18 February 2015
by Mark
0 comments
I don’t normally read the Daily Telegraph in print, except when I’m visiting my parents and I try to do the crossword before my mum gets a chance. But I’ve been reading it a lot more online recently, ever since … Continue reading
20 January 2015
by Mark
1 Comment
The Huffington Post published a graphic attacking David Cameron which has become something of an Internet meme. So, let’s look at what Cameron’s record actually is on the things it mentions… “One million people using food banks” – because the … Continue reading
2 November 2014
by Mark
0 comments
Regional devolution is back in the news following the Scottish referendum. The latest proposal to give more power to the regions comes from Ed Miliband, who wants to replace the House of Lords with an elected senate representing the “regions … Continue reading
27 October 2014
by Mark
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On the way to Tesco on Saturday evening, I passed what appeared to be the immediate aftermath of a road accident just outside St Ecgwins Club in Evesham High Street. A man was lying in the road, being attended to … Continue reading
21 October 2014
by Mark
4 Comments
Economic migrants leaving their homes in a poorer country to find work in a richer one. If, like me, your musical memories consist of the likes of Duran Duran, Blondie, The Human League, The Sex Pistols and Bon Jovi, then … Continue reading
16 October 2014
by Mark
0 comments
Right! now
Oh oh oh oh oh oh…
I am an alarmist
I am a pessimist
Don’t ’bout a lot
But I know what I’m scared of
I wanna destroy confidence
‘Cause I think we’ll be all diseased
In the city
Ebola in the UK
It’s coming sometime, maybe
Into Heathrow on a dodgy airline
Your future dream is a manic scream
‘Cause I think we’ll be all diseased
You’re gonna have to flee
How many ways
To infect you and spread?
Some of the best, some of the rest
Outsiders are the enemy, outsiders are anarchy
‘Cause I think we’ll be all diseased
So run away from me
Is this the IFPI?
Or is this the BPI?
Or is this the NHS?
It’s epidemic in the US
And very soon in our country
Another council committee
I think we’ll be all diseased
And I think we’ll be all diseased
With EBOV
And I think we’ll be all deceased
No rest in peace
Just in case there are any irony-challenged individuals reading, the above is a parody of the tin-foil hat brigade’s response to Ebola, and not a reflection of my own views.
12 September 2014
by Mark
0 comments
September 2014. Boris Johnson selected as Conservative candidate for Uxbridge in 2015 general election.
September 2014. Scotland votes for independence.
May 2015. UK general election returns a Labour majority. Ed Miliband takes up residence in Number 10. David Cameron resigns as Conservative leader.
July 2015. Conservative party elects Boris Johnson as new leader.
March 2016. Scottish independence day. All Scottish MPs cease to be MPs.
April 2016. Labour government, now a minority administration due to the loss of Scottish MPs, loses confidence vote. Ed Miliband resigns as Prime Minister and calls general election.
May 2016. UK (minus Scotland) general election returns a Conservative majority. Boris Johnson takes up residence in number 10. Ed Miliband resigns as Labour leader.
September 2016. Everyone wakes up from a bad dream.
Or do they?
6 June 2014
by Mark
0 comments
Reading the runes from a by-election result is always problematic. The local nature of the event means that it’s hard to draw national trends, while protest votes and tightly focussed campaigns by all parties have an effect that won’t be … Continue reading
26 May 2014
by Mark
0 comments
The music has stopped and we’ve all got off the Euro dance floor. The ’kippers are smokin’, the Tories are blue, Labour isn’t quite working and the future isn’t bright for Lib Dem orange. But what does it all mean? … Continue reading
9 May 2014
by Mark
4 Comments
Wychavon District Council have kindly provided me with some figures for the number of parking tickets sold in in district-run car parks in Evesham during the period that concessionary rates were in operation, compared with the same period the previous … Continue reading