West of Centre

In a way, it would have been easier not to write about the events of last night in Paris. Add to that recent events in the Lebanon, Baghdad and Kenya and we must be be in no doubt that we are now living in very dangerous times. Dangerous on so many levels. For one thing, the aftermath of events such as these frequently provide much needed ammunition to fuel the arguments of extremists on both sides of the debate. But putting that aside, we must now face up to the fact that the enclave which  now stretches from Iraq to Syria has the potential to impact on the lives of all of us at any time. So, the question is: What to do now? When Francois Hollande today referred to the Paris atrocities as an "Act of war", he probably spoke for a great many in France and far beyond. But we would do well to remember that it was war which gave rise to this sorry mess in the first place. By logical extension, it is difficult to envisage a different outcome if we once more follow that time serv...

If any right minded journalist was following the actions of local government in Denbighshire recently, they would have enough material to keep them in clover until well past Christmas. They would arguably have enough content upon which to base several major conferences to boot. It has been surreal to watch one group point the finger at Westminster for inflicting the cuts to public services while another group points the finger at Cardiff. Surreal because nobody seems willing to point their fingers a little closer to home. When the areas for cuts were first announced last autumn, large groups of local people expressed dismay at what lay on the table. It was as though a challenge had been laid down to see how many vulnerable people could be punished in a single calendar year. On Monday, 120 people turned out for a public meeting to oppose plans to transfer Dolwen in to private sector care with an emphasis on elderly mental health. I chaired that meeting and it was upsetting to have t...

I wrote one of my earliest blogs five years ago. It explored a theme to which I have returned periodically ever since. It was a strange experience in the Michaelmas term of 2008 to be the only 40 year old medical student in a sea of school leavers. In truth, the divide between myself and my fellow medical students was always plain to see as one might reasonably expect. I recall with clarity an incident in the first fortnight of medical school which will stay with me to the grave. A large group of us had been undertaking our first session in basic life support. The session passed without major event and at the end, our tutor asked those present to divulge why they had chosen to pursue a career in medicine. Nobody was coerced and all present chose to respond in due course. With few exceptions, the majority cited money as their prinicipal motivation. Even in spite of my advanced years, I was shocked to the core. I still am. I had spent my early career in the private sector in a variet...

As Jeremy Corbyn begins to return the Labour Party to it's proud roots, the Murdoch-dominated right wing press is hissing it's predictable vitriol and scorning the chances of a man who espouses fairness and equality. The problem is not so much with Corbyn as his predecessors who occupied the helm of the Labour Party. In the fortnight leading up to the recent General Election, the Labour hierarchy admitted publicly that it intended to execute the same cuts as the Tories if it were elected. That is rather like going in to a fish and chip shop to be told that they have sold out of cod but can offer you haddock instead. The point being that there is not a great deal to choose between the two. That was the big problem with Brown and Miliband. You have to offer something different to the incumbent party but not just different for the sake of being different. Even without the benefit of hindsight, Corbyn was a certainty for Leader from the moment he achieved the requisite number o...

When Yvette Cooper today called for UK councils to each take a quota of Syrian refugees, it illustrated the pitfalls of political ambition. As is the custom for the modern breed of politician, she first went to Oxford to study politics, philosophy and economics in which she gained a first class honours degree. The daughter of the former leader of the Prospect union, she left Oxford to gain further qualifications at Harvard and the London School of Economics respectively. Then it was time to gain employment in the real world. Her first job in 1990 was as a policy researcher for the then Labour leader John Smith. By 1992, she had left these shores to help Bill Clinton with his presidential campaign. Any chances of real experience of the real world were dashed when she came back to become a policy advisor to Harriet Harman. This was followed by a role working as a research associate at the Centre for Economic Performance. By 1995, she had progressed to become Chief Economic Correspond...

What is the biggest difference between the Labour party of today and it's early incarnation under Keir Hardy? I think the answer to that question lies with all of us. It now astonishing to reflect upon the voter turnout for the General Election of 1950. A staggering 83.9% of the then electorate exercised their right to vote. That figure rose to 66.1% of the electorate at the last election. Why then have so many of us just opted out in the intervening years? Before answering that question, it is not all doom and gloom. The lowest turnout so far was in 2001 when a paltry 59.1% turned out to vote. That is all the more remarkable when we consider that the 1997 election which brought Tony Blair to power amassed an impressive 71.4%. That is quite a drop in just four years. But even that figure of 71.4% is pretty poor when compared to John Major's turnout of 77.7% in 1992. Either we are entering a new period of increased voter engagement or we have just witnessed a blip in the ove...

As a resident of Denbighshire in 2015, I am frequently amazed and bewildered by the decisions being taken by my local council. But before I discuss the various decisions, let me first draw your attention to the manner with which they are being made. Under the existing constitution of my local council (last amended on December 9th 2014), it is defined very clearly that our elected County Councillors are obliged to promote active citizenship (among other things). So what exactly is meant by active citizenship? If you take to the internet, you will be none the wiser as a plethora of suggestions confront you. I know how I would interpret it but I may be wrong. It sounds to me as though it is calling for members of the public to become more active in their dealings with their local County Councillors. Hence, active citizens. But this just illustrates one of the main flaws in the current system. I doubt if anyone knows what this means so it is therefore questionable why my local council ...