Cheerful McDonnell: Channel 4 Interview

The interview with Krishnan Guru-Murthy has been up there all along. HERE and it's the second half from 2:35 in.

BBC Poll: Gordon Brown Pulls Back Nona Theo Buvv

Story updated with Saturday pm figures HERE.

Finally: Eurovision Song Contest Pic Rumbled

Scooch have yet to get un poin. But meanwhile someone's rumbled that the picture here is not quite Scooch. Got away with it for eight weeks. But, slapped wrist, must take TEVSC more seriously in future.
UPDATE: 10:45 le canard c'est casse. D'Irland - sept poins. 10:47 De la Malte douze.

John McDonnell: Relaxed and Jolly on Channel 4

To be blunt as I was yesterday John McDonnell is a serious fellow, and no barrel of laughs. But whether he has been reading the LOL feedback or taking a lead from gurning Gordie he seemed relaxed, ebullient, and clearly the beneficiary of the lefties "Oggle" of Friday afternoon.

His greatest hits, with nary a smile, grin or laugh, are here and we'll bring you the Channel 4 News clip with Krishnan Guru-Murthy if/when it reaches the web. Make it snappy Owen, it's good stuff.

UPDATE: The BBC Interview with John is available online HERE. Today, some 24 hours on he was visibly more relaxed and happy.
UPDATE: Link to C4 one HERE.

Dame Ellen Macarthur: Flying on Top Gear

Dame Ellen now tops the all time celebrity lap chart. They didn't let her do a fourth lap though she wanted to as it was getting too dark to photograph. She is just a couple of tenths of a second faster at 1:46.6 than the unfunny but speedy comedian Jimmy Carr. PS It was at the end of last series.

BBC Poll: Nona Theo Buvv leads Gordon Brown

The BBC are running a poll ahead of the party itself on who should lead Labour. The mischievious back bencher Nona Theo Buvv MP is dominating. Though Brown is a clear second, McDonnell third and Meacher trails in fourth. I've checked: Nona Theo Buvv is not an anagram of Tony Blair.
UPDATE: Gordon's people have clouted NTB and taken a lead.

Gordon Brown: Campaign and Website Launch

HERE, with a strange poll to prioritise what he should be covering on the site each week. This surely means that by week six he will be talking about the sixth priority of his audience and not their first priority. Sometimes leadership is better than mirroring. McDonnell should take note and deal with the topics in the opposite order. Or at least so that the NHS and Education are in the key days for member and affiliate voting.

John McDonnell MP: A Laugh a Minute with Peter Tatchell on 18 Doughty Street

John McDonnell MP is the guest in Talking with Tatchell and explains how his left-wing leadership programme differs from Gordon Brown's. There are signs that enough MPs may please their Constituency Parties and "vote for a contest" by nominating McDonnell even if they intend to vote Brown themselves.

The full programme here. But here's the tease:

BLOGSCLUSIVE Diane Abbott on the Politics Show: Stars On 45

Diane says - on the Politics Show - that John McDonnell claims 24 backers and that Michael Meacher claims 24 backers. But that the latter may not quite have the numbers he says. Hence the postponement of a joint press conference until Monday. Meacher can now retire gracefully into the Deputy Dawg Race. Who are Michael's backers? Why has not one gone public? Will either man get the 45?

Question Time: Peter Mandelson, Jane Moore, Ken Clarke and W Menzies Campbell

David Dimbleby says Tony Blair said in 1996: "My work will be done when the Labour Party loves Peter Mandelson". Mandelson hopes that even those that hate him respect his "invention" of New Labour.

W Menzies Campbell says Gordon Brown has a "Towering Intellect" and runs this line about an early General Election. The sooner it is the sooner Ming gets to retire and put his feet up I suppose. And he seems to be snoozing tonight.

Kenneth Clarke is being Kenneth Clarke. Affable has been might have been Hush Puppy jazzer.

And who here cares what Jane Moore says? Waste of a chair really.

