Fraud at Free School?

To arrest a Conservative for fraud is a bit like arresting a duck for quacking. The Kings Science Academy in Bradford is backed by Conservative vice chairman Alan Lewis and was visited and praised by David Cameron in 2012.

The Kings Science Academy is at the centre of allegations of "serious failings" in its financial management. Sajid Raza, the Tory genius who set up the school, has now been arrested. We have to add that he is innocent until proven guilty. So is every other Tory :) If one Tory goes to prison for fraud what about the rest of them?


It is one of three high-profile free schools to be at the centre of a controversy, with the Discovery New School in West Sussex being ordered to shut due to poor standards and the future of the Al Madinah Free School in Derby in doubt following two scathing Ofsted inspections.

Somebody is making a complete Gove-up of the education system.

Who could it possibly be?

http://derekmcmillan.com/

Disability Hate Crime - Cameron has blood on his hands

More than 1,700 disability hate crimes were recorded by police in
England and Wales in 2011-12. The Joint Inspectorate report published
on 21 March said that disability hate crime was in fact under-reported
and blamed the reluctance of police officers to ask callers whether
they were disabled or not.

The largest disability hate crime has been the behaviour of the
Department of Work and Pensions who contracted ATOS to reduce the
number of claimants for Disability Living Allowance. Many
well-publicised cases have ATOS insisting that for example a man in a
coma, and another claimant who was blind and deaf and unable to walk
were "fit for work" and clearly just scroungers.

And the accomplices of this crime are the gutter press who have waged
an unceasing campaign against "scroungers" and fuelled the hatred
which allows disability hate crime to take place.

Fiona Pilkington killed herself and her disabled daughter Francecca
Hardwick in 2007 after repeated complaints to police about harassment
by youths.

However the police were quick enough to act when ant-ATOS campaigner
Beth Tichbourne took part in a peaceful protest and yelled at Cameron
"you have blood on your hands."

On the 30 November 2012 David Cameron was booed as he came on stage to
turn on the Witney Christmas Lights. You can watch a video of him
trying to drown out any criticism by awkwardly getting the crowd to
cheer for everyone from themselves to the Queen on YouTube. Kind of
funny. Also, kind of not funny.

Beth Tichbourne told the Black Triangle Campaign:

'I find it very weird watching the video, because while this was going
on I was being beaten up by the police on the other side of the stage.

'I have never been so scared: my face was being pushed into the
ground, I could feel blood coming from my nose, there was someone
putting their whole weight on my back while someone else was stamping
on my knees, along with various people grabbing and twisting my limbs.
And then the officer on my back moved a knee up onto the back of my
neck.'

Beth received a fine of £747. Small change in the pocket of a
millionaire like Cameron. It is more than a month's income for her.

So as you can see the police can act hard enough when the issue is
important enough. When it comes to dealing with disability hate crime,
it seems they are too embarrassed.

A website http://calumslist.org/ lists 30 deaths attributable to the
Tory/Liberal one-sided war on the poor called "Welfare Reform."
Cameron actually does have blood on his hands. Quite a lot of it!


http://classroomteachermanual.blogspot.com

Vince Cable can damage your health

Economic wizard Vince Cable has outlined his own idea for a legacy of
the Paralympics. By ditching Health and Safety checks he aims to make
sure plenty of people are disabled in the future.

We all know the tabloid jokes abour Health and Safety regulations,
stories about clowns being forbidden big shoes and children being
banned from playing conkers. However, most of us expect to buy food
that won't make us ill, or to work in a safe environment but it is the
"red tape" the government wants to destroy that ensures this is so.

Unsurprisingly Alex Eichmann, head of regulatory policy at the
Institute of Directors, said: "The Government's efforts on
deregulation are welcome. Excessive regulation costs time and money,
both of which businesses would rather spend on developing new
products, hiring staff and building up British business both here and
abroad."

