tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84373031610157372802023-11-15T06:41:03.025-08:00JRjamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-14760486867910577642020-01-13T14:52:00.001-08:002020-01-13T14:52:27.134-08:00The banality of evil ....<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">What’s the point of studying history? Well, for a start, there are
some really great stories – giving substance to the claim that truth is
stranger than fiction. But surely the main reason we study history is to guide our
futures. What worked well in the past that is worth repeating? What didn’t go
so well that we should avoid? All neatly summed up in Santayana’s pithy dictum “<span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Those who do not </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">learn history</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> are </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">doomed</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> to repeat it.</span>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">One of the great fallacies in history, and one that denies us the opportunity
to learn, is that the greatest atrocities were acts committed by the ‘wicked’
or ‘mad’ man – the idea that he did what he did because he was ‘evil’. And no
more needs to be said in explanation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Most obviously this is often repeated when we look at the Nazis
and the actions not only of their leaders, those who were responsible for
designing the polices (lebensraum and the final solution, among others) that
led directly to the deaths of millions, but of those ‘ordinary’ Germans who
implemented with enthusiasm a plan that would inevitably lead to those deaths, the
attempted eradication of entire races. It may be argued that many Germans were
shocked to discover, when war ended and they were presented with the terrible
truth, what their leaders had done in their names. Well, it’s a moot point. But
the policies could not have been enacted without the complicity of many of
their fellow citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And it is here that we often get lazy and we opt for the simple
answer: Hitler was plain ‘mad’ and/or ‘evil’. As were his immediate entourage.
And his high command. And his troops. And the many civilian functionaries who
worked within the military-industrial complex that was the final solution …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">While there is obvious illogicality to ascribing simultaneous
madness/evil to an entire population, or substantial parts thereof, we are also
thereby betraying the whole reason we study history. To learn the lessons so
that the mistakes of the past should not be repeated. When we ascribe atrocities
to the actions of a mad man, we are abrogating any responsibility to learn the
truth. It is all too easy – and does nothing to further our understanding. Perhaps
it made contemporary Germans feel better – that was not us, that was the action
of a madman and his crazed gang. Perhaps it makes us later generations feel better
– that could not be us, for we could never be led down that path by those who
are palpably unfit to rule.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The great German political thinker Hannah Arendt spoke of the ‘banality
of evil’ when she covered the trial of Adolph Eichmann – a man not responsible
for devising the final solution but an integral part of its implementation. She
observed him first-hand and concluded that he was an ordinary, rather bland, bureaucrat
– ‘neither perverted nor sadistic’ but ‘terrifyingly normal’. He was, she
noted, disengaged from the reality of his acts – a man who was shallow and clueless,
someone in search of a purpose and direction – and finding that he could prove
his worth by carrying out the commands of his superiors without demur and with ruthless
efficiency.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Arendt was much criticised for her description – as it appeared to
some to ‘normalise’ the atrocities and deny their evil. It was doing no such
thing. Instead she was highlighting the important truth of this period of
history, that ordinary people could be moved to do evil acts, especially if
those acts became routine and served what they had become used to regarding as a
greater good (Goebbels ‘If you tell a big enough lie and keep repeating it,
people will eventually come to believe it).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It is an important lesion of history – that context is all, and that
ordinary people are capable of extraordinary acts – sometimes for the good and
sometimes with the most terrible outcomes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-18278530471011652212020-01-07T11:31:00.001-08:002020-01-07T11:31:27.551-08:00Only electoral reform can save our politics ...<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
As we move into the second decade of the 21<sup>st</sup> century,
it is barely conceivable that the UK persists with an electoral system that has
long since ceased to be fit for purpose. Alone among the major developed
nations on the globe, we operate a winner-takes-all model that has consistently
failed to deliver good government and has led to the dangerous disengagement of
the voting public (which, ironically, has made change even less likely, leading
to greater disengagement etc etc …).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The arguments about the unfairness of first past the post (FPTP)
are well rehearsed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An electoral system is meant to represent the intentions of
the voting public and to deliver a legislature and executive that reflects the
diverse opinions that one expects to find in an advance liberal democracy. FPTP
clearly does not do this. It is possible – and is indeed commonplace – for a
party to achieve a minority of the popular vote but a majority of the seats. Referencing
the majority thereby obtained, the winning party is able to claim a mandate where
one has not been delivered by the public vote. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What if a proportional system allows smaller parties whose
views we may find repellent a seat at the table? Surely that is what
representative democracy demands and a mature liberal democracy should be able
to cope with those minority dissenting voices, rather than hiding behind a distorting
electoral system that allows those parties to claim the moral high ground.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
FPTP leads to distorted geographical representation, since
party support is commonly correlated with geography. So, for example, and
putting the matter at its most simplistic, Labour voters in rural areas and
Conservative voters in urban areas are likely to feel unrepresented in parliament.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Indeed, an extension of this is the fact that in the UK it
is estimated that at least half the seats in each election are safe seats – ie they
are seats that never change hands. This may well lead to the parties that hold such
seats becoming complacent – whether or not they continue to hold the seat has
very little to do with how well they have represented their constituents. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And it means too that voters in those seats who do not
support the ‘ruling party’ come to believe that theirs is a wasted vote. They
will never get the chance to influence which party forms the next government
(most elections are decided in just a handful of seats – and parties’ electoral
efforts are very much focussed on those few areas). Again, in terms of public engagement
with the political process, the effect has been hugely negative. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With electoral outcomes concentrated in so few areas, and depending
on so few voters, it has made the manipulation of that outcome far too easy for
those with the intent and resources to do so.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the most important reason why FPTP is so damaging to our
politics is that is massively distorts the make-up of our political parties and
leads to a profoundly dishonest relationship between the major political
parties and the electorate they are meant to represent. Let me explain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each time we enter a general election in the UK, it is an almost
absolute certainty that only one of two parties is going to form the next
government. Under FPTP with its inbuilt biases and winner-take-all nature, that
is as near to a guarantee as is possible. Every 100 years or so, there is some
realignment in our politics that leads to one of the Big Two being replaced.
So, unless you are one of the Big Two, then you start off as an also-ran – with
no hope of forming the next government.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, it pays dividends to be a part of one of the Big Two –
and a lot of dedication to stand aside and support one of the “smaller”
parties. If you are not in the Big Two, then you are not going to be in government
– however good your ideas, however hard you work, however dedicated your
campaign teams. It just isn’t going to happen. You need to join one of the
major parties.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And what this has led to is our two main parties becoming
unnatural coalitions – of diverse and contrary interest groups that have no
business belonging to the same party. How did Jeremy Corbyn and Tony Blair end
up in the same party? Kenneth Clarke and Mark Francois? They are marriages of convenience
– though the convenience is entirely that of the ruling parties and not the people
they are meant to represent. Come together and you have a chance of taking
power, and if you take power, you have a chance to make the changes that you
believe are important. But that means sharing your bed with some very strange bedfellows.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A lot of the time, this may be workable. You will agree with
your colleagues on some issues, and not on others. At times you may have to
hold your nose, but in general it is a price you believe is worth paying. But in
any case you have to present a united front to the electorate where one very
often does not exist - particularly when it comes to the issues that most profoundly
affect the country. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was brought into sharp relief during the Brexit debate.
On issues of such profound importance, it would be natural to assume that
parties formed by a coherent political philosophy would be able to unite behind
a common position. But both Labour and Conservatives were divided right down
the middle – a not unexpected outcome given that parties exist in their current
form only to win elections, not united by common values. The two-party system allows
for no “Big Ideas” –such a diverse range of politicians cannot possibly unite
behind a single unifying idea. And so we have uninspired and uninspiring
government. Government for government’s sake.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fact that the Big Two are unnatural coalitions leads to
a profoundly dishonest relationship with the electorate. You have only the choice
to vote Labour or Conservative. You are not give the option in your
constituency of voting for a Corbyn-flavoured Labour rather than the Blair-flavoured
option, or for a One Nation Tory rather than the ERG wing of the party. You can
vote Labour or Conservative if you wish to affect the outcome of the election –
but you have very little idea with what you will end up, even if your party
wins the election. Manifestos are becoming increasingly irrelevant and,
post-election, everything is up for grabs. Most of those who voted Tory because
they believed in Theresa May (ok, a bad example …) had no say in her
replacement a year later with a politician of a very different hue, who was
selected by his party members.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are often told that FTTP delivers us stable government –
and frees us of the dreaded coalitions that our continental neighbours have had
to endure. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yet in the last five years
(with its three elections), and indeed for much longer, we have been landed
with profoundly divided governments that have been unable to govern. And voters
have been forced to choose between a dishonest coalitions of one of the Big Two
rather than to vote as their conscience allows.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Propositional representation would engage voters once again.