Ming has been bursting. Look here, look here, look here, he says finally. But he's busted.

Mandelson really has dominated this special edition of BBC Question Time, almost completely.

APART FROM DIMBLEBY: Ming got last word. The Q - Blair reached No 10 on 'Things Can Only Get Better', what will he go out on? Ming suggested something. Forgetable. My answer: 'Things Can Only Get Better'.

UPDATE: Ming actually suggested 'Spinning Around' by some "beat combo". On the pulse. Or what?

Scottish Questions: Getting Beyond the West Bromwich Question

Brownie Cruddasite Tom Watson MP points to his and Douglas Alexander's wit and wisdom. Scrolling down I was rewarded with this:

David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale, Conservative)
Link to this | Hansard source
Perhaps the Secretary of State will also agree with me that the vast majority of people who voted for the Scottish National party did so not in an attempt to break up the Union but as an expression of dissatisfaction with the Labour and Liberal Democrat-led Scottish Executive. Does he accept, too, that Labour's clunking fist approach to promoting, or rather brow-beating, Scots into supporting the Union failed and will he encourage the Chancellor and others to support my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) in his positive promotion of the Union?

Douglas Alexander (Secretary of State, Department for Transport)
Link to this | Hansard source
I say this with the greatest of respect: I have never regarded the views of the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron), or indeed those of the hon. Gentleman, as my lodestar in terms either of defending the Union or winning popular votes in Scotland. If the hon. Gentleman has advice to offer parties in Scotland, perhaps he should write another memo to his colleagues in the Scottish Parliament.

Mundell is of course the Tory Muppet who earns 27 mentions over at Iain Dale's ... mostly for saying Scottish Tories are crapulent.

Graham Stringer: Blair's Last PMQ as Party Leader

Graham Stringer had the privilege of asking Tony Blair the very last PMQ before he resigned as Party Leader:

Graham Stringer (Man Blackley, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source
When and how will my right hon. Friend insist on the supremacy of this elected House over the other place, and ensure that the 17 casinos to which we agreed are built?

Tony Blair (Prime Minister) Link to this | Hansard source
We hope very shortly to present proposals to ensure that the regional casinos are agreed and introduced. I entirely understand what my hon. Friend says, and he will know that not only am I extremely sympathetic to the point of constitutional principle—which is that this House should have primacy over the other House—but I have never understood why Blackpool and Manchester should be pitted against each other. If the money is there and the investment is possible, let us have both. [Interruption.] I find it extraordinary that the Conservatives have put the Manchester casino in jeopardy, and are going around the streets of Blackpool telling people that they support the casino there. If we had had our way originally, without their intervention, we would have been able to have both.

Lib Dem Disgrace in Manchester

They might also have mentioned between them the disgraceful vote from Lib Dem MPs, including John Leech, against regeneration in Manchester.

This was despite Manchester Lib Dems' Press Statement that they had squared the deal.

Lib Dem Disgrace in Bournemouth

And paradoxically of course the same party's ex-Cllr Adrian "Fudge" who signed off on a casino deal in Bournemouth DURING an Election Day on which his party was routed.

Admini-Trivia: Blog Hatches and Dispatches

The Daily, Yellow Peril and UKIP Comedy Page are out through inactivity or cessation. Hamer Shawcross, Recess Monkey and Bloggers4Labour in.

If you link here already, or would if LOL linked you, please get in touch.

School for Scandal: Fawkes Right, Hamer Left

However amusing we may find Hamer's Homage to A School for Scandal, or is it Cox and Box?, we would have to agree with a ranting Guido Fawkes that Special Advisors should not, indeed must not work on Deputy Dawg elections on the firm's time, the firm's email, or the firm's fax.

As ever Guido's penetrating glare on parliamentary life is like a sadly misprimed keg of explosives under the very throne of the house. Bearing Mr Crapper's name as it does. The throne not the keg.

THIS Shavian account of a day on the knockers shows exactly where Hamer is coming from.

