Vicky Pryce-More Lib Dem Hypocrisy

While I strongly believe that those who commit crime should be rehabilitated the case of Vicky Price stinks of hypocrisy and double standards. You may remember she was the missus of Chris Huhne who went to chokey for lying about taking his speeding points for him. It went on for a long period of time and only came out when he buggered off with another woman and Ms Pryce wanted to vent her spleen, or drop him in it.


Vince Cable, often seen as the most effective leader of the opposition in the current parliament, has taken her on as a government advisor. So a loony like Cable, whose instinct is to pass ever more interfering, nanny state laws that he expects the rest of us to obey, is happy to be advised by a jailbird. (Full story)


At a time when confidence in politicians is as low as it has ever been, and confidence in our democracy is at a similar low, what kind of idiot invites her back as a government advisor? An idiot Lib Dem like Vince Cable.

Elected Representatives

An MEP was banging on yesterday that cyclists should be registered, have a number plate, insurance and be forced to wear high vis jackets. Effectively she was wanting to tax and regulate cycling.


Regardless of the issue my argument with her was that it is not the job of an MEP, on a monster salary and expenses, to be banging on about this kind of thing. Maybe a local councillor possibly an MP but not an MEP in an ivory tower in Brussels.


Her justification for it was that constituents had been in touch with her about it. Big deal. My response was to ask if she would advocate the slaughter of the first born in every household if a few constituents contacted her in support of it. She didn't answer.


This seems to be the problem with politicians, they are so busy trying to please every interest group they piss everybody off. Elected representatives are representatives, they are not delegates. We vote for people we are in broad agreement with and each election we should look at what they have done and decide whether to vote for them again or not. I certainly wouldn't expect a Labour MP to vote for the nationalisation of the NHS, even if a thousand constituents lobbied him. The argument that elected representatives should do what those who shout the loudest want is wrong headed and dangerous. Especially when it goes against the representatives core beliefs.


I suppose with Euro elections coming up MEPs will suddenly become high profile media whores as they become ever more desperate to maintain their places on the gravy train. I for one will be using my democratic freedom to spoil my ballot paper.

Police State

A Glasgow man has been imprisoned for 290 days. Nothing unusual you might think, except his crime was mocking the murder of two WPCs on Facebook.


The man is obviously a prat, a nasty prat, but prison?

Duggan, de Menezes and Tomlinson

Jean Charles de Menezes was an innocent man killed by the police.


Ian Tomlinson was an innocent man killed by the police.


Mark Duggan  a 'gangsta' was lawfully killed by the police.


Whose death led to riots and accusations of racism?

The Burger King Jihad

Work of Satan

The more we tolerate this kind of crap the bigger a disaster we are heading for.

A muslim complained that the swirly pattern on the lid of an ice cream cone resembled the Arabic word Allah. So he declared a jihad on Burger King. Burger King promptly withdrew the ice cream but the muslim nutjob has not withdrawn his jihad.

Another reason not to use Burger King. Welcome to 2014 in modern, 'multicultural' Britain.

Article in The Scotsman.

I Don't Understand #2-UKIP

Over the festive period I had conversations with a couple of Eurosceptics, people who I regard as intelligent and pleasant people. Both tried to convince me that voting UKIP in this year's European Union elections will help extricate us from the costly charade that is the EU. They claim that UKIP 'winning' the EU elections will definitely help extricate us from the EU. But I still don't understand how.

It seems quite simple to me. The European elections will elect MEPs. There are around 750 MEPs in total. The UK elects 73 MEPs. To 'win' the election UKIP would have to get 326  MEPs elected. Even then the European Parliament doesn't have the power to expel or allow a member state to leave.

Even if all 73 UK MEPs elected were UKIP they would still not have the power to extricate us. It is only our national parliament that can effect our withdrawal.

UKIP MEPs have some of the poorest attendance and voting records in the European Parliament, largely down to their belief that they are not there to make the EU work better, but to campaign in the UK for withdrawal. I know, because I used to work for a UKIP MEP. But, apart from Farage popping up on Question Time now and then, when did you last receive any information from your UKIP MEP? Indeed, when, apart from at election time, did you last receive any communication from UKIP? Apart from withdrawing from the EU can you, without using Google, name a single UKIP policy?

I was a member of the Anti-Federalist League in the '90s, but didn't keep up my membership when it morphed into UKIP. Although they then had a policy of not fighting EU elections I wasn't convinced that a single issue party could achieve independence for Britain. After a rethink I joined UKIP in 2000, not resigning until after the NEC elections early in 2009. I am more convinced than ever that the party is a lost cause.

If you like statistics this website has all the results from the last EU elections in 2009. Interesting UKIP only increased their vote by 0.3% on their 2004 results. The Tories meanwhile improved on their 2004 result by 1%. In terms of votes UKIP got 2,500,000 Tories 4,200,000. With Labour 6.4% down on 2,400,000 it's hard to see UKIP outperforming both this year. Indeed, I would put money on Labour beating UKIP this time around. Even the Lib Dems, the most pro-EU of the mainstream, could rally and pull back their losses in 2009, their by-election results don't support the theory that their involvement in the coalition will see them wiped out.

What's the point of electing people to a parliament that they believe to be powerless, that they then don't engage in and that they ultimately want to withdraw from? And all that for a salary of £70,000pa plus very generous allowances. Nigel Farage, before becoming a highly paid MEP in 1999, played a key role in changing UKIP's policy of not standing in European elections.

How will voting UKIP send a message to the EU? If voting against the EU's wishes in national referenda are ignored (Ireland, France, Denmark, Holland) how will a few more Godfrey Blooms make a difference?

I don't understand.