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By Alan, on January 14th, 2012
 Ed Miliband has said that he is determined to see Labour regain political power in the UK, and is trying to persuade voters that he is capable of making the tough decisions that some people worry he cannot make. In a recent interview with the BBC he has said that he’s looking for a new direction in which to take the party.
He commented, “If Labour were back in power we would be seeing a fairer economy even in these times when the economy is not doing so well. If Labour were brought in as the next government we would be inheriting a deficit and we would have no choice but to continue heavy government spending.”
In the interview, Mr Miliband was struggling to deliver this message because the interviewer was consistently asking questions about the past record of Labour. He was asking Miliband to address the issues of poor leadership and spending rather than focusing on the party’s future. The interview was with John Humphrys and many people expect that the interview has angered his party.
Last year, the new Labour Party leader was criticised by a policy adviser, Lord Glasman, who stated that Miliband lacked direction as a party leader and had had a bad start to the job. About these criticisms Miliband commented, “Of course not everyone is going to agree with my decisions and strategies, it’s just something that happens and something that I’m perfectly capable of dealing with.”
In the interview he continued to say, “The coalition government have proven that they are not a very capable group of leaders and I’m determined to win the next election and genuinely believe that this is something I’m capable of.”
When questioned on whether it was the Labour Party spending that caused the economic crisis he strongly denied this, saying that just because the party was changing its direction did not mean that it was an admission that what they did in the past was wrong.
About the economic crisis he commented, “I’m happy to admit that my party certainly made mistakes, we did not regulate the banks strictly enough and in this way we do share a part of the responsibility for the crisis, but nothing to the level that the propaganda from the Conservatives would have you believe.”
He was quizzed on the new direction that his party would be taking and most of his points centre on new austerity measures. He particularly stated that the winter fuel allowance is something that would not be increasing and instead he would focus on pressuring energy companies to offer lower tariffs to the elderly.
Later in the week, Miliband will be making a speech about how his party would want to achieve a greater fairness in these times of austerity. The speech will be taking place at the London Citizens Organisation and is going to be mainly about decisions he would make in favour of what he describes as the ‘hard-working majority’ as well as tackling issues that squeeze the living standards of this group.
By admin, on January 6th, 2012
Most people think that renewable energy is hard to get into, but it doesn’t have to be. For renewable energy newbies, reducing a carbon footprint can be as simple as switching energy providers, which you can do over the telephone or online. All it requires is a little research about which companies in your area engage in renewable energy as a source of electricity. In fact, Ofgem has just recently introduced proposals to make it easier to switch energy providers without a penalty, which is good news for those who want to begin using renewable energy.
However, if you really want to have an impact on your bills, you could take matters into your own hands. One of the most popular ways to join the renewable energy revolution is to get solar panels installed on the roof of your house or on an adjacent, grounded shelf. Solar power is renewable, clean, quiet, and virtually free once you cover the costs of installation. You can use this type of energy production in conjunction with the electricity that you already use to make your bills cheaper. In fact, depending on how exposed your house is to the sun and how much energy you use, you may even be able to cover the full cost of powering your home with solar energy. And that really counts for something.
Other forms of green electricity include hydroelectric power, geothermal power, and wind power, which has recently revived the push for clean energy in the UK. In fact, as a whole, nearly 20 per cent of Europe’s energy consumption is composed of electricity generated from renewable resources.
Of course, all of these sources require thinking on a larger scale, and whilst it is great to familiarise yourself with them, there are things that you can do right now to lower your home’s energy consumption. For example, try installing compact fluorescent light bulbs to save on your home’s light costs. You can also make sure to do regular maintenance on your heating and cooling system to keep it running as efficient as possible. If you have a working fireplace, use it as a source of heat in the wintertime instead of turning on the heat. And during the summer, use light window shades to block sunlight and cool off the house instead of blasting the air conditioner.
