It's what she would have wanted…

Thatcher's death is (hopefully) nigh, though I've been saying that for years. For some reason, the government wants to give her a state funeral - the last non-royal to get one was Winston Churchill, and I don't think grabbing the Falklands back from the people you stole it from in the first place is quite up there with liberating Europe.

So there's a petition to the government:

Thatcher state funeral to be privatised
Responsible department: Cabinet Office
In keeping with the great lady's legacy, Margaret Thatcher's state funeral should be funded and managed by the private sector to offer the best value and choice for end users and other stakeholders. The undersigned believe that the legacy of the former PM deserves nothing less and that offering this unique opportunity is an ideal way to cut government expense and further prove the merits of liberalised economics Baroness Thatcher spearheaded.

I would suggest that the lowest bidder wins the gig, in keeping with school food provision and other formerly-public services. I volunteer to do it for free. All I'd need is a wheelbarrow and directions to the nearest closed coal pit.

Sign it now.

In defence of humanities

The core of the Tory Scum-Lib Dem attack on education is a denial that it's a public good - especially the humanities.

I'm very well aware that signing petitions doesn't do anything (a million people marched against the Iraq war), but it's a gesture of opposition. So please do sign this one:

We are a group of academics, students and business people who are campaigning for recognition of the humanities and social sciences as an invaluable public good that should not be abandoned to market forces.

If you think that university degrees should enhance employability, then the Humanities and Social Sciences matter because they develop crucial skills, including:

* Critical thinking and analysis

* Capacity to understand and negotiate cultural difference

* Creativity and imagination 

For the universities to offer contemporary relevance tomorrow, or in ten years’ time, they need to be in a position to decide what they teach today on intellectual grounds, not on the basis of whether or not a subject happens to be “popular”.

The UK government is currently preparing a White Paper on higher education. We urge them to reject the impoverished vision of higher education outlined in the Browne report, which surrenders everything to market forces. This is not only an impoverished vision of the role of universities in society, but also an impoverished vision of the future of Britain as a democracy, a society, a culture – and an economy.

We urge them instead to pursue a bold vision, to recognise the humanities and social sciences as a public good, and to invest in their future rather than leaving them to the vagaries of the market. 

Another stultifying politics post

Thanks to Kate, who sent me a petition about lobbying for the government to ignore. I don't know if you're aware that business groups, British and overseas, have an open sesame to government: anything they want, they get. They have meetings with ministers whenever they want, they lobby ministers and MPs to get laws weakened, and they second their staff to work in government (so that, for instance, the weapons procurement department of the Ministry of Defence is partly staffed by employees of companies selling weapons to … er … the MoD). The Business department seems to think that its job is to shill for the aviation industry rather than to govern in the interests of citizens. In return, failed ministers get nice fat directorships of companies dealing with the politician's former ministry. You and I will never be listened to with the same grovelling regard.

However, we might be able to reduce the influence these people have if there's a clear record of who's been lobbying. So here's a petition to sign.

I've just signed a petition to tell the government it's time to put a stop to lobbyists working in secret.

[http://38degrees.org.uk/page/s/lobbytransp]

Whether it's tobacco advertising, arms deals, GM food, or airport expansion, companies pay people to try to influence government. Currently we've no right to know what these lobbyists are up to.

A compulsory, public register would put a stop to that, and help clean up politics. The government has said it will make its mind up on this in the next few weeks: please sign now to help make sure they make the right decision.

[http://38degrees.org.uk/page/s/lobbytransp]