Lead on, Salmond

Alex Salmond is either Scotland’s wise and benevolent national father, or an irresponsible toadman squatting in a rank pool of ideologically incoherent populism. This week, the SNP leader and First Minister unveiled the Scottish government’s legislative agenda for the coming year.

Jeff on SNP Tactical Voting was “honestly, genuinely impressed and excited”. Responding to the party’s plans to tackle binge drinking (by banning cheap booze, [...]

Cakes and Ale

This week David Cameron took his second summer holiday. In July he wandered Cornish beaches gazing into the middle distance as only the ruling classes can. Meanwhile, Brown glumly fed ducks, all of which doubtless choked to death on whatever bread he offered them.

Now Dave is taking his actual holiday, sunning it up off the coast of Turkey. Rupa Huq thought he was a wally [...]

An unhappy birthday

It was warrior-poet turned California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who first predicted the current world's economic crisis. “Crunch, squeeze, crunch,” he explained in his seminal fitness video.

One year ago this week, the global credit crunch began. Yet while Mervyn King forecasts stagnation and recession for us limeys – the American economy continues to enjoy a comparatively healthy 1.5 percent growth rate. Mortgage rates also remain low [...]

Tblisi or not Tblisi

The Beatles assured us in their crap 1968 song ‘Back in the USSR’ that Georgia was on their mind. Oddly though, you don’t hear Paul McCartney commenting much on South Ossetia nowadays.

The war in the Caucuses has inflamed the passions of bellicose and half-witted bloggers from here to Vladikavkaz. Fortunately, a few are actually worth reading. Donald Rayfield on Open Democracy did readers [...]

Rat attack

I smell a rat. No, we did Miliband last week. It’s the twitchy creatures who inhabit our nation’s hospitals, at least according to figures uncovered by the Conservatives- and reported here on June Sarpong’s supercool Politics and the City. The Tories were apoplectic! Conservative Home’s thread on the issue prompted Mary O’Boyle to posit that:

“[The] only way to go is back to Seperate Domestic services [...]

Miliband plays, Brown has the blues

"To put down Richard, that sweet lovely rose? And plant this thorn, this canker Bolingbroke?”Henry IV Part I

Our latter-day Hotspur, Thoroughly Modern Miliband, (actually an Arsenal fan) is in rebellion at the ailing and cankerous premier Gordon Brown. Sadly though, his rallying cry on a Comment is Free prompted only a torrent of rage from commenters. One fumed:

“I'm [...]

The Nats are biting

The Scottish Government faced the British Government and won - when the SNP candidate, John Mason, emerged victorious in the Glasgow East by-election, early in the hours of Friday morning. But while nationalists got some hard-earned sleep, Not a Sheep complained bitterly that the BBC’s coverage of the by-election was seen “through a Labour prism”.

Seeing it through a Labour prism, On Liberty Now [...]

Get the message, with Dave Cameron

David Cameron’s declaration that black dads need to stop shirking their paternal duties raised a few eyebrows this week. Lib Dem Linda Jack was irked by Dave’s apparent lack of understanding of the complex issues at play, and argued that: “what we want are political solutions not moral ones”. She went on:

“…if he has to start moralising I would have a lot [...]

Faith in the City

What is more interesting – tackling ingrained poverty or securing our beautiful liberties? Both get me warmed up, and likewise Britain’s bloggers seemed pretty turned on by both Haltemprice and Glasgow. Turning his attention to the by-election in Glasgow’s East end Jock Coats spun back the clock to explore century-old arguments over the potential of land value taxation to ease the city’s woes. He mused:

Bevan Above

Walking past Westminster Abbey on Wednesday, I noted large numbers of Police officers and road cordons. It transpired that the church was hosting a service to mark the 60th Anniversary of the founding of NHS. It seems odd to be celebrate socialised medicine by praying – and much more sensible to mark it by blogging. Likable geek Alan Williamson had words of praise for the NHS, having [...]