Bass is too common, vulgar and inferior!

What happened to the poor bass? Swimming around in shoals, looking quite a fine fish indeed. Then up popped a school of celebrity chefs and thought they all saw a seabass. Mr.Bass was not superior enough, especially to be placed in a copper-bottomed cooking vessel in order to be "pan fried"! He was common, he was vulgar, and so inferior. He had to have a stage name, or better still, a cuisine name. From henceforth, they cried, he will be known as SEABASS!

We all seem to have been suckered. Think of a new word, or twist one, like "gender" and off we go. Humpty Dumpty didn't have pan-fried seabass, did he?

Parliamentary expense scandal hits new low!

Frank Cook is a Labour MP. He tried to claim on expenses for a £5 church donation he made at a Battle of Britain memorial service. Now if that isn't the lowest of the low, I do not know. Forget the moat cleaning and the duck houses, this is morally reprehensible. To think he handed over a measly fiver in the House of God thinking all the while he could get it back from the Fees Office. Is that all the memorial service meant to him?

Little faith, some hope, no charity!

Susan Boyle pipped at the post

Tonight's show was excellent. It is a love hate retationship with me. I find it compelling at times. In fact, without the judges it wouldn't be the same. As all three are opinionated characters, with the audience baying and barracking, they can easily massage their rhinocerous hides. Flashes of genuine appreciation come out and I feel tonight they let themselves speak from the heart rather than the showbusiness psyche. The acts were true testament to the fact that Britain Has Got Talent. Simon Cowell can rightly be proud of the fact that he has provided the forum for it to shine.

And Piers Morgan was dead right to suggest that this show is an antedote to greedy bankers and corrupt politicians. I must be going a bit in the head. I'm warming to him!

Susan Boyle was gracious in defeat and she put on a great performance. Confidence certainly drives out nerves and wobbly moves. Diversity were worthy winners. A great show all round. Well done.

Demi Moore rooting for Susan Boyle

Piers Morgan is right. The Britain's Got Talent show is weird. Not because of the acts, as he thinks, but because of the shenanigans around the show. Somehow Demi Moore is now a central player in tonight's final. She will be "appearing" as back-up support for Susan Boyle. Amanda Holden has been Twittering, although she says she is "still rubbish at twittering", which I wouldn't have thought was the case. So the acts are going to compete with the presence of a Hollywood star. Demi Moore won't take hold the microphone and rebuke Cowell if he turns on Susan will she? He's already had a dose of mother-in-law's tongue!

Holden "tweeted" Ms Moore, asking if she would fly from Los Angeles to London. Moore wrote that she would if Simon Cowell offered the ride. Holden then wrote, "I'll speak 2 Simon- am sure he will let U borrow his plane x." Later she wrote, "Message for Demi!! Please someone get this to her as I am still rubbish at twittering. Simon says Yes!! But to first class tickets!!! Xxxxx."

Ms Moore replied: "What no private plane? lol Generous offer! Thank you! And thank Simon! When are the finals?" Ms Holden responded: "The final is this Saturday, we'll put you up in Dorchester and roll out the red carpet!! xxx."

With two showbizzy people like that, British Airways needs to get out more to see Ms Moore! It's cash rich types like these that the high flyers at the airline need to attract. My guess is that it won't be Susan Boyle as the winner tonight. I haven't turned on her, as the press have been accused of doing. I just think it will be a close run thing with the others. My bets, if I had any, would be on either Holly Steel or Aidan Davis.

My young eight-year old summed it up. "You don't get far in this if you piss Simon off!". That told me two things. One, he needs some corrective treatment regarding language and two, Simon Cowell has an affect on everyone, from President Obama to my son!

Libertas or Jury Team? It has to be one of them!

The European elections on Thursday are going to be a watershed for British democracy. In the wake of the expenses scandal, the three main parties are going to get a battering. I see that UKIP and the BNP are favoured by some and UKIP's sun is rising. However, the sun goes down at night time and that's usually when UKIP's plotters are seen about town. In today's Daily Mail Peter Oborne says it all. He says -

"Both party leaders have protected more senior MPs. For example, Brown gave a clean bill of health to Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon, Work & Pensions Secretary James Purnell and Chancellor Alistair Darling. Yet all three are tax-cheats whose conduct, if replicated by an ordinary member of the public, would undoubtedly lead to a criminal investigation. These men should not be allowed to remain in British public life.

Cameron is guilty of the same inconsistency. While being tough on some backbenchers, he seems blind to the fact that a number of his Shadow Cabinet have been guilty of loathsome and amoral conduct. I would never vote for a political party which includes Francis Maude (who claimed almost £35,000 for for a mortgage on a London flat a few minutes' walk from a house he already owned and then rented out) or Alan Duncan (who submitted thousands of pounds of expenses for his garden before agreeing that the spending 'could be considered excessive')."

If only this scandal was not promoted by the general public as being about duck houses and moat cleaning only. It is about cynical manipulation to keep acolytes in place and to feed a few MPs to the electorate to stave off the full effects of a political lynching. Oborne suggests -

"It goes without saying that it is impossible to support a racist party such as the BNP. Also, UKIP, the most obvious choice, can immediately be ruled out because one of its MEPs is facing prosecution for fraud. This leaves those of us seeking politicians of integrity and decency with just two possible parties: Jury Team and Libertas.

Jury Team is a new political movement set up by philanthropist Sir Paul Judge, who has an outstanding record as a businessman and has donated generously to many charities. His own integrity is beyond reproach and his list of candidates standing next week are independent figures (his team includes Esther Rantzen and former anti-sleaze MP Martin Bell) who are determined to clean up politics.

Meanwhile, Libertas was founded by charismatic Irish businessman Declan Ganley who, in a referendum, persuaded Irish voters to reject the Lisbon Treaty which would have given Brussels many more powers. As a result, the British people already owe Ganley an enormous debt of gratitude. Equally, the European political class hate him - spending hundreds of thousands of EU money on a propaganda campaign linking him with a CIA plot devised by U.S. neo-conservatives to weaken the EU.

Significantly, this smear campaign has failed.

At a time of moral squalor and decay in Westminster and Brussels, both Libertas and Jury Team offer voters a hugely refreshing - and, perhaps, the only proper - alternative on Thursday."

I will be supporting Libertas. It was a tough choice, but in this respect Libertas is fighting for transparency in the European Parliament and the EU instutions. Jury Team would be a better bet for Westminster elections. But that's my view. I'm still a conservative thinker and politically driven in conservative ways. Just as Tories are not necessarily Conservatives, I am now a conservative that is not completely Conservative.

Ron Paul and a master class!

These high school kids have had a real master class in politics and economics. Ron Paul is a natural. No cue cards or autocue. Just straight from the heart. I like something he said recently about President Obama. "He wants to spend more money. But, he admits we don't have any money. So, the question is - where do we get the money? We can't tax the people anymore. They are overtaxed and the economy is weak. The common sensical thing to do is to cut spending. But, nobody wants to cut spending." Back to the money trees in the funny forest, then?

