The Absurd Shortlist For Sports Personality Of The Year

It is Sports Personality of the Year night tonight. I always remember this night was one of the highlights of the sporting year, but it does seem to have diminished in importance and value in recent years. Personally, I think that it lost a bit of credibility when the BBC tugged their forelock and gave the award to Zara Phillips a few years ago.

Nevertheless, it’s still an important showpiece for the best in sport of the year. This year, of the shortlist, surely it has to be between Andrew Strauss and Jenson Button. Strauss would surely be long odds-on if the English Cricket establishment hadn’t sold their soul to Sky and dramatically reduced the number of viewers for the Ashes this year. Of course, Ryan Giggs will get plenty of votes from glory seekers in the Home Counties, but I’m far from convinced that he would be a worthy winner.

What has astonished me is the names that are missing from the short list. Phil Taylor has taken darts to a new level this year. Winning EVERY major tournament and sweeping aside all in front of him. It seems odd that he doesn’t make the shortlist, while Andy Murray who failed to make the final of a single Grand Slam does. Maybe darts is a little too popular, a little too Northern and a little too working class for a toffee nosed Southern establishment. But Phil Taylor would be towards the top of my list. And what about the genius that is Tony McCoy? He has dominated his sport in an incredible way for over a decade but still no proper recognition from the Beeb.

Sports Personality of the Year seems geared to the few sports that the Beeb still has broadcasting rights too. Having said that, hopefully next year England’s World Cup stars will be winners by acclamation after a successful tournament in South Africa!

UPDATE - Ryan Giggs is a truly silly winner. As I said above, "Of course, Ryan Giggs will get plenty of votes from glory seekers in the Home Counties, but I’m far from convinced that he would be a worthy winner. "

My Appearance On The Politics Show - The Need To Take Action To Create Jobs

I was on the BBC Politics Show yesterday afternoon, talking about how the North Eastern economy can grow out of the recession. It was my TV debut and, all in all, an enjoyable experience. The i-player link is below. The interview starts on 39 minutes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00pfscr/The_Politics_Show_North_East_and_Cumbria_13_12_2009/

What has struck me over the past few months is the level of complacency of the Labour Party in the North East. We have high and rising unemployment, which is 50% higher than the national average. On almost every metric, our region has fallen further behind other regions over the past twelve years. And we can all see the results of the recession in the High Streets across the North East.

This week, the Government could have used their pre budget report as a budget for job creation. Instead, they decided to play politics with people’ jobs. They increased National insurance – something that the CBI called a “tax on jobs” and the Federation of Small Businesses described as “devastating for employment in the UK.” Small businessmen I speak to in North Durham are extremely worried about the impact this is likely to have on jobs.

Instead of political gestures, we need real action to help create jobs. That means reversing the tax on jobs and getting credit flowing to business using a National Loan Guarantee Scheme. It means creating 200,000 new apprenticeships; 100,000 new Further Education places and more training places.

I have set out a vision elsewhere that the North East must be a trailblazing economy for new green industries. We can have a glorious future to match our glorious past. But the vision free and complacent Labour politicians in the North East need to leave the stage before that can happen.

Well Done To Joe. A Fantastic Win For The North East on the X Factor

As an annual Glastonbury goer, who loves artists like The Strokes, The Stones, Glasvegas, Iggy Pop, The Clash, Johnny Cash and Neil Young, the manufactured pop of the X Factor isn’t always to my taste. But I was shouting the house down for proud North Easterner, Joe, to win the final this evening.

He clearly has fantastic musical talent, as well as that fierce North Eastern pride and determination, which only people from our region can fully understand. His story is proof positive that when somebody from the North East goes for something, they can achieve anything.

In what has been another difficult year for all of us in the North East, it was great to see Joe give us something to cheer about this evening. North Eastern success always makes me proud to be a North Easterner and reminds us all that we are the greatest region on the planet. Well done to Joe for carrying the North Eastern flag tonight.

