It was a successful and uplifting anti-cuts conference in Birmingham yesterday. The Dickens room was filled to capacity, and over the course of three hours those attending heard the introduction by John McDonnell MP, attended the workshops on the Birmingham cuts or building new anti-cuts groups, and then spent nearly two hours debating and voting on the resolutions and amendments. The conference was closed with a speech from Pete Radcliff, the secretary of the newly formed body – Councillors against the Cuts.

John said that it was no surprise that the austerity onslaught has been met initially with muted resistance, but that up and down the country things are now changing. Our conference was part of that pattern. Pete Radcliff said that Councillors against the Cuts is seeking to expand its support over the next year. Let us hope that this aspiration finds a resonance in Birmingham.

All the resolutions were…

(no – it’s not satire – it’s out-of-touch Tory MPs!)

After some excellent research by Inside Housing (hat tip to Anne-Marie Spiritualist Medium for noticing this) – the social housing organisation found at least 7 blundering Tory MPs who have written letters to councils to complain about the unfair effects of the Bedroom Tax on their constituents – despite the fact they personally voted for the policy themselves!

Tory MPs Andrew Selous, Jackie Doyle-Price, Richard Drax, Henry Smith, John Randall, Owen Paterson and Alistair Burt have all complained to their local councils about the way their constituents will be affected by the bedroom tax.

See Inside Housing’s article here:

Tory MPs voice bedroom tax worries

I know some Tory MPs are not especially known for being the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree – but is it really too much to expect our elected representatives to know what the hell they’re voting…

(It’s not satire – it’s the nasty party)

We’ve all heard nasty quotes from Tories such as “Hang Mandela“, “The homeless are what you step over when you come out of the opera” etc etc which prove just how nasty the nasty party really can be. But those quotes are all pre-Cameron – who likes to claim his party has changed.

Well, here are a selection of quotes from Tories from the Cameron era which prove the nasty party is alive and kicking and just as nasty as ever:

1) Hugh Jackson– Tory councillor in North Tyneside  – suggested euthanasia was a good way to reduce the costs of looking after disabled children.

2) Steve Hilton – senior adviser to David Cameron and Tory strategy director – said the government should boost economic growth by abolishing all working mothers’ maternity leave and rights.

3) Iain Duncan Smith – Tory Work…

Michael Gove claims his new National Curriculum will raise standards. What is the reality?

It consists of extremely detailed lists of ‘content’ (spellings, grammar rules, arithmetic calculations, science facts, famous people in history, names of rivers in geography…) It is very weak on aims, concepts, skills; a lack of coherence, progression, and connection with the world.

The learner is missing – there is no sense of what young children are capable of understanding or being interested in. Everything is abstract – terminology, rules, abstract symbols – torn away from sensory experience or experimental and creative activity. Doesn’t Gove realise that most people learn by connecting symbols (words, formulae, etc.) with reality.

The demands have been pitched too early. There are many examples where Gove has looked at what is expected of more advanced 8 year olds in high achieving countries like Finland, and demanded the same of…

Academy Strikers Gain Victory. 

Nick Grant, NUT, is reporting good news from Alec Reed Academy.

“Management at Alec Reed Academy has agreed our terms for suspending planned 3-day strike next week to go ACAS talks on Monday or Tuesday with NASUWT“, reports Nick in the Anti Academies Alliance Newsletter.

Management  agreed to suspend their attacks on NUT and NASUWT member’s terms and conditions. Nick reports that management have agreed that no observations will occur next week nor will any be scheduled for the foreseeable future that are in excess of those referred to in the
NUT/NASUWT document,  Actions short of strike action, instructions, Phase 1.

Nick goes on to report that, “No subject reviews are occurring next week, nor are scheduled for the foreseeable future. No Mock-OFSTEDs, learning walks or drop-ins are occurring next week and none are scheduled for the foreseeable future.”
With good local and Regional media coverage, parents onside, members firm and all…

(satire – probably)

Liberal Democrats may in future be able to have their missing balls or backbones replaced with ones grown from cells taken from chickens or mice, experts have predicted.

Scientists say hybrids of mouse or chicken stem cells – both of which are remarkably similar in structure to those extracted from Liberal Democrat cabinet ministers – raises the possibility of growing missing teeth, backbones and balls on junior coalition MPs’ bodies.

Several pairs of fully functioning balls – created by combining stem cells taken from mice and Vince Cable well before he sold himself out for a seat in the cabinet – have been grown in a laboratory by researchers who hope the work could lead to Liberal Democrat MPs being able to grow back other things they lack – such as scruples or guts – and in the future it may even be possible to provide them…

One of the unintended consequences of Michael Gove’s obsession with academies is that schools are facing farcical turf wars.

But you’d have to go a long way to beat the confrontation between Holte School, Lozells primary school and Mayfield special school in Birmingham.

The three schools share the same site. Holte and Lozells are converting to academy status, but Mayfield is remaining under council control.

Tense discussions are taking place over access arrangements in Mr Gove’s brave new world.

Council leader Sir Albert Bore, remarkably maintaining a straight face, explained: “One of the schools has access to the boiler room, the other one does not. One has access to the thermostat control for the boiler, the other does not.

“The alarm system for the whole of the building is in the boiler room, to which one school does not have access.”

And for the latest update on negotiations, over to cabinet…