Cameron Caption Competition: Disappointing as Libertarian Tory Censors That's Life Lyrics

How very disappointing. Last night I visited Iain Dale's Blog and amidst a plethora of terrible captions I found one which humourously hit the nail on the head for the above picture.

This was a fairly loose rendition of one verse and one chorus from Ivor Biggun/Doc Cox's single record I'm a Winker.

Took some tracking down but this excerpt is more or less the caption that Iain's visitor left:

OH Mrs Palm and her five lovely daughters
thank you for having me and being oh so kind
I've got pains in my arms and my gong is growing shorter
my knees have turned to water
and I think I'm going blind.

I'm a winker.
I'm a winker.
And it does me good like it bloody well should
I'm a winker.
I'm a winker and I'm always pulling my pud.

This is of course, fact fans, the wrong way round. But the verse was given to Dave-id Cameron (centre) and the chorus to Iain Dale (left) and all the other Tories. Which seemed to work quite well.

Iain's pulled it off anyway.

Comment is Free: Questions for Top Dog and for Deputy Dawg Candidates

THIS has been running for 24 hours or so now. Lots of polemic and attack and a few good questions. Add yours.

Libdemologists: Time to Disband Your Sad, Sick Crew

Says Simon Jenkins of the Lib Dem loving Manchester Guardian. Well, actually he says they are nice but useless. "Useless" I can agree with.

Lib Dems? Huh!
What are they good for?
Absolutely nothing!
Say it again.

BLOGSCLUSIVE Libdemologists: Fudge Leaves a Bad Taste in Tory Mouths

Mr Adrian "Fudge" (right) is on Newsnight, now. He is the Lib Dem ex Deputy Leader of Bournemouth's now defeated Lib Dem regime. He himself lost his seat (Littledown and Iford) by almost 1,000 votes in a sticky, fudgy Lib Dem all out melt down.

From "in control" to second party with SEVEN seats to an extraordinary 41 for the Tories.
But this was not before, on election day itself, these Lib Dem geezers signed a controversial contract for .... a massive City Centre Casino.

Newsnight's correspondent is suggesting this was vindictive and irresponsible "fuck you" opportunism. LOL couldn't possibly comment.

Bo-Klok: Live Long and Prosper?

Well actually BoKlok means Live Smart and is the teasingly anagramatic brand for an IKEA flat packed house. Take four days to build from scratch. There are already 3,000 of them in Scandanavia.

BBC Breakfast reckons the UK is building 150,000 homes when it should be 200,000 and that this can help and Gateshead MBC agrees. LOL thinks they are a bit pricey at £150,000 for a three-bedder, whereas a conventional two-bed flat in the area is £70,000-£90,000.

But IKEA quote high quality and full fit out. Quite a way from the £60,000 (plus land) for Irish-built prefabs as inspected by John Prescott at Manchester G-Mex in 2005. The above image is from some key worker homes in London with rents of £100 (one bed) to £150 (two bed) per week.

Restrictions on purchasers in Gateshead will rule out those who own another home, those with household income above £35,000, and those who are not local. But some Housing Corporation or DCLG cash or a generous shared equity scheme is needed in our opinion to make these a viable first home option for target home seekers.

Another angle on this is this no-change-from-half-a-million Grand Design of the Huf House in Surrey.

Planed: Gilbert and George Pull It Off

All this fuss! For something Banksy does all day every day. Gilbert and George provide free multiple. From HERE - for 48 Hours Only. Low (2.5M) and hi-res (25M) versions.

Ireland: Let's Put Our Hands of History Together

Today's the day then. Not a time for soundbites. We'll leave those at home. But I definitely feel the hand of history on Tony Blair's shoulder. Well done. Good man yourself.

Environment: The Winds of Change?

Click to enlarge! Wind Power writ large, enough to power earth 100 times over with no environmental pain. Discussion from the SF Chronicle (that's San Francisco not Science Fiction) HERE. Hat tip tompaine.com.

Compass: Spinning in Proximity to Old Iron, Brass, Silver and Gold?