By-elections now, please!

It is becoming an unedifying spectacle of bizarre proportions. The country staggers on, seemingly leaderless, with MPs offering to resign like green bottles hanging on a wall. Some 13 or so have decided to resign. But instead of going now they are to remain as MPs for a whole year more. This is totally ridiculous. Did the government want the RBS board hanging about for a year? Certainly not!

The country will not wear this. By-elections need to happen now, before angry disquiet turns to real anger and street demonstrations. Elliott Morley says he still has constituency work to do. Well, if he's the only person capable of doing it, then heaven help Scunthorpe. It doesn't matter what party these people represent, it is vital that constituencies have MPs that are representative to the fullest ability. Having lame duck MPs is definitely not that.

It will be an unstoppable demand before the month is out. Gordon Brown and David Cameron must see that these constituencies are not left in a politically derelict condition for so long. By-elections now, please!

Grey squirrel at Sainsbury's?

I ask the odd question in Sainsbury's at times. I think it's an antedote to "Do you need any help with your packing?". I once asked for taramasalata and found myself discussing Greek culinary culture, which is something I know little about. As the young girl had never heard of the stuff, I was left none the wiser. However, I didn't think she necessarily should as there was a time when I didn't know what it was. My sister, a Waitrose person, said at the time "You've never heard of taramasalata!?!" Well, I hadn't. But I tried it and have like it ever since.

It now appears there's a new product that's caught certain people. It's squirrel pie. Grey squirrel that is. The American import! Paul Parker is pest controller who has already helped to cull more than 22,000 grey squirrels in the North East is moving south to feed demand for squirrel pie. He says demand for greys from top chefs means he needs to expand. He is working with landowners in the south of England to maintain supplies of squirrels for restaurants.

Now it occurs to me that the supermarkets won't want to miss this trick. They did it with real sausages, when they went snooping around the shops and kitckens of the new breed of sausagemakers. Squirrel pie at Sainsbury's? Why not. Fresh squirrel on the butcher's counter? "How do I cook it?" may be a suitable leading question.

Mr Parker said, "I cannot personally get enough of these grey squirrels, people are eating them. If I was getting 100, they would take 100 each and every day, the demand is so high. They are sold as soon as they hit the counter. They are going to top restaurants, butchers, the working man. They are a delicacy."

Sounds like a recommendation. Anybody know what they taste like?

Caroline Flint's on Question Time!

I can't wait! To see the public have a go. This woman wants to be taken seriously, but, seriously, is she serious when she poses like this and then says men shouldn't say anything untoward about her! WOW!!

Susan Boyle off the boil?

I had the pleasure of watching the semi-final episode of "Britain's Got Talent", in which Susan Boyle appeared, on ITV Player. When she came on, the vision was mysteriously removed from the TV screen. However, this can't have happened on the actual night as Ant & Dec twittered on as if all was OK. So I "watched" Ms Boyle in sound only. And I have to say I didn't think it was as good as the first outing. My view, or hearing I should say, is that I feel she will probably go the whole way.

The British public has got a John Sargent moment again. Part of the reason for voting for Susan Boyle is that she represents the underdog. She can also sing at a level that entrances audiences. They will vote for her to spite Simon Cowell, to involve the nation in a bit of come-uppance, and to have fun. This show is weird in many respects. And the pressure is mounting on Boyle. Apparently she lost her temper in a north London hotel. Piers Morgan said Boyle has been in "floods of tears" this week and is suffering from "crippling" nerves. Something alien to him!

I get the feeling that the audiences want a mixture between a talent show and the Gong Show. Ant & Dec oblige them all the way. However, Simon Cowell is another matter. He basically devised this show so that he could get an annual income out of a collection of record making warblers. (I broke off here and happened to see a bit of tonight's show and heard Cowell say he wasn't in it for the money just there to "put something back" - Amanda Holden nearly had a fit). As he so delicately put it to the saxophone guy (without the saxophone!), "You can't make records out of that!". Cowell wants a talent show only. One wonders if he has given too much cart blanche to the people who select the entries in the first place.

He winced at the wheelbarrow tossing farmers, he derided the brother and sister dance act (making the girl cry) and is generally offish about non-singing acts. Either this show is for all kinds of acts or it is just a singing talent show. At the moment, if you don't have that record contract ability, you might as well not bother.

Susan Boyle could also cause Cowell a few problems. He has gone on record as saying that there are better singers than her in the contest. He was a bit taken aback by her global internet success but managed to compose himself enough to do the rounds such as the Oprah Show. But if Susan doesn't win the title she may be signed to some other management. Then we'd get the eventual winner competing for attention with Ms Boyle. Simon Cowell may want sign her anyway, just to keep her in check.

It's a good laugh and Britain certainly has got talent, but it is only a fun show and it's probably best left like that.

Spanish practices and the Abbey habit

Thought Woolworths was the last big name to go? Wrong! The Spanish banking giant Santander is taking a bag of castanets to the High Street names of Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley. In a flourish of flamenco style dancing, the banking names will be attending the last dance for British brands. From now on it will be Sun-Tun-Dare!

Am I upset? Not really. It's just the way things are. I doubt very much that customers will see much change other than bright red logos. Banking is now a global phenomenon. It doesn't matter if it is Spanish or British or whatever. We are told we need banks of this size in order that we can get the service we require. So I am resigned to it all. That is, at the moment.

However, I may wake up tomorrow morning thinking, "Hey wait a minute, do I want this?" and the answer may well be NO! The only way we are going to get back to any semblance of local banking, with local people knowing about local needs is if we demand it. Maybe Mr.Bradford and Mr.Bingley may not take it on the chin. There is talk of splitting the business interests of retail banking and investment banking, which is still no more than vague discussion.

Ordinary customers of banks should speak up. We need a voice that is demonstrably more assertive than the present set-up of FSA lackies and the badger look-a-like in No 11. If this credit crisis and political fall-out lead to anything, surely consumer power is to be part of it.

Tiger, tiger, burning.....dead!

What it must be like to be a tiger in a zoo I do not know. Of all the big cats, this animal is the least keen on domestic life and public gaze. The very thought of hanging about in a metal cage with a concrete floor is probably the last thing a tiger thinks of as desirable living arrangements.

A lion may decide that lazily gawping at an adoring public is reasonably tolerable, but a tiger is not so well disposed. A rare white tiger has mauled to death a New Zealand zoo keeper as horrified tourists looked on. Horrified by what exactly? The mauling or the fact that the tiger had probably had enough of it all? I find it all too terrible. A zoo keeper is dead and this is a terrible tragedy. But so is the tiger dead. Put down because his natural instincts just got too much for him. He can't be allowed to get too tigerish! And another rare animal bites the dust.

