Week of Doom

This week really has been one to forget. Cold, rainy weather and ever darkening November nights have combined with some spectacularly depressing stories to leave an air of gloom hanging over the country.

On Tuesday, Chancellor Alistair Darling revealed to the House of Commons that two compact disks containing the personal details of 25 million UK citizens had been lost. The Child Benefit claimant’s data, which contained names, ages, addresses and bank account details, had been sent to the National Audit Office through the Revenues and Customs’ internal post system but had gone “missing.” The Chancellor himself blamed a junior officer for breaking security protocol and Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologised to the British public for the “inconvenience and worry” caused.

The Labour government, already under pressure over its handling of the recent collapse of bank Northern Rock, took another beating on Friday when it was revealed unencrypted discs containing similar data had been handed to and uploaded by accountancy firm KPMG. With the Information Commissioner now investigating whether any laws were broken, all week people across the UK have been expressing shock at the government’s perceived breach of trust. As speculation grows about the possibility of such valuable and personal information falling into the wrong hands, news networks have been offering advice on how to prevent identity and bank account fraud.

To compound the gloom in government, on Thursday evening five retired generals attacked Labour’s record on support and funding for the armed forces during a debate in the House of Lords. Among them was Admiral Lord Boyce, who stated that former Chancellor Gordon Brown had treated forces with “contempt” and “disinterest.” He further commented that the decision to give the jobs of both Secretary for Defence and Scottish Secretary to one person -Des Browne- was an “insult.”

While London Mayor Ken Livingstone made a visit to India, back home Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair survived a vote of no confidence in front of the Metropolitan Police Authority. The position of the UK’s most senior police officer has been under scrutiny since the mistaken shooting of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes in the wake of the London terrorist bombings in July 2005. On 1st November, a court had ruled that health and safety laws were broken by the Met during the botched operation, and in this subsequent meeting before the MPA, seven of the 23-member panel voted to issue a motion of no confidence in the Met Chief. Sir Ian Blair can hold onto his position, but may be feeling a little shaken.

The already weakened farming community received more bad news with reports of multiple cases of bird flu confirmed in Suffolk. The deadly strain H5N1, thought capable of transmitting to humans, led to the culling of birds on four suspected farms within a close area. And on Thursday Health Secretary Hilary Benn, in a written statement to the Commons, revealed there had been a ‘probable’ new leak of foot and mouth disease from the Merial Animal Health facility at Pirbright in Surrey. A leaking pipe was believed to be the cause of the latest breach in bio-security but both Mr Benn and Farming Minister Lord Rooker issued assurances that the disease had not escaped into the environment, as happened so disastrously in August.

Peter Tobin, the man convicted of raping and murdering Polish student Angelika Kluk in 2006, was in court again this week, charged with the murder of 15 year old Vicky Hamilton. Newspapers followed with grim fascination the searches carried out on Mr Tobin’s former residence in Margate where detectives uncovered the makeshift graves of Vicky and the remains of another missing girl, Dinah McNichol. At a preliminary hearing at Linlithgow Sheriff Court, police were required to hold back crowds containing relatives of victims who spat and cursed at Tobin as he was rushed by the police into the courtroom. Before appearing in court for a second time, inmates of Saughton Prison in Edinburgh seized their opportunity to attack, leaving Tobin requiring hospital treatment.

On Wednesday night, England, currently ranked 12th in the FIFA Coca Cola World Rankings, crashed out of the qualifying stages of the Euro 2008 football tournament. After a poor performance and subsequent defeat to Croatia 3-2 in the new Wembley Stadium, England qualified third in their group, after requiring only a draw at home. Next morning, head coach Steve McClaren and assistant Terry Venables both had their contracts terminated by the Football Association executive board after a meeting in Soho Square. The England squad, populated by world class players of experience had shown little spirit throughout the qualifying campaign under coach Steve McLaren, a man oft-criticised as clueless and out of his depth. The sporting disaster led the FA executive to begin what they have called a “root-and-branch” examination of the entire England senior team set-up. But while English fans will have to choose another team to cheer about in Austria and Switzerland next year, the FA board itself may do well to avoid closer critical scrutiny.

The Fear Factor

Seeking to capitalise on Labour blunders and better poll ratings, Conservative leader David Cameron this week moved further into his social agenda pitch. Having dealt with immigration, he moved onto the subject of rape, again indicating disturbing statistics. But what is behind Cameron’s spectre of social meltdown, and is it just too much to believe?

Flushed with success after a positive reception to his speech on immigration, the Conservative leader this week spoke on another emotive social issue. At the Conservative Women’s Organisation, Mr Cameron indicated that on rape, England and Wales have the lowest conviction rates in leading European countries, 5.7%. He made a pledge for longer-term funding for rape crisis centres, also calling for a “widespread cultural change” in a society which in his view has become overly “sexualised” in the last decade.

Mr Cameron said: "Studies have shown that as many as one in two young men believe there are some circumstances when it's okay to force a woman to have sex. ...To my mind, this is an example of moral collapse." During the speech, he called for better sex education in schools and announced a Tory review of spending.

