Even if you ignore the balkan block vote and what appeared to be an attempt by the Serbian government to fix the result Eurovision demonstrates the unpopularity of the UK. Scooch produced what was a good Europop number, but appeared nowhere in the results because of political allegiances.
The BBC noted last month that a third of Britons do not intend to carry an idea card. Given that bad news on the costly and illiberal ID cards had to be hid on the day of Tony Blair’s departure, this must be one of the many nasty legacies he leaves for Gordon. So there’s [...]
We are assured by the Scottish Lib Dems that there is NOT an upswell of Scottish Nationalism taking hold at the moment. And indeed it is true, many SNP voters do not actually support independence. They do not mind a referendum, they will simply vote no. Yet if you strip away the nationalism of the SNP, [...]
You may have seen in the local press that my Deputy Mayor for the past year, Councillor Sheila Griffin, has this week resigned from the Labour Group and become an Independent. Since that leaves just one Labour member, Councillor Steve Mama, it follows that there is no longer a Labour Group as such. In the Informer Sheila is quoted blaming a clash of personalities for the split,...
Well that's who Serbian winning singer Marija Serifovic looks like (left). Many thanks to Ireland (bless you) for voting for us, but particularly big, big kissies for Malta for giving us DOUZE points!
23:13 FIX - The Serbian Hiro was in the bottom half of my votes. Oh well, see you next year. 21:47 My top three: Ukraine, Russia and Sweden 21:43 Moldova - More leather 7/10 21:38 Armenia - More beer is needed! 4/10 21:35 Turkey - I suppose he’s ok 7/10 21:30 Bulgaria - ee! 3/10 21:26 Romania - Oh no 4/10 21:24 [...]
"I have a great-great grandfather. They were trying to build a generation out there in the desert and so he took additional wives as he was told to do. And I must admit, I can't imagine anything more awful than polygamy," he said. - That's Mormon US Presidential candidate Mitt Romney , as quoted in the Boston Globe today. Now, I'm against polygamy, I don't think it should be recognised in the
This blog has been very quiet of late for the very understandable reason that I have been defending my council seat in the local elections. Hard fought local election campaigns are not the ideal environment to encourage regular blogging. But the elections are over and after a week or so recovering I can now venture out into the world again. How did I get on? Well after what was the biggest, and
What has become of you? Where did it all go so wrong? But enough of that. Now, year in year out I have a weakness for Denmark’s songs, and I’m bitterly disappointed that this year’s magnificent drag act didn’t make it past the semi-finals. But there may be some consolation. Again, year in year out I’ve [...]
I'm on The Westminster Hour on Sunday (Radio 4, 10pm or if you miss the show you can listen again on their website).
It is the weekend, a time for reading books, watching a three day old episode of Question Time and not spending too long in front of the PC. So instead, let me guide you to an excellent article by Arnold Kling on why the best means to solve poverty is "decentralised entrepreneurial activity under capitalism", rather than misguided centrally planned wonder-cures. In the process, he (or rather, Robert Rector, whom he quotes) points out the fallacy of our oft-cited figures on poverty in the Western world, where (in America, where British commentators like to say that poverty is rife) ...
The votes and points allocations for tonight's Eurovision Song Contest are already known and available for anyone to read. Estonia - Will give their 8, 9, 10 and 12 points to Finland, Russia, Lithuania and Latvia Latvia - Will give their 9, 10 and 12 points to Estonia, Lithuania and Russia Lithuania - Will five their 10 and 12 points to Estonia and Latvia Greece Will give their 12 points to Cyprus Cyprus will give their 12 points to Greece Norway - Will give high scores to Sweden and Denmark Denmark - Will gave high scored to Norway, Iceland ...
I am the boy who never finished high school, because I got called a fag everyday I am the girl kicked out of her home because I confided in my mother that I am a lesbian. I am the prostitute working the streets because nobody will hire a transsexual woman. I am the sister who holds her gay brother tight through the painful, tear-filled nights. We are the parents who buried our daughter long before her time. I am the man who died alone in the hospital because they would ...
Mark Bigley has resigned as the Tory candidate in John Pugh MP’s constituency. There’s more on the story on the Southport Forums website.
This is a classic. Anamosa Journal Eureka reports that Rudy Guiliani cancelled a visit to the farm of the VonSprecken family in Olin, Iowa because they weren't worth a million dollars: Last weekend Deb and Jerry VonSprecken of Olin received a call from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s campaign office asking them if they would be interested in holding a campaign rally on May 4, after
The Politico reports that Hillary Clinton is getting her frostiest reception from left-wing bloggers: As Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination, her biggest opposition may not come from primary rivals or Republican challengers, but rather from the leftist blog community that often views her as a political punching bag. Instead of being embraced
If you are in charge of watching public spending in the UK, do you really need to travel abroad at public expense 43 times in 3 years, at a cost of £336,000? Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, has some explaining to do. In fairness, the NAO say that their global work brings in £4 million per year for the Treasury. Even then, one has to wonder if the man has his eye on the right
Under the cover heading "Slow is beautiful" Newsweek reports that more and more tourists are saying no to 10-day, 10 city tours and yes to slow boats and sleeper trains.
I blogged a few weeks back on the worrying constitutional changes being put through by President Mubarak in Egypt. Amnesty called the changes the "greatest erosion of human rights in 26 years". Newsweek reports that the Democrats in Washington are planning to cut funding to Mubarak's regime in Egypt. The Bluefield Daily Telegraph has an excellent leader entitled: "America must halt cash flow to
Apparently 'Irn Broon' Brown is debating with both his putative Labour leadership opponents on Sunday 13th at a Fabian Society event. Hat tip for the news of the event to the ‘ourkingdom’ blog, which also highlights the delightful evasions Michael Meacher and John McConnel made to an question posed to them earlier ‘what about Proportional Representation?’. Anthony Barnett commented on these replies: …the two answers were a joy. Here is Meacher’s, “I am not at this stage in favour of electoral reform, but pluralism is important”. (At this stage! How about that for a ...
