I spelled Raoul Moat’s name wrongly in my last post. Now corrected. I have to say that my sympathy for Moat was increased by reading an interview with his brother in The Guardian. A sad family story, there’s no doubt. But even Angus, the brother, condemns the Facebook page (which has now been removed by […]
When I sent this tweet: .bbpBox18452685226 {background:url(http://s.twimg.com/a/1278724399/images/themes/theme5/bg.gif) #352726;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block} Floral tributes for murderer just because he camped out for a while, apparently. Very strange.less than a minute ago via TweetDeckMartin McCalliondevilgate I […]
Betrayed? My initial reaction to the Liberal Democrats’ decision to form a coalition with the Tories was a combination of disappointment and a sense of betrayal (with a side order of impending doom, of course). I was, perhaps, naive. I said that I was voting LibDem, and that I actively wanted Labour to lose (while […]
The Boundaries of Voting I’ve been boundary-changed, and it’s made it harder to decide who to vote for. At the last election (and until a couple of weeks ago) We were in Hackney South and Shoreditch, which was Meg Hillier’s constituency. Meg wasn’t a bad constituency MP, at least inasmuch as she answered my emails […]
"… But May 2010 offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape politics for the better. It must be seized." Fascinating list of signatories to this letter in The Guardian: "Long-standing party loyalties, even in a less tribal world, are not easily suspended
There was an arse on the Today programme this morning, calling for the return of corporal punishment to schools. One in five teachers, he says, want it ‘as an option’. Two points, then: a) that means four in five don’t want it, and b) why do you think it’s all right to use violence against [...]
I can’t decide on this David Davis thing Is it just a stunt? Is he genuinely concerned enough about civil liberties to take the chance (small though it is) of losing his seat? Certainly he sounds sincere when he talks about his concerns about the growth of state power; and Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty counts [...]
So the Tories took Crewe and Nantwich in the by-election. I don’t understand (never have) the mentality, the mindset, the brains of floating voters. I’m not saying that no-one should ever change their mind, in politics or anything else; nor do I think that people can’t be convinced by the arguments over issues – nor, [...]
My son will be starting secondary school in September this year. So towards the end of last year we spent a lot of time reading up on the policies of our and adjoining London boroughs, visiting schools, and finally applying. The application works like this. You can name up to six “preferences” (not “choices”, note). [...]
It is a tragedy that a member of the public, when interviewed on the radio, should say, when the phrase “human rights” comes up, “Oh, bloody hell, human rights, suffin fussin wussin mumble grumble,” in a tone of disgust. The subject being discussed was the call to ban this “Mosquito” device, which is intended to [...]
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