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Guy Fawkes' blog (Free subscription) | yesterday
| Politics
Neal Lawson runs Compass which is the liveliest of Labour's soft-left factional campaigning organisations. He is a prickly character, some will attribute his knifing of Gordon today ( Indy ) to a mixture of disappointment and perhaps irritation that post-Blair he has neither been listened to, nor given any preferment by Gordon. He might not have taken up a position in Gordon's big tent, but it would...
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Labourhome (Free subscription) | 11/05/2008
| Politics
The class warfare stuff, although cheap, is bording just about acceptable; but one thing horrified me (on an election leaflet): "Do you oppose making foreign nationals carry and ID card?" Regardless of the fact that I oppose ID cards in anyway, shape or form (the mere idea is distinctly alien to Britain) - "making", "foreign nationals" is the language of the [far] right. What has our party come to?...
3Vote!
Don't trip up (Free subscription) | 12/05/2008
| Politics
News has not been kind to Gordon Brown this week. John Prescott “frustrating, annoying, bewildering and prickly” with sulks that would cancel meetings and volcanic temper tantrums. He also claims Mr Brown held money back for his own premiership. Furthermore, Ed Balls was one of the "Gordon group, running around, spreading stories" Cherie Blair accused him of “rattling the keys above [Tony Blair's]...
3Vote!
politicalbetting.com (Free subscription) | 12/05/2008
| Politics
Is Boris's “goodbye” a sign that the writ is about to be issued? The above has just gone on the Henley Standard website and suggests that the Tories are going to waste no time in setting the processes in train for an early by election to replace Boris Johnson. The piece is a “goodbye Henley letter” [...]
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Gates of Vienna (Free subscription) | yesterday
| Politics
I found this story in Sunday's Independent via Guido Fawkes’ blog . Is this a joke? -- A highly sensitive internal report into the state of the British Army has revealed that many soldiers are living in poverty. Some are so poor that they are unable to eat and are forced to rely on emergency food voucher schemes set up by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Some of Britain's most senior military figures...
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Guy Fawkes' blog (Free subscription) | 12/05/2008
| Politics
Nick Cohen is surely right that we should send in the bombers to Burma. All the pious hand-wringing is worthless in the face of Burmese intransigence. The West has the military capability to arrange airdrops of medical supplies and food. We did something similar when the Communists tried to starve Western Berlin. Perhaps the Luftwaffe and the airforces of some of the less robust European states could...
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Tangled Blog (Free subscription) | 11/05/2008
| Politics
Interesting to read that MPs ought to be awarded a 23% pay rise , taking their salaries to £76,000, a committee of senior members chaired by Mickl Martin, the Speaker, is set to recommend this week. The MPs believe they are underpaid compared with managers in the public sector. They are ready to put off their pay rise, however, until after the next election to avoid provoking voters at a time when...
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Iain Dale's Diary (Free subscription) | 11/05/2008
| Politics
If you don't do anything else today, read THIS extract in the Mail on Sunday from Brian Paddick's mayoral campaign diary. It's safe to say he won't ever stand for the LibDems again. He reveals... The Libdems gave him virtually no campaign support or funding Nick Clegg as being constantly 'miffed' or petulent His frustration at the LibDems inability to get any press coverage He makes clear he will never...
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Scots and Independent (Free subscription) | 12/05/2008
| Politics
At the last election, Wendy and Douglas Alexander claimed that an SNP Government would cause chaos and confusion over an independence referendum ; would force the ‘average family’ to forfeit nearly £1,000 more of their hard-earned income to the government ; and would split families apart north and south of the border . One year on, I see now that it was all true. Only, who would have sussed that the...
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ConservativeHome's ToryDiary (Free subscription) | 11/05/2008
| Politics
Lord Forsyth was interviewed last night by Andrew Neil for BBC News' Straight Talk. In a wide-ranging interview in which he attributed his political conversion to the Adam Smith Institute and urged the party to cut taxes for low income...
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Londonist (Free subscription) | 09/05/2008
| Politics
By not taking responsibility for the violent crime and anti-social behaviour of their pupils, teachers are merely ignoring their own mistakes, according to London's new Deputy Mayor, Ray Lewis . In a statement guaranteed to rile the National Union of Teachers, Mr Lewis told a meeting on street violence that "schools are the only businesses which blame their customers for their own failings". Having...
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Bag's Rants (Free subscription) | 10/05/2008
| Politics
Who needs enemies? It seems that Blair is giving Gordo some advice. Read here . Personally I doubt it. Just because the Blair Witch says so does not make it so but you never know. Gordo screws up enough on his own so I doubt he needs someone else to help by undermining him. Surely by the law of averages he would get something right if Blair was helping. But advising Labour on how to win the next election....
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Daily Referendum (Free subscription) | 09/05/2008
| Politics
Could the partnership deal that Boris has entered into with his New York counterpart Michael Bloomberg be the beginning of a new, bright future for London? Bloomberg's record as the man who gets it right in New York is well known. Any advice Boris takes from his new American partner will no doubt benefit the residents of London. Boris has definitely hit the ground running.
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A Pint of Unionist Lite (Free subscription) | 09/05/2008
| Politics
England is a nation of "overweight, alcopop-swilling, sex- and celebrity-obsessed TV addicts", according to a new tourist guide book. That's just England of course- the rest of the United Kingdom is full of lithe, carrot-juice supping, muesli-chomping, culturally high-brow, unpaid charity-workers. Rough Guide says it all a bit of fun as opposed to downright racist stereo-typing; I've got their India...
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ORDOVICIUS (Free subscription) | 10/05/2008
| Politics
Cherie Blair dishes out the dirt on Gordon Brown today in The Times . In an interview with The Times and in extracts, Mrs Blair: — Demolishes the myth of the Gran-ita pact. It has always been suggested that Mr Blair and Mr Brown struck a deal over the leadership in the Isling-ton restaurant of that name. In fact, she says, the discussions took place in her sister’s home days earlier; — Reveals that...
