State of democracy

The forcible ejection of the mild-mannered heckler Walter Wolfgang from the Labour conference hall leaves a bad taste in the mouth about the state of democracy in the UK. For me, two points stand out in particular.

First, Labour’s spin machine gave the impression that the octogenarian was a persistent heckler, whereas it seems he just shouted the single word “nonsense” to Straw’s justification of the Iraq war.

The second point relates to the arrest of Mr Wolfgang under anti-terrorism laws. Where does that leave the government’s argument that anti-terror laws are not an attack on civil liberties? Should the millions who agree that the case for the war was based on “nonsense” also be arrested? Are we all guilty of glorifying terrorism by leaping to Mr Wolfgang’s defence?

People shifters

Post-war labour shortages in the UK led to an open door immigration policy during the 1950s and early 60s. That is when most Mirpuri men, such as my father and grandfather, came to the UK. Having gained a foothold, these early settlers were in an ideal position to bring close relatives to whom they felt obligated.

Mirpuris have a strong sense of responsibility and obligation towards close relatives. Mirpur itself had few economic opportunities. What better way than to arrange for close male relatives to join you in the UK? That would almost instantly lift an entire family out of poverty. So long as the factories and mills had an insatiable appetite for labour, this was easy to do. However, inevitably the open-door policy came to an end. Ever since immigration was first restricted, Mirpuris have been creatively negotiating the labyrinth of legislative and regulatory hurdles. In the main, they have continued to fulfil obligations to close ones.

At first, it was relatively easy. Men began to bring their eldest sons to join them. Then they invited their entire families. In some cases, they brought the children of close relatives, claiming they were their own. Again, this was from an overriding sense of obligation. Those children would work and remit money back to their parents and younger brothers and sisters. In a sense, bringing the children of close relatives was also a way of fulfilling, once and for all, obligations to them. Once those relatives had a foothold in the UK, there was no longer an ongoing obligation to support them. The eldest son would take on that role.

Although immigration policy got tighter, Mirpuris continued to creatively circumnavigate the complexities. Two important routes were used. One was to bring elderly parents. In most cases, this was straight forward. In some cases, people sponsored, as parents, those who were not their real parents (for example, older brothers and sister, uncles, aunts etc). Another route has been through arranged marriage.

The lot of the 'mangether'

Some words are inordinately difficult to translate into another language. This is because they carry a cultural baggage that cannot easily be conveyed outside that culture. ‘Mangether’ is such as a word.

The word literally means ‘fiancée’. It is still used to mean this among the more educated, Urdu speaking elite in Pakistan. For British Mirpuris, the word has taken on a new meaning. Some explanation is called for.

Among British Mirpuris, the term refers to husbands brought over from Pakistan by girls born and bred in the UK, normally as a result of an arranged marriage. The ‘mangether’, unable to speak English and without any other prior link to the UK, is thrown into an alien culture and initially at least, lives with the entire family of the girl. The foibles of the ‘mangether’ may embarrass his hosts, particularly young people. Think of the wretched character in ‘Yasmin’, who keeps a goat in the front garden. Mangethers do not keep goats as pets. More often it is their sartorial preference, and inability to speak English, that stands them out.

The word also has connotations of obsequiousness- he is totally reliant on the girl and her family. If he harbours hopes of obtaining permanent leave to remain and eventually a British passport, he knows what is good for him. He is normally keen to make sure that any assertion of independence does not clash with the interests of the host family. If it does, he better pack his bags and catch the next plane back. If his lucky, he’ll get his permanent stay but little else- as happened in ‘Yasmin’. Thankfully, most ‘mangethers’ do not meet such a fate.

There is a certain amount of snobbery inherent in the idea of ‘mangether’, as developed by British Mirpuris. It implies that those who don’t speak English and have not grown up steeped in western culture are somewhat inferior to those who have. Yet, as always with generalisations, reality is different. Many ‘Mangethers’ fit in very well here and do great, for example as businessmen. Others attend college, learn English and gain a skill.

My opinion is that a little humility is in place. In the greater scheme of things, it is only by a quirk of fate that my parents- and those of many other fellow British born Asians- ended up in the UK and those of mangethers did not.

Walter Mitty characters!

Being a self-critical Mirpuri, I had been searching for a while for a word, preferably borrowed from the world of literature, that would encapsulate what I am about to describe. Then came the Butler enquiry and the revelation that Dr Kelly had been described by an official as a Walter Mitty character, someone with an inflated sense of their own importance. The character of that name in the short story by James Luber was prone to extravagant flights of fancy, day dreaming of being a brave pilot or a daring naval officer navigating the ship through choppy waters.

The people I am referring to are just as banal. They are Mirpuri men, aged over 55, with a keen interest in politics, particularly Pakistani/ Mirpuri politics. They like to copy the style and deportment of Pakistani politicians. You can see them walking on the streets of Bradford and Birmingham, clad in their white shalwar-kameez dresses, overlain by fine gilet-type garments, just like their political heroes in Pakistan. Often, they alternate traditional smart dress with a suit and tie, again much like Pakistani politicians.

Why do I liken them to Walter Mitty? Because of their inflated sense of self importance. You can read their statements, or news about them, in the one of many sub-standard Urdu newspapers that have proliferated in areas with a high number of Pakistanis. These are filled with such pabulum as ‘Mr X arrives back to the UK from tour of Mirpur’, even though the ‘tour’ was nothing more than a family visit. Or a report announcing ‘X demands withdrawal of US troops from Iraq’, the demand having been made to the ‘editor’ who met the demander while shopping at the local market.

Mirpuri is not a literate language. As such, it has something of a reputation as a language not suitable for ‘educated’ people. To overcome this, our Walter Mitty characters pepper their Mirpuri conversations with words in Urdu, again much like the Punjabi speaking politicians of Pakistan.

There is nothing wrong with being interested in politics. Indeed, quite the opposite. Interest in politics is a very healthy thing. But for the people I am referring to, it’s an ego thing.

‘How mumbo-jumbo conquered the world’

‘How mumbo-jumbo conquered the world’, by Francis Wheen has attracted some rave reviews. I have a rule that I can buy only two books a month, dictated by my finances. However, intellectual curiosity got the better of me and I decided to buy this book, even though that would exceed my monthly quota.

Though a minnow like me should be wary of criticising the intellectual outpourings of those who know better, I cannot agree with some of the praise that has been heaped on this book. Sure, it contains some useful apercus on the influence of pseudo-science and airy-fairy bunkum. It rightly sniggers at the self help books that are filled with truisms and bromides. Apart filling the pockets of the writers, these serve no useful purpose.

Yet the author’s hyperactive pen strikes at too much. You may disagree with monetarism, but it is a perfectly arguable position to have. And is the left’s critique of US foreign policy so unreasonable as to be in the same league as the balderdash that is the marriage of business and mysticism.

I would have preferred a book on the rise of pseudo-science and its use by politicians, business leaders and the public. At times the book does this, for example when it describes the Blairs’ predilection for weird rituals. It also lays bare the baser financial motives behind the rise of mumbo-jumbo, particularly in the mystification of the pursuit of profit. Yet, for me, the book failed because it gave the impression that anything the author did not agree with amounted to mumbo-jumbo.

Some thoughts on third world development issues

When I was an undergraduate, I remember being surprised about the amount that is written on third world development issues in academic journals and books. It is a very complex area, and no doubt a profitable one- ironically- for the academics who research these issues. I also wondered in jest whether any of the trees chopped to make the paper the journals were written on came from developing countries.

Yet one thing has become clear to me over the years. The debate is only complex because, at the end of the day, it boils down to a question of how some of the more glaring symptoms of world poverty can be alleviated without harming the prosperity and high living standards that prevail in the developed world. It is not about how the third world can come to enjoy the same standards.

Economics is a zero sum game. Sure, new success stories can emerge, such as the Southeast Asian tiger economies. But every single country on earth cannot enjoy the average living standards of the UK; the world economy cannot grow in that way. The Southeast Asian countries are small and the amount of economic activity they can attract poses no threat. India and China are another story. Increasingly Western policy makers stress the need to maintain competitiveness in the face of these behemoths.

Another reason for the complexity of the debate, which arises from the need to balance self interest with helping the poor, can be found in the plethora of duties and regulations that prevent third world countries from penetrating first world markets. If these are not in place to protect indigenous industries, why are they not removed? Removing some of these restrictions could lift entire communities out of poverty within months, especially agricultural communities. But in the zero sum game of economics, such a move could devastate domestic industries.

