I can't believe that Phil Woolas, the haplessly incompetent Home Office Minister who not only thought up a set of legalistic settlement criteria designed to keep as many Gurkhas out of Britain as possible, but is still harping on about this potential 100,000 people coming into Britain and the £1.5 billion he says it will cost.
Nobody has come up with any justification of these figures and, to be frank, they appear to be a great big load of nonsense.
It's quite clear that not only do the public favour equal settlement rights for Gurkhas, but their democratically elected representatives in Parliament do too.
You either respect the will of Parliament or you don't. If you don't, you have no place in Government.
If you agree, and you haven't already, sign up to the Gurkha Justice Campaign.
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Showing posts with label Gurkha Justice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gurkha Justice. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Clegg Slams Brown on Gurkhas
Wow! Nick Clegg's passion for justice and fairness came out and smacked us all in the face this lunchtime. David Cameron had started off questioning generally on the principle of allowing Gurkhas to settle in the country, but Nick actually turned to the specifics of the rules which seem to have been designed to exclude as many Gurkhas as possible from coming into this country.
Brown gave a bit of a lacklustre answer, which, to be honest, it was hard to imagine he actually believed himself. Nick came straight back at him saying that "his answer was that of a man who knows he's doing a shameful thing but doesn't have the guts to admit it or change it."
I want Clegg fighting on my side if I'm ever in trouble.
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Brown gave a bit of a lacklustre answer, which, to be honest, it was hard to imagine he actually believed himself. Nick came straight back at him saying that "his answer was that of a man who knows he's doing a shameful thing but doesn't have the guts to admit it or change it."
I want Clegg fighting on my side if I'm ever in trouble.
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Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Joanna Lumley's plea for Gurkhas - how you can help.
Joanna Lumley has sent out an e-mail to all supporters of the Gurkha Justice Campaign asking for help in 2 ways:
Firstly, asking people to ask their MP's to vote against the Government's proposals tomorrow. I wrote to my Labour MP, Jim Devine, on Saturday and his response will be posted here if and when I get one.
Secondly, if you are in London, join the Gurkha Justice Campaign at their rally at noon tommorrow, Wednesday 29th April, in Old Palace Yard, Westminster. It's a good way of spending your lunch hour, if ever there was one.
Joanna's e-mail is copied below - I'm assuming that "pass on to others" means that she doesn't mind it appearing on blogs.
"Thank you so much for your support of the Gurkha Justice campaign. We are overwhelmed by the support the campaign is receiving.
As you may know, on Friday, the Government badly let down the Gurkhas. The new rules they have announced will exclude the huge majority of ex-Gurkhas who retired before 1997 from claiming citizenship in this country. They've given five bullet points that virtually cannot be met by the ordinary Gurkha soldier.
It is so obvious that the treatment of the Gurkhas has been a great injustice. To treat them like this is despicable.
The strong reaction by the public and press should show the Government that they simply cannot get away with this outrage.
I'm ashamed of our adminstration. We will be challenging this decision in the courts and in Parliament. We will not stop now.
This is not a party political campaign: it's simply one for justice. I am so grateful though for immediate support from MPs from all Parties, including amongst others Conservative leader David Cameron and Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg.
Nick Clegg has agreed to put a vote to Parliament this Wednesday calling for a fair deal for Gurkhas. This vote on its own won't change the Government's ruling, but would be an overwhelming signal to the Government that they need to think again.
We need all MPs that support the Gurkha justice cause to turn up and vote for a proper deal for Gurkhas on Wednesday. Can I ask that you take a couple of minutes right now to ask your MP to do so?
You can send a message to your MP directly at www.theyworkforyou.com - please ask them to support the Gurkha Justice motion on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, there will also be a Gurkha Justice rally and protest against the Government's decision, starting at noon in Old Palace Yard, Westminster. Many MPs have already committed to support the vote and join me and others at the rally. I know it's awfully short notice, but if you can, please do come along as well to add your support.
If you can pass on this message to others as well that would be fabulous - and if they sign up to www.gurkhajustice.org.uk we can keep in touch with them directly in future.
Lastly, again, thank you so much for your support. It means so much to us. I spoke today to Lt Madan Kumar Gurung, who has been at the forefront of the campaign since it began. He said to me that he has no fear for the Gurkhas any more, as he knows the loving hearts of the British people will not let them down. With your support we won't.
With warmest good wishes,
Joanna
www.gurkhajustice.org.uk"
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Firstly, asking people to ask their MP's to vote against the Government's proposals tomorrow. I wrote to my Labour MP, Jim Devine, on Saturday and his response will be posted here if and when I get one.
Secondly, if you are in London, join the Gurkha Justice Campaign at their rally at noon tommorrow, Wednesday 29th April, in Old Palace Yard, Westminster. It's a good way of spending your lunch hour, if ever there was one.
Joanna's e-mail is copied below - I'm assuming that "pass on to others" means that she doesn't mind it appearing on blogs.
