Just back from the BBC party to mark the end of 25 years of filming Casualty in Bristol. Many of the cast, past and present, were there including nurse Charlie Fairhead who like most of the cast is a constituent of mine in real life. After about 800 episodes filmed here, Holby now moves from ...
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At a special Council meeting this week I asked a question to the Councillor responsible for Housing relating to evicting those guilty of rioting or looting: Could the portfolio holder please outline whether he is in favour of using the powers we have, or altering future housing rental contracts, so that those convicted of crimes relating to the riots and associated looting can be removed from Council housing? The answer I got to the oral question was sort of luke warm but in the days since it appears the Council have taken a strong line. This may mean that those ...
"Surprise, surprise: Lib Dems on the receiving end of hammering in Edinburgh," says A Scottish Liberal. You know, I think he is being sarcastic. OXfr33 encounters geeks on the bleeding edge of freedom: "For all the state apparatus can throw at security, it appears that hacker groups like LulzSec and Anonymous are running rings round both government and corporate systems and networks." The Liberal Democrats' Eastern Region is holding an action day in Norwich South on 3 September. "Why not ask new members or deliverers if they would like to come with you? This will be a great chance for ...
TweetI know all is quiet on the western front in regards to British politics, as a result silly stories come out, but the following story really has to take the biscuit I'm afraid. Why would 'David Cameron' reveal this? Why does this passage even exist on the BBC 'David Cameron boasted to Barack Obama in a transatlantic phone call that England was "number one" at cricket' is this some lame attempt at trying to make David Cameron seem cool? Sorry, but I'd much rather our PM was economically competent, and a leader than being cool and funny. Someone at the ...
With the huge success of The Monkees and Last Train To Clarksville, the Monkees' music became a battleground. The Monkees (or at least Nesmith and Tork) wanted more control over their own music, but Don Kirshner wanted them to have less. He also wanted to move their music away from Boyce and Hart, who he ...
Manhattan. CBGB's 1975, Debbie Harry and Blondie. Say no more.
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Members of the Community Spirit Action Group, the residents' group for Pentland, Ancrum, Tullideph and Cleghorn areas, and I met yesterday with Phil Smith, Managing Director of National Express Dundee over the removal of the Number 4 service bus from the West End part of its route and the complete removal of the 4S school bus to St John's High School. Although there was useful discussion with National Express Dundee over the issues, it was clear that the bus company has taken a commercial decision on the 4 and the 4S and was not going to review this. I and ...
Last weekend, I wrote that Hendon's holidaying Tory MP Matthew Offord would achieve little by rushing back from Belize to a riot-hit London, as: "Matthew is a backbench MP...all he could have contributed was...sympathy...which...would have done little, in practical terms, to help..." Now I see that Cllr Hugh Rayner, the Chairman of Hendon Conservative Association, has written to the Hendon Times saying: "there would have been little that (Matthew Offord), or indeed any backbench MP, could do except express sympathy, which...would have done little in practical terms to help..." What a coincidence!
In the Total Politics Blog Awards, Michael agrees with Stephen and Caron that it's time to Vote Andrew Reeves 1, as a fitting tribute to the man, friend, campaigner, and blogger that we all lost when he died in June.
In the Total Politics Blog Awards, Michael agrees with Stephen and Caron that it's time to Vote Andrew Reeves 1, as a fitting tribute to the man, friend, campaigner, and blogger that we all lost when he died in June.
The destruction of the Harris Academy minibus in the early hours of Thursday morning was a real loss to the school and, as I was quoted in yesterday's Evening Telegraph, took place in a quiet, residential area, where vandalism of vehicles is highly unusual. I was advised today by the local police that : "I can confirm that a bus was burned out around 0230 hrs this morning. It is presently under enquiry and it has not been established yet if anything criminal has taken place. I will keep you informed of any developments."
Just as soon as the UK government called the social networking and communication companies in for a chat about what they can do to stop people making arses of themselves online in times of national crisis, I stumbled across LifeNet. Boffins at GATech have developed a way of networking wireless devices together by co-operative WiFi sharing. Whilst the connection is likely to be too slow to do anything bandwidth hungry, it will be fine, apparently, for getting text messages around the potentially quite widely dispersed devices - and out onto the wider net if anyone in the network has such ...
