27 March 1997 Edition
Looking behind Ancram's sofa
By Laurence McKeown
Any time I cross the border I play the Lotto, not just for the one go, mind you, but usually for a few dates in succession, sometimes four, sometimes eight, depending how flush the funds are. There was even a time when I did it regularly without crossing the border but found it a nuisance having to return to the shop to collect my proof of purchase so I gave up on that.
There was a time when I didn't indulge in the `other lottery', thought it unpatriotic. But then one day I was talking to someone who said they played it regularly and before I could launch into a tirade about how such practices were ideologically unsound they remarked, ``Wouldn't it be great if you won it. Imagine them having to have over the money to a republican. Wouldn't they be sick?'' Ever since I've had a clear conscience when placing the occasional wager that way.
I suppose, like most people who play the lottery games, the thought of one day coming into possession of a few million pounds without really having done anything for it seems unreal. Yet there are others who don't even have to do the lottery to suddenly discover they have large sums of money they didn't know they had. Take Michael Ancram, for instance. A few weeks ago he announced that he had `found' three million pounds. Yes, he had `found' it. He just looked around his department one morning and lo and behold there it was, three million pounds that he didn't know he had. Better still, he announced today that he found a further million and more. He's now going to contribute this money to the education budget which he had plundered some months ago on the rationale that increased funds had to be diverted to security in light of the resumption of an IRA campaign.
Seeing as how I too have had to divert finances of late from such luxuries as cases of red wine and weekend breaks in Donegal to pay for a car to replace the one the hoods burnt out, I thought I would take a leaf from the boul Michael's book and look around the house just in case I had overlooked the odd green, blue or even purple-back. The fruits of my search amounted to the princely sum of £3.87 sterling (and two old pennies), a ten-punt note, 500 Spanish pesetas and 14,000 Italian lire (don't be fooled by the large number of noughts, though don't they sound impressive?). Not a hidden grand to be found. Which isn't surprising really as no one just finds large sums of money lying around which was unaccounted for. Unclaimed, maybe, as in the case of a range of state benefits which most people are unaware they are entitled to but which government departments are certainly well aware of.
No. What we have seen acted out was the usual ploy of governments who wish to inflict draconian economic measures upon the most disadvantaged but then seek to shift the blame for doing so onto someone or something else. And what better way than to make the cut even bigger than desired then reduce it in the face of representations from concerned parties. That way Michael might even appear like a knight in shining armour riding to the rescue of the disadvantaged. Unfortunately for him, people here are much more politically sophisticated than that. They know the games governments play and the only armour they see British government officials in is of dull grey hue.
Spending on education shouldn't be like playing the lottery. The quality of education for our children and young people shouldn't depend on the turn of a wheel or the throw of a dice. Nor should it depend on the whim of a British minister to be used when desired as alternatively blackmail or punishment of a community.
Any time I cross the border I play the Lotto, not just for the one go, mind you, but usually for a few dates in succession, sometimes four, sometimes eight, depending how flush the funds are. There was even a time when I did it regularly without crossing the border but found it a nuisance having to return to the shop to collect my proof of purchase so I gave up on that.
There was a time when I didn't indulge in the `other lottery', thought it unpatriotic. But then one day I was talking to someone who said they played it regularly and before I could launch into a tirade about how such practices were ideologically unsound they remarked, ``Wouldn't it be great if you won it. Imagine them having to have over the money to a republican. Wouldn't they be sick?'' Ever since I've had a clear conscience when placing the occasional wager that way.
I suppose, like most people who play the lottery games, the thought of one day coming into possession of a few million pounds without really having done anything for it seems unreal. Yet there are others who don't even have to do the lottery to suddenly discover they have large sums of money they didn't know they had. Take Michael Ancram, for instance. A few weeks ago he announced that he had `found' three million pounds. Yes, he had `found' it. He just looked around his department one morning and lo and behold there it was, three million pounds that he didn't know he had. Better still, he announced today that he found a further million and more. He's now going to contribute this money to the education budget which he had plundered some months ago on the rationale that increased funds had to be diverted to security in light of the resumption of an IRA campaign.
Seeing as how I too have had to divert finances of late from such luxuries as cases of red wine and weekend breaks in Donegal to pay for a car to replace the one the hoods burnt out, I thought I would take a leaf from the boul Michael's book and look around the house just in case I had overlooked the odd green, blue or even purple-back. The fruits of my search amounted to the princely sum of £3.87 sterling (and two old pennies), a ten-punt note, 500 Spanish pesetas and 14,000 Italian lire (don't be fooled by the large number of noughts, though don't they sound impressive?). Not a hidden grand to be found. Which isn't surprising really as no one just finds large sums of money lying around which was unaccounted for. Unclaimed, maybe, as in the case of a range of state benefits which most people are unaware they are entitled to but which government departments are certainly well aware of.
No. What we have seen acted out was the usual ploy of governments who wish to inflict draconian economic measures upon the most disadvantaged but then seek to shift the blame for doing so onto someone or something else. And what better way than to make the cut even bigger than desired then reduce it in the face of representations from concerned parties. That way Michael might even appear like a knight in shining armour riding to the rescue of the disadvantaged. Unfortunately for him, people here are much more politically sophisticated than that. They know the games governments play and the only armour they see British government officials in is of dull grey hue.
Spending on education shouldn't be like playing the lottery. The quality of education for our children and young people shouldn't depend on the turn of a wheel or the throw of a dice. Nor should it depend on the whim of a British minister to be used when desired as alternatively blackmail or punishment of a community.