowed to have a say in.Mandelson's Post Democratic Society


Instead of Homo Sovieticus, Homo Serviliticus or even Homo Mandelsonius

LPUK South-West supports No Say No Pay Congestion Charge Campaign for

The Libertarian Party is supporting Charlotte Leslie ,Conservative PPC, No Say No Pay campaign for a Referendum on Congestion charging in Bristol.

It is about time that Labour and the 'Liberal' Democrats remembered the old adage-

No Taxation without Representation.

Time to drop the word Liberal- Chris

Any Libertarian sheltering inside the womb of the 'Liberal' Democrats must be wondering what they are doing there this morning.

Geert Wilders will be stopped at Heathrow just after midday and told he is being refused entry on the grounds that his presence is not conducive to the public good.

The Government shamed by its blatant cowardice over the issue would not put a speaker up on R4 this morning, Chris Huhne could not wait to get over to Broadcasting House to voice his support for the Government repressing Free Speech in the face of the threat of Lord Ahmed (who is not a competant driver) threatening to mobilise 10 000 Muslims to stop Wilders speaking on the the Parliamentary Estate.

The sooner that the Liberal Democrats change their name to the Social Democrats the better, they are no Liberal Party.

There is a tourist trip to take photos of the sights in London if anybody is interested

The sights and sounds of the capital for all to see

Both the Website and Forum are now back on line

Party Membership Renewal

As I'm sure that many of you are acutely aware, we've been encountering some technical difficulties with the Party website over the last couple of weeks.

One unfortunate consequence of this has been a delay to implementing an online renewal facility for members wishing to pay their annual Party subscription.

Work on this system should resume in the near future. Once complete, we'll let you all know that the facility is live. Please don't worry about missing your official membership renewal date, as we will be able to backdate your renewals to the appropriate date for you.

Thanks for your patience.

Patrick

Which Scotsman exactly is in charge of the Treasury Brown or Darling

This is another classic Nu-Labour cockup about the RBS Bonus furore.

When the Government start interfering in the Law of Contract for whatever is politically expedient, we may as well stop being a trading nation.

Listen you blithering idiot.

If you had put RBS which is still hopelessly insolvent, they have no idea what their bottom line liabilities are, into liquidation, hived off all of the good bits into new regional banks you would not be worrying about bonus contracts.

No, instead you panicked last October and threw £20 Billions at RBS, without resolving the test case into unfair charging first, or resolving the bonus', don't tell me you are sweeping away the bonus culture when you are floundering around. Contractually these bonus' have to be paid because of you incompetence. Concentrate on sweeping away corrupt and dishonest ministers lik Jacqui Smith.

Oh by the way, thanks for shafting England again

Just pack this Darien Government up, and go back to Scotland.

Flying England's Flag in the West Country is Racist

A young man is stopped by a bumptious Wilshire Cop, can find nothing wrong with the car, so tells the driver to dispose of the St George as it is racist and could upset immigrants. Failure to do so will result in a £30 fine.

A) This is harrassment of a member of a law abiding member of the public by a public servant who is abusing his powers.

B) Reflects that the Wiltshire Police are unaccountable and are making it up as they go along. Time for elected Chief Constables

c) The Police seem to be employing people who are generally ignorant of their own national history.

d) Under new EU rules, this officer should be entered on the EU wide data base for abusing national symbols.

H/T Tom Paine

UFO's seen landing near Stonehenge,

This is an experiment to see how quickly the visits go up, as people are more interested in little green men than they are in Liberty.

"I will not minimise my reasons so that they are palatable... I do not answer to the state"

I had not come across this before, even though it was on Samizdata this time last year. I came across it on the Oxford Libertarian blog.

I recently had the unpleasant experience of being 'interviewed' by a civil servant 'with attitude' ( unlike the relatively passive Canadian civil servant) it was not an interview its was an interrogation. Even so my hat goes off to Ezra Levant for the fury he displayed after being dragged in front of the Alberta Human Rights Commission following after he republished the Danish Cartoons, and two muslim groups complained.

"It is my position that the government has no legal or moral authority to interrogate me or anyone else for publishing these words and pictures. That is a violation of my ancient and inalienable freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and, in this case, religious freedom, and the separation of mosque and state. It is especially perverted that a bureaucracy calling itself the Alberta 'Human Rights' Commission would be the government agency violating my human rights... We have a heritage of free speech that we inherited from Great Britain that goes back to the year 1215 and the Magna Carta. We have a heritage of 800 years of British Common Law's protection of free speech, augmented by 250 years of Common Law in Canada... For a government bureaucrat to call any publisher, or anyone else, to an investigation to be quizzed about his political and religious expression is a violation of 800 years of Common Law, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, our Bill of Rights and our Charter of Rights... It is a system that is part-Kafka, and part-Stalin."

"I will not minimise my reasons so that they are palatable... I do not answer to the state"