Its on: Boris Johnson vs. Ken Leavingsoon

Thats right after weeks of political punches Red Ken and Bumbling but brilliant Boris are going head to head for the Mayorality of our great capital. Pundits and pollsters are putting Boris as the favourite to unseat Livingstone outright in the first ballot although some have suggested it could go on to a second preferences ballot which Boris should go on to win. To add to the Boris momentum Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate, signalled that he would consider a job with Boris Johnson in a Tory administration but ruled out any role with Ken Livingstone.

To rub salt in the wounds Paddick claimed “I just don’t trust Ken Livingstone,” adding that “the thought of having him as my boss sends shivers down my spine.” So if the Lib Dems have any sense about them they will ‘follow the leader’ and give their second preferances to Boris Johnson almost guarenteeing him a win. If all polls and predictions are correct, tomorrow for the first time in a long time, looks set to be a great day to be a Tory. So I urge all those eligable to get out and vote Tory and ensure that we show this government for what it is…dead in the water. I also know everyone will join me in sending our support and best wishes to members of the BUCF committee who have been campaigning for Boris in London and our Birmingham Conservative candidates in tomorrows elections lets hope their hard work pays off! 

US Update

Its seems that Hillary Clintons crucial win in Pennyslvania is paying off. According to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Monday in a hypothetical general election match with McCain, Clinton would lead him 50 percent to 41 percent. Further to this Obama’s once double digit lead over Clinton amongst Democrats has now been reduced to just 3 percentage points with Clinton 43 and Obama 46. To add to his woes Obama remains virtually tied with McCain in the same hypothetical general election, 46 percent to 44 percent.

Clinton also picked up a prized superdelegate endorsement heading into the North Carolina primary. Gov. Mike Easley announced his support for the former first lady on Tuesday morning in Raleigh, the state capital. This endorsement is contrary to the opinion polls in the state which up until now have shown Obama leading by double digits. It will be interesting to see whether this endorsement has any impact on the voters of North Carolina. Either way Obama has nowhere near bagged this nomination yet and Clinton clearly is going nowhere. I would agree with Howard Deans remarks that the superdelegates need to get off the fence within a few days of the last primary but I reject any calls for her to quite when the race is far from conclusive. However unless the candidate is decided by early June then Democrats will be faced with an increasingly uphill battle against the Republicans.

On a personal note I still believe the nominee should be the candidate with a majority of the popular vote, this is currently Clinton. I think she will suffer a set back in the upcoming primaries in states like North Carolina but she should regain her lead with wins in states like Indiana. However should Obama win the popular vote then I would back his case that he should be the Democratic nominee, I would expect Obama supporters to do the same should Clinton win the popular vote.

The Glamorous Aspiration.

I have just finished watching a TV programme on BBC3 called Page Three Teens; it was enlightening to say the least. This programme really depressed me. It followed this one 17-year-old girl on her exploration of the Glamour model industry. She was not stupid; in fact she was highly driven, ambitious and confident. So why I wondered was he aim in life to take off her bra?

This really shocked me, the programme informed me that in a phone poll of women aged 18-24 63% would rather be a glamour model than be a nurse or a teacher. Where has the determination of young people, in this case women gone? This really highlights a huge problem in education in my opinion. The stale, prescribed, conveyor belt of spoon fed knowledge that is our education system is unsurprisingly not enthusing our young people. Schools and education have to compete for the aspiration of their students, parents too play an invaluable role. In a world where celebrity is held as all mighty the virtues of a more professional life need now to be extolled more than ever.

More worryingly the programme also highlighted a trend of girls as young as 12 posing on the Internet as if they were glamour models, leaving these children exposed to the full perversion the Internet has to offer. This is a horrendous situation for young girls to be in, and reaffirms the message that the internet needs better monitoring, but that parents must be making sure their children are safe online. This leaves me feeling empty about the state of childhood and aspiration in this country.

Apparently we are becoming one of the least socially mobile countries in the world, and this can only get worse if girls and young women only aspire to pander to horny dirty men but getting their tits out for the lads. In a line that could have been uttered by a pervert, a female photographer commented “I don’t want to get into anything deep right now, coz (sic) I’ve not seen her boobs” sounds like some men’s dream line.