He failed to mention what a good idea "deregulation" of the banks
turned out to be.

It is ABC to any union Health and Safety rep that if a company can
maximise its profits at the expense of the health and safety of its
employees it will do so.

The only guarantee that employers will exercise a "duty of care" for
employees is a strong union organisation. Union health and safety
officers will have to take on the role which the Health and Safety
Executive has so shamefully abandoned.

The Apprentice – or who wants to work for a bully?

When I could drag myself away from the Royal Circus on the Thames, I
watched the final of The Apprentice. For those of you unfamiliar with
this theatre of cruelty the main character is a pantomime villain,
Lord Sugar, who gets to set tasks of varying degrees of daftness and
then humiliate the participants.

Sugar is a Labour Peer and acts like a less charming version of Lord
Vader. He urges his apprentices to give in to the dark side. After a
day of teamwork they are all forced to humiliate and denigrate each
other in the boardroom.

And what great ideas did these finalists come up with? One was yet
another bloody call centre – even one of Lord Vader's stormtroopers
thought this was a tawdry idea! Then there was a website to enable
people to buy ingredients for recipes. Lord Vader derided the whole
idea that people plan their meals before they cook them. One assumes
his Lordship has someone else to do that for him. A recruitment agency
proposed by someone who already runs a recruitment agency was the
winning idea.

And that leaves one. A fine wine hedge fund. If you want a symbol for
the degeneracy of capitalism this will do fine. This is not for people
who actually drink wine. No. It is for people who want to invest in
fine wine as a hedge against the economic crisis. You can see how this
is an idea to set the nation alight and improve the lives of millions
of ordinary people. Or perhaps you can't.

The apprentice is undemanding entertainment but if it is an exhibition
of the best in British entrepreneurs, heaven help us all.

Derek McMillan
Mid-Sussex Socialist Party

"56 up" highlights plight of public services

The BBC "56 up" program follows the lives of individuals in an
unprecedented documentary narrative spanning the time since the
participants were seven. This week it highlighted the plight of public
services. Lifelong library service worker Lynn Johnson said "for the
last thirty years I have been banging my head against a brick wall but
now nobody is listening. They say that the work I do, anybody could do
it."

It is worth emphasising she lost her job as a result of "nice Labour
cuts" not "nasty Tory cuts."

Now, rather than being able to take early retirement her husband has
had to take on full time work to make ends meet. "the goalposts keep
getting higher" for retirement. "People who started work assuming they
could retire at sixty, find the situation has now totally changed."

She regrets the fact there "is no party of the left" although she says
she is not political... and adds "they haven't got a clue what they
are doing. Some people are never ever going to recover from it and
unfortunately they will be quite devastated. We have no more left-wing
Labour Party any more. Tony Blair saw to that. They all veer to the
right. "

You can still see it on Youtube if you type in "56 up documentary" and
it is well worth a look. On the same program a wealthy Tory barrister
boasts that there is no class society in Britain :) Lynn felt her work
promoting literacy and love of literature with children had been
worthwhile. How many rich Tory parasites can say the same?

New Rottweiler for Putin?

Dog owners were reportedly outraged when Spin Doctor Alistair
Campbell, was described as Blair's rottweiler.

Campbell has been in the news recently in relation to the Leveson
Inquiry where he revealed for the first time that Blair's entourage
thought there was a problem with the relationship between the Murdoch
media and politicians - although there is no evidence they ever did
anything about this "problem".

He has now turned his talents elsewhere and will be a spin-doctor for
a firm whose clients include McDonalds, (who notoriously hired
million-dollar lawyers to attack two individuals for handing out
leaflets) Vodafone (whose tax affairs are regarded as a public
scandal) and Google (who have scant regard for the privacy of anyone
who uses their search engine). He will also be working for Tesco's
because every little helps.

Another client is Vladimir Putin. It is hard to tell whether this is a
step up or down after working for Blair. We can at least be sure he
wont be mocking Mr Putin for going to a "bog standard comprehensive".

