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I am not clever enough to create a reply function on this site.  If you would like to e-mail a response to me on anything below, here is my     e-mail address  and I will consider uploading.  If I do upload it, I will do so without alteration and with the author's name. 

High earners: The two pictures to the right are of Stephen Hester (Chief Executive of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)) and David Beckham (a footballer);  the picture below is of Emma Watson (a star of the Harry Potter films).

Stephen Hester is in the news because he is paid a salary by RBS of £1.2 million and was about to be handed a share bonus of a bit over £1 million.  He has now elected not to take the bonus after assorted parliamentary lefties stirred up resentment against high earners.

David Beckham is reputed to have a net worth of £135 million although some of this may derive from his wife's income as an entertainer?  I am not a football fan so I struggle to understand why someone who is skilful in kicking a football can earn a huge sum without criticism while someone who is skilful  in managing finances should be subject to such vilification.

Emma Watson starred as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films and is alleged to have earned £9.5 million in 2011.  No doubt the stories had huge popular appeal but no-one is jumping up and down about her financial success.

I could go on, listing pop stars, jockeys, cricketers, snooker players and, perhaps, even darts players all earning large salaries and income from advertising, branding, marketing and Lord knows what else. What is the difference between bankers, footballers, film stars and other celebrities?

I can see a key difference between Stephen Hester and the others.  He works for a bank that is 82% owned by the UK government and, therefore, by UK taxpayers.  However, we are in danger of losing sight of the critical fact that most banks worldwide are owned by private shareholders and listed on stock markets.  I do not see how one can treat RBS employees differently when they are working in a global market place.  Cap their pay too severely and they will simply move on to another bank not owned by its government.

Which brings me to a second point, spurred on by sight of the dreadful younger Miliband on the TV tonight.  Eddie the Leftie has clearly identified the stunning fact that the vast majority of the population are on incomes measured in thousands rather than millions and is busy building up resentment and stoking a class war.  Having forced Stephen Hester into refusing a bonus to which he is contractually entitled he is not going to stop there.  He is going to attack "excessive banking earnings" generally.  OK, Leftie Ed; why stop there?  If people employed in private sector banks should be banned from earning multi-million sums, why not footballers like David Beckham and actresses like Emma Watson?   It seems to me that sauce for the banking gander is also sauce for the high profile celebrity goose?

I know this will not be popular with the hoi polloi or with the Oxford chattering classes but please fault my logic ..... 

The private parking fine rip-off:  The Oxford Mail recently ran a story about angry motorists being fined for parking while they collected post from the Royal Mail office at Littlemore. It transpired that the fines were being levied by a private contractor on cars parking on private land. I have had a little experience of this scam and I wrote the following in the Oxford Mail:

I would encourage any motorist who finds a parking ticket on his car to look at it carefully.  If it is an official one, it will refer to the relevant legislation; otherwise, it may look like an official parking ticket (Parking Charge Notification or PCN) but it will not be one.  In this case, it is worth looking at the web site referred to above.

Grammar Watch: The "Myself" culture:  In my 10 years as Leader of the Council, I have led an unremitting war against sloppy use of English.  I am about to admit defeat as I face the prospect of handing over the leadership without having made a sufficient shift in practice.  Goodness knows why our school system has so comprehensively failed to maintain a decent respect for grammatical usage but it certainly has not.

It is abundantly clear that far too many people in jobs requiring good communication skills do not understand the difference between the subjective "I" and the objective "me".  Given their confusion and lack of confidence, I fear many otherwise intelligent people revert to "myself" in total terror of using "I" or "me" incorrectly.

For the record, I have received messages saying

I have retaliated by replying to such messages in the form "I should like to thank yourself for your message" but I fear the implied irony has been completely lost on many recipients.

