It’s a question I’ve been asking myself a lot over recent weeks. It all started on a weekend with friends in a country house near Ross-on-Wye. The advert was clear, the house has ‘Free WiFi’, which is good because I don’t go anywhere without Wifi. Except when we got there it wasn’t working, and was destined not to work the entire weekend. To compound matters, there was no phone signal either, nowhere in the grounds, or along the road (trust me, I tried).

I felt utterly bereft, to the point of agitation. Agitation that grew when no-one else around me seemed to care. “What if something happened?” I moaned, “The triffids could have taken over and we wouldn’t even know!” – the fact my friends thought I was joking just made it worse.

Reading that back, it does sound ridiculous, but I genuinely felt anxious that I wouldn’t be ‘connected’ for three whole days. So ridiculous, yes. But also true.

Since returning to civilisation* (*a world of WiFi and data connections) I have been trying to answer why I felt so bereft. And the best answer I can come up with is I hate missing out, more specifically, I hate not knowing something that other people do. I love the feeling of being the person who ‘breaks’ news in the office, the one in-the-know.

Yet, I can’t help feeling that, in my desire to not miss out on one thing, I am potentially missing out on much more.

My instapaper is full of articles I want to read, but never will. I manage about a quarter of a newspaper a day. I am currently half-reading about four books, but not convinced I’ll finish any of them. And that’s just the start of it.

I feel like I never consume things in their completeness – I listen to individual tracks, not albums, I read the bits of news where the headline grabs my attention, but not the whole paper, (and when I say read I, of course, mean scan), and when I watch a TV programme or a film, I’m also watching my iPad to see who else is watching and what they think. It’s both exhausting and increasingly unfulfilling. Machines can be as connected as they (we) like but for humans, surely there must a be limit to how many inputs are desirable?

Which is why I’m going to make a conscious effort to start reducing my inputs and by doing so hopefully increase the amount I actually consume.

All this means, at least for a bit, I’ll be quitting twitter. It’s not that I don’t love it – in many ways, it’s the opposite. But I am not sure I love what it’s turning me into.

See you around.

Bx

Over the coming months, as the results of investigations into five more hospitals are published, we will see just how deep and wide-spread this abuse of trust has been.

There is a lack of good leadership in the NHS, exacerbated by a lack of respect for the work of managers by both politicians and clinicians.

The first-step in restoring trust is for Sir David Nicholson to resign and be replaced by someone from outside the NHS, with a clear vision for change.

The second is for politicians to start championing the essential role of good managers and leaders in the delivery of a world-class health-service, rather than dismissing them as ‘bureaucrats’ and ‘pen-pushers’.

Third is for the NHS (and other public bodies) to embrace transparency and develop channels that facilitate meaningful and ongoing engagement with the communities they serve.

The right result came out in the end. 

David Cameron and Maria Millar showed strong leadership on an issue they knew would divisive within their party, and should be applauded for that. 

There will be no applause, David Cameron is now more vulnerable than he was before he gave his Europe speech. 

The fact it was so divisive (if only Tories voted, the motion would have been lost) is a reminder, if needed, the Tories are very much still the ‘nasty’ party. 

I saw nothing to sugest those who voted against are not, on the whole, homophobes and bigots. 

This should not be the last time we debate Gay marriage – once this round has been won (and remember it still needs to get through the committee stage and the Lords), the fight needs to move from Parliament to the Parishes. 

An Algerian boy was restrained by five people are attempting to steal a sandwich from a supermarket, as an asylum-seeker he was not permitted to work and received just £35 per week for food, clothing and travel.

Just in case any of you were still under the illusion that asylum-seekers were coming to Britain and living the life of Riley I’ll repeat, £35 per week to feed yourself, clothe yourself and travel around, and no opportunity to work and try and improve your lot. In court he said he frequently went 1 or 2 days a week without eating.

The Trussell Trust predict that over 200,000 people will use food banks in the 2012/13 financial year, even in austerity Britain it simply can’t be OK for people to be unable to afford to eat.

Whilst George Osborne talks of ‘strivers vs shirkers’ real people are going hungry, someone needs to convince him it’s time to change tack.

So I am going to try and follow suit on this blog. I am hoping it’ll mean I write more, at worst it’ll hone my skills for all the e-mails I have to write.