It's not that David Cameron is a Conservative. You can tell he is one just by looking at him. It's not that he sometimes expresses right-wing sentiments. As Tory leader he has to keep his troops happy even if he really is the more liberal Conservative that he affected to be when he first became leader. What worries about David Cameron is that, with rare exceptions like his apology over Bloody Sunday, he has failed to give the impression that he is a statesman or even much of a leader. Some examples. We have been on credit, both individually and ...
Following last week's comment about him from Michael's Consultant at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Andrew explains the technique that he and Michael use to ensure that Michael takes his HIV meds every day.
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Fri 19th
19:33
I can't find an amusing shot of Ed Miliband, so here's one of David Cameron instead...
Infantile? Vaucuous? Peurile? Oh yes, but still funny. And rather more subtle than the usual standard. Here's a picture of David Cameron enjoying a day at the Test today. The big question is: what is that suspicious looking object on the table? And no, I don't mean the cakes... [IMG: Thought the relaxed approach was best with the PM on Twitpic] Photo: @Aggers on Twitter (I do know the answer. But I won't spoil the fun).
A selection of other peoples thoughts that have stimulated the grey matter today Andrew Thomas on philosophy, football and racism. Brendan O'Neill blames the existence of EMA for the riots. Geeks are sexy tell us 15 things we didn't know about space. Physorg.com tell us how to generate electricity from your toilet water. Islands on the sea pt1. Silver circle underground tell us about a Libertarian utopia on the seas. And my five* story of the day.... Islands on the sea pt2. complex.com bring us the inspirational story of the football team who had no land so built their pitch ...
No one else seems to be begging for votes so I'm probably breaking every unwritten rule in the book. But, at the risk of being drummed out of the Bloggers Circus, with my red nose and clown's feet being hurled after me, the nominations for Blog of the Year over at Lib Dem Voice are open. This blog is eligible for three categories - New Blog, Best Post and Blog of the Year. So if you did feel the urge to nominate me and save me the trouble of adopting a new identity and nominating myself, I'd be very grateful. ...
... And he turned out just fine. There is a phrase that has been doing the rounds in gay Christian circles for a while now: "Jesus had two dads, and he turned out just fine." Is there any scriptural basis for this? ... Andrew McFarland Read the rest of Andrew's post over at Faith and ...
Yesterday evening did not go according to plan. It's nothing very exciting but I thought I'd tease that up front. Actually, I have nothing else to add. We did our show. I had an evening nap then went out for a curry and then decided to have an early night. As I was going to bed I got a text asking if I'd like to go to a bar. I said no because I was having an early night. I couldn't sleep. I got up and went to a bar for an hour. That hour became nearer five hours. The ...
It's Friday. It's five o'clock. Here's a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week: 5 most-read stories on LDV this week Opinion: UK riots - the mystery of the David Willetts' rule of post-war baby boom peaks (25 comments) by Stuart Bonar Opinion: Our flawed drug laws are at heart of riots (41 comments) by Ewan Hoyle Searching for the cause of the riots is asking the wrong question (61 comments) by Iain Roberts Tim Leunig writes: Riots, Justice and Reconciliation (67 comments) by Tim Leunig Opinion: the battle for the Electoral Reform Society (25 comments) by Simon ...
To clarify one point first, in most arguments I fall between left and left-of-centre. Not FAR left, as I'm not a "commie". But I state my political leaning as it may be of some surprise to my proposal. Oh, and in terms of earnings and posessions, no I'm certainly not rich, and I'm in the base level of tax. So that should put to rest any idea my proposal is made to help myself! There is a general idea that all lefties want to tax the rich in all sorts of ways; all workers are taxed, rich or not. As ...
The result of the by-election for Edinburgh's City Centre ward highlights a number of unpleasant realities for the Scottish Liberal Democrats. The most unpleasant of these is that the defeat was predictable as it was crushing. Immediately after the result was announced this morning I was discussing it on twitter with a number of people - not all Liberal Democrats. It became immediately obvious that whatever the result meant for the various parties, is was in truth a great victory for apathy. With a minuscule turnout of 23%, I find it worrying that over three-quarters of the population are insufficiently ...