At the end of the day, embracing green renewable energy is less about what you can install or prop up and more about how many creative solutions you can find to energy consumption dilemmas. Learning how to balance them expertly will mean that you can do good for the environment without compromising on your own comfort or safety.
Article Courtesy of Good Energy
By Alan, on January 6th, 2012
 Fears have recently arisen around breast implants that had been created by the cosmetic surgery company PIP. It is expected that around 400,000 women have been affected by the gel implants which were filled with industrial gel instead of the normal kind used in breast implants. The company used industrial gel instead of the normal silicone gel in order to save on costs.
Xavier Bertrand is a health minister in France and he has recently commented, “It has recently become clear that all of the gel that PIP has used in these breast implants is contaminated and I’m shocked that it has gone undetected in safety checks.
I have instructed the government to look into how these checks have failed and how these procedures have continued for such a long time. In the coming days I will be discussing the matter with other health ministers from around Europe in how we’re going to deal with the problem.”
The shadow health secretary in the United Kingdom is Andy Burnham and he has stated, “The private clinics that installed the implants must be responsible for the costs of removing them. If these clinics do not pick up the bill the NHS is going to be facing around £150 million in costs to correct the problems.”
A leading plastic surgeon has said that around one in every 10 of the implants could burst leading to health complications. Mr Burnham continued, “The private sector should be responsible for cleaning up this mess, cosmetic surgery companies are very good at promoting their products but when it comes to after sales care they are very poor.
It is the government’s responsibility to force private clinics to pick up the costs. Women should also be able to contact the clinic where they had their cosmetic surgery and request details of their implants to see if they came from PIP.”
The discovery that the company was using industrial gel was made in 2010 and its products were banned soon after, which led to the company shutting down. Soon after this it became clear that the rupture rate of their gel products was higher than normal and last month the health authorities in France advised over 25,000 women to have their breast implants removed.
The officials also said that there might be an increased risk of breast cancer associated with the implants but as of yet there is no proven link between the two. Fazel Fatah is part of a government panel that is investigating the implants and is also the president of the Association of Plastic Surgeons in Britain.
He commented, “There is a moral and ethical obligation by private clinics to correct the problems associated with these implants. We worry that the figures about the number of women with these implants have been underestimated and the costs associated with their removal might be far higher than thought.
“These implants are using a type of silicone inappropriate for cosmetic surgery and one that is typically used in industry, therefore it is important that all 40,000 women who we currently expect to have received the implants to have them removed. These implants were being offered so that clinics could reduce their costs but these costs have been cut in an unacceptable way and have increased the risk to patient’s health.
We also expect that the actual rupture rate of these implants is higher than recorded because the records rely on people volunteering the information which realistically rarely happens.” However, the Department of Health is maintaining its position that there is currently not enough information to suggest that all implants should be removed.
By Alan, on December 30th, 2011
 Simply by turning off turbines, wind farm operators are likely to earn as much as £10m this year according to official figures that claim that there were 17 operators that were paid for shutting their farms down on forty different occasions during the time that spans between January and September.
If payments were made at this rate then householders would end up paying around £10m over the course of this year to take the turbines off of the National Grid.
The large amount of these payments has prompted a review of rules that are focused on the constant payments which are made when there is too much electricity on the grid, making it impossible for the network to absorb the extra power that is created. This money is then added on to the monthly bills paid by consumers making them shoulder the costs.
Over the course of 2010 only about £177,000 in payments was made, but due to many changes that have been made to the National Grid the balance is not the same as it was before and the use is much more widespread. The new rules also meant that renewable energy companies had to be paid more frequently to turn off their turbines than they normally would have been if operations had remained the same as usual.
This past September, a Norwegian company that has about sixty turbines in Scotland was paid £1.2m for turning off their turbines as there was a large amount of high wind during the spring months. Now due to the rising costs of such payments to other turbine companies the way the balancing system is employed on the National Grid may need to be overhauled to cut costs.
