Jeez!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-15519226

North Yorkshire chief constable admitted gross misconduct in helping a relative during a recruitment drive.

The police authority refused to renew his fixed term contract which expires in May 2012.

He will receive a payout of £200,000.

Home Office regulations require senior officers to be compensated if they are unable to complete 30 years' pensionable service.

Mr Maxwell would only complete that period if he stayed in the force until 2013.

Simple, demote him and give him a broom until his 30 years are up. And change the regulations.

Oh, to live in a democracy

One issue I feel strongly about is the EU.  So today's debate in the commons on having a referendum on the EU is of great interest to me.

Whether you are for or against the EU is beside the point.  99.5% of you can lobby your MP and make your views known, and you never know it might even make the tiniest bit of a difference to the outcome.

On the other hand the good burghers of Buckingham are disenfranchised. We can lobby our MP as much as we like and, unless there is a tied result, the person elected to  represent our interests doesn't even get to vote.