May 8, 2010
by nosemonkey
25 Comments
Just back from Japan, from where I was closely following the UK election on Twitter (your best place for my day-to-day political commentary these days, though be warned they’re usually more jokey – and sweary – than here…) After 30 … Continue reading
October 25, 2009
by nosemonkey
19 Comments
The proposed President of the European Council is very far from being “President of Europe” – either in terms of profile or power. Whoever lands the job (and it’s highly unlikely to be Tony Blair) will have practically zero influence … Continue reading
February 5, 2009
by nosemonkey
6 Comments
Interesting analysis from European Voice today: Some members of the European Monetary Union (EMU) – Ireland and Greece obviously, and Italy, too – are discovering that what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) adjudges a global recession is cruelly exposing their … Continue reading
October 3, 2008
by nosemonkey
4 Comments
Here she is – Baroness Ashton. Never heard of her? Neither’s pretty much anyone else. I think that’s part of the point. Continue reading
September 22, 2008
by nosemonkey
6 Comments
Absolutely hilarious (via): “Of 40 people questioned, none could put names to photographs of all 23 Cabinet ministers. Only one managed to recognise more than half of them… A total of seven ministers – nearly a third of the Cabinet … Continue reading
May 23, 2008
by nosemonkey
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(Originally published on The Sharpener) So Labour have lost the Crewe and Natwich election, the Tories winning their first by-election in 26 years. Huzzah. At last Labour seem to be getting the kind of kicking they’ve long deserved – a … Continue reading
May 23, 2008
by nosemonkey
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Something from me over at the revived Sharpener, following the Tory win in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election yesterday.
May 3, 2008
by nosemonkey
18 Comments
OK, so Boris has won and a load of people are in a tizzy. It’s all very familiar and predictable, and one of the prime reasons the British left is screwed. Continue reading
February 2, 2008
by nosemonkey
15 Comments
Allow Tony Blair to become the EU’s first permanent president and I’m very likely to turn anti-EU again. My feelings have already been succinctly summed up by Ari – a Finn, lest anyone get the idea this is yet another … Continue reading
December 1, 2007
by nosemonkey
1 Comment
Pensioner, 83, notches up ASBO: “Police said Mr Hughes, of Vane Lane, Coggeshall, Essex, had not been convicted of any child sex offence. But magistrates had decided to use civil anti-social behaviour laws after police received a number of complaints … Continue reading
November 16, 2007
by nosemonkey
7 Comments
Well, he may have ignored it for months, but now it’s finally taking shape – although it hardly seems to be overly well thought-out. So, was Foreign Secretary David Miliband’s choice of Bruges to deliver his first EU policy speech … Continue reading
October 24, 2007
by nosemonkey
14 Comments
It’s hard not to find the idea that the EU could be moving in to the old Tory Smith Square HQ quite amusing, considering the decided shift against Europe in the party during the last thirty years. The Tories moved … Continue reading
October 6, 2007
by nosemonkey
1 Comment
Not ruling out an election sooner. This insane hyperbole (“humiliating retreat”? “cling to office”? “extraordinary indecision and extraordinary weakness”? You what?) shows just how worried the Tories still are. Yes, Cameron made a storming speech at the conference the other … Continue reading
July 18, 2007
by nosemonkey
1 Comment
What with the ongoing spat with Russia (hyped out of all proportion, I reckon, and hope I’m not proved wrong), the fact that our dear new Prime Minister has made his first overseas jaunt while in office seems to have … Continue reading