Category: Politics

306 MPs voted for it, and 93 against. I don’t know who the MPs who voted against are at the moment, but there was an estimate of 18 Labour rebels. The suggestion is that those against the card were asked to make themselves scarce rather than voting against. I watched a fair amount of the…

Well it’s due to be debated in the House anytime now – well once everyone’s finished talking about Blunkett’s rail ticket. The Guardian’s Newsblog has a good summary of what some of the key supporters are saying in putting forward good reasons for the card and databases’s introduction (incidentally, I’m hearing far too little about…

On January 1 2005, the Freedom of Information Act comes fully into force. This will give us the right to ask various government departments and public authorities what data they hold on us. Remarkably, the Cabinet Office has suddenly decided that now would be a good time to delete all emails older than three months!…

Well I can’t say I’m sorry he’s gone.

The sordid small-minded Countryside Alliance feel that disrupting the visit of International Olympic Committee members to London is the way to go according to a report in The Observer. Personally, if a million people break the law on February 19, then they should be prosecuted and fined. Should give the rest of us a tax…

According to The Observer.

While David Blunkett fights for his political career, today’s also the day that he introduces the ID Cards bill into the Commons. In the meantime, Blair is expected to address them in his monthly press conference in a few minutes time… Things I’d like him to address are exactly how he thinks ID cards will…

The more you hear about David Blunkett, the more there is do dislike. I’ve not really paid any attention up and until now to what he’s done in his private life, but the fact is that it’s very messy – too messy for a Home Secretary, many would argue. I don’t know if he did…

So it was the Queen’s Speech today in Parliament and we see an upsurge in scaremongering by Labour as reasoning is given for schemes such as the pointless ID Card Bill. Supposedly this will cost the princely sum of £85 when bought with a passport, with the cards being rolled out from 2008. And the…

I’ve just been watching President Clinton (rightly, that should be ex-President Clinton, but it’s one of those things that you seem to get to keep the title until you die), opening his Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas (via C-Span). It’s always seemed a strange thing to me that when you finish your presidency, you…

Yesterday’s Guardian G2 section was completely black with, in small white letter, the words, “Oh, God.” (Can’t find a picture of it online). The other footnote was at some very late point in the night when CNN were explaining once again how they “call” a state, and why they hadn’t yet called Ohio. They cut…

So it’s all over. I watched Kerry give his gracious concession speech earlier this evening. Typically, Blair’s been on the phone pretty fast. I really don’t get it. Anyway, I’ve consoled myself by watching all three episodes of The Power of Nightmares in one go… See the entry above.

Time to stop drinking Coors?