Hot on the heels of this speech, news broke of yet another Home Office blunder. This time it emerged through documents leaked to a newspaper that 5,000 illegal immigrants had been cleared to work in security (including at airports and ports) with the full knowledge of the Home Secretary. Jacqui Smith, who had reportedly known of the situation since July, held an emergency briefing in the Commons defending the decision not to publicise the information and denying charges of cover-up.

Countering loud Conservative criticism, she said her priority had been to establish the "full nature and scale" of the problem and to take action to deal with it, "rather than immediately to put incomplete and potentially misleading information into the public domain." In reply, Shadow Home Secretary David Davis scoffed, “The response from the Home Office so far has been blunder, panic and cover-up.”

So, as it turned out for Mr Cameron, the illegal immigrants fiasco ultimately deprived him of any forthcoming praise and debate on the issue of rape and sentencing. The loss, however, was somewhat alleviated by points scored against the Home Office, and presumably the Conservative marketing machine will soon hit upon another example of “moral collapse” to throw at Labour. Perhaps next they will look again at antisocial behaviour, or even put Ian Duncan-Smith and the newly-returned Jonathan Aitken to work digging up frightful government failures and Tory initiatives on the prisons system.

The current Conservative strategy reminds us, sadly, of what politics is all about. Mr Cameron, like any ruthless newspaper editor, realises that instilling fear with information bestows power and demands approval. Identifying wide ranging threats and promoting the view of a society in meltdown, he hopes, will lead people to gather under his banner and reject Gordon Brown’s Labour Party. But being in opposition is a far cry from being in office, and although some people may accept Cameron’s social commentary to a degree, others will view it is as political opportunism and panic-mongering.

Winning, the Rose way

A look at the story so far of the highest ranked European golfer to November, Englishman Justin Rose, and the lessons to be learned from his sporting triumphs.

This week in Valderrama, Spain, Justin Rose clinched a three way play-off to claim victory at the Volvo Masters and, more importantly, his first PGA Tour Order of Merit title. Rose, who has struggled with consistency in the past, seems to have finally found a winning formula and is now hotly tipped for a future victory in the majors.

Rose burst onto the scene back in 1998 at The Open where as a 17-year-old amateur he holed the 18th from the fairway on the final round to finish tied for fourth. Turning professional shortly afterwards, he struggled initially, missing more than 20 cuts before going on to become an established regular on the European Tour. His first victory in a professional event came at The Dunhill Championships in South Africa (the country of his birth) in 2002.

But life in the top flight is not easy. Despite being ranked 33 in the Official World Golf Rankings in 2003, 2004 was not a good year and Rose slipped out of the top 50 at the start of a run of bad form. For the next few years he seemed to come tantalisingly close to winning tournaments only to slip behind at the crucial moment. In 2005 he lead the Buick Championship after three rounds only to finish in third. Similarly, at the Canadian Open in September 2006, he went into the final round leading only to score a final round of 74 which moved him down the leaderboard.

However, the last 12 months has seen victory at the Australian Masters, a top five finish in the Masters at Augusta and of course the latest thrilling victory at Valderrama on Sunday which took Rose to ranked seventh in the Official World Golf Rankings. So, where has that crucial winning edge come from over the last 12 months, and how does Justin handle pressure at the top?

Ian Collins, Five Live Golf correspondent, attributes much of the new-found success to the team Justin has put in place this year. He split with previous management company IMG seeking a “personal touch in the handling of his affairs,” and replaced David Leadbetter with new coach Nick Bradley in a unique and exclusive one-on-one deal. Rose also married long time girlfriend Kate this year, and seems to have proved the old adage that marriage is good for you. So, it seems a calmer, happier and more settled competitor has emerged and we are beginning to see the results.

Team Rose aside, outstanding results have accompanied a crucial growth in mental belief and cumulative self-confidence - Justin Rose has trained himself to think properly. Speaking to the BBC about his fifth place finish at the Masters in 2007, he says:

“That is where my self-belief really started building. Although I finished fifth I felt like I finished a lot closer than maybe fifth represents. I got off to a terrible start in the final round but believed I could mount a comeback and I actually did do that. That was a really big learning experience for me. I felt comfortable being on the leader board, I enjoyed chasing down the stretch and living the dream, something I’d always dreamed about doing. To enjoy that experience and to trust myself and believe myself, that was a big week for me.”

Seeing obstacles as opportunities for growth and the value of dreaming positively plays a huge part in winning competitions, as we have seen this year in the case of Lewis Hamilton. But Rose has also made brave and conscious changes to his game at the time when it was most needed. On the secret of getting into the world’s top ten he says:

“I guess there has been a subtle change in my technique but really the key has been mentally, just simplifying my whole process and stripping it down and getting rid of the stuff I don’t need. Therefore when I come to a tournament I am in a very simple frame of mind. Therefore it is easy to repeat each week.
When you have got something easy to repeat, that is easy to trust under pressure and therefore my self-belief has been growing and growing.”