Election 2005 and Sparkbrook, Birmingham

It emerged last week that the Respect party have petitioned the High Court to challenge the general election result in the Sparkbrook constituency. The party’s candidate claims she has had enough complaints to warrant court action. I am not sure what the details of the case are, but there are reports of people turning up to vote and being told that they had already voted by post. It will certainly be interesting to see how the case proceeds.

Although George Galloway’s victory in London was well-reported on election night, the result in Sparkbrook was a bombshell of sorts too. Salma Yaqoob, the Respect candidate, lost the election but managed to turn Labour’s massive majority, greater than 16,000, to around 3,000. Should the election be declared void, Labour could find itself behind the eight ball in Sparkbrook.

I believe Respect could have won the seat in Sparkbrook if more people were convinced that they represented a credible threat to Labour. Many people made the same mistake as I did. While agreeing with the sentiments of the Respect party, there was a feeling that the Respect party was an outsider, a novice, with no prospect of defeating Labour. We thought only the Liberal Democrats could do this. We were wrong. The Respect campaigners I debated with before the election were insisting that they were sensing a massive mood change from the door steps. At the time I somewhat arrogantly thought they were misinterpreting anti-war feeling as evidence of support for their party.

Iraq

Several months ago, as the rate of attacks fell, the US felt confident enough to say that the Iraq insurgency was dying off. With daily attacks on the rise again, US personnel on the ground are now admitting that the insurgents are able to switch things on and off as they please.

Far from being a beacon of democracy for the entire region, Iraq has become a dangerous place where death and destruction have become common. When under pressure to democratise, Middle Eastern potentates can now say: ‘Is this what you want us to become?’

If the US was serious about spreading democracy, may be it should have started with some its friends, especially ones less divided on ethnic and sectarian lines. These would have had greater chance of becoming beacons of democracy, perhaps even spurring the populations of neighbouring countries to look at their own system of government.

As things stand present, Iraq is the very opposite of a beacon of democracy. Most people in neighbouring countries see it as an occupied country governed by a class of janissary politicians created by the occupiers to look after their strategic and corporate interests.

European constitution

Across the EU, political classes- whatever their perspective on European integration- are discussing the implications of the French and Dutch thumbs down for the proposed constitution. Most ordinary mortals are aloof from this discussion. For them it means nothing. The whole debate about the EU can all too often sound arcane.

That is one reason why most people voted in the referenda on the basis of considerations that were extraneous to the proposed EU constitution. The constitution itself is an innocuous enough document, seeking to formalise and define decision making within the EU. This was a revolt against the ruling elites of Europe.

Pleasant memories

Whenever I feel down in my constricted urban existence, I recall one of my visits to my ancestral village, Chattroh, in the Pakistani part of Kashmir. There are two particular benevolences of nature that I like to recall.

The first memory is of beholding the snow capped mountains, many miles away, silhouetted against the blue sky. It is an awe inspiring sight. I am not sure which mountains they are or on which side of the India-Pakistan border they are situated. This lack of information about them adds to the mystique.

The second memory is of the River Jhelum. Early in the summer, the snow on the hills melts and flows into the river. There is then a pleasant contrast between the heat outside and the cold water. It’s quite a wild river and swimming is not recommended for novices, but paddling and just standing in is enough to send a frisson of excitement through the body. On the surface the water is warm, but if you stand in the river, you can feel an undercurrent of icy water.

I could sit for hours on the banks, listening to the sounds of nature. In high summer, walking barefoot on the warm pebbles on the river bank is actually quite therapeutic. The heat enters through the soles and permeates the whole body. It’s a most relaxing experience. Occasionally the calm is broken by small waves caused by passing boats and the folk songs of oarsmen. Or vultures gathered around carrion on the hill.

Alas, having taken on a massive mortgage, and faced with job uncertainty, I am not sure if I will ever behold these wonders again.

Drink and sex

When I was living in Bradford, I got some interesting insights into the vices of fellow young Pakistanis. At the local Co-op store, young men could be seen buying such pick-me-ups as Bacardi, Vodka, JD and Gin. According to the shopkeeper, these people were after the buzz of instant inebriation. With hindsight- given all the media hype on the issue- this sounds like binge drinking. But this was binge drinking without the undesirable social consequences.

On Friday or Saturday nights, you did not have to suffer the antics of Asian drunkards on Oak Lane or walk through sick on Sunday mornings. Yet clearly drinking was widespread among young Asian men. These were secret drinkers who lived at home, where a traditional Muslim culture- which forbids alcohol- prevails. According to the shopkeeper, many of these young drinkers would smuggle a bottle into their bedrooms or, late at night when everyone was asleep, drink in their parked cars and tip toe back to bed.

I did not witness Pakistani girls drinking, though there must be some who do. What I did witness, however, were their secret romantic liaisons and their greater phallic awareness.

My route to work took me along country roads. Parked on the lay-bys I would see sporty-type cars, with Asian blokes and their girls inside, very often in an intimate clinch. There was no need to come out into the country if they wanted to just talk. Often they would be sharing the lay-bays with middle aged English men and women- colleagues having fun. I called one particular spot ‘Infidelity Lane’.

Young men and women would congregate in the centre of Bradford, as happens in Birmingham City Centre. Here they would make eye contact, chat up and be chatted up. They would then repair to the countryside, which in Yorkshire is conveniently proximate from anywhere. There would be dire consequences for many of these young people if a member of their family saw them. But the secrecy is a part of the excitement. Even in the most authoritarian of societies, it is difficult to suppress the fire of youth. What chance in an open society like ours?

Parking problems in 'New Dadyal'

Last year I read that Alum Rock Road, Birmingham, has the highest number of parking tickets doled out in the country. After the customary condemnation of traffic wardens, I thought nothing about it. Today, I spent the afternoon there shopping with my family and got first hand experience of why the place is notorious for its parking problems.

Alum Rock Road is a vibrant shopping area, consisting mainly of Pakistani-owned shops. It is often called New Dadyal, after an area in Mirpur from which many of the shop owners and local residents originate. You can buy pretty much the same sorts of things that the main shopping area in Dadyal has to offer- fine fabrics, jewellery, trinkets and of course, a myriad of eateries. It is the fabric stores that attract shoppers from across the country.

The similarity of wares and traders is not the only reason why Alum Rock Road has earned the epithet ‘New Dadyal’. Dadyal is also known for traffic chaos, though given the volume of traffic in Birmingham, the problem here is a lot worse.

I can’t remember the number of traffic wardens I saw today. All I can remember is that they were all busy completing penalty notices. Parking is permitted on one side in the morning and the other side in the afternoon. During my shopping trip, traffic wardens were dishing out justice to those who had violated the ‘mornings only’ side of the road. No doubt some people, particularly from outside Birmingham, are confused by this rule. Others just have a cavalier disregard for parking regulations. Whatever the reason, yellow notices were plastered everywhere.

One particular incident made me modify my opinion of traffic wardens and parking penalties. An illegally parked car- and incompetently parked given that its back was protruding onto the road- caused chaos when two buses coming from opposite directions tried to pass it simultaneously. They couldn’t do this; nor could they reverse back as traffic had built up behind them. A ‘desi’ solution was at hand. Four burly lads- all Mirpuri, I gathered from the expletives- decided to take matters into their hands after waiting impatiently in their BMW. They beckoned two more stout lads passing by. The six shook the car so harshly that it was no longer protruding. There was cheering as the buses and other traffic began to flow.

Respect and anti-social behaviour

The ‘Big Idea’ underlying the legislative programme outlined in the Queen’ Speech is ‘respect’. Tony Blair rightly claims that while campaigning, the message he got from the doorsteps was that people are fed up with anti-social behaviour and the lack of respect that goes with it. This is an issue on which the PM can redeem himself after the falsehoods that led to the Iraq war. However, there are two reasons why I think current talk of ‘respect’ will lead nowhere.

First, the legislative programme deals with quite serious behaviour, for example involving knives, guns or alcohol-fuelled violence. Much of the anti-social behaviour, thankfully, is not so serious. It is, nevertheless, quite intimidating for law-abiding residents to have to endure congregations of hooded youths, not drunk or carrying weapons, but still swearing, shouting, glaring at passers by and throwing objects around. I have witnessed such low level anti-social behaviour and it is not pleasant.

It is very difficult for the government to legislate against this type of low level nuisance. There are, however, things the government can do to nurture a culture of respect and decency. This leads me to the second reason why I think nothing will come out of the current focus on anti-social behaviour.

