Wednesday 29 September 2021

Sir Keir Starmer's speech.

 Having not much else to do I listened to Sir Keir Starmer's speech to the Labour Party Conference this lunchtime.  In my view it did what I assume the Party would hope: establish him as a competent, confident, capable leader with a credible background to enable  him relate to ordinary people.  It was short on oratorical skills, with wooden and repetitive gestures and little uncontrived humour, but a stark contrast to the buffoonery we now expect from the prime minister.

Bons mots

The government's routine method neatly summed up as:

Ignore a problem:

Blame someone else;

Come up with a half-baked solution.

His background in the CPS.

Far too much emphasis, in my  view, on punishing criminals rather than just catching and reforming them,  but I suppose he has to use his experience to enable Labour to reclaim the ownership of Lora Norda from the Tories.

However, a nice side swipe at Mr Johnson when he highlighted "service" as " a reminder that the job is bigger than your own career."

Education

Labour under his leadership is going to give this a high priority (along with gentle   allusion to Tony Blair).  Our young are to be equipped for  - "work."  

I find this disturbing. Yes the parent's want their kids to get qualifications which will enable them to earn high salaries, and  that is probably the chief motivation of most children as well. But we educators have wider aims, for our pupils to learn to enjoy learning, to discover a passion, to learn how  how to relate to others and be happy, to want to serve and to achieve their potential. . 

 True, he included the opportunity for every child to learn a musical instrument.  I wish that had been available in my time.  Sadly, he also insisted  everyone should participate in a competitive sport.  That was available in my time and I could well have done without it.

Labour  

He is proud to be the leader of  "a party whose name is Labour, the  party for working people."  I suppose that was included to please the Conference, and indeed it did, but I think it is a mistake.  Surely he also wants to be the representative of those who don't "work": the children and students, the retired, and those who for one reason or another can't.   

And I suspect most of those who do "work" no longer all define themselves a "labourers".  It's very unlikely that the directors , proprietors, managers and "rentiers" do.  Probably not eve Deliveroo cyclists, van  drivers and burger flippers.

Poor old Labour, representing only one section of society, that only in the economic dimension, and an outdated conception of it.

Twice if not three times he summed up his philosophy as: 

"Work, care, equality, security"  

No mention of Liberty: freedom to do and be whatever you like provide it does not interfere with   the freedom of others.

So he's not a Liberal, but we could work with him

13 comments:

  1. too much emphasis, in my view, on punishing criminals rather than just catching and reforming them

    Well, catching them is kind of a prerequisite for punishing them, so I think we can take that as implied. But reforming? What about those who don't want to be reformed? What about the vile man currently in the news being sentenced for murder? Do we want him to be reformed, or should he be punished as he surely deserves?

    Sadly, he also insisted everyone should participate in a competitive sport. That was available in my time and I could well have done without it.

    You'd rather he put the Dodo Bird in charge? 'Everybody has won and all must have prizes!'

    Surely he also wants to be the representative of those who don't "work": the children and students, the retired, and those who for one reason or another can't.

    I'm guessing he was trying to head off the criticism that Labour has become the party for those who could work but simply don't want to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 1. Criminals. As a headmaster (dealing, I'm happy to say, with minor infringements of school rules rather than viscous behaviour) I used to emphasis to staff that the best deterrent to unacceptable behaviour was the absolute certainty of being caught (rather than the more sever punishment which many staff demanded). So in the big wide adult world that means more and more visible law offices more actively engaged with the public.Once caught yes, a minority of criminals deserve sever punishment. Most, along with the punishment of community service or a short prison sentence, need re-habilitation, and very often treatment for mental illness.

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    2. 2. Competitive sport. I have no objection whatsoever to those who want to engaging in competitive games. That, however, did not and does not include me, and I gained nothing from hanging around the corners of muddy football pitches hoping that the the ball would come nowhere near me, and, when it did, making a fool of myself by kicking it in the wrong direction, or missing it altogether. No, it was not character-building.