E-Mail from the Queen:  I can't resist this one from a friend:

A secular society:  There seems to be increasing pressure from a minority of atheists, secularists and nihilists to prevent the use of prayers or the mention of God in public meetings.  It is happening increasingly in the UK.   Interestingly, the USA has a constitution that excludes religion but the US remains a nation with strong religious elements.  The following story is apparently true from a Canadian high school and brings a smile to my face. 

They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With their rich maroon gowns flowing and the traditional caps, they looked almost as grown up as they felt.  Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Mums freely brushed away tears.

This class would NOT pray during the commencements, not by choice but because of a recent Canadian court ruling prohibiting it.

The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the graduates or their families.

The speeches were nice but they were routine until the final speech received a standing ovation.  A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment and then it happened.   All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED !!!!

The student on stage simply looked at the audience and said, "GOD BLESS YOU!"  and he walked off the stage...

Higher earners - General Practitioners: There are a number of institutions that the British public love, respect and revere.  As well as school teachers, fire men & women and nurses, family doctors - also known as general practitioners (GPs) - can count on occupying that pantheon of community respect.

Before the Blair years, an average GP would have been earning something around £60k pa;  he or she would have held regular surgeries and been available for out-of-hours call-out by patients on a rota basis. 

Ambulance chasing lawyers: I am delighted to hear that the activities of ambulance-chasing lawyers are being curtailed and hospitals are being ordered to remove advertisements for personal injury lawyers from NHS-branded leaflets being distributed in casualty wards.

My blood boils when I see TV advertisements from lawyers enticing people who have suffered some form of accident or injury to try their luck in a claim against their employers or almost anyone else.

We seem to have created a something-for-nothing society either not caring who bears the cost of litigation or assuming that "someone up there" will carry the can.

The result is a rising  bill for legal costs and legal aid and an aversion to employing staff by many small businesses.

The joys of cycling  James Styring is a very vocal advocate for cycling who writes regularly in The Oxford Mail.  I took him to task recently for an article in which he tried to excuse the bad habits of a minority of Oxford's cyclists who regularly frighten pedestrians and crash red traffic lights.  He got very heated in return but I maintain my position on the inexcusable behaviour of some cyclists who tarnish the reputation of the whole body of cyclists.

As a result of this, I cannot resist reproducing the following letter from today's Oxford Mail and offering my congratulations to its author for raising a smile.

Taking to my bicycle looks truly appealing

As a car user, I am always advised that it is better to cycle than use the car, so I thought I would give it a go and cycle to work one day.

I will now look forward every morning to mounting my cycle at home and cycling on every available pavement, causing pedestrians to scatter as I zoom by, giving them a load of abuse and rude hand signals.

When I do eventually wander into the road, I will not have to worry about stopping at junctions, as other road users should always give way to me.

As for approaching traffic lights, I am really looking forward to that - it doesn't matter what colour they are, I don't have to stop.  I just carry on regardless.

When I approach a line of stationary traffic, I won't have to join the end of the queue.  Al I have to do is ride up on the inside of the line of cars, knocking off the odd wing mirror and scratching as many car doors as I can.

I will then cycle down the wrong way of a one-way street, (well at least I.m going one way).  When I do eventually arrive at work, I can lock my bike to one of the many lamp-posts and obstruct the pavement.

Then, after work, I can ride home in the dark without lights but still expect everyone to see me and arrive safely home oblivious to all the trouble I have caused during my journey.

What makes this proposition even more appealing is that I can do all this without any worry that I will be prosecuted for all these misdemeanours, as the police are not interested.

If I had carried out any of the above in my car, I would have been prosecuted and most probably had my licence taken away from me.  Yes, I can now see why cycling is so appealing.

Andy Beal

Sandy Lane, Blackbird Leys, Oxford

Why Scotland's independence affects all of us:  Alex Salmond seems to be arguing that Scottish voters alone should vote in a referendum to determine whether Scotland stays in the Union or not.  David Cameron claims that the UK should determine how this decision should be taken.  I think Salmond is wrong and our Prime Minister is right.  Here is why.