Like on many issues, different aspects of government policy are pulling in different directions. When the spotlight is exclusively on children’s rights, they are seen as victims in need of protection. So smacking is banned. When talk shifts to anti-social behaviour, parents are berated for not bringing up their kids properly. It is widely accepted that the best environment in which to raise children is a strong family with both parents around. Yet government policies- under Labour and the Tories- have gradually chinked away at this important social institution.

A coherent approach is needed to tackling anti-social behaviour. Such an approach should recognise the importance of the family as bedrock of social stability.

George delivers some home truths

Our political household was abuzz with excitement yesterday as we watched George Galloway deliver some home truths in the lion’s den. Like you would cheer each and every blow from you favourite boxer, so we did with Galloway. Had he met Saddam many times? No more than Rumsfeld had- and for a nobler purpose. Cheering. What a ‘cavalier’ approach to justice, even in a country where standards have been falling, to find him guilty without a chance to defend himself. More cheering. The biggest cheer was when he was pressed on the issue of the illegality of selling oil in breach of UN resolutions. He was having none of this talk of illegality- what about the illegality of the war itself?

Double standards

The supine response of the West, in particular the US, to the slaughter of hundreds of innocent civilians by the ‘friendly’ Uzbek regime confirms the double standards argument. Why is democracy good for Iraq but not Uzbekistan? Why is Lithuania congratulated but the democracy movement in Uzbekistan dissuaded? Why is democracy good for Afghanistan, but not Saudi Arabia, whose repressive regime is not dissimilar to the odious Taliban? Why is Iran condemned but not Saudi? Can any fair-minded person reasonably say that Saudi is more open and free than Iran?

There is only one explanation, which can sound rhetorical but it is difficult to avoid it. It is that the US is not interested in spreading freedom and democracy, but wants to protect its own strategic and economic interests. That is what explains the differential approach to dictatorship. The US approach to dictatorships is not based on how repressive they are, but on how accommodating the ruling elites are of US interests. In Iraq and Afghanistan an attempt is being to create a class of janissary politicians to protect US interests.

'Happy slapping'

Last night ITV aired a documentary about the disturbing phenomena of ‘happy slapping’. This involves groups of young people, armed with camera phones, traipsing around looking for unsuspecting strangers- for example someone waiting at a bus stop- to slap. The action is then captured on camera and shared by texting and over the Internet. One victim was slapped so hard he suffered permanent damage to his hearing. That victim is from Solihull, down the road from me. Alarmingly, the violence seems to be getting more gratuitous. One man who had fallen asleep at a bus stop was set on fire.

Appropriately, the documentary was aired on the same day the Prime Minister talked about anti-social behaviour, yob culture and responsible parenting. ‘Happy slapping’ is part of the same social malaise. I found it quite worrying that some of the ‘happy slappers’ interviewed had a casual, dismissive, ‘just a laugh’ attitude to this appalling behaviour. Those who set the man at the bus stop on fire were clearly enjoying the experience. I just cannot understand what gives rise to such attitudes in a prosperous, stable country such as the UK. We know that civil war and strife can have a brutalising impact on people, but such is not the situation here. Bad parenting must be part of the problem.

I think mobile phone companies bear a small part of the responsibility. They are constantly churning out new and powerful handsets, marketed particularly at young people and aimed at feeding their desire for objects of vanity. One wonders how many of these youngsters can afford these slick, multi-functional handsets? Again the issue of parental responsibility is relevant.

Computers and education

When I left University, I knew very little about computers. As a law under-graduate, I had relied more on bulky text books and hand written essays. We were encouraged to use an online database of case law, but most people preferred the hard copies, taking copious notes. At school, I did a subject called IT up until the age of 14, but cannot remember what it covered. All I remember is the class being divided into two groups, each huddling around a computer.

It was only after leaving university that I realised I had a skills deficit. When applying for jobs, employers asked for a CV, which was quite expensive to have professionally printed for every application. Also, many job descriptions mentioned the necessity of ‘IT literacy’, though the ability to read and number crunch were assumed.

To fill the skills gap, my brother and I invested in a Compaq PC. To cut a long story short, my point is this: it did not take me long after buying a PC to acquire a modicum of IT literacy. I became familiar with the Windows environment and could write attractive CVs in MS Word. My subsequent career development required a more detailed knowledge of IT and web editing, but I have been able to add to my skills simply by attending short courses, a moderate amount of self-study and actual work experience. I have since worked with many people who acquired their IT skills in this way.

So what am I driving at? Simply at the fact that computers are not necessary for education. In fact, over reliance on computers to deliver all subjects can be detrimental. The phrase ‘IT literacy’ is actually a misnomer. Basic IT skills can be picked relatively easily. A back to basics campaign, which puts books at the centre of learning, is desperately needed. Even for those who aspire to work at the top end of computing, whether as programmers or computer scientists, maths would provide a better grounding than computer studies.

Yet the way in which the government, egged on by software vendors, is pouring billions into IT and computers for schools is quite alarming. The same money could be better spent on books, more teachers and smaller classes. It is understandable why this is happening. No government would like to give the impression of being backward and out of touch.

At a time when ‘e’ has become a prefix for many activities- there are even e-citizens- it is inevitable that there should be e-learning. Yet e-learning is particularly unsuited for schools, the glowing claims of the software vendors notwithstanding. With e-learning, the technology has a tendency to supplant the subject matter being studied. The technology, and what it can do, becomes more important than the subject being taught.

Around a quarter of adults are functionally illiterate. Unless educational priorities are re-adjusted to focus on basic literacy and numeracy, my fear is that this will get worse.

Wedding parties….Mirpuri style

With the election out the way, I can go back to writing about other things. What better to start with than wedding parties- Mirpuri style? I attended one at the weekend…..there are many more to go over the summer.

I have become so acclimatised to wedding parties given by fellow Mirpuris, having attended so many, that I cannot imagine how they must appear to an inexperienced non-Mirpuri. They are, to put it mildly, chaotic affairs.

The first thing that will strike the novice is the number of guests. All relatives, no matter how remote, are invited. They will normally be spread around the country and will make an effort to attend. A very large number of neighbours and other locals are also invited. Sometimes even casual acquaintances, those with whom your only relationship is a perfunctory hello or salaam whenever you meet them at the local paper shop, are invited.

When you have such a large guest list, chaos is inevitable. The wedding hall is normally never big enough to accommodate all the guests in one go. Food is therefore served in several sittings. Those lucky enough to find a seat in the first serving eat in the shadow of those who missed. I have known of cases where those who missed the first sitting stood behind the chairs of those who succeeded, ready to pounce as soon as they have finished eating. No body finds this particularly unusual.

The purpose, then, of a Mirpuri wedding party is to feed the large number of guests as quickly as possible. You can certainly socialise in sub-groups before or after eating, but once seated at the table, your purpose is to eat quickly. Fine conversation at the dinner table is not the way of the Mirpuri wedding party.

Yet I am quite fond of Mirpuri wedding parties. They are, compared to black tie events of city folk, quite relaxed affairs. I think there is a deeper reason why I am fond of them: they reflect a community spirit not normally seen in urban areas. How many people would invite casual acquaintances to a wedding party? Indeed, in most cases, people barely know their immediate neighbours, let alone those living down the road or in the wider locality. There is, then, a deeper meaning and purpose to the chaos.

Moral mandate

Once Labour’s understandable elation at a historic third term has subsided, some serious questions will need to be asked about the morality of the mandate. We regularly hear about public disengagement from politics, yet fail to ask a simple question: does the system itself encourage disillusionment by magnifying the victory of the victors and diminishing the performance of the losers?

The figures point to a democratic deficit. Of the people who turned out to vote in the 2005 general election, 35.2% voted Labour, which translates into 356 seats. The Conservatives got 32.3 of the votes and 197 seats, whereas the Liberal Democrats managed 22% of the votes and 62 seats. These figures are based on a 61% turnout, which is barely an improvement on the 59% who voted in 2001 and quite disappointing given the popularity of postal voting. More people didn’t bother to vote than voted Labour.

As it is clear from these figures, there is a disparity between the popular vote and the number of seats. Most people did not vote Labour. As a percentage of the total electorate- including those who did not vote- Labour votes represent only 21%.

No system is perfect, but a system of proportional representation would reflect the popular will more accurately than the current winner takes all system. The argument that PR can lead to instability is unconvincing. In any case, dictators have been known to argue similarly against democracy.

