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Paul Bigland

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Paul Bigland

Monthly Archives: January 2015

Georgetown reflections (pt 1)

29 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by Paul Bigland in Georgetown, Malaysia, Travel

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Georgetown, Malaysia, Travel

I first discovered Georgetown in 1992 during a year long trip to Asia. I fell in love with it then and I’ve been coming back regularly ever since. It’s an absolute gem of a place, full of history, fantastic food & a rich mix of cultures. As a regular visitor I’m no longer on the tourist treadmill of having to tick off the ‘sights’. Instead, I come here to savour the atmosphere, relax & enjoy the food. OK, there’s a little bit of work involved too but when the sun’s blazing down & its 32 degrees in the shade I don’t mind retreating to the cool of my hotel for a spell of writing & picture editing.

Much of the character of Georgetown is centred in the old town around the harbour and the serried streets of old Chinese shop-houses & colonial era buildings which still dominate this quarter of the city. Leavening the commercial world is a multitude of Chinese & Indian temples, mosques & churches, along with many ornate Chinese clan houses. Then there’s the bewildering variety of eateries, from humble street food stalls to fancy restaurants. It’s such a fascinating mix that in 2008 UNESCO designated it a world heritage site. Whilst the rest of Georgetown & the beach villages have expanded with skyscrapers mushrooming upwards all over the place, the roads around Little India and the backpackers’ area of Lebuh Chulia have remained substantially intact. Yet the feel of the place is slowly changing as more & more locals are priced out of the area & their former homes & shops are converted into boutique hotels, antique shops and the inevitable fancy coffee shops. I’m still not sure what I make of it as, on the plus side, it’s meant more derelict or decaying shop-houses have been restored (some splendidly so) to create jobs and employment. On the down side, some of the age old local character & community is being lost.

Of course, it’s not all been swept away. Sitting outside a bar on Lebuh Chulia with a cold beer is still a great way to pass the time & indulge in people watching, observing the melange of nationalities & income brackets that pass through. There are rich tourists from Europe & Asia, backpackers from all corners of the globe. There’s retired folks who’ve settled in Thailand who’re doing their visa runs and sun seekers who’ve come into town from the holiday hotels in Batu Ferrenghi. All rub shoulders with the local Chinese; Indians & Malays who’ve make Georgetown such a melting pot. Of course, this pot is spiced up by the near universal human vices of alcohol, gambling & sex! This may be an Islamic country but alcohol is easily available – if pricy. A big 660ml bottle of Tiger been will set you back around £3.00 on Chulia (and decidedly more in the swankier bars & restaurants). Muslims are banned from gambling but non-Muslims take a flutter on the lotteries & the Chinese (who are inveterate gamblers) frequent back street games. As for drugs, that’s a big no-no in Malaysia & seems to have disappeared completely from the early 90s when you’d still see hotel staff sitting round smoking dope with daring Westerners. No, the most common illicit activity around here is prostitution. The streets around Chulia have always had a reputation for ‘ladies of the night’ – although more than a few man have had an unexpected surprise when they discovered the attractive Asian girl they’d paid to dally with was no lady, but a man…

Most nights there’s still a few dozen ‘girls’ hanging around the street corners. Most are Chinese & Thai, whilst many of the genuine women are Indian. The staff at our hotel (where we had 3 Thai ‘ladyboys’ as guests) told us that prostitution is tolerated as long as it doesn’t get out of hand & become a nuisance. Somehow I can’t see that side of Georgetown changing for quite some time.

Exotic nightlife aside, one of the greatest reasons to come to Georgetown is to enjoy an activity that’s both legal & sublime: Eating. You’ll hear about that in part 2. Right now it’s time for us to shower & change before heading out to a family run restaurant to try Nyonya cuisine.

If you’d like to browse a selection of pictures from my various trips to Georgetown, click on this link to my website, where i’ve set up a gallery:

http://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/?q=Georgetown

Link

UKIP and the anti Hs2 campaign. Fantasists who are well suited

28 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by Paul Bigland in Hs2, Politics, Railways, Transport, UKIP

≈ 20 Comments

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Hs2, Politics, Railways, Transport, UKIP

One of the many laughable claims from the anti Hs2 campaign is that there’s millions of people who will ditch all other political considerations & priorities to vote for any party that opposes Hs2. Antis try & pretend they have an army of supporters up & down the country who are ready to cause a political earthquake because of Hs2. Like their other claims, this one’s another load of hot air.

