The most gobsmacking thing about the Tories initial claim that 54% of young women under 18 in deprived areas end up pregnant, compared with 19% in better off areas is that they seemed to believe it in the first place.  Now I live in what might be described as a deprived area (it is in the bottom 10% for wealth), and even a split second’s thought would tell me that it simply isn’t true.  There is a high teenage pregnancy rate (compared with the national average), but nothing of the scale suggested.  Most young girls are not getting pregnant, nor are they causing trouble, they are usually to be found in their homes or their friends’ homes, doing more usual teenage activities in most cases working hard on their GCSEs.

That the Tories didn’t immediately pick up that they’d forgotten that decimal point thingy (despite most of them having had the best education money can buy) shows how out of touch they are with inner-urban life that they really think that we live like that.  Even more amazing, they seem to think that nearly 1 girl in 5 in well-off areas get pregnant before 18.  Well maybe that’s accurate in the public school system, but not outside it.

This isn’t about  misreading a number, it’s about how they used that misread number to confirm their pre-existing prejudices about ordinary people which it seems that the Tories still hold, no matter how much their leadership tries to make them look relevant.

Mind you if more of them had gone to a state school instead of Eton they might have known what that full stop in the middle of a number meant.

The Lord Nelson Pub is current raising funds for a local girl, Emma Waters who has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome so that she can have a mobility scooter.  They’re doing a great job, so please so try to support this.

Meanwhile, the Christmas lights are now on along Hyde Road.  It’s looking festive.

The press seem to have had an attack of the vapours about Manchester’s guide for sex for the over 50s.  Reading the press reports, it’s hard to see what they find the most objectionable, the idea of the over 50s getting useful, targeted advice, or the thought that they might be doing it at all.  The reporters haven’t quite said “My parents never did anything like that”, but they’re not far off implying it.

Of course, this isn’t about the Council suddenly deciding that the over 50s aren’t getting enough and trying to do something about it.  Certainly there’s been no debate in the Council chamber as to whether the over 50s are sufficiently active in that area (although if such a debate ever happens, I will post the transcript, I promise).  In fact, the Valuing Older People Project (amongst others) has been doing a lot of work listening to older people and trying to ensure that the City is meeting their needs as much as the needs of other age groups, a process which has produced many useful outcomes, including a rather splendid calendar (Ms. January is in my Ward) and a whole series of events and services which help older people to enjoy life to the full.

However, when it comes to sex education, whilst there are blizzards of information aimed at teenagers, the older generations pretty missed out on any useful information at all when they were at school.  I know older people whose entire advice received before their wedding day was pretty much “let him do what he likes and don’t complain when it hurts” or even being given a packet of condoms and told to read the instructions.  Meanwhile, as people live longer, the rise in sexually transmitted diseases in pensioners show that information aimed at young people is not getting through to pensioners, although Viagra spam emails are definitely arriving in quantities.

So well done for actually listening to what information some older people might want and trying to provide it.

I am finding the Government’s mixed messages on swine flu increasingly confusing and irritating.  There is no doubt that swine flu has the capacity to be very serious indeed, especially for people with asthma and other health conditions.  However, so is seasonal flu, which kills hundreds every Winter (despite the Government attempting to vaccinate the more vulnerable).  This weekend, I feel sorry for any pregnant woman who might well have been left wondering what she was supposed to do about the (now withdrawn) “don’t get pregnant” advice.

Clearly, the World Health agencies have been highly vigilant for any strain of flu which might become the “next big one”.  I understand and applaud that.  About every 20 - 50 years, a truly terribly epidemic sweeps around the World and kills millions.  1918 was a case in point (my own family was badly hit, looking at the family tree).  However I am getting the feeling that there is an element of the Government treating this current swine flu epidemic as a bit of a dry run.  Whilst there’s a lot of sense in this, and I hope that lessons are learned (such as having enough phone lines from the start) I wonder if it’s now causing rather more panic than it should.

A case in point is the NHS Direct Flu Symptom checker.  A great idea, except that almost every ailment seems to lead to the suggestion that either I have flu or should phone 999 immediately.  When people are starting to be automatically treated for flu instead of other illnesses (such as meningitis) then maybe we need to calm down.

Tomorrow, July 15^th, the Gorton Heats for the fastest street sprinter are to be held on Tesco Car Park from 5 – 7 p.m.  The course length is 60m, the age range is 10-21 (with different age categories in there).  Boys and Girls all welcome and if you need further motivation, free refreshments will be provided.  So do come along and just run.

The winners of each category will go through to the finals in Albert Square in September.

Now that the weather’s turned warm, it’s time to think about heating and insulation.  The Government-backed Warm Front scheme can help people to improve their heating and insulation via grants.  People receiving a whole range of benefits qualify, including attendance allowance, various disability allowances, council tax benefit, income support, pension credit and others.  If you are worried about heating your home next winter, especially with the ever increasing cost of fuel, it’s worth checking out if you qualify.  There’s a website at http://www.warmfront.co.uk/ with more details.

It is fundamental in a democracy to assume that people know what they are voting for.  So it’s clear that over 8% of the electorate carefully researched their policies and decided that this was what they supported.  We all know that the BNP are racist, but of course they have shocking policies in other areas too, specifically disability.  Their “health policy” is covered by the bland statement that they will work to ensure that the population is “healthier” in the first place.  This is of course a euphemism, one that their role model party, the Nazis in Germany used.  It means elimination of those deemed “unhealthy”.  On their websites, many BNP members are open about the fact that this means that disabled babies should be allowed to die, not cared for.

It will be interesting to see what measures the BNP MEPs will try to bring in to European legislation to bring this policy about.  I’m still reeling from the fact that 8% of the population apparently think that it’s ok to kill newborn babies if something seems imperfect about them.

I’d like to thank everybody who stood by the roads today and cheered all of us “runners” on.  Especially those who stayed after the heavens opened and the wind started blowing horizontal rain into our faces all the way back from Old Trafford.  People’s encouragement from the side of the road is part of what makes the Great Manchester Run special.

My time was nothing to blog about, though I was within the hour and a half, but it looks as though I’m going to be well over my initial target of £400 for Cancer Research, so thanks for everybody who sponsored me.

It’s now time for a little lie down.

Next week, 17th May 2009, I will be once more doing the Great Manchester Run (for a given value of the word “run”).  As far as I know, I’m the only Councillor in Manchester who has “run” this race every year since it started.  I can’t confess to having done much training this time, but I am hoping to raise money for Cancer Research  UK.   My target is £400 and so far, the online and offline donations total over £100.  The link to the left labelled “Great Manchester Run” should arrive at my fundraising site.  All donations gratefully received.