Acceptability of lying

The government’s dishonourable conduct surrounding the Iraq war is now beginning to affect morality in general. When doing something dubious, it is now not uncommon to pray in aid, as a precedent, the deceit deployed by the government in the prelude to the war. This is done only half in jest. So embellishing any claim is likened to ‘sexing up’. Making particularly exuberant claims is compared to the claim about Iraq’s ability to unleash hell in 45 minutes. Copying and pasting information from the Internet is justified on the grounds that the government did the same. The end result may be dodgy, just as the ‘dodgy dossier’ was, but what does it matter. What’s good for the whiter than white government must be good for the rest of us as well.

Aunties go campaigning

Last Saturday I described my encounter with ‘Respect’ party campaigners, who had set up stall on the Stratford Road. The campaigners, seeking votes for candidate Salma Yaqoob, were young and articulate. This week I observed an altogether different phenomena. Pakistani women, middle aged and above and chador-clad, were out canvassing. I have never witnessed this before- it is heartening to see such people involved in the democratic process.

The lady who knocked our door said she was the candidate’s mother and ‘please, please, could you vote Salma’. I made a perfunctory nod of my head to indicate approval, at the same time uttering ‘yes, yes’ (in Punjabi). I have no intention of voting for ‘Respect’ and had challenged the young campaigners last week. However, challenging auntie was out of the question. It is easy to accuse politicians of lying, but I wonder how many voters, out of politeness, make false promises?

During this extended bank holiday weekend- the last before the election- the aunties were the only evidence of canvassing. The ‘Respect’ party are the reason why the campaign here in Sparkbrook is lacklustre. If they were not standing, the result would be unpredictable and on a knife-edge. As it is, the divisive influence of ‘Respect’ guarantees a Labour victory. Why should Labour bother to campaign here when ‘Respect’ is doing that for them?

Politics and lying

This week I finished reading The Rise of Political Lying, by Peter Osborne. It has been a timely read, considering that the penultimate week of electioneering has also focused on issues of truth and lying. Reading by night and following the slinging match by day, I have felt better equipped, in a general sense, to separate the chaff from the wheat.

However, it is the specifics, rather than the generalities about the devices used by politicians to evade the truth, that I find alarming. Meticulously researched and well sourced, it describes how lying has become routine. Whether it is complete falsehood, deceit or the deliberate omission of crucial information, real examples are given of each type of turpitude that now afflicts politics. I would recommend this accessible book to anyone interested in getting an insight into contemporary British politics.

In 2001, 59% of the electorate came out to vote. An even lower turnout is being predicted for this year’s election. There are no doubt complex reasons for this, but surely the rise of the culture of ‘spin’, a word that encapsulates the ills described in Peter Osborne’s book, must contribute to the fact that the public has become turned off from politics. Lies are disempowering. If we know that we are constantly being bombarded with lies, we just lose interest (and faith). Yet politics matters.

So what can be done?

Though the book is capable of making us lose faith completely in politics, it also contains a redemptive idea- the creation of something similar to Fact Check as found in the US. This is a group that monitors the factual accuracy of political statements. Such an idea is not totally unknown here. The Institute for Fiscal Studies already provides independent scrutiny of government and opposition tax policies. An organisation that is independent of political parties but commands their respect would be an important step in restoring faith in politics.

Ignorance is bliss- (for Labour)

To Labour’s advantage, most people are not interested in politics to the extent of actively digging out information. If they were, Labour would comprehensively lose this election. Anyone who bothers to study in detail events surrounding the Iraq war cannot but be struck by the battery of lies and deceit employed to strengthen the case for war. Throughout 2002, Blair made statements with conviction and certainty that Iraq had WMD. It is now clear that those statements were not based on the prevailing intelligence at the time- which was cautious and stressed the lack of authoritative information emerging from Iraq. It is now clear that Blair was the auteur of the whole episode. The whole machinery of government was used, and abused, to ensure the PM got his way.

Defection of Old Labour man to the Lib Dems

The only thing slightly surprising about the defection of Labour MP Brian Sedgemore to the Liberal Democrats is the timing. There is now such a chasm between the principled left wingers of the old-type and the spin obsessed, managerial-types of New Labour that it is a wonder that they all belong to the same party. Sedgemore’s claim that more retired MPs are planning on leaving Labour after the election may or may not come to pass. It is safe to assume, though, that there must be quite a few of them having seditious thoughts.

Another curiosity is whether the Liberal Democrats are the natural home for left wing deserters. Historically, the Liberals have been about light, though compassionate, government, with an emphasis on individual freedoms. As Labour has moved away from its founding ideals, the Liberal Democrats have increasingly moved leftwards to occupy the space. Their position on issues such as tuition fees, care for the elderly, foundation hospitals, the Iraq war, civil liberties and taxation, is something Labour leftwingers can instantly make common cause with.

If Sedgmore’s defection emboldens others in the next few days, then the election may not be the foregone conclusion many pundits have proclaimed it to be.

A question of trust

Finally the election campaign is focused on the issue why this election is not plain sailing for Blair- the Iraq war. It is this conflict, and the falsehoods and lies that preceded the gathering clouds of war, that finally dragged Blair out of the prelapsarian phase. As a result, trust is an important issue in this election. Before that, there had been near misses. (Remember the Ecclestone affair and Blair’s “I am a pretty straight sort of guy” rejoinder?)

There is no point in rehearsing the arguments. The dodgy dossiers, embellished claims about attacks within 45 minutes and fickle legal advice speak for themselves.

What matters from the point of view of the election is the total erosion of trust. Even if your attitude is one of good riddance to Saddam, the way in which the case for war was presented and argued should make your squirm. Democracy, which became an ex post facto justification for the war, was totally bypassed in the quest for war. Parliament was given false information and the case for war was never fully scrutinised in cabinet. The decision was taken in Washington and obsequiously followed by Blair.

Conservative obsession with immigration

The Conservatives, seeking to exploit their advantage on the issue of asylum and immigration, may have shot themselves in the foot by over-egging the issue. People may be concerned about immigration, but they also have other concerns. In any case, the core vote the Conservatives are seeking to bring out may drive many more waverers into the bosom of other parties.

On closer inspection, it becomes obvious that the issue they are ranting against is in fact a logical conclusion of their own policies. If you believe in the supremacy of the market and in the unhindered movement of goods and services across borders, if you believe that taxation and protectionism are odious, then there is no rational reason why you should object to the free movement of labour. The ‘natural hand’ of the market will direct workers to where there is demand for their labour. On the basis of the economic theory espoused by the Conservatives, immigration should be considered as undesirable an impediment to economic activity as taxation and over-regulation.

The Conservatives appreciate the comparative advantage offered by immigrants- low wages. That is why they have employed them to deliver their election campaign literature. It is also the main reason why the CBI has opposed the Conservative plans. Talk of a skills shortage, which could be made worse by the Conservative proposals, is just a subterfuge. There is no significant skills shortage. There is a shortage of unskilled workers who are prepared to do low paid jobs.

Seen in this context, it also becomes clear that the Labour party has not been pusillanimous on the issue of immigration. It too accepts the supremacy of the market. The shortage of workers, particularly for jobs no one else is prepared to do, has been the chief driver of immigration under Labour.

'Respect' party out campaigning

George Galloway’s anti-war ‘Respect’ party was out campaigning today on the Stratford Road (Sparkbrook, Birmingham constituency). They had set up stall outside Mushtaq’s Asian Sweet Centre, handing out leaflets to shoppers and debating with passers by who had time. I noticed them from a distance and, despite my normal reticence, mustered enough courage to talk to one of them.

My argument was simple: I agreed with most of their sentiments, especially about the war, but thought they were a divisive influence in a Muslim majority constituency such as Sparkbrook. They would win a significant chunk of votes, sure, but not the seat. Other anti-war votes would go to the Liberal Democrats. The anti-war vote thus divided, Labour would sneak comfortably back in. I pointed out that this is what had happened before. If Respect had not stood in the Hodge Hill bye-election last year, Labour would have been massively defeated. By standing in Sparkbrook, Respect was ensuring a Labour victory. Only the Liberal Democrats offered a realistic route to defeating Labour here.

The campaigners were casually dismissive of such reasoning. For them, the Liberal Democrats are just as pro-war as Labour. What difference did it make which party of war won? I did not debate the point further, but felt unconvinced by their visceral rebuttal. The fact is that this was Blair’s war, made easy by oscitant Labour MPs. There is genuine anger against the war. If ever there was need for tactical voting, it is in this election.

