Vince Cable talks tough, but will he get tough?

The Guardian reports Vince Cable as calling time on excessive boardroom pay and bonuses.

Vince Cable talking tough at Liberal Democrat party conference

The paper states that the “business secretary champions ‘responsible capitalism’ model, forcing companies to justify pay policies in their annual reports.”

However, the devil is in the detail.

The Guardian further reports that pay increases and bonuses will have to be justified to shareholders. Now I’m no expert in company law, but surely the requirement for the CEO and other executive officers to justify their actions to the board and key shareholders already exists?

If not, then Vince Cable’s announcement is welcome. Although, I fear it will lack the teeth to really bite.

Wouldn’t it be better to legislate that remuneration at the top can be no more than say 25 times that of the lower paid, as per John Lewis?

Thus, to pay extortionate salaries to executives a company must significantly improve the lot of all its workers. Now that really would narrow the pay gap and create a more equal society.

Sadly, there are too many vested interests in maintaining the status quo. So whilst Vince may talk tough, his Tory bedfellows will prevent him from getting tough!

March for the Alternative

March for the Alternative, a set on Flickr.

I joined the TUC’s March For The Alternative last Saturday. It was a great demo and everybody was warm and friendly. These are a few of the photos I took with my phone.

Alternatively, take a look at this video. It’s really well presented with interviews of some of the people marching. The demo really did attract a cross section of UK society.

HM Government replies to petition to protect our canals

Earlier this week I received an email from Her Majesty’s Government informing me that an official response to a petition I started some time ago was now available on their website.

It was one Sunday in November 2009 that I posted my petition on the Number 10 website. I was driven to action by a report on BBC’s Politics Show programme highlighting plans being considered by the government to sell off the property portfolio of British Waterways, the agency tasked with the restoration and maintenance of the nation’s canals and waterways.

As British Waterways rely on the income generated from rents to undertake a considerable amount of its work I was concerned that  stretches of our canals and waterways, enjoyed by many, would no longer be maintained should it be forced to dispose of its property portfolio.

After a staggering 22,309 signatures (it was in the top five most popular petitions on the website at one stage) and a change of government the future of our waterways looks more certain. In its official response the government has confirmed plans to create a new charity, similar to the National Trust, and transfer the property portfolio to it.

Whilst I disagree with many policies being developed by the current government I must applaud them on this decison and look forward to hearing more about their plans in the next few weeks.

Government consider measuring happiness

I don’t know if any of you have picked up on yesterday’s story in the Guardian – the government are considering measuring the nation’s happiness and well-being alongside conventional statistics like GDP, etc. to track how well the country is doing.

I’m not sure yet what relevance this has to my next OU assignment (outline who are the winners and losers in a consumer society), but it’s quite interesting that the government should consider this at a time when people’s incomes are likely to stagnate for a few years.

You can read the article here http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/nov/14/happiness-index-britain-national-mood

Learn more about the types of questions likely to be asked in the ‘happiness index’ survey here http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/nov/15/happiness-index-government-questions

The Happy Planet Index here http://www.happyplanetindex.org/

What the government are likely to measure here http://www.nationalaccountsofwellbeing.org/

And see how well we currently compare with the rest of Europe here http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/nov/15/happiness-index-wellbeing-nef

Oh, another thing. I’ve just started reading an interesting book which expands on issues touched upon in the above studies -’ The Spirit Level. Why equality is better for everyone.’ It’s written by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.

The main thrust of the book’s arguments (from what I’ve read so far) is that there are limits to the benefits of pursuing growth (in an economic sense). It gives a good example of how in the UK we have seen the economy grow, with GDP rising, yet the income gap is wider. This has created greater inequality in our society causing many of the problems we face today, such as mental health, educational performance, etc.

HM Government closes down e-petitions

The ConDem coalition government have seen fit to shut down the e-petition service on the Number10 website.

Unfortunately, that means that the Protect Our Canals petition has been closed with a total of 22309 signatures.

Now is a time when we really need to maintain pressure on the new government to honour the previous Labour government’s pledge to mutualise British Waterways, thereby helping to secure the future for the country’s canals and waterways.

Alun Michael, MP for Cardiff South and Penarth, raised the subject during Treasury Questions in the Commons on the 8th June. You can view the record in Hansard on the Parliament website.

Please write to your MP urging them to raise the question in Parliament and seek assurances from George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and his new Treasury team that British Waterways will be mutualised with its property portfolio intact.

Don’t know your MP? Find out at theyworkforyou.com

Public pressure moves Government to mutalise British Waterways

With a current total of 22,245 signatures the petition to Protcet Our Canals on the Number 10 website is helping to make a difference.

This week’s budget statement by HM Treasury may have been described as safe and unexciting by some pundits, but hidden in the detail was an anouncement to mutualise British Waterways (BW).

 

A narrowboat using Britain's waterways.

Establishing BW as charitable trust, with its property porfolio intact, secures the future of our canals and waterways. BW will be able to continue to invest in maintining and renovating the nation’s network of waterways, allowing more of us to enjoy the pleasures of walking alongside still waters, or step back in time by taking a holiday aboard a narrowboat.

Welcoming the announcement Tony Hales, BW chairman, said: “This is a significant moment in the history of our inland waterways, which helped put the great into Great Britain as an industrial nation. A mutualised canal network will give the communities that have grown up around the waterways since the 18th Century an increasingly important role in the way they are run in the future.

“The proposal reflects a widely-held, cross-party and stakeholder view that the waterways are a national treasure which should be moved into the third sector if we are to unlock the enormous public support that there is for them. This is a tremendously innovative model for reinvigorating the waterways, it will ensure their continued revival and safeguard against a return to the decline and dereliction which they faced in the last century.”

