tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68251678051364840662024-09-13T19:54:43.174+01:00A cross between Alan B'stard and the Grumpy Old Men, the curmudgeonly Old Statesman puts the 'grrrr...' into Grey Vote as he dissects the political news of the day.The Old Statesmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08370618165981459961noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825167805136484066.post-10850203805790462072010-10-22T17:39:00.000+01:002010-10-22T17:39:41.798+01:00

A friend of mine just showed me a comment made by BBC political broadcaster Andrew Marr last week. The quote was: "A lot of bloggers seem to be socially inadequate, pimpled, single, slightly seedy, bald, cauliflower-nosed young men sitting in their mother's basements and ranting.  They are very angry people." This upset me a little bit, not least because I have no pimples whatsoever. 

The Old Statesmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08370618165981459961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825167805136484066.post-47753227263606619882010-10-22T09:18:00.000+01:002010-10-22T09:18:46.513+01:00

So, finally, it is here.  The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR).  A country on tenterhooks has finally exhaled as it realises that actually, maybe things aren't going to be as bad as they thought.  Say what you like about this government, but so far they have managed the expectations of the populace very well.  Of course, it makes it easier to get away with beating someone

The Old Statesmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08370618165981459961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825167805136484066.post-26287091999633739342010-10-10T23:19:00.000+01:002010-10-10T23:19:15.702+01:00

It didn't take long for the knives to come out for the new (note the significant small 'n') Labour leader Ed Miliband (or MiliE, as some of the less kind Conservative press have dubbed him.) Within hours of his appointment, he had acquired several nicknames, with perhaps 'Red Ed' being the most insidious. The suggestion was made in several of the more militant Conservative newspapers that Ed was

The Old Statesmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08370618165981459961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825167805136484066.post-28208245844205293882010-10-05T22:27:00.000+01:002010-10-05T22:27:04.932+01:00

I don't quite know why it is that I've needed such a long break from the blogosphere, but for those of you who have missed my input, I have decided to sum up events during my absence with a few brief bullet points. They are as follows: 1) Miliband the Younger wins Labour leadership contest, mainly due to support from the trade unions. 2) Miliband the Older throws his toys from the pram,

The Old Statesmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08370618165981459961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825167805136484066.post-90235287473650388072010-09-23T02:00:00.000+01:002010-09-23T02:00:31.671+01:00

I have spent the last day or two watching pictures come out of the Liberal Democrat Conference in Liverpool, and I wonder if I am the only one who has my head in my my hands when I hear Nick Clegg speaking. In contrast to the way that Vince Cable strains at the leash, mouth foaming in his restrained desire to put capitalism to the sword, Clegg seems limp and deceitful, a man who postured

The Old Statesmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08370618165981459961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825167805136484066.post-36652947569039327912010-09-20T22:59:00.001+01:002010-09-23T02:11:08.282+01:00

The newspapers have been full of a story today about Britain's so-called worst dad. This may be unduly harsh criticism. Growing up as I did in one of Britain's most deprived areas, I can confirm first-hand that Keith Macdonald, the dad in question, is comparable to any number of my former classmates who have similar numbers of children to whose futures they do not positively contribute. But I

The Old Statesmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08370618165981459961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825167805136484066.post-21982159093166785482010-09-15T23:15:00.000+01:002010-09-15T23:15:52.010+01:00

The media will once again be centre stage in the forthcoming days as a lot of interested commentators, myself included, are set to preside over the UK's first papal visit for nearly thirty years. When I first mentioned the forthcoming visit to one of my more politically-informed friends, he immediately asked, 'Why's he coming then?' It was a question that took me somewhat by surprise. Does he

The Old Statesmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08370618165981459961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825167805136484066.post-26452315170110310322010-09-13T18:33:00.000+01:002010-09-13T18:33:01.973+01:00

'Unrest on the streets!' cry the newspapers, discontent is the watchword of the day, and with a heavy heart I realise that once again, Britain is set again for a period of exceptionally civil disobedience. Make no mistake, I am a union man and a very proud one. But when you hear TV channels spinning words like 'attacks' and 'militancy' (so very close to military, with all its attendant

The Old Statesmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08370618165981459961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825167805136484066.post-35362961461615360752010-09-12T20:11:00.001+01:002010-09-21T15:14:12.714+01:00

How, oh how, Barack Obama must wish for the kind of popularity surge that formed the wave that he crested into Washington on in January 2009. His campaign had eerie similarities with our own Labour landslide in the 1997 general election that brought Tony Blair into power. However, unlike Blair, Obama is struggling to fill the shoes that the world wanted him to following his inauguration

The Old Statesmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08370618165981459961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825167805136484066.post-41657921080503836462010-09-08T20:57:00.001+01:002010-09-21T14:46:56.753+01:00

So went the political epitaph of one Jenny Watson, former head of the Audit Commission, removed from post this week by the Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles. Pickles has made a few waves already since his appointment to his new role after passing the position of Conservative Party chairman to Baroness Warsi in May. As well as swiftly ending the proposed changes to unitary council arrangements

The Old Statesmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08370618165981459961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825167805136484066.post-62444021401898899962010-09-07T22:44:00.002+01:002010-09-08T19:57:55.797+01:00

I have decided to invent a new term.  I’m hoping that it will enter mainstream use, perhaps through the initial medium of word of mouth and then into some internet lexicon of frequently used terms, before becoming as popular as the use of the word ‘gate’ after any political scandal. The phrase will be ‘to do a Hague’. From now on, this will refer to someone who doesn’t think through their

The Old Statesmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08370618165981459961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825167805136484066.post-29890341894958133082010-09-06T19:18:00.006+01:002010-09-06T23:46:28.136+01:00

I read a blog earlier today by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown in which she slams Westminster gossip bloggers, particularly prominent rumourmonger Guido Fawkes, for their treatment of William Hague. In her entry, Ms Alibhai-Brown states that the actions of such bloggers 'deny a minister privacy'. Of course, it would be ridiculous to suggest that Mr Hague should be denied a private life, but the office

The Old Statesmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08370618165981459961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825167805136484066.post-15313236682942816702010-09-05T12:52:00.001+01:002010-09-06T23:48:32.127+01:00

I was reading Guardian reports of Tony Blair's visit to Dublin yesterday, and it seemed to me very much that new coverage escalated as the day went on.  While there were some people on the comment pages foolishly trying to compare the bombs that fell on Iraq to the eggs being thrown at the signing, there were very genuine questions being asked about whether it was reasonable to close a large

The Old Statesmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08370618165981459961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825167805136484066.post-77444619681577351092010-09-04T14:38:00.002+01:002010-09-06T23:49:21.721+01:00

I should probably apologise for giving Blair yet more valuable airspace.  Lord knows how many column inches have already been devoted to him over the last few days as he subtly elbows his way into the spotlight surrounding the Labour leadership campaign, but his comments regarding radical Islam irk me too, and here is why. Radicals, by their very nature, tend to be idealistic and

The Old Statesmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08370618165981459961noreply@blogger.com0