Irish Political News

There's been a rash of stats-porn, and anti-stats April fool porn, re this week on UK Political Blogs. I'm not interested in all of that, but the comments about blogs vs big media are interesting, especially with "Politics Portals" (my term) with their origins in the blogosphere on the way.

Since this is Free for all Friday again I thought I would make my contrarian contribution.

I am planning to move the Wardman Wire to a different server later this evening.

Service will be intermittent while I am testing the new install.

I suggest visiting www.mattwardman.co.uk, which has most of the same articles (and all of today's parliamentary Reports).

Via … er … Labour Home. I’m inclined to agree with Ken on this occasion. Whether it is true or not that he did smash it - I have no idea. Tags: ken livingstone, new labour

The Lib Dems have some more proposals about voting reform over on Lib Dem Voice. On this occasion it is Laurence Boyce proposing "weighted votes". I have an alternative suggestion.

Three Line Whip suggests that politics is becoming personalised again:

It appears that the magnificent Ken Dodd has a gag in his current stage show about the Prime Minister: “Every time I see Gordon Brown on the telly I think: ‘I bought that suit’.”

Via Simon Dickson on Twitter.

10 Downing Street has started putting out "headlines" via Twitter. I am number 8 in their followers. So Twitter now needs to be renamed "Twister".

I have an image of Peter Kilfoyle MP in my mind this morning. He is in the restaurant of a 4 star hotel. His breakfast kipper lies folorn and lonely on his plate, and he has a rather red face due to exertion. He is chasing a waitress round and round the table with a rolled-up newspaper, because she had the temerity to offer him a complimentary copy of the Daily Telegraph - and he's not putting up with that !

This morning I caught a news item on the Radio [Update: Radio 4] about Alistair Darling being barred from pubs for all the tax rises in the price of drinks. Here is the audio. Download audio file (20080326-bbc-radio4-today-alistair-darling-barred-from-pubs.mp3) I first heard about this movement from the Devil: Johnstone Urges Pub Ban For Darling Following an Edinburgh landlord’s decision to [...]

Earlier I posted that we were That is confirmed, and we should have our first real Senedd Circular report posted next Thursday. This has now been confirmed, and we will be rolling from next week. You can find out more about Miss Wagstaffe on her blog. Why “Circular”? The official reason is that it is a Newsletter and the Senedd Chamber is circular. You may not believe me, but it has nothing to do with 8.3% pay increases and fatcat (i.e., circular) AMs. Nor does it have anything to do with extra-large AMs after too many political lunches. However, we now have a third reason, and it because of a publicity stunt by Jenny Willott MP (LibDem Welsh Affairs at Westminster) following on from Heather Mills throwing a jug of water over Paul McCartney’s lawyer Fiona Shackleton. Ms Willott responded to BBC correspondent David Cornock’s fishing expedition, after Glyn Davies made a “wet hair” joke. Meanwhile, Glyn Davies told the BBC to take a running jump when they tried to get him on Radio Wales about his blog post. Good call. There are more important things around, such as Tibet / China and the continuing assault on our Civil Liberties (on which I’m happy to acknowledge excellent work by the Lib Dems). (more…)

This is the “John Lewis list” of claims MPs can make. I’m not saying anything because I’m shocked into silence by the idea floating around that the way to deal with a dodgy expenses system with insufficient supervision is to shovel it into the basic salary where there will be no supervision whatsoever. New kitchen - �10,000 New bathroom - �6,335 Suite of furniture - �2,000 Bed - �1,000 Sideboard - �795 Television set - �750 Hi-fi/stereo - �750 Wardrobe - �700 Gas cooker - �650 Dining table - �600 Fridge/freezer combi - �550 Bookcase/cabinet - �500 Drawer chest (5) - �500 Dressing table - �500 Washer dryer - �500 Dishwasher - �375 Washing machine - �350 Rugs - �300 Free-standing mirror - �300 Air conditioning - �299.99 Recordable DVD - �270 Tumble dryer - �250 Coffee table - �250 Food mixer - �200 Book case/shelf - �200 Nest of tables - �200 Lamp table - �200 Dining armchairs - �150 each Workstation - �150 Coffee maker/machine - �100 Bedside cabinet - �100 Dining chairs - �90 each Shredder - �50 Carpets (sq m) - �35 Underlay (sq m) - �6.99 Carpet fitting (sq m) - �6.50   Tags: mp expenses, john lewis list  