In 1976, a Labour Treasury minister named Joel Barnett devised a formula that determines the relative levels of public spending between England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.  Although having no statutory basis, it has been used in every year since then to set the relative levels of public spending in the four countries that make up the United Kingdom. 

The result of the application of the Barnett Formula is that for every £100 of public service expenditure in the UK as a whole, England has £97 to spend; Scotland has £121 to spend; Wales has £110 and Northern Ireland has £120.

Looked at another way, here is the spending per head of population for the four countries from HM Treasury Public Expenditure Stastical Analyses 2011:

The Barnett Formula takes no account of need - it never has.  It also has perverse effects.  For example, the recent Council Tax Freeze Grant in England allocated £675 million to English authorities.  However, as a result of the Barnett Formula, Scotland - which already has a council tax freeze in place - was handed an additional £67.5 million, Wales an extra £39 million and Northern Ireland an extra £23 million.  The devolved administrations can spend this windfall as they choose! 

It is clear to me that Salmond knows he cannot win a referendum vote for independence.  However, a third box on the voting slip for what is called "Devolution Max" would win overwhelming support and would strengthen Salmond's hand to argue for more powers for Scotland within the Union and a continuation of the Barnett Formula.  This would disadvantage us in England even more and it is why all residents of the UK have a right to determine a demand from some politicians in one part for a vote on secession.

It is time the Barnett Formula was re-visited and substantially changed to reflect relative need.

There is a political dimension to the Scottish Independence argument.  It is usually referred to as the West Lothian Question after the Member of Parliament - Tam Dalyell, MP for West Lothian - who first raised it.  It relates to the fact that all UK MPs are able to vote on maters affecting England but only Members of the Scottish Parliament can vote on matters devolved to that body. 

Here are the tantalising statistics for the 2010 General Election constituencies by country and by party:

Thus, the Conservatives would have had an overall majority in an English Parliament of 53 seats over all other parties.

Cruise ship sinking:  This is not a political issue - more a comment on current events.  However, I think it was only a few days ago when I came across a story about the Costa Concordia cruise ship.  I saw the picture on the left and I remember thinking:  "This cruise ship looks very top heavy - more out of the water than in it.   I would not wish to be in  charge of this ship on the open ocean.  I would not trust its stability in water."

The Iron Lady:  Tonight I viewed this incredible film at The Phoenix Cinema, Walton Street with Gawain Little who is an Oxford primary school master and a dedicated Trot (short for "Trotskyite" and a description I suspect he would relish).  We were chaperoned by an Oxford Mail news hound, Liam Sloan.

The Oxford Mail invited us to view the film and to write a review.  Here is mine:

What I watched tonight was some great acting, particularly from Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, Jim Broadbent (Denis Thatcher) and Olivia Colman (Carol Thatcher) but it was not a great film.  What it did well was to tell the story of her early life and the role Alderman Roberts played in his daughter’s development.  It showed the equally critical role of Denis Thatcher as a real love match and constant support; the down-to-earth style of daughter Carol and the awful indignity of bereavement and ageing.  What I thought it did less well were the political bits in the middle.  Scenes in the House of Commons showing MT as the only woman were just a bit unreal although clearly designed to make a point.  I don’t think her dressing down of Geoffrey Howe in Cabinet happened quite like that and I am sure she was not in the car park when Airey Neave was blown up by an IRA bomb.  The film took liberties with the truth to make the point about how this brave, conviction politician took on a complacent establishment and trounced them until, of course, in then end, these spineless men turned on her and ousted her from office.  It was always going to be impossible to capture this fascinating woman’s character in just 105 minutes.  The film tried to do it by squeezing too much political history into a series of not always plausible flashbacks.  However, the strength of her character, even in old age and decline shone through and Meryl Streep’s portrayal was electrifying and magnificent.   