Thanks to everyone who has signed the petition.

If you haven’t yet signed please do so at Number10.gov.uk – let’s keep the pressure on until the job is done.

Obama wins key vote as US Congress votes for change

The Guardian reports that Barack Obama’s healthcare reform bill has been passed by Congress.

I’m really encouraged to hear this. Obama took office on a platform for change. It would have been easy for him to have caved in to corporate America and not push for healthcare reform. But no, he chose to battle on and make a difference for everyday Americans.

Reform of healthcare will enable Americans from poorer backgrounds, many with a history of illness, to gain insurance cover, removing many of the worries associated with falling ill and not knowing whether you can pay for treatment.

America has taken a fundamental step toward creating a better society, where neighbour looks out for neighbour. Da iawn Obama! Well done!

Back in the UK we should treasure the NHS. Yes, it’s got its flaws. But, living each day safe in the knowledge that should anything happen, you’ll receive free treatment regardless of your status, is a wonderful thing.

Dwi’n caru NHS! I love the NHS!

I’d also challenge Cameron’s ‘Vote for Change’ call. Do the Tories have the stomach for ‘real’ change? Change that will make a difference for the poor in our society at the cost of corporate Britain. I very much doubt it, after all what ‘real’ new policies are the Tories proposing?

Government welcomes 3rd sector debate for waterways

As the petition to Protect Our Canals reaches the No. 9 spot on the Number 10 website with 18499 signatures the Government is hinting that British Waterways may keep its estate and go mutual.

A narrowboat using British waterways.

The new approach, contained in the Asset Portfolio which accompanies the Smarter Government White Paper, confirms and builds on the conclusions of a previous Treasury report in April 2009 which concluded there was no financial or economic case to sell off the property assets and a sale of the property endowment would not achieve best public value.

British Waterways’ waterside land and buildings, which range from brownfield regeneration sites to 18th century warehouses, fund a significant proportion of the maintenance of Britain’s historic waterways and have been vital to the recent renaissance of the 200-year-old network.

The income BW received from its property portfolio last year was £45.2m. Without this the network of canals and waterways, much-loved by many (3.4m visitors enjoying the network in a typical two-week period in 2008), would return to a state of decay and ruin.

British Waterways’ chairman, Tony Hales, comments: “British Waterways’ canals, rivers and docks create over £500 million of public benefit annually and we share and welcome the Government’s commitment to unlocking the potential of the network and delivering best value for money to the taxpayer. We are pleased that the Government wishes to explore with us the benefits of a third sector approach to the waterways. We need long-term security for the future of the historic network and believe third sector status together with our property endowment provides the basis for that security.”

“The waterways would not be the place they are today without the passion and commitment of waterway stakeholders and partners and we very much look forward to working with them to further develop our thinking on a third sector strategy.”

In the last decade Britain’s inland waterway network has undergone a widely acclaimed revival, with more than 200 miles of canals built or restored and record number of boats and towpath visitors using the system. British Waterways is influencing and enabling an estimated £10 billion of waterside regeneration, which has helped towns and communities across the country to rediscover their local waterway. This revival has been made possible thanks to the support of Defra and the Scottish Government, the lottery, local authorities and countless volunteers and enthusiasts.

Keep the pressure on the Government, if you’ve not already done so, please sign the petition.

City bankers must join the real world – RBS and the bonus bonanza

Reports on BBC News and The Guardian that City bankers are to get huge bonuses are causing a storm in Westminster with Government ministers telling them to join the real world.

I must admit that I’m beginning to get riled by the greed of bankers in the City. I don’t mind rewarding people according to their performance but when top bankers at RBS bring the long-established bank to its knees, that its only chance of survival is through a Government bail-out. Is it fair that they be rewarded with bonus payments of £1.5bn?

Would you be rewarded for failure in your job?

The Government’s budget deficit, largely caused by the massive sums of money handed to the banks, is expected to result in cuts in vital public services and huge job cuts in the public sector. 

It looks like lolly-pop ladies, care workers and bin-men are going to pay the price for the incompetence of grossly paid City bankers.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: “I understand the point that RBS directors are expressing – they say they have to remain competitive in the market in recruiting senior executives, and this is why it’s important that all the banks are equally restrained, and RBS is not singled out.”

I‘m sorry Peter, but we the public own 75% of RBS, they should be singled out. Why can’t the £1.5bn be paid to the Government as a dividend? A bonus payment for the taxpayers’ brilliant performance in propping up the banks.

Shadow financial secretary Mark Hoban said: “The government’s policy on bonuses is a muddle. The city minister claims he will veto big bonuses only to be superseded by the business secretary calling for banks merely to show restraint.

“We have been clear – no significant cash bonuses should be paid out this year and that money should go towards increasing lending to the families and businesses who propped up the banks in the first place.”

It’s really something when a Tory is getting tougher on banks than Labour. Gordon wake-up! The Tories are stealing your clothes. Their reflecting the views of the average joe in the street who are, quite frankly, sick of footing the bill for corporate greed.

If we are to live in a fair society then the Government should call the bluff of the RBS chiefs and deny them their bonus bonanza or they will never get real.

MPs debate funding of British Waterways

I must admit I missed the debate last night. The thing with adjournment debates is that you never really know what time of the day they’re going to happen.

If you’re like me and have missed the debate too – don’t worry you can catch up with Hansard.

Also in PDF format here Extract of Hansard 30 Nov 2009 – British Waterways funding debate.

I’ve not had chance to read through it so can’t comment. But I hope to later today.

For those who support the aims of the petition but not the process I have written to my MP, Martin Caton, via the Parliament website. Martin supports Early Day Motion  233. I don’t think he was present for the debate, but to be fair  I did contact him at the last-minute (Sunday night).