UKIP, being the cynical vote chasers they are have ditched their 2010 manifesto pledge to but not one but THREE high speed lines & come out in opposition to Hs2, hoping to hoover up all these votes that are supposedly waiting to be had. The problem is, they don’t exist. UKIP have been lied to by the anti campaign that doesn’t command anything like the level of support they claim & certainly doesn’t have a massive vote bank to hand to UKIP.

Evidence of this is all around us.

Firstly, let’s look at people’s main concerns. Here’s a recent Guardian poll that asked voters what issues most concern them:

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/9/23/1411459719741/MoriIssues.png …

And where’s Hs2 on that list? Nowhere. It doesn’t even rate a mention. People have other prorities. The only people who really care enough to change their vote are some of the people who are directly affected because they live on the route of Hs2. But, many of these people aren’t that die-hard either.

Another good example is the supposed anti Hs2 ‘heartlands’ of Warwickshire & the Chilterns/Bucks.

In 2013 UKIP were confidently expecting they’d gain a massive amount of new Councillors as people voted for them to show their opposition to Hs2. So, how many seats did they win in Warwickshire? Not a single one! The biggest gains were made by Labour – a party that actively supports Hs2. In other areas (such as the North-West) UKIP didn’t even bother campaigning on Hs2, preferring local issues instead.

And in Bucks & the Chilterns?

UKIP did gain seats there. But it was clear that the ‘Hs2 effect’ was confined to the areas the route will actually pass through.

Interestingly enough, the picture for UKIP in the Chilterns has got worse, not better since 2013. In December 2014 there were elections for two Councillors in the Aylesbury Vale district (another supposed anti ‘stronghold). Both were won by, the supposedly unelectable Liberal Democrats!

http://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/news/2014/dec/liberal-democrats-win-gatehouse-southcourt-elections/

To add to UKIPs woes, both their rebadged former Tory MPs voted FOR Hs2 & one, Mark Reckless put Farage in the firing line by restating his support for Hs2 as a UKIP MP.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ukip/11170215/Mark-Reckless-refuses-to-back-scrapping-HS2-in-first-public-split-with-Ukip-leader-Nigel-Farage.html

Farage was forced into admitting that Hs2 is not a ‘big ticket issue’ for the party.

2015 has got off to an even worse start as a Chilterns UKIP Cllr has defected to the Tories.

http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/news/more-news/updated-ukip-defector-i-m-not-right-wing-enough-for-party-1-6544468

This has exposed the fact that neither UKIP or the Tories are really that worried by the anti Hs2 campaign. It’s been clear for some time that anti’s have been writing political cheques they can’t cash by promising levels of support they don’t have. It seems that fact has finally dawned on UKIP too. The antis also seem to have quietly dropped their ineffective ‘no votes for you with Hs2’ as it scared no-one & didn’t persuade a single MP to change sides.

The forthcoming general election has the potential to be a disaster for the anti Hs2 campaign who’ve firmly nailed their flag to the UKIP mast. The party’s been battered in the media & the polls as their extremist tendencies, fruitloop membership & infighting has attracted negative attention, the idea that it will be in any position to deliver on its promise to ‘StopHs2’ looks more & more ridiculous as time goes on.

Another day, another anti Hs2 shambles…

23 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by Paul Bigland in Hs2, Politics, Railways, Transport, UK

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Hs2, Politics, Railways, UK

Today Parliament debated Christopher Chope’s HS2 Funding Referendum Bill 2014-15. Well, when I say Parliament, I really mean the dozen MPs who actually turned up. This was yet another miserable performance by those few MPs opposed to Hs2. It featured a dwindling band of the usual suspects trotting out the same arguments that failed to stop the Hs2 Hybrid Bill last year. There were so few MPs in attendance the Commons chamber looked like the aftermath of an Ebola outbreak

Needless to say, anti Hs2 campaigners had spent days hyperventilating about the event, exhorting their supporters to bombard their local MPs with letters, emails & faxes urging them to turn up & vote for the bill. The fact only the usual anti Hs2 MPs turned up speaks volumes about both their influence and how seriously MPs take them (not a lot). The motion never stood a chance, even one of the anti’s ‘stars’, the dubiously coiffured Michael Fabricant MP admitted that. But such realism didn’t prevent StopHs2’s own Laurel & Hardy (Penny Gaines & Joe Rukin) performing an unintentional comedy double act on Twitter, ‘interpreting’ every comment that could possibly be spun as negative to Hs2.