"Thank you so much for your support of the Gurkha Justice campaign. We are overwhelmed by the support the campaign is receiving.
As you may know, on Friday, the Government badly let down the Gurkhas. The new rules they have announced will exclude the huge majority of ex-Gurkhas who retired before 1997 from claiming citizenship in this country. They've given five bullet points that virtually cannot be met by the ordinary Gurkha soldier.
It is so obvious that the treatment of the Gurkhas has been a great injustice. To treat them like this is despicable.
The strong reaction by the public and press should show the Government that they simply cannot get away with this outrage.
I'm ashamed of our adminstration. We will be challenging this decision in the courts and in Parliament. We will not stop now.
This is not a party political campaign: it's simply one for justice. I am so grateful though for immediate support from MPs from all Parties, including amongst others Conservative leader David Cameron and Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg.
Nick Clegg has agreed to put a vote to Parliament this Wednesday calling for a fair deal for Gurkhas. This vote on its own won't change the Government's ruling, but would be an overwhelming signal to the Government that they need to think again.
We need all MPs that support the Gurkha justice cause to turn up and vote for a proper deal for Gurkhas on Wednesday. Can I ask that you take a couple of minutes right now to ask your MP to do so?
You can send a message to your MP directly at www.theyworkforyou.com - please ask them to support the Gurkha Justice motion on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, there will also be a Gurkha Justice rally and protest against the Government's decision, starting at noon in Old Palace Yard, Westminster. Many MPs have already committed to support the vote and join me and others at the rally. I know it's awfully short notice, but if you can, please do come along as well to add your support.
If you can pass on this message to others as well that would be fabulous - and if they sign up to www.gurkhajustice.org.uk we can keep in touch with them directly in future.
Lastly, again, thank you so much for your support. It means so much to us. I spoke today to Lt Madan Kumar Gurung, who has been at the forefront of the campaign since it began. He said to me that he has no fear for the Gurkhas any more, as he knows the loving hearts of the British people will not let them down. With your support we won't.
With warmest good wishes,
Joanna
www.gurkhajustice.org.uk"
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Saturday, April 25, 2009
Is there any hope for tired, out of touch Labour Government?
If Gordon Brown's Labour Government were a person, I'd probably feel quite sorry for it. It's clearly suffering the symptoms of burnout and stress. It's flailing as it tries to cope with a constantly changing (and not for the better) economic situation. Its ministers seem detached, uncaring and cynical and even the Prime Minister himself has publicly and for no good reason made the most elementary and incomprehensible errors of judgment.
For me, the absolute low came yesterday. I cringed as I watched Phil Woolas stand there and attempt to justify the complete abdication of fairness and decency that was the Home Office ruling on Gurkhas' right to live in this country. To me, if people are prepared to join our Armed Forces and fight for our country, putting their own lives at risk, then we have an obligation to offer them a home. It really is that simple. Instead we have a set of movable goalposts which will exclude people who gave away their youth to fight for us. Accoring to UNICEF, the life expectancy in 2007 in Nepal was 64 years. If someone spent 19 years on active service as a Gurkha, they would have given pretty much 30% of that time in service to our counry, yet they would have no right to live here. Their colleague, with days' more service would. Where's the fairness there?
I find it hard, as well to differentiate on the basis of bravery awards. I do agree that those who show acts of exceptional bravery should have that recognised, but any member of the Armed Forces, just by being in a war zone, facing danger every day, maybe diffusing potentially difficult situations routinely, has shown much more bravery than I have ever done. I actually find the attempt to differentiate between levels of bravery opportunistic, legalistic and quite sickening.
And then you come to the clause that says, "yes, you can come here, but only if you have an illness caused by your service." I've had many and varied dealings with the Home Office in my time, and they don't need much of an excuse to turn somebody down. How on earth is a Gurkha, who may have a condition picked up or exacerbated by service decades ago, going to be able to prove that to the Home Office's satisfaction?
So the Gurkha decision may be the worst, but the Government has dropped the ball on so much else just in the last few months.
Gordon Brown's decision to foist his unworkable plan for MP's expenses on us all just before a perfectly good independent committee was going to work out a new scheme sensibly and rationally, hearing evidence in public was just plain daft. Proposing to replacing one system that is open to ridicule and abuse with another is not the act of someone whose judgement and political nous is in full working order. This come of course on top of their humiliating climbdown on publication of MP's expenses a few months ago. Common sense dictates that if your workload is overwhelming, you delegate as much as you can to somebody competent, rather than try to do everything and achieve nothing.
Then you have this paranoia and distrust over who might and might not be a terrorist. Someone on the Government payroll has come up with a set of criteria which could have air passengers ordering vegetarian meals put under suspicion. Any sensible Minister would have binned that one straight away. They keep the DNA of innocent people and they spend so much on unnecessary and disproportionate surveillance. And what do they do with the information they glean? Well, they just lose it, as they have done with numerous personal details, including mine as a recipient of Child Benefit.