      Delete
    3. Labour. I'm sure you're right. Starmer, like the Tories,wants to identify with the "strivers" rather than the "skivers." I want a party and government that wants to represent everybody, not just the "perfect" but also those who for one reason and another "don't quite fit in."

      Also representing just one side of the axis of production rather than all four generates animosity rather than co-operation. Liberal Democrats try to represent employers ans well as employees, and encourage co0opeeration through such as employee representation on boards and profit sharing schemes.

      Delete
    4. Once caught yes, a minority of criminals deserve sever punishment. Most, along with the punishment of community service or a short prison sentence, need re-habilitation, and very often treatment for mental illness.

      This seems to be based on a rather sweet, not to say naïvely optimistic, view of human nature as basically just but just needing a little nudge back onto the straight and narrow to be 're-habilitated'.

      I have no objection whatsoever to those who want to engaging in competitive games. That, however, did not and does not include me, and I gained nothing from hanging around the corners of muddy football pitches hoping that the the ball would come nowhere near me, and, when it did, making a fool of myself by kicking it in the wrong direction, or missing it altogether. No, it was not character-building.

      You could make exactly the same argument if you didn't like mathematics, of course. 'I gained nothing from staring at diagrams of triangles or trying fruitlessly to make myself understand integrals, hoping that the teacher wouldn't ask me a question and, when she did, making a fool of myself by getting it completely wrong.' Could we therefore do without teaching mathematics? Or you could substitute poetry, geography, physics.


      I want a party and government that wants to represent everybody, not just the "perfect" but also those who for one reason and another "don't quite fit in."

      Depends on whether they don't fit in because they just can't be bothered to make the effort to fit in, doesn't it?

      Also representing just one side of the axis of production rather than all four generates animosity rather than co-operation

      But surely if you try to represent everyone, you actually represent no one? If I were going to court I would be quite perturbed if I found out that my lawyer was also representing the other side because to represent only one side of the case could generate animosity rather than co-operation.

      Delete
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  2. Rehabilitation of criminals: we need here to be guided by "the science" rather than gut reactions. The research shows that the majority of prisoners don't need to be, and many, becasue of mental illness, shouldn't be, in prison. Non-custodial sentences are shown to be more effective in rehabilitation - and much cheaper.

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  3. Mathematics and competitive games are clearly not comparable. Some mathematical competence is necessary for effective participation in modern life,especially in a democracy. whereas competence in games is nice if you have it but not essential.

    I do however agree that too much fuss is made about taking mathematics to a fairly advanced level. Differentiation and integration, along with solving quadratic equations, are great fun for those who like that sort of thing, and want to go on to even higher levels, but are hardly essential for every-day living. It's a long time since I taught any maths but, if things haven't chanced much I'd like to see more "civic arithmetic)" (particularly an understanding of the effects of compound interest rates) and statistics, especially reading of graphs and how they can distort the perception of the truth. Do you remember the Penguin (I think) "How to lie with Statistics"? That or something similar should be a set book.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Class based parties such as the present Conservatives and Labour, each primarily devoted to the welfare on one section of society rather than all of it, are counter-productive. Of course there can be some overlap: Tories uphold the maxim based on "What's good for General Motors is good for America" and promote the "trickle-down effect" (for which there is very little evidence) and Labour will argue that a well-protected and paid workforce is more productive than an obviously exploited one, However, I prefer to see parties dedicated to the well-being of all society. We liberal Democrats put the emphasis on Liberty. "Liberalism properly understood is the maximum amount of individual liberty commensurate with eh liberty of others." (Timothy Garton Ash, if I remember correctly) Now that's something worth fighting for, providing that "Liberty is defined as "Freedom from ....(fear, want, idleness , ignorance, exploitation. . ." as well as "Freedom to . ."

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rehabilitation of criminals: we need here to be guided by "the science" rather than gut reactions.

    Policy cannot be guided by 'the science', because all 'the science' can tell you (at best, which is rarely!) is that if you do A, B will happen, and if you do X, Y will happen. Whereas policy is about choosing which of B or Y you are going to aim for, and 'the science' can't help you at all there.


