Author: robert.marchant

Ok, so we were in with a shot of helping form a government. And then it turned out that Nick Clegg was just squeezing for a better deal with the Tories. Well, perhaps it’s for the best. Labour needs some time to reflect, and perhaps John Reid was right, it was too much clutching at… Continue reading The dust settles

Well, Gordon has effectively gone. Although I’m not exactly his number one fan as Prime Minister, I have to admit that he is a political heavyweight, a brilliant political strategist and was an outstanding Chancellor, and therefore a huge loss to Labour. And where are the rest of the political heavyweights – in ANY party,… Continue reading End of an era

So, a hung parliament is official, as of half an hour ago. The media, who have largely been braying of a Cameron walkover, were wrong (see front pages here). The Guardian, who foolishly talked of the “Liberal moment” having arrived, was wrong. The pundits were largely wrong. The exit polls, which no-one believed last night,… Continue reading Egg-on-face time for UK press

Well, the last week has seen a great example of the UK press showing its true right-wing colours. Across the press – and I say “press” rather than “media”, as the BBC, for instance, has been a lot more objective – everyone is trying to confidently predict a Cameron win, when the polls don’t actually… Continue reading Polling day 2010 – forget the press

Well we seem to be doing alright, or rather, much better than I had feared. Gordon gave a more confident performance on this week’s TV debate. Nick Clegg seems to be being canonised by the press, but…hang on, in the harsh light of the polling booth will people really vote for someone who cannot win… Continue reading Second week of campaign – better than expected

Well, they’re off. Brown ok in TV debate, although the real story was clearly Nick Clegg’s performance. But this was the best news of the week for me – look at the Tories on gay rights. They’re all over the shop.

A great and nicely balanced article in The Economist yesterday reflects on the recent revelations in Ireland, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. It’s clearly not intended as an anti-religious message, and certainly tries to acknowledge the good works that the Church has done and the current guidelines for priests which do much to stamp out… Continue reading Catholic church: denial rules on child abuse

As previously reported and welcomed on this blog, the government is giving profile co-operative ideals a way never before considered, as argued in this piece in the Guardian. It’s a big idea, whose time has clearly come, and I endorse it wholeheartedly. However, I was concerned by the tone of the article, which talked about… Continue reading Co-ops need a level playing field, not handouts

I was saddened to hear of the recent decision by the US Supreme Court that governments cannot limit corporate donations to political parties. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not – at all – one of those knee-jerk anti-Americans that you often find in Europe (especially, I’m afraid, Continental Europe), saying what can you expect… Continue reading World’s most powerful nation votes to further harm its political system?

A great, incredibly logical argument for those with rational minds but who don’t accept that global warming is proven. Read it and tell me where the flaw is…