Instead of elections being decided by a handful of voters in a handful of
seats, every vote would matter. Voters would be able to vote for parties that had
been honest with them about what they stood for, safe in the knowledge that they
no longer had to obfuscate and form unnatural alliances with those whose values
they did not share. And politicians would be forced to engage in a different kind
of politics, with the nation’s wishes being truly represented in the national
parliament. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Politics would become honest once again and elections would
reflect the national mood. What’s not to like?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-6097155158412013462019-12-09T11:27:00.002-08:002019-12-13T16:26:04.398-08:00Lessons to be learned ....<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I hope the polls are wrong and that a majority Tory
government is not delivered this Thursday. But if it is, the opposition have some
difficult lessons to learn from what has been another woeful campaign:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The election was unnecessary – at least in its
timing. Johnson knew he could not secure 50% required for his Brexit deal in
HOC or in a new referendum. He calculated however that he could achieve a
majority (and claim a Brexit mandate) at a GE with no more than 35% support. Under
Fixed Term Act the opposition did not have to agree to an election. They were suckered
by the chance of power – but could have achieved far more (in terms of Brexit)
in keeping parliament in session.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->This should have been an eminently winnable
election for Labour. The Tories have been in power for nine years, and even if
they had been the most benign of governments, the electorate gets bored after such
a period and wants change. This is one of the most unpopular governments on
record – and yet still it is likely to win a majority.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The influence of Farage and Brexit party has been
greatly exaggerated. Johnson correctly calculated that any pact with the party
would be toxic. The only way to nullify their impact (an expected 15+% poll)
and to win outright without relying on them was to move to the right and occupy
their ground. He has succeeded in doing so – and thereby mopped up a critical
10-15% that would have voted for the BP.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The influence of the LibDems has been greatly
exaggerated too. It was a disastrous decision to stand on a Revoke platform. Leavers
were guaranteed not to support it (they would not have done in any case), but
the position alienated a significant number of Remainers who found the move
profoundly anti-democratic and without moral justification. Most importantly,
it meant LDs could not be a safe haven for Tory Remainers who could never vote
Labour. They will at best stay at home and, at worse, vote tribally for Johnson (to keep Corbyn out).
Swinson has proved a massive disappointment as leader – lacklustre and unable
to throw off her coalition baggage.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->While Labour has produced a truly radical and
transformative manifesto, they completely underestimated the extent to which this
election would be decided on a single issue. Tories have had one very simple
message (Get Brexit Done): easy to understand even if it has no factual basis. Labour
has tried to face all ways on Brexit and has ended up alienating its traditional
(Leave supporting) base and failing to offer a home to those who would normally
not vote Labour but do not want to vote for Johnson. Its apparent prevarication
for three years has led some voters to lose faith that they can be trusted.
Their election position – negotiate a new deal but then not campaign to support
it in a referendum – was an easy target for the Tories.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Having vanquished the Brexit Party, the Tories
have presented a united front with a very clear message, which they’ve hammered home
at every opportunity. The refusal of Labour to withdraw from any seat, despite other
opposition parties withdrawing in their favour elsewhere, ensured that the opposition could
not present a united front nor a clear message. Both Labour and LDs have
appeared more interested in stealing ground from eachother than from the Tories.
The LD's antipathy to the SNP (their opposition to an indy ref is again profoundly
anti-democratic) has helped sour the opposition. It’s more than likely that
parties supporting a new referendum will receive a larger vote share than those
supporting Brexit with no further vote. But their failure to work together may
well ensure a Tory majority and the hardest of Brexits.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->If the polls are right and the Tories win a majority,
then we should expect both Corbyn and Swinson to stand down (Swinson may not
even make it as far as the HOC). Both parties have a chance to become more
inclusive. There is an opportunity for realignment. But too late for the UK.
The union will break up – N Ireland and Scotland will break away – and the rump
will be left floundering outside the EU. It will take a generation or more for
the UK to recover. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-32717938994637081632016-06-19T11:42:00.000-07:002016-06-19T11:42:23.162-07:00My country right or wrong<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Watching St George’s flag bedecked England
football fans singing the national anthem as they fought with French police and
Russian hooligans, the aphorism “</span><a href="http://www.samueljohnson.com/refuge.html"><span style="color: #660099; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel”</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> never seemed more
apt. Three weeks earlier I visited the same shops and bars now being laid
waste, and was met with courtesy and kindness. I wonder what reception I would receive
now …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Why is it that accident of birth should lead some to
believe absolutely – so much so that it was worth fighting for – that our
country is superior to all others? It’s undoubtedly true that in many spheres –
technological innovation is one – we punch superbly far above our weight. Yet,
despite our ability to create wealth, poverty is rife and inequality causes
division – a cause for shame.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Some may argue that “My country right or wrong” for long
served us well. Without pride in the flag and unquestioning obedience, would
tens of thousands of our young men have gone the fields of Flanders a century
ago, certain of the terrible fate that awaited them? Their courage was not
alcohol or drug-fuelled but based on an unflinching sense of duty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Had they stripped away the layers of patriotism, those men
might have seen they were instead being asked to fight for less noble causes,
less worth dying for – resources, trade, space. These have lead to a thousand
of years of conflict on mainland Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Yet the last 70 years have seen uninterrupted peace in Western
Europe. The fates of nation-states are so intricately entwined, cooperation,
learning, sharing, trading has replaced sending thousands to slaughter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Let’s celebrate what is best about England but acknowledge
the value of working closely with our European neighbours and vote to remain in
the EU on 23 June.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-86313204311461040832016-05-15T12:45:00.002-07:002016-05-15T12:45:57.768-07:00The Case for Bremain<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 200%;">In the debate around EU and
sovereignty, it is one of the great ironies that those who were arguing during
the Scottish independence referendum debate that Scotland <i>could</i> retain its sovereignty even if it remained part of the United
(Kingdom) are the same people now arguing that the UK <i>cannot</i> retain its sovereignty if it remains part of the (European)
Union. They also argued that Scotland could not possibly survive economically
on its own – yet believe that a UK outside the EU is perfectly viable. What is
certain is that a UK vote to withdraw from Europe will see the end of the UK: Scotland’s
desire to remain part of the EU far outweighs its wish to remain in the UK. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The Brexiters’ loss of sovereignty
argument is similarly incoherent. Those who argue that we have ‘given away’ our
sovereignty to the EU in the same breath argue that in one bound we can be free
– all it takes is the repeal of the European Communities Act 1972, and the UK
is no longer ruled by the Eurocrats. Well, you can’t have it both ways – either
sovereignty has been given away or it has not. In fact, the UK Parliament has been
and always will be sovereign. All that has happened is that the Parliament <i>we elect </i>has chosen, for the time being,
for certain purposes, and for our greater good, to ‘share’ sovereignty with
another body – also elected by us and staffed by our own bureaucrats. At any
moment – today or tomorrow – Parliament could repeal the 1972 Act and sovereignty
would once again rest solely in the UK Parliament. In no sense is this the
total and irredeemable surrender of power some would have you believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">I remain very firmly of the belief that we should remain within the EU, albeit an EU that has been reformed, and which </span><span lang="EN-US" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: none; line-height: 200%;">prioritise local self-reliance rather than </span><span lang="EN-US" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: none; line-height: 200%;">unsustainable
economics of free trade and growth</span><span lang="EN-US" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: none; line-height: 26.6667px;">. I support Bremain for the following reasons:</span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><strong style="line-height: 19.5pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #000f26; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Jobs</span></strong><span style="color: #000f26; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"> 3.5 million British jobs
are directly linked to British membership of the EU’s single market – 1 in 10
British jobs.</span></li>
<li><strong style="line-height: 19.5pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #000f26; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Exports & investment</span></strong><span style="color: #000f26; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"> The EU
buys over 50% of UK exports (54% of goods, 40% of services). Over 300,000
British companies and 74% of British exporters operate in other EU markets. American
and Asian EU firms build factories in Britain because it is in the single
market.</span></li>
<li><strong style="line-height: 19.5pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #000f26; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Trade</span></strong><span style="color: #000f26; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"> The EU
negotiates trade agreements with the rest of the world. Outside the EU Britain
would have to renegotiate trade deals alone. While the EU is the world’s
largest market, a UK outside the EU would not be a high priority for other
counties to negotiate a trade deal.</span></li>
<li><strong style="line-height: 19.5pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #000f26; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Consumer clout</span></strong><span style="color: #000f26; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"> British
families enjoy lower mobile phone roaming charges, lower credit card fees,
cheaper flights and proper compensation when flights are delayed or cancelled.