Early doors this evening Compass are holding a bible reading renewal revival meeting down at the Mission, Westminster Hall.

There is a consensus developing that they are asking the wrong kind of a question. Managerial not philosophical. Someone quotes a bizarre definition of "neo-conservatism" - I'm not sure why, they're the only one to mention this, but I decide to offer some lexicographic meanderings there:

Time to get a new dictionary of modern thought I'd have thought. What does it say for "New" as used in Marketing? Something like:

"A term used in the derisory super-branding of an entity so that it bears little or no resemblance to, and/or shuts down the original sense of the brand."
"For example: Newmarket had a market for a while but that soon went. Newcastle had a castle no lomnger used as fortification. Newtown was once but is now large village."
"Fashion of using in tandem with "Improved" has gone but the unimaginative who use the "New" soubriquet hope this will be assumed."
"In fact they have succeeded in making "New" into a highly pejorative term of abuse."
"After 13 Years it's Old Hat."

Might have a go at "Compass" later? Oh alright then.
Here goes:
"Metaphor for moral certainty and principle to guide one over the territory. In fact set spinning in proximity of any old iron, and remarkably brass, copper, silver and gold."

Any thoughts on Compass? Or Revival meetings?

Banksy: Remaining Fiercely Independent

Tom Watson spots Banksy in the MSM complaining about over-exposure and the problem of maintaining any anonymity. His "shop" by the way is a complete and utter free for all.

My Left Foot: A Film About An Heroic Mother?

An excerpt from My Left Foot has just been shown on a Top 50 Actors of all time programme. My mother described this film to me as being about a heroic mother. But sadly it was not Brenda Fricker who was up for a gong at 15th in the world actors' actors poll.

Perhaps mother got the wrong end of the stick then? Not like her.

Tom Watson MP Wins a Bet: Barktrain is Next

Tom Watson MP wins a bet by linking the Doctor Who episode about the Lazarus Laboratories to his parliamentary work to see fairplay for Sandwell youth. Above: The Doctor, his Co-Pilot, Lazarus Orgasmatron, with inset a member of the Watson Youth after Ultrasound experiment.

The other big problem with this technology is that this low powered cat/dog scarer at £40 does the same job as the youth scarer at £2,000 and the uncool music at next to nothing.

Adjustable Barktrain TM collars for hoodies may be coming next.

Right Paine: The Rights and Wrongs of Man

When the heroic Tom Paine laid out his mainfesto* The Rights of Man it was for a species - men, women, and children - and certainly not for the male exclusively. * In bite sized bits HERE.

Iain Dale points to a blog - now running for six months - which takes Paine's inspired treatise's name in vain.

The latest, linked post, with its click-to-enlarge graphic below, suggests a programme for a Minister for Men.


Quite a sorry state we're in isn't it? We must surely get more men in to make law and judge it. The fiendish rule by women must be ended now! Just consider the statistics on where the power lies:

Law Lords: Baroness Hale of Richmond is alone and first ever woman/12
Lords Justices/HCJs/HoD: Ten women, 128 men
House of Lords (hereditory): Three of 92
House of Lords (cronies): 136 women, 604 men
House of Commons: 128 women, 518 men
Cabinet: Eight women, 15 men (all-time record)
UK MEPs: 17 women, 61 men
UK Councillors: to follow
FTSE 100 Main Board Directors: 77 women of more than 1,000
Main source: CAWP Observatory.

Yes, yes, yes. It is easy to see how this deep and wide institutional prejudice is keeping men down. Far too many women in legislature and judiciary.

The boardroom situation was covered by Meg Munn who was UNPAID as Minister for Women and Minister for Equality for a good few years - the ONLY unpaid Minister. [New Information suggests it was months not years and she was not the only one.] Meg has the portfolio for men's issues too and I've seen her being lobbied on them and being on top of the brief.

Comments on any of the twelve points of the RoM Programme very welcome. Will be blogging some of them before too long.

