Communicating with MPs

Tom Brake MP, one of my previous brood when I was one of the Lib Dems London Campaigns Officers has done another first. A surgery on Facebook, see his poster on the left.

This was a surgery that Tom held on Facebook last Friday and has been blogged about here. Well done Tom, another great idea.

Tom Brake is often at the fore of new initiatives and finding ways to reach out to his constituents including a meeting organised via Facebook only last week - in the same week as the Facebook surgery.

I have known Tom now for nearly 10 years and I know he is so passionate about his job and keping his constituents in the loop about what he is doing on their behalf.

So, Tom has also joined the masses on Twitter. Given the mix of folk in Carshalton & Wallington it is great to see an MP actively seeking ways to communicate with them.

Dunfermline Building Society

Shame on Labour and shame on Gordon Brown.

I cannot believe that Gordon Brown and his Government are planning to sell off the Dunfermline Building Society as reported on the BBC website.

Willie Rennie MP who represents Dunfermline & West Fife (and is also Gordon Brown's MP) has been campaigning to save the Building Society and you have to question why the Government has turned it's back on this Building Society given what support they have given to every other bank in the UK.

The Government, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority have apparently decided they cannot save the Dunfermline - why not?

Jim Murphy MP blamed it on bad management, so how came the Government has stepped in and saved other Banks who have also had bad management?

It really is hypocritical of this Government to deal with this so differently to the other badly managed banks.

The elections on June 4th are going to be used as a referendum on this out of touch Labour Government even though these forthcoming elections are more important than that and should be about who represents us in the European Parliament, fighting for Scotland. This Government has badly managed the economy and it is time for a change.

Zennor - expect the unexpected!

Zennor - our cat, not the village in Cornwall, although that's where she got her name - is now 17 and her eyesight is getting worse.

So, three moves in four months was not the best, although we seemed to worry abou that far more than she did/does.

Anyhow she's settled now, she has a great life, eats and sleeps whenever she wants. She wakes up between 3am and 4am each day and therefore wakes me up, although I'm used to it now and just get on with work.

If there's a box in the flat, that becomes Zennor's property and new bed and strangely she adopted my chair I use for my desk - and then the other day randomly Roger got up and there she was on the desk.

Lo and behold today she did it again and here she is inspecting the plants!
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Scotrail - thieving people!

I've had to be politer than I want to be!

The 4.30pm train from Glasgow Queen Street was cancelled, after we had already settled down, coats off and ipods on.

No reason given - just "this train is cancelled".

So we all pile off the train and all head from platform 2 to platform 6 to get the 4.45pm - I refuse to get on a train like a cattletruck so waited for the 5pm.

I've just had a big argument with the guard who insisted that now I'm on a peak train I have to pay a further £8.80.

I'm sorry but what an outrage! It wasn't my fault that your company cancelled a train but no, I should have squeezed onto the other train apparently.

So, just to warn Scotrails customer services - I WILL be contacting you for the £8.80 back.

Robin Hood is alive and well - robbing the commuters in Glasgow!
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Cures for Gays

Is the Metro turning into the Daily Mail?

I had received a text this morning from a good friend - What the...Metro headline 'experts still try cures for gays.'

I sat there getting annoyed, then the BBC News team did the paper review and the headlines screamed "Fern Britton to leave This Morning" - oh my god could the day get any worse?

So, sat on the bus I read the story - Experts still try 'cures' for gays. What a load of rubbish.

17% of therapists, mental health professionals who most of actually work for the NHS have tried to 'cure' gay patients - what of for crying out loud? Good taste in clothes?

Come on - these so called professionals should be ashamed of themselves and should actually be fired by the NHS and struck off as well. Let's invest the money saved into curing real illnesses like cancer!

To the therapist quoted who said; 'The physical act for male homosexuals is physically damaging and is the main reason in this country for Aids/HIV. It is also perverse' - I say this. You are wrong.

You really should check your facts about Aids and HIV before you spout your claptrap. Also as a therapist your personal opinion isn't supposed to cloud your judgment, your personal opinion seems to lead your professional opinion - time to resign!

Yes, I'm biased because I'm gay. But I knew for years I was gay and I was not suffering from any mental illness and nor am I now.

Yes, I'm ranting because I'm angry that this volume of NHS so called professionals are able to preach this rubbish to people who are seeking advice.

Stand up and be counted and then resign.

Finally, do go and read my friend and colleagues take on this here.

Who the hell does Jacqui Smith MP think she is?

I haven't blogged lately, partly because of a lack of time and partly because other things on my mind.

But, Jacqui Smith MP and her fellow cronies can keep her nose out of my Facebook messages - she hasn't asked to be one of my Facebook friends and until she does she can keep out of my affairs.

I post messages that I think my Friends and colleagues might find amusing, I will send them messages of smut, innuendo and useless questions but I certainly do not give the government permission to read them.

I think Jacqui Smith MP has more important things she should be attending to rather than worrying about what I'm writing on Facebook or any other social network site I might happen to be on or not as the case might be!

My message to Jacqui Smith MP;

Dear Jacqui and Gordon,

You are both massively out of touch with the people you allegedly claim you represent.

We do not want ID cards, we do not want CCTV on every street corner watching our every move, we do not want google snooping on our emails on your behalf, we don't want MPs fiddling expenses, we don't want you snooping through our Facebook messages.

However, what we do want is a Government that will pit extra police on our streets fighting crime, we do want a government that will cut down on red tape, we do want a government with the conviction to scrap the unfair and unjust council tax.

We need a Government to govern and lead not snoop and create crisis after crisis.

Jacqui Smith MP - you are the weakest link - goodbye!
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