Many Conservative MPs are starting to oppose plans by the Coalition to increase how many wind turbines are in use stating that there is a need for more renewable energy but there is a negative connotation about renewable power because of how unpopular wind farms are becoming. As the wind turbines are poorly sold many people are becoming turned off by the idea of looking for renewable sources of energy, which is the opposite view to the one Ministers are hoping people will adopt.
Conservative MP Chris Heaton Harris stated that he knows from the mail he receives that many people do not like wind turbines because of the way they are marked, noting that wind generation requires some type of back up since it is not always a guarantee that the wind will blow.
He added that they also create a lot of noise and flicker and therefore are not the best choice when it comes to finding a permanent source of renewable energy and that more exploration is needed into the matter. At the moment, the National Grid has started a consultation to look at the new issues that have emerged.
By Alan, on December 24th, 2011
 Prime Minister David Cameron’s surprise pre-Christmas visit to Afghanistan did not go exactly as planned, but did accomplish the main objectives, according to BBC’s Carole Walker, who travelled with the entourage. The PM means to continue and increase ongoing efforts to improve the lot of British military personnel who are serving or have served in Afghanistan, and their families at home.
Mr. Cameron intended to visit the UK’s main base at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province but his plane had to divert because of a severe dust storm. He wound up at the NATO base in Kandahar instead, where he met some of the Tornado fighter pilots from Scotland’s RAF base at Lossiemouth. It is unfortunate that a meeting with Helmand’s governor to discuss coalition withdrawal of troops had to be cancelled, but progress is being made on that and other fronts.
When Mr. Cameron visited Afghanistan last year at this time, he still held out hope that some British troops would be sent home during 2011. That didn’t happen, but around 500 troops on active duty can expect to return to England in 2012, with more going home in 2013 and complete withdrawal of troops to be final in 2014, according to the admittedly tentative schedule.
The Prime Minister emphasized his commitment to the welfare of British military personnel and their families, noting that a cabinet committee is being formed to address the problems of funding for and implementation of medical, educational and other assistance. However, the plan to put a 1% cap on military pay raises across the board has roused criticism from Labour and other opponents, who say it will create undue hardship.
The first official report from the Ministry of Defence came out alongside Mr. Cameron’s Afghanistan trip, and concluded that the government is fulfilling its obligations under the Military Covenant. The report warned, however, that the pay freeze combined with other aspects of the plan is causing concern in the ranks – chiefly in the higher ranks – of the military.
As for the long term, Mr. Cameron is holding to his promise that all British troops will be out of Afghanistan by 2015, to be replaced where needed with Afghan personnel. He did not specify a timetable, on the basis of not wanting to make promises he may be unable to keep due to changing circumstances.
All in all, aside from (hopefully) spreading some Christmas cheer, the trip to Afghanistan did not solidify ongoing plans for British military withdrawal from the country. UK Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond told MPs on Monday that Britain is waiting for the U.S. to announce its plans for reducing American troops in the country before specifying its own agenda.
In reference to the disruption of his planned talks at Camp Bastion and his intended Christmas message for the troops stationed there – the majority of Britain’s Afghanistan force, in fact – the Prime Minister said such disruptions are the sort of thing those serving in the country have to deal with all the time, and there’s no point in ‘whinging’ about it.
By Alan, on December 16th, 2011
 An independent report in the wake of the phone hacking revelations has concluded that a too close relationship between sections of the media and senior officers in the Metropolitan Police seriously compromises both their abilities to investigate each other properly.
There has been widespread speculation that these cosy relationships, including excessive hospitality between News of the World journalists and several senior police officers had greatly undermined the investigation into the phone hacking, and had damaged the trust that the public had regarding the police’s impartiality, so says the report, which was conducted by the former Parliamentary commissioner Elizabeth Filkin.
Ms Filkin was appointed when the phone hacking revelations involving Millie Dowler became public knowledge in 2011, and her report also calls for tighter control over how the Metropolitan Police service deals in the future with journalists, to prevent not only the erosion of trust amongst the public, but also within the police ranks.
