Events | 2009.07.25
Hugh Muir's diary
Don\'t interrupt the bobby on the beat. They\'re busy. They have a lot on their minds
Spare a kind thought for the rank-and-file police officer. It can be a fulfilling job but, boy, it\'s challenging. Especially right now. They are loth to complain, but if one considers the lot of PC Plod in London, they are being told that they must lead the fight against terrorism, by spotting irregularities and reaping the on-the-ground intelligence. As neighbourhood patrollers, they are also the first line of attack in the fight against antisocial crime: collaring miscreants, meeting, greeting, escorting, reassuring the local populace. And, as of this week, PCs have been told they must now also be the key weapon in the battle against organised crime. You know who the gangsters are, the bosses have told them. Keep your eye on them. Tell us what they\'re up to. Nick \'em when you get the chance. And in general that\'s fine, but where\'s the incentive? For their bosses, by contrast, have plenty of incentives: perks worth hundreds of thousands of pounds on top of their declared salaries; sweeteners, honoraria, school fees taken care of. Best not to think about it, our man in the pointy hat tells us. Wouldn\'t be time to think about anything else.
Fear grips Labour\'s heartlands as swaths of councillors find themselves facing examination – in many cases de-selection. The shock of the party\'s showing in recent elections has worn off. The reckoning has begun. Already a scythe has cut through Barking and Dagenham council, where officials believe that time-servers contributed to the rise there of the racist British National party. Sitting councillors are being rubber-hosed in Waltham Forest and Newham. Many have already lodged appeals. Rough justice is also on its way to Tower Hamlets, where too many appear to concentrate on sectional politics when they should be organising bin collections and the like. Some of the re-interviews are being conducted by local parties themselves, but others involve officials from the region. "When you ask a councillor what he has done and what the council does and he can\'t tell you, you have a problem," says a rubber-hoser. So is it the great terror or a necessary corrective? Could be both.
The milk of human kindness curdles on impact with the letters page of the Financial Times of yesterday. Months to go until the panto season but already, in correspondent Trevor Pateman of Brighton, we have the perfect villain. Ready, steady, boooo. Time to look at the "array of \'concessions\' that kick in at 60," he says. "Free bus passes, prescriptions, swimming, the winter fuel payment and, of course, old age pensions for women. The private sector is also hot for concessions at 60: cinema tickets, haircuts, train tickets. The list is very long. Both government and the private sector have conspired to give benefits scrounging a good name provided it is done by those over 60. Time to put an end to this saga," says Trevor. Don\'t laugh. He\'ll be a minister before long.
And so, at last, the day arrived; lunch with the Ukip MEP, Godfrey "eight pints" Bloom. And immediately the first disappointment. No pints on this occasion. Just gin and tonic, and claret. Pints on another, less pressured, day, he promised. We will hold him to his word. But the occasion was not wasted, for we did have the opportunity to quiz him about reports of his appalling behaviour the previous evening in Brussels when he led the heckling of Europe minister Glenys Kinnock. Marvellous to have more women in the European parliament, she said. More people to make the tea, said Godders. Unacceptable, we told him, as did Labour members reacting to the comment at the event itself, but there was little sign of contrition. One feels the ire of liberal folk is all that\'s keeping him alive.
Finally, with all the excitements surrounding the News of the World this week, isn\'t this just the perfect, perfect weekend for Sarah Brown (pictured) to be guest-editing Fabulous, the tabloid\'s glossy magazine? An accident of timing. Sometimes things just turn out well.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2009/jul/17/sarah-brown-news-of-the-world
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