New second home?
The crown prosecution service has announced that Chris Huhne will be charged over perverting the course of justice, by getting his ex-wife to take speeding points. Both will appear in court on the 16th of February. He will resign from the cabinet shortly, probably Norman Lamb will become a minister for the first time.
His career is probably over. He may well go to jail. Ed Davy to replace him in the cabinet.
Accurate?
Tomorrow’s Telegraph headline is responding to a David Miliband article in the New Statesman. I am not shocked by that rag twisting the story but his piece hardly mentions Ed or Old Labour. It’s a stupid Telegraph hatchet job again, David’s article is very interesting, not a ‘thinly veiled criticism’.
Read and compare.
Object 1: A thoughtful contribution to labour’s ongoing re-evaluation from a leading party statesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/
Object 2: A blind reading of object 1 as a fraticidal power grab. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Now just plain Fred
So, as of this afternoon, Sir Fred Goodwin is no more. You can imagine the Queen declaring ‘Sit down, Mr Fred’. I think to be quite honest this decision is ridiculous. No doubt in hindsight his ‘services to banking’ were not so great as he mismanaged much of his leadership of RBS. However he committed no crime and I believe that can be the only grounds for legitimate removal.
If he was found to be criminally negligent (he hasn’t) rather than making mistakes then fair enough, take it away. However if we took away all honours from people found to simply not be as good at doing what they got it for as we thought then God help us. We would need to analyse thousands sports, business and other leaders to check whether they really were acceptable.
Honours are a spot recognition of achievement, not a stupid political football.
Nailed on for the nomination
In the months since I’ve posted on this topic, the race has come much more nationally prominent over here. The field has, after three primaries with three different winners narrowed to just four (or six, counting Buddy Roemer and Fred Karger who have not been invited to any debates or included on some ballots).
Despite Newt Gingrich’s impressive win last weekend in South Carolina which led to him replacing Mitt Romney as hot favourite for next week’s crucial Florida primary, Romney has pulled back to lead polls again in the sunshine state. I personally still cannot see beyond Romney for the nomination especially after recovering recently. Newt is trying to coalesce ‘conservative’ voters around him but he has failed to do this in Florida and the continuing candidacy of Rick Santorum means that social conservatives have another option.
Gingrich’s last chance in my opinion is Rick Santorum dropping out soon and endorsing him but I’m not at all certain that Santorum, who unofficially won in Iowa will do so. The latest national polls show Gingrich ahead of Romney but we have little indication of feeling since Gingrich’s South Carolina has slowed.
Betting wise, there is little value in backing Romney for the nomination at best odds of 2/7 (with Stan James) but Bet365′s 33-1 on Ron Paul might be a good longshot to put a small bet on. Ron Paul has performed well and could get momentum from upcoming caucus states such as Nevada and Colorado.
Anyway, I think it’ll be Romney vs. Obama in the Autumn with Obama to win.
After many, many months away from the blog, I’m back. I’ve no good reason for being away so long other than being busy with uni and politics. The big news since I last blogged, for anyone who hasn’t heard is that I have been selected as Labour’s candidate in Hillsborough ward in Sheffield. This is exciting and a big step in my life. I’m currently working hard to win the seat in May. The election, on May 3rd, will be tough but I feel I have an excellent chance if I can bring my message to the voters. If anyone would like to offer any assistance or has any questions please contact me at: george4hillsborough@gmail.com.
Anyway, I shall attempt to post fairly regularly again and look forward to hearing from you!
Last year, three former Labour MPs (David Chaytor, Elliot Morley, Jim Devine) and two Tory peers (The Lords Hanningfield and Warwick) were imprisoned for offences related to their electoral expenses. Early this year Barnsley Central’s Eric Illsley was sent to jail, triggering a by-election in his seat. These imprisonments caused much embarrassment at Westminster but, with these individuals either having been released or due to be fairly soon there is a certain sense that a line is being drawn underneath the affair.
However, last October, one current and one former Labour MP (Denis MacShane of Rotherham and Margaret Moran, who resigned from Luton South at the last election) were both suspended from the party pending a police investigation into their expenses. Very little has been heard of about Moran since the announcement of the investigation and for now it doesn’t really matter as she isn’t any longer an MP.
MacShane’s position is much more important and as an MP it should be resolved as soon as possible. There has been only one story related to his expenses since, in April but his parliamentary profile suggests he still has the whip suspended. Having an elected representative in an uncertain position for nearly 10 months now is unacceptable and I hope that the investigation is either dropped or he is quickly charged. I do realise that the Met are somewhat busy at the moment.
If he is charged and found guilty then a Rotherham by-election will almost certainly be held. Whilst it’d be a welcome chance for Labour to win back the 10 000 voters in the town that have left since 1997 the seat is a strong one for the BNP and would be a key test of their support. Whatever happens it needs to happen soon so we can move on from this whole affair. The people of Rotherham deserve to have certainty with their MP.
No longer in the running to rock the White House...
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted about anything, this in particular. Naturally, the Republican race has hotted up a lot. I’ll give my view of where it is now.
First those leading candidates who have Ruled Themselves out:
Donald Trump
Whether the famous businessman was ever serious about running is something we’ll never know but the Donald was at one point a frontrunner before ruling himself out.
Mitch Daniels
The choice of many moderates, Indiana Governor Daniels disappointed his fan base by deciding against a run after weeks of deliberation.
Mike Huckabee
Huckabee, former Arkansas Governor decided also against entering the race, citing a lack of support despite poll ratings many other candidates would die for.
and those who are still undeclared
Sarah Palin
What to say about this one? She has been talked up as a candidate for three years now but still hasn’t declared. Whether she will or not will probably be sorted within a month or so but her chances seem rather slim due to various controversies and a lack of real fundraising. The Undefeated, a puff pic about her has been released to try and up her chances but it has been remorselessly attacked by journalists and film critics alike. Chances: Fairly Slim