These sorts of benefits could not be achieved by Britain alone.</span></li>
<li><strong style="line-height: 19.5pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #000f26; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Power to curb the multinationals</span></strong><span style="color: #000f26; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"> The EU
has taken on multinational giants like Microsoft, Samsung and Toshiba for
unfair competition. The UK would not be able to do this alone.</span></li>
<li><strong style="line-height: 19.5pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #000f26; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Freedom to work and study abroad – and easy
travel</span></strong><span style="color: #000f26; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"> 1.4 million British people live abroad in the EU. More than
14,500 UK students took part in the European Union’s Erasmus student exchange
scheme in 2012-13. Driving licences issued in the UK are valid throughout the
EU.</span></li>
<li><strong style="line-height: 19.5pt;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #000f26; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; padding: 0cm;">Clean environment</span></strong><span style="color: #000f26; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"> Through commonly agreed EU standards, national governments have achieved improvements to the quality of air, rivers and beaches. Good for Britain and good for Britons holidaying or living abroad!</span></li>
<li><strong style="line-height: 19.5pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #000f26; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Peace and democracy</span></strong><span style="color: #000f26; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"> The EU
has helped secure peace among previously warring western European nations. It
helped to consolidate democracy in Spain, Portugal, Greece and former Soviet
bloc countries and helped preserve peace in the Balkans since the end of the
Balkans War. With the UN it now plays a leading role in conflict prevention,
peacekeeping and democracy building.</span></li>
<li><strong style="line-height: 19.5pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #000f26; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Equal pay and non-discrimination</span></strong><span style="color: #000f26; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"> Equal
pay for men and women is enshrined in EU law, as are bans on discrimination by
age, race or sexual orientation. This benefits Britain and British people who
live in other EU countries.</span></li>
<li><strong style="line-height: 19.5pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #000f26; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Influence in the world</span></strong><span style="color: #000f26; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"> As 28
democracies, and as the world’s biggest market, we are strong when we work
together. Britain is represented in many international organisations in joint
EU delegations – giving Britain more influence than it would have alone. The EU
has played a major role in climate, world trade and development. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;">If we were not part of
the EU we would have no influence over its laws but if we wanted to continue to
trade with the EU we would have to implement its rules. Norway withdrew from
the EU 40 years ago, but still enacts three-quarters of its legislation, with
no say over the content of those laws.</span></li>
<li><strong style="line-height: 19.5pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #000f26; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Cutting red tape</span></strong><span style="color: #000f26; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"> Common
rules for the common market make it unnecessary to have 28 sets of national
regulations.</span></li>
<li><strong style="line-height: 19.5pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #000f26; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Fighting crime</span></strong><span style="color: #000f26; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"> The
European Arrest Warrant replaced long extradition procedures and enables the UK
to extradite criminals wanted in other EU countries, and bring to justice
criminals wanted in the UK who are hiding in other EU countries. Eurojust helps
UK authorities work with other EU countries’ to tackle international organised
crime such as drug smuggling, people trafficking and money laundering.</span></li>
<li><strong style="line-height: 19.5pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #000f26; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Research funding</span></strong><span style="color: #000f26; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19.5pt;"> The UK
is the second largest beneficiary of EU research funds, and the British
Government expects future EU research funding to constitute a vital source of
income for our world-leading universities and companies.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-56919305301405576392015-11-08T07:17:00.001-08:002015-11-08T07:17:39.630-08:00What Price Charity?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DoNotShowInsertionsAndDeletions/>
<w:DoNotShowPropertyChanges/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="false"
DefSemiHidden="false" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="371">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of figures"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:107%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last week, Worcester witnessed an increasingly rare
spectacle: the public taking to the streets to highlight an issue of great
concern. Nearly 200 of us took part in the StandUp4Care rally (https://www.facebook.com/Standupforcare/). With the county
council’s budget cut by over £50m in the last two years, social care has been
hit hard. Cuts to the public health budget announced recently will further
significantly reduce services and support for people suffering domestic abuse,
homelessness and drug or alcohol addiction. Osborne’s Autumn statement will
exacerbate an already grim picture; the response of local MPs is one of compliant
complacency.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Those who marched were made up of ordinary people from all
backgrounds united by a desire to say that our most vulnerable can take no more.
But while it was gratifying that so many were determined to take part, what
really struck those of us organising the rally was just how difficult it has
become to engage the charitable sector.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Charities in this country have a fantastic tradition not
only of helping those most in need, but in drawing the attention of our
political “masters” to their plight. One thinks of past hard-hitting campaigns
from the likes of Barnardo’s and Shelter. But now charities have become cowed,
frightened of appearing to be critical of government.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As government “rolls back the state”, requiring the
voluntary sector to take on services that used to be undertaken by paid
professionals (but with much reduced funding), charities compete with eachother
for government contracts. Ever more reliant on such funding, they are no longer
prepared even to nibble, let alone bite, the hand that now feeds it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What a neat trick the government has pulled off: service
provision on the cheap and a voluntary sector that no longer feels able to
speak out for those who need their advocacy most.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Never have the words of Peter Finch in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Network</i> been so relevant: “<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not</span></em><span class="st"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>going to take this anymore.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-65693299128303238522015-09-30T11:15:00.000-07:002015-09-30T11:15:27.551-07:00StandUp4Care<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:DoNotShowPropertyChanges/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="false"
DefSemiHidden="false" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="371">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of figures"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:107%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="n-Para">
If the treatment of our most vulnerable is an indication of how
civilised a society we are, then I fear we are returning to the Stone Age. A
report produced by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services warns
that tens of thousands will face reduced help with basic tasks such as washing,
dressing and eating as more than £1bn is cut from social care services for
older and disabled people in England over the next year. Tragically, despite
rising demand driven by an ageing population, fewer people will qualify for
state-funded care while those who continue to receive a service may have to
accept lower levels of support and a worse quality of life. The quality and
reliability of local services will also suffer as a consequence of turmoil in
the private care sector caused partly by an ongoing council freeze on fees,
undermining attempts to maintain a “caring, compassionate and trained
workforce”.</div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
Funding to Worcestershire County Council has been cut by over
£50m in the last two years. As the largest council budget, social care – personal
care and social support services to children or adults in need or at risk, or
adults with needs arising from illness, disability, old age or poverty – has
been hit hard. </div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
To those of us fortunate enough not to have personal experience
of mental ill health, a learning or physical disability, or simply getting
older and more frail these are just meaningless numbers. For adults, children
and young people dependent on the support of social care and health services
these cuts mean the difference between merely surviving and having a reasonable
quality of life<span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">. </span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
That is why I have joined the campaign, Stand Up 4 Care, to
highlight the need for these care and support services to be protected. Please
join us. (#StandUp4Care, Twitter and Facebook)</div>
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-22750423586367743952015-06-24T07:47:00.000-07:002015-06-24T07:47:47.620-07:00The Threat of Extremism<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:TargetScreenSize>800x600</o:TargetScreenSize>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DoNotShowInsertionsAndDeletions/>
<w:DoNotShowPropertyChanges/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="false"
DefSemiHidden="false" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="371">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of figures"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="bqquotelink">It was once said that “Freedom of
speech means freedom for those who you despise, and freedom to express the most
despicable views. It also means that the government cannot pick and choose
which expressions to authorise and which to prevent.” I was reminded of this
during a recent debate at the District Council on its revised safeguarding
policy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="bqquotelink">The policy does an excellent job of
tackling the increasingly complex and developing landscape in relation to the
council’s safeguarding responsibilities towards vulnerable children and adults.
The well-publicised failings of councils such as Rotherham have highlighted how
easy it has become – especially when government has become so fragmented – for
appalling abuses to go undetected. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="bqquotelink">But within this draft was a very
curious recommendation with no obvious connection to safeguarding. It would
oblige local authorities to ensure “publicly-owned premises are not used to
disseminate <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">extremist</i> views”. Schools
are to be put under a similar obligation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="bqquotelink">It’s easy to believe in freedom of
speech for those with whom we agree. A mark of a truly liberal society is one
that extends those same freedoms to those with whom we would profoundly disagree.
To challenge repugnant ideologies, they must be heard and tackled head on with
reasoned argument. Those with long memories will remember the Thatcher
government’s ban on broadcasting Sinn Fein representatives. It made this
country a laughing stock and strengthened worldwide support for the Republican
cause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="bqquotelink">We should not take on those guilty
of illiberalism using their same tools of oppression. We should not seek to silence
those who oppose the right to freedom of speech. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="bqquotelink">The proposal is ill thought-out.
What is “extremism”? A lazy shortcut to describe those whose views fall outside
the “conventional”, but in no way threaten? I have in the past used public
premises to call for the renationalisation of the railways – a policy supported
by 70% of Britons. Our MP – now a government minister – branded this an “extreme”
left-wing proposal. Does that make me an extremist? Am I to be silenced?!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="bqquotelink">As our government hurtles headlong towards
mass surveillance (a policy from which even the US government now resile) and
abandoning the Human Rights Act with no clear idea of what is to replace it, we
should be careful of so easily giving up hard-won freedoms.</span></div>
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-47078610471013702942015-04-22T05:08:00.000-07:002015-04-22T05:09:10.998-07:00Coalition priorities<div class="n-Para">
I was recently asked a question on my priorities in coalition government ...<br />
<br />
In the event of a coalition agreement involving your party which one
policy would you personally fight hardest to include and which one policy
would you refuse to accept?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The one policy that I would fight hardest to include is a bill to reverse
privatization of the NHS and support reinvestment in a publicly funded and
publicly accountable NHS. Ten years ago Oliver Letwin told what he thought
was a private audience that within five years of a Tory government, the NHS
would be privatized. In a televised interview in 2013, Michael Portillo revealed
that if the Tories before the last election had told the British people what
they intended to do with the NHS, people would not have voted for them.
Forced privatization has made the NHS less efficient, taken resources away
from frontline care and lead to worse health outcomes. It must be reversed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The one policy that I would refuse to accept is continued austerity –
further cuts to public services, punishing the sick, the old, the young, the
disabled, the most vulnerable in our society for the mistakes of the bankers.
While those on benefits are stigmatized and shamed, those who caused the
economic crisis the casino capitalists who gambled with our money, and when
it all went wrong, were bailed out with our money, continue to cash in. Under
this government their wealth has doubled. It is time they started to pay
their way, and to close the gap between rich and poor, so we can move forward
as one nation, with secure jobs, affordable homes, a publicly funded NHS and
a transport system run for passengers not profit.</div>
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-70152621528245994072015-04-20T16:05:00.000-07:002015-04-20T16:09:44.309-07:00Affordable housing<div class="n-Para">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In response to
a question on housing that I received recently, I gave the following response:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="n-Para">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">How would you
cater for the housing needs of all people, regardless of age, income, mental or
physical health, citizenship or background?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="n-Para">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">By abandoning housebuilding
to the private sector successive governments have let us down. Local
authorities no longer build and so fewer homes are being delivered than at any
previous peacetime period since world war one, 109k completed in 2013 compared
to around 300k a year in the 50s to 70s. Just 5% of government housing
expenditure is spent on building new homes. Developers respond to the market –
building houses for those who can afford to pay top prices for them – and are
not interested in meeting the urgent need for affordable homes. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="n-Para">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">With a shortage of
homes, the waiting lists for social housing have never been longer – more than
1.8 million are on the waiting list for a home? The government’s response? To
sell off our remaining housing stock in a cynical pre-election bribe.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="n-Para">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Some families living
in desperate conditions are being forced to wait years for a suitable home.