We need to inspire our young people to see beyond the cover of Bliss magazine and the latest Big Brother and show them a world of opportunity and dignity, where they can be equal to men not the inspiration for their self-gratification. This trend of celebrity is having real affects now and we need to counter it, and I am glad DC talked of a responsible media in society, it needs to come fast.

Oh and the girl’s thoughts on becoming 18 at the end of the show: “I’m an adult now, I can vote, or go topless!”

At least she is voting, May 1st Vote Blue go… you can finish that off, but I am putting out the recycling!!!

A Conservative Future

    

Britain and Britain in the world, in 50 years:

Our children can expect to live until they are 100, and remain healthy and active for their centenary. Medical advancement will make it increasingly possible to identify and eradicate genetic diseases and to prevent more acquired diseases.

We ourselves will live as Millionaires do now. We will have unprecedented actual wealth. Generally, wealth will become more evenly distributed.

As the world becomes increasingly globalised and mobile, governments will compete for skills, business and investment by driving down tax rates. By 2050 Britain will have a flat tax of 10% as well as some of the most competitive corporate and business taxes in the developed world.

The state will have almost no involvement in the provision of services including health and education. As more and more can afford to do so, they will opt for private services until it becomes unviable for the State to have a role in actual provision.

An increasing number of people will be self-employed and less reliant on paid work. As a result the average Briton’s quality of life will soar.

Britain will be one of the most intellectually and technologically advanced countries in the world. We will also be known as the ‘Green Island’, with one of the most environmentally friendly economies.

Scientific research will increase our understanding of the world and ourselves to a point that is completely incomprehensible at the moment. A new enlightenment will illuminate everything more brightly. Social constraints will diminish and society will become more liberal.

As the international economy becomes more complex and inter-dependent, Britain and an increasing number of countries will become involved in armed conflict less frequently.

The future’s bright and blue.

NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN.

THE NOMINATION PERIOD HAS BEGUN FOR THE NEW CF COMMITTEE,

THE POSITIONS ARE:

CHAIR
VICE CHAIR GUILD
VICE CHAIR LOCAL
SECRETARY
TREASURER
COMMUNICATION
EVENTS

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO GET INVOLVED WITH UNIVERSITY LIFE, ASWELL AS EXPLORING THE OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED BY THE LOCAL SCENE. THIS IS A GOOD WAY TO GET KNOWN IN THE PARTY.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED PLEASE SUBMITT YOUR NOMINATION TO chair@bucf.org.

WE HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU, THE AGM DATE WILL BE SET VERY SOON.

Inside Conserative Party HQ… (Oh and Lady T too)

 

The Cartography of Crime.

David Cameron in his attempt to tackle the fear of street crime and allow local people to hold their police force to account has suggested that maps be released showing exactly where crime has happened and identify crime hotspots. This to me seems a rather poor idea.

Firstly I think it scores David no political points, he really needs to be seen to be angry about labour’s failure to tackle violent crime. He needs to be seen at the scene of shootings declaring with passion and conviction that this is going to stop and that this must be dealt with. A map seems a little impotent to me.

Secondly a map would in fact only increase levels of paranoia over crime. People would study these maps, they would determine house prices, and we would see an increase in no go areas created by peoples’ fear of crime perpetuated by these maps. If people knew exactly where crime was being committed in large numbers people would increasingly move away from those areas leaving it to further decline.

Thirdly, are we not the party that wants to reduce the burden of regulation for police officers and other public servants? To require a force to have a monthly map would only lead to a huge increase in administration. Not to mention the increased stress and demoralisation that this policy would surely bring.

A timely reminder…

A portrait of Tony Blair, painted in his final few months as prime minister, has been unveiled in Westminster. The portrait will now hang in Portcullis House alongside other top politicians and former PM’s including Thatcher and Churchill. I am intrigued by the portrait as it gives the impression of power and burden with concern clearly etched on Blair’s face. The cheshire cat grin that once characterised Blair seems a distant memory and is replaced by a formal frown as the affairs of state continue to burden his mind. Aside from this given the current state of political affairs the unveiling comes as a timely reminder of just what we’ve lost…

Mr. Rainbow II

     

Student politics breeds student apathy

Recently the Guild of Students held its annual elections, deciding on who would take a multi-million pound organisation, representing the needs and desires of students, into the future. It is thoroughly depressing then that only 3% of students voted for the President, with even fewer for other positions. The same can be seen with the NUS, very few people seem to give a damn about it any more. Why is this? My answer is that the majority of students who do engage with student politics, especially at the University of Birmingham, are idiots.