The last couple of weeks have strained many of the fault lines in the Coalition that up to now have been more or less papered over. As a party we signed up to a Coalition Agreement that presumably most members could live with (myself excluded of course!) - but a Coalition Agreement in retrospect which was more at fault for what it didn't say than what it did. So we have had the unedifying spectacle for the last 15 months of our much loved parliamentarians tying themselves in knots to be able to justify their support for Tory policies that ...
Today's City Centre ward by-election in Edinburgh resulted in a narrow win by the SNP over the Conservatives - which went down to the wire. In the end, neither candidate achieved the quota of just over 1700 votes after all votes had been transferred. Conservative candidate Iain McGill will feel his opposition to AV was entirely justified after he led all the way until the final stage. It was always unlikely that Labour voters would transfer in sufficient quantities to keep him - although I was surprised at the number that did. The results in full were as follows: First ...
A man in a hot air balloon over the Belgian countryside realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. Descending a bit more he shouted, "Excuse me, can you help? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago but I don't know where I am". The woman replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above the ground, between 40/41 degrees latitude, north, and 59/60 degrees longitude, west." "You must be a middle-grade Commission Official", said the balloonist. "I am", replied the woman, "How did you know?" "Well", answered the balloonist, ...
Fri 19th
16:12
94% of people think the Electoral Reform Society should be a better campaigning force!
Do you think the Electoral Reform Society is in need of reform to make it a more effective campaigning force for democratic change?
The following morning we continued west towards Arizona and drew to a close our 6 fascinating days in New Mexico. A brief stop for coffee on route in Gallup brought an unexpected surprise as the city was in the middle of hosting the 90th Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial event which celebrates the native American culture and history annually. Wondering why the road was closed and people were piling into the centre armed with deck chairs and food at eight in the morning we parked up and followed them to see what was going on! The main street through town was a ...
After an amazing 48 hours in Santa Fe it was a real drag to have to leave and move on to Albuquerque for our next stop on the journey. Thankfully we chose to drive there via the Turquoise Trail which made the drive very scenic to say the least. A coffee stop in the tiny little artist's enclave of Madrid was especially rewarding with so much to see, some great photo opportunities and probably, no definitely, the best coffee we have had so far on the trip at the magnificent Java Junction. After a lovely stop we headed on towards ...
Fri 19th
15:41
August Books 17) Science & Technology in 19th-Century Ireland, ed Juliana Adelman & É...
Nice book of essays, which I read for review elsewhere.
There were two principal local council by-elections held on Thursday 18th August. Both Labour and the SNP held a seat. In the one parish or town council by-election result reported to ALDC the Tories took a seat off Independents. [IMG: Our candidate Alistair Hodgson] There seems to have been a spate of Royal related by-elections. On the 18th August there was a by-election for the City Centre ward in which Holyrood House falls in Edinburgh. Last week it was Windsor castle. It is also where most of the venues for the Edinburgh festival lie and this may have led to ...
With the government recording a much better than expected borrowing figures, you would think this would be a joyful occassion. After all, the figures were £1 billion better than city expectations; here is the response from the Labour party: 'today's public finance figures show that with four months gone the risk remains that George Osborne ...
The Planning Departments of Bury, Salford and Manchester have received an application for an Eruv to be created across large parts of Prestwich, Broughton and Crumpsall. An Eruv is a boundary set out in Jewish Law in which certain activities which are restricted on the Jewish Sabbath can take place. Here is the BBC's information sheet on an Evuv. Whitefield already has an Eruv, and there are three in London. Here is the North West London Eruv website. The area proposed for the Bury/Salford/Manchester Eruv would include the majority of the built up areas of Prestwich: [IMG: eruv] Planning permission ...
Recommended reading for Liberal Democrat councillors and local campaigners from the last seven days: In national news that affects local government: PFI schemes have come under further criticism following a report from the Treasury Select Committee. The BBC have a discussion on their website on whether political parties will become extinct. The Association of Police Authorities sent an open letter to the Home Secretary criticising her over comments she made comparing Boris Johnson's high profile role following the riots and the lack of an equivalent position in the rest of the country. The Department of Health is making a record ...