They may have to live for months in temporary accommodation, uncertain where
they'll be moved to next, or how much longer they'll have to wait for
stability.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="n-Para">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The private rented
sector offers short-term leases, sometimes poor conditions and high costs –a
form of housing is unsuitable for many households, especially the
vulnerable and those in need of a stable, secure home.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="n-Para">
The Green Party has committed to building 500k socially rented
homes by 2020, increasing the social housing budget from £1.5 to £6 billion by
2017. We’ll raise £5 billion by scrapping mortgage interest tax relief on buy
to let property. This will also greatly reduce housing benefit costs, too large
a proportion of which goes straight to private landlords. </div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-72335967877218534952015-04-20T07:25:00.001-07:002015-04-20T07:25:45.238-07:00An end to Tax-DodgingI was asked a question on tax-dodging at the Christ Church Malvern hustings yesterday. In pledging if elected to support a bill to end tax-dodging, this was my response:<br />
<br />
"Given that tax dodging hurts the poorest hardest in both the UK and
overseas, would you, if elected, support and promote a new Tax Dodging
Bill that would make it harder for big companies to avoid paying taxes
in the UK and in developing countries?<br />
<br />
Paying tax is the contribution each of us makes to living in a civilized society. It pays for our health service, educati<span class="text_exposed_show">on,
transport infrastructure and much more besides. As we live longer, each
of us will spend the majority of our lives dependent on others and on
such services: taxation is the contribution we make to those services.
None of us lives in isolation. We are all dependent on others.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
Without those services industry would not be able to make a profit.
When companies and individuals dodge taxes, the rest of us have to pay
more or else go without these essential services. Quite simply,
tax-dodging is immoral.<br />
<br />
If all the tax that was due was
collected, this country would be £120bn per year better off – that is
twice the deficit, and 30x the amount lost to benefit fraud.<br />
<br />
How
can this government claim to be serious about collecting tax, when it
cuts the staff at HMRC in half, and allows HMRC to make deals with big
corporations to pay only a fraction of what is due. Instead government
savages the welfare state and penalizes the least well off.<br />
<br />
How
can we take seriously an MP whose campaign fund has been financed by
someone like Lord Fink who has said ‘everyone avoids tax’. I don’t avoid
paying tax. I don’t suppose most of the people in this room do.<br />
<br />
It is time that those who can step up to the plate and started to pay their way."</div>
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-31757440442064069292015-02-11T12:42:00.000-08:002015-02-11T12:42:40.551-08:00Syria and Its Refugees<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="//img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" />
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="n-Para">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>In 2014 we have been commemorating
the outbreak of the First World War, the most terrible conflict in modern
history. Not only did millions of young people lose their lives, but large
parts of continental Europe were left
devastated and hundreds of thousands of men, women and children found
themselves displaced by a conflict not of their making.</span></span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="n-Para">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>This year, in 2015 we have the
chance of celebrating the centenary of one of the most incredible acts of
humanity from the people of Malvern – when, in the midst of their own suffering
during the Great War, they opened their doors to give a welcome and a place of
refuge and safety to 500 Belgian refugees.</span></span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="n-Para">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>What better way could there be
of marking this centenary than to reach out to those innocent victims of
today’s terrible conflict in the Middle East and thereby continue this
country’s proud tradition, which stretches back centuries, of receiving
refugees. What better way of showing how much we cherish our freedoms than by extending
those freedoms to those who are subject in their countries of birth to unjust
imprisonment and torture.</span></span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="n-Para">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>And, amidst the hysteria in this
country about immigration – stoked up by those who refuse to accept any
responsibility for our economic calamity, but seek to point the finger of blame
at so-called outsiders, a debate I don’t intend to get into tonight, it cannot
be stressed enough that asylum seekers – and ultimately refugees – are not
economic migrants. </span></span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="n-Para">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>A migrant is a person who makes
a conscious choice to leave their country to seek a better life elsewhere.
Before they decide to leave their country, migrants can seek information about
their new home, study the language and explore employment opportunities. They
can plan their travel, take their belongings with them and say goodbye to the
important people in their lives. They are free to return home at any time if
things don’t work out as they had hoped, if they get homesick or if they wish
to visit family members and friends left behind.</span></span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="n-Para">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Refugees are forced to leave
their country because they are at risk of, or have experienced persecution. The
main concern of refugees is for their safety, not economic advantage. They
leave behind their homes, most or all of their belongings, family members and friends.
Some are forced to flee with no warning and many have experienced significant
trauma or been tortured or otherwise ill-treated. The journey to safety is
fraught with hazard and many refugees risk their lives in search of protection.
They cannot return unless the situation that forced them to leave improves.</span></span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="n-Para">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>And we must remember too how
this country has benefitted from accepting refugees. It is estimated, for
example, that since 1972 30 thousand jobs have been created in Leicester alone by Ugandan Asian refugees. About 1200
medically qualified refugees are recorded on the British Medical Association’s
database. It is estimated that it costs around £25,000 to support a refugee
doctor to practise in the UK – training a new doctor is estimated to cost over a
quarter of a million. And the Office for Standards in Education reports that
children seeking asylum – who may ultimately become refugees – contribute very
positively to schools across the country, which in turn enables more successful
integration of families into local communities. Refugees want to work, they
want to contribute, they want to be part of our communities.</span></span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="n-Para">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Some will argue that we already
have more than our fair share of refugees in the UK? The figures do not bear this
out: the UK
is home to just 1% of the world’s refugees – out of more than 15 million
worldwide. Over 80% of refugees live in developing countries, in Africa, Asia
and the Middle East, often in camps with the
most basic facilities.</span></span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="n-Para">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Syria</span><span>'s neighbours are struggling under the weight of this
unprecedented crisis – more than three million people have fled the country –
and it is time we stopped asking of them what we are not doing ourselves. Ours
is a modest proposal, the resettlement of a small number of refugees. Our
government has so far agreed to take just 500 Syrian refugees and to date only
100 have arrived in the country for resettlement. That’s 100 out of three
million.</span></span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="n-Para">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span>In 1915 the people of Malvern
showed their humanity when they welcomed the displaced of the First World War
and made them part of our community. It is now time that we showed the same
generosity of spirit as our predecessors a century ago by offering a place of
to those very much less fortunate than ourselves, allowing them the chance to
rebuild their lives, free from persecution.</span></span></div>
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-166864986648491352014-11-26T12:58:00.000-08:002014-11-26T12:58:00.284-08:00TTIP and the betrayal of UK consumers<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<div class="n-Para">
It has been said that “If you tell a lie big enough and keep
repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” Into this category
falls the Government’s lie that savage cuts to essential public services are an
austerity-driven imperative to reduce national debt. It is nothing of the sort:
the debt rises to record levels, while big business cherry picks services that
have been built over many years with public money and expertise. While their
shareholders, wherever they may be, will reap the short-term benefit, the
euphemistically named ‘third sector’ – charities and voluntary groups – will be
left to pick up the pieces. Government has no interest in public service.</div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
Some lies, though, are so big that they can’t even be spoken aloud
– except in terms of baffling acronyms designed to send us into stupor before
we’ve understood their consequences. No doubt it is for this reason that the
media (dominated by the multinationals who stand to benefit) have told us
nothing about TTIP and why there is no public debate about ISDS – though it is
no exaggeration to say that these represent the biggest challenges to
democratic governance in a generation.</div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a
trade treaty that has been negotiated between the EU and the US for some years
– almost entirely behind closed doors and the details of which the EU and our
government appear shy about disclosing. Its purpose, apparently, is to remove
the barriers to trade between the continental blocs. Who could possibly argue
with that?! Except the current trade barriers between the EU and US are already
very low. In fact, the treaty’s purpose is to remove those pesky
profit-blocking rules – the ones that stop consumers being poisoned or killed,
or that prevent pollution. </div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
It is argued that this consumer-protecting legislation (derided
by government as “bureaucratic red tape”) needs to be “harmonised”. Again,
difficult to argue with that (though US regulation is far less stringent
– eg 70% of US processed food contains genetically modified ingredients). But
that is where the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) – a part of the TTIP
– comes into play. ISDS will allow big multinationals, using their armies of
corporate lawyers, to sue national governments in offshore “arbitration
tribunals” – beyond the UK
courts – for doing anything that harms their profits. Fanciful? Not at all.