Most of this belief is based upon my own experience. The majority of candidates seem to be unable to speak in public and rouse interests, they focus on issues which are far too idealistic and appear worthless, but worst of all, they seem incredibly insulated from the other 97% of students. Rather than getting excited that others are challenging their ideas and wanting the best for the Guild, so many student politicians at the University of Birmingham have interpreted these debates as direct attacks on themselves. Sometimes they are and the blame also lies on those making the attack. However both are guilty of treating student politics as a game in which to massage their ego, seeing who can say the most and who can gain ‘power’.

Student politicians, like students, focus on their similarities, such as being part of a political party, sharing the same sporting interests, or interest in the lowest common denominator that is Fab ‘n’ Fresh. What is overlooked though is the most fundamental similarity of all, we’re all students. When you discriminate against people because they don’t share the same views as you means you miss out on the chance of meeting so many new and different people. I came to University to try new experiences not to meet more people who are very similar to me. Student politicians remain part of these groups, making it incredibly difficult for other students to become engaged, let alone with friends, with them.

Maybe all universities share this apathy? No. Warwick University recently held their elections and had a turn out of nearly 20%. There are many other factors involved with elections, but the most basic thing is the people you are voting for. No wonder so many students stay away from elections, where those who are running seem to have ulterior motives and only show an interest in the electorate for their ability to vote. Maybe instead of promoting their own interests candidates need to start treating the electorate as potential friends, getting to know them out of a sincere interest of who they are, rather than what they can offer them. But then again, maybe I’m just being too idealistic…

THE US COULD “OBLITERATE” IRAN

President Bush persistently talks of the threat posed by the Iranian regime to American interests, regional and international security. Indeed, along with Iraq and North Korea, these countries constituted Bush’s ‘Axis of Evil’ – The phrase coined in the aftermath of 9/11 to characterise the nature of the threat facing the United States.

Not content, however, Hillary Clinton has decided to take it one stage further. Still battling against Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, Clinton has chosen to use primary day in Pennsylvania to clarify her position: In the event of an Iranian attack on Israel, a President Clinton would “obliterate” Iran.

This is the same Hillary Clinton who denounced President Bush last year for trying to “distort intelligence to pursue his ideological ends” after the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate, a collaborative document combining the expertise of the leading intelligence agencies in the US, found that there was no evidence of a continuing Iranian nuclear weapons programme.

Not only do Clinton’s comments smack of hypocrisy and opportunism, therefore, but they also display a height of irresponsibility. It is not clear what purpose Clinton thinks the comments serve, for the American people are surely aware of US military capabilities, and given Iran’s NIE reported change of behaviour, the Iranian regime does too. I take no position here on the debate as to what Iranian intentions are, but suffice to say, such displays of pugnacity and contempt for constructive diplomacy should be met with equal contempt.

The American people should place their trust in Barack Obama and his pledge to use “aggressive personal diplomacy” to resolve the many crises in the world today, be it relations with Iran or stalemate in the Peace Process.

by Jack Gilliland

Why no one should vote for Ken. . .

Curse of a continent

 

 

The situation in Zimbabwe is dire; this much is clear however what to do to combat the dictatorial actions of Mugabe remains uncertain and a solution remains ever more elusive. It has become apparent, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Robert Mugabe lost the elections last month yet he remains in office. The initial hopes of an impending Mugabe resignation proved unfounded. So the question arises what should we do, or more importantly what can we do?

 

Many people have suggested to me lately that Britain and America should act and remove Mugabe by force. This is appealing but sadly unrealistic and unsustainable prospect. Robert Mugabe has based his dictatorship on anti-colonial rhetoric and he has continually exploited Zimbabwean, and indeed African, fears of a return to colonial domination.

