They Blog For You

How the BBC reports a story often betrays the prejudices and preconceptions of those who work for it.  No where is this more so than when reporting from overseas. Yesterday's BBC evening news included two seemingly unrelated stories - [...]

LOOK, I’m really sorry to have to write yet another anti-Clegg post, but how could I resist this? No-one ever believed that the Liberals changed their minds about the need for immediate swingeing cuts having seen “the books” in the Treasury after the election. And to be fair, they didn’t expect [...]

SOMEONE, somewhere is not telling the truth. Can you guess who, children? Tonight, the BBC is screening Nick Robinson’s documentary on the coalition negotiations, Five Days That Changed Britain (he obviously chose to reject my suggested alternative title of Five Days in May, but there we are). Writing in his Newsnight [...]

A GROUP of garden enthusiasts in Canton recently got into the community spirit by holding their first ever Canton Garden Fair in Victoria Park.Local Cardiff West politicians Kevin Brennan MP and Rhodri Morgan AM were also in attendance to hand out some awards to local school children who entered the [...]

THIS one isn’t one of my efforts and, to be honest, when I first glanced at it, I thought: “Nah, too may words!” But it’s actually quite a clever way of getting a cross a very important point about AV, or indeed, any of the alternatives to FPTP. It was designed [...]

You read it here first – we need new banks and more banks. That will serve us better. It was good to hear yesterday the Governor of the Bank of England admit there is a bank lending problem [...]

In the dying days of the last government there was a flickering of interest in the public sector delivering more for less. Ministers started asking to know how much public money in total was spent in each place. They discovered it was often more than [...]

I am having a fascinating time in India where David Cameron is managing to woo everyone, not least because of his age. There seems to be widespread surprise at such "young" politicians - once my host even failed to put out his hand to greet me because he was expecting [...]

Yesterday  an innocuous little announcement was dribbled out of Whitehall with little or no pick-up in the media.    It said that the Government had decided to wind up the Appointments Commission.   Since this Commission was set up as an independent body precisely to stop political interference in public appointments, [...]

A leading member of my local party e-mails to say "Part of me dreads the downfall of the coalition government. I am enjoying it so much.' He has read Total Politics' confessions of Eric Pickles. Clowns are defined as comical performers, stereotypically characterised by their grotesque appearances. That's Eric. My great [...]

LIBERAL Democrats have changed their mind on yet another policy, I just realised after re-warching the debate I had with Jo Swinson on Newsnicht last night. Jo said something which others in her party have been harping on about recently, namely that the Alternative Vote… … means that whoever’s elected will [...]

High Speed 2 (Exceptional Hardship Scheme) The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Philip Hammond): The Government are committed to the establishment of a high-speed rail network as part of their programme of measures to create a low carbon economy. However, in developing plans for a new high-speed line, both I [...]

Yesterday was the last day of Parliament before the summer recess. But for those of us who sit on the Treasury Select Committee, today was the last day as we had an existing meeting with the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, arranged before the Parliamentary session dates [...]

DAVE’S getting a bit hot under the collar about Labour’s decision to oppose his Preservation of LibDem Constituency Boundaries (Gerrymandering, etc) Bill. He seems to think he can convince people that the only measure in the Bill is the referendum on the Alternative Vote. If the PM can drag himself back [...]

The government is to axe the UK Film Council.  No longer will your taxes be spent paying people to make films they can't persuade anyone else to pay for voluntarily.  No doubt outra ged Guardianistas will whine about [...]

The idea of trading with a vast Indian market isn’t new. It’s something that Englishmen managed to do successfully for generations. David Cameron is absolutely right to want to develop closer trade ties between [...]

KEVIN Brennan MP has questioned the Secretary State for Media, Jeremy Hunt, over fears the Government plan to cut the BBC's licence fee which could affect services and jobs.During Questions for Culture, Media and Sport Mr Brennan asked the Secretary of State what the Government's plans are for the future [...]

ANOTHER attempt at an anti-AV poster. [...]

Theresa May has written to Ian Trenholm, Chief Executive of the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, asking him to explain why the council did not object to the doubling in the number of vehicles a day going in and out of the Badnell’s Pit site in Maidenhead during remediation [...]

Yesterday in the Commons the Home Secretary told us she wished to opt into part of the EU plans for criminal justice, as the Uk is entitled to do under Lisbon. She presented the European Investigatory Orders Directive [...]