Scatty Guardian Editorials: Are They Letting Polly Pen Them?

In the Guardian we have a second "utter rubbish" editorial in two days, viz. Gordon's Toast answered but an hour ago by Madeleine Bunting who has a far more coherent case for Brown staying.

The last thing the Labour Party need just now is a distracting leadership contest. There is a world economy to be rescued. And a constitutional reform process to be managed. Putting anything else ahead of these things is self-indulgent crap and would be unforgiveable. Presumably as the elected Deputy Harriet Harman would have the caretaker job, until there was a contest, if Gordon did go?

Unless she stood aside in favour of runner-up Alan Johnson. Which seems very unlikely indeed. Unless there were a Beckett-esque understanding that the caretaker would not stand for the eventual vacancy. But we digress. Back to political reality. There is a nation-wide election coming up. It is tomorrow.

Yesterday the Guardian Editorial echoed SDP Polly Toynbee - Jonathan Freedland said Green - in calling for a vote for The Yellow Libdemologists, ignorant or careless enough to suggest that more than one party can be backed: "A PR election means people can back more than one party, and many progressives will cheer if the Greens do well." Are they actually letting PT write editorials?!

Meanwhile it seems that the Postal Voting stationery is again setting pulses racing. The PV ballot is so cumbersome and in such big print that some voters are apparently tearing off only the fold with their cross on it before sticking it in the envelope and sending it in. The only party for whom this process generates a valid vote - with the official mark as well as the cross - is the BNP.

Blackburn Labour think they are on to it. It's hard to see how the Returning Officer can allow any disembodied votes at all to stand, but if they do it can only be the top section, given the way the ballots were printed.

Let's hope that there is a good deal more than 200 votes - the Blackburn Labour estimated potential advantage to the fascists of this preferential ballot spoiling, which implies there will be up to 3,000 so spoilt altogether - between the loathsome Nick Griffin and his jackboots getting a pass for the corridors of power. Proportional Representation is all very well. But polling say 8% and getting a seat, though 92% of the people reject you, is surely one PR madness too far?

The NW ballot papers were also of course rather unusual in including the definite article on The Green Party and The Labour Party in the alpabeticising, though other parties managed to cotton on to this intention to buck the standard protocols. Also good to see that such was the popularity of the Jury Team concept in our region that they didn't even fill their slate of eight on the basis of self-nomination. They managed six.