It’s Sunday, it’s sunny and I’m at the computer typing because I’m grumpy. This morning the Grobserver has another “top bloggers” list - the most powerful 50 bloggers in the world. This one is as self-absorbed as all the others, being a (drum roll, hold breath, straighten shoulders, salute the Grobserver) list of (taran-tara): The world’s 50 most powerful blogs I hate this sort of list in the national media. The last one I looked at was the Evening Standard’s moronic “New Media London Top 50” list in October 2007. That included Tom Coates, Iain Dale, Tim Montgomerie and Alex Hilton. They are all good bloggers, but the “well informed media people” who compiled it had missed out Pete Cashmore of Mashable who was no. 8 on Technorati at the Time. They may say: but we didn’t know, he’s geeky and we’d never heard of him. Precisely. Now you know why such lists should not be compiled by individuals of species homo-sapiens-sapiens genus metropoli-mediatartus. Some Features of a List of Top Blogs Quotes measurements as if they mean something, but instead just succeeds in looking ill-informed by using different measurements in different places. So what if “Page Views”, “Hits”, “Visitors”, “People”, “Unique Visitors” all sound different - it doesn’t matter, ya? Geographical blinkers, like some racehorses and George Bush. 16 of the 50 most powerful blogs by Brits or based here? I don’t think so. Quotes blogs that have usually previously appeared in the MSM (apart from the “author’s darlings” selection included). The Grobserver List While I’m being grumpy, I note that only one of the authors of this list appears to have a blog. Hmmm. (For the record, Anna Pickard. Hi Anna.) A few questionable inclusions Marbury is in - it is a 3 month old British commentary blog on the US Election. PoliticalBetting, perhaps Britains best political website with much US Election coverage, a specially organised night during one of the primaries, and 1 million page views a month, is not in. Nor are blogs such as the Daily Kos or dozens of other top US Political Blogs. The FWord is in. An excellent niche blog - but the world’s most powerful 50? Come on, boys and girls. Private and Secret Diary. It’s a one man Norfolk version of the Archers, which isn’t even in the Technorati top 50,000. Why? Bean Sprouts. Good blog, but technorati ranking of 27,000. 409 visitors a day (OK call it 800 as Sitemeter misses around half). 84 RSS subscribers. Most powerful 50 in the world - what are you on? These 4 shouldn’t feel got at if you find this list. All damn good blogs that are being misdescribed by the Grobserver (as are about 20 others). If you’d said “50 blogs which we find interesting” you’d have no problem - but why all this “world’s top 50 most powerful blogs” self-puffery? “Power Bloggers” List Recipe for people with Contacts Here’s my recipe for the next list. Keep the list down to 50 or so (don’t exhaust the meme). Take a few (say 20-25%) obviously top blogs (careful to leave a different equally good selection out for next time). Add in an eclectic selection from the Technorati Top 1000 (or top 50000+) - need to be able to do different lists for next year/next month/next week/this afternoon. Add a sprinking of niche blogs very few people have heard of but which the compilers think deserve to be influential. If it’s for the Grobserver, remember to spell at least one blog incorrectly to fit with editorial policy - for example “Peteite Anglaise“. Wrapping Up Next time please save the money, save the administration, save the hassle, and save me the stress. Four suggestions: Try (just once) my algorithm above. Don’t use such an idiotic headline. Give the byline to Max. Don’t mention hills in north London. OK. You can go out to play now. Tags: guardian, observer, grobserver, Jessica Aldred, Amanda Astell, Rafael Behr, Lauren Cochrane, John Hind, Anna Pickard, Laura Potter, Alice Wignall, Eva Wiseman

Via Guido: Guido just received this via email. The perfect end to a perfect week for Clegg. Well it is late on a Friday night… However, there is a quip worthy of the Tavern in the comments: He is now known as Nick C - because he hasn’t got a legg left to stand on…. I say no more, since I only have one source on this and that is Mr Fawkes… Wrapping up Just in case you’re wondering: it’s from Hitch Hiker. I somehow think most Lib Dems would know that already (for the record - that’s a compliment). Vogon poetry is widely accepted as the third worst in the Universe. The second worst is that of the Azgoths of Kria. During a recitation by their Poet Master Grunthos the Flatulent of his poem “Ode to a Small Lump of Green Putty I Found in My Armpit One Midsummer Morning” four of his audience died of internal hemorrhaging, but the President of the Mid-Galactic Arts Nobbling Council survived by gnawing one of his own legs off. The absolute worst poetry was written by Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of Sussex. Luckily it was destroyed when the earth was. Tags: guido fawkes, nick clegg  

Every so often a sequence of as few as 3 words grates like a screwdriver on a blackboard. From the Independent’s “computer games” column this week, by Rebecca Armstrong the “Games Mistress” in a review of “Patapon“: …you’re the ruler of a bunch of winsome little warriors who can be manoeuvred through the beat of a tribal drum - but if you don’t have pitch perfect rhythm… Pitch perfect rhythm !!!! Aaaaarrrrgggghhh ! Presumably her lingerie is perfectly aerodynamic, her cold tap is perfectly articulate, the cornflakes she had for breakfast are an excellent building material, and the tyres on her car are ideally flavoured to the correct degree of orangey tastiness. This Games Mistress needs to be gently taught not to make category errors by the Belles of St Trinians (old and new versions below), if necessary by torture on the wallbars of the gym (sorry - I couldn’t find a picture of that scene). (more…)