The message for the animals is just grin and bear it. You can't be roaming around in the wild anymore but please, when you get a decent home, don't get so wild with frustration that you do something stupid. Who'd be a tiger today!

Pigs can be a swine for 'elf and safety!

If you have ever fed a shed load of pigs, like I have, you will know they can create quite a rumpus at feeding time. Pigs have something in common with health and safety experts. Both are highly strung, prone to sudden bouts of squealing, and when determined to go somewhere nothing much deters them.

The latest example of health and safety overkill is in the booklet "Farmwise - An Essential Guide to Health and Safety in Farming". It is bound to be a good read. Because there is a large amount of squealing at feeding time, this handy hint book suggests that mechanical hoppers are used and that farmers keep out at feeding time. They suggest farmers wear earmuffs to protect their eardrums from the noise. I never had a problem with pigs and their noises. What I did at breakfast time was to sneak in whilst the snoring was going on, gently place the grub in the troughs and then announce to the somnolent sows that "Breakfast is served!". They were never amused. It was very cruel cheating these pigs of adequate squealing time.

Yes, it's a racket. But it hardly goes on for long. I never worked in a shed full of 400, but then I'd suggest the Health and Safety Executive passed their concerns over to the RSPCA rather that looking like prize plonkers and colluding with farmers who are involved with factory farming.

This safety warning can hardly apply to pigs feeding in the open on a free range basis. Pigs only squeal when they are distressed or over-excited. A happy, stress-free pig grunts. There's nothing in that booklet about grunting.

81 years married!

Does Hallmark do a card for 81st wedding anniversaries? If not, they missed a trick with Frank and Anita Milford. They got married in 1928 and are on their way to becoming the longest married couple in Britain. The BBC reports that "The Milfords were married in 1928 - the year penicillin was discovered" as if to suggest that they made use of a miracle cure. I think their 74-year old son hit the nail on the head. "They've enjoyed themselves, enjoyed their lives very much but they've been always very content with their lot," he said.

That's the nub of it. Being content with your lot. All these greedy grasping types won't make 100, I'm sure, because of all the stress and strain of it all. Far rather that lives are enjoyed and people enjoyed than join the rats in a never-ending race.

Gay minister row deepens

The Church of Scotland is in a bind just like the Anglican Church is and other ecclesial bodies. The Rev Scott Rennie is a minister who has come out as a practicing homosexual. He lives openly with a partner, having been a married man and being the father of one. Some in his church complained that they did not know of his sexuality. It all came to a head on Saturday evening, when the General Assembly in Edinburgh voted by 326 to 267 in support of Mr Rennie, who is the Church of Scotland's first openly gay minister.

Now the Kirk is split. The difficulty that the Christian Faith has is reconciling new demands with the traditional teaching of the Church that sexual relations can only be within matrimony. For Catholics, this is a sacrament, for evangelicals this is more of an ordinance. However, all are united in accepting that this is what marriage is about. A proportion of believers are prepared to accept accommodation for new beliefs in order that Christianity "may be relevant to the present day". That's a fair position, but it can never be the accepted position of all believers.

The Church of Scotland is currently deciding whether to "allow gay ministers". If they do, they will have to allow provision for those who fundamentally disagree. I am of the opinion that a church is better off with impaired communion than no communion at all. It may not be the best result but at least it accommodates diversity. None of us is without sin and we should not come to this issue from a position of triumphalism.

It's not for me to tell the Rev Scott Rennie how to conduct his life. However, I would not like him to tell me that adherence to the traditional understanding of the Faith is something to be done away with. The vast majority of Christendom stills upholds the traditional teaching. The Faith is either revealed as a whole Truth or it is a partial truth yet to be fully revealed.

As a thought, I was wondering about the woman at the well. She had had five husbands and the man she was with was not her husband. If Scott Rennie was at the well, how would he reply?

God-fearing to God-bashing!

There was a time when the people of England could be fined a shilling for not attending divine worship. Only the most opinionated dissenter would hold his ground and not attend. Everyone trooped into the parish church for a good dose of mattins. When I was a child our church had 500 regular churchgoers out of a surburban parish of 5000. That makes 10% of the population. Given that some were Roman Catholics and others non-conformists, each taking a slice out of the 5000, it was certainly not unusual to know regular churchgoers. Discussing religious belief was not frowned on, even by non-churchgoers.

In the 1950's it was a 500-odd congregation, in the Sixties this dropped dramatically as we went into the 300 mark. The Seventies reduced it to around 200 and it bottomed out to around 150 where it stayed. The parish, however, had doubled in size so the 150 looked decidedly low in percentage terms. Going to church seemed more like an oddity in sociey than the norm.

The 21st century has brought about the end game as far as churgoing is concerned. Only the diehard faithful it seems are attending church. We have an established church but it is only on the margins. The Establishment, now made up of Blairite type thinkers, is very much of the opinion that religion is a private matter. In fact, so private it is virtually a criminal offence to mention it at work or in any public place that has not been sanctified. We have gone from fining people for not worshipping to fining them for discussing their beliefs in front of others.

The latest person to receive the backlash of the secular state is a nurse, Anand Rao, who has been sacked for suggesting patients could become less stressed if they went to church. If he'd suggested they went into a field to meditate, he'd probably have kept his job. The NHS is now run by christophobes (I made that one up, I think!) who sniff out religious talk better than a bloodhound.

I would not like to go back to the days of forced church attendance as in the Cromwellian age of protestant patronage, but neither do I think it right for Christians to be attacked for discussing beliefs. Instead of sacking people for such talk, these NHS mandarins should take a hand in getting rid of the unclean behaviour that infects hospitals and spreads unnecessary disease.

Cameron's kangaroo court

David Cameron is said to be showing leadership. He is acting decisively in view of the continuing expenses scandal. But is he? I have expressed concern before about his handling of this. I have a lot of admiration for Cameron, but I think he is not showing the fairness that this issue deserves.

Instead of dealing with every MP in the Conservative Party equally and with the same amount of fairness, he is keeping his own chums safely out of harm's way and throwing the old wood and those considered electorally liable out of the window. A kind of partial defenestration.

Let's not forget that Cameron had his own spot of bother with the wisteria. He quickly came running out, puffed himself up and said it was all in error but he understood the problem, blah blah, and would pay the money back. Similar stuff was said by Andrew Lansley (who was asked to stay away from Euro election campaigning for fear of causing a riot!), Alan Duncan, and other shadow cabinet members. No stepping down for them. Others are not so lucky. Sir Peter Viggers goes because he is labelled the "Duck Island MP" and Douglas Hogg goes because he is the "Moat Cleaning MP". Cameron said, in phone calls, that they should go. Why them and not him? Today Andrew MacKay got a similar phone call. Perhaps they can get jobs clearing wisteria?

This smells of favouritism and political manoeuvring. Lord Tebbit has said he thinks that Cameron may be saving the skins of those around him which doesn't look good. Basically, it is helping to massage the reputations of the modernisers whilst the old guard can go hang.