Setting Scotland free: I see the Scots are getting uppity about a referendum on independence for Scotland!  In particular, they think leaving the Union should be a decision for Scots alone.

It would be tempting to support Scottish Independence, knowing it would leave England as a Conservative-ruled country for the foreseeable future!  However, there is more to constitutional matters and I do not support breaking up the Union.  It has stood us well as a country since 1706 and I would take some persuasion that fragmenting the Union would benefit the residents of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. 

The Iron Lady: Today I took part in a Radio Oxford Heine Programme on the film: The Iron Lady.  I shared the studio with Godfrey Johnson, a retired journalist who has written for most of the quality nationals;  Professor Dennis Noble of Balliol College who campaigned against an Honorary Degree for Margaret Thatcher in 1985 and Ann Spokes, an ex Chairman of the City Council and an ex-County Councillor who was a student with Margaret Thatcher at Somerville College.

In 1985 a little over 1,000 members of Congregation assembled in the Sheldonian (pictured right ) to debate an honorary doctorate for Rt Hon Margaret Thatcher, the then Prime Minister.  Incredibly, they turned it down.

The Iron Lady:  The film of this name is apparently released today and there is considerable media interest locally in Oxfordshire. 

Radio Oxford:  I did a pre-record from home this morning at 6:40 am with Phil Gale, explaining why Margaret Thatcher is my political hero.

Heine Programme:  Apparently, I am appearing on the Heine Programme on Sunday 8 January to talk about Margaret Thatcher and The Iron Lady film.  I say "apparently" because it is not in my diary yet and no-one from the BBC has asked me to appear.  Someone  from the BBC told me I was on the Sunday schedule!  I suspect they will call me some time if they do want me to appear!

Reviewing the film:  The Oxford Mail has asked me to view the film at an Oxford cinema on Monday, sitting with what they described as a well known "Oxford leftie" after which we will both be asked to write a short review for the newspaper!  I have agreed to do this - my first time inside a cinema for quite a few years! 

The local leftie is someone called Gawain Little.  I think the last Gawain of my acquaintance featured in Morte D'Arthur but I rather think this chap will not be wearing a suit of armour or dashing to rescue a damsel in distress!

Here is his track record: Gawain Little is President of the Oxford & Trades District Council; member of the  Oxfordshire Anti-Cuts Alliance; the President of the National Union of Teachers, Oxfordshire Branch (the NUT is the most militant of the teacher unions); Executive Member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.  Gawain also finds time to be a school master at St Ebbes Primary School in Oxford.

Here are some references to Gawain in the media

Here are the Key Stage results for 2011 to which Gawain Little contributed as a school master at St Ebbes

Here is the Ofsted Report on St Ebbes for 2011 where Gawain Little was a school master.  The school boycotted the SATs in 2010 hence the ‘zeros’ in the graphs for that year.

New Year's Honours:

Top of my list is an MBE for Tim Stimpson who is our Facilities Manager at County Hall.  I am delighted he has been awarded his MBE.  It is richly deserved.  If you want something done in our central buildings, Tim is the man.  Nothing is too difficult for Tim and you know it will be done speedily and professionally. 

Tim also supports the Oxford Open Doors Project when he ropes in his family members and conducts tours of the heritage parts of County Hall.

I am sure Tim will enjoy his day at the Palace!

I am also delighted to see a CBE awarded to Jonathan Flint, Chief Executive of Oxford Instruments plc.  Jonathan became Chief Executive in April 2005.  He has a BSc in Physics from Imperial College and an MBA from Southampton University. He is a fellow of the Institute of Physics, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Engineering and Technology. He sits on the Council of the Institute of Physics and is a member of advisory panels to the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council.  Prior to Oxford Instruments, he held senior management positions within Vislink plc, BAE Systems, GEC Marconi and Matra-Space Systems.

Oxford Instruments plc was founded by Sir Martin Wood as Oxford University's first spinout company.  It is hugely successful.