A rather complacent comment from a member of the piccolo (8% market share) army of smug Mac users: Easy peasy. Now, be a good kid and go buy a Mac! reminded me that I had a Steve Jobs edition of “Double Trouble” in the cupboard waiting to be rolled out. Every time I see a picture of Steve Jobs being cool I think of Yoffy, who used to run a BBC TV Children’s Programme called “Fingerbobs“: Yoffy Steve Jobs   Incidentally, I also think of the Sheriff of Nottingham from the latest postmodern version of Robin Hood. That would be the one where Frodo Baggins Robin says to his Merry Men Socially Unacceptable Inebriated Persons of Questionable Legality who Make Their Living by Alternative Means: “If we do this, we will do it as a Team”. Sheriff of Nottingham Fingermouse By the way, this is Fingermouse (with Scampi): Wrapping-Up Probably Not Wrapping Up Cue a wave of outrage from Apple fans. Ooops. Tags: steve jobs, fingerbobs, fingermouse, yoffy, sheriff of nottingham, apple, apple mac

BONG ! I’m working on a new column idea for Thursdays, which I hope will be starting in the next week or two, to be posted in time for you to read over lunch in the usual Wardman Wire pattern. It will be intensely political, and will cover a niche in political blog reporting that is currently as empty as the “Blog Roundup” niche is bursting at the seams. … but that is all I am saying for now. Come back this Thursday and see if it has arrived yet. Wardman Wire: the best writers writing the best columns. You know it makes sense sometimes. [Update: You know it makes sense sometimes looks to me to be a good blog slogan.] Tags: matt wardman, blog column

Hamish the Greek’s admirer paramour admiree aspiration target flirtation stalkee putative muse Wendy has had control of her … embryonic scottish government aspiring holyrood executive constitutional commission treaty renegotiation wotsit review management committee internal review group talking shop anti-salmond homing torpedo Oh sod it … her thing … taken away from her and lodged at the centre of gravity of Scottish Labour politics in Downing Street. She has been, as it were, cut down to size. And apparently Des Browne, the Defensive Scottish Secretary, is going to be running it between 3:00 and 3:15pm on Wednesday afternoons in his tea break. So what will Wendy be doing? I have no idea at all, but I might suggest that a starring role in Peter Pan would be suitable.Then - at long last - Hamish will be able to call her “Wendy Darling”. Wrapping Up No crocodiles were hurt in the preparation of this article. I did discover this delightful anecdote while searching for “Wendy Alexander” at Number 1 on Google (click through on image): Wendy Alexander is urging Renfrewshire reisdents to watch they dont become victims of scams. As if… Tags: wendy alexander, gordon brown, commission

I thought I’d do a poll this morning as a “Archbishop hiatus”. The poll closes tomorrow morning. Which UK Politician is the Greatest self Parody? Alex Salmond Mr Alex Salmond View Results  Loading … Archbishop hiatus somehow sounds Greek Orthodox. Hmmm. Tags: alex salmond, msp, holyrood, scottish parliament, scottish first minister

Sunny at Pickled Politics: Thats the question Ive been grappling with for the past few weeks maybe even months. Are you mad? Let me help, as I lived in London for more than 5 years during his term, including the time he tried to treble his precept in one jump: Dame Shirley Porter would be a better candidate in my opinion.   Or George Galloway - and you know what I think of him. Next question?   (Dave Cole will not agree - but he’s talking through one of his hats on this one! A tricorn seems appropriate.) (Update: He’s apparently lent another hat to Garbo on this occasion). Tags: ken livingstone, mayor of london

I’ve been clearing out the archives - a salutary experience. I’m trying to cull around 75% of a library which goes back to school exercise books. Among artefacts from the past, I have found - in addition to a set of university books that I would have sold had I had more sense - some interesting items. Some Old Nottinghamians A tranche of “Old Nottinghamian” school magazines and photos from the 1950s and 1970s - which means that in there somewhere there may be the odd photo of the likes of Ed “The Campaigner” Davey, Ken ” Smokin’ ” Clarke, Ed “The Enforcer” Balls, and Geoff “The Commuter” Hoon in their youth. Apparently in 1955, the school mock-election gave more votes to a Communist than to the Labour candidate: “The 794th meeting of the debating society (May 20th 1955) took the form of a Mock Election. The voting was as follows: R.P Soble (Con): 123 C.M Williamson (Ind.): 113 N.M Neattie (Nat Lib): 45 D.L Richards (Comm.): 36 T.P. Dolby (Lab.): 10″ And there was a dizzying amount of networking going on: “We should like to thank our fellow-editors from other Schools who have sent us copies of their magazines. These are:- The Loughburian; the Elizabethan; the West Bridgefordian; the Mountaineer; the King Edward VII School Magazine; the Stonyhurst Magazine; the Wheatleyan; the Cottonian; the Derbeian; the Alumnus; the Centaur.” (more…)

