Ellee Seymour

It was great to hear from my author friend Richard Havers this afternoon; I needed a breather from the topics I had been working on – shoe prices and EU anti-dumping measures, and “superbugs” and Epidemic Intelligence for the Infection 2009 conference I am involved with.

Richard was a great support to me when I was ghost writing Being The Soham Psychic, which has nine 5 star reviews on Amazon. He is always working on a new book, many with a rock theme and knows the music industry inside out.

Richard has continued to be a great source of encouragement and I talked to him about a couple of ideas I have for my next literary project; one involves politics and the other is a murder story with many unanswered questions. He thinks they are both great ideas, but I am just short on time to get started. However, I promised to make a start on my research this weekend….

This is Richard’s latest hilarious book on office politics which will make a great Christmas stocking filler, especially for the man who has everything: “Management Boll**ks”, How to talk your way to the top. The blurb says:

"Management Boll**ks" is a fun and fully illustrated book that looks at the faintly ridiculous side of ‘management speak’. Just who is picking the low hanging fruit? Is brainstorming a thing of the past or do we now only operate ‘thought showers’. If you have ever spent time in a meeting contemplating yet another ‘paradigm shift’ then you will be the first to realise that at the end of the day it is all Management Bo**ocks!

Why not check it out, and you may even have some more ideas from your own office on Management Boll**cks for Richard so he can write a follow-up edition.

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We are very fortunate at Headway Cambridgeshire in having a young board of savvy trustees with interesting jobs. At the same time, being a trustee requires time and commitment and sometimes it has to give way for career moves.

That’s the situation we find ourselves in at the moment which is why we are currently seeking a new Company Secretary and board members with financial skills and fundraising knowledge, as well as those with experience of neurological illnesses or social services. Meetings are held every eight weeks and there are additional roles on sub-committees.

I promise you will not be bored as the charity has ambitious expansion plans for the future, including the opening of two new centres in Peterborough next January, followed by Fenland.

A local solicitor has offered to provide governance training and we are planning an Away Day for team building, so there is lots of support.

Headway is a wonderful organisation which provides rehabilitative care for adults with a brain injury acquired from a road accident or fall, a stroke or other medical condition, for example. It could happen to any of us at any time and devastate our lives, and our family’s, forever.

I am the chair of trustees and there is no doubt that being a trustee is a very rewarding role, especially at Headway Cambridgeshire where you can really help make a positive difference to someone’s life. The skills and experience which trustees bring are vital to the success of our organisation and we are very appreciative of the time and commitment they give.

I would love to hear from you if you are interested.

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Conservatives fell on their own sword of secrecy by not publicly revealing the names of candidates shortlisted for parliamentary seats.

Within hours of the very accomplished Liz Truss being selected for the safe seat of South West Norfolk at the weekend, a Sunday newspaper published a story about an affair she had with a married MP in 2004-05.

Liz’s selection has now been referred back to a full meeting of the Association amid rumours that she misled them by not declaring her affair during the selection. She could face losing her seat.

Several commenters have said that infomation about Liz’s affair could easily have been discovered if she had been Googled. But it is foolish to assume that everyone uses Google the same way that we do and it is really the responsibility of Conservative Central Office to fully brief local Associations about short listed candidates, especially as this affair was known to them. Local members would assume that all candidates had been fully vetted and approved by CCO, especially those on the A-list like Liz.

The local agent is reported to have said:

"It is not some moral campaign. The issue does not seem to be the affair but that some people were aware of it and some were not."

If that is true, why didn’t those who knew about it raise it during the selection? And publishing the candidates’ names in advance allows those who do use Google to do their homework in advance.

Of course, the man in question, MP Mark Field, does not face losing his parliamentary seat because of the affair, so why should Liz on these grounds? Liz, who has the full  backing of David Cameron, said that the affair was "in the past". But it’s the association’s full backing she needs in order to work with them and have their respect.

I wonder if local associations cover themselves by asking that question about skeletons in the cupboard? Perhaps they should.

I admit I felt really torn when I heard Liz had been selected for this seat because I am a huge fan of runner-up James Tumbridge too who also has many outstanding qualities, as well as being Norfolk born and bred. This is one rollercoaster ride which will take more than a strong stomach to survive.

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No wonder I have two Avon ladies who drop off their booklets at my house. If they are anything like Debbie Davis, they could be making a cool £250,000 a year, with a £7 million turnover.

According to Sky News, Debbie is a Sunderland lass who five years ago was on the dole after losing her £200-a-week factory job. Needing £400 to pay the rent and facing Christmas without a roof over her head, the 29-year-old became a saleswoman for the cosmetics firm just to make ends meet. Now she drives a Mercedes and leads a 2,500-strong team. One three-week sales blitz saw her rake in £18,000. Not surprisingly, she is Avon’s star saleswoman.