 

He has, through undemocratic and manipulative means, forged a wholly unjustified image of himself as a black-hero freeing Zimbabwe from colonial shackles. Any western intervention is therefore undesirable and impractical and would serve to justify Mugabe rhetoric. This situation is a matter for Africa and the solution rests with Africa’s leaders. The West’s only duty is to continue to put pressure on the continents leaders to bring Mugabe to task.

 

The man is a butcher, a dictator and nothing more than a common criminal. With his unjustifiable swagger and his fitting Hitler-style moustache he continually rubs the West’s nose in his rhetoric, as he is well aware we can do nothing of any real threat to him.

 

If I were PM, which I’m sure is a daunting prospect for many readers, I would put as much pressure on African leaders, both publicly and privately, to deal with Mugabe and employ any means necessary to ensure that this blatant violation of democracy, and indeed human rights, does not simply become yesterday’s news.  

 

The ignorance of some African leaders, Mbeki in particular, is the root cause of Zimbabwe’s continued turmoil and decline. Successive African leaders have as much responsibility to bear for the situation in Zimbabwe as Mugabe himself. They have implicitly condemned the Zimbabwean people to their current and prospective fate through their inaction.

 

Having family living in Kenya and friends in South Africa I am well aware of the situation in Zimbabwe and realise that the horrific stories that tickle out about state suppression is only half the story of Mugabe brutality. Those who claim to be African patriots and African liberators cannot claim any such title when they turn a blind eye to the barbaric and inhumane treatment of their fellow people. It is time that African leaders stepped up to the plate either voluntarily or through coercive means.

 

The fact remains that this situation will undoubtedly get worse before it can get better… if it ever does.

Mr. Rainbow

Hello. My name is Mr. Rainbow and this aims to be the first of many blogs on my thoughts about student politics and somewhere close to my heart, the University of Birmingham Guild of Students.

Firstly, why am I publishing anonymously? It is so that when you wonder who “Mr. Rainbow” is, the picture created on this so far blank canvas will have been made by my words and thoughts. You can’t infer from the colour of my tie, the style of my hair or the colloquialism of my accent which way I swing politically. For once, when you engage with a blog your thoughts won’t immediately be coloured by knowing who I am, my background and personality. Instead when you debate with me you will have to engage purely with my words.

I chose the name Mr. Rainbow because my outlook can’t be pinned underneath one heading, or one colour. Rather my thoughts range across a spectrum which some find hard to believe one person can occupy.

How do we overcome student apathy at the Guild of Students? Indeed, is there even a problem, or has it always been like this? Is optimism for next years executive founded, or will it inevitably lead to disappointment? On the bigger picture, is there any point of modern student politics? There is no singular truth to any of these questions, but there are opinions and it is these that I truly look forward to finding.

Mock the Week…

This video has recently come to my attention and I think that the anti-Royals amongst you will get a particular ‘kick’ out of it!

Local View: Election Countdown

Local elections are often dismissed as a peripheral sideshow to the main political event of a general election despite the fact that they offer an indicator to how well a party is doing nationally. A good showing here is a far more authoritative endorsement than any ICM or YouGov poll ever could be. And it was for this reason that David Cameron was in Birmingham on Monday to rally the troops ahead of the May local elections.

 

At the closed event there was a buzz of excitement as he spoke of his optimism and confidence for the coming elections and reacted well to reports from the councillors present that the message they are receiving on the streets is a positive one.

 

And here in Birmingham the Conservative party should have reason to be confident about the coming local elections. For one the credibility of the City’s Liberal Democrat party lies in tatters after the Elections Commissioner Timothy Stalker threw their electoral fraud case out of court last week. Though the party shares a coalition with the Conservative’s in the city they are still our opponents in some target wards.

 

The Lib Dems had charged Labour with running a smear campaign against Aehmed during the 2007 local elections. As the two sides tried to discredit each other in court using character assassination techniques some rather grubby details were uncovered regarding ‘questionable’ disability grant applications originating from the Claimant during the 1990’s.

 

As a result neither came out of this looking good.

 

Following a recent judicial trend judges to openly rip in to some of the protagonists in the case (Re the McCartney divorce and Diana inquest ) the judge showed the trial up for the laughable farce it was if it hadn’t cost the taxpayer half a million quid.

