Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Tory idiot, Priti Patel, MP for Witham fails to grasp that the way to a safer society is education, she condemns prisoners learning in prison!













Dear All

We all know that in certain circumstances, education can be a way out of poverty.

Provided that the individual can get through the glass ceiling which excludes most of society!

Prison reform is very much a hot political topic for all parties.

The debate is dominated by ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’ approach.

The Blair legacy of failure!

Prison is about punishment but is also has to be about rehabilitation too.

We need prisoners to break the cycle of re-offending; we have to widen their horizons to get them to fit back into society.

After all, we like the idea of people getting a second chance.

Taxpayer cash is being used to fund degree courses for prisoners.

This is a good thing, not a bad thing and should be encouraged.

But unfortunately, we have a Tory led government.

Priti Patel, MP for Witham says the revelation is likely to 'outrage' the public.

People trying to change will ‘outrage’ the public?

Is she simple minded?

As well as trying to make a name for herself as a clown, she condemns the ‘gold-plated rights' given to inmates.

Prisons minister Crispin Blunt has given details of the Open University funding for inmates which Tory MP Priti Patel said would cause outrage

Patel said:

“This is yet another example of gold-plated rights for convicted criminals at the expense of their victims and the law-abiding majority. The public will be outraged to see their hard-earned taxes funding degrees for prisoners while most people have to pay their own way through university by taking out loans. Not only will this seem unfair to those who do the right thing, pay their own way and do not break the law, but it also sends out the signal that crime pays.”

Firstly education is a human right, secondly, the public want a safer society, thirdly, Open University isn’t the same as going to university and finally, it doesn’t send the signal crime pays.

4 out of 4, all wrong.

Not a great ad for Keele University and the University of Essex who spawned her.
Patel asked ministers how many prisoners were taking courses at undergraduate level or higher, and how their fees were paid.

Prisons minister Crispin Blunt replied:

“In the 2010-11 financial year to date 1,609 prisoners in England and Wales have registered to start an Open University (OU) course module. In addition, about five are currently studying at undergraduate level at other higher education institutions, none of whom are funded from statutory funds.”

If this is a crusade then it is ill advised, the Tories have moved ground on prison reform under Ken Clarke.

The new ethos is to keep people out of prison and on the straight and narrow.

Blunt added:

“Some prisoners receive funding for course fees from charitable funds provided by Prisoners' Education Trust, the Longford Trust and other charities.”

Priti Patel, Tory MP, cannon fodder and idiot!

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

3 comments:

  1. Name calling someone you disagree with is a childish trait. I left that behind when I went to Secondary school. Ms Patel is a good representative of the people of her constituency.

    So one of her views, probably subscribed to by the majority of people in this country, is that prisoners should not receive benefit from the State that the rest of the law abiding community is not entitled to. That's an awful lot of idiots in the country. Just as well we have the superior folks at Glasgow University (how I hate that expression 'Uni') to tell the country what to do. The one big difference between Priti Patel and George Laird is that the former was elected!

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  2. So if her views border on idiocy what else does that make her?

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  3. 'So if her views border on idiocy what else does that make her?'

    Eh..... Tory?

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