Ms Filkin goes on to say that the most serious problem is that the close relationship between certain sectors of the press and senior officers in the Met was compromising their capacity in scrutinising the activities of each other objectively. She added that a lack of transparency about the exact nature of the relationship between the media and the police was leading to perceptions and speculation that were causing harm, whatever the facts.
The report contains quotes from Adrian Lee, who is both the Northamptonshire chief constable and the Association of Police Officers lead on professional ethics. He says that you must ask yourself not only the question ‘are we right?’ but also ‘are we seen to be right?’, and this is where the police failed the test as far as the News International scenario was concerned.
He added that as far as the police being close to New International was concerned, they were investigating them. The perception was, however, that the investigation was linked to their good relationship, and the police hadn’t done enough to convince the public that there wasn’t a link between the two.
The report also highlighted that there was a lack of consistency in how some members of the MPS’ senior team viewed hospitality and gifts. Mark Simmons, the MPS deputy asst. commissioner told Ms Filkin that the general perception amongst the lower ranks was that their bosses were filling their boots.
Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Met commissioner, said that he welcomed the report and pledged that, in the future, the Met would have an open and transparent relationship with all sectors of the media.
By Alan, on December 5th, 2011
 Researchers have recently been investigating the Dead Sea and found that the sea almost disappeared around 120,000 years ago. These researchers have been drilling to over 1500 feet below the seabed. Currently, the levels of water in the Dead Sea are shrinking rapidly and experts are engaged in debates over whether it is possible that the sea will dry up entirely.
The geological surveys have been able to gather history about the sea dating back millennia. It is expected that some of the historic tales from the Bible might be verified or not as famines that occurred in biblical times can be checked.
Steven Goldstein is a researcher at Columbia University in New York and he has recently commented, “Our survey has shown that throughout history the amount of food available in this part of the world varied significantly. There were years when there was no water and famine must have been common, but in other times there was plenty of water and food would have been just as plentiful.”
The research is not being conducted to investigate events from the Bible but instead to find out more about the history of this sea. In recent decades the demand for water in the region has increased dramatically as human populations are demanding more, evaporation has also contributed to the water levels dropping in the Dead Sea, which has meant that since 1930 the surface of the sea has dropped by nearly 25 metres.
Researchers have also confirmed that in the last decade the rate at which the level of the sea is dropping has increased. While there is no debate about whether the level of the water is falling, there is about whether it will ever completely dry up. Some scientists argue that because the lake is so salty and water and salt attract each other the sea will never completely be dry.
In order to try and settle the debate, researchers have been drilling down underneath the bed and have samples dating back nearly 200,000 years. In their samples they found that around 120,000 years ago there was a warm period and from this sample certain pebbles indicated that the sea was once dry at its deepest point. This has caused many scientists to re-evaluate their point of view over whether the sea can ever completely dry out in the future.
The time when the sea last dried out was much hotter than the temperatures that we experience today and there was also less water flowing into it. It is also uncertain whether the sea actually did dry out and this means that many people still have doubts about whether it could disappear altogether.
Most scientists do agree that unless our current climate changes the sea will continue to drop in its levels but it is unlikely that it will ever drop to its previous lowest point. However, because water usage is much higher than it was in the past this could be a serious factor and one that will increase in the future.
By Alan, on December 3rd, 2011
 The police have released a to-do list that a burglar used, such as details of their potential targets as well as the tools they will need to complete the job. The list was found at a burgled house in north Manchester, and amongst the entries where where the car keys were kept near the door, and which windows were left open. Greater Manchester police are using the list to warn people of the risks of crime.
PC Andy Pickering has said that the list gives a real insight into how thieves identify their potential targets, and should serve as a reminder to all householders on how to protect themselves from crime. The author of the list, entitled ‘lined up grafts’, which also lists other targets, was found outside the house last October and the writer, who the police also think committed the burglary, has still not been caught.