Pascal once wrote:

I have made this (letter) longer than normal as I have not had time to make it shorter

Wish me luck!

I was listening to David Mellor earlier. After five minutes of telling the BBC exactly what they had got wrong and how they needed to improve he said “I am a friend of the BBC, I just want to stop them falling at the hand of their enemies”.

Really though? Really? I have been lucky enough to have been a friend to and been befriended by some amazing people over the years and I am comfortable in saying that not one of them, when the chips were down, would have gone on TV to tell the world exactly how I had been the author of my own demise”. A friend, in my book at least, might have that conversation with me in private, but to the world would be my champion.

I also count the BBC as friend, so this blog is dedicated to why I love it – and why you should too.

It is the first thing I listen to

Whether it is Jim, Jon, Sarah or Evan, I love waking-up to the Today programme. The show, on its own, delivers on Reith’s original mission to ‘educate, inform and entertain’. The joy doesn’t stop there however, I trust the whole of their news-output, from Breakfast to the (world-leading) website, to do the same. Sure they’ve made a couple of mistakes, but haven’t we all? When you put it up against phone-hacking, the crime of now showing a news-piece when you should have done (and then doing the opposite three-weeks later) seems a relatively minor one.

But the quality doesn’t start and end with news. The entertainment output is simply world-class. Don’t believe me? How many of you would have even thought about watching ball-room dancing a decade ago? Then we come to Drama, and again they are head and shoulders above any other UK broadcaster – from Spooks to Hunted, Waterloo Road to Holby, they deliver first-class programming for a huge range of audiences.

I was just thinking as I wrote the last paragraph and the BBC would be my organisation of choice for – news, drama, entertainment, spoken-word radio, music and (in terms of quality at least) sport. I don’t imagine any other broadcaster in the world could lay claim to that, yet I expect I am one of millions for the BBC.

The big moments

Weddings, funerals, elections, major-sporting events, in fact any moment of national significance, and it is the BBC we turn to. Why? Because no-one does it better. The Olympics reeled us in, not just because of the incredible athletes, but because of the incredibly story-tellers the BBC employed (and in many cases trained) to guide us through three weeks of triumph and disaster. This morning I turned on the TV and then later the Radio to watch/listen to the Remembrance Day commemorations – who else could do this?

Detractors of the BBC will tell you it is because they have a monopoly and far greater resources. Whilst this may be true in some respects (no-one else is willing to spend the money they do on news for instance), it isn’t always the case. The American broadcaster sent over five-times as many people to staff London 2012 than the BBC. Ask an American how that worked out for them.

They face-up to the things they’ve done badly

No-one gets it right all the time and the BBC are no different. What is different is everything they produce, from day-time dramas to Newsnight is held to a higher-level of scrutiny than other broadcasters. It is this level of scrutiny that, for me at least, has led them to being possibly the most transparent and accepting of blame of any major media outlet.

Just take a look at the Savile affair again. Entwistle had offered a full-apology within days of the story-breaking, whilst the Newsnight editor was removed from his role. Most impressively, the corporation opened themselves up for interrogation by their own shows. First Panorama, then Newsnight itself, investigated and reported to millions, the facts that led to the Savile decision. Not only that, Entwistle and other senior-execs did gruelling interviews both with their own and their competitors. Could you imagine Sky doing this? The Daily Mail? ITV?

If anything, in their keenness to stay ahead of public opinion they over-react. Entwistle first put himself at the mercy of Jon Humphreys and then resigned after only seven weeks in post for what was, ultimately, a couple of his editors being on the wrong-side of two very difficult judgement calls. Compare this to phone-hacking – how long did it take Rebecca Brooks to resign? Or the expenses-scandal (where some of the worst offenders are still serving MPs, whilst those who made genuine errors, find themselves bundled out of office).

The BBC should be looked at with some respect for how quickly and decisively they have acted.

They help deliver real and lasting change

Some of you’ll know I used to work for Comic Relief, so I feel personally indebted to the generosity of the BBC and their staff. Each ‘night of TV’ that is delivered as part of Red Nose Day or Sport Relief raises tens of millions of pounds. I imagine it is the same for Children In Need. More than the money raised on the night itself, the exposure through the campaign, helps inspire hundred of thousands of people to go out and fundraise. To date, Comic Relief has raised over £800 million pounds. That’s real money that helps save real lives. Without the BBC it is hard to imagine how the project would have even got off the ground.

