Wednesday 19 November 2014

Could Sepp Blatter be the man who splits Football?

A report has been published by FIFA, clearing both Russia and Qatar of any wrongdoing over their successful bids to host the World Cups of 2018 and 2022 respectively.  However, Michael Garcia (the American Lawyer hired by FIFA to investigate the bidding process) suggested the report is incomplete and misrepresentative, in relation to his own investigations.

From the moment Qatar were awarded the 2022 World Cup, I think it is fair to say that millions of people around the world were gobsmacked.  I am not going to offer my analysis of Qatari Politics.  The simple mystery is why a country who has never before qualified for a  World Cup, should be given the privilege of hosting one of the world's greatest sporting events?

Being blunt about it, Qatar is not the footballing minnow which many people have labelled.  Closer examination of their footballing history does show that they have come close to World Cup Qualification on a few occasions, most notably the qualifying tournament for France 98 when a point against Saudi Arabia in a final group match would have taken the Qataris to the World Cup for the first time.

The near miss of France 98 Qualification does not though give the Qataris the platform to suggest they will ever be a world footballing powerhouse.  I have previously written about my own belief that the right to host a World Cup should be based on performance at a World Cup Finals, with a provision that a nation can only host a tournament once every twenty years, and not some silly bid process.

I BELIEVE THAT QATAR 2022 IS A WORLD CUP WHICH THE VAST MAJORITY OF FOOTBALL FANS FROM AROUND THE WORLD DO NOT WANT.  There are a number of reasons for this, and FIFA President Sepp Blatter is a figure in which many people simply do not have confidence in.  The simple facts are that here is a man who was presided over a process to give the honour of hosting a World Cup to a country many people don't want, and subsequently an investigation into that process which has now been questioned by the very man who was carrying out the investigation.

Of course Associaton Football is not the only sport that was invented in England.  Rugby's great split in 1895 saw the emergence of Rugby League, as the Northern Rugby Football Union broke away from the established Rugby Football Union.  The cause was a divide between working class rugby players and more affluent rugby players.  A Football Split is now a possibility at some stage.

The tensions in the football family are more global compared to the English Rugby Split of the late nineteenth century.  Just maybe it could be argued that the more Association Football becomes more global, then the requirement of accomodating different cultures will indeed become more challenging.  For me, all the indications convince me that the longer Sepp Blatter remains at the FIFA helm, then the more likely it is for a split to become reality.




Friday 7 November 2014

A simple devolution formula for Britain

The aftermath of the Scottish Referendum has confirmed one thing, that Britain is going to change forever.  It has also highlighted more than a few complications such as English votes for English laws.  Of course the creation of two classes of MP, which would be a direct consequence of English votes for English laws, is for myself a non-starter.  Plus it can occasionally be ambiguous as to what constitutes an English only law.

As a supporter of Regional Assemblies for English Regions, I do acknowledge that the appetite for Regional Assemblies at present is not particularly brilliant.  What is particularly frustrating is that the best case for Regional Assemblies has not been made.  Furthermore, Regional Assemblies do not necessarilly mean a further unnecessary layer of Government; a drastic reduction in the number of Westminster MPs could address this.

The transfer of further powers to Scotland's Holyrood Parliament will result in what is known as the Devo Max scenario.  Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's power sharing executive at Stormont has little appetite for taking on further powers.  The Welsh Assembly in Cardiff also has a level of power at present which is not as great as those currently in Holyrood.

What is needed is for any English Region or UK Nation with a devolved Parliament or Assembly to have less MPs.  As Scotland is heading for Devo Max, the Scots could have their present number of Westminster MPs cut in half.  The Welsh and Northern Irish could have their numbers cut by a quarter.

This would then leave the English Regions in a fairer position, and with a fair choice.  That choice would be for an English Region to either reject a Regional Assembly and retain their current number of MPs, or embrace an appropriate level of devolution for their region which would accordingly cut that region's number of MPs.

So let's say that at some point in the future the South East has no devolution whatsoever, the North West votes for a level of devolution comparable to Wales, and the North East votes for Devo Max.  In that scenario the South East would retain it's existing level of Westminster MPs, whilst the number of MPs in the North West would be cut by a quarter, and the number of North East MPs would be cut by a half.

So whilst the Conservative and Labour Politicians squabble and fight for their own party interest, here is a very simple and non-partisan way of meeting the UK's devolution challenge.

Saturday 1 November 2014

Spit Forshaw to stand for Parliament in Sprotchester!

Sprotchester needs representing by a champion of the people, not some career politician claiming to represent Tory or Labour values!  At least those were the words of Spit Forshaw, a 43 year old local Sprotchester historian and railway enthusiast, who has announced his candidacy as an independent in the town for the general election.

Forshaw goes on to explain that he is representative of a new style of politics.  As an advocate of a fair and competitive taxation system, Forshaw speaks of a vision in which a lower income tax rate for the highest earners may one day be desirable.  However, that any moves by a Conservative led Government post 2015 to once again benefit the richest 10% at a time of austerity would be immoral, in the view of the historian.

Forshaw is a great believer that the ills of the NHS go way beyond a need for the service to hire more medical staff, and cut the number of administrators.  He will strongly oppose any policies by any government of whatever colour, which he believes will affect the ability of doctors and nurses to deliver first class care.  His belief is that the biggest challenge facing the NHS is to stem the flow of the more experienced nurses leaving the service.

On the thorny issue of Europe, Forshaw describes himself as "positively European."  Although he accepts that immigration from within the European Union is a challenge, he also believes that people should focus on the bigger picture.  For example the social legislation which now protects many employees in the workplace, whilst also not forgetting the various big companies who are making noises about relocating away from the UK should we decide to leave the EU.

With Sprotchester being a town heavily dependent on two local manufacturing plants which are owned by multi-national companies, Forshaw believes he can reach out to people in a way he believes the main parties have failed to do for some time.

Of course Spit Forshaw is a fictitious character, and Sprotchester is a fictitious town.  But what the Spit Forshaw/Sprotchester scenario does of course illustrate is that there are millions of UK voters who can't connect with any of the main political parties.  

Furthermore, there is a section of disillusioned voters who will also not want to vote for UKIP.  A fact borne out by an opinion poll just over a week ago which put support for EU membership at a 23 year high.

Nearly 16 million people did not vote in the 2010 UK General Election.  That is a large section of the electorate who could potentially turn UK Politics on it's head, if they could be persuaded to engage in the political process.

My father once said to me, "Andrew, new political parties and independent MPs have generally not done well in this country!"  That was before the emergence of social media, which has enabled some people to relate to people in a way they were not able to previously.  Watch this space.  After all, we now live in different times.