Could HS2 let the BNP back into British politics? A warning for journalists and politicians alike

A bit of a surprise on my Sunday morning telly today: Nick Griffin, leader of the BNP, was one the two political guests on the North West opt out of The Sunday Politics.

It took me a few minutes to remember that Griffin was actually one of my elected representatives – sneaking in as the 8th and final MEP for the North West of England thanks to the unique way in which the European Parliament deals with our votes once we’ve cast them.

At the time, 2009, it was a new high for the party. Two representatives in Brussels, and a growing track record for success in local elections – at one point, they seemed confident about even getting hold of councils: Stoke and Barking were told to me as potential prime targets.

Since then, things haven’t gone to plan for the BNP. One of the two BNP MEPs has left the party, and the number of councillors is down to just three across the country. At one point, the BNP was the second-biggest party on Burnley Council, now it’s not there at all. Either through defections or defeat, BNP councillors don’t tend to stick around.

The established media narrative is that the BNP have had their day. UKIP is now established as the fourth biggest party in the UK, the turn-to protest vote party of the day, and the BNP is dying a slow, painful death.

However, watching Griffin on the Sunday Politics made me fear that not only is that narrative wrong, but potentially dangerous.

FOI FRIDAY: Lost property, tobacco investments, repeat offenders and long ambulance waits

10 good examples of FOI in action from the local, regional and national media:

The longest ambulance delays – Huddersfield Examiner

Tony Blair – and politicians in general – may not be made keen on the Freedom of Information Act, but it doesn’t stop them using it to dig out figures which suit their political agenda. In this case, it’s also information which should give cause for concern. Labour used FOI to find out how long people were waiting in ambulances when getting to hospitals – the longest example in Yorkshire being nearly four hours, a fact reported by the Examiner.

Lost property handed into police – Manchester Evening News

A budgie, Bing Crosby records and £23,078 in cash are among the items, as well as a Porsche, a kite, five flatscreen televisions, and a bag of 14 Kit Kat bars – all among the list of things handed in to police as lost property items in Greater Manchester.

Freed prisoners and the crimes they commit – Birmingham Mail

Criminals released from jail early or handed a suspended or community sentence went on to commit more than 33,000 offences in just two years. Figures obtained by the Birmingham Mail revealed that almost a third of all convicted felons in the West Midlands went on to re-offend within 12 months of being let out on licence or handed a non-custodial sentence. Some of the offenders went on to commit serious violence, sexual assaults, robberies and even child sex attacks.

Books by journalists: Sandstealers – Ben Brown

Ok, so I’ve hit some stumbling blocks already: Do I just read new books? Do I just read books by journalists who maybe aren’t known on a national stage? And what about books by journalists who are already successful authors?

I’ve decided ‘no’ to the last question, because it would preclude the likes of Kerry Wilkinson, the best-selling, self-published Kindle author whose latest Jessica Daniel novel I’m currently reading. Likewise, I‘ve just discovered Jon Evans on Amazon and it would remove him from this as well – and his books look good.

So to the first two questions. Well, in choosing Ben Brown’s Sandstealers, I have to admit I thought I was picking up a relatively new book. Actually, it was published in 2009. As for reading stuff by by journalists who aren’t household names, well, Ben Brown’s not really known for his fiction, is he?

Even if there aren’t many people who can call on BBC colleagues John Simpson, Fergal Keane and Emily Maitlis for reviews … although you’d hope they’d put professional reputation ahead of giving a friend a lift in the book charts.

FOI Friday: Crime-ridden leisure centres, true truancy figures, NHS lay offs and Olympic torch costs

Apologies for the delay in the latest FOI Friday – a bad dose of chickenpox in our house has made keeping on top of it harder than usual! As ever, this is list is compiled using Google News and from suggestions sent to me on Twitter @davidhiggerson

Crimes committed at leisure centres < < < Welwyn Hatfield Times

A variation on an old favourite – list the crimes committed at X – yields some interesting results when X becomes a leisure centre:

OUTRAGING public decency and grievous bodily harm are just two of the crimes reported at Welwyn Hatfield leisure centres in the past two years.

Venues hired by councils < < < Leicester Mercury

An interesting example of council spending being held to account through FOI. Trade unions have been critical of the decision to hire conference facilities for meetings. The council, I guess, argues it has nowhere big enough to house 400 people. But do you really need 400 people in a room to talk transport?

Parking tickets overturned < < < Swindon Advertiser

What are the chances of getting a parking ticket overturned in Wiltshire? One in six, according to information obtained by the Swindon Advertiser. I liked the council’s defence of the high appeal success rate:

Swindon Council said the fact that so many tickets were successfully challenged was a good thing, because it shows the council is prepared to listen to complaints.

A spokesman said: “We cancel a lot of penalty charge notices because we’re prepared to listen to people if they have a reasonable excuse.

“Drivers should be reassured by this – they would have more reason to be worried if we didn’t cancel many.”