They are just some of the reasons I love the BBC. Whenever they do something stupid or wrong, I line it up against all the good they do, all the quality programming they produce and remember there is no-one else even close.

A nation at ease with itself – Somewhere between Danny Boyle’s incredible three hour advertorial and Mo Farah becoming the first British athlete to claim gold in the 10,000 metres we may have finally started to understand and accept a contemporary version of Britain and what it may achieve. A Britain where a granddaughter of the Queen and a child of parents fleeing persecution can compete and win alongside each other. A Britain that can cheer on its own and its visitors with equal gusto (trust me, I was in the crowd as the competitor from East Timor came past in the Women’s Marathon – the noise was deafening). A Britain that can host the worlds greatest sporting and cultural event – and do it well.

Positive Role-Models - Role models aren’t what they used to be. They used to be famous for just being famous, or for being on Big Brother or TOWIE. Well not anymore – bring on the class of 2012. Jess Ennis, Katherine Copeland, Gemma Gibbons, Zoe Smith to name but four. And I name women deliberately (with apologies to Farah, Rutherford et al) as they prove you can be a world-class, world-beating athlete without worrying that your femininity will somehow be diminished. Every medal winner, in fact every Olympian comes with their own back-story but some things remain consistent – hard-work, dedication, courage, determination, sacrifice, self-discipline. Not bad traits to pass on to our next generation.

Grace in Victory (and defeat) – You can learn a lot about people in the way the celebrate victory. Our Olympians, to an athlete, have won with grace. They have showed emotion and pride, but have also been willing to share their victories with those around them, whether it be their coaches or support staff or even us sitting in the grandstands or on sofas in sitting-rooms around the UK. That same grace has been shown in defeat where, often devastated athletes blame no-one but themselves and still have time to thank fans and family. Not bad lessons to live by.

Respect - Compete hard but fair and be respectful of your opponents. It is something I was taught when I started playing (a somewhat lower level of) competitive sport 25years ago and it seems to be the very embodiment of this generation of Olympians. Witness Jess Ennis and the rest of the heptathlon field link arms for a collective lap of honour, the favourite for the men’s 400metres asking to swap his name bib with Oscar Pistorius, Usain Bolt tweeting after his victory to commiserate with Asafa Powell and to say the whole Jamacian revolution was down to him. Being an Olympian is about more than competing, it is about respecting a code, the memory of all who came before you.

So our legacy challenge? Well of course it is to get more of our kids active, to make the good ones better, the great ones greater but it is also simpler than that. The last week has given Britian a chance to see what our country can be like when we choose to unite around a single purpose rather than let smaller differences divide us. The power of hope and optimism over despair and cynicism. I have never felt prouder to be British, I want that feeling to last forever.

Such nerves are natural of course, I remember what I was like on the morning of my wedding, and this party has over 3million people invited – not to mention the 2billion plus watching the wedding video. That said, it is time now to run a collective hot bath, add some lavender oil, sink in, reflect and get a little perspective.

London 2012 has been the biggest peace-time infrastructure project since the late 1940′s and has been completed on-time and pretty much to budget. Not only that, the Olympic Park looks amazing. During this time tens of thousands of jobs have been created at a time when they have been needed more than ever, and a grotty, underinvested part of London has received the face-lift of face-lifts.

Not only that, but our creative industry has been delivered a major boost delivering advertising campaigns, TV shows and driving media awareness on behalf of sponsors and non-sponsors alike. The shop window that has been created for agencies in this sector will reap rewards for many years to come.

Then there are less obvious benefits. As we speak there over 550 British swimmers, athletes, gymnasts, rowers and elite performers from a dozen other disciplines all going through their final stages of preparation before the Games. Each and every one of these incredible people have the potential to inspire an entire nation. Kelly Holmes, Denise Lewis, Linford Christie, Seb Coe – the hairs on my arms still stand up as I remember their achievements. If they can inspire a slightly overweight dad of two standing on the 7:59 from Chiswick, imagine what this generation of sporting heroes will do for our kids?

So, with just 14days to go and as I wonder round London, looking at the flags on the lamposts, the rings on tower bridge I can’t help but feel really excited. The time for grumbling and pessimism is over – let the Games begin!