As we were debating, a bearded gentleman came out of Mushtaq’s, clutching a box of mithai. He was in a hurry, but managed to offer some dialectic reasoning before hastily departing. “Do you know what Respect is?”, he asked rhetorically. His reply can be summed up like this. “Respect” is left wing, which is about being a socialist, which is related to anti-religious communism, which was an ideology diametrically opposed to Islam.

Photo opportunity

In the last parliamentary duel before campaigning began in earnest, Howard teasingly asked Labour MPs to raise their hands if they were planning to use photographs of Blair in their campaign material. It was a fine performance by Howard. Most Labour MPs did not raise their hands. They could, as a show of unity, have done so, but you could bet that journalists would have pursued the issue and expose the liars.

In my constituency- Birmingham, Sparkbrook- the opposition parties fully understand the power of photographs. Recently some campaign material, masquerading as ‘South Central Birmingham News’, came through the letterbox. It was actually from the Liberal Democrats. On the front page was a large picture of the affable local candidate. What struck me, however, was the other, slightly smaller picture. It was of Blair and Bush, together. There was Blair with his smirk and Bush with his somewhat perplexed looks. The photo was clever electioneering- it pressed the right anger buttons. And in my constituency, with a large Muslim population who have an antipathy towards Blair and Bush, it was meant to press a lot of anger buttons.

Labour candidates may want to decline the opportunity of Blair’s photo on their leaflets, but for some opposition candidates images of Blair and Bush are useful vote winners.

An important election issue

If there were any doubts that cynicism and opportunism are the way of politicians, the on the hoof development of local finance policy should banish them. The Tories made a significant volte-face by withdrawing support for property revaluation. Labour, rattled, responded by saying the revaluation would be ‘revenue neutral’ and no new high end council tax bands would be created. Only the Liberal Democrats emerge unblemished on this issue, though plans for a local income tax are misguided.

At least we should be glad that an important issue has been highlighted. Local taxation has always been a hot issue. Over the years, central government has undermined the power of local government to raise revenue. This has been achieved by rate capping and direct delivery of services through unelected Quangos. Council tax now accounts for only 25% of local revenue. The dilemma for governments is obvious: people don’t like paying taxes. When council taxes rise, popular ire is directed mainly at the central government. Unlike many other countries, we do not have genuine local democracy. It is central government that calls the shots and carries the can.

There is an issue here more than just about local finance. It is the pressing need to reinvigorate local democracy. If we had genuine local democracy, as found in many countries around the world, a cultural change would be brought about that would enable people to think along the lines of ‘local accountability for local decisions’. At present, central government encroaches on everything that should be local: from education and health to planning. Local authorities are now directly responsible for an ever decreasing number of services. Where they retain responsibility, they are subjected to numerous targets and performance indicators. The public has seen through the façade of local democracy and blames central government when things go wrong.

On the issue of local taxation, there is little doubt that reform is needed. A local income tax has the attraction of sounding progressive. Yet on closer scrutiny it becomes clear that abandoning council tax in favour of a local income tax would be a retrogressive move. Inequalities in asset ownership are far greater than income inequalities. A large proportion of the nation’s wealth is tied up in property. In the UK, property gets off quite lightly when it comes to taxation.

Given the exponential rise in house prices, many people are now sitting on a notional fortune. Their income has obviously not arisen as fast, which means they are paying a higher proportion of it in council tax. At present, the top property band for council tax purpose is valued at £320,000. This means if your property is valued at over a million pounds, your council tax liability is the same as a property worth £320,000. Given the house price inflation, there are likely to be parts of the country where people on relatively modest incomes have seen their value of their house increase three-fold since 1990.

Council tax needs to be reformed, by the introduction of new top and bottom end bands. Labour has taken a self-interested, short term view by removing plans for new top end bands from the revaluation exercise.

A local matter

Traders on the stretch of Stratford Road (A34) that runs through Sparkhill and Sparkbrook, predominantly Asian areas, are up in arms against the proposed red route scheme. I am not sure what that means or how double red lines differ from double yellow ones. I would guess it’s an idea borrowed from the congested streets of London. For traders, it means parking problems for customers and suppliers.

The Stratford Road Business Association has put up posters urging residents to oppose the red route and to oppose ‘ethnic minority prejudice’. Given that the red route project is an extension of a scheme already put in place a few miles down the road, in a stretch of the road that runs through a middle class white area, the latter exhortation sounds bizarre. By referring to ethnicity the traders are cleverly, if misleadingly, appealing to emotion, a strategy Michael Howard is also employing in the current election campaign.

Yet I am also fearful for this vibrant shopping area. It is an area you can buy anything from fine fabrics to fish caught in the River Jhelum in Kashmir. On Saturday afternoons, when I like to traipse aimlessly along the road, I’ve come across shoppers from as far apart as Newcastle and St Albans. In the summer, there is a near carnival atmosphere on Saturdays, with South Asian music blasting from the music shops. Streets vendors, selling cheap international calling cards, DVDs and religious books, add to the bazaar-like atmosphere. The bottom line for many people, however, is that fresh fruit and vegetables are a lot cheaper than in supermarkets.
Traffic is no doubt a major issue for many high street shopping areas. The beneficiaries of ill thought through calming measures can only be the hypermarkets, who can afford their own car parks. It would be a shame if this vibrant shopping area suffers as a result.

Tax talk

The spat over tax between Labour and the Tories could be dismissed as boring were it not an issue that affects our pockets.

On this issue, the Tories are in a dilemma. Investment in public services, which inevitably means higher taxes, is popular. Yet the Tories are viscerally opposed to high taxes and a fat state. They have sought to reconcile the dilemma by making vague promises of tax cuts, retrenchment of bureaucracy and investment in ‘frontline services’.

Labour, for its part, has stealthily- and directly in the case of National Insurance- increased taxes and investment in public services. Unlike the Tories- whose instincts are against tax rises- Labour has not departed radically from its historic position as the party of tax and spend. Yet it has been reluctant to crown all this with a big idea, lest it look too much like old Labour.

Obsession with polls

Some preoccupation with polls is inevitable, and indeed healthy, in the run up to a general election. The parties need to know where they stand, as do the electorate. Polls do have shortcomings- quite massive ones as it turned out in the 1992 election- but they are still useful indicators of opinion.

And yet there also appears to be an unshakeable obsession with pre-election opinion polls. We are bombarded with them. Polls often paint a confusing pciture. Depending on your political proclivities, you can console yourself by relying on the ones that support your view the most, albeit you may have to be rudely awakened on 6 May.

Given the consistently small difference between the parties, polls matter less in this election. We know that Labour would win, thanks to demographics, even if the Conservative stake in the popular vote was slightly higher. The only interesting polls would be ones that consistently showed a massive Conservative lead. My wish for this election has been made clear in another blog- this is a statement of fact not aspiration.

This is being billed as an ‘important election’ (as if newspapers, with an eye on sales figures, would call it anything else). For Labour, we are told it is an ‘anxiety election’, the anxiety not helped by the torrent of opinion polls. Yet the level of debate is lacklustre considering that it is such an important election. There is nothing but frustration for anyone seeking penetrating analysis of the issues before us. Blair, having taken us to war on a false pretext, must be hoping it stays that way.

Rover facing collapse

Some sceptics have always considered MG Rover to be doomed. For them, the deal 4 years ago that apparently secured mass production at Longbridge was nothing more than a stay of execution. It now appears that those who harboured these suspicions were correct. Despite generous offers of government help, no car manufacturer wants to touch the ailing company with a barge pole. To do so would be to assume liabilities that far outweigh the attractions of temporary government help.

It is a very sad moment for the West Midlands, whose workshop of the world reputation has long been inexorably declining. Thousands of jobs are at stake. Many people have worked at Rover for years. We should be under no illusions that it would be easy for them to find another job, that pays as much as the car industry. The nature of the employment market has undoubtedly changed, with manufacturing jobs continuing to decline. But not all the jobs in the new economy are quality jobs. Most can be described as ‘Mcjobs’, low paid jobs in the service sector such as catering and retail. Quality jobs require greater skills and in any case are regionally concentrated in the South East. The government can start by offering incentives to the private sector to create quality jobs across England. It can also help by basing public sector jobs in the regions.

With hindsight, it might have been better for BMW to have closed Rover. At least the workers may have got a better deal. Now if it closes, the workers are unlikely to get anything more than statutory pay.