If this goes on much longer, David Cameron will lose the mantle of serious contender for Prime Minister and look like a cheap political dictator, sacking those who get in his way. Politics is not child's play, I realise that, but neither should it retain it's deviousness and deception. The public is crying out for honourable members not toadies and crawlers and the equivalent of teacher's pet. Either Cameron acts fairly and squarely or not at all.

The Susan Boyle commodity

Susan Boyle came on the world scene about a month ago. Before then she was just an ordinary person living in an ordinary town in Scotland. Now she has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show, been virally spread round the internet, become an icon for Homer Simpson, and touted as a future jungle queen by the mandarins at ITV. In fact, Susan could be the lifesaver for ITV in much the same way as Roland Rat saved TVam!

Suan Boyle has become a money spinning commodity. Simon Cowell is keen to make money out of her. Andrew Lloyd Webber has intimated he has an interest. She is very much a wanted woman. Her family say she is cracking up under the strain, her friends say she is enjoying it, her cat is bewildered by it all. She says she loves it. Everyone has an opinion.

Angela Tilby, the BBC's favourite female cleric, opines that Susan Boyle reminds her of Jesus. Her 'inner gift' and her 'authority' reminded her of Christ, apparently. "When she came on people laughed, but as she opened her mouth the mood altered. Those watching tapped into something we don't understand," Tilby is quoted her as saying. They may have tapped into something, but I tend to doubt it was that. She said this on Thought For the Day. Liberal theology is sometimes too free-thing for its own good. Tilby is often described as a vicar. Actually, she's not, she's a vice-principal of a theological college. But all C of E clerics are vicars to the outside world!

The world does look for a way of beating the hum-drum daily life. Susan Boyle fits that bill. She is attractive to people for all the wrong reasons. Some see money-making in her, some see a source of endless discussion, whilst others are keen to enjoy her as a spectacle. Susan Boyle may be her name, but it is the name of many other women too. 47 Susan Boyles have tried to join Facebook but found they cannot do so. "Not the Susan Boyle you were looking for?" Apparently not!

A weird and wacky world indeed!

UKIP this time round?

Who'd be Barnbrook's partner?

Currently there is much hooha over Richard Barnbrook, BNP London Assembly Member, inviting Nick Griffin to a Buckingham Palace garden party. Boris Johnson is getting excited, so is the Daily Mail. It's seen as an affront to all concerned, not least Her Majesty. However, Barnbrook is an elected politician, so they are on thin ice if the critics don't want to be seen as undemocratic. If I were them, I'd shut up. The Daily Mail keeps saying they don't want any BNP MEPs elected, but they are giving them front page publicity. Now everyone thinks Nick Griffin is to have cucumber sandwiches with the Queen. Of course it's a lot of tosh. Even if he went there, it's hardly likely she'd meet him. Now she'll have to make a special point of avoiding him in case a Mail snapper is on the loose!

Darren Johnson is "Chair" of the London Assembly. He thinks "We cannot tolerate any such abuse of the invitation or any potential embarrassment to Her Majesty. I am therefore writing to call on you to inform Mr Barnbrook - at the earliest opportunity - that he must either bring a guest who will not provoke political controversy, or consider his invitation rescinded." I doubt he will want the latter. So it is bringing a guest that "will not provoke political controversy". Hard to see how that could happen now.

Barnbrook and a local street cleaner? Or maybe an escort? Whoever it is, the person will be questioned at length. A monumental amount of publicity will ensue. I always thought Dacre ran a crackpot outfit!

My suggestion is he takes Susan Boyle with him. Everyone will be swarming over her that not only will Barnbrook be eclipsed, but everyone will forget what they went to the garden party for!

This is a different Garden Party - but still a great one!

Ducking and diving!

Sir Peter Viggers, Tory MP for Gosport, is to retire after admitting he claimed a £1,645 "duck island" on expenses. Seems an awful lot of money for ducks to be kept in the lap of luxury. If you want one (not on expenses of course), here are a whole load of them. They are called "bird pavilions" and ducks look like real drakes in them!

But Viggers isn't the only one who just thought the system was as safe as ducks' houses. The government has authorised the spending of £300,000 (in a roundabout way) to find out if ducks like water. All this taxpayers' money has been used by two eggheads from Oxford University to find out what type of water ducks like best.

You don't need to be a scientist to know that there is not one single animal on the planet that would choose filthy water to drink or to swim in. So the fact that clean water is preferred just shows that the animals sometimes have more intelligence than humans!

Which gets me thinking. Maybe the Animals Count party could put up real candidates at the next election. A couple of elephants (they never forget), a lot of meerkats (they're always on the lookout), and plenty of proper pigs. The real porcine creature cannot stand mess, is clean and tidy and roots out rubbish vigorously! It's the human pigs that are greedy, graceless and generally in it to win it!

English wine is plonk no more!

If you thought English wine was for country matrons and buccolic herdsmen, think again! English wines obtained a record 24 medals with an exceptional result for English winemaking legend Bob Lindo, who received Gold for Camel Valley Bacchus 2007. Good on you, Bob!

UKIP update on Spink issue

Taken from Google. UKIP deleted these. Trouble for them is that the internet keeps a memory - a very long memory!


Bob Spink MP - UK Independence Party
21 Nov 2008 ... UKIP MP Dr Bob Spink has asked to be redesignated in the House of Commons as Independent, but he he stresses that he remains "UKIP's MP". ...www.ukip.org/content/latest-news/847-bob-spink-mp - 13k - Cached - Similar pages

Bob Spink MP and UKIP - UK Independence Party
22 Apr 2008 ... On behalf of our party I welcome Dr Bob Spink, MP to UKIP. He is a very hard working MP and always appears near the top of e-politix list of ...www.ukip.org/content/nigel-farages-blog/591-bob-spink-mp-and-ukip - 12k - Cached - Similar pages


Why is he now a bete noir? Do they think he was tainted in the expenses row?

UKIP - Do I understand them?

I see on the UKIP website that they have denounced Bob Spink, MP for Castle Point, as not being one of theirs. They say - Bob Spink? He's not one of us - as if they are proud of it. However, it was not long ago they were happy to shove out leaflets saying that they were the fourth largest party with MEPs, Peers and One MP. That MP being Bob Spink. What sort of moronic party is this?

Bob Spink was sort of in UKIP I suppose! Nigel Farage got terribly excited when he "joined". He waffled, "I am delighted to welcome the hard-working and deeply principled Bob Spink as UKIP's first Member of Parliament. As Bob is a signatory to the 'Better Off Out' campaign, joining UKIP was a logical step." Farage is a real plonker at times. He takes against people quite easily. Bob Spink just got into one of their revolving doors.