Well done to Richard Huzzey for an excellent piece on the aftermath of the May 3rd elections. I particularly agreed with this point: Locally, we need to strengthen and expand the party’s excellent training and mentoring programmes so best practice is spread more widely. It is amazing how, with years of incumbency, the campaigning instincts and skills of members get dulled. We got a pounding
Malvern Hills was another Council were we did particularly badly - we lost 13 seats, leaving us with just 5 Councillors. Again a number of very good Councillors lost. The Conservatives took overall control by gaining 14 seats.
An interesting little story here about British people trying to run the world. I guess we were born to do it.
It's not everyday that I get to meet a relative for the first time. My cousin Colin emigrated to Australia in the late 60s - we've kept in touch but I have never been over there and he's not been here much since then either. So it was great to get an email from him the other day saying that his daughter Tara was on her post-University travels and had arrived in London. We...
For the first time ever, Edinburgh council has a Liberal Democrat leader. The Liberal Democrats and the SNP have formed a coalition to seize control of Edinburgh City Council, despite being at loggerheads over the return of trams. The move has stunned Labour, which has run Edinburgh for the last 23 years. The red roses may be [...] 
On Thursday night Ming Campbell made what can only be described as; his most recent appearance on Question Time. For large portions of the show he gave a reasonable performance, no more than I would expect from a party leader. However, there were a few glaring omissions as well as some quite strange statements that [...]
…I will be able to listen to Any Answers without throwing my radio out of the window in despair. People loiter outside my house now on Saturday afternoons on the off-chance of catching a free wireless as it tumbles hastily to earth.
The excuse used by people to defend the current system is that Children's services are "damned if they do and damned if they don't". The problem is that when you look in detail at situations considerable questions are asked. The linked story is one where the investigation was recently released into the death by starvation. It seems odd that nothing could be done. At the same time the system
If Gordon Brown is going to establish clear red water between himself and Tony Blair then he needs more than an hitherto unknown sunny disposition and a few soundbites about playing it straight and reconnecting with the people. This story in the Guardian hints that the substance may be on its way as well. The paper tells us that Jack Straw, who is widely expected to replace John Reid as home secretary, has signalled that the future of the £5.75bn national identity card scheme will be under review once regime change has been effected: Mr Straw, who was ...
Being an ex-radio man, I have a bizarre interest in who does the voiceovers on TV and Radio shows and adverts. Most people don't even think about it, or just recognise the well-known actors who do it, but I try and identify the professional voiceover chaps which you never see. Take Pete Drummond, for example. I have spent most of my life saying "that's Pete Drummond" while most people look at me 
Tommy Thompson is at the bottom of the US Republican Presidential contenders' league. But no matter, Fred, Thompson that is, may be entering the race and he is currently third in the popularity stakes with 13 points. He is a former Senator. But the biggest thing in his favour is that he is an actor. The thing not in his favour is that he is quite a good actor.
It's all a bit strange. We don't have any choice in the matter, but Gordie is behaving as if he is after our votes to be Prime Minister. Very odd.
Last night I was able to join my friend and fellow LibDem campaigner Steven Gauge to celebrate the end of his fourth decade (and coincidentally Tony Blair’s bowing out after 10 years in office), at The Shunt at London Bridge. I suspect that most Londoners have no idea that there is a vast exhibition space [...]
The World Bank President site has picked up on my exchange in Parliament with Labour minister Hilary Benn on this topic. Given the huge powers that the World Bank has, it's President should be appointed in an open-way - and based on the merits of the candidates. It's too important a job to dish out on buggins turn regardless of who could do it best.
We were out chopping wood, we were out chopping wood. We were hacking, we were hacking, then we went to the docks. We took the wood to the docks, the wood we’d been hacking. We took the wood to the docks, we had hacked. At the docks, we put the wood on to a boat. [...]
Last Tuesday I was invited to a speech by Oliver Letwin entitled Do Cameron Conservatives have a theory? In the end I couldn’t go but it didn’t matter too much as the speech ended up getting quite a bit of coverage A lot of people have had some fun ridiculing it because some of the language [...]
As previously said Lichfield seems to have been the most mixed of our mixed results.
Not only was it a convenient time for the Government to release the news of the spiralling cost of the ID Card Scheme (The day of the Prime Ministers resignation) they also attempted to "Spin" the true cost. Luckily, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Clegg, and his team uncovered the true cost of the scheme by scrutinising the ID Card Cost Report - as the extract from the article below, published on Home Office Watch, shows: Over the next 10 years, ID cards will cost £5.55bn. That’s up from an estimate of £5.4bn six months ago - ...
Friday: Specifically: Paradise, Texas. What BETTER place to launch his… Just how quickly CAN the Americans change their Constitution to let non-natural-born Americans stand for the HIGHEST OFFICE? Because let's face the facts, the ONLY chance the Replutocats have of winning the next presidential election is: CLINTON versus BLAIRIMORT! No, never mind that; for the next SEVEN WEEKS Lord Blairimort still has his slippery fingers on the ROYAL PREROGATIVE and the POWER TO MAKE TREATIES! One quick FLOURISH of the pen and the site of the former Queen Mary Maternity Home in Edinburgh is ceded in ... | < | May 2007 | > | ||||
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