Fall in reading standards

With 20% of the adult being functionally illiterate, one could be forgiven for believing that improving literacy standards among youngsters would be a major election issue. A similar proportion of youngsters are unable to read at the age of 11. Yet it is an issue being discussed only in the periphery of politics, in Parliamentary Committees and tucked away in newspapers.

One reason for the fall in reading standards among youngsters- which probably has an impact on adult literacy- is the way reading is taught. The traditional approach, which seems to work well all over the world, is to focus on phonics or sounds of letters and combinations of letters. Research shows that learners can pick up reading skills fairly speedily using this approach. It is by no means a magic bullet, but it works. The modern, ‘whole word’ approach, places reliance on discovery and association, in an attempt to encourage self expression and creativity.

Like many things in our modern, anything goes, non committal age, I think this approach is fuzzy and ineffective. Few can doubt the desirability of cultivating creativity and self expression. Yet literacy, the ability to read and write, is important to creativity. Creativity is stifled unless we can read to acquire new ideas and enhance our vocabulary. The wider we read the stronger powers of expression we acquire.

The traditional phonic approach is not didactic and it does not stifle young people. It sets the foundation that allows creativity to flow. There should be no illusions about the phonic approach, but neither should it be rejected. If something works, it doesn’t need changing.

Election 2005 and the Muslim vote

Now that the date of the election has been confirmed, the atmosphere for the next 4 weeks will be febrile as political parties jostle for our votes. As this is the first post 9/11 and Iraq war election, the voting behaviour of the Muslim community will be important. Given the high concentration of Muslims in particular inner-city areas, the issue of the Muslim vote is more than of just academic interest- it could cause some major upsets for Labour.

Blair’s unconditional alignment with the neo-conservatives in Washington has antagonised the Muslim community. About that there is no doubt- Muslims have made their views abundantly clear through local elections. We now know that in the 2004 local elections, the strong surge towards Labour in two Muslim majority wards in Birmingham was the result of widespread fraud on the part of Labour.

The main beneficiaries of Muslim disillusionment with Labour have been the anti-war Liberal Democrats and not the Tories, the natural party of war. Given a straight fight between the 3 main parties, there is no doubt that the Liberal Democrats would unseat Labour in several seats. This, however, is unlikely to occur. ‘Respect’, staunchly anti-Labour and anti-war, is also likely to pick up a significant amount of votes that would otherwise have gone to the Liberals. Consequently the anti-Labour vote would be divided and Labour will win, albeit with a much reduced majority and with less moral authority.

Muslim anger with Labour, and dislike of Blair, cannot be doubted. But in the absence of tactical voting, this is unlikely to translate into defeat in constituencies with Muslim populations. My fear is that most people are insufficiently astute to appreciate this and will be taken by the rhetoric of ‘Respect’. It is ironic, but the anti-Labour ‘Respect’ may be the reason why Labour MPs are re-elected in constituencies with large Muslim populations. Such are the dynamics of the first-past-the-post system.

In an ideal situation, we would vote for what we believe in. The victorious party, seeing that a large percentage of the popular vote went to parties with a particular view, would modify its policies to take account of some of the concerns. When the Greens began to capture large chunks of the popular vote, the mainstream parties became more interested in the environment. Alas, in this election the Labour party is unlikely to adjust its alignment with the war mongers in Washington so long as we vote for any anti-war party. On the contrary, Labour will describe any victory helped by a divided opposition as a vindication of its policies. Tactical voting, aiming to defeat Labour MPs, is the only option. My vote, for what it’s worth, will be for the Liberal Democrats.

Electoral fraud in Birmingham

Much ink will be spilt about the merits or otherwise of postal voting, following a devastating decision in Birmingham that found widespread evidence of electoral fraud by the Labour Party. As a resident of Birmingham- and a Mirpuri/Pakistani like the defendants and claimants- this is a subject close to my heart. It is only a few hours since the decision was delivered.

This was a case unlike any seen in the UK for many decades. Democracy has strong roots in a country that is, after all, the mother of democracy and electoral foul play is rare. It therefore grieves me the more that the community that can claim the dubious honour of succeeding in doing just that is the Pakistani/ Mirpuri community. Given what we are capable of in a country where we are more or less on the periphery of politics, one can only despair about the state of democracy in Pakistan.

The system for voter registration and application for postal voting is so breathtakingly lax as to amount to an invitation to fraud. (It is yet more worrying that we Pakistanis/ Mirpuris should accept that invitation). Registration papers are sent to the household. There is no individual registration and the authorities do not have a database of signatures. The process for applying for a postal vote includes no security measures, for example a date of birth, mother’s maiden name or a password, that the postal vote can be checked against. To further help the fraudsters, the votes can be diverted to another address. This facility was amply used in Birmingham, unbeknown to voters, who only found out when they turned to vote at voting stations.

Yet even if all these loopholes were closed, postal voting on demand is open to abuse, more so in an extended family system as that found among Pakistanis. Voting is a personal act. Whose name you mark an x against should be as personal as the contents of your payslip. Yet even in a well regulated postal voting system, what is there to stop the head of the household completing all the ballots? What is there to stop ‘community leaders’ collecting ballots? Ultimately, there is nothing that can be done. The secrecy of the voting booth, where you can vote anyone without fear, cannot be rivalled.

The NHS- personal experience

Sometimes you can glean as useful apercus from experience as from hours of study. It is with this in mind that I offer my thoughts on the NHS.

My 4-year old son suffered from a serious case of tonsillitis, causing regular ill-health and visits to the GP. Around Christmas, he had a particularly high temperature. We phoned the GP, but he could not see him for a week. I decided to take him to causalty at the Children’s Hospital. According to the doctor who checked him, it was the worst case of fever- triggered by the tonsils- he had seen in days.

We were dealt with speedily. A combination of sitting in a cool a room and powerful analgesics reduced the temperature and we were able to go home. On Christmas Eve, the temperature rose again to an alarming level and we went back to causalty. Again, a combination of medication and sitting in a cool room did the job. However, this time the doctor took a closer look at the tonsils and wrote a letter to the GP, suggesting he refer my son for a detailed check up.

The doctor also made another discovery- the reason why the temperature was not clearing was because the GP had prescribed cheaper, less effective anti-biotics. So he gave us a week’s supply of more effective medication, and my boy was his bubbly self within days.

Our GP wrote to the Children’s Hospital in early January. We were invited to the Out-Patients Department in late February. The consultant agreed the tonsils were pretty big and recommended removal. He said we would be put on waiting list. At that point, I thought it would take months. Yet a week later, we received a letter saying that the routine operation could be carried out on the 21st March.

So what I have learnt about the health service from this, admittedly limited, experience?

My opinion, based on this but also wider reading, is that hospitals have improved by leaps and bounds, whereas the primary care sector, such as GPs, has lagged behind. Accident and emergency department performance has improved, with most people being seen and assessed reasonably speedily. Waiting times for being admitted to hospital have also improved tremendously, as the government claims.

The story is different in the primary care sector. Many GP surgeries are struggling under the pressure of oversubscribed patient lists and a shortage of doctors. When the doctor’s receptionist said my son could not be seen within a week, I just bypassed the primary sector and took him straight to the hospital. The impression I got from looking around the waiting room in A&E was that a large number of people had made the same decision.

The death of politics

Politics is dead. RIP politics. Long live pragmatism, opportunism, careerism- anything but politics of vision. It has all now become a game of upmanship. Tories promise £500 for pensioners to help with Council Tax; the party of government spoils it by offering £200. All the opposition parties lay out their wares for struggling first time house buyers. Labour doubles the stamp duty threshold.

The major political parties have coalesced into the middle ground. They are now only separated by differences of emphasis, nuance and, to put it blatantly, the different ways they spin their lines. Since 1945, the Tories have accepted the need for a welfare state. Labour, for its part, ditched commitment to nationalisation and accepted the universality of the market.

Although Labour has invested unprecedented amounts in public services, and has effectively used the tax system for redistribution, it has been reluctant to clothe these achievements with a vocal, overarching vision. Doing so would risk reviving memories of the days it was stuck in the ice age, with its reputation for inefficiency, labour militancy and bloated bureaucracy.

The Tories have also gone through a process of catharsis, hoping to remove any memories of Thatcherite excess. The party of family values and morality now regrets its stance over section 28. It is now courting votes from quarters it was not traditionally associated with.

