I suspect few were more pleased to see the start of the Christmas recess than the Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The winter of 'disc-content' that has seen half the nation's bank details lost became a whole lot worse when Ruth Kelly, the hapless Secretary of State for Transport, revealed that millions of learner driver details were lost. Not in Gateshead this time but Iowa in the USA!

Please don't ask me how a US corporation is able to provide a data collection service for the Government 4,500 miles away, at less cost and with greater efficiency than our own civil service. I know Santa Claus now out sources his toy making to China (don't tell the children!) but surely wage costs cannot be significantly cheaper in the USA.

Of course Gordon knew his game was up so like the canny Scot he is he decided to become Santa Gordon, if just for a brief period.

First, he gave those good directors of the failed Northern Rock bank another £10 billion as a Christmas present to buy their shareholders presents, before promising the destitute Richard Branson the chance to buy the business in the New Year - at a huge discount of course. And second, he brought deserved good cheer to 24,000 retired workers who had been robbed of their pensions when the companies they worked for went bust. Despite saying, as Chancellor, that the country could not afford to support these badly treated hard working people, justice has been done thanks to Santa Gordon.

Elsewhere at Westminster it was business as usual. While ministers set strict targets for the use of taxpayers' money in our schools, hospitals and local councils - it seems the same rules do not apply in the House of Commons. After various security scares and indeed never ending complaints about security measures by visitors - the decision was taken five years ago to build new security facilities and a visitor centre. The project was due to be completed 18 months ago at a cost of £5 million - it will open officially in the New Year at a cost of £12 million! This at a time when we are penny pinching over the storage of sensitive data!

The re-assuring news is that whilst the security facilities are being upgraded in Parliament, ministers and their advisors will be kept safe by a well trained army of security guards! Unfortunately many recruited to sensitive facilities like the Home Office are actually illegal immigrants who have no status in the UK in the first place!

Still, not to worry we can depend on an Englishman defending our national game and preparing our footballing ambassadors to regain their rightful place in world soccer. Well not quite, the Football Association having (allegedly) lost all details of UK based soccer coaches on a disc and has had to appoint an Italian coach to restore pride in the 'tre leoni'! Forgive me for being cynical but having heard Signor Fabio Capello trying to say 'hello' and 'Merry Christmas' in English at his first media conference I believe the FA has gone mad! I was further convinced of my assessment, when Fabio (we are already on first name terms) declared in fluent Italian that he would 'speaka de language' in a month. Given that Wayne Rooney has been learning the language for 20 years and has still not mastered the basics either Fabio is one heck of a linguist or someone who has yet again conned the intelligentsia at Lancaster Gate.

Which brings me finally to the good people of Harrogate and Knaresborough - to wish you a very happy Christmas and a hugely successful New Year.

28th December 2007
Harrogate Advertiser