Finally, after hours of pointless posturing the whole sorry event was put out of its misery when Christopher Chope withdrew the bill as it was crystal clear it would fail. Once again the anti Hs2 campaign has been shown to lack any credibility, political clout or real grassroots support. What was telling was that this was the last chance for Parliament to debate Hs2 before the election. Yet there was no new support for the anti Hs2 campaign. The anti Hs2 groups didn’t even bother to attempt to mount a demonstration outside Parliament to support the bill.

What a complete & utter shambles!

The anti Hs2 campaign, dying by degrees….

17 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by Paul Bigland in Hs2, Railways, Transport, UK

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Hs2, Protest, Railways, UK

Ever since the High Speed 2 Hybrid Bill was passed by MPs with a whopping majority the campaign to oppose building the new high speed line has been dying. Not that you’d know this by reading the national & local media as investigative journalism is a sick bunny nowadays. Churnalism has replaced it and the anti campaign knows its endless press releases will be soon regurgitated without analysis by a media short of staff but with far more space to fill. Of course, the anti campaign also has a few high profile media friends who’re happy to help (but more of them another time).

So, it’s time someone cast a critical & factual eye to do some of the work most of the 4th estate can’t be bothered to anymore.

When the project was first announced back in 2009 it was clear that (like any other major building project) it would face some opposition. As it was Govt funded transport project it was obvious the usual suspects opposed to such spending, like the Taxpayers Alliance & Institute of Economic Affairs would object. What was less clear was what real grassroots opposition would form.

What’s been interesting is, despite exaggerated claims from some quarters the opposition, whilst often shrill, has been far smaller than on other projects like the M25, Heathrow expansion or even HS1. In fact, its core is around two areas, the Chilterns and Warwickshire. Not unexpectedly, the real opposition is located solely along the route & the vast majority is from people who are either affected by the route, or who claim to be as they want compensation. In short (although politicians are loathe to really admit this as they think it plays badly) it’s the good old British NIMBY problem.

Now, you could argue that there’s nothing wrong with wanting to protect your own turf. I have some sympathy with that view & I certainly have sympathy for those genuinely affected by Hs2 who face upheaval & disruption. But what’s become clear over the past few years is that the organised anti hs2 campaign has stooped to new levels in dishonesty, deceit & underhand tactics.

The main anti Hs2 players

The anti Hs2 campaign claims there are three. In reality there’s two as one (AGAHST) is so ineffectual, under resourced & with little meaningful involvement it’s dead in the water. That leaves the High Speed 2 Action Alliance (Hs2aa) and StopHs2. Supposedly, there’s meant to be a ‘network’ of over 90 local action groups. Most of these are moribund or no longer exist. So these claims remind me of Hitler in his bunker, directing imaginary Panzer divisions on a map. Hs2aa used to publish a list of these supposed groups on its website but after I dissected it on Twitter & highlighted the fact most were at best moribund (& some downright false) it mysteriously disappeared. StopHs2 is based in Warks. It’s essentially bankrolled by a local businessman & has shrunk in recent years. It’s ‘Chair’, Penny Gaines has decamped to Dorset, where her only involvement seems to be ‘interpreting’ on Twitter what various Committees examining Hs2 say. The other mouthpiece is professional agitator Joe Rukin whose latest stunt was to dress up his 9 year old son in his Scout uniform & get him to read a script to the Petitioning Committee.
There’s an interesting view on that in the Scotsman newspaper:

http://www.scotsman.com/news/fiona-mccade-childish-tactics-at-hs2-committee-1-3661674

Rukin has proved to be a bit of an own goal for the anti campaign as he’s just as much a self-publicist as he is a campaigner against Hs2. He’s also shown up their lack of support in a very ill-judged attempt to stand for Parliament during the 2010 election. In a supposed anti stronghold to boot! The result? He polled 0.8% of the vote.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/person/13621/joe-rukin

I’ll look at each of the three groups in greater detail in a later blog.

