An establishment cover up

Was there an establishment cover up?  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30349535

One should not overlook the Thorpe scandal on the grounds that he was persecuted for acts which later became legal.

The wider picture is of a Liberal party in which illegal acts were regarded with a permissive eye.

Which presumably allowed individuals such as Cyril Smith to be given the same permissive licence.

One would hope that the BBC will produce a drama based on this scandal.

Peder Balke exhibition of Norwegian landscapes

Above:  the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, seen from the balcony of the National Gallery.

I went to see the Peder Balke exhibition of Norwegian landscapes at the National Gallery:  http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/peder-balke

North Cape 1840s, the moonlight forming a dazzling pyramid.

North Cape again 1840s, the sky darker, the cliffs less frosted, the moon-pyramid more ominous.

North Cape 1845, ferocious waves dominate the cliffs.

North Cape 1852, the moonlight forms a dome.

North Cape 1860s, ethereal use of ice to suggest the outline of the cliffs.

North Cape 1870s, almost monochrome.

Balke shows you how to see.

A compromise might be possible on the subject of immigration

Significant comments by Lord Tebbit on Daily Poitics yesterday:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04tqcfk

Perhaps a compromise might be possible on the subject of immigration.

EU migration allowed on the understanding that they are integrated, with a corresponding cessation to all non-EU immigration.

On This Week last night the Reverend Richard Coles quoted from the Magnificat:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04tqb5x

Which is a step forward I suppose.

Was Lord Rennard a Young Liberal?

Andrew Neil on Daily Politics will be looking at the life of Jeremy Thorpe.

No doubt various grandee Liberals will be wheeled out to tell us what an inspiration Jeremy Thorpe was when they were Young Liberals.

Was Lord Rennard a Young Liberal?

Was he inspired by Jeremy Thorpe?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mjxb

Margaret Thatcher chose...

This is the time of year when all the old Christmas Number One's get replayed.

It is worth noting that in 1983 Margaret Thatcher chose Only You by the Flying Pickets as her favourite record of the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgDKtLPp46s

The Establishment is suppressing things

Hardly anything in the news about Jeremy Thorpe.

A sort of hagiography by David Steel on the PM programme on BBC Radio 4.

Nothing on Channel 4 News.

One could almost think that the Establishment is suppressing things.

Danny Finkelstein talking

It is really offensive to watch a programme such as Daily Politics and have Danny Finkelstein talking as if he is the official representative of the Conservative Party.

This person is not a Conservative.

He has never been elected by anyone to anything.

He is just a crony and illustrates the problem we have with modern politics.

I switched the programme off because he was so nauseating.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mjxb

The solutions suggested by Sunny Hundal are silly

The problem of Labour's eroding support is real, but the solutions suggested by Sunny Hundal are silly:  http://labourlist.org/2014/12/ed-miliband-is-losing-his-base-does-he-know-how-to-get-it-back/

Just supposing "economic populism" works and Labour gets back into power promising all sorts of economic goodies.

How long before they get knocked off course by the markets?

How high will interest rates go because lending to the United Kingdom government becomes high risk?

How many homes will be repossessed?

How many small businesses will go out of business?

And in the following election how long will Labour be out for, because it can't be trusted with the economy?

Russell Brand IS a hypocrite

I think people who use their great wealth to commission legal action designed to silence and intimidate their critics are beneath contempt:  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/russell-brand-threatens-to-sue-the-sun-for-calling-him-a-hypocrite-over-rent-claims-9899571.html

In my opinion Russell Brand IS a hypocrite.

The Chancellor's Autumn Statement

One of the most significant announcements in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement is the proposal to extend the cathedral renovation fund to parish churches.

At the moment churches are applying for lottery funds which usually means they have to provide "access" and "community use".

These requirement are being used by wreckers within the Church of England to rip out pews, abandon high altars and generally trash Victorian interiors.

Renovation funds that do not require drastic internal reorganisation will be most welcome.

Church of England congregations are still the Tory party at prayer, but Anglican clerics are almost all of them lefties who delight in smashing things up in the name of progress and bullying people in the name of "diversity".