The future seems more exciting than ever for the 27-year-old as he sets his sights on the next logical step, winning a competition in America before looking for that first major victory. And on world number one, Tiger Woods, while Rose admits he would like to be the one snapping at his heels if the opportunity arose, he remains very much in the present and focussed:

“You have got to play your own game, and play the golf course and ultimately that is the only thing you can control. You can‘t think about what the other guys are doing. That is another thing I have done very well this year.”

Labouring hard

A few weeks ago Labour under Gordon Brown looked polished, efficient and scarcely troubled. Now, in the wake of cynical manoeuvring, revelations on bungled immigration figures, and a rejuvenated Conservative party, the government finds itself under considerable pressure. So, is it just politics as usual, or has David Cameron finally got something to work with?

Mr Brown's current headaches began around the time of the Conservative party conference. After apparently priming Britain for the polls, the Prime Minister suddenly found himself struggling as key Tories delivered charismatic performances and clever policy promise in Blackpool. The conference warm-up act, former Conservative leader William Hague, cannily picked apart Brown's own conference pitch to the people, labelling him "not a conviction politician but a calculation politician." This comment seemed to ring painfully true as observations made apparent Labour's shadowy reliance on electoral number crunchers.

Conservative leader David Cameron, himself under pressure as he took to the conference podium, used neither notes nor autocue to deliver a speech which impressed both conference and the wider press with its power and delivery. Shadow Chancellor George Osborne spoke out on inheritance tax at the event, pledging to raise the limits on Britain's "most hated tax", should the Conservatives gain office. Chancellor Alistair Darling's subsequent budget, aimed to steal the Tories' thunder, in fact earned him the unenviable nickname of "Mr Magpie" as he was accused of adopting as his own large parts of opposition policy. The Times of October 10th summed up the mood: "In an electioneering Autumn Budget that lacked only the election, the Chancellor adopted one Tory plan after another, including charging "nondomiciled" wealthy foreigners living in Britain and switching air travel duty from passengers to flights."

Struggling to put this and the election fiasco behind them, in mid-October Labour soon faced the imminent question over the EU Treaty and Gordon Brown's so-called red lines. With the premier flying off to Lisbon to battle our corner, the Tories at home screamed for the referendum as pledged in the Labour election manifesto. On 19 th October David Cameron told BBC Breakfast that Brown's red lines were "complete red herrings" and said: "This is, once again, Gordon Brown and his government treating the British people like fools."

However, all of these setbacks and the criticism made must now seem minor compared to the latest government embarrassment. Newsnight of 31 October reported on the confusion in which the government found itself after it was revealed sizeable and significant errors had been made in government immigration statistics. Having first stated that 2.7 million jobs had been created since 1997, with around 30% going to foreign workers (a total of 800,000), Labour then seemed to back pedal, stating there were in fact 1.1 million foreign workers, meaning a far higher percentage of British jobs filled by non-Britons. The programme asked incredulously, "Is this what Gordon Brown means by British jobs for British workers?"

The Telegraph reported on the written parliamentary answer on the botch-up delivered by Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain, who insisted ministers had used earlier figures “in good faith”: "I apologise for having to make this revision. I am sure you will understand these calculations are not straightforward." In reply, shadow Work and Pensions spokesman Chris Grayling described Mr Hain's admission as "extraordinary": "The fact that the Government did not know the true number of overseas workers who have come to the UK in the past 10 years is profoundly worrying, and confirms fears that ministers have simply lost control of our systems for migrant workers."

To compound Labour's woes, this unfortunate episode came only hours after David Cameron's first real speech of substance on immigration policy since he became leader. In the speech given to the Policy Exchange the opposition leader put much emphasis on the growing stress under which British transport, infrastructure and public services currently operate. Making pointed reference to the recent report predicting a boost in population (set to increase by 4.4 million to 65 million by 2016 and 71 million by 2031), Mr Cameron talked dispassionately and intelligently about growing numbers of households and the so-called atomization of society as people increasingly leave family and community behind.

Mr Cameron's pledges, among them to reduce the level of net immigration into Britain from non-EU states and introduce transitional immigration controls for new EU entrants, seemed to have hit home with potential voters, with subsequent polls revealing the Conservatives gaining ground on Labour.

But not just smart policy and timing explains the rise of Mr Cameron's star. The Tory leader has grown considerably in stature of late with ideas finally coming forth on crucial issues, as he weaves policy and values together in a way that resonates with increasing numbers of Britons. Also, his relationship with the Prime Minister has developed much to his advantage. Where Tony Blair treated the opposition leader with wry good humour and almost brotherly indulgence in the Commons, Brown appears a figure less fluent and less likeable, quicker to anger and much more averse to criticism. Cameron has found a way to bait the bear, and in spite of the new aggression and unpleasantness to be felt hanging in the air at Prime Minister's Questions, the Tories often emerge with the upper hand.

So, with Brown sometimes struggling to maintain his composure and a fast-learning and disruptive Cameron gathering increasing momentum, the Conservatives could be forgiven for thinking their long-awaited opportunity may not be long in the waiting.