Just a short note to let people know that the The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police will be in Chorlton next Thursday, August 25th, for a question and answer session on the 'Future Delivery of Policing Services'. This will ... Continue reading →
This message was posted by the niece of Haroon who was one of the 3 Asian men who died in Birmingham and were buried yesterday. It says how much she will miss him and how happy she was whenever he visited her. RIP.
From the Financial Times. Are the foundations for an effective restructuring of the tax system being laid? This is in reference to the low tax US, but it's good to see commentary (in a right-leaning publication) calling for a wealth tax. It would be more effective than income tax for the investing community. Mr Buffett's taxable income of $40m is impressively small for a man with a reported $50bn fortune. He pays next to no tax because he accumulates wealth as unrealised capital gains, which escape tax altogether. In his case, shared sacrifice probably requires a wealth tax. Set at ...
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending Southport Flower Show's opening day. The weather was perfect and the site soon filled up as people poured in. We go to the show every year and see it as one of the highlights of our calendar. This year the directors changed procedures and an awards ceremony was held instead of the usual opening ceremony at the bandstand. A novel approach, which brought in the crowds, was the arrival of the main trophy in the hands of knight on horseback as shown below. When we left the show later in the afternoon we ...
[IMG: BOTY 2] The Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year Awards, run by Lib Dem Voice, are back for their sixth year. As usual, they'll be awarded in a budget lavish ceremony at the party's autumn conference in Birmingham. Click on the following links to see last year's Shortlist and the Winners. This year's awards are as follows: Best new Liberal Democrat blog (started since 1st September 2010) Best blog from a Liberal Democrat holding public office (The Tim Garden Award) Best use of blogging / social networking / e-campaigning by a Liberal Democrat Best posting on a Liberal Democrat ...
Some people will be delighted the West are expressing a hard line towards President Assad of Syria. Those are people who either agree with military action above other actions, or believe it justifies the mission in Libya to also begin the dance of similar action with Syria. I am neither person. Action in Libya is and remains wrong. NATO fighting the rebels' war for them as it suits them is an appauling precedent to set. It stands out in sharp contrast to dictators abusing innocent people in too many other countries, Cambodia and South Africa come to mind. Syria, as ...
The LibDems took a kicking in a council by-election in Edinburgh yesterday. LibDems taking a kicking in Scotland? No change there then! But this election was interesting for a number of reasons. First it was an STV election so we see how the second preferences redistributed. Second the ward was basically a 5 way dead heat last time! Third the LibDems are in power with the SNP in the city Fourth the ward is right in the heart of the controversial Edinburgh Trams project and there was an anti trams independent. BackgroundThe by-election in Central ward was caused by an ...
The Environment & Economy Committee, chaired by Cllr Fred Greenslade, today held an 'Inquiry Day' into Cornwall Council's proposed attack on concessionary bus fares. The bus operators attended, as did community operators, Councillors and members of the public and it's fair to say that there is very little warmth for the Tory-led Council's top-down approach ...
[IMG: Labour crowd pleaser] As far as I can tell, perhaps the only thing that unites Thanet councillors apart from drawing expenses is the distaste and antipathy they share over the recent export of animals from the port of Ramsgate. It's good to see that people are prepared to stand up and be counted like Labour bod, Cllr Ian Driver to organise and protest a cause. However part of being human is our individualism, we can opt in or opt out of being part of the herd. I have firm views and priorities, I pursue my own interest via this ...
I took the photo above at New County Hall earlier today. As a snapshot I think it tells a tale about Cornwall Council's approach to ragwort this year. The St Issey Division, which stretches from St Eval across to St Tudy, seems to be awash with the weed this summer. There is a difference of ...
Today's bus services inquiry day at County Hall was really useful with a good turnout from councillors, bus companies, user groups and officers - in fact everyone except the Cabinet member responsible, Graeme Hicks. We had presentations from the bus companies which all pretty much said the same thing - they don't make huge profits and if the reimbursement rate is cut then they will have to cut services. They also made it clear that they are prepared to try to make some savings without having an impact on the route network but they can only do this if they ...
It may not rank as the most compelling reason to curb greenhouse gases, but reducing our emissions might just save humanity from a pre-emptive alien attack, scientists claim. Watching from afar, extraterrestrial beings might view changes in Earth's atmosphere as symptomatic of a civilisation growing out of control - and take drastic action to keep ...