 

Ayoub Khan, a Lib Dem councillor and prominent party figure in the city, felt the full wrath of the commissioner when he said that Khan’s evidence comprised of a ‘sordid story’ and in parts ‘unpleasant, unsupported and unsubstantiated’. This is particularly damaging for Khan as he’s a barrister (though oddly there is no mention of him in the Bar directory when I checked. Must be an oversight..)

 

Despite the Lib Dem Westminster party’s desire to distance themselves from the ‘sordid’ affair they did manage to role out an official response. They pointed to the salient fact that Mr Khan had not broken any laws. However to this the Lib Dem spokesman rather worryingly added the word ‘yet’ to the end of his sentence. Odd for a party that have claimed to be fully behind the councillor.

 

The trial was truly unedifying and damaged both Labour and the Lib Dems. It also, remembering the postal vote fraud of a few years ago, further casts Birmingham and its politics in a rather bad light.

 

Though Labour won the day in court, and rightfully if the papers reports are followed, the trial of public opinion, always a fickle affair, calls no evidence, and weighs nothing in the balance.  They pass down their judgement in only a few short weeks time. 

 

 

 

 

BRING BACK MAGGIE

NO this is not simply a DOD rambling, but a shock new yougov opinion poll finding. Baroness Thatcher comfortably surpassed Tony Blair when people were asked who they would pick to lead the country at the height of their powers if they had the choice. David Cameron, the current Conservative leader, trailed far behind both – but was still ahead of Gordon Brown. In another shock twist almost two thirds of Tory voters said they would prefer Lady Thatcher to the current party leader. The poll confirms that Lady Thatcher, 82, is also considered, again by a long distance, to be the country’s greatest post-war prime minister, well ahead even of Winston Churchill during his second term in office in the 1950s. Maybe she could comeback and fight an election…after all Gladstone was 83 when he formed his 4th administration!

Full results can be found here.

Don’t Abandon Iraq

The top US General in Iraq, David Petraeus, has told the Senate Armed Service Committee that the troop surge has produced significant but uneven progress in Iraq. He also asked the committe, which included Senator Clinton, not to make rash decisions and reject any call for a timetable for withdrawing troops from the country. I quite agree with General Petraeus. Withdrawl of coalition forces, regardless of the consequences, would constitute a failure of political and moral leadership and fly in the face of every democratic principle or ideology we claim to hold. The situation is dire, of this there is little doubt, however I believe wholeheartedly that it remains retrievable. Should we cut and run, Iraq would become a bastion of terror which would inevitably come back to haunt us in the future, at which point the situation would have become unretrievable.

Around the world failings of the Iraq war are being used as a weapon for all oppositions to discredit any government that supported it. The new Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who incidently is a republican (shudder), arguably won the Australian election in part due to his call for a withdrawl of Australian troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rather than offer constructive solutions they offer empty rhetoric appealing to the lowest common denominator. I sincerely hope the Conserative party does not follow suit in the next election. This is playing politics with peoples live for the sake of winning an election. If that is what we have to do to win an election… I’d rather lose. Sadly most governments, oppositions and their wider population for that matter are fickle. They claim to want equality, they want to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves but as soon as things get a little bit tough, or very tough in the case of Iraq, they want a quick fix regardless of the consequences.

Whether or not the Conseratives were the government that sent our troops to war is irrelevant. Our backing of the government in 2003 should not be forgotten and we should honour the call we took at the time based on the best, now discredited, information made available to us. The mistake has been made and I believe we shouldn’t follow that mistake with another even greater one…. running away. We have a duty to re-build the society that we unintentionally obliterated. If we abandon Iraq then it will descend in to failed state status.  While we may be able to sweep it under the carpet for a time, the repercussions of the collapse of Iraq will be felt from Baghdad to Birmingham and beyond.

We, however unintentionally, condemed Iraq to this fate by removing a dictatoral regime which inevitably produced a power vaccum that has proceeded to destroy Iraqi society. 30 years of supressed emotions and political ambitions was always going to erupt in to chaos. However I detest the cowardly attitudes that seem to be increasing on a daily basis, that we should simply cut our losses and run, the attitude of ‘let them sort themselves out’ seems to be prevailing.