The tactics

Privately, those opposed to Hs2 admit amongst themselves that they had little real chance of stopping the project as it has cross party support and the need for extra rail capacity is impossible for them to realistically challenge. Their plans were threefold, to try & persuade MPs to vote down the Hybrid Bill, stop it with legal actions, or (as a last resort) try & drag out the Hybrid Bill petitioning process so that costs would rise and politicians would either lose interest or change their minds.

Needless to say, none of this has gone to plan – at all…

After several years of debate & despite outrageous claims & tactics from antis the Hs2 Hybrid Bill passed its 2nd reading with a massive majority of 452 votes to 41 against. So much for trying to lie to MPs then…

Legal actions were equally unsuccessful. Various elements of the anti campaign banded together to bring 22 different actions, from Judicial Reviews to appeals to the Supreme court. They lost all but the most minor one, which didn’t stop Hs2 anyway, but sent the compensation scheme back to the drawing board! These legal actions have all but bankrupted Hs2aa, which is fading away now its headbanging tactics have failed. I wonder if this long list of failed court cases is a record?

Petitioning the Hybrid Bill Ctte has been a failure too. Although a record 1925 petitions were received the penny dropped a few months later when the members of the Committee were appointed & soon began to tackle the petitions with gusto. Ably abetted by Committee members such as Sir Peter Bottomley MP (who is a pleasure to watch, as he’s firm, fair & doesn’t stand any nonsense) the Committee Chair, Robert Syms MP, has made it clear his intention is to ensure the Hybrid Bill is clear to receive Royal Assent by December 2016. So, another anti failure then…

Public failings versus fantasies on social media

A main plank of the anti’s campaign has been the use of social media. This has been both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is it allowed them to pretend they were far more numerous than they really are. The downside is that social media can’t be controlled & their use of it has exposed them as a bewildered bunch many of whom are totally divorced from reality. It’s also allowed them to be tracked & shows that many of them who say they’re against Hs2 out of environmental reasons are in fact, just Nimbys personally affected by the route who’re hiding behind a green figleaf. It’s also shown some of them to be the most outrageous liars who’ll say anything if they think it will stop Hs2 (it hasn’t). If you want to see these fantasists in action, just follow the #hs2 hashtag on Twitter.

Away from Social media their public gatherings have shown how few of them there really are. They used to hold yearly demonstrations outside Parliament but each one was supported by a dwindling number of people. I first documented one 3 years ago. They tried to claim there was 500 people attending, although photographs make it obvious there’s less. In 2013 they (unwisely) drew attention to the fact I was there taking pictures, the whole crowd booed me at the organisers request and one very silly woman did this:

http://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/p898759480/h3ab789cc#h3ab789cc

Of course, the moral of the story is; never, ever flick the V’s at a photojournalist!
By the time the Hybrid Bill debate came around on 28th April 2014 their numbers had plummeted. Whilst 452 MPs voted yes, there were less than 90 anti demonstrators outside. A ratio of 4.5 to 1!

http://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/p898759480/h38d91d0d#h38d91d0d

For a local campaign that would be a lousy turnout. For a supposed national campaign it was an absolute disaster. Far more folks demonstrated against Hs1! How on earth they can keep a straight face when some of them say their campaign is both growing & ‘relentless’ I’ll never know, but self delusion has always featured heavily in their campaign. So, where are all these voters who are supposedly ready to bring down any party that supports Hs2 & will sweep UKIP to power? They exist only in their imaginations. A further admission of failure has been the cancellation of their other annual event. In summer the anti groups would organise a gathering at Stafford Showground where they’d swap campaign tactics & pretend they were getting somewhere. The numbers weren’t great, with only a few hundred in attendance and in 2014 the event was cancelled. Ones’ not been arranged for 2015 either.

The cavalry fail to arrive…

By 2011 it was clear the anti campaign was flagging. ‘Action’ groups like these were falling by the wayside:

http://wldstophs2.com/latest-updates/
http://againsths2.blogspot.co.uk/

The campaign’s organisers were praying that the announcement of phase 2 of the route would reinvigorate their campaign & lead to a plethora of new groups & activists joining it. Their hopes were misplaced. After the announcement & despite the length of the route only a handful of new groups were formed (all of them on the route) but significantly, none from major cities along it. This led to further demoralisation within the campaign & further exposed the fact it was overwhelmingly a ‘nimby’ issue. A classic example was when Sir David Higgins launched his ‘Hs2 plus’ report in Manchester in 2014. Only a handful of demonstrators were outside. Also significantly, not a single one was from Manchester, they were all from a Mid Cheshire group masquerading as residents of the city!