I've pretty much given up any hope of ever appearing in the rankings of the Total Politics Blog Awards again, unless I really get my act together and start blogging regularly again. However, for the others who do manage it then there's just time to vote in the 2011 Blog Awards. I know some people ...
I was forwarded an e-mail from Ipsos Mori this AM inviting me to watch a short video with Georgie and Tashan – two young Londoners about what they felt was behind the unrest of last week. It was an interesting insight into what young people think. It is probably worth three of so minutes of your time. The video in behind this link and you'll need the password 'ipsosmori' to view. The things that I get out of it are: *Georgie thinks that Mark Duggan was loved. I would say it is more the police were hated and this was ...
The Lib Dem team has been working to get offenders on the Community Payback scheme to do useful work around Cheadle and Gatley, and I'm pleased to report that the area of land at the end of Lorna Grove has now been properly cleared by offenders. We regularly suggest areas that could do with attention – either clearing litter or simple gardening work – so why not let us have your suggestions. There are some restrictions at present, so I can't guarantee that every suggestion will happen, but we will continue to both pass on suggestions and press for the ...
Remember Norwich South on the 6th May 2010, when Simon Wright made that astonishing breakthrough to take the seat from a former Labour Cabinet minister? We all know that success like this is only sustained if we keep working outside election times. So Eastern Region are holding an Action Day on Saturday, September 3rd. There will be surveying and recruitment, and a chance to talk over lunch with other campaigners, including Simon Wright. So do join us. And do bring others with you. Why not ask new members or deliverers if they would like to come with you? This will ...
Conservative led Cornwall Council has spent £5,527,102 on new vehicles in just over two years since it was established according to figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats. Among the figures released was the revelation that Cornwall Council's planning and regeneration service has spent almost £400,000 on new cars this year alone and that officers in the adult social care department spent more than £235,000 on new cars since the authority was founded in April 2009. Any authority, particularly a large unitary council like Cornwall, is going to have to spend money on specialist vehicles. But at a time of austerity, ...
Here in Scotland, while SNP MSP Bill Walker has been actively cultivating his reputation of being a crusty, reactionary religionist bigot, his party's leadership have - quite surprisingly - been silent on the matter. For those not well-informed about Scottish political matters, the SNP government announced that later in the year it would be running a democratic consultation on same-sex marriage. This is a positive move, supported (obviously) by the Liberal Democrats, Greens and the Labour Party. Unfortunately, in advance of the consultation and unhelpfully pre-empting its findings, one SNP MSP - John Mason - put forward a motion in ...
Heresy Corner: Is disproportionate punishment ever justified? Like many of HEresy Corner's posts, I'm not sure whether or not I agree with this but it's certainly food for thought. (tags: police) Just in case you thought there was no discrimination against women these days Of course there ARE those who think this sort of thing should be allowed, because business owners having to fill in a bit of paperwork to claim money back from the government is far too arduous a task,,, (tags: feminism)
I have been fortunate enough to have been given an iPad 2 and a Palm Pre 2. This has put me in the interesting position of using three operating systems on a daily basis: Windows, iOS and Web OS. I have to say that Web OS is at the head of the pack. It is "one swipe ahead" of iOS. The ability to marshall several sessions and then sweep them away or maximise/minimise them is marvellous, and puts WebOS a nose ahead of iOS. After WebOS it seems positively pre-historic to go back to using iOS's home button. And you ...
I want to campaign somewhere in Stevenage we haven't campaigned in for a while. But there are few resources, so this campaign will be highly dependent on e-campaigning. So I have decided to run an experiment. I have picked two wards in which we received similar votes at the last election and there will be a campaign in only one of these wards. This will give us a way of testing how effective e-campaigning is. The wards picked are The Old Town (195 votes) and Longmeadow (196 votes). You can help by voting on which ward you think I should ...
But monthly repayments to fall (headline u won't read) >RT @timeshighered: Student debt 'to double' under new fee regime http://t.co/1MLcB3Y # People lauding Oborne's attack on 'establishment': http://tgr.ph/nSErlO He has a point but idea this is new is woefully ahistorical. # Me on Oborne in 08: "a chippy Tory whose vapid broad-brush polemic disregards almost any event that hasn't taken place in the last 25 years" # That quote Oborne from this post – http://bit.ly/p1paR9 – by the way. # RT @alixmortimer: The more I hear about "the old days" (circa 1950s usually) more convinced I am that *everyone* is ...