What has been the effect of all this? How has it affected public attitudes?

Clearly by turning people away from formal politics. Party membership is at an all time low. Only 59% of the electorate turned out to vote in 2001. 40% of those who turned out voted Labour. Lest we get carried away about Labour’s landslide, these figures, less often cited, should act as a wake up call. Disengagement on such a scale calls into question the moral legitimacy of mandates.

Disillusion with formal politics does not mean people have lost interest altogether. They are just expressing it in other ways. Hundreds of thousands of people protested against the Iraq war. Tens of thousands of people recently turned up in London to protest against the continued occupation of Iraq. There are hundreds of networks of people, often interacting over the Internet, interested in political, environmental, developmental and rights issues.

Some thoughts on the coming general election

Some successful sniping apart- the one about Margaret’s shoulder was particularly vicious- the Tory party is unlikely to win the general election in May this year. Nothing is certain in politics, but something drastic would have to happen to overturn Labour’s mammoth majority. As an ardent opponent of the Iraq war, a Labour defeat would be hugely gratifying, but reality cannot be ignored. So what is likely to happen?

The most likely scenario is a halved majority for Labour. That would still give it a majority of over 80. The Conservatives are likely to make gains, but their total seats will remain sub 200, psychologically an important figure if they are to show signs of significant recovery. The Liberal Democrats would have done well if they win 70 seats.

Labour’s still significant majority will mask the fact that most voters, possibly more than 60%, would not have voted for it. Such are the peculiarities of the first past the post system, though the moral legitimacy of a mandate based on a minority of the popular vote can be reasonably impugned.
A reduced majority may well be good for the Labour party, particularly if the losses fall on that breed of New Labour MPs often referred to as Tony’s cronies. These are MPs who are in it to pursue their own careers and have few convictions or a concept of the public good. Their docility has enabled Blair to get away with much. They have failed in their duty as MPs. Let us hope they fail at the general election.

In defence of arranged marriage

A day after starting my first ever job, I had a chat with a colleague about marriage. I told her about arranged marriage, which she likened to prostitution, a comparison that offended me. However, ‘new boy’ timidity got the better of me and I did not press the point further.

Over ten years and an online revolution later, I feel more confident about defending a custom that I perceive to be a perfectly acceptable way of finding a partner. What can be possibly wrong with being introduced to prospective life partners? Critics may say that there is no spontaneity, no falling in love, no preceding romance that blossoms. But where is the spontaneity in speed dating? Where is the personal touch in making contact over cyberspace or replying to a ‘Connections’ ad in your local paper? Why is it acceptable for introduction agencies to arrange relationships but repugnant for parents to do so? And I will not even mention ‘dogging’…

That is not to say that enforced marriage, which does unfortunately take place, is acceptable. Compelling someone to marry against their will is morally wrong. Introducing someone who is ready for marriage to prospective partners is not.

Wine and Urdu poetry

Wine plays an important symbolic role in Urdu poetry. It is a malleable role, catering for all moods.

For the jilted lover, distraught at separation from the beloved, wine is for drowning untold sorrows. He- and normally it is a he in Urdu poetry- is often a reluctant drinker. That he does so is a reflection of the strength of his feeling for the object of his love. This is particularly evident in the works of Ghalib.

Wine plays a more sensual role, sometimes bordering on erotica, for the successful lover. So it is not uncommon for her luscious lips to be likened to overflowing wine goblets, both inviting contact.

Yet wine is not just a powerful symbol for the peaks and troughs of human relationships. It is also a powerful symbol for spirituality. Those in a total state of inebriation care little about what is happening around them, just as those infused with the love of God, the ascetic and the saintly, have little interest in worldly cares. Whether it’s the chronic alcoholic, spending his days on an inner city bench, or the hermit going around the villages of India, both care little about the world.

Why is wine the leitmotif of Urdu poetry, especially as alcohol is strictly forbidden in Islam? In one sense, the use of wine is not surprising. Alcohol is a useful metaphor for life- we drink among friends when we are happy and may drink alone when we are stressed or unhappy. But in Urdu poetry wine serves another, underlying, purpose. It is difficult not to perceive a sense of frustration at the prohibition of alcohol. Its widespread use in poetry is an indirect attack on puritanism.

Many poems express a fondness for wine, perhaps a reflection of the poet’s own state of mind. Indeed, in Urdu poetry such is the power of wine that even the preacher, who in public rants against it, is often seduced by it. In one poem, a ‘rindi’ or drunkard expresses his surprise at seeing, on entering the tavern, the preacher rush out, making a poor attempt to hide his face. Wine is a convenient tool for beating the clerics with. The poet is a social commentator. Wine plays a useful role in exposing the hypocrisies and contradictions inherent in society.

Iraq war advice

So now we hear that there was no detailed advice from the Attorney General about the legality of the war in Iraq. The brief, A4 statement to parliament was the sum total of the Attorney General’s advice. The more detailed 13-page document, guarded by the government against Freedom of Information requests, was, we are now told, merely a preliminary opinion.

The revelation is startling. It is clear that MPs voted in favour of the war on the ground that the Attorney General had, in detail, set out the case for war without another UN resolution. The general view then, and one not dispelled by two oscitant enquiries, was that the statement to parliament was a précis of the detailed advice. Blair’s case for the war, along with his credibility, is crumbling.

My suspicion, however, is that we are being prepared for the disclosure of the Attorney General’s detailed statement. The government is under such pressure to do so that it may now be the only way to draw a line under the controversy. However, the statement may have cautioned against war without another UN resolution; it may have raised other reservations that would demolish the government’s case for war. What better way to prepare for its release than by diminishing its importance to a mere preliminary statement?

Problems of the articulate?

Here in the UK, around 2 in 3 adults have depression at some time in their lives. The predictions are more dire. By 2020, it will be the most serious illness facing humanity. Meanwhile, we also read about how widespread stress and anxiety are.

In some countries- for example Pakistan- a diagnosis of depression, stress or anxiety is not so widespread. Symptoms are dismissed as unrelated. Here, for example, low mood, fatigue, tiredness, headaches and persistent worry might lead to a diagnosis of depression, all symptoms which research has shown are widespread in Pakistan. There, people dismiss these as unrelated symptoms. The tiredness and fatigue might be the result of working in the fields all day. The worry and low mood might emanate from concern for the future of children. In the absence of these symptoms being accompanied by psychotic/ schizophrenic symptoms, few are likely to associate them with mental illness. Most people would say they are facts of life.

It could be argued that by being aware of how widespread depression, anxiety and stress are, and by having ready access to sources of information about these, people in the West are more likely to articulate their problems in a way that fits into a diagnostic category. There are strong proponents of this view. They are concerned about the rise of the “cannot cope culture” and the therapeutic state.

There are strong arguments on both sides of the debate. There is no doubt that the articulate are diagnosed and treated more quickly, but I would argue that this is the case with any illness or problem. The more you know about your problem the more help you can get. That doesn’t make your problem any less serious. In the UK, many South Asians who do not even speak English- for example women and older people generally- are diagnosed with depression. The diagnosis may take a while- after many visits to the GP and complaints about various symptoms.

Sycophancy!

Last night I saw the video of a Mirpuri MP, who had just been appointed a Minister by the state government, being greeted and feted by his constituents. In fairness to the Minister, he has done much for his constituency. Everywhere there are visible signs of progress- road building, bridge construction and better electricity supplies. The minister has achieved much.

What struck me, however, is the sycophantic attitude of some people. Speech after speech was delivered praising the minister in colourful, exuberant language. Some of the speakers were long term party loyalists; others had switched loyalties from the now powerless opposition party. Speakers delivered vows of eternal loyalty to the ‘great’ leader. I cringed at the sight of one man singing his words of loyalty to the politician.

If I were living in Mirpur, I would have voted for the politician. Yet I can never accept this type of flattery. As a university student in the UK, I grew up on a healthy diet of scepticism comprising Spitting Images, Private Eye and the more incisive Guardian. The way people handle and deal with politicians is a measure of a nation’s political maturity. In Mirpur and Pakistan generally, despite the formality of an election every five years, there is a long way to go.

Investment in health

Tony Blair’s foreign policy woes mask some very significant changes and improvements in domestic matters. Employment is at levels not seen for decades, interest rates are low and with low inflation, consumer goods are fairly cheap by historical comparison.