Philip Morris, the US
tobacco conglomerate, has already used similar trade treaties to sue the Uruguayan
and Australian governments for trying to implement greater control on cigarette
advertising. And a Swedish energy company has sued Germany for phasing out nuclear
power. So should a future UK government try to enact a law that, for example,
restricted the ability of a private-sector US medical services giant poaching
great swathes of the NHS, it would find itself being sued for billions. </div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
By means of TTIP – supported by the three main parties and UKIP
– our government is stripping UK
citizens of the last vestiges of protection from rapacious big business. Speak
out before it’s too late.</div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="//img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" />
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-27591949190809474972014-10-29T09:00:00.000-07:002014-10-29T09:00:11.212-07:00A Brand New PoliticsRussell Brand does have a point. Though at times he seems to confuse a thesaurus with political eloquence (‘autodidact’ looms large in every Brand sermon), he has nevertheless highlighted the real disconnect between most ordinary people and our politicians. With a couple of notable exceptions, political party membership is lower than it has been for a century. And when people do get the opportunity to have their say – casting their vote at an election – increasingly they show their disengagement by abstaining. Our forefathers fought and died for the right to vote that today is so readily surrendered. But it is the politicians who are to blame.<br><br>
There are many causes of this malaise. Our first-past-the-post system means most elections are decided in a handful of seats by a few voters; those of us unlucky enough to live elsewhere have the distinct impression we don’t matter and that the politicians have stopped listening. The main parties are all trying to occupy the same ‘middle ground’, to such an extent they have become entirely indistinct from one another. There’s actually a broad spectrum of opinion in this country – but when I hear the leaders of the main parties speak I am reminded of Marx (Groucho that is) who said ‘These are my principles. And if you don’t like them I have others.’ Additionally we must look for causes in the types of people we elect to Parliament. Just a generation ago, the Commons was filled with teachers, miners, dockers, health professionals – those who had in fact done a ‘proper’ job – not career politicians with little experience of real life beyond an apprenticeship in media or on a City trading floor so alien to most of us.<br><br>
While Brand has highlighted the problem, he is somewhat hazier on the solutions. One positive to take from people’s disengagement from formal political dialogue is that they have found other ways of ‘making a difference’ in their communities – by working directly or indirectly with local groups on issues that affect their daily lives. Some of these will be overtly political – campaigning on specific issues. Many however will not be – but still they make a difference.
Politicians need to start listening, and social media should increasingly play its part. People are beginning to rely on social media for their news and everyday discourse; and they rightly expect to be engaged by politicians via this medium. More importantly, though, social media is an open parliament, where its users, not politicians, set the agenda.<br><br>
And politicians, media-trained to reveal nothing of their personalities or beliefs, need to start having a dialogue directly with the people they serve. For this reason I fully applaud the efforts of the Lansdowne Church, supported by the town council and others, to launch a series of debates on topical issues. Last Saturday it was food banks, a debate that was lively, informative and revealing of the grotesque inequalities of 21st century Britain, with local people showing they were better informed than our representatives in Westminster.
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-82674228809208655402014-09-24T03:28:00.000-07:002014-09-24T03:28:35.281-07:00Putting communities before developers<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="Text">
As MHDC prepares to vote on whether to add still more homes to
the already bloated South Worcestershire Development Plan, its Tory leadership
predictably wrings its hands. But let’s not forget how readily they’ve accepted
central government’s bidding to build our way out of recession, regardless of the
environmental and economic cost. To its pleas there is no choice – there is
always a choice.</div>
<div class="Text">
<p>The SWDP needs to have people and communities at its heart and
should be embracing their contributions and participation throughout the
plan-making process and over the full life of the plan period that follows.
Instead, the process appears to have generated more upset and disquiet than
enthusiasm among communities in South Worcs, and while we appreciate that the
proposed plan has been produced in line with the formal consultative
requirements of a plan-making process, the outcome has clearly failed to
attract the groundswell of active public support/ownership that would surely be
the hallmark of a successful outcome. This is a highly unsatisfactory basis for
committing to a long-term development plan and reflects an insufficiently
‘bottom-up’ plan-making process, with inadequate provision for active
engagement and dialogue with communities.</div>
<div class="Text">
<p>When the SWDP was published in 2012,
the Greens were the only local party to offer a formal response – a serious,
radical alternative to the </span>concentration of development in large urban
extensions<span style="color: black;">. </span>We proposed a <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">distributed form of additional development</span>
across the area (all existing settlements growing pro rata to their current
size) as a more appropriate option for accommodating the extra housing and
employment growth. Such distributed development:<span style="color: black;"></span></div>
<ul>
<li>better supports regeneration of rural
and other local communities and makes them more self-sustainable as places to
work as well as live </li>
<li>does not require such large-scale
additional infrastructure (particularly roads) or risk further congestion of
the existing travel network </li>
<li>provides a
more manageable response to what is a fairly uncertain level of need for extra
housing and employment provision, especially as distributed development (on
smaller sites) can more easily be managed incrementally </span></li>
<li>represents a
more logical response to 21st century trends and lifestyles when so much more
business and communication will be electronic, rather than face-to-face and the
costs of transport (at least with fossil fuels) are likely to have escalated
much further, particularly in response to ‘peak oil’ </span></li>
<li>enables the
villages to become economically prosperous once again, able to sustain a wide
range of local services and amenities, which in turn helps nurture and support
local entrepreneurialism to further underpin their success as local economies </span></li>
<li>enables the
character of Malvern, the views from the hills, and the town’s tourist
potential, to be protected from further sub-urban sprawl and more town centre
traffic congestion </span></li>
<li><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span>is more
likely to support sympathetic and high quality architecture and respect local
vernacular design </span></li>
<li>saves large
tracts of high quality land for agricultural/food production purposes
(recognising the importance of South Worcestershire’s farm economy both for
local and national food supply)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></li>
<li>minimises the pressure that large-scale
concentrated development has on existing and new essential services (e.g.
doctors’ surgeries, fire stations, water/sewerage
mains and power supplies) </span></li>
<li>is more
likely to promote and support strong community identity and sense of place than
do the soulless commuter-oriented, upwardly-mobile and transient estates that
large-scale housing extensions invariably become </span></li>
<li>avoids the
risks of ghettoisation of less advantaged people and families that again so
often goes hand in hand with large tracts of residential development,
particularly where there is likely to be a significant proportion of social
housing (e.g. the SWDP is looking for 50% affordable housing on larger sites).</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="Text">
<p>In addition, particularly in response to the relatively high
population/household growth envisaged for the sub-region, we proposed provision
for one (possibly two) significant new green towns in the South Worcs area – zero/low
carbon sustainable, self-sufficient communities, with a strong emphasis on
advanced technology in terms of employment and economic base – of between 2,000–3,000
houses plus associated employment and amenity space and sufficient sites for a
full range of service provision.</div>
<div class="Text">
<p>Certainly there is a need for more house-building – though there
has been insufficient emphasis on bringing empty homes back into use and
renovating our existing housing stock. But as important as the <i>numbers</i> are
the variety of <i>types, sizes and costs </i>(affordability) of additional
housing to meet a range of household circumstances. We want to see a much
greater emphasis on achieving a better balance in the housing stock – with much
more (affordable) provision for first-time buyers, more social housing (rented
and shared equity), and many more smaller houses/bungalows to suit an aging
population. The Plan should not just leave it to developers to build what they
wish – since this only results in mass provision of (more profitable) executive
homes that are unaffordable/unsuitable for many local needs and instead simply
attract outsiders into the area, many of whom will commute long distances to
work. </div>
<div class="Text">
<p>The SWDP, and the additional development it permits, also
represents an important opportunity to upgrade significantly the standards of
thermal efficiency in our housing stock to respond to the problems of climate
change and escalating fuel costs. <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Exacting
standards for new development</span> with regard to energy efficiency and
carbon emissions should be set. In this way the Plan can be the instrument by
which we dramatically improve design standards in relation to a range of
considerations, such as access to services and provision of community focal
points, sound insulation and privacy etc.</div>
<div class="Text">
<p>The Plan is pessimistic about the prospects of being able to
achieve the significant additional transport infrastructure (road schemes in
particular), although having said that, the Plan also seems predicated on such
additional infrastructure being provided. But cheap and easy car travel has
been a major contributor to the loss of local facilities from smaller communities
through diminished custom and viability. Moreover, experience tells us that
road improvement/congestion alleviation schemes mostly only provide short-term
relief and simply encourage more vehicles on to the highways so that soon the
congestion and pollution problems re-emerge. This is a hopeless circular
process out of which we must escape – and for which this SWDP again provided a
golden opportunity that has been squandered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="Text">
<p>Our preferred option of a more distributed pattern of additional
development seeks specifically to do this – by both reversing the trend to
dormitory settlements for our villages and re-establishing them as sustainable
and vibrant communities with local employment and services so that people need
to travel far less. This is surely a more logical way to solve traffic
congestion problems than continuing to throw public money at short-term
alleviation schemes.</div>
<div class="Text">
<p>Such a vision requires imagination and the courage to stand up to
central government and large developers. This administration has neither the
imagination nor the courage, resorting to its party whip to ensure MHDC
rejected our vision and forcing this unloved beast of a plan upon us.</div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-23401268896388872752014-09-10T10:52:00.000-07:002014-09-10T10:52:00.043-07:00Communities doing it for themselvesIf you’ve travelled past the Cube this week you may have been intrigued by the frenetic activity on the roof. What you might not have realised, as work on installing a solar array was completed, is that this is a really good news story for community working – locals coming together to make their community better, a unique community renewable energy scheme to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions in Malvern. <br><br>