http://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/p898759480/h78c7e78#h78c7e78

Once again, reality failed to match up to the hype. Here’s a little gem of a report from the Manchester Evening News, who covered the event:

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/hs2-battle-against-london-centric-waste-6254219

Honestly, you get 12 people outside, none from the population of 2.7m folks and you seriously try & compare the anti Hs2 campaign to the poll tax demonstrations? How deluded can you get? This is Sid & Doris Bonkers territory here…

What next for the anti Hs2 campaign?

Oblivion really. All their tactics have failed. They’re skint and their activist base is dying. Now reality has dawned most of the few remaining activist groups they have are concentrating on mitigation & trying to get the best for their communities. There’s still a few who cling on, like old Japanese soldiers who can’t accept the war is over, but what are they going to do apart from rant on Twitter? They’re too few in numbers & spread across too many constituencies to have any real political clout. Despite 5 years of campaigning they’ve failed to break the political consensus and all three parties likely to form a Govet in 2015 still back the project. Some still cling to the belief that UKIP will ride to their rescue, but there’s more chance of Lord Lucan being found riding Shergar than UKIP getting into power or wielding real influence. If I was UKIP I’d be rather pissed off at the anti Hs2 campaigners. They claimed to have more votes to offer then they really have, hence UKIPs failure to get a single Cllr elected in Warks (supposedly an anti Hs2 ‘stronghold’) and more recently, the fact the Lib Dems beat UKIP in a real anti hs2 stronghold (Aylesbury Vale) where the party won two seats! It’s doubtful that the anti Hs2 campaign would have managed to get this far if UKIP hadn’t latched on to it as a cynical ploy to steal votes. Let’s not forget that the party proposed to build not 1 but 3 high speed lines in its 2010 manifesto. The two groups suit each other really. Both tend to be elderly, afraid of the future & prone to telling porkies, so you can see there’s a natural fit. I’ll write more on UKIP & the anti Hs2 mob in another blog.

It’s looking like the anti Hs2 campaign will go down in history, but not for the reasons the antis would like. It’s one of the first campaigns waged on social media & it’s been an object lesson in how NOT to do it! They handicapped themselves from the start. There were too many amateurs telling too many lies & attracting too many extremists. The supposed ‘professionals’ got caught up in these lies & found them too hard to resist. This has set the tone for the whole sorry campaign.
History will not judge them well…

UPDATE (10th March 2015)

Oh dear! At today’s Hs2 Committee hearing, Denham Against Hs2 Chairman Frank Partridge  let the cat out of the bag about the number of Hs2 ‘Action’ groups. The likes of Hs2aa are still pretending there are over 90. Frank admitted to the Committee that the real number is ’40 to 50′ – around half the numbers claimed! More proof (if it were needed) that the campaign’s been exaggerating the size of its activist base.

Time for a change of scenery…

07 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by Paul Bigland in Transport

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Thailand, Transport, Travel

Firstly, a quick thank you to all the people who read my first blog of 2015. Cheers for the many kind comments on Twitter & Facebook. Having worked over Xmas I’m off for a bit of winter sun. This will give me chance to write my next two pieces. One will be on the way Bangkok (a city notorious for traffic pollution) is investing massively in its rail network. The second piece will be looking at the campaign opposing Hs2. It’s often been given an easy ride by the media, so, it’s time for a forensic look at their failing campaign.

Labour let loose a dog of war in Transport.

04 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by Paul Bigland in Michael Dugher MP, Railways, Transport, UK

≈ 2 Comments

The new Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Michael Dugher MP was appointed on the 5th of November 2014, since then he’s wasted no time in single-handedly destroying the good work of the Labour Transport team & the goodwill they’ve generated both in the media & amongst the transport industry.

