PRIORITIES?

In the game of trying to look good, win brownie points and in effort to appear like the Con Dem Government is actually doing something - the UK Westminster government says it will make £250m available to help English councils keep or restore weekly bin collections and is to launch a consultation on increasing the speed limit on England and Wales' motorways from 70mph to 80mph. Obviously its a question of priorities which may not go down so well with the 1,020 Royal Navy personnel who are set to hear whether or not they are to be made redundant as part of a first round of cuts.

Last years Strategic Defence and Security Review triggered a whole set of redundancies and cuts within the Defence sector. The next round of redundancies is due in March 2010 as the Ministry of Defence sheds some 25,000 civilian staff over the next four years. Hmmm that should help with the recovery (not) along with the other cuts to the public sector not to mention the firm hand that the Conservatives (sorry Com Dems) have taken with the banks (not).

A CROWDED HOUSE (COMMITTEE)

The Kiwi rock band, Crowded House, have a track talks about 4 seasons in one day, David ("Call me Prime Minister") Cameron is facing a possible Tory revolt as he faces the distinct prospect of 4 U Turns in one day, a result of having to appease / keep on board the somewhat junior Liberal Dem half of the Con Dem government (Clegg Minor, etc). The increasingly battered PM has ordered a time-out on pushing reform (privatisation) within the Health Service (in England) so the views of doctors and nurses could be heard(unpalatable) not to mention a strategic withdrawal (why not call it a retreat) on Tory plans to cap state welfare handouts at £26,000 a year; along with the collapse of the plan to bring back weekly bin collections (unaffordable); and a failure to reduce in the number of foreign students which will be half the figure previously indicated (unworkable). From a right wing home counties Tory perspective things can only get better (oh no that was the other lot) or perhaps worse... either way being a fly on the wall at the next Conservative (backbench MP's) 1922 Committee would be rather interesting I suspect.