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What a way to run a country !

June 1987 Margaret Thatcher wins a General Election with a 102 seat majority. The Conservative Party ousted her in November 1990 and the next election was held in April 1992. May 2005 Tony Blair wins a General Election with a 66 seat majority. The Labour Party ousted him in June 2007 and the next election was held in May 2010.  May 2015 David Cameron wins a General Election with a 10 seat majority. He resigned in June 2016 following the Brexit referendum and the next election was held a year later.June 2017 Theresa May wins a General Election without an overall majority. She was pushed out by the Conservative Party in July 2019 and the next election was held five months later.December 2019 Boris Johnson wins a General Election with an 80 seat majority. He was ousted by the Conservative Party in July 2022 and the next election was held two years (and two Prime Ministers) later. July 2024 Keir Starmer wins a General Election with a 174 seat majority. He was ousted by the Labour Party in June 2026. I heard someone say on TV over the weekend that the last PM to stand down of his own accord in mid-term was Harold Wilson in 1976. He was also the first PM after losing to remain party leader to fight the next election since Winston Churchill. Since then, James Callaghan, Gordon Brown and Rishi Sunak were defeated in General Elections the first time they faced the electorate, John Major lost his second General Election as leader, and Liz Truss never faced a General Election. Both Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair had already won two General Elections before their third and final wins. We used to regard the constant turnover of Prime Ministers in Italy with a degree of contempt, but now they have Giorgia Meloni who has been in charge since October 2022 and looks set to provide an example of political stability by comparison to the UK. It was also notable how she hit back at Dumbass Donald over the weekend, showing a lot more fighting spirit after his foolish remarks than Starmer managed in similar circumstances. I'm not a fan of Keir Starmer but, like those I listed above, he won a General Election and ought to have been given the chance to serve a full term. Previously I accepted that it was legitimate to change PMs in mid-term without a General Election, but I am beginning to think that in circumstances where the ousted PM remained in good health and was attempting to carry out the policies outlined in the party manifesto (and did not have any legal or financial shenanigans coming to light) then if the party's MPs want a change of leader, the new leader should be required to set out their policies in front of the electorate and call a General Election to legitimise the new regime. IMHO the quality of our PMs has shown a marked decline since the 1960s, and I'm afraid that I can't see Andy Burnham bucking that trend. About the only thing be might do right would be to keep Nigel Farage away from Downing Street. But to do so he would have to do a lot better in the next three years than Starmer has in the last two. Could Kemi Badenoch or Penny Mordaunt become a British version of Giorgia Meloni ? We can but hope !

Richard Greenhough ● 38d81 Comments ● 22d

South of Broadway - Vocal Group - Looking for High Baritone/Tenor Male Voice

Hi, we are looking for tenors &/or high baritones to join our group.Briefly, we are normally a total of 8 members of a vocal harmony group who sing in a jazz style though our songs are varied from pop to classic American Song book. Though we do sing mostly acapella numbers, we have also performed with John Crawford (https://www.johncrawfordpiano.com/). The last few years we were very busy, singing at Choir Blast in Godalming, The Pheasantry (Pizza Express, Kings Road) in June 2024 & The George IV in Chiswick (as part of the EFG 2024 & 2025 London Jazz Festivals) were the highlights (we also did 3 other gigs). We have also recently done a joint gig with the acapella group Academix at the Thameside Brewery in Stains. We like The Real Group, Accent, Voces8, Manhattan Transfer & London Vocal Project amongst many others & have been going in various guises since 2008. Have a look at our Facebook & You Tube pages (though please note we are not really on social media as that is a full time job).Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/people/South-of-Broadway-jazz/61556834936249/?mibextid=JRoKGiYouTube link - https://www.youtube.com/@southofbroadwayjazzWe are mostly people of a certain age half of whom are working so we have to fit rehearsals in with this. Some of us also are in other singing groups. We have also worked with Jazz musician John Crawford and his trio who we pay from ticket sales proceeds. We understand & appreciate its going to be a big ask if you are thinking of joining us as there will be around 20 numbers or so to learn. Existing singer know them already, to help support you, and as such, an iPad or similar "cheat" sheet on the day of the performance is perfectly acceptable. We can pass on to you pdfs as well as sound files of the songs which are also on our shared network drive called Nextcloud. Our other planned gig this year is on Thursday 29th October at the George IV on Chiswick High Road. Let us know your thoughtsWe realise that this may be a huge commitment for someone, though we would love to see if you would fit in.Looking forward to hearing from interested persons of any age. Kind regards, Mike

Mike Gilmour ● 32d0 Comments ● 32d

Council Slams Council Over Special Educational Needs Provision

https://www.chiswickw4.com/default.asp?section=community&link=https://neighbournet.com/server/common/ldrshouns116.htmSee the article on the front page.There is a huge increase in children being excluded from school.  Many missed a lot of schooling during Covid. Parents find it harder to work and to put food on the table when there isn't a good rapport between them and the school and with the support of systems that should be there when they need them.  Early intervention is critical as peer pressure and bullying can make school a very difficult place for a child to willingly and enthusiastically go to and for parents to make sure that they do go to.  Threats and fines can just create more tension and make the situation worse.  There are a huge number of people in prison who have Special Educational Needs of one sort or another; there has been a lack of education and the necessary training while in prison, and there has been and still is a revolving door of people returning again and again to prison.  No wonder there is a shortage of prison space.  The lack of Social Workers and a Probation Service hasn't helped.  In the past those leaving prison would have been found some sort of a job and housing for when they were released to support them start them on the straight and narrow.  That was lost with austerity.So whilst sorting out old books and looking at a British Dyslexia Association handbook of 2002 (yes, two thousand and TWO) I see the chapter "How Can I tell if a Primary School Child may be Dyslexic?  Handy Hints for Primary School Teachers."  You would think that there would have been a great deal of improvement wouldn't you with those doing the teaching and being able to see and easily compare a class of children since then?  That teachers would be provided with courses as a part of their training and on-going education to understand how everyone is different and learns in different ways and how to engage and enthuse and support those at the start of their school life.  Without teachers this can't happen, without continuity of teachers this can't happen, without parent/teacher/school communication this just can't happen.  This is to do with strengths and weaknesses, abilities and difficulties.  Phonics may be an important part of it but it is not the be-all-and-end-all magic answer!We need better, and it isn't something that can just be sorted by paying fees.  It needs to be better for all children and for all adults whichever borough they are in and it needs to start early.BTW  The last lines on that chapter in the BDA Handbook are as follows:(Note:  Two copies of this, laminated, have been sent to every state primary school in England)NB  This checklist can be downloaded from the BDA website.https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/news/blog-listening-to-our-dyslexic-children-and-families    

Philippa Bond ● 71d36 Comments ● 58d