Warning bells began to sound in December when Durgher announced the end of a non-existent ‘war’ on motorists & pronounced himself ‘pro car’

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/labour-car-war-over–new-4730050

He also rubbished previous Labour Transport Ministers as ‘trainspotters’ . So, that would be Lord Adonis then, who finally broke down Labour’s previous resistance to modernising the railways through electrification. Under the Blair/Brown Govt the railways wired a laughable 9 miles from Crewe to Kidsgrove. In contrast, Adonis announced a program to electrify some of our main rail arteries, such as the Great Western main line and the line from Manchester to Liverpool:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8164070.stm

Not content with grandstanding over the ‘war’ on motorists Dugher continued to demolish Labour Transports credibility at Xmas when he jumped in with both feet to attack another easy target, Network Rail boss Mark Carne. Admittedly, Network Rail had made his job easy through failing to complete engineering work at Kings Cross on time. However, did Dugher have anything positive to say or solutions to offer? No. Instead he launched an attack on Carne over his bonus then attempted a clumsy attack on Transport Minister Patrick McLoughlin MP, alleging that he’d allowed Network Rail to shut down much of the rail network. The problem is, NR hadn’t & the last thing anyone wants (including Labour) is a Transport Minister micromanaging the railways. Still, why let the facts get in the way of grandstanding eh?

Dugher conveniently ignored Labour Transports own August 2014 policy document which says “we know that ministers sitting in Whitehall do not know best how to run the nation’s trains” (until Dugher wants to try & score cheap political points, obviously!)

http://labourlist.org/2014/08/a-fair-deal-for-passengers-and-taxpayers/

The fake apoplexy continued when Durgher announced on Twitter that his ‘blood boiled’ when Network Rail explained they carried out engineering work at Christmas because half as many passengers travelled during the holiday season. So, if NR shouldn’t carry out work when it inconveniences less folk when should they? Despite many people asking Dugher this question, no answer was forthcoming. In fact, Dugher is short of answers to anything. He’s happy to rubbish the coalition, Network Rail & the rail industry as a whole, but he’s nothing positive to offer in the way of alternatives. It’s all very well saying you’ll freeze fares, but if you can’t say how you’ll balance the books if you do…

As if this wasn’t enough, Dugher went into overdrive when the annual increases took effect, neatly ignoring the fact that the increases are due to Labour party policy! In 2007 Labour produced a White Paper in which they announced their intention to raise ticket prices so that passengers were paying more towards the cost of running the railways & taxpayers less. This policy was continued by the coalition after 2010. So, for Dugher to chastise the Coalition for continuing with a Labour policy is a bare faced cheek!

By now the alarm bells were going off with a number of rail industry observers, including myself and the Editor of RAIL magazine, Nigel Harris. Along with many rail workers disturbed by Dugher’s attacks on the rail industry, we engaged with him on Twitter. (see @MichaelDugherMP).His reaction was bizarre in the extreme. Rather than discuss with people he refused to answer most questions & lived up to his ‘attack dog’ reputation by labelling anyone who asked him awkward questions as ‘trolls’ & threatened to block them, then tried to shut Nigel Harris up by threatening him with a ‘yellow card’

His contempt for both rail industry insiders, commentators (and also the electorate) has been quite amazing. Dugher seems quite happy to dish it out, but won’t tolerate anyone who questions his nonsense. I can’t provide copies of his tweets to illustrate this because I’m one of the people he’s blocked. Needless to say, his tactics have backfired. The questions (and those asking them) aren’t going to go away (exactly the opposite). Concern at Dughers ‘bull in a china shop’ approach to his portfolio is widening & I doubt this will be my last post on the subject.

This article from the Telegraph illustrates that Dugher has a reputation for shooting himself in the foot:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10460752/Labour-Partys-attack-dog-Michael-Dugher-barks-up-the-wrong-tree-again.html

What’s worrying is that he’s been entrusted with an important Shadow ministerial post. His political masters don’t seem to realise that his type of politics is why so many people are abandoning the mainstream parties. Many of us are sick of political dogfights. We want politicians with vision & answers. The question is, how much damage will this attack dog do before Labour realise their mistake & muzzle him?

It’s 2015 & it’s time to start blogging…

04 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by Paul Bigland in Uncategorized

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Michael Dugher MP, Politics, Transport

I set up this site some time ago with the best intention to start blogging straight away. Needless to say, things didn’t exactly go to plan…

2014 proved to be a very busy year workwise so all my efforts went into my commercial photographic & journalistic work. Now 2015 has snuck up on me. I find I’ve got some more time on my hands and plenty to talk about. Right now I’m researching my first piece, which will be a look at the antics of Labour’s new Shadow Transport Minister, Michael Dugher MP. Watch this space…

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