I won't be voting for them. A lot of nonsense comes out of UKIP, mainly slagging each other off. If you do vote for them, don't be surprised if they turn out to be expenses cheats or party poopers. Last time they got twelve, including the ridiculous Kilroy-Silk. He soon went, then they got two more in the dodgy department. You'd be voting for bottles on a wall! Veritas, UK First, Popular Alliance, they're all ex-UKIP sorts. The only thing they have in common is wanting to be out of the European Union so they can join EFTA to come in at the back door!

We've been warned!

Concerns with Cameron's clean-up campaign

I'm getting restless about David Cameron's political energy. He has always come across as a decent chap, quite straight and honest, and there is a backbone of steel when required. The trouble with steel is that it can get hot and cold.

With this expenses row I'm feeling he is pushing the right buttons but isn't being 100% correct about it. This morning he was "doing the rounds" of the radio stations. John Humphrys asked him about the wisteria. "I paid the money back!" he retorted, quickly. Then tried to move on in a hurry. A lot of this is seemingly like a juggernaut shifting gears on the M1. Cameron talks a good case, but will it deliver fairly? I have my doubts. It's all a bit of a political curate's egg for me.

Why is it OK for him to skate over his wisteria payments but cast a shadowy comment over the moats and beams? He says he is being "robust" and suggests that associations can deselect MPs they fall out of favour with. I rather feel it's a bit unfair on Douglas Hogg that his moat cleaning is seen as being "wrong" but Cameron's wisteria clearance is seen as "right".

David Cameron is leading his party into the new promised land. I don't disagree with that. But he should be more clear about the fairness of that new land and he should be more in tune with the electorate's outrage. It is not so much about the expenses themselves, rather the attitude behind the taking of them. With some MPs there has been a flagrant determination to garner as much as possible whichever way seemed best. It is the cynical abuse of a reasoned and fair system that grates. It is the rank hypocrisy that grates. It would have been better if Cameron had admitted clearly that his own expenses were just as erroneous as others. If he is suggesting that associations can call a meeting for reappraising an MP's candidature then that applies across the parliamentary party.

I think a better solution is for political parties to hold primaries for their candidate selection. Open politics should allow for debate and discussion. If a member doesn't retain the confidence of the party then he/she will not win the ballot for nomination. Proposing a new system is better than vaguely threatening the use of an existing one. A new broom for a new room!

Property speculator spotted in Ashfield!

This property speculator was spotted in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. Answers to the name of Geoff. Wanted for flipping and flopping but apparently not flapping! Approach with political caution.

Apparently suffers from amnesia, so knows nothing about the Iraq War. Sees no evil, smells no evil. Unable to distinguish an expense from an allowance. Only recognises "the system" when confronted with "the facts".

May need a dose of deselection followed by reselection and preselection and put out to grass, preferably the other side of a large moat.

All information to the relevant whips' office!

Sri Lankan victory?

The Sri Lankan leader Mahinda Rajapaksa has declared that his country is now "liberated" from Tamil Tiger rebels after a 26-year war. He's busy telling the world that all is OK, the war is over and victory is established at last. Sounds a bit like George Bush telling the world that the war in Iraq was over.

What we haven't heard much about is what Mr. Rajapaksa thinks he is going to do now with the Tamil minority. Unless he is seeking the oprobrium of the world, he will surely do something about the starving children who were born into the losing side. Then he will try to get some political action into dealing with the Tamil minority's position within Sri Lanka. That is what we would hope he would do. However, aid agencies and UN agencies seem to think the Tamils are in for a hard time. One of discrimination and petty exclusions from mainstream society. A kind of pay-back time.

History tells us that triumphalism over beaten foes does no good, especially if one has to live alongside the beaten party. This particular war also confirms that democracy is a fragile object in this part of the world. When the old Czechoslovakia broke up they had a velvet revolution. Two countries emerged out of the old. In the third world such things do not happen. Woe betide you if you are a minority seeking a homeland through democratic means. It's a non-starter. Thinking about a separatist war? The odds are against you! The Karen are being banged about by the Burmese generals. The Tibetans are being rounded up on spurious charges by Chinese snatch squads. Life is tough being a minority. The worst atrocities are in Darfur currently. It's a gamble indeed for the goal of separate homelands.

In Asia, only the East Timorese successfully fought off the aggression of the majority in the Indonesian-controlled island. Bangladesh fought a civil war with Pakistan but in the end the Islamabad authorities gave in as it was seen that East Pakistan was not really strategically useful.

It will be interesting to see, if it ever came about, how the US Government would view a state trying to secede. They got a touch difficult with the Confederate states en masse. The Civil War resulted. Now there is talk again of states rights. How far does democracy and self-determination stretch in modern America? The Canadians got touchy over Quebec. Russia is holding the Federation together by whatever means. The Basques will probably never be a separate nation. Only Palestinians hold out some hope.

The Tamils may be broken but they are not going to stop being Tamils. This is a classic case of a people being in two places. Not only are the Tamils in Southern India (Tamil Nadu) but they occupy the northern part of Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese may have been the only occupants of the island before the arrival of the Tamils, but that was then and now is now. British India held these peoples together in a kind of framework. 60 years of independence has caused tensions and warfare to break out all over the sub-continent as varying groups settle scores or promote their interests over and above those of others. The Tamils can't be removed. That would be ethnic cleansing. So it all boils down to the fact that both sides will have to live together. The Sinhalese are mainly Buddhists and the Tamils are mainly Hindus. Conflict was not inevitable but not unsurprising either.

Let's hope they can find a way of living in peace with each other.

The Sun gets a BNP bashing!

The Sun is a rag newspaper. Run by the Murdoch empire, it's keen to publish before the facts are known usually. They think they are being clever in leading the attack on the BNP. But instead of proper debate, they have apparently resorted to posting fake leaflets on their website suggesting that the BNP thought that the "illegal immigration of Gurkhas" had to stop.

The BNP got extremely agitated and threatened to sue bigtime. The Sun got the frights and backed down. The stupid editor of this torrid tabloid, Rebekah Wade, thought she was doing us all a favour. She even phoned Joanna Lumley to get a quote. Sounded good in print. The BNP told her it was all cobblers.

So what do we now have. The BNP scoring points over the press - all papers dropped the story like a lead balloon - and getting more publicity as the oppressed minority. Ms Wade must need her head examining. If she can't get a decent journalist to write a proper story, she should be sacked. Norman Tebbit had the best line in describing the BNP as "Labour with racism". Properly thought out debate is going to work. Colluding with potential libel mongers is not.

One more on the BNP recruiting sergeants' list. One Ms Rebekah Wade!

"I'm appalled", says Gordon Brown

Fine words. Listen to his "outrage". It would be a lot better if he had spoken more candidly about his own use of expenses, the cleaning bill for example. That's probably why he sounds so nervous when talking about other MPs and their claims. Standards in public life? He wants a "complete clean-up of the political system" but a cleaning bill amount to over £6,000. They say charity begins at home. So should honesty and transparency.

