Prime Minister Tony Blair launched his 'respect agenda' this week. He wants to deal with the yob culture, and restore a culture of respect in Britain by compulsory parenting programmes, and financial sanctions against problem families.I took a spin on my bike at lunchtime today. As I cycled through a narrow traffic-calmed street in Wymondham a large off-road (SUV) vehicle worth around £25,000 complete with blacked out rear windows overtook me, leaving about two feet between the wing mirror and my handlebar. As it squeezed me I looked in through the window - the female driver was sending a text message from a mobile phone held in her hand.
A short while later as I cycled through the town I found the off-roader stopped, and the well-dressed 40 year old lady was unloading her washing into a laundry (I wish I could afford to get someone to do my laundry). I pulled up and politely asked if she realised how close she had been when using her mobile phone. "Don't start telling me what to do" she said "I bet you ride on the pavement."
Drivers using mobile phones are an endemic problem here in the UK. Just down the road I saw a policeman on foot - a very rare sight here these days. I stopped to talk to him about the problem, and explained what had happened. As we talked the off-roader drove towards us, and the policeman pulled her over. The woman told the policeman she had been using her mobile phone in its roof mounted hands-free cradle, and she drove off.
No harm had come to me. But that woman showed no respect to me as a road user, or person. She showed no respect to the police officer, and was quite happy to lie to him as she knew no action could be taken without a witness. She showed no respect for the law, and by driving that particular vehicle she also showed no respect for the environment.
It is hardly surprising she has no respect. Her role models are the businessmen, politicians, media and sports personalities who have made carrying out victimless crimes not only socially acceptable, but the smart thing to do.
The Prime Minister is wasting his time putting problem families into a national network of "sinbins".
There will only be respect when it is shown by role models at the top. The first step is for Tony Blair to stop supporting former Home Secretary David Blunkett who short-circuited the visa process, Europen Trade Commisioner Peter Mandelson who failed to divulge conflicts of business interests, his wife Cherie who used a convicted fraudster to do her property deals, and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott who this week, it emerged, paid council tax bills for one of his official homes with taxpayers' money.Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk
Image credits:
Tony Blair - Globe and Mail
David Blunkett – BBC
Image owners - if you do not want your picture used in this article please contact me and it will be removed. If bandwidth is a problem with your permission I will host your image.
If you enjoyed this post take An Overgrown Path to The bookless Mrs Beckham
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The news aggregators are doing a great job of bringing On An Overgrown Path to a wider audience. But their tagging can be quirky, over on Topix.net this article got tagged Cellphones, Electronics.
See this link.
And Blunkett has been at it again ...
Blunkett helped tycoon's bid to lobby ministers over policy
Antony Barnett, investigations editor
Sunday January 15, 2006
The Observer
Fresh questions have been raised over the relationship between the government and wealthy businessmen after The Observer discovered a remarkable secret tape from a property developer asking for special access to ministers.
The audio cassette obtained by The Observer was discovered in the offices of the DNA firm at the centre of the scandal that cost David Blunkett his ministerial career. It contains a spoken letter dictated to Blunkett by the chairman of a real estate firm owned by Pervaiz Naviede - the multi-millionaire financier behind DNA Bioscience, where Blunkett worked as a director and held £15,000 in shares.
The tape reveals how Naviede's company asked Blunkett for help in lobbying the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, and the Chancellor, Gordon Brown. The company was hoping to profit from a change in complex VAT rules that govern the renovation of residential property and wanted local authorities to be 'encouraged' to sell them more council flats.
The tape reveals Warren Smith, the chairman of Naviede's Manchester-based Legendary Property Company, giving Blunkett a wish-list of government departments to which he wants 'introductions', in order to lobby for changes to policy.
The Observer has established that Smith sent the tape to Blunkett in April. Smith then met Blunkett for a private supper to discuss these issues, two days before last May's general election.
Initially Blunkett's office and Smith denied that the issue had been taken any further after Blunkett returned to the cabinet after the election. But Blunkett has now admitted that as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions he sent a paper version of the tape to David Miliband, who had just been made Minister for Local Government in Prescott's department and had responsibility for housing and regeneration issues.
Prescott's office has confirmed that plans to change tax rules in regeneration areas are currently 'under discussion between ODPM and Treasury', although they state that these discussions 'predate any communications from LPC'.
A spokesman for Prescott has however confirmed that Blunkett sent his department correspondence from Naviede's property firm, including a request for reduced VAT rates for developers refurbishing council property.
On the tape, Smith said: 'There are two specific areas where we could do with some assistance and introductions to government departments. The first is the ODPM [Office of the Deputy Prime Minister] and possibly the housing ministry... to try and encourage local authorities not to knee-jerk call for the demolition of tower blocks but encourage them to sell them to developers like ourselves.'
Smith goes on to explain why Naviede's firm also needs help from Brown. He said: 'The second area where we have problems is the issue of VAT and to this extent I would like to lobby the Treasury.' When asked about the tape, Smith said he could not recall what prompted him to send the tape.
This weekend a statement from Blunkett's office said: 'Mr Blunkett received the tape from Warren Smith in April. The only action taken was that he agreed to meet him for supper. They had supper late on Tuesday 3 May, where Mr Blunkett explained that were he to return to government, there would be nothing he could do to assist.' His office later admitted that they had sent details of the tape to Miliband as 'the minister responsible' a few days after the general election.
A statement released by a spokesman for John Prescott denied that there had been any meetings between ODPM ministers or officials and LPC.
A spokeswoman for Naviede confirmed he had met Blunkett on one social occasion but denied he had lobbied him on tax or property issues.
further information revealed to me excl is that his company LPC has since had dinner with David Miliband to discuss Manchester based property development. The VAT issue son the tape have also now had a push onto the agenda, and the ODPM has witheld information even though it was requested under the Freedom of Information act in relation to correspondence from LPC. This I understand is currenyly under appeal.
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