New Labour gambles

Tessa loses

we win!

Tessa Jowell has not for the first time, had a bit of a problem with figures this time it appears that she was unable to keep an accurate count of her chickens in the House of Lords, over the Government's wish to build a super casino and 16 others.

She also seems to have had similar problems, with figures such as the Olympic Games which is now increasingly out of control, with a few extra billions being added with alarming regularity every few months.

Now I wonder whether her estranged husband Mr Mills may have been cognisant of some possible flaw in her fiscal understanding since we were informed a year or so ago, that her husband had not thought to discuss financial arrangements with Silvio Berlusconi.

Of course Tessa Jowell is not the only Labour minister who's having problems with her figures, Margaret Beckett today has been in the frame for her performance in administering agricultural funds to farmers.

Tessa Jowell is quoted as having no plan B, which although the government seemed to be totally uncaring, means that at least hundreds of thousands of people would not be encouraged to flush the housekeeping down the drain and into the pockets of greedy parasitic gambling businesses.

The Government's whole policy towards gambling is frankly sickening, for a party that was once proud, to stand for social justice. There are at least two bookies and one casino within less than a mile of where I live, if I don't fancy the exercise I can of course, play bingo or poker via the Internet or purchase a lottery scratchcard, in most shops. So I wonder what sort of people Tessa Jowell and her Labour colleagues are actually mixing with that they think, there are any shortages of gambling opportunities.

As you realise, I'm not the most educated person, I know that culture also encompasses slightly more uplifting pursuits music drama sport literature sculpture and visual Arts. It seems that where there are super casinos, in the rest of the world, prostitution and drug abuse increased dramatically maybe New Labour should go that one step further and incorporate brothels and drug dens into their plans.

In the next few weeks, when Blair finally retires, we will no doubt see a lot of sycophantic crap, telling us how wonderful his reign has been, but this will be one of those items, part of his legacy, along with unquestioning support of Bush that will quickly erode any good he may have done in his ten-years.

Finally don't get me wrong, I've been known to have a flutter myself, on the lottery when it was one simple game once a week, and a dollar in a Las Vegas slot machine on route to breakfast, just to prove to myself that I know how to have a good time. However there is something deeply disturbing about a government, that has amongst its major policy initiatives a scheme to encourage ordinary people, to give large amounts of money, to what are greedy parasitic gambling companies.

PS What are the odds of Ms Jowells chances of future promotion or Labour serving another term with these ill judge policies?