If anyone wanted yet more evidence of the moral and political
bankruptcy of New Labour - well you couldn't make it up, could you?

Merchants of Death

Tough times... for some of us. For soldiers who have lost limbs the
government is going to cut their disability payments. For the weapon
manufacturers, the merchants of death, the government obsession with
playing soldiers has earned them a pretty penny.

The government was determined to buy the F38C joint strike fighter
plane but has now opted to buy the F38B. The cost of this blunder has
been variously estimated as 40 million pounds down the toilet or 100
million pounds down the toilet. That money could have provided some of
the "help for heroes" we all hear about.

It is good to know that this is what the government calls "fiscal
responsibility." No squandering money on health, welfare and pensions.
The cost of the F38C has actually doubled to two billion pounds.

Batting on a sticky wicket, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond claimed
that the decision to buy the F38C "was right at the time" but the
decision to buy the F38B was right now. Well for the time being
anyway.

It sounded on the BBC news as if he were saying they needed to fit
catflaps on the aircraft carriers but in fact they needed to fit
"catapults" and "traps". These public school boys know how to have fun
don't they? And it is with billions of pounds of our money they they
are having fun.

In addition to which the RAF air-to-air refuelling planes are alleged
to be costing the taxpayer a good 100 million pounds over the odds.

The question nobody asked, the "elephant in the room" was why on earth
the country can afford this profligate expenditure when everything
else needs to be cut. New Labour were silent on this because – you
guessed it – they suggested the F38B in the first place.

A real political opposition will not come from the hopelessly
out-of-touch political elite.

Lord Hutton's snout in the trough

Lord Hutton is well-known to public sector workers. He originated the
plan that we should work longer, pay more and get less in pensions.

Remember we are all in this together so of course the Labour Peer
(Yes, a Labour peer!) has had to take on the role of chairman of the
board of a privatised pension scheme delightfully named "My Civil
Service Pension" MySCP.

It has been portrayed in the media as an employee-owned business "like
John Lewis". John Lewis should definitely sue for defamation of
character. The employees will not own 75 percent of the business and
certainly won't be allowed to sack the chairman.

Sacking Hutton is mild compared to the views of most civil servants I
have spoken to. They would prefer more draconian measures.

Apparently Hutton is "a firm believer in the power of engaging
employees to drive innovation." and lining his own pocket.

Cutting pensions and privatising the retirement fund management is
something no employee asked for.

In the days of slavery, there were slaves who were liberated by people
who then went on to sell them back into slavery "down the river."
Clearly Lord Hutton, like John Lewis, is never knowlingly undersold
"down the river." To quote another Labour Peer, Lord Thomas who sold
out the 1926 General Strike, "I sold you all right, but I got a good
price for you!"

Abu Qatada - tragedy and farce

Abu Qatada has been tried and found guilty by The Sun and that is good enough for Theresa May. If, as they claim, Abu Qatada had been "continually" committing criminal acts in the UK, the government are being a little remiss in not bringing him to trial.

They seek instead to have him deported to Jordan where the extraction of confessions by torture is standard police practice. Theresa May gets up in the House of Commons and says with a straight(ish) face that she is reassured that he will receive a fair trial in Jordan. Well there is a first time for everything.

Amnesty International has no record of a fair trial in Jordan. Last year, for example, thirty peaceful protestors were locked up under a charge of "insulting the king." and many of them were beaten by the brave police in whom May places such touching faith.

It is not so much Abu Qatada's democratic rights which are being violated. It is yours and mine. Theresa May is avid to utilise the torturers of Jordan. This is "rendition" conducted in the full light of day and with the media baying for blood. The Liberals remain silent. The nominal opposition are so scared of being branded as "soft on terrorism" that they confine themselves to ridiculing Theresa May's incompetence rather than her authoritarianism.

