Wendy Alexander resigns
Posted by Alan Collins on Saturday, June 28th, 2008 at 11:41

Okay, so I am stuck at Gatwick Airport as my flight is delayed by about 2 hours.

Whilst eating I saw on the BBC that Wendy Alexander, the leader of the Scottish Labour Party has resigned.

I am using a pay as you go internet booth, so I cannot provide too much detail as my time is short - although I am sure that John can provide further details later.

However, this is hugely significant. Gordon Brown has just been dealt another blow and Labour Party members and supporters must surely be wondering how soon it will be before he receives the fatal blow.

Update (from John): Here is Ms Alexander’s resignation statement in full.

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Right then, I’m off
Posted by Alan Collins on Saturday, June 28th, 2008 at 01:02

Okay then, I’m off on holiday.

Well, not immediately, but I won’t have time in the morning to write this final post (as I’m leaving home at about 8am).

At the moment, I am undertaking a few “housekeeping” tasks to wind everything down - and will completely power my laptop off (as opposed to merely placing it in hibernate mode) for the first time in months.

I am due to return on July 13 - and will post as soon as I am back (and awake!).

In the meantime, John Ward has kindly agreed to moderate comments and post any significant news developments, e.g. the Haltemprice and Howlden by-election result.

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John Howell wins in Henley
Posted by Alan Collins on Friday, June 27th, 2008 at 01:49

The Conservative Party candidate in the Henley by-election, John Howell, has won the contest to succeed Boris Johnson by pushing the Conservative share of the vote up, compared to the 2005 general election, and with the Lib Dems second and the Green Party third.

On the eve of Gordon Brown’s 1st anniversary as Prime Minister, voters went out in droves to vote against the Labour Party, pushing their candidate into fifth place - behind even the British National Party - and losing the candidate his deposit.

Henley has always been considered a safe Conservative seat, having had just one non-Conservative MP for four years since 1895. However, the fact that the Labour candidate couldn’t even manage the just-under 2000 votes required to keep his deposit is a devastating blow for Gordon Brown, who today celebrates one year in office.

The Liberal Democrats saw their share of the vote rise, although not impressively. They ran a largely negative campaign with attacks on Conservative John Howell. ConservativeHome has commented, following their failure at the Henley poll, on the fact that the Lib Dem “by-election machine will need an overhaul after this”.

Mr Howell told the BBC:

The British public has sent a message to Gordon Brown ‘get off our backs, stop the endless tax rises and help us cope with the rising cost of living’,” he said.

It’s clear that the New Labour coalition is falling apart and that the Conservatives under David Cameron’s leadership are on the march.

It is our agenda of giving people more opportunity and control over their own lives, of making families stronger and society more responsible, of making Britain safer and greener that is setting the pace in politics now.

Full Result

	Candidates	Party	Votes	% Share	% Change
	John Howell	Conservative	19,796	56.7	+3.2
	Stephen Kearney	Liberal Democrat	9,680	27.7	+1.7
	Mark Stevenson	Greens	1,321	3.8	+0.5
	Tim Rait	British National Party	1,243	3.6	N/A
	Richard McKenzie	Labour	1,066	3.1	-11.6
	Chris Adams	UK Independence Party	843	2.4	-0.1
	Bananaman Owen	Monster Raving Loony Party	242	0.7	N/A
	Derek Allpass	English Democrats	157	0.4	N/A
	Amanda Harrington	Independent	128	0.4	N/A
	Dick Rogers	Common Good	121	0.3	N/A
	Louise Cole	Independent	91	0.3	N/A
	Harry Bear	Fur Play Party	73	0.2	N/A
	Majority		10,116	29.0	+1.5
	Turnout		34,915	50.5	+17.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.4

For information: I had this story at 01:49, the BBC Website at 01:56. I had posted the full result at 02:03, the BBC Website posted at-a-glance results at 02:12.

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Obituary: common sense
Posted by Alan Collins on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 19:25

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; life isn’t always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend More than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the Job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental Consent to administer sun lotion or an Elastoplast to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; along with his daughter and son, Responsibility and Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I’m A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

From an email I received today from a friend. It would be funny if it weren’t so true!

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Taking a break
Posted by Alan Collins on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 19:20

Okay, so many people may have noticed that I have not been posting frequently post-exams as I said I would. There are many reasons for this, but I shalln’t go into detail.

However, to more pressing issues. On Saturday I am off on holiday - to the good old U S of A, in fact. It’ll be the third time I’ll have been there, and suffice to say I am quite looking forward to it!

But fear not! Whilst I am gone, comment moderation will be continued, and any important developments will be posted. Not by myself, of course, but John has kindly agreed to ensure that this website does not grow stale and unmoderated for the two weeks.

This won’t be my last post before going, but I thought I would inform you now, whilst I have the time.

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