Gordon Brown knew all about the sleaze!

Former chairman of the Committee on Standards in public life, Sir Alastair Graham has said he flagged the issue of MPs' expenses with Gordon Brown before he became prime minister. That was two years ago. Brown must have blinked, muttered, gulped breath and just copied Blair's "yeah, yeah" approach to it all.

Gordon Brown is in no fit position to stand in judgement of anyone. His cleaning bill business does that for him.

Norway wins - but this was better!

Norway had a cute performer (as confirmed by the various national representatives giving their points) but I think Jade Ewen's song was much better.


What was the guy from Slovenia thinking? A minute's silence instead of jokes. That was was no joke!

109 years old and full of beans!

I like this story. Get's away from all the nonsense around at the moment.

Health, safety and stupidity

I'm all in favour of good health. I think safety is something we should all be aware of, but I am dismayed by the increasing level of stupidity that is infecting the powers-that-be in the world.

Good health must surely be a value that everyone strives for. Seeing little children starve in Sri Lanka because the Sinhalese majority has taken against the Tamil minority (racism exists all over the world!) is distressing indeed. There is no reason for malnutrition in the 21st century. Safety is something we should always be championing. It is totally wrong for a construction company, for example, to take short cuts with builders safety. It is wrong for drivers to take a cavalier attitude towards pedestrians. However, trying to judge whether the moon might land on a school full of children represents mind-boggling stupidity.

Captain Mainwaring was keen to judge Private Pike as a "stupid boy". But we have stupid people these days in positions of authority. They stupidly perceive of every possible scenario that danger can present. Stupidly they think we cannot walk in snow, stupidly they think we might fall off stepladders. Tree climbing, jumping, walking fast, all these things are looked at with a suspicious eye. Not because they care much for the person who may fall off a stepladder, but because they fear litigation by greedy people.

That's the nub of health and safety. Precious little to do with health or safety, rather it is fear fighting greed. Lawyers seeking to encourage banana skin dropping so they can pursuade a gullible "trippee" to sue whoever. The prize for monumental stupidity goes to the brain-dead occupants of the Health and Safety Office of the Bodleian Library. These morons deem the stepladders, used to obtain books from high shelves, present a risk to health and safety. Laurence Benson, the library's director of administration and finance, said, "The balcony has a low rail and we have been instructed by the health and safety office that this increases the risk. As part of the process the restriction on the use of ladders on the balcony have been introduced. The library would prefer to keep the books in their original historic location - where they have been safely consulted for 400 years prior to the instructions from the Health and Safety office." There we have it. Used safely for 400 years. Not one undergraduate has fallen off the ladders. So where it was perfectly acceptable in 1609 to go up the ladders, and ever since, in 2009 it isn't.

Now we find another fear-driven bit of nonsense. Schools favour replacing knotted school ties with clip-on ones. Some schools have raised concerns about ties catching fire in science lessons, getting trapped in technology equipment or ties getting caught when pupils were running. They even think pupils might want to strangle one another. All this nonsense is driven by fear. I had a perfectly good school tie I remember. I did science lessons and if the tie got in the way I used to place it over my shoulder or tuck it into my shirt. The good thing in the Sixties was we didn't have such stupidity surrounding us. Now children are growing up with teachers fearful of the slightest trip or fall. It used to be called mollycoddling.

I suggested to one teacher when we had the snow that the school wouldn't be producing any Arctic explorers. My remark was met with a look as if to say "it's the system, not me!". Now where did we hear that last?

Malik steps down

Although he put up a vigorous defence of his position, Shahid Malik has stepped down as Justice minister. He hasn't resigned, but is awaiting his name being cleared. The allegations made by the Daily Telegraph are detailed. Mr Malik says he stuck "a million per cent by the rules" and said some of the paper's claims were a "fabrication". And he called for the "bloodfest" of media coverage of expenses to stop.

It appears that Mr Malik has taken some favourable interpretation of the rules. I do wish he had thought a bit more about the television. He's just given the BNP another club to batter him with!

Sexting is definitely not texting!

I've just come across the term sexting. Sounds as if some clevercloggs thought this a good pun on the word texting. In fact is has nothing much to do with sex, more the base instincts of human emotion with regard to hatred, envy and malice. Jessica Logan spent 18 years on this earth before hanging herself. Why? Because she was the target of silly mean kids who didn't have a clue about responsibility or kindness or anything in particular. They thought it would be fun to send a nude photo of her to hundreds of other teenagers. It was not fun and she ended up being called a "slut", "porn queen" and "whore". Insults were posted on her MySpace and Facebook pages.

The doctrine of original sin is poo-pooed by a great many people. The Christian Church has always taught that we are born into sin and have to be redeemed. If anything represents the fabric of original sin better than the mean art of sexting, than I'd be pleased to know.

Apparently one in five US teenagers has admitted to sexting. This is a very high number indeed. However, the problem is not corrected by some self-righteous prosecutor looking for brownie points attempting to have gullible and impressionable teenagers arrested on charges of child pornography. The proper course of action is for these teenagers to be confronted by their cruelty to others and for it to be stated in no uncertain terms that such deeds lead to tit-for-tat. The perpetrators could end up being the victims.

Malik milking the system!

Fancy a home cinema system courtesy of the taxpayer? Well, you can get half the cost of one if you are an MP and go to the Fees Office to tell them you need it for helping your constituents get out of the economic mess they're in!

Shahid Malik is a complete fool. He represents Dewsbury, a town where the BNP is targeting him and the Labour vote. Did he think for one minute that his dodgy claims for lavish living would remain a secret for ever? His antics have just given them the finest ammunition they could have wished for. Is he a political masochist?

And he's another MP in trouble with his local council. He had claimed £65 for a court summons for not paying council tax. But his main mistake was getting mixed up with a slum landlord and making sure he milked the second home allowance for all it was worth.

The Daily Telegraph has done a good job in exposing this sorry tale of spin and corruption.

Leaning towards Libertas

I am leaning towards Libertas. An EU-wide vote of significant numbers would send a message both to the Brussels troughfeeders and the Westminster fees fiddlers. Anyway, here's Robin Matthews, UK leader of Libertas, on YouTube.

CIA 'lied' about torture techniques

Morley suspended! What the people think

I'm wondering if anyone is going to vote for one of the major parties at the Euro Elections. It's a bit like the minnow football clubs thrashing the premier clubs in the FA Cup! Gordon Brown says of Morley's suspension, "Where there is irregularity now it has got to be dealt with immediately. Where standards have been transgressed and the evidence has been shown to be there, action has got to be taken. Where disciplinary action is necessary, it will and will immediately be taken." Pity he didn't think like that with the bankers!

Cop kicks runaway driver's head in!