Making The North East The Powerhouse Of The Green Industrial Revolution

In the North East, we need a bold and ambitious vision for the future of our economy. We have the natural resources, we have the skills and, above all, we have the people to be a world leader in green industries and green technology. Sadly, at the moment, the complacent Labour MPs’ in our area are unable to provide vision or leadership to help our region become a world leader again.

I make the case, in this pamphlet published by the TRG, that, as a region we should be world leaders in green industry. You can read the pamphlet here:

The North East can, once again, be the region that other parts of the world look towards. Our potential as an area is limitless. But the time in which we have to take advantage of the opportunities and to be genuine trailblazers is limited.

Of course, local Labour politicians have shown no imagination and no vision at all about the future of our region. They have long grown, tired and out of touch – having taken us all for granted for much too long. That is why we urgently need to sweep them aside in favour of a new generation of North Easterners, like myself, who have a passion for our region and a real vision for the future of our economy.

Time To Say No To Public Money Funding Banker's Bonuses

I'm sick of hearing bankers demanding grotesque, sky-high bonuses only a year after bringing the global economy to its knees. This is particularly grotesque for those bankers demanding bonuses using our money - only a year after taxpayer intervention saved banks like RBS from the consequences of their own folly.


We spent £850 billion of public money bailing out the banks after bankers made catstrophic mistakes. The banks high risk, irresponsible business model combined with lack of Government regulation and Gordon Brown's mismanagement to trigger the recession that is still having devastating consequences across the North East.

While the rest of us are having to tighten our belts, it is frankly disgusting that bankers are intent on rewarding themselves with sky high bonuses and continuing their champagne lifestyle, irrespective of the damage that their poor decisions caused to the economy.

Bonuses for bankers at the moment would not amount to bonuses to reward good performance. They would amount to bonuses using public money out of a sense of entitlement. Surely the bankers demanding grotesque bonuses will discover a sense of humility. When we are suffering from mass unemployment, it is frankly wrong that public money is being spent to pay banker's bonuses.

Labour's Shameful Neglect Of Manufacturing Industry

Labour have betrayed their history and heritage in so many ways. They have betrayed the hopes of so many of those who placed so much faith in Tony Blair in 1997. But one of the biggest betrayals is New Labour's betrayal of British manufacturing industry. Figures released yesterday show that manufacturing as a share of the economy has collapsed from 20 per cent in 1997 to just under 13 per cent today. On top this comes today's devastating news that Corus are shedding 1,700 jobs on Teeside.

The fact is that Labour have ignored and betrayed manufacturaing industry. They were seduced by the City and the South East of England. This 'Labour' Government has been happy to let manufacturing decline at the same time as bankers ran amok - earning obscene bonuses and damaging the real economy.

In contrast, I believe that manufacturing MUST have a central role to play in our economy. We must become a country that makes things again. And the North East must lead this renaissance of British manufacturing. If elected as MP for North Durham, I will actively campaign for a vision of the North East that has a rejuvenated, competitive manufacturing sector at its very heart. I have had quite enough of New Labour's defeatism and neglect of our region and manufacturing industry as a whole.

Labour's Legacy of Educational Inequality

Labour have done nothing about educational inequalities. In many years they have grown worse in the past twelve years. A report by the Universities and Colleges Union, called 'Location, Location, Location' illustrates the stark educational inequalities that exist in New Labour's Britain.

According to the report, "where you live will determine your chances of educational success and people living in traditionally underachieving areas are proportionately less likely to have a degree now than they were at the last election."

This is yet another area in which North Durham has been badly let down by the Labour Party. Some 9.92% of the working age population have no qualifications. 22.8% of the population are educated to degree/ NVQ Level 4, compared to a national average of 57%.

Labour were elected with great promises of a better education for all and widening participation in Higher Education. These figures show that they have failed to deliver, with people from working class areas still not getting sufficient opportunity for education. That is why we must widen participation as much as possible, rather than having universities as finishing schools for the middle class. It is why we must concentrate our attention on improving state education in working class areas. Labour's legacy of educational inequality is simply not good enough.