Social Mobility

According to reports there is little social mobility amongst the professions 

'Unlock the closed-shop professions' - UK Politics - UK - The Independent

Politicians, media and the law seem dominated by public schools and Oxbridge. Just look at MPs, particularly the cabinet.

I work in construction where there are very few from this background. Anecdotally its one of the few places for those with criminal records. There are plenty of politicians who should have a criminal  record but those who  set the laws seem able to break them. Imagine if anyone else could simply pay the money back when caught, prisons would be nearly  empty.

£59,640,000

Thats the estimated cost of moving Reading council from the Civic Centre to Plaza West in Bridge Street. It may be cheaper than the alternative site they looked at on the Queens Walk, but is this the only option. A few years ago I wrote a letter to the paper suggesting a Green alternative. The Council say it has looked at refurbishment but I have how they achieved their estimate of £50 million for this. It may very well be cheaper and greener to refurbish than to demolish. In the event it does prove impossible to refurbish, there are empty buildings around Reading that may be a cheaper option. In these difficult times surely the Council should be looking at every option. The council report reveals a failure of maintenance that has helped lead them to this state.

Since the decision was taken to move to a new Civic HQ in September 2006, the Civic Offices maintenance regime has been scaled back to a basic level to maintain day-to-day operation and safety. This lack of planned investment in the maintenance of the building has led to further deterioration in its condition, increased risks, and has incurred significant costs in urgent health and safety repairs.

This is a chart showing cost savings, refurb against new build.

This is my blog from 2009 about my 2006 letter.

Reading Civic Centre Waste Of Money I wrote a letter to the local press in September 2006, saying the proposed Rebuild of the Civic Centre was a waste of money. The reasons the Labour Council gave for replacing it was that it was old, actually its far newer than most of Reading, Victorian houses were built to last. They also talked about the new one being greener, costing less to heat and cool. Actually knocking down a structurally sound building is not at all green. My suggestion was that they refurbish it to improve the insulation, as has been done on other buildings of a similar age. The big three 'Grey' Parties all agreed on this policy at the time. But now, in economically troubled times, people are looking to make savings. Particularly as its been revealed that plans and designs have already cost £3.7 million! I think its a good idea to change your mind when circumstances change, its a sign of intelligence. Of course its even better when you were right in the first place.

And this is the 2006 letter

Submitted by Adrian Windisch on 28 September 2006 - 1:01pm RBC say we have no money for collecting bins weekly but were finding £54 million to spend on a new Civic Centre! Does anyone believe that at around 30 years old it needs replacing? Have they sought everal quotes from different companies to refurbish it? I would advise them to contact Integer who have experience of converting a tower block with similar problems into a sustainable building; improving insulation and shading windows to reduce heating and cooling. See integer . They should look at different schemes and estimate the carbon cost as well as the financial costs involved. If the decision is taken to build another one can we ensure it is designed to last for at least a hundred years, with passive solar heating, cooling and levels of insulation far above the minimum levels set by current building regulations. Is this about a sustainable future or building a monument to some rather large egos. Adrian Windisch

He is once again Labour but the then 'Independant' Tony Jones then said no but the link is now broken.

Roof Madness

You could not have made this up. Under Cameron missiles will be sited on roofs in London for the Olympics Talk about putting residents in danger Imagine if one of them went off, any number of people could be killed. Naturally residents are trying to stop this, but I suspect they hsve no chance At a time of financial hardship endlesd billions go on vanity projects like the Olympics with a huge security budget 5 billion is going on AWE though the cold war has been over for mamy years http://londonthenews.com/news/World/20120501/31728957/Are-Those-Missiles-on-My-Roof.htm

Green Leader

Today Caroline Lucas announced she wasn't standing in the next leadership election. If you are used to other parties you might assume she was retiring from politics but Greens are not like this. Being leader helped raise Carolines profile and this aided her to become an MP. Also doubling our membership, increasing out number of Cllrs and helping us beat the LD in London. She will be hoping that being leader will help raise the profile of another Green who may also become an MP. There are many Greens who would be great MPs, from MEPs Jean Lambert and Kieth Taylor to London AM Darren Johnson and Jenny Jones who did so well in the Mayoral election. Also good candidates are deputy leader Adrain Ramsey, and MP candidates in the last GE who are already high profile like Tony Juniper and Jonathan Porrit. But of you are from the big old three partied things seem different. One Tory who* lost to Caroline recons we Greens want a return to 1920's Russia! I looked it up. "Disease had reached pandemic proportions, with 3,000,000 dying of typhus alone in 1920. Millions more were also killed by widespread starvation, wholesale massacres by both sides, and pogroms against Jews in Ukraine and southern Russia. By 1922, there were at least 7,000,000 street children in Russia as a result of nearly 10 years of devastation from the Great War and the civil war." Quite terrible but clearly nothing to do with Green policies. Privatise and destablise the NHS and maybe thats the path the Tories want. Only the wealthy will get decent health or education. * apparently Charlotte Gore used to say that Greens were like tge BNP! http://theredrock.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/who-is-no2av%E2%80%99s-charlotte-vere/

Petition To Include Transport In Emission Targets

Tell the UK government that it can't pick and choose what to include in its carbon target! »  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/m/927/984/423/ask-uk-to-include-aviation-and-shipping-in-carbon-targets/#next_action Planes and cargo boats consume vast quantities of fossil fuels, releasing equally large amounts of greenhouse gases. Excluding them from carbon targets is senseless. If a country doesn’t include such significant producers, its carbon target is rendered pretty meaningless.   However, that is exactly the situation in the UK, which needs to decide this year whether to include aviation and shipping in its long-term carbon targets.  Rather than watering down carbon targets with a handy get-out clause, the UK must be realistic. Carbon emissions don’t disappear just because you ignore them. For a carbon target to have an effect, it needs to include all sources. Don't let excuses interfere with action. Tell the UK to include aviation and shipping in its carbon targets.  »

Olympic Debt

We used to hear lots from the Tory LD coalition about how we dont want to be like Greece.

They had an Olympics that cost around £10 billion a few years ago. We have one a biy more expensive this year.

Greece has huge debt problems, in part due to the cost of the olympics.

Now we are a bigger wealthier country than Greece but why is Cameron saying he is cutting back on spending yet Olympics costs go up 

Under Labour it went from 3 to 10 billion. Its not looling closer to 12 billion. All for a few weeks of sport 

Time for a change

Queens Speech

Watching the Queens speech this morning does make me question how much of a meritocracy we have in this country.  And is  austerity only for the poor, the rich get richer and the aristocrats keep their priveleges 

How many castles, crowns and carriages can one person use. Time to sell them off I say. Nothing personal against the Queen but why does she get a job for life.

For example if we had an austerity Queens speech the gallery could be full of tourists raising money for the country. The Royals should pay proper tax as well, no more free rides.

After WW2 we had an austerity olympics, if the coalition were serious this one could be too. But under Camrron the bills for what he wants go up. 

Instead we get a top down rworganisation of the NHS that no one voted for that will coat a fortune. Broken promises on everything including green issues 

Time for a change