If the Government were a person, I'd suggest a programme of tlc, rest and appropriate complementary therapies to get it back on its feet again. Unfortunately, we can't just give it a cuddle and send it to a health farm. Something needs to happen to get them to regain their sense of perspective, to rejuvenate them and re-connect them with what real life is like for real people. Maybe it's time for fresh legs within their own ranks. The absence of Jacqui Smith from the Cabinet Table would do no harm, for example.
Maybe they should send the Ministers to spend some time doing some work with charities who are dealing with the consequences of their decisions, a bit like the Obama team did the day before the inauguration, to help them get rid of this cynical and distrusting attitude they seem to have towards people. Take them away from the Whitehall and Westminster treadmill and remind them what got them into this in the first place. Send James Parnell incognito to a stressed JobCentrePlus office and let him see what service they offer. Even better, get him to phone up the social fund line pretending to be a client to see for himself the dreadful service his department offers.
Send Housing Minister Yvette Cooper to see the conditions that some people are expected to live in - to visit a family who has been in bed and breakfast or hostel accommodation for weeks or months on end.
We're seeing with this Government what we saw with the Major Government - a complete loss of inspiration and energy. It's not pretty to watch, and horrible for people who have to live with the most severe consequences of their bad decisions.
LibDig This!
For me, the absolute low came yesterday. I cringed as I watched Phil Woolas stand there and attempt to justify the complete abdication of fairness and decency that was the Home Office ruling on Gurkhas' right to live in this country. To me, if people are prepared to join our Armed Forces and fight for our country, putting their own lives at risk, then we have an obligation to offer them a home. It really is that simple. Instead we have a set of movable goalposts which will exclude people who gave away their youth to fight for us. Accoring to UNICEF, the life expectancy in 2007 in Nepal was 64 years. If someone spent 19 years on active service as a Gurkha, they would have given pretty much 30% of that time in service to our counry, yet they would have no right to live here. Their colleague, with days' more service would. Where's the fairness there?
I find it hard, as well to differentiate on the basis of bravery awards. I do agree that those who show acts of exceptional bravery should have that recognised, but any member of the Armed Forces, just by being in a war zone, facing danger every day, maybe diffusing potentially difficult situations routinely, has shown much more bravery than I have ever done. I actually find the attempt to differentiate between levels of bravery opportunistic, legalistic and quite sickening.
And then you come to the clause that says, "yes, you can come here, but only if you have an illness caused by your service." I've had many and varied dealings with the Home Office in my time, and they don't need much of an excuse to turn somebody down. How on earth is a Gurkha, who may have a condition picked up or exacerbated by service decades ago, going to be able to prove that to the Home Office's satisfaction?
So the Gurkha decision may be the worst, but the Government has dropped the ball on so much else just in the last few months.
Gordon Brown's decision to foist his unworkable plan for MP's expenses on us all just before a perfectly good independent committee was going to work out a new scheme sensibly and rationally, hearing evidence in public was just plain daft. Proposing to replacing one system that is open to ridicule and abuse with another is not the act of someone whose judgement and political nous is in full working order. This come of course on top of their humiliating climbdown on publication of MP's expenses a few months ago. Common sense dictates that if your workload is overwhelming, you delegate as much as you can to somebody competent, rather than try to do everything and achieve nothing.
Then you have this paranoia and distrust over who might and might not be a terrorist. Someone on the Government payroll has come up with a set of criteria which could have air passengers ordering vegetarian meals put under suspicion. Any sensible Minister would have binned that one straight away. They keep the DNA of innocent people and they spend so much on unnecessary and disproportionate surveillance. And what do they do with the information they glean? Well, they just lose it, as they have done with numerous personal details, including mine as a recipient of Child Benefit.
If the Government were a person, I'd suggest a programme of tlc, rest and appropriate complementary therapies to get it back on its feet again. Unfortunately, we can't just give it a cuddle and send it to a health farm. Something needs to happen to get them to regain their sense of perspective, to rejuvenate them and re-connect them with what real life is like for real people. Maybe it's time for fresh legs within their own ranks. The absence of Jacqui Smith from the Cabinet Table would do no harm, for example.
Maybe they should send the Ministers to spend some time doing some work with charities who are dealing with the consequences of their decisions, a bit like the Obama team did the day before the inauguration, to help them get rid of this cynical and distrusting attitude they seem to have towards people. Take them away from the Whitehall and Westminster treadmill and remind them what got them into this in the first place. Send James Parnell incognito to a stressed JobCentrePlus office and let him see what service they offer. Even better, get him to phone up the social fund line pretending to be a client to see for himself the dreadful service his department offers.
Send Housing Minister Yvette Cooper to see the conditions that some people are expected to live in - to visit a family who has been in bed and breakfast or hostel accommodation for weeks or months on end.
We're seeing with this Government what we saw with the Major Government - a complete loss of inspiration and energy. It's not pretty to watch, and horrible for people who have to live with the most severe consequences of their bad decisions.
LibDig This!
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