And the proposals of the government to read your emails and texts becomes clear now. "Terrorists and criminals" are going to be targeted. And of course anybody who criticises Theresa May's permissive attitude towards torture is clearly a "terrorist" too and therefore fair game.

Trots?

There are Trots everywhere it seems although nobody knows precisely
who or what they are! There is a commentary of the Transitional
program on Amazon for Kindle, ipod and iphone. It is very cheap.

I always found it an inspiring read. In the depths of depression and
fascism there was a message of hope. They were right to fight for it.

And if William Wilberforce were trying to free the slaves today or
Emily Pankhurst to get women the vote: the government would be calling
them "Trots" too...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-death-agony-capitalism-ebook/dp/B007L5LGC8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1332345358&sr=1-1

My guess is that a url that goes over two lines is difficult to use.
You could always go to Amazon and type in "Death Agony of Capitalism".

The last time I bought a copy of this it cost me a fiver and had an
introduction by Cliff Slaughter. This one costs 77p and had an
introduction by me!

Lobby Millionaire Maude - pension pincher 21 April 11 am Horsham Railway Station

As part of the on-going battle to stop the government public sector pensions robbery PCS are organising lobbies of key MPs in the coalition.

This Saturday 21st April a group are travelling up to Horsham to pensions axe-man Francis Maude constituency.

Assemble at the Horsham Railway Station at 11 am



PCS are very keen to encourage delegations from all unions involved in the battle to join them and bring a branch banner.

A coach is going from Brighton at 9:15am via Worthing to Horsham. The coach leaves 9.15am St Peters Church, York Place, Brighton.

You are welcome to just turn up but if you can let Kev Dale know in advance how many seats you need email kev.dale10@gmail.com

NHS in dire straits!

Brighton Unison LG Pensions Statement. NO SURRENDER

Below is a open communication from Brighton Local Government Unison to
regional and national officers.

I am asked by the vast majority of our Branch Committee, activists,
and by several hundred members, on-line(a massive response, since
Friday last), to express our deep concern at the latest developments
in the Pensions Dispute.

Four years ago we were told of a "once in a lifetime" deal on
Pensions. It is our collective view, and we believe this represents
all of the 95 percent of UNISON members that were out on strike on
November 30th (the remainder were mostly exempt staff), that ANY
climb-down from a united Trade Union position will be seen as a
weakness by this Government, with severe consequences for the future,
not just in terms of pensions.

Our negotiating position should only change when the Government makes
it clear they have moved - the communication below, is quite clear
that any move is dependent on Eric Pickles agreeing to such. And
exactly what is he being asked to agree on? What are the consequences
for the negotiations?

To myself, but more importantly to our members, basic negotiating
positions should not alter from our side, unless, and until, the
employers put a definite proposal on the table. They haven't so far,
throughout 12 months or more, unless one counts ultimatums as a
position, so why are we shifting ours?

This is utterly unacceptable to this Branch. We did not come out on
the 30th, to go "up the hill", and be left at the top.

Very simply, members will be asking, are asking, why the hell did I
take part in the most successful strike for many years, to see my
Union apparently, give away that "high ground" and appear to give in
to a "bully". The one thing we have learnt with bullies, is not to
give in - it makes them worse!

I do not fear that my Branch will lose members through this; we are
too strong, successful, and confident in Brighton and Hove for such a
luxury. Elsewhere, and I say this with some knowledge and experience,
may well be different.

The 4,300 members of UNISON in Brighton and Hove urge our national
leadership to argue for a continuing united front with our sister
Unions, and, even if that is not possible, to be prepared to stick to
the defined position of 30th November 2011 - that is, we have our
current pension arrangements and they need to stay as they are now.

Do not give in!

Yours Sincerely,

Alex Knutsen

Branch Secretary

Horsham rattles Maude's Cage!