One of the most expensive fixed costs of the Cube are its utilities and in order to meet the Cube’s mission, these costs need to be minimised. One means of achieving this is to obtain electricity at well below market price. Malvern Community Energy Co-operative, of which I am a director and which has installed the array, will sell electricity at a discounted rate to MYCT, who run the Cube. Any excess will be sold to the grid at a higher rate.<br><br>
The Co-op electricity will also not be subject to the uncertainties associated with fossil fuel price increases (over twice inflation for the last 10 years), instead linking increases in price to RPI. The difference between the Co-op electricity prices and the market prices equates to the social benefit this scheme is delivering and is a part of creating a viable youth and community centre for the community run by the community. It is worth remembering that the Cube and all its services and facilities only exist today because a group of community-minded volunteers campaigned to be allowed to run it rather than the County Council following their plan to demolish the building. <br><br>
Co-operative ownership of renewable energy is familiar to many in continental Europe and has been growing rapidly in the UK in recent years. There are now renewable energy co-operatives across the UK and across a range of technologies. These projects are not only helping to improve the local environment, but by bringing people together they are making renewable energy more accessible and affordable. Co-operatives of this kind are truly democratic structures: anyone can apply to join and with a ‘one member one vote’ system and a board elected from the membership, they offer a fair and transparent way to operate a community-owned renewable energy business. They also have the power to prioritise membership from the local area, ensuring that financial benefits from renewable energy flow to people in the locality.<br><br>
The fossil fuel multinationals and their friends in government are hostile towards renewables. Unlike their diminishing supplies of oil and gas, renewables are inexhaustible and available to every community – not dependent on unstable sometimes undesirable overseas governments. And as renewables belong to nobody (even if the Nestlé chairman is reported as having said that water is not a right, but should be given a 'market value' and privatised) each and every one of us can benefit.<br><br>
The sole planned activity of Malvern Community Energy Co-op is the ownership and management of one or more solar arrays in the Malvern Hills area. The establishment of the solar array at the Cube is the first stage in this process. With this demonstration model and the knowledge and lessons learnt from the set-up process the intention is to develop other projects. The Co-op is already pursuing other possibilities with organisations who own large roofs that face south and have a high electrical power demand. Watch this space!<br><br>
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-65733005183870692562014-09-06T10:50:00.001-07:002014-09-06T10:50:43.154-07:00A world where everyone feels valued, equal and safe - free of domestic violenceOur country is justly proud of its record of supporting the rights of women around the world – whether it’s their fight for rights we take for granted or eradicating abusive practices – slavery, forced marriages, FGM.<br><br>
So consider for a moment these statistics: 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime; every 6 seconds a woman is assaulted in her own home; every minute an incident of domestic violence is reported to the police – though a victim is likely to have been assaulted 35 times before she seeks help for the first time. Two women a week are killed by a current or former partner.<br><br>
So from which illiberal backward, authoritarian part of the globe do these shameful statistics come? In fact, they come from Great Britain. Look again at those statistics – can you believe they come from Britain in the 21st century?<br><br>
Make no mistake, domestic violence knows no social, economic or class boundaries – it is seen in every walk of life. Wherever it occurs, the victims are many: the women –sometimes the men – who suffer not only visible physical scars, but invisible mental scars that may take far longer to heal – loss of confidence, sense of worth, of being valued; children who are forced to witness the hurt of those they love, who may themselves become conditioned to accept abuse as the norm; parents and friends of victims, who feel helpless and guilty, seeing their loved ones so diminished and cowed.<br><br>
The authorities – police, social services, judicial system – have become far better at tackling the issues of domestic abuse. They more often see the signs, are less likely to believe what happens between partners – a ‘mere domestic’ – is something to steer clear of. If what happens behind closed doors remains there it will not only be allowed to continue, but will become commonplace and the norm within families and communities. But even now, especially now, the will may be there, but the resources are lacking.<br><br>
While the authorities have become better at tackling instances of abuse, and while the networks to support the victims are slowly being put in place – allowing victims to become survivors, and once more to take control of their lives – there is still a long way to go. And we shall never eradicate this malaise at the heart of our society until we have tackled the root causes – our attitudes as a society to the role of women within it. Changing attitudes takes time and it takes resources. <br><br>
For this reason I was delighted to be invited to attend the launch of a new charity, the SupportWorks Foundation. The Foundation does invaluable work supporting survivors of abuse through its various educational recovery programmes – free of charge and designed to empower them and help rebuild their lives. The highest quality training is also being delivered to professionals who themselves deal with victims of domestic abuse.<br><br>
But to eradicate this malaise once and for all we must start by educating our young. The Foundation delivers courses designed to prevent teenage relationship abuse, sexual assault and bullying and activate student leadership in promoting healthy and respectful relationships. These courses allow those in schools and other establishments to deliver the Coaching Healthy and Respectful Masculinity (CHARM) programme to boys and young men and the We Are Valued, Equal and Safe (WAVES) programme for girls and young women. To find out more, to offer your support, email info@supportworksfoundation.org.uk.<br><br>
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-74906629270067955812014-06-30T11:30:00.001-07:002014-06-30T11:30:47.795-07:00Living off the land - why a land value tax may help solve our housing crisisEveryone recognises the need for more affordable accommodation, but what seems to be missing in the recent debates is any focus on the number of empty properties currently existing in our area. Recent statistics on empty homes suggest there are 6,406 in Worcestershire, including 923 in Malvern Hills of which 387 are ‘long-term empty’. In Britain there are at least 600,000 empty homes, many in the North and Midlands (the result of failed and non-existent regional development policies, and one more reason we shouldn't build HS2!). At the same time, developers sit on vast land banks, create an artificial housing shortage, and blame the planning system for resulting problems. The tax system encourages land hoarding. Keeping a property empty and unused makes excellent sense to speculators as minimal tax is payable on an empty plot. <br><br>
One way to tackle this would be a locally determined Land Value Taxation (LVT), based on the annual rental value of the land, exempting all buildings on it, to replace the Council Tax and Non-Domestic Business Rates. As there would be no reduction of or exemption for buildings left vacant or that have been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair, this would encourage full use of existing properties and discourage the practice of people speculating on the price of sites whilst keeping the properties empty or derelict. It would become unprofitable to sit on unused land and would incentivise productive use of land.<br><br>
Over time, this would help to stabilise the property market and tackle the boom-and-bust factor that contributed towards the 2008 financial crisis – discouraging disproportionate amounts of capital from being tied up in property and excessive accumulation of debt.<br><br>
Moreover, the tax system should, whenever possible, target windfalls, not effort. The value of any plot is not the result of effort on the part of the landowner but the value added by the community; any increase is a windfall. As Winston Churchill recognised in a speech in 1909: "Roads are made, streets are made, railway services are improved, electric light turns night into day, electric trams glide swiftly to and fro, water is brought from reservoirs a hundred miles off in the mountains – and all the while the landlord sits still… To not one of these improvements does the land monopolist as a land monopolist contribute, and yet by every one of them the value of his land is sensibly enhanced."
The total value of the housing stock in the UK now stands at over £4trn, an increase above inflation since 1990 of £2trn. This £2trn increase has come through a rise in the value of land itself - not through new buildings (comparatively few houses have been built in the last two decades) but from improvements paid for by the community. Landowners have gained a windfall of £100bn yearly on average from a rise in land values to which they have not contributed. A tax levied on the value of the plot of land, without taking into account any building on it (value added by the landowner), targets this £100bn annual unearned windfall that at present is hardly taxed at all. Most goes to powerful and privileged freeloading landowners who fight to keep every penny, and in doing so harm the economy as well as damaging the environment.<br><br>
The Green Party have developed a coherent LVT strategy:<br><br>
LD400 The Green Party proposes introducing LVT (previously known as Community Ground Rent) as a tax payable on the annual value of land. The valuation would be of the land alone, exempting all buildings on it, recent and future improvements to it, or minerals extracted from it. LVT would therefore not be a tax on the rent of buildings, the value of crops, manufactured products or the product of other forms of work. (Minerals extracted from the land would be taxed separately - see NR423 & EC710s)<br><br>
LD401 The proposed LVT would be levied by the local community at rates to be agreed amongst Districts and Regions. Any necessary redistribution between Districts and Regions would be undertaken by agreement between local governments in accordance with the principles agreed in EC551.<br><br>
LD402 The level at which the tax would be levied would be based on the full value of the current permitted use of the land. Permitted use would mean, for example, that the taxable value of land which is deemed by the community to have special amenity or habitat value, thus inhibiting use for possible greater financial return , would be reduced. When it is considered desirable to change the use through the land-use planning framework, this new permitted use would then form the basis of the assessment.<br><br>
LD403 Assessments would be reviewed automatically on change of use and every few years, or more frequently, on request. An arbitration process would be made available to provide compensation for those adversely affected by permitted use, and provision made for appeal against assessment.
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-30451779785018928332014-05-18T11:22:00.001-07:002014-05-18T11:22:07.267-07:00You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Author>bcroxon</o:Author>
<o:Version>11.9999</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
</xml><![endif]-->
<div class="MsoNormal">
The centenarian American comedian, George Burns, once said “<span class="bqquotelink"><span style="color: black;">You can't help getting older, but
you don't have to get old</span></span>” – something he proved by performing
well into his 90s while chomping on his trademark cigar. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first task that I had on being elected to a second term
as mayor was to choose my charity for the year. The over-60s is the
fastest-growing group in society – there are more of us living longer than ever.
Ageing is not an illness, but it can be challenging. And so I have chosen as my
charities Age UK and Dementia UK.
