Ofcom consultation on major political parties

Introduction

I have just reviewed the Ofcom consultation on major parties and completed the consultation document.  The relevance of the consultation is that it decides who is to be a “major party” with a guarantee of a certain amount of media coverage in the run up to the General Election, two Party Election broadcasts, and most importantly, a place on the coveted TV debates.  It seems Labour, Conservatives, Lib Dems and UKIP are major parties and the Greens are not, at least in the eyes of OFCOM.  The publication of this consultation was the trigger for David Cameron saying he would not participate unless the Greens also stood.

I could not understand Ofcoms decision to exclude the Greens.  If you look at electoral support then the Greens had an MP in the last General Election and UKIP did not, so if you exclude the Greens you should exclude UKIP.  If you look at opinion polls then the Greens are polling at similar levels to the Lib Dems, so if you exclude the Greens you should exclude the Lib Dems.  I wonder if the Greens are being published because they are not part of the cozy consensus between big business and the “major” political parties.  Surely the Greens would have most to add to any debate because of their radically different viewpoint.

Review of the consultation document

The consultation document is quite long with 47 pages.   After Section 1 which is the introduction, Section 2 reviews  the list of major parties and refers to the more detailed Annex 2.  Apparently past electoral support determines who gets to be a “major party”.  Current support is gauged from opinion polls and it seems this is also relevant.  What happens if these conflict is not clear.

Question 1 is on Page 8 but you will need to read Annex 2 which starts on Page 27 to answer it.

Question 1: Please provide your views on:
a) the evidence of current support laid out in Annex 2, and
b) whether there is any other relevant evidence which you consider Ofcom should take into account for the purposes of the 2015 review of the list of major parties

I replied that I believe that OFCOM don’t take into account sufficiently tactical voting in General elections. Many don’t vote for their first choice party since they believe the vote will let someone else in. The elections with proportional representation are a fairer view, and OFCOM should take these into account more.

The Greens do much better with proportional representation.  Also, I was suprised that the share of votes was so low in the General Elections.  Are the Greens being doubly penalised by the first past the post system and for not being able to afford to stand in every constituency because they don’t have rich donors?

Section 2.17 is a review of the Greens.  It does not mention that the Greens have an MP, and yet in Section 2.18, which is a review of UKIP, we learn that UKIP have two!  Question 2 is on Page 17.

Question 2: Do you agree with our assessment in relation to each of:
a) The existing major parties,
b) Traditional Unionist Voice in Northern Ireland,
c) The Green Party (including the Scottish Green Party), and
d) UKIP?
Please provide reasons for your views.:

I replied that the small parties were disadvantaged as described in Question 1 (see above).

Section 3 is devoted to the settlement of disputes. It seems that there is proposed rule change and OFCOM would not use it’s election committee as set out in section 3.2.  Section 3.5 talks of extra administrative burdens and on Page 22 we have question 3

Question 3: Do you agree with the proposed amendment to Rule 9 of the PPRB Rules Procedures outlined.in paragraph 3.7 above? Please provide reasons for your views.:

I felt this was a very important question.  I replied that I strongly disagree that the administrative burden such disputes can place on parties to these disputes should be a relevant factor. I believe that it is extremely important in a democracy that any dispute is conducted fairly because of the potential implications and this is the primary consideration that outweighs all over.  Everyone deserves their day in court!

Who are OFCOM anyway?

According to their website OFCOM are the regulator and competition authority for the UK communication authorities.  Dame Patricia Hodgson is their Chairman and she has a career at the BBC and has also been Prinicipal of Newnham College, a ladies only college at Cambridge.

The Deputy Chairman is The Baroness Noakes who is a Chartered Accountant and takes the conservative Whip on the House of Lords.  Will she sit out of the discussions on account of her political views?  Or will it be in the interest of the Green Party if she does not in view of David Cameron’s preference for the Greens to be included?

The acting Chief Executive is Dr Stuart Unger who has a PhD in Radio Astronomy and a background in industry as a consultant on wireless technology and who worked with two start ups.   Curiously enough we have similar backgrounds.  I did Physics at the same University as him, and I was also fascinated by Astronomy and worked at the Royal Greenwich Observatory for a while. I wonder what he makes of this issue.  Does his scientific mind smart at the lack of rigour and clear grounds for reaching the decision?