Ed Miliband is quite right in Prime Minister's Questions

Ed Miliband is quite right in Prime Minister's Questions to say to Cameron that if he does not deliver on immigration reduction he does not deserve to be re-elected.

There is no reason whatsoever for non-EU immigration to be rising.

I will not be voting for a government that is not working EFFECTIVELY to reduce immigration (by effective I mean something actually happens).

The garden city concept

The phrase "garden city" is being bandied about without a great deal of accuracy.

I hope the inhabitants of Bicester realise they will have to get used to temperance pubs.

And the Chinese seem to have a very hazy idea of the garden city concept http://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2014/dec/02/garden-cities-china-chengdu-letchworth?CMP=share_btn_tw

Personally, I feel the garden city has never been enough - we need to commitment to the ideals of Garden First In Land Development  http://www.londongardensonline.org.uk/gardens-online-record.asp?ID=CRO092

Isobel Hardman writes about the perspective from abroad:  http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2014/12/no-10-eu-leaders-are-on-pms-side-after-polish-minister-criticises-immigration-plans/

I was disappointed by the Prime Minister's speech on immigration, but not entirely surprised.

It is shaping up to be a Harold Wilson style fudge and fix.

Happily we are wise to all that now.

Atheism is officially un-British

This is excellent news! https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/4792/is-atheism-a-british-value-the-department-for-education-doesnt-think-so

Atheism is officially un-British.

Not that there should be any doubt about this, since the Church of England in England is Established and everyone (whether they like it or not) is co-opted into Anglicanism. 

Is it possible we are winning the culture wars?

The time has run out

"With the polling as bleak as it is however, one wonders if the time has run out to change people’s minds" says Ed Jacobs in this very cogent assessment of Labour's position on the economy:  http://leftfootforward.org/2014/12/the-figures-that-should-worry-labour/

Ed Balls bungled his way through Opposition with all that flatlining nonsense when he should have been coming up with credible alternative policies.

All along his line has been "we'd do the same only slightly differently".

Not good enough I'm afraid.

Say the name "Gordon Brown"

In any game of political word association say the name "Gordon Brown" and the mind immediately responds with "Gillian Duffy".

That is his legacy, however unfair it might seem.

The drama, the hubris, the fact that is was televised.

No amount of worthy other stuff can compete http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/12/01/gordon-brown-best-moments_n_6247014.html?1417442140&ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067

The Labour party does not look good

You would think Emily Thornberry would have more sense than to try to defend the indefensible http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/nov/28/emily-thornberry--van-driver-brother-ben?CMP=twt_gu

But let us play silly-buggers for a while and pretend Andrew Sparrow is honestly reporting the news, and not indulging in lefty image manipulation.

IF it is daft to regard Emily Thornberry as a chav-hating snob then why did Ed Miliband sack her from the Shadow Cabinet and announce he was more angry than he has every been over the tweet?

Either way the Labour party does not look good.

More angry than he has EVER been?  More angry over a tweet than over the dead children of Syria?  Than over the 800k users of food banks?  Than over the on-going collapse of Labour support in Scotland?  Than over the way the bankers have got off Scot-free from crashing the banks?  Than over the way the LibDems lied about tuition fees?

Does Penny Mordaunt want to be a stand up comedian

Is this supposed to be funny?  http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/tory-politician-says-the-word-cock-six-times-in-parliament-wins-award--l12mKXJK_e

Does Penny Mordaunt want to be a stand up comedian instead of an MP?

The Portsmouth North Conservative Association needs to tell her to fuck off.

#CameronMustGo demonstrates the weakness of the left

Article in the Independent in which James Bloodworth castigates the immaturity of the #CameronMustGo hashtag:  http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/cameronmustgo-step-away-from-twitter-and-close-down-your-laptop--a-hashtag-will-not-win-the-next-general-election-9895602.html

However he overlooks the essential hopelessness of the #CameronMustGo campaign.

These people are tweeting to each other because they have nothing else they can do.

#CameronMustGo demonstrates the weakness of the left, not its strength.