Rumbold on Pickled Politics (who’s attitudes are on rare but memorable occasions as delightfully crusty as the Are You Being Served version) reports that the Liberal Democrat Health Spokesman Greg Mulholland is proposing that we should have an enforced requirement for wine to be available in 125ml size glasses in restaurants: Liberal Democrat Greg Mulholland is to propose a bill in the House of Commons calling for the reinstatement of traditional 125ml measures. The MP for Leeds North West argues that larger glasses are making customers “less aware of how many units of alcohol they are drinking”. Many licensed premises only sell wine in 175ml and 250ml measures. Rumbold is on form in his dismissal of this regulation for the sake of regulation: A society that needs great swathes of law is sick (in the medical sense). Not because it needs so many laws, but because when it has them this breaks down our essential humanity. There will always be people or groups who fight to retain a particular law, which is why it is so hard to take laws off the statute book. We need a reformation of mentality, shifting from a society that welcomes new laws to one that distrusts them, and which can be persuaded for the need in very few cases. Indeed - too many laws about minutiae undermine the need for individuals to act like grownups and take some responsibility. But he is insufficiently vitriolic in his condemnation. This tendency is a poisonous multi-headed hydra that feeds on the need for politicians to justify themselves. (more…)

When I read the first three paragraphs of this post by Lonergrrl, highlighted by Natalie in this week’s Britblog Roundup: Stop telling me the body is nothing more than a text, merely discursive, nothing concrete, but fragmented, engaged in performativity. What is that all about? How is that helping? What revolutionary purpose does it serve? These insights of yours are purported to be groundbreaking, radical, cutting edge, liberating because they break down binaries, dichotomies, totalities, all essential and universal notions. I decided that it was an ancient manuscript written in some foreign language, that would perhaps be understandable after I purchased a copy of the Gale Sociology Thesaurus. The Gale Sociology Thesaurus is a subset of the master Gale Social Science Thesaurus in the narrower domain of the practice of sociology and the study of complex human societies, social groups (from families to nations), and the institutions, processes, movements, issues, and behavior related to those groupings. It includes subfields and methods of sociology (e.g., political sociology). Also provides are terms for social arrangements like slavery, intergroup relations, and concubinage. I hoped that the thesaurus would function as a modern Rosetta Stone, and perhaps contain the same material written in English. In fact the article turns out to be written in the sub-dialect of “sociologese” known as “radical feminist“, and is a reply to postmodernism from this viewpoint. (more…)

My piece “Columnists and Reporters are the new bloggers”" featured in the Britblog Review this week, and has had some good feedback. I’ve reproduced some snippets, and a long comment from Ruthie Zaftig that deserves front-page exposure. From the Chameleon She periodically engages in such gratuitous outbursts, so much so that I wonder if it is not simply another exercise in self-promotion on her partafter all, I expect she receives a great deal more attention when she spews hatred over her blogging rivals than when she tackles other subjects. Yep. From Ruthie Zaftig I know a lot of journalists who have personal blogs unrelated to their jobs as well. Its somewhat cathartic to be able to inject personal opinion, or write about your cat, or your kid, or whatever you like, rather than a 500-word piece on a big house fire that killed two kids. That gets old fast. Id like to think that bloggers fact-check as rigorously as journalists do, but: A. Journalists make mistakes, and B. I see a lot (a LOT) of bloggers falling back on preconceived notions, the direction of the wind, third-person accounts or secondary sources to determine their position, rather than you know primary sources. That frightens me a bit. Here in the U.S. theres been this big blogging movement about Barack Obama, one of the democratic candidates for president, being a Muslim extremist. Its patently false, and even the most rudimentary amount of research makes that clear, but a lot of American bloggers ran with it anyway. I dont say it too often, but I think we have some things to learn from the staider end of the US Newspaper Industry in this respect. Im inclined to agree with you, and although the U.S. media have their own problems, Im alarmed by the direction media seem to be heading in the UK. The mainstream media in the UK dont seem to operate under even the pretense of objectivity (with a few notable exceptions). I could be wrong about this, because I do live in the U.S. and dont read British newspapers regularly. I hope I am. But its a trend I see in the U.S. too. Civic journalism is gaining support over traditional, staid notions of objectivity. By the way, what is a cat flap, and what on earth does she have against blogs? Did a blog bite her? Did a blog steal her car? Did a blog poison her soup? Yep. (more…)