Silent Majority Speaks

Rescuing Democracy in the United Kingdom from our current Elected Dictatorship

Spin, not face-to-face confrontations with the voters, is the Government's chosen method of communication. Ordinary people are dangerous. Ordinary people might ask a question which throws a politician 'off message'; the Cabinet member might reveal himself or herself to be a human being like us, and not a programmed android. Worse still, he or she might tell the truth. Ann Leslie - Daily Mail, September 16, 2004 Blair wants to leave his mark on history - looks more like a stain to me. Peter Thorndyke, Diss, Norfolk - Daily Mail, May 23, 2005 I know I'm me - why do I need an ID card? "Sorry, officers, I don't have an ID card. I never applied for one. It seemed a bit steep at 300 quid. I do have my free passport, my driving licence and my London freedom travel pass, each with my photograph. I have my NHS medical card, with its lengthy number, given me at birth, my RAF service book with my Armed Forces number, and a chit authorising me to wear a few gongs -including a General Service Medal with Malaya bar, for fighting communist terrorists on behalf of my country, or so they told me. "I've also got various credit cards and store cards, all with my signature on the back, generally good for buying the everyday requrements for life as well as the odd luxury. If you decide to arrest me, I suppose I'll have to be photographed and given another number, besides my PINs. "I'm afraid I haven't got a pension book; it was taken away." "By thieves, sir?" "No ... well, not exactly. By the Government. By the way, may I see your warrant cards please, gentlemen?" Oh dear, they've disappeared. E. Harry Gumer, Romford, ESSEX - Daily Mail, June 1, 2005 NO means NO When does NO mean MAYBE? When it's not the answer the EU wants. With the courageous French NON resounding in their ears, shabby, undemocratic self-interested leaders of Europe propose ignoring the part of their precious constitution that requires ratification by all members and continuing without one of the biggest founder members to prevent derailing the gravy train. As in Ireland, they refuse to accept any NO votes, ignoring the will of the people, and re-stage votes until they can engineer the 'correct' answer. Sadly, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw dances to their tune like a puppet on a string. With tactics such as these, how can anyone really believe the EU has our interests at heart. Letter from Steve Penny, Kingsnorth, Kent - Daily Mail, June1, 2005 Surely the French result makes the £1million the EU recently spent on a treaty signing ceremony seem a trifle premature and extravagant. Letter from Keith Wiseman, Bury, Lancs. - Daily Mail, June1, 2005

WWW silentmajorityspeaks.com

Britain has traditionally been one of the biggest net contributors to the EU because we do not get as much money back from Brussels in farm and regional subsidies as our rivals. According to Treasury figures, between 1995-2002, Britain's average contribution taking the rebate into account, was £2.6billion, or £43.55 per head of population. The French - the biggest recipient of farm subsidies - contributed £1billion a year or £16.08 per head of their population.

January 16, 2006 (978 days since Iraq war ended)

Death Toll: 2,219 US - 98UK - >>30,000? Iraqi - 25 media

February 9, 2006 (1002 days since war ended)

Death Toll: 2264 US - 101UK - >>6,164? Iraqi - >>17,300? civilians - 25 media

Tony Blair should know that respect comes by example - from the top. If a country's leader has no respect for the rule of international law and no respect for the truth, how can he expect anyone to have respect. Letter from P.J.Atkinson, Ashford, Kent - Daily Mail, January 12, 2006

STOP PRESS

Pupils resit maths A-levels six times

By Sarah Harris - Education Correspondent, Daily Mail, February 11. 2006

Teenagers are resitting A-level maths papers as many as six times, research has revealed. Students are repeatedly taking 'easier' papers from the first year of their A-level study in an attempt to boost their overall grades. The report from the government's exams watchdog will rekindle the row over whether exams are being 'dumbed down'.

Earlier this week a report warned that students are entering elite university, including Oxford and Cambridge, less numerate, literate and knowledgeable than ever. Some institutions are even having to postpone courses to the second year of undergraduate study to make time for remedial teaching.

The Nuffield Foundation's review quoted a maths tutor at one university who said: "Students hate numbers, they're scared stiff of numbers."

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority admits that the scale of resitting in maths is 'very large'. Brighter students in particular are thought to be resitting modules even after they had achieve high grades on a particular AS-level paper in their drive to achieve higher marks, the report indicates. This is because it would give them a better chance to achieve an A grade overall.

Students are allowed unlimited resits of the AS-level and A2 units which make up A-level. The QCA reformed maths A-level in 2003 in an attempt to make it more popular after exam entries slumped. The changes meant sixth-formers could do four AS-level units and only two of harder A2 modules and still get a full A-level. Other subjects require three units of each, with study split between the lower and upper sixth.

The QCA report gives the first detailed figures on resits for any exam. Exam boards have previously been reluctant to release the data. Figures provided to the QCA by the Oxford and Cambridge RSA (OCR) board show that one student took a statistics paper six times in 2004.

On a pure maths paper, 3,257 of 6,258 candidates (52%) sat the paper at least twice while a further 314 (5%) took it three times. And on a second similar paper, 3,052 (49%% took it twice while 511 (8%) sat is three times.

Tony Gardner, reader in mathematics at Birmingham University, past president of Mathematical Association, said the resit culture worked against deeper understanding of the subject. He said it was unacceptable that pupils resit easier AS papers many times to try to score high marks which could make up for the fact they did less well in harder exams.

He told the Times Educational supplement: "Retakes are a curse. Universities should be allowed to make their offers based on the score that (students) get at their first attempt." The proportion of A-levels maths paper awarded A-grades rose from 37.9% in 2004 to 40.7% last summer.

A QCA spokesman said: "Following a recommendation in the 2002 Tomlinson report, QCA removed the limit on the number of times that students can re-sit AS and A-level units. Statistics show that very few students sit the same unit repeatedly. The simplification of resit rules reduces the bureaucratic burden on schools, colleges and awarding bodies."

Meanwhile it has emerged that children will be expected to learn their times tables at an earlier age under proposals to revamp the national numeracy strategy. A draft framework is to be published at Easter with a final version ready by September.

However, the primary national strategy team has published some early ideas for consultation. Tim Coulson, director of the national numeracy strategy, told the TES: "If we want to see greater progress we need to do better in years three and four (ages eight to nine).

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