"Terrible disruption of everyone's life by selfish striking scum" or "It's all a damp squib" - the government cannot keep their story straight over the unprecedented strike action on November 30th

Over 300 marched in Horsham to put our questions to Francis Maude - the minister for cutting pensions - but Maude wouldn't come into the garden to talk to us.

Instead we heard from Phil Wood of UNISON who stressed the unfair treatment of women workers by this government with its two token females surrounded by male millionaires.;

Marian Darke brought the greetings of the American Teachers Union - "our action has caused ripples across the world."

Ben - a GMB ambulance driver - "We come out all hours to support people in emergencies - we want you to support us."

Derek Isaacs of North Sussex Trades Council was a surprise addition to the platform. "Instead of refusing to pay the pensioners - we could refuse to pay the millionaire fat cats who profited from PFI deals"

Veronica Peppiatt - National Executive member - pointed out that the government is targeting pensioners but has no interest in stopping the tax avoidance by which individuals grab 13 billion pounds and Corporations grab 12 billion pounds out of the public purse.

This is not the end. The determination of the pensioners and trade unionists in the first Horsham protest since the repeal of the corn laws is a small indication that this damp squib could blow up in the government's face :)

Good King Wenceslas in Reverse

The government has quietly cut the winter fuel allowance to old age pensioners. While Wenceslas had compassion for the poor, that is not the modern way.

George Osborne secretly cut the winter fuel allowance, paid to most people who are 60 or older. However the information did not form part of the 100+-page Budget document.

This news came just weeks after all the Big Six power firms hiked the price of gas and electricity, with more  predicted.

Most of those aged 60-79 will get £200 instead of last year's £250 when the payment is made in November or December. Those who are 80 or older will get £300 instead of £400.

The government bewail the fact that people are living longer and they cite this as a pretext for cutting pensions. Well cutting the winter fuel allowance is a good way to make sure they die soon enough.

Merry Christmas Millionaire Osborne - don't get cold now.

Only the trade union movement stands between the poor and this involuntary euthanasia. Yet too many trade union leaders insist on backing the half-hearted opposition hopelessly compromised by their record in office. We need a party of the working class.

Pensions robbery - Francis Maude Guilty! ....Labour Peer Lord Hutton Guilty!

WSTA is holding a protest in Horsham. Hilariously, the Labour Party
has tried to hijack it. We have suggested they hand over Lord Hutton
alive! Of course we welcome individual Labour supporters coming along
to support us.

They want workers to support Labour. They would be better occupied
getting the Labour Party to support the working class.

Our action is portrayed by the millionaire government and the gutter
press as teachers looking after "gold plated" pensions. That is a pack
of lies. The protest in Francis Maude's constituency is against a cut
to all pensions.

The government intends to cut *all* pensions by reneging on a promise
to link pensions to average earnings or the rise in the cost of
living. Prices will go up and the current plan is that pensioners will
receive nothing - zero - to cope with it.

The West Sussex Teachers' Association (NUT) invites pensioners and
anyone concerned about the savage cuts to pensions to support a rally
in Horsham

Assemble at 10am at the Bandstand in Horsham Park and go to the
bandstand in the Carfax via Madeira Avenue where Tory Party HQ is.

Our blog wsta1.org.uk will have information about this.

Horsham MP Francis Maude needs to answer some questions. The WSTA want
to know:

1) Can you explain what has happened to the cast iron guarantee that
"We will restore the earnings link for the basic state pension from
April 2011, with a *triple guarantee* that pensions are raised by the
higher of earnings, prices or 2.5%."

2) What does the government plan to do to pensions in 2012?
Will the link to increases in the cost of living even exist or will
pensioners be made to pay for the bankers' crisis?

3) Is it likely that the current policy towards teachers' pensions
will lead to a problem of recruitment in state schools?

4) How will it impact the public schools to which government ministers
send their children?

The West Sussex Teachers' Association (NUT) is not affiliated to any
political party and we would be asking the same questions whichever
party was in power.