Perhaps it’s time I changed jobs. And it’s a healthy one too being out in the fresh air with lots of walking.

Debbie, who works with her partner, puts her success down to  being a friendly face. Is it really as easy as that? She is an inspiration and puts so many to shame.

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More than 100 students at York Uni were signed up to join the Lib Dems at a Freshers’ Fayre by being offered free membership, according to this report. It  now boasts that it is the largest student group in the country.

Their numbers are said to have increased tenfold after what could be construed as  bribery, and a sign of desperation by Madeleine Kirk, the York Outer parliamentary candidate, and her team.

A press release from her office has boasted that “the York University branch was now the biggest Lib Dem student group in the country after 115 new party members were recruited in just one day.”

A local councillor is quoted as saying, ““It will definitely give York more kudos”. Maybe it is also hoping these inflated figures will give their election coffers a boost too.

Conservative parliamentary candidate Julian Sturdy went to the Freshers’ Fayre as well and easily signed up 70 members, with pledges from others too. And Conservative students willingly paid their own signing up fee. Lib Dems usually recruit around 10 members.

The student membership costs only £4, but Lib Dems met this cost from donations made to the local Lib Dem group to massage their figures and create a false impression that it was well supported. It is doubtful if, in these circumstances, this support will be transferred from paper to the doorstep.

Craig Martin, Lib Dem chair at York University, is quoted as saying:

“We have never had enough members. I was always having to treble numbers when telling people how many we had, just to make us look like a worthwhile party. We decided to try this.

“It is the best thing in the world for me to come into a society that was about to die and completely turn it around.”

That says it all really ….

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They say you judge a nation by the way it looks after its elderly and vulnerable population. So who can defend this very disturbing report in today’s Mail on Sunday which claims that the Court of Protection is seizing the assets of thousands of elderly and mentally impaired people and turning control of their lives over to the State – against the wishes of their relatives.

The Court of Protection was set up two years ago to act in the interests of people suffering from Alzheimer’s or other mental incapacity. It takes over control of people’s finances, which means appointed “deputies” must get authorisation to pay expenses such as rent and household bills on their behalf. It is intended to represent those who have not made a lasting power of attorney at a time when they had full mental capacity, appointing someone to help them if they should become unable to handle their own financial affairs.

The system has been a nightmare experience for many families, with the court hearing about 23,000 cases a year and so far taken control of more than £3.2billion of assets. It has also resulted in a staggering 3,000 complaints, including allegations that officials failed to consult relatives, imposed huge fees and even ‘raided’ elderly people’s homes searching for documents.

This report is very worrying, particularly as dementia and Alzheimer’s is predicted to soar in future years, resulting in even more vulnerable people and their carers facing turmoil and financial loss. It demonstrates how important it is to plan for our future. In fact, a friend my age has appointed me as her lasting power of attorney, as has my mother, and although I have made a will, this is not something I have yet considered. Perhaps I should.

Here are some of the worrying cases highlighted in the Mail’s report:

Children’s author Heather Bateman (pictured) was forced to get permission from the court to use family funds after an accident left her journalist husband Michael in a coma.

In a moving account of her family’s ordeal in Saga magazine, she wrote: ‘Michael and I were two independent working people. We had been married for 28 years. We had written our wills, both our names were on the deeds of the house we shared in London and the Norfolk cottage we had renovated over the years.

‘We had separate bank accounts and most of the bills were paid from Michael’s account. Now, to continue living in the way we always had done, I needed to access the money in his account.

‘The Court of Protection brought me almost as much anger, grief and frustration into my life as the accident itself. [It is] an alien, intrusive, time-consuming and costly institution, which was completely out of tune with what we were going through. It ruled my waking moments and my many sleepless nights.’

Mrs Bateman even had to apply to the court for permission to pay the couple’s daughter’s university fees.

She added: ‘I could write as many cheques as necessary up to £500. But if I needed to access more I had to get permission from the court.’

And:

The Mail also describes how an internet support group, Court of Protection Problems, reveals other struggles with the system.

One recent posting by ‘gillm1′, whose mother suffers dementia, said: ‘They are causing me so much stress and worry and I feel I am being treated like a criminal. Their letters are bullying and threatening and they completely ignore everything I say.

‘I have grown to hate them! They took years to process my application and I object strongly to the extortionate fees they are demanding.’