Philip Gould was the unsung hero of New Labour. Possessing a unique understanding of people, he was able to get to the heart of their hopes, fears and aspirations. The intelligence he gathered from polls and focus groups was utterly crucial to the project both in terms of presentation and policy.

When I die is his personal account of his battle with Cancer. A battle he tragically lost. Far from being depressing however (though, take it from me, it is not something to read on the tube) this is an uplifting and inspiring book full of hope and promise.

By choosing to accept that death will come to him Gould releases both himself and those around him, making their final weeks together ones of joy and intimacy rather than despair and solitude.

Perhaps most impressive is that first him then, in his final days, his daughter manage to capture every moment and emotion in words so that we can share in it.

It finishes with an e-mail from Alastair Campbell to Philip, written just a few days before his death. In it Campbell quotes The Queen, from a speech first spoken in the days after 9/11

“Grief is the price we pay for love”

Go read it now.

First, if it is not already obvious, I am a fan. It was Tony Blair that gave me that final reason to join the Labour party back in the mid-nineties and, since his departure, it is a party I have generally felt less comfortable in. Some of it was his policies – major reforms to health and education that only a centrist from a Labour background could have hoped to succeed in; an aggressive equality agenda; a global view based on the spread of democracy and active engagement when humanitarian needs demanded it (not to mention the massive expansion in the international development budget). In short, the third-way was what was needed for the country and that is what Blair delivered.

Less tangible but perhaps more significant were his leadership qualities, of which he had in abundance. Whether it was the death of Diana, Kosovo or 9/11 he had a knack for understanding the public mood. He also understood the dangers of a political vacuum and, if no-one else could, would quickly step in to fill it. This was particularly important in the hours, days and weeks following 9/11 where America felt isolated and therefore unpredictable and the rest of the world unsure how to act, it is no understatement to say that during that time Tony Blair held together a global peace.

That is not to say I liked everything he did, far from it – Iraq as in for many on the left was a cause of angst and something I couldn’t and didn’t support. That said, I never doubted his belief that it was the right thing to do, and that is third important trait – the belief and confidence that what you are doing is right. Politics, particularly at the highest level is rarely about absolute rights and wrongs, it is about judgement. Once you have made up your mind you have to have the desire and belief to see it through.

So how do the current crop compare? Tony Blair said in his interview with the Evening Standard yesterday ‘there are two types of leaders – reality managers and reality creators. Mostly it is adequate to have reality managers but now we need leaders who can create reality’. Judged against that we are not faring well. Despite what I sometimes write, there is no evidence that Cameron is inherently evil, but he is just adequate – and that just isn’t good enough such uncertain times. Sadly he is not alone, there are very few, if any on either front bench who have that desire, vision and belief that is required to simultaneously take on challenges like the banking crisis, the arab-spring, health, education, the Olympics and much more. The only names who come to mind with even the potential are Gove for the Tories or Umunna for Labour. Both at least have intellect and belief in abundance.

Why so few heavyweights? I think the answer is three-fold.

First, selection for either of the main parties benefits two groups of people far too much – ultra-loyalists and special advisors/those within the political machine. There is nothing wrong with being loyal of course, but I would far rather have an MP who has the power of free-thought and rebels from time to time than one who slavishly holds party line at all costs (just look at how many ‘loyal’ Conservative MPs looked ridiculous following the fuel duty u-turn earlier this week).

Secondly, age. Has anyone else noticed how just as the average age of the population is increasing, the age of MPs and ministers is tumbling? I am all for the ‘if you are good enough, you are old enough’ philosophy, but as I mentioned earlier great leadership is about judgement and that almost always comes with experience. This also links to the first point and the shallowness of the pool for potential candidates. It is now a well-trodden path to cabinet – good school, PPE or similar at University, parliamentary assistant, special advisor, a couple of years on the backbencher and then a junior ministerial role before graduating to cabinet. Where are the teachers, doctors, nurses, business leaders in all this?

Thirdly and finally, the power of the whips has just become too strong – so even if you have made it through the first two, you are unlikely to get past the third with your reforming zeal and dignity still in tact. Like Big Brother in 1984, you’ll have every bit of independence squeezed out of you until you become fully assimilated into the party machine. Great for party unity, bad for politics.

And so, depressingly, fear we will have to wait a long time until we see another Blair and perhaps even longer until we see one surrounded by other strong Ministers. On the other hands Blair did say he would like to return to office….