They Blog For You

I’D LIKE a show of hands here: anyone think that, in the last parliament, the Tories were somehow obliged to stick with their “patient’s passport” policy because it was in their 2005 election manifesto? Well, what about Labour’s commitment to unilateralism in its 1987 manifesto? Were we somehow morally or democratically obliged [...]

Having been bailed out after their unprecedented greed and recklessness by the State at a cost so far of some £850bn (59% of Britain’s entire GDP), the banks are now sending the most provocative signal they can that they don’t care a fig about government, society or public opinion – [...]

EVEN if the AV referendum is held on May 5 as planned, to coincide with other elections hapening that day, it will cost the taxpayer between £80 million and £100 million. Money well spent? Ask those of Nick Clegg’s constituents who depend on Sheffield Forgemasters for a living. Hat-tip, once again, to [...]

This week Westminster has been preoccupied by possible changes in the voting system. The bill to give the people a referendum vote [...]

FANS of our occasional podcasts (you know who you both are) will be relieved that Copeland MP Jamie Reed and I got together yesterday to record our latest episode of Two Men and a Pod. Topics include, inevitably, the Labour leadership election, whether Labour in opposition should elect the Shadow Cabinet [...]

On the 3rd July I visited the Breathe Easy (Aylesbury Group) stall in Market Square, to support them in their valuable work. To find out more about the British Lung Foundation’s Breathe Easy support group network, follow this link: http://www.lunguk.org/supporting-you/breathe-easy [...]

WHAT larks! The boundary changes proposed by the Tories would hit the LibDems more than anyone else, according to a new survey (paywall). This confirms the results of a separate survey reported by the Beeb last month. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the turkeys will still be [...]

Total number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan = 334 It was a hell of a choice. Duty ruled that I had to read the Sunday Times today. Should I buy it or pay a £1 on line. I do...

Total number of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan = 334It was a hell of a choice.  Duty ruled that I had to read the Sunday Times today. Should I buy it or pay a £1 on line. I do not want to encourage payments for on-line papers - especially Murdoch ones. [...]

  Tony Blair has never had a secure grip on reality. While he was swanning around the world in the General Election 2010 I was on the doorstep for five weeks talking to voters. They raised many issues, immigration, NHS, ‘scroungers’, global warming, jobs, and the credit crunch. No one mentioned ‘New [...]

THE VOTES have been counted and I’m chuffed to bits to have maintained the top position in the MPs’ category of the Total Politics Top Blog Awards 2010. This is despite some serious competition from (among many others) John Redwood, Douglas Carswell, Tom Watson, Lynne Featherstone and Kerry McCarthy. So, thank you [...]

CAROLINE Lucas, the Green MP, has announced she will be tabling an amendment to the AV Referendum Bill to allow more “PR” options to the question. Next Left, inevitably, is calling on Labour to support Lucas’s, or a similar, motion. Fat chance. What’s fascinating , however, is that, since full proportional representation [...]

WAS a government special adviser involved in illegal and systematic tapping of private individuals’ phones? If the answer is yes, he will be sacked, then probably jailed. According to today’s Guardian (and the New York Times), Andy Coulson… “actively encouraged” a named reporter to engage in the illegal interception of voicemail messages. The [...]

Aylesbury MP David Lidington is urging the local community to get involved in the sixth annual Countryside Alliance Awards, which are now open to public nomination.  Everyone who supports rural businesses, produce, and communities is strongly encouraged to nominate their favourites, and to help the South of England claim another [...]

SIX months after launching this blog in March 2008, I was chuffed beyond reason to be voted top Scottish blog in the Total Politics Blog Awards that year. Now I’ve scooped the top spot for the third year running. Although I try to be blasé about this sort of thing, there’s [...]

As you may have already heard, the Secretary of State for Transport has now announced that an Exceptional Hardship Scheme for people whose properties have been blighted by the High Speed 2 announcement will go ahead. Applications to the scheme can be made from 20th August, please see attachments for [...]

Asset: Saddam Hussein has gone Debits: 100,000 Iraqis killed, 4500 US soldiers dead, $750 billion spent; 3 million Iraqis in local or foreign exile: US and GB world reputations as peace makers damaged.   Heads win Although the heart pulls a different way, the head rules. My vote is for David Miliband’s mental dexterity, gravitas and intellect. He will be [...]

SEE if you can pick out the genuine glaring inaccuracy as featured in Ed Miliband’s latest maildrop offering helpful advice on how to vote in the leadership election: Make sure you number all squares 1 to 5 in order of your preference with Ed Miliband No. 1 Place the ballot paper in [...]

Sunday on Royston Heath, for my Annual Cricket Tournament. My son William bravely put in a team of his own, Ramblers Cricket Club, who enjoyed the Tournament a great deal and even managed to get to the semi finals. Dominic Adams was an absolute star in organizing the [...]

IS THIS what the actual ballot paper will look like? Ed M’s got it in the bag, then. From the latest Miliband the Younger leaflet: Reminds me of the ballot paper distributed by whips on the day of the election of the Speaker last June. [...]

1994: John Smith died on Thursday 12 May. It was agreed that the contest to find his successor would not start until after polling day in that year’s European parliament elections, held on 9 June. There then followed the largest democratic exercise ever attempted by a single [...]