Of course, with prevention always better than cure, getting the tickets issued correctly in the first place would be better.

Reducing hospital bed numbers and overcrowding < < < BBC

Interesting stats obtained by the BBC from Welsh health boards which reveal 1000 hospital beds have disappeared in the country in the last three years. It’s not as if there isn’t demand – hospitals are regularly overcrowded now, according to the figures.

The problem with party conferences…

I’m a political geek. I like to talk to people about politics on Twitter. I’m training my 16-month-old daughter to find Andrew Marr’s voice soothing during his Sunday morning show, such a must-watch it is (and, lets be frank, the only time in the week when the BBC is setting the political agenda, rather than following the generally print-led one).

As a former political reporter, I have a whole bunch of fond memories from covering the 2003 party conferences – Labour in Bournemouth and the Tories in Blackpool. Labour were at the height of their powers, and the sharp suits of the lobbying and political chattering classes outnumbered grassroot Labour activists by about 25 to one at any given moment. The Tories, on the other hand, were at a very low ebb – and the faded glory of Blackpool’s Winter Gardens and the effort required to walk 10 minutes to the main conference hotel in battering gales on Blackpool seafront were both suitable metaphors for a party which seemed to have lost its way.

But, having watched (on rolling news) and listened (generally on the generally excellent Five Live) to a lot of what went on in this year’s party conferences I can’t help but come to the conclusion that they don’t deserve the attention they get these days.

FOI Friday: Rescuing fat people, dirty football grounds, spending on Facebook and young drink drivers

10 good examples of FOI in action from the local, regional and national media:

1. Bomb hoaxes at universities – Cambridge News

Universities, as a rule, hate being covered by the Freedom of Information Act – which is one of the reasons I like to see stories generated by it. This one is interesting – 46 bomb hoaxes at Cambridge university already this year? Surprised? I was.

2. Claiming over the odds expenses – Wilts Standard

The HMRC advised level for personal car mileage for company purposes is 45p. So why is a council letting staff and councillors claim almost 50p a mile – with no cap? A good FOI from the Wilts Standard which leaves some questions to be answered.

3. Fewer police than in the 1970s – Stoke Sentinel

Good use of FOI to get historic data to prove that in Staffordshire, there are now fewer officers on the beat than in the 1970s. And a good interactive chart at the bottom too.

4. Invisible councillors – Boston Standard

This is data which, quite frankly, should be posted after every council meeting: Who attended and who didn’t. But seeing as it isn’t, the FOI Act is the way to get it. A good way for the Boston Standard to hold its councillors to account.

5. Youngest drink driver – Birmingham Mail

A 14-year-old done for drink driving? According to FOI requests in Birmingham, that’s the case.

6. Hidden criminal offences of taxi drivers – Watford Observer

What job would you expect to be precluded from if you had a criminal record for causing death by dangerous driving? I’d put taxi driver on that list. Thank’s to FOI, we know that’s not the case in Bushey, near Watford.

7. Spending on Facebook – BBC

An interesting one from the BBC – finding out the Government has been spending £100,000 on Facebook advertising. There’s no doubt the public sector has become more social media savvy in recent times – has the spending gone there too.

8. Cable thefts – Norwich Evening News

Cable thefts from railway tracks are rarely away from the news – largely due to the problems they cause travellers – but 314 in a year in one area? Good stats under FOI from British Transport Police.

9. Dirty kitchens at a football stadium – Bolton News

I’ve mentioned this style of FOI a few times before but it is worth mentioning again – asking for the environmental health reports covering venues of public interest – in this case, the football arena at Bolton. And you’d have thought it was enough to have performances on the pitch making people potentially sick….

10. Called out to rescue fat people – Manchester Evening News

And finally – the number of times firemen have been called out to help paramedics move fat people.

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FOI Friday is compiled using Google News and tip-offs sent to this blog or to me via Twitter @davidhiggerson

 

 

FOI Friday: The cost of unions, the cost of dying, the cost of parking … and escaping prisoners

The cost of dying goes up

The Scotsman used FOI to find out how much cremation and burial charges had risen as a result of recent spending cuts – in some places it has doubled, while overall the amount raised from such services has gone from £8million to £16million.

The cost of residents permits goes up

Spotting a theme here yet? Maybe. The BBC’s Inside Out programme – ie the programme the BBC bigwigs want to slash the budget of, despite being the only regional current affairs progeamme the BBC currently produces which breaks stories – used FOI to ask councils how much they’d made from residents parking permits in recent years. No surprise, the figure has rised rapidly.

PCTs blocking drugs to save cash

An investigation by GP magazine has revealed that dozens of primary care trusts are blocking access to drugs which have been approved by NICE, the government’s drug approval/rationing (depending on your point of view) agency. The NHS constitution says that any drug approved by NICE should be made available, so this could be an FOI for local newsapers to follow up.