 

Making compost

I have just finished making compost for 2014.  I am not an expert, but am able to get a useful amount of compost every year.  It takes about ten minutes every week, and an hour every year to move the compost out of the boxes.  It is worth it when we eat fresh tasty tomatoes or raspberries in the Summer.

Compost bin in kitchen

We put left over vegetable and fruit cuttings from the kitchen into a small green compost bin, which was provided by Hounslow Council. Every week I take this to the compost bin in the end of the garden.  Since the compost bin is next to the waste bin in the kitchen this hardly takes any extra time.   We also add garden waste such as fallen leaves and grass from the lawn.  It takes about a year before the box in the garden is full and then we leave this to decompose for another year.

Compost box in Garden – note flower pot on last year’s compost to stop it being filled by mistake.

Then, before putting the finished compost onto the garden I leave it out for three months in the Winter frosts which hopefully kills any pests.  I have just put out the 2014 compost which I started in 2012.  We added the last compost in 2013 and it will sit out now until the Spring.  I use the compost mainly to grow tomatoes and chilli in pots during the summer.  I also put it on other plants in the garden.

2014 compost – a vintage year? Note the pots in the foreground ready for tomatoes in the Spring.

A failure of the Private Sector

G4S were supposed to provide all the security for the Olympics, but in the end it was left to the government to provide troops to cover a shortfall of numbers.  I went to several events and the soldiers on duty were the politest and most efficient security guards I have ever seen!

Of course, G4S’s incompetence is exceptional but it does raise important questions about using the Private Sector to carry out tasks traditionally carried out in the Public Sector.

A Private Sector company must focus its own profit goals; a Public Sector organisation can simply focus on providing the best service possible with the money available.  Private Sector companies need to pay for lobby consultants to chum up with politicians.  They need to pay for PR consultants to manage the press.

Private Sector efficiency savings often mean attacking worker’s benefits and eroding the service provided.

And if things go wrong the Private Sector will always have the government to pick up the pieces.  In extremis a Private Sector company can go into receivership, not really an option for a National Government.

So let us think again about the privatisation of the police, prison services and guarding our borders.

Christmas shopping delayed

I am now standing as the Green Party candidate for Feltham and Heston and will not be starting my Christmas shopping till after December 15th.  It is a small price to pay, I am very proud to represent the Green Party and hope we get a proper chance to debate the issues!

Grow Heathrow

I cycled to Uxbridge County court on Thursday, 17th November, 2012 to support the grass roots action group Transition Heathrow.  They were threatened with conviction from Grow Heathrow, a derelict piece of land that they are turning into a thriving and productive resource, with new raised beds in the greenhouse, stoves for heating water as well as finding time to grow vegetables and fix bikes. 

I understand Transition Heathrow have the support of the council and their MP.  They needed to remove 30 tonnes of rubbish before they could start and as the land is classified as agricultural there is no chance of development.  I was pleased to hear that they have been granted a reprieve.  Good luck to them in the future!

Making tea at Uxbridge County Court

Shocking Air quality in Chiswick

I didn’t know that there was an Air Quality monitoring unit in Chiswick, outside the George IV. 

The Air Quality Monitoring unit outside George IV

And I didn’t know that the data showed that the average reading for Nitrogen Dioxide, which can lead to reduced lung function, increase asthma in children and contribute to early death was 56 µg/m3, which is more than the EU legal limit and WHO guideline of 40 µg/m3. 

Just as bad are the PM1o reading.  These small particles less than 10 microns which cause cancer, heart and lung diseases and lead to premature death averaged 27 µg/m3, more than WHO guideline of 20 µg/m3.

Full information can be found at the London Air.  Now I don’t want to be alarmist but I would have preferred to have been told this by the council, rather than to have to find it out myself.  Also there should be some way of communicated bad air days (worse than bad hair days), so the inhabitants in Chiswick can avoid exercise.  If we are going to the expense of collecting this data why not put the information on a board outside the monitoring station?

I have written to the council with a list of suggestions to improve Air Quality, and am hoping to meet with Rob Gibson, Head of Environmental Strategy, when he returns from holiday.  Watch the Hounslow Green Party website for the latest information.