Other houses that were on the list included one that had loads of notes on the fireplace, and one that had Saab car keys behind the door. Valuable items such as cars, vans, pedal bikes, TV’s, laptops and wallets are all listed as potential items the thief intended to take. The tools earmarked for the jobs include both flat and cross head screwdrivers, a hammer, a torch and a coat hanger.
PC Pickering says that although thieves steal all the year round, they are particularly busy around the time of Christmas and New Year as cars and homes that are packed with valuable items make them impossible to resist.
By Alan, on December 3rd, 2011
 Over 1/3 of British people view immigration as more a problem than an opportunity, a recent report has found. People in the UK were way more pessimistic than those in France, Italy, Spain, Germany or the US, according to the Transatlantic Trends: Immigration annual survey. The Brits also feel more strongly than those in other western countries about immigrants taking the jobs of natives.
It was also revealed that Brits think there are a lot more immigrants in the UK than there actually are, and while they estimates that 31.8% of the population were immigrants, when it fact they equate to only 11.3%.
The survey also found that 68% of Brits thought that immigration was much more of a problem than an opportunity, compared to 54% in the US, an an average in Europe of 52%. Nearly 58% of people in the UK thought that immigrants were taking jobs away from British people, this compare with 57% of Americans, 36% of Spaniards, 30% of Italians, 25% of the French and 23% of Germans.
The people of Britain also felt a lot more strongly than their European counterparts that immigrants were also a burden on social services; 63% agreed with this statement compared to a continental average of 53%. The poll of around 1000 UK nationals also showed that they were the most wary of those immigrants who had a low level of education compared with equivalent surveys held in the US, France, Italy, Spain and Germany.
Less that 17%, or one on five Brits were in favour of allowing more immigrants into the UK who had low levels of education, which compared with an average throughout the rest of Europe of 29%, or three in ten. Three in five backed calls for illegal immigrants to be involuntarily returned, and more the 2/5 thought that reinforcing the borders of the UK was the best way to deal with illegal immigration.
By Alan, on November 24th, 2011
 The High Pay Commission has recently said that the high salaries of executives in the country are damaging to the economy. The commission was established to look at the disparity between the pay of the average worker and the top executives. It found that over the last three decades the difference in pay between these two groups has increased significantly.
The commission came to the conclusion that the last time such pay inequality was seen was in the Victorian era and it is put forward a plan to stop the huge disparity. One of the key recommendations to come out of the report is that companies have to publish, in an easy to understand format, the difference between the average salary in the company and the salary of the Chief Executive.
The commission was established by the pressure group Compass and had support from the Joseph Rowntree Trust and was tasked to investigate pay of ordering executives. The enquiry lasted a year and has found that since 30 years ago the average pay of a top executive has risen over 4000%.
The President of PepsiCo for theUnited Kingdomhas stated that there needs to be high pay so that theUKcan remain competitive with executive salaries in the rest of the world. He commented, “If we want the greatest business leaders to work in theUKthen we need to pay the same amount of salary that is seen in other countries.”
The country is going through a time of great austerity and while many people are seeing pay cuts, the top 0.1% of earners are still seeing significant increases in their pay. John Varley is the chief executive of Barclays and his salary is mentioned several times in the report. In a year he earned nearly £4.4 million which is 169 times higher than what the average employee in theUKearns.
In 1980 the top Barclays executive earned nearly £90,000, which was just 13 times higher than the averageUKaverage. The pay increase of Barclays is nearly 5000%. The bank have disputed the figures saying that they do not match up with the amount Mr Varley was actually paid.
At Lloyds bank, the chief executive earns around 75 times what the average employee at the bank earns. In the 1980s the Chief Executive earned less than 14 times as much. A spokesperson from the bank has commented, “This report seems to be quite misleading and we are hoping to get figures from the High Pay Commission to verify their numbers.”
The average salary in theUKis currently just under £26,000, which is a threefold increase from what it was in 1980. This is a significantly smaller increase in salary than what top executives have seen. The commission has called for many reforms to try and make the pay system in theUKfairer.
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