So asks the BBC today, including a brief quote from myself. You can read the story here.
If anybody ever doubted that the forthcoming London Mayor election was going to be anything but a huge clash of egos between Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnston then this Independent piece should rapidly bring them back to reality. The author, Andy McSmith writes: In Dante's Inferno, the ninth and innermost circle of hell is reserved for those who have committed vile acts of treachery against people who had reason to trust them, such as Cain, and Judas Iscariot. And into that same terrifying pit of fire will be cast those London voters who commit the unforgivable act next May of ...
TweetJust so everyone knows, I am taking a temporary break from my on-line life to concentrate on dealing with a few personal problems. I'll be back soon. Chris
Having sacrificed some credibility by owning up to watching a bit of Celebrity Big Brother last night, I'm now slightly wary of quoting another publication from the Desmond empire, the Daily Express, but needs must, I guess. The other day, Dorothy-Grace Elder, herself a former SNP MSP, had a right old go at the current administration for the amount of money it wastes on its spin operation. The price for 11 'special advisers' to Scottish Ministers has zoomed to £822,000. That's on top of the fortune for Scottish civil service PRs. The SNP upped the spin bill by £120,000 in ...
This is from before the recent riots, I should point out. From the comments following a Christopher Hitchens article on Salon.com:
As I blogged late on Wednesday there was a little dispute between First Minister Alex Salmond and Dunfermline and West Fife MP Labour's Thomas Docherty. Well his special advisor Douglas Chapman, leader of Fife Council and candidate from the 2006 by election candidate for Docherty's seat has stepped in to deny that the First Minister went mental. In fact he went so far as to say that Mr Docherty had prepared a fantasy press release. This is good from the man who's team on polling day in Dunfermline and West Fife pulled together a fantasy stake board message that suggested ...
Via an article over at smart planet.com comes the news that NASA scientists propose cutting greenhouse gasses to prevent aliens wiping out humanity. It is one of three contact scenarios being looked at by scientists from NASA's Planetary Science Division and Pennsylvania State University. They argue that if aliens detect climate change they may decide to eliminate us in order to prevent the damage to Earth from worsening To take this seriously for a moment how would they know the atmosphere they find is not our normal condition? I also cant help but recall the words of Will Smith's character ...
A piece for Lib Dem Voice by the author of this blog, about the struggle that is going on to control the Electoral Reform Sociaty and it's multi million income
Taking Rudeness of Our Co-Workers Home With Us | Psych Central News "...stress created by incivility can be so intense that, at the end of the day, it is taken home." (tags: work life) Civil disorder and looting hits Britain: We have been here before | The Economist "...avoid moral panic and a rush to historically-illiterate judgement." (tags: ukpolitics) Reader, I married him — Crooked Timber He began a speech so pained and passionate that I could not tell if it meant the beginning or the end for us. I retained none of it as I concentrated on keeping my ...
The monthly unemployment stats were released this week. Unemployment has gone up and the economy seems to be stagnating. One thing gets my goat about these figures. I read a lot of lazy journalism with such a shallow understanding of the employment situation in this country that it is meaningless. The unemployment figures are therefore just a load of old baloney and commentaries are pants. Then I read a great New Statesman post on Wednesday that explains what the situation is and quantifies it. It is perfectly understandable and not over long - read it here. The key points are ...
Today I was idly wondering whether the way in which the Government responds to last week's riots could turn out to be pivotal for the Coalition. Possibly the beginning of the end. Why might that be? I was pondering what makes Liberal Democrats distinctive. If you think about Liberal Democrats on a left-right political axis ...
There's just under 24 hours to go until the deadline. So, if you are minded to vote - and have not done so yet - for Gyronny Herald in the Total Politics 2011 Blog Awards, please do take a trip over there to do so. I quite like Iain's comment on the process: But those ...
How we need Liberal Answers to the problems we face as a country.
"Well, I was calling it the feather duster!"
Just after comparing Boris Johnston to Hitler, Ken Livingstone, as an atheist, unsurprisingly gets his archangels muddled up. Michael clears up the muddle.
