I have never been much of a fan of PR. For one thing, I would like to see truly local MPs, for another, in the past I had fallen for the “you will never get strong government” line. However, looking at the opinion polls this weekend, I think, makes it clear that we have to […]
political stuff
The Right of A True-Born Englishman
MP calls for burkas to be banned in Britain An MP has called for ministers to ban the wearing of burkas, branding it ‘offensive’ and ‘against the British way of life’. Dear Mr Holloborne, how I dress is my business. If I choose to wear a burka, that is my business. Yes, I am male, […]
Politics – Wish List – Electoral Reform
Proportional Representation I must admit I am not convinced by proportional representation, amongst other things I cannot quite see how it could be achieved without breaking the link between MPs and the localities they represent. At the moment, we vote for people, not parties. However, both Labour (Blaenau Gwent, Erith and Thamesmead) and the Conservatives […]
Irony
From Every Parent Matters Letter from then Education Secretary, Alan Johnson, March 2007 Parents and the home environment they create are the single most important factor in shaping their children’s well-being, achievements and prospects. We know that the overwhelming majority of parents want to do the very best for their children. We know that the […]
Something New
Recently, I posted “Oh look, someone has noticed”, remarking on how the Government has suddenly noticed that we have a problem over food security and fuel security. Today we have something new: But Mr Woolas, who became immigration minister in the reshuffle earlier this month, said: “This government isn’t going to allow the population to […]
Oh look, someone has noticed
A food crisis is highly likely in the UK, with price and availability becoming issues that swing the outcome of future elections, according to a report from the thinktank Chatham House. Grauniad Following on from Gordon Brown’s sudden insight that we had “fuel security” problems, now someone has noticed that we also have a “food […]