politics

by 2 comments on "If the seagulls follow the Tory, it is because they expect thinktanks will be thrown in the water"

Something else. This week saw the Tories deploy yet another inflatable thinktank – rightly mocked here, here, here, and essentially everywhere blog is sold. Clearly “ResPublica” is hilariously vacuous, and where it’s not vacuous, it’s fucking frightening, as well as being weirdly reminiscent of Iranian revolutionary political thought according to Alistair Crooke. But it’s far…

Read More If the seagulls follow the Tory, it is because they expect thinktanks will be thrown in the water
by 3 comments on "the FA: a case study in modern thinking"

Here’s an interesting example of modern thinking. Appropriately enough, it’s one drawn from sport, which seems to play a special role in the whole phenomenon. The Government wants to force the FA to change its internal structures. Progress on reforming the FA Council and its endless list of committees has also stalled. As part of…

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by 1 comment on "most of the people watching this are in fact my sworn enemies"

This is right, as is this. But what’s this? I essentially joined the Liberal Democrats back in 2004 in order to escape the – ah, thanks, flyingrodent – belligerent content-free woofing blaring out of every other political entity, and here’s the party’s leader in Scotland, whining because they let a guy out of jail to…

Read More most of the people watching this are in fact my sworn enemies
by 1 comment on "free our bills: hardcore wonk/geek out"

So what do we need to know about a parliamentary bill? First of all, as soon as a piece of legislation is published, it has certain meta-data. Date originated; originating department; originating MP; originating house; type – primary legislation, order in council, statutory instrument; current status (pre-legislative/Green/White Paper, first reading, committee, report, second, third, Royal…

Read More free our bills: hardcore wonk/geek out
by 1 comment on "slip inside this (giant distribution ware)house"

After the Mancunian love-in at Jamie Kenny’s, my own thoughts on Joe Moran’s On Roads are inevitably coming. I didn’t know that we have Tony Benn to thank for the big-box supply chain logistics industry. But yes; at the end of the 1960s, the then Minister of Technology tore off a £150,000 innovation grant for…

Read More slip inside this (giant distribution ware)house
by 0 comments on "Money"

Jamie Kenny watches the Lebanese elections and asks if the Saudis could spend so much money on British politics. The answer is simple: they already have. Consider the original Al-Yamamah contract, and the famous National Audit Office report that was shown to two MPs and then buried for good. We’re still not trusted to see…

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by 0 comments on "Bob’s yer uncle, and Tess is your aunt.."

Well, Blears and Smith were good, but Geoff Hoon walking the plank? Klasse. Apparently there is talk of making him a European commissioner again; God knows why. Alan Sugar is some sort of minister and a peer of the realm. Peter Mandelson is turning into Michael Heseltine before our boggling eyes. Better get some cardio…

Read More Bob’s yer uncle, and Tess is your aunt..