They Blog For You

FROM the people who gave you the computer animation version of Gordon Brown punching the car seat in front of him… www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u1YtyTKQjo Hat-tip Beatrice Bray [...]

I am very strongly a first past the poster and will now blog more regularly with anything which catches my eye in order to make the case. Love this from Tom Harris MP this morning. http://www.tomharris.org.uk/ I would consider Tweeting again, j... [...]

THE ONLY surprising thing about the Labour leadership Top Trumps is that no-one’s produced it before now. Commissioned from Dave Howells by those young scamps over at Labour Uncut, it’s a pleasing diversion in an over-long contest. Click the image above to see all five cards. [...]

I've been meaning to write on the plight of Equitable Life policy holders for a while. It's an issue which I have spoken on in the House before and one that I have campaigned for fairness on. A letter today from another constituent who's a policyholder seeking fair [...]

Having recently retired as a Labour politician after 25 years in public life and escaped the horrors of a hung parliament in Britain to enjoy a sabbatical in sunny Sydney, I have had plenty of time to observe this great Australian contest at close quarters. What a drab, joyless, uninspiring [...]

Now that US troops have left Iraq (or rather re-named continued occupation as training Iraqi security forces), the spotlight turns to Obama’s pledge, made in November 2009, that the US will begin the transfer of its forces out of Afghanistan in July 2011, less than a year away.   However US [...]

VOTING in the Australian elections was on Saturday. As I write, it’s Tuesday evening over there and still not all the results are in. It seems that the counting of voters’ second, third and fourth preference votes, using the Alternative Vote (AV) system, isn’t conducive to an efficient count or early [...]

Numerous bloggers have taken up the challenge to answer my question, do you value the £10,000 of public spending which is your average share of the total? How would you like your share spent? It is [...]

AS YOU can see from the column on the right, I’ve removed my blogroll and have started refreshing it. It’s already undergone a lot of changes in the past 30 months or so and the new list will probably be very different again from the last one. So, any suggestions about who [...]

   What a marvellous way to be remembered. Yesterday would have been the late David Taylor MP’s 64th birthday. Very sadly he died of an unexpected heart attack on Boxing Day 2009.  David was a fit, non-smoker and non-drinker and no one suspected that he had any serious health problems. I am writing a biography of him and [...]

The William Ward case was an exceptional case in a number of ways. However, Panorama have really missed the key points.Most mothers facing a case like this one would not only have lost their son to adoption, but also lost subsequent children.Firstly, they were allowed to have the grandparents [...]

The Childrens Commissioner has published a good report looking at the experiences of the safeguarding system from a family perspective.There are some strong quotations in the report and it is surprising that it has not had any press.egOne parent described how a male social worker had been allocated toher daughter [...]

This recent Guardian story about a secret list of banned A-level courses by the top Universities has been playing on my mind for a few days. If true, it’s not right. I’ve written to David Willetts about it. In the interests of transparency and fair play, I think he should [...]

LIBERAL Democrats are feeling the heat, it seems. You can’t open up Tweetdeck without seeing scores of them complaining about Labour attacks on them. But here’s the thing: that’s what happens when you’re in government. It happened to us, just as ferociously and consistently, during our 13 years in office. You are [...]

I have today written to David Willetts, in the hope that he will put a stop to what is a serious A level scandal. I have applied for an adjournment debate on the subject and hope that if successfully called, when he responds, he will be able to provi... [...]

Leftie ministers wanted quotas to boost diversity. Now those from the centre right want quotas to ensure bright kids from poor backgrounds get a certain percentage of university places. Politicians .... Is there nothing they can’t run better than folk [...]

CONGRATULATIONS to Tim Vine for producing the gag that’s been voted the Fringe’s best this year: I’ve just been on a once in a lifetime holiday. I’ll tell you what. Never again. Vine is also the author (I think) of one of my own all-time favourite jokes: I went up to my office [...]

The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) was a good Tory innovation – so long as it’s genuinely independent and not merely a Treasury creature.   But ever day the news cries out for another good innovation – an Office of Corporate Responsibility (OCR).   Take today’s news.   BAE wined [...]

How many MPs does it take to power a light bulb? (There's a joke in there somewhere, I'm sure.) Answer: just one - I did it by pedal power alone, still wearing my shirt and tie!Actually, it was really interesting to see how much more of my energy [...]

JACKIE Ashley. Wasn’t she one of the commentators who agitated for Tony Blair’s replacement by Gordon Brown, who she saw as the saviour of the party? And who, shortly after GB took over, was calling for him to be replaced? Clearly someone whose judgment and consistency can be relied upon, [...]