 It almost feels as if these people have got ‘bored’ of the situation in Iraq. Well to these people I say; you are lucky enough to have the privellage to be bored of the situation in Iraq, you live thousands of miles away from it and in a society which compared to Iraq has had it easy over the past 30 years (I don’t recall Thatcher putting anyone in acid baths :P). The carnage and chaos we see on our TV screens is life for the people of Iraq. The terror we witnessed in London on 7/7 is a daily reality for scores of Iraqi people and their deaths are reported here in Britain like sports scores on the evening news, rather than the abhorrent acts of terror they are.

Anti-War campaigners may be right when they say we should have never invaded Iraq. However this is all very well in hind-sight and we have to try to rectify the situation we have created. Having said this the duty to rebuild Iraq is not solely British or American. The European Union, the UN and the wider world need to step up to the plate and recognise that whilst they may have had legitimate reservations about the legality and neccessity for war in Iraq, the mistake has been made and we need help to rectify it. Iraq is failing in part because of the unwillingness, cowardice and lack of assistance from other nations.

A stable Iraq is of benefit to the region and the world certainly not just Britain and America. Its collapse however would ‘unleash the gates of hell’ as it would become a hot bed for insurgents and terrorists. Extremism in part spawns from inequality, desperation and poverty and it is in these conditions that parasites like Bin Laden prosper. If we ignore the threat in the naieve hope it will go away we will have to face the fight currently raging on the streets of Baghdad, on our streets.

The only relevant question that remain is, can we still win, meaning can we leave behind a functioning, self sustaining, Western-friendly constitutional government? I believe we can and we are.The insurgency is strong, but it has failed to topple the Iraqi government. It can create bombs, civil unrest and carnage but little else. Should we leave the Iraqi government would not last long and would be replaced by characters on a par, or worse, than the dictator we set out to replace in 2003.

Ignorance is bliss but the reprocussions of a ‘rushed withdrawl’ is not.

Yes Sir No Sir Three Bags Full Sir!

Today DC has announced new measures to tackle bad behaviour and discipline in schools. He has propsed that Headmasters should not have to defend their decision to expell pupils to a appeals panal, that teachers should be able to remove disruptive children from the class and that good schools should not be forced to take pupils expelled from other ones, in the policy of sharing disruption that we have at the moment.

On the whole i support these policies which are aimed a strengthening the authority of teachers and other staff. The removal of certain pupils from classes would not doubt immdiatly improve the learning environment for the majority. However where would these pupils go?

Pupils who fail to respond to the attempt of teachers to instill it need to go to a different style of education centre. I would suggest state boarding schools. In most cases the child’s delinquency could be accuratly traced to poor discipline in the home, and or an unstructured family life. Rather than the current system of seperate schools where the child still goes home to this disruptive home life, a state boarding schools would allow education professionals to instill dicipline at all levels of the child’s life. So from maths to eating diner order and structure could be CONSISTANTLY enforced. Over a relativly short period of time this conditioning would instill a proper sense of respect and discipline.

This would of course be more expensive than our current system, but perhaps the investment in our future is worth it no? or perhaps you are satisfied with continuing to create a youth which chooses to sit on the back of buses playing ridiculous music smoking all manner of things?

The current system has failed it is time for something more drastic, the state should not be scared to intervene when neccessary, and we should not be scared of advocating it. By providing a better environment for these children we liberate them from a life of under-achievement.

Britain ditches Britannia!

The Royal Mint today announced Britain’s currency was to be redesigned with Britannia losing her pride of place on the 50 pence piece. Instead the new coins will represent different sections of the Royal coat of arms which when joined together show the full arms in all its glory. I believe these new designs are a great reflection of Britains historical traditions whilst being modern and contemporary in their overall design. Whether you like the new designs or not, there is one thing upon which I think we can all agree… at least its not the Euro! 

The arrogance of New Labour power.

It’s been there sometime now; every now and again it will rear its head. In fact the arrogance of New Labour has been known for a while. In this context Michael Martin’s, the Speaker of the House of Commons, attitude toward British tax payer’s money has a pedigree. A baleful precedence. ‘Form’ as I believe the police say of ex-convicts…

But his arrogant belief that he can do what he wants with British tax payers money is, following a request by the Taxpayers Alliance, to be investigated by the Parliamentary Commissioner. In particular his wife’s jollies around town in a taxi paid for by the British public to the tune of £4200 will be at the centre of the possible misappropriation of public funds claims.