One area of change is health, which has received massive investment. I use the word change, rather than improvement deliberately, because although things have got better in many respects, whether all the investment leads to a radically different and improved health system has yet to be seen. A few sums will explain the issues better- the NHS budget for 2002-3 was £65.4 billion, a massive £25bn higher than it was in 1999-2000. The government announced a five-year programme of investment in the 2002 Budget. As a result of this, the UK NHS budget will reach £87.2bn by 2005-06 and £105.6bn by 2007-08. With investment at this level, the standard for measuring success should surely be very high indeed.

It is important, however, that the NHS does not become a bottomless pit. One way of making sure it doesn’t is by investing in public health. If people are healthier, they will have less need to contact health services. Another issue is to ensure that the money is well targeted to meeting genuine health needs. The NHS would certainly become a bottomless pit if, in furtherance of the ‘therapeutic state’, the extra cash flowing around is used to medicalise all kinds of things.

'Are you thinking what we are thinking?'

As the parties get into campaign gear, immigration is rearing its head as an election issue. It’s going to be an unpleasant campaign; foul is fair at such times! A Conservative party billboard, which recently caught my attention, sets the tone. To say that immigration should be limited is not racist, it proclaims. “Are you thinking what we are thinking?”, it provocatively asks.

More sinister than the actual message is the location of the billboard. It is stuck aside a rail bridge at the start of the A34 Stratford Road, a major route into the centre of Birmingham, linking the suburbs and the M40. The bridge is just off the Camp Hill Island, a place where traffic from various south side routes into the city coalesces into a single main road.

The billboard faces traffic heading away from the city centre. For over two miles after the bridge, the Stratford Road passes through Sparkbrook and Sparkhill, areas where the majority of the residents are non-white, mainly of South Asian origin. The shops- newsagents, halal butchers, balti houses, fabric stores, carpet warehouses- are owned by people from these communities.

Why place the billboard at such a place? Is it a warning, a reminder, a point for commuters heading to the suburbs to bear in mind as they pass through several miles of ‘immigrant’ territory? As commuters and shoppers crawl along the Stratford Road, with its halal butchers and burka-clad women, they are reminded of the Tory poster. “Are you thinking what we are thinking”? What are you thinking? Perhaps that there are too many immigrants?

Lover’s lair

Ladywood House, a nine story office block, is almost above the Pallasades Shopping Centre, which itself is exactly above New St Station. Ground Floor doesn’t really take to you to the ‘ground’, but opens up on a balcony, which connects to the shopping centre. It is on this balcony that young men and women, mainly Asian, congregate on weekdays.

The balcony isn’t scenic. In fact it’s quite basic. But the reason why teenagers gather there is because it is quite discreet, which can’t be said of many places in the centre of Birmingham. Here youngsters can pursue their romantic liaisons without being seen by a relative. The other day I saw a young lady, traditionally attired in Shalwar Kameez, in a passionate embrace with her lover, he all the time exploring the more intimate regions with his hand. On most days it is not that exciting. It’s just young people chatting or being chatted up.

Most of the youngsters are, like me, of Mirpuri origin, which I have gathered from the expletives I hear on the way to lunch. Occasionally, while hastily walking by, I get a whiff of something which, I would say, is not normal tobacco.

Freedom of information…

The right to access information under the Freedom of Information Act has now been in force for over a month. Under the Act, requests for information must be answered within 20 days- given that the Act has now been in force for over 5 weeks, it is well to take stock of how the first wave of requests have fared.

Initial indications are that the new rights will not create a culture of disclosure, that it will not eradicate the disease of ‘secrecy’. Some information has been released and will continue to be released. The government will claim that the Act has been a success.

The biggest test for the Act was whether the government would release the full text of the Attorney General’s advice about the legality of the Iraq war. As many had predicted, the government has refused to do so, claiming that the information was legally privileged and therefore exempt under the Act. This is a dishonest argument. No one can deny that lawyers should be able to communicate openly and freely with their clients. But in this case the government chose to summarise the advice. Presumably the summary included the bits that emboldened the government’s case. Given that the war was fought on a false pretext, the public is entitled to know what reservations that advice contained.

That is not the only example of the culture of secrecy continuing unhindered. There are many examples of the 20 day limit not being met without a good reason. Many had predicted that the public sector would be inundated with a torrent of requests for- in many cases spurious- information. This has not happened and the response to the Act is therefore all the more disappointing.

More choice?

Choice is an overused word these days (at least in political circles). Every politician claims he or she is for it. They claim we should be able to choose where we are treated and where our children are educated. Labour and the Tories try to ‘out-choice’ each other. I am sceptical.

Choice reduces everything to the level of the supermarket. Being a consumer of public services becomes akin to visiting a supermarket. You can choose to visit Asda, Tesco, Sainsburys etc. So you should be able to choose the hospital for treatment or the school your children should attend. I am unconvinced by this argument. Public services are not supermarkets. Emphasis should be on closing the gap between the worst and the best, by raising the standards of the worst, rather then allowing these to deteriorate while the best hospitals and schools thrive. The choice philosophy entrenches the differences. I rather have a top-notch hospital or school near where I live. The choice of driving (and therefore perhaps colliding with the policy that encourages us to reduce reliance on the car) my kids to a school on the other side of town is hardly a choice.

Astute old men

They can barely speak English and retired well before 65. In fact, many of them were the victims of Thatcher’s industrial restructuring- losing their jobs, but being illiterate and unskilled, were unable to find jobs in the new economy. Yet despite the odds, some Asian men have done well- in the property market. These people were perspicacious enough to buy properties when prices were subdued. Now, in the age of run away house price inflation, they are sitting on a fortune. Over the years, the properties have also been bringing in a rental income. Most are rented out informally, below market rates, reflecting a desire of the owners to avoid embroiling themselves with the vagaries of officialdom.

The train journey

I don’t often travel by train, but a recent short trip from Birmingham to Coventry got me thinking. Staring out of the window for much of the journey, it occurred to me just how depressing and dispiriting urban life is. True, there is a bit of countryside, but it was the urban decadence that struck me.

What could I see? Old industrial sites, once the symbol of Birmingham’s might, now dilapidated. Some are now used as scrap yards. Deprived estates, burnout cars, graffiti, open spaces filled with litter. Disused warehouses, once bustling with activity, now the lair of drug users and others society has forgotten about. The canals look a ghastly green and have trolleys and sofas thrown into them. For the thinking, it’s enough to make them despair.

I have read many times that depression and other affective disorders are widespread in modern Britain. There are, no doubt, many complex reasons for this, but surely the soullessness of urban life is one of them.

God and the Tsunami

The South Asian Tsunami, which claimed more than 180,000 lives, sparked a debate about the existence and nature of God. Why, the question goes, would a benevolent and merciful God allow such destruction. War and conflict can be explained away as the actions free, moral agents. But this argument does not apply to the Tsunami.

I do not know what the answers are in this complex debate. Belief in God depends, to a large extent, on strength of personal belief and not intellectual reasoning.

What does irk me, however, is the view expressed by some clerics that the Tsunami is a punishment from God. These same people insist that God is merciful and kind. How do they reconcile this with the view that the destructive Tsunami, which killed innocent men, women and children, is a punishment? Why was South Asia selected for punishment? Is it more ‘sinful’ than other regions of the world?

Sexual freedom: piety v. frustration

Muslims countries, such as Pakistan, are some of the biggest consumers of Internet pornography. Given that web access is no way near as widespread as in Europe and the US, that amounts to a lot of dodgy bytes downloaded via the limited web access they do have. In fairness, pornography is a major web activity everywhere, but I do think it is worth asking why it is more widespread in some countries.

In my opinion, strictly enforced segregation of the sexes, based on puritanical cultural and religious norms, leads to a feeling of frustration, which finds an outlet in graphic sexual imagery. Piety, self-control and sexual forbearance cannot be enforced. These are qualities that have to be cultivated. Repression does not get rid of problems; it merely brushes them under the carpet. If you have the right contacts, you can get hold of anything. The Internet provides an easy route to many things.

On my visits to Mirpur, while sitting in the bazaar sipping sweet tea, I have noticed that sex is never far away as a topic of conversation among young men. Often it is in graphic detail and quite vulgar. Another thing I have observed is that whenever a young woman passes through the bazaar, she inevitably attracts the amorous glances of young men. That is why women rather take a long detour than walk through the bazaar. Very rarely, there is an exchange of smiles, messages are subconsciously conveyed by the eyes and a secret liaison ensues. There is no way of knowing how widespread secret relationships are. Often they are the subject of village gossip.