Foot 'N' Mouth (10/09/14)

As I write this post John Prescott is on the TV speaking at a 'Better Together' rally in Rutherglen which is part of South Lanarkshire Council.

Now I have to say it would have been good to see this old Labour warhorse, now Lord John Prescott, in South Lanarkshire shire when the fight for equal pay was at its height.

But then again maybe he would just have thrown his weight behind the local Labour council or said nothing at all, like so many Scottish Labour MPs, about the huge pay differences between male and female council jobs.

As regular readers know, the former deputy prime minister has a well deserved reputation for mangling the English language and almost the first words spoken by Mr Prescott today involved a call for an all British football team, so that "England and Scotland" might come together and have a chance of beatings the Germans.

I imagine that Labour's 'minders' must have been pretty angry at this kind of stupid comment which just goes to show how out of touch the party is in what used to be one of Labour's heartlands.  

Where the suggestion of an all British football team will go down like a lead balloon.

Yet seconds later 'Two Jags' Prescott had his foot in his mouth again with an attack on the Conservatives and Prime Minister David Cameron who are, of course, Labour's friends and allies in the Better Together campaign.

So seconds after getting off the Labour Party's 'battle bus' Lord John Prescott is badly off message which must please the Yes campaign no end.

Birkies and Lords (10 June 2013)

The BBC Panorama programme which exposed the disgraceful behaviour of Tory MP Patrick Mercer is being shown tonight - and I for one will be watching.

The likely outcome is that under such intense scrutiny and in response to public anger - the House of Commons will be forced to bring in a 'power of recall' so that the voters can get rid of MPs who behave badly - without having to wait until the next election comes along.

Yet that will still leave the House of Lords and all of its 'noble' peers untouched - all 831 of them even more than the 736 which existed under the last parliament.

Apparently the House of Lords costs the country around £10 billion a year to run - and that's as close to a pain-free cut in public spending as you'll ever get - so I'd start chopping straight away.  

For anyone unfamiliar with A Man's A Man - 'birkie' means a foolish posturer and 'cuif' is an old Scots word for a feckless person. 

Abolish the Gravy Train (4 June 2011)

Martin Kettle - writing in the Guardian the other day - made a strong case for abandoning plans to reform the House of Lords - and for just abolishing the second chamber altogether. Here's a summary of what Martin had to say:

"The democratic case for reform is that laws should always be passed by elected representatives and by no one else. It's an impeccable democratic position. It's the way things work done in most other democracies.

Low public esteem for all politicians, whether elected or not, means the (reform) proposal to send another 300 identikit politicians to Westminster is also a hard sell, even though it also means eventually chucking out most of the absurdly large current number of 831 mainly appointed peers.

These plans will fail. A survey by the Times this week showed that four out of five peers – and nearly half of the Lib Dems in the Lords – are opposed to Clegg's reforms. Most peers also think the Lords works perfectly well the way it is – not surprising, given that most peers are political traditionalists and placepeople who can earn a daily £300 tax free merely by crossing the threshold of the chamber.

Ministers still insist that the government will go the final mile to whip the bill through both houses and will use the Parliament Act to drive it on to the statute book. But it won't happen.

Increasingly, the real political choice on the House of Lords is between keeping it the way it is, albeit with lower numbers, and abolishing the second chamber altogether. They seem to manage with just one chamber in places as diverse as Sweden, New Zealand and the state of Nebraska. The state of Maine may be about to follow suit after a vote this week. Why not Britain? What would be so wrong with a single-chamber parliament?"

The answer to the question is - nothing, of course - because that's what we have already in the Scottish Parliament - which has no need of a second 'revising chamber'.

We should get rid of the 'gravy train' that is the House of Lords - and the 831 peers who can claim a daily £300 tax free allowance - just simply for turning up.

Don't believe the old dinosaurs like former Labour Deputy Prime Minister - John Prescott - who has gone to the Lords on a final salary, Deputy Prime Minister, pension.

Sweep these chancers all away - and the public purse will save a small fortune.

"Ye see yon birkie ca'd a lord" (7 June 2013)

Robert Burns hit the nail on the head in his famous poem - 'A Man's A Man'.

"Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord

What struts, and stares, an a' that

Though hundreds worship at his word

He's but a cuif for a' that"

The House of Lords is still packed to the rafters with knaves and fools - 736 of them as of April 2010 - 89 more than the 647 strong House of Commons - with more to come as the new government brings in plans to 'reform' the system.

The last Labour government had plans too - but after 13 years in power the second chamber was and remains largely unreconstructed - dominated by retired, unaccountable, second-rate politicians.

Insult is about to be added to injury as the likes of John Prescott and Michael Howard are invited to don their ermine robes.

John Prescott, former union rep, class warrior and deputy prime minister - will continue to have his nose in the public trough - along with Michael Howard, former Tory leader and Home Secretary - once famously described as 'having something of the night about him'

At a time when the public finances are in such a dreadful state - the best thing to do with the House of Lords would be to abolish it altogether.

Who needs a second chamber anyway?

Brass Neck (10 February 2012)

I listened to that old phoney - Lord John Prescott - blethering on the other day about the phone hacking scandal.

The noble Lord Prescott has accepted £40,000 from News International for hacking into his mobile phone - while John was deputy Prime Minister.

And as far as I know he's not donating the money to charity.

Which you think he would do since he's retired an a big 'final salary' public pension - and is also able to claim £300 per day tax free - just for turning up in the House of Lords.

So he can't exactly be short of a bob or two.  

But what I'd like to know is why the £40,000 was paid in the first place - what could plain old John Prescott possibly be saying - that was of any interest to anyone at the time?

Because for the most part Prescott made absolutely no sense - in which case hacking his phone was a complete waste of time.

For the latter part of John Prescott's time in government he had virtually nothing to do - he was stripped of almost all his duties when he was exposed for having an affair - with one of his junior civil servants.

To my mind the old goat was lucky not to have been sacked - for bringing his public office into disrepute.

But here he is £40,000 better off and demanding apologies from other people - right left and centre.

It's true what they say you know - Lord John has one of the best brass necks known to mankind.