Another writes: ‘

"’They have upped my supervision level without taking any notice of my appeal – therefore costing my mum yet another £800 per year. It’s nothing short of robbery.

‘All I want is to be left alone to pay my mum’s bills and to safeguard as much of her money as I can, but these people are constantly demanding high fees for their "services" which, as far as I can see, consist of harassing people and little else!’

The huge number of complaints surely demonstrate that this system is not working and needs to be urgently reviewed. This is a devastating time for families without having to suffer additional trauma like this. The court is simply forcing an additional stealth tax on the vulnerable.

One of the comments posted on the Mail’s website summed up the concerns of many:

Having now read the full story I am utterly disgusted with this Government. My husband and I are now going to make arrangements for a full Power of Attorney so they can’t touch what little money I have. I want something left for my children and I don’t intend for it to be TAKEN by this Government or any future Government.

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This quote caught my eye when I read it in the national press yesterday, and  likewise Guido Fawkes.

Scottish writer Armando Iannucci says of the prospect of a Conservative government…

“I don’t think there’s going to be dancing in the streets. It will be like knowing you have to go in for a knee operation. You know it’s going to happen, it’ll get done and you’ll probably walk a little bit better as a result, but you’re not really looking forward to it.”

Said straight from the hip…

*I also liked this twitter comment today from @RossIGrant who said: Marr is like a Sunday Newspaper, it’s got sections you immediately want to throw in recycling. Timing shower etc to that…

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Congratulations to Liz Truss on being selected the Conservative candidate for South  West Norfolk where she will be a great asset.

I met her at the Conservative Conference in Manchester when she was chairing a fringe meeting and thought she was outstanding, and told her so afterwards.

I know of Liz through the Rerform think tank where she is Deputy Director and I have joined as an Associate Member. It hosts inspired meetings with the movers and shakers on the delivery of our public services and economic performance, critically analysing expert views and research.

My sincere commiserations to James Tumbridge who had set his heart on winning this seat and was a close runner up. He would also have been an excellent candidate. I hope James will not give up in his search, like Iain Dale who suffered a huge recent disappointment after losing the Bracknell seat and has pledged to continue.

Conservatives are indeed hugely fortunate in having a plethora of talented potential parliamentary candidates.

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I must admit when I read a paper, I skim over the headlines and don’t always pay  attention to its feature cartoon. I shall try and pay more attention to them in future.

Political cartoonists do add an extra dimension to our media and we should celebrate them. If a picture tells a thousand words, then a sharp, satirical cartoonist can far exceed that number with his wit, artistry and barbed cruelty.

I was reminded of this yesterday when I saw Steve Bell, the Guardian’s political cartoonist, a giant haystack of a man with a woolly beard hiding quite a handsome face and deep, fishtank eyes. Smiling they might be, but behind them lurks a piranha waiting to snare its bait. Paunchy and wearing cords and braces, he very much reminded me an unfit lumberjack.

  A former teacher, Steve relishes the power at the end of his fingertips which enable  him to ridicule and mock our politicians. A pre-Blairite Socialist, he admits a loathing for today’s New Labour who he called “an angry lot”, while reserving even deeper contempt for Conservatives, “a psychotic bunch”, he reckons, though he thinks we are okay on a one to one level. Phew, that’s alright then!

Steve is not one to hold back on his barbed  views, and nobody of note escapes. It doesn’t seem to do him any harm either. He was winked at by David Cameron at the Conservative Party conference – even though he has portrayed him cruelly as a transparent jelly fish.

The one thing politicians should not do is let Steve know he is getting under their skin as he confessed this would give him even greater pleasure in mocking them even more.

However cruel his cartoons, his skill lies in conveying an image that writers cannot get across in few words to capture that same moment. It’s a visual kind of free speech.

Although politicians might dread how Steve Bell portrays them, it may be even worst to be ignored by him. At least they will know they have made an impact of some kind.

Pics courtsey of Steve Bell.

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After spending a couple of hours in Cambridge this evening with the Guardian’s political cartoonist Steve Bell, I shall head home and be glued to the BBC watching BNP’s Nick Griffin on Question Time.

We might find him and his party’s views vile and grossly distasteful. But as a democracy – and with an electorate choosing to vote them in on local councils and the European  Parliament – we need to know why voters are listening to them, and like what they hear.

Trying to ban Griffin’s appearance will only fan the flames for BNP and we can’t be accused of censorship. I have every confidence in Sayeeda Warsi, the Conservative shadow minister for community cohesion, making mincemeat out of him. She can stand her ground brilliantly.

This is Steve’s timely cartoon of the BBC allowing some BNP supporters to attend the live studio debate this evening. Brilliantly astute, as always.

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