A suspected traffic violater is in custody, after leading police on a high speed chase in El Monte, Southern California. The driver failed to pull over after a violation, driving at top speed before trying to make a run for it. On arrest, he was kicked by the policeman. Not only that, another policeman cuffs him violently and a third lets his dog bite the guy's feet.

Rough justice or what? I'm all in favour of getting dangerous drivers off the road, if that's the case, but two wrongs don't make a right. Surely the police of California have got that message by now?

Labour lords a'leaping!

Now we move over to the House of Lords. Two Labour peers have been naughty boys too. They face suspension from Parliament for six months after being found guilty of misconduct. That misconduct was of being willing to change laws in exchange for cash. Sounds more of like an Italian parliamentary excercise than that of a peer of the realm.

Of course they say they did nothing wrong, but they were caught on camera with microphone turn up. The Sunday Times got them bang to rights! A worm would need to be a contortionist to keep up with all the wriggling that's going on at present. Both houses of parliament need a clean sweep.

It's not as though this is new. Famously Tony Hancock, in the "Blood Donor", expounds his views on whether it is right that Cliff Richard earns ten times as much as the prime minister. Lapsing into a daydream, he mutters, "I suppose it depends on whether you like Cliff Richard and what your politics are".

That was nearly 50 years ago. Tells us something about time. Cliff Richard hasn't changed much and neither has politics, it seems.

Tory MP Andrew MacKay quits post in expenses claim

Two second homes? Andrew MacKay is an MP and his wife is an MP. Over the road, so to speak, in Bromsgrove. Sounds like a violin is playing in the background. MacKay seems totally baffled by it all. He's blaming others. Wow! Talk about falling on his sword. More like falling on a beanbag! Stuffed full of money - £100,000 of it!!

Watch this space - literally from the BBC. You couldn't make it up. MPs have done that for us!

Hazel hands over £13,332 to salvage her Salford hopes!

Hazel Blears has decided to hand over to the HMRC the amount she would have paid in Capital Gains tax on her flipped homes, had she been liable. She has given an interview to the TV media about why she has decided to do this. No mention of sorry, rather that the system or the fees office made her flip her home. Maybe it did, but she still appears to have profited from the episode.

She now realises that the public are up in arms and rightly so. Gordon Brown has been like a sloth descending a tree to see what's going on in the jungle. I bet he's not best pleased, to put it mildly, that she has taken the tip from David Cameron to put houses in order (no pun intended!). Brown has been very peculiar in the whole affair.

I find it very odd that the politicians caught out kept on about the system. Communists after the fall of the Berlin Wall said the very same thing. It was the system that told them, etc, etc.

Gradually things are coming together. We cannot allow as a nation our parliament to be brought into disrepute. Things have to change fast. However, it's going to be shown up as a red card at the Euro elections. Norman Tebbitt has only amplified what I hear in the post office and local shops. It's a plague on all your houses talk. At least Hazel Blears is coming to the realisation that the game's up. And she's dispensed with the grin. All sombre and serious, mindful of the mire the ones who have taken advantage are in.

Monday's Mix

My selection of good blog reads -

Iain Dale - on James Gray MP and the photo of a dying soldier.

Letters from a Tory - on all the excuses that MPs have come up with for spending your money!

Wonko's World - not mincing his words, Wonko lays in on the "thieving bastards".

Grumpy Old Twat - he's very grumpy about Gordon and says Gordo's Red Faced Again. (I'm not easily offended, so I can read Grumpy's blog!)

The Thunder Dragon - has a succinct message for Tory MPs if they want to get out of this spot of bother with honour intact.

Gordon Brown begins to see the light

Gordon Brown has been addressing the Royal College of Nursing conference in Harrogate. He has said sorry in a certain way for the MPs expenses fiasco. I also think he has grasped the public mood, a mood that thinks politicians are corrupted by greed and personal gain. This perception is not wholly accurate, as there are plenty of MPs who have NOT been on the fiddle. Why Alan Johnson is now dubbed the "Sainted Alan Johnson" I do not know. It is a perverse set of morals where someone who has been abusing the trust of the nation whines and opines that it was "all within the rules" and someone who has not abused that trust is personally denigrated.

I thought it a bit rich of Peter Mandelson to give a definition of smearing! "A lot of innuendo....you take a germ of truth, you distort it, in order to turn it into something it isn't..." Wow! Talk of pot calling the kettle black! Mandelson has been the biggest twister of the truth since New Labour was invented. Not just one germ distorted but whole whole swine flu load of the pesky critters! Mandelson's unbelievable, he really is.

Back to Brown. He's been saying sorry of a sort. "We must show that, where mistakes have been made and errors have been discovered, where wrongs have to be righted, that it is done so immediately." Interesting that he equated nursing with political life. The Midwifery Council has just struck off a nurse for revealing horrendous goings on in a hospital. 40,000 people have supported her appeal so far. Is this a wrong that the PM thinks should be righted?

We have a long way to go to get these people into some kind of denial treatment. But the green shoots of moral recovery are starting to be seen.

Hazel Blears can't say sorry!

Hazel Blears says she understands why the public is so enraged. No she doesn't. She hasn't a clue. If she just admitted that she made a misjudgement in claiming expenses to the maximum by going on spending sprees each March the electorate may forgive her. But by saying she has done nothing wrong and complied with the regulations she takes the electorate's views with contempt.

I'm glad to see, though, that she has given the Cheshire Cat's grin back!

Weasel Woolas in Wonderland

Here is that political wonder, Phil Woolas, wriggling around like a worm. A feint "sorry" more than an outright apology. It's like drawing teeth!

D-Day for Gordon Brown!

June the 6th will be Gordon Brown's D-Day! Disaster Day, Dumping Day, or Departure Day. Take your pick or make one up yourself. He will be gone by that day. A month of hearing about the sleaze of politicians, the daily disasters in the economy and the tortuous campaigning of a prime minister who is fading fast, will have convinced the Labour Party they need a new leader. The fact that the European Elections will have provided the worst results in the history of the party will have come as no surprise. It will have just added to the desire for a complete change of leadership.

Why would anyone want to vote Labour?

Geoff Hoon made a million whilst soldiers died!

The most distasteful self-enrichment is that of Geoffrey (Geoff) Hoon. This cabinet minister has been using the parliamentary allowance system to build himself a property empire. All "within the rules" no doubt. As soldiers died over the years in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hoon was not only going around defending his dodgy dealings in the run-up to the War, but he was getting rich on manipulating the system. As Defence Secretary he lived in a grace-and-favour apartment in Whitehall, yet he claimed costs for his home in Derbyshire. Those soldiers lucky enough to survive without wounds were, on their return, given the most appalling housing in some circumstances. This hypocrite always got the MoD to rabbit on about how well the refurbishment programme was coming along. But the soldiers didn't get the same allowances!

There's more about Hoon's taxpayer-funded property development business from the Daily Telegraph. All stuff he wanted us not to know. It is little wonder creeps like him tried to get rid of Elizabeth Filkin. She'd spotted their corruption but they had the brass neck to rubbish her, so she went!