'March for the Alternative' outside the Tory Conference in Manchester.

There was a huge turnout at today's 'March for the Alternative'
outside the Tory Conference in Manchester.

Paul Gerrard from Bury NUT reports:

We have had a fantastic demo in Manchester today, which exceeded
expectations. Sky and BBC both reported 35 000 on the streets of
Manchester today.

A key place was taken by 200 BAe workers from Lancashire plants
threatened with massive redundancies, and there was fury on the part
of demonstrators as we passed the Tory Convention complex.

UNISON banners and pennants galore, big sections from Unite and GMB.
The NUT contingent was one of the largest and most coherent of all,
with good support from NAS/UWT.

All in all this was a big confidence boost and augurs well for the
planned strikes on 30th November.

Christine Blower got the chance to explain to the BBC what the NUT and
the trade union movement was demanding:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15142672

Strike Against the Cuts

--
http://www.derekmcmillan.com

Wacko!

A survey conducted by TES has received massive publicity. It shows 49
percent of parents supporting corporal punishment in schools. The more
significant finding which the tabloids did not cover was that more
than eighty percent of parents opposed cutting education spending. I
can't imagine why the gutter press was not interested in that one!
I have taught successfully without the use of corporal punishment for
32 years. It is many years since corporal punishment was allowed in
British schools and in many cases the people who are condemning the
'feral youth' of today did not actually get caned themselves.

A sign of the times was when a Sussex private school wanted to utilise a
loophole in the law and carry on caning (sounds like a good film
title). They found the only place they could purchase canes was a sex
shop which could also have provided whips and bondage gear. When this
got into the papers they thought it was not quite the image they
wanted to portray to the public.

The most difficult of the pupils I have taught have been beaten by
their parents. And a fat lot of good it seemed to do them.

This does not surprise me. My brother was caned on his first day at
secondary school for fidgeting. His school had substantially more
physical punishment than mine yet by any standard the behaviour at his
school was worse. Perhaps the culture of bullying was passed down from
teachers to pupils. I saw the school bully at my school outside the
head's office on numerous occasions. Did he cease being a bully? No he
became a bully with a sore backside.

If anyone chooses to suggest that my classroom must be a haven of
licensed wrongdoing, do spend five minutes there before drawing such a
rash conclusion. After all I would have sought an alternative
occupation if things were like that - you know an OFSTED inspector for
example :)

The caning issue is being used as a diversion from the real problem in
education: a problem correctly identified by parents who
overwhelmingly oppose the cuts. Gove and co really do want to turn
back the clock: unqualified teachers in dilapidated schools for the
poor and only the best for the rich. Of course many of the old
Etonians in the cabinet will have felt the cane. And it cannot be said
to have improved their behaviour one jot.

Colonel Blimp's Academy

One of Gove's more hare-brained schemes (and there is a lot of
competition) is to have a free school run by army officers with no
training in education. This will teach the 'feral youth' to behave of
course.

Let us remember James Collinson, 17, Geoff Gray, 17, Sean Benton, 20,
and Cheryl James, 18. They all died from gunshot wounds in unexplained
incidents at Deepcut Barracks. Altogether there were 100 allegations
of sexual abuse and bullying at Deepcut. The police investigation was
deeply flawed because the military closed ranks.

The Commons Defence Select Committee report accused the Army of
failing in its handling of bullying.

The Adult Learning Inspectorate said the armed forces' own data showed
about one in 10 military personnel suffered bullying or harassment.

"Much of this is condoned as 'traditional', even though it is
officially forbidden," it said.

"The newest recruits, women and people from minority ethnic groups are
particularly vulnerable."

Still Gove will claim this is all in the past and couldn't possibly
happen in the future. To quote Mandy Rice Davies, "he would say that
wouldn't he?"

So send your children to Colonel Blimp's Academy. It'll toughen them up.