And it was in response to this news that the Labour Peer Lord Spate, incandesant that his mate Gorbals Mick was being investigated, spat in to a BBC camera saying “What’s the Speakers wife supposed to do? Get on a bus!”. Oh how power corrupts! As long as she’s paying then I don’t care how Mrs Martin gets around. What was shocking was Spate’s attitude to other people’s money. To say nothing of the position of Speaker that Martin represents. His position should be one of aloofness, above the affray of the mud slinging of party politics. But now he never will be, and for that alone he should go.

In response to Lord Spate I would say that when your married to a man who already earns £138,000 a year courtesy of the tax payer, has £700,000 spent on your official residence and has claimed over £75,000 towards the cost to your second home then your wife is unlikely to need to take the bus anywhere. Even it is to cement that phoney working class image he still tries to cultivate simply to raise his own stock among voters. While on the subject it’s unlikely that Lady Spate will be in need of a bus pass just yet. He claimed £4500 in travel expense last year and over £20k in ‘overnight subsistence last year alone.

Mugabe: End of an Era?

Zimbabwean tyrant Robert Mugabe looks set to lose the Presidential poll and fall from power after 28 years of despotic rule. Speculation has been rife over the past few days about whether or not Mugabe would be able to hold on to his presidency after the suspicious elections earlier this week. Unconfirmed reports this evening suggest that Mugabes ruling party Zanu PF is in talks with the opposition MDC regarding the possibility of Mugabe handing over power. At this momentous point we should remember that Zimbabwe has known no other ruler since its independence from the UK, he has ruled them with an iron fist for 28 years and turned the former bread basket of Africa in to it’s basket case. The fall of Mugabe would be a momentous moment not just for Zimbabwe but for the African continent and the wider world.

Admittedly tonights developments came as a suprise to me as I personally believed that Mugabe would rig the polls to make a Presidential run off inevitable, a run off which I believed he would suspiciously go on to win. However it would appear that Mugabe can only rig so much and it looks as though he does not have the staunch allys in politics and the armed forces that he once did, perhaps his hand has been forced and a run off is now unlikely. I think it has become painfully clear to Mugabe that he is a dead man walking in political terms, he can no longer legitimately claim victory in this election, that time has come and gone. Now all he can hope for is a suitible retirement plan. Mugabe will not cede power until he is sure he will be free from prosecution, of this I am confident.

I would suspect that he will be offered legal immunity and ”self imposed” exile in South Africa where, despite his pledge to remain in Zimbabwe, he will meet his maker. Speculation aside one thing is clear, Mugabes day is fading fast and now Zimbabwe can at least try to salvage its crippled economy and breathe life back in to its society. A society that has been pillaged by Mugabe and all but excommunicated by the international community. Perhaps Zimbabwe will return to the Commonwealth? Who knows I’m sure it will all become clear as the weeks progress but at long last Zimbabwe has cause for hope.

12 Noon has past and the jokes must end.

For anyone reading today’s blog be assured that it was written as an april fool’s.

i hope not many of you believed it!

The Legitimate Case for the Reinstatement of the British Empire.

This is a simple argument which is rarely voiced as it is not seen as PC to do so, but silence on this issue is just not good enough any longer. There is a real economic and social case to be made for the reinstatement of the British Empire.

Britain has one of the largest economies on the Planet, but it is also one of the smallest nation states on the globe. What is needed is more living space; “labensraum” with so many former colonial countries just brimming with space this idea makes perfect sense. Currently the land restriction has a dire effect on the economy; that in times of boom the economy over heats and recession comes. With this plan the economy is left to grow and prosperity it brought to many parts of the third world as well as increased wealth for us here in Britain.

There are arguments beyond the economic for this idea. When the Empire unceremoniously collapsed in the mid twentieth century we left behind us a real political mess, which has led to many on going wars. A re-colonisation of these countries could in fact bring back political harmony too much of the world and would allow us to government them effectively like we so brilliantly did before.

The Sun never set on the British Empire the whole world bathed in the Golden light of British rule, it is about time that this economic and political utopia was born again.

God Save the Queen!