Age UK
state “We believe in a world where everyone can love later life. Age UK is here to
inspire, enable and support older people to help people make the most of later
life.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The older generation are the last that would want or expect
a “hand-out”: their lives have epitomised self-reliance and taking
responsibility. Many pride themselves on their independence and fear becoming a
“burden”. Those of us who have yet to reach this stage of our lives must
respect this – but at the same time we must not use the dignity of old age as an
excuse for our inaction. We should stand up and speak out especially for those for
whom old age is marked by exclusion and poverty, and also protect the long-term
interests of future generations. We must always remember that we work best as a
community, and that every one of us will spend most of our lives dependent on
others.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="Quotation" style="text-align: left;">
Said the little boy,
"Sometimes I drop my spoon."<br />
Said the old man, "I do that too."<br />
The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."<br />
I do that too," laughed the little old man.<br />
Said the little boy, "I often cry."<br />
The old man nodded, "So do I."<br />
But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems<br />
Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."<br />
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.<br />
I know what you mean," said the little old man.”</div>
<div align="left" class="Quotation" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our mutual dependency is not a burden but a strength. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">What in practical
terms can we do for one another? Well, in the short term there are some easy
steps. We must look out for one another. We should take a moment from our busy
schedules to consider those around us. A simple phone call, a quick chat over
the garden fence, can represent a lifeline to a world that for some is fast retreating.
We already have a network in place – Neighbourhood Watch – that does a superb
job at safeguarding our property. What a difference it would make if we could
protect in the same way those in our community who may be at risk.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">As many as one in
four pensioners live in poverty. I would like to see the introduction of a
Citizens' Pension to replace the current basic state pension and any additional
top-up benefits, such as the demeaning pension credits and winter fuel
allowances. Unlike the current system this would be unconditional, given as a
right of citizenship and not subject to means testing. They will not be restricted
to those people who have paid National Insurance contributions, which, for
example currently leaves many women without a proper state pension due to
having an incomplete payment record. This will not restrict an individual's
right to continue working – there are many who wish to work well beyond the
official retirement age and should be able to do so – and any additional
earnings will be taxed just as they would for those below the pension age.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="EC802"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I
would like too to see a supplement paid to pensioners living alone as well as
for those with disabilities and special needs. This will include payments to
cover the costs of residential care, should this become necessary. Elderly
residents should no longer be forced to sell their homes in order to pay for
such care, as these supplements will not be subject to means-testing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">There is much to be
done. Let’s tackle together the challenges of old age so that we an all love
later life.</span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="//img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" />
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-68806082415783857712014-05-12T11:29:00.000-07:002014-05-12T11:29:00.589-07:00Myth busting<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="//img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" />
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->Here I hope to set the record straight with some answers to the myths being spread by politicians intent on grabbing the headlines, but with little regard to the facts. With thanks to <b><span style="font-family: "Arial MT"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial MT";">Tom
Williams</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial MT"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial MT";"> from <a href="http://www.greenworld.org.uk/">Green World</a></span>: <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 14.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman PS MT";"></span>
<br />
<div class="n-Para">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">1) Immigration is damaging the UK
</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The idea that the UK
can't cope with current levels of immigration is overplayed. Immigrants make up
just over 10 per cent of Britain's
population –lower than the USA
and Australia – and UK asylum
claims are 33 per cent below the EU average. More importantly, immigrants have
brought huge benefits to the UK,
contributing 37 per cent more to public finances than the cost of services they
use, according to a University
of London study.
Government figures show that other EU nationals are far less likely to claim
working age benefits than UK nationals, with no evidence of systematic or widespread
'benefit tourism'. Elected Greens will speak out against the toxic rhetoric on
immigration and support migrants in the UK. We will oppose spot checks for
EU citizenship and the proposed requirement to carry ID cards, as well as moves
to water down access to public services. </span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">2) The EU is too bureaucratic and is taking away our national
sovereignty</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Wonky bananas
is the right wing press's favourite example of 'EU bureaucracy gone mad'. In
just the last few months, we've been fed false claims that it's seeking to
impose laws banning high heels for hairdressers, UK flags on meat packaging and olive
oil on restaurant tables. In reality, the EU is not full of bureaucrats; it
employs 33,000 people to administer for the 28 member states -that's one per
every 15,000 residents and 92 per cent fewer than the British Civil Service. The
EU does have a serious democratic deficit problem -with power weighted towards
the unelected European Commission. But withdrawing from the EU is unlikely to
bring back national sovereignty. Norway -which opted out of EU membership
in 1972 -has still implemented three quarters of its laws, without a say in any
of them. Its citizens also pay 79 per cent of what British citizens pay for
membership (in 2010, the average EU citizen paid only 67 cents per day to
finance the annual budget -not bad considering the benefits that membership
brings). It is better to be in the debating chamber, arguing for an EU that
works for the common good. </span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">3) Poverty doesn't exist in modern Britain
</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Food bank use is soaring
because people in Britain
are experiencing the grind of poverty. There was a 170 per cent rise in numbers
turning to Trussell Trust food banks in 2012/13 compared to the previous year.
Half of the people using food banks do so because of problems with the social security
system – the very system meant to make food banks redundant. Work is no longer
a route out of poverty either. Wages have stagnated and the price of food is
rising by 3.5 per cent, meaning that minimum wage can't cover life's
essentials. What's more, one in four of us live in unacceptably cold homes – a
stark reminder that poverty does still exist in the seventh richest nation in
the world – and that it renders people unable to fulfil basic human needs. </span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">4) Action on climate change isn't necessary because its effects have
been overstated </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">This is
perhaps the most dangerous myth in modern-day Britain. Despite almost complete
consensus in the scientific community and unprecedented weather events. there
are still many who deny the existence of climate change. including our own
Environment Secretary Owen Paterson. Four of the five wettest years recorded in
the UK
have occurred since 2000. a chilling indication that the planet is changing
faster than we ever expected. A recent study predicted severe flooding across
Europe will double by 2050 The Green Party has a 10-point plan on flooding that
Includes Increasing spending on defences, creating a new Cabinet-level
committee on infrastructure and climate change resilience and redirecting
billions of pounds of UK fossil fuel subsidies and tax breaks to assisting the
victims of flooding. </span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">5) Further austerity measures are the only answer to Britain's
current financial woes </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">We
are living through the worst recovery from recession in over 100 years, and
many are yet to feel any benefit. Unemployment is going down -but only because
of part-time, temporary and self-employment work. Last year, wages fell to 2003
levels. As many as 158,300 people were wrongly found fit for work by Atos in a
botched attempt to make the most vulnerable foot the bill. And the UK is <i>still </i>set
to borrow £200 billion more than forecast when the Coalition took office. Yet
George Osborne has promised austerity until 2020 and beyond, meaning further
cuts, including removing unemployment and housing benefits for under-25s
altogether. And Labour's two Eds promise not to reverse a single cut. From
protecting public services to investing in the Green New Deal, Greens would do things
differently. </span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">6) Greens' energy policies would make the lights go off</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> A package of insulation and renewable
measures could save the average household £166 by 2020. And, as the recent
'Zero Carbon Britain' report stated: 'We have the technology to power ourselves
with 100 per cent renewable energy, to feed ourselves sustainably and to leave
a safe and habitable climate for our children and future generations.' It's a
far better option than gambling on fracking, which even Osborne admits wouldn't
bring energy prices down. </span></div>
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-29386429357371219912014-05-05T12:29:00.000-07:002014-05-05T12:29:00.601-07:00Listen to the Victims<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="n-Para">
Recent cases of maltreatment in a few private care homes prove
that <span class="st">"in order </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">for evil to flourish</span></i><span class="st">, all that is required
is for good men to do nothing."</span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<span class="st">This became clear to me just a few years ago,
when I was unfortunate enough to work on the Ryan Commission Report into Child
Abuse. While the report catalogued abuse dating back a century in institutions
in the Irish Republic, the stories told and the lessons learned were equally
applicable this side of the Irish Channel.</span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<span class="st">The many reports of widespread abuse stretching back
through the decades were of course harrowing, and at times the first-hand
accounts were near impossible to read.</span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<span class="st">But what really left a deep-seated feeling of
anger was that such abuse was known about, and yet nothing was done to protect the
victims.</span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<span class="st">The children themselves tried on many occasions
to bring their torment to the notice of the authorities. They were not taken
seriously and were ridiculed. Indeed on occasions they were blamed for bringing
their suffering on themselves, and any childish prank or indiscretion was used
to justify their mistreatment. Those who have endured such abuse know how much
it means simply to be listened to and believed. But when your pleas fall upon
deaf ears, you sink into silent despair.</span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<span class="st">And yet the evidence was there for all to see.
Little was done to conceal the sometimes wretched condition of the children,
the perpetrators were so confident they would not be held to account. Why did
those in a position to do so fail to intervene? Often it was because the abuser
held a position of such standing and respect that their involvement in such
behaviour was inconceivable. But more importantly, to admit it would be to
upset the ‘natural order of things’, to disrupt the status quo and create a
power vacuum. For them, to their eternal shame, that was more intolerable than
the abuse. And so it continued.</span></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
<span class="st">Though we have come far, recent cases involving
young and old alike suggest there is more to be done. We must start by
listening.</span></div>
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-50028437782730580622014-05-01T12:33:00.000-07:002014-05-01T12:33:00.119-07:00It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Amnesty
International recently invited me to introduce their panel discussion, “Women
and Their Human Rights”. For me it felt like returning home. Long before I
became involved in party politics, Amnesty represented my first political
awakening – the realisation that freedoms we often take for granted at home
were for many people the world over no more than distant aspirations –
something that needed to be fought for. It was a brutal realisation that there were
brave men and women – indeed children – willing to pay – or more accurately
prepared to pay – the ultimate price for freedoms long ago gained in this
country. That someone could pay with their lives in pursuit of the most basic
rights was almost unimaginable – but that was and remains the shocking reality.
