August 10, 2006
by Nosemonkey
52 Comments
Yesterday: Major terrorism policy announcement by Home Secretary John Reid Today: A ‘plot to blow up planes’ is apparently foiled, and Heathrow airport shut down. And my first reaction? Utter disbelief and a sigh of resignation. They’ve simply cried wolf … Continue reading
August 1, 2006
by Nosemonkey
10 Comments
Yes, it’s an obvious thing to slag off, but still, this new public terror threat nonsense is simply so predictably alarmist it’s going to be delightfully easy to ignore. (Which is why, as one of those tediously obsessive bloggers you’ve … Continue reading
July 28, 2006
by Nosemonkey
6 Comments
The Department for the Environment, Foor and Rural Affairs (Defra) under Margaret Beckett – now off fixing the Middle East as Condoleeza Rice’s bitch Britain’s Foreign Secretary – has repeatedly cocked up farm subsidy payments through an ongoing mismanagement that … Continue reading
July 21, 2006
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
Yesterday Home Secretary John Reid announced an end to lenient punishments for people who are caught red-handed and own up to being guilty of breaking the law. Today, John Prescott excapes punishment for being caught red-handed in breaching the ministerial … Continue reading
July 20, 2006
by Nosemonkey
9 Comments
I’ve long been convinced that a sizable amount of the anger generated by EU legislation is due more to the British government’s own implementation than the legislation itself. In the UK, we always seem to implement directives and other Brussels-generated … Continue reading
July 17, 2006
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
One of the perennial problems for an aspiring UK Prime Minister is the need to juggle domestic popularity with workable international relationships – especially with our EU partners. Because if you’re seen to suck up too much to the French … Continue reading
July 13, 2006
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
Hurrah for John McDonnell, who seems to be about to set himself up as a stalking horse candidate for the inevitable post-Blair leadership election. Precisely what he’s intending will remain unclear until the official announcement tomorrow, and it sadly looks … Continue reading
July 13, 2006
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Boring hidden news
As chaos continues all around, spare a thought for less glamourous scandals than ID cards, police mergers and the arrest of the government’s Middle East Envoy (at a time when a fresh war is breaking out between Israel and Lebanon). … Continue reading
July 12, 2006
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
Is the Labour project in total freefall? As it emerges that Lord Levy, the party’s chief fundraiser and chap in the ermine robe at the heart of the loans scandal, has been arrested, could we also have a new Hutton … Continue reading
July 11, 2006
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
As the all-powerful ID card scheme faces possible delays, would you look at that? “News” emerges that “Organised fraudsters tried to steal more than half a billion pounds from the government’s tax credit system in 2005/06”. So as doubts about … Continue reading
July 11, 2006
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Home Office policymaking 101
1) Find out problem via leak to national newspaper 2) Issue denial 3) Have former Home Secretary who everyone hates slag the decision off 4) Face media storm 5) Wait a few months, then capitualte once everyone’s started looking the … Continue reading
July 7, 2006
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
Good news for the end of the week: Berlusconi to be tried for fraud. And, please note, “Lawyer David Mills, the estranged husband of British Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, has also been ordered to stand trial.”
July 7, 2006
by Nosemonkey
8 Comments
It is 9:20am on Friday 7th July 2006. At this time on Thursday 7th July 2005, I had been hunting around the interweb for quarter of an hour, trying to find out whether the bang that I’d heard tell of … Continue reading
July 6, 2006
by Nosemonkey
5 Comments
Had I gone to some press junket as I was supposed to, rather than head home to watch the France/Portugal game (fairly tedious), I would have been within easy assassination distance of Margaret Thatcher last night. I have failed in … Continue reading