    If you prefer a metaphor, 'the science' is a map: it can tell you how to get to various destinations. But it can't tell you which destination you should be aiming for.

    The research shows that the majority of prisoners don't need to be, and many, becasue of mental illness, shouldn't be, in prison.


    'Need to be' in prison is begging the question: why do we put people in prison at all? The classic answers are for punishment, for rehabilitation, for deterrence, and to prevent them from committing crimes on the non-imprisoned population for the duration of their imprisonment. The last one obviously prison works for and prison is the only means of achieving it for such (even tagging and monitoring can't prevent people committing crimes with 100% certainty); the others have to be balanced against such things as the prison budget.

    Non-custodial sentences are shown to be more effective in rehabilitation - and much cheaper.

    And what do you do with criminals who don't want to be rehabilitated?

    Mathematics and competitive games are clearly not comparable.

    The clearly are comparable, because you and I are both comparing them.

    Some mathematical competence is necessary for effective participation in modern life,especially in a democracy. whereas competence in games is nice if you have it but not essential.

    The skills of being able to deal with failure, knowing your own strengths and weaknesses, mental resilience, and intestinal fortitude — all of which can be developed through competitive sports — are also necessary for effective participation in modern life.

    However, I prefer to see parties dedicated to the well-being of all society.

    But all politics is about trade-offs. Every single political decision creates winners and losers (by definition because if it didn't, if it only created winners, then it wouldn't be a political decision, we'd just do it!). How are those who would be the losers form a given decision supposed to argue against that decision, if they don't have a party to represent them because the party is trying to represent 'everyone'?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Criminals. Surely the the undisputed aim is to reduce if not eliminate re-offending, and non-custodial sentences have a better record than prison.

    The only criminals who need to be in prison are those who are a danger to the public. On the whole pregnant teenage shoplifters aren't.

    As fro character building, I'm not sure that competitive games actually contribute to this, but there are many other ways of experiencing setbacks and overcoming them. Camping and hiking with the scouts and Guides for example The Duke of Edinburgh's Award has a very comprehensive range of challenges. so does life itself.

    Your view of politics seems embedded in setting faction against faction. Mine is to promote co-operation.

    I feel we;re gong round in circles on all of the above, but do feel free to have the last word if you wish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Criminals. Surely the the undisputed aim is to reduce if not eliminate re-offending, and non-custodial sentences have a better record than prison.

      That's one possible aim. There are others, for example punishment, deterrence of people from offending in the first place, and removal of offenders form society so they can't commit crimes against the unimprisoned population.


      The only criminals who need to be in prison are those who are a danger to the public. On the whole pregnant teenage shoplifters aren't.

      Ah, so you do agree with the last of the points. Okay, but how do you propose to, say, punish offenders without sending them to prison? Bring back flogging? It's a point of view, I guess. Fine them? What if they have no money? Impose a curfew? That might work I guess. What is your suggestion? Or do you just disagree with the whole idea of punishment? Which if you do, fine, but I don't think you'll find that you are universally agreed with, and this is a democracy, so you can't just declare that you know what the Tue Purpose of prison ought t be and everyone else is wrong and should shut up and bow before your superior wisdom.

      Well I guess you can if you're a Liberal Democrat, superciliousness and a supreme sense of one's own cleverness being the prime qualification for joining that particular party.

      As fro character building, I'm not sure that competitive games actually contribute to this, but there are many other ways of experiencing setbacks and overcoming them. Camping and hiking with the scouts and Guides for example The Duke of Edinburgh's Award has a very comprehensive range of challenges. so does life itself.

      Don't understand your point here. Yes, there are other ways of teaching some skills that competitive games teach. So? Unless you think that competitive games are in some way inherently bad, why not use them as the vehicle for teaching such lessons?

      Compulsory Duke of Edinburgh seems like a much bigger imposition on school pupils than a few hours competitive games every week.

      Your view of politics seems embedded in setting faction against faction. Mine is to promote co-operation.

      Your view of politics seems to assume that we all want the same things. We don't. If we did, there would be no need for politics.

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