Why would anyone want to vote Labour?

Shaun Woodward has more front than Sainsbury's

Shaun Woodward is a cheesy hypocrite. He used to be the Conservative MP for Witney and he became disillusioned with the Tories and saw his chances with the New Labour gang. One of his reasons for leaving the Conservatives was that he thought they were sleazy, both politically and morally.

So this pompous prat got himself a safe Labour seat at St.Helens, a house small enough to exclude his butler, and proceeded to climb the greasy New Labour pole. He's currently Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which is a sinecure these days considering the Province is run quite ably by the New Chuckle Brothers.

Woodward is no slouch when it comes to money. He managed to get himself into the Sainsbury family's coffers and make himself a very rich man. Now there's nothing wrong with being rich, or making money. It's how you do it that matters. Woodward has a silver tongue in his head which he uses to great advantage. The Tories are well shot of the man. Witney is represented by a better person altogether, David Cameron.

Now we find out that Woodward claimed £100,000 over four years to help pay his mortgage interest, according to leaked details of his expenses in the Daily Telegraph. He probably thought he should get the full whack. Get his expenses maxed out! The honourable thing would be for him to have said he didn't need this money, considering he already has wads of it. I bet the good folk of St.Helens wish they could be on such expenses and allowances, especially with job losses all around them and money being tight. Instead, true to his shoddy credentials, Woodward took the cash to its full allowance.

Why would anyone want to vote Labour?

MPs in cover-up cop sensation!

You have to hand it to these parliamentarians, or at least the ones with their snouts in the trough. They have the brass neck to call in the police to investigate the leak of expenses to the Daily Telegraph. Hold on, you tea leaves! Shouldn't the police be investigating you?

This is a bit like a householder being questioned about the motives of the burgler who just rifled his house. The whole thing is a distasteful waste of police time.

The crooks have already been identified. Take their DNA and get the duty sergeant down at the nick to put them behind bars. Good riddance to bad rubbish!

European Elections 2009

These parties are standing in the European Elections (some are not in all regions and some do not have full slates).

Alliance Party
Animals Count
British National Party
Christian Party
Conservative Party
Democratic Unionist Party
English Democrats Party
Fair Pay Fair Trade Party
Green Party
Jury Team
Labour Party
Liberal Democrats
Mebyon Kernow (Party of Cornwall)
No2EU:Yes to Democracy
Peace Party
Pensioners Party
Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales)
Pro Democracy: Libertas.eu
Roman Party
Scottish National Party
Scottish Socialist Party
Sinn Fein
Social Democratic & Labour Party
Socialist Labour Party
Traditional Unionist Voice
Ulster Unionist Party
United Kingdom First Party
UK Independence Party
WAI D
Yes2Europe

East Midlands : East of England : London : North-East : North-West : South-East : South-West : West Midlands : Yorkshire & Humber : Wales : Scotland : Northern Ireland

Gordon Brown the "nothing wrong" Prime Minister

Gordon Brown says he did "nothing wrong". He claimed £6,500 in expenses to pay his brother for a cleaner. Something wrong there!

Hazel Blears says she did "nothing wrong". She claimed three different properties were her "second home". Something wrong there!

Jack Straw says he did "nothing wrong". He claimed for council tax paid at the full rate - when he was getting a 50% discount. Something wrong there!

All three dodgy customers with a thick skin for spin and deception. Their moral compasses have hit magnetic north and south at the same time.

There are others too. The list goes on. Gordon Brown thinks a clocking on scheme will do the trick. No it won't. We want our MPs paid properly with provision for proper expenses. All out in the open. It should have stopped years ago, when all this first surfaced. So much for criticising John Major. He never so much as got Terry a cleaner. His brother would have been mortified.

Sir Stuart Bell, who sits on the House of Commons supervisory body, said he believed the leak had breached the Data Protection Act and may refer it to the information commissioner. Don't waste your time, Sir Stuart, or more public money. We have a right to know if our politicians are corrupt or are behaving corruptly. This is the information the information commissioner should know about.

Stormy Daniels storms on in Senate race!

"He ran for the Senate on a family values, anti-sex education platform, and he’s caught with prostitutes. That’s hypocritical. Call me what you will, but you can’t call me a hypocrite." So says the former porn star Stormy Daniels, the proud winner of the 2007 Golden G-string award, who is running in a US Senate race against a Christian family-values Republican shamed after being caught cavorting with prostitutes.

The shamed Republican is David Vitter. He's got his troubles hanging out on the washing line! The Times reports that "few think Ms Daniels can actually beat Mr Vitter next year but her candidacy is an uncomfortable reminder for a Republican party as to why it has been so resoundingly rejected by US voters." But the point is some think she can win. George Bush is now firmly of the opinion that he should never have got mixed up with the so-called Christian right. "Those whackos" he calls them. Is Vitter one of the whackos? And if he's been cavorting with prostitutes what else may he have done? He says he had "asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife" as if God and his wife were in the same room at the time.

The voters of Lousiana have a good choice. Between an incumbent politician who has fallen short and a woman who has apparently nothing to hide. I'd say this. If it's straightforward no-nonsense talk and action you want from your Senate representative, then Stormy Daniels may be your woman.

She'd uncover the hypocrites, cut to the chase and keep the spinners and deceivers at bay. Sounds like the kind of representation I'd go for.

Harriet Harman - BNP recruiting sergeant!

It is now a tragedy rather than farce. The Daily Telegraph has done us a service by publishing leaked details of the expenses of Cabinet members. Details they wanted to keep secret. Harriet Harman has been on the radio and television this morning "defending" her Cabinet colleagues over these expenses. She is still trying to say that it was all within the rules. This woman has gone from toff to twat in a political generation. She claims the expenses were made in "good faith". Come off it! Just because the rules may suggest you can claim for mock tudor beams in your second home doesn't mean you have the absolute right to milk the system dry. Has she lost her marbles?

All this craven support for the morally corrupt behaviour of politicians gives daily ammunition to the BNP. As Harriet Harman waffles on, protecting the unrepentant sleaze merchants from their own failings, the BNP is proudly parading a dumper truck round Manchester with some fat pigs in it. All to show the electorate how sleazy the politicians in Westminster are. Harman might as well drive the truck herself. She's given them more publicity material than they could ever hope for.

Whilst sticking to her mantra that all claims were within the rules, she feebly admits "I know this looks bad and people are angry." Too true! It's gone from casual sleaze to gratuitous fraud. These people are no longer accidentally making accounting errors, they are systematically defrauding the system.

Jack Straw claimed his entire council tax bill for his second home despite already enjoying a substantial discount from his local authority, worth a reported £1,500 a year. Now don't tell me that was an oversight. It's fraud and it's against the law!

So Harriet Harman has no defence for her chiselling cronies. All she is is one big recruiting sergeant for the BNP!