As Mae West said, perhaps in a different context, “</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Those who are
easily shocked should be shocked more often<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">”. And that is something Amnesty does so well – they shock us, keep us
on our toes.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Very quickly
my thinking matured and I came to realise too that, once gained, such freedoms
need to be treasured – you should never let your guard down – complacency
delivers us into the hands of evil men. We should be careful of what we are
prepared to surrender to those who claim to be our protectors. Never stop
questioning. Always keep challenging.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Since those
distant days of the 1970s when I joined Amnesty – wrote letters, signed
petitions and occasionally demonstrated – we have come a long way. Strange as
it might appear, how far we have come can perhaps best be demonstrated by
looking back – with our hands over our eyes and through the gaps in our fingers
– at some of the tv programmes that back then passed for comedy – the attitudes
that were then commonplace, and that today have rightly been consigned to the dustbin
of history.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But while we
have come a long way, much remains to be done. And that is why I am so glad
that, after more than half a century, Amnesty is alive and kicking, holding
firm to the belief that </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“</span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It
is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness”.</span><sup><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></sup><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> And few areas remain as dark, and in need of a shining light, as “Women
and Their Human Rights”.</span></div>
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-46777480711145908772014-04-28T12:27:00.000-07:002014-04-28T12:27:00.715-07:00The Myth of Localism<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="n-Para">
The best-informed decisions are those made by local people
about their own communities. Unfortunately, this government’s localism agenda
has shown that Orwell’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1984 “</i>doublespeak”
(“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength”) is alive and well
in 2014. Localism has come to mean the complete opposite of what had apparently
been intended.</div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
A community has the right to bid to run public services if it
so wishes. However, when such a bid is made, a full-scale tendering process is
triggered – allowing large and distant corporations – with armies of lawyers
and accountants – to move in: how can neighbourhood groups compete? This is
privatisation of local services behind the smokescreen of giving people a greater
say.</div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
A community has the right to buy assets in its neighbourhood. However,
this is no more than a right to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bid</i>,
the owner being entitled to reject such a bid, even if it is the best offer on
the table.</div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
And neighbourhood plans allow local people to shape their
communities – so long as those communities accept the future includes building
lots of new homes – with numbers dictated from on high.</div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
The greatest scandal of localism is its use to roll back the
state – shutting public services down and hoping families and charities pick up
the pieces – Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ a pale echo of Thatcher’s ‘Care in the
Community’. This taps into a perception that public services are often a
second-best to doing it ourselves at home if we can. But as things stand, this
would be the most regressive step for women possible to imagine – a return to
the world before the welfare state – men went out to work and women stayed at
home to look after the children, the sick and the elderly. </div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
Volunteering may be an answer. However, current government
policies of privatisation cut right across the ethos of volunteering. People will
volunteer for local charities, schools and hospitals, but are less inclined to
help private providers make greater profits or reduce costs by making paid
staff redundant. Privatisation undermines attempts to get more volunteers;
public services run directly by the state or by voluntary organisations are
more likely to attract them. </div>
<div class="n-Para">
<br /></div>
<div class="n-Para">
People will volunteer, but only if the overall social framework
is one of cooperation and mutual support, not one of competition and greed. “To
serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart and a
free mind.”</div>
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com0United Kingdom55.378051 -3.4359729999999912.188224499999997 -86.05316049999999 90 79.18121450000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-66041187299714008022014-04-24T12:21:00.001-07:002014-04-24T12:23:41.399-07:00Malvern and its Food Bank<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="//img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" />
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Malvern
has a food bank. Words I never thought I would utter. While it is a phrase that
should gladden us – after all “<span class="st"><span style="font-family: Arial;">You
can judge a </span></span><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">society</span></i><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> by </span></span><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">how they treat</span></i><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> their </span></span><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">weakest
members”</span></i> – <i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">we must ask why it is that Malvern </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">needs</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> a food bank.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This week we have learnt that more than 1,400 people (over 600 of whom were children) received emergency aid from our local food bank. Even our relatively prosperous
town is being hit by two pernicious philosophies that are leading to the
devastation of public services – and to the concept of ‘public service’.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">First, we have “trickle-down”
economics – if we allow the richest in our society to become even wealthier (t</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial;">he household wealth of the top 10% is 100 times the
wealth of the poorest 10%<i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">), some of that wealth will, eventually, “trickle
down” to the least well-off. Feeding from the crumbs of the table of the rich
is no basis for a caring and just society. The rich rarely know when they have
enough and need to share. Successive governments of whatever persuasion have
not been inclined to encourage them to do so.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">At the same time there is the
belief that the marketplace delivers
more cost-effective and better-quality services. Whether it is the NHS, higher
education, public utilities, transport – now the Royal Mail – history has taught
us that a marketplace of privatised
monopolies, where the short-term interests of shareholders are prioritised
ahead of the needs of citizens, is no guarantee of the quality or
cost-effectiveness of essential services.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Further we have the myth of
‘localism’ – government dressing up its disinclination to deliver essential
public services as an exercise in giving communities the ‘opportunity’ to take
on that burden – but without the resources and support to do so. Ever more
services once delivered by qualified professionals are now run by well-meaning,
but essentially amateur, volunteers, doing their best in the face of government
indifference.</span></i></div>
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I urge you not to give in to
politicians of every hue seeking to turn us against the weakest in society, but
to support the likes of the <a href="http://malvernhills.foodbank.org.uk/">Food Bank</a>. Let’s be thankful that we have those
willing to step in when government abrogates its responsibilities. But it is no
cause for celebration.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></i>
jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8437303161015737280.post-9708999018463190892012-01-09T12:29:00.000-08:002012-01-09T12:29:06.242-08:00Papering Over The Cracks on Executive Pay<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
</style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style> <![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Many of us were appalled, though not surprised, by the recent IDS report that, at a time when many ordinary people are suffering terrible hardships as a result of the worst recession in generations, the average pay of FTSE 100 directors rose in 2011 by almost 43%, and now averages more than £2m a year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">David Cameron’s response to this (hijacking Ed Miliband’s recent pronouncements on the matter, which themselves owed much to recent LibDem thinking) has been to announce plans to give shareholders binding powers to veto excessive increases in executive pay. It is a feeble response - empowering those with the least stake in a company to act as the brake on executive pay. If you were cynical, you might almost imagine that Cameron is aware that, while his proposals play out well in public, his boardroom allies will have nothing to fear in practice.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It has become obvious in the past couple of decades that the shareholder model (even as reworked by Cameron) – while a good one for raising revenue that allows entrepreneurship to flourish – is not one that guarantees an acceptable level of corporate governance – one that will prevent boardroom excesses that cause workforce resentment and therefore company inefficiency, leading ultimately to a poor deal for the consumer.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Company ownership in the UK (and indeed the US) is one that is predicated on maximising shareholder value. And yet of all the stakeholders in a company, shareholders are the ones whose commitment is the least secure – able as they are, in a moment and with just a few keystrokes, to remove their investment – switching to another vehicle that they think offers a better chance of a quick return. This leads to uncertainty and short termism at every level of company management and contributes nothing to holding directors to account. It should also be said that many companies are owned by corporate shareholders – which themselves have a shareholder constituency to satisfy – leading to a ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch your back’ culture. Good governance is the least of their priorities.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr Bryn Jones of Bath University has recently written:</span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span>"In researching corporations striving to optimise shareholder value, I have found that this aim [for businesses to increase profits in way that creates sustainable shareholder value] often clashed with a business's undertaking to promote social and environmental objectives. In these circumstances, the latter commitments were abandoned. Workers were sacked, community assets stripped and carbon emissions increased by closures and 'offshore' relocations - all in the interests of sustaining 'shareholder value'."</span></div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Greens are the only major political party in the UK that is calling for a fundamental overhaul, advocating measures that should be taken to improve corporate governance so that we do not see such excesses. One policy would be to introduce legislation requiring that the maximum wage in any organisation is no more than ten times its minimum wage. Another is to ensure that those with the greatest stake in the success of a company – its workforce – are given a governance role by the formation of workers councils – as has become the norm in Germany and other north European countries. Rather than stifling innovation, as many on the Coalition Government's benches suggest, such measures are proven to lead to a more empowered workforce, using its know-how, experience and commitment to the long term to design policies that benefit the corporate body as a whole. This is a factor that has played no small part in the success of those north European economies in recent years.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It is vital for the health of the nation - and not only for the well-being of those who daily have to battle the effects of social deprivation - that there is greater income equality. The neo-liberal economists who have held sway in the developed world over the past couple of decades would have us believe that by using deregulation and tax cuts, the very wealthiest are freed to create additional wealth, which is then invested so that society as a whole benefits - the so-called 'trickle down effect'. The facts however are very different. As Ha-Joon Chang has argued in a recent work: "concentrating income in the hands of the supposed investor ... does not lead to higher growth if the investor fails to invest more." In free market capitalist economies, there are no mechanisms to ensure that investment actually happens. In contrast, in countries with a strong welfare state it is a lot easier to spread the benefits of extra growth that follows from upward income redistribution through taxes and transfers. "In other words, we need the electric pump of the welfare state to make the water at the top trickle down in any significant quantity." Given that in an economic downturn the best way to boost the economy is to redistribute wealth downward, as poorer people tend to spend a higher proportion of their incomes, then now is the time to introduce measures to ensure that wealth is more fairly distributed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Business as usual is no longer an option. It is time to stop papering over the cracks and introduce real accountability into our boardrooms.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>jamesryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12865382084760843577noreply@blogger.com1