Today: Jon Cruddas and Strangers into Citizens

Clockwise from top left: Main Strangers into Citizens vid, en Francais, Espagnol, Supporters.

Hat tip to Jon Cruddas whose communal interview is in The Independent today. Biography Here and Blog There.

Taking Liberties ... since 1997: How Tories See Us??

Seems as if the Labour government have attacked our ability to enjoy eating (or just stirring?) baked beans and dancing morris and voting for women or as women. The hunting with dogs one is right - one out of four ain't bad. Click speaker icon to get noise.

Iain Dale: Just How Bad Was It for the LibDems? LibDem Voice Comes of Age

Iain Dale provides a useful review of some of the Lib Dems waking up and smelling the coffee of their massive set back.

Meanwhile, Michael Denzil Xavier (sharp intake at this name in room) Portillo gets his. Twiggy gets his chance.

BBC Parliament: 1997 Election Night: Ninepins Now

Falling like ninepins. Hamilton of course. Martin Bell to soon regret his "one term only" commitment. Rifkind. Portillo. Now the delight of Edwina Currie having to commentate over pictures of her lover, the PM John Major arriving at his count.

BBC Parliament: Katy Clark's Result in Triplicate

Katy's Galloway result 1997 read three times. Great oaks from little acorns grow. Far left in this picture of the Guardian's picks as bright young things 2005. The only one of these coming home to roost as a duffer is young Leech, second from far right. What were the Guardian thinking of? "Who he?" asked all the others.

1997 BBC Parliament: Bronze for Seb Coe

From first to third. Meanwhile Paddy Ashdown is confirming that the "Liberal Democrats are not of the left". Quite right.
TRIVIA: I was an Ovett man myself. Met both of them and found Steve far more down to earth.

1997 Labour Landslide Victory: Women's Representation and Tory Bloggers

BBC Pundit - back in 97 - is mentioning the huge progress expected in women's representation thanks to Labour's landslide. This week Guido Fawkes bigged up Iain Dale's "shredding" of a piece speculating about an imminent Tory reshuffle.

But I'm not sure Dale's shredding of Melissa Kite's Sunday Telegraph piece was anything of the sort. It mainly comes down to whether DC is planning a reshuffle now or not. And whether "now" includes 9 weeks time within its auspices or not. I think it probably does, and that if DC is not planning by now then he's more of a nice but dim poseur than he seems.

Significant that Dale goes after the woman reporters don't you think? He hates 'em. Taking our jobs and all that. Back in the kitchen woman!! Feels like an in-depth investigation may be coming in.

UPDATE: Iain says Melissa is his mate and calls me a name. Ouch! So apologies Iain, this drubbing for Melissa is not part of the pattern.

BBC Parliament: 1997 Election Night Re-Run 3

Lance Price - soon to be a Blair spinner - is working for the BBC at Kensington and Chelsea Enfield. That delicious Portillo moment, soon come. Heseltine meanwhile chomping at the bit over at Henley.

BBC Parliament: 1997 Election Night Re-Run 2

Talk of a Redwood-Heseltine leadership contest ... Hague mentioned third. Torbay appears to be a two-vote margin.

BBC Parliament: 1997 Election Night Re-Run

Continuing until 3:00pm. Channel 81 on Freeview. Or inline HERE. David Mellor calling Zac's dad's 1500 vote total derisory.

Dining Out: On the Last Chicken in the Shop

Chattering about Turkeys and Giblets and Soups and that I mentioned that as a research student at Jungfraujoch Hochapline Forshungsstation (Swiss Alps) I would order one chicken each week from the Co-op in Interlaken and live on its reducing corpse for seven days. Thinner and thinner soups. And greater and greater pity from Austrians and Swiss.

I was not the worst off as some Eastern Europeans appeared to live on pasta with jam.

But anyway, having mentioned as well how very plump Keira Knightley looked on the cover of the OM I was told that she too lived on a single chicken a week. Just the same.

Except she had a dinner party and picked hers to the bone on day one. Can I blog this? Is that OK? But she is getting plump now isn't she?