I have spent several hours today trying to get Barker Jr shielded on the latest government database.....I am still hanging on the phone to my local council who have the duty to administer and also decide on shielding on the database. NB - unlike the NHS Spine we cannot opt out entirely. Whilst I never want to see another Baby P - neither do I want Big Brother uselessly and expensively watching Jr's every move.
Now, the thing is - does the potential for 300,000 people to access the database compromise my son's privacy? If it does so - then does this compromise his safety? If his safety is compromised then how is the state carrying out its duty to protect its citizens? Barker Jr is definitely not safe in Ed Balls' hands.
Maybe I am paranoid, but when the government almost routinely loses data on memory sticks, laptops and in briefcases - how can I carry out the first duty of a parent and protect my son from their incompetence and worse and from the data falling into malicious hands?

(The webmaster will be putting a link to opting out from the Spine on the website soon.)

I can't begin to imagine the anguish of losing a child.
My heart goes out to David, Samantha and their family.
Ivan - you have left a far bigger legacy of understanding than most people.

Well tomorrow is the day. At 7.30pm in the Brighouse Holiday Inn - come and make your mind up! I would love to be selected for Dewsbury - it's a great place to live! Not only in Yorkshire, but a seat we need to win to form a government and Shahid Malik to boot out. What more could a woman want?
I am looking forward to seeing as many members and supporters tomorrow as can make it.
Any questions? Email me at askme@jobarker.co.uk

So I could blog about that woman (you know the one with the handbag fetish - who is also Home Sec). I could blog about the economic crisis. I could blog about anything going on in this mad, mad world.
BUT what really gets me at the moment is how Gordon Brown can keep on saying he is doing the right thing for Britain and taking the right decisions. Clearly he and his economic advisers have not got a clue. Tricky times call for clever measures, not electoral bribes. Mind you with a 20 point opinion poll lead they will be histroy soon. Bring it on!

So the news today is obviously full of the atrocities in Mumbai - but what is the government up to? They deny having anything to do with the arrest of our immigration spokesman(Damian Green), on the same day as the Met chief leaves....the government is lucky that this arrest has not been the only thing in the news. Since when was it against the law for an MP to do his job? Are the police now dictating what MP's can do or are they being directed by the Home Office? Surely if an opposition spokesman cannot act in the public interest - what hope is there for the whistle blowers this government said it was going to protect?

Very glad I was not in David Cameron's shoes today as I would have had trouble remaining civil about the whole episode.

Trotting off around the country this weekend - you may see me in a seat near you soon! Seems like it has never been a more important time to be in Parliament, as this washed up government burns our money and our civil liberties. Does Gordon play the fiddle?

So now the PM claims that he foresaw the current economic turbulence and put "prudent" measures in place over the last 10 years! Oh really? Like selling our Gold Reserve at c£200 an ounce - when now it is worth c£900? Like spending the increased tax take during times of prosperity and on what? PFI projects, the mortgages on which, my son will be paying until his retirement. Let's hope that the Government's stake in 3 banks (and counting) will do enough to stabilise things.
If not? I'm off up the garden to plant some overwintering vegetables and to measure up for chickens....

Fantastic to be in Birmingham for Conference this year!
Loved DC's speech - he's got it right for Britain. I don't envy him the enormous task of leading the nation - but we can't go on with Brown. It is all about character and understanding - he has a plan not a Gordon miracle cure. Who was it who believed he an put an end to boom and bust? Who was it who spent our money and borrowed in good times and has left the cupboard bare? Who wasted money on education and health, only to see the outcomes worsen? Who has taken the Great out of Britain?